Mike Turnbull

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Lyrics for Circlet of Gold EP :


The king of Dunmail Raise

The finest spray blows upon a hillside

Where saxon men & Dunmail warriors hide

A flash of steel wielding over land

Battle dress & decisions by the hand

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Glory to the warriors of age

Who wait, who wait, who wait, who wait

Glory to the ones we see today

And they wait they wait, for the King, the King of Dunmail Raise

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Underneath close scrutiny the lion peers

Cold of stone, his home for a million years

A witness to the tragedy of this age

Injustice of the lamb we see today

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Glory to the warriors of age

Who wait, who wait, who wait, who wait

Glory to the ones we see today

And they wait they wait, for the King, the King of Dunmail Raise

-

Please consign this crown to the depths of a lake

‘Till Dunmail come to lead us again we will wait

My warriors, draw up this ‘circlet of gold’

Place on my Dunmail cairn, and wait to be told

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Glory to the warriors of age

Who wait, who wait, who wait, who wait

Glory to the ones we see today

And they wait they wait, for the King, the King of Dunmail Raise


Fields of Heavy Dew

Dear Mother the tea here’s not so good

Dear brother you should see the mud

Dear sister I’m taking in the views

Dear Father I know what I must do

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And tomorrow I will run

And tomorrow when the whistle’s gone

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Oh go steady boys don’t you lose your head

Oh go steady boys think of home instead

No lifting of the forelock, no wielding heavy guns

And tomorrow, we will walk

And tomorrow, we’ll see the chalk and the fields of heavy dew

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Dear teacher it’s nothing like you said

Dear preacher I’m praying in my head

Each and everyday I’m living with the noise

Each and everyday I’m counting all the boys

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And tomorrow I will run

And tomorrow when the whistle’s gone

-

Oh go steady boys don’t you lose your head

Oh go steady boys think of home instead

No lifting of the forelock, no wielding heavy guns

And tomorrow, we will walk

And tomorrow, we’ll see the chalk and the fields of heavy dew

-

Are we really going home

Are we really going home

Are we really going home

Are we really going home, to the fields of heavy dew

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Dear Mother I’m not coming home

Dear brother you’ll have to make it on your own

Dear sister I’m taking in the views

Dear Father I’m done I’ve paid my dues

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And tomorrow, we will walk

And tomorrow, we’ll see the chalk

And tomorrow, we will run

And tomorrow, we’ll hear the birdsong in the fields of heavy dew


Heart of the Sea

Cutting through a sea of blood, under the oars the oil is good

With a harpoon gun and a mixed race crew

The lightless depths of an empty hold, living oak & the smell of blood,

Tobacco juice, tar & smoke

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Forcibly taken, for the needs of a nation

There’s a hole in the heart, of the sea

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Main top sail bleached by sun, stiff of salt they’re all the same

Steady away, for two years long

Half the crew dead & gone, much the same skin & bone

Follow the whale, and take me home

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Forcibly taken, for the needs of a nation

There’s a hole in the heart, of the sea

-

I long to sail ‘round Great Point, four windmills is what I want

And the tie the rat lines, & feel the ground

Tie the rat lines & feel the ground

Tie the rat lines & feel the ground

Tie the rat lines & feel the ground

Ah… Feel the ground

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Cutting through a sea of blood, under the oars the oil is good

With a harpoon gun and a mixed race crew


Will I Save the King

Will I save the King

Who gave my family name

Will I save his skin

And will life ever be the same

-

Will I, will I, will I save the King

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We are but the Rules

We live with progress fire

The year 1302

And I have yet to find my desire

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Will I, will I, will I save the King

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All along the border, they will know my name

All along the border, they will know my name

When I save the King

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My hands will be tools

My land the envy of most

You & me too

My name lingers on in your ghost

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Will I, will I, will I save the King, will I save his skin


Drowning Valley

Way up there where the Roman roads criss cross the valley

People live, they live by their values

People who care, standing stones

People who share, giving all they own

-

It’s a silent testimony to a distant past

The lure of the hills no less, turns no man in too fast

In the drowning valley limestone in your eyes

In the drowning valley bruised egos side by side

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‘Neath slate roof dwellings safety speaks it’s name

H2o swelling, glory now its aim

Darkness to light, grey to colour

Dryness to wetness, still loving in each other

-

It’s a silent testimony to a distant past

The lure of the hills no less, turns no man in too fast

In the drowning valley limestone in your eyes

In the drowning valley bruised egos side by side

-

Way up there where the Roman roads criss cross the valley

People live, they live by their values

People who care, standing stones

People who share, giving all they own

-

In the drowning valley limestone in your eyes

In the drowning valley bruised egos side by side

In the drowning valley nature in command

In the drowning valley you can hear those working hands


The Mountaineers

Mallory & Irvine they climbed an icy wall

They made their fatal footsteps on the mountain in ‘24

Icy wind and mist, obscured a blinkered eye

The last to see our Cheshire heroes fade into the sky

-

And in the pale, pale truth and the misty years

There’s nothing to see here but, still too many tears

-

Unshaven faces, sunburned all the while

Fading into history another page, another file

And Mallory & Irvine they climbed an icy wall

They made their fatal footsteps on the mountain in ‘24

-

And in the pale, pale truth and the misty years

There’s nothing to see here but, still too many tears

-

Always to be, unsung heroes

Always to be, unsung heroes, to me

-

Melting snow & ice reveals from within

A pair of hobnail boots and leathery skin

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And in the pale, pale truth and the misty years

There’s nothing to see here but, still too many tears

Still too many tears

Still too many tears

Still too many tears


Ghost of the Brown Lady

She has no eyes but she can see

She has no feet but she floats to me

Many have seen that satin dress she hides within

Many have seen her ghostly grin

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Brown lady why have you disappeared

Brown lady we are not afeared

And maybe i’m just the balladeer

Brown lady why don’t you reappear

So to ask your name

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Festive candle light flicker around her face

Unearthly glow showing all the lace

From behind the door she floats into the hall

One bullet passes through and is captured by the wall

-

Brown lady why have you disappeared

Brown lady we are not afeared

And maybe i’m just the balladeer

Brown lady why don’t you reappear

So to ask your name

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Far beneath this house the shadows are alive

Far beneath this house deep inside

Far beneath this house the shadows are alive

Far beneath this house deep inside

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Brown lady why have you disappeared

Brown lady we are not afeared

And maybe i’m just the balladeer

Brown lady why don’t you reappear

So to ask your name