Get all 12 Michael Rattray releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Sledgehammer, Silent battles E.P., GMF (John Grant cover), Human life, The ghost of Nick Drake E.P., Free tracks (Enter £0 or donate), Lucky dip 2 (free download), Rock is not your enemy!, and 4 more.
1. |
Human life
03:35
|
|||
|
Hello universe, what are you doing here? I don't think youre all that sure yourself my dear
and oh universe, what to do with this brain? I don't wanna know the sunshine from the rain again
They say you're made of love but I'm not all that sure
give us everything we need, still we're wanting more
if you know all your secrets and youve really got it sewn
show me somewhere that I can belong
Hello universe, you put me on my feet, but it's hard filling this evolutionary niche
and so universe, this is human life, mother nature's washing hanging on the line
They say you're made of love but I'm not all that sure
give us everything we need, still we're wanting more
if you know all your secrets and youve really got it sewn
show me somewhere that I can belong
They say you're made of love but I'm not all that sure
give us everything we need, still we're wanting more
if you know all your secrets and youve really got it sewn
show me somewhere that I can belong
show me somewhere that I can belong
|
||||
2. |
The ghost of Nick Drake
03:43
|
|||
|
Got my troubled soul soothed on an autumn day
A peculiar stranger crossed my path today
He doesnt love no one it's tragic, he loves melody and magic
la di di da, la di da
I have been hanging out with the ghost of Nick Drake
we mutter and laugh out loud at all our mistakes
and as we watch misfortune take her last swipe
we're still singing, singing for our lives
La di di da, la di da
He whispers to me "I'm feeling down again"
Then sings me the sweetest tune from beginning to end
he doesnt love no one its tragic he loves melody and magic
la di di da, la di da
I have been hanging out with the ghost of Nick Drake
we mutter and laugh out loud at all our mistakes
and as we watch misfortune take her last swipe
we're still singing, singing for our lives
La di di da, la di da
|
||||
3. |
New shoots
02:44
|
|||
|
Push it down, as far as it will go
leave it out, watch the cold wind blow
Write it off as something you don't know
cut it down, watch the new shoots grow
Life will find a way
Tell it that there's nowhere left to run
show it's hope as the setting of the sun
Here I stand the earth is coarse and dry
a scattered seed fallen from the sky
Life will find a way
|
||||
4. |
Here comes the silence
03:02
|
|||
|
Your life will be over before you make up your mind
now is your forever, yeah, now is your time.
No use in waiting for the right words to say
your ship might not come in, so get outside and get on your way
Here comes the silence and I stand with open arms
this world was meant for me with all its faults and charms
Here comes the silence and the sun shines on a new day
and all the love inside my heart knows what it wants to say
And looking too far ahead is only gonna turn you blind
the past is gone, let it go. Don't waste any more of your time
They say it's not the destination it's the ride
So turn off your virtual world there's a beautiful one right outside
|
||||
5. |
Big black dog
02:50
|
|||
|
I asked my mama “Why do I cry?” She said “Son, I’m gonna tell you why. I hate to say it, but big black dog’s back again”.
And I wanna run but I can’t move, wish somebody else was livin in these shoes, coz life ain’t easy when big black dog’s back again
And when I’m up he’s always there just waiting for his moment to lead me to despair.
There ain’t no joy when he’s in town and he decides how long he’s gonna sniff around. Well oh my lord he’s a big black dog yeah
Went to the doctor said “Somethin is wrong” He said “By now you should be dead and gone because it looks like big black dog’s back again”.
I asked the preacher to help me to my feet. He shook his head and said “The lord above would weep, just to discover big black dog’s back again.
And when Im up he’s always there just waiting for his moment to lead me to despair. There ain’t no joy when he’s in town and he decides how long he’s gonna sniff around. Well oh my god he’s a big black dog
And when Im up he’s always there just waiting for his moment to lead me to despair. There ain’t no joy when he’s in town and he decides how long he’s gonna sniff around. Well oh my lord he’s a big black dog yeah
Somebody save my soul he's a big black dog yeah
|
||||
6. |
Getting up
03:15
|
|||
|
Turn off the light as you turn into dust
You're just a human and that's hard enough
You're reaching your arms out for help
When beauty takes care of herself
Its the getting up that counts when you fall
Soon you'll be waking up after it all
Does anybody ever get it right first time?
Out of the darkness, into light?
So if you're drowning, don't give up dear
Because every person knows the weight of tears
You feel like you'll never return
But one more mile and then you're done
|
||||
7. |
Got this far
04:02
|
|||
|
I've walked as far as my eyes can see
just to watch a falling star burning out on me
I've been a hundred strangers to myself
and we've been wasting time hanging outside the gates of hell
Would it be easier to just throw it all away?
Well if I don't hang around I might miss the brighter day
and I got this far and I'm not giving up
I still believe in love, it's what I'm dreaming of
and I got this far and I'm not giving up
I sitll believe in love, it's what I'm dreaming of, it's what I'm dreaming of
and oh my crazy brain, everything I think I've reached the top it knocks me down again
but I believe there's a place I belong and it's somewhere I hope I might find if I just keep moving on
Would it be easier to just throw it all away?
Well if I don't hang around I might miss the brighter day
and I got this far and I'm not giving up
I still believe in love, it's what I'm dreaming of
and I got this far and I'm not giving up
I sitll believe in love, it's what I'm dreaming of, it's what I'm dreaming of
|
||||
8. |
Ticking boxes
02:58
|
|||
|
If I knew where I was going, could I make it alone and
would this cruel wind stop blowing my heart away?
and I know just why you say it, the game is better if you play it,
still, you want me to lay it in front of you
I could turn on the blue skies, wipe the tears from my eyes
If I knew what I wanted from you
Just turn around with your affection point it in the right direction
'Cause all this complication just frustrates you
If I could just cut my losses, stop wasting time ticking boxes
'cause the last thing I wanted was to hurt you
I could turn on the blue skies, wipe the tears from my eyes
If I knew what I wanted from you
|
||||
9. |
Porcelain
03:35
|
|||
|
Take my hand if you don't understand why the world keeps spinning round and the ways of man
Show me how I can let it out. I'd be happy with some direction to the way out
All this time, just getting by, when under my skin there's porcelain.
And you can laugh as I fall. I'd rather get caught screwing up than not try at all.
And I don't care what they say, it's not better to burn out than to fade away
|
||||
10. |
Simple soul
03:14
|
|||
|
Gonna take my time if I wanna
I'm making up my mind coz I gotta
take a look outside to see what I can find
I wanna write a song that anyone can sing
try and paint a picture of everything
If I can touch your heart then maybe that's a start
Somebody shine a light, tell me everything is gonna be alright
when it's complicated I just lose control I just want a simple soul
And I don't know what's happening to me, it's like I wanna stay but I wanna leave. Either way I'll be how I wanna be.
Somebody shine a light, tell me everything is gonna be alright
when it's complicated I just lose control I just want a simple soul
Shine a light, tell me everything is gonna be alright
when it's complicated I just lose control I just want a simple soul
If I had a simple soul I'd keep you safe from harm
I'd never have to let you go or keep on running from the safety of your arms
Somebody shine a light, tell me everything is gonna be alright
when it's complicated I just lose control I just want a simple soul
Shine a light, tell me everything is gonna be alright
when it's complicated I just lose control I just want a simple soul
|
||||
11. |
Higher ground
03:08
|
|||
|
The wind it is a' changin' and your favourite music's playing and you know everything is gonna be alright.
We all separate ourselves, spending all our days in hell when we all come from the same light
Higher ground it's what we're looking for, when we get a taste of silence we want more
Higher ground it's the air we breathe, always looking for something to set us free
It's three in the morning and the desperation's dawning, if I write the sweetest tune will it subside?
Lost in sheets and old pillows I keep on searching for that simple soul. Is it hiding deep inside?
Higher ground it's what we're looking for, when we get a taste of silence we want more
Higher ground it's the air we breathe, always looking for something to set us free
It's where you gently take my hand and without words I understand.
It's where the devil makes no sound, if only I could reach some higher ground
Higher ground it's what we're looking for, when we get a taste of silence we want more
Higher ground it's the air we breathe, always looking for something to set us free
|
||||
12. |
I'm still breathing
02:42
|
|||
|
Wish that I was waking up after being lost in dark
I grab a hand for some support, but it's not my Father's
and for a while I can pretend the silence comes around again
Is it coming to an end?
I don't believe in sin and I'm not giving in.
The bottom line is I'm still breathing
I'm still breathing
And all the causes from the past meet inside this plastic mask,
breathing life into my bones, reminding me I'm on my own
I can't carry this no more, give me the key and I'll unlock the door
I don't believe in sin and I'm not giving in.
The bottom line is I'm still breathing.
I'm still breathing
But I'm so tired that the blood inside my veins has turned to mud.
For miles and miles I cannot see anything that's touching me.
I don't believe in sin and I'm not giving in.
The bottom line is I'm still breathing
I'm still breathing.
I'm still breathing.
I'm still breathing.
|
||||
13. |
Life without love
06:41
|
|||
|
Step back, back from what you know
Hold it close, or just let go
It's funny, the saddest songs you sing
shine light on everything and torch your soul
Oh Lord, send me down some hope
send it down from above
and Lord your greatest crime of all
is life without love
I don't need cleansed from my sin
just an answer to this prayer I sing
but I don't think you'll understand
I don't think you have a plan
I'v spent the best years of this life
just trying to find some peace of mind
For all this trouble, all this time
I need a reason why
Oh Lord, send me down some hope
send it down from above
and Lord your greatest crime of all
is life without love
Step back, back from what you know
hold it close or just let go
It's funny, the saddest songs you sing
shine light on everything and make you whole.
Oh Lord, send me down some hope
send it down from above
and Lord your greatest crime of all
is life without love
|
||||
14. |
||||
|
"The Queen & The Soldier"
The soldier came knocking upon the queen's door
He said, "I am not fighting for you any more"
The queen knew she'd seen his face someplace before
And slowly she let him inside.
He said, "I've watched your palace up here on the hill
And I've wondered who's the woman for whom we all kill
But I am leaving tomorrow and you can do what you will
Only first I am asking you why."
Down in the long narrow hall he was led
Into her rooms with her tapestries red
And she never once took the crown from her head
She asked him there to sit down.
He said, "I see you now, and you are so very young
But I've seen more battles lost than I have battles won
And I've got this intuition, says it's all for your fun
And now will you tell me why?"
The young queen, she fixed him with an arrogant eye
She said, "You won't understand, and you may as well not try"
But her face was a child's, and he thought she would cry
But she closed herself up like a fan.
And she said, "I've swallowed a secret burning thread
It cuts me inside, and often I've bled"
He laid his hand then on top of her head
And he bowed her down to the ground.
"Tell me how hungry are you? How weak you must feel
As you are living here alone, and you are never revealed
But I won't march again on your battlefield"
And he took her to the window to see.
And the sun, it was gold, though the sky, it was gray
And she wanted more than she ever could say
But she knew how it frightened her, and she turned away
And would not look at his face again.
And he said, "I want to live as an honest man
To get all I deserve and to give all I can
And to love a young woman who I don't understand
Your highness, your ways are very strange."
But the crown, it had fallen, and she thought she would break
And she stood there, ashamed of the way her heart ached
She took him to the doorstep and she asked him to wait
She would only be a moment inside.
Out in the distance her order was heard
And the soldier was killed, still waiting for her word
And while the queen went on strangling in the solitude she preferred
The battle continued on
|
||||
Michael Rattray Perth
Composer, singer and artist based in Perth, Scotland.
If you like Michael Rattray, you may also like:
The Woman You Want
by Eliza Shaddad
Haddad returns with cinematic soundscapes that include introspective folk, post-grunge, and indie-pop influences.
go to album
The L.A. guitar-pop songwriter champions the power of waiting.
go to album
A dark folk debut from Montreal’s Brigitte Naggar.
go to album
More folk-inflected confessionals on love, loss, and anxiety — plus a Kacey Musgraves cameo —from the Nashville indie pop auteur.
go to album
Beautiiful, stripped-back piano ballads that leave plenty of room for gorgeous, soaring vocals.
go to album
This project from the Spanish indie-pop singer explores nostalgia and joy.
go to album
This debut from the Canadian indie artist features pop, folk, and country influences.
go to album
