Vashti Bunyan

Never was much given to prayer
But lately I'm pleading with the air
To keep you safe from harm my dears

The only things that you should keep in rows
Are your perfect teeth and the rest you know
Its own sweet way will always go

Add your footsteps to the wear
For a tiny dent in every stair
Will let them know that you've been there

Once I had a child
He was wilder than moonlight
He could do it all
Like he'd been here before

Once I had a child
She was smiling like sunshine
She could see it all
Like she'd been here before

Then I had a child
Took his while like northern summer
And he knows it all
Like he's been here before

Didn't want to be the one
The one who's left behind
While the other one goes out to life
And comes back home to find

Me, sitting pretty happily
Surrounded by a house
With cups in all their saucers
And not a bit of dust

Days going by in clouds
Of flour and white washing
Life getting lost in a world
Without end

I wanted to be the one
With road dust on my boots
And a single silver earring
And a suitcase full of notes

And a band of wayward children
With their fathers left behind
All in their castles in their air
And houses in their land

Lives getting lost in mending gaps
In their fencing
All I ever wanted was a road
Without end

Hidden in your every move
Are the words that you will never say
Stars and moons are not your style
I've known for a while this is not your way

I hear you

I do know you very well
And our time will tell if I read you right
It can be so very hard
Looking for a dark horse in the night

I see you

I do know you very well
And I will until you can prove me wrong
Maybe I'll find you are not
Anything like what I've thought all along

Don't think so

One day you'll say what you mean
And will I be seen for a cloud of dust
Now I've nothing left to say
And I'll find my way by your light of touch

I'm with you

whatever pulled the wind that night
it had it bring a tree down
untidy lime tree holding tight
to the end of my last garden
one of five against the sky
an elegant surrender
it broke the wall and bent the gate
and warmed us through the winter

whatever pulls the wind tonight
will have the roof slates fly
but rows of chimney pots don't wave
like trees against the sky
the hill behind the old house
I can trace it with my finger
against the sky I see it still
and draw it down on paper

whatever pulled me over here
you were the main contender
and with the tress against the sky
another life's remembered
some evening skies are yellow
and over my head they're blue
what happened to the green between
it happened to me
too

Indifference is the hardest blow
It is the wind and icy snow
That falls on green shoots as they grow
In winter when the spring's too slow

Indifference is the coldest hand
It is the wave that clears the sand
Of castles built by baby hands
Before the gulls come in to land

Indifference is the hardest ground
It is the stony silent sound
Of plainsong echoing unfound
Until the voices have left town

If I were to go away
Would you follow me /to ends of the earth
To show me what /Your love is worth
Or would you go and buy a car
Shrug your shoulders /Say there you are
She didn't love me /anyway
If she had /she would have stayed

If I were to go away
Would I always look /for your beautiful face
In every crowd /every place


Or would I turn /and buy a hat
Turn my shoulders /say that is that
He didn't love me /now its clear
If he had /he would be here

I'm in a boat
On the sea
And I see
You on the shore
So sure
Of yourself

You're in a boat
On the sea
And you see
Me on the shore
So sure
Of myself

We're in a boat
All at sea
And we see
We are the same
The same
But different

Isn't it strange
Back here again
The red brick house and all the trees
I climbed then

Nothing changed
Same as before
The only thing I see is you're
Not here now

Dont waste this dance on me my love
Step and glide the way you do
And let me watch the turns and move
My heart if not my feet with you.

Dont think about me dreaming here
I will see you fly away
While in my head you hold me dear
And whirl me off my feet of clay

Where was I when grace was given
Not to fall when turning round
Ive no faith in earth or heaven
Not to move my standing ground

Dont waste your life on me my love
Live and breathe the way you do
No butterfly to be pinned down
And kept forever through and through.

But if your love should cross with mine
I will be here on your side
As long as you want me to be
Ill not be going far or wide

Running, walking, standing still,
Sitting, laughing - that I can do
And wishing, wishing
It could be me to dance with you

Just another diamond day
Just a blade of grass
Just another bale of hay
Hope the horses pass

Just another field to plough
Just a grain of wheat
Just a sack of seed to sow
And the children eat

Just another life to live
Just a word to say
Just another love to give
And a diamond day

Glow worms show the path we have to tread
Dreamers, we should be asleep in bed
Moving slowly through the springtime air
Holding moments in the depth of care
Holding moments in the depth of care

Whisper fairy stories till they're real
Wonder how the night can make us feel
Loving, living more with love to stay
Long past sadness that was in our way
Long past sadness that was in our way

Dawntime mist begins reflecting light
Waking sun, we'll soon forget our night
Love me through the day and I'll with you go
Into summer and the next year's snow
Into summer and the next year's snow

In a lily pond I lay
All upon a summer's day
Then I chased a dragonfly
All across an ancient sky
Falling with a thousand stars down the Milky Way to Mars
Back again in time for day
In a lily pond I lay

The only thing he said to me
Was: "Young lady, I love thee"

In a lily pond I lay
All upon a summer's day
Then I chased a dragonfly
All across an ancient sky
Falling with a thousand stars down the Milky Way to Mars
Back again in time for day
In a lily pond I lay

Maurice Snail and Timothy Grub
Swanney and Blue and Emily Grub
Decided one day to go into the wood
And build them a house and live there if they could
And they stayed there a while in the trees and the rain
Till one day two blue men said, "You're all insane"
And to please not come here again

They had a green car called Happiness Runs
Friday comes and Happiness runs out of petrol
And everyone gets out to push
And suddenly see through a gap in the bush
A real caravan just like the one in their dreams
The gypsy doesn't want it for nowadays it seems
His home stays in one place and gleams

He told them that he had a horse down the lane
Saturday morning they went back again
He showed them a shed that was built out of tin
He opened the door and they all peered within
And there lying on straw was a horse black as night
With a star on her forehead and eyes full of light
And they all fell in love at first sight

They thought and they thought about having Black Bess
Timothy planted some mustard and cress
They lived in a cupboard and made it their home
And lay there and dreamed of the days when they'd roam
Up and down all the hills of the north countryside
With the dogs eating buttercups on the wayside
And they'd wave all the cities goodbye

The hound bays, the sheep graze
I'm counting the boats in the bay
As they float they seem to say:
"I'm counting the waves, I'm counting the waves"
The men in the boats, they wave to their wives and say:
"I'm counting the hours, counting the hours
Counting the hours in the day"

I'm counting the gulls that sit on the waves
Surrounding the boats in the bay
I'm counting the miles till we're there
Where the sun and the rain and the snow
Fall on the seeds and make them grow
Fall on the rocks and make them crack
Into pebbles and into sand
Which is where I like to stand

The hound bays, the sheep graze
I'm counting the boats in the bay
As they float they seem to say:
"I'm counting the waves, I'm counting the waves"
The men in the boats, they wave to their wives and say:
"I'm counting the hours, counting the hours
Counting the hours in the day"

I'm counting the gulls that sit on the waves
Surrounding the boats in the bay
I'm counting the miles till we're there
Where the sun and the rain and the snow
Fall on the seeds and make them grow
Fall on the rocks and make them crack
Into pebbles and into sand
Which is where I like to stand

And there's a sunset brimming over the sky
And there's a swallow teaching it's young how to fly
Up on high
See how fast the summer passes by

And there's an oak leaf turning green into brown
And there's a pine so proud of her evergreen gown
Looking down
See how fast the winter comes around

And there's a rain cloud passing over our heads
And there's a cat on the doorstep waiting to be fed
Milk and bread
Day is done and now it's time for bed

I wish I had a window over the bay
And a black horse grazing on the green all day
I wish I had a well to draw my water from
And a warm log fire for when the summer is gone

I wish I had a window over the bay
And a flock of white sheep to watch from where I lay
I wish I had a little boat bobbing on the deep
And a big wooden table all laid out for tea

I wish I had a window over the bay
And a dreamy eyed cow to fill my milking pail
I wish I had a cockerel to raise me at dawn
And a little bed to sleep in when the curtains are drawn

Rose Hip November
Autumn, I'll remember
Gold landing at our door
Catch one leaf and fortune will surround you evermore

Pine tree, very tall
Waiting for snow to fall
Mist hangs very still
Caught by dawn in castle moats around the sleeping hill

Now a pipe is heard
Happy is the shepherd
Shepherdess and dog
Father of the pastureland and mother of the flock

Rose Hip November
Autumn, I'll remember
Gold landing at our door
Catch one leaf and fortune will surround you evermore

Evermore...
Evermore...

Come wind, come rain, we're off again
Our muddy boots plod down the lane
The snow has snowed, now the grass has growed
And it's time that we were on the road

The mare is shod, the miles untrod between us and the land of God
We're on our way
And everyday is another ten miles and an armful of hay

Hey, ho, the wind and the rain
It's another ten miles and a pocket of grain

Come wind, come rain, we're off again
Our muddy boots plod down the lane
The snow has snowed, the grass has growed
And it's time that we were on the road

Hey, ho, the wind and the rain
The passers-by wave their arms and grin

Traveling towards a hebridean sun
To build a white tower in our heads begun

The grass knows, the hills know, we all know
Spring has come, the good fountain flows

Each hoof fall brings us nearer the land
Of peat and seabirds and silver sand

The grass knows, the hills know, we all know
Spring has come, the good fountain flows

The rainbow river is a laughing stream
Down in a valley by a mountain that is pine tree tall
The rainbow river has a small boy fishing with a worm
And a jam jar by the waterfall
Don't make a sound don't disturb the ground
The biggest fish you ever saw is around
And the rainbow river gives a rainbow fish
As one small boy goes running proudly to his mother's call

The stonebuilt farmhouse is a rough stone cottage
Hiding close against the hillside up a winding track
The stonebuilt farmhouse has a fair-haired farmer
Wearing wooden shoes and building up a new haystack
Run in the door stand on the stone floor
The oven opens- there's the biggest loaf you ever saw
And the stonebuilt farmhouse gives a good warm welcome
As he sits down in his own chair with a Windsor back

The magpie meadow is a glowing evening colour
Sun is setting quietly and the boy is tired
The magpie meadow has a sparrow hawk who hovers
Hanging on the wind preying eagle eyed
Sit by the lantern watch as the years turn
Slowly bringing truth for every child to learn
And the magpie meadow darkens gently blue now
As the family sit their faces lit by ember fire

I love coming home from far across the sea
I pick my little wee wifey up and set her on my knee
See how my eldest boy has grown
Whilst I've been away
See here's a boat I've whittled for thee, especially for thee
I've thought of you everyday

I love coming home from far across the sea
And taking up my walking cane
And passing through the trees
I wander on the hillside, the doggie at my heel
The bracken wave's a welcome to me
"Where have you been?
We've missed you a great deal"

I love coming home from far across the sea
I pick my little wee wifey up
And set her on my knee

Jog along Bess, hop along May
Squeak along Blue, it's a walk-along day
It's a long road and weary are we
Bubble on kettle and make us all some tea

Once there was a gypsy man
Selling flowers from a baker's van
Bess, she pulled him round the town
Pulled her wagon all old and brown
Till one day, we took her away
Painted her wagon bright and gay
Now she finds she's travelling north
No more wandering back and forth

Jog along Bess, hop along May
Squeak along Blue, it's a walk-along day
It's a long road and weary are we
Bubble on kettle and make us all some tea

Once there was an Afghan hound
Loved by no one and pushed around
Tied up in a stable yard
Tangled and timid and howling hard
Till one day, we took her away
Called her Magog; shortened to May
She hurt a paw, made it sore
Now she runs on three legs instead of four

Jog along Bess, hop along May
Squeak along Blue, it's a walk-along day
It's a long road and weary are we
Bubble on kettle and make us all some tea

There lived a dog in London Town
With one ear up and the other ear down
The neighbours said he mustn't bark
The only grass he knew was in Hyde Park
Till one day, we took him away
Now Blue bounces through fields of hay
But he sits and squeals like a squeaky wheel
When the wheels are rolling, that's how he feels

Jog along Bess, hop along May
Squeak along Blue, it's a walk-along day
It's a long road and weary are we
Bubble on kettle and make us all some tea

Little green wagon in a deep blue sky
Wheels like dandelions passing by
With a picture by Sam, a painting by John
And a bonnie black hoss to lead you along
Lucky green wagon, you were raggedy brown
Now there is red at the hem of your gown
And we brought you a pumpkin, brought you a mouse
We wished very hard and you gave us a house

Jog along Bess, hop along May
Squeak along Blue, it's a walk-along day
It's a long road and weary are we
Bubble on kettle and make some tea

I climbed the peaks of glass with you
And walked a world of brass with you
And gladly left the glaring streets
To share a bed of grass with you

You made the elder burn for me
And cut the bird filled thorn for me
And through the ripening summer days
You bade the white road turn for me

I rode the dark green deep with you
And drove our dreams like sheep with you
And now my love please let me cross
Brown boundaries of sleep with you

I love your eyes when you look away
Thinking somewhere else of what ought to be
When they're suddenly blue for a moment of time
Then the colour goes when you look at me

I love your hands as a part of you
As they write a word just by staying still
When you talk they move, painting what you say
So i understand more than words can tell

I love your hair in the dark it's soft
In the light it moves, red and green are brown
All the time it takes for a night to pass
And a lifetime grows as the day comes down

I love you now as you don't love me
I can't let you know you're too far away
But i wonder now just what did you see
When you looked at me in that loveless way

I'd like to walk around in your mind someday
I'd like to walk all over the things you say to me

I'd like to run and jump on your solitude
I'd like to rearrange your attitude to me

You say you just want peace and to never hurt anyone
You see the end before the beginning has ever begun

I would disturb your easy tranquillity
I'd turn away the sad impossibility of your smile

I'd sit there in the sun of the things I like about you
I'd sing my songs and find out just what they mean to you

But most of all I'd like you to be unaware
Then I'd just wander away, trailing palm leaves behind me
So you don't even know I've been there

Winter is blue
Living is gone
Some are just sleeping
In spring they'll go on
Our love is dead
Nothing but crying
Love will not find even
One more new morning

Why must i stay here
Rain comes i'm sitting here
Watching love moving
Away into yesterday

Winter is blue
Everything's leaving
Fires are now burning
And life has no reason
I am alone
Waiting for nothing
If my heart freezes
I won't feel the breaking

Why must i stay here
Rain comes i'm sitting here
Watching love moving
Away into yesterday