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Live at the Folk

by Jessica Law and the Outlaws

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1.
Don't heed the lies they may tell of me They're fools! My name is Jack, I can guarantee That I'm no quack, I'll bring you back From death's eternity When I can't sleep, I get out of bed And stalk through London's streets, looking for the dead I will revive the un-alive Through secret surgery I do it because I can I don't really have a plan of who to choose One man was rich, When he died he left his sons a fortune each When they found out he would need it back They turned their backs And would not speak his name One girl was mine, she was beautiful She died before her time When I brought her to she'd seen it all and could recall Now she's not quite the same I did it because I could I don't care if it's bad or good, it's what I do And I remember the time I revived the hanged man And he made more cadavers just for me And the woman who tried to take the easy way out Well, I wouldn't let her leave here so easily And my love keeps crying, but I won't send her back No, I won't revoke my powers so lightly And there's nothing you can do, what laws Could you possibly prove against me? So don't heed the lies they may tell of me They're fools! My name is Jack I can guarantee that I'm no quack I'll bring you back From death's eternity
2.
I know what I’ve heard And I don’t want to hear more I know she’s strong like me I kept my word I kept away from this war But I know what’s wrong with me I know she’s got more in common I know she’s on the same side She is the logical option And that’s fine I don’t want to know what she talks like I don’t want to know what she wears I don’t want to know what she sounds like Till she’s screaming out her final breath I don’t want to know what she thinks like And I don’t want to know what she’s read I don’t want to know what she looks like Till I look right in the eyes of her severed head I don’t care if you kill me ‘Cos by then I’d be better off dead To die by your hand, my beautiful man Is the closest we’ll ever get We’ll ever get I tried to forget I tried to fall on my sword Must have forgotten The plate at my breast Shielding my heart from its force Now my fate is written And you are my singular equal You, I am willing to fight If you can best me in battle That’s alright I don’t want to know what she walks like I don’t want to know what she says I don’t want to know what she moves like Till she’s running in vain from her death I don’t want to know what she smells like And please spare me what she’s like in bed I don’t want to know what she feels like Till she kneels right at my feet with my blade at her neck I don’t care if you kill me ‘Cos at least I can die as I lived A spear in my fist, your name on my lips Fighting like I always did I always did I always did
3.
You’re following me through the throng You’re singing me the same old song You’re sorry that you did me wrong And I’m an angel in your eyes But angels have a thousand eyes And roll around on wheels of fire And wear the visage of a lion Six wings to hide it all behind Your voice is cutting through the fray She didn’t mean a thing, you say You promise me you’ll change your ways I’ll be the princess in your life But princesses set fire to towns And bury soldiers underground And plot against their king and crown And die in battle for their rights You can name me And the name will make it real But you can’t expect to like what you find You’ll still your sickle tongue, you say No longer wield your words to slay You’ll free me from beneath your sway You’ll call me goddess from now on But goddesses dance on the dead Wear necklaces of severed heads And turn to cats within your bed And still you’ll praise them when they’re gone You can name me And the name will make it real But it doesn’t make it right And it doesn’t make me nice And you can’t expect to like what you find So if you will pursue me more You’ll see me in my truest form I’ll be there with my flaming sword The angel with a thousand eyes The angel with a thousand eyes
4.
Be clear of your intentions Do not try to deceive Enter only by invitation Be wary when you leave Unknown is her power Who knows what she believes The agenda that she follows The web that she weaves A cat, a broom, A darkened room A slightly tainted tea Just beware Of her dangerous care Annmarie Want to enchant your lover She may take your side Or she may move against you Deny you your bride Want to curse a rival? She may not care Ask if you are bold enough And gamble if you dare A cat, a broom, A darkened room An old box with a key Just beware Of her dangerous care Annmarie Have a problem with a demon? She may decide to assist But if you she takes against you You struggle to resist Your mother lying ill You know not what to do In desperation you call on her But will she see you through? A cat, a broom, A darkened room A scream, a whimper, a plea, Just beware Of her dangerous care Annmarie Is she good or evil Well, it’s kind of hard to tell You’d best tread warily Or she’ll put you under a spell Witch or wise woman Magnificent or tragic Do you really want to challenge The power of her magic A cat, a broom, A darkened room A slightly tainted tea Just beware Of her dangerous care Annmarie Annmarie Annmarie
5.
Near Castle Park Five metres underground Here lies a bunker Thirty-five berth And a speech from the queen Never yet said aloud Mourning a disfigured Earth Close to the coast Accessed by rowing boat Here lies an island Foul to its core With a deadly disease Tested on flocks of sheep Would have been used in the war (If it hadn’t ended before…) This is not a place of honour Nothing of value here This is a message of danger We beg you to steer clear This is a place of fear One summer night Pulses of coloured light Burned through the orbit Blew out the power In a city that lay 900 miles away Set the dogs howling for hours On wasted ground 10,000 years from now Wind blows a warning Through sharpened stone And a carving is seen Fixed in a silent scream Our language is no longer known But this is no place for a home This is not a place of honour Nothing of value here This is a message of danger We beg you to steer clear This is a place of fear
6.
I can see the ghosts of those who walked these roads in years before I can hear the countless dramas played out in between these walls I can feel the hopes and plans of those who ran along these halls I can hear the creak of eaves arrive and leave across these floors On the street the ringing of the feet vibrates Then the rain washes it away - blank slate Do you see what I see? Do you feel the things I feel? Are you in tune with me? Do you think it might be real? I can sense what one tree meant to lovers, fighters, thieves and stoats I can find the signs of minds inscribed in stone or scratched on posts Thoughts arrive upon the wind, I pluck them out and hold them close I can thank the riverbank for hosting all my favourite ghosts In the haze - a city overlaid with days One stone stage - we come and go away, it stays Do you see what I see? Do you feel the things I feel? Are you in tune with me? Do you think it might be real?
7.
This ae nighte, this ae nighte, (Refrain:) —Every nighte and alle, Fire and fleet and candle-lighte, (Refrain:) And Christe receive thy saule. When thou from hence away art past, To Whinny-muir thou com'st at last; If ever thou gavest hosen and shoon, Sit thee down and put them on; If hosen and shoon thou ne'er gav'st nane The whinnes sall prick thee to the bare bane; From Whinny-muir when thou may'st pass, To Brig o' Dread thou com'st at last; From Brig o' Dread when thou may'st pass, To Purgatory fire thou com'st at last; If ever thou gavest meat or drink, The fire sall never make thee shrink; If meat or drink thou ne'er gav'st nane, The fire will burn thee to the bare bane; This ae nighte, this ae nighte, —Every nighte and alle, Fire and fleet and candle-lighte, And Christe receive thy saule.
8.
Distant figures Eight or nine out on the ice Drawing nearer Ghostly thin and deathly white Not a glimmer In their gaunt and haunted eyes Dead men walking, or spirits What choice have we but to retreat and to hide? And wait inside and hope they'll go Yet hear their footsteps in the snow Come louder, louder, loud and close Then a braver Man than I stepped out to find Wraith-like creatures Cold of skin and dead of mind Food we offered Would not eat and would not trade Would not speak a word On their grim death march into the waste, so we made An igloo for them all to sleep And left for them three seals to eat And silently, silently fled when night came Seasons came and went We returned one day to search Objects we had left In our haste to flee the curse Why had they arrived? Would their coming spell our doom? Captured in the ice, we found That the igloo we built them had proven their tomb And they had left the seals alone But they had feasted on their own With human teeth marks on human bone What line divides survival and sin? What point does life depart and death creep in? What line between a man and a beast? Starving on the land in which we feast Starving on the land in which we feast

about

A live recording of our 2023 Halloween gig at the Folk of Gloucester (formerly Gloucester Folk Museum). All proceeds go to the Folk of Gloucester, a historic building, events venue and community hub which aims to bring to life the stories of Gloucester's people from Tudor times to the present day.

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released February 1, 2024

Resonator mandolele, glockenspiel, tambourine, vocals: Jessica Law
Viola, vocals: Nimue Brown
Percussion, vocals: James Weaselgrease
Guitar, vocals: Keith Errington

Recorded by Tony Bergonzi
Cover photo by Joanne Kordas

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Jessica Law Cambridge, UK

"Packed with emotion, surprise and wit." - The Daily Album
“Someone… who’d probably get laughed off the X-Factor for not being exactly the same as everyone else.” – Nightshift Magazine
"A collection of intriguing folk songs, packed with expressive lyrics, strange rhythms and creative instrumentation." - Ocelot Magazine
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