Lyrics

From Yes Why Not

Dig Deep Dig Deeper

Inside the tallest tree there’s a smaller tree
Inside the smaller tree there’s a smaller tree
Carve away the rings and you will see
Dig deep dig deeper, find the child in me
Dig deep dig deeper, find the child in me
Delve down, set the young man free

The child is older than the man
The child is older than the man
He’s been here since I began
Dig deep dig deeper, find the child in me
Dig deep dig deeper, find the child in me
Delve down, set the young man free

This year’s man is only one year old
Last year’s man is only two years old
The heart is warm when the hands are cold
Dig deep dig deeper, find the child in me
Dig deep dig deeper, find the child in me
Delve down, set the young man free

Company

I could use a glass of beer
I could use a little cheer
And a smile from ear to ear
Some of your company

I would like to taste some wine
I would like to take some time
I would love to make you mine
Steal your company

Stay before you change your mind
One more drink before the night is left behind

If you weren’t afraid to stay
If you didn’t run away
I could love you in a way
Love your company

Stay before you change your mind
One more drink before the night is left behind

I could use a glass of beer
I could use a little cheer
Don’t refuse, I need you here
I need your company

Wrong Side of the River

I’m drunk, I’m in Dublin, I’m stumbling round town
I ask for directions from another poor clown
“Just head for the Liffey and follow it down
“Getting lost is impossible, trust me”
Well I come to the river, I turn to my right
Stroll down the boardwalk enjoying the night
Then walk for an hour with no lodging in sight
Where did I go wrong?  Think that I must be
The wrong side of the river
The wrong side of the river
The wrong side of the river
And a long way from home

I pass a man living rough on the street
He puts down his bottle and calls me his friend
Have I five euros for something to eat?
Where did he go wrong?  How did he end up
The wrong side of the river
The wrong side of the river
The wrong side of the river
And a long way from home

He’s not alone in his loneliness
Millions are lost and have no-one to call on
And in this “fair city” we couldn’t care less
Where did it go wrong?  Maybe we’re all on
The wrong side of the river
The wrong side of the river
The wrong side of the river
And a long way from home

We’re the wrong side of the river
The wrong side of the river
The wrong side of the river
And a long way, a long, long way
A long way from home

Baby’s Eyes

When I wake up, it’s spring again and there’s so much new to see
The sun is bright, the room is light, and you are here with me
Seeing the world through a baby’s eyes
As the sun comes up, we sit and watch the living leaves of day
Turn from summer into autumn, then simply blow away
Seeing the world through a baby’s eyes

And the day is a cycle,
And the cycle is a word,
And the word is one that’s known
And it may seem a long time,
But it’s short enough to see when you’re grown

I sweep up the tired old leaves and burn them in a heap
They’ll keep us warm through winter while I rock you into sleep
Seeing the world through a baby’s eyes

And the year is a cycle,
And the cycle is a word,
And the word is one that’s known
And it may seem a long time,
But it’s short enough to see when you’re grown

When I wake up, it’s spring again and there’s music in my head
I used to look for the calendar, now you are there instead
Seeing the world through a baby’s eyes

And life is a cycle,
And the cycle is a word,
And the word is all we know
And it may seem a long time,
But it’s short enough to see as you grow
As we grow

Whisky on the Way

In the corner there’s a cupboard made by my father
From some driftwood that washed up in the bay
On the second shelf you'll find a special bottle
That I've kept for you:  a drop of the best
Take it with you to the church
Hide it in your pocket while you pray
Take it with you on your long walk west
It will refresh you when you rest

When you carry my body to the west side
Following the cairns along the way
I hope that you’ll see golden eagles soaring overhead
I hope that you'll be chuckling about something I once said
When you carry my body to the west side
I hope you have good weather on the day
Think about the coffin road as my road home
And have a tot of my whisky on the way

All our lives we have argued with this grudging earth
For what we earn by constant toil
The turf and stones to build our homes, the peat to warm them
All must be wrested from the land
Now all I ask is a place to find some peace
But the east side won’t give six feet of soil
So my friends must make a bed for me underneath the machair
I will sleep there in the sand

When you carry my body to the west side
Stopping at the cairns along the way
I hope that you’ll be warmed by what I’ve left for you to bring
I hope that you'll be singing some old song I used to sing
When you carry my body to the west side
I hope you have good weather on the day
Think about the coffin road as my road home
And have a tot of my whisky on the way

Oh my brothers, my sons and my grandsons,
My nephews, my cousins and my friends
We men have worked together, dug together, sheared together, fished together,
Hauled together, built together, and more:
We have smoked together, drunk together, laughed together, grieved together,
We’ll be together at the end
When you take my weight in those good strong hands
Which supported me so many times before

When you carry my body to the west side
Adding to the cairns along the way
I hope the heather’s purple, I hope the sky is blue
I hope that what is best in me will somehow stay with you
When you carry my body to the west side
I hope you have good weather on the day
Think about the coffin road as my road home
And have a tot of my whisky on the way

Have a tot of my whisky
Have one last drink with me
Have a tot of my whisky on the way

Mairi’s Smile

Is the north wind pushing rain in my face?
Are there dark clouds?  They mean nothing to me
I am living in a state of grace
All I think of, all I see
Is Mairi’s smile
My eyes are open but that smile is all I see
That pretty smile
I dream of Mairi’s pretty smile for me

She helps her mother serve in the shop down by the sea
Where I’ve watched her, and never thought that she knew
But when her mother said she should bring those things to me
I’m certain that she threw
A little smile
She turned and threw a little smile to me
That pretty smile
I dream of Mairi’s pretty smile for me

It can be lonely at the shieling
It can be lonely on the hill
I find I’m talking to the sheep
Talking in my sleep
Brave against my will

In the morning she will walk up from the town
And I’ll see her climbing over the gate
Then she’ll greet me and put her basket down
Until then I must wait
A little while
I must only wait a little while to see
Her pretty smile
I dream of Mairi’s pretty smile for me

A little while
I must only wait a little while

The Sinking of the Annie Jane

On Vatersay there stands a stone
Which tells a story little known
Disaster, shipwreck, loss and pain
The sinking of the Annie Jane

The year is eighteen fifty-three
When Annie Jane takes to the sea
With emigrants for Montreal
Four hundred and fifty souls in all

The brig groans with a heavy load
Of iron for the railroad
As she labours on her course
A storm blows up with mighty force

South of Barra, a heavy gale
Strips Annie Jane of masts and sail
Seeking shelter, she turns about
And hopes that she can ride it out

Alas for crippled Annie Jane
The storm assails her once again
The helpless crew can steer no more
Looms the reef and then the shore

Timbers on the granite smash
Gale and storm and tempest lash
On Vatersay they hear the sound
The Annie Jane has run aground

Some are crushed within the wreck
The waves sweep others from the deck
The iron moves within her heart
It breaks the Annie Jane apart

A few within this roaring hell
Have tied themselves to Annie’s shell
Miraculous, but through the din
They ride the broken wreckage in

A dismal roll-call on the sand
Just a hundred and two can raise their hand
The island folk all do their best
Give them shelter, food and rest

Next day the dead are washed ashore
Every tide brings more and more
Great pits are dug in Vaternish sand
Tears and sorrow fill the land

So go one day to Vatersay
See the place where the bodies lay
Remember all the loss and pain
The sinking of the Annie Jane

See How We Fly

Think:  you’re on a train all alone and it’s dark
Nothing seems real
Sliding along through the night hearing
Only the sound of the wheels
There on a train, in a compartment alone
Watching the window,
See how you fly

Think:  how many miles of the track must there be
Whole countries wide
How many people roll over it
With the moon by their side?
There on a train
In a compartment alone
Watching the window
See how they fly

Think:  that in isolation we somehow are one
We all are in tune
All are in trains, all are travelling
All are watching the moon
Here on a train
In a compartment alone
Watching the window
See how we fly

Human

Why do I lie awake at night
Trying to find a rhyme
For a line that I cannot write
It’s out of time, out of time
But that’s where this man belongs
It’s where I need to be
When I’m deep inside my songs
They make me human
They make me human
They make me human
They make me human
For a while I have no thoughts at all
That’s all

Why do I never get it right?
Why do I fail you?
I let you down tonight
That’ll never do, never do
I do much that is wrong
Doesn’t mean I’m bad
My faults are like my songs
They make me human
They make me human
They make me human
They make me human
Sometimes I have no thought at all
That’s all

Why am I so charmed by you?
You always get your way
You know that that is true
And it’s every day, every day
But you only get what is due
A debt I must pay
I owe my life to you
You make me human
You make me human
You make me human
You make me human
For a while let’s have no thoughts at all
That’s all

Just make me human
Make me human
Make me human
Make me human
For a while let’s have no thoughts at all
That’s all

Alice

When you talk to Alice, well, don’t you think she’s strange?
Eyes wide and stary, clothes all disarranged
She might have come through a looking-glass or from a wonderland
Alice murmurs poetry that no-one understands

When Alice dances, the people stand aside
They let her take her body on a roller coaster ride
Let her hair go whirling swirling, let her petticoats fly
Alice flickers firelightly in everybody’s eye

Alice is different, Alice is plain
Alice is beautiful, Alice is insane
People talk of Alice as if Alice wasn’t there
Is she smiling secretly or is she unaware?

Alice is different, Alice is plain
Alice is beautiful, Alice is insane
People talk of Alice as if Alice wasn’t real
Like a gingerbread lady with cheeks of cochineal

Alice takes a taxi, no one knows quite where
Alice lives alone now, and Alice doesn’t care
But later, when we’re sleeping, will she wander through our mind?
When Alice leaves you, what does she leave behind?
What does she leave behind?

Mine Tonight

That thing baby do that thing, sing baby sing
That thing baby do that thing, sing baby sing
Need a star underneath the light, only you can do it right
Take us out of our life tonight, sing baby sing

Music, I’ll wave your worries by with my
Music, I’ll tell your troubles fly
You know you will be tied by love and kidnapped by
Music, your minds are mine tonight

And I know you’ll be alright
And I know that you will see the light
And I know you need me, you won’t leave me
You’re mine, you’re mine tonight

Your minds are mine
Your minds are mine
Your minds are mine tonight

Four Truths

You want to be sure.  You want to know why.
You want forever.  You want forgiveness. 
You want to be sure.  You want to know why.
You want forever.  You want forgiveness. 

You need to be told that you can be sure.
You need to be told that there is a reason.
You need to be told your soul is immortal.
You need to be told that God will forgive you.

But nothing is sure.  Nothing is sure. 
The world may not have any reasons to give you.
Everyone dies.  Everyone dies. 
Only the people you hurt can forgive you.

So don’t let him tell you his teachings are sure.
Don’t let him tell you his book holds the reason.
Don’t let him tell you he’ll rescue your soul.
Don’t let him tell you his god will forgive you.

Nothing is sure.  Nothing is sure. 
The world may not have any reasons to give you.
Everyone dies.  Everyone dies. 
Only the people you hurt can forgive you.

Only the people you hurt.

Yes Why Not

Would you like a television?  Yes why not
Would you like wide screen?  That’s the way to buy me
HD, 3D?  Yes why not
I’ve not got a lot, just the things I’ve got

Would you like a cell phone?  Yes why not
Would you like an iPhone?  That’s the way to buy me
3G, 4G?  Yes why not
I’ve not got a lot, just the things I’ve got

I don’t really want one, but what am I going to do?
All my friends have got one, so I’ve got to have one too

Would you like music?  Yes why not
Would you like Hi-Fi?  That’s the way to buy me
Digital surround sound?  Yes why not
I’ve not got a lot; just the things I’ve got

Would you like a motor car?  Yes why not
Top-down driving?  That’s the way to buy me
Yes why not
I’ve not got a lot, just the things I’ve got

I should reduce my credit, but really that’s too hard
I’ll just pay my Visa bill with my Mastercard

Would you like a holiday?  Yes why not
Would you like a time-share?  That’s the way to buy me
Yes why not
I’ve not got a lot, just the things I’ve got

I know where this is headed, it doesn’t take much nous
You told me in the small print that I could lose my house

Would you like a bunk-bed?  Yes why not
A shoulder to cry on?  That’s the way to buy me
God’s salvation?  Glory Hallelujah!
I’ve not got a lot, just the things I’ve got

Yes why not
That’s the way to buy me
Yes why not
I’ve not got a lot, just the things I’ve got

Other songs

Till I'm Gone

I say I’ll never leave, don’t bet me
I say things I don’t believe, don’t let me
I sing that same old song
But you know it won’t be long
Don’t forget me till I’m gone

You say you made mistakes, don’t regret me
You say just what it takes to upset me
You sing that same old song
But you know it won’t be long
Don’t forget me till I’m gone

When did you start needing to be "free"?
What became of all the "selfless love" that you promised me?
It’s not easy to be wrong

I pay no heed to how you treat me
I know you’re what I need to complete me
I will not be alone
I’m not a number on your phone
Don’t delete me till I’m gone

No you won’t send me a mail, text or tweet me
You say you like your ale, come and meet me
You need not be alone
I’m not a number on your phone
Don’t delete me till I’m gone

What became of "love that never ends"?
When did I become just one more "like" from your Facebook friends?
It's not easy to be wrong
Don’t delete me till I’m gone
You know it won’t be long
So don’t forget me till I’m gone