Get all 16 Sarah McQuaid releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of If We DUB Any Deeper It Could Get Dangerous, The St Buryan Sessions, The Sun Goes On Rising (The St Buryan Sessions) - Single, Rabbit Hills (The St Buryan Sessions) - Single, Time To Love (The St Buryan Sessions) - Single, Sweetness And Pain (The St Buryan Sessions) - Single, The Day Of Wrath, That Day (The St Buryan Sessions) - Single, Charlie’s Gone Home (The St Buryan Sessions) - Single, and 8 more.
1. |
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Oh my pretty little bird
You’ve got fragile little bones
The beauty in your eyes
Leaves me terrified
So much danger in this world
I’m scared to let you out alone
Scared to let you spread your baby wings
And take to flight
But though my belly made you
I can’t hold you, I can’t cage you
I can’t lay my fears to rest
But I can try
To lift you up and let you fly
Let you fly
Since the day you were born
I’ve tried to keep you from harm
Tried to teach you to protect yourself
From evil things
As you set out on your way
There’s so much more I want to say
Before you flutter to the edge
And start to beat your wings
But I know that I can’t save you
From whatever fate awaits you
Be it bitterness or joy
And I will try
To lift you up and let you fly
Let you fly
And if your feathers fail you
I’ll try to catch you as you fall
But when I set you free
And you fly away from me
I know you might not come back at all
Lift you up and let you fly
Let you fly
Let you fly
Sweet bird I love you so
Can’t bear to let you go
Little girl of mine
It’s hard but I will try
To let you fly
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2. |
Hardwick's Lofty Towers
03:42
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The boy to whom I first was wed
Was dead within the year
I cried many an angry tear
In widow’s weeds I pleaded for my dower
I wasn’t thinking then of Hardwick’s lofty towers
Of Hardwick’s lofty towers
Another match was found for me
And he was wise and kind
Strong in body and in mind
He loved me well, with children I did flower
I was on my way to Hardwick’s lofty towers
To Hardwick’s lofty towers
A widow I became once more
Before I’d reached my prime
Yet again cruel Fate was kind
As sweet William’s wife my life’s happiest hours
Were spent far away from Hardwick’s lofty towers
From Hardwick’s lofty towers
A dreadful thing then came to pass
Alas, he was struck down
And though another match I found
The joy I gained did wane and turn sour
I consoled myself with Hardwick’s lofty towers
With Hardwick’s lofty towers
Bess of Hardwick is my name
My fame is ensured
By my works and by my words
I built my castle tall for all to admire
I have left my soul in Hardwick’s lofty towers
In Hardwick’s lofty towers
I have carved my name in golden letters in the sky
So that those who follow after me
Will know that I was born and died
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3. |
Solid Air
05:03
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4. |
Kenilworth
03:02
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How may a subject court his queen
How may he make her see
That she must be his lady
I’ve made you a garden
I am your Eyes
Your bonny Robin
Here are sweetly shadowed paths of grass and sand
Where you may walk and take your ease
Here are herbs and gillyflowers
Whose scent perfumes and purifies the air you breathe
Here is a fountain made from white Carrara marble
Carved with strange and stirring scenes
Here is a birdhouse set with gemstones
Where canaries sing and golden feathers gleam
All for you
All for you
I’ve made you a garden
I am your Eyes
Your bonny Robin
How may a subject court his queen
How may he make her see
That she must be his lady
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5. |
In Derby Cathedral
05:03
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In Derby Cathedral
I read through the names on the wall
And I think of them all
I think of them all
Say a prayer for the souls of the faithful departed
Who’ve walked through these halls
Say a prayer for them all
Say a prayer for them all
So many who laboured
To praise their creator
With towers of glass, wood and stone
Where I wander alone
Soul, flesh and bone
In Derby Cathedral
It’s peaceful, but not in my mind
No peace can I find
No peace can I find
So many people
In Derby Cathedral
Soul, flesh and bone
Glass, wood and stone
In Derby Cathedral
I read through the names on the wall
And I think of them all
I think of them all
So many people
In Derby Cathedral
Soul, flesh and bone
Glass, wood and stone
In Derby Cathedral
I found my last home
My soul free to roam
My name carved in stone
Listen to the bells
Ringing out for me
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6. |
The Sun Goes On Rising
04:13
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I hear the wolf at the door
I’ve seen his face before
He’s hungry and I’m tired
Can’t keep him out much more
Through a chink in the blind
I watch him pace a line
Better step back from the window
He’s only biding his time
Spring follows winter
Sun follows shower
Things will get better
If only I can hold that wolf at bay
Drive him away
Cos the sun goes on rising every day
I’m keeping the faith
I’m still in the race
I’m marking down the time
Till I can get to a better place
Spring follows winter
Sun follows shower
Things will get better
If only I can hold that wolf at bay
Drive him away
Cos the sun goes on rising every day
Seagulls fly in cloudy skies
Morning comes and amber turns to grey
Cos the sun goes on rising every day
And the time will come when I don’t feel this way
Seagulls fly in cloudy skies
Morning comes and amber turns to grey
The sun goes on rising every day
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7. |
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S’anc fui belha ni prezada
Ar sui d’aut en bas tornada
Qu’az un vilan sui donada
Tot per sa gran manentia
E murria
S’ieu fin amic non avia
Cuy disses mo marrimen
E guaita plazen
Que mi fes son d’alba
Ja per guap ni per menassa
Que mos mals maritz me fassa
No mudarai qu’ieu no jassa
Ab mon amic tro al dia
Quar seria
Desconoissens vilania
Qui's partria malamen
Son amic valen
De si, tro en l’alba
If before I was beautiful and esteemed
Now I am turned from high to low
For I am given to a vulgar man
All because of his great wealth
And I would die
If I did not have a noble lover
To whom I could tell my unhappiness
And a pleasing watchman
To sound the dawn for me
Never for any gibes or threats
That my wicked husband may make to me
Will I cease lying
With my lover until daylight
For it would be
Ungrateful and base
If anyone wickedly sent away
Their worthy lover
Before the dawn
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8. |
Can She Excuse My Wrongs
04:24
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Can she excuse my wrongs with Virtue’s cloak
Shall I call her good when she proves unkind
Are those clear fires which vanish into smoke
Must I praise the leaves where no fruit I find
No no: where shadows do for bodies stand
Thou may’st be abus’d if thy sight be dim
Cold love is like to words written on sand
Or to bubbles which on the water swim
Wilt thou be thus abused still
Seeing that she will right thee never
If thou can’st not o’ercome her will
Thy love will be thus fruitless ever
Was I so base, that I might not aspire
Unto those high joys which she holds from me
As they are high, so high is my desire
If she this deny, what can granted be
If she will yield to that which Reason is,
It is Reason’s will that Love should be just
Dear, make me happy still by granting this
Or cut off delays if that I die must
Better a thousand times to die
Than for to live thus still tormented
Dear, but remember it was I
Who for thy sake did die contented
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9. |
New Oysters New
01:00
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New oysters, new oysters, new oysters new
Have you any wood to cleave (repeat)
What kitchen stuff have ye maids (repeat)
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10. |
So Much Rain
04:10
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The rain falls in sheets on the pavement outside
The car tyres are splashing the passers-by
This town was always grey, and it’s greyer tonight
The wind sings a desolate lullaby
So much rain
That I can’t see through
I thought we’d be together when the season changed
Spring was the promise I made to you
You said you’d wait for better weather
I hear your voice in the rain
You told me you’d be back again
When the flowers came up again
Well, here they are and where are you
The street lights shine bright on the shop windowpane
My ghostly reflection thrown back at me again
The blossoms on the cherry trees hang ragged in the rain
And I’ve only myself to blame
So much rain
That I can’t see through
I thought we’d be together when the season changed
Spring was the promise I made to you
You said you’d wait for better weather
I hear your voice in the rain
You told me you’d be back again
When the flowers came up again
Well, here they are and where are you
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11. |
What Are We Going To Do
02:57
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I didn’t know that kiss was coming
Guess I could have started running
Soon as I saw what you were thinking
Serves me right
I shouldn’t have been drinking
But anyway, you did
So let’s consider
What are we going to do about it
This little thing that you and me have started
Tonight is not enough
I might just fall in love with you
What are we going to do
I wouldn’t say that this was unexpected
If you hadn’t kissed me I’d regret it
Cos when you leaned my way
I couldn’t turn my face from you
What are we going to do
This could be the edge of something
Dangerous, too
But right now it’s all new
I don’t know what way to play it
In the light of day we might not make it
I don’t know if it’s real
I don’t know how to deal with you
What are we going to do
What are we going to do about it
This little thing that you and me have started
Tonight is not enough
I might just fall in love with you
What are we going to do
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12. |
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The yellow rose you planted has survived
Battered by the wind but still alive
The leaves are curled and brown, the flowers are few
And every bud that opens makes me think of you
Think of you
The plum tree in the orchard’s doing fine
Our damson brandy’s turning out all right
It’s cloudy and it’s strong, but it’ll do
And every drop I swallow makes me think of you
Think of you
A little boy is running down the lane
He’s got your big grey eyes, he’s got your name
His trouser legs are dripping wet with dew
And every time I look at him I think of you
Think of you
Oh, the years pass ever faster
And there are no ready answers
To the questions we keep asking
On the nature of our souls
But this I know
Yours is in the little boy
The plum tree and the rose
The plum tree and the rose
The plum tree and the rose
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13. |
In Gratitude I Sing
01:01
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This earth of ours is beautiful
The sky, the rocks, the trees
The birds and the animals, rivers and seas
In gratitude I sing to you
For I am thankful, I am thankful
I am thankful in my soul
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Sarah McQuaid Penzance, UK
“One of the most instantly recognisable voices in current music … Shades of Joni Mitchell in a jam with Karen Carpenter and
Lana Del Rey.” —Neil March, Trust The Doc
“Captivating, unorthodox songwriting … layered satin vocals ... enthralling, harrowing arrangements … a gateway into a true innovator’s soul.” —PopMatters
See sarahmcquaid.com/about for more info.
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