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A Bit Of Blue

by Emily Maguire

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1.
Memory 04:15
I’m looking at a photograph Of a faded frozen face I thought I knew And I don’t know the place or time The feeling’s but a trace defined by you The sun caught your shadow stalking Sees you walk across the moon In my mind you left behind A footprint like the sign upon the rune And a bright blue flame remains The creatures cry when you catch their eye In your hand, and they don’t understand But maybe they were laughing at the path That you were tracking in the sand With a shadow for a footstep And a curtain for a wall You’re the whisper in a conversation Cos no-one heard you call And just a bright blue flame remains And remembers like the embers of the forest Where the burning trees smell of memory Maybe I’m not on your mind You never stopped to ask, you thought I knew And I don’t know what you believe But you can’t see the dark side of the moon And I can’t read the sign upon the rune
2.
I’ve a story here to tell of a child who did so well All her dreams were gonna save her It was all bright lights and movie stars, looking cool in cars Getting older, something changed her But once upon a time, everybody lived happy ever after But every dream day turned to dust and only lies we learn to trust Getting older something changed us Of all the things I thought I’d be the only one still here is me Getting older we’re just changing But once upon a time, everybody lived happy ever after Once upon a time, everybody lived happy ever after But I’ve a story still untold, I’ll still be young before I’m old Getting older nothing changes I’ll still be waiting, wanting more, filling time I’ve filled before Getting older nothing changes Once upon a time, everybody lived happy ever after Once upon a time, everybody lived happy ever after Whatever happened after It was all bright lights and movie stars, looking cool in cars And getting older, nothing changes
3.
A bit of blue Enough to stain these clouds a better hue To maybe make me change the view Though something tells me nothing’s new To you but I could see it through And I would say to you You’re seeking black and white reasons For these technicoloured feelings And still nothing comes to life Cos it’s drained as the grey of each and everyday It could do with a bit of blue A bit of blue Enough to make me think, think it through To maybe make me change my mind, Though nothing tells me that I’m defined By you, and I could see it through But I don’t know what to do I’m seeking black and white reasons For these technicoloured feelings And still nothing comes to life Cos it’s drained as the grey of each and everyday It could do with a bit of blue We could paint our dreams on a big blank screen But still nothing, still nothing would come alive We’re seeking black and white reasons For these technicoloured feelings And still nothing comes to life Cos it’s drained as the grey of each and everyday It could do with a bit of blue Seeking black and white truth Til we’ve nothing left to prove What we could do with a bit of blue
4.
For Free 04:30
The ancient rivers run dry There’s not enough space in the sky But no-one owns the birds in the trees They fly for free I got a thousand friends I never see I can talk to anyone I please But it’s like some social disease No friends know me And it’s a world of traders and thieves Everything I want is what I need And the wily salesman agrees He smiles for free But I know there’s something sacred In all the living things I see, yeah yeah And I know that it’s a wonderful World and yes it’s all for free So I’m a little dazed and confused There’s a billion stars I could choose You can buy the moon if you please But she’ll shine for free But when a man of fortune is paid For every bomb and bullet that’s made Who would turn a war into peace When true love is for free
5.
It's Alright 03:21
I got a feeling there’s something wrong Lying by your side A stone cold sinking in my heart And though I’ll carry on like nothing’s wrong I already know But it’s alright if you don’t love me anymore Well there’s the door, you don’t have to stay I’ll be alright, better without you being there If you don’t care, you don’t have to stay I didn’t fall in love with you To fall apart over you But you tell me I’m the only one Lying by my side But the writing’s on the wall And I can read, don’t you see I already know And it’s alright if you don’t love me anymore Well there’s the door, you don’t have to stay But I’m not falling on the floor in pieces Begging you with tearful speeches But I won’t deny I want to cry But it’s alright if you don’t love me anymore Well there’s the door, you don’t have to stay If it’s not right, just go, I’d rather be alone I didn’t fall in love with you To fall apart over you
6.
Now Somehow 03:46
When you had it all it was easy You could fly high when you wanted to They were salad days and you were stronger It felt like you could Climb any mountain high And blow away every cloud in the sky And you may be wrong but you belong In fortune’s favour now, somehow But they took everything that you wanted Leaving nothing left that you could call your own They were dark days and you were frightened But I know you could Climb any mountain high And blow away every cloud in the sky So you carry on cos you belong In fortune’s favour now Don’t look down Don’t lose it somehow Now somehow
7.
On the banks of Acheron you’ll see Where the willow trees hang low There’s a child who looks a lot like me On the banks of the Acheron She has pale white skin and thick brown hair And as green as grass her eyes And her legs run fast as any deer On the banks of the Acheron She’ll be running free She’ll be running free On the banks of the Acheron And I wish I could have held her hand And have called her by her name But I lost her life and now I stand On the banks of the Acheron She’ll be running free She’ll be running free On the banks of the Acheron I will dry my tears and carry on But a hole is left inside Where a heart once beat, but now is gone To the banks of the Acheron She’ll be running free She’ll be running free On the banks of the Acheron But my child is not the only one To have died before it’s born About a hundred million women weep On the banks of the Acheron She’ll be running free She’ll be running free On the banks of the Acheron
8.
All I need is a little time A bit of space to make up my mind Married all these years and every day I wonder why but I’ve got kids to raise And it’s always been this way But I don’t know if I can stay So I’ve been trying to find the words that I could say Without him flying into yet another rage But every word I say, he’ll twist his way And I know I’ll stay this time I’ll change my mind Yet another day turns to night We lie in bed, and he holds me tight But I’m about a million miles away And while he sleeps, I am wide-awake Afraid to think it through Cos I know what I should do And I’ve been trying to find the words that I could say To make him understand I can’t go on this way But every word I say, he’ll twist his way And I know he’ll think it’s fine I’ll change my mind But I still love him in some way And we’ve got our kids and there’s bills to pay Our lives so totally entwined Like the roots of an ancient vine How could I cut it down I don’t know if I can But I’ve been trying to find the words that I could say To make him understand, to make him change his ways But every word I say, he’ll twist his way And I know I’ll stay this time I’ll change my mind
9.
She’s alone in a cemetery Skulls and bones underneath her feet Used to be alive Used to be People just like you and me Loving, living on these city streets And now here they lie Under stone and sky She knows there’s a remedy For hungry ghosts in a cemetery She’s afraid of life She’s afraid to die Can you feel her stare When no-one’s there The black crows caw overhead Will you take her hand And lay her down Back in her warm earthy bed As the clouds go by Under stone and sky She’s alone in a cemetery Standing under the willow tree Can you read the stone It says she died long ago
10.
Well I would rather be a rolling stone Than a diamond in a crown And I would rather keep my head in clouds Than to tie my feet to the ground I would rather risk going way too high Than to never fly at all And I would rather take a running dive Than be waiting for the fall Cos I would rather be a restless sea Than a safely rooted tree And I would rather make it short and sweet Than to waste a century I would rather be a loose cannonball Than a concrete paradise I would rather be a waterfall Than a solid sheet of ice Cos I would rather be a shooting star Than the empty space between And I would rather see your face in darkness Than an ordinary dream And I would rather take it sweet and slow Than never bide my borrowed time Oh I would rather take the highs and lows Than to hide in a narrow mind Cos I would rather keep the passion and the pain Than be chained in sanity And I would rather stand in the pouring rain To feel the sun shine down on me Cos I’d rather be free, oh yeah And I’d rather be me, oh yeah And I would rather stare through the blackest night Than never see the breaking dawn And I would rather bear this rack of life Than to never have been born And I would rather be a feeling flying high Than a reason running down Oh I would rather be a field of silence Than a universe of sound Cos I would rather keep the passion and the pain Than be chained in sanity And I would rather stand in the pouring rain To feel the sun shine down on me To feel the sun shine down on me Cos I’d rather be free, oh yeah, And I’d rather be me, oh yeah Oh I'd rather be free, oh yeah And I'd rather be me
11.
Across the evening sky, all the birds are leaving But how can they know it's time for them to go? Before the winter fire, I will still be dreaming I have no thought of time For who knows where the time goes? Who knows where the time goes? Sad, deserted shore, your fickle friends are leaving Ah, but then you know it's time for them to go But I will still be here, I have no thought of leaving I do not count the time For who knows where the time goes? Who knows where the time goes? And I am not alone while my love is near me I know it will be so until it's time to go So come the storms of winter and then the birds in spring again I have no fear of time For who knows how my love grows? And who knows where the time goes?

about

My fifth album 'A Bit Of Blue' followed a dark time in my life when I was in a deep bipolar depression after getting chronic tendonitis in both my arms and unable to play my instruments for 18 months. Again, producer Nigel Butler stepped in.

The brief for this record was clear: in stark contrast to his huge multi-layered production of my last album 'Bird Inside A Cage', I wanted these songs to be stripped bare, haunting and as beautiful as they could possibly be. I wanted to say that even in the midst of suffering there is hope, there is potential, there is even joy. That a bit of blue is sometimes a good thing: to make you think, reassess, change direction, find some freedom in this crazy world we live in.

The vocals were recorded in Australia with Pix Vane Mason at the studio where I made my first two albums. The rest of the album was arranged, orchestrated and produced by Nigel in the back room of his Welsh cottage. He followed my brief to the letter and we were mesmerized by what we heard. A highlight for me was 'I'd Rather Be', a song that had been produced as a radio single for my third album 'Believer' and which was now given its true form as a piano ballad very close to my heart.

REVIEW: Guitarist Magazine

With a singer-songwriter marketplace that is crowded to standing-room-only status, it's nigh on impossible to strike out. But Emily Maguire has been quietly beavering away in the background, releasing albums to great acclaim and then retreating into the shadows to hone her craft still further. A Bit of Blue is her fifth release and finds her material stripped right back to breathy, spacey ballads that are bathed in raw emotional power. Take Stone And Sky - a sort of modern ghost story; it's richly atmospheric, with a kind of intense theatrical narrative that recalls Kate Bush at her best. Certainly an artist to watch out for.

credits

released February 24, 2017

All songs written by Emily Maguire except 'Now Somehow' written by Emily Maguire and Nigel Butler, and 'Who Knows Where The Time Goes' written by Sandy Denny. Produced by Nigel Butler.

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Emily Maguire Obi Obi, Australia

Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer and Buddhist poet Emily Maguire has released seven albums, published four books, and toured with Don McLean, Dr Hook, Eric Bibb, Roddy Frame, Glenn Tilbrook and The Blue Nile. Originally from the UK, she is now based in the Australian bush. Open about her struggles with bipolar disorder, she is an award-winning mental health advocate. ... more

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