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Apparition In The Woods (2009)

by Stephen Hero

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  • Signed Rag005 - "Apparition In The Woods"
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    Original digipak CD of "Apparition In The Woods" (Rag005) hand-signed by Patrick in black marker pen.

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1.
My back feels broken, these limbs are tight and still But God’s voice is still sounding these notes in my head Take it down boy, take it all down, you alone know how You’ve known me long and well, you know the how and where And I will say when, though my eyes be frozen There’s a little light to pierce these cataracts My dear boy please listen It’s ta dum tad um ta dum French horn and tympanum Eric, take it all down, before I am done As loud and as busy as this heavenly garden bee The creeping heat of morning Crescendo dear boy, you know how Amanuensis. Amontillado Is it time for our sherry? Is it dark out there already? Must we stop now? Eric? Stop now? There’s so little time till it’s done Or else till I’m done Take it all down, you alone know how It’s ta dum ta dum ta dum French horn and tympanum A little more bass, a little less cello, more or less, louder still There, like the blackbird, trill like the lark Like the first cuckoo of spring Remember Eric? Take it all down before I am done
2.
I Will Sleep 04:53
And I wont be restless tonight It’s not the applause from the cities great minds It’s not the red wine or the twinkling boy smiles That give reassurance, this happiness inside It’s my love, who comes tonight And in whose arms I will lay And I will sleep inside this cocoon Under autumn moons For my dear friend, my love, he is here tonight So I can sleep tonight The one I love most sleeps beside me We share the covers, our bodies entwined His breast a firm pillow, his arm light and close Our breaths come slow now, we are joined Tonight It’s my love who comes tonight And in whose arms I will lay And I will sleep inside this cocoon Under autumn moons For my dear friend, my love, he is here tonight So I can sleep tonight For it’s my love who’s come at last Such anticipation of his every footfall His key in the door, his lips on my own And I will sleep, tonight
3.
St. Pierre 03:26
My name’s Pierre, my love was Jo We met before war, we met again at his end In the camp near our home they set dogs on his body I watched in tears as my Jo was killed Jo, Jo, only 18 years old You were my best friend, my lover, the holder of my secret And I cannot sleep these 50 years Without calling out your name Jo, Jo, and I’m the only one who’s told And now these years have passed and still My sleep’s full of pain, these sad memories I tried to drink, it wasn’t much use When the Bishop of Strasbourg called us sick I could stay quiet no more My name’s Pierre, and I loved my Jo And I am myself, and of our love I am proud They took my Jo, stripped him of clothes Put a pail on his head to amplify the noise
4.
Quickly with the boat, I hear them, One shove and it’s decided Don’t you see you don’t belong, now the boy’s gone You never did Quick to the boat Peter and row Out you go as fast as far Until land is no more The thin stripe where sky meets sea Is where you may belong The thin stripe where sky meets sea That is where the boy swims alone Quickly to the boat, Peter Before you’ve time to think Before your heavy heart weakens your arms A kiss for Ellen, a prayer for your soul They’ve started the fires I hear them burn Now go before they come Remember till the shore’s no more
5.
St. Varian 04:59
He sent them across the border From Vichy France into Spain Sent by American committee With some dollars and a list of names With MaryJane and Miriam, Danny and Marcel Beamish and Freyer the Forger They faked visas and found pathways And now its done, and I’ve been sent home To an empty house where my wife does not understand The things this war has done The awful things I’ve seen I sit in my office quiet And recollect that crazy year in Marseilles Where the difference between freedom and death was a stamp A stamp on a piece of paper That got you out of this forsaken place He sent them across the mountains From Hell to Catalan Marc Chagall Andre Breton, Golo and Heinrich Mann Max Ernst and Anna Segher Duchamp and Hannah Arendt Maybe over 2000, the list goes on & on
6.
When blood became water the cold mattress sank Bloodying the depths of the dark muddy bank Blood blackened the pages and reddened the books It deified that Machiavellian crook It stuck to the floorboards blood seeped in the hall It’s skin’s lifeless leather Stretched in a pall And tears were not all It’s a cold blood on books And it’s a curse that will not pass Blood danced on a wire where its distance was bliss He sucked at its scent with his succubus hiss His words were the pin to its happy inflation Blood wilted to the ground and became his libation The warmth of the blood And the youth of its soul Staggered under sticks of brutish control And now it is stale in the belly of rats It burns with his books and it rots on his traps There’s a cold blood on books, and it’s a curse that will not pass It rots in his traps Blood dances its last There’s a cold blood on books, and it’s a curse that will not pass From bloods tightrope dance (Music by Patrick Fitzgerald, Words by David McAlmont)
7.
I drove the train till the tracks ran out Through the Polish countryside Till the tracks ran out at the work camp The sign said work it makes you free I can’t remember the details The rest had nothing to do with me Tonight my child is safe in my arms/heart I don’t want to remember Can’t you leave the past alone? Yes the pile of shoes, clothes and gold The constant fire the strangest snow The snow that would not melt I drove the train, it always went The timetable must be accurate I cared for my engine The soldiers took control of the freight I made sure we got there safe The rest had nothing to do with me
8.
(instrumental)
9.
Who is this little girl in her communion dress About to marry God? And that same little girl in her wedding dress About to marry abroad? I have pictures of her as a child I have pictures of her as a woman I have these pictures Became a bride, became a Mother There’s hope there in that broad smile The smile of a bride, the pride of a Mother Deep in her naïve eyes Then the pictures change, the smile it fades I can see it through the years What was her tragedy, what the pain? That day at the frozen lake? Christmas trees and skiing boots,no more snaps of him Inside the shame of her solitude, I can see the shame Bring her out, if I could bring her out, into a blinding sun Show her joy, show her light The wondrous things that can be done I held her hand as she slept Quiet under morphine I held her hand as she left us Quiet on the ward See the little girl in her communion dress About to marry God And that same little girl in her wedding dress About to marry abroad I’m left with photos of a little girl Who never understood her fate The promise in these photographs Dust in the orchard now Disappointment at Niagara Falls Dreams quickly shred I stayed a night to comfort her Then I too left
10.
(Traditional)

about

Apparition In The Woods
Ragoora Records (Rag005)
Originally released in November 2009

Track Listing:

1. A Lark Descends
2. I Will Sleep
3. St. Pierre
4. The Grimy Solution
5. St. Varian
6. Blood On Books
7. The Snow That Would Not Melt
8. MW Cassiopeia
9. Disappointment At Niagara Falls
10. Trouble Of The World


After two years (and a kidney transplant) Patrick returned with a new stephenhero record that demonstrated his love of writing/re-writing a good story by using haunting piano, electric guitar fx, chilling electrified cello from Semay Wu and equally ethereal background vox from his long-time friend David McAlmont. Another slab of literary inspired genius.

credits

released August 12, 2012

*
© + ℗ Patrick Fitzgerald
Except 'Blood On Books' (lyrics by David McAlmont) and 'Trouble Of The World' (Traditional)

Patrick Fitzgerald - Voice, Instruments
David McAlmont - Vocals
Semay Wu - Cello

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all rights reserved

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about

PATRICK FITZGERALD Manchester, UK

Patrick Fitzgerald was the singer and bass player in Kitchens of Distinction. After Kitchens he was: Fruit, one half of three fabulous duos - Lost Girls | The April Seven | Oskar's Drum - and Stephen Hero. He has been releasing records under all these guises and more since 1987. ... more

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