Music
Songs of the Unforgiven
©2004
Prelude
Pipe Organ: Chris Brown
Sonnet 1 (And When the Sun Goes Down)
And when the sun goes down into the sky
Together we shall sit and we shall sup
And we shall eat, and drink the heady wine
O, let us share the overflowing cup

We'll ramble on the coast, each side by side
We'll feel the sting of bracing salty air
We'll feel the moon pull at the ocean's tide
And wonder that we are together there

One day these things shall have come to pass
And then the end will come, as so it must
No longer shall we smell the summer grass
No longer shall we know each other's trust

So let us walk, and feel the cooling breeze
Before they're just forgotten memories

Vocals: Brad Roberts and Suzzy Roche
Acoustic guitar and cymbals: Scott Harding
Acoustic bass: Andrew Hall
Lap steel & acoustic guitar: Drew Glackin
Cello: Jane Scarpantoni
Piano: Chris Brown
Banjo: David Mansfield
And So Will Always Be
Once I went out walking
And saw a crippled man
He couldn't raise his glass to lips
So crippled were his hands
I stopped and watched, but could not
Bring myself to lend a hand

And so it is, and so it was
And so will always be
These things will be the way they will
And I will be this me

One day I was humming
A simple melody
When I heard birds whistling their tunes
From high up in the trees
My song seemed but a trifle now
They sang so beautifully

And so it is, and so it was
And so will always be
These things will be the way they will
And I will be this me

And now I listen to wind
As I lay down to bed
The snow has just begun to fall
And cover all that's left
The tops of fences, tips of trees
And stones that mark the dead

And so it is, and so it was
And so will always be
These things will be the way they will
And I will be this me

Vocals: Brad Roberts
Electric bass: Drew Glackin
Acoustic guitar: Scott Harding
Piano: Chris Brown
Violin: David Mansfield
The Unforgiven Ones
The guilty and the innocents
The prisoners and the free
The ugly and the beautiful
The ones who are yet to be

Some are sinners, some repent
Some are never done
And then there's those like you and I
The unforgiven ones
The unforgiven ones

The rock that ships run up against
No matter how they tack
The murderers and the murdered ones
And the ones who don't come back

Some are sinners, some repent
Some are never done
And then there's those like you and I
The unforgiven ones
The unforgiven ones

The one whose heart is of a saint
The other's black as night
The one who never wondered
What made something wrong, or right

Some are sinners, some repent
Some are never done
And then there's those like you and I
The unforgiven ones
The unforgiven ones

Vocals: Brad Roberts
Acoustic guitar: Drew Glackin
Acoustic and electric guitars and percussion: Scott Harding
Harp: Park Stickney
Pipe and pump organs: Chris Brown
Acoustic bass: Andrew Hall
Drum: Mimi Parker
Banjo: David Mansfield
Backing vocals: Ellen Reid
Interlude 1
Pipe Organ: Chris Brown
Come Down To The Sinkhole
Come down to the sinkhole
Where the mud is thick and deep
Bring your special poison
The one that makes you go to sleep

Go and pack your bag
Make sure you lock the door
Don't think about it very much
It's better to ignore

Bring a stick for wild dogs
That hunt in packs at night
Bring firepower, if you can
You might find that you have to fight

Go and pack your bag
Make sure you lock the door
Don't think about it very much
It's better to ignore

Lay down in the tall grass
Next to the sycamores
Think of those who've come and gone
Slaughtered in the many wars

Go and pack your bag
Make sure you lock the door
Don't think about it very much
It's better to ignore

Look out at the ocean
To the waters dark and deep
Bring your special poison
The one that makes you go to sleep

Go and pack your bag
Make sure you lock the door
Don't think about it very much
It's better to ignore

Vocals: Brad Roberts
Electric bass and lap steel guitar: Drew Glackin
Acoustic guitar: Scott Harding
Wurlitzer electric piano: Chris Brown
Banjo: David Mansfield
Electric guitar: Alan Sparhawk
Is The Spell Really Broken?
Is the spell really broken?
Has the time finally come?
Do they see it's an omen?
That it's over and done?

Have they seen the thing coming?
Or do they pretend?
Do they know that it's finally
Beginning to end?

No, they won't listen
They don't know they're in hell
They're really quite happy
With things and themselves

Have the castles all crumbled
Into dust in the sky?
Have the billions been humbled?
Are they ready to die?

No, they won't listen
They don't know they're in hell
They're really quite happy
With things and themselves

Have they emptied the prisons?
Have they heard the death knells?
Have they hung the last hangman
And must now hang themselves?

No, they won't listen
They don't know they're in hell
They're really quite happy
With things and themselves

Vocals: Brad Roberts
Pipe organ: Chris Brown
Acoustic bass: Andrew Hall
Electric guitar: Scott Harding
Cello: Jane Scarapatoni
Violin: David Mansfield
Backing vocals: Ellen Reid, Suzzy Roche, & Scott Harding
Everlasting Peace
The slow march of the army
The dragging of the boots
The laying and the waiting
Until someone starts to shoot

Where is there this silence, then?
This everlasting peace?
You'll find it on the cold blue
Smiling lips of the deceased

The slow arc of the sun that moves
Across the blazing sky
The vultures circling in the heat
Above where dying lie

Where is there this silence, then?
This everlasting peace?
You'll find it on the cold blue
Smiling lips of the deceased

The miles of green that thirst to death
The blowing of the sand
And then the creeping cold begins
And freezes all the land

Where is there this silence, then?
This everlasting peace?
You'll find it on the cold blue
Smiling lips of the deceased

Vocals: Brad Roberts
Acoustic bass: Andrew Hall
Piano and accordion: Chris Brown
Vibraphone: Scott Harding
Backing vocals: Ellen Reid & Suzzy Roche
Sonnet 2 (And Back In Ages Past)
And back in ages past, when all was dark
A whirling chaos raged across the land
Survival of the cruelest left their mark
And evil came, and shook the hand of man

The brutal rampaged on their bloody way
The demons turned to gods, and gods to beasts
Unbroken cries of pain rang every day
While colder hearts prevailed, and sat to feast

And now these times approach us once again
No more will sing the solitary lark
The cruelest have returned, and they shall reign
In choking smoke and fire and endless dark

So if your heart is in it still, then stay
Remember, though, these are our final days

Vocals: Brad Roberts
Electric bass and lap steel guitar: Drew Glackin
Acoustic and electric guitars: Scott Harding
Pipe organ: Chris Brown
Backing vocals: Ellen Reid
The Beginning Of The End
And when the rain begins to fall
And there's flooding in the streets
And everyone is drowning
And everyone retreats

And if there ever is a time
When death becomes your friend
It is when you watch it all come down
The beginning of the end
The beginning of the end

And when the bombs begin to fall
And the fires fill the streets
And the people scream blue murder
And there's nowhere to retreat

And if there ever is a time
When death becomes your friend
It is when you watch it all come down
The beginning of the end
The beginning of the end

And when the angels begin to fall
Into their fiery hell
They knew that there would be no end
But they rang their bells

And if there ever is a time
When death becomes your friend
It is when you watch it all come down
The beginning of the end
The beginning of the end

Vocals: Brad Roberts
Bass: Drew Glackin
Electric guitars: Scott Harding
Wurlitzer electric piano and pump harmonium: Chris Brown
Church bell: Todd McMillan
Cello: Jane Scarapatoni
Backing vocals: Ellen Reid and Suzzy Roche
Interlude 2
Pipe Organ: Chris Brown
You've Had Your Run
The cards are dealt, the bids are in
The faces, poker straight
The air is full of smoke and sweat
The men are full of hate

Rest your tired bones, my friend
The game is nearly done
However much you might regret
In life, you've had your run

Start your engines, gentlemen
There's not much time to wait
Remember there's no going back
Once we open up the gate

Rest your tired bones, my friend
The game is nearly done
However much you might regret
In life, you've had your run

The stakes are high, the moon is up
The drinks are flowing free
They've bet on all the horses
Now they can only wait and see

Rest your tired bones, my friend
The game is nearly done
However much you might regret
In life, you've had your run
Yes, in life, you've had your run

Vocals: Brad Roberts
Electric bass: Drew Glackin
Acoustic guitar: Scott Harding
Accordion: Chris Brown
There Is No Final Winner
There is no final winner
There is no final score
The men have left the playing field and play no more

The hours have been counted
The work is finally done
And now the night begins to fall on everyone

The lovers have done their loving
The murderers their task
The hunted have been snared and gagged and masked

So when you're in the graveyard
Read those names in stone
After all, you'll never get to read your own

Vocals: Brad Roberts & Suzzy Roche
Acoustic guitar: Brad Roberts
Electric bass and resophonic guitar: Drew Glackin
Accordion: Chris Brown
Banjo: David Mansfield
You've Done It Once Again
The kill is fresh, the deed is done
You lay down in your bed
But sleep won't come, you're still too high
And thoughts race through your head

And then the guilt begins to gnaw
And your belly turns to stone
And you realize it's you that did it
You and you alone

And there's no one else to turn to
And there's no one else to blame
And you suddenly realize
You've done it once again
Yeah, you've done it
Once again

You swore you'd not repeat your crime
You took a solitary oath
But now you're back where you began
Just you and you alone

And there's no one else to turn to
And there's no one else to blame
And you suddenly realize
You've done it once again
Yeah, you've done it
Once again

And now you rise again from bed
And look out at the day
Regret the things that you have done
And then do them all again

And there's no one else to turn to
And there's no one else to blame
And you suddenly realize
You've done it once again
Yeah, you've done it
Once again

Vocals: Brad Roberts
Electric bass and lap steel guitar: Drew Glackin
Acoustic guitar: Scott Harding
Pump organ and piano: Chris Brown
Electric guitar: Alan Sparhawk
Backing vocals: Ellen Reid and Suzzy Roche
Sonnet 3 (The Cold Is Here)
The cold is here, the woods are full of snow
The river with its crusted banks of ice
Bespeak of winter drownings long ago
The chest pressed tightly, as though in a vise

The birds have flown away to warmer climes
The mammals in their caves to hibernate
The summer seems a lost and gentle time
When grass grew up against the swinging gate

The children's cheeks have turned a rosy red
The wealthy are beside their fires, warm
And then there's he who is without a bed
In which to lay and ride the raging storm

And in the graveyard, cold old bones do lie
And far above, the stars light up the sky

Vocals: Brad Roberts and Suzzy Roche
Tremolo bass: Drew Glackin
Acoustic guitar: Scott Harding
Pipe organ: Chris Brown
The Wicked And The Evil
There are those who kneel to worship
And beg for clemency
There are those who know the hardship
Of a conscience that'is not free

Some are weary, some are cold
Some barely half-alive
But the wicked and the evil
Eat, and drink, and thrive

The prisoners feel the scorching sun
As they toil among the rocks
Some are grim, some resigned
But not one ever talks

Some are weary, some are cold
Some barely half-alive
But the wicked and the evil
Eat, and drink, and thrive

The sinner knowing he has sinned
Is not saved, he is cursed
For no matter how he may repent
He's done his worst

Some are weary, some are cold
Some barely half-alive
But the wicked and the evil
Eat, and drink, and thrive

Vocal: Brad Roberts
Pipe Organ: Chris Brown
Postlude
Pipe Organ: Chris Brown