Jeff Buckley: Live, Obscure, & Rare
Recently I posted some more popular Jeff Buckley music, but I was saving this post for now. This is the stuff that is considerably harder to come by, but it is all a treasure - that I promise. I'd venture to guess that if you're a fan, this is quite a gift you're getting here. If you're still new to the world of Jeff Buckley, then trust me - you've lucked out. Either way, these are all must haves. All hosted by Megaupload, wait until the pop-up slides down from the top of the screen, close it out by clicking on the X in the upper right hand corner, and the download link will be visible. Enjoy!
Covers
Ace Of Spades
L. Kilmster
During a live show of unspecified location, Jeff did this hilarious take on a classic Motorhead song.
Alive
I.Monteiro
Originally performed by the Drugstore. Jeff performed it live at the Mercury Lounge, New York, on December 31 1995.
I
I feel the time is coming
I
I walk into your eyes
Oh, I don't care if the clock is turning
Cause I'm going to the other side
You either die
Or you keep on burning alive
And I am burning
I
I walked a long long distance
I
I'm feeling sore inside
Oh, I don't care if the sky is falling
Cause I'll never get to see the light
You either die
Or you keep on burning alive
And I am burning
And I am burning
All Tomorrow's Parties
L. Reed
Originally performed by the Velvet Underground. Jeff performed it live at the Knitting Factory, New York, on October 1992.
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties
A hand-me-down dress from who knows where
To all tomorrow's parties
And where will she go and what shall she do
When midnight comes around
She'll turn once more to Sunday's clown
And cry behind the door
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties
Why silks and linens of yesterday's gowns
To all tomorrow's parties
And what will she do with yesterday's rags
When Monday comes around
She'll turn once more to Sunday's clown
And cry behind the door
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties
For Thursday's child
is Sunday's clown
For whom none will go mourning
A blackened shroud
A hand-me-down gown
Of rags and silks - a costume
Fit for one who sits and cries
For all tomorrow's parties
Calling You
B.Telson/J.Steele
Originally performed by Jevetta Steele. Jeff performed it live with Gods And Monsters (the group formed by him and Gary Lucas) at the Knitting Factory, New York, on August 15 1992.
A desert road from Vegas to nowhere
Some place better than where you've been
A coffee machine that needs some fixing
In a little café just around the bend
I am calling you
Can't you hear me
I am calling you
A hot dry wind blows right thru me
The baby's crying and can't sleep
But we both know a change is coming
Coming closer sweet release
I am calling you
I know you hear me
I am calling you Oh
Catnip Dream
M.Nakatani
Originally performed by the Shonen Knife. Jeff performed it live at Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, on May 4 1995.
He is a cat but he's very very fat
He's not just a standard cat
He is a cat but he's still very fat
American calico cat
Catnip is a kitty cat drug
One puff two puffs, high in a dream
Funny kitty's got very sleepy eyes
I wonder what he's dreaming of
Catnip Dream Catnip Dream Catnip
Dream meow meow meow
Catnip dream
He gets his kicks from a tiny toy
A green frog filled with catnip
And pretty soon he's going to be seventeen
Kitty cat birthday party
Catnip is a kitty cat drug
We plant catnip seeds together
All summer long he watches it growing
Dreaming of the harvest moon
Catnip Dream Catnip Dream Catnip
Dream meow meow meow
Catnip Dream
He is a cat and he's very very smart
He knows the coolest place in the yard
He is the king of the neighborhood
American calico cat
Catnip is a kitty cat drug
One puff two puffs, high in a dream
Funny kitty's got very sleepy eyes
I wonder what he's dreaming of
Catnip Dream Catnip Dream Catnip
Dream meow meow meow
Catnip dream
Curtains
(E.John/B.Taupin)
Originally performed by Elton John. Jeff performed it live at Mercury Lounge, New York, on December 31 1995.
I used to know this old scarecrow
He was my song
My joy and sorrow
Cast alone between the furrows
Of a field no longer sown by anyone
I held a dandelion
That said the time had come
To leave upon the wind
Not to return
When summer burned the earth again
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh...
Cultivate the freshest flower
This garden ever grew
Beneath these branches
I once wrote such childish words for you
But that's okay
There's treasure children always seek to find
And just like us
You must have had
A once upon a time
Farewell Angelina
B. Dylan
From WFMU's 1993 compilation They Came, They Played, They Blocked the Driveway. This song was originally performed by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.
Farewell Angelina
The bells of the crown
Are being stolen by bandits
I must follow the sound
The triangle tingles
And the trumpets play slow
Farewell Angelina
The sky is on fire
And I must go.
There's no need for anger
There's no need for blame
There's nothing to prove
Ev'rything's still the same
Just a table standing empty
By the edge of the sea
Farewell Angelina
The sky is trembling
And I must leave.
The jacks and the queens
Have forsaked the courtyard
Fifty-two gypsies
Now file past the gaurds
In the space where the deuce
And the ace once ran wild
Farewell Angelina
The sky is folding
I'll see you in a while.
See the cross-eyed pirates sitting
Perched in the sun
Shooting tin cans
With a sawed-off shotgun
And the neighbors they clap
And they cheer with each blast
Farewell Angelina
The sky's changing color
And I must leave fast.
King Kong, little elves
On the rooftops they dance
Valentino-type tangos
While the make-up man's hands
Shut the eyes of the dead
Not to embarrass anyone
Farewell Angelina
The sky is embarassed
And I must be gone.
The machine guns are roaring
The puppets heave rocks
The fiends nail time bombs
To the hands of the clocks
Call me any name you like
I will never deny it
Farewell Angelina
I must go where it's quiet.
I Against I
Bad Brains
Originally performed by the Bad Brains. Jeff performed it live on air at KCRW's Man On The Moon, on January 1994
In The quest for the test to fulfill an achievement, everybody's only in it for themselves.
But the fact of the matter is they don't care to extend a helping hand to anyone else.
So tell me why you had to lie and trie to make me all confused about the U.S.A.,
When the fact of the matter is you just don't care to comprehend or understand a single word I say.
I don't want to have I go against I...
Oh let me tell you
And it's the same old story no factual glory
I against I against I against I.
And I say I don't like it and I know I dont want it
I against Iagainst I against I.
Almighty watching almighty watching
I against I against I against I against I.
And I say I dont like it
And I know I don't want it
I against I against I against I.
I said who is gonna tell the youth the truth about the drugs, mugs, bugs, and the police thugs
About the rotten stinkin' rackets and the fantasies around the nation, around the nations
Oh baby what you gonna do I tell you the truth is looking straight at you...
I got a brass continental, a 300-Z, two color T.V.S. now video too.
I got a rest home in Jamaica for my fantasy for my family.
Around the nation. Around the nation. What you gonna do?
I Know It's Over
(Morrissey/J.Marr)
Originally performed by The Smiths. Jeff performed it several times, usually in medley with Hallelujah (as in Mystery White Boy) or with Kangaroo. This was recorded at C'est What, Toronto, Canada, 14-2-94.
Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head
And as I climb into an empty bed - oh well, enough said
I know it's over still I cling, I don't know where else I can go
Over and over.....
Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head
See the sea wants to take me, the knife wants to slit (cut) me
Do you think you can help me
Sad veiled bride please be happy - handsome groom give her room
Loud loutish lover treat her kindly though she needs you
More than she loves you - and I know it's over - still I cling
I don't know where else I can go - over and over.....
I know it's over and it never really began but in my heart it was so real
And she even spoke to me and said
"If you're so funny, then why are you on your own tonight?"
"And if you're so clever then why are you on your own tonight?"
"And if you're so very entertaining then why are you on your own tonight?"
"And if you're so very good looking, then why do you sleep alone tonight?"
I know - 'cos tonight is just like any other night - that's why you're on
your own tonight
With your triumphs and your charms - while they're in each other's arms
It's so easy to laugh it's so easy to hate it takes strength to be gentle
and kind - over and over....
It's so easy to laugh it's so easy to hate it takes guts to be gentle and
kind - over and over....
Love is natural and real - but not for you my love not tonight my love
Love is natural and real - but not for such as you and I my love
Oh mother... etc.
I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain
T. Buckley
Originally performed by Tim Buckley in GOODBYE AND HELLO (1967). Jeff performed it live in his exhibition for Greetings From Tim Buckley, a tribute concert organized by Hal Willner that took place at St.Ann's Church, New York, on April 26 1991. It was Jeff's introduction to New York, which led to Gods & Monsters, Sin-é, and his inevitable being signed to Columbia Records.
Oh i never asked to be your mountain
I never asked to fly
Remember when you came to me
and told me of his lies
You didn't understand my love
You don't know why i try
And the rain was falling on that day
And damn the reason why
The flying pisces sails for time
and tells me of my child
Wrapped in bitter tales and heartache
he begs for just a smile
Oh he never asked to be her mountain
He never asked to fly
And through his eye he comes his love
And tells her not to cry
She says, "your scoundrel father flies
with a dancer called a queen
and with her stolen cards he plays
and laughs, but never wins"
Oh the child dreams to be his hands
in the counting of the rain
But only barren breasts he feels
for her milk will never drain
As i die i can't remember
where i saw the rain:
could it be that her laughter
drove me down again?
Charming dancer will you stop,
stop and talk to me?
Is there someone else you feel
in your dreams? you will, you see:
in midnight gazes
I've found you far from me
If you lead me on
please leave me down
Oh flying flying fish
Please flutter by my door
Yes you can drink my lies
if first you read my eyes
Each one is titled
"i'm drowning back to you"
I can't swim your waters
and you can't walk my lands
I'm sailing all my sins
and i'm climbing all my fears
and soon now i'll fly
Oh i never asked to be your mountain
i never asked to fly
Remember when you came to me
and told me of his lies
You didn't understand my love
You don't know why i try
And the rain was falling on that day
And that's the reason why
Sweet lover, will you come back
and love me for a while?
Please take my hand
Leave all your fears behind
I've been gone too long
Now i'm home to stay
Please don't leave me
again this way
Please come home.
I Shall Be Released
B. Dylan
Originally performed by Bob Dylan. Jeff performed it live on air at WFMU, on September 6 1992. This is actually not a show where he was scheduled to perform, rather Chris Cunningham called him at home and he sang it live on the air over the phone with guest musicians in the studio. The beginning of the call is hilarious!
They say everything can be replaced,
Yet every distance is not near.
So i remember every face
Of every man who put me here.
I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.
They say every man needs protection,
They say every man must fall.
Yet i swear i see my reflection
Some place so high above this wall.
I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.
Standing next to me in this lonely crowd,
Is a man who swears he's not to blame.
All day long I hear him shout so loud,
Crying out that he was framed.
I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.
If You See Her, Say Hello
B. Dylan
Originally performed by Bob Dylan. Jeff often performed it live.
If you see her, say hello, she might be in Tangier
She left here last early spring, is livin' there, I hear
Say for me that I'm all right though things get kind of slow
She might think that I've forgotten her, don't tell her it isn't so.
We had a falling-out, like lovers often will
And to think of how she left that night, it still brings me a chill
And though our separation, it pierced me to the heart
She still lives inside of me, we've never been apart.
If you get close to her, kiss her once for me
I always have respected her for busting out and gettin' free
Oh, whatever makes her happy, I won't stand in the way
Though the bitter taste still lingers on from the night I tried to make
her stay.
I see a lot of people as I make the rounds
And I hear her name here and there as I go from town to town
And I've never gotten used to it, I've just learned to turn it off
Either I'm too sensitive or else I'm gettin' soft.
Sundown, yellow moon, I replay the past
I know every scene by heart, they all went by so fast
If she's passin' back this way, I'm not that hard to find
Tell her she can look me up if she's got the time.
Madame George
V. Morrison
Originally performed by Van Morrison. This cover is found on the Trash Can Tape (a bootleg tape).
Down on Cyprus Avenue
With a child-like vision leaping into view.
The clicking clacking of the high-heeled shoes,
Ford and Fitzroy; Madame George.
Marching with the soldierboy behind
He's much older now with hat on, drinking wine
And the smell of sweet perfume comes drifting thru
In the cool night breeze like Shalimar
And then your self control lets go
And suddenly you're up against the bathroom door.
The hallway lights are finely getting dim
You're in the front row touching him
And outside they're making all the stops
The kinds out in the streets collecting bottle tops,
Going for cigarettes and matches to the shops,
Happy talking, Madame George
And that's when you fall, Oh,
Oh, that's when you fall
And you fall into a trance
Sitting on a sofa playing games of chance
With your folded arms in history books you glance
Into the eyes of Madame George
And you think you've found your bag,
You're getting weaker and your knees begin to sag
And in the corner playing dominoes in drag,
The one and only Madame George
And outside the frosty window raps
She says "Be cool, I think that it's the cops"
Stands up, drops everything she gots,
It's not easy now you know
Now you know you gotta go
Catch a train from Dublin up to Sandy Row,
In the wind, rain & fog & slush & snow
Keep on going on
Say good-bye we know you're pretty far out
And all the little boys comin' round
They got gold cigarette lighters in their pockets
Walking away from it all, so cool.
That's when you fall.
Mama, You've Been On My Mind
B. Dylan
Originally performed by Bob Dylan. Jeff performed it live on air for The music faucet, a WFMU radio broadcast, on October 11 1992.
Perhaps it's the color of the sun cut flat
An' cov'rin' the crossroads I'm standing at,
Or maybe it's the weather or something like that,
But mama, you been on my mind.
I don't mean trouble, please don't put me down or get upset,
I am not pleadin' or sayin', "I can't forget."
I do not walk the floor bowed down an'bent, but yet,
Mama, you been on my mind.
Even though my mind is hazy an'my thoughts they might be narrow,
Where you been don't bother me nor bring me down in sorrow.
It don't even matter to me where you're wakin' up tomorrow,
But mama, you're just on my mind.
I am not askin' you to say words like "yes" or "no,"
Please understand me, I got no place for you t'go.
I'm just breathin' to myself, pretendin' not that I don't know,
Mama, you been on my mind.
When you wake up in the mornin', baby, look inside your mirror.
You know I won't be next to you, you know I won't be near.
I'd just be curious to know if you can see yourself as clear
As someone who has had you on his mind.
Please Send Me Someone To Love
P. Mayfield
Originally performed by Percy Mayfield. Jeff performed it live on air for The Music Faucet, a WFMU radio broadcast, on October 11 1992.
Heaven please send to all mankind
Understanding and peace and mind
But if it's not asking too much
Please send me someone to love
Someone to love
Show the world how to get along
And peace we'll enter when hate is gone
But if it is not asking too much
Please send me someone to love
Please send me someone to love
And I wake up and ponder the world's trouble
And my answer is always the same
Now let's put an end to this [damn all] of sin
Hate will put the world in a flame, what a shame
Just because I am in misery
I don't beg for no sympathy
But if it is not asking too much
Please send me someone to love
Please send me someone to love
Just because I am in misery
And I don't beg for no sympathy
But if it is not asking too much
Please send me someone to love
Please send me someone to love
Heaven please send to all mankind
Understanding and peace of mind
But if it is not asking too much
Please send me someone to love
Strange Fruit
L. Allen
Originally performed by Billie Holiday. Jeff performed it live on air at KCRW's Man On The Moon, on January 1994.
Southern trees bear strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.
Here is fruit for the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
Sweet Thing
V. Morrison
Originally performed by Van Morrison. Jeff performed it live at he Palace, Melbourne on February 29, 1996. He used to play it also with Gods and Monsters (the group formed by Jeff and Gary Lucas) in 1992.
And i will stroll the merry way
And jump the hedges first
And i will drink the clear
Clean water for to quench my thirst
And i shall watch the ferry-boats
And they'll get high
On a bluer ocean
Against tomorrow's sky
And i will never grow so old again
And i will walk and talk
In gardens all wet with rain
Hey, it's me, i'm dynamite
And i don't know why
We shall walk and talk
In gardens all misty and wet with rain
My, my, my, my, my sweet thing
And i will raise my hand up
Into the night time sky
And count the stars
That's shining in your eye
And i'll be satisfied
In gardens all wet with rain
And i will never, ever, ever, ever
Grow so old again.
Oh sweet thing, sweet thing
Sugar baby with your champagne eyes
And your saint-like smile...
The Other Woman
J.M.Robinson
Originally performed by Nina Simone. Jeff often performed it live.
The other woman finds time to manicure her nails
The other woman is perfect where her rival fails
And she's never seen with pin curls in her hair
The other woman enchants her clothes with french perfume
The other woman keeps fresh cut flowers in each room
There are never toys that's scattered everywhere
And when her baby comes to call
He'll find her waiting like a lonesome queen
Cause when she's by his side
It's such a change from old routine
But the other woman will always cry herself to sleep
The other woman will never have his love to keep
And as the years go by the other woman
Will spend her life alone
We All Fall In Love Sometimes
E. John
Originally performed by Elton John. Jeff performed it live on air for The Music Faucet, a WFMU radio broadcast, on October 11 1992.
Wise men say
It looks like rain today
It crackled on the speakers
And trickled down the sleepy subway trains
For heavy eyes could hardly hold us
Aching legs that often told us
It's all worth it
We all fall in love sometimes
The full moon's bright
And starlight filled the evening
We wrote it and I played it
Something happened it's so strange this feeling
Naive notions that were childish
Simple tunes that tried to hide it
But when it comes
We all fall in love sometimes
Did we, didn't we, should we couldn't we
I'm not sure `cause sometimes we're so blind
Struggling through the day
When even your best friend says
Don't you find
We all fall in love sometimes
And only passing time
Could kill the boredom we acquired
Running with the losers for a while
But our Empty Sky was filled with laughter
Just before the flood
Painting worried faces with a smile
Wild Is The Wind
D.Tiomkin/N.Washington
Originally performed by Nina Simone. Jeff performed it live at the Spot Coffee, Buffalo, on December 9 1996. That was a date of the Solo Phantom Tour: that day he was billed as Father Demo.
Love me love me love me
Say you do
Let me fly away
With you
For my love is like
The wind
And wild is the wind
Give me more
Than one caress
Satisfy this
Hungriness
Let the wind
Blow through your heart
For wild is the wind
You...
Touch me...
I hear the sound
Of mandolins
You...
Kiss me...
With your kiss
My life begins
You're spring to me
All things
To me
Don't you know you're
Life itself
Like a leaf clings
To a tree
Oh my darling,
Cling to me
For we're creatures
Of the wind
And wild is the wind
So wild is the wind
Wild is the wind
Wild is the wind
Will The Circle Be Unbroken
Traditional
This is a traditional song. Jeff performed it live at the Club Logo, Hamburg, Germany, on February 22, 1995.
I was standing by my window
On a cold and cloudy day
When i saw the hearse come rollin'
For to take my mother away.
Will the circle be unbroken?
By and by Lord, by and by,
There's a better home a-waitin'
In the sky Lord, in the sky.
I told the undertaker:
"undertaker, please drive slow,
for this body you are haulin'
Lord, i hate to see her go".
Will the circle be unbroken?
By and by Lord, by and by,
There's a better home a-waitin'
In the sky Lord, in the sky.
Well i followed close behind her,
Tried to hold up and be brave,
But i could not hide my sorrow
When they laid her in the grave
Will the circle be unbroken?
By and by Lord, by and by,
There's a better home a-waitin'
In the sky Lord, in the sky.
I went back home, my home was lonesome,
Missed my mother she was gone.
All my brothers and sisters crying
In our home so sad and alone.
Will the circle be unbroken?
By and by Lord, by and by,
There's a better home a-waitin'
In the sky Lord, in the sky.
We sang the songs of childhood,
Hymns of faith that made us strong,
Ones that our mother had taught us,
Hear the angels sing along
Will the circle be unbroken?
By and by Lord, by and by,
There's a better home a-waitin'
In the sky Lord, in the sky.
Originals
Edna Frau (Unreleased)
(J.Buckley/M.Grondahl)
This song was performed live at Selina's By The Sea, Sydney, Australia on March 1, 1996, and then in the following dates of the Hard Luck Tour. It was sung by Jeff together with Mick Grondahl (bass player).
To cross the ocean and to look down
This pipe love is rushing to a city bed
Then wires stream into an open (???)
Take hold of Jude, she's coming down
I made like I didn't tell you
Don't tell it
When will you wash the bodies
Two seven numbers with the happy
Take a leave and join me on the water's edge
I would let you if only I could assist your death
I made like I didn't tell you
When they call me
I made like I didn't tell you
When they call me
But cry, oh, your life
Don't go blind (???)
Cry... go blind (???)
To get out
Now my sister, you didn't know how
Everyone needs (???)
All my children are acting out
Crawling to bed with Edna Frau
All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun (Unreleased)
(J.Buckley)
This song was also performed live at Selina's.
My eyes are
a baptism
Oh and I am filth
And sing her
into my face
Oh phantom lucifer
Oh, all flowers in time bend towards the sun
I know you say that there's no one for you
but here is one
All flowers in time bend towards the sun
I know you say that there's no one for you
but here is one, here is one...
Here is one
Ah yeah...
One that can never be more
Either, or drunk, with the world at her feet
A soul, but with no place to go
Oh, all flowers in time bend towards the sun
I know you say that there's no one for you
but here is one
All flowers in time bend towards the sun
I know you say that there's no one for you
but here is one, here is one...
Oh, we did go (???)
We can travel round
Fading farther from me
with your face in my window cloth
When will you wait for me
sweet willow... ooh...
It's ok to be angry
But not to hurt me
Your happiness, yes, yes, yes
Darling, darling,
Oooh...
All flowers in time bend towards the sun
I know you say that there's no one for you
but here is one
All flowers in time bend towards the sun
I know you say that there's no one for you
but here is one
All flowers in time bend towards the sun
I know you say that there's no one for you
but here is one
But here is one
But here is one...
Unforgiven
J. Buckley
Demo Version of Last Goodbye, from the Babylon Dungeon Tapes, Unreleased
Ulalume
E. A. Poe
Jeff performed a reading of this poem by Edgar Allan Poe for the tribute double disc compilation CLOSED ON ACCOUNT OF RABIES, produced by Hal Willner. It appears as Track #2 on CD 2 "The Devil's Brew".
The skies were ashen and sober,
The leaves they were crisped and sere,
The leaves they were withering and sere;
It was night in the lonesome October
Of my most immemorial year;
It was hard by the dim lake of Auber,
In the misty mid region of Weir,
It was down by the dank tarn of Auber,
In the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir.
Here once, through an alley, Titanic,
Of cypress, I roamed with my Soul,
Of cypress, with Psyche, my Soul.
These were days when my heart was volcanic
As the scoriac rivers that roll,
As the lavas that restlessly roll
Their sulphurous currents down Yaaneck
In the ultimate climes of the pole,
That groan as they roll down Mount Yaaneck
In the realms of the boreal pole.
Our talk had been serious and sober,
But our thoughts they were palsied and sere,
Our memories were treacherous and sere,
For we knew not the month was October,
And we marked not the night of the year
(Ah, night of all nights in the year!);
We noted not the dim lake of Auber
(Though once we had journeyed down here),
Remembered not the dank tarn of Auber,
Nor the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir.
And now, as the night was senescent
And star-dials pointed to morn,
As the star-dials hinted of morn,
At the end of our path a liquescent
And nebulous lustre was born,
Out of which a miraculous crescent
Arose with a duplicate horn
Astarte's bediamonded crescent
Distinct with its duplicate horn.
And I said: "She is warmer than Dian;
She rolls through an ether of sighs,
She reveals in a region of sighs:
She has seen that the tears are not dry on
These cheeks, where the worm never dies,
And has come past the stars of the Lion,
To point us the path to the skies,
To the Lethean peace of the skies;
Come up, in despite of the Lion,
To shine on us with her bright eyes,
Come up through the lair of the Lion,
With love in her luminous eyes."
But Psyche, uplifting her finger,
Said: "Sadly this star I mistrust,
Her pallor I strangely mistrust;
Oh, hasten! oh, let us not linger!
Oh, fly! let us fly! for we must."
In terror she spoke, letting sink her
Wings until they trailed in the dust;
In agony sobbed, letting sink her
Plumes till they trailed in the dust,
Till they sorrowfully trailed in the dust.
I replied: "This is nothing but dreaming:
Let us on by this tremulous light!
Let us bathe in this crystalline light!
Its sibyllic splendor is beaming
With hope and in beauty to-night!
Ah, we safely may trust to its gleaming,
And be sure it will lead us aright;
We safely may trust to a gleaming
That cannot but guide us aright,
Since it flickers up to heaven through the night."
Thus I pacified Psyche and kissed her,
And tempted her out of her gloom,
And conquered her scruples and gloom;
And we passed to the end of the vista,
But were stopped by the door of a tomb,
By the door of a legended tomb,
And I said:"What is written, sweet sister,
On the door of this legended tomb?"
She replied: "Ulalume! Ulalume!
'Tis the vault of thy lost Ulalume!"
Then my heart it grew ashen and sober
As the leaves that were crisped and sere,
As the leaves that were withering and sere,
And I cried: "It was surely October
On this very night of last year
That I journeyed, I journeyed down here,
That I brought a dread burden down here,
Of this night of all nights in the year,
Ah, what demon has tempted me here?
Well I know, now, this dim lake of Auber,
This misty mid region of Weir,
Well I know, now, this dank tarn of Auber,
This ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir."
Said we, then--the two, then--"Ah, can it
Have been that the woodlandish ghouls
The pitiful, the merciful ghouls
To bar up our way and to ban it
From the secret that lies in these wolds
From the thing that lies hidden in these wolds
Had drawn up the spectre of a planet
From the limbo of lunary souls
This sinfully scintillant planet
From the Hell of the planetary souls?"
Ozark Melody
J.Buckley/F.Reed/J.Tripician
(Unreleased)
Well the aliens are coming
They're coming while i'm strummin'
They fill me up with such a sense of pride
When the aliens do take me
I hope that they will let me
Bring my little sister for my bride.
The space men with skin of gray
Took my baby child away
Now they say they want a second date
I'm really kind of flattered
Though I know it doesn't matter
Just think of it as interstellar rape.
The aliens will help me
I know that they can lift me
Lift me out of earth's velocity
The aliens have shown me
In their space craft as they hold me
Their space-age Ozark moonshine recipe.
In the kitchen I've gone wild
With spices hot and mild
Yes, I'm the planet's new age Julia child.
I'm cookin' up a present
A ten-pound frisky pheasant
They'll stuff it like they stuffed me - with a smile
The aliens are recruiting
Over hill and dale they're lootin'
For kins and cows and even chickens, too.
They took my cousin Billy
Now he's more than silly
I wish they'd take my auntie Mary lou.
Now the aliens don't like me
'Cause I guess I tried to bite 'em
It's just my way of being kind of close
They threw me in a pasture
Now i'm aging faster
Faster than a free-range country roast.
Well the aliens are coming
They're coming while i'm strummin'
They fill me up with such a sense of pride
When the aliens do take me
I hope that they will let me
Bring my little sister for my bride.
Meltdown Festival, July 1 1995, London
ELVIS COSTELLO: "I hope that people who liked him resist the temptation to turn his life and death into some dumb romantic fantasy--he was so much better than that. Not everyone can get up and sing something they take a liking to and make it their own, sing true to their heart and be curious about all different strains of music. Corpus Christi Carol was a completely conceived interpretation. I'd never heard the piece before and when I heard the original I realized what Jeff had done was even more amazing. He'd taken it into his own world. That's something my favorite classical musicians can do, be themselves but use all that expertise to make the music more beautiful. Jeff did that naturally. Only a handful of people are capable of that.
I was amazed when he did Meltdown. I asked him what he wanted to sing and he said he'd like to do one of Mahler's Kindertotenlieder in the original German! Absolutely fucking fearless. He was convinced he could sing it without rehearsal, just because he liked it. In the end he did a Purcell song, Dido's Lament, which is in danger of sounding incredibly poignant in retrospect: 'Remember me but forget my fate'. But he also sang Boy With the Thorn In His Side because he liked it, and Grace to show something of himself.
When he started singing Dido's Lament at the rehearsal, there were all these classical musicians who could not believe it. Here's a guy shuffling up on-stage and singing a piece of music normally thought to be the property of certain types of specifically developed voice, and he's just singing, not doing it like a party piece, but doing something with it.
My last memory of him was at the little party in the green room afterwards. There were all these people sitting round Jeff who'd never met before - Fretwork, the viol group, a classical pianist and some jazz player - all talking and laughing about music. He'd charmed everybody. I'd much rather remember that than anything."
(taken from the August 1997 issue of MOJO)
(note: Elvis Costello was the director of the 1995 edition of Meltdown Festival)
Tracks:
Dido's Lament/The Boy With The Thorn In His Side/Grace
Dido's Lament
H.Purcell
This is a piece, for a soprano voice, from Dido and Aeneas, an opera composed by Henry Purcell in 1681.
Thy hand, belinda, darkness shades me.
On thy bosom let me rest.
More I would, but death invades me.
Death is now a welcome guest.
When I am laid in earth, may my wrongs create
No trouble in thy breast.
Remember me, but ah! forget my fate.
The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
Morrissey/J.Marr
Originally performed by The Smiths.
The boy with the thorn in his side
Behind the hatred there lies
A murderous desire for love
How can they look into my eyes
And still they dont believe me
How can they hear me say those words
And still they dont believe me
And if they don't believe me now
Will they ever believe me?
And if they don't believe me now
Will they ever believe me?
The boy with the thorn in his side
Behind the hatred there lies
A plundering desire for love
How can they see the love in our eyes
And still they don't believe us
And after all this time
They don't want to believe us
And if they dont believe us now
Will they ever believe us?
And when you want to live
How do you start?
Where do you go?
Who do you know?
Grace
J. Buckley/G. Lucas
Quite possibly THE most stunning version I've ever heard of this song, just him with the now legendary Stratocaster ripping it out live...
Covers
Ace Of Spades
L. Kilmster
During a live show of unspecified location, Jeff did this hilarious take on a classic Motorhead song.
Alive
I.Monteiro
Originally performed by the Drugstore. Jeff performed it live at the Mercury Lounge, New York, on December 31 1995.
I
I feel the time is coming
I
I walk into your eyes
Oh, I don't care if the clock is turning
Cause I'm going to the other side
You either die
Or you keep on burning alive
And I am burning
I
I walked a long long distance
I
I'm feeling sore inside
Oh, I don't care if the sky is falling
Cause I'll never get to see the light
You either die
Or you keep on burning alive
And I am burning
And I am burning
All Tomorrow's Parties
L. Reed
Originally performed by the Velvet Underground. Jeff performed it live at the Knitting Factory, New York, on October 1992.
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties
A hand-me-down dress from who knows where
To all tomorrow's parties
And where will she go and what shall she do
When midnight comes around
She'll turn once more to Sunday's clown
And cry behind the door
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties
Why silks and linens of yesterday's gowns
To all tomorrow's parties
And what will she do with yesterday's rags
When Monday comes around
She'll turn once more to Sunday's clown
And cry behind the door
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties
For Thursday's child
is Sunday's clown
For whom none will go mourning
A blackened shroud
A hand-me-down gown
Of rags and silks - a costume
Fit for one who sits and cries
For all tomorrow's parties
Calling You
B.Telson/J.Steele
Originally performed by Jevetta Steele. Jeff performed it live with Gods And Monsters (the group formed by him and Gary Lucas) at the Knitting Factory, New York, on August 15 1992.
A desert road from Vegas to nowhere
Some place better than where you've been
A coffee machine that needs some fixing
In a little café just around the bend
I am calling you
Can't you hear me
I am calling you
A hot dry wind blows right thru me
The baby's crying and can't sleep
But we both know a change is coming
Coming closer sweet release
I am calling you
I know you hear me
I am calling you Oh
Catnip Dream
M.Nakatani
Originally performed by the Shonen Knife. Jeff performed it live at Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, on May 4 1995.
He is a cat but he's very very fat
He's not just a standard cat
He is a cat but he's still very fat
American calico cat
Catnip is a kitty cat drug
One puff two puffs, high in a dream
Funny kitty's got very sleepy eyes
I wonder what he's dreaming of
Catnip Dream Catnip Dream Catnip
Dream meow meow meow
Catnip dream
He gets his kicks from a tiny toy
A green frog filled with catnip
And pretty soon he's going to be seventeen
Kitty cat birthday party
Catnip is a kitty cat drug
We plant catnip seeds together
All summer long he watches it growing
Dreaming of the harvest moon
Catnip Dream Catnip Dream Catnip
Dream meow meow meow
Catnip Dream
He is a cat and he's very very smart
He knows the coolest place in the yard
He is the king of the neighborhood
American calico cat
Catnip is a kitty cat drug
One puff two puffs, high in a dream
Funny kitty's got very sleepy eyes
I wonder what he's dreaming of
Catnip Dream Catnip Dream Catnip
Dream meow meow meow
Catnip dream
Curtains
(E.John/B.Taupin)
Originally performed by Elton John. Jeff performed it live at Mercury Lounge, New York, on December 31 1995.
I used to know this old scarecrow
He was my song
My joy and sorrow
Cast alone between the furrows
Of a field no longer sown by anyone
I held a dandelion
That said the time had come
To leave upon the wind
Not to return
When summer burned the earth again
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh...
Cultivate the freshest flower
This garden ever grew
Beneath these branches
I once wrote such childish words for you
But that's okay
There's treasure children always seek to find
And just like us
You must have had
A once upon a time
Farewell Angelina
B. Dylan
From WFMU's 1993 compilation They Came, They Played, They Blocked the Driveway. This song was originally performed by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.
Farewell Angelina
The bells of the crown
Are being stolen by bandits
I must follow the sound
The triangle tingles
And the trumpets play slow
Farewell Angelina
The sky is on fire
And I must go.
There's no need for anger
There's no need for blame
There's nothing to prove
Ev'rything's still the same
Just a table standing empty
By the edge of the sea
Farewell Angelina
The sky is trembling
And I must leave.
The jacks and the queens
Have forsaked the courtyard
Fifty-two gypsies
Now file past the gaurds
In the space where the deuce
And the ace once ran wild
Farewell Angelina
The sky is folding
I'll see you in a while.
See the cross-eyed pirates sitting
Perched in the sun
Shooting tin cans
With a sawed-off shotgun
And the neighbors they clap
And they cheer with each blast
Farewell Angelina
The sky's changing color
And I must leave fast.
King Kong, little elves
On the rooftops they dance
Valentino-type tangos
While the make-up man's hands
Shut the eyes of the dead
Not to embarrass anyone
Farewell Angelina
The sky is embarassed
And I must be gone.
The machine guns are roaring
The puppets heave rocks
The fiends nail time bombs
To the hands of the clocks
Call me any name you like
I will never deny it
Farewell Angelina
I must go where it's quiet.
I Against I
Bad Brains
Originally performed by the Bad Brains. Jeff performed it live on air at KCRW's Man On The Moon, on January 1994
In The quest for the test to fulfill an achievement, everybody's only in it for themselves.
But the fact of the matter is they don't care to extend a helping hand to anyone else.
So tell me why you had to lie and trie to make me all confused about the U.S.A.,
When the fact of the matter is you just don't care to comprehend or understand a single word I say.
I don't want to have I go against I...
Oh let me tell you
And it's the same old story no factual glory
I against I against I against I.
And I say I don't like it and I know I dont want it
I against Iagainst I against I.
Almighty watching almighty watching
I against I against I against I against I.
And I say I dont like it
And I know I don't want it
I against I against I against I.
I said who is gonna tell the youth the truth about the drugs, mugs, bugs, and the police thugs
About the rotten stinkin' rackets and the fantasies around the nation, around the nations
Oh baby what you gonna do I tell you the truth is looking straight at you...
I got a brass continental, a 300-Z, two color T.V.S. now video too.
I got a rest home in Jamaica for my fantasy for my family.
Around the nation. Around the nation. What you gonna do?
I Know It's Over
(Morrissey/J.Marr)
Originally performed by The Smiths. Jeff performed it several times, usually in medley with Hallelujah (as in Mystery White Boy) or with Kangaroo. This was recorded at C'est What, Toronto, Canada, 14-2-94.
Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head
And as I climb into an empty bed - oh well, enough said
I know it's over still I cling, I don't know where else I can go
Over and over.....
Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head
See the sea wants to take me, the knife wants to slit (cut) me
Do you think you can help me
Sad veiled bride please be happy - handsome groom give her room
Loud loutish lover treat her kindly though she needs you
More than she loves you - and I know it's over - still I cling
I don't know where else I can go - over and over.....
I know it's over and it never really began but in my heart it was so real
And she even spoke to me and said
"If you're so funny, then why are you on your own tonight?"
"And if you're so clever then why are you on your own tonight?"
"And if you're so very entertaining then why are you on your own tonight?"
"And if you're so very good looking, then why do you sleep alone tonight?"
I know - 'cos tonight is just like any other night - that's why you're on
your own tonight
With your triumphs and your charms - while they're in each other's arms
It's so easy to laugh it's so easy to hate it takes strength to be gentle
and kind - over and over....
It's so easy to laugh it's so easy to hate it takes guts to be gentle and
kind - over and over....
Love is natural and real - but not for you my love not tonight my love
Love is natural and real - but not for such as you and I my love
Oh mother... etc.
I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain
T. Buckley
Originally performed by Tim Buckley in GOODBYE AND HELLO (1967). Jeff performed it live in his exhibition for Greetings From Tim Buckley, a tribute concert organized by Hal Willner that took place at St.Ann's Church, New York, on April 26 1991. It was Jeff's introduction to New York, which led to Gods & Monsters, Sin-é, and his inevitable being signed to Columbia Records.
Oh i never asked to be your mountain
I never asked to fly
Remember when you came to me
and told me of his lies
You didn't understand my love
You don't know why i try
And the rain was falling on that day
And damn the reason why
The flying pisces sails for time
and tells me of my child
Wrapped in bitter tales and heartache
he begs for just a smile
Oh he never asked to be her mountain
He never asked to fly
And through his eye he comes his love
And tells her not to cry
She says, "your scoundrel father flies
with a dancer called a queen
and with her stolen cards he plays
and laughs, but never wins"
Oh the child dreams to be his hands
in the counting of the rain
But only barren breasts he feels
for her milk will never drain
As i die i can't remember
where i saw the rain:
could it be that her laughter
drove me down again?
Charming dancer will you stop,
stop and talk to me?
Is there someone else you feel
in your dreams? you will, you see:
in midnight gazes
I've found you far from me
If you lead me on
please leave me down
Oh flying flying fish
Please flutter by my door
Yes you can drink my lies
if first you read my eyes
Each one is titled
"i'm drowning back to you"
I can't swim your waters
and you can't walk my lands
I'm sailing all my sins
and i'm climbing all my fears
and soon now i'll fly
Oh i never asked to be your mountain
i never asked to fly
Remember when you came to me
and told me of his lies
You didn't understand my love
You don't know why i try
And the rain was falling on that day
And that's the reason why
Sweet lover, will you come back
and love me for a while?
Please take my hand
Leave all your fears behind
I've been gone too long
Now i'm home to stay
Please don't leave me
again this way
Please come home.
I Shall Be Released
B. Dylan
Originally performed by Bob Dylan. Jeff performed it live on air at WFMU, on September 6 1992. This is actually not a show where he was scheduled to perform, rather Chris Cunningham called him at home and he sang it live on the air over the phone with guest musicians in the studio. The beginning of the call is hilarious!
They say everything can be replaced,
Yet every distance is not near.
So i remember every face
Of every man who put me here.
I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.
They say every man needs protection,
They say every man must fall.
Yet i swear i see my reflection
Some place so high above this wall.
I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.
Standing next to me in this lonely crowd,
Is a man who swears he's not to blame.
All day long I hear him shout so loud,
Crying out that he was framed.
I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.
If You See Her, Say Hello
B. Dylan
Originally performed by Bob Dylan. Jeff often performed it live.
If you see her, say hello, she might be in Tangier
She left here last early spring, is livin' there, I hear
Say for me that I'm all right though things get kind of slow
She might think that I've forgotten her, don't tell her it isn't so.
We had a falling-out, like lovers often will
And to think of how she left that night, it still brings me a chill
And though our separation, it pierced me to the heart
She still lives inside of me, we've never been apart.
If you get close to her, kiss her once for me
I always have respected her for busting out and gettin' free
Oh, whatever makes her happy, I won't stand in the way
Though the bitter taste still lingers on from the night I tried to make
her stay.
I see a lot of people as I make the rounds
And I hear her name here and there as I go from town to town
And I've never gotten used to it, I've just learned to turn it off
Either I'm too sensitive or else I'm gettin' soft.
Sundown, yellow moon, I replay the past
I know every scene by heart, they all went by so fast
If she's passin' back this way, I'm not that hard to find
Tell her she can look me up if she's got the time.
Madame George
V. Morrison
Originally performed by Van Morrison. This cover is found on the Trash Can Tape (a bootleg tape).
Down on Cyprus Avenue
With a child-like vision leaping into view.
The clicking clacking of the high-heeled shoes,
Ford and Fitzroy; Madame George.
Marching with the soldierboy behind
He's much older now with hat on, drinking wine
And the smell of sweet perfume comes drifting thru
In the cool night breeze like Shalimar
And then your self control lets go
And suddenly you're up against the bathroom door.
The hallway lights are finely getting dim
You're in the front row touching him
And outside they're making all the stops
The kinds out in the streets collecting bottle tops,
Going for cigarettes and matches to the shops,
Happy talking, Madame George
And that's when you fall, Oh,
Oh, that's when you fall
And you fall into a trance
Sitting on a sofa playing games of chance
With your folded arms in history books you glance
Into the eyes of Madame George
And you think you've found your bag,
You're getting weaker and your knees begin to sag
And in the corner playing dominoes in drag,
The one and only Madame George
And outside the frosty window raps
She says "Be cool, I think that it's the cops"
Stands up, drops everything she gots,
It's not easy now you know
Now you know you gotta go
Catch a train from Dublin up to Sandy Row,
In the wind, rain & fog & slush & snow
Keep on going on
Say good-bye we know you're pretty far out
And all the little boys comin' round
They got gold cigarette lighters in their pockets
Walking away from it all, so cool.
That's when you fall.
Mama, You've Been On My Mind
B. Dylan
Originally performed by Bob Dylan. Jeff performed it live on air for The music faucet, a WFMU radio broadcast, on October 11 1992.
Perhaps it's the color of the sun cut flat
An' cov'rin' the crossroads I'm standing at,
Or maybe it's the weather or something like that,
But mama, you been on my mind.
I don't mean trouble, please don't put me down or get upset,
I am not pleadin' or sayin', "I can't forget."
I do not walk the floor bowed down an'bent, but yet,
Mama, you been on my mind.
Even though my mind is hazy an'my thoughts they might be narrow,
Where you been don't bother me nor bring me down in sorrow.
It don't even matter to me where you're wakin' up tomorrow,
But mama, you're just on my mind.
I am not askin' you to say words like "yes" or "no,"
Please understand me, I got no place for you t'go.
I'm just breathin' to myself, pretendin' not that I don't know,
Mama, you been on my mind.
When you wake up in the mornin', baby, look inside your mirror.
You know I won't be next to you, you know I won't be near.
I'd just be curious to know if you can see yourself as clear
As someone who has had you on his mind.
Please Send Me Someone To Love
P. Mayfield
Originally performed by Percy Mayfield. Jeff performed it live on air for The Music Faucet, a WFMU radio broadcast, on October 11 1992.
Heaven please send to all mankind
Understanding and peace and mind
But if it's not asking too much
Please send me someone to love
Someone to love
Show the world how to get along
And peace we'll enter when hate is gone
But if it is not asking too much
Please send me someone to love
Please send me someone to love
And I wake up and ponder the world's trouble
And my answer is always the same
Now let's put an end to this [damn all] of sin
Hate will put the world in a flame, what a shame
Just because I am in misery
I don't beg for no sympathy
But if it is not asking too much
Please send me someone to love
Please send me someone to love
Just because I am in misery
And I don't beg for no sympathy
But if it is not asking too much
Please send me someone to love
Please send me someone to love
Heaven please send to all mankind
Understanding and peace of mind
But if it is not asking too much
Please send me someone to love
Strange Fruit
L. Allen
Originally performed by Billie Holiday. Jeff performed it live on air at KCRW's Man On The Moon, on January 1994.
Southern trees bear strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.
Here is fruit for the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
Sweet Thing
V. Morrison
Originally performed by Van Morrison. Jeff performed it live at he Palace, Melbourne on February 29, 1996. He used to play it also with Gods and Monsters (the group formed by Jeff and Gary Lucas) in 1992.
And i will stroll the merry way
And jump the hedges first
And i will drink the clear
Clean water for to quench my thirst
And i shall watch the ferry-boats
And they'll get high
On a bluer ocean
Against tomorrow's sky
And i will never grow so old again
And i will walk and talk
In gardens all wet with rain
Hey, it's me, i'm dynamite
And i don't know why
We shall walk and talk
In gardens all misty and wet with rain
My, my, my, my, my sweet thing
And i will raise my hand up
Into the night time sky
And count the stars
That's shining in your eye
And i'll be satisfied
In gardens all wet with rain
And i will never, ever, ever, ever
Grow so old again.
Oh sweet thing, sweet thing
Sugar baby with your champagne eyes
And your saint-like smile...
The Other Woman
J.M.Robinson
Originally performed by Nina Simone. Jeff often performed it live.
The other woman finds time to manicure her nails
The other woman is perfect where her rival fails
And she's never seen with pin curls in her hair
The other woman enchants her clothes with french perfume
The other woman keeps fresh cut flowers in each room
There are never toys that's scattered everywhere
And when her baby comes to call
He'll find her waiting like a lonesome queen
Cause when she's by his side
It's such a change from old routine
But the other woman will always cry herself to sleep
The other woman will never have his love to keep
And as the years go by the other woman
Will spend her life alone
We All Fall In Love Sometimes
E. John
Originally performed by Elton John. Jeff performed it live on air for The Music Faucet, a WFMU radio broadcast, on October 11 1992.
Wise men say
It looks like rain today
It crackled on the speakers
And trickled down the sleepy subway trains
For heavy eyes could hardly hold us
Aching legs that often told us
It's all worth it
We all fall in love sometimes
The full moon's bright
And starlight filled the evening
We wrote it and I played it
Something happened it's so strange this feeling
Naive notions that were childish
Simple tunes that tried to hide it
But when it comes
We all fall in love sometimes
Did we, didn't we, should we couldn't we
I'm not sure `cause sometimes we're so blind
Struggling through the day
When even your best friend says
Don't you find
We all fall in love sometimes
And only passing time
Could kill the boredom we acquired
Running with the losers for a while
But our Empty Sky was filled with laughter
Just before the flood
Painting worried faces with a smile
Wild Is The Wind
D.Tiomkin/N.Washington
Originally performed by Nina Simone. Jeff performed it live at the Spot Coffee, Buffalo, on December 9 1996. That was a date of the Solo Phantom Tour: that day he was billed as Father Demo.
Love me love me love me
Say you do
Let me fly away
With you
For my love is like
The wind
And wild is the wind
Give me more
Than one caress
Satisfy this
Hungriness
Let the wind
Blow through your heart
For wild is the wind
You...
Touch me...
I hear the sound
Of mandolins
You...
Kiss me...
With your kiss
My life begins
You're spring to me
All things
To me
Don't you know you're
Life itself
Like a leaf clings
To a tree
Oh my darling,
Cling to me
For we're creatures
Of the wind
And wild is the wind
So wild is the wind
Wild is the wind
Wild is the wind
Will The Circle Be Unbroken
Traditional
This is a traditional song. Jeff performed it live at the Club Logo, Hamburg, Germany, on February 22, 1995.
I was standing by my window
On a cold and cloudy day
When i saw the hearse come rollin'
For to take my mother away.
Will the circle be unbroken?
By and by Lord, by and by,
There's a better home a-waitin'
In the sky Lord, in the sky.
I told the undertaker:
"undertaker, please drive slow,
for this body you are haulin'
Lord, i hate to see her go".
Will the circle be unbroken?
By and by Lord, by and by,
There's a better home a-waitin'
In the sky Lord, in the sky.
Well i followed close behind her,
Tried to hold up and be brave,
But i could not hide my sorrow
When they laid her in the grave
Will the circle be unbroken?
By and by Lord, by and by,
There's a better home a-waitin'
In the sky Lord, in the sky.
I went back home, my home was lonesome,
Missed my mother she was gone.
All my brothers and sisters crying
In our home so sad and alone.
Will the circle be unbroken?
By and by Lord, by and by,
There's a better home a-waitin'
In the sky Lord, in the sky.
We sang the songs of childhood,
Hymns of faith that made us strong,
Ones that our mother had taught us,
Hear the angels sing along
Will the circle be unbroken?
By and by Lord, by and by,
There's a better home a-waitin'
In the sky Lord, in the sky.
Originals
Edna Frau (Unreleased)
(J.Buckley/M.Grondahl)
This song was performed live at Selina's By The Sea, Sydney, Australia on March 1, 1996, and then in the following dates of the Hard Luck Tour. It was sung by Jeff together with Mick Grondahl (bass player).
To cross the ocean and to look down
This pipe love is rushing to a city bed
Then wires stream into an open (???)
Take hold of Jude, she's coming down
I made like I didn't tell you
Don't tell it
When will you wash the bodies
Two seven numbers with the happy
Take a leave and join me on the water's edge
I would let you if only I could assist your death
I made like I didn't tell you
When they call me
I made like I didn't tell you
When they call me
But cry, oh, your life
Don't go blind (???)
Cry... go blind (???)
To get out
Now my sister, you didn't know how
Everyone needs (???)
All my children are acting out
Crawling to bed with Edna Frau
All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun (Unreleased)
(J.Buckley)
This song was also performed live at Selina's.
My eyes are
a baptism
Oh and I am filth
And sing her
into my face
Oh phantom lucifer
Oh, all flowers in time bend towards the sun
I know you say that there's no one for you
but here is one
All flowers in time bend towards the sun
I know you say that there's no one for you
but here is one, here is one...
Here is one
Ah yeah...
One that can never be more
Either, or drunk, with the world at her feet
A soul, but with no place to go
Oh, all flowers in time bend towards the sun
I know you say that there's no one for you
but here is one
All flowers in time bend towards the sun
I know you say that there's no one for you
but here is one, here is one...
Oh, we did go (???)
We can travel round
Fading farther from me
with your face in my window cloth
When will you wait for me
sweet willow... ooh...
It's ok to be angry
But not to hurt me
Your happiness, yes, yes, yes
Darling, darling,
Oooh...
All flowers in time bend towards the sun
I know you say that there's no one for you
but here is one
All flowers in time bend towards the sun
I know you say that there's no one for you
but here is one
All flowers in time bend towards the sun
I know you say that there's no one for you
but here is one
But here is one
But here is one...
Unforgiven
J. Buckley
Demo Version of Last Goodbye, from the Babylon Dungeon Tapes, Unreleased
Ulalume
E. A. Poe
Jeff performed a reading of this poem by Edgar Allan Poe for the tribute double disc compilation CLOSED ON ACCOUNT OF RABIES, produced by Hal Willner. It appears as Track #2 on CD 2 "The Devil's Brew".
The skies were ashen and sober,
The leaves they were crisped and sere,
The leaves they were withering and sere;
It was night in the lonesome October
Of my most immemorial year;
It was hard by the dim lake of Auber,
In the misty mid region of Weir,
It was down by the dank tarn of Auber,
In the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir.
Here once, through an alley, Titanic,
Of cypress, I roamed with my Soul,
Of cypress, with Psyche, my Soul.
These were days when my heart was volcanic
As the scoriac rivers that roll,
As the lavas that restlessly roll
Their sulphurous currents down Yaaneck
In the ultimate climes of the pole,
That groan as they roll down Mount Yaaneck
In the realms of the boreal pole.
Our talk had been serious and sober,
But our thoughts they were palsied and sere,
Our memories were treacherous and sere,
For we knew not the month was October,
And we marked not the night of the year
(Ah, night of all nights in the year!);
We noted not the dim lake of Auber
(Though once we had journeyed down here),
Remembered not the dank tarn of Auber,
Nor the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir.
And now, as the night was senescent
And star-dials pointed to morn,
As the star-dials hinted of morn,
At the end of our path a liquescent
And nebulous lustre was born,
Out of which a miraculous crescent
Arose with a duplicate horn
Astarte's bediamonded crescent
Distinct with its duplicate horn.
And I said: "She is warmer than Dian;
She rolls through an ether of sighs,
She reveals in a region of sighs:
She has seen that the tears are not dry on
These cheeks, where the worm never dies,
And has come past the stars of the Lion,
To point us the path to the skies,
To the Lethean peace of the skies;
Come up, in despite of the Lion,
To shine on us with her bright eyes,
Come up through the lair of the Lion,
With love in her luminous eyes."
But Psyche, uplifting her finger,
Said: "Sadly this star I mistrust,
Her pallor I strangely mistrust;
Oh, hasten! oh, let us not linger!
Oh, fly! let us fly! for we must."
In terror she spoke, letting sink her
Wings until they trailed in the dust;
In agony sobbed, letting sink her
Plumes till they trailed in the dust,
Till they sorrowfully trailed in the dust.
I replied: "This is nothing but dreaming:
Let us on by this tremulous light!
Let us bathe in this crystalline light!
Its sibyllic splendor is beaming
With hope and in beauty to-night!
Ah, we safely may trust to its gleaming,
And be sure it will lead us aright;
We safely may trust to a gleaming
That cannot but guide us aright,
Since it flickers up to heaven through the night."
Thus I pacified Psyche and kissed her,
And tempted her out of her gloom,
And conquered her scruples and gloom;
And we passed to the end of the vista,
But were stopped by the door of a tomb,
By the door of a legended tomb,
And I said:"What is written, sweet sister,
On the door of this legended tomb?"
She replied: "Ulalume! Ulalume!
'Tis the vault of thy lost Ulalume!"
Then my heart it grew ashen and sober
As the leaves that were crisped and sere,
As the leaves that were withering and sere,
And I cried: "It was surely October
On this very night of last year
That I journeyed, I journeyed down here,
That I brought a dread burden down here,
Of this night of all nights in the year,
Ah, what demon has tempted me here?
Well I know, now, this dim lake of Auber,
This misty mid region of Weir,
Well I know, now, this dank tarn of Auber,
This ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir."
Said we, then--the two, then--"Ah, can it
Have been that the woodlandish ghouls
The pitiful, the merciful ghouls
To bar up our way and to ban it
From the secret that lies in these wolds
From the thing that lies hidden in these wolds
Had drawn up the spectre of a planet
From the limbo of lunary souls
This sinfully scintillant planet
From the Hell of the planetary souls?"
Ozark Melody
J.Buckley/F.Reed/J.Tripician
(Unreleased)
Well the aliens are coming
They're coming while i'm strummin'
They fill me up with such a sense of pride
When the aliens do take me
I hope that they will let me
Bring my little sister for my bride.
The space men with skin of gray
Took my baby child away
Now they say they want a second date
I'm really kind of flattered
Though I know it doesn't matter
Just think of it as interstellar rape.
The aliens will help me
I know that they can lift me
Lift me out of earth's velocity
The aliens have shown me
In their space craft as they hold me
Their space-age Ozark moonshine recipe.
In the kitchen I've gone wild
With spices hot and mild
Yes, I'm the planet's new age Julia child.
I'm cookin' up a present
A ten-pound frisky pheasant
They'll stuff it like they stuffed me - with a smile
The aliens are recruiting
Over hill and dale they're lootin'
For kins and cows and even chickens, too.
They took my cousin Billy
Now he's more than silly
I wish they'd take my auntie Mary lou.
Now the aliens don't like me
'Cause I guess I tried to bite 'em
It's just my way of being kind of close
They threw me in a pasture
Now i'm aging faster
Faster than a free-range country roast.
Well the aliens are coming
They're coming while i'm strummin'
They fill me up with such a sense of pride
When the aliens do take me
I hope that they will let me
Bring my little sister for my bride.
Meltdown Festival, July 1 1995, London
ELVIS COSTELLO: "I hope that people who liked him resist the temptation to turn his life and death into some dumb romantic fantasy--he was so much better than that. Not everyone can get up and sing something they take a liking to and make it their own, sing true to their heart and be curious about all different strains of music. Corpus Christi Carol was a completely conceived interpretation. I'd never heard the piece before and when I heard the original I realized what Jeff had done was even more amazing. He'd taken it into his own world. That's something my favorite classical musicians can do, be themselves but use all that expertise to make the music more beautiful. Jeff did that naturally. Only a handful of people are capable of that.
I was amazed when he did Meltdown. I asked him what he wanted to sing and he said he'd like to do one of Mahler's Kindertotenlieder in the original German! Absolutely fucking fearless. He was convinced he could sing it without rehearsal, just because he liked it. In the end he did a Purcell song, Dido's Lament, which is in danger of sounding incredibly poignant in retrospect: 'Remember me but forget my fate'. But he also sang Boy With the Thorn In His Side because he liked it, and Grace to show something of himself.
When he started singing Dido's Lament at the rehearsal, there were all these classical musicians who could not believe it. Here's a guy shuffling up on-stage and singing a piece of music normally thought to be the property of certain types of specifically developed voice, and he's just singing, not doing it like a party piece, but doing something with it.
My last memory of him was at the little party in the green room afterwards. There were all these people sitting round Jeff who'd never met before - Fretwork, the viol group, a classical pianist and some jazz player - all talking and laughing about music. He'd charmed everybody. I'd much rather remember that than anything."
(taken from the August 1997 issue of MOJO)
(note: Elvis Costello was the director of the 1995 edition of Meltdown Festival)
Tracks:
Dido's Lament/The Boy With The Thorn In His Side/Grace
Dido's Lament
H.Purcell
This is a piece, for a soprano voice, from Dido and Aeneas, an opera composed by Henry Purcell in 1681.
Thy hand, belinda, darkness shades me.
On thy bosom let me rest.
More I would, but death invades me.
Death is now a welcome guest.
When I am laid in earth, may my wrongs create
No trouble in thy breast.
Remember me, but ah! forget my fate.
The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
Morrissey/J.Marr
Originally performed by The Smiths.
The boy with the thorn in his side
Behind the hatred there lies
A murderous desire for love
How can they look into my eyes
And still they dont believe me
How can they hear me say those words
And still they dont believe me
And if they don't believe me now
Will they ever believe me?
And if they don't believe me now
Will they ever believe me?
The boy with the thorn in his side
Behind the hatred there lies
A plundering desire for love
How can they see the love in our eyes
And still they don't believe us
And after all this time
They don't want to believe us
And if they dont believe us now
Will they ever believe us?
And when you want to live
How do you start?
Where do you go?
Who do you know?
Grace
J. Buckley/G. Lucas
Quite possibly THE most stunning version I've ever heard of this song, just him with the now legendary Stratocaster ripping it out live...