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The Continental Drift (2016)

by Mark Lucas & the Dead Setters

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1.
Sometimes I wish you’d just go soak your head Take a long walk off a short pier hey you make me see red You know desperate times call for desperate measures Such a fine line between pain and pleasure Things aren’t always what they seem What you heard ain’t what I mean Babe you’re always going to extremes It’s not me that’s blue it’s you that’s green Do you really listen or do you just hear The punchline is lost and the fool is in tears First time, second time, third time lucky I’ve laughed so hard that it ain’t funny Things aren’t always what they seem etc I’ve seen the world in a waitress’ eye Search for the exit, reach for the sky First love to last rites mid life crisis If I went you’re all that I’d miss
2.
I been talking in my sleep I been walking after midnight I been out there counting sheep Stumbling into daylight Now my head can’t work my feet She got me walking in her dreams It’s been raining cats & dogs I should fix my leaking ceiling But when I look up all I see Is the shadow of her leaving Is this victory in defeat? She got me walking in her dreams I close my eyes & I can feel her beside me I’m all at sea adrift on her tide When I can’t tell night from day When the sun is lost in shadow There’s a moment as it fades Where I can feel my heartbeat follow And I can hear the silence breathe She got me walking in her dreams I close my eyes & I can feel her beside me… I been talking in my sleep I been walking after midnight I been out there counting sheep Stumbling into daylight Love is all & talk is cheap Now I lay me down to sleep Now my head can’t work my feet She got me walking She got me walking She got me walking in her dreams
3.
It’s a quarter to eleven And I’m waitin’ on a train I’m thinking ‘bout my baby I didn’t mean to cause her pain The moon is slowly rising I can see it through the haze And everything is different It’ll never be the same Well you did it this time boy Got Cupid on the run Hung yourself right out to dry On a slip of the tongue You can’t unsay what’s said And you can’t undo what’s done But you can make a bad thing better You know you’ve only just begun And the world keeps getting smaller You can’t just hide away Got to face up to the night Got to make it through another day Yeah you did it this time boy I used to be a dreamer Till I learned to play the game Now I know myself a little better Through all the mistakes I made I know that loneliness is laughter With no one there to share Life is just an empty space Without someone who cares Well you did it this time boy
4.
I’ll be your full time man baby Walkin’ across the water to your side I’ll be your full time man baby Nothing can stop me this time Maybe an ocean in between But there ain’t nothin’ gonna stop you being mine Went down to the station Got me a ticket on that line Went down to the station And I got me to the water on time Got an ocean to cross Left all of my salty tears behind I left my mama and all of my friends Gonna start a new life gonna make amends I’ll be your full time man baby Walkin’ across the water to your side Gonna move to the country Leave this crazy city life behind Yeah I’m goin’ up the country Baby ‘cos this livin’ feels like dying Gonna tell everybody It’s your sweet lovin’ makes me feel alive I’ll be your full time man baby Walkin’ across the water to your side I’ll be your full time man baby You pull me like the moon pulls the tide I held you in my dreams Now I’m comin’ home to make you mine Yeah I held you in my dreams Now I’m comin’ home to make you mine
5.
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
6.
Don Quixote 03:09
Don Quixote was a friend of mine We rode the same horse drank the same wine Chased the same rainbow’s end But oh the world was so much younger then Don Quixote was of another time When men were men & laughed & cried Before the carpetbaggers came Before the banker ran the game Take me to the river’s edge I need to wash my hands at my mother’s breast Then leave me here to make my bed Believe I’ve run my time & I crave my rest Don Quixote was as mad as the moon But his heart was big & his aim was true The more I listened the more I learned About the hearts of men & the ways of the world Take me to the river’s edge Don Quixote chased windmills In a world before love could kill Before we walked before we ran Before green fields reeked of man Take me to the river’s edge
7.
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
8.
BABY I KNOW YOU’RE NOT ALONE BUT I JUST HAD TO TELEPHONE THERE’S A THING OR TWO I HAVE TO SAY BEFORE WE GO OUR SEPARATE WAYS YOU THINK YOU GOT ME RUNNING BLIND BUT I KNOW WHO YOU ARE THESE DAYS I’M TAKING MY OWN SWEET TIME ‘TWEEN HIGHWAY SIGNS AND WHISKY JARS BABY I HOPE YOU REALISE THAT I’VE SEEN RIGHT THROUGH YOUR DISGUISE WIN OR LOSE IT’S ALL THE SAME YOU PLAY THE ODDS, I KNOW YOUR GAME YOU THINK YOU GOT ME RUNNING BLIND ETC AND I’M LEARNING TO BE DISCERNING WHEN I’M CLOSE TO LOSING HEART TO THE INFLUENCE OF SPOKEN WORD OR THE SUM OF MOVING PARTS YOUR EYES MAY SHINE BUT YOU CAN’T BE MINE YOU SAY YOU WANT ME TO BE FREE BUT YOU KEEP LOVIN’ BEYOND YOUR MEANS WHY MUST THE PLEASURE COST THE PAIN DESPITE THE SUN THERE FALLS THE RAIN YOU THINK YOU GOT ME RUNNING BLIND
9.
I got your number in the hall Writ in red lipstick on the door Right next to where you said to me Only you can set me free Now I sit here by the phone Should I call or let you go Now there’s no-one here but me Only you can set me free Something tells me that it’s time The signs are good the stars aligned Open the windows & the blinds To let the warm sun shine I took the mirrors off the walls Cos I can’t stand to me fall I should never have believed Only you can set me free Solo verse Rpt bridge It’s getting late & I’m still thinkin’ And this ain’t tea that I’ve been drinkin’ But through the foggy haze I see Only you can set me free I take my 12 gauge off the wall Now I don’t feel a thing at all Pretty soon we will all agree Only you can set me free
10.
Getting close on midnight Falling rain’s the only sound A telephone rings but he hears nothing Though the television’s down Another cup of coffee fights the pills to calm the nerves Another shot of red-eye and the blood begins to surge Saturday night special (Pawnshop bullets and old war medals) Saturday night special (Cold heart hot blood and warm gunmetal) Now the rental’s way too high So he gambles on a loan He loves to play with money She ain’t too good alone So she broadens her horizons while the kid’s out under cars And her old man hears the rumours as they’re passing down the bar Saturday night special Out here on the edge it’s another time and place Where the struggle for survival is writ on every face She said “Honey I could die for your love” She never knew it would be the case Saturday night special The hour before dawn is dark The ambulance is white The rain dirty back streets Spill the blood-red light The morbid crowd have come and gone, all’s quiet beyond the crime-scene tape It ain’t beauty killed the beast my friend, but it’s love that sealed his fate Saturday night special
11.
I GOT WHISKY DENTS IN MY OLD FORD TRUCK TYRES WORN THIN SO’S MY LUCK I’M FRESH OUT OF PETROL ALL OUT OF CASH GUESS I MUST’VE BROKE THAT LOOKING GLASS I’M MOVIN’ ON KEEP MOVIN’ ON TELL ME NOW ‘COS I GOT TO KNOW WHEN YOU’RE GONE BABY WHERE DO YOU GO I ONLY SEE THAT EMPTY CHAIR THE GHOST OF YOUR SMILE AND YOUR LONG DARK HAIR YOU’RE MOVIN’ ON KEEP MOVIN’ ON WHERE DOES IT LEAD WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN THE LAUGHTER DIES AWAY WHY DOES IT STEAL OUR DREAMS NOW I’M STARING ON THROUGH THE RAIN THERE’S A QUIET CHILL WIND BUT I FEEL A HURRICANE IT’S ALL TOO REAL BUT IT DON’T MAKE SENSE NOW WHO’S TO SPEAK IN LOVE’S DEFENSE I’M MOVIN’ ON KEEP MOVIN’ ON I CAN TELL YOU NOW ‘COS YOU’RE NOT HERE OF THE FALLEN LEAVES AND THE GOLDEN YEARS OF THE TIME WE SPENT AND THE LOVE WE MADE BETWEEN THAT HEAT ‘N’ DUST AND THESE RAINY DAYS MOVIN’ ON
12.
Things have changed since I was young Now we don’t walk out in the noonday sun Mad dogs and Englishmen are told Lucky old sun ain’t lucky no more Kissed by the sun touched by the moon I think we need a little more Johnny & June Guess we hit the nail right on the thumb Something wicked this way comes Lately things ‘ve got so bad Think I’ll buy myself an ice-cream van Drive it all around the world Spread the love to every boy & girl Kissed by the sun touched by the moon Now I don’t know but I been told The truth lies on the grassy knoll Five for silver, six for gold Seven for a secret never to be told Kissed by the sun touched by the moon Now it’s getting late I think it’s time to go Barkeep that’ll be one for the road I’m going out where the killings done Believe it’s out on Highway 61 Guess we hit the nail right on the thumb

about

Hard on the heels of his recent solo outing “Little Town Blues”, local troubadour Mark Lucas is back with a new offering from his stalwart band, The Dead Setters.

Originally from the UK, Mark spins tales of the ordinary and beyond armed with a dry wit and a well-travelled if world-weary take on the human condition. Add Jake Lardot (Belgium) album producer & one of Australia’s most respected guitar players (check 14 years on the road with Lee Kernaghan), John Lee (Georgia, USA) fiddle & mandolin, Steve Gunning (all over the place via Woodford) drums (former sideman to Vicky O’Keefe, Grace Knight amongst others), and Chris Mearns (the not-so-token Australian) bass, who’s been plying his trade longer than most have a right to, and you’ve got a multicultural take on country roots music, embracing folk, country and blues with a foot in the past and ear to the future.

‘The Continental Drift’, the band’s fifth release offers gritty observations on life and love driven by a bunch of musicians schooled in everything from punk to bluegrass, but all with a taste for tale well told and a melody that hooks you in.

"... finds the group loosening their shoulders and opening up into a more eclectic Americana sound. The country-rock roots still remain but now they are enhanced with soulful touches, rousing rock'n'roll, languid atmospheric wanderings and an inherent Australian sun-kissed warmth on yet another strong release from Lucas and band." Chris Familton - The Music

“The recipe seems pretty simple: creeping, easy on the ear melodies, songs written with ingredients from the store where Tom Petty and Elliott Murphy shop, a voice which is very akin to that of Gerry Rafferty, guitar sounds emerging from the strings of Bonnie Raitt ... well, enough parts to make the great record that this CD has become.” Dani Heyvaert – rootstime. Belgium

"They're there to indulge their own interest in genuine country and folk roots without ego - to serve the song. And The Continental Drift is perhaps their clearest distillation of that to date." - Martin Jones, Rhythms Magazine

credits

released February 15, 2016

Words & music all rights reserved Mark Lucas

Band tracking at Linear, Leichhardt 10th April 2014 by Chris Vallejo
Additional recording & mix May 2014 to July 2015 by Jake Lardot
Produced by Jake Lardot
Mastered by Rick O'Neil at Turtlerock

Mark Lucas - vocals, guitars
Jake Lardot - guitars, keyboards, percussion
Chris Mearns - bass, vocals
John Lee - fiddle, mandolin, vocals
Steve Gunning - drums, vocals

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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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