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Prisoners of the Heart

by Mark Lucas

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1.
Friday night found me on a barstool Making time with another glass of beer Making love to a waitress from the far Northwest Tryin’ to make sense of this place This is not the state I came so far to find Though who knows what the future holds It’s a familiar tale to tell there was someone I once knew well And this is just another town along the road I’ve been lookin’ at the world through a windshield I can call too many houses home But that old white line fever drives me on A man can be so many people when he’s alone I’ve seen an old traveller’s eyes getting weary There’s no romance left to keep him going And every place along the way he left part of him behind Is just another town along the road Lord there’s nothing like the feeling You hear that freight whistle blow From boxcars to Boeings or just a dusty track There’s still another town along the road When this old world treats me like a stranger When the sands are running dry I’ll be ready to go anywhere flowin’ with the tide In every hello there’s a goodbye And the man at the gate might call out my name For you know this life is but a loan No matter where it leads you know it still feels like home Heaven’s just another town along the road
2.
Rosie 05:23
I’M GOING DOWN TO ROSIE’S TELL YOU WHAT I’M GONNA DO I’M GONNA FIND ME THAT WOMAN ‘COS SHE GOT ME FEELING BLUE SHE’S A RUNAROUND AIN’T NO TELLIN’ WHAT A MAN MIGHT DO ROSIE DON’T YOU TRY SO HARD TO COVER UP WHAT YOU’RE REALLY FEELING NOW ROSIE YOU AND I WERE NEVER STAR CROSSED LOVERS WHAT ARE YOU REALLY FEELING NOW? I’M GOING DOWN THIS EVENING AND I’M BOUND TO GO ALONE I’M GOING TO THE END OF THE SEVEN OCEANS ROAD ‘COS SHE TURNED ME DOWN BEFORE I GO I GOT TO KNOW ROSIE DON’T YOU TRY SO HARD TO… THERE ‘S A TRAIN LEAVES HERE THIS MORNING WILL TAKE ME FAR FROM HERE THERE’S A FACE AGAINST THE WINDOW CARRESSED BY A SINGLE TEAR DON’T YOU TURN AROUND DON’T YOU FEAR ROSIE DON’T YOU TRY SO HARD TO…
3.
I AWOKE EARLY ON THAT MONDAY MORN AS MANY A MORN BEFORE TO THE CRACKED SUNLIGHT OF URBAN LIFE & THE 747’S ROAR I’VE NOT ALWAYS BEEN OF THE CITY & I’VE A TALE OR TWO TO TELL OF THE WORLD BEYOND THE CONCRETE THE SIRENS AND THE BELLS I AM NOT THE MAN I WAS & PLEASE DON’T ASK ME WHY I’VE MET THE GHOST OF THE LOST CREEK ROAD & I’M NOT AFRAID TO DIE OH DARLING YOU WERE ALWAYS SUCH A SWEET SUBURBAN GIRL THOUGH YOU NEVER SANG SOAP OPERA OR WORE YOUR HAIR IN CURLS YOU STILL WANT ALL THE TRAPPINGS OF THE POST CONSUMER WORLD COME ON NOW ADMIT IT DEAR YOU’RE A THOROUGHLY MODERN GIRL I AM NOT THE MAN I WAS ETC WELL I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE BRUCE HIGHWAY WHEN I PASSED HIM ON THE ROAD AND THE MOMENT MY HEADLIGHTS GRABBED HIM I FELT A CHILL WIND AT MY THROAT THE SUMMER AIR WAS CRYSTALLINE AS THE SEMI-TRUCK ROLLED BY THE BIG MACK DROVE RIGHT THROUGH HIM HE DIDN’T BLINK AN EYE I AM NOT THE MAN I WAS… AND THE REST OF MY GHOST STORY IS ONE I REMEMBER WELL IT’S A TALE TO BE REMEMBERED BUT NOT A TALE TO TELL ‘COS WHEN I TURNED I RECOGNISED THE MAN BESIDE THE ROAD AND I KNEW I’D KNOWN HIM ALL MY LIFE AND I KNEW HE WAS ALONE I AM NOT THE MAN I WAS…
4.
I COME UP FROM THE COUNTRY AND I MOVED TO YOUR TOWN AND I’M LOOKING FOR THE GOOD LIFE THE ONE I HEARD ABOUT BUT THERE’S NO COMFORT IN THESE COLD STREETS AND THE HEART HAS GONE TO GROUND I’VE A LITTLE BOY CRYIN’ HUNGRY, TIRED OF MOVING ROUND IT’S A DRY WIND THAT BLEW US HERE DROVE US FROM THE LAND NOW WE SLEEP DOWN BY THE RIVER IN A BEAT UP CAMPER VAN AND DREAM OF DAYS ON FERTILE PLAINS, SHOULD’VE KNOWN IT COULDN’T LAST WILL GENERATIONS YET TO COME FORGIVE GENERATIONS PAST YOU KNOW WE USED TO CALL THIS PLACE THE BIG SMOKE AND IT WAS GOOD FOR A FEW LAUGHS A WEEKEND IN THE CITY, CATCH A SHOW IT WAS A BLAST NOW WE’RE SCRATCHIN’ FOR A DOLLAR IN A WORLD OF POKER MACHINES WHERE THERE’S NO SENSE OF BELONGING LIFE’S A GAMBLE LAY DOWN YOUR DREAMS NOW I’M JUST PRAYING FOR A PAYING JOB TRYING TO MAKE ENDS MEET WE MIGHT HEAD NORTH COME WINTER THOUGH MY WIFE SHE HATES THE HEAT I ONCE WORKED A QUEENSLAND ROAD-GANG I’D COUNT ME LUCKY TO REPEAT I’LL ADMIT THAT THINGS AIN’T LOOKING GOOD BUT I WON’T ADMIT DEFEAT I BELIEVE IN GOD ALMIGHTY AND I KNOW THAT NOTHING LASTS BUT I STILL FEEL THE EARTH MOVE IN ME HEAR MY MOTHERS VOICE AT HAND I BELIEVE ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS AND THE FUTURE’S OURS TO GRASP IF WE BUT WALK IN BEAUTY ON THIS GREAT SOUTHERN LAND IF WE BUT WALK IN BEAUTY ON THIS GREAT SOUTHERN LAND
5.
Cherry drove a Kwiksnacks truck by day Serving hot meat pies to hungry eyes, for the minimum wage She laughed at all their dirty jokes and dodged their roving hands Then climbed back into her Ford, her own no-man’s land There are no street signs ‘Tween rags and riches And it’s a long road home Between the ditches Cherry worked the Kings Cross bars at night Still catering to the little boys moods in the dim red light She made the best of what she had, though you wouldn’t call it art Said she kept a little back for self respect- you might call that street smart There are no street signs etc.. Cherry put her money into arms The arms of the man she loved but he loved more than her charms She bought him all the need she had and he paid her back with pain When he beat her with his hunger or lost her in his veins There are no street signs etc.. Cherry finally wound up home in Lockhart She always said she was a country girl at heart But you won’t see her at the B&S because she could not beat the odds Now she’s finally found some common ground at rest in the family plot.
6.
My name is not important now I lie in the field of dreams My story it’s been told before But through the telling I am freed It was cruel fate that brought us here Though we worked to make this land our own We couldn’t break the chains that crown and poverty Laid on poor men far from home It’s a short life and a merry one boys But in truth no life at all If you’re trying to earn a shilling scratching for a living Playing fiddle at the Monster’s Ball Well I took to the road in a traveling band We were proud but desperate men And we knew that we would do what we must do To see our children fed Yeah you do what you must just to get you through And your bond you will not break I’d rather dance with the devil on the gallows pole Than eat the crumbs from a rich man’s cake It’s a short life etc. I’ve haunted these streets for many long years And it’s clear that little has changed The bulls and the bears still take the lion’s share While the poor man works the vein Now history can measure a man But it can’t undo what’s done And in the final count I’ll take my chance When the judgement day has come It’s a short life etc.
7.
Canal Road 03:52
IT’S MIDNIGHT DOWN ON CANAL ROAD AND THE MOONLIGHT STREAKS ACROSS THE BAY IT’S JUST YOU AND ME AND THE FISHES BABY AND THE WAVES’ SLAP AND THE SMELL OF THE SPRAY WE’RE TALKIN’ ‘BOUT THE WEATHER WHILE WE’RE STANDIN’ IN THE RAIN AND I GOT THIS SUDDEN URGE TO HOLD YOUR HAND AGAIN WE’RE GAZING OUT ACROSS THE WATER LISTENING TO THE BREEZE YOU SAY THERE’S NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT WELL HERE WE ARE AND I AGREE AND WITH MY MIND BELOW YOUR WAISTLINE THOUGH I SWEAR I STILL LOVE YOU FOR YOUR BRAIN I GOT THIS SUDDEN URGE TO HOLD YOUR HAND AGAIN THERE ARE QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED SUCH THINGS GO HAND IN GLOVE WITH THE SEARCH FOR A PERFECT WORLD STRAIGHT TEETH AND PERFECT LOVE BUT ONE ANSWER THAT IS GLARINGLY AND OH SO SIMPLY PLAIN IS THIS SUDDEN URGE TO HOLD YOUR HAND AGAIN NOW I DON’T HOLD ALL THE CARDS I’VE DRAWN AND I AIN’T AFRAID OF TEARS BUT I KNOW THAT I HAVE FOUND REAL LOVE ACROSS THESE PRECIOUS YEARS AND THROUGH ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE ASKED ONE ANSWER STILL REMAINS IT’S THE ABIDING URGE TO HOLD YOUR HAND AGAIN SAY IF TIME IS LIKE THAT RIVER BABY AND LOVE IS LIKE THE SEA THEN ALL THIS RAIN SHOULD WASH US CLEAN AWAY AND SET OUR SPIRITS FREE AND WHETHER STANDING ON A DESERT SHORE OR PADDLING IN THE SEINE I’LL NEVER LOSE THIS URGE TO HOLD YOUR HAND AGAIN I’LL NEVER LOSE THIS URGE TO HOLD YOUR HAND AGAIN
8.
Dryland Sea 03:38
My heart grows with the desert rose And my blood it runs with the briar My soul it drifts on a vagrant wind As it whistles down the wire Whistles down the wire I’m sailing sand on a desert ocean I’m a walking man On a Dryland Sea I was born in the crack of a storm Where the dust devils dance on the breeze Where the earth is red and the sky forever And wild things still ran free Wild things still ran free I’m sailing sand etc Now I live in the city and I love in the city and I count myself lucky But my heart is adrift on an open plain and I dream of a dryland sea I dream of a dryland sea Now I’ll sing you a song of the big sky country The rolllin’ spinifex weeds And the raging waters of my life’s red river As it runs to the dryland sea Runs to the dryland sea I’m sailing sand etc My heart grows with the desert rose And my blood it runs with the briar My soul it drifts on a vagrant wind As it whistles down the wire Whistles down the wire Whistles down the wire
9.
THEY SAY THE SISTERS OF MERCY ARE BUILDING A BRIDGE TO YOUR HEART WITH LOVE AND COMPASSION THEY’RE LEADING THE FIELD IN THEIR ART IT DOESN’T MATTER WHATEVER YOUR CREED OR YOUR CRAFT THE SISTERS OF MERCY ARE BUILDING A BRIDGE TO YOUR HEART SPENT MY LIFE UNDERGROUND NOW I WORSHIP THE LIGHT OF DAY NOW MY COAL BLACK LUNGS FIGHT FOR EACH BREATH THAT I TAKE I HAD ME WIFE BUT SHE LEFT WITH WHAT LITTLE I’D SAVED AND I’VE DRUNK ME A RIVER TO WASH ME FROM LIFE IN THIS GRAVE THEY SAY THE SISTERS OF MERCY… YOU CAN LAY GOOD MONEY ON THAT THING YOU KNOW THEY CAST THAT BELL AND NOW THEY’RE GONNA MAKE IT RING THERE’S A WORLD OF CONFUSION WAITING OUT THERE TO BE BLAMED FOR THE HARD TIMES, THE GRIEVING, STARVATION, THE FEAR AND THE PAIN FOR THE GREED WHEN WE STRIVE TO ACHIEVE WHAT WE CANNOT ATTAIN BUT IT’S THE SOUL AT THE HEART OF THE MAN THAT KEEPS OUT THE RAIN THEY SAY THE SISTERS OF MERCY…
10.
The lights are down for good in the Hollywood Café And the Olympic Milk Bar sign is faded and grey But she still sweeps the pavement down Part of the rhythm of this town And the people have moved on round To shopping town The old men used to gather here to spread the news Like they used to gather and brag back in their youth They’ve seen the old world change Still the more some things remain the same But is there life there in the concrete heart Of shopping town In spite of it all Even mountains will fall You can’t hold anything But as long as we’re here The message is clear Love changes everything Now the convenience store’s open ‘till 9 most days of the week Amy Than was born in Vietnam but her olives are Greek She’s doing the very best she can Making a new life in another land But everything’s so planned In shopping town In spite of it all etc Amy’s lived here for 20 years and this is her home But policies of profit and greed just make her feel more alone And while the wheels of industry turn We get the politicians we deserve And live our lives at full discount In shopping town In spite of it all etc
11.
Danny’s got a new girlfriend She sings in the Hills church choir She comes on sweet and innocent But she loves his whitewall tyres She loves his whitewall tyres Danny Brown was a Joey’s boy But those days are good and gone He lives for his footy and his old red Ford And he loves his Bundy rum He loves his Bundy rum It’s a dark and humid Saturday night Out on the Great Western Road Danny’s got the hammer down He’s shouldering the load He’s shouldering the load Now Danny’s got a mongrel streak He’s no stranger to the law And when he fishtails past that unmarked car He’s got his foot flat to the floor He’s got his foot flat to the floor Oh there’s now escape from the hand of fate And it’s catch as catch can And Danny lost the race of life Running from the man Running from the man boys Running from the man It’s a dark and humid Saturday night etc Young Danny never amounted to much Just like they said he never would But I’m inclined to think that given a chance Danny could’ve been good Danny could’ve been good Now he’s lying in the cold cold ground And he drives on the other side His girl still sings in the Hills church choir But she dreams of whitewall tyres
12.
I live in a room above a store downtown And I’m in love with a girl I’ve seen around I watch her every night between the hours of 6 & 9 And I won’t be myself until she’s mine She lives inside a dream and it’s her world Somewhere in between a woman and a girl Like butterfly’s new wings she spreads her smile And I won’t be myself until she’s mine But she don’t even know I breathe As she makes her magic on the screen, I sigh Ah, I won’t be myself until she’s mine Solo/ Rpt bridge She’s a real time woman but she’ll never grow old She wears her heart on her sleeve but never her soul She don’t have time for small talk but I don’t care about time And I won’t be myself until she’s mine
13.
Young Jack left home one fine bright morning With a spring in his step and the world in his eye It’s a black dirt, yellow sun, red sky country Jackie won’t you come on home He was another country kid, a boy who’d barely grown The last words his mother had for him were Jackie won’t you come on home Young Jack never meant to leave the pastures But there was no room now on his Daddy’s land So he traded fence-lines for a foreign border Dust & steers for sand & oil He never knew why he was really going it just seemed the way to go The last words his mother had for him were Jackie won’t you come on home Young Jack sailed away across the ocean Do your bit son & do your country proud And armchair generals dream of history While the boys stand up and the boys fall down They told him God was on his side as he marched down Soldier’s Road The last words his mother had for him were Jackie won’t you come on home Sometimes the thing worth fighting for is the right to stand your ground Young men die in old men’s wars so the money goes around Young Jack came home a dead war hero In a flag draped box on a transport plane Yeah they made their speeches over his body And his mother wept upon his grave
14.
She’s got this place she goes to When the going gets too rough And it keeps her & it holds her in its sway Barrelling down the fast lane With no logic in train Just the speed of her getaway She’s travellin’ tonight With just her dreams & her driving shoes ‘cos she’s lost the will to fight Those Federal Highway blues National Highway 23, Remembrance Driveway if you please From the Deadly Hume & the Sutton Interchange It’s just another road from ruin, Something she needn’t think about doing Drivin’ out there hard across the plain She’s travellin’ tonight You got kangaroos in mobs & skis, Hang gliders hangin’ on the breeze Lake George is still as dry as a bone Wind turbines sing their song alone Harvest wind & witness stone And time is still the turning of the leaves She’s travellin’ tonight All roads lead to Rome they say, Well I don’t think this one goes that way It always seems to lead her home again Maybe something on the wind More Lady Luck than Mickey Finn Even a losing streak must play out in the end She’s travellin’ tonight
15.
Seems this small town’s getting smaller every day Folks just keep on passing on their way And though life goes on you’d really have to say This small town’s getting smaller every day There’s some who feel the urge to spread their wings Move on up the road to seek their dreams Call it sea change call it tree change it’s all the same And this small town’s getting smaller every day This small town’s getting smaller every day… It used to be our neighbours were our friends With us through life’s straights & through life’s bends But the neighbourhood’s just real estate these days And this small town’s getting smaller every day This small town’s getting smaller every day… Now it’s just the old folks who recall Life before fast food and shopping malls And a time when folks’d smile and say good day On streets where you could watch the children play This small town’s getting smaller every day…
16.
I’ve never been to New York never seen those Northern Lights I’m down here under the Southern Cross and I feel alright But I saw the way you looked that day with your baby blues so bright Through those eyes I could see the world but now you’re drifting out of sight All the bonnie birds have flown The lights are going down There’s no place like home And I need you now You were always the fastest at everything and babe you wanted it all Tryin’ to live for tomorrow before tomorrow called But it’s closing faster than you know I can hear the clarion call They’re callin’ in the debts & closing down the malls All the bonnie birds have flown You see I like it right here I think there’s something in the wind You might have the world at your feet but without this you’ve got nothing I see you in that faded summer dress I hear you in the walls Think I got the measure of your wanderlust but I can’t follow you at all All the bonnie birds have flown We come from the same side of the same street we just went our separate ways But when all you got out there dries up what thoughts are gonna fill your days Who’ll be there inside your heart to find the truth in you Who’ll be there to hold you close when the song you sing is through All the bonnie birds have flown
17.
He said I’m getting a little slower son maybe I’m somewhat past my prime But I’ve forgotten things you don’t yet know & I’ve stood the charge of time You can sit back, take a number & wait before the gate Or you can step right up to that sentry bell & give it a damn good shake Let the bones roll let the cards fall Ain’t no use in fighting them all Pick the ground you stand upon Libere su Corazon There’s two types of man you’ll come upon on this steady rollin’ ball There’s the man who gives the best he’s got & there’s the man who wants it all Tread lightly in your dreams my friend they say the future is foretold Well I’m going down to the toll-road tonight & let the devil take my soul Let the bones roll let the cards fall Yeah we know what evil lurks in the hearts of men We can watch it unfold nightly on 7, 9 & 10 From the bent cops, shock jocks, priests & corporate whores Where you can’t tell left from right & the middle ain’t there at all Let the bones roll let the cards fall
18.
You haven’t called home lately Mama wants to know how you are It’s been some time since the old man died And the grass is getting long Too many holes in the fence-line Too little water in the dam But you know we just keep on keepin’ on Doing the best we can We’re prisoners of the heart she said Cast our dreams upon the wind They hold us and they give us wings to fly Prisoners of the heart my friend ‘round here we don’t break we bend We pay our dues & we need no alibi Your brother moved back last summer Doesn’t have too much to say Too many tours of duty Too many ways he can’t explain And your Uncle Frank’s still living alone Spends his days at the TAB His nights down at the Railway Hotel Where he says folks let him be We’re prisoners of the heart she said I’ve got your picture on the beer fridge door You’re smiling that toothless smile Eyes of hope & innocence Now they eat up the years & the miles And time just seems to drop away I can feel you here in my arms Does the man really fly so far from the child Is a woman still a slave to her charms
19.
Rider 02:30
Someday you’re gonna climb that hill and see what’s on the other side Someday you may just stand on top reach out & touch the sky Then somedays you’re gonna come unstuck & on that slippery slope you’ll slide You’ll always know the rider from the ride You know you could be anything you want the world is your oyster my dear You could be the train driver or you could be the engineer But that all adds up to nothing if you don’t take the time You’ll always know the rider from the ride No matter how you set your cap It’s a rugged road we’re on But it’s the journey not the destination That you must fix your heart upon Seems like there’s a world of trouble all around sometimes it’s like the walls are tumblin’ down The wheels are falling off the wagon & wolves are on the outskirts of town But you gotta have faith in beauty & stand for what you believe is right You’ll always know the rider from the ride May the sun be always at your back may the path before you rise The rivers that you cross be swift but the shallows recognised May you make love that lasts & gives you strength to grow up to be wise May you always know the rider from the ride
20.
Well, you think you got me all worked out But only some of that is true There’s more to the picture Than what’s looking back at you Yeah I went down to the crossroads But the devil didn’t show So I took the path of least resistance And I rolled with the flow Elvis doesn’t hang from my rear vision mirror I still love the king I just need to see a little clearer I don’t want to weigh the onion I just want to taste the layers I got these songs I write And they help to see me through They seem to come from somewhere out there Whenever the spirit moves I just pass them on Like seeds upon the wind Don’t know if I give ém life If they’ll walk or crawl or stand Elvis etc Certain things are given Old drunks and dirty jokes And we know the New World Order Came with fries and a coke You can chase your demons Do your best to make amends But everything you love Kills you in the end Elvis etc

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released January 22, 2019

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Mark Lucas Sydney, Australia

Australian roots music – it’s a sense of place. In singer-songwriter Mark Lucas' word picture world you’ll encounter ghosts of the past & yearning spirits of the present, making themselves known in a variety of familiar locales, together with a motley cast of misfits & dreamers who could fit in just about anywhere there’s people & stories to tell. ... more

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