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Behind the Eight Ball

by Mickey Rickshaw

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1.
Stuck behind the eight ball of an antiquated system, you fell into the rhythm of the cage. Education failed you, and after that, they jailed you. And now you're on your ass with bitter age. You can warm yourself with whiskey, warm yourself with gin, sleep out on the church steps, but they're not gonna let you in. Their savior was a failure when you're sleeping in the rain. The pouring water passes like your life into the drain. When the sun goes down on the west in a cold cold world that we're lost in, You'll be sleeping in the gutter, face down with the rats in Allston. Stuck in the clink, you'll wind up dead. At least you had a roof on your head. A hot and a cot and a daily bread. Out on the streets, you don't have a name. You've cut all your ties, you're living in vain. Nothing to lose, nothing to gain. You're begging for survival, you're begging for a buck, you're begging for a second chance, but nobody gives a fuck. Employment's not an option with a record and no skills. Stuck behind the eight ball, it's the system that had you killed.
2.
There's a target out on me cus I've got what they need. Surrounded in a city where I can't even breathe. Up from behind with no warning at all- and then he dips into the urban sprawl. Robbed in Mariscal on a saturday All the people watching turned their heads away Inner city violence never gonna change. gringo gringo, dinero dame! He's got the Devil's Breath. I've got the gringo eyes. We're victims of the circumstances - victims of the times. Up from behind with no warning at all- and then he dips into the urban sprawl. Robbed in Mariscal on a saturday All the people watching turned their heads away Inner city violence never gonna change. gringo gringo, dinero dame! Scopalamina! Robbed in Mariscal on a saturday All the people watching turned their heads away Inner city violence never gonna change. gringo gringo, dinero dame!
3.
SONG BY ALISTAIR HULETT OF ROARING JACK In the Year Of The Sheep and the burnin’ time They cut our young men in their prime The old Scots way was a hangin’ crime For the Gaels of Caledonia There’s a den for the fox, a hedge for the hare A nest in the tree for the birds of the air But in a’ Scotland there’s no place there for the Gaels of Caledonia But there’s no use getting’ frantic It’s time tae hump yer load Across the wild Atlantic On the Destitution Road The bailiff came wi’ the writ and a’ And the gallant lads of the Forty Twa They drove ye oot in the sleet and snaw The Gaels of Caledonia When yer house was burned and yer crops as well Ye stood and wept in the blackened shell And the winter moor was a living hell For the Gaels of Caledonia The plague and the famine they dragged ye doon As ye made yer way tae Glesga toon Where ye’d heard o’ a ship that was sailin’ soon For the shores of Nova Scotia And ye sold yer gear, ye paid yer fare Wi’ yer heid held high though yer heart was sair And ye bid farewell forever mair Tae the glens of Caledonia The land was cleared and the deal was made Noo an English lord in a tartan plaid He struts and stares as the memories fade Of the Gaels of Caledonia And he hunts the deer in the lonely glen That once was home to a thousand men And the wind on the moor sings a sad refrain For the Gaels of Caledonia
4.
Grey Water 02:13
The water's cold and grey, but it may not be tomorrow. Walk away, forget about your sorrow. I may be here today, but maybe not in the days to follow. Walk away, forget about your sorrow. And it's one for the work. One for the play. One for the one that you let get away. At the end of the day when you've spent all your pay, and you're down on your luck, you can walk away. I'm sitting still today, but I'll be on the road tomorrow. Walk away, forget about your sorrow. From the shores of Galway Bay to the cobblestones of Carlow, Walk away forget about your sorrow. And it's one for the work. One for the play. One for the one that you let get away. At the end of the day when you've spent all your pay, and you're down on your luck, you can walk away
5.
I never wanted to grow old, but when you're 17, you just can't face the cold. And I've taken some hits, and felt the heat from screaming down the road of a dead end street. And my heroes, they said to me, "When you fall down, you get back up on your feet." And there's just one thing, that you've gotta know, You can not take it with you when you go. We said we'd never follow blindly. We'd never fall behind. We'd never settle for a life that would leave our souls behind. Or let them drown in the common troubles of an ordinary life. We'd keep that fire in our souls alive and burning bright. And I always said that I'd never change. And to this day, I still feel the same. But I look around at what still remains, And I guess that's what they call growing pains. And I fought that clarity. That lifts the veil and shows you what could be. Didn't want to know- didn't want to see what happened to that everlasting plea. We said we'd never follow blindly. We'd never fall behind. We'd never settle for a life that would leave our souls behind. Or let them drown in the common troubles of an ordinary life. We'd keep that fire in our souls alive and burning bright.
6.
Ivy 01:54
Cork City rain, it was half past three. I made my way down Patrick's Quay. Alone in the cold was standing she, The girl with eyes of ivy. We shared a smoke, "how was your night?" She choked back tears that she couldn't fight. "What the fuck happened to my life?" She looked at me and she said: The world is more than a testing ground and you'll have to build what you once burned down. You can choose to fight, you can choose to drown, but the world is more than a testing ground. Remember when you didn't give a fuck about the world? And you dreaded the days that you were gonna have to pay for the people that you dragged through the mud. You never gave a fuck about the people that you hurt. And in the rain outside of a hostel, you've got bloodstains on your shirt. The world is more than a testing ground and you'll have to build what you once burned down. You can choose to fight, you can choose to drown, but the world is more than a testing ground.
7.
They hit the starboard bow. We're taking water now. The vessel's going down. The sharks are circled 'round. An engine, an order, a trigger, a boarder. A U-20 with a thirst for blood Faster than a liner's scud They hit the starboard bow. We're taking water now. The vessel's going down. The sharks are circled 'round. An engine, an order, a trigger, a boarder. With SOS in sound, 18 minutes down! Over one thousand good men and women were taken to the bottom of the sea. Over a million good civilians could only watch from the shore and count the casualties. An engine, an order, a trigger, a boarder. They sunk em just to watch em drown Sunk em just to make a sound. The Kaiser was knocking, the whole world was watching. One trigger brought the world to war, 1915 what was it for?!
8.
Can you smell the gasoline? Aleppo City's burning. And nobody's learning from a bloody history. Can you hear the screams of a fleeting generation? Across a bleeding nation two hundred thousand sleep. Hush little Sarah, don't close your eyes tonight. We've got to cross before the morning light. Boarder guards will chase us, prisoners they'll make us. The western world can sleep without a care. It's nonprofit warfare. And while the world is fast asleep, Aleppo City's burning. Your mother, she was hurting. She didn't want you to hear her weep. and so we left this rubble land that buried our relations. Set off for a nation across the salty sea. Hush little Sarah, don't close your eyes tonight. We've got to cross before the morning light. Boarder guards will chase us, prisoners they'll make us. The western world can sleep without a care. It's nonprofit warfare. And as the ocean pulled you farther, I lost you to the water. And as the ocean pulled you farther, I lost you to the water. Can you smell the gasoline? Aleppo City's burning. And nobody's learning from a bloody history. Can you hear the screams of a fleeting generation? Across a bleeding nation two hundred thousand sleep. Hush little Sarah, don't close your eyes tonight. We've got to cross before the morning light. Boarder guards will chase us, prisoners they'll make us. The western world can sleep without a care. It's nonprofit warfare.
9.
One Life 02:34
Look back to the past and what did you feel? Were you afraid to get older each year? Retrace the footsteps that you leave behind, What have you buried in the back of your mind? All I know, it's out of our control, that's all I know, it's out of our control. Some fall too early, some fall too hard. Some fall together, and some fall apart. Some fall from the top, and some fall for heart. Some have it unfair and fall from the start. All I know, it's out of our control, that's all I know, it's out of our control. Thats all I know. It's out of our control. One life. So I sit by your tombstone and watch the day pass. The life that we had was just too good to last. I think of the lessons that carry us through. The rest of my life I live for two! All I know, it's out of our control, that's all I know, it's out of our control. Thats all I know. It's out of our control. One life.
10.
Albatross 02:37
I'm sitting bleeding out. This heart's still beating now. This life is fleeting now. The siren wins again. If I was a wiser man, I would have stayed away from land. Pulled my anchor from the sand- mainsail to the wind. Don't shoot the albatross Shit luck is bad enough Battles won, battles lost The siren wins again She sang a song to pull you in Smashed against the rocks again Red sky at 5 AM Your luck is all you've got Phase two, broken down driftwood and a stolen crown siren song, siren sound the siren wins again. Gotta get up like before dying on a foreign shore she's killed for less, she's killed for more she's gonna kill again. Don't shoot the albatross Shit luck is bad enough Battles won, battles lost The siren wins again She sang a song to pull you in Smashed against the rocks again Red sky at 5 AM Your luck is all you've got
11.
The Gael 02:54

credits

released November 1, 2016

Drums recorded at Jumping Jack Studios

All other instruments recorded AT HOME by sound engineer Alex Katz in Allston Mass.

Mixing: Alex Katz

Mastering: New Alliance East in Cambridge Mass

Destitution Road: written by Alistair Hulett and Roaring Jack
The Gael: written by Dougie MacLean

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Mickey Rickshaw Boston, Massachusetts

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