1. |
A Poet Knows (demo)
04:05
|
|||
|
One flies in
The owl’s kin
Silence gone a-hunting
One escapes
With no disgrace
Underground a-munching
Opposites repel each other
When they don’t align
One may flip to meld together
Out-of-body peace-of-mind
Raven soul
A barrel roll
Shadow wings a-crackling
Otter boat
A peaceful float
Woes are all unravelling
Opposites repel each other
When they don’t align
One may flip to meld together
Out-of-body peace-of-mind
Comes the rhymer to the tale
They will bend it surely
While the singer will not fail
To wrap it up securely
Draw them in and hold them close
Push them back – a poet knows
When to borrow, when to bleed
When to give them what they need
When to borrow, when to bleed
And give them what they need
Opposites compel each other
When they don’t align
One may flip to meld together
Out-of-body peace-of-mind
In the magic of a rhyme
|
||||
2. |
Murmuration (demo)
04:07
|
|||
|
A swell of blackbirds rises and falls
Like a net casting out for seed
They undulate and congregate
To stave off winter’s need
Raise a wing, leave the ground
How’s a murmuration sound?
The hawks are on the hydro lines
Keeping watch and balance
Wait a while, there’s one per mile
A solitary valance
Raise a wing, leave the ground
How’s a murmuration sound?
Hundreds navigate around
Like a dance that’s liquid-bound
From frozen mud
Like an airborne flood
Over cornhusk fields
To the dance they yield
Can you tell which bird flew first?
Is there one who decides to go
To elevate or relocate
When the ripples start to show
Raise a wing, leave the ground
How’s a murmuration sound?
Hundreds navigate around
Like a dance that’s liquid-bound
From frozen mud
Like an ancient flood
Over cornhusk fields
To the dance they yield
|
||||
3. |
One Worn Shoe (demo)
03:38
|
|||
|
Well I know the doorframe
Carved by hand
Well I’ve worn the doorstep
Stone and sand
Weathered by the cross-breeze
In and through
Weathering the crossroads
Creature, come in from the wild
Twig and mud and pinecone child
Berries ripen in the wood
Don’t you think that you should?
Well I know the doorframe
Carved by hand
Well I’ve worn the doorstep
Stone and sand
Weathered by the cross-breeze
In and through
Weathering the crossroads
With one worn shoe
What am I to do?
With one worn shoe
In and out of you
Forts in trees and lengthening bones
Barefoot walks in seashore foams
Rambles of that child at play
Fill my thoughts today
Well I know the doorframe
Carved by hand
Well I’ve worn the doorstep
Stone and sand
Weathered by the cross-breeze
In and through
Weathering the crossroads
With one worn shoe
What am I to do?
With one worn shoe
In and out of you
Take the ribbons from your hair
Leave the flowers woven there
Come and find this open door
Play the girl no more
Well I know the doorframe
Carved by hand
Well I’ve worn the doorstep
Stone and sand
Weathered by the cross-breeze
In and through
Weathering the crossroads
With one worn shoe
What am I to do?
With one worn shoe
In and out of you
One worn shoe
Stepping out of you
|
||||
4. |
||||
|
Smooth as the waxwing
Bold as the crow
Into the woods where the wind can’t blow
Dressing in riddles
Pulling loose threads
Root to heart and heart to head
Walking a path I have walked till it’s worn
Reading the page till it’s faded and torn
Tilting the glass till I’ve had the last drop
And now I wish to stop
Although my heart has turned to earth
And no one living saw my birth
My skin’s preserved and kept from rot
With sugar – as though time forgot
That I’ve been dead 500 years
Yet still I live on sugared tears
They will not let me go so I
Beneath the moss can never die
Wood and stone
Are not confused
Except where I have been infused
Surviving on the gifts I’m sent
A monument to good intent
Where I am trapped and cannot grow
I cannot move; I cannot go
Passive vessel
Filled with grief
Not my own
Your gift’s a thief
Your gift's a thief
Let me rot and let me die
Stand alone and do not try
To keep me here against my will
For I have had my fill
|
||||
5. |
||||
|
I built a garden around an apple tree
Planned it all out in my mind
A manifest ecstasy
I carved a space out of time
Rose of Sharon trees all in a line
I let the Engelmann ivy climb and climb
Sweet woodruff all in the shade
Crowding the dolmen I made
I knew each flower, leaf, berry and branch
And I loved every blade
I have loved a garden into life
All of that dirt all over my hands
Is my delight
I have loved a garden into life
All of that rooting down into the land
Is my delight
My earthly delight
I built a garden beneath a scarlet oak
Followed the bones of the garden that was asleep
And then awoke
Hands of the gardener long gone
Weeding beside me, our knees on the lawn
The ghost in the garden with me
And the bees go humming along
Mourning cloaks fluttering past
Painted ladies emerge just to bask
The sun on my hair and the scent of the soil
Is all I ask
I have loved a garden into life
All of that dirt all over my hands
Is my delight (my delight)
I have loved a garden into life
All of that rooting down into the land
Is my delight
My earthly delight, oh
My earthly delight
This is my earthly delight
You can see double in the right light
When I look back at the ghost in the garden
I can see double
|
||||
Leslie Hudson Stratford, Ontario
Leslie Hudson is a Canadian singer songwriter and pianist. Their albums range from storytelling styles to bluesy bar rock to dialed-up, full-band homages to pop culture. With lyrical piano skills and a voice that cuts through the crowd, their songs dive deep into archetype and folklore, modernizing ancient voices & shining a spotlight on the shadowy paths we walk through life, myth and media. ... more
Leslie Hudson recommends:
Mischief was my introduction to the spellsongcraft of S.J. Tucker who builds sonic story sculptures with such precision and grace of motion that I am borne up on her bright beating wings of wonder.
go to album
THIS EARTHLY SPELL
by Karine Polwart
My favourite album by Karine Polwart, an understatedly brilliant songwriter, serene and incisive, who weaves resistance, hope, joy and heartbreak into hauntingly crafted arrangements rich in harmony.
go to albumIf you like Leslie Hudson, you may also like:
supported by 4 fans who also own “Transitory [demo album]”
Portals is an apt name. Sharon doesn't make music, so much as sonic worlds the listener is transported to. I close my eyes when Crimson Masquerade plays & I see the story play out. I see flashes of other lives & a rouge offering a woman the chance to live adventures untold.... If she's willing to pay the cost. " Let the Waters Rise" feels like a command coming from witches working their will.
go to album
Brigid Songs (With Karaoke Tracks)
by Celia Farran
supported by 4 fans who also own “Transitory [demo album]”
It's a good song for imbolic and a good way to celebrate
go to album
Six Million Miles From Nowhere
by Spaceman
As Spaceman, Stephen Munson of UK cult band Living In Texas makes lo-fi pop that shuffles and stomps.
go to album
Deep soul melodies and elastic funk grooves light up the latest from Sivu.
go to album
