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The Old Captain's September

by Matthew Sanborn

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1.
The Sea Will Swallow Venice 05:48
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The sea will swallow Venice We'll never go there again Never been there the first time Hafta cancel my plans with Jane Cancel my plans with Jane All things must come to their ending It's the nature of all in the world Shame how it's rarely smooth-n-easy Like how many oysters have a pearl And it's the nature of us humans The superior life on planet earth To lay in ruins and to waste all we touch King Midas in reverse Rub a lantern for three wishes Take a mansion and a yacht And for the world ... domination World peace is some kinda joke These days it's just a joke If I hear one more vain ultimatum One more egotistic demand I swear I will bust - I don't want to hear it At least into tears, if not in spirit Oh Satan, here we all come now The handbasket overflows How can we derail this cursed train Before it pulls into the depot Now Love is no place for the timid You must be rockem-sockem tough A steadfast lighthouse on a rocky shore but sometimes a powderpuff How 'bout a pumice powderpuff Lord bless us now and keep us And in thy mercy sustain The kind, the tender, and the gentle Please let me be on that train I want to be on that train It's time to zero the balance Pay the price, 'cause it ain't free Oh Jane my friend I've lost you Meet me in Venice in the sea Meet me in Venice in the sea
2.
The Old Captain's September 05:21
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The starcharts of the Old Captain Won't lead us to every corner of the world So light a pipe and think it over While in this harbor town Not often sure just which choice to choose What's the difference between one four and two twos Either way what's the Captain got to loose Knowing all too well the effects of the booze Smokin' to relax, or for a minute when uptight drinks are here and drinks are there - drinks all through the night (And in the morning too) Houses so tight with no space to grow a lawn He'd love a garden, but the soil here is wrong The tides have come and gone and come and gone and gone A drop in the ocean - a clear sky at dawn Raise the mainsail 'cause he can't stop the world The Old Captains sings the blues But they don't sound like when old delta men sing The September breeze will have to do He got sand in his hair and shoes Lonely evenings give him the blues But they don't come out like on the radio Here in September's new moon Smokin' to relax, or for a minute when uptight Drinks are here and everywhere - drinks will last all night (Into the afternoon) Smokin' to relax, or for a minute when uptight Drinks here, there and everywhere to make it through the night (And I'll have one too)
3.
Hey Little Emma 02:07
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Shedding peanut shells across the leafy lawn Don't even realize it till long after dawn Drinking bowls of hope tea sweetened up with love Oh you sapling, oh you little dove Born to love the mist sailing in the breeze Born to love the tears running down the trees If a year goes by and all you do is rhyme Will you know to be around at the same time
4.
The Things I'm Not 04:24
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I'm not a flower to be plucked form a garden I'm not a pencil that needs to be sharpened I'm not dirt to be sucked up by your vacuum cleaner Not a steak to be stabbed or a bun and a wiener I'm not an item to be stolen I'm not your night to go bowlin' I'm not a ride to be hitched Not a train to catch or track to be switched ... a train to catch or track to be switched I'm not a ride to be hitched ... and ditched I'm not a car to be hot-wired I'm not an acquisition to be acquired I'm not a desert to be savored I'm not a horse to be favored I'm not booze to make you drunk I'm not a special outfit from some old cedar trunk I'm not your money to spend I'm not a message to send - no I'm not a message to send And I'm not your money to spend I'm not something soft to harden I'm not something wrong to pardon I am not a poem to be written I am not someone easily smitten I'm not someone to play your game I'm not someone who feels the same I'm not a prize you can claim I'm not one to feel shame, no no Not one to feel shame And I'm not a prize you can claim
5.
I've Sailed Beyond the Sun 04:00
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I put myself out to sea Far from the shore Goodbye my loved ones at home I'm gonna live some more Are you waiting for me I made friends with the captain He set me right Gave me work in the days Told me stories at night Oh but I love what I remember I love my home Yeah I love hat I remember I love my home The sea is always lovely When it's smooth and when it's rough I had a couple close ones I can't seem to get enough But will you wait for me If I were to change my mind after all that I have done Know that you're still in my heart I've sailed beyond the sun
6.
Saint Beverly 03:23
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Saint Beverly's army of one Comes to hear your delicate prayer She hears what you pray and she knows Thank god she was there One giant angel on her side There to catch you if you backslide With your guidance we abide Saint Beverly When your borders are troubled and messed up She'll make things clear When the window of your heart becomes foggy She'll make things clear Thank god she's here One giant angel on her side There to catch you if you backslide With your guidance we abide Saint Beverly Saint Beverly will whisper in your ear My child, your love is sincere Saint Beverly's army has come You're safe for now But if trouble rises again She'll be there for your private pow-wow With one giant angel on her side There to catch you if you backslide With your guidance we abide Saint Beverly Saint Beverly will whisper in your ear You may confide in Saint Beverly Saint Beverly's army of one Comes to answer your delicate prayer She hears what you pray and she knows Thank god she was there
7.
A Brighter Day/A Fair Day Dawned 02:17
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A fair day dawned And accursed sunlight Contradicted the darkness Of my heart's plight For my lover I surely did spite Feeling so awkward, in danger and sad I guarded my spirit as though iron-clad And to my heart's pain this I did add I burned all her letters I returned her gifts I erased every good memory Now beside all my life's rubble, torn photos and tears I have a new enemy And despite sunny days, it's in me
8.
Too Much Baby 05:32
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One little path up that mountain So narrow and steep One skinny path up that mountain My footing I could not keep No, my footing I could not keep The mountain was too high Too high to climb Too high to climb Too high to climb The river current is swift and fierce babe But I went out on a limb The river current so swift and fierce that I couldn't swim, no no I could not swim The river was too wide Too wide to cross Too wide to cross It was too wide to cross The valley sinks down into shadow The paths were crossed Ohh so far down in shadow I got lost, oh yes, I got lost The valley was too low Too low to see Too low to see Too low to see The mighty ocean is oh so vast love With raging waves over the brink The mighty ocean is oh so vast that My little boat did sink - right down My little boat did sink The ocean was too deep Too deep to sail Too deep to sail Too deep to sail Too high, too wide, too low, too deep Too high, too wide, too low, too deep Too deep
9.
Damage 03:51
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Oh my troubled one Please don't resort to our tongue There are weapons more direct To produce a suitable effect Like a bare fist or a stick Make it simple, make it quick In the long run it'll be Easier for me To believe it was a spurt Of anger from your hurt But you can't take back what you've said You've damaged me from inside your head No, you can't take back what you've said You've damaged me from inside your head
10.
Norm's Backyard 04:20
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11.
'Tis Autumn 04:52
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The trees are bare There's a chill in the air 'Tis autumn I declare With this fanfare Everybody who said they were gonna leave Ain't left town - they're still around Everybody who said they were gonna stay They went away - to my dismay What's mine that I don't share It's not worth the trouble - I swear It's not that I'm unaware But these moments are so rare I acutely care 'Bout what 's going on out there Just need a little time to prepare I must listen to Our Prayer Everybody who said they were gonna leave Ain't left town - they're still around Everybody who said they were gonna stay They went away - to my dismay The trees are bare There's a chill in the air 'Tis autumn I declare With this fanfare
12.
When The Sun Of My Life Goes Down 05:15
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Evening comes, I'm with me Walk the hidden path to smell the sea Sit on the stairs that go into the bay Rising tide comin' my way Nothin' goin' on but the end of the day I pick up my guitar, I begin to play after a while, a drag on the pipe Nothin' goin' on - the moment is ripe The sun has set down again in the west If the sky is art I'd say it's the best It's never the same - the artist won't rest To see this beauty is to be blessed Peeling paint on the bricks behind me The wood and sand I sit upon A seagull in the wind reminds me There is nothin' goin' on Hey, sun in the west, please take the long way home Ice cubes won't last through the lullaby Please keep my soul in your golden honeycomb Come back to religion 'fore I die I want to feel this peace when the sun of my life goes down I want to feel this peace when the sun of my life goes down The sun will take the long way home
13.
Sail On Silas 05:37
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Sailing far from your home Forsaking ties that have grown Into what you don't want to be Sail on, sail on Built yourself a new home Just for yourself as you roam Hear the wind and the wave symphony Sail on, sail on Sail on Silas, live your dream come true Sail on, sail on Silas Time to slip away - almost icebound Give yourself enough rope - have the run of the round Loving the newness of each harbor town Sail on, sail on Daniel the brother of you Envies and does approve So carry on captain and crew Sail on, sail on Sail on Silas, live your dream come true Sail on,sail on Silas Sail on Silas, live your dream come true Sail on, sail on Silas You know that love makes no sense So don't waste your time believing with pretense After all the sea is immense Sail on, sail on Sail on Silas, live your dream come true Sail on, sail on Silas Sail on Silas, live your dream come true Sail on, sail on Silas Sail on, Sail on Sail on, Sail on Sail on, Sail on Silas
14.
The Damn Game 02:32
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Beginners are rarely winners I had my eyes filled with the prize I had no focus on the hocus-pocus I didn't see it was lame to play the game It's a shame 'bout the game It's a sin if you win It is too if you lose But it's free vis-a-vis All my wits broke to bits Lost and spent is the rent On the place lacking grace Where I stayed and we played That damn game it's a shame Didn't think I would sink Come the news that I lose By the rule that it's cruel Just to play the game we played

about

The songs on The Old Captain's September were all written while I was in Provincetown, MA in 1997-98 and recorded there as well in 1998 on my Yamaha MT4X four-track cassette recorder, and in a backyard shack I deemed the "Meditation Shack."

As I was in a transitional phase of life, travelling a lot, and being surrounded by a historic and active seaside town full of enchanting sights & sounds, etc..., I couldn't help myself but to write songs with mostly seafaring themes.

Eventually, back in my hometown of Madison, WI, my friend Tom Hanson helped me transfer the tracks to his Yamaha MD8 eight-track mini disc recorder and we added a few overdubs on various songs.

The two final tracks, "Sail On Silas" and "The Damn Game" were left off the CD when I made it in 1998 but I decided to include them here.
Also, you will have access to all the pages of the original CD insert if you download the album.

credits

released September 15, 1999

All music & lyrics by MTS

Recorded and mixed by MTS & Tom Hanson
on a couple of porta-studios and some cheap mics at:
- The Meditation Shack in Provincetown, MA (Sept./Oct. 1998)
- Various living rooms in Athens, GA (Nov. 1998)
- Dank Booth in Madison, WI (Jan.-May 1999)

Mastered by Trevor Sadler at Mastermind Productions

Black & white photos by MTS, Chet Jones, Kate Wolf

Thank You page painting by Polly Burnell

CD cover layout by Tim Lang and MTS

Instrumentalists:

MTS - 6 &12 string guitars,vocals, bass, accordion, organs,
finger snaps,hand snare, chimes, tenor guitar, piano,
bicycle, floor tom
Kris Delmhorst - cello, fiddle, vocals
Kate Wolf - one-string electric bass, vocals
Scott Caldwell - drum kit & hand drums
Sara Julian - trombone
Michael Wegner - mandolin
William Tonks - dobro

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Matthew Sanborn Madison, Wisconsin

Matthew Sanborn is a musician & songwriter in Madison, Wisconsin. Long before he ever knew he'd be a musician, his first love was music. After decades of off again-on again times, it has become a long term relationship.

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