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Inheritance

by John Reed

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Inheritance is supplied in a cardboard sleeve made from recycled card. The CD design features John's Eko guitar from 1977 which he obtained in a swap deal, and got the better of the deal!

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1.
Some Days 03:33
SOME DAYS I'm happy but can only grieve At times I think but cannot breathe At times I think but cannot say I cannot stay, it's hard to leave I'm thirsty and the taps are dry I'm sad but have no tears to cry My heart is full, my head is light I'm hungry with no appetite Some days I'm ten foot tall Some days I'm ten foot small Some days I'm ten foot under the ground I like it there, where there's no sound I want to walk but cannot crawl To brave to jump, to stubborn to fall I'd like to fly but there's. no breeze No respite, no reprieve Some days I'm ten foot tall Some days I'm ten foot small Some days I'm ten foot under the ground I like it there, where there's no sound
2.
Connachta 03:14
CONNACHTA How many scuttlers, thieves and scallywags From the pestilence and poverty of the Angel of Death How many O’Connors lie asleep beneath the Flags How many survived ‘this hell on earth’? From the Hundred Battles And the monastery of Cong To the scattering of a people Whose spirit stayed strong Who would dare to contradict the King of Scotty Road As he reigned over ‘the real capital of Ireland’? From the million dead, on the hills and in the fields To the million survivors of An Gorta Mór From the Hundred Battles And the monastery of Cong To the scattering of a people Whose spirit stayed strong And north from the causeway of the land of Giants They endured the ugly journey by Rathlin Isle From the crest of a wave and the turbulent straits To the ‘Dear Green Place’ along the banks of the Clyde From the Hundred Battles And the monastery of Cong To the scattering of a people Whose spirit stayed strong
3.
Silhouette 04:36
SILHOUETTE There he was in silhouette At the wide open front door Of a house I barely knew At 25 I was too young But I saw his silhouette at the front door We’d been called upon By the knife sharpener I was playing on the floor His call was answered And I saw his silhouette at the front door The poor man was sent packing Then reality set in The man who loved the little girl Had taken his leave again And I saw his silhouette at the front door Siblings in their summer clothes Went running after him With a precious gift of half a crown John Baird was never seen again I saw his silhouette at the front door I saw his silhouette at the front door I saw his silhouette I saw his silhouette I saw his silhouette at the front door
4.
Maker 03:31
MAKER You’ve got to let your maker take your soul You’ve got to let your maker take your soul You’ve got to let your maker You’ve got to let your maker You’ve got to let your maker take your soul The burning sun is setting Above a silent sea The breeze is slowly building All around us A wave of contradiction To the calm across the ocean Serene upon the surface Undercurrent of commotion You’ve got to let your maker take your soul You’ve got to let your maker take your soul You’ve got to let your maker You’ve got to let your maker You’ve got to let your maker take your soul Responsible and reckless Attentive and dismissive Focused and then feckless Conventional and permissive Feeble and courageous Faithful then deceiving Predictably outrageous Aware but not receiving You’ve got to let your maker take your soul You’ve got to let your maker take your soul You’ve got to let your maker You’ve got to let your maker You’ve got to let your maker take your soul
5.
Montevideo 04:37
MONTEVIDEO The Lancaster was by the harbourside For East India was gathering the prize She was pressed into the Wars And the service of the King The Lancaster was by the harbourside The city had been “carried by assault” Hawkesbury puffed his chest and so declared Castlereagh showed his pride At “this glorious enterprise” That the city had been “carried by assault” “Plenty of work but little to eat Yet we were servants of the King” We saw that man beneath the gun Relinquish everything Nine thousand miles across the stormy sea For the Riflemen to set about their siege Six soldiers and their knives No mercy for his life Nine thousand miles across the stormy sea John Cofty laboured thirteen years at sea That day he saw such inhumanity For the glory of the Crown They took that city down John Cofty laboured thirteen years at sea “Plenty of work but little to eat Yet we were servants of the King” We saw that man beneath the gun Relinquish everything
6.
THE ROOM AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS (DADGAD) Pastries for grafters Pennies for the home Off to the preacher Happiness known “Won’t you marry us preacher, Won’t you marry us please? Won’t you marry us sir Our time’s short and sweet” There’s a knock at the door The man from the dockyard stood Clutching his cloth cap No need for words Another family grieves A widow weeps Another suitor stands and stairs From the room at the top of the stairs Pastries for lodgers To make ends meet Sunrise to sunset On cobbled terraced streets Pastries for grafters Pennies for the home Off to the preacher Happiness known “Won’t you marry us preacher, Won’t you marry us please? Won’t you marry us sir Our time’s short and sweet” Weary and tired From the swell and the tide Weary and tired From the swell and the tide The Jerseyman now the widow’s prize Left the ocean behind Twenty years or more of bliss How hard they fought to come to this “Won’t you marry us preacher, Won’t you marry us please? Won’t you marry us sir Our time’s short and sweet”
7.
Peace 04:25
PEACE Tiny shoes awaiting in the hall The crowd of smokers taken at the knees A pounding heart leaps in your mouth And you can never really rest at ease You will toss and you will turn And maybe one day you will learn That any love that you express Is just a fraction of the deal Why would you ever take for granted anything you have Or imagine grass is greener on the other side Why would you follow stars when they are right there next to you In a world of those you could have lost, and those you surely did It probably takes a life to realise You could have done things so much better But regret is just a thief of time For the conscience of a debtor. The time is now before it’s done And actions speak a thousand words Piece by piece and one by one, Your peace is there for you to earn. Why would you ever take for granted anything you have Or imagine grass is greener on the other side Why would you follow stars when they are right there next to you In a world of those you could have lost, and those you surely did
8.
Inside 05:01
INSIDE From my place inside I take an aeroplane ride Take a train to the airport And a cab the other side And I bask in the warmth Of the Corsican sun Islands outstretched To the horizon From my place inside I travel far and wide And I drink of the nectar Like a butterfly Walk through the cornfield With the buzzing of bees To the cool of the forest And the shade of the trees Because this is my country This is my town This is the street That I like to walk down When the strength is within me And the spirit is strong And the four walls fall… Like when I was young From my place inside To the high streets and malls I taste the fine dining In restored market halls And I visit the cinema Three times a week Where the good people listen Whenever I speak From my place inside I’m prostrate on the lawn I soak up the sunshine To nightfall from morn Daisy chain necklaces Dandelion wishes Watching the dragonfly dance Over reeds and rushes Because this is my country This is my town This is the street That I like to walk down When the strength is within me And the spirit is strong And the four walls fall… Like when I was young
9.
Woodpeckers 04:23
WOODPECKERS The rangers arrived And had no choice but to take it away Returning with their ropes and saws To open up the sky The cherry had for many years Rained blossom down among the flowers But it was strangling the culvert Which led to its final hour There were two woodpeckers staring in at me On the two main branches of the soon to be taken tree The tree had been condemned Its roots had breached the drain Yet there were two woodpeckers staring in at me The lady of our house had spirited herself away Like the gentleman who left us near twenty years before. No sightings on the trees round here back then They were hammering in the woods but very rarely seen There were two woodpeckers staring in at me On the two main branches of the soon to be taken tree The tree had been condemned Its roots had breached the drain Yet there were two woodpeckers staring in at me
10.
Our Time 03:44
OUR TIME There's a fading light on the horizon And it will turn to gold with the rising sun It will turn to rust when the day is over With the moon rising in the sky We're tenants of the air we breathe Custodians of this land We borrow time from the earth and the sky And the sun and the moon and the sand Our place is just a passing phase In a greater scheme of things We can theorise and theologise But we will never change destiny We're tenants of the air we breathe Custodians of this land We borrow time from the earth and the sky And the sun and the moon and the sand Our time has come. Our time has come. This is our time. Our time has come. Our time has come. This is our time. This is our time.
11.
TABLETS OF STONE If you’ve a feeling of loss and you’re grieving I will feel that I’ve done you proud There’s nothing much left to believe in As I sit up here on my cloud Or who knows I may well be burning In the fiery furnace below But wherever I am and whatever I’ve done My love will be with you wherever I go So to those who embezzle and profit From misfortunes that others may have Put a wet finger into a socket Or drop a live wire in the bath To the fascists and bullies and rapists You’ll get your just desserts From a malignant manifestation In a place where I know that it hurts Well this is my Highwayman This is my War and Peace This is my Holy Bible My Tolkein trilogy This is my Grapes of Wrath This is a Kampf of Mein These are my tablets of stone For those I leave behind… To the hand wringers and the believers You know that your time will come When the depth of remorse goes from ‘very’ to ‘grievous’ You’ll want to run home to your Mum Deluded, duped and defrauded Your minds have not been your own Hoodwinked, swindled and cheated To fight for your lives all alone To the disingenuous divas Who gambled our pensions and savings Who promised the earth but dished only dirt Your itching will turn into ravings Your ravings will turn into madness And you will start to pick at your skin With needles and pliers and coat hanger wire Until you’ve atoned for your sins Well this is my Highwayman This is my War and Peace This is my Holy Bible My Tolkein trilogy This is my Grapes of Wrath This is a Kampf of Mein These are my tablets of stone For those I leave behind If I left you feeling angry If I ever caused you offence, My attention was unsatisfactory Or my rantings just didn’t make sense Just remember that I was a poor boy From a big Catholic family I swore at a teacher, gave a bribe to a priest And a prison officer came running after me So to anyone who would mistreat you May a tsunami come rushing in Breaking all sides of the sandbank And leave them to sink or to swim To the miscreants and liars May their hearts and minds be cursed May their brains be invaded by riddles and teasers May their children be sterile from birth Well this is my Highwayman This is my War and Peace This is my Holy Bible My Tolkein trilogy This is my Grapes of Wrath This is a Kampf of Mein These are my tablets of stone For those I leave behind

about

#Inheritance is more personal album, dealing with issues of ancestry, family and love and our future on this planet. The album is all written and performed with John's 1977 black Eko Ranger guitar as its focus because it has seen most of the ups and down in his life.

credits

released October 18, 2019

John Reed: Vocals, guitars, cittern
Ali Karim: Production
Duncan Reed: Vocals
Matt Steady: Violin, viola

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John Reed Berwick Upon Tweed, UK

John is a Blackpool born singer-songwriter and radio show host whose songs cover themes of social injustice, environment, politics, love, & life

Music is never more important than in difficult times. Therefore, all downloads on this site are provided on a "Pay What You Can Afford" (PWYCA) basis. Merchandise is available at the prices stated.

John is also 1/3 of nightsong.bandcamp.com
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