1. |
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The Colours of Cape Breton
When they show up late in springtime - til they leave us in the fall
They rise with us in color - til they wither in the frost
Here in rain and sunshine - gone before the snow
The Colors of Cape Breton - come and go
They’re the shades of her tradition - the Green, the Black, and Grey
The fabric of the island - that slowly wears away
Here in rain and sunshine - gone before the snow
The Colors of Cape Breton - come and go (ch)
The Colors of Cape Breton come and go
The changing of the seasons – til another year unfolds
Here in rain and sunshine - gone before the snow
The Colors of Cape Breton - they come and go
The blue of sheltered water - her life’s blood ever strong
With the golden sun in chorus - they will rise as one in song
Here in rain and sunshine - gone before the snow
The Colors of Cape Breton - come and go (ch)
David Stone/Ryan Roberts 2007
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2. |
Headlights
03:42
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Headlights
The car is all packed – goodbyes have been said
There’s no turning back – the tears have been shed
There’s a bank loan to pay – a line of credit’s agreed
No worries they say – you’ve a job guaranteed (ch)
There’s a long line of headlights - crossing the Causeway tonight
There’s a long line of headlights- crossing the Causeway tonight
Now he has a brother – and friends with a place
There’s room for another to join in the chase
Gossip and goodies – and a package from home
He’s glad to be leaving – they’re excited – he’s come (ch)
Now he’s just like the others – glad to be off
Until that cold morning – when the island she calls
So the truck it is packed – and its handshakes all ‘round
It’s time to head back – his fortune he’s found
The loans are all paid – the Chevy’s brand new
He’s put a year in the bank – so Alberta adieu
There’s a long line of headlights - crossing the Rockies tonight
There’s a long line of headlights - crossing the Prairies tonight
There’s a long line of headlights - passing Toronto tonight
There’s a long line of headlights - crossing the Causeway tonight
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3. |
Down Ol Number Four
03:27
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Down Old Number Four
Limestone trucks and orange horizons
Bill Lynch shows and mother driving - down old number four
From St Peters – Sydney bound
An afternoon – on the town - down old number four
Wish that I could find that place again
Wish that I could be that little boy once more- with the…
Birds a singing – breezes blowing
Beating cross the blue Bras D’Or
Drifting down old number four
Aunts and uncles – kitchen tables
Kentucky fried – and Woolco waiting - down old number four
Wentworth park – around in circles
On King’s Road – surely worth it – lost on number four (ch)
Shopping bags – toys and bottles
Grandma swearing at the potholes - down old number four
Ben Eion - Big Pond - Middle Cape
Past Irish Cove – along the lake – what a view from number four (ch)
Darkness caps – a full day’s frolic
Fast asleep – past Johnstown’s Hall – down old number four
Soon Red Islands - then Hay Cove
Poirier’s Store – for an ice cream cone - then back on number four (ch)
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4. |
The Old Town Hall
02:48
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The Old Town Hall
Saturday night in an East Coast town
The lights are low and the shades are down
Supper’s ‘et and the dishes done
Tonight’s the night to have some fun
Oh the boats are in and nets are dry
The catch was good and the spirit’s high
And everybody young and old
In shiny boots heading down the road
It’s down the road to the Old Town Hall
The dancers step to the callers call
The fiddle’s ready one and all
We’ll dance tonight at the Old Town Hall
Times are tough and the money’s low
Stores cut back – the business slow
But Saturdays they ‘let ‘er go’
And dance to the fire in the fiddler’s bow (ch)
It makes no difference here tonight
Of your politics or social heights
Get your feet on the floor, and you’ll feel all right
Dancing down at the hall tonight (ch)
Now those days are gone – the dirt roads too
And most of us - have long since moved
But it our hearts - when the fiddles call
We’re never far - from the old town hall (ch)
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5. |
The Boston States
05:27
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The Boston States
Boys we have a problem the Island’s shutting down
Her heartland’s been vacated just like an old ghost town
My thoughts go back some twenty years when I’d just finished school
Friends and I were headed west to find some work to do
Like my dad’s generation - thirty years before
Who packed up their belongings in search of something more
To Montreal’s big factories – or a freighter on the Lakes
And if that led to nothing he’d try the Boston States (ch)
Well I bet there’s work in Boston my father went down there
When things died in the fifties her fortune he did share
Said goodbye Cape Breton - said hello ‘The Boston States’
Guess it’s come full circle now I must be on my way
Well first it was the fishery back in ninety-two
The Grand Banks were exhausted said the industry was thru
Then the ‘Suits at Sysco’ they shut the steel mill down
The death of it in Sydney sent shockwaves through the town
And now the mines are closing Prince will see the end
To a hundred years of coal-pits a way of life my friend
It costs too much to keep it up it’s just not worth the fuss
I’ll have to bum a buck or two to catch a westbound bus (ch)
And I’ve heard the family stories of in the early days
When folks from Nova Scotia all worked the Boston States
Some would stay a year or two - some stayed their all their lives
Now that ‘land of opportunity’ sure looks good to tonight…
It’s not that I like leaving but I can’t stick around
It’s not that I liked mining but when the rake went down
I did what was expected just like the others did
Coal was in the blood you know I learned that as a kid
But now all that is over and I must hit the road
I tramped all through Alberta and back here to the coast
That means I’ll try New England it’s not too far away
I guess it’s time to get in the line for the Boston States (ch)
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6. |
Never See Another Train
03:56
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Never See Another Train
I see the tracks but there’s no train
I see the roads but there’s no rail
I see bridges with no beds
Things we’ll never see again
I hear the whistle in the wind
The grinding wheels - the hiss of steam
As ghostly “All aboard” still rings
All things we’ll never hear again (ch)
They’re long gone – they’re long gone
And they won’t be back again
No this town will never see another train
Cos they’re long gone – they’re long gone
And they won’t be back again
This town will never see another train
I’ve seen the pictures in a book
Every ‘now and then’ I stop to look
Old snapshots showing ‘way back when’
The iron horse and rails were king (ch)
I’ve held the watch and the silver chain
I’ve walked the yards in the midnight rain
For forty years I’ve seen it all
But I never saw - the writing on the wall (ch)
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7. |
You Did Your Best
03:14
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You Did Your Best
Standing by the Causeway
A sign in my bare hand
The wind is whipping of the Strait
I’m heading out again
I know I said I’d never leave
The last time I came home
But something deep inside of me
Keeps telling me to go
You did your best – you did your best
But there’s a future and a fortune to the west
And like countless gone before me who left where they were born
There will always be a road to get me home once more
I always thought I’d settle down
When I turned twenty nine
Plant some roots in my home town
Forget the gypsy life
But here I’m staring fifty “squarely”
Right between the eyes
Hoping for a friendly face
To offer me a drive (ch x 2)
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8. |
The Minstrel
03:42
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The Minstrel
Sunday night from my mother’s ra – di - o
A singer born and raised just up the road
A new voice wrapped in ancient tones lilting as his words they roll
Through twelve strings and a heart as pure as gold
Singing about a minstrel in the night
Who the children of the town had grown to like
Lured away – by his child like sense – parents woke to empty beds
He’d cast a spell with music and his smile
Well nigh on forty years have come and gone
Tonight I put my thoughts of you in song
The gentleman – the easy friend – the pioneer – who blazed ahead
So in your footsteps – we could follow on
Well the minstrel - in my song – is you
Showing us – that dreams come true
From footlights of the world - to our front doors
From Mabou to great con - cert halls
Stories and old Scottish songs
Your Martin and the Cameron kilt you wore
Sunday night from my mother’s ra – di - o
A singer born and raised just up the road
A new voice wrapped in ancient tones lilting as his words they roll
Through twelve strings and a heart as pure as gold
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9. |
Follow Me
03:30
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Follow Me
There’s a road at home that winds its way
Beside the restless sea
And the winds upon the water say
Young man follow me
Like a temptress – like a siren
Her song won’t let us be
It echoes cross the heavens
I hear it – follow me (ch)
Follow me - I know you want to stay here
Follow me - I know you hate to leave here
Follow me - her message rings out loud and clear
Follow me
In the days between ten years old
And forty five I’ve seen
Hard times come and good friends go
To the whispers – “follow me”
We leave with best intentions
To return again – you’ll see
But the sun on the horizon
It shines down – follow me (ch)
There’s a road at home that winds its way
Beside the restless sea
And the winds upon the water say
Young man follow me (ch)
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10. |
You'll Find Home
03:33
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You’ll Find Home
Is it just like they told you - is it just like it seems
Or is the end of the highway - like the end of the dream
Should you just keep on searching - maybe just turn and go
Knowing it’s out there somewhere - somewhere down this old road
Where you’ll find home – where you’ll find home
Where you’ll find home – where you’ll find home
When you look at the road signs – are you in the right place
Or has this world gone crazy – can’t believe how it’s changed
Any price for the asking – any dollar will do
Will you make them an offer – or wait til one comes to you
Maybe then you’ll find home – maybe then you’ll find home
Maybe then you’ll find home – maybe then you’ll find home
Now I know where my heart is – and it’s always been there
Though my life keeps me moving – there are none that compare
To your hills and your harbours – your rivers and fields
To the faces and places – that are always with me
Maybe I’m home – maybe I’m home
Maybe I’m home – maybe I’m home
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11. |
Work for Men in War
06:27
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Work for Men in War
Tonight my heart is breaking
tonight my heart is sore
Tonight my heart is breaking
as I leave my native shore (ch)
For I’ve boots of sturdy leather
and this coat that keeps me warm
But I clutch this wretched rifle
for there is work for men in war
Now they say that the war is raging
Far across Atlantic seas
They say the war is raging
That means work for men like me (ch)
My thoughts are on Cape Breton
My thought are off my home
My thoughts are on Cape Breton
As we cross the fiery foam (ch)
Now some say I won’t return love
On a battlefield I'll fall
I will feel their bullets burn love
When I answer freedom's call (ch)
In my heart I hope this ends soon
Tho my head says “please go on”
And I know this must sound crazy
But to me this war’s a job (ch)
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David Stone Saint Peter'S, Nova Scotia
Born in St Peter's, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, a move to Toronto in 1979 was the start of my writing and performing on a professional level. Irish pubs and folk festivals through the late 1980s and early 1990s lead to a move back to Halifax NS in 1994, and more pubs, clubs and festivals. Began writing songs in 1980 with cousin and friend Roger Stone. Played very steadily through to 2010. ... more
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