RELEASE DATE: 5/12/2023
PURCHASE: True North Records
Amazon
iTunes
REVIEWS:
Here comes the heat, there’s no relief
Social behavior
Beyond belief
Throw those punches, drop that ball
Commit to nothing, excuse it all
Here comes the future
Here comes the fall
Time takes its toll
But in my soul
I’m on a roll
Time takes its toll
But in my soul
I’m on a roll
The wolf has fixed you with its stare
Finality is hard to bear
Continue breathing
And beware
Eat what’s before you – pay the bill
There goes your bonehouse, right down that hill
Time waits for no one, and never will
Time takes its toll
But in my soul
I’m on a roll
Time takes its toll
But in my soul
I’m on a roll
I had a dream. There was a storm
And all the earth was without form
The sun was cold, the ether warm
Pressure building left and right
Timer ticking, just out of sight
I’m taking shelter
In the light
Time takes its toll
But in my soul
I’m on a roll.
I’m on a roll.
I’m on a roll.
I’m on a roll.
27 July 2020 – San Francisco
TOUT ME SOURIT
Hurlement de colère, hurlement de tristesse
Voici venir la chaleur, sans soulagement
Comportement social qui défie toute croyance
Lance ces coups de poing, échappe cette balle
Ne t’engage à rien du tout, dispense toi de tout
Voici le futur, voici la chute
Le temps prend son dû
Mais en mon âme
Tout me sourit
Le loup t’a regardé fixement
La finalité est difficile à supporter
Continue à respirer
Et prends garde
Mange ce qui est devant toi – paie la facture
Voilà ton paquet d’os sur une pente descendante
Le temps n’attend personne, et ne le fera jamais
Le temps prend son dû
Mais en mon âme
Tout me sourit
J’ai fait un rêve, il y avait une tempête
Et toute la terre était sans forme
Le soleil était froid, et l’éther chaud
La pression monte à gauche et à droite
Tic tac d’une minuterie, juste hors de vue
Je me mets à l’abri dans la lumière
Le temps prend son dû
Mais en mon âme
Tout me sourit
SF, 27 juillet 2020
Traduction français par Marcel Moussette et Jane Macaulay.
Musicians:
Bruce Cockburn / Vocal, Resonator Guitar
Gary Craig / Drums, Percussion
Viktor Krauss / Upright Bass
Shawn Colvin / Guest Vocal
Colin Linden / Electric & Resophonic Guitars
Ann & Regina McCrary / Vocals
The stumbling well-intentioned fool
The deft, the oaf, the witless pawn
The golden one life smiles upon
The squalling infant in mid-squall
The neighbors fighting down the hall
The list is long – as I recall
Our orders said to love them all
The cynic and the crooked priest
The woman wise, the sullen beast
The enemy outside the gate
The friend who leaves it all to fate
The drunk who tags the bathroom stall
The proud boy headed to his fall,
The list is long – as I recall
Our orders said to love them all
The pastor preaching shades of hate
The self-inflating head of state
The black and blue, the starved for bread
The dread, the red, the better dead
The sweet, the vile, the small, the tall
The one who rises to the call
The list is long – as I recall
Our orders said to love them all
The one who lets his demons win
The one we think we’re better than
A challenge great – as I recall
Our orders said to love them all
7 December 2020 – San Francisco
ORDONNANCES
Le juste, le miséricordieux, le cruel
Le sot bien intentionné qui trébuche
Le rusé, le niais, le pion naïf
La personne en or à laquelle la vie sourit
Le bébé au milieu d’une crise de larmes
Les voisins se querellant au bout du corridor
La liste est longue – en autant que je me souvienne
Nos ordonnances nous disent de les aimer tous
Le cynique et le prêtre pervers
La femme sage, la bête maussade
L’ennemi à la porte
L’ami qui laisse tout aller au destin
L’ivrogne qui laisse sa marque sur les murs des toilettes
Le Proud Boy en route vers sa chute
La liste est longue – en autant que je me souvienne
Nos ordonnances nous disent de les aimer tous
Le pasteur prêchant des nuances de haine
Le chef d’état auto-gonflable
Les maltraités, celui privé de pain
La terreur, le rouge, le mieux mort
Le doux l’abject le petit le grand
Celui qui répond à l’appel
La liste est longue en autant que je me souvienne
Nos ordonnances nous disent de les aimer tous
Celui qui laisse gagner ses démons
Celui dont on pense que l’on est meilleur
Un grand défi – en autant que je m’en souvienne
Nos ordonnances nous disent de les aimer tous
SF, 7 décembre 2020
Traduction français par Marcel Moussette et Jane Macaulay.
Musicians:
Bruce Cockburn / Vocal, Acoustic Guitar
Gary Craig / Percussion
Viktor Krauss / Upright Bass
Jim Hoke / Marimba, Clarinet, Saxophones
Jeff Taylor / Accordion, Dulceola
Chris Brown / Drums
What will go right will go right
Push come to shove
It’s all about love
The sight of your smile fills my heart with light
There are days when tedium rules
Others when you wish that were so
Push come to shove
It’s all about love
Or so it would seem in the great to and fro
I could sail what’s left of the seven seas
I could swim with the bears where the ice used to be
I could look in the mirror and blow myself a kiss
But reality calls and it comes down to this:
The place that you hold in my life
Is the axis it all spins around
Push come to shove
It’s all about love
The ring of your laugh is the sweetest of sounds
4 September 2022 – San Francisco
EN FIN DE COMPTE
Ce qui va mal aller va mal aller
Ce qui va bien aller va bien aller
En fin de compte
Tout cela tourne autour de l’amour
La vue de ton sourire remplit mon cœur de lumière
Il y a des jours où règne l’ennui
D’autres quand tu souhaites qu’il en soit ainsi
En fin de compte
Tout cela tourne autour de l’amour
Ou ainsi que s’en aurait l’air dans le grand ici-et-là
Je pourrais naviguer sur ce qu’il reste des sept mers
Je pourrais me baigner avec les ours là où déjà il y avait de la glace
Je pourrais me regarder dans un miroir et me souffler un baiser
Mais la réalité m’appelle et ça revient à cela :
La place que tu occupes dans ma vie
Est l’axe autour duquel tout gravite
En fin de compte
Tout cela tourne autour de l’amour
Le tintement de ton rire est le plus mélodieux des sons
SF, 4 septembre 2022
Traduction français par Marcel Moussette et Jane Macaulay.
Musicians:
Bruce Cockburn / Vocal, Acoustic Guitar
Gary Craig / Drums, Percussion
Viktor Krauss / Upright Bass
Shawn Colvin / Guest Vocal
Jenny Scheinman / Violin
Colin went down to the water
Beckoning path — such a beautiful sight
Colin went down to the water
Bound for the infinite, finally unbound
Freed in the spirit, a way forward found
Into the current — no slowing down
Colin went down to the water
Once in a while we lose track of the way
Colin went down to the water
Forget where the poles are, the plot of the play
Colin went down to the water
Lifted away, taken out of the fight
Gone to where all of the choices are right
The sea’s a receptacle brimming with light
Colin went down to the water
Oh —
Colin went down to the water
Colin went down to the water
Sparkling horizon can lay your heart bare
Colin went down to the water
Stare til the glare is the only thing there
Colin went down to the water
“What’s become of me?” cries the rooster at dawn
Wind in the palms plays a sorrowful song
One singer’s singing and one singer’s gone
Colin went down to the water
Oh —
Colin went down to the water
Colin went down to the water
21 July 2021 – Maui
COLIN EST DESCENDU JUSQU’À L’EAU
Sillage de la lune sur l’océan ce soir
Colin est descendu jusqu’à l’eau
Sentier qui interpelle – tellement beau à voir
Colin est descendu jusqu’à l’eau
En partance vers l’infini, finalement délivré
Libéré dans son esprit, une voie trouvée vers l’avant
Colin est descendu jusqu’à l’eau
De temps en temps on perd le sens du chemin
Colin est descendu jusqu’à l’eau
Perd le Nord de vu, oublie l’intrigue de la pièce
Colin est descendu jusqu’à l’eau
Emporté, hors de combat
Parti là où tous les choix sont bons
La mer est un réceptacle resplendissant de lumière
Colin est descendu jusqu’à l’eau
Oh –
Colin est descendu jusqu’à l’eau (2)
Un horizon étincelant peut vous dénuder le cœur
Colin est descendu jusqu’à l’eau
Regarde fixement jusqu’à ce qu’il ne reste plus que le reflet
Colin est descendu jusqu’à l’eau
” Qu’est-ce qui m’arrive ” s’écrie le coq à l’aurore
Le vent dans les palmiers joue un chant plein de tristesse
Un chanteur qui chante et un chanteur qui n’est plus là
Colin est descendu jusqu’à l’eau
Oh –
Colin est descendu jusqu’à l’eau
Maui, 21 juillet 2021
Traduction français par Marcel Moussette et Jane Macaulay.
Musicians:
Bruce Cockburn / Vocal, Acoustic Guitar
Gary Craig / Drums, Percussion
Viktor Krauss / Upright Bass
Allison Russell / Harmony
Buddy Miller / Harmonies
Colin Linden / Electric Guitar, Harmony
Jim Hoke / Marimba, Bass Clarinet
Humans land hard on the border
Bank comes down heavy when the mortgage ain’t paid
Cops come down hard on disorder
The moon weighs one hundredth of our island earth
Baby weighs a ton on the eve of its birth
Light as the feet of birds hunting on sod
Love trickles down like honey from God
Honey from God, honey from God
Love trickles down like honey from God
Trade winds come sweeping in off of the sea
Setting the bamboo to clatter and bow
Infinite blue invitation to me
Out of the armor and into the now
Into the now, into the now
Out of the armor and into the now
To all the places where I’ve never been
Some in the distance and some in my skin
I raise a glass like a bright crystal ball
See if I get there at the end of it all
End of it all, end of it all
See if I get there at the end of it all
End of it all, end of it all
See if I get there at the end of it all
Honey from God, honey from God
Love trickles down like honey from God
Into the now, into the now
Out of the armor and into the now.
8 July 2021 – Maui
DANS LE MOMENT PRÉSENT
Les brisants se fracassent sur les sables de la grève
Les humains atterrissent mal à la frontière
Les banques vous tombent dessus quand l’hypothèque n’est pas payée
Les policiers répriment le désordre sans hésiter
La lune pèse un centième de notre île la terre
Le bébé pèse une tonne à la veille de sa naissance
Léger comme les pieds des oiseaux chassant sur le gazon
L’amour s’égoutte pareil à un miel venant de Dieu
Miel venant de Dieu, miel venant de Dieu
L’amour s’égoutte pareil à un miel venant de Dieu
Les vents alizés nous arrivent impétueux du large
Faisant claquer et se courber les bambous
Une infinie invitation de bleu qui m’est faite
Sans mon armure et dans le moment présent
Dans le moment présent, dans le moment présent
Sans mon armure et dans le moment présent
À tous les endroits où je ne suis jamais allé
Certains au loin et certains dans ma peau
Je lève un verre comme une boule de cristal lumineux
Reste à voir si j’y parviens à la fin de tout ça
La fin de tout ça, la fin de tout ça
Reste à voir si j’y parviens à la fin de tout ça
La fin de tout ça, la fin de tout ça
Reste à voir si j’y parviens à la fin de tout ça
Miel venant de Dieu, miel venant de Dieu
L’amour s’égoutte pareil à un miel venant de Dieu
Dans le moment présent et dans le moment présent
Sans mon armure et dans le moment présent
Maui, 8 juillet 2021
Traduction français par Marcel Moussette et Jane Macaulay.
Musicians:
Bruce Cockburn / Vocal, Acoustic Guitar
Gary Craig / Drums, Percussion
Viktor Krauss / Upright Bass
Sarah Jarosz / Mandolin, Harmony
Jeff Taylor / Accordion
Shutters and walls or open embrace
Like it or not, the human race
Is us all
History is what it is
Scars we inflict on each other don’t die
But slowly soak into the DNA
Of us all
Us all
I pray we not fear to love
I pray we be free of judgement and shame
Open the vein, let kindness rain
O’er us all
Us all
29 August 2020 – San Francisco
NOUS TOUS
Nous voilà face à un choix
Les volets fermés et les murs ou la chaleureuse accolade
Que tu l’aimes ou non l’espèce humaine
Est nous tous
L’histoire est ce qu’elle est
Les cicatrices que l’on s’inflige les uns aux autres ne meurent pas
Mais s’imbibent lentement dans l’ADN
De nous tous
Nous tous
Nous tous
Je prie pour que nous n’ayons pas peur d’aimer
Je prie pour que nous soyons libres de jugement et de honte
Ouvre la veine, laisse la bienveillance pleuvoir/ régner
Sur nous tous
Nous tous
Nous tous
SF, 29 avril 2020
Traduction français par Marcel Moussette et Jane Macaulay
Musicians:
Bruce Cockburn / Vocal, Resonator Guitar
Gary Craig / Glockenspiel
Viktor Krauss / Bowed Bass
Jenny Scheinman / Violins
Bright in the morning breeze
It’s warm in the endless sunshine
Not so good to breathe
Smoke of a thousand fires
Filling up the sky
All around the great wide world —
Forecast: warm and dry
The hills of California
Romania and France
Algeria, Australia,
Siberia’s expanse
The countryside of Greece and Spain,
The Amazon the same —
From the tundra to the tropics
Our world’s gone up in flames
Hey hey hey
Hey hey hey
Even up north in Iqaluit
Where there’s not a tree for miles
Fire shoots out the kitchen tap
Apocalyptic style
Waters rise, grassland dries
Mother Earth, she weeps
Willful ignorance and greed
Prevail while reason sleeps
There are people who live to believe
In the good we all can make
There are people who live to believe
In how much they can take
Ashes and mudslides all around —
Is this any way to go?
Got to think past your bank account
To keep the world we know
Hey hey hey takvatuak silarjuak …… ……
Hey hey hey tamnatuummat silarjuak ……. ……
Hey hey hey unatuummat silarjuak …… ……
Hey hey hey taamnatuummat silarjuak ……. ……
There’s a drive to live at the heart of things
Gotta sink a pipe into that spring
And let it water everything
To keep the world we know
To keep the world we know
To keep the world we know
21 December 2021 – San Francisco
Bruce’s translation of Aglukark’s chorus:
This is one world, one chance
It’s the only world we have
Here it is. This is it – one world
It’s the only world we have
POUR CONSERVER LE MONDE QUE NOUS CONNAISSONS
(Aglukark/Cockburn)
Petite brume sur les collines
Brillante dans la brise matinale
Il fait chaud dans ce soleil sans fin
Pas tellement bon à respirer
La fumée de milliers de feux
Qui remplit le ciel
Tout autour du monde vaste et grand
Prédictions : beau et sec
Les collines de la Californie
Roumanie et France
Algérie, Australie
Sibérie à sa grandeur
La campagne de la Grèce et de l’Espagne
De même pour l’Amazone __
De la toundra aux tropiques
Notre monde s’envole en flammes
Hé hé hé
Même en haut au Nord à Iqualuit
Où il n’y a pas d’arbres pendant des milles
Le feu jaillit par le robinet de la cuisine
Apocalyptiquement
Les eaux montent, les prairies se dessèchent
La Terre-Mère, elle pleure
L’ignorance et la cupidité voulues
Dominent pendant que la raison sommeille
Il y a des gens qui vivent pour croire
Dans le bien que nous pouvons tous faire
Il y a des gens qui vivent pour croire
Dans combien ils peuvent soutirer
Cendres et glissements de terrains partout
Est-ce une façon de s’en aller
Il faut penser plus loin que le compte en banque
Pour conserver le monde que nous connaissons
Hey hey hey takvatuak silarjuak
Hey hey hey tamnatuummat silarjuak
Hey hey hey unatuummat silarjuak
Hey hey hey taamnatuummat silarjuak
Il existe un désir de vivre au cœur des choses
Tu dois planter un tuyau dans cette source
Et la laisser tout irriguer
Pour conserver le monde que nous connaissons
SF, 21 décembre 2021
Traduction français par Marcel Moussette et Jane Macaulay.
Musicians:
Bruce Cockburn / Vocal, Dulcimer
Gary Craig / Drums, Percussion
Viktor Krauss / Upright Bass
Susan Aglukark / Harmonies
Sarah Jarosz / Mandolin, Harmony
Colin Linden / 12 String Guitar, Electric Guitar, Harmon
It’s moon high noon — I’m not in my bed
There’s a large human being at the back of the bar
Pulling visceral sounds from a no-name guitar
In the flickering murk he might be tricky to see
Planted on a bench like the trunk of a tree
A densification of darkened air
Solid but you wonder if he’s actually there
Who is it plays like that
Who is it plays like that
Freight rolling down the track
Got a double chin all the way round his neck
And a pot belly in the back
Sweat running into a size 30 collar
It’s not Minnesota Fats or Domino or Waller
Or Arbuckle or anybody painted by Botero
Sign says TONITE: KING OF THE BOLERO
But who is it plays like that
But who is it plays like that
Freight rolling down the track
Got a double chin all the way round his neck
And a pot belly in the back
His baby was bad. Took all he had.
She left him a mule to ride
He never caught on til she was long gone
Now humiliation wrestles with pride
He’s wide, he’s tall, he’s a cannonball
Makes his big archtop axe look small
The tone is a crunch — packs a Joe Louis punch
Pokes at the heart like a saddlemaker’s awl
Who is it plays like that
Who is it plays like that
Freight rolling down the track
Got a double chin all the way round his neck
And a pot belly in the back
Outside full moon straight overhead
It’s moon high noon — I’m not in my bed…
17 July 2021 – Maui
LE ROI DU BOLÉRO
Pleine lune dehors droit au-dessus de la tête
C’est le midi de la lune – je ne suis pas dans mon lit
Il y a un gros être humain à l’arrière du bar
Tirant des sons viscéraux d’une guitare générique
Dans l’obscurité tremblotante il peut être difficile à voir
Planté sur un banc comme un tronc d’arbre
Une densification d’air obscurci
Massif mais on se demande s’il est actuellement là
Qui est-ce qui joue comme ça
Qui est-ce qui joue comme ça
Un convoi de marchandises déboulant la voie ferrée
Avec un double-menton autour du cou
Et pansu du derrière
La sueur coulant dans son collet de grandeur 30
Ce n’est pas les Minnesota Fats ou Domino ou Waller
Ou Arbuckle ou qui que ce soit peint par Botero
L’affiche dit CE SOIR : LE ROI DU BOLÉRO
Mais qui est-ce qui joue comme ça
Mais qui est-ce qui joue comme ça
Un convoi de marchandises déboulant la voie ferrée
Avec un double menton tout autour du cou
Et pansu du derrière
Sa meilleure était mauvaise. Elle prit tous ses avoirs
Elle le laissa Gros Jean comme devant
Il n’a jamais compris jusqu’après qu’elle fut partie pour de bon
Maintenant l’humiliation lutte avec l’orgueil
Il est large il est grand il est un boulet de canon
Il fait paraître petite la grosse archtop
Le ton est écrasant – renferme un coup de poing à la Joe Louis
Farfouille le cœur comme l’alêne d’un sellier
Qui est-ce qui joue comme ça
Qui est-ce qui joue comme ça
Un convoi de marchandises déboulant la voie ferrée
Avec un double menton tout autour du cou
Et pansu du derrière
Pleine lune dehors droit au-dessus de la tête
C’est le midi de la lune – Je ne suis pas dans mon lit
Maui, 17 juillet 2021
Traduction français par Marcel Moussette et Jane Macaulay.
Musicians:
Bruce Cockburn / Vocal, Resonator Guitar
Gary Craig / Percussion
Viktor Krauss / Upright Bass
Jim Hoke / Marimba, Saxophones, Clarinet
Jeff Taylor / Accordion
Chris Brown / Drums
Makes no difference where you are
It doesn’t matter, what you think
Or if you smoke or if you drink
You’re a thread upon the loom
When the spirit walks in the room
You could be naked, could be armed
Could be charming, could be charmed
You could be open, could be closed
Be one of us or one of those
You’re a thread upon the loom
When the spirit walks in the room
On the march or on the run
it matters not what you have done
Nor what you’ll do, nor what you’ll say
We play the role we’re made to play
We’re but threads upon the loom
When the spirit walks in the room
It can appear at any hour
When it comes, it comes in power
You may not walk, you may not see
But you’ll become what you can be
You’re a thread upon the loom
When the spirit walks in the room
We’re but threads upon the loom
When the spirit walks in the room
31 January 2022. San Francisco
QUAND L’ESPRIT VIENT DANS LA PIÈCE
Manhattan ou Dakar
Ne fait aucune différence où tu es
Ce que tu penses ne fait rien
Ou si tu fumes ou si tu bois
Tu es un fil sur le métier à tisser
Quand l’esprit vient dans la pièce
Tu peux être nu, peux être armé
Peux être charmant, peux être charmé
Peux être ouvert, peux être fermé
Être l’un de nous ou un de ceux-là
Tu es un fil sur le métier à tisser
Quand l’esprit vient dans la pièce
En marche ou en fuite
Ce que tu as fait ne fait rien
Ni ce que tu vas faire, ni ce que tu vas dire
Nous jouons le rôle pour lequel nous sommes faits
Nous ne sommes que des fils sur le métier à tisser
Quand l’esprit vient dans la pièce
Ça peut arriver à n’importe quelle heure
Quand il vient, il vient en puissance
Tu pourrais ne pas marcher, tu pourrais ne pas voir
Mais tu vas devenir ce que tu peux être
Tu es un fil sur le métier à tisser
Quand l’esprit vient dans la pièce
SF, 31 janvier 2022
Traduction français par Marcel Moussette et Jane Macaulay.
Musicians:
Bruce Cockburn / Vocal, Acoustic Guitar
Jenny Scheinman / Violin
Janice Powers / B3 Organ
Instrumental
3 April 2021 – San Francisco
Musicians:
Bruce Cockburn / Vocal, Acoustic Guitar
Gary Craig / Drums, Percussion
Viktor Krauss / Upright Bass
Ann & Regina McCrary / Vocals
Jim Hoke / Marimba, Clarinet, Saxophones
A wall with gates of bronze
A being standing sentry
Androgynous and strong
I ask if I may pass through
Having stumbled all this way
The angel steps aside
The mighty gate swings wide
A libation for the journey
Jar of blood poured on the soil
You don’t need it any more
Once you’ve slipped that mortal coil…
O sun by day o moon by night
Light my way so I get this right
And if that sun and moon don’t shine,
Heaven guide these feet of mine
To Glory
The road goes rolling onward
Over hills and over plains
Through the light and through the shadow
Through longing and through pain
Pain brings understanding
Your mistakes will set you free
To sink into the spirit
To clear your eyes to see
O sun by day o moon by night
Light my way so I get this right
And if that sun and moon don’t shine
Heaven guide these feet of mine
To Glory
3 April 2021 – San Francisco
O LE SOLEIL LE JOUR O LA LUNE LA NUIT
Un rêve – plein de présages
Un mur avec des portes de bronze
Un être faisant la garde debout
Androgyne et fort
Je demande si je peux passer
Ayant trébuché tout au long du chemin
L’ange se retire de côté
La puissante porte s’ouvre toute grande
Une libation pour le voyage
Cruche de sang versé sur le sol
Tu n’en as plus besoin
Une fois que tu as laissé aller cette enveloppe mortelle…
O le soleil le jour O la lune la nuit
Éclaire mon chemin pour que je fasse cela comme il faut
Et si ce soleil et cette lune ne brillent pas
Que le ciel guide ces pieds qui sont les miens
Vers la gloire
La route se fait tortueuse en avant
Par les collines et par les plaines
À travers la lumière et à travers la pénombre
À travers le désir et à travers la douleur
La douleur mène à la compréhension
Tes erreurs vont te libérer
Pour t’enfoncer dans l’esprit
Pour éclaircir tes yeux afin de voir
O le soleil le jour O la lune la nuit
Éclaire mon chemin pour que je fasse cela comme il faut
Et si ce soleil et cette lune ne brillent pas
Que le ciel guide ces pieds qui sont les miensv Vers la gloire
San Francisco, 3 avril 2021
Traduction français par Marcel Moussette et Jane Macaulay.
Musicians:
Bruce Cockburn / Vocal, Acoustic Guitar
Gary Craig / Drums, Percussion
Viktor Krauss / Upright Bass
Ann & Regina McCrary / Vocals
Jim Hoke / Marimba, Clarinet, Saxophones
Dinner’s Lightnin’ Hopkins and rye
Everything you say comes back to bite you
These days only beauty makes you cry
The chapel is closed for the COVID
Black mold owns the city by the sea
Dew-beaded cobweb in the moonlight –
Halo for a saint who’s yet to be
And the dead shall sing
To the living and the semi-alive
Bells will ring
When you arrive
You’re limping like a three-legged canine
Backbone creaking like a cheap shoe
Dragging the accretions of a lifetime
But you oughta make another mile or two…
And the dead shall sing
To the living and the semi-alive
Bells will ring when you arrive
27 July 2020 – San Francisco
QUAND TU ARRIVERAS
Le déjeuner consistait en du Mahler et du café
Le diner en du Lightnin Hopkins et du rye
Tout ce que tu dis revient pour te mordre
Ces jours-ci, seulement la beauté te fait pleurer
La chapelle est fermée à cause de la Covid
Une moisissure noire conquiert la ville en bordure de la mer
Fils d’araignées perlés de rosée au clair de lune
Auréole pour un saint en devenir
Les morts chanteront
Pour les vivants et les demi-vivants
Les cloches sonneront
Quand tu arriveras
Tu boites comme un chien à-trois -pattes
L’épine dorsale qui craque comme un soulier bon marché
Trainant les dépôts de toute une vie
Mais tu devrais être capable de faire encore un mille ou deux
Les morts chanteront
Pour les vivants et les demi-vivants
Les cloches sonneront quand tu arriveras
SF, 27 juillet 2020
Traduction français par Marcel Moussette et Jane Macaulay.
Musicians:
Bruce Cockburn / Vocal, Resonator Guitar
Gary Craig / Drums, Percussion
Viktor Krauss / Upright Bass
Jim Hoke / Clarinet, Saxophones
Chris Brown / Drums
Shawn Colvin, Allison Russell, Buddy Miller,
Sarah Jarosz, Ann & Regina McCrary / Vocals
VINYL
No more careful stepping plans
Everything holds out its hand
Gonna hold you up and love you
Gonna hold you up and love you
Waterwalker
Water under, sky above
Creation as metaphor for love
Shed resistance like a worn out glove
Gonna hold you up and love you
Gonna hold you up and love you
Waterwalker
Got no power, got no fear
Anyone can do it can’t you hear
River crying loud and clear
Gonna hold you up and love you
Gonna hold you up and love you
Waterwalker
circa 1985
Musicians:
Hugh Marsh: Violin, Drum Programming
Bruce Cockburn: Guitar, Drum Programming, Vocal
Also on: Rumours Of Glory box set & Rarities
I could have set the sun in silver
And made for you a ring so fine
If we had grown together, babe
We might have made it to the sea-shore
And left this muddy river far behind
Ah, but I couldn’t find the key
That would unlock these chains of mine
And my songs were not complete enough to sing
I could only feel your music one line at a time
And there’s no chance for a bird without wings
If only I had read
The meaning that your eyes held
As they shone like diamonds burning in the dawn
But the raindrops in my own
Changed the colour of the sky
And I just sat and helplessly looked on
So I’ll go on worshipping my world of faded dreams
Though the church bells are of lead and will not ring
And to those who try to tell themselves I’m more than what I seem
I say, What good is a bird without wings?
released 1968
“Christopher’s Movie Matinee” by 3’s A Crowd, released in 1968. Although Bruce Cockburn wrote this song he was not with the group at the time of its recording.
Musicians:
Guitar, Vocal: Bruce Cockburn
Also on: Rumours Of Glory box set & Rarities
Mmm hmm
Mmm
La da da da
Da da da da
There was a grinning moon
There was the clash of blades
There was a chemical stench
Blowing up the hill
There was the ghost of a porch light
There was blood on the glass
There was a hole in the eye
Where the light was spilled
Mmm
Mmm hmm
Mmm
La da da da
Da da da da
There were hanging stars
There were dark shapes running
The ashes of the dead
Went floating past the mill
There was an empty road
There was a long chance
There was a far-off trumpet
When the wind was still
Mmm
Mmm hmm Mmm da da
La da da da
Da da da da
Halton Hills, ON – August 1995
Musicians:
Bruce Cockburn: Guitar, Vocal
Also on: Rumours Of Glory box set & Rarities
And his father’s father before
Fishing the banks and digging for coal
From the mines that don’t give no more ore
And I’m goin’ down the road, boys
Seeking what I’m owed, boys
And I know it must get better
If far enough I go
I remember the fishing boats returning so gay
Their nets with the silver cod blessed
But they couldn’t compete with the company fleets
Now it’s welfare, relief, or go west
So I’m goin’ down the road, boys
Seeking what I’m owed, boys
And I know it must get better
If far enough I go
I came to the city with the sun in my eyes
My mouth full of laughter and dreams
But all that I found was concrete and dust
And hard times sold in vending machines
So I’m goin’ down the road, boys
Seeking what I’m owed, boys
And I know it must get better
If far enough I go
‘Cause I’m goin’ down the road, boys
Seeking what I’m owed, boys
And I know it must get better
If far enough I go
Musicians:
Bruce Cockburn: Guitar, Vocal
Demo recording by Bruce Cockburn, previously unreleased.
Originally appeared on the soundtrack of the 1970 film Goin’ Down The Road, directed by Donald Shebib.
Also on: Rumours Of Glory box set & Rarities
Liner Notes:
Produced by Colin Linden
Recorded by Mike Stankiewicz And Colin Linden
Mixed by Colin Linden
Recorded and mixed at Pinhead Recorders, Nashville, TN
Production Assistant Janice Powers
Susan Aglukark recorded at Inception Sound Studios Toronto, by Chad Irschick
Shawn Colvin recorded by Jacob Sciba at Arlyn Studios, Austin
All songs written by Bruce Cockburn published by Holy Drone LLC (SOCAN)
except To Keep The World We Know which was written by Bruce Cockburn and Susan Aglukark
and published by Holy Drone LLC and Nipi Music (SOCAN)
Album photography by Daniel Keebler
Graphic design by Antoine Moonen
Mastered by Greg Calbi, Sterling Sound, Edgewater, New Jersey
2023 Linus Entertainment Inc. Marketed by True North Records. Made In Canada.
All rights reserved. This project is funded in part by FACTOR, the Government of Canada
and Canada’s private radio broadcasters. Ce projet est financé en partie par FACTOR, le
gouvernement du Canada et les radiodiffuseurs privés du Canada.
truenorthrecords.com
brucecockburn.com
TND811
Vinyl: O Sun O Moon
(180 Gram Vinyl, Bonus Tracks, Black, Gatefold LP Jacket)
Artist: Bruce Cockburn
Format: LP Release Date: 5/12/2023
LABEL: True North
NUMBER OF DISCS: 2
UPC: 620638081174
GENRE: Folk
RELEASE DATE: 5/12/2023
Vous pouvez trouver les paroles français de ces chansons sur mon site-web brucecockburn.com
Direction: Bernie Finkelstein / bernie@finkelsteinmanagement.com
Sarah Jarosz appears courtesy of Rounder Records
Allison Russell appears courtesy of Fantasy Records
Thanks are due for inspiration, influence, support, etc. to:
God, MJ and Iona, Bernie, Jeff Garner and Deborah Azzolini,
Jenn Cockburn and Patrick Levenson, Mark Yahiro,
Marc Bregman, Colin L and Janice P, Gary C…
and John Dymond for the martinis
Traduction français par Marcel Moussette et Jane Macaulay.
Bruce Cockburn – Bio
O Sun O Moon
“Time takes its toll, but in my soul I’m on a roll,” Bruce Cockburn sings on his latest studio album, O Sun O Moon. Smart and catchy, it’s the kind of memorable line—like “gotta kick at the darkness ’til it bleeds daylight” from his classic song “Lovers in a Dangerous Time”—the world has become used to hearing from Cockburn.
An inspired poet and exceptional guitarist, the award-winning artist has spent his entire career kicking at the darkness with songs that tackle topics from politics and human rights to the environment and spirituality. And he’s not letting up. While other singer-songwriters his age are slowing down, Cockburn, on the eve of his 78 th birthday, has released a dozen new compositions as powerful as any he’s written. You could even say his songwriting is on a roll as well.
Exquisitely recorded in Nashville with his longtime producer, Colin Linden, O Sun O Moon exudes a newfound simplicity and clarity, as Cockburn focuses on more spiritual than topical concerns this time around, looking back and taking stock. “I think it’s a product of age to a certain extent,” he explains, “and seeing the approaching horizon.” Then, lightening the tone, he adds with a laugh: “I think these are exactly the kind of songs that an old guy writes.”
Old or not, Cockburn exhibits a palpable urgency on the opening “On a Roll,” playing a driving resonator guitar with all the vigor of his veteran blues heroes. Similarly “To Keep the World We Know,” one of the album’s few explicitly topical numbers, bristles with Cockburn’s buzzing dulcimer as he and Inuk music star Susan Aglukark, with whom he co-wrote the song, sing about the growing threat of global warming.
Still, most of the songs strike gentler tones, from the jazz sway of “Push Come to Shove” and the folky drone of “Into the Now” to the string-laden “Us All” and the hymn-like “Colin Went Down to the Water.” The latter, one of several songs Cockburn wrote while on a month-long holiday with family on the Hawaiian island of Maui, describes the drowning of a friend. “It’s not about Colin Linden,” Cockburn is quick to point out, “but someone I knew from San Francisco who’d
moved to Maui. It was tragic and quite surreal because I got a voicemail message from him when I was in Maui, saying ‘Welcome to paradise,’ and then found out afterward that he’d died.”
Speaking of surreal, another song written while in Maui, the whimsical “King of the Bolero,” is unlike anything else on the album. Over a woozy clarinet and drunken, New Orleans-style horns, Cockburn paints a cartoon portrait of an oversized barroom musician “with a double chin all the way round his neck and a pot belly in the back.” Is it a dream or a figment of his imagination? In a gravelly voice, Cockburn leaves us guessing as he sings “it’s moon high noon—I’m not in my
Bed.”
“The people I was with in Maui were quite perplexed when they heard that song,” muses Cockburn. “After hearing the other things I’d written there, they wondered ‘where did that come from?’ It really came from out of the blue. I remembered when I was in high school one of my friends made a crack about an old blues singer who used to come through who he said had a double chin in the back. It was a funny thing to hear at the time and it stayed with me. I didn’t want to make it specifically about a black blues guy, so I mention Minnesota Fats and Fatty
Arbuckle as well as Fats Domino and Fats Waller.”
As with so many Cockburn albums, the musicianship on O Sun O Moon is superb. Along with usual suspects Linden on guitar, Janice Powers on keyboards and Gary Craig on drums, the album features bassist Viktor Krauss, drummer Chris Brown, accordionist Jeff Taylor, violinist Jenny Scheinman and multi-instrumentalist Jim Hoke. And Cockburn’s guest vocalists include Shawn Colvin, Buddy Miller as well as mellifluous singers Allison Russell, Sarah Jarosz and Ann and Regina McCrary, daughters of gospel great Rev. Samuel McCrary, one of the founders of the Fairfield Four. The McCrary sisters shine brightest on the title track, whose full name is “O Sun By Day O Moon By Night.” They sing the euphoric chorus of the song which relates, during spoken verses, a dream Cockburn had in which he makes the journey to heaven. “In the dream, which was really powerful,” says Cockburn, “I see myself silhouetted on a ridge with this jar of blood pouring it on the soil. It wasn’t scary or disturbing at all.” Cockburn adds that he wrote the line “and if that sun and moon don’t shine” in the spirit of songs from the folk ballad “Mockingbird” to the blues number “Bo Diddley.”
The album’s jazzy closer, “When You Arrive,” finds Cockburn confessing to feeling his age when he sings “You’re limping like a three-legged canine, backbone creaking like a cheap shoe.” But it’s clearly a song of acceptance, about eventually slipping one’s mortal coil, as he’s joined on the chorus by all of his guest vocalists, singing “bells will ring when you arrive.”
O Sun O Moon includes just one song without vocals, “Haiku,” a four-minute showcase of Cockburn’s fleet-fingered guitar work, where his previous studio recording, 2019’s Crowing Ignites, was a collection of all instrumental numbers. In between those albums, Cockburn, the Order of Canada recipient, 13-time Juno Award winner and Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee released a 50th anniversary box set, greatest hits package and rarities collection.
Never one to rest on his laurels—even when, as he notes, “time takes its toll,” Cockburn keeps finding and conquering new challenges, never repeating himself in the process. “I just don’t want to ever keep doing the same thing,” he says. “I’m grateful that I can keep on doing anything at this point,” he adds. “My body doesn’t hold up and perform the way it once did.”
That may be so. But the legendary musician has just made his 38 th studio album. And it may stand as one of his best of his long and storied career.
