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Postcards from the Heart

by Spike Flynn

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1.
Neon Lit Cafe 06:32
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He stepped into, that neon lit café Mountain mist cascading, stranger by the way A wandering stranger from the strangeness of the day Waitress smiling, showed him all her teeth He ordered coffee, she glanced down at his feet Hard roads travelled, to saving grace, And sweet release. Heaven’s dancing across the tree tops Every move you make is a dice that rolls You’ll find you’re gambling with your eyelids You can lose your heart, and gain your soul Waitress humming to a distant, radio serenade Her child comes running, showing what he’s made She’s always been leaving, still, somehow she’s stayed He flicks a cigarette, into the blaze There’s a trail of smoke, just drifting ‘cross the day He slowly smiles, And turns the other way The fires speaking, back in tongues There is no song left unsung There is no masterpiece left unhung A story is told, by every shadow cast As the young boy stares into the fire and laughs, He sees everything changing, Says, “ain’t nothing going to last” He sees Heaven dancing across the tree tops He knows every move made is a dice that rolls When you know your gambling with your eyelids You might lose your heart, but gain your soul.
2.
A Hard Place to Hide 04:59
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Life’s an endless circling 'round the sun, Like a merry-go-round that’s never done. If you’re wanting to escape from the ride, Well, a circle is a hard place to hide. Oh a circle is a hard place, to hide. And the moon just circles round this world Like a great big old shiny wandering pearl, In an ocean of circling diamond stars To remind us all just how small we are. Oh a circle is a hard place, to hide. Repetition’s both our healing and our hurt We fly while our feet plough through the dirt. With wings on fire we fly so high Oh a circle’s such a hard place to hide. A circle is a hard place, to hide. Will you be staying now or will you go? The nights a lonely journey through the snow. Distance is deceptive even here inside, A circle’s such a hard place to hide. A circle is a hard place, to hide. Seems uncertainty is the purpose of it all, The reason and the beauty of our Fall. For be it late or early that we ride, A circle is a hard place to hide. A circle is a hard place, to hide. Will you stay awhile here and lay with me? We’ll watch the morning stars rise from the sea, Rest our gaze in each other’s eyes, A circle is such a hard place to hide. A circle is a hard place to hide. Oh the gift of the circle, such a hard place to hide.
3.
Keep Moving On 03:15
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You’ve got to keep moving or you’ll seize and rust Soon enough you’ll face the day that you turn to dust I’ve walked across the deserts, found both shame and pride Travelled with both Jesus and the devil by my side Oh, oh, keep moving on Time dances naked, lighter than a ghost While death waits on the hillside, Dressed in a long black coat Some men mine a mountain, some men mine their souls Some men dig for diamonds, some men dig for coals Some men think the answer’s nothing but a dream Well nothing’s but a point of view, nothing’s what it seems The cards are shuffled then they’re dealt, that’s the way it goes Put your money on the table: only the Lady knows, Every mother’s daughter, and every father’s son Play your cards as best you can, keep moving on Oh, oh, keep moving on Time dances naked, lighter than a ghost While death waits on the hillside, Dressed in a long black coat
4.
My Lady of Sorrow 06:32
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May I rest my head on your shoulder Will you teach me how to sleep For I'm a creature of the night I'm a creature of the deep Bring your hand to my heart Feel it pound through the night Feel the blood still course through my veins Whether I do wrong or right My lady of sorrow Sweet lady of the night Take my hand, grant me comfort Dry these tears, from my eyes Does God himself need the sinner Like an apple needs the seed Is that why he came among us To eat the fruit and to bleed So I stand here in the shadows Trying through this wasted night To grieve my sins without grief, To turn their darkness into light My lady of sorrow Sweet lady of the night Take my hand, grant me comfort Dry these tears, from my eyes I am so weak and needful But accept not even this So often mistaking freedom For the Judas kiss Walking around like I own myself, Like I own the universe Instead of counting tender mercies I condemn them with a curse
5.
Postcard from the Heart 03:10
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Just thought I’d say hello And mention that I’m doing fine And yes I love you, there’s no one above you I miss you almost all the time I loved you when, I loved you then I’ve loved you from the start So get yourself a drink, with some ice cubes to clink, Darling, you just got a postcard from the heart Well I’ve been all around this world Thinking of you all of the time I’ve seen some of the most remarkable sights But they didn’t make a never mind Because I loved you when , I loved you then, I’ve loved you from the start So kick off your shoes, chase away those blues darling You just got a postcard from the heart Drinking coffee in old Paris I’ve seen those Mona Lisa smiles I climbed the Eiffel Tower, took about two hours Well I won’t be going back there for a while! Those girls in ‘Paree’, they meant nothing to me They could smile till their faces fell apart While I’d stay up all night, just trying to write you A postcard from the heart Well I’ve been all around this world Thinking of you all of the time I’ve seen some of the most remarkable sights But they didn’t make a never mind Because I loved you when , I loved you then, I’ve loved you from the start So kick off your shoes, chase away those blues darling You just got a postcard from the heart
6.
The Gypsy Dancer 05:22
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Summers heat was wrapped around the Riverside Hotel The ringer's tossed and turned in dreams all night The rising’ sun gently called one to the doorstep Where he stood in the soft new morning light He glanced down by the old town hall Saw her dancing on the wide western street Heard a gypsy fiddle from a window way up high Keeping time with her dancing feet She smiled as he took her warm embrace They danced to that rising’ gypsy beat Thru shadows falling across the dusty golden morning They were heart to heart and cheek to cheek Seems life’s a folding curling, swirling lonesome wind Blowing from the back roads of time Through all those dawns of slow and grievous believing With the gypsy dancer passing by Well some men find their madness in memories Best left under stones Or lose their way from riding Too far out alone Each man might have a moment When he’s dancing all alone But if you kiss the gypsy dancer son You’ll find your way back home I’ve met travellers who’ve shared her warm embrace One’s who know her dancing never ends Riders of the boundary, seekers of the soul that dwells In this folding, curling, swirling lonesome wind If you take a chance son, you’ll maybe see her dancing Somewhere on the edge of night and day But you need to understand as she takes you by the hand The meaning of the words that she will say (she says) “Hold me stranger as we dance across the morning Touch me with your prayer of endless sighs Let me heal you with the lightness of this love that keeps me dancing Kiss me in my beautiful disguise Sing with me my music, that some only know as silence Sing me both the low notes and the high Hold me in the mystery of this swirling lonesome wind Kiss me as I’m dancing on by” Summers’ heat was wrapped around the Riverside Hotel The ringers tossed and turned in dreams all night The rising’ sun gently called one to the doorstep Where I stood in the soft new morning light
7.
The Weatherman 07:13
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Dust on the horizon, lone rider coming across the sand Slowly he got bigger, till he got no bigger, than a man can He said “they call me the weatherman, why I’ll never understand” Seemed a little different, was nothing really that he said He camped down by the willows, was nothing in particular that he said Was just those misty dreams, leaking all out of his head You never see a head turn, the wind blows all sorts thru this town But even here on the outskirts, folks started talking all around When they saw those dreams floating and the crystals spinning ‘round and ‘round his eyes He said “One mans’ courage is another mans’ confusion This journey’s not written, it’s just a dream on the wind So if you find there’s no way and nothing to turn to” He said “remember you’re star dust dreaming, and get going again” Sometimes town would find him, a stranger with a troubled mind Talking like a lord cursed, or a lost man running out of time Some people tried to crown him, some tried to shoot him from behind One day at the Red Rose café’, he told me how he’d been down by the willows on his knees “Was only doing my job” he said, “setting dreams like that one free; They might not use it right, but that’s nothing to do with me” He said “One mans’ courage is another mans’ confusion, This journey’s not written, it’s just a dream on the wind So if you find there’s no way and nothing to turn to” He said “remember you’re star dust dreaming and get going again” I woke up one morning, he wasn’t down by the willows no more He’d up and broken camp, wasn’t down by the willows no more Was just dust on the horizon, when I looked out my back door Was just dust on the horizon, when I looked out my back door
8.
Christmas Under Southern Skies 05:41
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A six-year-old ballerina’s dancing at the school hall tonight Santa’s drinking whisky under the coloured lights Grandma’s staring at the stars out in the yard Angel’s at the table cutting out her Christmas cards It’s another long hot Christmas under southern skies The TV’s flickering in the corner, by the tinselled tree It’s tired and lazy and dropping all its leaves No way it’s going to last till New Year’s Day But no one seems to mind, things just go that way It’s another long hot Christmas under southern skies The hotels are full of navigators and hard-backed men Girls drinking tequila but the sunrise is already setting for them The bitumen is sticky and the river’s almost dry There’s no money left in this town but they all hang on and try It’s another long hot Christmas under southern skies The neighbours have got the plastic Santa on their roof again this year Dad’s sitting on the veranda eating cake and drinking beer The kids are playing cricket out on the sunburnt lawn Dad’s holding back the tears; it’s just two summers since she’s gone It’s another long hot Christmas under southern skies Maybe this town’s out of time and on the edge of defeat With its fat little buildings and its crucifix streets But at the end of the day a man’s lucky to call somewhere home And even Santa Claus himself must sometimes feel all alone It’s another long hot Christmas under southern skies You know we could have made it but forgiveness often hides Behind a wall of confusion cemented firm by pride But the wheels keep on turning there’s some peace here I’ve found An’ I just heard yesterday that the railways might be coming back to town It’s another long hot Christmas under southern skies A six-year-old ballerina’s dancing, At the school hall, Tonight.
9.
Stone to Sand 03:29
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There’s a blue wind blowing, from over the plains Blowing memories, ‘cross my window panes Open hearts, like open windows Bring sun or rain, depending on which way the wind blows Life’s a fix, you can’t still the sun Can’t hold the stars, what’s done is done Can’t stop the heart, as it calls out her name Can’t turn the wind around, and bring it back again Well it’s stone to sand Then it’s sand to dust Takes a long time to learn everyone Just does what they must And you’re the best at what you are And I’m the best at what I am Seems all God’s children do the best they can, Yes all God’s children do the best they can As night comes falling, and shadows yawn I dream I’ll wake up holding you, in the chilly hours of dawn But seems loves like lightning, it’s here then it’s gone It’s just the restless image, that’s left to linger on Oh, I know darling, which way the wind blows Since you’ve been gone, it’s ice and snow I don’t need a weatherman, to tell me I’m cold As your goodbyes still blow right through my soul Time’s been wandering, like that restless breeze The winds of change blowing like a dream But oh, oh, darling don’t you get me wrong I only want to hold your memory in the rhythm of this song
10.
My Home Town 03:54
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I lived in the city, a world full of snakes Saw Adam and Eve make their mistakes Learnt that freedom’s not the right to choose your harm And it's sure not the Eden of a shot in your arm Well I left that city, turned time around Made it back somehow to my home town Where the best things are free, the air and the stars And your best friends knowing just who you really are I’ve got a ’64 Holden and a Gilet guitar I do a lot of travelling but I don’t go too far I stick with my friends on this merry-go-round I revel in the peace of my home town Sadness comes as it sometimes will And heartache's always a bitter pill I work at the Mill and I work on the farm I work on truth and doing no harm When the night’s too dark I keep the candle lit Till the dawn comes back and the pieces fit When what’s good is bad and what’s bad is good, I just try and do the next thing that I know I should I’ve got a ’64 Holden and a Gilet guitar I do a lot of travelling but I don’t go too far I stick with my friends on this merry-go-round I revel in the peace of my home town Well, time’s just a ripple and life’s on loan So remember there’s nothing that you really own But hold tight your dreams and hold your ground And may you find your way back to your home town
11.
Circle - reprise 02:22
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No lyric

about

I was born in a small town on the western side of the Great Dividing Range. In childhood and adulthood, I have travelled many, many times over the “Blue Mountains” (as that section of the Great Dividing Range is called), travelling back and forth between my home in the Central West of New South Wales and the coastal city of Sydney. If you go far enough west the horizon stretches endlessly towards the deserts of Australia’s inland.
In life there are many ‘great divides’’, some physical, some emotional, some spiritual.
These songs are personal reflections on a ‘journey’: a journey back home. “Home” is where you find it, of course. Home is the centre. It’s somewhere we all wish to find, whether we know it or not.
The songs are moments, postcards from an allegorical journey back to my hometown. The first stop is in the fog bound Blue Mountains, in the mysteriousness of the “Neon Lit Café”. Then the journey continues west, on to the dry, flat landscape, through the loves, the joy, the mystical, the dark nights of the soul.
The journey is circular, as I feel time is. And ‘a circle is a hard place to hide’. Whether it be lying back and watching the stars circling above or looking into the eyes of a beloved, the circle is there. To try and hide is foolish, the circle contains us.
The journey may be difficult at times. Sometimes we may be fortunate enough to dance with the “Gypsy Dancer”, or at least to glimpse her, and be granted the courage to continue. We have to keep moving on.
Our journey’s meaning may be simply to help each other cross the many
‘great divides’ of life on our way ‘home’, for, as “The Weatherman” says, we are all “star dust dreaming”. We are all children of the Universe.
Spike Flynn, 2021

credits

released February 4, 2021

Spike Flynn guitar and vocals
Graeme Molloy piano and organ
Chris McCusker bass
Mickey Young sax
David McDade drums
Andrew Clermont fiddle and mandolin
Gary Brown lap slide

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Spike Flynn Sydney, Australia

From a review of Spike's previous CD -
"Just this Side of Here is an album that restores your faith in ‘one man, one guitar’ sets, and shows that the best of them – and this is one of those – still have much to say and much worth hearing."
Jeremy Searle, Americana UK.

Spike grew up in a small country town in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia and his songs often reflect this theme . ... more

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