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Homecoming

by The Ragged Flags

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1.
Part IV: Home Again 02:54
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Up on the mountain the sun will rise Creep through your eyelids and prise them wide Dawn always comes as a new surprise Riding on a rail all through the night Down in the valley a new morning Throw back the curtains the day breaks in Jump at the chance to be born again Turn and set your face into the wind When the sun comes up in the morning ‘Til the night goes down on the day When the storm clouds part And that feeling starts Baby I know I’ll be coming home again I find it easy to time things wrong Fill every day with a brand new song Look for my face and I’ve been and gone Won’t stand in one place for very long Up on the mountain, the sun goes down Down in the valley, they’re sleeping now Flick of the switch and the day turns out Come tomorrow I’ll be leaving now
2.
Cocaine Jane 04:19
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I got a friend her name is Cocaine Jane, she’s Dancing all night out in the pouring rain, she Had what she wanted but she threw it all away Oh Jane, how did you ever think things would change? That one day you would make your getaway? I see you running but you’re going nowhere You’re going nowhere No love, that we could give to you would be enough We thought you had what you’d been dreaming of But now you’ve blown it and you’re going nowhere You’re going nowhere Oh Jane, you want to live like you’re 18 again Throw your responsibilities away Can’t stop the party but it’s going nowhere It’s going nowhere Oh Jane don’t you see The things that you believed to be Much better than you had Well it’s all the same Oh Jane don’t you know The best you had, you let it go You’ll never find another You’ll never find another I got a friend and he’s been working hard, but Jane don’t appreciate the things she’s got, so Try as he might she just Keeps pushing him away — away
3.
The Motions 03:36
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So I held you for a moment And we knew that the day would come With you and I aligned in all our hopes and promises So assured what life we wanted from So we go now through the motions So it flows now like a river to the sea And I might leave you if I could stand the notion But you’re nothing now You’re nothing without me, no Many years now of lengthy silences Many years now in gathering gloom And we are creaking like the clock upon the mantelpiece Coughing seconds out into the room So I held you like my broken promises And we hoped that the day would come ‘Cause I believed then that everything would be okay Please don’t tell me now that I was wrong So we go now through the motions So it flows now like a river running true And I might leave you if I could stand the notion But I’m nothing now I’m nothing without you, no
4.
Left Behind 03:36
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See the love that you had in mind And how it laid you low When you whispered into my ear The things we’ll never know When the tide it would turn for you On a useful day All the things that you waited for Don’t matter in the end But I don’t mind, I don’t mind These are the things that we left behind I don’t see, I don’t see These are the things that you took from me And I don’t know, I don’t know Higher than love when you let it go I don’t mind, I don’t mind These are the things — that we left behind The way we stood at the future’s edge The way you held my hand The way we shared all our hopes and dreams And all the things we planned See the love that you had in mind And how it laid you low Realise that you had enough What are you waiting for? But I don’t mind, I don’t mind These are the things that we left behind I don’t see, I don’t see These are the things that you gave to me And I don’t know, I don’t know Higher than love when you let it go I don’t mind, I don’t mind These are the things — that we left behind
5.
Part I: Tonight, Today 03:06
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When I wake in the morning time You’re the first thought in my head In the grey of the creeping light On your bare side of the bed Shuffle out in the quiet town, now we Await the new day Everyone how they held their breath, While it, it all blew away Away, away, my love left home today Today, today In the bloom of the youth we shared We were so sure of our marks Confident in the path we’d walk, like your Bedroom in the dark You and I we know better now, we have Travelled far and wide All the years, all the scars we earned, You could sum up with a sigh A sigh, a sigh, my love left home tonight Tonight, tonight I am older than I had dreamed, I am Unsure what to say All the lessons I had to learn, well you You taught me today Tonight, today, my love has gone away Away, away
6.
How It Burns 05:54
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I don’t see you around in the city Wonder where in the crowd you have gone What I hear from your friends isn’t pretty You might leave but that ain’t moving on And how it burns me to know that you’re alone How it burns me to know that you’re alone We were all left behind by the future All the paths of your parents are closed You can take what is left if it suits you And there’s nowhere to turn if it don’t And how it burns me to know that you’re alone How it burns me to know that you’re alone In your face I can find every detail Things you’ll miss more than you realise Get it right and you don’t think about it Get it wrong it’ll eat you alive Woah-oh-oh-woah-oh-oh Woah-oh-oh-woah-oh-oh Woah-oh-oh-woah-oh-oh Woah-oh-oh-woah-oh-oh
7.
Told You So 03:58
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Well I’ll tell you a story ‘bout the way things are Nurturing ambitions that we could go far One of many waiting for the world to change Everybody knowing that we’re stuck in place I been up (up!) Down! (down!) And round the houses I been in (in!) Out! (out!) and shaking low If you do (do!) Don’t (don’t!) Get what you wanted Could you bear to see it Walking out the door? Now people look for saviours living in the sky Superstitions they work hard to rationalise One of many willing to go on attack Everybody’s wise but not before the fact They went na-nana-naah Nana-naah-naah-nana-nana Na-nana-naah, nana-na-na-no-oh Na-nana-naah, nana-na-na-na-nana-no Oh yeah I told you so We’re building up tomorrow to a brighter day Iron age mythology we'll throw away One of many answers in a book you find Every piece of evidence won’t change your mind
8.
Blood Red Skies 06:43
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Through the woods underneath the setting sun From my past and pursuers I must run Crimes of passion that haunt my every day Sole companion the rattle of my chains Of my chains — rattle of my chains Of my chains — rattling a chain By the river, emerge onto the strand Hear the wheel turn, salvation is at hand Boat before me and baying at my back Wading out in the water cold and black Cold and black — water cold and black Cold and black — water cold and black I been run to ground I’ve been hounded down And I kept my hands untied But I lost my hope on that riverboat Beneath a blood red sky Beneath a blood red sky All the gamblers who welcomed me aboard All the thieves and the artists and the whores “One of us now!” with open arms they cried All their smiles were ravenous and wide They were wide — ravenous and wide They were wide — ravenous and wide Heavy stakes in the games they set to play Both the thrill and the tide swept me away Angry thunder and lightning in the sky Clouds reflecting the crimson in my eyes In my eyes — crimson in my eyes In my eyes — crimson in my eyes I don’t know how long I was in their thrall Over time as the party starts to pall Realisation an arrow through the heart Though I tried I could never disembark Disembark — never disembark Disembark — never disembark You are there in the world That we had planned Here I drift in this vessel of the damned I am gone now to where you’ll never be I still hear you a-singing in my dreams In my dreams — singing in my dreams In my dreams — singing in a dream I been run to ground I’ve been hounded down But I kept my hands untied And I lost my soul on that riverboat Beneath the blood Beneath the blood Beneath the blood red sky
9.
Part II: So They Say 04:25
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Feeling that rush of the love that you know It’ll echo in your mind like a firework show Do you see it coming down? Do you see it burning out? Well I didn’t expect you’d be feeling so brave Or to see you out here so far over these waves Did you take a deeper sound? Did you run your boat aground? Oh if it’s true what they say And we can’t go home again Then where we are is where we’ll stay Or so they say Listen out loud for the humbling host It’ll echo in your mind like a whispering woe Could you give a little more? Could you be a bit more sure? Would you rather defend that formidable fight Or be dancing with me in the pale moonlight? Could you do a little harm? Would you tremble in my arms? Aye-yai-ee-yai-yah Aye-yai-ee-yai-yah-ah-hah Yai-ee-yai-yo Oh if it’s true what they say And we can’t go home again Then where we are is where we’ll stay Or so they say
10.
Oh Yeah 04:42
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All my days Searching for the words to say just How I feel Let you know my love is real I’m singing Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah Can I get an oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah It’s been and gone Hurts today but won’t last long So hit the floor The future’s kicking down the door It’s singing I had my time Looking back it blows my mind So take your turn Carry all the things you learn Just singing So don’t hold back Don’t regret what you once had Come on let’s go The hour’s later than you know I’m singing Pushing through the trees Pulling at the wheel Can you tell me now how good it feels? Driving through the dark Waiting for a spark Can you feel it rising in your heart? Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah (How it burns me to know that you’re alone) Can I get an oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah (How it burns me to know that you’re alone)
11.
Won't Leave You Waiting 05:14
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Trying to explain what you mean to me Is an object lesson in futility While I’m wandering without a trace That I’ve ever been But lying on the bank by the riverside On the day you sailed away on the evening tide Was a fire in your eyes and I did not belong And all the crying people they sang along I’ve been gone for a long, long time But I’m coming back home again And I know that you’re better than me But you better not find a friend, and I know you’ve been waiting for me On the other side of the shore But I won’t leave you waiting anymore So I think about you while I’m walking the road And the noonday sun burns me to the bone All the lessons that I had to learn Were hard as stone But lying out under the shining moon I know the road is gonna rise up to meet me soon And the shadow that I trail behind belongs to you And all the crying people they know it too Well nothing seems to change around this old place And I wonder how I’ll feel when I see your face There’s a figure waiting by the door I’m walking through But lying to you now in your bed at night I know I’m gonna be gone Come the morning light But I tell you that I’m gonna stay I’ll stay with you But all the crying people they know the truth Hey now!
12.
After Tomorrow 04:31
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Where were you in the days of old? When summer’s youth kept out the winter cold A harried man with a worried mind He seeks the things he cannot find All his life he broke his back, but Can’t pin down the things he lacks The hearth and home he held so proud, in Desperate silence, thinks out loud, I’m — Gonna make it right, gonna make it great After tomorrow things will never be the same Turn it all around, turn it all the way After tomorrow things will never be the same Where were you in times gone by? On the city streets where the young girl cries The night before a neon blur Of people who want things from her, all The lies that led her here The hard held hates that disappear There has to be a new way out A tiny voice that tells her now, I’m — What was that you tried to say? The winds of time just snatched the words away The days that lined up all your life With undue haste they passed you by, if You had a second chance Would you reach out and take my hand? Tomorrow is another day So let the people hear you say, I’m — Never be the same, never be the same After I tell her things will never be the same Never be the same, never be the same After tomorrow, tomorrow
13.
Part III: Someday I Know 05:28
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There was a time when all you could see And all that you’d love Is what you gave to me You bottle it up, adrift on the foam But someday I know My love’s coming home And where will it end? Baby I’m sure But don’t make me wait Don’t leave it too long You bottle it up, you lie down the phone But someday I know My love’s coming home There was a time, when I all you could see And all that you’d love Is what you gave to me You bottle it up, adrift on the foam But someday I know My love’s coming home Oh when the sun comes up in the morning Oh ‘til the night goes down on the day When storm clouds part And that feeling starts That’s when I know I’ll Be coming home again You bottle it up, adrift on the foam But someday I know My love’s coming home

credits

released March 31, 2023

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The Ragged Flags are:
James Goodwin - vocals, guitars, keyboards, harmonica
Mark Aldworth - lead guitar, piano, mellotron, backing vocals
Chris Edwards-Dewey - bass, banjo, backing vocals
Paul Whibley - drums, percussion, whistling

With very special guests:
Annie Leith - violins on 'Part I: Tonight, Today'
David Woolf - lap steel on 'Won't Leave You Waiting'

All songs by The Ragged Flags
Music by Aldworth/Edwards-Dewey/Goodwin/Whibley;
Lyrics by Goodwin (©2023 Copyright Control)

Produced by The Ragged Flags
Mixed & Mastered by James Goodwin
recorded at Stokey Cokey Studios, North London, and
at studios in South London & Royal Leamington Spa

Sleeve Photography by John Gentleman & Andrew Watson
Sleeve Design by James Goodwin
Vector Graphics by Vecteezy
www.vecteezy.com
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Thanks to:
Chris: Thanks to Katie, Charlotte, and my ever supportive family and friends;
James: Thanks to Annie Leith and David Woolf for their time and talents; John Gentleman and Andrew Watson for taking fabulous pictures; Gavin Leversuch and Alan Reed for lending a critical and constructive ear; the Goodwins and the Goodsearles for their support; and thanks most of all to Emma and Joe, who are the home I come to;
Mark: Love and thanks to Sonia, Martha, Grace, Alicia and Oscar;
Paul: Thanks to Sam, Harry and Albie.

Once again, thanks to anyone who’s ever supported us, bought a record, or come to a gig and waved a flag — we still love you all.

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The Ragged Flags UK

The Ragged Flags are a UK four-piece with their own distinctive sound incorporating the essential natural juices of rock, pop and folk with the lovely chunky bits of country and blues.

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