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The Mercy of the Tide

by Jane Cameron

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    A 2 disc physical copy of The Mercy of the Tide album in a 6 panel gatefold wallet designed by Rebecca Feiner and featuring the photography of Briannagh O'Loughlin. The album includes an 8 page booklet of lyrics for all 14 tracks.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Mercy of the Tide via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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1.
I’m staring at my silent phone the hunger always in my bones just waiting for your sweet voice I want to be your only choice… what does it take for you to miss the way I laugh the way we drift into a world we both create with all our truth and no mistakes and what does it take to find that bliss where our two hearts can find a wish and all our dreams are all for this, what does it take for you to kiss me? what does it take for you to kiss me? I’ve stripped back each and every veil across the deepest seas I’ll sail ‘cause your smile calls to my own soul and sets this fire to my coals so what does it take for you to miss the way I laugh the way we drift into a world we both create what does it take? what does it take? what does it take? what does it take? all my best times and all my worst times are locked in your eyes, oh yeah all my best times and all my worst times are locked in your eyes if you could only see what does it take? what does it take? I close my eyes and feel your kiss the sunlight song of your lips releasing all that binds me and in that dream my heart flies free so what does it take baby, what does it take? what does it take, baby? what does it take? what does it take, baby? what does it take? what does it take, baby? what does it take? what does it take?
2.
sirens call, sailors fall, drowning all in the sea sorceress spins, swine nature wins, the gluttony of sin all she sees lost boy with your soldier’s toys won’t you hear my voice calling come home to me come home to me myth hides the true perils of you a price always due in the end lost boy with your soldier’s toys won’t you hear my voice calling come home to me come home to me the end of our reckless youth this end will not be our truth. not me and you tales begin, fear digs in can hope win you from the sea come home to me your home I’ll be lost boy, lost boy! come home to me come home to me
3.
Fruit Box 04:51
he fills a box with fruit and hands it to a girl with flowers on her skirt and a ribbon in her curls stumbling on what to say to coax her open smile though if he had his way she’d linger for a while to get to know him to get to know him in a broken handled mug he pours himself a drink cold water from the jug or straight from the sink his head spinning lines no spark to make them fly to the music he can find, his own words running dry still held within him still held within him but his songs are older than the road the light and shade of a journey to be told the path through a heart healed and torn bruised in being born and left to wander all alone so he fills a box with fruit the wind on the road cutting through the sun the ever present flow that strips him back to one travelling now at speed but he doesn’t feel the rush still waiting for the one to give that little push and she will know him yes, she will know… so he fills a box with fruit… yeah he fills a box with fruit
4.
there’s a little old town in the south of my heart buried far from the tears of the past that little old town where my lover holds me still he don’t need a passport to enter that place no papers required he just feels his way to that little old town where he holds me in his arms and oh, life is sweet in that town where dreams are real we don’t need money, we don’t go to work we dive from the sand dunes straight into the surf in that little old town where my lover stays with me and oh, life is sweet in that town where dreams are real I open my eyes and you think I’m here but your eyes deceive you, you know I’m still right there in that little old town where my lover stays with me that little old town where my crazy dreams are real oh, that little old town where my lover holds me still.
5.
The Silence 05:06
I feel your breath on the nape of my neck and I wonder what you think in the silence of our little home, still poised on the brink the words hang in the air between and I wish they could be unsaid in the silence of our little home they’re still ringing in my head and oh, I would take them back if I thought you’d do the same but the moment it’s gone past us, there’s nothing more to say you roll away and I hear you sigh and I feel like I could just die ‘cause the silence of our little home hides the tears we won’t cry and oh, I would try for you if I thought you’d do the same I’d cross a raging sea for you if you’d just say my name but the silence of this little home is more than we can tame we lie in bed, a sleepless night, and we try hard not to crowd in the silence of our little home every breath seems too loud.
6.
he was always on the road running to the next big thing running from demons of the past running fast as his stride could swing and the music spoke louder than she could the tarmac song called through the miles til he was not the man he was when they first exchanged smiles and he’s never, no he’s never going to stay ‘cause he’s wedded, yeah he’s wedded to that black highway they met in a diner one morning searching for a way to live searching though neither one knew it searching for one who could give and her whisper sounded louder than the jukebox and his skin hummed to the timbre of her voice and their smiles touched and lit up when their eyes shout the truth of their choice but he’s never, no he’s never going to stay ‘cause he’s wedded, yeah he’s wedded to that black highway she woke to the cold of his absence lying in the loneliness of one lying eyes had told her that her lonely days and nights were done but he was never going to stay for more than a few days look around and he’ll be gone back to his one true home the black highway black highway he gave his soul to the black highway
7.
Lover 05:53
I was riding so high didn’t see the blade held low ‘til my blood ran red, a river in full flow you looked into my eyes saying ‘I hope we’ll still be friends’ such a civil lie for such a vicious end you left me with no choice but to pretend so little pain as the knife slid through my ribs words spilled from your lips so truthful and so glib as the world slides away I try to make the pieces fit to find a path avoiding that last hit but there’s no puzzle here and no way around it so if you won’t call me lover I’ll be damned if you can call me friend if you won’t call me lover then this this is the end you didn’t break my heart I didn’t know you that well but you broke my dream and that hurts worse than hell amid platitudes and clichés of ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ the only thing that is clear for me to see is that woman standing where I wished to be so if you won’t call me lover I’ll be damned if you can call me friend if you won’t call me lover then this this is the end all my blood runs black scrawling across this page in between the ink, the traces of my rage leaves me battered and bruised fractures still to mend bare faced truth so much harder than pretend you’re not my lover and I can never call you friend so don’t call me over - there’s no comfort you can send no distance you can cover to reach a gentler end ‘cause you won’t call me lover and I cannot call you friend trust won’t recover - some things are never meant to mend
8.
Chances 04:32
Cassie wakes with the setting sun paints her toenails one by one and says to the mirror tonight will be better she hums a little to herself one glass one plate there’s no one else but lean a little nearer her smile is clearer and her head still spinning with her dreams her world is not quite what it seems Tom washes off the dirt clean fingers tucking in a shirt that makes his eyes more blue (so mum said, it must be true) he wonders idly should he shave his dinner in the microwave spins half-forgotten his toes tap a rhythm and his head still spinning with his dreams his world is not quite what it seems and maybe they will meet maybe they will dance maybe on this night these hearts will take a chance…again. Cassie fumbles with her keys her mind is like a honey bee buzzing with excitement from saying what her heart meant Tom stumbles through the door thoughts upside down with so much more than he dreamt he would find there he’s never felt so clear and their heads still spinning with their dreams in a world that’s not quite what it seems in separate worlds these dreamers dance still waiting for that second chance.
9.
he woke me in the morning, said “honey, it’s time to go” we pack our little case, head out on the road and the sun poured down like heaven through the clouds above all we had was two changes of clothes and our love to keep us warm and sometimes that’s enough, sometimes that’s enough. travelling down that road, wind tangling in my hair and the desert heat rises, waves shimmering in the air we don’t know where we’re going, just know where we’ve been searching for that special place we know but have never seen where we’ll be enough, ‘cause sometimes that’s enough we stop in a nowhere town, we’re running low on gas take out that old guitar and sing for our supper as people pass we’re not scrounging for a dollar when we’re singing that tune when the music plays it all fades away and there’s just me and you and sometimes that’s enough, sometimes that’s enough picket fences and fancy cars, that’s never been the dream for us we’ll find a place where our music’s heard and that’ll be enough yeah, that’ll be enough that’ll be enough he wakes me in the morning, says “honey, it’s time to go”.
10.
my love, my love is drowning in waters I can’t see the calling voice is stronger than any word from me I hold him but he’s slipping away nothing I can do will make him stay the call leads him deeper hooked into his soul and if I try to keep him here, oh he’ll never, never be whole the sea knows his name my love, my love is wandering on oceans far from me the calling voice a more bitter loss than his own family he tries to float but he’s fading fast weighed down by the fears of his past the call leads him deeper hooked into his soul and if I try to keep him here, oh he’ll never, never be whole the sea knows his name my love, my love was lost one night to the belly of the sea the calling voice pulled harder in the silence of the deep the space he left so cold by my side he’s drifting, jetsam on the tide the call leads him deeper hooked into his soul and if I try to keep him here, oh he’ll never, never be whole the sea knows his name oh, the sea knows his name only the sea knows…
11.
Away 03:51
my demons whisper your name delicious torment to my ears I push myself away from this game but your voice it draws me near you never see the flames as they run ‘cross my flesh, sweetest burn casual touch of your hand on my skin a lightning strike as you turn away, always away away, always away away, always away and I’m left to burn...away my dreams haunt me daily these coals never cool your smile like a bellows drives this heat right through my roof the ground shakes below my feet the lava pent up rages molten hunger keeps me from my sleep and self-control slips in stages away, always away away, always away away, always away and still I’m left to burn...away napalm fingers, incendiary grin you’re branded on me where you’ve never been this fire it must consume me caged, never will be free for your ice will never agree and to ash I’ll fall...endlessly away, always away away, always away away, always away til there’s nothing left to burn...away and still you make me burn...away
12.
The Wild One 05:56
he shuffles down the corridor bleary eyes and slippered feet on the endless journey to the door to the street feels the urge to look at the stars walk free of the hallways and rails a tottering escapee of the nurse’s next round. clear eyed and quick on his feet out the door at the age of fifteen through his mother’s tears she bid him goodbye he got a job on a deep fishing crew lied about his age ‘cause that’s what you do ‘til you prove you’re more than some kid from the ‘burbs. oh, he was a wild one in his day the first to the fray ‘til the years had their way. he met his love in a grocery store sweet Christine with her shock of dark curls and her eyes that burned clear to his soul she made him laugh and she made him cry they married under her father’s eye before the kids arrived and changed their whole world oh, he was a wild one in his day the first to the fray ‘til the years had their way. looking back through the years, the heartache and tears the laughter and joys, his love and their two little boys always bright in the sun in his mind ever young. he stands confused, a ghost at the door gazing down at the worn lino floor lost in the rainbows of the days of his past ‘cause time’s a river that he cannot fight in the end it draws us all to the night flickering candles drifting out on the tide oh, he was a wild one in his day the first to the fray ‘til the years had their way. yes, he’s a wild one they all say always going astray keeps running away. they lead him back to his cold little room a single bed in the swallowing gloom but he closes his eyes and Christine’s in his arms.
13.
she came into the bar in a dark floral dress the fading of its colours matched the whiskey on her breath and in the shadowed corner he mistook her for a friend but she smiled and shook her head and took a booth at the other end. there was something about her, a sorrow in her eyes, drew him from his comfort to slide in by her side she laughed soft and low when he asked for a name her eyes lighting up for the old remembered game and in the glow of the lamplight she shed the weight of years her voice like a bell calling him near. older than he’d hoped for but he couldn’t look away a tight held desperation sang in every move she made. she said “I don’t care if its right or wrong” as her fingers traced a path down his arm “all I know is that for today… I need to drive my fears away leave these tears for some other day” his hand touched her thigh and he could feel the way she shook the longing in her eyes and the deeper breath she took and she whispered hold me so close you are all that I can see let me lose myself in you, you can lose yourself in me. the sad depth to her smile a ragged razor’s edge tearing through misgivings when she took him to her bed. she said “I don’t care if its right or wrong” as her fingers traced a path down his arm “all I know is that for today… I need to drive my fears away leave these tears for some other day” a couple of months later he was back in that bar his gaze on the door as he cradled his jar and he called to the barkeep for yet another beer listening for that voice that called him so clear and the barman told a story of a woman who came round fleeing from the killer that put her in the ground. she said “I don’t care if its right or wrong” as her fingers traced a path down his arm “all I know is that for today… I need to drive my fears away leave these tears for some other day” won’t you help me drive won’t you help me drive oh help me drive my tears away.
14.
Rising Sun 05:00
she opens her eyes, the sky’s still dark holds her breath to feel her beating heart she drags herself out for her morning run her driven search to meet the sun. the money’s always tight it’s never enough to buy the luxuries and fancy stuff she’s counting pennies one by one dreaming always of the sun the children’s voices they fly like darts and nestle into her bleeding heart she never shies from what is done in her striving to reach the sun and though the doubts won’t disappear and the dark is feeding from her tears her broken parts she can’t repair still she knows the sun is there she opens her eyes, the sky’s still dark feels her breath and her beating heart she dives out of bed for her morning run she’s racing out to meet the rising sun to meet the rising sun to meet the sun always the sun
15.
Rising Sun 05:00
Rising Sun she opens her eyes, the sky’s still dark holds her breath to feel her beating heart she drags herself out for her morning run her driven search to meet the sun. the money’s always tight it’s never enough to buy the luxuries and fancy stuff she’s counting pennies one by one dreaming always of the sun the children’s voices they fly like darts and nestle into her bleeding heart she never shies from what is done in her striving to reach the sun and though the doubts won’t disappear and the dark is feeding from her tears her broken parts she can’t repair still she knows the sun is there she opens her eyes, the sky’s still dark feels her breath and her beating heart she dives out of bed for her morning run she’s racing out to meet the rising sun to meet the rising sun to meet the sun always the sun

credits

released July 21, 2015

Music and lyrics by Jane Cameron

Jane Cameron - vocals, ukulele and acoustic guitar
George Borthwick - bass guitar
Sebastien Jego - drums
Julian Swinnerton - cello
Matthew Alford - electric guitar
Andrew McClean - harmonica
Chris Weber - trumpet
Greg Steps - backing vocals
Ingrid Homburg - violin (black highway)
Nick Evangelou - weissenborn and cigar box guitar
Xani Kolac - violin (rising sun)
Tristen Bird - bass guitar (black highway)

Tracked, mixed and produced by Tristen Bird
Hummingbird Studio, Prahran
Mastered by Govinda Doyle

Photography by Briannagh O’Loughlin and Jane Cameron
Graphic design by Rebecca Feiner

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Jane Cameron Melbourne, Australia

beauty is... tears in laughter, small joys even in the midst of sorrow, a drifting feather, a cold beach, the wind over the ocean, cold fingers on the skin making your heart warm, storm clouds and lightning, rain, the sun through green leaves in the morning, voices singing, the rhythm of a drum, the beat of your heart, the sigh of your breath and moments of pure relaxation...and a ukulele helps. ... more

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