Get all 7 Mike Cavanagh releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Fittin' In, Works in Progress (old and new), Hebridean Suite, Simple Days, Chosen Few, Holiday Cliche, and Every Day Has Its Dog.
1. |
Plupushka's Big Day Out
01:44
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2. |
Give It All Away
03:30
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GIVE IT ALL AWAY
She was searching for a better time
Than the one she’d been counting on
She left her watch on the kitchen bench
By mid-morning she was halfway gone.
Along her road I thumbed a ride
She picked me up, said “I don’t know why.”
She smiled at me as I got in
Told me her stories and I told her mine.
I’d been hitching on Pacific One
Heading nowhere really, just ‘up north’
Running from my own demons
And looking for some new type of effect and cause.
We pulled off the highway at Innisfail
The night was dark; it began to hail
She had some port; I rolled my drum;
We smoked and talked till half past one.
She told me before she kissed me:
life’s like a decoy play;
Sometimes the best we can do to keep something
Is to give it all away.
Next morning we drove off again
The sun was shining over the Pacific blue
Neither of us spoke much
We just watched as the miles went rolling through.
She dropped me off near Gordon Vale,
Some people there I knew.
She drove off, headed inland now,
Along Highway 52.
She was searching for some better time
Than the one she’d been counting on
I wonder now if she found it out there
Or if she’s still moving on.
But I think we both found something
When she drove off from me that day
Precious things can still remain
Even if they don’t stay.
She told me before she kissed me:
life’s like a decoy play;
Sometimes the best we can do to keep something
Is to give it all away.
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3. |
Old Dave
04:53
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OLD DAVE
Old Dave was a traveller
Tenterfield to Broome
The highway his only lady
His only love was room
Space in which to thrive and grow
An horizon to travel to
But don’t listen to a word he says
Or you’ll be travelling too.
He’ll tell to you the stars
And sing to you the moon
Paint the wide back lands in a deep and dusky croon.
He’ll tell you of a place that’s good for coffee until 5
In a back alley off an esplanade
Where he used to spend his time
He’ll mutter something you can’t catch
And turn his face from you
But in a way that will make you head that way
When your travelling’s through.
I didn’t know him long
I couldn’t say I knew him well
I just picked him up along the road not far from Nimmitabel.
We travelled all that night together
Down that rolling black tar stream
He told me tales to pass the time
He spoke to me of dreams
Dreams where time is as hazy
As the dust upon the road
And any place a man wakes up
Alive unharmed is home.
I dropped him off along his road
Beneath the new morning sun
We stopped awhile in silence, just to watch the new day begun.
He smiled and walked off down his road
As I drove off down mine
Wondering what a strange old man
And what a lonely life.
But somewhere in the lights of dawn
I saw his gentle smile
And heard his easy speaking
Straight as a country mile.
I guess if you can tell a man
By the shining in his eyes
Old Dave is as happy a man as any of you
or I.
Old Dave was a traveller
Tenterfield to Broome
The highway his only lady
His only love was room
Space in which to thrive and grow
An horizon to travel to
But don’t listen to a word he says
Or you’ll be travelling too.
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4. |
Holiday Cliche
03:48
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HOLIDAY CLICHE
Bobby and Donna walk along the bay
Holding hands and laughing with the waves,
The sun is setting, such a beautiful day,
They dance together as the band begins to play.
They sip coladas while tanning in the sun
They giggle like lovers when love has just begun
Such a pity they know it just can’t stay
Island adultery, such a holiday cliché.
Dwayne and Jackie, lying by the pool.
The water’s warm, iced margaritas keep them cool,
He rubs her feet, she girly wiggles her toes,
Flirting and laughing, such stories when she gets home.
His dark body oiled, muscles shine in the sun,
He grins as he rubs her, it’s only just begun,
He’s only twenty, she’s older but just won’t say,
Mid-life crisis, such a holiday cliché.
They come from worlds away to seek a brief reprieve
To find something meaningless or something to believe
Before they leave;
All the same disease.
Dicko and Johnny, cruisin’ through the scene,
So many girls so hot and tanned and keen,
It’s all so easy – they pick two by the bar
Buy a round, soon they’re shouting the whole bar.
So many girls, so much flesh on show,
They drink their drinks then they all seem to go,
Dick and Johnny just piss the night away,
Two drunk ‘pajeros’ – such a holiday cliché.
They come from worlds away to seek a brief reprieve
To find something meaningless or something to believe
Before they leave;
All the same disease.
Summer’s end – they kiss and cry goodbye,
It was all so special, something really nice.
Planes fill the sky, the boats all sail away,
Dollars to buy dreams, holiday cliché.
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5. |
Whispers
04:18
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WHISPERS
Another Sunday morning slips down the avenue
Marty sips on her coffee, stares off into the blue,
Over the bay, two seagulls flying, sailing on the wind,
She dreams of who she was and if she’ll ever be there again.
Sometimes at night she hears him, voices drifting on the wind,
Jigsaw pieces of memories she’ll never fit together again,
She wonders how she lost him, why he went away,
Nothing seems to make sense now, so she lets it all slip away.
But she’s been close at times lost in bottles of wine
With the sea rocking her to sleep
But mornings come cold and relief for her soul’s
just so far away
And still out of reach.
Sometimes there’s this darkness that turns her days to night
And sometimes on these mornings the sun seems much too bright.
She know she had tomorrow in the palm of her hand
But all she had lies cast off now
Between the dead gulls and shells on the sand.
Along the beach the waves wash away all there was before
Leaving memories and broken dreams, forgotten footsteps on the shore
She knew another ocean once, one so blue and deep,
Whispers and dreams are all that’s left
To rock her now to sleep.
But she’s been close at times lost in bottles of wine
With the sea rocking her to sleep
But mornings come cold and relief for her soul’s
just as far away
And still out of reach.
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6. |
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FAKE ME
Don’t you fake me, don’t you bait me,
Don’t you gate me behind these doors.
Don’t you hag me, don’t you slag me,
Don’t you drag me across these floors.
Don’t you fear me, don’t you leer me,
Don’t you hear me through all these tears?
Don’t you see me? Don’t you be me,
Don’t you feed me after all these years.
Every day I hear you knocking at my door,
Don’t you ever wonder watcha doin’ it, whatcha doin’ it for?
Don’t you guile me, don’t resile me,
Don’t you file me in the lost and found.
Don’t you claim me, don’t you same me,
Don’t you blame me now you’re on the ground.
Don’t you write me, don’t you fight me,
Don’t you right me when you know you’re wrong.
Don’t you daunt me, don’t you flaunt me,
Don’t you haunt me when you’re dead and gone.
Every day I hear you knocking at my door,
Don’t you ever wonder watcha doin’ it, whatcha doin’ it for?
You ain’t my sweetheart, I ain’t your better half,
You ain’t my ‘jam tart’ and I ain’t your ‘hon’.
Go on, berate me, go on debate me,
Go on and hate me for all you’ve done.
Let’s see who’s been pursed, let’s see who’s been worst,
Go get your curses and I’ll get my gun.
Let’s quench this vile thirst, let’s see who blinks first,
And we’ll see who sees who first in kingdom come!
Every day I hear you knocking at my door,
Don’t you ever wonder watcha doin’ it, whatcha doin’ it for?
Every day I hear you knocking at my door,
Don’t you ever wonder watcha doin’ it, whatcha doin’ it for?
Whatcha doin’ it for?
Whatcha doin’ it for?
Whatcha doin’ it for?
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7. |
Swing Line
02:06
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8. |
Woodshed
04:36
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WOODSHED
At the back of the old firewood shed
Little grey field mouse lifts up his drowsy head
big brown eyes and his capsized smile
to greet the morning sun.
Old Tom cat, sleep all over his face,
Picks himself up with a feline grace
His one tattered ear turns to the mouse he hears,
And soon they’re on the run.
Greet the morning sun
See the day begun
Sing out everyone
Greet the morning sun.
From the top of the fence, two magpie larks
Bustle away with a twist and a dart
Their wings ablaze in the golden glaze
Of the morning sun.
Old Tom, he slows to a walk,
Can’t decide now which way he ought to
Chase his meal; but it’s no big deal
Cause he who hesitates gets none.
Greet the morning sun
See the day begun
Stand up everyone
Greet the morning sun.
The birds fly off way down the hill,
At the edge of sight you can hear them still
Chattering away, what they will do today
Is not up to anyone.
Old Tom cleans his paws, washes his face,
Looks back over his shoulder to his dinner plate,
Hey, there’s nothing lost! He’s just into who’s boss,
And the chase was all in fun.
Greet the morning sun
See the day begun
Sing out everyone
Greet the morning sun.
You can tell by the scratching under the logs
Everyone’s gone back to where they belong
Back to the norm of enjoying the warmth
Of this Indian Summer sun.
There’ll be more cold days before this winter’s through
More hard times for the likes of me and you
but with the cat and the sun and the warm warm love
we’ll get through each and every one.
Greet the morning sun
See the day begun
Stand up everyone
Greet the morning sun.
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9. |
Sail Away
05:17
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SAIL AWAY
Somewhere across the ocean,
somewhere across the sea,
All you have hoped for one day
will come home to thee.
Dream, dream nights
Live well all of your days
When your time is known to you
Then come sail away with me.
Shhh,
she said;
furrows are for soil and seed,
not for dreaming’s brows.
Shhh,
she said;
let me lull your dreams,
let me sing you drifting clouds.
Somewhere across the ocean,
somewhere across the sea,
All you have hoped for one day
will come home to thee.
Dream, dream nights
Live well all of your days
When your time is known to you
Then come sail away with me.
Shhh,
She said;
Here, here is comfort for your heart.
Shhh,
She said;
I am the sea, quester.
Come to me.
I am the dark.
Somewhere across the ocean,
somewhere across the sea,
All you have hoped for one day
will come home to thee.
Dream, dream nights
Live well all of your days
When your time is known to you
Then come sail away with me.
Come sail away.
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10. |
Gonna Be There
04:21
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GONNA BE THERE
When all the rocks have turned to dust,
All our fears are sunken rust,
I’m gonna be there.
When all the seas are dry and gone
When the last rainbows sing their songs,
I’m gonna be there.
Hmmm, I’m gonna be there.
When there’s no more music in the air
The winds blow silent, cold and bare
I’m gonna be there.
When the last star fades into night
Bathed in the warmth of that soft light
I’m gonna be there.
Hmmm, I’m gonna be there.
When every step on every strand
Lies buried beneath the desert sands
I’m gonna be there.
When every tower we built on high
Is crumbled to ruin beneath an open sky
I’m gonna be there.
Oh, I’m gonna be there.
When every politician in every land
Only speaks the words we understand
I’m gonna be there.
When all all we’ve dreamed and all we’ve made
Are but fading glyphs on all our graves
I’m gonna be there.
Oh, I’m gonna be there.
When every sword that was ever raised
Lies shattered on the words of an open page
I’m gonna be there.
When every deception, every lie,
Is scattered to the winds by one child’s smile
I’m gonna be there.
Oh, I’m gonna be there.
When all men break free of these chains
Their faces bathed in freedom’s rains
I’m gonna be there.
When all these words are meaningless,
Compared to the love in all of us
I’m gonna be there.
Oh, I’m gonna be there.
Through endless nights, across boundless seas
In my sweet woman’s company
I’m gonna be there.
When life’s light drains from my face
Still forever lost in your embrace
I’m gonna be there.
Oh, I’m gonna be there.
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11. |
Magic Bullet
03:33
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MAGIC BULLET
It’s movin’ past midnight,
The bones, I’ve tossed,
But there’s no message to save me
Every number says I loose.
Dog’s under the carpet,
Cat’s crawling the walls,
There’s a demon wailing
And the devil’s in my shoes.
I can hear her callin’
All through the night.
She’s like lightening striking
Deep down in my blues.
I grip the bottle tighter,
My knuckles are white
But there’s no magic potion
And the devil’s in my shoes.
Some women are angels, song birds in flight.
Some women will burn you all the day and all through the night.
Some women are angels, song birds in flight.
Some women will burn you body and soul all through the night.
I can hear her callin’
All through the night.
She’s like lightening striking
Deep down in my blues.
I grip the bottle tighter,
My knuckles are white
But there’s no magic bullet
And the devil’s in my shoes.
Some women are angels, song birds in flight.
Some women will burn you body and soul all through the night.
I can hear her callin’
All through the night.
But there’s no magic potion
And the devil’s in my shoes.
No magic bullet,
And the devil’s in my shoes.
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12. |
Sleepy Blues
04:03
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SLEEPY BLUES
Another night, you’ve gone out drinking,
On account of things we said before you said goodbye,
Lights are off and I’m on the back porch thinking
And just watching these stars as they fall out of the sky.
Someday soon I guess we better get this thing sorted
We’re drifting apart and we don’t even know why.
I miss you so when you’re not with me
But when you’re here sometimes I really wonder why.
Somewhere down the road that dog is barking
Just like he does every other night
I’ve half a mind to take a brick and go and visit him
But the other half has had too much arguing to fight.
Another night and I’m out here thinking
I just don’t get it, why you just get up and go,
Is it something I say, or something I don’t
Or something that I’ll never really know?
Somewhere down the road that dog is barking
Just like he does every other night
I’ve half a mind to take a brick and go and visit him
But the other half has had too much fight to fight.
Somewhere down the road that dog is barking
Just like he does every other night
I’ve half a mind to take a brick and go and visit him
But the other half has had too much fight to fight.
Guess I drift off sometime past midnight
There’s too much running round and round my head.
Then I hear your voice and I hear you whisper
“Wake up. Stop thinking. Come to bed.”
“Wake up. Stop thinking. Come to bed.”
“OK!”
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13. |
Leila
03:25
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LEILA
Leila the boat is waiting
Come with me to the sea
We can sail to the island
Where there’s just you and me.
Leila children are laughing
Come with me to the sea
They have a secret to tell us
Where there’s just you and me.
Leila the gulls are crying
Come with me to the sea
Soon we will be lying
Where there’s just you and me.
Leila you are so pretty
Come with me to the sea
Dance with me in the moonlight
Where there’s just you and me.
Leila hold my hand now
Come with me to the sea
We can fly like the birds
Where there’s just you and me.
Leila feel my heart beat
Come with me to the sea
Steps of the dance we make now
Where there’s just you and me.
Leila the boat is waiting
Come with me to the sea
We can sail to the island
Where there’s just you and me.
Leila children are laughing
Come with me to the sea
They have a secret to tell us
Where there’s just you and me.
Leila!
Leila!
Leila!
Where there’s just you and me.
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14. |
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Mike Cavanagh Catalina, Australia
In my 60s (how the hell did THAT happen!). Married to the love of my life - Jules - for 20 years. Stepdad to three adult 'kids'. Other loves of my life - 1970s Gibson J-200, 1978 Gurian 3M and Maton FG 12 string also 1970s vintage. Don't play nowhere these days, but paid some sort of dues over the years - restaurants, bars, even a few weddings. Motto - find beauty; be still (thanks Mr W.H. Murray) ... more
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