Just hours before dawn where bright neon lights still shone,
On those gridlocked streets where no-one ever sleeps,
Well I watched the lost folk dance, trapped, entranced,
For a meaningless vice we’d pay a meaningful price.
And on the corner stands a man, new testament in hand,
Quoting age-old lines beneath a suit and tie,
I said I once heard tell a fable about a man claimed to be the devil,
And I’m not sure if it’s true, but he wore the same uniform as you.
Now scrape your face up off your screen and look me square in the eye.
And tell me straight yes tell me clean, where does your loyalty lie?
I once saw Christ in the eyes of a beggar man bare and bruised on the side of the street.
He’d met his demise at the hands of a bigger man, dealing crack cocaine and acquitted greed.
Now forgive me for the times I preach of poverty,
It’s not I who’ll lead the prisoners to prosperity.
But a while back I read a great woman once said
What’s not spoke of will fade from our sight,
So take hold of my hand and together we’ll make plans
Of revolution deep in the night.
If I were an honest man, I’d cleave off clean my right hand,
And in the blood that flowed, you know I’d pave out a new road.
To a place where dreamers dreamed, and the truth-tellers were redeemed,
So that everybody sees that a bullet can’t bring peace.
And as I pick apart my brittle brain, and place its pieces upon a page,
In hopes that I might find the remedy to reform a mind,
The cat awoke on my bed and spoke as she turned her head,
Saying in the bitterness this life brings just find comfort in the simple things.
And hold your head up high and keep your hope fixed firm in your hand,
The whole wide world waits at your feet, beauty love and a faith you’ll defend.
And it’s okay to cry when life sells us lies, for my friend we can make tea from the tears,
So with wide open eyes ‘neath the clearest of skies, we’ll fight away all of our fears.
Now forgive me for the times I speak of simplicity
But by living with less we avoid the crime of complicity.
So leave behind your boats, give away your spare coats,
Break those shackles you’ve bound to your soul.
We’ll revisit a view so old it looks new, and our hearts may once more be made whole.
They say the seeds we sow will one day grow,
Though it’s not us who’ll lie ‘neath the leaves.
It’s on optimistic view, but just maybe it’s true,
It’s enough of a crack we can breathe.
credits
from The Heart and the Fight,
released November 12, 2021
Composer/guitar/lead vocal/vocal harmony/bass guitar/accordion: Franz James
Violin: Erin Herbert
Drum Kit: Callam Manning
Banjo: Jonathan Virgona
Spoken word phone-call audio: Delilah Heinson
Mixed/produced/recorded: Jonathan Virgona
Co-produced/recorded: Aidan Campbell
Franz James is a passionate singer/songwriter from Brisbane, Queensland. His music is inspired by a lot of early folk, with classical guitar influence, and he seeks to express his values and emotion through poetry and song.
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