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
04:52
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MAN IN A BOILER SUIT
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. |
All I Do
03:48
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ALL I DO
Every day
when I awake
I get out of bed
that’s all I do.
Every night
I turn out the light
lay down my head
that’s all I do.
The sun comes up
sun goes down
the world spins around
(& round & round)
that’s all we do.
I wrote this song
it didn’t take long
and you can sing too
(if you want to)
that’s all we do
that’s all we do.
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3. |
Here We Are Again
04:21
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HERE WE ARE AGAIN
On the coast
Stands a lone pohutakawa tree
Stones tumble in surging sea
Cloud towers impossibly high
Wind blows through my open mind.
We were never meant to be alone
We're all travellers on our way home
And here we are again.
In this place
There are houses that no-one owns
Sharing spaces with souls unknown
You can shed a tear or you can smiile
We can be a family for a while.
We were never meant to be alone
We're all travellers on our way home
And here we are again.
In good time
We will pack our things and move away
We will find another place to stay
We will sing our songs and share our dreams
We'll have stories of where we've been.
We were never meant to be alone
We're all travellers on our way home
And here we are again.
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4. |
Not The Only One
04:43
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NOT THE ONLY ONE
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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5. |
Anyway
04:25
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ANYWAY
The people in this town they look at you obliquely
open up their mouths and say “hasn’t it been nice lately?”
they’re smiling with their lips, but eyes quickly slide away
look a little harder, love them anyway
The people in this town they all dress in black
they’re running much too fast, running like there’s no way back
“I’ve got no time to talk now, just can’t waste the day”
take a little longer, love them anyway
The people in this town they’re all going home
to turn on the TV, and they’re turning off the answer-phone
setting their alarm clocks, waiting for the day
lay your burden down, love them anyway
I’m standing at the bus stop, I’m waiting in the queue
I know I’m going somewhere, but I don’t know where to
The people In this town are sleeping well tonight
some are dreaming dreams of walking out into the light
some will dream in shadows, some will fade away
open up our eyes and love them anyway.
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6. |
Cat Out Of The Bag
05:57
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CAT OUT OF THE BAG
A tiny ripple, no matter how small
touches the edges of the deepest pool
and everything we do matters somewhere
one candle in a big, dark room
chases the shadows, melts away the gloom
everything we do matters somewhere
I'm going to pick up this ball-point pen
I'm going to change the world
I play the chord and I play it again
I'm going to change the world
Some things I did I didn't intend
but you can never take them back again
and everything we do matters somewhere
you let the cat jump out o the bag
he hits the floor running, he never looks back
'cos everything he do matters somewhere
I'm going to pick up this ball-point pen
I'm going to change the world
I play the chord and I play it again
I'm going to change the world
Every word that I ever said
echoes somewhere in somebody's head
everything we do matters somewhere
and if you listened to this song
something will change, and it won't be long
'cos everything we do matters somewhere
I'm going to pick up this ball-point pen
I'm going to change the world
I play the chord and I play it again
I'm going to change the world.
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7. |
Long Way Down
05:04
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LONG WAY DOWN
Out here in the desert
it’s a dry and thirsty land
I don’t know where I am
my feet are sticking in the mud
I’m sinking in quicksand
I really think I’ve had enough
and I don’t even understand
this long way down…
Down here in the darkness
I can’t seem to find my way
I’m wishing for the light of day
and if I had a spark of faith
I might even try to pray
maybe it’s just too late
I don’t want to be afraid
of this long way down…
Maybe in the morning
if I can just bide my time
maybe in the morning
ther will be a hopeful sign
something will be different
something will be new
I will find a saviour
because I don’t know what else to do
It’s a long way down
sometimes there’s just no way back
it’s a long way down
I’m slipping on a one way track
it’s a long way down
and I wish I could turn around.
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8. |
I Just Wanna B God
03:40
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I JUST WANNA B GOD
I don’t want to be the president
of some fortune 500 company
And I don’t want to be the mayor of some
overpopulated, polluted big city
I don’t want to have tea with the queen
or form a trio with Bono and Rod
I don’t want too much of anything - I just wanna be god.
I don’t need a big white mansion
and I don’t need a swimming pool
I don’t need to be a pillar of fashion
or somebody’s dancing fool
I don’t need a genuine Picasso hanging on the wall
just to prove how much taste I’ve got
I don’t need anything special - I just wanna be god.
I don’t like too many possessions
I don’t like a stressful life
I don’t like religious obsessi0ons
and I only want one wife
I don’t like to be a pawn in the hands
of manipulative men who rip you off
I don’t like to make a fuss - but I just wanna be god.
I can play pretty good guitar and I can sing a song for you
I can take a book of words and
make them say anything that I want to
I could grab a little piece of earth and
make of it a slice of heaven if you want
I think that this life is pretty fine - but I’d still like to be god
So if I can ever find the time - I’d just like to b god
And I hope that you don’t mind - I’d jut like to b god.
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9. |
The Penny
04:07
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THE PENNY
Sometimes it just takes some time
For the penny to drop.
Rivers flow down to the sea
But the sea is never full
Must be some kind of miracle
• that’s how it seems
Sun rises in the east
Goes down in the west
Tomorrow it comes back again.
Sometimes it just takes some time
For the penny to drop.
There’s no peace in getting high
No lasting joy in fortune or fame
- Though we’d all like a try, anyway
But if you chase for happiness
Just like your shadow
It keeps running away.
Sometimes it just takes some time
For the penny to drop.
Life is one big mystery
Too wonderful for me
So I should be humble
And I don’t try to understand
Just reaching out my hand
Please keep me out of trouble.
Sometimes it just takes some time
For the penny to drop.
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10. |
Opoutere
04:12
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OPOUTERE
The clouds over Opoutere beach
like blankets for my soul
why they mean so much to me
I’ll never really know
man is like the ocean
so much hidden below
I’ll just watch the waves for a while
and then I’ll go
Sunlight on the harbour
like the afterglow of love
warms the sand and warms the sea
brings lightness to my heart
but we are all so fragile
so easily we change
like the sun when clouds move up the coast
we slip away
The birds who roost at Opoutere
spirits of the sky
nest and feed and celebrate
they’re born here, and they die
like them I am waiting
to spread our wings and fly
through God’s great cathedral
of sand and sea and sky.
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11. |
Crazy
05:05
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CRAZY
If I act crazy just ignore me
I’ll probably work it out in an hour or two
If I act crazy please forgive me
I never mean to take it out on you
when I act crazy
Sometimes I crawl into myself
like an ostrich I pretend I’m somewhere else
but you, you see through my disguise
through my silence
and through the clouding of my eyes
well I should have known that I
I cold never hide from you
because your love sees right through me
love sees right through me
when I act crazy
Once, once I was a child
and I talked child talk
I learned to pout, I learned to whine
by now you’d think I’d grow out of these games
but it’s amazing how some things stay the same
still I never thought that I
I would learn the lie
that men aren’t supposed to cry
men aren’t supposed to cry
but I act crazy…
… just ignore me
I’ll probably work it out in an hour or two
If I act crazy please forgive me
I never mean to take it out on you
when I act crazy
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12. |
Stuff Just Happens
04:33
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STUFF JUST HAPPENS
The tree falls east, the tree falls west
wherever the tree falls, there it comes to rest
clouds circle the earth like the sun
shedding rain and heat on everyone
and stuff just happens
it’s happening all the time
Some people spend their lives watching the weather
“if it’s fine tomorrow I’ll get my stuff together”
you’ve got to live today like it’s the only one
though the snow may fall, you will overcome
when stuff just happens
it’s happening all the time
Nothing in this life is certain
and that’s the only thing that’s sure
the future is a parting curtain
and it takes faith to walk on through
when stuff just happens
it’s happening all the time
Sow your seed every day
in your fields and all along the way
among the weeds, among the stones
because you can never tell just how it will grow
and stuff just happens
it’s happening all the time.
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13. |
Poetree
04:56
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POETREE
There’s a tui singing right outside
I think he must be on a natural high
To sing like that, and be able to fly
Well if he’s not a happy bird
Then the world really is absurd
If he’s not happy, then I don’t know why.
There’s a little song in everything
Winter holds the seeds of spring
So come on, have a go, do your own thing
It’s poetree.
Some days I feel like I’ve got nothing to say
People can be funny that way
And if I had a penny I’d spend it today
But I come on like the prodigal son
It’s a wonder I get anything done, sometimes
You think about these things too hard
They’re going to blow you away.
But there’s a little song in everything
Winter holds the seeds of spring
So come on, have a go, do your own thing
‘cause it’s poetree.
Inspiration is like a shout
You never know when one might break out
And sometimes you just have to open your mouth
Like that tui singing right outside
Just to listen to him makes me feel high
And if I’m not happy, then I don’t know why.
There’s a little song in everything
Winter holds the seeds of spring
So come on, have a go, do your own thing
It’s poetree.
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14. |
Undergrowth
04:00
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15. |
Wherever It Leads Me
04:38
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WHEREVER IT LEADS ME
Rivers flow down to the sea
But the sea never overflows
The wind’s going round and round
Destination no-one knows
I’m like a leaf on the stream
I have charted no certain course
So I put my trust in the road
And the ones who have gone before.
I go down wherever it leads me…
So many signs by the road
So many paths you could take
Sometimes I’ve stood there confused
Afraid to make a mistake
But there’s a compass deep within
I can feel if I stand real still
True north is the path of peace
And I’m learning to heed it’s will.
I go down wherever it leads me…
It’s easy to stay at home
But man is a restless soul
And there will be dangers and joys
If you stay, or if you go
We are all pilgrims here
In the woods where paths divide
And you’ll have the life that you choose
Whichever way you decide.
And I go down wherever it leads me
Lead me on.
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16. |
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THAT’S WHAT IT’S LIKE
Well the dog jumped up and bit me
my bird lay down and died
I ran my kitty over
as I backed out of the drive
that’s what it’s like, that’s what it’s like
when feeling down and troubled
that’s what it’s like.
My baby’s gonna leave me
she told me just today
said my best friend treats her beter
besides he gets better paid
that’s what it’s like…
Is God still up in heaven
is he anywhere around
I saw a guy who looked just like him
he was hitching out of town
that’s what it’s like…
There’s philosophies and religions
they all try to save my soul
I might just a well go down into my basement
and dig holes
that’s what it’s like…
Can anybody answer me?
can anybody tell?
lord I think so much about heaven
man it makes me feel like hell
that’s what it’s like…
Well I really don’t care too much
about the answer anyway
why should I worry about tomorrow
when I can be depressed today?
that’s what it’s like…
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17. |
It's Only Love
04:54
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IT’S ONLY LOVE
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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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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