1. |
West Country Folk Song
03:55
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I thought I saw a woman when I was walking
Up on Danebury Ring
Her hair was the colour of the winter sun
And I thought I heard her sing
She could have been near or far away
She could have been something I dreamed one day
But if you go walking up on Danebury Ring
Well you might just see her some day.
I thought I heard a man by the gibbet at Combe
On a dark November day
His screams echoed out over Inkpen village
As they took his life away
They stretched his neck and they hung him high
And they left him up on the hill to die
And they gathered in the tavern for a measure of ale
And they raised their glasses high
(I met an) old Buddhist monk with pale green eyes
It was up on Glastonbury Tor
The sun was rising over the Somerset Levels
He muttered he'd seen me before
He asked me my name and told me his was the same
And he told me it was all a celestial game
So if you go walking up on Glastonbury Tor
Your life may never be the same again
I'm looking for the place where the ley lines cross
Where the power of the land shines through
Standing in the temple of the natural world
With the mother earth holding you
Bow down to the sun in the circle of stones
And listen to the shaman as he rattles his bones
The spells he casts are for those who have passed
And the gods on their golden thrones
©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2017
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2. |
Wear My Crown
04:47
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There are mountains there are rivers
And some vistas give me shivers
There are roads that lead to fascinating places
There is morning there is night
There is darkness there is light
There are people with long forgotten faces
You can see them standing there inside a darkened door
Or sometimes they are standing in the sun
Some of them will love you and some won't anymore
They remember everything you've done
There is sobriety or sedation
Ruination or salvation
You can choose the road you walk upon qute nicely
There is safety there is danger
There's a world that's getting stranger
But you try to plan your future quite precisely
You can follow in footsteps or just strike out on your own
Anyway you choose is fine with me
There's a place that I go to with a strong foundation stone
One day the stone will set me free
Instr
There are oceans full of plastic waste
Politicians are all two faced
They talk the talk but they walk away from action
The news has gone to shit
I've given up listening to it
I'm gagging on the stink of lies and corruption
But I don't worry 'bout all the things - that I can't control
I know it'll only bring me down
Now is not the time for me to lose contact with my soul
Now is the time to wear my crown
©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2021
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3. |
Love Song
04:13
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Hello once again
I recognise you
Your beautiful face tells the story of my life
And I will not try
To bind you in chains
You are my love and thank God you are my wife
And I saw a daffodil – dancing in the breeze
She smiled in my direction
From her home beneath the trees
So many roads
With so many turns
When we were apart we would still walk side by side
But we made it thru
And focused on love
And tried to forget all the tears we both have cried
And I heard a falcon – crying in the sky
Like Mother nature gives us dreams
That one day we too shall fly
You are my Sweet Jane
And you're my Peggy Sue
And you're my Mustang Sally
I love you
So hello once again
I know who you are
When I'm in the darkness you're my sunshine dividend
And here we are now
Together for good
Now only death can bring the story to an end
And I smelled the incense – at the temple door
And I saw the goddess
You're the one that I adore
©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2021
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4. |
Street People
06:22
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I used to live in the city
But I was way too young for that kind of life
Hanging out where life is just nitty gritty
Always getting myself in some kind of strife
I was right on the edge of existence
I met a sweet young boy by the name of Jasper
I was sick, he took me in with no strings attached
He turned tricks for a living down on the 'dilly
Five tricks a day was what he got on his patch
Well Jasper was lost but I guess I still knew my way home
Street people always looking for that one big score
They play the game in shadows always wanting more
Out of my head on mandies
and I'm dancing with a Greek Street whore
Berwick Street market on a wet Monday morning
Drinking coffee and dozing in a street cafe
Jasper and all his mates speaking in Polari
That's the secret language of the secretly gay
We were all coming down and waiting for the shadows to fall
Someone took me in a taxi to a club in Kilburn
I don't remember 'cos I was too far gone
They fed me so many pills until they damn near killed me
And then they dumped me in a room upstairs and they just moved on
I was just eighteen and lucky to be alive
Street people always looking for that one big score
They play the game in shadows always wanting more
I've taken too many mandies
now I'm dancing with a Greek Street whore
We had no money so we broke into the electric meter
Then we went riding on a stolen motorbike
We got busted by the cops out near Heathrow Airport
They wouldn't race they were most unsportsmanlike
A night in the cells and then up before the magistrate
Judge asked me if I knew that I had broken the law
Yes your honour I replied and I'm filled with remorse
He told me I should pay a fine and get out of the city
And a two year period of probation would be enforced
I pleaded guilty 'cos they had me bang to rights
Street people like me always looking for that one big score
I played the game in shadows always wanted something more
I left the city behind and said goodbye to my Greek Street whore
©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2021
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5. |
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I don't wanna wake up in the morning
And find you lingering inside
I couldn't lock the door
To stop you comin' in
And now I've had to take it on the chin
There was never any kind of invitation
You came right in and made yourself at home
I didn't spot the signs
but then you showed your face
And now I'm in a different kind of place
The only thing that's real is this moment
This moment brings creation to our eyes
Yesterday seems real - but only in your mind
And tomorrow is a place you'll never find
The day we met might have spelled disaster
You were hard to read - I couldn't see your face
But you seemed pretty cool
And didn't tell me no lies
You laid it out from behind your bland disguise
One thing you taught me was surrender
I wasn't even looking for to be taught
I was naked and cold
Shivering and afraid
But then I saw your smile reflected in the blade
The only thing that's real is this moment
This moment brings creation to our eyes
Yesterday seems real - but only in your mind
And tomorrow is a place you'll never find
Nature raises many more questions than answers
Why do some people live and why do some people die
Is it just an accident
or divine destiny
Well it all seems pretty random to me
Getting old brings some existential awareness
I've always thought that I was never gonna die
So I wave to the future
Like I wave to the past
And I count my blessings before this moment's passed.
The only thing that's real is this moment
This moment brings creation to our eyes
Yesterday seems real - but only in your mind
And tomorrow is a place you'll never find
©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2022
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6. |
Until Daylight Comes
05:07
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When I go, I am not alone
You never leave me on my own
And all you seem to do is follow
It's kinda hard to shake you off
'Cos every time I sneeze or cough
It's just more pain for me to swallow
I know I'm lucky and I'm blessed
I wear the scars upon my chest
But now my heart feels kind of hollow
Writing down dreams in the night
Pulse is throbbing like a drum
I'm lying there trying to keep the breath in my lungs
The darkness magnifies pain
Just give me some morphine again
Passing the hours until daylight comes
On Juhu beach we sat one day
You were quite still nothing to say
I tried to tune to your vibration
I never really knew your name
I don't know where to pin the blame
On you, or on your grand foundation
I tried to contact you that night
You couldn't bring me to the light
You never heard my supplication
Chorus
When flesh and blood are running low
I hold out for my inner glow
To keep the shadows from the road ahead
And she did cut and then repair
And left me gasping for more air
But now I sleep more soundly in my bed
©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2022
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7. |
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I never knew that the pistol was loaded
I swear it never even went through my mind
Until the moment it fired and exploded
With a flash - that struck me quite blind, my friends
A flash that struck me quite blind
I looked down and I saw you staring
With fear and shock in your eyes
I lost my way and all of my bearings
I was sick and so horrified, my friends
Sick and so horrified
My mind it span and it tumbled
When I saw the blood flood through your shirt
I heard the sound of my own heart breaking - apart
And then the strangers they came to surround me
And they took the gun from my hand
They were trying to humiliate me
And they pushed me down onto the ground, my friends
They pushed me down onto the ground
They said that they knew I was guilty
Of murder in the first degree
My nightmares were not dreams in sleeping
They were truly my reality, my friends
Truly my reality
My mind it span and it tumbled
When I saw the blood flood through your shirt
I heard the sound of my own heart breaking - apart
Well they're saying that the killing was murder
But Lord they just don't understand
That I had no motive to shoot you
My brother, my friend and right-hand, my friends
My brother, my friend and right-hand
So now I'm sat all alone in the jail house
In a cell, up on death row
I got a date to keep with the hangman
And the Devil is sure to show, my friends
The Devil will surely show.
©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2021
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8. |
Time Is Time
05:53
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There was an old love song from a thousand years ago
But I can't recall the title of the song
Memories will crumble into dust and fade away
And it doesn't really matter if they're right or they are wrong
Some say that time is of the essence
Others say that time waits for no man
The poet said, time that old impostor
Time is time define it if you can
When you stand upon the sea-shore and there comes a sailing ship
Bounding westward before a following sea
Mains'l bloated and swollen with a belly full of wind
Then her wash comes ashore like a fleeing refugee
When you stand upon the summit of a mountain you have climbed
And the view is there and it takes your breath away
Does it make you feel like God up on your cold and lonely peak
Or does God feel just like you - well who can possibly say?
Some say that time is of the essence
Others say that time waits for no man
The poet said, time that old impostor
Time is time define it if you can
When you're sitting by a river and you watch it rolling by
It's like a stream of thoughts that never seems to cease
A single silent flower you cast, can take your thoughts away
And your angry cluttered mind will find quietude and peace
Well the rainbow bridge is closer now with every passing day
But the distance isn't measured in country miles
I can wait till you get here brother, but take your own sweet time
Y'know I reckon I can hang out here and wait a little while
Some say that time is of the essence
Others say that time waits for no man
The poet said, time that old impostor
Time is time define it if you can
©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2021
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9. |
The Guavas Are Ripe
06:08
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Won't you come riding - In the desert with me
Saddle up at sunrise under the Jacaranda tree
Beautiful desert oasis – sparkling in the sun
Pretty little Afghan pony – she don't want to run
But she lets me sit up on her back, and we
smoke a little pipe
Sun hot on my shoulder
and the guavas are ripe
Snowpeaks in the distance – float like clouds in the sky
The dusty hills of Bamian - sweat running in my eye
Laughing with the chai shop boys, Buddha - taller than the land
The lake is like a giant turquoise - jewel in the sand
“More chai Sahib?” asks Ahmed - and we smoke another pipe
Universal laughter - and the guavas are juicy and ripe
My heart has been breaking for Ahmed and his kin
The giant Buddhas of Bamian broken by
ignorance and sin
From the snow-peaks of the Hindu Kush
to the orchards of Kandahar
Those people suffering destruction, visited on them from afar.
Well I wish I could go back one day and smoke just one more little pipe
'Cos people are just people - and the guavas will still be ripe
©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2021
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10. |
When?
04:12
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When will you tell me that everything's new
When will the light within come into view
When will the past and the future align
When will the present carry a sign
When will I find the words there on my tongue
When will the world hear the songs that we've sung
When will the darkness turn into light
When will the wrongs of this world become right
When will you enter my field of view
When will you see just how much I love you
When will the gods of the universe show
When will they tell me it's my time to go
And questions arise whilst answers decline
As you live your life and I live mine
One day we will fly in the clear blue sky
And watch all the answers go sailing by
When will duality turn into one
When will my wisdom be more than homespun
When will our suffering be overcome
When will I see you sucking your thumb
When will these memories blister and burn
When will the poets and artists return
When will our poverty turn into wealth
When will this sickness turn into health
When will I understand what I don't know
When will I ride the celestial rainbow
When will my spirit expand into space
When will my soul be touched by your grace
©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2021
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11. |
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I took the express train out of - New Delhi station
Riding second-class towards that big ol' rising sun
Sixteen hours thru' day and night to reach my destination
I always had the feeling - I was going to meet someone
Couplings snap, we start to move – locomotive hissing steam
Suburban slums, men squat in fields – shitting in the dawning light
My fellow travellers - looked tired with gloomy faces
But when I make eye contact they were always smiling bright
This was my happy place – my heart and my soul
This is my karma I'll be bound
At the end of my days
When the story's long been told
I will lay me down on holy ground
Drinking chai - and smoking by - the river in Varanasi
Soaking up the atmosphere – from four thousand years
I smell the scent of sandalwood – drifting in the morning breeze
I hear a voice behind me that's familiar to my ears
And there you stand – just as tall as I remember
Same old faded shirt – all that hair still piled up high
But something in your eyes told me this was just an illusion
You were there but suddenly I was saying goodbye
This is my India – my heart and my soul - This is my karma I'll be bound
At the end of my days - when the story's long been told - I will lay me down on holy ground
I guess I'll never track you down
Unless you turn up unannounced at my door
You vanished into the distance on a road I don't know
But I've ridden that road before
My mother was gentle, she was wise and fierce and cosmic
She took me into her heart and she put her mark on me
She gave me a friend like you – blazing briefly through my sky
And I love her still, if you were here with me, I think you would agree
This is my happy place - my heart and my soul - This is my karma I'll be bound
At the end of my days - When the story's long been told - I will lay me down on holy ground
I guess I'll never track you down
Unless you turn up unannounced at my door
You vanished into the distance on a road I don't know
But I've ridden that road before
©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2021
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12. |
Let Me In
04:49
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I have travelled here and there
Grass could turn out greener elsewhere
I left my home behind
Looking for some peace of mind
Break these chains that have confined
And left me flying blind
I followed signs up on a wall
This could be my next port of call
The river sliding by
The bloody sunrise in my eye
See the pilgrims passing by
They bow down to the sky
I walked beside you in the sun
We were looking for that sense of being one
On the banks of the river
Something inside me shivered
Breathing out breathing in
Oh dear Lord let me in
I loved the freedom of the road
Senses all on overload
I found a friend in you
You appeared right on cue
And every day our friendship grew
You showed me something new
Climbing hills beneath the stars
Strumming borrowed cheap guitars
My sorrow disappeared
There was nothing that we feared
The wise man with the silken beard
Was one that we revered
I walked beside you in the sun
We were looking for that sense of being one
On the banks of the sacred river
Something inside me shivered
Breathing out breathing in
Oh dear Lord let me in
©GrahamShankarjiMusic
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13. |
Dancing To This Tune
05:59
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Did you ever start a journey from what was your destination?
Did you think that you were leaving but in fact you had returned?
I was following you blindly, but then I saw you far behind me
So I turned to walk towards you but you vanished in thin air
When the northern winds of winter make your skin lose all sensation
And you’re travelling a path you think is heading t'ward the light
Did you think that you were seeking for some kind of understanding?
But you realised that knowledge is just one more thing that dies
There’s an ocean in my way - just a stretch of open water
And I’m learning how to pray - beneath this crescent moon
Well I look to the horizon - but my eyes are searching farther
In the distance lit by starlight - we are dancing to this tune
Well the words we write on love don't often capture our emotions
When the written page is open and yet hidden in our hearts
Will the distances between us give us all a deep perspective
Or will painful separation be impossible to bear
A spark it crackles brightly inside every pair of eyes
Sacred intuition that's so hard to realise
In the early hours of morning with the silence of the sun
Broken only by the songbird and the throbbing of the drum
There’s an ocean in my way - just a stretch of open water
And I’m learning how to pray - beneath this crescent moon
Well I look to the horizon - but my eyes are searching farther
In the distance lit by starlight - we are dancing to this tune
Temporary pleasure will fail you once again
It isn't all that different from the temporary pain
Temporary pleasure when it courses through your vein
The pleasure's just as fleeting as the temporary pain
Instrumental
I once listened to a wise man speak about the nature of illusion
I think I understood him when he told me this was it
We all search for meaning but the search is just a distraction
This moment is the moment - each one perfect as it comes
There’s an ocean in my way - just a stretch of open water
And I’m learning how to pray - beneath this crescent moon
Well I look to the horizon - but my eyes are searching farther
In the distance lit by starlight - we are dancing to this tune
In the distance lit by starlight - we are dancing to this tune
©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2019
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GrahamShankarjiHunt UK
GrahamShankarjiHunt is a 75 year old English singer/songwriter who has been active on the music scene since his first band back in 1966. Since then life has led him down various musical avenues, including bands, international collaborations and more recently as a solo acoustic performer. ... more
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