1. |
Beautiful Girl
03:12
|
|||
|
Beautiful Girl
© Lee Hayes
Well, I called your name when I saw you there
You were standing with a friend
You were waiting for the light to change
And the winter to end
Well, your days are long and your nights go fast
And I know you’re working hard
You are dancing on an angel’s wing
And your skies are starred
You’re a Beautiful Girl
You’re a Beautiful Girl
Then we walked for hours while snow came flying down
Streets we know so well
You are on the edge of life and I’m
Your Sentinel
And the day will come; Lord, it’s coming soon
Your adventure on your own
But as long as I am here you’ll never
Walk alone
You’re a Beautiful Girl
You’re a Beautiful Girl
Well I’ll never regret not saving the money
That took us to Mexico
Eight years old and a heart of gold
Ten years later, I behold
My Beautiful Girl
My Beautiful Girl
My Beautiful Girl
Well, I called your name when I saw you there
You were standing with a friend
You were waiting for the light to change
And the winter to end
|
||||
2. |
Nothing To Lose
02:58
|
|||
|
Nothing To Lose
© Lee Hayes
I never could pretend
Look in your eyes, I see the end
All of our promises reversed
No longer sacred, which makes it worse
Maybe I’ll go far away
Maybe I’ll call it a day
Love is a chance I can’t refuse
I never said ‘nothing to lose’
You were too young, I was so blind
We were in love, - out of our minds
So many years since I’ve been there
Why couldn’t you know that love is rare
I never could pretend
I saw your eyes, I saw the end
Love is a whim I can’t coerce
Sometimes a gift, sometimes a curse
Lord only knows, I’ve paid my dues
And I never said ‘nothing to lose’…
Nothing to lose
|
||||
3. |
12 Years Old
03:25
|
|||
|
12 Years Old
© Lee Hayes
I was the youngest in a family of three
My beautiful sisters years ahead of me
I grew up in a small town with city-girl dreams
Then the 1930’s fell apart at the seams
I was a princess in my daddy’s eyes
Married at seventeen to the town’s best prize
Just a year before I was playing in a band
Now I’ve got me a baby and a ring on my hand
When I look in the mirror
There’s a stranger; look nearer
Inside I’m only 12 years old
Well, the 40’s came and took my husband to war
And here I thought that times were tough before
Spent my days making dresses for the town’s who’s who
And my nights taking care of too much to do
Before I knew it, my hair had passed to gray
My children growing, then gone, then far away
I put one foot forward through my joys through my tears
And I sure don’t feel all my 86 years
When I look in the mirror
There’s a stranger; look nearer
Inside I’m only 12 years old
Ooh, when did these lines appear
Wasn’t I a young girl yesterday
Ooh, well, I’ve always been busy
But how did all those years just slip away
Funny how crystal-clear those early times
Almost a century on this face of mine
Now I see my spirit in my great-grandchild
And it’s thicker than water; bless this girl strong and wild!
When I look in the mirror
There’s a stranger; look nearer
Inside I’m only 12 years old
|
||||
4. |
Blade Of Kindness
05:07
|
|||
|
Blade of Kindness
© Lee Hayes
Woke up bitter this morning
With my heart in the wrong place
I feel your blade of kindness
Like a slap across the face
Loneliness in summer is the strangest season I’ve known
It’s not who says he loves you
And tells a pack of lies
It’s how you needed to believe in him
While looking in blind eyes
Loneliness in summer is the strangest season I’ve known
Now who could touch me; cut me to the bone
You could hurt me; break me over stone
You gave me empty answers
To the questions I still ask
I thought there was more to this
Maze of shallowness you mask
Loneliness in summer is the strangest season I’ve known
Now who could touch me; cut me to the bone
You could hurt me; break me over stone
I’m still bitter by the morning
My heart is in a bind
I still feel your blade of kindness
Like a ghost one step behind
Loneliness in summer is the strangest season I’ve known
Loneliness in summer is the strangest season I’ve known
|
||||
5. |
Cocoon
03:35
|
|||
|
Cocoon
© Lee Hayes
I look at you once and I can imagine
Every single day I know will never happen
Oh, some things come about far too late
Or else they go too soon
Maybe love can be locked up for years inside a lost cocoon
We stayed up talking all night about the
Love that got away
And how your lover came home one night and said
It's over; you can't stay
Well, I'd take you into my empty heart
But no-one's lasted long
Maybe love can be blocked out for years
By habits hard and strong
And maybe love is just an idea for a day
Of what might have been, or what we never say
And what a shock to find you
Cast out, just because
Broken-hearted like I was
I looked back only once as you
Drove off in your van
And I got onto a plane and headed home
To a different man
Oh, here I go again, I'm leaving another
He isn't you, you see
Maybe love can be chalked up to years
Resigned to destiny
And maybe love is just an idea for a day
Of what might have been, or what we never say
And what a shock to find you,
Cast out, just because
Broken-hearted like I was
Touching me like a lonely one does
|
||||
6. |
||||
|
The Secret Life of Dorothy Bell
© Lee Hayes
She was born in a farmhouse in southern Quebec
With five brothers before her and not much respect
She worked hard like her mother, and no one could tell
That she lived the secret life of Dorothy Bell
All the boys in her hometown, they went off to war
And Amelia Fitzgerald, she moved right next door
And every time Dorothy saw her, her heart rose, then fell
Cuz she lived the secret life of Dorothy Bell
Oh, from her garden at night
Oh, she could see Amelia’s light
Oh, and Dorothy would watch from her room
When in the morning, Amelia would find a new bloom
When the Great War was over, Amelia did wed
And her bridesmaid was Dorothy, her eyes rimmed with red
And those who thought, like Amelia, that they knew her well
They never knew the secret life of Dorothy Bell
She became Auntie Dorothy, and taught school each year
She kept house for the elderly, a trained volunteer
Still her heart hid a passion that time could not quell
And she lived the secret life of Dorothy Bell
Oh, from her garden at night
Oh, she could see Amelia’s light
Oh, and Dorothy would watch from her room
When in the morning, Amelia would find a new bloom
She was born in a farmhouse, and buried in town
Near her best friend, Amelia; and last year I found
Unsent letters she’d written, with so much to tell
Of how she lived the secret life of Dorothy Bell
Dorothy Bell, Dorothy Bell
Oh, she lived the secret life of Dorothy Bell
|
||||
7. |
Albert's Boat
03:51
|
|||
|
Albert's Boat
© Lee Hayes
I went out in Albert’s boat
The sun was on the rise
This land and sea are quite remote
But heaven to the eyes
Face and hand are browner than
The soil that is the shore
But when he spoke, my spirit woke
And wanted to hear more
The sky was filled with cry of gull
The sun was fiercely bright
The wind, she trickled like a lullaby
And felt just right
He wore his favorite fishing hat
And his favorite fishing clothes
He wore his favorite overalls
And he never washes those
|
||||
8. |
Why Should I Care
04:36
|
|||
|
Why Should I Care
© Lee Hayes
Well, I left my mom, my father
The year I was fifteen
I was living in Toronto
In the early seventies
I was looking for a way
To get by each day
When peace of mind comes so rare
Why should I care
The dealing days were easy
I was selling off the street
And I could sweet-talk any lady
Into something good to eat
And I’d stay a week or two
Or until I found someone new
When peace of mind comes so rare
Why should I care
Oh, someday I’ll make a real home
Someday I won’t hate to be alone
Someday I’ll know how to begin
When I can stand to be inside my own skin
Why should I care
Sometimes I see my daughter
At the local grocery store
And it’s like looking in a mirror
With broken parts no more
And I’d like to say hello
But I turn around and go
When peace of mind comes so rare
Why should I care
Oh, someday I’ll make a real home
Someday I won’t hate to be alone
Someday I’ll know how to begin
When I can stand to be inside my own skin
Why should I care
When I wake up every morning
The first thing that I do
Is I make a pot of coffee
And I have a smoke or two
I’m just looking for a way
To get by each day
When peace of mind comes so rare
Why should I care
|
||||
Lee Hayes Vancouver, British Columbia
Award-winning Canadian Songwriter and Canadian Folk Music Award Nominee Lee Hayes is a full-time singer, songwriter, arranger, voice teacher and choir director. Lee is known internationally for her A Cappella groups Malaika (1994-2006) and Cantarra (2007-2010) and on Showtime for her song “I Should Have Been David Duchovny’s Bride” (Californication). ... more
If you like Lee Hayes, you may also like:
From Cork, Ireland, Lewis Barfoot writes mystic, majestic songs derived from regional folk, with an ambient music aura.
go to album
The latest from the UK’s Chris Brain is a gorgeously wrought album of tender acoustic folk music.
go to album
The Same Mistakes
by Hot Left Pole
Soft-as-a-whisper folk music, with spiderwebs of guitar and vocal melodies as comforting as a lullaby.
go to album
Rich, pastoral folk meditations on nature and healing from the UK singer-songwriter.
go to album
Whispery indie folk from the UK, “Hard Work” cradles soft and gentle vocal melodies in a nest of acoustic guitars.
go to album
Phototherapy EP
by Fahim Rahman
A collection of twinkling bedroom folk-pop demos from Fahim Rahman that arcs from hushed intimacy to sweeping cinematic emotionality.
go to album
Durham, NC singer-songwriter Skylar Gudasz makes intimate Americana delivered with dry wit and stunningly precise vocal acumen.
go to album
