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elephant

by Matthew the Oxx

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  • Digital Album
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  • elephant got substance! (CD)
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    This is a hi-def and lovingly hand carved cd copy of elephant wrapped in a cover poster which has all the words on the inside, printed on posh paper, for those who want to possess an actual CD! The photo is one of mine and is a scene from Melbourne's High St in Thornbury where I used to live.

    A download will include exclusive track 'The Crack' which is only available on this site, please contact me directly if you've bought elephant elsewhere and would like the (free) mp3.

    The CD itself also...

    Includes unlimited streaming of elephant via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.
earth among the flowers 
there is air between our eyes 
there’s a boy on the hill with a bucket 
 and a mop meant for the sky 

today has been a swollen day 
it's given me the shakes 
 crazy as i am i love you 
a river loves the rain 

 had we been on different clouds 
 or in another room 
 we might have had a longer ride 
 but nothing would have moved 

 i wrap your hands around my face 
they temper my wet eyes 
 a storm may be approaching
 but i do not fear reprise 

 because i know that you are delicate 
yet stronger than the glass 
 because i know you've been here before 
you know how things do pass 

 so here we are a floor apart 
 it’s a minute and three hours 
i feel you in my fingers 
it’s like a thousand shining towers 

reeds amongst the river 
 bare wires when we touch 
the boy inside the bubble 
 has never loved a woman so much
2.
call off the dogs, come and laugh a while there’s wine on the table and there’s wood on the fire feel the warmth of the work we’ve done it’s not much of a life unless we have some fun and the beat of the drum is in the finger and the thumb there’s a fiddle in the air and there’s a banjo on the run the guitar woos a star and then your voice comes like the sun it’s honey in the ear my dear you are the only one come back to bed it’s not the end of the weekend let’s fuck until we see the light of monday’s misery but it can’t be misery cos i’ve got you inside my head and all day long i’ll sing the song ‘i’m gonna love you till i’m dead’ i’m gonna love you till i’m dead and the beat of the drum is in the finger and the thumb there’s a fiddle in the air and there’s a banjo on the run the guitar woos a star and then your voice comes like the sun it’s honey in the ear my dear you are the only one oh well what if i can’t see the light? i know you’ll look after me in the night just like i’ll look after you all right our love’s for better and for worse so fall off the floor come and live beyond the door there’s a bed up in my head and we’ve got food to feed us all when it all comes out there’ll be a party and a crowd we’re the two who say i do but never tell the town and the beat of the drum is in the finger and the thumb there’s a fiddle in the air and there’s a banjo on the run the guitar woos a star and then your voice comes like the sun it’s honey in the ear my dear you are the only one you are the only one
3.
i’ve got a feeling i’m wrong as a result of my pride these feelings i hide tie me to the shore so i’ve got to be strong i’ve got to be honest i’ve got to be on it i’m sure you all know the score i was born in the summer time i like to get high some were stolen but i don’t mind till death do us die now i’m waiting outside she’s putting on her make-up tonight we’re gonna shake it up in some dirty old dive we’ll put reality aside one too many and i’m a fool but it’s cool because we’re so cool we’ll be up way beyond five see i was born in the summer time i like to get high some were stolen but i don’t mind till death do us die and when i see you it’s a thump thump thump in my heart… i’m on fire when i see you it’s a thump thump thump in my heart… i am inspired but when it comes to the truth i’m just a boy with a broken heart in this play i play a small small part and of this puzzle i’m a piece but i’m a fool for you you’d make life a little easier if i had you i’d be happier but that’s not meant to be i was born in the summer time i like to get high some were stolen but i don’t mind till death do us die
4.
i’ve made my mind up i’ve made all my time up i’m ready to leave i’m not sorry i know i should tell her i know i should wait here but something inside me’s unwilling and as i fall through the door i think of how much she done love me but i know that at the core there’s another man inside, she knows that i lied... of that i am sure i’m fine when i’m sober i tell her i love her i take her out into the evening we talk over supper we kiss in the corner hold onto the experience hearts beating and then we fall through the door i think of how much she done love me but i know that at the core there’s another man inside, she knows that i lied... of that i am sure when i think of what i’ve done i think i’ll have another one pass me the bottle don’t worry i don’t need a glass i don’t want any ice there isn’t a price that’s beyond me i’m going to fall through the door i think of how much she done love me and i know that at the core there’s another man inside, she knows that i lied... of that i am sure
5.
there’s a boy by the river he’s at war with the world he feels cold and alone so he calls to his mother saying ‘mother i can’t figure out what’s going on all this water keeps rolling down the river and the river won’t stop rolling along’ ‘boy there’s a shield in the sky and this shield will protect you when you feel this way to this shield you cannot lie for this shield is inside you it’s always been this way so when you’re standing on the edge of the plateau as you leap the fear you feel will go because you’re coming out like a thousand mountains you’re coming out like a hole in the sky you’re coming out like a silver dagger like you’re dancing in the northern lights i can see you dancing in the northern lights’ now there’s a boy by the river and he knows that those he’s loved are on the other side so he calls to his mother saying ‘mother can you hear me i’m alive i’m alive in the water that keeps rolling down the river and the river won’t stop rolling by i’m coming out like a thousand mountains i’m coming out like a hole in the sky i’m coming out like a silver dagger i come dancing in the northern lights can you see me dancing in the northern lights mother i’ll be dancing in the northern lights’
6.
Halt 03:22
halt you mother i’m not the kind of man to make a fuss halt you mother i’m not the kind of man to bend or bust there is a blackbird on the back burner the first to boil, the first to make his mark from what i heard he’s a good earner the blackened soil, the bones of those who worked a little too hard so i say halt you mother you’re not the one who’s going to get me down halt you mother you’re not the one that's going to make me a clown there is an iron seed inside of me i’m trying to find the royal we to root from what i can see she’s lonely she’s looking for the kind of love that bears a little fruit but when the spring gives way to summer that’s when my love begins to falter and the summer gives way to fall then my love’s nowhere at all and the winter leaves me alone and cold so i say halt you mother i’m not the kind of man to come undone halt you mother i’m not that kind of man… i’ve got to run
7.
Your fingers are the iron bars That pin me to the night Your tears the heavy manacles Holding me down tight Your vagina is a tiny window In the corner of my cell Through which I’ve stared for hours At a distant water well I used to make you smile If only for a while I know I used to make you smile Your mouth has barbs attached to leather strands Protruding from your phone Your makeup case is filled with knives Steely children caged in bone Your mirror is your needle Your favourite form of art It tortures you with pictures Of a face made up of parts I used to make you smile I know only for a while but I used to make you smile The clothes that once protected you From evil cunts like me Are now the masters of your will And they insist on misery The wings that i used to wear Lie bleeding in a pile Your claws tore out the reason That I used to make you smile I used to make you smile If only for a while But I used to make you smile
8.
we all have our demons mine are ugly and they’re cruel they call me to task on all the things i’ve done to you so no more on amour no no more on amour i fought for you in france down in the trenches and the mud the law said i lost the war my australian blood said no more on amour no no more on amour winter is coming i feel it in the night it’s warm in the sunlight but the bite comes at twilight so no more on amour please no more on amour
9.
The River 03:22
Holding the knife you don't care who's alive You're a family father with ties to the right And you cut through the air, you don't care if they care It's another grey morning Grey faces awake and await some holy day In line, it's a desperate rescue online She's laughing at you she's all naked and blue She's a travelling model on route to a pew And her lord is a lens who's controlled by the cents It's a wonder your coitus can even commence His arise, close your eyes Cum soon, there's no use in contending the moon Folded your arms are the voice of the calm That your youth buried deep in his effort to keep Something pure and alive, something beyond a lie But you body speaks languages you've never taken The time to unwind Now you're older and the muscles are struggling to hold her So it's here and it's there and your mind is aware You've got to keep travelling, there's no time to spare With a wolf on your tail there's no choice but the trail Deeper into the mountains and further away From the suits and the boots Your smile is just a desperate cry in the wild A soldier will tell you the entrance to hell Is a word in the ear of a murderous fear And he'll scream and he'll moan and he'll choke and he'll groan While the world falls apart to the tune in our hearts And it's you and it's me Can't you see? We are just who we wanted to be
10.
Sunday 03:16
when the cold wind blows in over the east border i get lonely everybody wants to be in love i’ve already had enough baby i don’t need your opinion when it comes to what i should be doing could be doing probably would be doing without you lately i have been out walking in the sunshine on my own and the next time that i see you it’ll be a sunday and you never know how much it’s going to be to cross the bridge of loneliness and sorrow well we knew the price of love the pain came for free so when you told me that you knew the boy from brighton it was over now everybody wants to get you pissed it doesn’t mean that you’ll be missed and maybe i have made a balls up of it all and now i should say sorry i could say sorry i probably would say sorry if not for you but lately i have been out walking in the sunshine on my own oh well the next time i see you is always a sunday and you never know how much it’s going to be to cross the bridge of loneliness and sorrow well we knew the price of love the pain came for free and saturday is the longest day of the week but it’s a better day than monday sunday is the only day for me to come see my child so when the cold wind blows in over the east border i get lonely everybody wants to be in love i’ve already had enough
11.
if you're coming then come on got to stop humming along it is so easy to say the words you can call your mother and tell her how much it hurts but it only makes things worse so if it's real let it go say what you feel all you know and as it rises to the skin there'll be a crowd around you saying 'fools rush in' but that crowd's been wearing thin we're built on wishes in the stars we're made of movement a beating heart and as the blood runs through our veins so our love runs a river and that river runs the rain going around and going around and going again

about

Love is a hard tale to tell without becoming too specific or subjective so I hope that with elephant I have gone some way towards doing such a universal tale some justice. Most importantly I have tried to be lyrically honest, a lot of the words have come straight from the poetry I write which is something I've not attempted before. The production here harks at my roots as the son of a new age composer so there is a lot of space, this feels very natural to me. In all, I have done my utmost to allow these songs to speak on their own terms.


'Unforgettable poetic narrative through the heights and depths of love' Dave Clark - Americana UK

'songs that sort of come into your consciousness from the left field and stay there' Neil King - FATEA

'évocations poétiques et des métaphores douces qui emportent' Deb Cukier - Pause Musicale

'As always, something different attracts. And different is definitely ‘Elephant’' Charlie Elland - Folk Words

'[on elephant] I put it on and I was absolutely blown away' Rick Stuart - Roots & Fusion

'very crisp and confidently delivered' Steve Lamacq - BBC6

credits

released December 31, 2013

elephant is co-produced by Matthew and Jeremy Conlon of Left of Elephant Studios in Sydney, Australia

Matthew plays banjo, guitar and sings throughout
Allegra Oldfield plays piano
Beck Flatt plays drums
Matt White plays bass
Jeremy Conlon plays samples, some rhythm and a melodica

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Matthew the Oxx Lewes, UK

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