Lamplighter
by Tommy Ashby
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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album13 track 12" black vinyl version of Tommy Ashby's debut album 'Lamplighter'.
Includes unlimited streaming of Lamplighter via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.ships out within 2 daysPurchasable with gift card£24 GBP or more
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Digital Album
Streaming + DownloadIncludes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.Purchasable with gift card
1. |
Running
04:00
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River runs through the crow wood,
Under bridge where the saint stood,
Cut our hearts in the limestone carvings,
Beautiful as a cloud break,
Count on me like a cave dance
Always moving towards you darlin’
Over solid ground
Solid ground,
Let me keep your pace
I’m on solid ground
Solid ground,
I’ll run to your shelter,
I’ll run in you race,
I’ll run I can’t help it (when I’m helpless)
I’ll run in your wake,
Tell me you felt it
With all the gods’ weight
With all of our courage,
Show me your courage
When I’m running down fate
When I’m running down fate
When I’m running down fate
When I’m running down fate
Change course when the cauld floods
Your name Is a rush of blood
Every way that I go I’ll find you
Nothing hurts in the last mile
Overtures by the roadside
If you fall I’ll be there beside you
Over solid ground
Solid ground,
Let me keep your pace
I’m on solid ground
Solid ground,
I’ll run to your shelter,
I’ll run in you race,
I’ll run I can’t help it (when I’m helpless)
I’ll run in your wake,
Tell me you feel it
With all the gods’ weight
With all of our courage,
Give me your courage
When I’m running down fate
When I’m running down fate
When I’m running down fate
When I’m running down fate
Drawn to you
Always drawn to you
Burning lungs
But my body’s born for you
I’m the crows flying
I go straight for you
Always high on the way I
Fall for you
Give me love
Give me love
Give me courage
A way to run
And I won’t break
I won’t turn
Feel the light coming
When I run to your shelter
I’ll run in you race,
I’ll run I can’t help it (when I’m helpless)
I’ll run in your wake,
Tell me you feel it
With all the gods’ weight
With all of our courage,
Give me your courage
When I’m running down fate
When I’m running down fate
When I’m running down fate
When I’m running down fate
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2. |
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The moon flowers are just our’s,
Blooming soon,
In the pitch black of the dust track,
Our holy tomb.
My best friend,
Every summer,
we’d pretend,
That we were brothers
Didn’t know it then,
My best friend.
The town creek, waist deep,
Through April showers,
You cried when your gran died,
We talked for hours.
My best friend,
Every summer,
we’d pretend,
That we were brothers
Didn’t know it then,
My best friend.
Skin and bone,
I found out when I left home,
That you and me,
Are branches on the same tree.
Skin and bone,
I found out when I left home,
That you and me,
Are branches on the same tree
(oh to be young again)
My best friend,
Every summer,
we’d pretend,
That we were brothers
Didn’t know it then,
My best friend.
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3. |
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My redemption is slow burning,
With no stop signs and no turning,
When you got someone who believes they’re right,
Would you bring knife to a gun fight,
Your suffering while they’re learning,
When your body is going under,
And there’s something you gotta find,
When your god is out of thunder,
And you’re walking on the wire.
Hold on tight to your heart,
Hold on tight to your heart,
When love goes dark,
Hold on tight to your heart.
Your secrets are worth hiding,
We’re living in a wasteland honey,
when you cover it in money it gets so exciting,
When you know something doesn’t feel quite,
Could you tell a little white lie?
It’s just half a heart, don’t tell me that’s too far,
When your body is going under,
And there’s something you gotta find,
When your god is out of thunder,
And you’re walking on a line.
Hold on tight to your heart,
Hold on tight to your heart,
When love goes dark,
Hold on tight to your heart
Are you so certain?
Of the people you are loving,
Are you always going to trust them?
Is their sanctuary a sin?
Are you so certain?
Hold on tight to your heart,
Hold on tight to your heart,
When love goes dark,
Hold on tight to your heart
Hold on tight to your heart,
Hold on tight to your heart,
When love goes dark,
Hold on tight to your heart
Hold on tight to your heart,
Hold on tight to your heart,
When love goes dark,
Hold on tight to your heart
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4. |
A Beautiful Day
02:51
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Betty Thompson said she was with you,
Good morning, still in your red shoes
Silver lining sits in a gold cloud,
My horizon’s wide as your eyes now.
She’ll come round like the sun in your bedroom,
Patience, be film in a dark room
Take your time, say hi with a haiku
You’re not mine, I just like you.
Oh, it’s a beautiful day,
Oh, such a beautiful day,
First love, wild flowers and a split knee,
Fall fast, in the hope that you catch me,
Leading horses down to the river,
You go first, I’ll always love her.
Oh, it’s a beautiful day,
Oh, such a beautiful day,
Call the boys in,
Call the girls,
Call your friends,
We’re diving for pearls.
Swim the waters,
Simmer down
When you find one,
Pass it round.
Freeze frame, on a glance at midnight,
Keep your eyes on me and hold tight,
Run the rain, through the concrete glistening,
Go against the grain, find out what you’re missing.
Oh, it’s a beautiful day,
Oh, such a beautiful day,
Oh, it’s a beautiful day,
Oh, such a beautiful day,
Oh, it’s a beautiful day,
Oh, such a beautiful day,
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5. |
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I love her eyes, the fisherman’s daughter,
See fireflies and broken water,
Seabirds turning on the quay side,
She stands waiting on the tide.
When I’m running out,
She throws me a lifeline,
When I’m long gone,
She helps me back home,
When I fall in the gaps,
You promise me that,
I belong here,
I belong with you,
I belong here,
I belong,
The lighthouse is our alter
We stand side by side breathing salt air
We make promises to keep,
She all I can see.
When I’m running out,
She throws me a lifeline,
When I’m long gone,
She helps me back home,
When I fell in the gaps,
She promise me that,
I belong here,
I belong with you,
I belong here,
I belong.
When the ocean’s wild,
Salt, sea and stone,
You hold my eyes,
Call me home.
When I’m running out,
She throws me a lifeline,
When I’m long gone,
She helps me back home,
When I fell in the gaps,
She promise me that,
I belong here,
I belong with you,
I belong here,
I belong.
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6. |
Comeback Kid
01:10
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It’s ok to be afraid sometimes,
Just don’t let it leave you left behind,
‘Cause sometimes the bad turns good,
And they’ll call you the comeback kid.
I’m coming with you,
Nothing you do,
Could cause my heart to falter,
And in the silence,
You’re that light that,
Showed me seven wonders,
So lift the anchor, fuel the fire,
Take my hand and fly me higher
I’m coming with you,
All the way through,
Showed me seven wonders
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7. |
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Count the footsteps,
Count the time,
Before you know it this will all be far behind.
Count the people that you love,
Think of everyone who’s ever picked you up.
Say what you’re scared to say,
It won’t make you less.
The more you can give away,
The more you’ll have left.
It’s not a weakness,
It’s not a weakness,
It’s the stone that blunts the knife,
It’s the scars that make a life.
It’s not a weakness,
It’s not a weakness,
You’re the ebb and you’re the flow,
Keep walking,
It’s not that far to go.
Count the seconds,
Don’t give in,
Maybe we don’t know but this is where the world begins,
See the small things for what they are,
And keep dancing like the dust between the stars.
Say what you’re scared to say,
It won’t make you less.
It’s not a weakness,
It’s not a weakness,
It’s the stone that blunts the knife,
It’s the scars that make a life.
It’s not a weakness,
It’s not a weakness,
You’re the ebb and you’re the flow,
Keep walking,
It’s not that far to go.
Not that far, far to go,
Not that far, far to go.
It’s not a weakness,
It’s not a weakness.
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8. |
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Counting the days in California,
When all I want is you,
So far past the stage of falling for ya,
I know you feel it too,
Wanna get closer so I can hold ya,
You’re pulling my guard down,
You’d find the gold in a coal mine,
Watching the hours disappearing,
Close the window, leave your shoes,
Breathe in the flowers, London’s sleeping,
The nighttime is ours, the morning too.
Wanna get closer so I can hold ya,
You’re pulling my guard down,
You’d find the gold in a coal mine,
Oh like bottling lightening,
Oh You’re my hiding place,
Wanna get closer so I can hold ya,
You’re pulling my guard down,
You’d find the gold in a coal mine,
Feeling that first flush,
Is making my head rush,
Searching the tree line,
You’d bring me flowers of the alpines.
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9. |
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The stars untied,
In the failing light,
The party fell to two,
And you spun my heels,
Like a Catherine wheel,
Throwing sparks all through the room.
You and I
and a moonless sky
Me a shirt and tie,
You a white dress,
And we’ll dance until,
All the stars fall still,
And the autumn chill,
Leaves us breathless.
The floorboards creak,
beneath our feet,
as we make our way to the bed,
And you’re smiling face,
Holds the world in place,
Then turns it on it’s head.
You and I
and a moonless sky
Me a shirt and tie,
You a white dress,
And we’ll dance until,
All the stars fall still,
And the autumn chill,
Leaves us breathless.
You and I
and a moonless sky
Me a shirt and tie,
You a white dress,
And we’ll dance until,
All the stars fall still,
And the autumn chill,
Leaves us breathless.
You and I
and a moonless sky
Me a shirt and tie,
You a white dress,
And we’ll dance until,
All the stars fall still,
And the autumn chill,
Leaves us breathless.
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10. |
Which Way The Wind Blows
04:52
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The river’s on the rise, the cold is biting,
Spring is hard to find these days,
We’re slowly losing sight, in the violence,
Will we get it right this time around?
You say you’ve thought about it,
Flowers don’t grow in the shadows,
You’re not a failure, you can’t help,
Which way the wind blows.
I still see a spark in the darkness of the night,
Maybe it’s the start of something new,
You say you’ve thought about it,
Flowers don’t grow in the shadows,
You’re not a failure, you can’t help,
Which way the wind blows.
If I’m a boat, you’re the sail,
Turn my bow towards the gale,
If I’m a leaf then you’re the tree,
Hold you’re arm out, keep hold of me,
If I’m a kite, lost on the wind,
Hold the line, when I’m spiralling,
No way to know the way home,
But I don’t care I’ll go where the wind blows
Where the wind blows,
Where the wind blows,
Where the wind blows,
(I’m not lost)
Where the wind blows,
(I just don’t know where I am)
Where the wind blows,
Where the wind blows.
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about
Tommy Ashby is a Scottish musician and prolific writer with a distinct ability for revealing the innate beauty of everyday moments in a unique euphony of ethereal sonics and hushed vocals. Named after a line taken from the great Edinburgh poet Norman MacCaig’s Praise of a Man, Tommy’s stunning debut album ‘Lamplighter’ distills the idea that after someone significant enters your life, the light they pass on will spread and illuminate others. Once that light is lit, it never really goes out.
The album is a sincere and touching meditation on relationships; familial and friendships, the romantic and the unspoken. Capturing snapshots of people, places and moments in time, the work beautifully illustrates the effect that a person can have on your life and reflects on how the important relationships in our lives shape us; “It depicts all the people who were lamplighters in my life”.
After swapping a one-bed flat in London for the big skies, reed beds and sunsets of rural Suffolk, Tommy found himself writing about relationships with family and friends, along with a sense of place and its significance. Recorded in a series of secluded retreats tucked away in the hidden corners of the UK, an affinity for location and nature permeates the record. You can hear the trickle of streams in the woods of the Scottish Borders, birds spinning off the sea-cliffs of Zennor in Cornwall and the misty autumn chill of days spent recording in Suffolk and Pembrokeshire.
Throughout ‘Lamplighter’, Tommy reminisces over many fond childhood memories of wandering wild Scottish woodlands with his parents, his grandma’s enthusiasm for naturalist poetry and folk music or nights spent sneaking into pubs and bars to play the blues with his dad. As the album unfolds the songs muse over these memories. You get a sense that Tommy is trying to come to terms with how these personal connections have changed over the years and how they’ve come to shape him as an individual. Bringing the themes of the record to a poignant and poetic conclusion ‘Which Way The Wind Blows’ finds itself firmly rooted in the now and questions whether we are losing sight of the things that are important to us.
The album is a sincere and touching meditation on relationships; familial and friendships, the romantic and the unspoken. Capturing snapshots of people, places and moments in time, the work beautifully illustrates the effect that a person can have on your life and reflects on how the important relationships in our lives shape us; “It depicts all the people who were lamplighters in my life”.
After swapping a one-bed flat in London for the big skies, reed beds and sunsets of rural Suffolk, Tommy found himself writing about relationships with family and friends, along with a sense of place and its significance. Recorded in a series of secluded retreats tucked away in the hidden corners of the UK, an affinity for location and nature permeates the record. You can hear the trickle of streams in the woods of the Scottish Borders, birds spinning off the sea-cliffs of Zennor in Cornwall and the misty autumn chill of days spent recording in Suffolk and Pembrokeshire.
Throughout ‘Lamplighter’, Tommy reminisces over many fond childhood memories of wandering wild Scottish woodlands with his parents, his grandma’s enthusiasm for naturalist poetry and folk music or nights spent sneaking into pubs and bars to play the blues with his dad. As the album unfolds the songs muse over these memories. You get a sense that Tommy is trying to come to terms with how these personal connections have changed over the years and how they’ve come to shape him as an individual. Bringing the themes of the record to a poignant and poetic conclusion ‘Which Way The Wind Blows’ finds itself firmly rooted in the now and questions whether we are losing sight of the things that are important to us.
credits
released March 3, 2023
Produced and Mixed: Sam Okell
Mastered: Felix Davis
Produced and Mixed: Sam Okell
Mastered: Felix Davis
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all rights reserved
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about
Tommy Ashby London, UK
Tommy Ashby’s background is a rather unusual one for a singer-songwriter. Awarded a PhD in the perception of sound in his early 20s, Tommy manages to blend a technical understanding of the way our brain processes sound with the indisputable pure creative energy of someone who grew up writing and playing music in the wilds of Scotland. ... more
