Get all 16 Mark Laurent releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Mark Laurent (a best-of), Stations Of The Cross, One True Gift (Demos Volume 2), A-Ha-Ha (Demos Volume 1), This Is Not All There Is, The Net, UnderGrowth, Spiritual Graffiti, and 8 more.
1. |
Man In A Boiler Suit
04:54
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MAN IN A BOILER SUIT
(M Laurent)
There’s a man in a boiler suit
he’s working for the captain of a foreign line
he’s going to be leaving soon
strolling the dock for one last time
it must be nice to sail away
new horizons every day
I have no money or I would pay
Seagulls sitting along the pier
flap into the air as I go by
nothing particular keeps them here
there but for fortune go I
it must be nice to fly away
new horizons every day
I have no wings so I must stay
unless you can take me
Take me to the water side
find me a boat that I can ride
take me to the water side
I go travelling in my dreams
but nothing’s quite the way that I expected
strange companions and fleeting scenes
dreaming always feels kind of disconnected
it must be nice to float away
new horizons every day
if I could only make the dreaming stay
Take me to the water side
I’m not afraid though it looks so wide
take me to the water side.
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2. |
Image
03:18
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IMAGE
(M Laurent)
I don’t want to write good songs
I’m trying hard to write bad songs
‘cos that’s the way to be popular these days
it’s no good to have a positive expression
big frown, aura of depression
it’s so twee to be happy anyway
and I’ve got my image to think about
I’ve got my image to think about
I’ve got my image to think about.
In the magazines and on the tv
people tell me the way I’m supposed to be
You’ve got to wear this and you’ve got to drink that
Well I’m committed, I’ve got the passion
but I don’t have the budget to keep up with the fashion
I’ll mortgage my house for that new pair of jeans
‘cos I’ve got my image to think about
I’ve got my image to think about
I’ve got my image to think about.
But who made the rules? Who made the rules?
Well if it wasn’t me, I think it might’ve been you.
So here I am on the big stage
though it might not appear that way
I’m stepping out like it just might be
And I wonder what you might be saying
about my hairdo, about my playing
Oh what in the world does the world think of me?
‘cos I’ve got my image to think about
I’ve got my image to think about
I’ve got my image to think about
I’ve got my image.
but who made the rules? Who made the rules?
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3. |
One Tree
03:14
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ONE TREE
(B Liddiard)
I've heard some say it's just a tree
But it was more than that to me
It has always been standing there
I could see it from everywhere
Now there's no tree on One Tree Hill
No more tree to kill
No tree to feel the chill
Of the west wind blowing ill.
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4. |
Happy
02:53
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HAPPY
(M Laurent)
Outside my window
sun shining down
outside my window
there’s this bird flying around & around
someone up there
smiling down on me
o happy day.
I hear the stories
this is not a happy place
just makes me thankful
for moments of grace
someone up there
smiling down on me
o happy day.
Outside my window
hear the people in the street
I hope they all can find
moments like these
someone up there
smiling down on me
o happy day.
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5. |
The Listener
05:03
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THE LISTENER
(B. Liddiard)
I don't know why the world has to be such a sad place sometimes
And I don't know why life has to show such a hard face sometimes
I don't know why bad things happen to good people
I don't know why.
Sometimes I feel cast adrift on a crazy ocean
Out of control, tossed and turned in perpetual motion
Searching for something to hook my anchor into
To hold me tight, to hold me tight.
Then you come to me
You hold me in your arms
You comfort my fears
You let me speak them out
You may not have the answer
You needn't even try
Just to have you listen
Makes everything alright.
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6. |
Not The Only One
04:45
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NOT THE ONLY ONE
(M Laurent)
I never thought that I’d be one of those people
With wrinkles around my eyes
Thought my hair’d always be golden
And not six shades of white
Did my youth get stolen
Or was it washed out with the tide?
Sometimes it makes me anxious.
I never thought that I’d be one of those people
Who’d stop to catch my breath
I used to run like a crazy down the mountains
And never think of death
I said “Time is an illusion”
Now there’s not quite so much time left
And mine is halfway over.
But I’m not the only one…
I never thought that I’d be one of those people
Who’d learn to settle down
Get a job, raise a family
And buy a little house in town
Go to the same place every summer holidays
Well, somehow, I’m doing all that now
- But that’s OK.
Because I’m not the only one…
I never thought that I’d be one of those people
Who’d stay home on Saturday night
I said “There’s no such thing as too much chocolate”
Now my waistline says there might be
And “I’m sorry, darling, but I’m just not in the mood tonight,
Do you still think I’m alright?”
Well I’m not the only one…
I never thought that I’d be one of those people
Ah, but wouldn’t you know
The moment you turn the hour glass over
Sand begins to flow
And we’re all just the same
And that’s a comfort, I suppose
Heaven knows, and anyway…
I’m not the only one.
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7. |
Song Of The Forest
04:19
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SONG OF THE FOREST
(D Braucli/B Liddiard)
Open your ears to the song of the forest
the sound of the wind in the leaves
the rushing of water flowing over the stones
every small creature that breathes
hear the birds sing as they play with the wind
up in the branches so high
know if we don't change the way that we're living
all of this beauty might die.
Open your eyes to the sights of the forest
a cascade of colour and form
and every new place that you look around
a new kind of beauty is born
see the tall trees reaching up to the sky
the seedlings that spring from the earth
we are the ones who now must decide
how much is this really worth
Open your hearts to the cries of the people
who have nowhere else they can go
for countless years they have lived in this forest
it's rhythms are all that they know
loggers and miners could drive them away
destroying all in the path
but we could help them find a way to survived
and this is all that they ask.
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8. |
Refugee
04:10
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REFUGEE
(M Laurent)
I’ve got a little house in the middle of town
crystal hangs in the window where the sun goes down
fireside in the winter is a mellow space
I really don’t want to have to leave this place
A man’s home is his castle, or so they say
shut the door, draw the curtains, keep the world at bay
secret garden right outside my kitchen door
I may never get to come back here at all
Well I tried being angry but that doesn’t help
and if you want to cry, got to keep that to yourself
just keep moving, don’t let them see
it’s the loneliness that really terrifies me
Is there somewhere, anywhere that I can rest?
I’ve been on the road so long I got a little depressed
any pokey little corner would be fine by me
being homeless is misery…
And I don’t want to be a refugee.
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9. |
Lipstick
02:51
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LIPSTICK
(B Liddiard)
Some days I wear lipstick
Other days my mouth is naked
I'm not making any statement
It's just that every day is different.
Some days I'm just lazy
Or running late as usual
Some days any attempt at disguise seems
Ridiculous and futile.
So I'll just be me
Just be me
What you're getting is what you see
It's just me.
It's funny how you never know who you'll see
when you look in the mirror
How you're feeling has nothing to do with
Who'll be looking back at you.
Some days I wear lipstick
And other days my mouth is naked
I'm not making any statement …
Some days I wear lipstick
Some days I wear lipstick
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10. |
It's Only Love
04:29
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IT’S ONLY LOVE
(M Laurent)
Once I was young, once I was small
Now I am none of these things at all
The world which seems so solid today
Tomorrow could all fade away
Leaving me nowhere else to fall.
And it’s only love in the end, that’s all
It’s only love in the end, that’s all
There’s just one thing in the end
That makes any difference, my friend
It’s only love in the end, that’s all.
We walk by faith, we live in hope
But sometimes there’s nothing there to hold
Behind the dream of the world
There’s a shadow moving, I’ve heard
There is an answer if you call.
And it’s only love in the end, that’s all
It’s only love in the end, that’s all
There’s just one thing in the end
That makes any difference, my friend
It’s only love in the end, that’s all.
When the kingdom finally comes
And every other cord is undone
There’s only love in the end, that’s all.
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11. |
South
05:01
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SOUTH
(B Liddiard & M Laurent)
The road steams
where the hot sun
hits the wet tar
the weather can't seen to make up its mind
and the road keeps winding
South.
Clouds pass, ethereal vehicles
shadowing the Buller road
and the weather can't seen to make up its mind
and the road keeps winding
South.
It's the kind of day that makes you feel
that you could drive forever
I'm watching the hills disperse and gather
and the towns slip behind us
in the rear view mirror
South.
Then the lakes arrive with their mirror pictures
so cold and clear it hurts
I'm watching the hills disperse and gather
and the towns slip behind us
in the rear view mirror
South.
And the one-lane bridges seem to say
there's only one way to go
the one-lane bridges seem to say
there's only one way to go
South.
The road steams
Where hot sun
hits the wet tar
the weather can’t seem to make up its mind
and the road keeps winding
South.
Clouds pass, ethereal vehicles
shadowing the Buller road
and the weather can't seen to make up its mind
and the road keeps winding
South.
The weather can’t seem to make up its mind
and the road keeps twisting
South.
And the one-lane bridges seem to say
there's only one way to go
the one-lane bridges seem to say
there's only one way to go
South.
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Mark Laurent Auckland, New Zealand
I've been a professional guitarist/singer/songwriter for 40 years, & I've recorded & worked on many albums. I'm also an author with 4 collections of poetry & an illustrated children's storybook published, & I've written articles & reviews for various magazines. I live in Auckland, New Zealand. As well as cafes, concerts & churches I also do a bit of busking to keep in touch with the 'real world'. ... more
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