K.Armitage/M.Marriott

This song came when I first came to the new Bulahdelah by-pass. I loved those old “S” bends and when I used to ride a bike it was my favourite part of the trip.

I Love The Ghost Gums
Silver  And Grey
North Of Bulahdelah
On The Old Highway
So This Time
I’m Taking The Long Way

Now Looking Out My Window
At All These Trees
Running Like A Picket Fence
As Far As I See
But I’m Driving Hard
As They Rush Past Me

So What’s Pushing Me On
To The End Of The Road
This Moment Is Gone
When It Passes By
And A Little Bit’s Lost
From The Joy Of The Ride

I’m Counting The Miles
Ticking Away
I’m Counting The Hours
Like They’re Something To Save
And I’ll Get There Fast
But I Won’t Taste The Day

Then Something Familiar
Is Standing In Shade
Jam And Honey
And Sweet Marmalade
A Little Lady She’s Done It All
And It’s Homemade

So What’s Pushing Me On
Everyday Down This Road
When The Long Way
Can Ease My Mind
And Take Me Back
To The Joy Of The Ride

Seagull’s On The Wind
Riding On The Spray
High Above The Headland
Calling Me

Gonna Kick Back
Gonna Cool Down
Gonna Breath In
Right Now
Gonna See Things
Like A New Day
Gonna Keep On Driving
The Long Way

K.Armitage

I think people are most beautiful when they’re least conscious of it. This song is about Mary my beautiful wife – I love you Honey.

I Watched You
Brushing Back Your Hair
You Didn’t See Me Standing There
You Caught The Sunlight
On Your Pretty Face
My Heart Just Fell To Pieces 
All Around The Place
And Now I Can’t Work Today
And You Said ”Are Things O.K” Well...

I Do Believe
You Took Me By Surprise
I Wasn’t Ready
I Wasn’t Ready
I Do Believe
You Might Find It Strange
But I Just Fell In Love With You Again

You’re Singing
In The Kitchen
Making Up A Salad From Your Garden
I Know You’re Thinking
I’m Watching TV
But You’re The Only Picture I See
Wearing That Old Summer Dress
You Laughed And Said “ Oh I Must Look A Mess”  But...

I Do Believe
You Took Me By Surprise
I Wasn’t Ready
I Wasn’t Ready
I Do Believe
There’s Nothing I Would Change
Cos I Just Fell In Love With You Again

I used to live in a beautiful little town called Manyana on the
South Coast of N.S.W., and play in Sydney every weekend.
This song came to me during one of those drives when I was hanging out to get back home. Of my songs, this was my Dads favourite. He loved the sea and, like myself, couldn’t be away from it for very long. - I miss you Dad

I Guess I’ll Always Live Along The Coast
It Seems That Hinterland Will Always Be My Host
I Hear That Seagull Cry Within My Bones
That Pacific Highway’s Taking Me Home

I Have Lived Within These City Walls
It Don’t Take Long Before I Hear The Ocean Call
Something I Can’t Even Quite Explain
I Guess I’ve Got Saltwater Rushing Through My Veins

I Keep Running Down
Just To Hear The Roar
Just To Let My Worries
Drift Along The Shore
I Keep Running Down
So I Can Hear The Rhythm Of My Soul
Echo In The Water Below

Catch Me On A Cool Fresh Summer Breeze
And Toss Me In The Shadow Of The Trees
And Count Those Stars
Like Every Grain Of Sand
And Ride Those Waves
That Tell Me Who I Am

I’m Going Where The River’s Running

I wrote this song about the struggles that I have had, as a man,
expressing my emotions. I feel that breaking down the barriers
will expand the capacity in which I am able to give and receive
love, and thus free me.

I‘ve Been Trying To Tell You
How I Really Feel Inside
But When I Was Young I Learned To Run And Hide
With Every Bruise I Had To Laugh At
With Every Cut I Promised Not To Cry

My Father Meant Me To Strong
To Swallow Hard Keep It Down
It’s The Only Way He Knew To Raise A Son
And I Hold My Head Up High
But There’s A Knot To Get Undone And I’ll..

Love You Wide
I’ll Love You Whole
If You’ll Dive With Me To The Depths Of My Soul
And When I Cry Like Summer Rain
It’s The River Of My Heart
Returning

I Sit Or Walk My Lions Den
It Makes No Difference Girl
It’s A Cage I Can No Longer Hide Behind
If You Help Me Bend These Stubborn Bars
There’s So Much We Can Find…As I…

There’s A Child In Every one Of Us
Don’t Make Their Little Hearts
Harder Than You Must
Let Them Laugh
Let Them Cry
Let Them Tell You What’s Going Inside

Love You Wide
I’ll Love You Whole
As the river of my heart
Begins to flow

I wrote this song after a tough weekend of gigs. I was lying in bed trying to find the strength to pick myself up and keep chasing my dreams. Mary came in and in a few minutes had raised my spirits and sent me off to my studio with renewed passion.

Some Days I Struggle
I Can’t See Far Ahead
I Lie Like A Rock In The Ocean
Anchored To My Bed
Then I Hear Your Laughter
Little Bubbles From The Stream
You Won’t Take No For An Answer
And You Pick Me Up Again

You Give Me Heart
You Don’t Hold Back
You Give Me All Your Love From Every Side
You Give Me Life
You Give Me Time
You Take A Weight Off My Mind
Then We Fly Away
We Fly

Somedays I Fall
And Suddenly There’s A Storm In Your Eyes
Such A Turn In The Weather
It Takes Me By Surprise
But Your Love Will Show Me
There’s A Song For The Rain
And Like Nobody Knows Me
You Pick Me Up Again

Living in the country I have always felt a sense of Well-being and closeness to nature which inspired this song.

Jenny Came Up From Sydney
Said I Just Had To Get Away
We Walked Down To Coopers Creek
And Caught Up On Our Good Old Days
And Under A Jacaranda
On A Bed Of Purple And Green
She Took My Hand
And Told Me Why She Came

She Said I Have A Good Man
And I’ll Love Him To The End
My Job’s O.K. I Can’t Complain
And I Would Not Change My Friends
But Lately Something’s Missing
I’ve No Faith To Pull Me Through
Can You Tell Me
What It Means For You
And I Said…

All I Need
Is Written On A Mountain Sky
It Comes To Me
When I Listen To The Morning Tide
I Believe
That’s Where The Answers Lie
That’s All I Need
All I Need

We Talked For Hours And Hours
Like Time Was Standing Still
The Sun Rolled Softly Past Us
And Sank Behind The Hill
And The Simple Glow Of Evening
Stole Our Words Away
And Jenny Knew
There Was Nothing Left To Say
She Could See That..

All I Need
Are Trees That Tell Me I’m Alive
It Comes To Me
In Whispers By The Riverside
I Believe
That’s Where The Answers Lie
That’s All I Need
All I Need

K.Armitage

I was holding Sharni out in front of me when she was six months old and we looked at each other for maybe a whole minute without blinking or looking away. The love I felt and an uncanny sense of recognition inspired this song.

And If Somebody Asks
I Can Only Smile
I Was The Last To Ever Want A Child
It Was All About Me
My Precious Time
But Suddenly I’ve Changed My Mind

Hey
It’s Like Looking In A Mirror
The Love I Feel Is Shining Back At Me
When I Look In My Baby’s Eyes
That’s All I See
What’s Come Over Me
What’s Come Over Me

It Didn’t Seem So Bad
Those Nights Away
Now It Makes Me Sad If I Miss A Single Day
All The Changes
All The Tears
All The Precious Moments That We Share
I Can’t Believe
I Nearly Passed It By
The Deepest Love I’ve Known In My Life

K.Armitage

I have lived and worked in Manly for many years and this is a snapshot of the ebb and flow of tourists and locals that make up this colourful beach lifestyle. The characters in this song are all real.

The English Girl Comes Everyday
And Lays Out On The Sand
She’s Finally In Her Postcard
Working On Her Tan
Six Days Out Of London
On A Single One Way Fare
Now She’s Seven Miles From Sydney
And A Thousand Miles From Care

Lifeguard On The Waters edge
With A Whistle On A String
He’s Grown Proud Of The Yellow Flags
That They Never Stay Between
He Used To Make More Money
In A Busy Downtown Square
Now He’s Seven Miles From Sydney
And A Thousand Miles From Care

Seven Miles From Circular Quay
The Ferry Rests And You Find Your Feet
A Stones Throw From An Ocean Beach
Where Seagulls Scream
And Children Play
Surfers Ride A Summers Day
The City Seems
A World Away

A Bag-lady On A Wooden Bench
She Loves Her Fish ‘N Chips
One Or Two Are For Herself
But The Birds Get The Rest
She Keeps Laughing With Her Mother
Even Though There’s No-One There
Now She’s Seven Miles From Sydney
And A Thousand Miles From Care

The Café’s Do A Roaring Trade
As Music From A Buskers Calling
Fast Food That’s Ready Made
As Honky Tonks The Corso Clown
Picks His Puppets Up
When The Kids Sit Down
Near The Markets
You Can’t Help But Walk Around

Seven Miles From Circular Quay
A Cool Breeze Runs Across Your Cheek
Tall Pines With Lorikeets
That Sing So Loud A Last Hurray
When The Flags Come Down At The Close Of Day
And The City Seems
A World Away
Seven Miles From Sydney
And A Thousand Miles From Care

Dedicated To Cherie Guthrie 24/06/69-3/10/93
During the ski season, I often play at the Sundeck Hotel in
Perisher Valley N.S.W. Cherie and Mike were staff and I
knew them pretty well so this tragedy stunned me. I wrote
this song there, from my room, looking out my window
at the snow covered treetops.

I Didn’t Know Her Long Enough To Say She Was A Friend
But The Times I Played Up There We Had A Laugh
Pretty As A Picture You Could See She Was A Dancer
By Just The Way She Moved Around The Bar
Her Boyfriend Was A Wild One
But You Could See She Was The Diamond In His Eye
Cause When They Stopped To Dance
He Always Held Her Close
And It Couldn’t Help But Make Me Smile

There’s A Rule On The Mountain
That When You Go Outside
Always Tell Somebody Where You’re Bound
Cause The Weather Can Come In
Much Quicker Than You Think
And Pretty Soon You Know You Won’t Be Found
When They Left The Sun Was Shining
Two Girls Walking For An Hour Or So
But They Didn’t Make It Home
And The People Gathered Round
But No One Knew Which Way To Go

When I Close My Eyes
All I See Is White
Can I Say Hold You Tight
As The River Runs Away
All I See Is White

I Was Home In The Country
When I First Got The Call
Said They Found Her Floating In A Stream
As Cold As The Water
Gently Running Past Her
I Felt Like I Was Listening To A Dream
Seems Her Friend Made It Back Next Day
But Cherie Was Out There Two Days On Her Own
And I Tried To Imagine What She Must’ve Been Thinking
As She Waited For Someone To Bring Her Home

When I Close My Eyes
All I See Is White
Can I Say Goodbye
As The River Runs Away
All I See Is White

I’ll Be Coming For You…….

Travelling Oz many years ago I spent a few magic weeks
in my favourite part of the planet - Northern N.S.W.
The girl, the town, the time in my life and the whole area inspired this song.

She Was Kind Of Like A Tapestry
Of Every Girl I’d Ever Known
Tangled Hair Of Brown And Gold
And A Smile That Made You Want To Follow

We Left The Blue Of Byron Bay
Drove Over The Ridge Of Coorabell
With A Packed Lunch And A Day To Kill
She Took Me Down The Old Road

To Bangalow
To The Green Fields Where The River Flows
We Layed Our Blanket Down
And She Made Love To Me
In Bangalow
There’s A Kind Of Magic That I’d Never Known
Was It The Wine Or The Words She Said
Going To My Head
In Bangalow

She Said You Gotta See The Markets At Channon
Where Those Colourful People Come Down From The Hills
They’ve Got All Kinds Of Wares To Sell
And You Never Know What You’ll Find
That Little Top She Held To Her Chest
She Said “Well Big Boy What Do You Think About This”
Flashed Those Eyes I Couldn’t Resist
And I All I Could Say Was “Sold”

In Banglow…..

She’d  Run Away From The City Life
And Some Heavy Handed Stalking Guy
Her Bruised Heart She Couldn’t Hide
And It Made Me So Mad

And Oh The Fear She Held
From The Telephone And The Doorbell
Pushed Me Away So That She Could Heal
And I Knew I Had To Go…From

Bangalow

Where The Camphor Laurel And The Cedar Grow
It’s A Small Town On The North Coast
That Set My Spirit Free
Bangalow
There’s Just Something About Being Held So Close
Her Smile And Her Gentle Touch
Couldn’t Get Enough

Bangalow

During the last big droughts when I was living on the South Coast
I remember this tuff old farmer being interviewed on TV. He was
so happy that he’d been able to get a haircut paid for by our relief funds that it made me realize how difficult it must really be out there and my heart went out to him.

You’re A Hard Bunch
Much Harder Than Me
And I Know Why You Live Out There
So Far From The Sea
This Land Is Born In You Blood
Your Hands In The Dust And The Mud
But It’s Not For The Money It’s Something You Love

And The Weather Man Says
More Of The Same
Dry In The Rivers And Dry On The Plains
And Keep Yourself Busy Boys
Don’t Think About The Pain
Waiting For The Rain

Will You Hold Out
Can Your Cattle Survive
Spending Every Cent You Have
Just To Keep Them Alive
You Broke Your Back To Make This Your Home
Remember That It’s All That You Know
Cause If They Come To Get You
Where Would You Go

And The Bankerman Says
More Of The Same
Can’t Lend You Money If You Can’t Make It Pay
And If You All Go Under Folks We Wont Take The Blame
Waiting For The Rain

Yes It Hurts Her Bad
When There’s Nothing Left To Try
It’s The First Time She’s Seen Her Husband Cry
When All Your Dreams Turn Dry Every Year
She Wants To Scream
Can Anyone Hear
‘Cause The Heart Of This Country
Is Living In Fear

And The Politician
Says More Of The Same
We Are Here To Listen And That’s Why We Came
And Keep Yourself Busy Boys
Don’t Think About The Pain
Waiting For The Rain

Now If You’ll All Excuse Me Friends
Gotta Catch A Plane
Waiting For The Rain

Mary, my wife, had traveled overseas a lot before we met and
her insights and knowledge opened up a whole new world for me. This song is about soul-mates and the dance of life.

You Came From The Back Streets At The Corner Of My Life
And I Saw In Your Eyes A Flash Of Some Strange Familiar Light
You Came Dancing And Swirling In That Gypsy Dress
And Took My Hand And Made Me Jump And Said Never…
Never Hold Your Breath

One Day At A Time
Was All It Took To Keep This Little Boys Heart Alive
I Couldn’t Help Feeling That I’d Known You Before
In Some Far Off Land On Some Distant Shore
Ahh But You Just Smiled And Kissed Me On The Brow
And Said That Doesn’t Matter Anyhow
Just Dance With Me

Falling Falling Falling Fast
Head Over Heals Through The Bubbles Of A Long Pink Glass
Can’t Touch The Walls Can’t Reach The Sides
I Might As Well Just Enjoy The Ride
And If I Land On My Feet Or My Head
I’ll Always Remember What You Meant When You Said
Dance With Me

Lets Go Splashing On The Midnight Sand
Moonbathing In Our Own Moonland
Roll Me Over In The Purple Sea
And Save That Shooting Star For Me
When The Dawn Lights Up The Sky
There’ll Be No-One There But You And I
So Dance With Me

Days Of Wonder
Days Of Fun
Days Of Wanting To Run And Tell Everyone
How You Turned Me Into A Man
One Of Those Things That I’ll Never Quite Understand