1. |
Sailing Away
02:56
|
|||
|
I am sailing away
Away from Stornoway
Sailing away
Away from my hometown
The ferry leaves the harbour
And turns itself around
I am facing west
but I am eastward bound
I am sailing away
Away from Stornoway
Sailing away
Away from my hometown
Every time I leave
I leave some part behind
And it don’t get easier
No matter how many times
I am sailing away
Away from Stornoway
Sailing away
Away from my hometown
The Island sits silent
As the boat goes sailing by
Passing all my memories
Under a tear-filled sky
I am sailing away
Away from Stornoway
And I don’t feel much like talking
To anyone right now
|
||||
2. |
Back On The Rock
04:00
|
|||
|
The first thing I remember
Is standing in a crowd
Outside our local tv store
Staring at a black and white
Flickering from dark to light
Watching a man step on the moon
La la la la
La la la la
The next thing I remember
Is sitting on a wall
Across from the Rendezvous Café
We hear the sound of pipes and drums
Marching through the town
We jump up and pretend to play
Back on the Rock
Back in the Day
Back on the Rock
Back in the Day
One of us who looked the part
kinda cool kinda smart
Knew someone who’d get us rum
We hid between the fishing nets
Trawler Rum and cigarettes
The burning taste lingered on our tongues
La la la la
La la la la
We found music drink and girls
Late night radio
We all sang Maggie May
I’d walk Kathleen home from school
I could always make her laugh
Somewhere I still have her photograph
Back on the Rock
Back in the Day
Back on the Rock
Back in the Day
Summers came and summers went
I remember all the time we spent
Just hanging out downtown
We were never on our own
We had pals from all around
Nothing ever seemed to bring us down
Back on the Rock
Back in the Day
Back on the Rock
Back in the Day
Back on the Rock
Back in the Day
Back on the Rock
Back in the Day
|
||||
3. |
||||
|
What became of the Renden
The Lido and YM AM
I turned around & they were gone
But my memory still is strong
What became of the Juke Box
Where we played our favourite songs
With our fingers on the glass
Searching for the one we heard last
Can I have that last ham roll
And a frothy cup of coffee Andrew please
And see that Caramel log
It’s been waiting there for me
I promise I’ll not smoke
No that not a joke
Just you wait and see
And has herself been in
You know who I am talking about
Can I go back again back to the Renden
The way it was
And sit with all my friends
On the tables at the end one last time
Laugh and joke about the days
Long forgotten memories of the past
With a word for those who’ve gone
But who presence linger on in us all
Can I have that last ham roll
And a frothy cup of coffee Andrew please
And see that Caramel log
It’s been waiting there for me
I promise I’ll not smoke
No that not a joke
Just you wait and see
And has herself been in
You know who I am talking about
|
||||
4. |
Luskentyre
02:48
|
|||
|
Last night I dreamt that dream
The one where we’re back home
On the pure white sands at Luskintyre
You’d made corn beef sandwiches
A flask of Lipton tea
And you wore a new dress just for me
Laughing like a little girl
You ran down to the sea
Screaming as the water
Reached your knees
I caught you with my camera
the waves up to your waste
A summer smile
Lighting up your face
And if the architect above us
In his master plan
Had granted me the power
We’d still be on those sands
We lay our blankets on the ground
And towel dried our feet
lay down In the gentle Harris heat G
Then we watched the sun set
With its yellows, blues and reds
Woven by a million coloured threads C
And if the architect above us
In his master plan
Had granted me the power
We’d still be on those sands
And if the architect above us
In his master plan
Had granted me the power
We’d still be on those sands
|
||||
5. |
I'm Going Home
02:20
|
|||
|
500 miles of open road
And 50 miles of sea
I close my eyes
I’m going home
I feel my spirits rise
With every passing mile
I close my eyes
I’m going home
CHORUS
Where old friends will stop me on the street
Smile and say you’re looking well
How's your Ma keeping these day
And it’s good to see you back home again
I see the whitewashed walls of Ullapool
And the yellow on Loch Broom
I close my eyes
I’m going home
The sunset over Arnish Point
And the lights across the Braighe
I close my eyes
I’m going home
Where old friends will stop me on the street
Smile and say you’re looking well
How's your Ma keeping these day
And its good to see you back home again
And if only it were that simple
And if only I could find a way
And if not for a hundred thousand reason
I’d be on my way home today
|
||||
6. |
Plenty Days
02:52
|
|||
|
I’m sorry for your loss
We were pals back in the day
And I’m sorry we lost touch
When I moved away
But I’m glad we met up
On that sunny Saturday
Shared a pot tea
yarned the years away
I wish we’d done it more
We lived not far away
But I guess that’s what happens when
We think there’s plenty days
Plenty days. Plenty days
We think we’ll always be plenty days
We do what we can
Live from day to day
So many little things
We quietly push awa
Thinking there’ll be time
For us to show face
Until we realise
We’re running out of days
Plenty days. Plenty days
We think we’ll always be plenty days
Plenty days. Plenty days
We think we’ll always be plenty days
|
||||
7. |
Stornoway Downtown
04:37
|
|||
|
Do you remember
Stornoway downtown
When all the country buses
Would come from miles around
Off would pour the passengers
Onto Cromwell Street
And if you had a sweetheart
That’s where you’d meet
Do you remember
Stornoway downtown
When Jack bossed the Neptune
and Dolaig ruled the Crown
Chico ran the Charlton
Sandy poured the drams
In the lounge in the County
Which had a certain charm
Back then the town was hoachin
From the Caber to the Star
We were happy standing
Four deep at the bar
Perhaps we saw the best of her
Perhaps that’s still to come
But nothings ever bettered
Stornoway downtown
Do you remember
Stornoway downtown
Hanging out with your pals
From the Lido to the YM
Checking out the blones
Checking out the coves
Then off to the town hall
To dance to the Karltoans
Back then the town was hoachin
From the Caber to the Star
We were happy standing
Four deep at the bar
Perhaps we saw the best of her
Perhaps that’s still to come
But nothings ever bettered
Stornoway downtown
|
||||
8. |
||||
|
My island home
From a distant past
A Lifetime memories
Built to last
Friendships forged
During night less days
My island home
With its island ways
It was our time
we were its stars
When Kenny Fags
played his red guitar
And Caesar sang
Tonight will be fine
And we danced
Till morning time
My island home
With its eightsome reels
Songs sung with
A country feel
Dance hall floors
In a smokey haze
My island home
With its island ways
It was our time
we were its stars
When Kenny Fags
played his red guitar
And Caesar sang
Tonight will be fine
And we danced
Till morning time
|
||||
9. |
When I was Young
04:30
|
|||
|
When I was young
And summers long and warm
And F everyone I loved was still alive
We’d take a boat
And sail across the sea
To Lochmaddy where my mother was born
In a stone-built house
Sitting on the shore
Where the lighthouse lamp lit up my bedroom wall
And there we’d stay
All summer long
My brother my grandmother and me
This is how it was when I was young
This is how it was when I was young
We’d spend our day
Playing by the sea
Learning how to fish and how to swim
We’d look for crabs
In the rocky pools
Until it came time to head back home
And she’d have baked a cake
In her peat-fired stove
And had it ready iced there for tea
And when it got dark
She’d light the Tilley lamp
Beneath its golden glow she’d read to me
This is how it was when I was young
This is how it was when I was young
And now we’re old
But memories G still clear
Of her stone-built house C sitting on the shore
Of Tilley lamps
And the peat fire glow
And endless summer days spent long ago
This is how it was when I was young
This is how it was when I was young
|
||||
10. |
Sticklebacks
03:33
|
|||
|
In the autumn of
When I turned 13
I caught my last Stickleback
On the banks of the River Glen
Across from the YM
I just didn’t know it then
Sticklebacks and Red Admirals
We caught them when we were young
Looking back
I wish we’d let them go
Cause they never.
Saw their own world again
That year we learned to dance
In Campbell’s PE class
Lined up across the Assembly Hall
I grabbed an arm she grabbed mine
We tried to waltz around in time
But all we really did was a sideways walk
Sticklebacks and Red Admirals
We caught them when we were young
Looking back
I wish we’d let them go
Cause they never.
Saw their own world again
Ain’t it funny those tricks
Our memory plays
Some days we loose
Others never fade away
In the Summer of 73
When I turned 17
I went to my last school dance
My last Crush Hall hug
My last cloakroom snog
Had my last fag in the bogs
|
||||
11. |
Dalmore
03:25
|
|||
|
Standing in the airport and I’m watching the sky
While all around people are waiting to fly
To so many places all over the world
Some leaving loved ones
Some heading home
The terminal billboard with its shimmering lights
Show the flight I want ain’t leaving tonight
So I make my way back
To where I came
And early tomorrow
I’ll try once again
When I close my eyes I’m on the cliffs at Dal Mhor
I feel the North Atlantic
I hear its angry roar
I see the ocean breakers crash onto the shore.
When I close my eyes
I’m home onc more
Memories of leaving fly round my head.
Places and faces Things left unsaid
It’s been such a long time since I made it home
I’ve lived in this city
And I’m still unknown
Then the terminal billboard whispers in my ear
the flight you’re waiting for
has always been here
When I close my eyes I’m on the cliffs at Dal Mhor
I feel the North Atlantic
I hear its angry roar
I see the ocean breakers crash onto the shore.
When I close my eyes
I’m home once more
|
||||
12. |
Days
02:26
|
|||
|
There’s a cottage on the shore
Two steps up to the front door
Days I wish that I could have again
Smokey flames from a peat fire stove
Tilley lamp with a golden glow
Days I wish that I could have again
When a clock was just an ornament
Sitting idly on a shelf
And time was something we had plenty of
When childish laughter filled the air
And everyone I loved was there
Days I wish that I could have again
Summers filled with endless days
Secret places where we played
Days I wish that I could have again
We built castles in the sand
We picked berries with our hands
Days I wish that I could have again
When a clock was just an ornament
Sitting idly on a shelf
And time was something we had plenty of
When childish laughter filled the air
And everyone I loved was there
Days I wish that I could have again
|
||||
13. |
Saturday Night
02:27
|
|||
|
Its Saturday night
Just had my tea
Coupons been busted
No holiday for me
Pink Panther is over
Here comes Brucie
But it’s the weekend
And I’ve places to be
The Playhouse is calling
So is the YM
There’s a bottle of Strongbow
In KD’s with my name
I’m wearing my wranglers
Platform’s on my feet
And a jacket from Grattans
I’m paying up each week
But I know from your eyes
and I know from your smile
No matter what happens
that tonight will be fine
There’s a new girl in town
Her dads runs the G Crown
She’s awful pretty
Maybe she’ll be C around
The YM is jumping
The Smiths are on the F door
They know we’re all C steaming
They’ve G seen it C before
But I know from your eyes
and I know from your smile
No matter what happens
that tonight will be fine
But I know from your eyes
and I know from your smile
No matter what happens
that tonight will be fine
|
||||
Norman Paterson Lockerbie, UK
Originally from the windswept islands of the Outer Hebrides he penned his first song at the age of 65
Incorporating the
acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo and accordion as they sweep through his songs, Norman is making the kind of music that stirs the ancient soul. Painting memories of a nostalgic island life, his lyrics and signature vocals are warm, authentic and deeply intoxicating.
.
... more
If you like Norman Paterson, you may also like:
Dakota Blue Moon
by Jackson Harden
Gorgeous acoustic Americana from North Carolina, stripped-back and sublime.
go to album
Breathtakingly beautiful Americana bolstered by an assured sense of melody and razor-sharp lyrics.
go to album
Guardians Of Our Time
by Edd Donovan and The Wandering Moles
Edd Donovan's day job as a social worker brings a sense of empathy to his elegantly constructed political folk music.
go to album
Tides of a Teardrop
by Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange)
The forthcoming album from Mandolin Orange blends rustic Americana melodies with aching, orchestral arrangements.
go to album
Meet Me at the River
by Dawn Landes
On “Meet Me By the River,” Dawn Landes’s self-described “Nashville record,” buoyant country melodies settle deep into lush instrumentation.
go to album
In the Key of Grey
by Matt Dorrien
Nilsson and Newman meet in Matt Dorrien’s deeply-felt piano-driven barroom ballads.
go to album
Feel The Ground You Walk Upon
by Lewis McLaughlin
Old-fashioned fiddles harmonize with rippling synths on the Scottish singer-songwriter's latest collection of original folk songs.
go to album
