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maranatha

by Megan Sue Hicks

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geemuses
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geemuses Fabulous folk psych rarity finally available again, 50 years after its release as a run of 200 LPs. And it lives up to its reputation.
Favorite track: One last alley.
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1.
Hey, can you come out and play? Can you come out and play My game with me ... my game with me? Hey, can you come out and play My game with me? Round and round and up and down, I wound up my merry-go-round, And while my down is going up Your up is coming down. Hey, can you come out and play, My game with me? Hey, don't say you didn't know You can't win the way I play. Don't say you didn't know. I warned you of it yesterday. I warned you yesterday. Can you come out and play My game with me. Hey, now that you've gone away You can't here me, so I'll say, Burn this infernal carousel. Please tame me. (Reference here to St. Exupery's Little Prince)
2.
Is this the one last alley you have to stumble down, One dead end where there's no room to turn around, Your last one hundred yards until your strength fails and you drop So hard and low the only place for you to look is up? Are you climbing up a mountain path the only leads nowhere, Your feet chained to the rocky path, blind with icy glare? Reach out for everlasting arms, seek eyes that search and care. Jump out into eternity and find your reasons there. I bundled up the problems of the world and universe, Slung them on my back along with man's inherent curse. I ached and groaned beneath my load until I came to know Someone had done it all for me two thousand years ago.
3.
Cle's song 02:11
Plant your houses in the desert, Curse the heat and pray for rain, Cultivate your wilted crops That choke the ground where desert flowers had been. I don't know why you left the meadow, But I'll come 'round from time to time And try to be your friend. A tiny dwelling in you town You built with my name on the door. Sun and hot wind weathered me. I learned your constitution, and that more Than laws could fill the gnawing hunger Eating away the very love That I was crying for. Your learning stays immutable (immovable?). That might be right for you, For me confinement cripple loves. Mirages in your wilderness I see Distort the green grown mountain range. My taberacle's been unpitched. Don't curse me 'cause I'm free.
4.
Branches bearing fruit of wispy purple sighs, Flowers wafting temple incense, Mottled grey-blue skies Sifted through a misty wisteria veil. Even beer cans polluting the harbor Are clumsy ships learning how to sail. The whole of creation Awaits liberation And quivers excited in anticipation For the day when trees will clap their hands And rocks will sing for joy. Ferries sort of accidentally moving on their way Make a trail of sparkle snail tracks Wrapping 'round the bay. Clouds unfurl a lightning flash Of heaven's blinding glow. The colors of butterflies, sunsets, and flowers Are all mirrored in the rainbow. I look with elation And praise at creation And wait for the dawn of the great liberation When every tongue confesses Love And every knee shall bow. Is it selfish to ask you to take my hand And become the cause of a celebration?
5.
An empty mailbox doesn't really matter, And a full one only lets you know You helped contribute to lonesomeness About five days ago. Letters make a verbal silence, And words aren't big enough to say, I think I love someone a continent and a million miles away. When tears come slow, unstinging, warm, My shoulders heave involuntary sighs, Rationality offers a halfhearted Consolation prize. Two small children maturing Away from together securities -- Instead of two small clinging vines We'll grow into trees. We were or will be isn't in the present. Common sense can't fill the empty ache For hands resting heavy on my shoulders, Eyes to smile me awake, A heart to catch the overflow of beauty My soul cannot contain. I think I love someone a continent and a million miles away.
6.
Martha, my Martha, open your eyes, And look through your tears at the blue of the skies -- The investment of love that you've made. Martha, my Martha, let Jesus take All of your sorrow, all of your ache. You take ahold of my smile. Martha, my Martha, the plans that you've made May not be forever, and if not they'll fade As you will if you won't let go. Martha, God's Martha, though you may not see, Our Beloved watches us, loves us and He Won't let tears be always.
7.
Don't know where I'm going, I'm not sure where I've been. Many faces, many loves, Places to be in, Words to say, Games to play, People to befriend Will meet me where I'm going. My God, where have I been? Don't know what I'm saying, Not sure what I've said, Poems written, songs to sing, Books that I have read, Conversations, Supplications Come into my head. Is what I'm doing living, 'Cause I know I'm not dead. Lord, this low I'm feeling Digs foundations for a high -- Joy and sorrow, Tears and smiles, Laughter while I cry. Tuesday's sadness -- When comes gladness? Smile instead of sigh? If you want to learn to live, child, Learn to let death die.
8.
You couldn't have been this far apart The night you made a baby. Your quiet detachment -- when did it start? "I love you," prefaced with "maybe"? Maybe. Maybe I love you. Maybe. Our roles are reversed, And I'm not well-rehearsed In phrases invented for keeping small children From tearing each other to shreds. Your eyes droop a cursed look. What could be worse Than to wake up and find That the one you had loved Is a stranger beside you in bed. Maybe. Maybe I love you. Maybe. Who's going to win your undeclared war? Neither of you can hope to. You wars are inside you, not in between. Your own heads are foes to subdue. Impatience and pride Engulf like a riptide Of bitterness pulling you further apwary From the common shore where you love. You've got to decide Whether you're going to hide In your books and your business Or whether you'll mend Tapestry two loves once wove. The giving involved in being one Can never see an end. Does it have to be that in living with someone You can no longer be friends? Maybe. Maybe. Maybe I love you. Maybe I love you. Maybe I love you. Maybe.
9.
Rock-a-bye, baby. Now rock you to sleep. Pink and blue dreams in your brown curly head. Harvest of joyful fruit sleeping you'll reap. Remember the words that our Lord Jesus said: Suffer small children to come unto me. Learn from these precious small children. Unless you become as trusting as these, You won't see the kingdom of heaven. Close your eyes, Sarah, lay back your head, Jane. Dwarves and tree people wait for you in dreams * Lambs play with a lion with a soft golden mane ** Lullabies flow in the rivers and streams. Suffer small children to come unto me... *LOTR referece **Chronicles of Narnia reference
10.
I'm sittin' on the Group W Bench Quietly sipping Mother's Pride Cola, Waiting for the coming of the Lord. Jesus said he'd raise up a peculiar race of people. Thank you, man, for lookin' at me like you think I'm weird. I'm flying high. You cannot buy What my mind's tuned in on. Love, joy, and peace are free for asking Jesus If he'll remove the barbed wire of the things you've always feared. And I'm sittin' on the Group W Bench... Jesus said, I leave you peace. A comforter I give you. Sorrows, aches, and downers come. They only last a season. Until you're low You'll never know The way to grow In depth as well as height. And underneath the tears and wrenching There's a still, small voice Restoring peace and reason. That's why I'm sittin on the Group W Bench...
11.

about

This album was a labor of love produced by the late Doug Rowe of The Flying Circus. We recorded in 1971, after hours, in the EMI studio in Sydney. Shortly after we finished recording, Doug and his band left Australia for a yearlong recording contract in Canada, and I had to head back to the US because her visa had expired. I don't know how it ended up with a WB label, but it's been good for bragging rights. Only about 200 copies were pressed and distributed in Australia and New Zealand. Imagine my surprise to find out, almost fifty years later, that the album is collectible. Not only that, but people have expressed interest in listening to the songs. Well...here you go.

credits

released May 29, 2020

Orlando Agostino -- acoustic guitar
Doug Rowe -- acoustic and electric guitar
Sam See -- electric guitar, piano
Terry Wilkins -- bass guitar
Colin Walker -- drums
Megan Sue Hicks -- acoustic guitar
Cover by Sally Rowe
Photograph by Philip Morris
Produced by Doug Rowe

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Megan Sue Hicks Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In my teens and twenties I wanted to be a rich and famous singer-songwriter. In my 30s I wanted to be a rich and famous bestselling novelist. In my late 30's I discovered that what I really am is a storyteller, and that's how I've been making my way in the world for the past many years. You can find more about that at megahicks.com ... more

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