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.

Watching Ghosts​.​.​.​and Other Songs

by Helen Dorothy

/
  • Streaming + Download

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

      £6 GBP  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Recycled cardboard packaging with boutique print cover. Lino-cut artwork by Helen Dorothy. Liner notes enclosed.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Watching Ghosts...and Other Songs via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days

      £9 GBP or more 

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 5 Helen Dorothy releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of No More, Garden of Soul, Light Time & Sound, Watching Ghosts...and Other Songs, and The Going Away. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      £11.90 GBP or more (30% OFF)

     

1.
Twilighting 05:02
Twilighting © Helen Dorothy (2009) There’s a time of the day When light fades to grey And the wood smoke sits low in the sky And the shops close their doors They’re sweeping up the floors As the good folk are passing on by And down on the pond The Aylesbury’s have gone To find a safe place to roost in the grey Hear the glasses being cleared For more whisky and beer As they twilight their evening away The flowers fold in for the night Leave scented delights To flavour the damp air Potatoes, minty and hot And greens from the plot And savouries with onions and bay And the kids finish their games Told to wash their hands again As their folks catch up on news of the day Push the curtains far to the side There’s nothing to hide As we twilight the evening away And we’ll twilight our evening this way And there’s never a word The silence can be heard And it’s a silence I never have to ask for And it’s golden I don’t want to laugh about things I don’t want to cry about things And there’s never a glance In this twilighting trance And it’s a space that I never have to ask for And it’s golden I don’t want to talk about things I don’t want to shout about things Don’t want to think about them But I can sing about them… And we’ll twilight the evening away Let’s go twilighting every day And we’ll twilight the evenings away Let’s go twilighting every day And we’ll twilight the evenings away
2.
For Peace & For Green © Helen Dorothy (2008) Jack he is small, but he sure stands tall As he walks the talk and talks little about it From the Birmingham Blitz A boy lost in the midst Of the blackouts, and sirens, the rubble and husks of homes Now Jack he is small, but he sure stands tall As he walks the talk and talks little about it Soul-searching engineer Downs tools without fear To march the talk on a protest for peace and for green Let’s welcome the day that Jack is on his way To fight for a cause we would all like to fight for And don’t let him fade The man on this crusade Shines light on the dark so the good powers can push it away Now Jack he is small, but he sure stands tall As he walks the talk and talks little about it On a South Seas quest To stop nuclear testing He sailed the talk to the front-line for peace and for green Let’s welcome the day that Jack is on his way And he fights for a cause we would all like to fight for But don’t let him fade, The man on this crusade Shines light on the dark so the good powers can push it away. Now Jack he is small, but he sure stands tall As he walks the talk and talks little about it To keep our rivers fresh And stop logging in the West He climbed the talk to the tree-tops for peace and for green Let’s welcome the day that Jack is on his way Fighting for a cause we would all like to fight for And don’t let him fade The man on this crusade Sheds light on the dark so the good powers can make it go away Jack he is small, but he sure stands tall As he walks the talk and talks little about it He’s ‘Johnny on the spot’ He gives everything he’s got To live the talk and keep for us the peace and the green
3.
Father de Carli © Helen Dorothy (2008) Adelir Antonio de Carli A Roman Catholic priest Last seen high in Brazilian skies Floating to the east Adelir Antonio de Carli In a thermal, aluminium suit A thousand coloured party balloons And a safety parachute He drifts away, away Father de Carli asked for us all to pray What was going on in his head He should have tried to break another record instead Now he’s missing, presumed dead What a price to pay! Adelir Antonio de Carli In a thermal, aluminium suit A thousand coloured party balloons And a safety parachute Adelir Antonio de Carli On a gravity-defying mission With each balloon that bursts He rises closer to his heaven Away, away Father de Carli asked for us all to pray What was going on in his head He should have tried to break another record instead Now he’s missing, presumed dead What a price to pay! He drifts way, away Father de Carli asked for us all to pray What was going on in his head He should be here delivering his sermons instead Now he’s missing, presumed dead That’s a price to pay! Adelir Antonio de Carli A Roman Catholic priest Last seen high in Brazilian skies Floating to the east
4.
Weeping Waters © Helen Dorothy (2010) Water soft, water clear Rolling river, falling tear Memories of the young and the old Lying now as river gold High above on a mountain steep Once her emerald lake began to weep Broken crater, engine steam Thundering river, broken dreams Water fresh, water pure Then the cause, and now the cure On this new bridge folk may have stood Petals falling from the steel and the wood High above on a mountain steep Once her emerald lake began to weep Broken crater, engine steam Thundering river, broken dreams And as we wind across the tussock plains The Overlander passes Weeping Waters once again My face is cold, and there’s a trace of diesel in the air And I wonder who those people were who lost their lives there High above on a mountain steep Once her emerald lake began to weep Broken crater, engine steam Thundering river, broken dreams Water soft, water clear Rolling river, falling tear
5.
Circular Bend © Helen Dorothy (2010) I used to like flying to take me on a high Bursting through the atmosphere with the storm clouds drifting by A lightning crack could send me back to earth and I know why I have this fear to fly Sailing on the ocean to get to somewhere new I’d find me in a lumpy swell and there was not much I could do Except hold on tight, white-knuckle fright, and I’d be thinking about you As we go down, down into the blue Here we go now… Round and round and round—round the bend Waiting—to get back on track again And it’s anyone’s guess when the spiral will end Until then, I’ll keep on heading round the circular bend Strap me in a car seat and take me for a drive Give me absolutely no control and see if I survive I’ve got sweaty palms and twitchy feet and a will to stay alive But I’ve lost, lost the will to drive If I have the option then I’d rather go by track Though the Eurostar in winter might be hard for me to hack And crossing a river canyon, well I’d have to just sit back… Here we go now… Round and round and round—round the bend Waiting—to get back on track again And it’s anyone’s guess when the spiral will end Until then, I’ll keep on heading round the circular bend Round and round and round the circular bend Air, sea, rail and road We use it without a care like it’s something that we’re owed I’m not singing this song like it’s some kind of campaign But the next time you’re heading away, I recommend the train! Round and round and round—round the bend Waiting—to get back on track again And it’s anyone’s guess when the spiral will end Until then, I’ll keep on heading round the circular bend Round and round and round the circular bend
6.
Curio Bay 05:32
Curio Bay © Helen Dorothy (2007) Noodles in a cooking pot They swirl and swell and slap against the fossil forest rocks There’s a surge of salting froth, flowing As toothpaste does from a child’s mouth Then a shiny rounded fin Cuts through the waves Like scissors through tin foil At Curio Bay How can I tell you about Curio Bay? I so want to tell you about Curio Bay
7.
Watching Ghosts Lyrics by Michael O'Leary from: 'Toku Tinihanga (Self Deception) selected poems 1982–2002' (published by HeadworkX, Wellington 2003). Music by Helen Dorothy (2012) From hiding places they came to me An ancient army on the march Whilst watching Ibsen's 'Ghosts' on TV The present became the past My long-dead mother holding her son An image in the 'living' room A few decades ago her blood had run When she held me in her womb My father was there, a spirit of the air Who flew in the war and lived Only to die in a suburb near here The blood bursting in his head Well, funny old life and all that No wonder I feel like little boy lost While my friends in the room chat I sit here watching ghosts
8.
Tractor Jean 03:38
Tractor Jean © Helen Dorothy (2013) Jean, Jean, tractor Jean Drives a Ford 4000, it's an old machine Whistling tunes when she opens up the shed door Jean's the kind of woman that likes to drive a tractor! Jean likes to mow in the late evening sun Round and round in circles, getting smaller each one, She switches off the engine, then sits and waits 'Til out pops a partridge with its red-legged mate She smiles as they fly off over the green Far from the wheels of the tractor that belongs to Jean Jean, Jean, tractor Jean Drives a 4000, it's her mean machine Waving at the kids, warbling like a jackdaw Jean feels happy when she drives her tractor Jean's always likes to work on the land Give her the nod and she'll give you a hand She can drive in a fence post, operate a baler And Jean's the kind of woman who can reverse a trailer! Jean, when she's having a bad day Spinning the wheels, stuck in the clay Or the engine cuts out; she'll be under the hood To find a nest of blue eggs all broken and cooked And back in the yard, she still has to clean All the muck that’s sprayed up on the tractor that belongs to Jean Jean, Jean, tractor Jean Drives a 4000, it's her dream machine In the wind, the rain, the snow and the thaw Jean's feels lucky when she drives her tractor The lights are all on in the tractor shed Jean's day is done, the engine is dead And up on the hood she'll lay an old jersey And later 'Old Puss' will make himself cosy There's paw prints on the hood, so she knows that's he's been On the jersey on the bonnet of the tractor that belongs to Jean Jean, Jean, tractor Jean Drives a Ford 4000, it's an old machine Takes her oily old clothes off at the back door 'Cos Jean gets mucky when she drives her tractor Whistlin' tunes when she comes in through the back door Jean's real happy when she drives her tractor
9.
Mrs Chippy & Harry McNish © Helen Dorothy (2012) For honour and recognition and for small wages it is told The crew of the 'Endurance' braves the dark and the bitter cold The Imperial Trans Antarctic Team—trapped on the icy Weddell Sea Twenty-eight men, dogs and a shipwright's cat bound for one man's destiny The shipwright he is Harry McNish, Mrs Chips devoted feline friend A single shot rings out across the ice as Shackleton orders her bitter cold end The Imperial Trans Antarctic Team—wrecked on the frozen Weddell Sea The sledges they haul to the Elephant Isle bound to one man’s destiny Harry prepares the wee 'James Caird' for a journey on the open sea Fifteen days, 800 miles, to the whaling station where help will be No polar medal does he receive, nor comfort as he grows old But now Mrs Chippy, bold in brass, lies upon his rested soul Now there are tales to make us wonder and tales that leave us blue And there are tales that we would rather not share—tales that tear us clean in two So here's a tale to make you feel warm, I hope it will appeal to you It's the tale of a man and his feline friend; they were companions through and through So, here's a tale to make you feel warm I hope it will appeal to you The tale of Mrs Chippy and Harry McNish Bound together, still loyal and true

about

"Songs full of charm"
Ian Anderson, fRoots Radio Playlist Album Choice, Jan 2014

"[Helen] Dorothy's own guitar and piano and the double bass and violin of Richard Prowse and Fiona Smythe sensitively support her clear voice in jazzy folk-pop arrangements that occasionally (especially on 'Curio Bay') reminded this listener of Eddi Reader. A modest release containing a real songwriting talent, 'Watching Ghosts' rewards investigation, and in (eco-warrior's tale) 'For Peace & For Green' a song which deserves to be discovered and sung by discerning song interpreters everywhere."
Steve Hunt, fRoots Magazine 367, Jan 2014

"...this album is full of poetic imagery with inspired guitar riffs and the strong, clear and melodious harmony of Helen Dorothy’s voice. The English-born, Wellington-based guitarist (actually multi-instrumentalist here) and singer/songwriter weaves her Celtic roots into each song via some beautiful violin sounds..."
"From the opening verse to the stirring finale, this album is intended to take the listener on a journey of moods, exploring some of the ways we experience and deal with our mortality..."
"The artistry of her voice also works beautifully along side contributions from jazz maestro Kevin Clark on flugelhorn, smallpipes from Celtic musician Oscar West, and guitar by sound engineer Robbie Duncan..."
Lucy Mullinger, NZ Musician Dec/Jan 2014

credits

released September 16, 2013

All songs written and produced by Helen Dorothy
'Watching Ghosts' a poem by Michael O'Leary
Pipes tune in 'Mrs Chippy & Harry McNish' based on
'The Stone Frigate' by Donald Carrigan

Helen Dorothy—vocals, acoustic and resonator guitars, mandola, piano, accordion, chimes, glass, percussion

Richard Prowse—double bass
Richard studied classical violin and composition, and has been playing double bass in many line-ups since the 1970s.

Fiona Smythe—violin
Fiona has an extensive background in performing classical, gypsy, pseudo-jazz, tango and European folk music.

Kevin Clark—flugelhorn
A nationally acclaimed musician, Kevin has twice been the recipient of the New Zealand Tui Music Award for Best Jazz Album.

Robbie Duncan—Kay guitar
A respected guitarist and recording engineer, Robbie has composed and produced some high-calibre dynamic instrumental albums.

Oscar West—Scottish smallpipes
Oscar is one-half of the talented multi-instrumentalist duo Polytropos, bringing new and exciting elements to traditional Celtic music.

Recorded/engineered by Robbie Duncan at
Braeburn Recording Studio, Wellington, New Zealand

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Helen Dorothy New Zealand

Helen Dorothy is “an acoustic folk artist in an honest sense” (NZ Musician, 2009). She writes "beautifully-crafted, intelligent songs rich in memorable imagery" (fRoots Magazine, Jan 2014).

contact / help

Contact Helen Dorothy

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Helen Dorothy, you may also like: