1. |
The Begging Song
03:42
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The Begging Song
Of all the trades in our hard times
The Begging is the best
For when a beggar's tired
He'll sit him down and rest
Well, I've been poor in Heidelberg
I've been poor in Bonn
Oh, rich enough to earn my living
From a simple song
I don't rise at half past five
To earn my daily bread
From the singing on the street sI do
It's enough, I can be fed
I don't live in luxury
Or drive a very fast car
No holidays in Thailand
Or in Australia
I don't know the tax-man
Hope he don't know me!
For what I earn is beggar's bread
And that belongs to me
A shilling in my pocket
Is worth it's weight in gold
For I have it in my hand
And I will not let it go!
I don't get no good reviews
No critics come to see me
The only Vips I know
Are the men all dressed in green
“Excuse me sir, do you know
You can't be singing here
Those CDs that I see as well
They're not allowed, I fear”
There are other places
Of course you must move on
'Cos in my trade, you cannot dream
To settle in one town
Oh, the world is at my finger tips
So people are telling me
But every time I try to grasp
It slips away from me!
The Begging is the best of trades
I really can't complain
Thirty years have gone since I began
To sing in sun and rain
Oh, I will rest when I am tired
And I heed no master's bell
A man would be daft to be a king
When a beggar lives so well!
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2. |
Sweet Lovers
04:38
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Sweet Lovers
'Twas of a lover and his lass
Hey and a ho and a hey-nony-no
That through the green corn fields did pass
In the spring-time, the only pretty ring-time
When birds do sing, hey ding-a-ding-ding
Sweet lovers love the spring
Between the acres of the rye
Hey and a ho and a hey-nony-no
These pretty country folks would lie
In the spring-time, the only pretty ring-time
When birds do sing, hey ding-a-ding-ding
Sweet lovers love the spring
This carol they began that hour
Hey and a ho and a hey-nony-no
How that life is but a flower
In the spring-time, the only pretty ring-time
When birds do sing, hey ding-a-ding-ding
Sweet lovers love the spring
And therefore take the present time
Hey and a ho and a hey-nony-no
Love is crowned with the prime
In the spring-time, the only pretty ring-time
When birds do sing, hey ding-a-ding-ding
Sweet lovers love the spring
(William Shakespeare)
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3. |
String of Pearls
03:26
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String Of Pearls
I gave my love a string of pearls
Taken from the deepest sea
She stooped and plucked the nearest flower
Gave the pearls back to me
I gave my love a bowl of fruit
Shipped for her across the sea
She reached her hand into the sky
Took the cherries from the tree
I gave my love a costly soap
All set in a silver tin
She danced and laughed and rubbed the flowers
Of lavender to her skin
And I would give my love a book
Of written words in the finest script
She took the book and laid it down
Offered me her own true lips
I gave my love a lover's kiss
For I had no more to give
She took my gift, she gave it back
With her ever sweeting breath
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4. |
Streetsinger
04:01
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Streetsinger
In sunny Spain and cold England, there's a streetsinger
Timbuktu and Samarkand, a streetsinger
His music started long ago
It's the oldest trade, but one, you know
Steetsinger sing me a song
Of where you've been and what you've done
Ways of the world, right and wrong
Streetsinger sing me a song!
Guitar in hand, a drum on his back, the Streetsinger
Money that he earns he throws in a sack. Streetsinger
From his looks you think he might be poor
His energy keeps the wolf from the door
Steetsinger sing me a song
Of where you've been and what you've done
Ways of the world, right and wrong
Streetsinger sing me a song!
Summer last year, you saw this man, streetsinger
Playing in the street in your holiday town, streetsinger
Now winter's come, he's wandered north
The new-born year will turn him south
Steetsinger sing me a song
Of where you've been and what you've done
Ways of the world, right and wrong
Streetsinger sing me a song!
Day-in, day-out he sings his songs, streetsinger
Doesn't take a break, he must go on, streetsinger
He tours the towns from summer to spring
Doesn't always need the money, he needs to sing
Steetsinger sing me a song
Of where you've been and what you've done
Ways of the world, right and wrong
Streetsinger sing me a song!
His cold, cold hands work in the snow, streetsinger
Throw some money and away you go, to the Streetsinger
You might wonder why he lives this way
As you pass him on a cold, cold day
But you might not think and you might not care
He could be living anywhere
Steetsinger sing me a song
Of where you've been and what you've done
Ways of the world, right and wrong
Streetsinger sing me a song!
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5. |
Great Men and Women
06:09
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Great Men And Women
A little, old lady eating an egg
With a cup of tea after getting out of bed
Must use her mind in some new way
Drifting through the dreams of yesterday
Once she was great, or so they say
Great men and women are not here to stay
They come and they go as the tides of the sea
And who will dare to judge their legacy?
I have no creed, no flag to fly
Men of great deeds all had to die
Return as naked as they were born
Their monuments left to stand the test of time
Great men, they say, have walked this earth
Great women too, or so I have heard
Leaders, thinkers, politicians
Poets, artists, writers and musicians
I have no creed, no flag to fly
Men of great deeds all had to die
Return as naked as they were born
Their monuments left to stand the test of time
Breakfast is finished, the paper not read
Milk on the table but why not go back to bed?
Just out of habit, she washes up the cup
And rubs the stains of the egg from her skirt
I have no creed, no flag to fly
Men of great deeds all had to die
Return as naked as they were born
Their monuments left to stand the test of time
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6. |
Lady of my Dreams
03:51
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Lady of my Dreams
I met you long ago
One morning in my sleep
You were breathless, full of passion
Then our lips did meet
There was no doubt, there was no guilt
Time was standing still
You were meant for me
And I was meant for you
Lady, lady, lady of my dreams
Lady, lady, lady of my dreams
I drove around at midnight
You were never there
I hung around in coffee bars
Couldn't find you anywhere
For all my restless searching
Didin't see what I had found
In the twinkling of a moment
Your eyes had captured mine
Lady, lady, lady of my dreams
Lady, lady, lady of my dreams
Deception of the light
I could swear you summoned me
So late into the night
On the threshold of a dream
I do not know, I cannot tell
I've chords without a tune
The embassy that I received
I believe it came from you
Lady, lady, lady of my dreams
Lady, lady, lady of my dreams
I saw the oceans in your eyes
The sky above the mountains
Inspiration in disguise
The answers to my questions
You are priestess, you are queen
You are the rising sun
You are the gentle summer breeze
Apon the golden corn
If this is only in my head
And shaddows of the night
Then I could marry fantasy
And you would be my wife!
Eradicate the day
Take faith in the night
If I could marry fantasy
Then you would be my wife!
Lady, lady, lady of my dreams
Lady, lady, lady of my dreams
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7. |
Go away from my Window
05:32
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Go Away From My Window
Go away from my window, my love
Go from my window, pray do
Go away from my window, my dear
You shall have no lodging here
For so as the moon shall wander the sky
So must you wander too
Wrap your coat around you my dear
To guard you from the bitter cold
Turn and face the coming storm
Feel it calling you home
And I shall comfort your other love
That is such a part of you
Remember the night we met by the quay
Promised each other the moon?
The moon is seldom full
The moon is seldom seen
Go away from my window, my love
Go from my window, pray do
For so as the moon shall wander the sky
So must you wander too
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8. |
Windsor
03:38
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Windsor
Cold, gold against a blue-black sky
Windsor castle, I espy
Waving flag says the queen's at home
Left the palace, she's left the town
Fast cars, driven by stars
Dukes and Earls with their ladies in their pearls
And the curls in their hair, their clothes to match
They don't worry which train to catch
To get to Windsor
Down on the river the boats do wait
Till the lock-keeper opens up the gate
All at once they are busy buzzing past
Make the most of a fortnight, go fast
Half past ten, the band moves in
Playing a tune for soldier tin
Coats and their busbies blowing in the air
It is for the tourists they are there
They come to Windsor
Boys from Eton are intent
On being one day in the Government
Or at ease with the world in their stately homes
Saturdays they can do the town
High above, a deadening noise
Air plane up there tearing the skies
Washington to London, London and back again
They don't see much, they have to hurry up
To get to Windsor
Shops are selling souvenirs
Pubs are serving real english beer
And cafés open up their door
Tea for two at half past four
Call at the castle, see the queen
She's often in, more usually seen
Waving at the world from her royal car
The Duke at her side they make a lovely pair
In Windsor
Cold, gold against a blue-black sky
Windsor castle, I espy
Waving flag says the queen's at home
Left the palace, she's left the town
Fast cars, driven by stars
Dukes and Earls with their ladies in their pearls
And the curls in their hair, their clothes to match
They don't worry which train to catch
To get to Windsor
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9. |
So sweet was she
04:35
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So Sweet Was She
From the silence of my room
I heard her playing, all alone
The dancing dust between her toes
The gift of childhood was her own
Before my window, she did laugh
I watched her play on the sun-dried path
So sweet was she, she seemed to me
Like gentle rain on a summer's day
So sweet and free, will always be
As gentle rain in my memory
A little while later, I moved away
Forgot, remembered, returned one day
To see the daughter of my dreams
Had put away her childish things
She sat, solicitous, under the tree
The dust had settled around her feet
Oh, unkind fate, ungracious time
What devil will destroy my dream?
For, at the dusty hour of noon
Fat and listless, so old so soon
The curse of time will mark us all
But not my memory of that fair girl
So sweet was she, she seemed to me
Like gentle rain on a summer's day
So sweet and free, will always be
As gentle rain in my memory
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10. |
Love Child
03:40
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Love Child
Love-child, flower in your hair
Love-child, do you know where
You’ve been to all of these years?
The answer, my child, is shrouded by tears
Love-child, caught in a trap
Love-child, who yearns to go back
To fields, days frozen by time
Your companions living in rhyme
Stop, look, go back if you dare
My poor love-child with a flower in your hair
Love-child, daughter of time
Love-child, sister of mine
Still gazing at the full moon
The piper is calling a different tune
Stop, look, go back if you dare
My poor love-child with a flower in your hair
Love-child, flower in your hair
Love-child, do you know where
You’ve been to all of these years?
The answer, my child, is shrouded by tears
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11. |
Fear no more
04:25
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Fear No More
Fear no more the heat of the sun
Nor the furious winter's rages
Thou, thy worldly task hast done
Home art gone and taken thy wages
Golden Lads and girls all must
As chimney-sweepers come to dust
Fear no more the frown of the great
Thou art past the tyrant’s stoke
Care no more to clothe or eat
To thee the reed is as the oak
The sceptre, learning, physic must
All follow this and come to dust
Fear no more the lightening flash
Not the dreaded thunder-stone
Fear not slander, censure rash
Thou hast finished joy and moan
All lovers young, all lovers must
Consign to thee and come to dust
(William Shakespeare)
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Julia & Chris Simmance Aix En Provence, France
Dear Music-Friends,
We are happy to tell you, that we are out there again, on the streets of South of
France !
Hopefully rather sooner than later we will also add some new recordings on our site here.
Greetings and till then,
Julia and Chris
... more
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