Get all 22 Ian Bruce releases available on Bandcamp and save 40%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Together Forever (CMR 2023 Album of The Year), The Land We Love, Children of Blue, The Naked Truth Vol 1 Remastered, Auld Hat New Heids Vol 1, Ain't That Pretty?, Above Wild Water, Hits & Pieces (The first 30 years), and 14 more.
1. |
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BROWN EYED BABY
(Ian M. Bruce/Charlie Milne)
Goodbye my baby, my first born baby.
My brown eyed baby you will always be.
Promise as you leave here....
You'll remember me.
Demons danced so crazy in my mind.
Comfort and joy, they seemed so hard to find.
Then you were born; I saw your big brown eyes.
No more demons.
Just love and lullabies.
Goodbye my baby, my first born baby.
My brown eyed baby you will always be.
Promise as you leave here....
You'll remember me.
You came along when I was feeling small.
I was walking the tightrope.
I was trying not to fall.
You came along when I was alone.
My closest friend - the silent telephone.
Goodbye my baby, my first born baby.
My brown eyed baby you will always be.
Promise as you leave here....
You'll remember me.
I watched you grow as you looked to me.
Our every move was shaping who you'd be.
We shared pleasure, we shared pain.
We'd lock horns every now and then.
Goodbye my baby, my first born baby.
My brown eyed baby you will always be.
Promise as you leave here....
You'll remember.......
Middle
You have a love that's different from the plan.
So, we have a son who loves another man.
We wish you peace and comfort with your 'choice'.
We just thank God, you finally found your voice.
From our embrace we open up our arms,
Unfold the fingers and feel the slipping palms.
This gentle parting hurts more than tongues can tell.
His arms await, I only hope he treats you well.
And so your love is untraditional
But a mother's love is unconditional.
And so it's time my son for you to go your way.
The rest of your life, don't you know, begins today.
Goodbye my baby, my first born baby.
My brown eyed baby you will always be.
Promise as you leave here....
You'll remember.......
You will please remember me!!!
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2. |
Annie Laurie
04:17
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3. |
Lincoln and My Brothers
04:51
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LINCOLN AND MY BROTHERS
(Ian M. Bruce)
I tried to grab a handful to take to my heart.
There's nothing here for me to hold.
No love to grasp, no ghosts from the past
And not a single memory to guide me.
On these terraced streets
My brothers used to play.
That was long before I was born.
I never saw them kick a ball
Against the red brick walls
Nor trudging off to school in the morning.
"Bonny" was the cat.
They were very fond of 'that!'
In later years they told me all about him.
How he'd followed them around..
A bit more like a hound.
There's no photograph of "Bonny"
And no album.
Lincoln and my brothers saw my parents' younger days.
An older mum speaks fondly of Bampa
I wrap her words so tightly round..
Like a loose fitting hand-me-down
As she tells me of his kind and gentle nature.
I'm like some anxious yankee with his book on history.
Probing for postion in the past.
But this past was never mine.
I'm simply from a different time.
With heavy heart..
I may as well go home.
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4. |
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5. |
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6. |
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THE DAWN OF A BRAND NEW DAY
(Ian M. Bruce/ Gavin Livingston)
Fae the silence only a spring Sunday morning can claim,
The cackle o' hens, fae somewhere close at hand came.
Soft reassurance, delivered fae harm.
One by one by one realising your charms.
CHORUS
O Mother Nature, we meet at last.
Strange we never met in the past.
You say I walked by you in every place,
But, today, for the first time, I saw the sun in yer face.
Today for the first time I saw the sun in yer face.
The cushies in the fir wood crooned a lazy tune.
Ma mind ceased tae wander, alive tae every soond.
Heard the leaves on the trees and the buzzin' o' fleas.
A lark headed for heaven and sang on the sweet scented breeze.
CHORUS
A tingle shot through me.
For once my soul leapt and laughed.
Wis there mair than the pine in thon tiny wee waft?
The sensation o' spring blew ma cobwebs away.
A natural high at the dawn of a brand new day.
CHORUS
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7. |
Now Westlin Winds
05:00
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8. |
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SWEET FALLEN ANGELS
(Ian M. Bruce)
Sweet fallen angels.
You have no benefit of any doubt '
Cos no one spoke for you.
No one stopped for you.
No one said a little prayer as they laid you down in your graves.
Death with no dignity all along the road.
No more fiery marbles
fls the headlights catch your eyes.
No golden glints as the sun begins to rise.
And for all the endless preening
That I bet you did before
Your torn coats shine like silk no more.
Yesterday was sunshine
But I guess you felt no heat.
Today it rains so hard,
it bounces round your feet.
There's so many of you
But you all lie alone
In dirt, dust, flesh, blood and bone.
There's death between the trees
As we slice through the glen.
Millions of murders and yet no requiem.
The flies, fleas and the bumblebees are dying everyday.
Heaven help anything in our way.
It's all in the name of transport;
Points A to B.
Just cut it down, be it a mountain or a tree.
Fast fast and faster
Oh and care not what will die.
Just pass it by.
So, to all the furs and feathers
We've scattered on the way.
I'm lost for words.
I really don't know what to say.
Although we broke your bodies,
Well, I hope you felt no pain.
You'll never feel our cruel hand again.
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9. |
Blue Denim Days
03:23
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BLUE DENIM DAYS
(Ian M. Bruce)
They called me in, after eighteen years.
In as many seconds,
They confirmed my fears.
I was so bitter then,
For doing me so wrong.
I'm so bitter now,
Why the hell'd they take so long?
CHORUS.
To give me...Blue Denim Days.
Being bright and breezy.
Blue Denim Days.
Now I'm feeling free and easy.
I'm not sure to whom I offer praise,
But, thanks for allowing me Blue Denim Days.
Still I can't believe this new way I'm on to.
I can still wear a tie,
But only if I want to.
I can pierce my ears,
I can even shave my head.
I awake, when I want, screaming, "Office days are dead!!"
The years roll on,
But no old ways I'm missin'.
Now I'm writing songs
And people sit and listen.
I may never make it big,
But, in a way, that's o.k.
I have all I need in my Blue Denim Days.
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10. |
Lonely Old Lady
04:54
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LONELY OLD LADY
(Ian M. Bruce)
She's a lonely old lady
She sits by her fire
Scorching her legs as the flames dance higher.
Reflections in specs of a flickering screen.
Her favourite programme again is unseen.
She's been snoozing.
MmmH! Snoozing.
But has she been sleeping for one hour or two?
She fumbles from sleep.
She finds little to do.
But glance at the phone which infrequently rings.
Hum unwritten songs
She frequently sings
La la la la.
La la la lonely
She's lonely
La la la lonely.
Then speakin' out loud she says
"Don't be so lazy!"
Mobility isn't so easy these days.
She shuffles her way past last month's mag.
To a wintry kitchen and a one cup teabag.
She's lonely
La la la lonely. Lonely.
La la la lonely.
There's an old shoe box
And it's tied round with string.
Creased black and whites.
She got Brownies within.
But the prized Polaroids, they adorn the piano.
Grandchildren's silent "Hello!"
Grandchildren's silent "Hello!"
All lights out but one on the bedside table.
No more late nights.
She's no longer able.
Just one more day put to memory's store.
She lies there wondering "How many more?"
She's lonely
La la la lonely.
Her mind's eye sees the shoebox untied.
Prized Polaroids join the Brownies inside.
The faces drift past her bed as they go.
Grandchildren's last cheerio.
Grandchildren's last cheerio
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11. |
Child On The Green
03:30
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CHILD ON THE GREEN
(Ian M. Bruce)
"Child on the green, what's that you do?"
"I'm turning daisies to chains and Mum they're for you!"
"But Mum, I'm just playing so why do you cry?
My flowers are saying, 'I'm glad you came by'."
CHORUS:
"Child as you grow questions will flow.
The more that you ask, the more you will know.
But ask of emotion, it's useless to try.
Finding its reason by asking me, 'Why?'"
"Child you are late. Where have you been?
Your dinner is burned and your clothes are unclean."
I wasn't surprised to find she was wild,
But puzzled some when she suddenly smiled.
"Child you are lost. Sometimes we act strange.
You must understand, we can suddenly change.
It's just human nature and when you are grown,
You'll sometimes seem strange to a child of your own."
She spoke and I listened, then went off to bed.
But I always remembered the words she had said.
It's been twenty years and I've a son on my knee.
I've just told my son what my mum told to me.
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12. |
Speakin' Free
03:45
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13. |
From a Distance
02:54
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14. |
Recovery
02:53
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RECOVERY
(Ian M. Bruce)
Music surrounds me! It fills the air.
Golden pagodas spark sunlight everywhere.
A cathedral dome above me
So wondrous to see.
There's a freedom in my fingers
An awakening in me.
And the dawn drifts through the window
On a gentle breath of change
The sky in streaks of colour only nature could arrange.
Turquoise, blue and amber
The darkness turns to light
I am gratefully transported from the cold and dismal night.
CHORUS
Thank you for loving me
For I did not have the strength to fight alone.
So I throw off my duvet
A crumbled prison wall
I bathe in the peace of mind that greets me in the hall.
The back door just a skin twixt the new born day and I
Which yields to floods of springtime beneath an autumn sky.
Great gulps of daylight and O they taste so good
My appetite's returning and it's crying out for food.
So I fix myself some breakfast, a little tea and toast.
A tear behind my teacup and a wiggle in my toes.
CHORUS
And I step into the forest, less dense now than it was
The branches thick behind me as they interweave and cross.
As I head for open space I slowly bend to take
Solace in reflections I cast upon the lake.
But still a tinge of golden where the eyes were pearly white
Though heartened by improvements delivered in the night.
I am tired now I have strayed a little further than I should.
I rest my weary head at the edge of this dark wood.
CHORUS
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15. |
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16. |
Labyrinth of Chance
05:35
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17. |
My Eldorado
06:55
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18. |
Too Far From She
04:17
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TOO FAR FROM SHE
(Ian M. Bruce)
We lost it all in one fierce affray.
I stood not to fight and just walked away.
Now I regret, I did not delay
Acting on feelings I held for a day.
CHORUS
Fancy me, so fancy free.
I'm so far from home, I'm way out at sea.
That's not the way I want it to be.
I'm so far from home and
Too Far From She.
We sail with a crew of a hundred and more.
So many good men, good humour in store.
We drink in a crowd when we go ashore,
But I've never felt so lonely before.
Six months have gone since I let her go.
Time will not stand the wind shall still blow.
The seas must ever fall and grow.
My world will still turn but ever so slow.
Living this lie is a foolish game.
I've written to say she's not to blame.
It crossed in the post with a letter that came.
She's written to say she feels the same.
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19. |
The Touch and The Go
04:24
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THE TOUCH AND THE GO
(Ian M. Bruce/Ian J. Walker)
CHORUS
We lived through the touch and the go
With never a great deal to show
Spending was fast while earning was slow
But we laughed through the touch and the go
We loved through the touch and the go
Those were the days when the business was small
Fearing the worst should it go to the wall.
But through inclement weather we held it together.
Over dead bodies would we see it fall
Cries from the cradle utmost in our minds
Children to feed, a mortgage to find.
We'd often embrace whilst wishing for more
We were never so happy as when we were poor.
Then business increased just according to plan
We could hardly keep up with the rising demand
The thing that's so funny is both milk and honey
Turned bitter-sweet for we could not withstand
All the time spent on travel, the time spent apart
Temptation on both sides to make a new start
Love grew cold and so insecure
We were never so happy as when we were poor.
CHORUS
The kids are all grown, they're up and all gone
They took our last reason for carrying on.
Once there was love and nothing above.
Now business as usual is all we have won.
Ambitions fulfilled but still dreams remain
Dreams of the past we can never regain
Hard work and good fortune brought wealth to our door
But we were never so happy as when we were poor.
CHORUS
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20. |
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21. |
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22. |
Then The Rain Came
04:29
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THEN THE RAIN CAME
(Ian M. Bruce/Charlie Milne)
We had too much to drink.
A bit too much was said.
We said all the kinda things
That lie awake in bed.
Anxiety and alcohol messing' up our minds
Only morning sun could help us Leave it all behind.
CHORUS
Then the rain came
Teeming from above.
Drenching all our dreams.
And drowning deepest love.
Here with this depression Clouding you and I,
It's hard to believe that the sun
Will split our sky.
The forecast is gloomy.
Bitter storms ahead.
Pressure's low and mounting In this mighty double bed. Who'd believe we're lovers
This is so absurd.
Together we lie separate
For the sake of one kind word.
CHORUS
And who will break the silence?
Who's it gonna be?
It could be either one of us.
It's six and two threes.
When that word is spoken
Smiles will surely come:
Taming all this turmoil,
Anger all undone.
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23. |
Free Agents
04:24
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FREE AGENTS
(Ian M. Bruce)
CHORUS:
I dreamt she held the hand of someone new.
Free agents can do.
I gotta find out if it's true.
So, I thought, if you don't mind,
I'd ask you?
I'd ask you?
She won't believe me
But I think of her a lot
I remember little moments that she'll think I forgot.
Still I don't deserve her.
It's my fault we're apart.
Fearing for my freedom brought an end before the start.
I can't make the change.
I'm too long in the tooth.
But the nights are long and lonely
To tell the honest truth.
So I spin in confusion,
And I'd just confuse her too.
So don't tell her I was asking.
That's the safest thing to do.
Tell me she's happy.
Please tell me she still gleams.
Is she holding hands, just like in my dreams?
If she has another,
Then he's one lucky guy.
And I'll curse this crazy fool,
Who let such a chance go by.
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24. |
Namenlos
03:06
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NAMENLOS
(Ian M. Bruce)
He bore no name
He had no number
But he was master of the house.
He was loving
He was evil *
Respectively to man and mouse!
CHORUS
Time for movin' on
Time for movin' on
Namenios, Namenlos
You're really gone?
Cotton wool packing razor blades.
A Gurkha in the night.
Black magical Supernatural
Chieftain of sacrificial rites.
Mysterious, yet so obvious
You were there in black and white.
You were cool,
You were strong
I didn't think you'd lose the fight.
Rest in peace my little friend
No one's gonna take your place.
We loved you
We still do!
You left one hell of a big space.
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25. |
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26. |
Gone For The Day
03:41
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GONE FOR THE DAY
(Ian M Bruce)
Two thirty a.m., I in solitude steep
An hour and a half and still no sign of sleep.
My mind's in a spin; my stomach feels tight.
I'm one lonely soul in the night.
CHORUS:
How come, you're only here when I'm sleeping?
Until the dawn of the day,
You're here, so clear, dancing beside me.
But when I awake, you're away;
Gone for The Day.
It's too many nights that I lie here alone.
With darkness clinging like moss to a stone.
I'm resting uneasy.
How long will it be,
Till sleep drapes its veil over me?
There must be a crank in those medical schemes,
Suggesting we're subject to monochrome dreams.
For I can see blue eyes and long golden hair.
I see every colour you wear.
And then, as we're waltzing, I ask your name.
On every occasion it ends up the same.
My ears strain for answers as I'm left behind;
With a glimmer of light through the blind.
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27. |
Blodwen's Dream
04:14
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Blodwen's Dream
(Ian M.Bruce)
Blodwen dreams on life's side of the river.
Blodwen dreams on life's side of the river.
Blodwen's sister lately died;
She was playing on the other side.
Blodwen dreams on life's side of the river.
"I've never seen you look so well, my sister.
No match is the bright sunrise,
For the sparkle of those amber eyes.
This river, it don't look so wide, my sister
Let me fetch a rowing boat.
Easily to us you'll float."
"Don't you fetch no rowing boat, my sister.
I'd love to be with you all again
But here I'm feeling no more pain."
"But Mama mourns and she can't weep, my sister.
Words of comfort bring no peace.
Sympathy brings no release."
"Give Mum my love when you awake, my sister.
Tell her everything you've seen.
I'm as happy as I've ever been."
"Mama, I've been dreamin' 'bout my sister."
Mama's tears rolled down in streams.
She believed in Blodwen's Dream.
"Mama I've been talkin' to my sister
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28. |
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29. |
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MY MARTIN AND MY MOTORBIKE
(Ian M. Bruce)
CHORUS
I'm done up in leather,
I'm all black and shiny,
I'm astride two wheels,
My guitar behind me.
Two out of three things that I like.
My ma ma ma Martin and my motorbike. Uh Huh uh! Etc
Well some say, "I'm thick between the ears"
And some say, "It will end in tears."
And some say, "Why don't he use a car?"
Others just wanna swap with my guitar.
CHORUS
Well, I could be your daddy's dad
I'm a deluded old dude it's oh so sad.
Roy Rogers had his horse.
This is just me with mine, of course.
CHORUS
You'll never know if you've never tried,
The comradeship between those who ride
You'll never know how good it feels ...
On two wheels ...
Until you're ...
CHORUS
If a blue Blackbird is passin' by
And a black flight case points to the sky.
Not somethin' I think you'll often see.
It's probably me!
CHORUS
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30. |
Black Fog
04:52
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BLACK FOG
(Ian M. Bruce)
The doctor must think.......
It's out of his hands.
Is that why I'm here?
Does he say there's nothing wrong with me?
Well...there is..........you see......
I'm longing to travel
I'm frightened to fly.
I'm too far from help when I'm up in the sky.
I cower from ambition,
My yearning to roam.
I feel a little safer when I'm locked in my home.
I'm frightened of failure,
I'm scared of success.
I'm somewhere in the middle And my mind is a mess.
Sometimes I get dizzy;
I'm gonna fall off my feet.
Sometimes I'm so scared I'm gonna die in the street.
CHORUS:
Don't sit alone in Black Fog
Seek the sunshine that's waiting for you.
Relax, forget. So easy to say, I know.
But you, you won't always be feeling this way.
Have faith in yourself!
You're being overwhelmed by your phobias.
You have a fear of the fear.
You're not going mad,
You're not physically ill.
You're not going to die
And we'll wean you off pills.
We'll lift that fog so you'll clearly see.
Have faith in yourself and have trust in me.
But I take palpitations And I tighten with fright.
You say it won't kill me, But I still think it might.
I panic and I pace
And I phone for the quack.
Because I am so scared of that heart attack.
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31. |
The John Maclean March
03:55
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32. |
Ghost of The Chair
05:14
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GHOST OF THE CHAIR
(Ian M. Bruce)
CHORUS:
If I were a lighthouse in time's tortuous seas
And the morning was sailing to me.
My light occluding, I'd turn her around.
Send the morning back sailing to sea, to sea.
Send the morning back sailing to sea.
Like an ogre to children is the whip to the mare.
Like tomcats to mice are the hounds to the hare.
Their fears are belittled by mine of the chair.
So wide-eyed I lie with a mind full of care.
No chance of escape with nowhere to run.
No choice but to wait for the impending sun.
So I fear, in the morning, that I am undone.
They say that it's painless, which comforts me none.
This dawdling darkness is now at an end.
My heart beats like thunder and trembles attend.
But my heart beat its last when the shock they did send.
'Twas their task to ensure I killed never again.
But it never was in me, I never could kill.
So, a murderer, somewhere, believes I lie still.
As Ghost of The Chair I've a deed to fulfil.
If vengeance is sweet, then have it I will.
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33. |
Ye Jacobites By Name
03:25
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34. |
Will There Be a Concert?
04:13
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WILL THERE BE A CONCERT?
(Ian M. Bruce)
I can't get high.
No matter how I try.
I'm deep in the doldrums again.
I'm sinking far below.
How deep can I go,
Till the twist in this downward trend?
CHORUS:
Gipsy, oh gipsy
Within your crystal ball.
Can you see a future for this poor boy at all.
Am I to die, gipsy, in deep misery.
Or will there be a concert in remembrance of me?
It takes no restraint for me not to paint,
And sport ain't exactly my line.
I never will invent the wonder pill.
I ain't the scientific kind.
When death calls to me.
And my soul is set free.
Will my mark have been made on the land?
Will people forget? Or in grave retrospect.
Mourn a soul they could all understand?
Gipsy, oh gipsy,
Within your crystal ball.
Am I to end crawling,
Or walking so tall?
Am I to die gipsy, in deep misery?
Or will there be a concert in remembrance of me?
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