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Desire Lines

by Valentine Black

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    Comes in a high quality digi-pack with original artwork by Dave McDermott.

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1.
The State We’re In Lets all go to church or better yet the shopping centre, All our prayers are spent but spending money’s even better, I’m looking for distraction for a temporary plan, I’m looking for a jacket that defines me as a man. Everyone’s a suspect there’s an accent on the bus, Not so long ago across the water that was us, I drink for the wrong reasons and I’m angry all the time, I bust the toilets in the club I don’t even know why. Don’t even know why, Don’t even know why, Don’t even know why, Don’t even know why, My car is like a prison cell I gotta keep it running, The guy beside me’s fuming, I can feel it something’s coming, Nobody got money and nobody is content, Your mortgage is a fallacy we’re all just paying rent, But do you wanna fight Do you wanna fight Do you wanna fight Do you wanna fight Bonuses and pensions for our ministers of greed, Democracy just flatlined in the queue for A&E, Now they’re knocking on my door because they think I’m grass roots, Double talk, double cross, double-breast suits. Only the loneliness is real, When the money’s gone and you can feel- The sober touch of the state we’re in. We put our faith in all wrong things, We knocked our homes to build mansions, Paper houses echoing, The sober truth of the state we’re in.
2.
‘What a woman can do’ She called you by your name when you never knew another She said she’d show you what a woman can do And every time you came you forgot every lover Or whatever that you ever knew And oh oh oh does it sound like a familiar song And oh oh oh won’t you tell me if I’m telling it wrong Because it feels like history’s repeating itself It feels like history’s repeating itself And this is what a woman can do What a woman can do What a woman can do This is what a woman can do I’ve started to lose my clarity again You know my eyes ain’t what they were back when My heart was as strong as my resolution And neither had got broken And oh oh oh does it sound like a familiar song And oh oh oh won’t you tell me if I’m telling it wrong Because it feels like history’s repeating itself It feels like history’s repeating itself And this is what a woman can do What a woman can do What a woman can do This is what a woman can do Things I’ve done and things I’ve said There’s a dictionary in your head Listing each mistake I’ve made Every one from A to Z And this is what a woman can do What a woman can do What a woman can do This is what a woman can do
3.
Some kind of a connection I felt something When we were talking Not a bolt of lightning But certainly some electricity There’s no getting away from it You never know Where a hello can take you Could be a lonely room Or sharing your plans by the water There’s no getting away from it CHORUS I was just thinking people are such fragile things really There is bone and there is skin There’s a multitude of feelings that hurt easily And ever since we’re born we surround ourselves with defence mechanisms We build walls for protection But walls can easily become a prison Laaa la la la la la la…. I felt something When you were looking In my direction Felt like you could see right into me The scariest thing in the world But in that moment, That exchange of glances The walls cam tumbling And there was this kind of a connection The most beautiful thing in the world CHORUS I felt something When we were talking Not a bolt of lightning But certainly some electricity There’s no getting away from it CHORUS
4.
In the dead of the night (Every second line is ‘In the dead of the night, in the dead of the night’) Lord won’t you save me from my desires I don’t always tell the truth but I ain’t no liar Consumed by passion, it burns inside I gotta a woman in the country and she drive me wild. Her father’s people came from Inis Mor, She used to hitch up her skirt as she tipped through the shore, Well we arranged a midnight rendevouz, So I could give her my love the way young lovers do. I was drinking whiskey, I was drinking beer I was rolling numbers, I was bending ears, I was stretching time the way young men do, And one for the road became one or two. Well another man, he got there first, No he didn’t rob her, no he did much worse, He took her youth and then he took her life, And then he went home to his kids and his wife. Well the guilty man, the Lord he knows, And the bigger the secret the more people it shows, I took my Daddy’s gun from neath the bed, And I shot him and I shot him till I shor him dead. Well Lord won’t you save me from my desires, Love and hate they burn like fire, Some things you can’t control no matter how you try I got a woman in the country and she drive me wild
5.
Retrospect 04:18
Retrospect Our dreams still orbit round the sun We have gone blind from looking up at them too long Tradition’s arm, it can be strong They said it was the prize to keep our eyes upon They were wrong… Now people wait on word from New York and London Just so they know what music and clothes they should put on When everything is immediate, what happens? Patience is a virtue but a virtue no one wants But I know better than to judge In glass houses leaning on a crutch He said, she said such and such Life’s too long to hold a grudge And if we spent half as much Time on what is really up And time on what is really us. Everything I had is gone And starting over is a luxury of the young Just when I thought my race was already run The rats turned out to be a blessing all along But I know better than to judge In glass houses leaning on a crutch He said, she said such and such Life’s too long to hold a grudge And if we spent half as much Time on what is really up And time on what is really us. Life’s too long to hold a grudge And if we spent half as much Time on what is really up And time on what is really us
6.
The Return of the Lotus Eaters Last night I watched you sleeping, Your breath like a desert breeze, But that was years ago, Long before the flight. Now I sleep in pain, While you're awake in London, With numbers and fashion gurus, And nightclubs and social whores. I'll leave this bitter town, Once I've saved up my courage, I'll spend it all in one shop, But now it waits in storage. It waits to adapt to change, But change keeps on a changin, And I can't see clearly, With all the smoke from the dope. And if you ever wonder, Or feel that you should see me, Just to reassure yourself, You made the right decision. I'll be where I've always been, Forgetting about tomorrow, In the moon with the midnight club, And I'm singing songs of sorrow. On the ceiling midges gather, Upside down in protest, They crowd around the fading light, Like me they can get no rest. I've lost all that they taught me, I left it in the woods, The lotus eaters have got me, And now I'm lost for good. And if you ever wonder, Or feel that you should see me, Just to reassure yourself, You made the right decision. I'll be where I've always been, Forgetting about tomorrow, In the moon with the midnight club, And I'm singing songs of sorrow.
7.
‘A town at the end of the world’ I can’t watch the television, Everything is a reminder, Wrestling with these big decisions Can leave you so very tired Awkward social situations Head that’s filled with conversations Let’s go out, yeah let’s get wasted Isn’t that one of the phases It was self defence It was time for me To get off the fence And for you to see That you don’t really You don’t really You don’t really Do you Annie? The big strong man and bright brave faces, Pretending you’re holding aces A jigsaw with missing pieces Ghosts in all the same old places And here in a town At the end of the world And I spend my time Forgetting this girl You don’t really You don’t really You don’t really Do you Annie? It was self defence It was time for me To get off the fence And for you to see That you don’t really You don’t really You don’t really Do you Annie?
8.
Take me to your leader They say the times they are a test And everything we do is in your best interest But rest assured you will be stoned We don’t think you’re ready for a mind of your own Let’s look abroad, let’s wait and see It’s a case of national insecurity Say you la la love us Say you la la love us Say you love But you lie lie lie to us You lie lie lie to us You lie. The protocol is form a committee So you can be abstained from accountability It echoes round the walls on Kildare street The voices become one, it wasn’t me, it wasn’t me Round here the irony remains the same If you got the money baby you don’t have to pay! Say you la la love us Say you la la love us Say you love But you lie lie lie to us You lie lie lie to us You lie. You don’t represent me, you don’t represent. You don’t represent me, you don’t represent. Mother better hide your children, Because here come the government. Mother better hide your children, Coz here come the government. Say you la la love us Say you la la love us Say you love But you lie lie lie to us You lie lie lie to us You lie.
9.
More Than New York We walk slowly When especially I give myself so wholly to Times when I am holding you But not too tightly And every night I’ll be The last thing on your mind If you would only be mine CHORUS Open, I’m open This time I’ve really given into Hoping and hoping The life that we are living is true Everybody everybody loves New York And in a February Blizzard there we made it ours And oh, I love you more I love you more Than New York I received no warning That I’d need you in the morning I tried to be so independent I guess that’s just not what’s intended Funny how things happen Now I just can’t imagine One cup ever being enough I guess that means it must be love CHORUS I’ve been through a morfu- To hold you, what can I do It’s not a question of, ever being enough You know that I love you more than New York I love you more I love you more Than New York
10.
Love Oceans 04:00
Love Oceans I spent so long in the sublime, Looking for you but every time, I fall down and I fall over. But not you, not you, you flew, With aerodynamic angel wings, And I knew, I knew that you, Were a combination of everything, That I wanted coz you’re special, And you’re different, we belong together. CHORUS And I’m waiting, Oh I’m waiting, To see you again, To be with you. And I’m saving, All my money, I’ll buy a Morris Minor, For me and you. And I’m dying, Everyday, Just to hear you say, I love you, Because I, I love you oceans I love you Oceans, I do Just wanna make you realise, I could drown in your quivering green eyes, And I don’t want this to be over. About my failures you didn’t care, And I’m enchanted by your hair, Sundrenched with melted streams of gold, And gold and silver can’t behold, Your beauty coz you hold fast on my soul, You are the sun the shines on my soul, on my soul. CHORUS

about

Valentine Black’s ‘Desire Lines’ was released on Valentine's Day 2012. Named after the natural paths made by people walking through forests or fields. There are echoes of Springsteen, Dylan and Bowie but through a definite Irish lens. Folk and pop tinged indie-rock songs at times combined with lush arrangements cover themes of love, loss, modern Ireland and even murder throughout this confident debut. With thoughtful lyrics and a warm vinyl sound, it’s a wonderful introduction to the straight talking yet romantic world of Mr Valentine Black.

Valentine Black has been described as:
... 'a wizard and a true star' (Hot Press) and
... 'amazing with superb vocals and lyrics' (2uibestow)
... ‘passionate and honest’(musicvice.com-Canada).

He has supported acts like The Waterboys, Mundy, Bell X-1, Damien Dempsey, Duke Special, The Blizzards, The Coronas, Luka Bloom, and Jerry Fish.

credits

released February 14, 2012

Valentine Black (P Mc Loughlin): vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, bass, keyboards, harmonica
Philly Kennedy: bass (all tracks except 2)
Mick Cross: drums (all tracks except 2)
Dave Robinson: electric lead guitars (tracks 3, 4, 10)
Dave Hand: electric lead guitars (tracks 1, 7)
Robert MacLeod: electric guitars (all tracks except 3, 10), piano/keyboards (all tracks except 3, 8, 10) Percussion (2, 3, 4) , drums (track 2), string/brass arrangements
Petra Lexova: violins (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7)
Paula Hughes: cello (1, 2, 4, 6, 7)
William Palmer: trumpet (tracks 3, 4)
Dead of the night singers: Derek Matthews, Mick Cross, Paddy McDermott, Fran Myles, Siobhan Odomusu, Mickey McHugh, Emma McLoughlin (track 4)

Produced by Robert MacLeod and P Mc Loughlin
Engineered by Richie Corcoran at Resolution Recordings Dublin
Mastered by Barry Woodward at Dining Room Music London

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Valentine Black Ireland

Folk and pop tinged indie-rock songs.
Valentine Black's music mixes the heart of Springsteen, the head of Dylan, the guts of The Clash and the drama of Bowie...well you have to be ambitious!

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