Fairport Convention

[fox69]

"Rhythm Of The Time"

"Rhythm Of The Time"


In and out the seasons, in and out the door
The meadows and the woodland, out across the moor
Bread for the table, fodder for the store
There's a whistle on the breeze in the morning

The men rise early to sharpen up their scythes
Their shirtsleeves rolled and their hats brimmed wide
There's method in their muscle as they move on down the line
There's a whistle on the breeze in the morning

Can you feel the rhythm of the time
Can you feel the rhythm of the time
Can you feel the rhythm of the time
Can you feel the rhythm of the changing time

The line is steady as the mowers make their way
They take a drop of cider in the heat of the day
The harvest is shared in the time-honoured way
There's a whistle on the breeze in the morning

In and out the factory, in and out the mine
The office in the city and the market town
The mowers they are moving in the rhythm of the time
There's a whistle on the breeze in the morning

Can you feel the rhythm of the time
Can you feel the rhythm of the time
Can you feel the rhythm of the time
Can you feel the rhythm of the changing time

Penny for a farthing, penny for a ride
Penny for your thoughts and a penny for the bride
Penny for the poor man who's left high and dry
And a wave and a whistle in the morning

In and out the ages, in and out the years
Love lies a-courting jealousy and fears
There was in the beginning and there will always be
A whistle on the breeze in the morning

Life's a moving picture, we capture it in frames
The image of the perfect and the image of the lame
In the eyes of the mowers we are all the same
There's a whistle on the breeze in the morning

Can you feel the rhythm of the time
Can you feel the rhythm of the time
Can you feel the rhythm of the time
Can you feel the rhythm of the changing time

 

[fox69]

"Rising For The Moon"

"Rising For The Moon"


I travel over the sea and ride the rolling sky
For that's the way it is, that is my fortune
There are many ears to please, many people's love to try
And every day's begun rising for the moon

There's a heart in every place, there's a tear for each farewell
For that's the way it is, that is my fortune
I'll lure you as the lace that the wayward gypsies sell
With the sinking of the sun, rising of the moon

Rising for the moon, the sun has set and it is dark
But the star of the enchanted tune is bright as any spark
The chorus of the dusk regail the evening lark
Whose every day does start rising for the moon

We travel over the sea and ride the rolling sky
For that's the way it is, that is our fortune
There are many ears to please, many people's love to try
And every day's begun rising for the moon

 

[fox69]

"Rocky Road"

"Rocky Road"


All you fine young bloods must think yourselves immune
From the traps that time will set in the sweetest tune
You must whistle up your winds and rosin up your bow
But none can foretell which is the path the restless muse will go
Oh, this rocky road, it makes a poor heart sore
If I ever get off this rocky road, I'll ne'er get on it any more
Oh, this rocky road, it makes a poor heart sore
If I ever get off this rocky road, I'll ne'er get on it any more
I used to take delight in my 'baccy and strong beer
I'd blow the smoke rings way up high, watch them disappear
And I'd drain the tumblers dry, just to loosen up my tongue
And I'd sing the weary miles behind with a rambling song
Oh, this rocky road, it makes a poor heart sore
If I ever get off this rocky road, I'll ne'er get on it any more
Oh, this rocky road, it makes a poor heart sore
If I ever get off this rocky road, I'll ne'er get on it any more
Well, I've roamed around this world and I've rode the clouds and the waves
I've met with poor men who were kings and rich men who were slaves
And I've knelt beneath the spires and I've heard some holy men
Bend the words to fit the world as it seems to them
Oh, this rocky road, it makes a poor heart sore
If I ever get off this rocky road, I'll ne'er get on it any more
Oh, this rocky road, it makes a poor heart sore
If I ever get off this rocky road, I'll ne'er get on it any more
Not any more
Not any more

 

[fox69]

"Rosie"

"Rosie"


I know Rosie
You're living in a world you didn't make
And I know it's hard feeling happy
When the things you want aren't even there to take

Come on Rosie, rosin up the bow
For the more I learn it's the less I seem to know
Lie down cozy and let's learn to take things slow
For the more I learn it's the less I seem to know
Of my Rosie
Come on, my Rosie, rosin up the bow

Throw away your uniform
Now's the time to take things by the hand
Come on in and take your coat off
Settle down and listen to the band
And ain't that grand, Rosie

 

[fox69]

"Rui's Guitar"

"Rui's Guitar"


The lazy hazy day is picking up the heat
On ripening fields of maize, hot earth beneath my feet
Guess I'll hit the road to find you
Let luck decide who gives the ride
So many things to say to you
Of love and life and who we are
So I'll sing a song for you
On Rui's guitar
So I'll sing a song for you
On Rui's guitar
The verge is full of flowers that come up year on year
Sunshine into showers, still no one's passing here
I need someone to remind me
Of water good, my memory's blurred
So many things to say to you
Of love and life and who we are
So I'll sing a song for you
On Rui's guitar
So I'll sing a song for you
On Rui's guitar
The sailor and the song, the danger and bravado
Of how he carried on when the loneliness had found him
Throwing dice for the direction
Of the breeze, through random seas
Oh, heaven help the soul that never finds its home
Forever in a hole, always far too wrong
Now the headlights blind my eyes
Redeeming light, into the night
So many things to say to you
Of love and life and who we are
So I'll sing a song for you
On Rui's guitar
So I'll sing a song for you
On Rui's guitar

 

[fox69]

"Sailors Alphabet"

"Sailors Alphabet"


A's for the anchor that lies at our bow
B's for the bowsprit and the jibs all lie low
C's for the capstan we all run around
D's for the davits to lower the boat down
Merrily, merrily
So merry sail we, no mortal on earth like a sailor at sea
Heave away, haul away, the ship rolls along
Give a sailor his grog and there's nothing goes wrong

E's for the ensign that at our mast flew
F's for the forecastle where lives our crew
G's for the galley where the salt junk smells strong
And H for the halyards we hoist with a song
Merrily, merrily
So merry sail we, no mortal on earth like a sailor at sea
Heave away, haul away, the ship rolls along
Give a sailor his grog and there's nothing goes wrong

I's for the eyebolts, no good for the feet
J's for the jibs, boys, stand by the lee sheet
K's for the knighthead where our petty officer stands
L's for the leeside, hard found by new hands
Merrily, merrily
So merry sail we, no mortal on earth like a sailor at sea
Heave away, haul away, the ship rolls along
Give a sailor his grog and there's nothing goes wrong

M's for the mainmast, it's stout and it's strong
N's for the needle that never points wrong
O's for the oars of our old jolly boats
And P's for the pinnace which lively do float
Merrily, merrily
So merry sail we, no mortal on earth like a sailor at sea
Heave away, haul away, the ship rolls along
Give a sailor his grog and there's nothing goes wrong

Q's for the quarterdeck where our officer stands
R's for the rudder that keeps the ship in command
S is for the stunsells that drive her along
And T's for the topsail, to get there takes long
Merrily, merrily
So merry sail we, no mortal on earth like a sailor at sea
Heave away, haul away, the ship rolls along
Give a sailor his grog and there's nothing goes wrong

U's for the uniform, mostly worn aft
V's for the vangs running from the main gaff
W's for water, we're on a pint and a pound
And X marks the spot where old Stormies had drowned
Merrily, merrily
So merry sail we, no mortal on earth like a sailor at sea
Heave away, haul away, the ship rolls along
Give a sailor his grog and there's nothing goes wrong

Y's for the yardarm, needs a good sailor man
Z is for Zoe, and I'm her fancy man
Z's also for zero in the cold winter time
And now we have brought all the letters in rhyme
Merrily, merrily
So merry sail we, no mortal on earth like a sailor at sea
Heave away, haul away, the ship rolls along
Give a sailor his grog and there's nothing goes wrong

 

[fox69]

"Set Me Up"

"Set Me Up"


Standing here, holding an empty cup
You can set me up
You have set me up
Took an inch, but you needed that extra look
You can set me up
You have set me up
Took an apple, sit from the tree
You can set me up
You have set me up
Just one bite, straight into ecstasy
You can set me up
You have set me up
No logic can be used to explain
How I'm in this situation
There's no answers
This is only a game
I'm choking on the seeds of doubt
On the front page, a mother she was crying
You can set me up
You have set me up
To the children she knew she was denying
You can set me up
You have set me up
Next to her, leaning on her shoulder
You can set me up
You have set me up
Crazy man, paid a price for what he told her
You can set me up
You have set me up
No logic can be used to explain
How I'm in this situation
There's no answers
This is only a game
I'm choking on the seeds of doubt
Cased in gold, a future I can see
You can set me up
You have set me up
Fix my eyes are nothing but a memory
You can set me up
You have set me up
Open the door there was just an empty space
You can set me up
You have set me up
What I shot at, I could only see your face
You can set me up
You have set me up
No logic can be used to explain
How I'm in this situation
There's no answers
This is only a game
I'm choking on the seeds of doubt
Standing here, holding an empty cup
You can set me up
You have set me up
Took an inch, but you needed that extra look
You can set me up
You have set me up

 

[fox69]

"Shattering Live Experience"

"Shattering Live Experience"


Evening's dawning, missed the morning
Slept the afternoon
Half the day's gone, still I laze on
Got no silver spoon
But there's someone out there somewhere
Some girl with my other side
She won't know me, but she'll show me
How to treat another heart
Life is bedlam if you let them
Kick and put you down
They will race you, beat, disgrace you
Push your face into the ground
But you can get out of there somehow
She will show you how it's done
She's no lady, but she made me
Feel that I need a crown
I'll repay her and convey her
My realities
She'll respond with, condescend with
Trivialities
For she doesn't have to think of
For too long to read my mind
She's a winner, no beginner
She's a friend of mine

 

[fox69]

"She Moves Through The Fair"

"She Moves Through The Fair"


My young love said to me
"My mother won't mind
And my father won't slight you
For your lack of kind"

And she laid her hand on me
And this she did say
"Oh, it will not be long, love
Till our wedding day"

And she went away from me
And moved through the fair
And fondly I watched her
Move here and move there

And then she went onward
Just one star awake
Like the swan in the evening
Moves over the lake

Last night she came to me
My dead love came in
So softly she came
That her feet made no din

And she laid her hand on me
And this she did say
"Oh, it will not be long, love
Till our wedding day"

 

[fox69]

"She's Like The Swallow"

"She's Like The Swallow"


She's like the swallow that flies so high
She's like the river that never runs dry
She's like the sunshine on the lee shore
I love my love and love is no more

'Twas down in the meadow this fair maid bent
A-picking the primrose just as she went
The more she picked and the more she pulled
Until she gathered her apron full

She climbed on yonder hill above
To give a rose unto her love
She gave him one, she gave him three
She gave her heart for company

And as they sat on yonder hill
His heart grew hard, so harder still
He has two hearts instead of one
She says, "Young man, what have you done?"

"How foolish, foolish you must be
To think I love no one but thee
The world's not made for one alone
I take delight in everyone"

She took her roses and made a bed
A stony pillow for her head
She lay her down, no more did say
But let her roses fade away

She's like the swallow that flies so high
She's like the river that never runs dry
She's like the sunshine on the lee shore
She loves her love but she'll love no more