Get all 7 Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman releases available on Bandcamp and save 40%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Collection, Almost A Sunset, On Reflection, Hidden People, Personae, Tomorrow Will Follow Today, and 2.
1. |
Eavesdropper
03:49
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It was meant to be a bloodless coup
Until the streets turned red
Do as we say not as we do
We’re in charge of you they said
We hear whispers, we see all
From our vantage point high on the wall
We know secrets, we smell lies
As the plots and deceit start to rise
Like heat to the eaves
Spoken by liars and thieves
Conmen who do as they please
Some have money and wish for more
They won’t lend a penny to the poor
They pass by with nothing but a frown
That’s the way the working person
Has been cast down on their knees
Punished by liars and thieves
Conmen who do as they please
What will become of this land if things go on this way
There’s many a thousand workers grow poorer by the day
They lie and twist, they trick and cheat
They insist that you march to their beat
Jump to attention, every time they talk
And don’t ever question the direction
You walk in your sleep
Herded by liars and thieves
Conmen who do as they please
There is no whisper so quiet it can’t be heard
No opinion too brutal or absurd
Nothing changes we’ve seen it all before
Eavesdropping on history from the chamber floor
Spoken by liars and thieves
Conmen who do as they please.
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2. |
Pew Tor
04:50
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When we finally ceased our talking
We listened to the silence that is not true
It’s the silence of the water and earth
And in that moment I felt your worth
It’s the silence of birds and the breath of the air
And in that moment I felt you there
It was louder than our words ever were
So we listened
I often wonder where you ended up
If you settled on my skin
If you ever became part of me
And if I breathed you in
If you retained knowledge of who you once were
If you know me as your kin
Swirling in your own galaxy
Drifting on the wind
Life is but vapour and bodies just clay
The pleasures of youth are like blossoms in May
Let me live well though I live for one day
Oh how I wish, but wishing’s in vain
If I could fix my flaws with gold
Like a broken Japanese bowl
I’d have all my battle scars on show
For all the world to see and know
And I’d show them to everyone who asked
And wear them with pride like a map of my past
Beauty can still be seen through the cracks
If we’re looking
Life is but vapour and bodies just clay
The pleasures of youth are like blossoms in May
Let me live well though I live for one day
Oh how I wish, but wishing’s in vain
When we finally ceased our talking
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3. |
Ropedancer
04:13
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I feel most alive when I am holding my breath
Skipping the high wire, gambling and dicing with death
Up where the air is cold and clear
In the calm on the far side of fear
I am free as the clouds
I’m like a child, a child who dreams of flying
Leaving behind all adult concerns on the ground
Up over precipice and waterfall
The watching people below are so small
I am free as the clouds
Be a part of me, mind, body and soul
Side to side, high above it all
So, sway with me lest we might fall
Fall over the edge, one foot in front of the other
Taking my time 200 feet in the air
Looking up, every eye is fixed on me
I’m as brave as a showman can be
I’m as free as the clouds
Be a part of me, mind, body and soul
Side to side high above it all
Arms wide, resisting gravity
So sway with me lest we might fall
I am like a poet ,I was born not made
I can balance on stilts and carry a man without aid
So sway with me lest we might fall
Sway with me
I’m a Ropedancer, funambulist extraordinaire
A crowd of 25,000 are gathered down there
Bets are taken but no one likes the risk
Should I tumble into the abyss
I’ll be free as the clouds
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4. |
Fear Not The Mountain
04:50
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Fear not the mountain that rises before you
Fear not the path that is dark and overgrown
Fear not the sunset that brings the day to ending
For it will guide you home
Don’t be afraid of the path that awaits
Or for the ones you leave behind
Don’t be afraid as you take the steps to freedom
And you walk that road in your own time
There’ll be no fear as the sun ascends the heavens
Or the night begins her reign
There’ll be no fear as the seasons keep on turning
You’ll be safe and feel no pain
You will return to the youth of creation
Sail the seas that never end
You will find rest at close of the journey
You’ll find peace in the arms of friends
I will find you in the roots and the branches
And the rhythm of my heart
You will be waiting to greet me when it’s my turn
And hold me close in loving arms
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5. |
Call My Name
03:12
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When life is hard and you feel low
Try and recall all the good times we had
When it seems there’s nowhere else to go
Call my name
When the good idea is out of reach
Try and recall all the good times we had
When you’ve lost the last of your self belief
Call my name
I will hold you and love you
And lift you as high as can be
I will hear you and see you
You can always rely on me
When the words you choose are always wrong
Try and recall all the good times we had
When the moment is right but you can’t sing the song
Call my name
When the worst is over and everything’s fine
When you’re on the rise after the fall
When it’s merely a memory you’ll look back on this time
As some of the best days of all
When it’s hard to face another day
Try and recall all the good times we had
For things won’t always be this way
Call my name
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6. |
Fall Of The Lion Queen
02:30
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Do you come here often?
Have I seen you before?
You sound familiar when I hear you roar
I wonder do you know what you’re here for
It’s another day at the circus
Make yourself at home in the lions den
Where we plan her downfall once again
Come our revolution, not if, but when
On our last day at the circus
With whips and chains they make us leap
Through flames and hoops
An intrinsic part, we’re the beating heart
Of this travelling troupe
You take the left, I’ll take the right
When she prods you with her stick keep her occupied
I’ll make my move when she can’t hide
On her last day at the circus
She’ll place her head inside your jaws
I’ll creep behind on silent paws
We’ll perform a ‘Coup de Cat’ for applause
On our last day at the circus
Standing in the cage is all the rage for feline tricks
We’ll take our stand before it’s banned but we’ll make it quick
And if we can we’ll kill the man who runs this place
We’ll show no fear then disappear without a trace
Then we’ll go home, back to the plains
We’ll never see this damned cage again
We’ll escape the ownership of men
And we won’t come back to the circus
She’ll soon regret the epithet of Lion Queen
We’ll be the most notorious cats there have ever been
Do you come here often?
Have I seen you before?
You sound familiar when I hear you roar
I wonder do you know what you’re here for
It’s another day, another day,
It’s just another day at the circus
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7. |
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The king has wed a cruel lady from a distant land
His two daughters they stood in awe
Then bravely sat and sang
Then in came their step-mother, stately stepping in saying
As I live and breathe my girls, I'll make you change your tune
They said, we’ll never sing your song, lady
We won’t change it for you
Tell us did you bear those sons
We see here tall and true
Yes I bore those lads you see
To whom you’d give your love
Turn your eyes from him my girls
For you’re not good enough
They said, we will cut our golden hair
A bit above the ear
And we’ll go to the Greenwood fair
So far away from here
We will lift our fine clothes
A bit above the knee
And we’ll go to the greenwood
Bold Robin to see
And we will change our own two names
When we leave this town
The one we will call Nicholas
The other Roger Brown
Well they hadn’t been in Greenwood
For a time so long
Till it fell once upon a day
That Roger sang a song
When we were in our father's hall
We sewed the silken seam
But now we walk the Greenwood
And bear another name
When we were in our father's hall
We wore the beaten gold
But now we wear the sword so sharp
And fear we'll die from cold
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8. |
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The girls arrived in Greenwood
And there they sang a song
Woe be to our stepmother
We fear she did us wrong
Now we wear poor dresses
No more cloth of gold
Will you not take pity
And save us from the cold
Then appeared bold Robin
As he to them drew near
Instead of boys to shoot the bow
Ladies we have here
Once we were two flowers
The finest you did see
Now we’re Nicholas and Roger
Beneath the Greenwood trees
They hadn’t been in Greenwood for
Twelve month and a day
Till Roger Brown was big with child
As any maid could be
Woe to our stepmother
That made us leave home
For now I carry Robins child
And nearly nine months gone
O’ who will be my midwife
There’s no help for me here
Who will be my midwife
When my time is near
Then up spoke bold Robin
Beneath the old oak tree
Hold your tears fair Roger
For married you shall be
Rose was wed to Robin bold
Her sister married to John
In spite of their stepmother
Who made them leave home
The King has heard the story
Of his missing daughters fate
And how his cruel lady
Went and sent them away
The King sent many fine gifts
Of emerald and gold
And Rose and Lily live now
In the care of Robin bold
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9. |
Night Visiting
03:38
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The time has come I must be going
The roaring tempest I have to cross
All over the mountains I’ve rode with pleasure
This very night I’ll be with my love
I came unto my true love’s window
I knelt down gently upon a stone
‘Twas through a pane that I whispered softly
Saying “My dear girl, are you alone?”
She rose her head from her soft down pillow
Snowy was her milk white breast
Saying “Who is there outside my window
That has deprived me of my nights rest”
“It’s your true love do not discover
I pray love rise and let me in
I am fatigued after my long journey
Besides I’m wet unto the skin”
My love she rose with the greatest pleasure
Opened the door to let me in
We kissed, shook hands and embraced each other
Till that long night was at an end
When that long night was done and over
The cocks they did begin to crow
We kissed, shook hands and embraced each other
I took my leave and away did go
My love has skin as the snow in winter
Her cheeks are red as the rose in June
Her sparkling eye like the blazing star
On a winters night, and it freezes soon
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10. |
Bound To Stone
04:04
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For 30 years I’ve worked for her, I crafted every room
Every time I reach the end she gives me more to do
A labyrinth of hidden rooms and doors that lead to nowhere
Stairways up and stairways down and only Sarah goes there
Now the walls are closing in, she’d leave here if she could
The memories of yesterday are carved here in wood
A vessel to be filled with other peoples stories
In a world of glowing colour she is paler than a glacier
She is bound, bound to stone
Bound to spend forever on her own
She is bound , bound to stone
Annie died at six months old and William followed on
Empty corridors and halls remind of those who’re gone
Others visit her each night, torn by bullets, trapped in place
Relics of another time, reflecting her disgrace
They are bound, bound to stone
Bound to spend forever on her own
She is bound, bound to stone
Sarah says she can’t explain but begs to be forgiven
Compelled to give a home to those no longer living
Sarah you must build your house, you can never rest
You are on the run from the ‘Gun that won the West’
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11. |
Year Without A Summer
04:07
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When it’s cold outside, tell a story to pass the time
When it’s dark outside, you tell yours and I’ll tell mine
The fields stand empty, frozen hard
The horses starve in the stable yard
And the bright sun was extinguished
We’re safe in here so tell me something to freeze my heart
Wrap me up in fear, hold me close as the story starts
The fire is low and the room is dim
The perfect time for you to begin
In the year without a summer
So close your eyes, do you still see light as the fire dies?
The time will come when we feel the heat from the hidden sun
What makes a man? Is it more than flesh and blood and bone
What makes a man? What desire drives him home?
The certain knowledge we all belong, to choose the path between right and wrong
In the year without a summer
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Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman Tavistock, UK
Two of the British Folk music’s most accomplished and admired performers.
Kathryn and Sean have played the world
over in a number of guises however, the intimacy and strength of passion shown as a duo, combined with an eclectic repertoire ensures a rare treat for any listener.
For over a quarter of a century now Kathryn and Sean have established themselves as pillars of modern British Folk.
... more
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