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Can A Poor Man Get A Fair Trial?

by Kyp Harness

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1.
Wonderful To See 03:24
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Wonderful to See If I never saw the dawn I’d know you look the way the first bird of dawn sings Just like the spring If I never saw the ocean I’d know you love me the way the waves come collapsin’ You do me in You’re wonderful to see You’re nothing less than a gift of God to me Sometimes when you’re close you’re far away and when you’re far away you’re near Right in my ear Sometimes it seems like there’s so many things about you that are never gonna die And I know why You’re wonderful to see You’re nothing less than a gift of God to me Mr. Franks came into town sayin’ everything he touched was his to own And his alone He sent some flunkies in a van to us and they all commanded us to bow But we didn’t know how You’re wonderful to see You’re nothing less than a gift of God to me Sunlight shimmering on a stream, I don’t know if it’s a memory from the past Or from a dream But there’s something in this vision of golden warmth that seems to be all tied up with you Out in the blue You’re wonderful to see You’re nothing less than a gift of God to me
2.
The Old Crone in the Forest 04:08
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The Old Crone in the Forest The old crone lived in the forest with her daughter beautiful and kind When the young men came around for her she kept her daughter so confined “Are you strong enough to hold her? Can you give more than you take? Until you prove these things to me, my daughter’s hand you’ll never take.” “I’m strong enough to hold her, I will give more than I get If you give your daughter’s hand to me I’ll be forever in your debt.” The old crone left the room and changed herself into the form Of her daughter’s body and walked back through the door Her beauty captured the young man’s heart like a bird inside a snare He could hardly believe the heaven that confronted him there “Will you give your life, your love,” she said, “will you give your soul to me?” “I will give my life, my love,” he said, “I will give my soul to thee.” At that the old crone laughed and her beauty fell aside “No man who’d give his soul away will ever have my daughter for his bride.” The young man struck the old crone down and ran up the stairs To the daughter’s bedroom and found that it was bare. The old crone lived in the forest with her even older slave In a house the villagers pass by as if it was a grave Staring at each other across a room so paralysed and still With the fading memory of beauty and an eternity to kill
3.
No Other Bird 02:54
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No Other Bird Like a bird caught in a storm a long long way from home Clouds of darkness without form have attacked you where you roam But someday when the clouds part, like curtains before a screen You’ll look anew into a blue no other bird has seen Like a bird who flies too high and is flung back down to earth You’ve been stranded high and dry where nothing is of worth Later on, when the wounds have healed from the pain of wisdom known You’ll fly high across a sky no other bird has flown Nothing is forever Not even forever Green pastures of August Are not found in December Fly on, fly on, fly on my friend – why live if you’re not free? Fly on somewhere beyond the end where you can be what you deserve to be The skies are clear, the sun is bright, nothing’s encumbering you The time has come to take flight and do what no other bird can do
4.
The Old Man Of The Mountain 02:24
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The Old Man of the Mountain There was an old man and he lived in the mountain Though everyone around him thought he lived with them He believed everybody was an enemy Till they could be proved to be friend He had a house full of treasure and plenty But inside he was empty as a well gone dry And all the people around him were shadows Their word were echoes that faded as they died A salesman came and approached him And broached to him a brand new plan “I believe your plan has much chance of success, I wish to invest in it” said the old man The old man and the salesman went into business They amassed their riches from sea to sea But the salesman had eyes like claws The only law he knew was gravity He took the satchel with the profits in it And he made off with it to the border But the old man of the mountain knew what was happenin’ He had the sheriff chase and capture him in short order The salesman got a life sentence The old man went back to the mountain, glad that justice was done But when he got there he found his house was empty All the treasure and plenty was gone All the people around him picked up the old man of the mountain And they took him inside Gave him food and water, and for a long time he lived there Till many years later he died.
5.
Prince of Dreams 02:40
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Prince of Dreams If I was the prince of dreams and you were my princess I would clothe my love in robes of red and grant you all your wishes We’d ride my horse of colours up the mountainside and visit All the cities of gold that taunt us with their beauty and their distance After we’d been cleansed by rain And purified by fire We’d find our village far below And quietly retire And we would live there humbly, wanting nothing, finally free In love forever, if I was the prince of dreams But I am not the prince of dreams nor even a relation I’m just another toiler in the vineyard of creation I don’t have no special answer for this or any situation I can’t save you from your sorrow or from your expectation And I do not know the prince of dreams I’ve only heard his laughter In the night before I touch you In the light the morning after When we rise and find our perfect love has left us lost at sea He is standing in the shadows, prince of dreams But you and I we can’t look back, we’ve only got each other And this love that sometimes wounds us, sometimes heals the wounds we suffer There’ll be days the sky may crush us till there’s nothing left to offer And nights our love is glowing like a candle on an altar But when I take you by the hand And look into your eyes And see an endless emptiness Nothing could satisfy Then I know it’s he you take me for Of please do not mistake me for The one I’ll never be, the prince of dreams
6.
The Assassin 05:16
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7.
The King and the Pauper 03:22
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The King and the Pauper There was a king who had everything Everything except what he truly desired He could make the evening stars sing But he couldn’t make them sing in a choir He had every type of invention and device To utilize for his pleasure He had privilege and influence on ice To toy with at his leisure He knew the world and his role in it He had control and he knew what to control with it The king rode in his carriage down the lane And came upon a pauper lying there “I can’t move,” the pauper said “my foot is sprained Would you kindly go around me if you care?” The king said “I will not go around” Told his men to move the pauper off the road But though all the men bent down It seemed they just could not get ahold They couldn’t lift him up So the king got angry Said “Get out of the way I’ll do it myself, God help me” He struggled till his face was red The pauper just lay there and smiled “By what magic do you do this?” the king said “There is no magic,” said the pauper, “you’re a child.” “I insist you tell me now,” said the king “Or else I will have you killed.” The pauper laughed “You can’t do anything You never did and you never will I don’t believe in your system That divides, that excludes In the name of liberty And I’ll never move till it ceases to be.” The king said “I insist you tell me now” “Alright” the pauper said, and leapt up to his feet And instructed the king to lie down As he climbed up to the carriage seat Up behind the clouds there was a rumbling As the pauper took up the reins And drove the carriage round the king As he made his way from his domain And the king lying on the ground Watched as the future of his kingdom unwound.
8.
Back to Life 03:30
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Back to Life When the day is too long And I can’t carry on When I’m waiting for the night There’s a tune that I hear Whispering softly in my ear Your love sings me, your love brings me Back to life Can’t remember where I’ve been Genghis Khan or Gunga Din I’m only hitchin’ this ride But no matter where I am I’m only livin’ for the time when Your love sings me, your love brings me Back to life I was in the whirlwind Till you reeled me in again I was almost blown away When I’m starin’ at the wall When I’m nowhere at all As if I’d never seen the light When I’m naked and alone You roll away the stone Your love sings me, your love brings me Back to life
9.
The Snake 03:30
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The Snake The maiden went out walkin’ down by the shore She met a snake who said “Kiss me, I’ll give you what you never had before” “Oh no” said the maiden, “I’ve heard about this And I know how it ends, you’ll have to go someplace else to get that kiss” “Oh no” said the snake “I’ve got what you want” The maiden said “Don’t taunt me” The snake said “It’s no taunt” The maiden said “Can you give me money?” The snake said “I’ve got no money it’s true But I can give you what everybody in the world pursues It brings countries into ruin, it brings nations to their knees It makes strong men beg for mercy, makes women’s hearts turn cold and freeze It makes the babies cry, stops the tiger in its tracks It’s the last sight a beggar sees as he goes slidin’ through the cracks To the bottom of the barrel, in the shadow of the noose In the trenches of the war for which there is no truce In the broken, bloodied streets and in the widow’s dust In the courtroom of the law that is neither kind or just” “Alright,” said the maiden, “I’ve heard about this all I can take” She shrugged and bent down to kiss the lips of the snake Just then her jealous suitor came over the hill with an axe Chopped the head off of the snake, took the maiden’s hand and took her to task They got married and one by one the days they slowly crept They had a son and later on he murdered them as they slept.
10.
The Criminal 03:13
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The Criminal “Off with his head! Off with his head!” Said the queen but the prince said “Why not reconsider? Don’t forget he still owes us some bread Why not get the money now and kill him later?” “Hey” said the queen, “that’s a good idea “Take him down to the dungeon and torture him till he starts talkin’” “Alright” said the prince, “well, I guess I’ll see ya” Said to the criminal: “Come on, big boy, let’s start walkin’” They went down to the dungeon where they saw Joe “Hey Joe, are you busy?” “Well, yes I guess you could say so This torturin’ is big business you know And I never dreamed that it could pay so.” “Fair enough well here’s another customer,” said the prince “Work him over and we’ll see what he shows us.” “Just the usual?” asked Joe. “Yeah, within an inch! We gotta get the lowdown on some money that he owes us” Just then the criminal spoke up and said “It’s the queen – I gave the money to her though she told me not to say it to ya Why don’t you go and ask her if she knows what I mean? Who knows – maybe she’ll even pay it to ya.” “Alright” said the prince, “I’ll take your word although I hate it But if I find you’ve been lyin’ you’re gonna get it worse, I warn ya” He ran up to the queen’s chambers but found they were vacated She’d run off with her husband’s brother to California The prince ran back to the dungeon spitting with his rage, Looked around in vain to find the man who upset him so “Where’d he go?” he said to Joe, “How’d he escape from the cage?” “He didn’t escape,” said Joe “I let him go. “Come to think of it I’m not too happy ‘bout all this torturing you’ve made me do With no pension plan for all these years You’ve taken advantage of me,” said Joe as he looked down at his shoes “You’ve never paid attention to my tears.” “Oh come now, Joe,” said the prince “there’s no need to get riled You won’t get a notion to torture me now will ya?” “I’m not gonna torture you,” Joe told him with a smile: “I’m gonna torture you, I’m gonna kill ya.”
11.
The Jester 02:38
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The Jester There was a jester who couldn’t make anybody laugh So he was always out of work People thought his jokes were too clever by half And when he told them he sounded like a jerk He walked down the street with his family behind him They had no place to go ‘cause he didn’t have any money Lookin’ in garbage cans to see what was inside them All because he wasn’t funny There was a man who never happy Though everybody thought he should have been He had love, he had money, he had family But no evidence of happiness was seen Nobody around him could remember The last time they ever saw him laugh Somebody thought they saw him smile one September But that just turned out to be gas The man who was never happy met the jester who was never funny And they really hit it off The man who was never happy took the jester in and gave him money And set his kids up in a loft The man who was never happy loved the jester who was never funny Because he didn’t have to feel bad about bein’ sad The jester who was never funny loved the man who was never happy ‘Cause when he couldn’t make him laugh he didn’t have to feel bad. They lived together till the age of a hundred and five And they died on the very same night Their funeral was broadcast everywhere live And the people watched it far and wide And as the caskets were being carried out by the bereaved They slipped and went shooting down the stairs like roller coasters And were smashed to pieces in the middle of the street As the whole world rocked with laughter.
12.
Every Day Has Troubles of Its Own 04:42
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Every Day Has Troubles Of its Own There’s an old man starin’ at the setting sun Wonderin’ to himself if it’ll be the last one The days are getting shorter, shadows are lengthening He feels it in his bones he might not make it to the spring But he looks up to the sky and he sees a ray No doubt in his mind it’s gonna take him away Jesus says every day has troubles of its own You’re born alone, you die alone Nothing’s written in stone When you’re born or when you’re grown She’s lookin’ for her husband, if he’s still alive She waiting for something that will never arrive He’s another casualty, one among scores Of another war, in a world of many wars She looks up at the sky and she sees a ray No doubt in her mind it’s gonna take her away Jesus says every day has troubles of its own You’re born alone, you die alone Nothing’s written in stone When you’re born or when you’re grown A little baby’s lookin ‘round with eyes as wide as the sun Sittin’ on her mama’s lap on a subway run She sees the dirt and the trash, the people tired and bored Like she’s lookin’ at silver and gold and jewels and bright coloured clothes On dukes and ladies in the palace of the lord And she looks up in the sky and she sees a ray No doubt in her mind it’s gonna take her away Jesus says every day has troubles of its own You’re born alone, you die alone Nothing’s written in stone When you’re born or when you’re grown

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released November 23, 2021

Paul Linklater
Kyp Harness - guitar, vocal, piano
Brett Randall - bass
Paul Linklater - everything else

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Kyp Harness Toronto, Ontario

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