Al Stewart

[fox69]

"Feel Like"

"Feel Like"



I feel as volatile as the weather
Over fields of Scottish heather
The night before Hallowe'en
You know I feel like
A catamaran in summer
The beat of a reggae drummer
The flag of a brigantine
This is the day when
All of my dreams came true
This is the day when
All of my life till now
Seemed oh so blue
You know I feel like
A plate of the earth in motion
A storm on the Indian Ocean
A shake of a tambourine
This is the day when
All of my feelings changed
This is the day when
All of my life till now
Seemed oh so strange
You know I feel like
A bird of a different feather
A trail that runs forever
Though a forest of evergreen

 

[fox69]

"Fields Of France"

"Fields Of France"



His flying jacket still has her perfume
Memories of the night
Play across his mind
High above the fields of France

A single biplane in a clear blue sky
1917, no enemy was seen
High above the fields of France

Oh she looks
But there's nothing to see
Still she looks
Saying come back to me

He tells her just remember me this way

Fore here am I more true
Than anything I do
High above the fields of France

Oh she looks
Though he'll never come back
And the letter that came
Was bordered in black

She'll find somebody else
But not forget
Leaving her regrets
Like vapour trails of jets
High above the fields of France

 

[fox69]

"Flying Sorcery"

"Flying Sorcery"



With your photographs of Kitty Hawk
And the biplanes on your wall
You were always Amy Johnson
From the time that you were small.
No schoolroom kept you grounded
While your thoughts could get away
You were taking off in Tiger Moths
Your wings against the brush-strokes of the day
Are you there?
On the tarmac with the winter in your hair
By the empty hangar doors, you stop and stare
Leave the oil-drums behind you, they won't care
Oh, are you there?

Oh, you wrapped me up in a leather coat
And you took me for a ride
We were drifting with the tail-wind
When the runway came in sight
The clouds came up to gather us
And the cockpit turned to white
When I looked, the sky was empty
I suppose you never saw the landing-lights
Are you there?
In your jacket with the grease stain and the tear
Caught up in the slipstream of the dare
The compass rose will guide you anywhere,
Oh, are you there?

The sun comes up on Icarus as the night-birds sail away
And lights the maps and diagrams
That Leonardo made
You can see Faith, Hope and Charity
As they bank above the fields
You can join the flying circus
You can touch the morning air against your wheels
Are you there?
Do you have a thought for me that you can share?
Oh I never thought you'd take me unawares
Just call me if you ever need repairs
Oh, are you there?

 

[fox69]

"Football Hero"

"Football Hero"



In the center of the field stands the favorite player
The ball comes floating in, they say a silent prayer for him.
Fifty yards away, a minute left to go
The ref looks at his watch; Oh, oh
He cuts it to the right, gets past a defender
A blur of blue and white, the moment hangs suspended in time.
One man left to beat
He can see the goal-keeper's eyes
There's magic in his feet; Oh, oh
And a single ray of sunlight reaches down to touch the golden boy
Seems to light his way towards the net
In his mind he sees the headlines in the morning newspaper
This'll be a day they won't forget
Now he's on his own, completely in control of it all
The shot comes flying in, headed for the corner of the goal
Bounces off the post, he watches as it falls
Everyone will say, he should have passed the ball
Now the crowd has gone, the stadium is empty
Several hundred times he will watch the replay on TV
Many years from now when his name's recalled
Everyone will say, he should have passed the ball

 

[fox69]

"Genie On A Table Top"

"Genie On A Table Top"



I went floating down the street one day
With a song playing in my mind
Hopping and bopping like a ricochet
Bad news was hard to find
There was a hint of syncopation
Coming from the sidewalk and the street
There was a glint of scintillation
Hanging over everyone you'd meet
And it makes me feel okay
Like a big yellow tractor going mowing through a field of hay
Like a genie on a table top surfing through the month of May

I saw a world in the window of a knick-knack shop
And I tossed it in the air
A girl went by with a forget-me-not
And she wore it in her hair
There was a peak of pixillation
And I never noticed it before
There was a jump of jubilation
And it seemed to promise more and more
And it makes me feel okay
Like a big yellow tractor going mowing through a field of hay
Like a genie on a table top surfing through the month of May

Oh she loves me and she loves me
Better than I've ever loved myself
She knows me and she loves me
Better, now I want nobody else
Oh she loves me and she loves me
Better than I've ever loved myself
She knows me and she loves me
Better, now I want nobody else

Percolating through the noonday sun
With wings upon my shoes
I was jumping about in front of everyone
No dignity to lose
There was a rush of animation
Bubbling about inside my soul
There was a rin-tin-tabulation coming
It was so hard to control
And it makes me feel okay
Like a pig with a bucket full of truffles in a French cafe
Like Louis Armstrong playing trumpet on the judgment day
Like a flying boat captain with an amethyst lake below
Like a winner of a marathon rolling in a field of snow
Like a figure skating gigolo looking for a heart to steal
Like a simulated orgasm suddenly becoming real
Like a big yellow tractor going bowling through a field of hay
Like a genie on a table top surfing through the month of May

 

[fox69]

"Gethsemane, Again"

"Gethsemane, Again"



In Gloucester Cathedral, on Saturday night
I came to your flower show, blown like a kite
And I stood by the tombstones, and gazed at the lights
On the altar
And the horse-faced old ladies and tweedy-toned men
Of county society they came and they went
With pamphlets and leaflets of Christian events
For the fall

But ain't it all just like Jesus
Crying in the rain?
Ain't it all just Gethsemane again?

Oh the half-a-crown programmes on sale at the door
Were clutched in the teeth of the rich and the poor
As they swayed in an undertone conscience-free
Forward together
And the outstretching hands of the swains of the Lord
Sold the communing commuters the word
With LPs of Mary and photos of God
In the hall

But ain't it all just like Jesus
Crying in the rain?
Ain't it all just Gethsemane again?

Oh the flowers hushed the air as the columns advanced
To the clinking of coins in a ritual dance
On flagstones that ached for a chance of a chance
Of escaping
And the mystical statues looked down so depressed
At the endless possessors becoming possessed
And the costumed confessors who never confessed
To the wall

But ain't it all just like Jesus
Crying in the rain?
Ain't it all just Gethsemane again?

Oh I saw a blue hair-rinse, I saw a black tooth
I saw a false face in a telephone booth
And the stark white-faced roses that screamed out the truth
Of their dying
And a walrus's dreams and a carpenter's love
Absorbed like a hand in a great rubber glove
And flown like a flag over battlefields
Factories and all

Ain't it all just like Jesus
Crying in the rain?
Ain't it all just Gethsemane again?

Oh I dodged the collection box choirboy and out
To the streets where the wind shook my hair with a shout
And the dusty-faced daisies were blowing about
So freely
And Christ in the ruins was wandering again
As he walked with the beggars and talked to the lame
And danced with the children and sailors who came
At his call

But ain't it all just like Jesus
Crying in the rain?
Ain't it all just Gethsemane again?

Ain't it all just like Jesus
Crying in the rain?
Ain't it all just Nazareth again?

 

[fox69]

"Ghostly Horses Of The Plain"

"Ghostly Horses Of The Plain"



We opened the door
To see the coming of the trains
Across this land of plenty
We suddenly saw
The ghostly horses of the plains
Their saddles empty
Struck to stone beneath the moon
These figures still remain
Steal your chances someday soon
You may not pass this way
Again

 

[fox69]

"Gina In The Kings Road"

"Gina In The Kings Road"


Gina in the King's Road, 1968
Blonde hair and eyeshadow, I hyperventilate
Purple leather mini, legs up to there
Don't you cast aspersions on my naugahyde affair

And she can make you believe
You're feeling almost sincere
And every day's New Years Eve
She's giggling in your ear
And yet she's so hard to reach
Although she's so close at hand
I'm like a wave on her beach
Sinking in the sand

Everyone went out with her, everyone knew why
No one ever stayed around, no one ever tried
Now Gina drowns her sorrows, drinks away the night
She's wrapped around some stranger, hanging on for life

[Repeat chorus]

Now Gina in the King's Road, in a raincoat shimmering white
Hands thrust in her pockets like Julie Christie might
Looks up into the distance, puckers up her lips
I don't stop to talk to her,we're just passing ships

[Repeat chorus]

 

[fox69]

"Hanno The Navigator"

"Hanno The Navigator"



It's a good day
for going to sea
Hanno the Navigator said to me.
There's an open sky and a steady breeze
out beyond the Pillars of Hercules.
Above the foam-kissed waves seagulls scream
up in the masts of our trireme
and it's a good day
for going to sea
Hanno the Navigator said to me.

Water
Water
From horizon to horizon
All I see is water

Steer beyond all maps and charts
down along the coast of Africa.
The first Phoenicians on this beach,
where the monkeys gibber and the parakeets screech.
Strangest women run wild down there,
covered head to toe in fur and hair.
They fight like demons,
better let them be,
Hanno the Navigator said to me.

Water
Water
From horizon to horizon
All I see is water

When you pull close to your fire at night
with your family framed in the candlelight,
safe inside these walls of stone
in the only village you've ever known.
The rain-soaked moon plays splintered crystal
shadows on your windowsill.
Like sparks of light in the shifting skies,
our ancient ships go sailing still on

Water
Water
When my sailing days are done
I'll seek Poseidon's daughter.

Oarsmen pull and curse and sweat
underneath this creaking deck.
At night I hear their stories told,
strong through storms and weak for gold.
Carthage stands like an azure pearl
here in the middle of the known world.
And it's a good day
for going to sea,
Hanno the Navigator said to me.

Water
Water
From horizon to horizon
All I see is water.
Water
Water
When my sailing days are done
I'll seek Poseidon's daughter.

It's a good day
for going to sea,
Hanno the Navigator said to me.

 

[fox69]

"Helen & Cassandra"

"Helen & Cassandra"



According to the myths and legends
At the fringes of our memory
Paris stole the queen of Sparta
And carried her across the sea
As they fled, he never dreamt
That he held the world in his grip
Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships
Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships

From Mycenae comes Agamemnon
And the Greeks of the city-states
Laden with their bronzen weapons
They're waiting at the Trojan Gates
As the arrow flies and Achilles falls
Does she raise the wine to her lips?
Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships
Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships

It's funny how the story lingers
It's probably a myth of course
A whisper in the ear of Homer
Perhaps there never was a horse
She could have turned the head of Paris
With the gentle sway of her hips
Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships

Oh Cassandra, what did you know
You who bring bad news wherever you go
You had the gift to see the future
From Apollo so it's said
And he made no one believe you
When you would not share his bed
Oh Cassandra, what did you see
As you walked the lonely road of your certainty
Gazing at the ruined city
That your warnings could not save

Oh Cassandra, so still and so grave, Cassandra
The Bronze Age kingdoms tumble
The cities fade one by one
The walls of Mycenae crumble
The Dark Age has begun
And the truth is lost in the ancient dust
Yet the memory forever persists
Of Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships
Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships