Get all 3 Kenna & Cox releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Shipwrecked, long way home, and One night in Paris.
1. |
Big old house
03:31
|
|||
This big old house is as empty as a dried-up well
But each room's got a story that she can tell
Well I see your face, I hear your name
You're dancing like a naked flame
But the burnt-out stones in your fireplace are cold.
I go walking through your body like a dream
I see everything the way it used to be
It's all over now that you have gone
There's nothing but an empty home
And a lifetime full of faded memories.
Broken windows and dust on the shelf
are just tiny little pieces of myself
You're better off now to turn and walk away.
Now the roses in your garden are all gone
And the mailbox is standing all alone.
There's no letters now, or telephone calls,
No laughter in between these walls.
This big old house is sleeping all alone.
Yes this big old house is sleeping all alone.
|
||||
2. |
Somebody's watching you
04:21
|
|||
Undercover man for the CIA
Goes to work for another day
Phone-tap conversation tuning in
Better be careful what I say
There's a strange man walking down the end of my street
A strange man sitting on a park bench seat
Swapping newspapers in a market square
Gotta stay cool, gotta be discreet.
Somebody's watching you
|
||||
3. |
Gone too long
03:36
|
|||
Someone call the doctor -
I think I'm gonna die.
Someone call my mama
and tell her not to cry.
Someone get my baby
and tell her what went wrong.
Someone tell the people
I won't be gone too long.
Don't forget to see me
when they won't let me come home;
Don't forget to write me
or call me on the phone;
Anything to break the boredom
of being on my own;
Someone tell the people
I won't be gone too long.
If you see me crying
they're not just tears of pain;
and if you hear me laughing
I only laugh to hide the shame.
I've thrown away the needle -
I don't need it any more.
Someone tell the people
I won't be gone too long.
|
||||
4. |
The cowboy
02:50
|
|||
My mama was a prostitute
she worked on Fitzroy St
I stood watch on the corner in my youth.
She named me Johnny Harris,
but the boys all called me "Cowboy",
the real name of my dad I never knew.
I was born in a brothel with no need for a doctor
No christening or paperwork for me
Never learned to read or write
but I sure as hell knew how to fight
And I could go for days without a feed.
Give me a twenty-one gun salute
Throw my ashes in the pool
And sing the "Sea of Heartbreak" as I go.
Well my mother died when I was a lad
She was the only family that I ever had
She did the best she could to make me strong
But I fell into a life of crime
and trouble with two friends of mine
We stood side by side when things went wrong.
One day in a battle
I got cut up with a bottle
I lay dying in the arms of Chopper Read
I rode off into the sunset
with a smile on my face
Thinking two good friends is all you ever need.
Yes, two good friends is all you ever need.
Give me a twenty-gun salute...
|
||||
5. |
Big black cloud
03:22
|
|||
Dripping water, ticking time
Slowly start to lose your mind
Not quite sure what's going on
Can't remember right from wrong.
Someone's playing with the deck
I'm just another nervous wreck
What's that sound?
It's time to shut the motor down.
A big black cloud is moving slow today
Will it ever go away?
Oh no
Big black cloud.
Who the hell is pushing you
when you don't know what to do
Make a choice, take a side
Welcome aboard enjoy the ride.
A big black cloud is moving slow today
Will it ever go away?
Oh no
Big black cloud.
Start the engine in your feet
There's a madman on the street
The box outside your door
The man inside has nothing more
Stop the clock, I wanna leave
This world's a joke you can't believe
Stop the clock, I wanna fly,
A time to live, a time to die.
A big black cloud is moving slow today
Will it ever go away?
Oh no
Big black cloud.
Oh oh oh... big black cloud...
Think I'm gonna sleep now... big black cloud...
Yes I think I'm gonna sleep now... big black cloud...
|
||||
6. |
Told the judge the truth
02:54
|
|||
Well they locked me up in Auckland
for some stupid fucking crime.
Took my photograph and fingerprints
and they made me walk the line.
I was the only white man in a prison cell
full of black warriors from hell
and their boss sat in the corner
we caught eyes from time to time.
Well I had been inside before
but it was nothing quite like this -
they jailed me once in Queensland
just for drinking too much piss.
But this time it seemed just like a dream
as if I was not really there,
and those coppers did not like me
cause I did not even care.
Well I told the judge the truth;
he did not believe a word I said,
so he fined me for my breakfast
and he fined me for my bed.
Well some woman I had never seen before
she stood up and called my name.
She said "Judge, this man is innocent,
won't you let him come home with me."
All those lawyers in the front row
they laughed among themselves;
Well I wished to Christ I had a gun,
I would have blown them all away.
Well I told the judge...
|
||||
7. |
Far away
04:45
|
|||
Time is like an aeroplane
flying way up in the sky,
Peeping out your window,
watch the world go passing by.
Well you close your eyes and fall asleep,
and listen to the wind,
Wake up from another dream
as you touch down again.
Will I stay, yes or no?
Will I stay or will I go
Far away,
far away.
Oh, we go walking hand in hand
down some dirty avenue
Look at all these crazy people
staring back at you.
Why is everyone so lonely,
why is everyone so cold?
All these people seem to fall apart
as they slowly get old.
Will I stay...
Time is like an aeroplane...
Will I stay...
|
||||
8. |
How did we end up here?
04:38
|
|||
Pretty young thing walking down the street
Looking for a table at a place to eat
You turn around and take another peek
over your shoulder.
Worn out streets in this worn out town
like the worn out shoes on a worn out clown
Finally work out what's going down
as you get older.
All those people talking loud they got nothing to say,
They're going nowhere.
All those promises made on this passing parade;
how did we end up here?
There's an old dog sitting in an old cafe
the same old thing he does every day,
every now and then he's got something to say
to a stranger.
No love lost on this dirty street,
just a broken heart with a broken beat.
It's a dirty old road
that's full of danger.
All those people...
The boys ride past on their motor bike
They're making so much noise on a cold dark night
You can hear them riding in and out of sight
into the silence,
|
||||
9. |
The caravan
02:02
|
|||
The caravan is on the road
Help me with my heavy load
There's always one more town
you've got to play.
Pack it up and shut it down
Move it on to another town
Far, far away.
Same old show every night
Lately it ain't feeling right
It seems like this job is gonna
put me in my grave.
Security has locked the door
They won't let me play any more
and there's an old black man sweeping up the floor
just like yesterday.
|
||||
10. |
Sail away
04:14
|
|||
All the ships in the harbour
All the vessels line the shore
They're leaving here tomorrow
and they won't be back no more
Sail away, sail away.
Far across holy water
far across that endless sea
there'll be no more stormy weather
Just to come and peaceful dream
Sail away, sail away;
sail away, sail away.
Light a candle in the chapel
raise you head up to the sky
When we sail early tomorrow
we will say our last goodbye.
Sail away, sail away;
sail away, sail away.
Close your eyes and sail away.
|
Kenna & Cox Paris, France
A chance encounter in a Paris bar in 2008 launched a serendipitous collaboration between two Australian musicians: Chris Kenna and Melissa Cox ("he with the voice and soul to raise the dead and she with the melody to make them glad to be alive"). Together, Kenna and Cox have played at festivals around Europe, including in the Netherlands and Ireland, and supported Alabama 3 at Tripod in Dublin. ... more
Streaming and Download help
If you like Kenna & Cox, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp