Get all 5 Hugh Christopher Brown releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Oblivion, Burden of Belief, The Ropes, Waterfall, and Pacem.
Excludes supporter-only releases.
1. |
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Your arrogance prevents you from knowing how great you truly are
And your conceit defeats the subtle magic of your heart
So let the fawning minions come and worship from afar
But God help anyone coming any closer
You’re a genius and you know it and you prove it all the time
So why can’t anyone come any closer?
When you gonna come down and love?
When you gonn stop acting so poor?
When you gonna stop trying to be forgiven?
When you gonna come down and love?
Your bride sits in waiting while you contemplate your moves
Patiently repeating every vow
And the more she understands the more you claim she is your burden
And now you say you want somebody else
I guess everything’s a problem nd every problem roots itself
In this slow earth you were never meant to walk on
When you gonna come down and love?.....
You can make an enemy of freedom
Oh the cost of pretence is steep
Better off to pursue perfection
‘cause it’s everywhere
And it’s cheap
And faith is known to the faithful
And hope is raised by its own hand
You jewel, you gem , you treasure
your light is worth a million days
Love is yours to give
Now just get out of the way
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2. |
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We love these hills and we love these trees
I love you still same as you love me
Love won’t let us slip
Cracks me like a whip
Quiet our hearts in fields where we walk
Quiet our thoughts our tongues in a lock
Hold on now don’t slip
Let’s not loose the grip
Quiet fire burning in my spine
Fire must be fire all the time
Some people ask the grass why it grows
Then it only frustrates them to know
Looking for relief
From the burden of belief
Same bird who came and sang in the spring
His voice is strong now, come hear him sing
The beating and the heart
Till death do us part
Spring in the heart, branches under feet
Somewhere to start some words to repeat:
“Hold on now don’t slip,
Let’s not break the grip”
I don’t know hwere from this soul is borrowed
Only in trust we return tomorrow
Night will still be black
Through the rush and wait
We’re both going back dog eared, loved and late
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3. |
The Closest I Can Get
02:44
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Melting April snow
Signs of Christmas in the compost
Where did the winter go?
I just remember almost
It was hard
Holding out for something you don’t know
But it’s how I mean to love
Watch the flowers grow
From the seeds that we’d forgotten long ago
That was dead and now it’s rotten
It can’t be easy
Keeping up with something you can’t see
Now my friends call me slow, but I know they’re being pushed
You know it’s hard
Holding out for something you don’t know
But it’s how I mean to love
A kitchen radio
A pencil and a headache
The dream I wasn’t born
The longing and the heartache
Is it wrong to miss somebody that you never met?
It’s how I mean to love/ or
The closest I can get
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4. |
Superior
06:50
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High on the Great lakes
Big tanker holding in the bay
See how the light breaks
Dawning crown of fierce grey
Bold faced Superior
Over your shoulders fall the streams
Now and again memory,
Now and again tides now and again dreams
Cast their reflection of my face upon your own
Give me direction, I am thrashing on the stone
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Shattered by instinct, reason and doubt
Love will never win
It’s just the only way out
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Where are you going?
What is this river that you’ve spoken?
Ancient and knowing
That the heart is better broken
Bodies of water
Exiles of years
Seeking our level
Returning our tears
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Shattered by instinct, reason and doubt
Love will never win
It’s just the only way out
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
The truth is burning
And they’re ransoming the water
The streets are full of tears
An the future is full of martyrs
Oh freedom, oh my great friend
How I wish you could stay
Whish we didn’t have to contend
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Shattered by instinct, reason and doubt
Love will never win
It’s just the only way out
Northbound and capable of
Superior love
Northbound and capable of
This Superior love
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5. |
Universal Dustbowl
05:12
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You don’t like rock and roll?
I think I understand
Took a while to relax my style but here I stand
When it’s all coming down
There’s just no letting up
Keeping on until
You turn that dollar bill
Into my paper cup
don’t know why I defend myself
it gets so complicated, man it gets so rough
Between the dollar bill
And the paper cup
Money, swill, take your fill
Let it fuck you up
Sure, they’ll give you some
But what you want it for?
It’s a bribe it’s a bet
It was third world debt
Now it’s fourth world war
Universal Dustbowl coming ‘round
Displacing people
Shutting borders down
For those without a price
Who know what life is worth
Who paid the cost?
Who prayed and lost connection to the earth?
For every revolution
A needle in the goove
Asses your soul
They put up a toll every time you move
Universal Dustbowl
Coming round
Race you to the frontier
To shut the border down
My dependence
My great depression
My dependence
My great depression
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6. |
Point of Departure
03:14
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Am I less the person than you thought I was?
Keeper of the stories, reveller in the glories
Of every good fight and noble cause
Shielding our dependence, yielding such resentments
When I was a school boy I used to love my tie
Ain’t nothing like I love you now
Autumn blowing change across the sky
The sky’s still blue
But something’s new
Don’t even have a word for you and I
Except my good instincts and all I might think
And how proud I am of all you try
Some part of me succeeds in each of your hopeful deeds
Oh your anger pierced my careless heart
Such a cold and deadly archer
Like some angel who’d flown to say
Love is no place to stay
It’s just a point of departure
This world is crueller than we thought it was
Desperate cowards dark with power
We didn’t meet as shelter from the storm
Together we stood out and by the weather we were formed
If you’re choosing to live for love
You do exactly what it takes
But how to hold yourself to some account?
Most saints are outlaws
But most outlaws are not saints
Who could love opinion in this world?
Or waste their time being believed?
If you wrestle faith from your own grip
Find yourself in love, willing to receive
Don’t bring your broken promise home to me
Its barbs will cut you, now they’ve scarred me too
We’ve got to find some new way to be
‘cause I can’t give you half of what I want to.
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7. |
Serious Face
03:28
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The city lights confounding
Causing all the stars to fade
This blackened heaven so ungrounding-
Don’t mention it
To these orphans of the infinite
Who hide behind a serious face
Watch them compete for gravity
Where the fortune teller screams
At the ruling of he dice
These philosophies of schemes
Jackpots of sacrifice
Where is the star I steer by?
How far was I from home?
Captain your ship is held and tethered
The sea is calm, and I grow lonely for the storm
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8. |
The Writer
05:04
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How we both have grown
And how the changes felt so slow
Another season past
And no one turned the hour glass
In the sand it’s been as dry as years
Couldn’t you at least have spared some tears?
Afternoons are still
In the kitchen with time to kill
Have you learned my name?
I take my pen and try again
Compose a flower at the window pane
With all the poison I have in my veins:
Oleander
You are the lover
I am the writer
When there was love to waste
You kept your distance, you kept the pace
What has got you now?
You drag your heart heavy as a plough
In the field you’ve sown
A love affair’s yield
And nothing grown, but
Oleander
You are heartbroken
I am the lover
The heaven’s course
The starry wheel
To know what changes
You must remain still
When love is laid to waste
And poverty has broadened your taste
A song in everything
Prayers of patience tell me what to bring to my lover in the window
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9. |
Ain't Missed It Yet
04:26
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The tilt of your head baby, the touch of your hand
Your voice like a spell, it’s beyond my command
The glow of your spirit so vast so wide
I could watch from a distance
But it’s better by your side
There’s a swing in your step
There’s grace in your heart
I watch you move through the world
Like a great work of art
Something was over the moment we met
I thought that I’d need it
But I ain’t missed it yet
Looking out at the night from the front seat of my truck
The match kissed the candle and the flame it was struck
In the infinite distance between we and the stars
That infinite feeling let us know where we are
And something was over he moment we met
I thought that I’d need it but I ain’t missed it yet
My big break was more of a crack
I had too much to lose, there was no turning back
And at the end of my dreams, my dreams all came true
I found everything there and then I found you
In a lifetime of trying too hard to forget
But before you is a memory and I ain’t missed it yet
Hold me so tight love, don’t let me go
Just do me the favour of letting me know
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10. |
Living Proof
02:10
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My father’s cheekbones rise behind my smile
If you’d never met my brother, you’d know him from a mile
One laugh from my sister you might recognize the style
Living proof
Between all I’m rom nd all I’m drawn to
The deep magnetic darkness, and the light surrounding you
Imperfections permanent but the perfect things are true
Living proof
Without you how could I pay the costs?
All trials would be forfeit, all verdicts would be false
My heart’s only evidence in all my labour’s loss
Shame and pride
What are you in the face of love?
Stand aside
Surely we know what time is made of
A thousand reasons flying within view
But from this angle I see only you
We’ll take the love that’s offered us
And live to see it through
Living proof
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11. |
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Mine’s the lover of the dark and light
Mine’s the keeper of the flame
Mine, the seeker on an endless night
Mine’s as merciful as rain
Cast your fury to the wind
She is not to be convinced
But wears motion and a crown of tears
For the moon, her quiet prince
Humble these seething men of war
Smash their altars and their wealth
Teach them to bow down before
A God more vulnerable than themselves
Peace will not be still
The stars are restless with compassion
Oh my lover of an endless dream
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12. |
Dedications
04:08
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True love
The promised land
Keep to your word
The wilderness is at hand
Abundant with the fruits of trust
Expectations only pale
Drop them now before the grail
Of nothing more and nothing less
I felt you leave from your first kiss
You are who I’m here to miss
Down below where tears are earned
No one’s a fool whose heart is learned
This is promised land
Listen
Water falling
The constant calling
Of life returning
Being born through wars and burning
The shame and scorn
The violent delay
They quote the scriptures while they slay
The sainted moment, the holy day
Listen for yourself
I remember you, patient brave and true
Never knew exactly what to do
Light as light
Day as day
You as you and
Me as me
Mama
The dreams I have
Keep me drifting
Running threads
To catch my friends in love’s web
The gentle pull, the quiet touch
Felt by all who feel so much
As roads divide, intentions fray
But no one’s ever far away
The dead become us every day
The fountains take my coins away
I wish for hope and gratitude
Things that I can really use
Here below where pain is so abused…
Oh mamma
Oh what dreams
Light as light
Day as day
You as you and
Me as me
Miss you
Very much
I miss your voice
I miss your touch
The passion that flows between
Thoughts of you and what it means
To live for peace is not an accident
See how innocence is spent
I long for you now
With embraces to consume
The degradations that used to
Make me scream till I was hoarse
It took an echo for me to hear my voice
But now I got it on the back of my teeth
Whatever they say has died in me
Was just the shadow of this moment backlit by a setting pride
Just a magnet they can track you by
And pull you in at the same time
I realized I didn’t have to lie
Was the moment I knew
I had your love to answer for and to
Light as light
Day as day
You as you and
Me as me
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13. |
Persephone
02:23
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Hugh Christopher Brown Ontario
songwriter, organist and pianist, clavinetist, what-is- necessaryist, to translate loveist, HCB makes music on Wolfe Island, in New York City and many other places. Founder of the pros and cons program producing music in prisons.
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