The Lonely Hour
by Brian McGrath
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1. |
The Lonely Hour
05:16
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Time and again
In that lonely hour before the days begins
My weathered face in mirror light
My bleeding heart and broken pride
Looking back on what was
And what is, what's yet to come
Wipe my eyes, in too deep
Another lie to fall back asleep
I hear her voice say "You can't look back if you're gonna move on"
But it brings me comfort in that lonely hour before the dawn
Before the dawn
Lost in a homesick dream
The distant echoes of the calliope
Down all the days
And the elm tree streets where we used to play
A warm embrace, gentle smile, to ease the pain for while
In the trees high above, a lonely cry, is this love?
Is this love or obligation, darling I don't know
But it brings me comfort in that lonely hour before the dawn
Before the dawn
Now all those memories have begun to fade
Lord I can't hang on
And you can't look back in some rose-colored past
If you're gonna move on
But I'll remember how she held my hand and I felt loved
Cause it brings me comfort in that lonely hour before the dawn
Before the dawn
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2. |
Middle Of A Dream
03:28
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Love
Among the weeds
And the evergreens in the valley below
Young
Young and free
You and me darling all alone
And you turn to me
Begging please "Can't we just be here forever, and never go home again!"
As the day gives way to night
The lantern light dances in your eyes
And your endless belief
In the dream of what's yet to come
For the future belongs
To those who love
And those who roam far from home
We can't go home
Home is where the hurt is
And where my heart has long ceased to be
Oh my love, take my hand
We'll roam the night
Our Promised Land
In the Middle of a Dream
Home is where the hurt is
But home can be anywhere we dream
So my love, take my hand
We'll roam the night
For our Promised Land
In the middle of dream
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3. |
Whispers & Moans
03:44
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Her love afloat, a firefly
Burning, fading in the night
And for a moment breathes its life
As love whispers and moans
Draw her near and hold her, oh so close
Slowly steal her amber glow
To be so alive and so alone
As love whispers and moans
I see her now she smiles and sings
Burns through the fog with the light she brings
And I fear she'll find out I'm less than I seem
As love whispers and moans
And I'll sing and shout and run my mouth
Halfway in and halfway out
As I wander this world forever in doubt
Love just whispers and moans
She says, "What's the truth darling? Where did it go?"
And she thinks I'm holding back my love
But I can't give what I have not
And love whispers and moans
She's sees me now, all the shine worn off
Behind the veneer that hides the rot
Now she's halfway and she's halfway out
As love just whispers and moans
Yeah she sees me now, all the shine worn off
Behind the veneer that hides the rot
Go on ahead my darling, you're better off
As love whispers and moans
Go on ahead my darling, you're better off
As love whispers and moans
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4. |
Long After You've Gone
04:26
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There's a twinkle in your eye
As I lean in for a kiss under the pale moonlight
And we dance and sway to one last song
For one last time before you're gone
"Please don't leave" I say, "just take my hand"
You hold your love, you don't want me to understand
The soul of you, and all that's true, your endless blue
A starry night I still wish upon
So long after you've gone
In this place, our two souls born anew
And I'll be waiting there for you
Though the dream will always turn
Awake and wandering in the haze of what should have been
Of shaken faith, broken vows
No hand to hold when the lights go out
Through endless blue and endless grey
The endless tides that swept both of us away
No last goodbyes or warm embrace
You left me alone…
A dying star barely hanging on
Long, long after you've gone
But in my dreams, you return to me
Tell me you love me still
And I'll be waiting there for you
I'll be waiting there for you
Will you be waiting for me too?
Tonight the stars will shine high above
As I dream of you my love
And we will dance and you'll hold me close
One body and one lost soul
And long after you've gone
In my dreams, will you return to me?
And tell me you love me still?
And I'll be waiting there for you
I'll be waiting there for you
Will you be waiting for me too?
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5. |
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She who was born of golden voice
She who cries so those around rejoice
I hear her now
She who roams of restless mind
A nightingale among the hemlock pine
I hear her now
Her lonely song of life undone
But in her dreams
Nightingale flies away
Through the night on wings of fire
Bound only by her heart's desire
All of her days
All of her days
She is the light from the darkness saved
She is our prayer from the cradle to the grave
And I hear her now
Be still darling, don't be seen
In the air you can feel the enemy closing in…
All the nights' remorse, her fateful end
But in her dreams
Nightingale flies away
Through the night on wings of fire
Both the hunter and the prey
Of each of her heart's desires
To be free
A dream of peace until
A life reborn
Unbound by another's will
Sweet Nightingale, tonight I'll pray
By morning's light, you'll find your way
On through the storm
Your heart and soul on fire
Far from the ones who kept you in their mire
Sweet Nightingale, I pray I'll hear
No lonely song when tomorrow comes
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6. |
Walking Distance
03:16
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Tonight, I'll dream of when I was young
Walking on home when the day was done
Where the streetlights flicker and the porchlights glow
My shadow stretched out so long and tall
I'm going home
Tonight in dreams I'm going home
All the birds soar high in the dusky sky
Guiding me home with their lullaby
As a cool breeze tells of summer's end
My mom is on the front porch calling my name
Going home
Tonight in dreams I'm going home
Going home
Tonight in dreams I'm going home
Now Lord, let me be!
I know I can't stay here
In this homesick dream
But every now and then
I'll wish and wonder
If life will ever be so good again?
Going home
Tonight in dreams I'm going home
I'm going home
Tonight in dreams I'm going home
I'm going home
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7. |
Lily Of The Valley
05:07
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I hear you calling, Lord
Calling me back home
But Lord it's not my time
Not my time to go
In that moment Lord, my burning embers fade to grey
And a lily of the valley has bowed down for to pray
On my feet again
Lord, I was almost on my feet again
But I gave in to sin
Born to roam and dream
And wander towards the places I have never ever been
But one day hope to be
Where the pain is gone, where only love remains
To be so close and watch it slip away as I just drift from shore
Too much drinking of
And too much thinking of
And too much knowing love, much too little of
On my feet again
Lord, I was almost on my feet again
But I gave in to sin
Now all the lights go down
You tell me "Son, it's time to go..."
To "...walk these silent side streets on my own"
But I'm too tired Lord, so deep in my bones to stare into this darkness anymore
No tomorrow
Too much drinking of
And too much thinking of
And too much knowing love, much too little of
On my feet again
Lord, I was almost on my feet again
But I gave in to sin
On my feet again
Lord, I was almost on my feet again
But I gave in to sin
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8. |
Midnight In Gethsemane
04:51
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Alone, halfway gone
My fast-beating heart the only sound
As I lay here, Lord I am waiting on your sign
I'm calling out, I've been calling out
In the middle of a dream
Lost, you know I lost myself
In everything, everyone else
I'll dream I'll leave, but I will always stay behind
Bound alone to another's life
In the middle of a dream
Lord?
Where did you go?
I've been callin' out, cryin' out your name!
I'm down in the weeds
Midnight in Gethsemane
And I pray for peace, but peace it never comes
Never comes!
In the middle of a dream
Lord, have you again abandoned me?
Callin' out, I've been callin' out
In the middle of a dream
No…
No one is coming
To save me now, to save me from myself
All alone
As I lay here on the ground
And my beating heart surrenders to you now
In the middle of a dream
Midnight in Gethsemane
I've been callin' out, cryin' out in pain
Down in the weeds
Of these endless fever dreams
When the truth is our salvation lies within
Lies within!
Lies within!
Lies within!
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9. |
One More For The Angels
04:22
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Low, lost and gone
As the storm rages on
And only surrender will bring you peace again
To have and to hold you
Your dreams will unfold you
For all that I've tried to become
But never will be
Still that road winds through
The places we once knew
Late at night darlin', all alone
One more for the angels before I go
Where the coal night wears on
Towards some unforgiving dawn
And I'm lost in my mind of regret, where I went wrong
For a cold wind blows
Through body and through soul
When the light and the love of your dreams just fades away
A prayer and a plea
For to be released
Yes, to sing such golden hymns
Through fire and flood and back again
To not see, yet still believe
Ah to sleep! Perchance to dream!
I don't know, I don't know
I don't know, darlin', I don't know
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credits
released November 3, 2023
All music, lyrics, performances, and recording by Brian McGrath. Mixed and mastered by Rick Riggs at Handwritten Recordings, Chicago. ©2023 Brian McGrath.
All music, lyrics, performances, and recording by Brian McGrath. Mixed and mastered by Rick Riggs at Handwritten Recordings, Chicago. ©2023 Brian McGrath.
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about
Brian McGrath Chicago, Illinois
Brian McGrath is a Folk & Americana Singer-Songwriter from Chicago and currently based in Madison,
Wisconsin.
With intense, honest conviction tempered by Midwest sensibility and grit, the big man with a big voice tells tales of broken characters, desolate landscapes, and hopeful redemption all along the highways and byways of the American heartland.
McGrath's new album "The Lonely Hour" now out.
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discography
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Nov 2023 -
Oct 2023 -
Nov 2020 -
Mar 2018 -
Aug 2018 -
Sep 2018 -
Apr 2019 -
Mar 2019 -
Mar 2019
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