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As if in a dream I drifted at sea

by Daniel Gadd

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1.
Siri Linn 04:44
I had a hard-up winter. Wind blew my home away. Lost my belongings to the river, Lost all my memories to the rain. Reached out for something to cling to But nothing stuck around for too long. Tree trunks and mountains they were drifting, So I let the water move me on. Nowadays I’m a sailor. I navigate the night. I’m looking for a star I can believe in While the moon keeps on slipping out of sight. You said that I was a dreamer. Well we both know that ain’t quite true. My thoughts they are locked in fixed positions And my heart is forever fixed on you. Hey… She’s gone again. She fades Out and in. Siri Linn. Set out for the sunshine When the wind blew the flood away. Found myself walking in the desert When the night-time turned into day. I heard a coyote calling As if to say, hey man let’s go. And I left my ship in the sand a’ sinking And I headed on down that dusty road. Nowadays I’m a stranger. I ain’t even got a name. In a crowd of a thousand changing faces Mine always stayed just the same. You said that I was familiar And you waited for us to be alone Then you wrapped your arms around me tightly And I knew I was never going home. Hey… She’s gone again. She fades Out and in. Siri Linn.
2.
Some time ago on a cold winter night I sat and I gazed out to sea. I saw a young girl in the mouth of a wave And I heard a voice calling to me. I threw myself in, I scarce felt the cold As I struggled and kicked against the tide And just as my strength was certain to fail I felt a warm hand at my side. Her eyes were a green that shone with the water. Her hair was all silver and flowed with the moon. With a smile so lonesome and a face so pale Gently she sang a sorrowful tune. Into my ears she whispered her song. I can’t remember the words. With the softest of lips, she gave me a kiss And I became lost in her verse. *** As if in a dream I drifted at sea. The hours and the minutes drifted too. I woke up aching on a beach of black stones And I lay there the whole morning through. Now a long time has passed but I still return To that ocean-side rock where I saw her. There’s some folks who say that she carries men down Into the depths of the water. There’s some folks who say that she’ll drag a man down Well I say to free him is far crueller.
3.
Rolling On 04:03
There are two kinds of man Living in my brain. Neither one feels quite at home. One’s got too much to say. The other’s got no backbone. Oh… Just rolling through. Wearing thin And feeling blue. What more can I do? Down to a sunless sea, Just beneath the surface. Like a gull on an ocean breeze No direction and no purpose. Stretched on the horizon Like a leaning tree, Holding ground While blown around by a wind That can neither feel nor see. *** Just when you think you’re still You realise you're traveling. At the foot of an endless hill With a thousand trails unraveling. Oh… I’m rolling on. Floating free, Completely gone. Soon I won’t belong to anyone.
4.
Well my eyes, they’re burning But my thoughts are cold And Sleep, she is turning her face from mine. And my whole body’s aching Like it’s missing something And there’s less I’m remembering More and more every day. You always were saying That you didn’t want nothing Too strong or too serious To get in your way. But still you kept calling And in my arms softly sleeping. I fell asleep to you breathing And I dreamed of you. Sometimes I wonder, Altogether too often, If the right combination Of words was there. And if I could have grabbed them And handed them to you, Would you have decided It was worth it to care? The morning you flew out You smiled like the first night Then you turned and you left Without looking back. But I watched you walking With your oversized suitcase And I thought well, she’s gone now But I was wrong about that.
5.
I’ve been a long time looking For a light out to the East I heard it cuts through shadow like a blade. But every now and then I have to start again. ‘Cause the trail I’m tracking tends to fade. I used to be a bird Brothers at my side But flying in formation’s just a masquerade. So now I’m on the ground And I’ve been a rambling ‘round. ‘Cause the trail I’m tracking tends to fade. For a while I was tied up Down in the lion’s den But the ropes around my legs grew worn and frayed. So I left that place behind, I've got someplace new to find But the trail I’m tracking tends to fade. *** I dreamed that I was old, Washed up on some shore And way off in the distance children played. And my ship has long been lost Swallowed by the sea And the trail I’m tracking tends to fade. When I finally reached the East The light had moved along And I never felt so lonesome or betrayed. But every now and then I have to start again ‘Cause the trail I’m tracking tends to fade.
6.
Well it’s just like the road To open up one day, Throw some person in your way And leave you both alone. And it’s just like the road To completely disappear While you let someone get near Enough to sink into your bones *** When your thoughts run clear Like water in a stream. When the sun pours down like rain And when the rain just doesn’t come. Ain’t it just like the road To reappear right in your stream. Send ripples through your dream Until it’s all just gone. Ain’t it just like the road To teach you how to love, Teach you how to cry, Teach you how to say goodbye.
7.
So long Old friend. I never notice you’re gone. Still you always come When I call. I heard That you got lost in the woods. Made a home in the trees And blew out with the wind. Where did you go Old friend? *** So long Old friend. I know you’re always around. I see you best from the ground, Looking up. Tell me, If I’ve never been to the ocean, Why do I dream of the waves Over and over again? Where have you been Old friend?
8.
I was someways down a highway When my thoughts turned to a song That an old lover sang me When I was weak and she was strong. God I wish I could remember The way her lips moved when she sang. But I’m gone… Long gone. And I won’t see her again. Now a man has nothing. Never does, never will. Can’t hold on when he’s moving. Can’t let go when he’s still. And I’m stuck here just spinning Like the wheels on a train. And I’m gone… Long gone. And I won’t be back again.

about

recorded in kalk bay, cape town

credits

released November 17, 2017

thanks to Oli Weder for assistance with production and for letting me sleep on his couch when it's too late to catch a bus home

mastered by Gunnar Backman

album art by Callen Jefferson

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about

Daniel Gadd London, UK

Singer and songwriter from Cape Town. Based in London, UK.

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