Big Country Book of Lyrics Was Originally Offered Online As a PDF File on a Web Site That Later Grew Into the Remarkable Steeltown Site
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THE BOOK of LYRICS Compiled by Michael S. Wallack v2.1 (March 5, 2007) This page intentionally left blank Introduction Project History This project is truly a labor of love. Big Country's music has played a very important part in my life over the last twenty years and this project is, in part, my way of giving something to those who share my love of Big Country. The Big Country Book of Lyrics was originally offered online as a PDF file on a web site that later grew into the remarkable Steeltown site. Unfortunately, the real world intruded and the original compiler decided to stop further updates after the release of the "Somebody Else" CD singles. At that point, I stepped in and decided to assume the responsibility for the Big Country Book of Lyrics. Alas, the real world also delayed my ability to keep up with new releases and the Book of Lyrics fell into limbo. Now, however, it is finally time to resurrect the Big Country Book of Lyrics. Dedication The Big Country Book of Lyrics is, of course, dedicated to Bruce Watson, Tony Butler, Mark Brzezicki, and to the memory of Stuart Adamson. May the music they made inspire us for generations to come. Stay alive! Driving home from work shortly after posting v2.00 of the Book of Lyrics, I realized that I had forgotten the most important dedication of all: To my wife; the first girl that I dated who liked Big Country. She has put up with my obsession all these years, and, since I began this project, has never once laughed at me or told me that I was wasting my time. Special Note Concerning Copyrights I do not claim ownership of the copyright of any of the lyrics and cover art contained in this document; they belong to the respective artists, record labels, and recording companies. I have prepared this document under the provisions of the Fair Use clause of the copyright laws of the United States. This document may not be sold or distributed as part of a work for which any fee is charged. In addition, in the event that Big Country should someday release a book similar in scope and content to this one, then all copies of this book should be destroyed. It is my sincere desire that this book in no way deprive Big Country (or the related artists referenced herein) of any royalties that they should be entitled to and I encourage them to make this book obsolete by releasing a definitive and “official” book of lyrics. If you appreciate this book, I strongly encourage you to purchase those Big Country recordings (and the recordings of the related artists included in this book) that you do not have. I will not accept payment; however, I am always happy to receive additional Big Country material (e.g., bootleg recordings or unreleased material) that add to my collection. Acknowledgments From original Big Country Book of Lyrics: Thanks to Jonathan Berkey, Michael Bickley, Todd Carrier, Mattias Engvall, Tony Dennison, Svein B. Hjorthaug, Jeff Cetola, Lewis Crow, Ian Ingham, Christian Jennings, Thomas Kercheval, John Lewis, Simon McKenzie, Allard Mosk, Eric Mossfeldt, Erle Mundle, Martin Powell, Brady Severns, Valeri Shaw, Jeroen Sprenkeler, Bas van Giesen, Michael Wallack and Greg Ziegler. Special thanks to Oliver Hunter. Additional acknowledgments: Michael Crosson, Lewis Crow, Andrew Cullum, Mattias Engvall, Jules Erickson, John R. Gouveia, Oliver Hunter, Thomas H. Kercheval, Simo Neiglick, Jeff Patterson, Hans Reiter, Jeroen Zuiderhoek, Ben, Sue, and Kjartan (sorry, but I can’t find your last names), and Rob Weiss. (I apologize to those who helped with this project that I have inadvertently omitted.) Special thanks to Robert Oliver and everyone who has been involved in the various incarnations of the Big Country mailing lists over the last few years. And additional thanks to John R. Gouveia for keeping the project alive online. What’s with the symbol? The lyrics for many of the songs in this book were transcribed by myself and members of the Big Country internet community by careful listening and discussion. Nevertheless, without definitive written lyrics from the songwriters it remains nearly impossible to be sure that all lyrics presented are correct. Songs for which “official” lyrics have never been made available are indicated by the question mark icon. Sources for “official” lyrics are the liner notes to the albums, Big 3 Country Words by Stuart Adamson, the music book for “Wonderland”, and Country Club magazine (the old official magazine for Big Country). Lyrics have recently been posted on the official website for the “No Place Like Home + Peace in Our Time” release. Some revision to songs marked with the icon is still needed. What’s with the miniature album pictures? Big Country released eight studio albums. For the sake of chronological categorizing, all of Big Country’s songs have been assigned to an “era” associated with the album for which the song was recorded or, in the case of unreleased songs, approximating the time that the song was recorded. A timeline of the eight studio album is used to show where each song fits chronologically, with the appropriate album image shown in color and all other albums shown in greyscale. Thus, a reader can simply glance at the album timeline to get a rough idea of where that song fits within the Big Country chronology. When no timeline appears for a given song, it means that chronological information for the song is not available. Future Revisions & Plans I hope to be able to offer updated versions of the Big Country Book of Lyrics as additional songs are (hopefully) released and as more information becomes available. Please send suggested changes, corrections, or enhancements to [email protected]. In addition, if you would like to volunteer to assist with some of the larger enhancements presently planned for this book, please let me know! In future editions of this book, Some of the plans for future editions include: 1. Add more pictures of the Big Country (both as a group and individually). 2. Cross-references for songs that are “related” to other songs (i.e., shared music or lyrics, etc.). 3. Additional notes on the meanings of certain songs. 4. Additional information on different versions of songs (e.g., remixes, acoustic, and live versions). 5 Add a subject word index. 6. Add information on DVD versions. And of course... 7. More songs as they become available! Big Country on the Internet For more information on Big Country and to purchase Big Country merchandise, please visit the official Big Country web site: http://www.bigcountry.co.uk. Tony Butler’s pesonal website is http://www.tonybutlermusic.co.uk/ and he can also be found on MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/tonybutlermusic). Bruce Watson’s personal website is http://www.bruce- watson.net/ and he can also be found on MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/brucewwatson) and in the blogosphere (http://brucewwatson.blogspot.com/). To join the Big Country internet mailing list (where many of the contributions for this book originated), please visit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bigcountry. The current version of the Big Country Book of Lyrics can be downloaded from http://www.wallack.us/bc (my brand new website for the Big Country Book of Lyrics). Also, John R. Gouveia maintains an HTML version (with lots of other goodies) at http://www.jfng.com/index.htm. Final Notes In the present version of the Book of Lyrics I have included separate pages for alternate versions of songs only when there is a fairly substantial change in the lyrics. I have not included a separate page for minor changes (e.g. a single word, a repeated chorus), but I do plan to add more information about different song versions in the future. At present, the single 4 live release by Bruce Watson’s Buffalo Skinners has not been included. Table of Contents Originals Crazytimes ................................................ 46 Crazytimes (demo) ................................... 47 Ages of a Man ........................................... 12 The Crossing (demo)................................ 48 All Fall Together ........................................ 13 The Crossing ............................................. 49 All Go Together......................................... 14 Daystar ...................................................... 50 All of Us .................................................... 15 Dead on Arrival ......................................... 51 Alone......................................................... 16 Devil in the Eye ......................................... 52 Angle Park ................................................. 17 Dive Into Me (demo) ................................ 53 Another Misty Morning ............................. 18 Dive in to Me ............................................ 54 Balcony ...................................................... 19 Don’t You Stay .......................................... 55 Bass Dance ................................................ 20 Dragging My Name ................................... 56 Beat the Devil ........................................... 21 Driving to Damascus................................. 57 Beautiful People ........................................ 22 Dust on the Road ...................................... 58 Belief in the Small Man .............................. 23 Dynamite Lady .......................................... 59 Bella ........................................................... 24 East of Eden .............................................. 60 Bianca ........................................................ 25 Eastworld .................................................