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Chaos & Solitude

by Sam Slatcher

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1.
A thousand tales on the road tonight As rolling hills pass us time A week ago and we were strangers from another land Though we don’t know, where we might go, we’ll hang on A thousand miles away from home I’m no longer on my own You lift my lonely world tonight Dancing in the fading light I don’t forget the place I was born But I trust the road I am on It’s in the smiles and in the kindness of your company Though I don’t know, where I might go, I’ll hang on A thousand miles away from home (If you don't know the place you're going) I’m no longer on my own (Are you lonely too, you know I'll be holding on for you) You lift my lonely world tonight (If it's all we get, I'll be blessed if we only dance tonight) Dancing in the fading light Window frames the northern sun And the leaves begin to fall And the road must carry on When the night draws in Know that I will walk these crispy winter lanes with you Though you don’t know, the place that you’ll go, hang on A thousand miles away from home (If you don't know the place you're going) I’m no longer on my own (Are you lonely too, you know I'll be holding on for you) You lift my lonely world tonight (If it's all we get, I'll be blessed if we only dance tonight) Dancing in the fading light
2.
There’s a saying that the greatness of a nation Is defined by the welcome of strangers But if history is given to warn us We have not been reading the signs There are flags being raised over gardens There’s bitterness written on walls We’re harking for a time that won’t reason or rhyme A past we’ll never have back We’re in the darkness and we’re in between All that is cautioned and all that is dreamed We’re now defined by who’s in and who’s out Who’s had the privilege, and who’s left with nought It’s a groundless world and the fault lines are changing But the heart still calls us on To find somewhere between We were forced to the wall with a question Do you stay or do you want us to leave? Unleash the dogs, without counting the cost All for our country and queen We’re more divided than we’ve ever been Forced in the corner and pushed to extremes A lifetime of labour undone in one day For all that is struggled for and fought hard in vein It’s a groundless world and you’re in the spotlight But the heart still calls us on To find somewhere between It’s a groundless world and you’re in the spotlight But the heart still calls us on To find somewhere between
3.
I know it’s tough, the hardest thing you’ve ever done The climb is so long, but you’ll never walk it alone Oh my sweetheart, I can’t move the mountain today Oh my sweetheart, I’ll be with you every step of the way I found your book and hide in a quiet café I found the words, you didn’t quite know what to say Oh my sweetheart, I can’t move the mountain today Oh my sweetheart, I’ll be with you every step of the way Oh my sweetheart hold on And may the God of all be close to you Look over you And keep you in her arms, eternally Oh my sweetheart, I can’t move the mountain today Oh my sweetheart, I’ll be with you every step of the way Oh my sweetheart hold on And may the God of all be close to you Look over you And keep you in her arms, eternally
4.
I was up late last night, I could hear the winds howling The dust bins were rolling somewhere down the street And I ask dear Ciara, would she blow away our own storms Blow for the change we’ve been starved of this year Blow, blow, blow, blow away the worst that we’ve become Blow, blow, blow, all that we’ve undone It’s been brewing for a long time, we are divided And I’m undecided which side I am on When I’m lonely I switch on the old shipping forecast I feel more like a sailor than a man on the run Blow, blow, blow, blow all the bitterness away Blow, blow, blow away all of the pain Ciara she’s blowing, from Fitzroy to Viking Flags of the nation and those stars she is hiding Whatever you’re feeling, whatever you have done Whatever you’re regretted, the wind blows on us all So blow, blow, blow, blow all our prejudice away Blow, blow, blow til our bitterness will fade I’m sad and I’m sick, and I’m numb to emotion I’m empty and lonely with nowhere to be I look to the skies and all I see is the darkness But I know somewhere there are stars to be seen I feel bruised and battered, lost hope like the river banks But bring on this storm, for it’s something to feel Blow, blow, blow, blow away the worst that we’ve become Blow, blow, blow, all of it away Blow, blow, blow, blow it all away
5.
Mindlessly 04:14
I just need a break, I need to get away and find myself some peace These times are passing by faster than I can comprehend, I need to breathe. I am scrolling through my newsfeed, that deceives me til I scream I am blind, I don’t know my deepest need I say I haven’t time, but I’ve the time to mess around And life goes by so fast and oh so mindlessly It was only yesterday that I was 18 and I was out to change the world Every campaign I would sign and I’d be on the picket line, as if I knew it all Suddenly I’m thirty and I’ve drifted by so unconsciously When I was younger I pondered every reason why But now I shrug my shoulder and I toe the party line What happened to the hunger to fight equality Life goes by so fast and oh so mindlessly I’ve met so many people here this week, who are dying, dying to be free Doctors going sick and therapists needing therapy The planet’s spinning faster than we can ever take We push it to its limits until the climate breaks Wake me up, oh wake me, oh how we let it be That life goes by so fast, and oh so mindlessly
6.
Between breaths Of all that is Held and let go Hoped for and feared All that is waged and won All that is destroyed and restored All that is cautioned and all that is dreamed All that is quarantined and all that is breathed In the dread of isolation and the desire to reconnect In the calamity of chaos and the solitude of silence In the acceptance of winter and the promise of spring In the setting of the sun and in the waiting for the dawn In those stars that hide and constellations that dance In the September moon And the April sun In the wave’s ebb And in its flow Of all that is And all unknown In the Chaos & Solitude Poem to accompany track 6: ‘Between Breaths'
7.
You were afraid of the silence For what might speak For the dark thoughts that might be But then you were aware That you are more than your thoughts And they come and go Like the ebb and flow of the tides And the wax and wane of the moon And deep beneath, the release Of knowing you are more than your mind
8.
Golden Hour 04:14
There’s two voices in my head I let the quiet one speak, and this is what he said Leave your house, but don’t take anything You don’t even need to know where you’re going This your golden hour tonight Find the shadows in your heart Within the changing of the light Don’t overthink and don’t ask why Just come and sing for the night is yours to keep Let it call you tonight Let it call you tonight Let it call you tonight Let it call you tonight Deep in your heart the planets spin There’s a love that threads through every living thing Feel the air fresh upon your face And say breathe, spirit, breathe your hope into this place Let it call you tonight Let it call you tonight Let it call you tonight Let it call you tonight And let the sky be your company And the light dance tonight And let the stars ground your significance In this golden hour of time Let it call you tonight Let it call you tonight Let it call you tonight Let it call you tonight And let the sky be your company And the light dance tonight And let the stars ground your significance In this golden hour of time
9.
Springtime 03:54
Springtime, and the sun is streaming into my life And the trees are not a stir or a whisper And time it stands so still Springtime, and the sun is pouring into my room And the birds return and wonder where you’ve gone A day that aches without you Springtime, and all the flowers are blooming eager to find you And the birds are singing reverent like they know And the sun is on my face, but it’s cold And you are on my mind And you all my time And you are all that I’ve been dreaming of
10.
Could we have a day without our phones? Could we have a day without the ping, ping of its tone? Let’s cut the 3G out Let’s leave this busy tonight out here tonight Come outside the day is done There’s no more games left to be won No more chasing evening deadlines You know it’s out of mind, when it’s out of sight I’ve heard about a place that takes you as you are Speaks kindly to your troubles and holds your heavy heart The silence and the solitude awaits when you arrive The deepest part of you will cry If only for a moment, we could feel alive Beneath our skin, where it all sinks in If only we’d remember who we are A city boy have I become Never lived my rhythms by the setting of the sun Don’t know the birds that pass me by Can’t name the stars above the sky to my shame, to my shame Do you know the place that takes you as you are Speaks kindly to your troubles and holds your heavy heart The silence and the solitude awaits when you arrive The deepest part of you will cry If only for a moment, we could feel alive Beneath our skin, where it all sinks in If only we’d remember who we are Do you know the place that takes you as you are Speaks kindly to your troubles and holds your heavy heart The silence and the solitude awaits when you arrive The deepest part of you will cry If only for a moment, we could feel alive Beneath our skin, where it all sinks in If you and I'd remember who we are
11.
This may be the night That will close us over But hold on tight The morning is closer The dawn always grows out of darkness But not for the ones who saw the sun going down We are the lanterns, oh my friend We’ll keep on burning til the end Carry the light to the darkness and the wind We are the lanterns, my friend This may be the night That will hold us closer But hold on tight The morning is closer The dawn always grows out of darkness But not for the ones who saw the sun go down We are the lanterns, my friend We’ll keeping burning til the end Cradle the light to the darkness We are the lanterns, my friend We are the lanterns, oh my friend

about

In May 2020, Sam released 'Chaos & Solitude', a personal and political reflection on the recent changes in Western society, from the last few years of political division, to record-breaking transatlantic storms, to songs sung from balconies amidst a growing pandemic. But should that all sound a little overwhelming, Chaos & Solitude invites you to reconnect with nature, discover the calm in one’s breath, and find the kindness in strangers in our midst.

"This is music for curling up with on the sofa on a rainy day, with a hot drink - and just soaking up the warmth and brightness that it exudes. Sam has made something very beautiful, that uses soft thoughtful tones to deliver a powerful overall message. Anger and frustration are transmuted into kindness and reassurance and hope. It's a lovely, perceptive, thoughtful and thought-provoking piece of work and a very promising debut solo album from a skillful and original songwriter and musician" (FATEA Magazine)

credits

released May 22, 2020

Music and lyrics by Sam Slatcher.
All instruments by Sam Slatcher unless stated on the track.
Tracks 1, 2, 7, 8 and 10 recorded by Ron Angus at Studio One, Co. Durham.
Tracks 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11 recorded by Ian Stephenson at Simpson Street Studio, Thropton.
Mastered and edited by Ron Angus at Studio One, Co. Durham.
Cover photograph taken by Kate Watson.
Artwork designed by Emma Gray.

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Sam Slatcher Durham, UK

Sam Slatcher is a folk singer-songwriter living in Durham, North East England. His honest and reflective songwriting, delivered with a calming and delicate voice captures the warmth of humanity and a longing for peace and justice.

To date, Sam has released his first EP 'In Unlikely Places (April 2018), the collaborative album 'Stories of Sanctuary' (Nov 2018) and 'Chaos & Solitude' (May 2020)
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