1. |
Betty Get Me Home
04:56
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When we made it to the border
Only wish they'd waited for us, Betty
But the wood was split with water
It was too cold to remain
Found the box of sad reminders
And wrote a note for those behind us, Betty
But all the time that I was writing
My words ran into rain
In the silence of the shelter
I wondered what I’d come here for
And a second heaven opened
As I held that broken door
Betty, get me home
Betty, get me home
Only wish I'd thought to tell them
In the quiet of that autumn morning
Waiting for the bus to take us
From the shore of lake Chelan
That in the end, there is no answer
But with my friends, I could forget the question
In your smile, there's no suggestion
I may be a broken man
But if there's a second heaven
Where the pointless pilgrims go
After they have touched their angel
Just to find it's only snow
Then I'll meet you by the water
And we'll walk this trail once more
I have left the living part of me
There, upon that perfect shore
Betty, get me home
Betty, get me home
Betty, get me home
Betty, get me home
I'm trying the best I can
But nobody understands
I'm smiling the best I can
But nobody understands
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2. |
Lake Morena
03:26
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In my dream, we are circling high
In a bright moonlit sky above Lake Morena
Gazing down at the wandering forest of lights
Leaving up through the spring, to reach for the border
Where the north wind blows over the hills
To trouble us under the covers
In our bed of earth
As deep as a word breathed by the gentlest lover
Up and up, till the weight falls away
You are so far ahead, we’re speaking in echoes
I was tangled into the roots of my pain
But now I’m nothing at all;
The moon on the meadow
Where the north wind blows over us still
A heaven we both dream together
TRUMPET
Wake up
Before I tickle your ear
We made it, my love
I don't know how, but we're here
Though the desert is cold,
Don't want to wait for the sun
So pick up your sticks
Honey, there's two thousand, six hundred deeds to be done
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3. |
Pressed Wildflowers
03:42
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Through the grain, I see you blazing like a warhead
Glory morning lays its crown upon your forehead, and
Daisies pray to the grey immortal spires
That my memory will one day drown in fire
Swim the lake, for soon we’ll drain it into verses
Lose our muscle while we exorcise our curses, and
Driving home, the wheel will spin to winter
As these troubled trees grow ever thinner
Oh, the perfume of our bower
Fading like a leaf in a book of pressed wildflowers
Doing battle with a body that abhors you,
Find your feet inside the steps that I cut for you
The morning glory rings its bell upon the hour;
But my memory is always late to muster
Round every corner, that kaleidoscope is turning
Someone whispers, is there beauty in the burning?
But oh, the perfume of our bower
Fading like a leaf in a book of pressed wildflowers
And oh, will we ever see such friends again?
Scattered to the breeze, never resting in one place again
Whistle
If you're lucky, you'll remember what you lose
(Enough to braid the best of your tattoos)
And watch the grey immortal towers sink into the blue
Said if you're lucky, you'll remember what you lose
But me, I grow so easily confused
And the days, they die like wildflowers pressed beneath my shoes
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4. |
Whitney to the End
04:26
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Don’t go
You’ll make no monument
Up the page unshaded on the app
I don’t care why you claim to want this
It’s too wild, you'll die up there, come back
(Ooooh)
Old snow bedecks the battlements
High above the Alabama hills
Be safe, please, my frail companions
We’ll meet once more, mid-summer, if god wills
(Ooooh)
I didn’t hike the trail so I could give up
But someone has to think about our lives
Will I waste half of mine in asking, who made me captain?
We’re lost, but we’re making good time
Back to Lone Pine
Back to Lone Pine
Flip to north California
The path uncleared, the hills a fearful frown
Here, dusk falls with a strange enchantment:
Northbound ghosts float up as we sink down
Godspeed you, my pale companions!
When we descend from Whitney to the end,
We’ll rattle that eternal portal
With a song for our departed friends
(Ooohh)
I didn’t hike the trail so I could give up
Who’ll break the chain of footprints? No, not I
But I’ll trade half my years to god to get me through this one
I’m lost, but I’m making good time
Back to Lone Pine
Back to Lone Pine
Back to Lone Pine
Back to Lone Pine
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5. |
Snowmelt
04:40
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6. |
Oregone
03:55
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Find yourself alone in Oregone
On another zero day
The clock won’t stop, the muscle never mends
And your friends are so far away
You frayed your rope above the white divide
Where the river roared like hell
Now you braid your hair at the bottom of the hill
Growing old in a grey motel
Oh, and one by one, the angels of this town
Flew their children to the sun
Still you rattle round like a pebble in a shoe
Wondering how you've been down so long
Only snow
Guess there's no reception
Though that mirror shows
The death of your complexion
You’ve got seven bones
And absolutely nothing left to do
Out there, the fear
The creek that ever widens
As you strain to hear
The screaming of the sirens
Oh don't be naive
There's nobody lost but you
So find yourself alone in Oregone
On another zero day
The clock won’t stop, the muscle never mends
And the end is so far away
(Instrumental)
Call your mum
Try to keep from crying
But there's something wrong:
Best rehearse your lying
As you slowly sink
Drowning in the oldest tub in town
I should have known
I could never hack it
Have I lost my hope?
Or just forgot to pack it?
If your compass blows,
There's nowhere to go but down
So find yourself alone in Oregone
On another zero day
The clock won’t stop, the muscle never mends
And this dream you fought so hard for
Has turned to your tormentor
And heaven seems so far away
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7. |
Figures in the Fog
04:50
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If one day, this trail should end
Where the hell would I go then?
And for that matter, where would you
If there’s no home to come home to?
In the fog, we form a line
One in front and one behind
Though I’m blind, I feel no fear
Because my family is here
And we’re as close as close can be
I’ve got him, and she’s got me
There’s no fight that can’t be fixed
No broken guy that we can’t stitch
Once, we held the world
Until that magpie stole it
From out of our hands
But if you give me yours,
I promise I will hold it
As tight as I can
Look at us, we’ve got it all
Least until the leaves should fall
Though the news is growing grim,
I’ve still got you, you’ve still got him
(Solo)
Once, we held the world
Until that bastard stole it
From out of our hands
But if you give me yours,
I promise I will hold it
As tight as I can
We are walking on a knife
One way, death; the other, life
But either way, I know I’m loved
By those figures in the fog
So if one day, this trail should end
Here’s what we could all do then:
Form a circle in the dark
And warm the winter with our hearts
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8. |
Hiker Midnight
05:05
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It's my first thirty-nine
And my last, I would trust
And still I'm not certain
If I've done enough
Since she sent me the wire
That the godawful sound
Of nothing meant fire
Closing all around
See, the birds are all gone
No one fleeing but me
And there's how many miles
To sanctuary?
It's hiker midnight
And I'm so far from home
It's hiker midnight…
That long summer, we smoked
And now Washington burns
These kids with their rockets
Are never gonna learn
When that phoenix alights
In the ash of our wood
Then we'll wake to a sunrise
The colour of blood
It's hiker midnight
And I'm down to my bones
It's hiker midnight
And I'm alone, I'm alone
(Instrumental)
It's my first forty-two
And a new private hell
To wake to a stranger
Whom I know too well
All it took was a spark
Tossed around in a gale
Now there's absolutely nothing
Left of our trail
It's hiker midnight
And she's still not come home
It's hiker midnight
And I'm alone, I'm alone
Oh, don't spend your penitence
There's no time to atone
It's hiker midnight
And we're alone, we're alone
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9. |
Scissors Crossing
04:37
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When we got to Scissors Crossing
I thought we'd died and gone to heaven
All our friends were waiting patiently
And the angels cheered our entrance
(Clap)
I was born one April morning
I'll go to sleep a little later
A whole long lifetime in between
Then an empty ever-after
(Mmmmm)
Then in August came my middle age
Lost a friend and missed her dearly
I'd give more than I can afford
Just to feel her laughter cheer me
And soon I'll meet that monument
In the gloaming of October
This novel now just a ragged spine
No more pages to turn over
(Ooooh)
Even pain is another kind of beauty
So give me one last night on the earth before you take it from me
(Whistle & trumpet)
Even pain is another kind of beauty
That's why I hold you a little too tight, even though I know you'll cut me
Going back to Scissors Crossing
Where the smiles are full of kindness
When you finally feel you’ve had enough
Love, you know just where to find us
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10. |
St Vitus' Dance
04:30
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Somehow, you're not yourself
Satanic toothpaste swills
As by a stranger's will
And the city that spat you out
Now sucks you in again
Like some unspeakable phlegm
Oh God, for a holiday
Steep stairs to climb your creeping cares away
From the subway blues,
To the sway of the waiter's lonely trance
We're all stepping to Saint Vitus' Dance
Cough till your throat goes numb
Don’t know who made the plague
Could have been anyone
All I know is, I hate this train
Out of the choking crowd
And back to the smoke again
But I know a place that's free
Nobody there to take the air but me
Give me two good shoes,
One pack and a pair of open hands,
And I know he'll leave me be
St Vitus…
Seemed so far away before the battle in the sky
Just shy of Ashland, heading for the burn
We ate our snacks and watched the sun turn black
With glasses for the glare
Just a little scared
That light might not return
So back to the chorus line
Six fat figurines with loops and lies entwined
As the subway chews
On the humans who never stood a chance
There's no stopping our
St Vitus' Dance
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11. |
Heavy Medal
05:57
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I'm not missing every minute, but I miss it every day
But I got my heavy medal
So I'm okay
I hang it on the west wall, first thing to catch the sun
Such a beautiful inscription:
Congrats, you're done
Some days I see her falling
Some days I only see the snow,
And I'm hanging like a teardrop
Hold on, babe, I'm coming, don't let go
We're still not really talking
But I make her laugh sometimes
And we got our heavy medals
So we'll do fine
(SOLO)
There's still some unbelievers, including my own head
Saying, why do you keep on walking?
Man: you’ll only end up dead
Well,
A whole day without a river, beneath a burning resupply
But at the end, a brand new sunset
So man, that's why
This city feels so empty
No more agony or bliss
And I don't know what I want now:
I only know that it's not this
I'm not loving every minute
But I'm living every day
And I got my heavy medal
So I'm ok
If you're not loving every minute
But you're smiling half the time
Well then, you've got your heavy medal
And you'll be fine
Take us home!
In Casa, Casa de Luna
We were raising the tune I carry
Like an Olympic flame
In Casa, Casa de Luna
We were erasing the rules and
Shyly painting our brand-new names
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Tim Cameron Santa Monica, California
Tim Cameron hails from Liverpool, England, and now lives in Santa Monica. He is a songwriter and composer for commercials
and film, with clients ranging from the Clyfford Still Museum to the Navajo Nation.
His latest album, Hiker Midnight, tells the story of his 2400-mile hike from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Email at tim@timcameronmusic.com
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