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Anywhere But Here

by Norman Lamont

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1.
I took a plane To a faraway country I knew at once I had made a mistake Something in the tired air Cut me off from my family No matter how lonely the desert The desert was better than this I found my niche Writing threats and entreaties My claws were long And my overheads low Drinking at the World's End With some thugs from the borders No matter how ugly the desert The desert was better than this Miles away I was miles away when it happened Standing watching the quiet river Standing watching the quiet river Freeze The knives were out When we got to Linlithgow The memories long And the weaknesses few With the rain and the razor blades These days I don't get out much No matter how empty the desert The desert was better than this
2.
See - in the woods In a clearing there stretches a wall Flaking with ages and claimed By the gently closing hand of ivy There we stand As the moon yellow stains on the night Howling our prayers to the night Till our shadows Overshadow us Night has you Silence has you Memory has you Conversations overheard Fantasy has you Heroes have you And I will have you Sleep has you Waking has you Chance can have you The fear of death too soon Longing has you Shame has you And I will have you And I intend to be the one, the Wolf Who Snared the Moon
3.
Polecats 01:24
Polecats came into my house last night They rearranged my books They turned the chairs to face the wall And I don’t like how that looks They read my business letters They helped themselves to wine And they cast their eyes, their little eyes Over everything that’s mine. Now I don’t know where polecats live In nests or in the ground I only know I’ll find them If they can be found It’s become a debt of honour And one I must fulfil Disordered books must be avenged And they will
4.
Leaving 03:37
The way you spoke of him last night (Oh no, it's not the time) Saw your eyes reflect his light (All the way to leaving) We both knew there'd come a day (Oh no, it's not the time) Beauty needs more room to play (All the way to leaving) 'Try to kiss the joy that flies' Hard advice to realise Love is not a compromise That's the way we'll leave it In our day this was our town (Oh no, it's not the time) Can't there be some winding down? (All the way to leaving) 'Try to kiss the joy that flies' If I said that, I apologise These days I don't feel so wise That's the way we'll leave it I brush a hair across your brow (Oh no, it's not the time) More than that escapes me now (All the way to leaving) If you think you've had your fill Call me, I'll be waiting still Just grit your teeth and say you will That's the way we'll leave it
5.
When I first came home from Egypt Those were different times There were women in the cafe and They put their hands in mine There was money in my pocket There was power in my name I was following my very own pillar of fire And I knew nothing of shame But now I've failed to settle I'm rejected by my host The women go back to their magazines And that's what kills me the most I'm on my own, I'm on my own... When I first came home from Egypt I bought myself a gun It was an old 45 of such a type That might have helped the West get won But they laughed me out of the Cowgate I had to give the thing away I left it lying on a chair in the Waverly Bar Probably still there today These were the days I squandered They were windy cold and mean I still get goosebumps on the back of my hands When I think what I could have been I'm on my own ... When I first came home from Egypt Who should I meet but you? Giving me your human story From your corner of the human zoo You threw your arms around my neck Kissed me on the cheek Said we could have had something beautiful If I wasn't such an antique It's printed in my memory As you walked away The way you swung that ass from side to side It gets me through my day I'm on my own ... When I first came home from Egypt Life was young and sweet Now the glass falls out the windows As I walk down Princes Street
6.
Winter Sky 04:02
Empty woods Duffel hoods Snowflakes in your eye Crows about to fly Winter sky Arm in arm Silver charm Blue light in your eye Crows about to fly Winter sky Holding on Holding on February soon be gone Morning run Orange sun On the black horizon Crows about to fly Winter sky
7.
Well the day is wide open I want togo through All that’s holding me here Is some dream about you If I have a destination Right now it’s still unclear I’ll know when I get there Cause it’ll be anywhere but here I sat in the basement Nursing my loss But there’s no point building bridges When there’s no-one to cross I feel like Atlas Under the weight of the atmosphere So I gotta lay it down gently And get me anywhere but here The links are all broken Nothing’s making any sense It’s like saying your name too loud in this town Is some kind of moral offence This used to be a fine place But then the spirit just disappeared I don’t know where I’m going next But it’ll be anywhere but here I got to go the distance Completely disappear Wake up in the morning dew Anywhere but here I’m wearing that crucifix You gave me one time I don’t take to religion But it isn’t a crime Just a little insurance Until such times as it’s sincere Got to find my protection Find my direction Anywhere but here
8.
This Horse 04:25
I had a horse, she was a real fine mare She had a power that I grew to love I used to ride her to the ends of the earth Where the sky cast wide above But it's one twist too many in the road One more dried up river bed This horse don’t walk no more This horse is dead This horse don’t walk no more This horse is dead People used to come admire my horse When I rode her into town She was high and she was strong And she put her good foot down But now everybody’s got their own little pony Doubts run around my head This horse don’t walk no more This horse is dead This horse don’t walk no more This horse is dead I used to wake in the middle of the night With a nudging in my side She would take me to the great outdoors And we would ride baby ride But all that riding took baby nowhere And now I just stay in bed This horse don’t walk no more Guess it’s dead This horse don’t walk no more This horse is dead I used to sing thesesongs For the money, for the fun Now it all seems too much like work I guess my singing days are done I just let the wind blow away the tunes And all the clever things I said This horse don’t walk no more - Dead dead dead dead This horse don’t walk no more This horse is dead And I’m not saying you’re to blame It’s nobody’s fault but mine A horse can only run so far And then the horse runs out of time But you can wave to me baby from the river bank I’m going to sail my boat instead This horse don’t walk no more Bye Bye This horse don’t walk no more Bye Bye Bye Bye
9.
Come With Me 04:37
So at length it came to pass Wisdom made his heart like glass Not the first and not the last His journey was a long one Tears of light rolled down his cheek He said be careful what you seek It's not enough to be a freak You have to be a strong one Come with me I was lying on the grass Summer days were drifting past David Crosby, Mama Cass The sun upon my eyelids I'd walked away from this and that Found myself a little flat All around me as I sat Came singing from the silence Come with me Come with me I'll lay my hands on you I'll lay demands on you You'll learn to love it too And through time I came to see What a piece of work was me All that wasted energy So fickle and so frail Sternly then he came to me Handed back my misery It's not enough to be set free You have to love the jail Come with me
10.
Nicole 04:10
I went to the doctor, he said Where do I begin? You got this thing about Nicole and it’s getting underneath your skin I went the next day, he said Where do I start? You don’t seem to want to fight it and it’s eating up your heart I went to the priest and he said Man You are the victim of forces we don’t fully understand He said From where you're hanging now you ain’t got far to fall So if you’re gonna burn, well, best burn with Nicole I went to the analyst He said That’s fifty quid If it’s not your superego, man, it’s gotta be your id I was still there on his couch as the night began to fall Free associating fantasies about Nicole I went to my mother and she said Son You seem to have forgotten that I’m still your number one I said Mother dear there’s a clock upon the wall Frozen at the moment when I met Nicole I went to my wife and she said Joe If you’re gonna tell me something tell me something I don’t know She said I’ve got some sympathy for what you’re going through Cause ever since I saw her, man, I love her too.
11.
Well he flew in from Miami with a bagful of bones I was singing in the airport bar, just to pay off some loans Two sleepless eyes in an unmade face He saw me at the bar, he said "This must be the place!" Said he was looking for a room for the night He said his name was Bob Dylan, I said "Ha ha, right!" He spent the night at my place on a couple of chairs In the morning he was up and off and down the stairs I found him in the marketplace, busking for cash Playing my guitar in a rough and ready kind of fashion A voice like a hangover looking for a cure I said you sound like Bob Dylan, he said "Why sure." Twenty miles away, high security hospital They were looking for a guy who'd jumped the wall They were looking in the streets they were looking in the zoo No way of knowing what this kind of man might do They only thing they'd got on him while he was away Was he was into Bob Dylan in a big big way. My friend with his busking made a couple of pounds And with a couple of mine that got a couple of rounds We sat there reminiscing back down the line To the sixties, how we hadn't recognized them at the time When this guy burst in, grabbed my friend by the sleeve And says he's Bob Dylan - I thought Man, time to leave They got stuck into each other, I never saw the stranger's face Barman's yelling at me Get these guys outta the place Spitting out language, they were spitting out blood It was like watching Cain and Abel, before the flood. Got out to the street and the stranger was gone My friend Bob Dylan just picked up his bag of bones (This is what he told me ...) 'That guy there used to be a country western star Who put down his roots and never wandered far With his Jewish mama and five kids on the farm It had been too damn long since he'd done any harm. His wife cut his throat, he had to get born again I got his job, he's been after me since then.' What about the bones? He said 'I carry them with me They remind me of a guy I knew in 63 He could have been a big shot, I told him back then But he turned into a junkie - well I ain't no judge of men.' That was his tale, as the evening wore on When I woke up in the night Bob Dylan had gone. He'd taken my guitar and my cowboy boots My country singing tie and my country singing suit Left me his bones, and some kinda book It might have been a Bible, I never got time to look 'Cause they kicked down the door, they walked in real slow They said 'We're looking for Bob Dylan' I said 'Whaddya know?' These days I don't work much, guess I'm past my prime I'm growing me a beard, that passes the time I'm living in the country but I'll get across the wall When I get a better grip of my short-term recall Some days I feel bitter, some days I feel worse I just write another song and play it to the nurse.
12.

about

A compilation of the most popular songs from my Wolf, Romantic Fiction and Roadblock albums.

Remastered by Daniel Davis.

Anywhere But Here re-recorded by Daniel Davis.

Thanks to Erik of EDA Music for kicking off this project adn to all the musicians and friends who gave life to these songs.

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released December 13, 2012

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Norman Lamont Edinburgh, UK

Norman Lamont has been delighting audiences on the Edinburgh songwriter scene since 1990. His trademarks are the diversity of his musical styles, emotionally honest lyrics and a droll sense of humour.

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