Get all 10 Dave Bradley releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Genre Fluid, Lifelines, After the Lockdown, The Lockdown LP, Bridge of Sighs, The Sea Refuses No River, Who is Really Fooling Who?, Detail is a Devil, and 2 more.
1. |
||||
I’ve already talked about how it came to be and alluded to the origins of the title in the engraving on young English poet John Keats’ headstone – Here Lies One Whose Name was writ in Water
With this song History Written on the Water I tried to weave a tapestry of imagery and metaphor, exploring themes of secrets, betrayal, faithlessness, loss, and the relentless passage of time.
Artwork for the Dave Bradley song History Written on the Water
Secrets and Betrayal: My lyrics refer to secrets, suggesting that there are hidden truths that have been concealed or obscured. Lines like “The secret’s out, they could’ve lied” and “A candle snuffed from sacred view” imply a sense of betrayal or deception, the allusion to candles hinting at faithlessness.
Metaphorical Imagery: By design or accident, there are numerous metaphors, in particular the history being written on the water, suggesting an impermanence and fluidity of events and the idea that our actions leave no indelible mark on the world. They say history is a lesson to learn, but so often we inore it.
Nature Imagery: Many of my songs talk of the sea, water, tides, often symbolizing loss, death, the passage of time, the inevitability of change, and the depths of the human condition. The mention of “crushing waves beneath the endless skies” hopefully conjures a sense of overwhelming force and vastness.
Contract and Binding: The reference to contracts signed between the lines and the (legal) eagle’s talons tightly binding perhaps suggest a sense of entrapment or obligation, perhaps implying that choices made in the past have lasting consequences.
Yearning for Redemption: The repeated references to finding one’s way back home and reclaiming secrets beneath the waves suggest a longing for redemption or reconciliation. There is a sense of urgency and determination in lines like “No more time left to roam” and “Promise me that you’ll be fine.”
Desolation and Loss: The imagery of “empty bed” and “world gone dark” conveys a sense of desolation and loss, hinting at the aftermath of betrayal or abandonment.
Turning Point: The line “The turnaround is where it ought to be” suggests a moment of realization or reckoning, where the protagonist comes to terms with their circumstances and resolves to move forward. A turnaround, of course, being a musical term for a point in a song where the chord progression or melody flips from the expected to something unexpected but nevertheless satisfying.
History Written on the Water is hopefully a poignant exploration of human experience, using imagery and metaphor to convey themes of secrecy, betrayal, redemption, and the passage of time. In it, I reflect on some of the complexities of life, maybe the transient impact of our actions on the world around us.
|
||||
2. |
Like a Flame to a Moth
03:30
|
|||
Like a flame to a moth
Someone's running up the stair
Brushing metal, stepping hard
The trembling painted banister
The firedoor, insanely barred
There's no smoking in the kitchen
But, the fire's out of control
The flames they flickered with your heartbeat
The smoke it lingered in your soul
Like a moth to a flame
Like a flame to a moth
You're finding its caress
Feeds the burning of the cloth
Like a flame to a moth
Like a moth to a flame
You're hiding your distress
in the playing of the game
Like a moth to a flame
Like a flame to a moth
It's knowing your success
Is someone else's loss
Like a flame to a moth
Like a moth to a flame
It's the ticking of the clock
The acceptance of blame
There's a light on in the hallway
Its wires they go deep underground
It's pulsing to the time of your heartbeat
Yet it didn't make a sound
|
||||
3. |
||||
You'll never know what hit you
You'll only bear the scars
You'll never find the peace in you
just staring at the stars
Beyond the pain there's yearning
to chase away the night
The futile hope of turning
the bending of the light
I'll tell you what your problem is
You never can concede
Give and take will always fail
when there is wanton greed
You’ve got to find a shelter
in your happy place
It's not about your pride
it's not about saving face
We walked through barren fields
We saw the forest fires
We raised up all our wicker men
The silhouetted pyres
We felt the rising of the tide
Our homes we had to flee
She said "The world will always turn
but it's not my time for the sea"
They say that water always wins
but that's the nature of the game
The seasons are eliding
yet the land can still reclaim
She said 'Those scars will heal with time
as dust returns to earth'
The sea remains but still
we chase the hope of our re-birth
Barefoot in the water seems a lesson out of class
Tread carefully now, there may well be a little broken glass
If the pressure's on the rise, the change could crush our pride
And in the end, my dear, we could always say that we all tried
|
||||
4. |
My Light, My Sky
06:10
|
|||
Chased the raindrop to the stream
Chased the river to the sea
There, my friend he waved at me
But, my friend he could not see
Chased the meaning out of me
Gave permission to my grief
Would the water wash over me
So my faith could set me free?
But, no raindrop, river, sea
Can wash him back here to me
When the world it buries me
Will I wake to find I'm free?
Hid the places she would scream
Let her teardrops make the scene
Could my friend still save my dream?
But, my friend she cannot heal
And, no raindrop, river, sea
Can wash her back here to me
When the world it buries me
Will I wake, will I wake to find I'm free?
Can I still not believe?
Oh, I could still not believe
I still cannot conceive
That our hope was swallowed by the sea
Found my way back to the sea
Walked the shingle in a dream
Ripped my soul, right out of the seams
And my brother carried me
I thought, no raindrop, nor sea
Would sail them back home to me
When the world it buries me
I will wake, I will wake to find I'm free!
Can I still not believe?
Oh, I could still not believe
I still cannot conceive
Our hope was swallowed by the sea
Oh I do like to be beside the sea
Oh, this is a beautiful sky
But, this is not my sky, no, this is not my sky
And, oh, this is a beautiful day
This is not my day, no, this is not my day
And, oh this is a beautiful sight
But, this is not my sight, this is not my sight
And, oh, this is a beautiful light
But, this is not my light, no this is not my light
|
||||
5. |
Ticking Clocks
03:10
|
|||
The key turns in the lock
she pushed the door wide open with her suitcase
It's a shock
to find herself back here once again
She locked the secrets deep inside
Unanswered prayers her woe betide
She finds the clocks
They stopped the day she stepped away
From the cruellest of hard knocks
and all the fear that it revealed
The silent screams, the sound that mocks
Those echoes drowned by ticking clocks
No need to knock
She grasps the letters from the floor
You know she's taking stock
And gasps to know the secrets they don't hold her any more
The key's inside the box.
She didn't need to worry
About secrets locked up deep inside
Unanswered prayers her woe betide
She winds the clocks
And knows the secrets they can't hold her
The cruellest of hard knocks
and all the fears that they concealed
She locked the secrets deep inside
Unanswered prayers her woe betide
She faced the shocks
And knows the secrets they can't hold her
The hardest of hard knocks
And all her fears now gone forever
|
||||
6. |
Take the Waters
05:09
|
|||
Swimming cleanly through the water,
way beyond the tide and time
I can easily find my way back home,
'cause I never run out of line
And as I'm out there floating oh so free
Well, I never need to feel the air
And the bitter taste of bleak anxiety
I can shake without a care
Spread your life across the ocean
Find the waves don't hurt your pride
Take your chances while you have them
Moving forward with the water as your guide
And as you're out there moving oh so free
Well, you never need to care
For feeling weaker with anxiety
You can live without a prayer
Take the waters like you're floating down
Meet your demons half way there
Sons and daughters who won't wear that frown
Fight the fight like there's no one there
Take the waters like you're floating down
Meet your demons face-to-face
The sons and daughters who don't wear that crown
Fight the fight when they find the space
|
||||
7. |
Old Nick is Quick
02:44
|
|||
Old Nick is Quick
I woke up today
As you might have easily guessed
There’s one thing I must say
You might be less than impressed
I read in the news
There was a man with the answers
For shaking off the blues
With a shot he took his chances
He made a pact with a bottle
One more drink, he's on his way
But, he had forgotten
The liquor's quick and it made him stay
The girl she had a message
It was hidden in her underwear
The punter paid his money first
And took her in the chair
She shivered at the thought of it
His weapon in her face
Sadly, so the story goes there is no other place
She made a deal with her ego
One more trick, she's on her way
But, he's no amigo
The money's quick and it makes her stay
I woke up this morning
As you might have easily guessed
There’s one thing that I've got to say
Aren’t you just a little impressed?
They made a deal off the level
One more trick, they're on their way
But, they were bedevilled
Old Nick is quick and he makes them stay
To take them away
|
||||
8. |
||||
9. |
Got it?
03:17
|
|||
Got it?
Where you going? How'd you know how to find your way?
What that's you're showing? How'd you know what to say?
You'll get the message, when they cut away
Life's so cruel but all you players fade some day
Feel real free got it?
Well you paved the way
Seek, see, speak for it
Might just get away
What you knowing? Don't you run away!
Well! Look who's growing You got to play today
|
||||
10. |
||||
Take me down to the river
Take me all the way out to sea
Chill my heart with the spindrift
Sail the memories home to me
Take a look at the questions
At the questions you have found
Catch a wave without harbour
Where the truth is surely drowned
Yet you know how I wonder
If the truth will be concealed
In the safety of that harbour
That's the time when all's revealed
Sail me back to Uh-huh Town
Sail me back for free
Shake the water from the prow
Sail me back for free
Take me down to the river
Take me all the way out to sea
Chill my heart with the spindrift
Sail the memories home to me
Take me to the lost & found
Sail me back to where I'm bound
Take me to the lost & found
Sail me back to where I'm bound
Take me to the lost & found
Sail me back to where I'm bound
Take me to the lost & found
Sail me back to where I'm bound
Take me to the lost & found
Sail me back to where I'm bound
Take me to the lost & found
Sail me back to where I'm bound
Hey, hey, hey
Sail me back, sail me back
Sail me back to Uh-Huh Town
Sail me back, sail me back
Take me down to the river
Take me all the way out to sea
|
||||
11. |
||||
Take my hand
There are no saints only sinners, No prophets,
No judges full of hate
No happy ever afters spent in wonder
No world beyond the distant shores of fate
You might dream that there's a ghost in the machine
But your dreams are only mists upon the waves
So take my hand, take my hand
I can't lead you to a promised land
But take my hand, and be there with me
We will play our time like ripples in the sand
There are no answers in your breathing, No wisdom,
No salve to take away the pain
The sea is as wide as the summer
And pity is the sound of falling rain
|
||||
12. |
||||
13. |
|
|||
14. |
|
Dave Bradley UK
Guitarist, singer-songwriter. Acoustic and electric indie pop and rock originals. Singer, guitarist with C5, bigMouth, TyrannoChorus, CTW, with DJ Ad, and BarbD
Streaming and Download help
If you like Dave Bradley, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp