Under the Northern Lights
(Strachan)

Nothing could be finer
Fingers dancing through the night
Playing with the fiddle in the corner
Under the Northern Lights

I've seen the expert dancers
Never dainty with their feet
In the kitchens and the halls
Stepping to the beat

Many's the days get covered with the haar
And the sun's burning in the heavens
Bright lights sweep, long over the fields
And the bodies, aching with the day

Remember the nights and the power
Maybe the wish to forego the next day
When life is the switch of a circuit
I'll burn the candle, till the next day

Nothing could be finer
Fingers dancing through the night
Playing with the fiddle in the corner
Under the Northern Lights

How many times have you heard
Stories to the floor
A telling tale, a ruse that failed
Of distant chancers whose night
Fell from their grasp
No pulpit lesson for us all

Well let's make the night tonight
Dance with the moon
Step to the stars
There's no calling for the morning
Under the Northern Lights

And nothing could be finer
Fingers dancing through the night
Playing with the fiddle in the corner
Under the Northern Lights

(C&P 2000 MCPS)

The American Wake
(Strachan)

Didn't I say, didn't I say
I'd hold you in my arms again

I waved goodbye with a solemn heart
It's oft I've stood and looked aback
The land and trees have parted us
O'er the waves and seas our sorrows sung

And o'er the land, o'er the land
They drove us from our loved one's hearth

I followed where others fled
Like Donald and Iain Beag before
And I cursed the Lords and then their sons
For a golden promise, that's a gaunt grey land

And o'er the land, o'er the land

A chill is felt by every hearth

(C&P 2000 MCPS)

The Salacious Tango
(Strachan)

Stiletto heels on a marble floor
Walking by, there's a lingering smile
Latin lovers on the cusp of a hand
Promising soft kisses and more

Dancing closer with every turn
Moving nearer, she senses her man
Latin lovers hold on tight
Dance the tango, to tango

Find the satin, the silk and the curves
Step out of the tartan, the tweeds and the pearls
Feel the rythm, there's no call for reserve
When you tango, two tango

Dancing closer with every turn
Moving nearer she senses her man
Latin lovers hold on tight
Dance the tango, to tango

(C&P 2000 MCPS)

The Banknote
(Burns)

Wea worth thy power, thou cursed leaf
Fell source o' a' my woe and grief
For lack o' thee I've lost my lass
For lack o' thee I scrimp my glass!
I see the children of affliction
Unaided, through thy curst restriction
I've seen the oppressor's cruel smile
Amid his hapless victims' spoil
And for thy potence vainly wish'd
To crush the villain in the dust
For lack o' thee I leave this much-lov'd shore
Never, perhaps, to greet old Scotland more

The Marvellous Adventure of Cabeza De Vaca
(Strachan)

Give us water
Give us fire
Take our silver and our gold
Take us where we might climb higher

We've been travelling on
Since the day we stood and saw
Been feeling our way
In this vegetable cave
Don't know where, our treasures' stored

We took people
Tell us things that we want to know
We took women
Kept like cattle, till the fun began to show

Showed the heathens of our love
Put them down where they belonged
And Cut them down with steel crosses
The hand of the Almighty is oh so strong

But give us water
And give us fire
Take our silver and our gold
Take us where we might climb higher

We have fallen down as gods
Now stand naked as a man
Tied to this stake
With blood on the sand

hidden footsteps
moving closer
ever nearer
feeling danger
moving closer........

The Pop Mantra
(Strachan)

Play the chords with the left
Hit the rhythm with the right
Let the body immerse
Bring the soul into the light

When you're feeling low and confused
Affirmation, everywhere
Let time slow for time being
And the heart move the air

When lines are written and left unseen
Approximation everywhere
Let words gather a weathered sheen
Like stones in the cold night air

Everybody feels
Everybody sees
Everybody touches
But God only knows

When the notes rise on the outward trail
Celebration fills the air
Vibrates with a single voice
That shares a common tale

Speechless
(Watson/McGroaty)

Some days I wake up happy
And I'm still lost in my dreams
But I think it's a power we have
I don't know what it means

I feel it as it happens
And I understand as it goes by
But everytime I try to tell you about it |
I'm speechless and I don't know why

Do up the place
We're building in the sky
But I think I stopped it dead
On my own, once or twice

I feel it as it happens
And I understand as it goes by
But everytime I try to tell you about it
I'm speechless and I don't know why

There's something I want to tell you
But the words won't come out right
I felt so full of tenderness
Then my soul closed up tight |

I feel it as it happens
And I understand as it goes by
But everytime I try to tell you about it
I'm speechless and I don't know why

Speechless . . .

If I Could Be Bothered
(Strachan)

If I could be bothered
I'd travel the world
Take the low road
To find that Evelix pearl

If I could be bothered
You'd better watch out
The world would be my oyster
Not my oxter without a doubt

I'd roll right through the day
Never caring about the storm
I'd walk between the rain
And come out 6 feet tall

No more feng shui days
Piles of clutter facing north
We'd live in an open style
Without a shadow on the wall

If I could be bothered
There'd be no apologies
I'd never say never again
Till I see those guarantees

If I could be bothered
I'd answer the phone
I'd never say never again
Mr Strachan's not at home

I'd be so well to do
I'd dream for a while
Of the things I'd like to do
Which is what I'm doing fine

I'd even take my time
To sing a song
Just to remind me
Where my body belongs

If I could be bothered
I'd play the game
But I'm nobody's donkey
Or an ass by another name

If I could be bothered
I'd settle the score
Break all those familiar rules
But answer the curlew's call

I've no ticket to anywhere
I'm no lottery millionaire
But there's a treasure in a stone caim
Across the helds, over there

Tap dancing, downhill
On a single track road
There's a fire in a house there
That warms my body and soul

Sharks
(Strachan)

Shining whites
Shades of blue
Reach the door
Looking for you

No time to miss the morning call
Hard flight in a stolen car's a chance no more
One ring on that broken bell
Scares the life, its a loser's hell

Shining whites ......

One call for cash paves the way
Soft sell on broken glass you always have to pay
A threadbare life, on an open sore
Now your the bait, they set the lure

Shining whites ......

No time to pray for a saving grace
Crosstalk at home, a catalogue of dreams to chase
Cold comfort, broke you down
Torn to pieces on a sterile ground

Shining whites ......

Blue light and sofa talk, sent you round
Gift wrapped in cellophane for the sharks in town
The idiots lantern has lit the way
Into the shallows where the sharks love to play

Shining whites ......

With paupers luck, they're on their way
No monkey business, it's a payback day
No place to run or hide
When the sovereign finger's on the other side

Shining whites ......

Walking The Dog in The Mains of Gartly
(Rufus Thomas)

Baby's dressed in black
Silver buttons all down her back
High hose, from the tips of her toes
She broke rhe needle~ she can't sew

Walking the dog
I'm just walking the dog
If you don't know how to do it
I'll show you how to walk the dog

Asked her mother for fifteen cents
See an elephant jump over the fence
It jumped so high it touched the sky
Didn't get back till the fourth of July

Walking the dog
I'm just walking the dog
If you don't know how to do it
I'll show you how to walk the dog

Tell me Mary what's your tale
How does your garden grow
Why with silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row

Walking the dog
I'm just walking the dog
If you don't know how to do it
I'll show you how to walk the dog