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Stories Untold

by Kim Edgar

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    Stories Untold digipak with artwork by Eva Giovannini.

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    Get all 7 Kim Edgar releases available on Bandcamp and save 10%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of CONSEQUENCES, It Only Takes A Silence (Charity Single), Held, Stories Untold, The Ornate Lie, Butterflies & Broken Glass, and Wee Dote EP. , and , .

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1.
There lived a charmed enchanting girl A blacksmith did her woo To him escape she shifted shape But he had magic, too... She became a leaf, a leaf Well hidden in a tree An he became the tree branch Adjoined to her was he... Sayin, Bide, lassie, bide - an’ aye he bad her bide An’ be the brookie smith’s wife, an’ that’ll lay your pride She became a tawny owl Her wary eyes shone bright An’ he became the gloamin’ mirk Enfolding her each night... Sayin, Bide, lassie, bide - but never would she bide An’ be the brookie smith’s wife, she’d never lay her pride She became a headstone Sombre, straight and cold So he chose to engrave her He chiselled deep and bold Bide, lassie, bide - an’ aye he bad her bide An’ be the brookie smith’s wife, an’ that’ll lay your pride Sayin, Bide, lassie, bide - but never would she bide An’ be the brookie smith’s wife, she’d never lay her pride She became a ship, a ship An’ sailed upon the sea An’ he became a mariner Aboard o’ her gaed he… So she became the salt sea air She shook the stormy sea An’ neither one was seen again But I believe she’s free She’s free…
2.
Through the heavy blanket of the night Tiny pinpricks of light unhinge And spin right out of sight And here as I lie, The earth turns, freewheeling, I'm giddy You are my anchor in the sky My beacon in the night My guiding harbour light, shining high Dizzied by these shifting galaxies A dance with no sound, Damp grass swells silent under me It's not solid ground, The earth turns, freewheeling, I'm giddy
3.
Just now you’re all potential, no one can foretell What colours will define you as your universe unfolds What paths you’ll choose to follow, or to carve out for yourself, But, boy or girl, my darlin’, learn to question what you’re told Don’t hush, my wee lammie Don’t let others limit you You can choose the whole rainbow Don’t be hemmed in, pink or blue To me, you are a marvel in amber, plum and teal A miracle of nature, of hope and love and zeal A sapphire, or a ruby, or a thistle in long grass I will welcome your whole spectrum When your colours come to pass Perhaps today is scarlet, sacrifice’s stain Fuschia for composure, fern for bearing pain Tomorrow’s dandelion, when tooth and nail, we’ll fight As a myriad of pigments, reflecting back the light The rainbow’s in our sight The rainbow’s in our sight A myriad of pigments Reflecting light
4.
I wasn’t ready, you’re gone too soon The kitchen’s quiet, lost its tune I’m not prepared, no good alone Why is it you who won’t be home? You’re ripped to shreds, I’m torn apart My love is gone, my love, my heart
5.
It’s all my own stupid fault I smashed my gran’s special mug And dad was ragin’, so mum took him out And he left without a goodbye, without a hug And everyone knows what happened next The papers had a ball “Brutal and savage” - he’s still our dad, So what’s that make us all? The cracks are how the light gets in They teach that in school, but I know it’s not true Things crack, then shatter, things fall apart And they’re never the same held together with glue I just can’t face being in class I’m frightened by questions they ask - Will I end up in the jail like my dad? Am I as violent and bad? Maybe I am So staying away is how I survive Though the bullies miss me at school Safer to keep my own company ‘Cause I’m feeling so angry and cruel My wee brothers and sisters fight worse than before And I know that mum’s feeling the strain I’m the man of the house now, can’t hide any more She says I’m not to be skivin’ again I still miss my dad every day I miss silly games that we’d play Our wrestling moves and his tickling hands It’s hard to understand why he won’t see me Maybe he’s still angry about the mug? I sent a sorry card Or maybe he’s too long without a hug? I’m finding that quite hard
6.
Hanging by a thread Teetering along life's edges Hanging by a thread Clinging on starts to sap her strength While shadows and silhouettes whisper contempt Still she hopes for some magic charm To conjure a hero to pull her from harm Suspended there, in that secret place Her fibres and filaments conceive her escape She can sew - could she stitch some space? Gather her strands and then weave a new shape? Resolute, she pledges to spin and to weave To salvage and to darn This act of restoration is saving the seamstress and her yarn Summoning her power, she spins and she weaves She salvages and darns This act of restoration is saving The seamstress and her yarn
7.
Peerie Boy 03:09
Down by the broch I would cradle and coddle you When you cried through the night I would swaddle you Whispering charms for to banish the trow from the door I mind how the breath of the breeze would caress you The lights of Aurora were dancing to bless you And singing their salt water secrets to you on the shore And now the hands of the sea Have stolen my peerie boy frae me Too soon you were roaming where I couldn’t reach you The tongue of these islands had nothing to teach you Brittle and cold like shivers of flint in your mouth Visions of far distant places beguiled you Comfort and care only angered and riled you Gathering winds growing stronger and sweeping you south Filled with foreboding I tried to protect you To keep you where no one would hurt or neglect you Far from the finns who would drag you right into the deep Flickering shadows were watching and waiting The lure of the sea, it was never abating ‘Til finally all I could do was to lull you to sleep
8.
Arms 03:44
Bodies bruise the landscape, Hard bullets beat down Callous men who command rape In my arms I almost remember mother’s arms, before Swaddled by my innocence no more And would she think I’ve earned my wings? Would it be fair to rise above What I’ve become? Is solace found there? In my arms, in my arms They won’t recognise me, I’m a long way gone These horrors disguise me In my arms, in my arms Cradling a weapon, empty at the core Swaddled by my innocence no more
9.
Well Worn 02:24
Laughter lights your tired eyes, temples grey with lessons learned Growing warmer, wiser, intertwined, hearts that lift with love returned Well worn, us two, a snug fit in a softened shoe No gloss, no buff, no shine, well worn, just fine When you hurt I feel the pain, ties that bind us hand and heart Though our lives unravel, strain by strain, it’s half a life when we’re apart All mine
10.
Tightrope 03:26
I don’t want to fall, don’t like it at all I don’t dare to drop down at your feet I don’t want it to show, don’t want you to know Scared to share I’m broken, incomplete Something in me’s reaching, aching Music makes me cry I tread a tightrope when you’re near me Teetering too high One day I’ll be brave, let loose these words I save Say aloud exactly how I feel For now, I’ll keep them in, don’t know where to begin And words, once uttered, change the way we feel
11.
Withheld 03:58
Withheld, concealed, Conflicted feelings that I’m scared to show Yet bear, and know Despite my efforts, I’m tormented by the thought of you Disarming dreams that pull me under, pull me under Societal conventions no longer ring true Alarming cravings I don’t want to shake Cause when you’re near me, Part of me believes that we’d be good And though you’re distant, I’m convinced we could Against my will, my head is filled with things I should not say I’m holding back but yearn to touch you, yearn to touch you You must dismiss the vain hopes my eyes still betray Don’t listen to the wicked words I say
12.
Tether Me 03:08
Anchor me at high tide Ground me here, at your side Loved you then, love you still Always have, always will Pin me proudly on your sleeve Fasten me so I can’t leave Guide my path when I can’t see The wind may take me, tether me

about

Stories Untold – the 2016 album by Kim Edgar

Quietly Fantastic Music QFM004 (CD, UK, September 23, 2016)

Tracks
Twa Magicians (Roud 1350; Child 44; G/D 2:334) (3.30)
Anchor in the Sky (3.08)
The Whole Rainbow (3.35)
Significant Other Deceased (3.24)
Things Crack, Then Shatter (4.08)
The Seamstress (3.21)
Peerie Boy (3.07)
Arms (3.42)
Well Worn (2.21)
Tightrope (3.22)
Withheld (3.57)
Tether Me (3.07)

credits

released September 23, 2016

Produced by Jürgen Treyz, Mattie Foulds and Kim Edgar;
Recorded by Jürgen Treyz at artes Tonstudio, Esslingen, Germany, and by Mattie Foulds at Caribou Recording, near Penicuik, Scotland;
Mixed and mastered by Jürgen Treyz at artes Tonstudio

Musicians
Kim Edgar, vocals, piano, acoustic guitar, synthesiser;
Inge Thomson, vocals;
Gudrun Walther, vocals, violin, viola;
Su-a Lee, cello;
Fergus Kerr, French horn;
Michael Owers, trombone, bass trombone, sousaphone;
Kevin McGuire, double and electric bass;
Mattie Foulds, drums, percussion

All tracks written by Kim Edgar except
Track 1 trad., Kim Edgar; based on the one verse and chorus in Greig/Keith’s Last Leaves of Traditional Ballads and Ballad Airs;
Track 2 Kim Edgar, Jürgen Treyz, Gudrun Walther;
Track 4 poem by Rachel Fox;
Track 7 Kim Edgar, Karine Polwart

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Kim Edgar Edinburgh, UK

“Intense and thought provoking” (The List)

“Heart stopping…our very own Tori Amos” (Sunday Herald)

“An inspired empathy” * * * * * (Fringe Review)

Fuelled by a passion for social justice, folklore, and feminism, Kim Edgar crafts keenly observed details of people’s lives into powerful, understated songs that reach out and touch listeners.
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