Get all 11 Bruce Coughlan releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of A Simply Extraordinary Life, Waiting For Rain, Stirring Up Ghosts Vol 1&2, A Minstrel in Moray, Go the Road, A River So Wide, The Wild Bird's Nest, Buchan Bluegrass, and 3 more.
1. |
Take Pride
03:00
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TAKE PRIDE
It’s hard to look into so innocent a face
And know what may lie ahead in the life that you embrace
Too soon will come a day to spread your wings and fly
And a time we’ll say good-bye
So many choices on the road you’ll have to make
There will be challenges and there’ll always be mistakes
There is nothing better when your cheer begins to slide
Than to take it all in stride
Take pride in the things you have to say
Take pride and let a smile light your way
If you want to spend your lifetime feeling good inside
Oh, oh, oh take pride
Of all the things that you can take for yourself
There are but few things that will serve you half as well
A simple little truth, though one you should abide
It’s no word of a lie
Take pride in the things that you do
Do your best, and the best will come to you
If you want to spend your life time; good friends by your side
Oh my child, take pride
May there be no time for sorrow in the years that lie ahead
The best that I can hope for is that you’ve learned from the things I’ve said
There is no use in feeling sorry for yourself
No use in sitting like a book upon the shelf
When all it takes is a little faith to turn the bitter tide
‘Till you’re feeling good inside
Take pride
Take pride
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2. |
A River So Wide
03:36
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A RIVER SO WIDE
Well the water is deep and the river is wide
Never seen it boil & churn ‘til I was swept deep inside
So what you gonna do when it’s all sinks in
And no one’s there to thrown you a line and now it’s sink or swim
In that river so wide
Well I’d never been lost in the forest so deep
Never stepped such a treacherous path or seen a fall so steep
Standing alone when the wolves closed in
If you ever wanna get outta t
his you better see you don’t slip
In the forest so deep
And time will grind down the hardest heel
When every dog has had it’s day you’re gonna know…. how it feels
Well I never once dreamed that I would see a day
When the people I called my friends could just turn & walk away
You can go on believing the worst until it’s all you see
You can spread your rumours around & point the fat finger at me
You know it’s alright
I’m staring at the clear blue sky
And time will grind down the hardest heel
(It’s only time but time will grind down the hardest heel)
And when every dog has had it’s day you’re gonna know…. how it feels
Well I swear I’ve never seen that river so high
Never seen such a turbulent tide ‘til I was swept up inside
It’s whacha gonna do when it all falls in
Before you hit rock bottom boy, you better know how to swim
The river’s so wide
The river so wide
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3. |
Irish Rose
03:46
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IRISH ROSE
She dance in the morning when the sun comes up
And laughs as she pours the coffee in my cup
She’s soft, and newly sprung in June
Like a melody that's sweetly played in tune
My Irish Rose, the sweetest flower that grows
My Irish Rose….
Well shame on, shame on, shame on me!
I’ve been ramblin’ round this world… an eternity
She wounds with a tear, it fascinates me
She sometimes makes me hate the things I do…my rose so blue
My Irish Rose, the sweetest flower that grows
I have never loved another so, pretty one that I adore
My Irish Rose, down the lonely road I go
I think of you…
‘Till all the seas run dry, my Dear, ‘til rocks melt in the sun!
O I will love thee still, my Dear, ‘til the sands o' life shall run
She runs like a song to the swaying trees
She hums to the sound of the rusting leaves….she sighs
At night she crows like a wild bird’s cry
As she ruffles out her feathers and she flies
My Irish Rose, the sweetest flower that grows
I will never love another so, pretty one that I adore
My Irish Rose, down the lonely road I go
I think of you…
My Irish Rose, the sweetest flower that grows
My Irish Rose
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4. |
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THINGS I HAVEN'T DONE
The first thing I recall was the rain upon my window
And the tricks the light would play
While I watched the water run
Things were easier that day, than they'd be forever after
In the spring, when all my world was filled
With the things I hadn't done, the things I hadn't done
I was new and wild and green in those budding days of April
I was caught up in the dream
Of the journey just begun
Beneath the endless sky, the road stretched out to beckon
With the promise of adventure, and of stories yet unsung
Stories yet unsung
The dreams that fill a lifetime, are the treasures to be saved
There's precious time to spare between the cradle and the grave
I'm standing in the rain, in the leaves of late September
The seasons flying past me now and winter's coming on
And I feel a stab of pain & regret when I remember
All the dreams that I had wished for
And the things I haven't done
The things I haven't done
And every drop of rain is like the sound of gentle laughter
At the dreams that I had wished for
And the things I haven't done
The things I haven't done
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5. |
Tranquility
03:39
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TRANQUILITY
I’m here by your side, in the gathering dark
To offer a final farewell
It’s hard to imagine so joyous a heart
In silence, deep as a well
In each line of your face, there’s a story
Of the times, and the places you’ve seen
Here at last, at the end of the journey
At peace, forever serene
Oh, bravely the battle you waged with the night
More bravely, the tougher the fray
Now a voice in the distance is calling you home
All the more, I wish you could stay
Still I know that your spirit is rising
In a calm, like a deep running stream
Where the stars, they sleep in the heavens
In peace, forever serene
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6. |
Together
05:12
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TOGETHER
You and I, we've come the long road
At times the simple things have come so very hard
Whatever things we have, we've got them on our own
And somewhere along the way
We've made this place a home
And we've come this far together
Through tears, the laughter keeps us coming back for more
Kind fate has kept me in the graces of your heart
To find a love, the kind that I had never known before
You & I, we've grown together
Strange to see it, but somehow now we fit
After all the times we've nearly come apart
To find that after all this time your place is in my heart
And we've come this far together
Through tears, the laughter keeps us coming back for more
Kind fate has kept me in the graces of your heart
To find a love, the kind that I had never known
Though others might forsake us
Not even that can shake us
There's nothing that can break us
Now we've come so far
We've come this far together
Through tears, the laughter keeps us coming back for more
Kind fate has kept me in the graces of your heart
To find a love, the kind that I had never known
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7. |
Break the Chain
04:29
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BREAK THE CHAIN
Baby, look at you
Lost in your reflection
The little imperfections that you see
You should know by now
Or had I failed to mention
How beautiful you are to me
Of this much I'm sure
I have loved you more than anybody can
Though I’ve had my faults along the way
Fill my life with hope
With love you’ve never shown to any other man
Why waist these precious hours
Running in circles again
Oh, break the chain
Funny, how are lives
Rise and fall in succession
Like the crest of a restless sea
It seems the more we strive
Through a life so filled with questions
To find how much there’s left to see
Of this much I'm sure
I will loved you as hard as anybody can
Though I have been lost along the way
Fill my life with hope
With love you’ve never shared with any other man
Why waist these precious hours
Running in circles again
Oh, break the chain
Break the chain
And cast away the webs of bitterness
Turn the page
To the sweeter slice that lies ahead
Of this much I'm sure
I will loved you as hard as anybody can
Though I have been lost along the way
Fill my life with hope
With love you’ve never shared with any other man
Why waist these precious hours
Running in circles again
Oh, break the chain
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8. |
Chatham Reach
03:08
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CHATHAM REACH
Along Chatham Reach
My memory wanders still
To gaze upon the splendour
From her shoreline to her peaks
A painter’s dream of heaven
And to my soul she speaks
As spring breaks through, down on Chatham Reach
Ever since my younger days
I have loved your misty shores
I’d stare out from the tall grass
Smell the sweetness on your breeze
And at night around a fire
We would gather on the beach
Those friends I knew down on Chatham Reach
And ever steeped in mystery your legends would unfold
Of stalwart men to reach their end in search of Slumach’s Gold*
And ever still, I’m haunted by the ghost of Louis Bee
Sweet mystery, and it calls to me
Now winter brings it’s bitter chill
My breath hangs in the air
The frost has turned the tall grass
To the colour of my hair
My life is done, my race is run
But with a longing I am filled
To linger still, down on Chatham Reach
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9. |
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THE LAST ENGINEER
In 1927 Philip Jackman passed away
And with him passed a legacy that can still be felt today
When Victoria was sovereign
Britannia ruled the waves
And the dreams of an empire were borne on the sapper’s spade
Here’s to the last of those fine, gallant men
And sad, of their likes we shall not see again
Raise up your glass for all those we hold deer
For we’ve seen the last of the Royal Engineers
A boyish man from Devonshire, he came across the brine
With the corp. of the Royal Engineers in 1859
True men of sense & purpose, new frontiers to explore
They built a British Colony on the North Pacific shore
He’d built the roads & highways, and he’d dredged the channels through
Been a cop in New Westminster, worked the CP Survey Crew
Homesteaded quarter section where he raised a family too
He’d marked his place in history when he passed at ninety-two
Here’s to the last of those fine, gallant men
And sad, of their likes we shall not see again
Raise up your glass to all those we hold deer
Here’s to the last of the Royal Engineers
For years he’d watched the shadows as around, the men he’d known
Death touched their lips with silence, he’d draped them one by one
He would drink a toast in silence, to the builders of the west”
Long life to the hearts still beating, and peace to the hearts at rest
Yes, peace to the hearts at rest!
Here’s to the last of those fine, gallant men
And sad, of their likes we shall not see again
Raise up your glass to all those we hold deer
Here’s to the last of the Royal Engineers
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10. |
Chestnut Lane
04:36
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CHESTNUT LANE
As I turn back the pages to my carefree days
In the warmest recess of my mind
And how, as a young boy I could while the August afternoons
With a fishing rod tightly in my hands
A thirst for adventure, the bond we shared
The masters of all that we surveyed
Just a boy and his father & the times we spent together
On days we walked along the chestnut lane
Those were the times when the world stood still
Those days were made to cherish and I know I always will
My father's sweet laughter and the stories he would tell
On days we walked along the chestnut lane
We'd set off for the river under clear blue skies
Down a forest path we'd amble side by side
To the trail beneath the power-lines and across the highway
Where we'd stop to place some pennies on the tracks
And cool in the shelter of those chestnut leaves
We'd wait until the train had passed us by
We'd gather up our treasures, and off we'd tramp together
On days we walked along the chestnut lane
Those were the times when the world stood still
Those days were made to cherish and I know I always will
My father's sweet laughter and the stories he would tell
On days we walked along the chestnut lane
Now I am older, how the time has flown
Though I can still remember to this day
Where and when the path to true contentment lay
Those summer days along the chestnut lane
And I get so surprised how much the kids have grown
In the years since the "Old Man" passed away
But now and then there's times when I look in their eyes
And I miss him even more than words can say
Those were the times when the world stood still
Those days were made to cherish and I know I always will
My father's sweet laughter and the stories he would tell
On days we walked along the chestnut lane
Those were the times when the world stood still
Those days were made to cherish and I know I always will
My father's sweet laughter and the stories he would tell
On days we walked along the chestnut lane
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Bruce Coughlan Maple Ridge, British Columbia
Pacific Canadian-based recording & performing artist, Bruce Coughlan has spent decades making Acoustic Roots Music Music of all descriptions. An expressive singer and rock-solid guitarist, Bruce is driven by one guiding principle: It's all about the Song. ... more
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