Get all 9 Chris Cleverley releases available on Bandcamp and save 15%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Centre Cannot Hold (Live), Broadcast The Secret Verse, Nausea (Radio Edit), Still Life, Chlorophyll, Live From The Glass Isle, We Sat Back and Watched it Unfold, Ring O' Bells feat. Kelly Oliver, and 1 more.
1. |
Transience
01:09
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Instrumental
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2. |
The Dawn Before The Day
04:05
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You were all mine.
You were all mine
Through October to the green spring time
All mine, all mine.
All the way down the line
From the ripple of the rustling breeze,
To the lapping of the breaking seas.
All mine, all mine.
You were all mine.
But so it seems, you’ve come to see
The dawn before they day.
If that’s all I should be on my way.
You can find me down by the stream
(If you’ve need of me that is to say).
In my reveries and fleeting dreams
All day.
All the day.
But so it seems, you’ve come to see
The dawn before they day.
If that’s all I should be on my way.
There’s a mariner down by the quay
And all washed in evening moonshine.
From his lips come that ancient rhyme
“she was all mine, Oh yes, all mine.”
Well it’s all done now this time
You couldn’t keep it together all the day.
It was too tired and too weathered like they say
but you’re strong; oh yes you tried.
You tried.
But so it seems, you’ve come to see
The dawn before they day.
If that’s all I should be on my way.
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3. |
Lesson
03:30
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Won’t you tell me everything I’ve been wanting you to say?
I’d like to know what you’re thinking love, at the closing of the day.
And we could light a lantern in the porch to guide the way
Of the ramblers like us, who’ve been lonesome and afraid.
Oh we’re young, we’re tentative
With a world lying in our hands.
In want of words of wisdom
I hope perhaps you’ll understand.
I tried to keep my thoughts of you love, at my lowest points today
When they sent me marching with my orders, as they handed me my pay.
And a man may starve tomorrow and the debt is on my hands.
And I can but think “Oh had I but been born a stronger man”.
I’m young, I’ve been insensitive
To the world lying in our hands.
In want of words of wisdom
I hope perhaps you’ll understand.
Bereft of words of wisdom, darling might you understand?
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4. |
Missing Persons
04:16
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It’s sobering and clear man,
Despite what you hear,
You’ve scattered all them pieces astray.
There’s tumbling and balancing
And all of their intrigues
There’s rambling, then losing your way.
But you know how it goes
Cause you’ve all been around
And I suspect that’s what you’ve meant all those years, no?
It’s holding on promises of rhyme and of reason,
While stalling and waiting around for the seasons.
And it’s tied in with thoughts of her and where she is going to
And if I left as well with all my to-ings and fro-ings too
To Cornwal, or Bristol
Or some place equivalent,
To be a missing person for now.
Just a missing person. That’s all.
I’m more tired than I thought,
I’m more drunk than I ought to be
When thinking on getting away.
Well there’s one thing I’ve thought,
It’s that one thing you taught to me;
You must have a good enough reason to stay.
And you know how it goes
Cause you’ve all felt the call of the ocean
Alive in your ears.
It’s holding on promises of rhyme and of reason,
While stalling and waiting around for the seasons.
And it’s tied in with wondering “Oh where she is going to”
And if I left as well with all my to-ings and fro-ings too
Down to Boscastle
Or even somewhere less familiar,
To be a missing person for now.
Just a missing person. That’s all.
And for the next few days or weeks, or even a year or two
A missing person for now
Just a missing person. That’s all.
I’m sorry friends, but until further notice
I’m a missing person for now
Just a missing person. That’s all.
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5. |
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I wish I was a mole in the ground,
I wish I was a mole in the ground.
If I was mole in the ground,
well I’d route that mountain down.
I wish I was a mole in the ground.
Kimpy wants a nine dollar shawl,
Kimpy wants a nine dollar shawl.
When I come over that hill
with my forty dollar bill
Baby where’ve you been so long?
I’ve been in the pen so long,
I’ve been in the pen so long.
I’ve been in the pen so long
With the rough and rowdy men
Baby that’s where I’ve been so long.
Well I’d never trust a railroad man,
I’d never trust a railroad man.
I’d never trust a railroad man
Well he’d kill you where you stand
And then drink up all your blood like wine.
I wish I was a Lizard in the spring,
I wish I was a Lizard in the spring.
If I was a Lizard in the Spring,
Well I’d hear my baby sing,
I wish I was a Lizard in the Spring,
I wish I was a mole in the ground,
I wish I was a mole in the ground.
If I was mole in the ground,
well I’d route that mountain down.
I wish I was a mole in the ground.
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6. |
Acetylene
03:45
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Well I guess this proves you don’t get to choose,
I’ve been spirited away.
And slightly drawn pictures form
Of all that I owe you
In cold blooded, serpentine comforting.
Oh I feel lost in you, all destitute
And strapped and bound,
And so then I prostitute myself
And then this reticence abounds.
All of those quiet composures
Were jettisoned away.
And who could know that it happens,
Oh ever so accidentally?
Oh well I’m lost in you, all destitute
And strapped and bound and
So then I prostitute myself
And then this reticence abounds
Oh well I’m lost in you, all destitute
When you fuck and strap and I’m bound,
So then I prostitute my body, morals, ethics by the pound.
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7. |
Apparitions
03:10
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Last Night.
Last night – I was making up for lost time.
‘Cause I swear,
I saw her there
An apparition in the half-light.
An apparition in the half-light.
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8. |
O Shenandoah
04:32
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O Shenandoah, I long to see you
Roll away, you rolling river.
O Shenandoah, I long to hear you
Roll away, I’m bound to go.
Across the wide Missouri
O Shenandoah, I love your daughter
Roll away, you rolling river.
For her I’d cross your rolling waters
Roll away, I’m bound to go.
Across the wide Missouri
It’s been seven long years now, since last I saw
Roll away, you rolling river.
It’s been seven long years now, but still I thought of you
Rolling away, I’m bound to go.
Across the wide Missouri
O Shenandoah, I long to see you
Roll away, you rolling river.
O Shenandoah, I long to hear you
Roll away, I’m bound to go.
Across the wide Missouri
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9. |
Life Is Elsewhere
04:49
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I think I should be out in the sun.
I feel I should be down by the shore.
Well this year has proved a variety of truths
And I shan’t be out searching anymore. No.
So I decided to move out of town.
There seemed no point in me sticking around.
And the friends there had been
Seemed to die with the scene,
Like they’re all buried deep in the ground.
Though the ghosts of sailors, they wander these halls,
I’ve learned it’s best not to listen at all.
‘Cause they’ll sing all their tails of the sea and the storms
And the city gates that stand ‘til the city falls.
The ghosts of the past will slip in without asking
To silently lead you away.
So close down your windows ‘til the light of the day.
She was a worthy opponent indeed.
This much even I now concede.
She’ll keep taking you down, yeah for round after round.
Oh man – like you wouldn’t believe.
But there’s a time to admit you defeat,
And that surrender’s immeasurably sweet.
So you’ll cheer as you stand, for the boys in the band
And it’s right there man; you’re back on your feet.
And Though the ghosts of sailors are trapped in these walls
I’ve learned it’s best not to listen at all.
‘Cause they’ll sing all their tails of the sea and the storms
And the city gates that stand ‘til the city falls.
The ghosts of the past – those inglorious bastards -
Will silently lead you away.
So close down your windows ‘til the light of the day.
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10. |
The Rafters
05:17
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I ring the bells up in the tower
A complex array of ropes and rungs
Designed to demarcate the passing hours.
I long for quaint provincial flowers
And savouring the cleaner air;
To stare upon the birds up in the bowers.
The old physician cried when I was born
“What devil’s curse bestows upon this fateful morn?
The Deacon must be warned!
And in what blackened furnace was this infant formed?”
For I’m doomed to walk along the lengths and depths
Of the ramparts and the parapets
‘til this curse is lifted and I am free to die.
I carve these wooden puppets for my pets.
Like the jester with his marionettes
I lead the lives that I have been denied.
So I am the Captain
Of this vessel on the South Seas
And all laden down with calicos and cardamom for sale.
Then on to the courts of Kings
The pleasures that the courtesans do bring
But always back here to my prison as I sing;
I’m doomed to walk along the lengths and depths
Of the ramparts and the parapets
‘til this curse is lifted and I am free to die.
I carve these wooden puppets for my pets.
Like the jester with his marionettes
I lead the lives that I have been denied.
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11. |
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I’m not long for this world.
I’m not long for this life.
And whatever unfolds, “we’ll be fine”
I am told.
Though I’m not long for this world.
Take my books to the store
And take the keys to my chest.
Why don’t you take out the money
And buy yourself a cottage
With the back door facing the west.
So the sun will set on the garden in the evening.
When the swallows come home to rest.
If we sweep the floor in good time,
I could open my birthday wine.
Oh words mean little
When no more than a memory,
But it doesn’t matter.
I don’t mind.
And this God-damn sun will set
While I’m staring at the ceiling
Oh I’m not long for this world.
And the light will fade,
This is such a strange feeling.
Will you bring me another blanket ‘cause I’m cold.
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Chris Cleverley Birmingham, UK
Chris Cleverley was born under a solstice moon, in an aura of honeysuckle mysticism. He is among a new wave of pioneering artists carving an uncharted path through the UK acoustic landscape. Inspired by the Lo-FI Indie greats Elliott Smith & Sufjan Stevens, his ambient Dream-Folk songwriting pushes the boundaries and shatters the expectations of 21st Century acoustic music. ... more
Chris Cleverley recommends:
Shakespeare Songs
by Company of Players
A collection of songwriters from the UK Folk Scene joining forces, including Sam Kelly, Lukas Drinkwater and Kelly Oliver.
go to album
Live from my bedroom
by Minnie Birch
Lyrics to rend your ventricles apart and a voice that shimmers like wind chimes.
go to album
Live at Hope Hall - Reissue
by Jacob & Drinkwater
Thought provoking studies of the self with unrivalled vocal delivery.
go to albumIf you like Chris Cleverley, you may also like:
Dark Nights Make For Brighter Days
by Samantha Whates
supported by 4 fans who also own “Apparitions”
I haven't heard something so sweet and nostalgic in a long time. Whenever I play it around friends the album always draws attention from whatever is going on in the room.
go to album
I Used To Be Sad & Then I Forgot
by Mr. Alec Bowman_Clarke
supported by 4 fans who also own “Apparitions”
Dude knows how to write an intriguing lyric and pen a deceptively pretty tune. If you're a fan of rosy-cheeked folk that stays sunny whilst simultaneously staring into the abyss, then this is the record for you!
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Hotel Landifornia
by Fuzzy Jones
Swooping, pristine folk-adjacent songs with bright guitars and soothing melodies that quietly entrance.
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