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Tales Of The Oceans

by Roy Smiles

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1.
Brighton Streets 04:57
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The Brighton Streets I wandered lonely as a skunk Sometimes demented sometimes drunk Like a frightened fox at the height of the hunt Running from a girl called N, running from a girl called N. I loved & loathed & loved her more She played the saint, I played the bore Every bloody day a bloody war Running from a girl called N, running from a girl called N. Chorus Some days we swam, some days we drowned While Brighton streets never made a sound Some days we died, some days we lived Until we had nothing left to give Some days we drowned, some days we swam Those Brighton streets never gave a damn Some days we lived, some days we died Only God knows how we survived. I wandered lonely as a sea Searching for a sail that would set me free From the vicious ship destroying me Running from a girl called N, running from a girl called N. (Instrumental) Chorus Like Icarus I had to fall & fall She laughed in scorn then slept with Paul Her heart as cold as any Hadrian’s Wall Running from a girl called N, yes, running from a girl called N. I wondered lonely as a clown A drunken oaf for Brighton Town But though she tried she never tore me down Running from a girl called N, running from a girl called N, Chorus
2.
Flora The Flower Girl 02:21
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Flora The Flower Girl When she walks she walks so fine It’s Flora the flower girl Come one day I’ll make her mine It’s Flora the flower girl, it’s Flora the flower girl. I’ll always know her but never own her It’s Flora the flower girl Not her other but would love to love her It’s Flora the flower girl, it’s Flora the flower girl. Chorus She sells flowers without any thrills: Roses, posies & dafodils She sells flowers for all our lives: Lovers, mothers, ‘players’, wives. She’s the queen of Lordship Lane It’s the Flora the flower girl Since I’ve seen her I’m just not the same It’s Flora the flower girl, it’s Flora the flower girl. She’s from Norwich but lives in Dulwich Its Flora the flower girl Middle class but seldom rich It’s Flora the flower girl, it’s Flora the flower girl. Chorus (Instrumental) Chorus When she smiles she lights the sky It’s Flora the flower girl Her every laugh is like a sigh It’s Flora the flower girl, It’s Flora the flower girl I love Flora the flower girl.
3.
Kurt Cobain (Last Train To Seattle) 03:35
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Kurt Cobain I’m riding on a slow train to Seattle I’ll never see these broken streets again Its eighty-two miles into Seattle I’m running from these streets of hate & pain. Been dreaming all my life of Seattle I’m going to chase my hopes & plans & dreams There’s a thousand gigs & girls in Seattle And the whole world is going to hear my scream. Chorus Aberdeen I hate every inch of you You tried to crush my dreams but I came through Aberdeen you’re the only hell I ever knew I hope one day I can destroy all of you. I’m riding on a grey train to Seattle I’m going to play my guitar until I bleed There’s a thousand different bars in Seattle I’m going to play them all ‘til I succeed. There’s rock & punk & music in Seattle There’s all the places, faces I could need There’s record label people in Seattle This band will make them all believe. Chorus (Instrumental) I’m told I’ll never make it in Seattle I’ll fail & end up back in my home town But if I don’t make it in Seattle I’ll find a river & willingly drown. Chorus I’m riding on the last train to Seattle Going to prove I’m no loser after all I’ll find a god or happiness in Seattle After all I’ve nowhere left to fall. Tell all the world & go tell all Seattle I’m going to set a fire & fan those flames I’ll find love & a living in Seattle Everyone in this world will know my name Everyone in this world will know my name Everyone in this world will know my name.
4.
Roy The Poet (And Me) 02:42
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Roy The Poet (& Me) Off our heads on dope cake Roy The Poet & me Riding the streets of Amsterdam In a quest to be free. I was the one who cycled Roy The Poet & me We conquered all Amsterdam And saw what we might be. Van Gogh & Anne Frank Roy The Poet & me We saw them in every shadow In between canals & trees. Chorus We lived through nights of heaven: we heard all midnight’s bells Reason was a stranger but we knew it wished us well We lived through nights of heaven: though all the angels fell No need to tell the Spartans but please go tell Jacques Brel. Two dazed but happy Englishmen Roy The Poet & me Lost in dark Dutch backstreets Drunk sailors without a sea. Foggy was our confusion Roy The Poet & me We’d never eaten dope cake Or know how it would be. Chorus (Instrumental) Chorus Off our heads on dope cake Roy The Poet & me We left those streets of Amsterdam And found that we were free And found that we were free And found that we were free. Chorus
5.
Winter Is The Season 04:32
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Winter Is The Season Grey is the colour of my city, grey are it's crowded highways Grey is a country without pity, grey is a sun that’s lost its rays Winter is the season of my days. Pale are the people on the subways, Pale is the rain that tears me down Pale are the pavements & the pathways, Pale the river that haunts this town Winter is the season of my days; winter is the season of my days. Drab are the trains that take me somewhere, drab are the trains that bring me home Drab are the hopes that left me nowhere, drab the lonely room I live alone Winter is the season of my days. Chorus Once there was a colour in my world; once I had the love of a girl Let that love remind me I’m still alive for in London without love: you can’t survive Once there was a colour in my world; once I had the love of a girl Let that love remind me I’m still alive for in London without love: you can’t survive. Dour are the sad & silent churches, dour is the palace on the Mall Dour the Tower where a raven perches, dour the ancient buildings & the halls Winter is the season of my days. Bleak is a nation unforgiving, bleak the Sunday bells that mournful toll Bleak are the families hardly living, bleak a Parliament without a soul Winter is the season of my days; winter is the season of my days. Chorus (Instrumental) Shabby is a man with no tomorrows, shabby a broken heart without a dream Shabby is a city without sorrow, shabby is a life without a theme Winter is the season of my days; Winter is the season of my days Winter is the season of my days.
6.
Latch Key Kid 03:13
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Latch Key Kid A father lost to silence, a mother lost to life A house almost violent, anger its wife Peeling the potatoes, fetching the coal I was just a latch key kid, searching for his soul. A brother lost to grieving, a mother lost to kin A father self-deceiving, sons who couldn’t win Peeling the potatoes, fetching the coal I was just a latch key kid; searching for his soul. Chorus Wearing my brother’s hand me downs: a ragamuffin child Threadbare & broken, hated, reviled Wearing my brother’s hand me downs: a ragamuffin boy With a heart unspoken - no bully could destroy. A son lost to darkness, a mother lost to light A house in shadow even when the sun was bright Peeling the potatoes, fetching the coal I was just a latch key kid, searching for his soul. One son lost to dreaming, another lost to pain Words said with no meaning, tears spilt like rain Peeling the potatoes, fetching the coal I was just a latch key kid, searching for his soul. Chorus (Instrumental) A daughter lost to leaving, a brother lost to cries Nobody grieving when a mother dies Peeling the potatoes, fetching the coal I was just a latch key kid, searching for my soul I was just a latch key kid, searching for my soul I was just a latch key kid searching for my soul.
7.
Plymouth Morning 02:33
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Plymouth Morning Unleashing the sails on a cold Plymouth morning Leaving Spaniards in our wake In search of gold & King Phillip’s plunder Under Sir Francis Drake, Under Sir Francis Drake. The New World was waiting, the Spaniards were hating Stealing all we could take: All of the Inca & Aztec treasures Under Sir Francis Drake, Under Sir Francis Drake. Looting the silver from Panana City Keeping King Phillip awake Circling the world in search of more plunder Under Sir Francis Drake, under Sir Francis Drake. Chorus On The Golden Hind with the sea gulls crying The wind & the salt in our hair We sail for our Captain & fortune & glory Living on a wing & a prayer. Crossing the oceans in one single motion All of the Atlantic our lake Galleons of gold just waiting to pillage Under Sir Francis Drake, Under with Sir Francis Drake. Showing no fear: the queen’s privateer Stealing for stealing’s sake The Golden Hind - the curse of the New World Under Sir Francis Drake, Under Sir Francis Drake. Chorus King Phillip might damn us but he’ll never catch us Making our enemies quake The greed for gold our own El Dorado Under Sir Francis Drake, Under Sir Francis Drake. (Instrumental) Chorus Let the winds blow & let cannon fire We’ll bring every Spaniard heartache The ocean our England, our watery kingdom Under Sir Francis Drake, Under Sir Francis Drake Under Sir Francis Drake.
8.
A Geordie Farewell 03:25
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A Geordie Farewell A faraway land is calling, I must sail away In search of a new life & to find better days There's a ship bound for New York & American skies So farewell to the Tyne with a Geordie goodbye. The leaving of England will grieve me no more For what is this country but lords & landlords? A land fit for heroes? That was a bitter lie So farewell to the Tyne with a Geordie goodbye. So adieu to our Steven, to Ralphy & Jean And streets so foresaken they verge on obscene Goodbye to the dole queues where the hungry cry And farewell to the Tyne with a Geordie goodbye. Chorus Sail away, sail away, sail away, sail away Under a sky black with mourning Sail away, sail away, sail away, sail away In search of a New York morning. Goodbye to the old folks, the dossers & dole And rain sodden coalfields where the poor dig for coal Black, sour factories where men work then die And farewell to the Tyne with a Geordie goodbye. Farewell to a country that keeps it’s people down Who ask us to kneel to a king’s golden crown Goodbye to the bosses who bleed workers dry And farewell to the Tyne with a Geordie goodbye. Chorus (Instrumental) Chorus Godspeed to the children who play dirty streets And every Geordie boy I was ever proud to meet Goodbye to the women with love in their eyes And farewell to the Tyne with a Geordie goodbye And farewll to the Tyne with a Geordie goodbye And farewell to the Tyne with a Geordie goodbye.
9.
Eden Don't Go 03:32
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Eden Don’t Go I walk dark streets with the rain lashing A lighting flash, the thunder crashing Every raindrop hits me & hits me like a blow It’s just the wine that stops me crying If there’s a moon the sky is lying I’d tell you that I love you but you’d just say: ‘I know.’ The streets are mean around King’s Cross I stand alone & almost lost If lightning could find me I would let it know Love is like a long goodbye Half of you just wants to die But I will keep on living ‘cause I’m a stubborn so & so. Chorus Eden don’t go, Eden don’t go; you know I need you so, Eden don’t go Eden don’t go, Eden don’t go; You know I want you so, Eden don’t go. You told me I should keep believing But here you are: the one that’s leaving I guessed I reaped all that you could sow So I stand in the pouring rain Staring at your departing train Was you love for me ever real or just a passing show? I walk around in a wine soaked haze And think of all our glory days My thoughts almost as black as any ragged crow I thought our love would be sublime But I guess our dreams ran out of time Now my heart’s as frozen as any fallen snow. Chorus (Instrumental) Chorus You say you needed to find your way And you could only do it by going away You were my heart & home now I’ve no place to go There were so many words left unspoken When all we built was left for broken Now I walk in darkness save for a lamplight’s glow. Chorus Eden don’t go, Eden don’t go.
10.
The Ocean 03:00
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The Ocean My life is like the ocean: it ebbs as it must flow As I’ve lived in true devotion for love some never know Wrecking ships like lovers, its rocks always disguised Its heart never showing: lost to god’s own eyes. My life is like an ocean: crazy, sometimes sane Swilled with such emotion its rage mad as the rain Wandering where it pleases, the moon its only friend Only knowing of its beginning, never knowing how it ends. Will you find me so completely? Will you heal my broken heart? Will you kiss me oh so sweetly & swear we’ll never part? Will you find me & complete me? Will you steal my willing heart? Will you love me oh so deeply & swear we’ll never part? My life is like the ocean: as deep as one can be Restless, in constant motion; forever reckless, forever free With its storms & tempests, its winds & its squalls Its tides that may defeat you, its sirens when they call. My life is like an ocean: but no lighthouse guides me home And like any other ocean it’s often cursed to roam Searching in my sorrow, as lonely as the sky Lost to my woman while still haunted by her lies. (Instrumental) Will you find me so completely? Will you heal my broken heart? Will you kiss me oh so sweetly & swear we’ll never part? Will you find me & complete me? Will you steal my willing heart? Will you love me oh so deeply & swear we’ll never part? My life is like an ocean: it finds every lonely shore And looks for love as seasons welcome rain & more Its kingdom’s known much sorrow, it’s known too many years As it’s seen too few rainbows & known too many tears And known too many tears & known too many tears.
11.
A Man & His Son 04:17
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A Man & His Son When a man loves his son any price he will pay So his child can make it through another day He will stand against the wind, he will rail against the rain He will end any bloody tyrant’s reign. When a man loves his son he will threaten the blazing sun He will make the devil’s army turn & run He will kill all the stars, tear down a vicious moon And send all the planets to their doom. Chorus And I know this man, yes, I have seen this man I see him in my mirror everyday Yes, I know this man, I have seen this man He stares from my mirror everyday. When a man loves his son every soldier must know: He will fight them ‘til he’s bleeding, take every blow He will fight like Hannibal, before Carthage fell He will send fallen angels straight to hell. When a man loves his son he will make empires quake Slay any fake Goliath for his son’s sake He will murder any man if & when he stands If that man on his son lays his hand. Chorus (Instrumental) Chorus When a man loves his son he will conquer Rome He will destroy any demons if they come home Every bully will fall if they ever come to call He will slaughter cities with a wrecking ball. When a man loves his son it’s for all Kingdom Come His love for him will almost make him numb This son won’t walk alone, in no despair he’ll drown And no man will ever drag him down. Chorus He stares from my mirror every day, he stares from my mirror every day.
12.
A Wing & A Prayer 04:37
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A Wing & A Prayer Woke up lonely as I woke up lonely yesterday Me & my reflection facing another empty day Living in a place some might call ‘dismay’ I’d howl at the moon but I’ve got nothing to say. Woke up lonely as I woke up lonely yesterday Living in a city that’s hard & mean & grey Some call this living but there’s got to be another way And how can you dream when all your dreams have flown away? Chorus I’m living on a wing & a prayer: even though there’s nobody there I’m living on a wing & a prayer: even though no-one cares Yes, living on a wing & a prayer: laying my soul bare Looking for love but I don’t know where. Woke up cold in search of the warmth of the sun In these streets of distain where all my faith is done Living a life as harsh as any soldier’s gun There’s nothing to prove but nothing left to be done. Woke up lonely as I woke up lonely yesterday I’d go to church but I’ve forgotten how to pray My woman took my heart: now all love’s gone away I’m tired of living but Christ knows I have to stay. Chorus (Instrumental) Chorus Woke up lonely as I woke up lonely yesterday Me & my soul facing another dismal day Living on a street where no hope can play All my tomorrows? A million miles away.
13.
Cry For A Rainbow 03:36
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Cry For A Rainbow Up & down these city streets - looking for a rainbow Asked the people I would meet: ‘have you seen a rainbow?’ Strode through London, hope incomplete, hoping for a rainbow I rode a bus then took a seat: crying for a rainbow. Searched all over this old town - lonely as a scarecrow Asked a cop, then asked a clown, all I got was: ‘who knows?’ Quizzed some girls in pretty gowns, angels with dirty halos In grotty rain that thundered down: crying for a rainbow. Chorus Looked for a rainbow in the skies above Dreamed of it as I dreamed of love Looked for a rainbow in the skies above Longed for it as I longed for love. Went to bed & dreamt a dream - dreaming of a rainbow Searched pavements where the people streamed, never saw a rainbow Rode a train, commuters teemed, taut as any longbow Took a cab with a cabbie mean: mocking all my rainbows. Looked north & south, east & west - places that were ‘no-go’ Asked ex-lovers, gave them no rest, something they might know Asked friends: dopeheads & depressed, both high & both low Like Quixote I made my quest: crying for a rainbow. Chorus (Instrumental) Chorus Down & up this grey old land - shabby as any old crow To every soul I did demand: ‘have you seen a rainbow?’ All the years that I could stand, cold as the snow blows All of my life, blessed or damned, crying for a rainbow. Once I found that rainbow, yes, once I found that rainbow.
14.
Ballad Of Emily Young 03:15
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Ballad Of Emily Young Cancer is a winter: cold & cruel as hell And just when it is over you can never tell But you survived your winter with a grace divine Emily, you know your sun will shine Emily, you know your sun will shine. Cancer is a winter: vicious as any snow And just like any winter it hits you like a blow But you survived your winter with a grace divine Emily, you know your sun will shine Emily, you know your sun will shine. Cancer is a winter: December is its friend A never ending winter it never seems to end But you survived your winter with a grace divine Emily, you know your sun will shine Emily, you know your sun will shine. Chorus God bless the summer & God bless the sun God bless the NHS & all that it has done God bless the doctors who worked to set you free God bless August & God bless Emily. Cancer is a winter: it murders almost at will Bitter is its harvest, it smiles as it kills But you survived your winter with a grace divine Emily, you know your sun will shine Emily, you know your sun will shine. (Instrumental) Chorus Cancer is a winter: its storms will always call Vicious is its hailstone, harder it will fall But your survived your winter with a grace divine Emily, you know your sun will shine Emily, you know your sun will shine Emily, you know your sun will shine.

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10th album. Released 1st November 2023.

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released July 19, 2000

Produced by Simon Walker.

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Roy Smiles London, UK

Roy Smiles has recorded ten albums:
'Drunks & Dreamers' (2011), 'Time's Moving On' (2012),'Seize The Day' (2013), 'Autumn Song' (2014), 'Bremen' (2014), 'The Trains & The Rain' (2015), 'Northern Angels'.(2018), 'Lost Souls' (2020), 'November's Child' (2023) & 'Tales Of The Ocean' (2023).
All available on Bandcamp.
Contact: roy.smiles@aol.co.uk. ... more

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