Get all 5 Patrick Regan releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of TROUBADOUR BLUES, NORTH ATLANTIC CROSSING, THAT PASSED, LIKE A WORLD, and CROSSCUT TIMELINE : SELECTED SONGS 1984 - 2022.
1. |
THAT PASSED, THIS IS
05:34
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THAT PASSED, THIS IS
And this is where the story always ends
Where it all begins, time and time again
A little bird flies in from the night
Into the feasting hall, fires burning bright
From the night, the silence, and the cold
Through the feast of life flies the little soul
And on the walls, see the shadows cast
Shadows of our joys, sorrows of the past
It’s gone, ah ha
That passed, and so will this
That passed, this is
That passed, and so will this
We tell the tales that always have been told
Close against the night, warm against the cold
Love and war, and ordinary days
The wonders and the work, homelands
and the wandering ways
All gone, ah ha
That passed, and so will this
That passed, this is
That passed, and so will this
Behind every singer’s song
Is a line a thousand generations long
Who knows how many gathered so
Or how many thousand years ago
Outside of time, this place
Knows the changing weather of the human face
As all the passing things endure
So all that have passed are present here
The shadows stand tall behind our backs
Sun and moon and stars frozen in their tracks
A little bird flies in as before
Through the feast of life, out again through
the other door
It’s gone, ah ha
That passed, and so will this
That passed, this is
That passed, and so will this
And this is where the story always ends
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2. |
A COASTWISE SONG
05:13
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3. |
THE FABLE OF THE TREES
03:56
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THE FABLE OF THE TREES
I only want this little tree
The woodcutter said to the wood
What good could it possibly be to you?
What harm can there be
We'll let him have this little one
Reason the elder trees
A small price for getting him off our backs
And they give him that he lacks
A handle for his axe
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4. |
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WHEN THE REFORMATION RAN AGROUND
When the Reformation ran aground
On the coast of a howling wilderness
There was little left of summer then,
in sixteen ninety-six
When the Reformation ran aground
She was bound for Pennsylvania
From Port Royal in Jamaica
In a company of thirteen sail
With a frigate armed against the French
Bound for Pennsylvania
But we lay becalmed for seven days
Then the Reformation went astray
Lost an anchor, lost our company
And the master broke his leg
In the first storm, off Havana Bay
Among the Quaker’s slaves there was an Indian girl
She was taken with fits for hours before she died
The Havana lay behind us when we cast her over the side
Her name was Venus
And I heard a hurricane in her cries
And I watched our luck run out in her eyes
With the master down it was Dickinson
tried to raise our spirits up
But in the wind and water I heard her cries
O we called upon the lord on high
For the lord on high is mightier
Than the voice of many waters
Yea, than the mighty waves of the sea
O we called upon the lord on high
And we prayed all night for break of day
With the storm waves breaking over the deck
There were seabirds in the hen coops and a flood
in the cabins of the wreck
When the morning broke on Florida
It was sand and scrub and nothing more
Like the moon compared to England
And by nightfall we were shivering
while they danced round a fire in our clothes
That was just the start and nothing more
Every day the Hoe-bays held us there
And after them a tribe called Ais
Every time they drank the black drink, or they
looked at us crosswise
There were some of us feared for our lives
Oh it startled Jonathan Dickinson
When he heard “English son of a bitch!”
From the Spanish words and the gibberish, darting out
like a weasel from a ditch
In the angry voice of an Indian
Among the Quaker’s slaves there was an Indian girl
She was taken with fits for hours before she died
The Havana lay behind us when we cast her over the side
Her name was Venus
The dark places of the earth are full
Of the habitations of cruelty
Both the Quaker man and the African
who were joined by slavery
Feared the cruel jaws of the cannibal
And the Quaker feared for his little child
In the hands of those we’d fallen among
As the native women nursed the babe, and he grew
both fat and strong
The Quaker feared he’d grow up wild
We were starved and beaten, but none was killed
It was no worse than the navy
It was cold and rain and the long march north,
two hundred thirty miles
Killed the few who died along the way
Among the Quaker’s slaves there was an Indian girl
She was taken with fits for hours before she died
The Havana lay behind us when we cast her over the side
Her name was Venus
In November we made Augustine
And we left in Spanish colors
We reached Charles Town at Christmas time
With a tale worth a bottle all around
Then my mates and I shipped out again
When the Reformation ran aground
On the coast of a howling wilderness
There was little left of summer then,
in sixteen ninety-six
When the Reformation ran aground
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5. |
FAR OFF-SHORE
02:19
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6. |
GULF STREAM
04:29
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GULF STREAM
An air of southern morning
That moves upon the waters
And stirs among the palms of Bantry Bay
Recalls another country
A rough and woeful music
Wings of palm trees stirring far away
Oh Gulf Stream, where are you leading me now?
Was it here my fathers wandered
A land of elk and salmon
This gentle sheep-shorn green to which I’ve come?
The old world hardly knows me
A stranger now returning
And I can hardly say which way is home
Oh Gulf Stream, river that marries two lands
A soft breeze takes me to Florida
As if my mother took my hand
Primeval cypress forests
Warm springs and winding rivers
The shallow sandy soil that we called home
Where the water boils with yellowtail
When the dolphins play round the springs
Where the osprey dives and the herons glide
And the snakebird perches to dry her wings
You find me, ocean river
A wanderer and seeker
Reminding me that I’m already home
That anywhere and nowhere is my home
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7. |
ICARUS
05:02
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8. |
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EVERYTHING FALLS BEFORE YOUR PRIDE
It was not so much your leaving me
As the way you found
It burned like whiskey in my throat
As I forced it down
The pride that comes before a fall
I could drink all night and never drink it all
You can’t keep strong spirits bottled up inside
Everything falls, everything falls
Everything falls before your pride
I climbed the hill in nothing flat
It was dark and clear
Had a bright idea, have I told you that?
Had a bright idea
How I wonder where you are
Had a bright idea, saw a shooting star
If wishes were horses
All the fallen kings would ride
Everything falls, everything falls
Everything falls before your pride
When it came full circle back to me
Should have come as no surprise
But the hawk returning to my hand
Had murder in its eyes
I stood condemned without a trial
Even proud of that for a little while
It’s a short hope that hung me
And a knot I tied
Everything falls, everything falls
Everything falls before your pride
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9. |
FROM WHERE I AM
04:13
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FROM WHERE I AM
(lyrics by Shannon Anderson
music by Patrick Regan)
There's a lot of people in my head
They tell me where I should have gone
They tear me up, they wear me down
As I try to make it one more time around
But it doesn't matter where you could have gone
'Cause you only go one way anyhow
You can't spread your self around
If you want to come down to the here and now
I was ashamed to write this song because
I should have written fifty more before
I was ashamed to sing my pain
'Cause I know I should've already found the cure
I was ashamed to look into your face
But everybody's got to start someplace
Too much back there to erase
I'm gonna start from where I am
When I start from where I'm not
I'm just a puppet on a string
All my words are made of wood
And wooden birds don't sing
When I start from where I'm not
I get the fog inside my head
And fifty different voices crying
Girl, do something else instead
Do something else instead
Should've studied harder back in school
Got to think faster or I'll miss my cue
Got to learn to understand the stock exchange
Got to write Grandma a nice thank-you
But I'll never get it like it's supposed to be
Never gonna go and fix it now
So I'm gonna lay it down
Give the thing a try from where I am
I'm gonna give the thing a try right from where I am
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10. |
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JENNY SAYS SHE KNOWS TWO MEN
Jenny says she knows two men, and that is three too many
That is what she said, and that is Jenny
There’s one she knows will always stay
And yet, in their embraces
He looks beyond her, far away
And sees himself alone in desert places
This one’s as steady as a house
But there’s another in him
Who’s tramping down the open road
A solitary pilgrim
Jenny says she knows two men, and that is three too many
That is what she said, and that is Jenny
The other one’s a rolling stone
A free man by profession
But he’s afraid to sleep alone
And clings to her, his prize possession
This one’s cool at best
He wants no home and no strings
Thinks he’s a hero on a quest
Looks to her like aimless wandering
Jenny says she knows two men, and that is three too many
That is what she said, and that is Jenny
Jenny says she knows two men
But you can never tell
I’m sure that I’m the only one
It’s only that she knows me all too well
Her man at home’s a voyager
Her hero is a drifter
Jenny’s fine the way she is
We’re very happy with her
Jenny says she knows two men, and that is three too many
That is what she said, and that is Jenny
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11. |
LOVE IS NOT ENOUGH
03:23
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LOVE IS NOT ENOUGH
Love love love is not enough
Even though they told you so
Love forever we may never know
You can learn how to love a man
Deep and long, yes you can
You can learn from the loves you've had
The good and bad
But you can never live on love alone
Love love love is not enough
Even though they told you so
Love forever we may never know
He can learn when to hold you tight
When to fight, when to let you go
But you're both living night by night
If day by day
You're living for your love and love alone
Love love love is not enough
Even though they told you so
Love forever we may never know
You can learn how to bear his dreams
Make his scenes, be his queen
Take his freedom and give your heart
The hardest part
Is learning not to live for love alone
Love love love is not enough
Even though they told you so
Love forever we may never know
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12. |
WHO WILL SAVE THE HUMANS
03:27
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WHO WILL SAVE THE HUMANS?
The lion laughed at the chimpanzee
Who was solemnly stroking his chin
Shhh, said the king snake, order please
It's time for us to begin
Redwood welcomed honored friends
Moss and lichen and worm
Owl read the agenda
As the council opened its term
Who will save the humans?
We've warned them all, canary said
They won't wake up, cried the cock
They need more sleep, sighed panda bear
They're wound up tight as a clock
They don't think ahead, turtle said
They have no perception of time
They lie in their own waste, said the dog
But you know they're friends of mine
Who will save the humans?
Who will save the humans?
When they beach themselves again and again
On every shoal of shifting sand
Who will save the humans?
Who who who?
They're hypnotized, spider said
By idols and ideals
Flags and gods and owning things
Guns and automobiles
We can't save them, wailed the whales
If they keep on acting this way
Net the last fish, cut the last tree
For a lousy dollar today
Who will save the humans?
Who will save the humans?
When they beach themselves again and again
On every shoal of shifting sand
Who will save the humans?
Who who who?
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13. |
THE MEASURE OF A MAN
04:38
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THE MEASURE OF A MAN
Six feet long and six feet under
Is the measure of a man
If he hasn't learned compassion
And he hasn't lent a hand
Hasn't laughed at his own pride and shame
And forgiven what he can
Six feet long and six feet under is
The measure of a man
Twas the month before Christmas
And all through the countryside
A form arrived in every office
And there was no place to hide
Said it's time for all the boys and girls
Across the working world
To sing their own praises
So April showers them with raises
As a jolly corporate Santa would decide
I sat down to write to Santa
I'm a first-rate employee
And I threw in something naughty
To make sure he believed me
But from deep within my bottom drawer
I heard a dreadful roar
"What is the measure of a man?"
The pen would not obey my hand
Swore off coffee then and there for tea
Six feet long and six feet under
Is the measure of a man
If he hasn't learned compassion
And he hasn't lent a hand
Hasn't laughed at his own pride and shame
And forgiven what he can
Six feet long and six feet under is
The measure of a man
When I mustered up my courage
And I opened up that drawer
I found two books I must have buried there
A thousand years before
They are doomed to darkness, one book sings
Who worship only worldly things
To greater darkness they who worship
Nothing but the spirit
The other said: Drink this, and thirst no more
Six feet long and six feet under
Is the measure of a man
If he hasn't learned compassion
And he hasn't lent a hand
Hasn't laughed at his own pride and shame
And forgiven what he can
Six feet long and six feet under is
The measure of a man
I was halfway to my car when I
Turned badk to get my key
And I bumped into an old man
Who looked a lot like me
You can save my life, he told me
But you'll have to lose your own
And I found myself alone again
Before my mouth could open
The wind blows where it will
Remarked the breeze
Six feet long and six feet under
Is the measure of a man
If he hasn't learned compassion
And he hasn't lent a hand
Hasn't laughed at his own pride and shame
And forgiven what he can
Six feet long and six feet under is
The measure of a man
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14. |
YOU SPOKE OF A WHEEL
04:43
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YOU SPOKE OF A WHEEL
You spoke of a wheel
We all spoke in turn
As I turned burnt branches
You poked up the fire
The others turned hares
Spitted on twigs
As we talked the fire around
Around went the whiskey
You spoke of a wheel
Seasons and tides
And mill wheels turning
Waters of life
Spirits of the grain
We spilled some for the earth
For the flame and the well
We shared charred meat
You spoke of a wheel
Of death feeding life
Life leaping through forms
I heaped on dried pine
And through clouds of tarry smoke
Came a quick blaze
Rush skyward of startled flocks
Of sparks in spiral flight
You spoke of a wheel
Center and circumference
Of every radiance
Under the wheeling heavens
Apples and hazel nuts
Red-gold moonrise, fall
Stars, the chilling clarity
The presence of mind
You spoke of a wheel
Describing an arc
In a leap across the fire
Fiddles, whistles, and bones
Reels, a round of laughing
Song, and all took turns
At fire-leaping, blurred
Spokes in bleary motion
You spoke of a wheel
And a nave of joined hands
Our communion made rounds
And we blessed all the lonely
Navels of buddhas
Of cartwheeling children
Of the west, summer’s end
May we all hang together, you said
You, spoke of a wheel
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Patrick Regan Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
A songwriter and singer, I'm handy enough to be a one-man band, but lucky enough to rope in great collaborators. Never played for a living: living to play.
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