We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Hymns From The Battlefield

by lawrence collins

supported by
MACKIEWICZ Reine
MACKIEWICZ Reine thumbnail
/
1.
Listen 04:11
lyrics
buy track
Did you heed the warning signs? Or did you turn your head away, said, “It’s not my problem, anyway, I’m so tired, come back another day…” Did it catch you by surprise to find your backyard up in flames of rage and frustration? Now you cannot help but learn… Look around, see faces you’ve never seen, make friends with those you were afraid to meet- to ashes and dirt, to wood and bricks, all hands are the same… Listen, Listen, Listen to the words you hear, Listen to the words you fear… Do you really think it’s all over? Some of us believe it’s just begun; the wound is deep, the healing long, the work is… for hands and for hearts. Look at all this shame and pain we’ve built up with words of hate that we must break and rebuild with hope… I believe a few can make a difference, no effort is ever too small, when you want to count to a million you start with one… Listen, Listen, Listen to the words you hear, Listen, Listen, Listen to the words you fear…
2.
Clouds 04:12
lyrics
buy track
If I’m drowning in darkness will you pull me out of the shade and show me that shadows exist only where sun is made? If I only see rain, could you drag me under the clouds, let me get soaked, then dry me out? I carry the madman on my shoulders, he juggles luck with a gambler’s eye, I carry the madman on my shoulders on a black cloud… If I fail to see the magic that lies inside, with a snap of your fingers will you light up my sky? Show me the stars and the moon that shine clear, replace with hope my dread and fear… I carry the madman on my shoulders, he juggles luck with a gambler’s eye, I carry the madman on my shoulders on a black cloud… I carry the madman on my shoulders, he juggles luck with a gambler’s eye, I carry the madman on my shoulders on a black cloud… bridge Light strips a lie bare for all to see, but Truth is often too terrifying for me- It brings on circumstances beyond my control and lets the storm loose as rage unfolds… I carry the madman on my shoulders, he juggles luck with a gambler’s eye, I carry the madman on my shoulders on a black cloud…
3.
Secret world 04:29
lyrics
buy track
I have a secret, it’s a terrible, big secret, and I don’t want to keep it. I’ll always love you, but I hate the world right now, still I don’t want to leave it. The secrets of love are revealed to all in time by God; if I never see you again, I’ll know you were my friend, If you never see me again you’ll have to understand I don’t want to share this with you. I really miss you and I need your touch right now, still I can’t bear to see you. Think of me someday and remember how we were, ‘cause that will never leave you. The secrets of love are revealed to all in time by God; if I never see you again, I’ll know you were my friend, If you never see me again you’ll have to understand I don’t want to share this with you, I could never share this with you. Hold your head up for me and look inside my secret world… Hold your head up for me and look inside my secret world… Hold your head up for me and look inside my secret… I have a secret, do you promise not to cry, ‘cause I don’t want to hurt you. I never meant it when I said the world was cruel.
4.
Hide 05:21
lyrics
buy track
(traduction en francais plus bas...) HIDE Do you believe all the truths you learnt in school? Have you ever questioned the words of the Prophet, the books, or the rules? I never realized what it took for me and my kind to get here today, what can you say about a history so clean and glorious with pages as white as the skin on the hands that wrote it? You can’t hide, you can’t hide, you can’t hide, my son, from the sins your father’s done. Four hundred years of genocide will no longer hide beneath these lies… Twenty two million voices cry out from the bottom of the ocean; the sins of the father have come back to haunt the son- What have I done? Is mass murder justified simply because History was ours to write? Now the cries ring out insane as ever, and the voices cry, “Son, you can run, but you can’t hide… Oh no.” You can’t hide, you can’t hide, you can’t hide, my son, from what your mind has found… You can’t hide, you can’t hide, you can’t hide, my son, from the sins your father’s done. …It has begun, it has begun, it has begun… TRADUCTION FRANCAISE DES PAROLES: Acceptes-tu les verités á l’école enseignées? N’as-tu jamais mis en question les lois de Prophète, les livres, ou ses pensées? Je n’osais pas déterrer les chemins cachés du passé, comment juger une histoire si propre et glorieuse dont le récit cache la terne paleur de ses auteurs? You can’t hide, you can’t hide, you can’t hide, my son, from what your father’s done… 400 ans de génocide refusent de périr dans ces mensonges; 22 millions de voix hurlent sous les flots de l’océan. Les péchés du père reviennent hanter le fils, qu’avons-nous fait? Un massacre est-il justifié simplement par le nettoyage d’une histoire salie de préjugés? Mais je les entends, ces voix perdues qui pleurent dans mon âme, ces voix qui crient, “Fils, tu peux courir mais tu ne peux pas t’enfuir!” …et ça recommence… …et ça recommence…
5.
The Habit 02:46
lyrics
buy track
My eyes can’t find a home, they seem to roam addicted to the shades of the unknown; I talk to you but look at her and imagine all the words I’ve never heard. I can feel there’s a drug runs deep inside, she walks on by and, oh, I start to shake- (You know) I just can’t break the habit. The world is in your hands, but in your hands my world just seems to melt; the flesh and warmth that you provide is the only fix I need to survive… I can feel there’s a drug runs deep inside, one glance drives me wild, I can see there’s a fire burns hot inside, you walks on by and, oh, I start to shake- (You know) I just can’t break the habit. I can’t break the habit, I can’t break the habit, I can’t break the habit…
6.
Dance of the Buffalos 04:22
lyrics
buy track
The songs of the hunt ring strong and clear, yet the words echo, but the prayers disappear; they fall upon a prairie of bone and waste where the battle is waged by a horse with an iron face… His is the way of the coward in war- He fights not the brave, but the child in his home; he cuts through the land with his steel and his steam and destroys the mightiest herds that Earth has ever seen… This is no way for a warrior to wage war. The buffaloes don’t dance here anymore (there’s a cry on the plains for mercy)… Braves count coup on a foe so crude and return to camp with victory, but no food; for the buffaloes dance no more in these parts and though we win in battle, we survive just to starve… This is no way for a warrior to wage war (The carcasses lie still on the prairie) This is no way for a warrior to wage war. The buffaloes don’t dance here anymore (there’s a cry on the plains for mercy)…
7.
Four Walls 03:43
lyrics
buy track
You carried the water but did you dare to drink? You carried the cup, but did you look inside? You bore your thirst across the sands- in your mind. You have no idea what thirst truly means. You carried the flame, but did you burn? You carried the flame, but did you see the light? You’ve watched the fires burn a hundred times from the comfort of your couch, but have you ever felt the fire’s touch? You could change the world if you looked beyond four walls. You could feel the world if you looked beyond four walls. You carried the bread, but did you eat the crust? You ate the crust, but did you taste his soul? You’ve felt the hunger haunt you so on your television late at night, but have you ever felt the hunger bite? You could feed the world if you moved beyond four walls. You could see the world if you looked beyond four walls… Four walls… The couch reigns and the television rules, you are the judge on his glass stool you pass judgement from your perch inside, but you don’t even dare to venture out, and you have no idea what this is all about, still you shout too loud from within four walls…
8.
Black Roses 04:25
lyrics
buy track
Hand me down, hand me down the roses, charred mirrors from days before; Hand me down, hand me down the corpses from the bloodied, emptied fields of war Pass me down, pass me down the children victims of their homes and world ablaze; Pass me down, pass me down the orphans, desert blind and a hungered gaze Take your guns, mister, won’t you just let us be? Take your camera, mister, you only see what you want to see- Voices in the distance burning roses in the distance burn, voices in the distance crying, feel the heart ache as they die… Hand me down, pass me down the roses, a procession of death for senseless laws; walk on by, walk on by the corpses, full coffins for an empty cause… Take your guns, mister, won’t you just let us be? Take your bibles, mister, you only read what you want to read- Voices in the distance burning roses in the distance burn, voices in the distance crying, feel a pain too sharp too learn… I dream of Black Roses.
9.
Raphael's Song 05:21
lyrics
buy track
There are those who believe the flame that burns the brightest is often the one that lasts the shortest; I don’t agree. For those of us who touched your flame will feel its warmth long after you’re gone. There are those who live life as a cage, but you took yours to limits way beyond your age; You charged through languages and lands only dreamed of by most through their television screens- Can you hear the voices scream? aah- you are magic aah- you are magic to me (I will never forget you) aah- you are magic to me (I will never forget you) Raphael, this is your song. There are those who say the mind that burns the brightest is the one that will soar the highest; It just doesn’t seem fair that yours was cut down in mid-air, was cut down in mid-air… aah- you are magic aah- you are magic to me (I will never forget you) aah- you are magic to me (I will never forget you) Raphael, this is your song… I will never forget you…
10.
Halloween 03:40
lyrics
buy track
Sticks and bones don’t touch my stones nor do they haunt my sleep, but in the dark, a whispered word scares me to my feet. I am the castle, I am the ghost, I am the unseen, and you, you are the guardian of my untapped dreams, on Halloween… On Halloween, on Halloween, we’ll dance together on Halloween. Sticks and bones don’t touch my stones within the shadows deep I hear the groan of things unknown and creatures never seen. I am the witch, I am the clouds, I am the wind on which she flies, and you, you are the haunted child who never sleeps on Halloween. On Halloween, on Halloween, on Halloween, on Halloween., we’ll sleep together on Halloween, we will be lovers on Halloween, we’ll live forever on Halloween, and sleep forever on Halloween, on Halloween… …I’ll build you up and let you dream) (I’ll hold you down and make you scream) (behind a mask, I’ll make you cry) (no one will see these tears run dry) (this masquerade will never end) (and Fear will be your only friend) (these sticks and bones will enter now) (and pierce you nights like arrows… ….Like arrows…
11.
The Red Buffalo 03:36
lyrics
buy track
There is a red buffalo that lies behind my home, at night I can hear the steel jaws grind. The pistons scream for warmth, for flight, for turning over while the whispers of the headlights graze impatiently in the dark. Shattered helmets and head-ons steal my sleep, shattered helmets steal my sleep shattered helmets and head-ons steal my sleep, shattered helmets steal my sleep… Steal my sleep. That thing’s not tethered though perhaps it should be, dissapointed tendrils of spokes wait impatiently for one chance… That incredible burst of speed scares the living shit out of me Shattered helmets and head-ons steal my sleep, shattered helmets steal my sleep shattered helmets and head-ons steal my sleep, shattered helmets steal my sleep… Steal my sleep. Shattered helmets and head-ons steal my sleep, shattered helmets and head-ons steal my sleep steal my sleep… There is a red buffalo that lies behind my home, at night I can hear it’s engines roam.
12.
My Waitress 04:48
lyrics
buy track
An expresso and a smile are all she has to offer, the laughter echoes cold… A minute and a half hidden well behind her laugh works a tip not yet given- tell me now, what else do you keep hidden? Work on, my waitress, slave on, my waitress, dream on, my waitress, work your feet to the bone, but don’t give up… a skip, a skillful glance work a million passing faces with the grace of her unknown face, but this will change someday… Work on, my waitress, slave on, my waitress, dream on, my waitress, work your feet to the bone, but don’t give up… Work on, my waitress, slave on, my waitress, dream on, my waitress, work your feet to the bone, but fight on, my waitress…

about

a collection of demos recorded in Los Angeles with Joe Fiorello and NO EXIT, my band at the time, consisting of Dallan Baumgarten on guitars, Jeff Palermo on drums & EJ Dick on bass. many additional musicians participated on the recordings; their credits are on the track info...

Un album qui consiste de 2 sessions de maquettage faites à Los Angeles entre 1992 et 1993 avec mon pote et mentor, Joe Fiorello, et basées autour de mon groupe à l'époque, NO EXIT. Beaucoup d'invités aussi (leur nom apparaissent sur les pages chansons...)

credits

released December 1, 1993

Produced by L. Collins & Joe Fiorello
Engineered bu Joe Fiorello
Mixed & mastered by Joe Fiorello & L. Collins
Artwork by Horst Jenkins & L. Collins
Cover photography by Artie Everett, Make-up by Joannie Fletcher
Tracks 3,4,5, 10 & 11 executively produced by Victoria Simon. Recorded & mixed in October 1992 at Joe’s Garage for the “Hide” demo tapes
Tracks 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 12 executively produced by L. Collins. Recorded & mixed from September to November 1993 at Joe’s Garage. Additional recordings sessions at Manhattan Beach Studios in New York, NY, Rag studios in Long Beach, CA, and on location at Norma Tanega’s amazing mountain hideaway in Clairemont, CA.

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

lawrence collins band image

lawrence collins band Bordeaux, France

Lawrence Collins is an american-egyptian singer songwriter, born in France and brought up in France, England, India, and the United States who speaks 4 languages fluently. His music reflects a life spent travelling and experimenting with different cultures, and he has produced 8 studio albums, a movie soundtrack, a live album, and played over 1700 shows during his 20 year career. ... more

contact / help

Contact lawrence collins band

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like Hymns From The Battlefield, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Beans joins the show to discuss his album release, "ZWAARD".

listen now