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THE STORY SO FAR​.​.​.

by Jack Howard

/
1.
I string my soul like an old guitar and the line is going slack I hang my hat in a drifter's bar, there's no turning back At last count, I was 41 - 41 going on nowhere I bailed my wife out of jail today, you know I got my cross to bear I must be losin' my mind I sank my teeth into her neck, she did not seem to mind Her eyes were green, my heart a wreck, we seek what trouble finds I always feel like a sinner, black and sometimes blue But I'll keep on swingin', and I'll wind up next to you I must be losin' my mind
2.
FALLEN ANGEL 03:33
The boys all fall around her feet All their riches can't persuade her to defeat She's faraway, she's fear or fate What she wants, it isn't here And as she glances round the room Her face so fair, her eyes so blue So deep inside, so ill-defined All the time she's movin' on Nothin's gonna change her ways Stranger than a fallen angel Nothin's gonna make her sway Mystery, it still surrounds her The princes gather now to offer up their gold They court her endlessly to seek her hand They think she's cold, no heart to heal She's like a siren in their soul She's like a dream they never had Nothin's gonna change her ways, etc.
3.
DELIVER ME 04:38
I have prayed for rain, I have prayed for pain Now I wil pay for anything to stop me fallin' down again I have prayed for love, I have prayed for glory But I try and I try, it still ends up the same old story Deliver me from good, deliver me from evil The lord gives, the lord he taketh away Once I thought that I could change Once I thought that I could change my ways Once I thought that I could change my sinning ways Deliver me from good
4.
If I see you walking down the street I give the briefest nod and walk on by And if you call my name, my head is down, my heart is hard I turn the corner out of sight I read my morning paper and I drink my morning coffee But I know that I am faking, these encounters leave me shaken It's not as if I'm broken but I keep it all unspoken And when I find myself alone, there's nothing left Oh but when will I be over it Tell me when will I be over this affair I hear you moved away, you left without a trace I wonder if you found the shore The operator says, there's no-one by that name I wonder if you'd ever come back to my door And I know that I should say something like I hope you're happy And I hope that you have found somebody new But you know that I'd be lying because this jealousy's like fire And I lie in bed and dream of sweet revenge Oh but when will I be over it, etc.
5.
ON AND ON 03:01
I took one look in the mirror, I knew it was time to go Emptied out my wardrobe, where to now I didn't know Get behind the wheel and drive, turn up the radio Got the one-armed tan, feel like a macho man Don't fence me in I go on and on and on, wonder where I'll go today Pulled up by the side of the road Cold coffee and the sounds of silence Looking for a sign, oh I'm looking for peace of mind Wonder where I'll go today Go one thousand miles away Where the ocean meets the sky, that's where I will stay I go on and on, etc.
6.
Supple as anger, tender as steel Your back is the bridge that will help me to heal Out there is the darkness, out there is the night In here I am gone when we turn out the light Kiss me in comfort, kiss me in fear Kiss me in joy cos I think this real Open your eyes and I'll open mine too You only live once Will you wait for the oceans to part? Will you wait? Blind to the danger, deaf to the gun Dumb enough to look straight into the sun Feeling like death, now I feel like a life Anything goes, the temptation is rife Love really hurts, love is in the air Love is a many-splendoured affair The cliches abound so just open your eyes You only live once Will you wait, etc.
7.
LET ME LIVE 04:14
Down by the jukebox and the pool table he sits He's a lovely man, he's got a heart of gold And he's dreaming of 1982 and the Seaview Ballroom He's a lovely man, lost his short-term memory He sings hallelujah, hallelujah Let me live Says he still loves you and you kiss him as a friend He carries that kiss like a treasure to have and to hold Down in this dark corner Outside the stars are shining and a last tram rattles by He's such sweetheart, don't let him take you down He sings hallelujah, etc. He wanders down the strip searching for food and luck and a last song for the evening Something blue, something emotional That ghost down the road is a friend of mine, be kind to the spirit of the night Something blue, something emotional He sings hallelujah, etc.
8.
SAILING HOME 03:39
Far, far from home on a lost night in a strange motel Love's on the horizon as the twilight fades Let's sit here in the bar and sample the top shelf So well-lit, so intoxicating If you could only bottle seduction, here it is Outside the wind it whips and the rain it falls Beyond the Jubilee Highway Lies a field of fallen pine like a graveyard Run beyond it to the forest, so dark and inviting A clear sky and a brilliant cold And the flames like your fate so rich Further on to Corangamite and Wendouree Ghosts everywhere in the road-side stops and the cattleyards Oh, I'm sailing home to you, my love
9.
I float like ice down muddy streets Blow this sinking world apart piece by piece Looking for a dollar, looking for a clue Wonder what the hell is going on inside this zoo It's time to kick the crust off these feet of clay Time to make my way down the great white way Preachers at my door Salesmen by the score I blow them all away Let nature know the score Look for every crack to burn down the maze Wonder the hell I'm going blinded by this haze It's time, etc.
10.
The beer-coloured bay smells oh so sweet And the wandering sickness is nigh The open sea's like a siren call And the world bids a fond goodbye Now you perch upon her temper And you yap for her return And you sail upon her smile The map of all those mean streets You used to know so well Is not forgotten, nor forgiven But hope springs eternal in this house, baby And the endless search has not been in vain Now you perch, etc.
11.
RESTLESSNESS 06:08
She wakes at two in the morning Climbs silently out of bed Avoids the creaks in the floor so as not to wake the dead She stands naked in the kitchen Framed in that cold and steaming light Her brain spins like a mouse on a wheel But neither food nor drink nor love Can cure that endless restlessness There's nothing but infomercials and christians on tv So she comes and stirs me awake with her expert hands Oh such excellent kisses, such sweet surprise She loves me in stealth like a thief in the night But neither food, etc. I still hear those echoing footsteps Clear and stark in the hallway
12.
Come into my room and I will turn the lights down low Dry martini, Bacharach, an easy evening glow The conversation slides along, we seek each other's souls Closer and closer on the couch, the temperature rises Telling secrets and white lies Oh so sensitive Accidentally spill my drink Slip into something more comfortable As the night begins to fall, our words begin to fail My fingers through your hair Making love like there's no tomorrow And no yesterday I feel so lucid, so alive The lights of the city down below, leave the riff-raff far behind Making love like there's no tomorrow And no yesterday Telling secrets and white lies
13.
A crescent moon hung low in the sky The first star was close at hand in the winter trees, two last birds sang their last hurrah And there's nothing in the mailbox but a rumour I sat on the balcony for a while And I read about the latest bad news Murder and suicide and chaos they rule the world now But in truth, my mind was far away An echo of guilt rolled across my heart What game am I playing now cos there's always a game What game are we playing now? What can you hear in my voice? What news does my lover bring? What can you hear in my voice? The valley of Shangri-la, sometimes it seems so close But can it ever be regained? Was it only a trick of the light Or a fine piece of stagecraft What can you hear in my voice? What news does my lover bring? What can you hear in my voice?
14.
If I were a bird I'd be the smallest bird that I could be As weightless as the air I could change direction effortlessly No baggage, no body full of bones No bones full of sorrow and guilt No bones full of joy and love No love, no pain, no hate, no gain I would just fly, fly away So beautiful and cruel So cruel and beautiful Bright colours and endless movement Blue and green and iridescent and tangerine A life so pure, a life so free I would just fly, fly away, etc.
15.
Once I tried to find a way back home All I needed was the key to turn the stone I jettisoned cheap regret and all those stupid lies This endless maze you wander blind One fine day, you seek and you will find First, you crawl and then you run Then you learn to look out for number one Then the numbers start to turn And a simple twist of fate begins to burn So far astray, you wonder why One fine day, you seek and you will find
16.
Spinning round inside my head Nowhere I can run this time All the walls are closing in And sleep is far away TV plays a fateful tune Disneyland turned inside out Magic carpet burns my eye And peace is on the run Everyone is talking Talking at the same time Nobody is listening No one even cares Trying to find an answer To a simple question There’s always a reason Somebody died, somebody won Somebody born, a saga begun

about

The Story So Far... is a 15-track "Best Of" compilation taken from Jack's six beautifully-crafted albums. From the early Secrets And White Lies and the mighty Long Lost Brothers' recordings through to Lost Horizon recorded with The Nightbirds, these songs represent a powerful cross-section of Jack's rich and varied songwriting.

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released December 10, 2012

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Jack Howard Melbourne, Australia

Jack Howard played trumpet with Hunters and Collectors and for the last 20 years, he's been releasing his own highly- regarded music. Along the way, he's also played with The Living End, The Violent Femmes, Rodriguez and a host of others. In 2017, Jack toured the world with Midnight Oil as their trumpeter/multi-instrumentalist. He released his memoirs, Small Moments Of Glory in 2019. ... more

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