1. |
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Water Finds Its Own Level
(Glenn Cardier)
I saw the whole damn day go from bad to worse -
I saw every blessing turn into a curse
And just when I thought my mind would completely unravel -
You said you loved me!
Well, water finds its own level.
I said, ‘Judge! Please, Judge! Take pity on me!
This time I’m pleadin’ temporary insanity!’
He laughed out loud as he come down hard on that gavel -
He said, ‘You tried that one last time, buddy!
Water finds its own level.’
Wild Bill went drinkin’ on a Saturday night
When he took to playin’ with a stick of dynamite -
When you light that fuse, one word that comes to mind is ‘careful’ -
Wild Bill went kaboom -
Water finds its own level.
Well, I woke up feelin’ fine, now things are turnin’ grim
And it’s gettin’ to the point where you sink or you swim.
I had a sneakin’ feelin’ our love was on the skids
Round about the time you said you wished I was dead -
Now we’re lyin’ in bed and our hair is all dishevelled -
I wondered what the hell happened -
You said, ‘Water finds its own level.’
The preacher spat hellfire and damnation too -
The preacher said, ‘Has salvation occurred to you?’
He said, ‘It’s time to choose between the Lord and the Devil -
I said, ‘I find it hard even choosin’ my clothes!’
He said, ‘Water finds its own level.’
Well, you say it’s gonna rain forty days and forty nights -
I got my umbrella baby, I’m gonna be alright.
Well, I wish you well baby, wherever you are -
Go follow that dream, go follow that star -
I’m done with it now, I’m done bein’ tearful -
I cried a million tears, water finds its own level -
I cried a million tears, water finds its own level.
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2. |
Strangers
03:11
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Strangers
(Glenn Cardier)
Delighted,
Y’know, I’m simply delighted -
Although somewhat undecided
As to just who you are.
Enchanted,
Absolutely enchanted -
May I be perfectly candid?
I’ve seen you somewhere before.
Would you say it was so?
Did I tell you I loved you?
Did you once whisper to me
Our love would last forever?
Though your face is familiar
There is no clear indication
Of just what we’re doing here
At this sad celebration.
Strangers,
With next to nothing in common -
Yet somehow I get the feeling
That we’ve been here before.
Strangers,
So we stand here as strangers
In polite conversation,
Waiting,
For something,
Something to happen -
Y’know, it’s a pleasure to meet you -
Why do I get the impression
I’ve seen you somewhere before?
Would you say it was so?
Should we try to remember
When the fire would never
Ever burn any brighter -
So we stand here as strangers...
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3. |
Wild In The Summertime
03:13
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Wild In The Summertime
(Glenn Cardier)
Well, it seems like only yesterday -
Has it really been that long
For a reckless boy in blue jeans
And a bottle blonde in pink chiffon?
This used to be the ‘Shangri-la‘
They had a band that played the blues -
I knew a girl a long time ago
Looked like you, just like you.
And she was wild in the summertime -
Free as the wind -
Show me around those old haunts again.
My my, how the years just fly -
Burnin’ all the bridges down -
You used to look at me the way
You’re looking’ now.
And we were wild in the summertime…..
Is this really you I’m seein’
Or is this the shape I’m in?
Time to lay those ghosts to rest
Just this once, for long lost friends.
Seems like only yesterday -
After all is said and done -
I’m still the reckless boy in blue jeans,
You’re still the bottle blonde in pink chiffon -
And we could be wild in the summertime…..
Is this really you I’m seein’…..
And we could be wild in the summertime…..
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4. |
Elvis At The Checkout
03:58
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Elvis At The Checkout
(Cardier)
I used to be a fan of Elvis, I grew up in the fifties -
He had a shook up style of singin’ and his clothes were kinda nifty -
He had a cigar chewin’ manager who’d never do nothin’ shifty -
He was the king of everything, they say he give a poor man a Chevy.
His hair was back and shiny, he played suit so wildly -
Still, they gave him a crewcut when they put him in the army -
And later on, he wore Hawaiian shirts in lotsa movies
But he looked somewhat distracted, strummin’ on that ukulele.
Oh, it was just like a dream where things ain’t what they seem -
And the years go by and the times just fly and I miss the guy like crazy.
He appeared onstage in Vegas in a jumpsuit doin’ karate -
He sang a lot like he used to but he was about three times as heavy -
I guess I gave up on him but the newsflash really hit me -
They said he bit the bathroom floor and they’d have some more news shortly.
Oh, it was just like a dream…
One night at the supermarket, I was buyin’ frozen dinners -
They had on or two on special so I was feelin’ like a winner -
The place was almost empty, still somebody bumped into me -
It was Elvis. Dressed in his rhinestone best, wheelin’ round a trolley.
Me and Elvis at the checkout, man, you shoulda seen us
But then a pushy kinda lady pushed her trolley in-between us -
I had so much to tell him, like how much he meant to us
But he just stood there lookin’ like he was lookin’ through us.
I wondered what was in that trolley, I wondered if it was the right time
To ask him why he wore a cape and sunglasses at night-time -
But he had left the building and I had missed my opportunity
But we all agreed it was the most excitement we’d had round here lately.
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5. |
Asylum Blues
03:37
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Asylum Blues
(Cardier)
Well, it’s a fine day at the asylum -
It’s a fine day, uh-huh -
Sun shinin’ and birds twitterin’ -
Soft music and butterflies -
And a nice man with his mop and bucket -
And I look sharp in my new jacket -
It’s a fine day at the asylum, uh-huh.
Got my heart in a tangle -
Got my head in a spin -
How come it’s so hard gettin’ out
When it’s so easy gettin’ in?
Well, it’s a fine day at the asylum -
It’s a fine day, uh-huh -
Oh, Mary, Mary quite contrary -
She says she loves me
Then she hates me
And I try to make it up
And I try to break it up
And I ride the merry-go-round,
Ride the merry-go-round -
Nobody there to stop it
And I can’t get off it, uh-huh.
Well, it’s a fine day at the asylum -
It’s a fine day, uh-huh -
Well, I think about, I think about Henry -
Henry, he do just what he pleases
‘Cos he thinks he’s Jesus -
He speaks in riddles
But y’know he looks just like him -
Tries to walk across, walk across the river -
They always fish him out from the dirty water -
From the dirty water -
From the dirty water -
But y’know there was this one time -
Y’know there was this one time
Henry almost made it.
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6. |
Dancing The Years Away
04:00
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Dancing The Years Away
(Glenn Cardier)
Where is the ‘Cloudland‘? Where has it gone?
Is this the dance floor we danced upon?
Someone got drunk and sang songs about love -
There were bright decorations hung from above -
What the hell happened to us?
I was so sure it was all here to stay -
Never thought it would ever disintegrate
Into dust.
I knew you’d appear -
Fancy meeting you here -
We’ll fly, just you and I,
Dancing the years away.
Where are the ‘Bel-aires’? What was that song?
Who was that fool with the party-hat on?
Raising a riot, stepping on toes -
Tore the tuxedo, bloodied the nose -
Now there’s not a sound to be heard.
Can’t tell you when it all began to shift -
Now we just may be the only ones left
On this earth.
Now, now, now -
Oh, my love, come to me,
Come to me now -
Now, now, now -
Here we go round, and it‘s
1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3 now -
And we’ll dance, dance -
Don’t really know what surprises me most -
Who’d ever think that we’d stand a ghost
Of a chance?
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7. |
Mr Happy
03:21
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Mr Happy
(Glenn Cardier)
Mr. Happy comin’ at ya with a
‘Hey-ho! How you doin’?’
Mr. Happy comin’ at ya
With his best grin -
Back-slapper, snappy dresser,
Shake your hand with a handshake buzzer -
Mr Happy way too happy
About everything.
Ain’t he somethin’?
He got the goggle-eye goin’,
Got the bow-tie spinnin’ -
Ain’t he somethin’?
He gotcha in his sights again -
Don’t need it, don’t want it -
Out pops a flag
With the word ‘Bang!’ on it -
Mr. Happy way too happy
About everything.
Wasn’t I surprised now baby,
Now wasn’t I?
Wasn’t I surprised now baby,
Now wasn’t I?
Never saw it comin’ baby -
Never knew what hit me -
He say, ‘Ah, ha, ha!
Gotcha that time!’
Mr Happy, always got a great
Big cigar to give ya -
You say thank you
As it explodes in your face again -
Life’s just a laugh-a-minute -
Life ain’t nothin’
If there’s no joke in it -
Mr. Happy way too happy
About everything.
Wasn’t I surprised now baby,
Now wasn’t I?
Wasn’t I surprised now baby,
Now wasn’t I?
Never saw it comin’ baby -
Never knew what hit me -
He say, ‘Ah, ha, ha!
Gotcha that time!’
Tell me, tell me, tell me -
Did I hear the story right?
Was it somethin’
‘Bout the secrets that you keep -
Did I hear the story right?
Do ya, each and every night,
Mr Happy,
Do ya cry yourself to sleep?
Wasn’t I surprised now baby,
Now wasn’t I?
Wasn’t I surprised now baby,
Now wasn’t I?
Was you sayin’ one thing, baby
But meanin' another?
Sayin' 'Ah ha ha!
Gotcha that time!'
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8. |
Free To Fly
03:07
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Free To Fly
(Glenn Cardier)
Easy now, easy does it -
Doncha let it getcha down -
Aint nothin‘ but darkness descendin’ -
Rain never-endin -
Aint nothin’ but a world gone cold -
Doncha know when push comes to shove,
Still we fall in love -
Still we fall in love.
And we’re free to fly, free to fly -
Free to be whatever we wanna be -
We’re free to fly in our wildest dreams.
Easy now, you’ve come too far
To see it end like this -
But it weighs heavy on your mind -
Sometimes it’s all you can do
To drag yourself ‘round
In this Godawful mess -
In this drunken waltz
On this slippery slope -
Still we sing songs of hope,
Songs of hope.
Sail with me,
There’ll be nothin’ to fear
Sail with me far away from here.
Easy now, it’s just a night like any other -
Ain’t nothin’ doin’ but the drip of the tap,
The tick of the clock, the empty room -
Well, there’s always tomorrow -
Tomorrow, we’ll see such grand events -
They’ll raise a glass, they’ll shout ‘Hoorah!’
With love, with love,
With love in their hearts.
And we’re free to fly, free to fly -
Free to be whatever we wanna be -
We’re free to fly in our wildest dreams.
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9. |
House Of Mirrors
03:26
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House Of Mirrors
(Glenn Cardier)
Well, this is the house of mirrors -
Mirrors everywhere -
Well, this is the house of mirrors -
Mirrors everywhere -
Ain’t no way out, no way outa here.
Walkin’ round the house of mirrors
To see what I can see -
Walkin’ round the house of mirrors
To see what I can see -
And all I get is me lookin’ back at me.
Oh, it’s all the fun of the fair -
Oh, this is the house of mirrors
And there’s no way outa here.
You can be a wondrous vision -
You can be a wretched mess -
Fat, thin, short, tall -
It’s hilarious!
It’s hard to say which one I like the best.
Oh, it’s all the fun of the fair -
Oh, this is the house of mirrors
And there’s no way outa here.
They say if you smash a mirror,
It’s seven years of hell -
If you smash a mirror,
It’s seven years of hell -
Wonder what would happen
If I smashed a whole house full?
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10. |
Come Back To Me
05:08
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Come back To Me
(Glenn Cardier)
Sing me songs of long ago -
Tell me how this story goes -
Turn away uncertainty -
Come back to me.
Hold me in your arms tonight -
Promise me the morning light -
Sail my sorrows out to sea -
Come back to me.
Say it now, say it soon -
Write our names up on the moon -
Change the course of history -
Come back to me.
When all the stars are broken glass -
You’ll tell me it’s all in the past -
Forgive me my fragility -
Come back to me.
Take the blue out of the sky -
Wrap it round a lullaby -
Grant me this serenity -
Come back to me.
For all the world I could request -
Wish me every happiness -
True for all eternity -
Come back to me.
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Glenn Cardier Sydney, Australia
Post 2000, Glenn Cardier’s re-emergence as a songwriter/performer of real distinction has been nothing short of extraordinary. In typical single-minded fashion, he writes, performs and produces his music. Onstage, there are the trademark flashes of dark humour and thumping rockabilly/blues. But underlying it all are the songs. Happy/sad songs. Sweet/crazy songs. Cardier songs. CDs on the website. ... more
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