Don McCarthy– electric guitar
Nathan McCarthy– bass
David Partridge– vocals, keys, percussion
Produced in Nova Scotia by David Partridge
Words and music by David Partridge

BONNIE GOT A PONTIAC 
Bonnie got a Pontiac, like it dropped out of the sky
That’s how her brother put it but
Her brother knew a guy…
Far from new, gun metal blue– aftermarket key, of course
Cinderella’s coach except for the footmen and the horse.
 
Drove that beast ‘til the wheels came off
Getting home– as dawn would break
Late shifts at the diner
Bonfire Beach at Sorrow Lake 
Bonnie got a Pontiac.

Last time out she got a flat in the chilling beachfront air
The cop who stopped to help her
Found a gun beside the spare
Bonnie panicked, grabbed it back and shouted “It’s not mine!”
The cop drew fast and fired twice at precisely the same time. 
 
Drove that beast ‘til the wheels came off
On every trip she’d take:
Momma’s house, the diner
Bonfire beach at Sorrow Lake 
Bonnie got a Pontiac 

A cry went up she crumpled down
The gun dropped from her hand
And where it fell the asphalt 
Had a tiny trace of sand…

The barrel cooled, the night air 
Held its breath for pity’s sake;
The quiet waves said, “Shush” on 
Bonfire beach at Sorrow Lake. 
Bonnie got a Pontiac.– it fell out of the sky.

Bonnie Got A Pontiac

BONNIE GOT A PONTIAC

Don (WobblyPop) McCarthy– electric guitar
David Partridge– vocals, percussion
Peter LeBlanc (Special Guest Alien)– fretless bass, mandolin, violin
Produced in Nova Scotia by David Partridge
Words and music by David Partridge
CANNERY TOWN
In a cannery town with its back foot in the sea
With the fog– always grey– in the way
I was young I was dumb; that’s why she went for me
Both determined as hell not to stay.

As we walked, she would talk a fine seductive line
Full of promise, alluring and sweet
In a dim alley way between shacks near the bay
She leaned in and swept me off my feet.
 
In a tapped-out pickup with an ill-fitting hood
Left unlocked, just like us, it could be said
I got it in my head that truck would not be missed
Even though there were traps in the bed.
 
As we showed our taillights to that cannery town 
She popped opened the glove box for fun
“There’s a picture in here – I think it’s of this truck
But this girl sure is not on the run!”

The girl in the photo had a small knowing smile
Hand on belly, her back to the door
Still a bit of a flirt with a bump under her skirt
She did not hate this town anymore.
 
In a tapped-out pickup with an ill–fitting hood
Left unlocked, just like us, it could be said
I got it in my head that the truck would not be missed
Even though there were traps in the bed.
 
Some guy with a camera, some girl with a smile
Maybe knew what we were struggling through.
They were us, more or less–
‘Cept the bump beneath her dress–
When this truck was brand new.
 
In a tapped-out pickup with an ill–fitting hood
We left dumb adventure for dead.
Me and her turned around, drove back to cannery town
To the rhythm of traps in the bed.

Cannery Town

CANNERY TOWN

Don McCarthy– pedal steel, electric guitar
Nathan McCarthy– bass
David Partridge– vocal, keys, percussion
Produced in Nova Scotia by David Partridge
Words and music by David Partridge

JUMP IN THE POOL
I’ve gone seeking secondhand sunlight
I didn’t leave a note.
I’ve thrown the bread upon the water, I don’t expect it to float.
If I return home burnt and foolish.
 Don’t you be surprised.
It starts as just a whisper but the  voices always rise.
 
CHORUS:
Jump in the pool, jump in the pool.
Remember to kick, you’re nobody’s fool.
You’ll never get anywhere, toes on the brink
As likely to swim as you are to sink
The water is not as cold as you think,
Just jump in the pool.
 
I used to be a thing that you treasured
Now there’s much less care.
It’s nature’s way for shiny to tarnish left out in the air.
I return home empty-handed 
more & more & more,
Not a trace in either palm of what you sent me for.
REPEAT CHORUS
 
BRIDGE:
Once we swam out in the ocean 
The wonder and the bliss.
That’s the moment that I cradle 
When it comes to this.
I know it’s not the way you live– 
A slave to darker whim
It calls me to the water’s edge 
Uncertain I can swim.
REPEAT CHORUS

JUMP IN THE POOL

Don "Zorro of Sorrow" McCarthy– electric guitar
Nathan McCarthy– bass
David Partridge– vocals, keys, percussion
Produced in Nova Scotia by David Partridge
Words and music by David Partridge

ARISE AND MOVE ON  
Our old house is empty–It won’t be for long
Someone else’s family will move in once we’re gone  
We are moving somewhere another family’s been
Don’t know where they went– some house I’ve never seen.  

It’s a matter of minutes, of hours between us all
Like outreaching fingers, some touch we can’t recall.
An old empty bed frame abandoned on the lawn
Some soul who once dreamed there
Arose and moved on.

Change all flows together, not quite grasping hands
Fingers close, not touching, though desire demands  
Tiny gaps between us glow and flow and spark
They can seem like chasms on cold nights in the dark.  

It’s a matter of minutes, of hours between us all
Like outreaching fingers, some touch we can’t recall.
An old empty bed frame abandoned on the lawn
Some soul who once dreamed there
Arose and moved on.

When we’re wrapped in heartache when we dream in pain
Don’t pull up the blankets and try to sleep again
Throw away your mattress if it troubles sleep
Rise from slumber with promises to keep. 

It’s a matter of minutes, of hours between us all
Like outreaching fingers, some touch we can’t recall.
Where once sleep was fitful, where once my faith was gone
I woke and decided, “Arise and move on.”

ARISE AND MOVE ON

Don "Zorro of Sorrow" McCarthy– electric guitars
Nathan McCarthy– Bass
David Partridge– Vocals, keys, percussion
Words and music by David Partridge
Produced in Nova Scotia by David Partridge

MISSED THE LAST BUS 
Standing still and taking in the sparkle
In this rain-varnished street
How was I to know that this vanilla life 
‘Til now was incomplete?
Without a clue and soaked right through 
To goosebumped skin again
Missed the last bus dreaming in the rain, sweet rain.
 
Walk the street with sloppy puddled feet
Through this gray glossy town
How was I to know that you could light a fire 
Beneath the eiderdown?
Without a pause, I’d run right back because 
It’s simple to explain–
Missed the last bus imagining you in the rain, sweet rain.
 
In love insane, hear the rain, singing in the drains?
In love insane, hear the rain, singing in the drains?

Cause heaven knows, it climbs and overflows–
This love I can’t restrain
Missed the last bus imagining you in the rain, the rain.
Missed the last bus dreaming in the rain, 
Sweet rain, sweet rain.

MISSED THE LAST BUS

Don "Zorro of Sorrow" McCarthy– electric guitar
Nathan McCarthy– bass
David Partridge– Vocals, keys, percussion
Produced in Nova Scotia by David Partridge
Words and music by David Partridge

EMPIRE OF RAIN
The road to town shines a bit like satin or like silk.
The culvert flows high and fast like angry chocolate milk.
Leaf-lined gutters overflow. Will they ever drain?
TV guys forecast sunny skies 
But again and again and again
It’s an empire of rain.
 
Someone said, “West, young man– the long coast on the left–
Humongous trees like SUVs; the tapas is the best!”
Mountains and a naked beach but it’s not the same–
Soggy sand and some washed up logs
And we all know just what is to blame–
It’s an empire of rain.

Winter’s one thing– maybe it’s snow 
But that counts as rain
 ’Cause without fail it all goes to hail
And back again.

I had love; I screwed it up– I don’t know what to say
One dark night her sunny side just up and washed away
I begged for her forgiveness but it’s not the same;
Smiles no longer light her face
And only the teardrops remain,
It’s an empire of rain.

EMPIRE OF RAIN

Don "Zorro of Sorrow" McCarthy– electric guitars
David Partridge– vocals, keys, production
Nathan McCarthy– bass
Produced in Nova Scotia by David Partridge
Words and music by David Partridge
MELTING

      
My fingers struggle to open
Too busy forming a fist  
I  have an impulse to help but
My hands look small on the ends of my wrists
Thank heavens water nurtures the trees 
But when lightning strikes it puts a spark on the breeze
Makes me ill at ease.

CHORUS:
I’m melting, I’m melting, my heart’s on fire in my chest
I’m melting, I’m melting like the wicked witch 
The wicked witch of the west

My eyes aren’t easy to  open
My sleep’s important to me 
But when the light floods the windows
I do not like what I don’t want to see
Power glows– we all know what that brings– Just more
hungry men who want to rule us like kings
Poison’s what that brings.

CHORUS:
I’m melting, I’m melting, my heart’s on fire in my chest
I’m melting, I’m melting like the wicked witch 
The wicked witch of the west

BRIDGE:
Red is blood, not just the colour of your shoes,
(Those ruby shoes)
Run, come quick, there’s flying monkeys on the news.
 
CHORUS:
I’m melting, I’m melting, my heart’s on fire in my chest
I’m melting, I’m melting like the wicked witch 
The wicked witch of the west.

MELTING

Don (Zorro of Sorrow)– electric guitar, pedal steel
Nathan McCarthy– bass
David Partridge– vocals, keys, percussion
Produced in Nova Scotia by David Partridge
Words and music by David Partridge

DOWNPOUR

CHORUS: 
It’s torrential, elemental
Scan the sky for blue in vain
It’s a downpour– and we don’t know how to come in out of the rain.

VERSE 1a: 
If you’re lost or disillusioned
searching for a sign 
If you have regrets, you’re growing
If you’re angry, you’re in the wrong line.
VERSE 1b: 
I can’t recommend a saviour
There’s no little pill  
We shake fists at our own weather 
Maybe we always will.
 
CHORUS: 
It’s torrential, elemental
Scan the sky for blue in vain
It’s a downpour– and we don’t know how to come in out of the rain.
 BRIDGE:
First the river fills the basement, then it fills the boat
No boots in the biggest closet will keep your soul afloat.
 
VERSE 2b: There are different kinds of sorrow
Ragged and refined 
Ankle deep in fallen water–
These days I am disinclined.
 
CHORUS: It’s torrential, elemental
Scan the sky for blue in vain
It’s a downpour– we don’t have the sense to come in out of the rain. 
To come in out of the rain.

DOWNPOUR

A crow gifts the WobblySaucer aliens with a feather. They are entranced. It brings them almost as much joy as peanut butter cups.

Don Zorro of Sorrow McCarthy– electric and acoustic lead guitars, pedal steel
David Partridge– vocals, keyboards, percussion
Nathan McCarthy– bass
Produced in Nova Scotia by David Partridge
Words and music by David Partridge

FEATHER
In the shaft of light squeezing past the blind
Rays of hope leave drapery behind
There’s a feather pressed tight between my palms
I rub them forward, then back.
The feather turns quickly, left and then right.
Twirling dervish-like caught in the light
The air is pushed– out and back again as a wing’s intended to do.

Like a feather twirling in the light
I probably shouldn’t but I think I might
Try to push against the coming night
Like a feather twirling in a shaft of light.

I’m not an angel; I don’t pretend to be
I’m immune to celestiality 
I prefer my feet on this blessed earth
Leaving tread marks in dirt
Maybe you really can fly to heaven’s gate
If you’re a creature of lesser body weight
But with quickening spins– left and then right– I see what wings could do.

Like a feather twirling in the light
I probably shouldn’t but I think I might
Try to push against the coming night
Like a feather twirling in a shaft of light.

Held fast but dancing, spinning, stirring the calm
A minor miracle right here on my palm.

Like a feather twirling in the light
I probably shouldn’t but I think I might
Keep tryin’ to push against the coming night
Like a feather twirling in a shaft of light.

FEATHER

Don McCarthy– lead guitar
Peter LeBlanc– electric bass
Jeff Burley– drums
David Partridge– vocal, keys
St. Margaret's Bay Symphony Orchestra conducted by Peter LeBlanc
Recorded in Nova Scotia, Canada. 

Words and music by David Partridge

UNLOVED, UNDONE                                           
 See these pencil lines I've made?  A little light but mostly shade. 
It was simple at the start 
Then you add another part; It gets darker with each pass.
See this heart the scribbles make? 
That's the shape of my mistake.  
Pretty soon it's like a map 
My whole world sketched on a napkin from under my glass.

Unloved, undone, unravelling in the sorcery of the sun
Called by the sweet forgiving sea 
I'm  not who she expected I would be
Awake and numb, what's to become of me?
    
See the sun in front of me, falling slow into the sea?
Not so far back when I came 
To this paradise by plane I arrived from that same sky.
You know the glow that sunsets bring?  
I can't feel a blessed thing.
But the sun soon leaves you blind 
And the ocean's only brine at the edge of an eye.   

Unloved, undone, unravelling in the sorcery of the sun
Called by the sweet forgiving sea 
I've just betrayed her trust so easily
Awake and numb, what's to become of me?

BRIDGE:
This is not my dream, no, this is not my home.
The parts that aren't marble are certain to be chrome.
I tried to make amends but I've only made a mess.
I saw it as she stormed off, in her eyes, I confess
And in the flutter of her dress.  

Unloved, undone, unravelling in the sorcery of the sun
Called by the sweet forgiving sea 
I've fallen short of what I ought to be
Awake and numb, what's to become of me?

UNLOVED, UNDONE

Peter LeBlanc– piano, bass, synths
Don "Zorro of Sorrow" McCarthy– pedal steel
David Partridge– vocals, keys, percussion
Words and music by David Partridge
Produced in Nova Scotia by David Partridge

SALT WATER
Somewhere that’s far away, that’s where I’d rather be,
Where a volcano has poked a hole in the sea.
Beaches like linen and fishes like crayons,
Though we haven’t been there in  years,
 As I remember, the ocean tastes just like your tears.

At the horizon’s edge, what a sky there would be,
Just like a movie made by the wind from the sea.
Sun would get kidnapped and rain would bear down 
(But) in  minutes, the black clouds would part.
 It’s not as easy to weather the storm in your heart.

The water was curvy and salty
The sun shone desire on the plane
But maybe my memory is faulty.
How can we go back there again?

Lost in my daydreaming, it seems like yesterday.
But here at home, my love, you seem so far away.
I’ve got no ocean and you’ve got no mercy
Where  you see the worst through the best,
I see the brushstroke the sun painted onto your chest.
Salt water

SALT WATER

David Partridge– vocals, acoustic guitar, keys
Don (Zorro of Sorrow) McCarthy electric guitars
Peter LeBlanc– bass
Jeff Burley– drums
Produced in Nova Scotia by David Partridge
Words and music by David Partridge

THE L.A. MAN    
There's a man in a room where the frost grips the window
And the stars nail the night to the sky
And he stares at the pines but he's dreaming of palm trees;
Stars seem to be in his eyes.
He was born where it snows but he lives for the summers
And he wishes there was nothing in between.
When the present is pale he envisions his future
In some place that he's never been.

He's the L.A. man, the California Kid
But Canada's cooling him down.
If he could just make his way to the city of angels.
He could catch fire in that town.

Summer days in the cars, summer nights in the canyons.
It's a dream but it's never in doubt
'Cause he's heard every song, he's seen all the movies,
So he knows what he's talking about.
It's the infinite beach, it's the long endless summer
And he's swallowed every word that they say.
He's just Hollywood starved for the garden of Eden
Just geography stands in his way.

He's the L.A. man, the California Kid
But Canada's cooling him down.
If he could just make his way to the city of angels.
He could catch fire in that town.

Sweet L.A., the singers say, 
The skies that never rain
But when the sunburn peels away, the face is pale a gain.

He's the L.A. man, the California Kid
But Canada's cooling him down.
If he could just make his way to the city of angels.
He could catch fire in that town.



New tracks tagged #David Partridge