The Cape

Music and lyrics by Sarah Jane Scouten

Arrangement by Sarah Jane Scouten and the Brilliant String Band
The Cape (2014)

 

 

There's wood-smoke blowing to the North and the seals are in the bay

And the rain it raineth everyday, green be the woods and grey
Mother, Mother! Come find me I'm down in the cape

Lost among tall trees and handling snakes

And on your four-poster bed I'll lay down and listen to the echo fly

With no street lamps the stars and bright and a rooster will cry first light

 

On the nights that we saw Daddy when the baby was asleep

Driving along blurry streets to take him off to sea

Father, father runs for the ferry gate

Hurry up old man, you're leaving it too late

And in the back seat, I'll lay down and listen to the CBC

Every night from then til now we'll tune in AM 690

In the white house on the cliff top, he'll leave before the dawn

Treads lightly on the wood planks but leaves the porch light on

Mother, mother can't get out of bed today
She's sea-sick on the island ever since their wedding day

And on her four-poster bed she'll lay down and listen, we're coming home
Light the wood-stove, do the dishes and answer the telephone

Two hours through the woods, dear I know a secret beach

Over unmarked paths it's hard to see and harder still to reach
Neighbour, Neighbour! Is that your chain-saw drone?
It might have been your land but how could it be your home?
And in the front seat, I'll lay down and listen to the trucks go by

When I left town they sold the cape for mansions from sea to sky