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Going Down With Alice

by Mad Dogs & Englishmen

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  • Limited Edition Compact Disc
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Comes in a jewel case with an 8-page booklet with attractive front and back cover and back card artwork, and including lyrics to all songs, band photo, recording details and credits.

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1.
A Rich Seam 04:28
A RICH SEAM Come take a look at this rolling vista Beneath its blistered fields lie caves of destiny With untapped veins undiscovered waiting For you to stake your claim upon their richest seam This churchyard holds its share of history In small graves littering its bonnie silent green How many failed or missed their calling Through time spent stalling over what they could have been And though you be a tiny satellite One day you may be shining bright Become a glorious sun Cast your light on everyone Radiate your creative delight Procrastinate and time will rob you Of all the things that you might yet achieve Mistakes breed strength don't let them deter you From finding yourself amid your own rich seam There are those who would control your course for you And there are those who would seek to steal your dreams So let it rock their weak foundations To see you reap the treasures of your own rich seam For you the world is getting smaller And you can do things of which I could only dream So let it be your crowning glory The wondrous story of your own rich seam Come take a look at this rolling vista This cracked and blistered jewel-encrusted legacy From mine to yours never deny it Jump up and cry it as you dig your own rich seam (Gary Miller) Copyright © 2000 Gary Miller / Whippet Records
2.
House of War 04:22
3.
Kater Murr 05:20
4.
SOLDIER ON THE MANTELPIECE In battledress and helmet he stands on the mantelpiece Eyes glazed and feet of clay a unique masterpiece Three buttons on his tunic, four pouches on his belt Is their something to communicate, a story to tell? How many horrors haunt him? How many good friends died? Does he pine away each lonely day For a girl he left behind? The ears they cannot hear The eyes they cannot see But oh the tales that he tells With such bold simplicity Michelangelo’s David never stood so tall and proud He should be in a gallery his praises shouted loud So uplifting and so passionate, a priceless work of art An insight into his maker’s mind and heart In his glorious features Such expression can be read Shoulders square and hands like hams What life might he have led? The ears they cannot hear The eyes they cannot see But oh the tales that he tells With such bold simplicity Such raw skill and talent Is so rarely recognised The soldier on the mantelpiece Will win no Turner Prize (Gary Miller) Copyright © 2000 Gary Miller / Whippet Records
5.
6.
7.
Seven Hills 05:40
SEVEN HILLS My city stands on seven hills My ego dwells within With seven courts for seven laws Which bend against my will There are many masks for me to wear To judge with clemency But it's a thankless task it's an empire of glass A brittle transparency The streets and architecture Form a grandiose design Sculptors mould my vision Into artifacts sublime Painters reflect beauty In each image rich and bold Poets agonise to find The words that must be told All roads lead me My destiny to find And if fate decrees to Hell I'll go For I won't be denied My army marched through many lands To a thunder like applause And plundered indiscriminately To the betrayal of my cause But my killer instinct failed me In many a far off land Until I had lost all hope and sense Of where my city stands A city built on one man's dreams Can stand the test of time If others share his vision rare And can add to its design But with vandals hammering at the gates And traitors from within A swift blade thrust into the back Cuts short a glorious reign So lend me your ears And hand my fiddle down For I will play the final tune And burn my city down (Gary Miller) Copyright © 2000 Gary Miller / Whippet Records
8.
9.
IT'S YOUR TIME TO LEAVE It's your time to leave now mine has begun Taking all that you need now you're gone Our time never came for that time was not ours It's mine and must be mine alone Now we're both left standing outside in the rain But I welcome the storm that's to come It's your time to leave Good riddance God damn you be gone To crack the whip you must lead the dance You need courage to face others head on To make sweet music you must be of one mind Or it's over before it's begun Though all that we've planted may wither and die What survives is the need to plant more But it's your time to leave Good riddance God damn you be gone Now that we're heading for separate shores Who's to blame for it all Do I wish you well and do you wish it for me Does it even matter at all Though these crossroads excite me they scare me to death New journeys seem all that I own If old chapters prepare you for what lies ahead You must still write the end on your own For what is the use chasing dreams you don't need Weighed down with a load not your own Now it's your time to leave Good riddance God damn you be gone (Gary Miller) Copyright © 2000 Gary Miller / Whippet Records
10.
Full Circle 05:32
FULL CIRCLE In the great days of steam I was the toast of the town My brand new paintwork gleamed As people flocked from miles around To see to touch to wave to cheer A newborn child of engineers And the hearts of my two thousand horses beat To the rhythm of their tiny lives I rolled and sped and hissed and with pride An iron beast of burden I tore through the veins and guts of the land Supplying mineral wealth Fed by a fireman’s lonely hand With the passion of a thousand suns My kisses scorched his bursting lungs Like a lover’s heart my fires were stoked By rough hands touched with tenderness As I held him in my warm caress I became a river supplying endless streams To valleys and mountains red and gold and green To fortune to fame to romance and to dreams I was privy to their secrets and their schemes As their lives touched me And I fed the hungry engines of war With the finest crop in England’s store An ocean of tears drowned the platform roar Through emotions never felt so deep before I fell to the diesel age Time and progress conquered me Withdrawn and derelict Nature laid cruel hands on me She turned my once bright coat to rust As my memory faded into dust Some small affection I could claim As a nest for lovebirds I became Or a secret den for children’s games Rescued and restored by loving hands In my former glory I now stand My paint gleams once more people flock again in awe To celebrate to see to touch to talk Of one reborn (Gary Miller) Copyright © 2000 Gary Miller / Whippet Records

about

Mad Dogs and Englishmen was a unique collaboration between Gary Miller and Glenn Miller of The Whisky Priests and Joseph Porter of Blyth Power. ‘Going Down With Alice’ is a stripped to the bones all-acoustic recording with vocal and songwriting duties shared by Gary and Joseph, led by Glenn’s inventive accordion arrangements.

Media Reviews:

“Porter and the Millers actually write great songs with words that mean something and are usually substantially rooted. This reminds you how subtle these guys actually are.” (Folk Roots, UK)

“This collaboration draws the template for what folk-rock could and should be in a world anxiously wrestling with newfound fashions and freedoms.” (Folk on Tap, UK)

credits

released January 9, 2000

Whippet Records WPTCD19 / Downwarde Spiral Records DR 009CD
Tracks 1,4, 7, 9, 10 written & composed by Gary Miller
Tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 written & composed by Joseph Porter

'Going Down with Alice' was recorded at The Old Dairy Studio, York during March and April 2000 and was engineered by Phil Elliott, who also stamped and shouted, but only in the right places. Mixing was completed at Trinity Heights, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne by Fred Purser.

Mad Dogs and Englishmen:
Glenn Miller - accordions
Joseph Porter - guitar, percussion, vocals
Gary Miller - guitar, mandolin, vocals


℗ & © 2000 Whippet Records

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Gary Miller Durham, UK

Gary Miller first rose to international prominence with folk-punk/rock pioneers The Whisky Priests (1985-2002), founded with his twin brother Glenn - “the Joe Strummer and Mick Jones of Folk Music". He now performs as a solo artist and with his new band 'Gary Miller's Big Picture' whose debut album is coming soon. ... more

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