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Trans Siberian Tracks - Michael Brauer Radio Mixes

by Tess Callaghan

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1.
Trans Siberian Express 03:20
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Trans Siberian Express The train is at the station Platform two every day There’s very few announcements Hurry cause it might not wait Too late to change the ticket To ask for a private space Don’t speak the native language I’m told all you need to say Ba ba ba ba Ba ba ba ba Transmongolian Express It’s a very very very long way Meet the Provodnitsa She’ll make sure you enjoy your trip She won’t take any nonsense Best to keep a smiling face Going through the timezones She knows where everyone gets off She’ll come and shake you So you don’t miss your stop Ba ba ba ba Ba ba ba ba Transmongolian Express It’s a very very very long way Here’s New Siberia Ekaterinenburg 90 other stops Always slowing down All the hustle and the bustle Seem so far away For now just enjoy Being on the train Lots of friendly people With stories to tell Tour groups and couples Artists, locals too It’s the best way to travel Far from the daily grind Let the journey cast its spell You’re eastward bound Ba ba ba ba Ba ba ba ba
2.
Siberia 05:03
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Siberia One night in Naxos town I drank too much And I fell down The wind it howled such a lonely song An old lady neighbour friend Said words against the evil eye Did luck happen in just one burst So quick and strong It had to hurt And it shook me from the stupor Of my birth It left me longing for the same Just once again Siberia Take me away from here With strangers on a train To find myself again Siberia Yes I’m travelling on my own They look surprised Like I’m a danger to myself To fill the silence maybe I should explain But we’re barely on first names So I watch the silver birch and the poplar trees roll by Strangers they speak so free There's a temporary intimacy With red wine flowing I see the waiter’s left his own bottle close-by And rows and rows of tin roof houses With egg shell blue fences are outside While in the carriage The Russian army Have taken all the bunks And surround me At least technically Now we're roommates Siberia Take me away from here With strangers on a train To find myself again Siberia Moscow to Eastern Plains Leave the scenery unchanged To find myself again In Siberia Captain Vitaly likes to speak We translate through his phone I ask about the trans siberian tiger He looks at me like I'm a bit confused Then smiling guides us through Ekaterinenburg station to the hot food stand And the self-prognosis Well all I can see Are the endless grasslands Only broken by trees And the 1000s and 1000s of miles of farmland It's a mesmerising monotony As we go deep, deep eastward bound Into the land even exiles made a paradise And I take my time Siberia Take me away from here With strangers on a train To find myself again Siberia Moscow to the Eastern plain Leave the scenery unchanged So I can find myself again In Siberia Siberia Wont't you help me find myself again Siberia
3.
Prince Or Pauper 03:36
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Prince Or Pauper Middle class boys want a girl Who keeps everyone happy Who says the right things socially And won’t upset the trolley Who puts her own needs At the very back of the queue A girl who’ll never question What you're meant to do If I ever settle down He'll be a prince or pauper Nothing in between Not worried what you ought’ a He’ll have the luxury Of nothing to lose He will have an open heart That’s the man I’d chose That’s the man I’d chose Gadgets, showcase holidays Wont really hold his interest He’ll take the rough with the smooth And hardly note the difference Yes he’ll be in his own class And we’ll both be happy Enjoying each other’s company Without the need for anything If I ever settle down He'll be a prince or pauper Nothing in between Not worried what you ought’ a He’ll have the luxury Of nothing to lose He will have an open heart That’s the man I’d chose That’s the man I’d chose
4.
Russian Doll 02:50
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Russian Doll He's putting it together He took it all apart Take an empty bottle To heal an empty heart Here come better days Ill fated love's deceived Like a Russian doll Another is revealed One inside the other Like a Russian doll One inside the other Like a Russian doll Somewhere along the Volga She contemplates her hand Reclining on the sofa Holding her mother tongue He puts her in a taxi And bends his head to hide His roughly painted face From scrutinizing eyes One inside the other Like a Russian doll One after the other Like a Russian doll He took it all apart He’s taken it away Like a Russian doll Slow to change his ways Here come brighter days No business but their own Just a little paint And ready to go One inside the other Like a Russian doll One after the other Like a Russian doll
5.
White Noise 03:34
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White Noise All that ugly noise You can get used to You’re a part of it More than you think He snored all night And faced me in the morning A capital offence To amplify my suffering And I hoped white noise Would be undiscerning But still distinct It bothered me It did not drown out Everything The train is sounding Like a new age composer Sch, Sch, Sch itch itch itch Like the bow of a big ship Turning inside out And sliding like a skater’s blade Along the track another kilometre And another There’s a tourist In the corridor I’m trying to avoid He's speaking of the election Of the huckster he’ll vote for Everything he says to me Gets lost in the white noise At night when we are weary It’s the sound of a cradle Lifting people up and down A dream catching ladle It’s the sound of the doors At the ends of the carriage The hard to open windows Only brute force can manage Of distant closures and Nearby rustlings It devours laughter and Smothers anger It's the sound of cooking From the steward quarters White noise
6.
Soft Rain In The Afternoon 03:16
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Soft Rain In The Afternoon Soft rain in the afternoon Falls against the window Flowers leaning in a vase Clouds hang low and purple He sat on the wooden chair Hands still in his pockets She was standing near the door Opening her heart Branches on the tree outside Drooped heavy with water And as they spoke in the dry The rain drops gently scattered Soft rain in the afternoon Falls against the window Washed in a strange sunlight The air cool and flowing From the wooden drawer She handed him a letter In the height of afternoon He read his arm outstretched She turned and she sat down He stared out the window Heavy were the clouds outside So strange was the weather Soft rain in the afternoon Falling on the window Flowers leaning in a vase Yellow-green and purple
7.
Woodpecker Song 03:54
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Woodpecker Song On the hill of blue gates Where people take their rest Wondering what befell them I tread as a guest When I heard a knocking I’d never heard before Loud and persistent From nowhere at all Oh woodpecker show yourself I know that you’re near I’ve always wanted to see you But you never appear But you never appear I thought it must be someone And so I looked around Only trees and benches In between the headstones Still the tap stop tapping Continued stopped then more I listened very carefully to Where it was coming from Oh woodpecker show yourself I know that you are near I’ve always wanted to see you But you never appear But you never appear Oh woodpecker show yourself I know that you are near I’ve always wanted to see you But you never appear Oh woodpecker show yourself I know that you are near I’ve always wanted to see you But you never appear But you never appear And as the sound grew louder The closer I was drawn To a tree in the centre Where looking up I saw The woodpecker tapping Black and yellow feathered It turned and looked at me And flew away in seconds Oh woodpecker show yourself I know that you’re near I’ve always wanted to see you Now I have you disappear Fly away and disappear
8.
Mongolian Melody 02:58
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Mongolian Melody I met Melody yesterday Walking in Beatles Square She took a photo of me Her sister stood and stared Her sister stood and stared I said you speak good English She lived in the States And worked down in New Mexico Headed for New York next Yes New York next Her sister’s name was crystal A tall and quiet girl One day she’ll leave Ulan Bator To go and see the world Go and see the world I met Melody yesterday In downtown Ulaanbaatar I said well done not hello But she let it go But she let it go Her sister’s name was crystal A tall and quiet girl One day she’ll leave Ulaanbaatar To go and see the world Go and see the world And Paul was in his bare feet John George Ringo on the right And schoolboys in a cluster Heading somewhere nearby Heading somewhere nearby
9.
Hutong Baby 03:37
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Hutong Baby There’s a place you might not know yeah Down in the Beijing Hutongs The Forbidden part of town yeah Gotta go and have some fun Don’t forget your old silk shawl You bought in a Beijing clothes stall Outside people stand around You can hear the singing now Crimson lanterns light the way One or two shortcuts to take Through the dark and narrow lanes Beijing's sweetest alleyway Boys and Girls are standing around Lights from shops and fast food stands Rock and roll and ancient prayers Chinese whispers in your ear Yeah I’m heading to the Hutong Won’t you try and come along There’s always room for more Down at the Beijing Hutong Crimson lanterns light the way Friendly locals nod and wave Find a seat beneath the sable Where the plants fall lazy down Crimson lanterns light the way One or two shortcuts to take Through the dark and narrow lanes Beijing sweetest alleyway Boys and Girls are standing around Lights from shops and fast food stands Rock and roll and ancient prayers Chinese whispers in your ear Yeah I’m heading to the Hutong Beijing's sweetest alleyway Hutong baby is my name Won't you join me at the Hutong baby
10.
Empty Bottle 05:30
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Empty Bottle The walked through door Never sure what’s On the other side I turned and quickly sat down Tired after a day of road travel And saw your eyes Like an old child Looking at the waxing moon Ancient and modern At the same time Sense of the circumspect You're still wondering What to do next Let’s go see more of the town So though I’ve just arrived We put on coats and hats and gloves It’s early October and The wind’s dying down We notice the gate so we don’t forget Where we’re staying tonight It’s a little shack In a canine town Where the big boss the little And at tourists growl We keep talking as we cross deserted streets Eventually reaching the steep slope down to the beach Am I a spare wheel Nice to have for the ride Or when what you have is not enough Or maybe I’m the steady one Holding the barrow I’ve been carrying a bottle Of vodka now Across Russia Still unopened We gotta fix that Have some shots when we get back Washed down by your Friend’s Riesling Your friend with the Italian name Who’ll rise just before dawn To float his message with a bottle And wake you So you’re tired, a little quiet On our last morning there Playing cards the night before Comfortable to bare your soul As you smiled when we teased and told you You must be bending the rules To win when we all keep losing All still getting warm after our 4 degree swim You didn’t mind, maybe even liked Having my travel guitar Rest against your shoulder Peaceful, happy even On the last trip As the coach took us from Olkhon You held my gaze The coach drove away I thought I saw your guard loosen Exterior thaw in the artificial light Of a long hard winter while Your friend’s bottle’s hopefully Being pulled towards a distant shore

about

Inspired by the Trans Siberian rail journey, travel stories turned into song

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released April 24, 2018

Tess Callaghan, songwriter, vocalist, producer, arranger
Mixed by Grammy Awarded Michael Brauer, Electric Lady Studios, New York
Barrie Cadogan, electric guitar
Christian Marsac, acoustic guitar
Simon Little, bass
Ross Stanley, keys
John Blease, drums

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Tess Callaghan

Singer Songwriter from Ireland with 17 electric and acoustic collections since 2015. See review (louderthanwar.com/tess-callaghan-he-walks-in-beauty-single-review/). From indie, blues, rock and pop ('Big Heart', feat. Barrie Cadogan guitar, Simon Little bass) to home-spun acoustic, folk and celtic. ... more

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