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Southern Cross

by Sean O'Connor

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1.
I thought it was raining last night But it was only the stars falling down I thought it was raining last night But it was only the angels crying As the band played the blackbird’s tune And I asked you to come dance with me And the angels said “come back soon” And you came down and danced for a while Come dance with me my love When the blackbird sings to the stars above Come dance with me my friend For what goes on and what must end Thought I saw the Southern Cross But it was only the lines in my heart Cos I crossed my heart and it cut both ways My love has left all these scars Chorus Bridge Come dance by the Southern Cross For all we’ve had and all we’ve lost Come dance while the music hums Til the quiet midnight comes Come dance with me my love When the blackbird sings to the stars above Come dance with me my friend For what goes on and what must end Come lay your hand on my shoulder Come wrap yourself around me Come make love to me one more time Where no-one will see me cry Come dance...
2.
Shadowsong 04:14
Shadowsong I cannot say for sure that I have fallen I cannot say I hear a higher callin’ But I know that on this place on my path There is not yet peace in my heart Do the passions that I burn for and pursue Give enough in return for the world I use? Can I find a way to redeem the darkened dream? Can all of this entwine? Will that way be mine? I walk with my shadow circling me round The circle of the sun traced on the ground I wanna walk in the light with my feet on the ground I walk with my shadow circling me round I only did what I could with things I should That door that opened to me, that destiny So I return to word and song where I belong Sometimes I still tire, can’t find the fire Sometimes from the embers try to remember, surrender Into love, god, universe, being, words for ways of seeing The truth that we all seek, the truth we share The truth that I would speak if I would dare The truth that we all hear somewhere, somehow The truth that we all know is here and now Oh and in the end it’s all just talk Cos the truth is here in the way I walk And I walk with my shadow circling me round I walk with my shadow circling me round The circle of the sun traced on the ground I wanna walk in the light with my feet on the ground I walk with my shadow circling me round
3.
Midnight 03:36
Midnight has nearly come again Ghosts have hooked your heart Tearing out is too much pain Melt away their barbs MIdnight is closing in again So much left undone Fears awakened, slipped away Burn in tomorrow's sun But I will say what I must Before my bones turn to dust Before my heart turns to rust I will say what I must Midnight is pressing in again My heart against my chest Waking now end your reign My soul calls for rest Midnight is listening again All these thoughts of mine Flowers from a forgotten grave Stolen from my mind
4.
5.
Beautiful Rage Today I 'm playing with all these keys Computers, pianos and big theories I read about poisoned anoxic seas Invisible to our toxic cities Coral reefs lie like bones Like our moral beliefs, our dead zones From an island nation to annihilation There’s two degrees of separation The phoenix rises from despair Sings in the storm for all to hear In beautiful rage and mastered fear The song of our age, Beautiful Rage Maybe you think it'll all be OK Come back from the brink some beautiful day Borrow the world ‘til we come to a standstill Heads in the sand still, maybe a landfill Faster now than anyone thought Who cast the line out? Look at who's caught Us and our children, their children too I ask myself, what will I do? The phoenix rises from despair Sings in the storm for all to hear In beautiful rage and mastered fear The song of our age, Beautiful Rage Papatuanuku, Gaia, Isis Damsel in distress, goddess in crisis Rapunzel please, throw down your hair! But who sees and who will care? “Not I,” said the cat, “Not I,” said the pig I’m too cool for that, I’m a little too big… What story will we tell, what spin shall we sell When we already know the truth so well? The phoenix rises from despair Sings in the storm for all to hear In beautiful rage and mastered fear The song of our age, Beautiful Rage Climate conspiracy's quite a hot topic The greens and the hippies could be misanthropic Anthropocentricity could be myopic Our egocentricity macroscopic When we look back on our beautiful planet If we ever look back and see how we ran it Our egos running amok, megalomanic Maybe we saw the iceberg and the Titanic And finally learned to woman and man it Some say that our science has got it all wrong Some shout in defiance and so it goes on Whatever it is, look deep in your heart Where you and the world were broken apart Look inside and out to the beauty and pain Then take up the weaving together again The phoenix rises from despair Sings in the storm for all to hear In beautiful rage and mastered fear The song of our age, Beautiful Rage
6.
Fire and Ice 04:18
I saw the sun set on this Island, watched the waves break on it shore Watched in wonder and in silence, wondered, how can I do more? More to save the world I love that has loved me in return More to restore the balance lost, less to let it burn It may sound grim this little hymn to love and what might be lost If I keep myself down and a little dim, I won’t have to count the cost I am awake in the eye of the storm walking the world while it slowly warms I am awake in while the world is turning to fire and ice burning Come let us dance, come let us drink, you can take a chance even on the brink Let us smile, let us laugh, as we walk a while on the heroine’s path, Sway to the strumming of another guitar, to the beating of the drum, wherever you are Make a big noise, gotta raise your voice, hopium is the drug of choice It may sound bleak, to sing or speak of love and what might be lost Maybe I’ll seek just to stay asleep so I won’t have to count the cost I saw red poppies glow and sway outside my window yesterday The World Wars have come and passed and the War for the World has come at last Now there is no hiding, dark and light dividing, Hiding’s a choice for darkness, the choice is stark, so start this It may sound trite and a bit cliched, love and what might be lost Fight the good fight, anyway, don’t just count the cost
7.
Bloom 04:15
I can't look you in the eye tonight I know you'd know something just ain't right When you catch my frozen gaze It's colder than these winter days When i touch you it's not 'cos I care When you need me I can't be there Cos I'm searching inside for some love to give You tell me that you got your life to live You need love like a flower rain I'm holding back 'cos I'm holding pain If I've wasted your precious gold I still pray for you and your bloom unfold You're beautiful in your open bloom When I watch you acrioss a crowded room When you're closer to my emoty space I can't hide I can't lie in your embrace For the children and our happy family We're living this virtual reality And I'd walk away and we'd both be free But I just can;t give up on our destiny You need love like a flower rain I'm holding back 'cos I'm holding pain If I've wasted your precious gold I still pray for you and your bloom unfold Sorry if I've taken you For granted or forsaken you Sorry if I've lived a lie Left your river running dry I've been a shell of the man I could be I know damn well it's all you could see Now it's finally broken, shattered and torn Ready for our love to be reborn You need love like a flower rain I'm holding back 'cos I'm holding pain If I've wasted your precious gold I still pray for you and your bloom unfold
8.
Cathy’s Garden Sweepin’ fallen flowers from Cathy’s courtyard She says sometimes now some things are just a little hard She says she appreciates that I go the extra mile Sometimes she makes coffee And we talk for a while by Cathy’s garden She’s had her knee in surgery, she’s got her walking frame She looks after her corgi, Trixie’s her name The Elvis show she organises keep her busy The neighbours come around sometimes And keep good company in Cathy’s Garden Her pension pays her just enough to pay me for my work Cutting grass and trimming trees, digging in the dirt Spreading stones here and there, grey, some white Enough to catch your eye somewhere Enough to catch the light in Cathy’s garden Elvis lives! Well, at least somewhere in Cathy’s lounge On posters, mirrors, rugs and plates his face is all around I guess I could analyse why she enshrines the king But I think I’ll just wonder why and say it’s just her thing Cathy’s husband passed away many years ago It’s another song for another day, for now we let it go Cathy’s daughter lives next door, don’t see her much these days Cathy’s granddaughter comes And sometimes she plays in Cathy’s garden In the cherry blossoms falling down when the spring leaves grow In the green becoming gold and brown when the cold wind blows The song is simple, even if you read between the lines Maybe there’s a meaning I guess it’s what you’ll find in Cathy’s garden
9.
10.
Us and Them 03:09
White cliffs war memorials rise Into the glow of grey gold skies Over Dover the sun casts a shadow As Dunkirk falls behind me The headlines and TV screens remind me They say the killer’s a Neo-Nazi Are these parts of me I’m asking Is it us and them? If not now then when? If not me then who? My God what shall I do? And the words of the one who must be blamed Are the same as he who must not be named In a family story half the world is reading Shall I point my finger and say “No, not I” Shall I remember how to cry? Cos I think those words are part of me And a part of all humanity Is it us and them? If not now then when? If not me then who? My God what shall I do? And the cliffs are crowned with wi-fi towers Are we calling to higher powers Is the seagull’s flight still a sign for freedom? And does the light house beacon stand To harbour sailors seeking land? Does the castle still stand for our defences? If you can’t see the shadow within you How can you choose good to give into? Cos if it’s not in ourselves How could it be in anyone else? It’s not us and them The time is now not when It’s just me and you My God what shall we do?
11.
No-one is to to blame, we did the best we could We’d do it better again, we always would There are things we’ve all been through that some can’t understand And some things cut right through that didn’t go how we planned Let go, hold on Like a broken butterfly, or a perfect stillborn child Tears at midnight lie, lonely, lost and wild So much of you is dying, taken in a storm And the tears that you still cry are like a child unborn Let go, hold on With one hand outstretched towards the hand of life Can you still say yes, when it cuts you like a knife? Will you give an armoured glove, your palm or your fist Can you say that it’s all love at the heart of all of this?

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released April 23, 2023

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Sean O'Connor New Zealand

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