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Snips and Snails

by Leslie Hudson

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TimTTT
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TimTTT This is an interesting listen because it feels like a peek at the clay as it's being molded. All the elements I like about her music is right there, but she's still finding her grove. It's been fun to hear. Favorite track: Doldrums.
catlistens
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catlistens I love Leslie's work--her strong, sweet, flexible voice is so expressive and her keyboard playing perfectly suits both her general style and any specific song she plays!
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1.
Revolution 04:07
I was born singing Into the world with a song in my mouth Ever the listener Melody glistened and harmony shone Answer the calling Music the offering and worship the song Pour out this vessel Drink from the source that is feeding us all No, no He would not let me sing He would not grant his blessing He would not see my heart sting No, no, no, I’m not listening No, no, I’m not hearing anything No, no, no, I won’t feel the words Unless they are spoken, no melody heard He kept it quiet Poetry spinning the wheel in his head Lift up the organ Drown out the choir of a chorus he said Keep it traditional Prick up your ears for the meekest women Voices that tremble Cannot inspire revolution again No,no He would not let me sing He would not grant his blessing He would not see my heart sting No, no, no, I’m not listening No, no, I’m not hearing anything No, no, no, I won’t feel the words Unless they are spoken, no melody heard Call it ironic After he’s gone now his voice can be heard More is the pity Felt for the man with a lesson unlearned Come to me sorrow Help me to grow as I welcome you in Pray I’ll remember Never to hide from the truth that’s within No,no He would not let me sing He would not grant his blessing He would not see my heart sting No, no, no, I’m not listening No, no, I’m not hearing anything No, no, no, I won’t feel the words Unless they are spoken, no melody heard, no Come to me softly and sing Come to me softly and sing, little child Come to me softly and sing But not too loud
2.
Doldrums 03:18
You and yours and back to you At any given time If only you could change your tune Baby that would be sublime It took too long to sniff you out You took me by surprise But now I see your glassy stare The lack of fire behind your eyes Tell me why I’m hesitating Body’s tired and feet are aching Tell me what you’re celebrating Help me justify this waiting When my heart is throbbing hard I’m moving with the beat My blood is coursing faster than You will ever move those feet So wrapped up in all you think And all that you are after Unabashed you join the crowd In wild derisive laughter You’re convinced you pave the way With truth and trust as friends But inside a coward lies And no apologies he sends Tell me why I’m hesitating Body’s tired and feet are aching Tell me what you’re celebrating Help me justify this waiting When my heart is throbbing hard I’m moving with the beat My blood is coursing faster than You will ever move those feet Watch out for the snake that gleams Watch out for the talker You can bring her tea in bed But you just don’t know how to rock her Tell me why I’m hesitating Body’s tired and feet are aching Tell me what you’re celebrating Help me justify this waiting When my heart is throbbing hard I’m moving with the beat My blood is coursing faster than You will ever move those feet
3.
Down, down, down to the river Down, down, down to the ground Down, down, down underwater Down, down, down I find it’s been some time since my last transformation And I find that I miss how it feels to transform You pride up your back And I let out my sails And I pull up my anchor again Down, down, down to the river Down, down, down to the ground Down, down, down underwater Down, down, down I’m caught on a path with a clear destination Though I know at one time I had no destiny This suit that I’m wearing It fits me too perfectly I need to be naked again Down, down, down to the river Down, down, down to the ground Down, down, down underwater Down, down, down I could drown, drown, drown As if I could drown, drown, drown On my way down, down, down Come lead me down, down, down Down, down, down to the river Down, down, down to the ground Down, down, down underwater Down, down, down Down, down, down
4.
Open Door 02:56
There was a time when my world was collapsing And I stepped through your open door With the blood in my veins sadly cooling You warmed me and let me pour And I slept away tears softly falling And I wept away rage and regret While I swept away empty companions And you kept away fear ‘til I could forget And though painful I started emerging And though tired you watched me transform In the sunlight I felt my blood surging And you smiled at me from your door And I slept away tears softly falling And I wept away rage and regret While I swept away empty companions And you kept away fear ‘til I could forget Now it’s your turn You know it’s been coming for some time now This is the time Trust me as I trusted you When I slept away tears softly falling And I wept away rage and regret While I swept away empty companions And you kept away fear ‘til I could forget And I won’t let you forget No, I won’t let you forget
5.
Origin 02:56
Temptation is a trickster It masquerades as wise You traded in your sister To see with clouded eyes You didn’t want to lose her And live your life alone You wanted more to choose her Than kneel before that throne It’s time to be a man ‘Fess up and raise your hand Take a final stand By popular demand By popular demand It’s your own fault you lost your way You let lust blind your reason But we still bear the blame today On us it’s open season Whenever you cry witch or seer She tricked me with a spell Common sense is lost to fear You threaten us with hell It’s time to be a man ‘Fess up and raise your hand Take a final stand By popular demand By popular demand If you were tricked then say so Admit to your own weakness You had the power to say no We’re trading in our meekness If you could do things over Would it be all the same? A solitary rover or Someone who shares the blame? It’s time to be a man ‘Fess up and raise your hand Take a final stand By popular demand By popular demand By popular demand
6.
Immaterial 02:52
It’s immaterial What you’re thinkin’ It’s irrelevant That you’re sinkin’ It’s commitment That you’re lackin’ And your devotion Is what’s slackin’ You say the words you throw away They stay a-burnin’ in my brain You say the words you throw away They stay a-burnin’ in my brain You know it’s not my way so I won’t play I’ve set my mind and I won’t budge And though it’s not today I’ll join the fray I’m givin’ you a little nudge An impropriety there’s bound to be When I’m outvoted one to one You’re not convincin’ me to set you free It’s over when I know I’ve won It’s immaterial What you’re thinkin’ It’s irrelevant That you’re sinkin’ It’s commitment That you’re lackin’ And your devotion Is what’s slackin’ You say the words you throw away They stay a-burnin’ in my brain You say the words you throw away They stay a-burnin’ in my brain Now I don’t mean to pry and I will try To understand your reasonin’ But can you tell me why you need to fly Beyond our little gatherin’? It’s written on your face you need some space And I don’t think I’m gettin’ through I figure it’s my place this line to trace Your loyalties have gone askew It’s immaterial What you’re thinkin’ It’s irrelevant That you’re sinkin’ It’s commitment That you’re lackin’ And your devotion Is what’s slackin’ You say the words you throw away They stay a-burnin’ in my brain You say the words you throw away They stay a-burnin’ in my brain You say the words you throw away They stay a-burnin’ in my brain You say the words you throw away They stay a-burnin’ in my brain
7.
Chainless 03:21
I should have written all this down When anger lit me up When venom dripped right off my tongue And acid filled my blood But I let time and my profession Ease you from my mind And though you wait almost forgotten Chainless you are mine I have held these words for you Deep within my heart I have kept them safe for you Played a willing part I have stored them up for you Every poisoned dart And I will rain them down on you And glory in my art I know that you believe yourself To be the shining sun The ultimate authority With every battle won You think that you’re untouchable And that you’re free and clear You think you got away with it Your lip curled in a sneer I have held these words for you Deep within my heart I have kept them safe for you Played a willing part I have stored them up for you Every poisoned dart And I will rain them down on you And glory in my art Now I am here to tell you You will pay for what you’ve done That my revenge is sweet And I exact a heavy sum This song will go on after you When worms eat through your box And you have been outwitted By a sly and clever fox I have held these words for you Deep within my heart I have kept them safe for you Played a willing part I have stored them up for you Every poisoned dart And I will rain them down on you And glory in my art
8.
Memoir 04:45
Those days are long gone The wind took them flying And recently returned them When I wasn’t even trying To remember the nights We walked in the wood The nights we sat playing those games And from where I stood I thought you understood Part of me that ached to grow wild Growing backwards from adult to child There were days when we played And nights when we sang When we kissed and told secrets and held hands We were warm We were free Drawn by dreams in our eyes And we talked side by side in the sand We spent too much time Pretending and often denying Trading letters, trading friends Drowned by lonely, silent sighing Do you remember the nights We walked in the wood The nights we sat playing those games And from where I stood I thought you understood Part of me that ached to grow wild Growing backwards from adult to child There were days when we played And nights when we sang When we kissed and told secrets and held hands We were warm We were free Drawn by dreams in our eyes And we talked side by side in the sand Those days are long gone So I remember the nights We walked in the wood The nights we sat playing those games And from where I stood I thought you understood Part of me that ached to grow wild Growing backwards from adult to child There were days when we played And nights when we sang When we kissed and told secrets and held hands We were warm We were free Drawn by dreams in our eyes And we talked side by side in the sand There were days when we played And nights when we sang When we kissed and told secrets and held hands We were warm We were free Drawn by dreams in our eyes And we talked side by side in the sand We talked side by side in the sand I’ll remember you moonlit in the sand
9.
White or Red 02:55
I was starving myself and I was alone And although it was something that few would condone I met up with a boy who lived life to the full And nothing else mattered when I felt his pull And he gave me the chance to choose white or red But I shifted and rolled and kept both instead And the short of it is that we just fell apart ‘Cause I couldn’t decide what to do with his heart Beyond this line a lake begins And it’s easier to drown than swim Undertake a journey just to see if you’ll survive Cast yourself upon the rocks As you spiral out to sea There’s a chance that I might see you on a wave Now who’s to say what would’ve become If I’d clipped my wings and unloaded the gun If he’d found his center and followed his dreams Understood that perfection is more than it seems Well the truth of it is that it’s better this way I let him play the tunes that he wanted to play But it wasn’t ‘til later I found my own song And I like where I am though the road here was long Beyond this line a lake begins And it’s easier to drown than swim Undertake a journey just to see if you’ll survive Cast yourself upon the rocks As you spiral out to sea There’s a chance that I might see you on a wave Beyond this line a lake begins And it’s easier to drown than swim Undertake a journey just to see if you’ll survive Cast yourself upon the rocks As you spiral out to sea There’s a chance that I might see you on a wave There’s a chance that I might see you on a There’s a chance that I might see you on a wave
10.
Once there was an apple tree Who grew up in a valley With men who cut and pruned her branches Kept a running tally Of every blossom, every fruit That she might choose to ripen And as she marked the years with rings Their strangle-hold they tightened The darkness set her free When the wind blew through the night In blindness she could see When the crows took flight On wings of night One morning as the sun did rise She dreamed awake a thought In whisper-song she thanked the bees For all that they had brought The summer sun beamed down Upon her leaves as she did feed And she in turn poured sun-sap Into apple, into seed At harvest time the men could not believe Their blessed eyes For each and every flower Had become a reddened prize They picked and plucked the rosy fruit Until the sun had set Retiring to their hearths and beds Good fortune they had met The darkness set her free When the wind blew through the night In blindness she could see When the crows took flight On wings of night The stars lit up the blackened deep Before the moon rose high The time for transformation near She looked into the sky When down towards her empty branches Flew a welcome sight Who tightly gripped an apple’s stem And silently took flight Within this apple’s juicy flesh A tiny seed was held That spark of life that was the tree With joy and terror welled They flew beyond the boundary Of orchard and town square They flew into the wilderness Into the cold night air The darkness set her free When the wind blew through the night In blindness she could see When the crows took flight On wings of night A secret place they landed Where the crows dug out a pit And it’s there the seed was planted And the dark earth covered it As the seasons brought the turning Of the wheel, the sun and rain In that wooded place she sprouted Nourished by the wild refrain And she never lacked for comp’ny For she had a feathered friend Who had saved her from the village Who had brought her there to mend And although his voice was weathered He knew how to weave a spell For his living brought him wisdom And he wore his feathers well The darkness set her free When the wind blew through the night In blindness she could see When the crows took flight On wings of night The old tree where she’d lived That had oft in beauty swelled Waned and weakened, ceased producing And by saddened men was felled While beyond the valley’s borders In the woods a sapling grew With the crows that guarded secrets As all crows are wont to do
11.
Out on the moor alone tonight Out on the lonely moor tonight Gather around me now twilight Gazing up at the cold starlight Stand in the shadow of the light Here in the shadow I delight Harder to see which way is right Out of the stained and coloured light Loved and lost We bear the mark of second sight We bear the scarring of hindsight And from the hour our souls took flight We knew we’d never make things right (for them) Loved and lost Quite a surprise to find that I Am not alone here after all Quite a surprise to find that I Am not alone here after all The steeple before me blocks the sky Blinds my eye The steeple before me blocks the sky Blinds my eye Quite a surprise to find you here after all Quite a surprise to find you here after all After all, after all Quite a surprise to find that I Am no alone here after all After all, after all
12.
Safe Harbour 03:31
All my life you have been as a rock In a sea ever tossed by stormy gales And while grounded you float like a dock More than once I have unfurled my sails And although I am riding the sea There are days when I look out to see Where the light calls me home to the shore And I sail as the seabirds soar If I call you a lighthouse in the dark You would no doubt remind me of the source As a mirror reflecting the spark Or a lens ever focusing the force To the world you appear to shine Whether they see your light as divine While a tear rarely falls from your eye Underneath the river ne’er runs dry In this revelation of you I’m not alone There are many who would call you when they’re down There are others who would put you on a throne And those who drop by when they’re in town For my own part I’ve written you this song I have given a voice to the throng Though their faces and names fade away May you carry their love today
13.
Harmony 03:59
When I think of you, all that we’ve been through And all of the memories come flooding back to me Can you believe in the years that have floated by I’ve never told you, but I’m gonna try Alanis is singing and Dorothy’s house is spinning And Brenda’s lamenting the prints on the door The angsty frustration, the campy jubilation The cracker crumbs strewn on the Boar Office floor Adventures with Matt in the boat I was captaining Driving with Karl to the Cape Breton coast The airport, Algonquin, Toronto, we stopped in The dark we were eating those alien cones Through all the insanity, every calamity You were the rock where I weathered the storm The laughter, the parody, we sang in harmony You were the river that broke my reform The music consumed us, the Beav he re-tuned us Recording in basements and studios bare Ad libbing harmonies, operas for jelly beans Shaping our lives by the secrets we shared Religious conformities, skirting the boundaries Boys that were rotten and better off left Yours was the place I cried on the night my Lady died Over the years, boy, your shoulders got wet Through all the insanity, every calamity You were the rock where I weathered the storm The laughter, the parody, we sang in harmony You were the river that broke my reform And although our paths they don’t cross very often I’ll always remember the smile on your face My vision is clear and my heart has been softened And you’ll always find me a safe happy place Through all the insanity, every calamity I’ll be a rock where you can weather the storm The laughter, the parody, we’ll sing in harmony ‘Cause you are the river that broke my reform You are the river that broke my reform Yes, you are the river that broke my reform
14.
Bill's Tune 02:22
There once was a man who could play the guitar You’d oft find him playing it deep in some bar He’d smile at the crowd and he’d play them a song And on a good night they might all sing along Now there were some hundred-odd songs he could play And sing with a range that could blow you away He’d ask for a challenge in the wee hours of the morn The call would come back for that old Unicorn His hands strumming chords that he’d ne’er need rehearse And just as he’s aiming to finish the verse You’d see something twitch and his fans had no doubt That tired old Unicorn would soon twist and shout He’d play the itsy bitsy spider with a Metallica ring But he wouldn’t play Johnny Cash or any old thing The occasional Lightfoot this bard could enjoy But a man at the bar requests Oh Danny Boy And out of frustration this player he’d say Why can’t you request something different today? No more John Denver! I’m taking a stand And no, I will not play the Black Velvet Band So if in your travels you happen to meet Our good friend named Bill, you’re in for a treat He’ll let you come up, you can sing him a song And on a good night he might just sing along Yes, on a good night he might just sing along
15.
Safe in a dream with my blanket around me Smiled when he told me goodbye Woke with a scream and a terror surrounds me I saw a bird falling out of the sky singing Follow the wind Up as she rises Into the storm Lightning she flashes Birds in the sky fly Closer to starlight Ride the white wave In the moonlight she splashes Safe in a memory I cherish and hide him Wanting to see with my eyes Part of my family beyond the horizon He’s drawing lines on the roof of the skies singing Follow the wind Up as she rises Into the storm Lightning she flashes Birds in the sky fly Closer to starlight Ride the white wave In the moonlight she splashes Safe in a circle of love and compassion My heart can finally bleed As I encircle with will and with passion All that I long for and all that I need singing Follow the wind Up as she rises Into the storm Lightning she flashes Birds in the sky fly Closer to starlight Ride the white wave In the moonlight she splashes Come follow the wind Up as she rises Into the storm Lightning she flashes Birds in the sky fly Closer to starlight Ride the white wave In the moonlight she splashes And you and me Will be, will be
16.
By and By 03:35
We started in the spring When we were both metamorphosing You listened to me sing You became the sun to my raining And as went walking out under the sky We’d spent our childhoods learning to fly Restlessly searching and not knowing why But we found each other by and by We feel the summer breeze And we are both climbing our own trees And traveling the seas Ensuring this cup never empties And as we go walking out under the sky We spent our childhoods learning to fly Restlessly searching and not knowing why But we found each other by and by When the leaves begin to turn And our skins are weathered and sunburned We’ll measure what we’ve learned Share the memories that each of us has earned And as we go walking out under the sky We spent our childhoods learning to fly Restlessly searching and not knowing why But we found each other by and by And when the winter breaks We’ll both come to peace with our heart aches And covered in snowflakes We’ll fall into sleep as the earth takes us home And as we go walking out into the sky We’ll spend our childhoods learning to fly Restlessly searching and not knowing why But we’ll find each other by and by

about

Snips and Snails was originally released March 15th 2010 as Leslie Hudson's 3rd solo album. For a brief window of time it was available online, but as her songwriting styles shifted and her output took a sharp upturn in the years that followed she quietly put it aside.

A decade of growth and output later Leslie is bringing it back for its 10-year anniversary. The album was recorded and produced in her home studio, something she'd never attempted before, so in many ways Snips and Snails is a milestone. She learned a lot about what works and what doesn't as it was made and it laid the groundwork for the albums to come.

These 16 tracks (written 2000-2009) are a soft conversation between piano and songwriter, with harmonies that have a Wilson Phillips' vibe. It's simple and honest like honey on bread.

From childhood loves to the friendship of allies, tributes to family and mentors, and a myriad of relationships that just went sideways, this project cherishes themes of connection and nostalgia while navigating threads of frustration and loss.

credits

released March 15, 2010

Vocals & piano by Leslie Hudson

Recorded at Scarlet Oak Studios, Burlington ON by Karl Stahl
Produced by Leslie Hudson & Karl Stahl

Cover by Karl Stahl
Photo by Leslie Hudson

All songs written by Leslie Hudson

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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

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