1. |
Garnet Strand
05:24
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Garnet Strand
Came upon him head in hand
More like refuse than he was man
But dusted off the soot and sand
Revealed the gem, the garnet strand
Semi-precious
Ruby to me…
Out of the mine, the sun on skin
Escape the discord, drone and din
Polish hard, brilliant from bland
He'll shine again like a garnet strand
Semi-precious
Ruby to me…
Kept in the dark
Dampened the spark
Just a passing remark
That would never see the light of day
But can't be repressed
Buffed by distress
A defiant progress
Even though she hoped that he'd obey
Thought she owned him, soul and all
Hers to reject and then recall
But unlike jewels modest or grand
He'll not be pawned like a garnet strand
Semi-precious
Ruby to me…
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2. |
Lament
04:42
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Lament
Tell me what’s on your mind
And I’ll leave it all behind
Because the worries can wait, I’ll let them gestate
‘Til they dissolve into a dew, into a dew
Ophelia – open up your heart
Ophelia – before they tear it apart
Tell me the secrets you keep
The ones that make you weep
In the night while you sleep, as the sandman creeps
Into the pool where you lie, pool where you lie
Ophelia – open up your heart
Ophelia – before you tear it apart
The smile upon your face is so full of grace
And I ache to believe but cannot conceive
That you’re not drowning in their wake
Ophelia – open up your heart
Ophelia – before I tear it apart
How is it your destiny to repeat my history?
Is it too late to ebb that tide, get off that ride
And just find your pride inside?
Tell me it’s in my mind
And that I’ll find, that I’ll find
That your words are true and you’ll save me too
From all my sad and foolish ways, my foolish ways
Don’t betray the strength you display
Ophelia, Ophelia,
Om
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3. |
Games We Play
03:45
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Games We Play
Can I blow you out like a candles flame?
Can the love we have not return again?
Can I bring you back if you stray too far away?
Can you read my mind can you read my eyes?
If I look away will it reveal the lies?
Can you banish me and refuse to head my cries?
And can we stop this game we play?
You go, I stay
You shun, I pray
But after today who’ll play?
Would you turn around would you take my bait?
Would you slow right down would you satiate?
Would you open wide and receive our tortured fate?
And can we stop this game we play…
These are thoughts I come to when you tend to roam
I cast my net out widely and call you back home
I prostrate at your feet then I beat my own retreat
When I sense defeat
Should I pack my bags and escape the pain?
Should I walk right out and my pride maintain?
Should I call your bluff having never called your name?
And can we stop this game we play…
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4. |
Gone
04:03
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Gone
She stepped out in the street as she took off her veil
No longer felt the need to save a faith so frail
And as the crowds appeared she faded out of view
Abandoning her life for hopes of something new
She was gone
Born to a world that had her fear the other kind
Told she’s the chosen one but never taught to shine
She came from a stiff-necked crowd, always awkward squads
But she alone desired the strength to face down God
And be gone
If they preach about the coming of the light
With torches lit and a heart stone-cold from fright
I’ll take darkness over the day
I’ll take darkness over the day
And be gone and be gone
She caught a glimpse one day of liberty sublime
And knew her great escape could happen anytime
The only thing to do was to ignite a pyre
And burn in effigy with a cleansing fire
And be gone
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5. |
Hit The Bottom Quicker
04:26
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Hit The Bottom Quicker
And when the spirit breaks you feel the pull
Admit there's no escape from limp and lull
Gravity magnified by crushed drive
As feelings dissipate and darkness thrives
You hit the low
The bottom down
It's quicker than
The speed of pound
The pound and shock
And then remorse
You climb aboard
That hobbled… horse
Can't hold on - but why do you even try to decimate the sky
Strength long gone - the fall will purify the truth you try to hide
Can't hold on - but why do you even try to decimate the sky
Strength long gone
You hit the bottom quicker
You'll split the lip that bit ya
And all your vain pretence
Will reel from no defence
You hit the bottom quicker
You split the lip that quit ya
And all your strained pretence
Will keel from weight immense
You hit the low
The bottom down
It's quicker than
The speed of pound
The pound and shock
And then remorse
You climb aboard
That hobbled… horse
Can't hold on…
You hit the bottom quicker
You split the lip that bit ya
You hit the bottom quicker
Ooh Ooh..
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6. |
Jerusalem Fields
04:15
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Jerusalem Fields
She sat in bed next to someone else
The floorboards between us, continental shelf
Present but gone on this strange new shield
She left me to wander through
Jerusalem fields
Their laughter falls to silent silhouettes
The novelty enthrals, ‘til absence is felt
Present but gone on this strange new shield
She left me to wander through
Jerusalem fields
Lush but lonely, far but only moments away
Guest but voyeurist of her familial play
Lush but lonely, far but only moments away
Guest but voyeurist of her familial play
The golden domes sway on slender stems
Extend like ancient walls between me and them
Present but gone on this Abrahamic shield
But she led me to the temple doors
Of Jerusalem fields
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7. |
Panic Life
04:07
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Panic Life
Playing out the day that hasn't come yet
Before it’s had a chance I'm full of regret
It's an anticipated affair
It's a panic life lived on a dare
Set the clocks running but I'll beat that race
Close the gap and cut the space
It's an anticipated affair
It's a panic life lived on a dare
Stoke the fire, burn the ire
Keep the tindered blast
Pioneering, so revealing
Of a pace long past
Imagining the curse, see the scenic lot
Cinematic angst fuels the fated plot
It's an anticipated affair
It's a panic life lived on a dare
See the train coming before its turns the bend
Binded wrists too taut to the end
It's an anticipated affair
It's a panic life lived on a dare
Stoke the fire...
Ooh ooh
Settle right down
It’s a panic life lived on a dare
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8. |
Ominous Change
04:11
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Ominous Change
Dreary day, clouds come across the lake
Must be the nimbostratus kind
With its dark and ragged rainy edge
Storm coming up close behind
Here it comes
Ominous change
Feel the shift at the shoreline
Two fronts are going to collide
Air thickens, then it turns real still
As it penetrates deep inside
Here it comes
Ominous change
Undulating cumulonimbus, beware the super cell
Forces far too tumultuous to ever think you know them well
So give it up
Electrical charges build up underground
‘Till it can’t wait no more
The difference too large to be endured
Lightning unleashed from the storm’s core
Here it comes
Ominous change
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9. |
Secret Poison
03:58
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Secret Poison
You are my secret poison
Dangerous and divine
Fill me up with salvation
That tastes of bitter wine
You are my consolation
Soothe my broken heart
When it seeks reparation
And craves a brand new start
My thoughts obsess
Can’t look away from you
As I descend into your deep blues
I open wide and I swallow hard
This toxic tonic that I crave
Consumed by thirst and with disregard
I gladly jump into this grave
My thoughts obsess…
I am awakened
From my languished state
With this devil’s elixir I take
You have returned for to try again
To turn my lead to gold, of that I’m wary
Are you my alchemist with potent vials
My very own apothecary?
‘Cause you are my secret poison
Dangerous and divine
Fill me up with salvation
That tastes of bitter wine
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10. |
Dream Ditty
03:48
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Dream Ditty
Where do you dream little one?
Tucked up, cuddled up under eiderdown in trundle beds?
In sailing ships that steal into bedrooms in the night
And launch a journey of a thousand miles?
In nests, high in tree tops
In tree houses and forts
Built where eagles fly?
In meadows of dandelions puffing out to seed
After one glorious life of solar saffron!
Do you remember your dreams little one?
Do you remember?
Nightscapes crowded with adventure and beauty
And your very own nasty beasties
Filaments, scenes and images
Nonsensical and real
They are the shapes and the dances
Of the next round of life
Dreams are the secret drawers of hope
In the ark of life
Open that drawer and out spills
Gardens and rose trees
Cascading like waterfalls
Sunlight dancing in petals
Infinite spinning, infinite weaving
You becoming, earth becoming
Life becoming, life becoming new again
On the looms of dreams, On the looms of dreams…
Dare to dream little one, dare to dream
That is the work of the real hero.
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11. |
We Had Our Time
03:23
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We Had our Time
Disconnected as expected
Why would you be different?
Miles and styles and after a whiles
All result in discontent
We had our time my love
Now I must be going
And growing and knowing
That this too must end
The die was cast, it couldn’t last
Not without some sacrament
But we spilled the wine, questioned the divine
And now all that’s left is to repent
We had our time my love…
I felt his hand slip away form mine
Wasn’t a sign
Only time to go
We can’t look back at what we lacked
Or at how our story might have been
Regret is stark, shades grey to dark
And the only light burns within
I said the only light burns within
I said the only light burns
We had our time my love…
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12. |
Blood Of The Lamb
06:12
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Blood Of The Lamb
Born to die, oh aren't we all?
But she was more than most
A baby's yell as the towers fell
That caught the holy ghost
He turned his eye and with a sign
Proclaimed that she was marked
He'd see her soon when earth's full moon
Returned in shades too dark
Blood of the lamb still on our hands
Wipe it clean ‘til those who can't stand
Will fall
Raised on glocks and cattle stocks
That ushered in her knot
To eat and pray and love the way
That ‘righteous folks’ were taught
But how could she untangle free, from what was yet to come?
An angry man, an angry plan
And pure delirium
Blood of the lamb…
Close your eyes and hear the cries
That echo in sunlight
A giggle, grin, then from within
A gasp that brought on night
She's almost ten and without sin
But that would not prevail
‘Cause the ghost returned, could not be spurned
And claimed the marked and frail
Blood of the lamb…
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13. |
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Sunday Morning New York City
A little slower slide on the low west side
Take a Chelsea ride on the High Line steel
You can go for miles penetrate the styles
That flow between the subway tiles and dreams
Glide through that groove, that vibe
The island time and feel
Sunday morning, New York City
Orchards blooming sweet, off Delancey street
Cherry blossoms cheat the fading sun
Iron clad the walls of tenements and halls
‘Cause no one there will heed the fall of time
Sweep the grit doors open wide
To let in its perfume
Sunday morning, New York City
The Lake stills as space expands to fill its history
Central Park will tame the pulse
of Manhattan’s majesty
The boulders black, the vibrant green
Softening the manic stream
Fingertips reveal the curious concealed
The unobserved that yields a certain charm
Hands will hold and guide and soothe the ripping tide
That overflows along canals and piers
Wander through that moving feast
The urban wondrous zeal
Sunday morning, New York City
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Jen Schaffer and The Shiners Toronto, Ontario
Jen Schaffer is a Montreal-born, former Ohio and long-time Toronto resident singer-songwriter. Jen has honed her own brand of original soulful acoustic roots music with the help of her dedicated band and collaborators, The Shiners, including Simon Law (a.k.a. The Funky Ginger), John Teshima, Dot Hwang, Hideki Kumagai and occasional Shiner Emmanuel Szeptycki. ... more
Contact Jen Schaffer and The Shiners
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