This Must Be Life ('cause I don't see The Reaper)

by The Burning World

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1.	What Did You Expect? 03:25	lyrics	buy track
What Did You Expect? What did you expect? Maybe a happy ending? This ain’t Hollywood y’know. Y’know? Did you think that love would last forever? Regardless of stormy weather? What the hell did you expect? Maybe your life ascending? Like some famous fairy tale? Did you think you’d get to have your say? Well it isn’t gonna be that way And all that’s left for me to do is write the epilogue I can usually do without the epilogue What did you expect? That maybe pigs could fly? Well let me tell ya something buddy They can, and so can I It’s easy all you gotta do is try All you gotta do is die And all that’s left for me to do is write the epilogue I can usually do without the epilogue
2.	The Lord Of Misrule 04:18	lyrics	buy track
The Lord of Misrule (a paean to Ian) Come one, come all, both the squat and the tall Bring the mad and the drunk and the devil Give us some beer and we’ll raise you a cheer Tout les monde come and join in the revel From All Hallow’s Eve to Candlemas’ leave The law of Misrule’s in place I’m a potent potentate, you’d best believe To be somber this night’s a disgrace Don’t call me a fool I’m the Lord of Misrule Strike up your pipes and break out your rachet Dress up in your finest regalia Find your lover, meet up with the gang Come join us in our Saturnalia Banging on a tambourine, we’ll raise the dead from hell Meet in the church, drown out the epistle Making so much noise as if the night could be dispelled Shrilling on a fife or penny-whistle Don’t call me a fool I’m the Lord of Misrule A bonfire of furniture might look nice over there Brighten up the square while the brief night is passing Giving us a peek while our revel is lasting Of all the fine ladies in their carnival slattern Smash open a keg if you get your hands on one For all it be blashy, we’ll drink it the same Play Bubble-the-Justice, pay not for the crime The bedswervers are staggering away The night cries Barlafumble to the dawn I hold not a merry-go-sorry yawn Wend with the scrogglings in flight To my sleep, until tomorrow night We’ll come one and all, both the squat and the tall With the mad and the drunk and the devil Give us some wine and we’ll have a good time Tout les monde we will join in the revel Don’t call me a fool I’m the Lord of Misrule
3.	Falling 06:02	lyrics	buy track
Falling In a dream I lay, windswept, and I was falling In a dream I lay, windswept, and I was falling Windswept, windswept And there was no time and there was no sound save the wind in my ears only unending, descending flight But I wasn’t afraid of landing It never occurred to me that the beauty of falling might stop It seemed to me as it seems to me now that I had been falling all my life That I have been falling all my life In a dream I lay, windswept, and I was falling In a dream I lay, windswept, and I was falling Windswept, windswept And there was no time and there was no sound save the wind in my ears only unending, descending flight But I wasn’t afraid of landing It never occurred to me that the terror of falling might stop It seemed to me as it seems to me now that I had been falling all my life That I have been falling all my life And in the silence broken only by the soft sound of the wind I heard a cry and I looked over There beside me you were falling Well it seems to me that I’ve been falling all my life (all my life, all my life) Well it seems to be that I’ve been falling all my life (all my life, all my life) I’m off the end of the world, you know, I’m falling Stumbling towards the light, I’m falling, I’m falling through time Well, I look back on the world and I’m falling
4.	A Magical Midsummer's Night 05:29	lyrics	buy track
A Magical Midsummer’s Night A Magical Midsummer’s Night Now you’ve called me, even as I write It’s funny how things work out, she says, and I agree But I mean funny; ha ha, and she means funny; strangely Sometimes I wonder if we’re not better off alone That we were not made for the same road If the place you place your heart is really home Then homeless be when your heart goes away A Magical Midsummer’s Night Now you’re here with me and everything’s all right Sometimes I wonder if we’re not better off alone That we were not made for the same road If the place you place your heart is really home Then homeless be when your heart goes away
5.	How To Say Goodbye 04:26	lyrics	buy track
How To Say Goodbye The sun was singing in the sky The air was sweet and clear When Harlequin and Dandy-Mouse Went skipping to the faire We two had planned them there to meet For corn and crumbs and cream We four had planned to dance till dawn Not sleeping for to dream How to say goodbye my love In such delightful weather If we have to die my love Let’s go together Searching high and low, we two Could find them not at all And all the finery of the fete Took on a darkling pall Asked we of all we met If a white cat with black tears Or a small but dashing mouse they’d seen Their silence fed our fears How to say goodbye my love In such delightful weather Since we have to die my love Let’s go together The moon was beaming from the sky When homeward we did tread But Harlequin and Dandy-mouse Were not there to be fed
6.	Widow's Window 08:18	lyrics	buy track
Widow’s Window The widow’s window where she ofttimes appears White stucco wall, weathered timber frame Is a portal to her whole world, to her play’s last act The stage is set, we but await the cast She stands in the window and looks to the sea Wi’ ye no come back, come back tae me? She thinks about her husband and her kids now gone To a watery grave, to their separate lives And of the boy who loved her so long ago But who had to go far across the sea Wi’ ye no come back, come back tae me? Wi’ ye no come back, come back tae me? Maybe some day she will awaken To forge ahead instead of looking back She could go and find work with a florist Take up skeet shooting or practice tai chi One might find she had become a secret agent Passing encoded ipods to strange men in the park Who knows what awaits us when open minded? When the inherent sameness of days is not taken for granted? then, one day the widow looks down into the square and there’s a man selling balloons and he’s holding a great big bouquet of green and red and blue and yellow ones and she is struck by the memory of herself as a child and her father bought her a bright blue balloon and suddenly she just must have one she who hasn’t really wanted anything in particular for so long and she rushes out her door and down the stairs and she hurries out into the street and she goes up to the man with a coin in her hand and she’s pointing to a blue balloon but when the man hands it to her with a bow and a smile she is staring at him; amazed and the light of recognition grows in his eyes and he gladly lets go of all of his balloons the better to embrace his lost and found love And they fly up into the air and off in many colours
7.	You're Not 04:51	lyrics	buy track
You’re Not You’re not blind, but you can’t see it ‘Cause you’re looking in the wrong direction You’re not deaf, but you don’t hear it ‘Cause you’re not listening You’re not paying attention You’re on overload You’re not able to function So much drama But not much comprehension You’re not dumb, but you don’t get it ‘Cause you’d rather not think about it You’re not numb, but you can’t feel it The Ten Thousand Things Will distract you Make you think they’re important Obsess and enrapt you So much media Not much communication You’re not greedy, but you can’t help it You just need that new shiny thing You’re not vain You’re just self-centered You’re well fed and entertained You’re desensitized So much wealth So little worth having So much data Too many complications You’re not weak, but you don’t know it You’re as strong as a force of nature You’re not mad, you just act like it ‘Cause you’re not doing what you should You’re entirely passive Bread and circuses For the masses Ignore the future Forget what the past was So much suffering So little compassion Bread and circuses For the masses Bread and circuses For the masses...
8.	The Uneventful Day 04:50	lyrics	buy track
The Uneventful Day (that ticks away) These endless days of summer heat Have really got me going I could use a day alone In the rain at home These endless days of rainy nights Have really got me down I could use a day of heat In the sun on the beach This rainy weather dripping through my mind Whilst in the sky, oh my, the sun is shining These endless years of reckless time They pass you by so quickly The waiting goes so slow But where does all the time go? So much time lost Until a spark can touch off A memory That glows like fire Glows and burns with a sweet pain And I realize I realize This is my life
9.	The King Of An Tir Is Dying 04:39	lyrics	buy track
The King of An Tir is Dying Try and be happy, where e’re you are For disaster can come without warning We could repair to our nest or our lair And be dead on the following morning What moment our troubles, our worries and cares? When you think on the cosmos and all that out there? We’re doin’ all right, now, if this you compare Pretty baby stop your crying The King of An Tir is dying Try and make merry, when e’re you can For misfortune can strike you unbidden Just when you’re hoping and making your plan Comes the dagger that fortune has hidden What moment our troubles, our worries and cares? When you think on the cosmos and all that out there? We’re doin’ all right, now, if this you compare Pretty baby stop your crying The King of An Tir is dying Try and be happy, with who e’re you are With whatever in life is your way Don’t wait till tomorrow to follow your star But don’t forget to remember to enjoy today Life is what happens while all of us wait For some fictitious future, we just know will be great But we can’t ignore what may well be our fate Pretty baby stop your crying The King of An Tir is dying What moment our troubles, our worries and cares? When you think on the cosmos and all that out there? We’re doin’ all right, now, if this you compare Little baby stop your crying The King of An Tir is dying Carpe Diem
10.	This Must Be Life ('cause I don't see The Reaper) 09:16	lyrics	buy track
This Must Be Life ('Cause I Don't See The Reaper) All these ashes in the air Block the sun, hurts to breathe Suddenly seconds wasted moments before Vanish like coins dropped into the sea I try to rise but keep sinking deeper This must be life ‘cause I don't see The Reaper All these ashes on the ground Erase the landscape and smother it All of your days now filled with boredom and sorrow The killing of time brings on empty regret Am I awake or am I a sleeper? This must be life ‘cause I don't see The Reaper The Hammer of the Gods Came slamming, slamming down To gamble with such odds A fool must wear the monarch's crown Landscapes of fire of burning desire The Hammer of the Gods Came slamming, slamming down To rule the tools and sods The wise must satirize the clown Mindscapes of ire a fool and a liar Any day could be the last Try and make each second count Any day could be your last With or without some holocaust Life is what we do while waiting for the future Life is what we do while dreaming of the past Days that were ours, they were ours for the taking Try and make each second count Any day could be your last
11.	Speed Me Up, Slow Me Down 03:30	lyrics	buy track
Speed Me Up, Slow Me Down A pocketful of firecrackers and a head full of dreams These days nothing really much the way that it seems A pocketful of poetry and a head full of change What might you think when what’s normal is strange? Speed me up Slow me down Keep my head together Mess my head around Speed me up Slow me down Keep my head together Mess my brains around Get up in the morning Need a cup of brew Props my eyelids open Decide now what to do Sit and have a smoke to kinda slow me down I don’t do no coke, I’m the real thing, don’t cha put me down Speed me up…etc. Under the influence of emotions and attitudes Under the pressure of devotional platitudes Under the influence, the drug in my drink Addled reality, addled reality, that’s how I think Speed me up…etc. Get home in the evening Need another toot Staying up till morning we don’t give a hoot Keeping it together ain’t no easy thing Retain my equilibrium so’s maybe I can sing Speed me up…etc.

about

The Burning World is a loose affiliation of musicians from the Sunshine Coast and the Lower Mainland of BC, Canada, and features the music of singer/songwriter Ross W. Powell.

"Some decades in the making, the album could be considered a greatest hits album compiled from all the albums I never made through the years. That accounts somewhat for the diverse range of styles and genres represented here."

Engineered by Ross Powell at Arcadian Studios
and by Sacha Fassaert at The Coast Enclave Studio
and by David j Taylor at The Purple House Studio
Mixed and Mastered by David j. Taylor at The Purple House Studio
Produced by Ross Powell
All music and lyrics by Ross W. Powell

credits

released January 1, 2017

Gord D. Birtch - bass guitar, backing vocals
Miles Black - piano
Fraser Blackley - bodhran
Trudi Diening - backing vocals
Allan Dionne - bodhran
Edwin Dolinski - piano, organ
Sacha Fassaert - electric guitar, bass & fretless bass guitar, percussion
Sara Fitzpatrick - violin
Regan Haydu - drum kit
Scott Jacks - bass guitar, piano
Anna Lumière - accordion
Tim Niebergall - dumbek
Ross Powell - vocals, guitars, EWI, sequencing, percussion, flutes
Nancy Powell - backing vocals
Skyler Powell - vocals
Wayne Slingerland - piano, organ, harpsichord
David j. Taylor - backing vocals, guitars, percussion, keys