Canoes to Campfires is a poetic lament about a girl from a previous life. The song documents journeys across countrysides in squashed back seats, blazing arguments, sleepless nights and beat poetry.
Inspirations for this song include The Gaslight Anthem, Jack Kerouac, The Lawrence Arms, Sam Russo, and Frank Turner.
lyrics
Sat atop a monument in the city that took me in,
But, give it a week, and I’ll be on the road again
A road I’ve travelled, unravelled, and I’ve searched hardest to find
Some distraction, or passion, if only for one night.
I prayed for some redemption for my beat-up leather shoes,
I watched that bus roll out of Kingsway,
And I squashed in next to you,
And I saw tail lights all that night, as you made my arm your rest
Inside that beat-up Fiat Panda, as it took off back out West.
In tired, tipsy dialects we sang.
You can have your anger, babe,
I still have my pride,
It’s just a crying shame I’m to blame
For fucking up your life.
I don’t know where the time has gone,
But I can tell you this:
Sometimes the best of us get tarred and feathered
When we mess with stupid kids.
I’m not one for lamentations, and I don’t sing the blues,
But when you’re faced with contradictions,
You’re forced to pick and choose
As we’re bound for life, bound for strife, for a world dimly-perceived,
We’ll keep on and on that road again, in the Spirit of the Beat.
Back in that ancient month of May.
If I could take that trip once more, if I could take it back
If you’d be my Moriarty, I could be your Kerouac,
I’ve been levelled, dishevelled, and I’ve stayed up all night long
Over-arguing those splitting hairs with the girl who did you wrong.
Sat atop a monument of a heart ripped clean away,
I’ve watched the world turn, as it’s watched me stay the same
With a confession, and a lesson, the beginnings of a song
About a girl who lives in Gorseinon, she’s a girl who’s been and gone.
Rwy’n dy golli di, my dear.
credits
from The Way Back,
released September 2, 2016
Asher Baker - Vocals, Lyrics, Guitar
James Routh - Guitar, Bass Guitar
Luke Hesketh - Drums
Rosaleen Morshead - Viola
Kelsey Beth-Crossley - Backing Vocals
Jemma Rodgers - Backing Vocals
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