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Closer to the Sky

by Sweet Colleens

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1.
California 04:06
This is how it started: two names in the sand Horses on the ocean and a diamond in her hand Running down the boardwalk caught up in a swirl Of summertime, strawberry wine and a sun-speckled girl CHORUS California (faraway) California, so far far far away California (faraway) They never warn you that life just slips away It just slips away We said goodbye San Diego without a second thought Gazed into the canyon – the desert wind was hot Up onto the mountain closer to the sky Come rolling down took a look around trying to find a better life than CHORUS BRIDGE Remember us in ’98, caught behind the hit parade Salty Dog was on the trap, my daddy drinking in the back The crowd was gone there was no one left, I stuck a Jerry Jones around my neck Stepped up to the microphone and said “Take me home” CHORUS
2.
I came in from the future Put my suitcase by the door Looked around at the town where it all went down It looked just like it did before There were backroom conversations Selling your soul for a second of fame (superstar) And there were sexual relations By any other name CHORUS: It’s good to be back It’s good to be back now It’s good to be back but as a matter of fact It’s great to be gone I dreamed I was a hippy Back in the Summer of Love Going to San Francisco With my suitcase and guitar I ran with the Jefferson Airplane Papa John Creach and Mama Cass (oh yes) And when I woke up in the morning I put my bare feet in the grass CHORUS It’s midnight in Toronto, and I’m hanging with the hometown boys Living the days of glory, the porn star stories Everybody smoking Don Diegos, drinking eighty-dollar Bottles of wine, little brother I’m fine I’m just sick and tired and broke (most of the time) But I’ve got a sweet thing going down in Minneapolis And everything is all right CHORUS
3.
It was the last set down at the Lucky in Love We was the hometown band at the honkytonk club Everybody come from miles around To hear the Minnesota boys with the Cajun sound Nothing so fine as a full dance floor and just when I think I couldn’t ask for more I get a nudge-nudge, a wink and a grin, Saying “Check it out, Jem, what just walked in” CHORUS Oh my my my look at that girl Popping my eyes, shaking my world Wasting all the wannabe Zydeco queens Dancing to the music of the Sweet Colleens Oh my my she’s making every head turn A little hillbilly, little Audrey Hepburn I got my fingers crossed she’s gonna give me a whirl Oh my my my, look at that girl So we hit the tunes and I took my chance I sidled up and said “How about a dance?” She sipped her drink, I snapped a smile She said, “City boys are not my style” “I’m the Grand Old Opry, you’re the Grateful Dead” “I’m a Tennessee woman, you’re a cheesehead” “I’m Republican, Aristocrat” “You got a no-good band full of Democrats” CHORUS BRIDGE Come on, Come on, Come on my little darlin’ (No, no, no, I won’t go) Come on, Come on, Come on my little darlin’, We gonna play a little Zydeco Come on, Come on, Come on my little darlin’ (No, no, no… well, maybe) Come on, Come on, Come on my little darlin’, Get on the floor and dance with me CHORUS
4.
Just look at that moon, before you say good-bye Remember the big sky and a beautiful June Where you are going, we can’t be together But I’ll be there whenever you look at that moon South Carolina, it’s so far from the Great Plains The fields and the freight trains, Won’t you please come back soon? And if you ever wonder how much I miss you How I’m longing to kiss you, just look at that moon BRIDGE Just look at the moon coming up at the day’s end Looking down like an old friend who’s been there all along Just look at the moon, put your troubles behind you Let the moonlight remind you that someone is thinking of you This year’s been a hard one, and love is still a riddle But the older the fiddle, the sweeter the tune And if you ever wonder if I still love you Turn your eyes up above you and look at that moon Turn your eyes up above you, and look at that moon
5.
n/a
6.
I pull into the old town after many years and miles I’m slapping hands with high school friends and faking smiles The church is filled with flowers, I straighten up my sleeve The music starts, and my poor heart still cannot believe, that CHORUS Janna’s getting married (woah-ho-ho) Bells are gonna ring (woah-ho-ho) Janna’s getting married, everyone is happy Everyone but me She was still a sophomore, we took my old red car It was summer love and the stars above down by the reservoir Then I moved to the city, she said that she would wait But I played cool and like a fool I let her slip away, now CHORUS BRIDGE And she’s walking down the aisle now And she never looked so beautiful Every once in a while You find something worth believing You find something worth believing You find something CHORUS
7.
I slip my way beneath the glass The coast guard waits, the hours pass above Arabia A tourist town, blue lake, blue sky Oblivious to the thermocline as I descend into the darkness Hand by hand, down the line On VHF the rumors fly: He shouldn’t have been down there in the first place My searchlight sweeps the sandstone floor The O.P.P. wait at her door: There’s been an accident CHORUS Fish out of water, it’s lonely at the bottom Fish out of water, it’s lonely, lonely, lonely at the bottom FIDDLE TUNE [“CHANSON DE MARDI GRAS”] 2. The current here flows from the west It might have pulled him from the wreck so I work my way downstream The final moments, panic rises The air is gone, he realizes he’s not goin’ back up again alive Does life pass before your eyes? I heard he had a wife and child, should be getting’ into town tonight The cops will write a press release It might just make the CBC, and in the distance, in the distance… FIDDLE TUNE CHORUS I slip my way beneath the glass The coast guard waits, the hours pass above Arabia.
8.
A dog day sunset has come and gone Satellite dish moon is a-rising We’ve got Dylan on the boombox singing “Every Grain of Sand” Your head on my shoulder and your waist in my hands CHORUS Swing to the left, swing to the right It looks like love on a magic night I cried out to Jesus and he said, “Jem, here’s the scoop Don’t look for answers if you want to know the truth But follow every highway, scour every sky Watch for the woman with the looking-glass eye” CHORUS Everybody listened as the politician spoke He said “It’s time to stand up for the ordinary folk” And he accidentally meant it, and the critics held their tongue And just for a moment, the world was one CHORUS
9.
n/a
10.
Sunshine 03:26
You just want someone to hear you Understand what you’re living through How the darkness overwhelms you Until no daylight gets through But you won’t feel this way forever You won’t feel this way forever CHORUS A little sunshine A little sunshine helps so much A little sunshine A little sunshine, yes it does I can see you by the ocean The salt wind sparkling your hair There is no past, there is no future Just you and me standing here CHORUS BRIDGE Overcast, raining There’s one hundred thousand shades of gray One day we’ll wake up and, baby The clouds will roll away CHORUS
11.
May I suggest May I suggest to you May I suggest this is the best part of your life May I suggest This time is blessed for you This time is blessed and shining almost blinding bright Just turn your head And you’ll begin to see The thousand reasons that were just beyond your sight The reasons why Why I suggest to you Why I suggest this is the best part of your life There is a world That’s been addressed to you Addressed to you, intended only for your eyes A secret world A treasure chest to you Of private scenes and brilliant dreams that mesmerize A tender lover’s touch A tiny baby’s hands The million stars that fill the turning sky at night Oh I suggest Oh I suggest to you Oh I suggest this is the best part of your life There is a hope That’s been expressed in you The hope of seven generations, maybe more And this is the faith That they invest in you It’s that you’ll do one better than was done before Inside you know Inside you understand Inside you know what’s yours to finally set right And I suggest And I suggest to you And I suggest this is the best part of your life This is a song Comes from the west to you Comes from the west, comes from the slowly setting sun This is a song With a request of you To see how very short the endless days will run And when they’re gone And when the dark descends Oh we’d give anything for one more hour of light May I suggest May I suggest to you May I suggest this is the best part of your life

about

The Twin Cities’ Sweet Colleens have taken their genre-busting Celti-Cajun Folk-Pop sound to new heights with Closer to the Sky. With their feet planted firmly in American-roots music, the Colleens bring a spirit of joy and adventure to their 4th studio release, embracing the intimate melodies of traditional folk, crafting bold musical arrangements, and harnessing the power of modern rock.

The 11 tracks on Closer to the Sky take listeners on a wild musical ride, bridging diverse styles with seamless integrity. And the band’s original songs and instrumentals travel a beautiful, broken world: from the Great Plains to the beaches of San Diego, from smoky Toronto nightclubs to Cajun dancehalls, from Irish pubs to a quiet street in Nordeast Minneapolis. With Closer to the Sky, The Sweet Colleens have redefined their sound while staying true to the emotional core of their past.

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released January 1, 2013

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Sweet Colleens Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Sweet Colleens are accomplished multi-instrumentalists who fuse their diverse musical backgrounds into a high-energy, infectious, and crowd-pleasing mix of “fiddle-infused, accordion-fueled, celti-cajun folk pop.” With rootsy original songs, warm vocal harmonies, and fiery instrumental arrangements, the Twin Cities-based Sweet Colleens are winning fans across the country. ... more

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