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Feather, Fur & Fin

by Danny Michel

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1.
Feather, Fur & Fin Words & Music by Danny Michel Burnt Bun Music 2008 I went to the country to escape the noise and lights and I laid there in the pine cones all night I woke in the morning when all the trees were gone I got this sinking feeling, everything felt wrong Strip malls and dollar stores and diesel in the air I slept in a rowboat and I anchored far from shore Now I don't hear them chain saws no more I woke in the morning when someone pulled the plug I was stranded in the lake bottom sludge With all the tires, paint cans and things Every little critter, feather, fur and fin Cried to mother nature to come back for them For every piece of litter, for every little sin She cried for all of them, feather, fur and fin I went to an island down the Caribbean way and I laid there in the sand all day I turned on a radio and I heard the DJ say "Baton down the hatches down Santa Elena way" I swam the ocean reef but the coral all was grey CHORUS She saw the eagle's eye weeping in the willow She prayed to the mantis and she cried into her pillow For the salmon in the Fraser and the salamander's kin She cried for all of them, feather, fur and fin I went to the city when all the trees were gone and I lay there on her asphalt lawn She cried out a thousand days of hurricanes and floods Her face ran with tears, and the streets ran with blood Fur coats and sushi boats and diesel in the air Feather, fur and fin, she cried for all of them She cried for every fin
2.
Clear 06:08
Normally right now I'd be shaking but I'm not even scared up 'til now I've been faking And up 'til now I didn't care But everything has changed When the bandits left they left us nothing There wasn't even water in the pipes Is that what I get for being so trusting I never even put up a fight When I'm feeling strong, like I could make the grade My heart goes off playing games It fills me with fear until I look into your tears Everything becomes clear I see your lights on the horizon I hear your engine in the wind Have you come to take me riding To places I have never been Like El Paso way And now you putter in the kitchen The cat sleeps in puddles of sun I count my stars and quit my bitchin' 'Cause I know we've just begun
3.
Come down baby from the mountain top It's time for you to let this go There's things out there you just can't stop There's things out there you just don't know There's nowhere left for you to run And all these books and all these words Incompatible, absurd You're watching on your TV set 'Til the world's a burning wreck 'Til you can hate someone you've never met Well all I see is hate and greed People fighting in the streets And all these tears are washing me away And Intolerance and genocide And your book says that mine's a lie If God's on your side, then who's on mine? I woke up sleeping in a dream All the boys had come back home Your family's dancing in the streets Your cousin's on the telephone There's no need left for you to roam Jesus, Buddha, Zeus and Jah Apollo, Vishnu, and Allah Bullets rain while children play Do you watch or look away? Tell me who decides, who will choose, who will win, who will lose? When all I see is hate and greed People fighting in the streets And all these tears are wearing us away And Intolerance and genocide And your book says that mine's a lie If God's on your side, then who's on mine? You knelt there in a pew And you said a prayer or two Lit a candle for luck Put your money in the cup You quote chapter and verse And how your God got here first In a stem cell petrie dish there's a Darwin bumper fish Come down baby from the mountaintop Take a breath and let it go There's things out there you just can't stop There's things out there you'll never know There's no need left for you to run All I see is hate and greed People fighting in the streets And all these tears are wasting us away And when we wake up in this war but no one knows what it was for Was God on my side, or was he on yours? If God's on your side, then who's on mine?
4.
Tell Sally 03:56
I sat through the morning 'til the morning up and fled I held up in my bunker, I held up in my head The fridge in here is empty and all the plants are dead I pace like a lion all around my bed Tell Sally I can't see her, it only makes me weaker Tell Sally I'm 'a leave her unless I'm her only one Tell Sally that deceiver how can I now believe her Tell Sally I'm 'a run unless I'm her only one I sat through the evening 'til the evening left me too I sleep beside the phone and hope to hear from you So I take me hostage and demands I have a few All I need is one thing, for you to be true
5.
They came from miles around, from every little town I'm a stranger in this place, I can't mask this face The arena swells in heat, the gates have come unscrewed as orphans cram the doors to sneak a view Oh, the poster said it all, one man would stand bright when 14 masks of danger fight tonight Ringside seats are full, no one leaves alive The Black Tornado spins into a dive 6 feet under ground, in Hidalgo burning heat The silver mask of Santos sleeps in peace
6.
Motorcade 06:32
An empty road and a rusted sky An abandoned mardi gras You led me to a mountaintop So I could see it all Your salty kiss, you promised this That I could have you all And now with you here by my side I will never fall So show me where it hurts I'll kiss it so it don't get any worse A ticker tape parade, the traffic barricades waiting on a long motorcade I will be the car and all the bodyguards I will be the silence in your eyes I will be your aid, I will serenade I will be your motorcade An effigy of Maximon I've come to make my wish A hole was drilled where his mouth was filled with wine and cigarettes A muggy night, a fire bright and a reggae band plays "Israelites" You on my arm Your addictive charms You're like heroin to me tonight The driver veers, grinds the gears The sky is dripping red You scratch your last minute vows in an old cigar box lid Night falls, the engine stalls in this Guatemala chicken bus They took it all, my watch our rings, but they were simply things to us
7.
Sweet Things 04:46
Counting out quarters at the record shop London Calling and the Pressure Drop Skipping double dutch with your sister's friends The landlord's calling for the rent again If all I have is all I need and all I need is all I have Then why is all I ever want is more Why can't I see the sweet things until they're all gone Sitting on the grass at your mother's grave Staring at the letters that spell my name Stars still shine in a sky blue sky You just gotta look with better eyes I lay face down in the summer dirt My ear pressed into the conducting earth I hear radio waves and ghosts that fizzle and fade Why can't I see the sweet things until they're all gone It's ten years later now You said I wondered about your age I said I got ID'd today You said "ya, I get that too It's like we'll never die Just grow younger every day" Shoe-box photos and birthday cards I've got an old tube amp and no guitar Living in a Salvation Army shoe All we had was me and you
8.
I don't know why but I wanted to try Just something inside me said go let it ride I don't know why why you had to stray fly Look in my eye and go tell me a lie Tell me you want what you really want now I don't know why but I'm still hanging round I don't know why I just wanted to try Just something inside me said go let it ride I don't care what people say I'm 'a love you anyway I fell in the fire and the glass and barbwire I dug through the shit 'til I found a sapphire I fought through the crowd and I swore and I vowed I'd give it my best and I'd scream it hard loud I need to find someone I can confide in You can be Venus and I'll be Poseidon I don't know why I just wanted to try Just something inside me said go let it ride I don't care what people say I'm 'a love you anyway Are you a little lifeboat Are you a little shark Are you a little lighthouse squinting in the dark I'm gonna brave the storm, find my way back And your the last match in the pack I don't know why but I wanted to try Just something inside me said go let it ride I don't know why why you had to stray fly Look in my eye and go tell me a lie
9.
On My Way 01:35
I don’t know which way I’m going I can’t find it on the map which way from is the wind blowing? Maybe I should double back But I should try and do my best I could try some more I guess If I’m lost, alone, afraid Promise I can take a little bit of your love on my way I can’t see around the corner What’s lying up there on the tracks? I wish I was a fortuneteller I’d tell her where her fortune’s at No guiding star or setting sun No satellites or trail of crumbs If I’m lost, alone, afraid Promise I can take a little bit of your love on my way
10.
Rye whiskey Rye whiskey Rye whiskey and wine I get all misty every time There's just old rags and pain cans and old turpentine Everyone's leaving, they shut down the mine They cleaned out the storefront and they took the stained glass They pulled out the trani and they syphoned the gas Shiver me timbers, shiver my spine I drink to the sawmills and the western white pine So hitch up the horses 'cause I feel just fine I'll ride the to Carmacks and I'll bring back more wine The chapel, the legion and the freemason hall They left all the keys here it's like I own them all So I'll buy the next round since we're frozen in time Don't bother calling I cut all the lines

about

Official video - www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ugkain3QUg

Danny Michel, environmentalist, pacifist, romanticist, archivist and space enthusiast, returns with Matadora, his newest and most deeply humanist album to date. As a whole, the ten- song collection explores themes of individual and collective agency, and wills us to and hope in grief, tolerance in violence, and love in hate.

After the musical village approach involved in making an album in Belize, Matadora’s origin is a different sort of island, self-produced, recorded and mixed all by Michel in his home studio in Waterloo, Ontario. Matadora tempers the tropical escapism of the Juno-nominated Black Birds Are Dancing Over Me with a dose of harsher realities – breaking news, loneliness, laundry – all delivered tenderly with Michel’s signature empathy.

In place of Black Birds’ balmy clime, the warmth of Matadora comes from within, as materially present as breath that condenses on a window. This body-generated steaminess is front and centre on “Get Lost,” a knee- weakening soliloquy with a slow jam beat.

Matadora has two types of love letters, those meant just for one and those addressed to all. The song “Click Click” is one part dream sequence, one part political platform – as passionate as “Get Lost” but on a much larger scale. “Click Click” shows Michel’s mastery of exploring big questions in small details; with his signature earnestness he confronts tragedy and violence with delicacy and grace.

There are also a handful of songs that taste of ocean and carry forward the vibe and instrumentation from Black Birds in breezy fashion. Title track “Matadora,” “Paris Las Vegas,” and “Good Old Days” provide a bridge from Michel’s previous release, one that consumed two years from recording to the final sold out stop on the North American tour he did with The Garifuna Collective. On Matadora, Michel’s red flag waves as an open-ended question posed in the title track: Are we all the bull on beaten days, or are we the matadora in many ways?

------------------------------
BIO -
With nominations for three JUNO Awards, The Polaris Prize, The CBC’s "Heart Of Gold" AND a pile of albums under his belt, Danny Michel is unquestionably one of Canada’s finest songwriters. His thoughtful lyrics & earnest performances have earned him a devoted fan base. A musical chameleon, able to slip into many genres with ease. “An adventurous & fearless artist”. “A master at striking the right balance between unpredictability and meeting expectations, leaving you wanting more as soon as it’s over”.

Past critics have praised Danny’s lyrics for having “something to say" without coming off preachy. His environmental song “Feather, Fur & Fin" landed on both CBC’s “Global Goals Playlist” & David Suzuki’s “Playlist For The Planet”. Other songs ask big questions like "If Gods' on your side, then who's on mine" and “Who’s Gonna Miss You when you’re gone?” a song which explores karma asking “Did you live it right or did you live it wrong?”

In 2011 Danny relocated to Belize and founded the “Danny Michel Ocean Academy Fund” to help raise scholarships for small non-profit community high school. To date he's raised over $70,000.00 for the school and volunteers there when he can.

Later he tracked down one of his favorite bands; The Garifuna Collective, a unique Afro-Amerindian cultural group and convinced them to make an album together. That album (“Black Birds Are Dancing Over Me”) was quoted as “One of the finest musical works of our time” By Billboards Larry Leblanc. The album landed him a 3rd JUNO nomination (this time in the “World Music” category) and a sold out summer tour of North America with The Garifuna Collective.

At the moment Danny is sitting in front of a blank canvas contemplating where his next album is going to take him. It could go anywhere from here. Knowing Danny, wherever it goes – it will be an adventure”


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Michel#Biograpy

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released March 26, 2008

www.dannymichel.com/newsite/lyrics.html

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