We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

The Fire Inside

by Cathy McManamon

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $9 USD  or more

     

1.
Bare Bones 04:44
I am the feather that flies Following the wind where’er it blows. I am the blade of grass that bends and sways As prairie currents buffet hot and dry. I am the bare bones left behind When words and deeds and time are at an end. I am the essence I have always been When I break down enough to let you in. I am the cone releasing seed When fire sweeps the forest carpet clean. I am the gold that remains When torches burn away what is impure. I am the bare bones left behind When words and deeds and time are at an end. I am the essence I have always been When I break down enough to let you in. I am the soft, defenseless turtle Freshly hatched out of the egg. I am the sand upon the shore Endlessly pounded in the waves. I am the bare bones left behind When words and deeds and time are at an end. I am the essence I have always been When I break down enough to let you in. I am the straight and hardy stalk That stands long after flowers fade. I am the naked branches of the leafless tree In the silent dark of winter sleep. I am the bare bones left behind When words and deeds and time are at an end. I am the essence I have always been When I break down enough to let you in. I am the bare bones left behind When words and deeds and time are at an end. I am the essence I have always been When I break down enough to let you in. I am the essence I have always been…
2.
I’ve never been patient Hating to wait my turn Stepping aside for the bolder and prettier girls Trying to hold on To the dream that I could be like them ‘Cause the books I read, they told me it was true And all these years later, I haven’t read anything new But it’s too late to convince me I might be a princess It’s too late to help me discover my secret magic skill It’s too late to make me believe I’m inheriting a kingdom It’s too late to be my savior in shining armor bright Go fade into the night Now I’ve slayed some dragons And I’ve found a treasure or two Journeyed to mysterious lands both far and near Sometimes I’ve been lonely Sometimes I’ve been afraid And no fairy godmother came to save the day Pulled up my own bootstraps and did things my own way And it’s too late to convince me I might be a princess It’s too late to help me discover my secret magic skill It’s too late to make me believe I’m inheriting a kingdom It’s too late to be my savior in shining armor bright Go fade into the night Are you a pirate? Or a prince, charming and brave? Did you think you could turn me so easily? Perhaps you’re a diamond In the rough, and I am, too Don’t try to tell me my day will come to shine I’m used to this roughness, and I’m really fine Because it’s too late to convince me I might be a princess It’s too late to help me discover my secret magic skill It’s too late to make me believe I’m inheriting a kingdom It’s too late to be my savior in shining armor bright It’s too late to convince me I might be a princess It’s too late to help me discover my secret magic skill It’s too late to make me believe I’m inheriting a kingdom It’s too late to be my savior in shining armor bright Go fade into the night I’ll be all right
3.
Long, long ago, someone looked to the sky And wondered what it would be like To soar like a bird way on up to the sun To leave this blue marble behind After many an age ‘twas no longer a dream With balloons or with wings in our flying machines We reached to the heavens as far as we dared And found we’re as small as we feared When I was younger in simpler times Gazing up into the deep purple sky Daring to dream of everything Daring to dream I could fly Now I am older and wiser and grounded But I still hold the stars in my hand Dreams live on, and I hold on to mine And I’ll hold them as long as I - as long as I can Soon we were breaking the wall of sound Higher and higher we climbed Who would be fastest and who would be first Proud Earthling on alien ground But the race against time was laced with a price Too much and too little care For brave pioneers lost to the stars We released prayers aloft through the air When I was younger in simpler times Gazing up into the deep purple sky Daring to dream of everything Daring to dream I could fly Now I am older and wiser and grounded But I still hold the stars in my hand Dreams live on, and I hold on to mine And I’ll hold them as long as I - as long as I can I know in my lifetime I'll never see The day when I step out my door And transport to havens unlike any down here A wondrous alien shore In movies I've seen and in stories I've read In journeys more inward than out I believe one day we'll finally find Our brothers and sisters, no doubt When I was younger in simpler times Gazing up into the deep purple sky Daring to dream of everything Daring to dream I could fly Now I am older and wiser and grounded But I still hold the stars in my hand Dreams live on, and I hold on to mine Yes, I’ll hold them as long as I - as long as I can - as long as I can
4.
Water 06:35
In the dark Primordial sea The first forms of life on this planet Came to be Evolution Through many an age Turned into life on the land With rock as our stage But if there is magic here on the Earth It is in the water If there is magic here on the Earth It is in the water The uncharted waters Held many a mystery For the two-legged Land-dwelling beings Our imagination Fed sea-faring monsters Terror and fear Fueled many a tale And if there is magic here on the Earth It is in the water If there is magic here on the Earth It is in the water Down through the ages Humans appealed to the gods of the waters They called upon Tiamat and Mazu Oshun and Manannan mac Lir Some worshipped Triton Some honored Neptune or Nerthus or Njord Far in the Arctic, some invoked Sedna In Greece, of the sea, Poseidon was lord And if there is magic here on the Earth It is in the water If there is magic here on the Earth It is in the water Beware the song sung by the Siren May you never meet the Serpent or Kraken The Mermaid will trick you with her great beauty The Selkie can walk on the land But if you are blessed You may swim with the Undines and Naiads Far through the fresh and the salt water treasures And their silent mysteries If there is magic here on the Earth It is in the water If there is magic here on the Earth It is in the water If there is magic here on the Earth It is in the water If there is magic here on the Earth It is in the water
5.
Smoke 03:44
An old soul born again to walk among us Counting time face by face and line by line Day by day, brightest light casts darkest shadow Shining eyes daring me to look within But his heart is dark And his heart is deep As he walks amid the shadows In and out of space and time like smoke A cold hand placed so gently on my shoulder Backward glance proves to me I’m not alone Round and round, hide and seek among the trees I must return to the here and now But my heart is dark And my heart is deep As I walk amid the shadows In and out of space and time like smoke One small spark is enough to light the dark One bright flame is enough to banish blame This is who I am, light and dark it’s all the same Take my hand, I am not afraid Tho’ his heart is dark And my heart is deep As we walk amid the shadows In and out of space and time like smoke His heart is dark My heart is deep We walk amid the shadows In and out of space and time like smoke Like smoke Like smoke
6.
7.
Scarlet Town 04:02
We set out Danni and me For the land of opportunity Outside of the law Outside of the norms We set our sights on a distant shore Once on board Part of the crowd Didn’t care if we got a bit too loud Ship of dreams Ship of desire Not even the ocean could quench our Fire inside We were rolling with the waves And enjoying the ride Dreaming of the day we wouldn’t have to hide In a scarlet town Decked out In our leather and lace She had starlight shining on her face Didn’t feel the chill Of the salty air As she kissed me here and there Paid no heed To what anyone thought Breaking all the rules that they’d been taught She whispered my name I couldn’t resist And I followed her down to the Fire inside We were rolling with the waves And enjoying the ride Dreaming of the day we wouldn’t have to hide In a scarlet town A thud and shudder The ship grew still Pulled away from Danni with all my will “We’re going down” Someone said “In a couple more hours we’ll all be dead” Made for the boats They wouldn’t let us in The fine ladies said “we’ve no room for sin - “Let them stay, Let them drown, Let the frigid depths take their demon Fire inside Let them roll with the waves And curse the ride Dreading the hell they’ll find on the other side In a scarlet town” What do you say To that kind of hate? The righteous ones had determined our fate So Danni and I Laid down in our bed Spoke all the words needed to be said Determined to die As we had lived No regrets, nothing to forgive And when the cold dark Sucked us down I swear there was steam from the Fire inside We rolled with the waves And enjoyed the ride Arriving in the place we wouldn’t have to hide From the fire inside Eternally rolling with the waves And enjoying the ride Free at last to love on the other side In a scarlet town
8.
9.
Newgrange 06:30
Sun beating down, the breeze is whispering Standing alone in the middle of a crowd Touching cold stone the sparks fly through my soul The lives the spirits welcoming me home Spirals dance and make me dizzy I don’t know where or when I am Circling ‘round no beginning no end Only the past and the future again So many come and seem so amazed That ages ago things meant more than today The birth and the death and the birthing again Simple truth redefined for me Spirals dance and make me dizzy I don’t know where or when I am Circling ‘round no beginning no end Only the past and the future again The living is simple the loving divine The wheel turns away then it comes back around The light shines through for a moment in time How can I return to my own world I say how can I return to my own world With what I have seen and what I know now How can I make sense of the path that I chose With Newgrange calling me home Spirals dance and make me dizzy I don’t know where or when I am Circling ‘round no beginning no end Only the past and the future Only the past and the future I know it’s only the past and the future Circling ‘round
10.
I had a dream last night about the end of the world Not sure what was going down but the human race was done I was with my friends, we were saying goodbye and good luck When in the distance we saw him there, on a stage, guitar in his hand I thought that maybe some music would keep the people calm And we could face the end hand in hand and singing a song But then he turned his amplifier on, and tuned those steely strings And with a pick of stone, he made sparks fly beneath his fingertips And he played every note from the corners of his soul And he sang every song like his last night on the earth And he shone with a light that few could understand I could not look away when he plugged in his guitar and started to… As first, in the chaos, it was just another noise But then, most amazing, one by one, the people heard And they felt way down deep the magic in the sound --- Some were afraid, seeing only lightning fly A mad guitar god slinging fire and smoke all around But then when the sound broke through to their hearts they were turned And they joined all as one and their song saved the earth And he played every note from the corners of his soul And he sang every song like his last night on the earth And he shone with a light that few could understand I could not look away when he plugged in his guitar and started to… Sound – light – words – sound Love – peace – music all around And he plays every note from the corners of his soul And he sings every song like it’s his last night on the earth And he shines with a light that few can understand I cannot look away when he plugs in his guitar and starts to… Play…
11.

credits

released February 3, 2014

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Cathy McManamon Chicago, Illinois

Cathy is a singer/songwriter/guitarist/drummer in Chicago who occasionally performs solo, but more often in the Pegasus Award-winning duo Random Fractions (with Jason Neerenberg. She is the former drummer for the filk rock band Toyboat.

Cathy is also a studio musician and arranger for Canticles Productions & Dreamflight Theatrical Gymnastics, a drum circle facilitator, and a guitar teacher.
... more

contact / help

Contact Cathy McManamon

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Cathy McManamon, you may also like: