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From an Easel

by Lewis Dalgliesh

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1.
The Painter 03:45
Walking home through the opaque, Maybe this is what we need, Or sell our things from a car boot, You’re at the back and in the lead. Just a bubble in a blitz-war, But every painter knows his paints, I’m barely breaching the grey shore, It’s neither freedom nor it’s feigned. ​ It’s just a holiday within a holiday, You’ve been chasing your father too long, It’s just an hour away, but within another day, You can check-in your cases while we all carry on. ​ And I don’t know where I’m going, And I don’t know where I’ve been. ​ Feel it rain when I’m underground, Ashamed each day is the same, So I lose sight of why I’m walking, They say the painter never knows his frame, It’s just a balcony among a sea of balconies, We’ll write our postcards at the airport out, It’s just another dream but within a stranger’s dream, All I’ll need to get through another drought. ​ And I don’t know where I’m going, And I don’t know where I’ve been.
2.
Windmills 02:55
You know your mum asked me if I'd marry you, Before asking if she should invest in fossil fuels, The two conversations pretty well went the same, Short the stock if the demand's going away. It takes a lot of windmills, To light the cities at night, Lighting hopeful faces, It's just a little bright, It's just a little bright, It's just a little bright. You don't need me to tell you, The difference between being scared and being afraid, You’re made, you know, your dad told you, You’ve barely got a bad trait. It's hid beneath the plant-pot, But the plant-pot's locked away, I'd lend it if I had one, But the sky's a little grey, The sky's a little grey, The sky's a little grey. Your life's like a repeating day, A conspiracy of lies can't reveal a truth, It's true that you wasted your young years, You don't have to waste your youth. I don't know much about movement, And I don't know much about light, But from this frame of reference, The curtains will block the time, The curtains will block the time, The curtains will block the time.
3.
Harvesting 05:58
Been lurking around corners too long, Whistling between the shadows of a doldrum, There’s a place in space for the crows and the corn, But I yearn for more than squalor and a squaw. ​ We’re hungry for the yield so we yield, A week will pass before we heal, So I sit tight, indoors, wanting more, But without a harvest there ain’t no chaw. ​ You craved a house on a hill with a meadow, Your time was short and borrowed, You said the scythe was our birthright, Taught me to crave the good life. ​ So I force myself to visit the graveyard, Guess it’ll forever remain on my radar, And talk to myself when I’m alone, Maybe go through your old photos. ​ Been painting my own pictures to save, Cutting my own hair, these are dark days, Any day now I’ll have my way, Any day now my dues will be paid.
4.
Little Lie 03:46
Today I told a little lie, I don't think that I can forgive me, Today I told a little lie, And I'm worried that you will find out. About the skeletons that I hide, The disgraces that I've left behind, About the wrongdoings that have crept, Up through my fingers and into your chest, My trespassing waltzing feet, Gliding slowly down through the streets, Along the lanes of your memory, And into the green rooms of your mind, Today I told a little lie. Today I told a little truth, It hurt me more than it hurt you. Today I told a little truth, It's a word that I try not to use. I saw the Owl of Athena sat, On the windowsill at the back, Looking so pensive and small, Like a daffodil alone on a lawn, And she nodded at me and said, "Truth’s a construct in your head, Now get out of my Garden of Eden, And go put your tongue in a noose," Today I told a little truth. Today I broke my promise. I'm only half the man when I'm honest, Today I broke my promise, I only hope that tomorrow holds favour. Today I confessed our little secret, The regret weighs less than the reason, To a stranger that I met on the tube, The whole carriage now knows about you. Today I told a little lie, I don't think that I can forgive me, Today I told a little lie, And I'm worried that you will find out. It's all the same, I don't think that I can forgive me, It's all the same, And I'm worried that you will find out. It's all the same, I think it hurt me more than it hurt you. It's all the same, But it's a word that I try not to use. It's all the same, I'm only half the man when I'm honest, It's all the same, I only hope that tomorrow holds favour. It's all the same, The regret weighs less than the reason, It's all the same, The whole carriage now knows about you. It's all the same, I don't think that I can forgive me, It's all the same, And I'm worried that you will find out.
5.
The Daytime 03:40
It's funny I haven't thought about you in a long time, When asked if my songs are about you I just smile, There's a lifetime between a lyric and its meaning, I can only hope to become what you became, But it makes me sad when you say you live for the weekend, And in a way that's why I couldn't stay. Your paintings remind me of the daytime, I feel more alive when I'm in the sunshine, But I guess I'm just a coward in shining armour, Living in the present but engaging the past, I barely now recall the sound of your laughter, I hope that's not because you never laughed. ​ Cry, cry, cry, no I don’t, I haven’t cried for you lately, Sigh, sigh, sigh, no I don’t, I only smile for you lady. It's no surprise I don't talk about you anymore, Things were always different after your outpour, Shouting in the street isn't really my style, Though it didn't make me like you any less, Guess you have more amplitude than I have guile, And life's too short for me to waste your breath. Cry, cry, cry, no I don’t, I haven’t cried for you lately, Sigh, sigh, sigh, no I don’t, I only smile for you lady. ​ It's funny I haven't thought about you in a long time, When asked if my songs are about you I just smile.
6.
Forecast 03:45
Forecast It's only a forecast baby, You really shouldn't let it get you down, It's broadcast in the language of worry, Don't wait for your fortune to come around. ​ I don't know where the gramophone is going, I bought it on a whim to impress your friends, I'd do something for the right reasons if it mattered, But every trend will be replaced by another trend. ​ And you, And you, And you, Are coming through in waves. This feeling is feeling a little familiar, But now that we're living we may as well start, This is why I keep a chair by my window, It seems like a waste to live apart. It's been six months since I've seen you, You're an adventure and I like to explore, When you tell me all about your childhood, I want to smash your easel on the floor. And you, And you, And you, Are coming through in waves. ​ And you, And you, And you, Are coming through in waves.
7.
Billboards 03:45
Born in a matchbox in a shoebox on the hill, Earn my keep spinning in the local cotton mill, Up so early, home so late, never see the day, All the boys they did the same, poor wages they did pay. ​ If I were able to sleep now, I’d be out until the summer, When the flowers come to life, undercover ‘til the colour. ​ They taught him to cry for the war and not to live in fear, He cried only on his birthday, well he cried just once a year, Worrying that he’d die alone just like his mother did, After his father left her alone with their only kid. ​ If I were able to sleep now, I’d be out until the summer, When the flowers come to life, undercover ‘til the colour. ​ All of these billboards look the same to me, Next stop happiness is all that I see. So put A Girl Called Johnny in my ear while I wait, Plate up the future but she won’t believe in fate, This so called chaos in our lives, a slave to a trade, Some die trying, some live lying, others are born made, If I were able to sleep now, I’d be out until the summer, When the flowers come to life, undercover ‘til the colour. ​ If I were able to sleep now, I’d be out until the summer, When the flowers come to life, undercover ‘til the colour. All of these billboards look the same to me, Next stop happiness is all that I see. Next stop happiness is all that I see. Next stop happiness is all that I see.
8.
Habit 02:44
You're a habit though I habitually condone you, Like a cormorant drying underneath the sea, Fabricate you a false sense of belonging, Nominate you and then you’re a nominee. ​ Dear decay, I’m done, You’re gone and you’re gone, I’m alone with no pain body in me. ​ You were the first one to square root me, It was something of a banality, So I suppressed you a cultural who’s who, ‘Til I felt dissected and alone in the lea. ​ Dear decay, I’m done, You’re gone and you’re gone, I’m alone with no pain body in me. ​ Always endorsed your life of parallels, Running circles in the realm of debris, Around the same crowds I now just take the overground, Like a cormorant drying underneath the sea. Dear decay, I’m done, You’re gone and you’re gone, I’m alone with no pain body in me. ​ Dear decay, I’m done, You’re gone and you’re gone, I’m alone with no pain body in me, I’m alone with no pain body in me.
9.
Seventh Son 02:57
Seventh Son Would you like it? If Rome was coming down, You wouldn't like it, not a coward and never cowed. Would you like it? If I treated you that way, You wouldn't like it, another Caliphate. ​ In the year of the seventh son, He heard a novel. ​ In the month of the marble moon, I came to conclude. In the night of a diamond sky, You taught me to fly. ​ Would you like it? The law is not your friend, You wouldn't like it, another throwaway amen. Would you like it? If I made one for myself, You wouldn't like it, if I expelled myself from hell. In the hour of the setting sun, I reconciled. ​ In the light of the morning rain, I slowly became. ​ In the hour of my deepest need, I came to believe. Would you like it? if I treated you that way, You wouldn't like it, another Caliphate. Do you respect it? The sinner without shame. You wouldn't like it, hiding fault in the blame. In the year of the seventh son, He heard a novel, I don't know if I will be here tomorrow. ​ In the month of the marble moon, I came to conclude, everything I am isn't everything that's you. ​ In the night of a diamond sky, You taught me to fly, I never said thanks, you never asked why. In the hour of the setting sun, I reconciled, the life that I live with the life that I filed. In the light of the morning rain, I slowly became, the man that I want, the man that I made. ​ In the hour of my deepest need, I came to believe, all that we have isn't all that we see. ​ And in reflection of my previous self, I know I'm bias, but here I am now and there you are lying. ​ And in reflection of my previous self, I know I'm bias, but here I am now and there you are lying. ​ And in reflection of my previous self, I know I'm bias, but here I am now and there you are lying.
10.
Happy birthday Isaac, happy birthday June, this old sun’s a little overdue, Get outside, no skeleton key, smash the window, with vitamin D, Jump up, fall down, skip town, sleep around, The days are getting longer now, longer now. The days are getting longer now. ​ Be the blind, know no shame, trust your body, use your brain, Buy a ticket, skip the queue, climb a mountain, forget the view, Lose a minute, gain an hour, find a lover, pick a flower. The days are getting longer now, longer now. The days are getting longer now. 'Coz all of the people that I could have been, Are some place somewhere not unseen, Are no place nowhere and they'll never meet, What’s gone, is past, is done. So down a bottle, get the gist, ignore your latest to-do list, Ride the rail, walk the tracks, get lost, don't turn back, Jump up, fall down, skip town, sleep around, The days are getting longer now, longer now. The days are getting longer now. ​ It's a song for the gentle, A song for the brave, A song for the quiet ones, Walking home in the rain. It's a song for the lovers, Together in a haze, And a song for the loner, Making the most of their days. ​ And I don't know why, I can't wait for that light to surround me, And I don't know why, I can't wait for that light to surround me. It's a song for the gentle, A song for the brave, A song for the quiet ones, Walking home in the rain. It's a song for the lovers, Together in a haze, And a song for the loner, Making the most of their days. And I don't know why, I can't wait for that light to surround me, And I don't know why, I can't wait for that light to surround me...
11.
I’d go down to the river to skim some stones, But I can no longer skim the years that I’m old, I’d walk in the dark but the dark isn’t there, I’m no longer scared and I no longer care, I’d fight the good fight but it’s already lost, The freedoms we shared were replaced with cost. I’m going down. I’d back a horse, get some skin in the game, The course is closed and the jockeys are lame, I’d wake you to listen to the morning news, I’m a beast under bed and it’s rarely true, I’d point you to the map on my wall, But I doubt you’d see farther than the pin in Nepal, You’re going down. I’d claim to be The Polish Rider’s friend, A false flag’s ceremony has its letters pre-penned. I’d bring you back home and show you my ceiling, The floors are more interesting now that we’re kneeling. I’d take you life drawing to paint another life, It’s hard to get the light right when the day is night, We’re going down. Scatter their ashes before they return, Claim another miracle when they’re gone from the urn, I’d share my views if I think that you’d hear, You’re blinded by hope and you’re hidden by fear, I’d give you this song, you know I wrote it for you, But it’ll make no difference, it’s just another tune, I’m going down, You’re going down, We’re going down...
12.
Landscapes 05:27
Walked home with my lover, walked home with my friend, Sat down at my piano whilst she lay on the bed. Wrote her a love song whilst she fell asleep. Sang it to her in the morning whilst she made the tea. ​ My landscapes look brighter when she's around, I don't know what I'd do if she skipped town, But thinking about it sure gets me down. ​ My days are more fun when she's in them, The hollow sound of sorrow she doesn't hear, Yesterday I watched her befriend a squirrel, I think now even he wants her near. Lay in with my lover, lay in with my friend. Sat down at my piano whilst she lay on the bed, Sang her a better song whilst she lie awake, Played on a little longer whilst she planned our day. My landscapes look brighter when she's around, She has a melancholic smile for a frown, She sings to the flowers and the clouds. My nights in are more lovely when she comes over, Watching animated movies from Japan, She has the imagination of a child full of wonder, Swims in an ocean where the water lies below the land. ​ There I lay un-invented, tempted by thought, There I was uninspired, mired by law, And here I stand fulfilled, filled with flaws.
13.
I’d go down to the river to skim some stones, But I can no longer skim the years that I’m old, I’d walk in the dark but the dark isn’t there, I’m no longer scared and I no longer care, I’d fight the good fight but it’s already lost, The freedoms we shared were replaced with cost. I’m going down. I’d back a horse, get some skin in the game, The course is closed and the jockeys are lame, I’d wake you to listen to the morning news, I’m a beast under bed and it’s rarely true, I’d point you to the map on my wall, But I doubt you’d see farther than the pin in Nepal, You’re going down. I’d claim to be The Polish Rider’s friend, A false flag’s ceremony has its letters pre-penned. I’d bring you back home and show you my ceiling, The floors are more interesting now that we’re kneeling. I’d take you life drawing to paint another life, It’s hard to get the light right when the day is night, We’re going down. Scatter their ashes before they return, Claim another miracle when they’re gone from the urn, I’d share my views if I think that you’d hear, You’re blinded by hope and you’re hidden by fear, I’d give you this song, you know I wrote it for you, But it’ll make no difference, it’s just another tune, I’m going down, You’re going down, We’re going down...

about

From an Easel was written in front of of a canvas in East London.

A new years resolution to take up painting turned into a six month period of frustration at showing little to no improvement with a brush - From an Easel resulted.

credits

released May 5, 2017

All songs written and produced by Lewis Dalgliesh.

Recorded and mixed by Franc Cinelli at SongCircle Studios, London.

With thanks for their musical contribution and talent: Connie Bower, Franc Cinelli, Richard Dean and Juri Uchishiba.

All rights of the producer and owner of this recorded work reserved.

℗ & © 2015 Lewis Dalgliesh. www.lewisdalgliesh.com

Artwork: Karen Dalgliesh, Stewart Dalgliesh, Matt Royle.

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Lewis Dalgliesh London, UK

Songwriter, primarily.

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