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52 Songs

by Bernard Houston

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1.
Bernard Houston and Kylie Franzmann - Little Bird (Life is beautiful) 03:07
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Life is beautiful Verse 1 Small things make life sweet, When you sigh into my ear And send a shiver down my spine I feel complete Completely out of my control. Chorus ‘Cause life is beautiful today I wrote a thousand words to, Try and fill the void when you’re away. Verse 2 Frozen smiles in photographs, We put them in a box to, Keep against the day when we, Might need them once a again. ‘Cause life is sweet today. (The journey begins inside) Life is beautiful today. Bridge Can you fly little bird little bird? On your wings – yes Smile a little, little bird little bird. Verse 3 Felt the sun today, The world was orange through my eyelids, As I tried to retain, The memory of your touch Chorus Bridge x 3 (Channelling our thoughts is a chain reaction that Wakes our hopes from a dreaming atom. Dry and dusty physicists agree – energy is force that springs from action.)
2.
Revolution in our time 02:59
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Revolution in our time Big bad city burning, falling down, we’ll start a revolution Midnight pickett lines, counting down to a revolution Always Revolution in our time I thought that love was all, You needed to be happy and to build a castle of contentment to the sky And my pulse beat fast when you Reached and touched my arm across the table At a café rendevous Struck dumb and out of breath an unexpected jolt a revolution I endevoured to reply tongue was petrified a revolution Always Revolution in my mind Innocent we talked ‘till dawn came Knocking on tomorrow There are certain time interests sparks and life becomes all absorbing But though we try to pin our purity into a book a revolution Happens Revolution comes our way We promised love would be For ever and forever more Until eternity Though change is always certain We knew some things can still remain the same Despite the things that come our way Big bad city burning, falling down, we’ll start a revolution Midnight pickett lines, counting down to a revolution Always Revolution in our time Though things change Always Revolution in our time!
3.
Bernard Houston and Matthew Page - Life is Sweet 02:47
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4.
Bernard Houston and Alison St Ledger - Blue Skies 03:44
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Blue Skies Look up, nothing but blue skies stretched out Arms behind my head and though When I started on this journey I was raw And the hand that I was dealt seemed so unfair Now I’m content with these – these sweetest days Unknown territory lies ahead I retrace steps that led me To this place where nothings certain but now I’ve Achieved a certain state of grace I find I’m content with these – these sweetest Days they fly by time seems short and I try catch them like a child Chasing dandelion seeds on a summer day Blue skies a Reach out nothing but air in my way And though my life seems so short There are still some things that I intend to do And what once seemed so important is so small Now I’m content with these – these sweetest Days they sparkle with small moments Treasures kept inside my mind Precious photographs of these sweetest days Blue skies.
5.
Child in the World 02:38
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Child in the world Child in the world Don’t look back over your shoulder To find happiness No matter how well you plan or How you strategise One day a lighting bolt will Take you by surprise Child you yearn to grow But the things you want to Hold seem out of reach That’s OK cause one day You will find the means To make your dreams come real There’s no need to rush Vocalize Child your life will change And things will change around you Till one day you wake To a world where Everything is different And the things you planned Seem so far away Child of your own Dancing in pajamas Learning how to grow While dust motes drift Slowly in the sunlight The quiet seconds mark The years that you share Vocalise Child in the world Child you yearn to grow Child your life will change Child of your own
6.
Five Rings 03:00
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Five rings Five rings she offered for each of my fingers Their gold was pure in the sun Please do me this favour, she asked with eyes weeping And I’ll give you these rings as you own Don’t go to the loch, where the ripples break gently Don’t tarry, don’t linger be gone And for your good silence I’ll give you this treasure To feed your wife and your son Chorus Two sisters I met, by the road One standing and one was asleep Two sisters I met, but only one spoke As tears slid down from her cheek to her throat Five rings she held in her trembling hand, five rings she begged me to keep Five rings lay silent in the cup of her palm, as the sister who lay near her feet No action I ask of you, deed I request of you Service, no favour nothing All I am asking is that you keep walking away from my sister and me Chorus Five rings I took, one for each finger, five rings I keep with me still And when the sun wakes, these rings I will wear to the scaffold they’ve put up for me He was mine she said to me, I was the eldest, I should be married the first He sister said nothing as the ripples broke gently upon her coat and her skirt Chorus
7.
Apple Pie 03:19
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Apple pie Forty thousand feet I’m falling And every single foot I’m calling I’m still doing fine, I’m still doing fine It’s a lovely day to be up in the sky And if I believe, I can spread my wings Then I’m still doing fine; I’m still doing fine, Life is a slice of momma’s apple pie I’m still doing fine, I’m still doing fine It’s a lovely day to be up in the sky I’m sick of the lies from the satellite spies Way up in the air with their eagle eyes I’m still doing fine – I’m still doing fine Invisible deeds by invisible means We send the fires teams to sow the poison seed War child; dead child; we watch them uploaded As ten second clips as their lives are exploded For these truths we send folks to lie In some forgotten field that’s momma’s apple pie Small town phrases that make it sound right For all those sins that are done out of sight I’m still doing fine, I’m still doing fine It’s a lovely day to be up in the sky Forty thousand feet and life’s getting shorter It’s coming up fast this new world order There’s a dream and we’re making it tall Our coalition of willing gonna cure it all So swallow the lies and take up the cry Go ahead punk – just you try We’ll follow the action on the youtube channel The digitized concept of history’s annals Another death and we shrug off the loss Its not us who has to bear the cost We’re all still just doing fine Drifting up here in the clear blue sky So have another slice of apple pie Spread your arms and attempt to fly I’m still doing fine! We’re all still just doing fine Drifting up here in the clear blue sky So have another slice of apple pie Spread your arms and attempt to fly I’m still doing fine; I’m still doing fine, Life is a slice of momma’s apple pie
8.
Tender Reeds 02:52
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Tender Reeds On tender reeds Muted colours reveal Humble worn out things that retain Their scarlet wings Eager gentle love Speaks simple words like these Spoken as the petals fall On tender reeds Let me run wild ‘till the wind Blows the embers of youth red and warm again On tender reeds The ripples from a stolen kiss Break gently on the shore Gathered as the moonlight fell On tender reeds
9.
Out of Control 04:32
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Out of Control Black veins of the road Lead me to The narrow dreams of a city in heat No waves break the shore The sky is raw Thinking I’m spiralling out of control Out of control Where do I go when the streets are empty And the door to my home is closed What do I do when the eyes that I thought I knew Just say will you go away Where do I go? Out of control I remember when One year ago You bit my pretty red heart in two The dreams we shared till then I kept them here And hidden and safe beneath my skin Out of control Where do I go when the streets are empty And the door to my home is closed What do I do when the eyes that I thought I knew Just say will you go away Where do I go? Out of control Out of control Out of control
10.
Dance this Town 02:14
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Dance this town All week I’ve got two left feet Two itchy feet and not relief But I know a way I can scratch that spot This Saturday night when the band is hot I can Dance this town – down in the Valley - I can Dance this town – down by the river – I can Dance this town – dance ‘till the morning Five; four; three; two – one more day ‘till I Dance this town Ahuh – dance this town Every morning I’m up bright and early Drag my self to work and school Looking peached and really pearly Though the teacher treats me like a fool Boss wants me to work back late To earn that extra dollar a day I take all the money he gives me I’m saving up to play on Saturday night – down in the Valley Saturday night – down by the river Saturday night – dance ‘till the morning Five; four; three; two – one more day ‘till I Dance this town Ahuh – dance this town This town ain’t fancy in the suburbs This town ain’t fancy in the city But when you get down in the valley You can dance, dance ,dance, dance, You can Dance this town – down in the Valley – you can Dance this town – down by the river – you can Dance this town – dance ‘till the morning Five; four; three; two – one more day ‘till I Dance this town Ahuh – dance this town
11.
Chanson d'autumn 03:28
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Chanson d’ autumn French English translation VERSE 1 Alonge-toi dans la paix... du fleuve Lay yourself down into the peace... of the stream Passant à travers les méandres de la vie passing through the bends of life Je tiens ta main au point du jour I take your hand until the break of day Et jusque là, je me moquerai du temps And up until then, I'll make fun of time VERSE 2 Les saisons s'ensuivent sans cesse, et tant que... t'es jeune The seasons follow each other without cease, and as long as... you're young Ces petits recoins de ta vie te semblent éternelles Those little niches of your life to you seem eternal Les aiguilles qui ne font qu'avancer nous poussent en avant The {clock-face-}hands which do nothing but advance push us forward Et le temps, comme ça, il se moque de nous And Time, like that, (he) makes fun of us CHORUS Vis ta vie, mon ami, Live your life, my friend Sourie quand on se retrouve, Smile when we will find each other again Et point de douleur d’adieu And no pain of goodbye Même si la vie, mon ami, Even if life, my friend Nous sépare, toujours, il nous restera Pulls us {apart}, There will always remain for us L’ardeur et la chaleur de notre flame et feu The embers and the warmth of our flame and our fire VERSE 3 Il me fallait courir toute ma vie, pour m’aper-...cevoir It took me running all my life to realise/see qu’il n’y a pas de concours, ni bataille, ni medaille, ni de guerre that there is no competition, nor battle, nor medal, nor war Chantons les saisons que nous partagions, Let us sing [of] the seasons which we shared Le printemps, l’été, – Car maintenant, l’hiver s’installe. [of] springtime, [of] summer, - for now, winter settles in. CHORUS
12.
Wandering Child 03:04
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Wandering Child Watching the road flow Past the sunrise into the night Choosing the right door Damn the heat damn the lies Don’t know me I am a wandering child People Don’t know me I am that lonely child Keeping a score card Watch the winner watch his smile He’s drifting alone now Empty streets No sign of the crowd Don’t know me I am a wandering child People Don’t know me I am that lonely child Try a little black magic in the pale moonlight I know it’s fantastic in the clear night – come on!

about

In 2010 I challenged myself to write, record and post online a song a week for a year. There were good songs and there were not so good songs! As I'm not a singer myself I asked others to sing each week. I often asked those singers what they'd like to sing about and wrote a song for them based on a brief they'd give me. This was really handy because after 30 songs the big challenge is finding something to write about! This is a collection of some of the songs produced that year. Thank you to everyone who took part!

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released January 1, 2015

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Bernard Composer Brisbane, Australia

Bernard has composed music for numerous films including “The Foal” (2010 Cannes Film Festival). Bernard has also produced music for theatrical productions at Brisbane’s Judith Wright Centre and Metro Arts. His credits include “Flicking the Flint” with an ambient electronic score that in the words of the Courier Mail “underscored the dual atmospheres of nature’s splendours and menace”. ... more

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