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Dominion

by Melrose Quartet

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1.
Morning's come and Mariah's gone Morning's come and Mariah's gone Morning's come and Mariah's gone And it's early in the morning. Oh she's gone and I can't go.... Never did I know her mind.... Trouble, trouble is my name...
2.
Lay by your pleading, law lies a-bleeding Burn all your studies down, and throw away your reading Small power the word has, and can afford us Not half so much privilege as the sword does It'll the foster the master, plaster disaster This'll make a servant quickly greater than the master Ventures, enters, seeks and it centres Ever the upper hand, never the dissenter Kruger, Krugerrand-a, whither do you wander? Gone to the suborning of Hastings Banda Kruger Krugerrand-a, tear you all asunder Beira to Luanda, Gaborone to Nyanga Talks of small things, it sets up all things This'll master money, though money masters all things It is not season to talk of reason Never call it loyal when the sword says treason Balm for the whaler, balm for the the furrier This'll get the measure of an eco warrior Incognito, come and sink a Rainbow President will never know, I should bloody coco Build a drone, fly it, governments will buy it Devils in the desert sand give us a chance to try it Don’t need their ident, propaganda strident Blow them up remotely with a Hellfire or a Trident. Subtle deceiver turns calm to fever See the pilgrim flay the unbeliever It'll make a lay man preach and to pray man It'll make a Lord of him that was but a drayman Conquers the crown too, grave and the gown too Set you up a province but it'll pull it down too No gospel can guide it, no law decide it In church or state, till the sword sanctified it Take books, rent 'em, who can invent 'em? When that the sword says there'll be no argumentum Blood that is spilt, sir, has gained all the guilt, sir Thus have you seen me run my sword up to the hilt, sir
3.
4.
Hand Me Down 03:37
Hand me down some changing rhyme Some embraces never bind Oh hand me down your dancing line Then I’ll know I’m home Then I’ll know I’m home When I arrived in this old town Hand me down oh hand me down When I arrived in this old town Some forty voices they gathered round And I was coming home I was coming home Some go ahead, some stay behind Hand me down oh hand me down Some go ahead, some stay behind We navigate by the souls we find And I am coming home I am coming home I’m navigating by one more star Hand me down oh hand me down I’m navigating by one more star It’s shining bright to show I’ve come this far And I am coming home I am coming home
5.
Nightmares, Mother had, of navvies in the cellar And dark eyes looking through the window outside How we used to vex her, how we used to taunt her How we would laugh and chant to her dismay   'Ware out Mother there's a navvy in the cellar  and two more looking through the window outside   Mother heard there was to be a river builded  Just a stone's throw away from the window outside How we hugged each other, as we told our mother "It's a canal, there'll be navigators too."   We told Mother we’d see barges full of jewels And wondrous things past the window outside “But where's this river from?” We said it flows from China "Woah" thought Mom, "there'll be alligators too."d   One night Jimmy led the navies into town  and they looked like beggars through the window outside There were navvies in the ale house, arguments and street fights, Mother was delicate, she stayed in bed all week   One night Jimmy had a gentle way with words  and more pairs of hands than was decent, alright "Will you come along, me saucy little Susie, Just let me put a few arms around your waist."   Soon our mother saw the navvy with her daughter  and she locked her up in the cellar downstairs "Do you get along, me naughty filthy hussy, Else I'll put this stick about your back."   Jim gave a wink, or it might have been a blink, and he organised a tunnel 'neath the window outside Not a body saw them, then they struck foundations "Right" thought Jim, "I shall blow a little hole."   Muffled bang! and there was dust and rubble everywhere And Jim was in the cellar of his Susie once more How they hugged each other, yet no-one told our mother She still has her dreams, yet she's never learnt the truth.
6.
When I was a little girl I knew that I could do it all Now that I'm a woman grown, I just want some time at home   All my life is hurrying, worrying All my life is busy 'cause I just can't let go   When I was young and in my prime I'd read to while away the time Now the books stay on the shelf, the laundry doesn't do itself   I once had freedom every day to choose when I would rest and play Now my time's not mine alone, a mother's work is never done   Stress and headaches sometimes hit, knock me back a little bit I've got to change before I break or kill myself with too much cake
7.
Low Quebec 03:16
8.
I sowed the seeds of love It was all in the spring In April May and in June likewise While small birds they do sing My garden was planted well With flowers everywhere But I hadn’t the liberty to choose for myself The flowers that I loved dear My gardener he stood by And I asked him to choose for me He chose me the violet the lily and the pink But those I refused all three In June there’s a red rose bud And that’s the flower for me For often have I plucked at the red rose bud Til I gained the willow tree Come all you false young men Don’t leave me to complain For grass that has often been trampled underfoot Given time it will rise again
9.
Rise No More 03:17
What mired Jonah’s creature To see her rise no more? What fate conspired to breach her One hundred miles from shore? For our children stand in silence And view her bones in awe This heart unreal, these ribs of steel Shall sleep and rise no more   Rise no more oh rise no more We shall not meet my friend on Canaan’s shore Where heav’nly arcs our souls restore So sleep and rise no more   Like a drunken man still drowning Work’s thirst long gone before The veins within her pounding Not blood but molten ore For she drew no dragon’s bonus To burn all England’s poor All those who bleed this earth for greed Go sleep and rise no more   The legend of her shining Dark carols only sing Of casting ore and grinding The echoes only ring Bright tears upon us raining From steelos gone before For all that streamed is nought but dream So sleep and rise no more
10.
Davy Cross 03:56
The Widow Cross had but one son and indeed he was his mother's pride and joy So she knitted him a gansey, Cable stitched both fine and fancy And it looked like royal robes upon the boy   How we knew his bright blue eyes How we knew his golden hair And that gansey that his mother made was fine beyond compare   Tall and bright was Davy Cross, with a shining face that never bore a frown How the lasses smiled and sighed at his strong and manly stride On a Friday when the fishing fleet left town   For they...   At the dance on Saturday the lasses fairly swooned to dance with him As he held them in his arms, how they fluttered at his charms, And their hearts beat faster at his boyish grin   For they...   Then one dark October day there came a storm which drove us hard to lea And our fishing fleet was tossed, yet just one single craft was lost Leaving Widow Cross a-gazing out to sea   Well she...   When just ten weeks were passed and gone, they finally brought us news about the loss Seemed a body had been found of a sailor lost and drowned And in our hearts we knew 'twas Davy Cross   For we...   But it wasn't eyes of blue, nor that hair as pale as foam It was the gansey that his mother made that brought young Davy home
11.
12.
It’s one day we’ll go sailing Just you my love and I We’ll take us down to the waters Where fair the waters lie And then with good intentions We’ll try our debts to pay But the sun will swing the seasons And ever win the day Then one day we’ll go climbing Get closer to the stars And pray that those in spaceships Will leave them as they are Then one day we’ll start building We’ll use what comes to hand We’ll twine what needs entwining And bind what needs a band
13.
14.
Once there was a man and he had no song He felt his head was empty and his voice was wrong And though he often tried, his songs were trapped inside He couldn't find the place where they belong   But raise your voice with mine For now's the perfect time to join the song   Once there was a woman and her songs were loud She sang them in the shower and she sang them proud But when her friends were near, her voice it shrank with fear And left her shaking mute before the crowd   But raise...   Now if you want to sing but don't know how or why Don't listen to the ones who say you should not try There's bound to be a way you've not tried before today To free your voice to soar beneath the sky   So raise...   Once there was a singer and he made his choice To leave his doubts behind him and to find his voice The journey that he's on is to learn just one more song And sing it out and make his friends rejoice So raise...

about

REVIEWS of "DOMINION"

FROOTS: *****Playlist Album Choice. “Brimming with harmonies… it’s the vigorous instrumental blast of the glorious Breton pipe tune that really knocks it out of the ground. Fairly rocks along with
serious intent.”

FRUK “A mouthwatering concoction. Brilliantly executed four part harmonies… extraordinary. Stunning vocal talent… raucous abandon. This is a band who have prospered by seizing the day, by daring to do things that are slightly different, a band who are able to make old songs sound new, and new ones sound timeless.”

STIRRINGS “fourteen superb tracks. A sense of joy and harmony that will continue to connect with a local and wider audience who value peace, a sense of belonging and a belief in community, and
not just to residents of this old town. Amen to that.”

R2R: “Sublime. Brimming with warmth and energy that make it irresistible. Superb stuff!”

SONGLINES: “Joy in music-making bursts out of the speakers. What makes Melrose Quartet extraordinary is their ensemble singing - the virtuosity and musicianship in these four voices combined is something to behold. Nancy Kerr has to be one of the finest songwriters in English
folk. Instrumental dances are full of vim and vigour… an excellent record.”

NOIZZE: “Exquisite vocal harmonies. ‘Dominion of the Sword’ is a tour-de-force and an instant favourite. 9/10.”

FOLKING.COM : “a delightfully eclectic mix of material - the way people used to make albums back in the 70s. If you haven’t heard them you should remedy that oversight as soon as possible. Melrose Quartet could play Dominion from start to finish in a folk club and you’d go home knowing that you’d had a good night out. I don’t think that you could ask for much more than that.”

BRIGHT YOUNG FOLK: “Stunning… an album with real breadth, depth, heart and soul. The tightness and complexity of the a capella harmonies is breath-taking. Dominion has the feel of an intimate, live Melrose Quartet performance… an album which absolutely delivers.”

LONDON FOLK MUSIC: “Pure majesty.”

EDS: ***** “Outstanding. Just joyous and fantastically uplifting - a collection of standout songs and
instrumentals… you are in for a treat here.”



Now available for the first time as a digital download to celebrate the last Bandcamp Friday of 2023.

credits

released December 1, 2023

Digital re-release of the 2017 classic album "Dominion"

MELROSE QUARTET
Jess Arrowsmith - voice, fiddle
Richard Arrowsmith - voice, melodeons
James Fagan - voice, bouzouki, guitar, mandolin
Nancy Kerr - voice, fiddle

with: Nigel Holmes - bass

Recorded and mixed by Tom Wright, Powered Flight Music
Produced by Tom Wright and Melrose Quartet
Mastered by Nick Cooke
Artwork, design & photos by Lizzy Doe - lizzydoe.co.uk

All original material copyright control and published MCPS/PRS except 2. Topic Records Ltd 3b. Universal/Island Music Ltd. 12. SAGEM


www.melrosequartet.co.uk

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Melrose Quartet Sheffield, UK

Simply one of the best acappella groups on the UK folk scene, Melrose Quartet are made up of two well-loved folk duos, Nancy Kerr & James Fagan and Jess & Rich Arrowsmith. Based in Sheffield, they have a decade of gigs behind them, and vast collective experience as workshop leaders as well as performers. They are also a ceilidh band and the Patrons of Whiby Folk Week. Www.melrosequartet.co.uk ... more

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