(Words and music: (c) Robin Hill except where stated)
"To be the many things She always fondly hopes that she could be"
"There
Dances Emily" was my seventeenth completed collection. It's
also one of my favourites. The collection is very loosely based
on notions such as finding your place, and of coming to terms
with who you are. These of course are themes that follow most of
us closely through life. As with most collections, it would be a
mistake to assume that the songs are overtly autobiographical!
The eponymous "Emily" in the title song isn't based on
anyone in particular. She was originally to be called
"Amethyst" - mainly because it needed three syllables
to scan and I didn't know anyone else of that name! In the end,
"Emily" just sounded more natural!
PAGE HISTORY:
Page added June 2018 - Scores and Tabs added August 2018 - Notes added March 2019 - Audio samples completed December 2023
All words (and music) are copyrighted. Any adaptation or duplication without consent is a breach of copyright.
THERE DANCES EMILY
(Words and music: Robin Hill)
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There
dances Emily,
Striving endlessly
To be the many things
She always dearly wishes she could be
The hardest part of keeping step by far
To be at ease with who you think you are;
It’s one dance for your dignity, and one for fallen pride,
Another for your self-respect which slowly churns inside:
One dance for the blessings, another for the cost,
One dance for the counting up of everything you’ve lost
There dances Emily,
Straining ceaselessly
To be the many things
She always fondly hopes that she could be
The hardest part of staying on your feet,
When who you are and who you were compete:
It’s one dance for the searching for the self you used to
know,
A dance of frantic circles, like some ragged do-si-do,
One dance for the way things are, and one for how they feel,
Another for the turmoil as the waltz becomes a reel
There dances Emily,
Trying constantly
To be the many things
She always likes to think that she could be
It’s one dance for the hopes you’ve lost, and one for
dreams you’ve found,
Another for the ecstasy that whirls your senses round;
One dance for the hold me tight, and one for twist and shout,
And one dance for the in, the out, the shake it all about
There dances Emily,
Striving relentlessly
To be the many things
She once was, and would one day like to be
(Contents)
SHALL WE?
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(Words and music: Robin Hill)
Shall
we lie contented,
Forever in this place?
Shall we lie beneath the sky?
Oh, shall we?
Shall we lie together,
Forever in this space?
Shall we lie here, you and I?
Shall we? Oh, shall we?
We found the rings of Saturn in a hayloft,
The milky way beneath a fallen tree,
The universe lay right here in the meadow,
And what it held was simply you and me;
The galaxy was born behind a cowshed,
The orchard saw the stars begin anew,
The cosmos started here within the barley,
And everything there was, was me and you.
Shall we lie here naked,
Forever in embrace?
Shall we lie and let life by?
Oh, shall we? Shall we?
(Contents)
IMAGINE YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL
(Words and music: Robin Hill)
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Come
out from your shadows,
Step into the light,
Put the shapeless silhouettes to flight;
Rage against the terrors,
Drive them clean away,
Keep their vague and formless threats at bay;
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Imagine you are beautiful,
And you will always be:
‘Cos darling, you are beautiful to me
Let’s pretend you’re wonderful,
And it will come to be:
‘Cos darling, you are wonderful to me
Just believe you’re everything,
And that is what I’ll see;
‘Cos darling you are everything to me
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Back out from your corner,
Take your stage with pride,
Remember, you are everything inside.
(Contents)
THE ONE SHE DREAMS OF
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(Words and music: Robin Hill)
Would
it be wise of me
To tell you what I feel now?
Or would it be stupidity
To give myself away?
Would it be so bold of me
To tell you what seems real now?
Or would that be the fantasy
Of every last cliché?
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You know the one she dreams of isn't you
That all your hopes have stumbled onward, blindly;
And what you'll find is what you always knew
The best that you can hope, she'll hurt you kindly
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Could this be discovery
Of futures that reveal now?
Or is this still the fallacy
Of every yesterday?
(Contents)
IF ONLY
(Words and music: Robin Hill)
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If
I knew then what you know now,
Perhaps my head would still be clear,
Instead of trying to grasp somehow
The twisted implications here;
I might have seen the flaw within the plan -
The fire that lured you from the frying pan.
If I'd but known that hollow choice
Was creeping up from far behind,
Then reason might have found its voice,
And stood to make you change your mind;
I might have paused for long enough to see
The devil that plucked you from the deep blue sea.
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There’s a wind of change that dances round the lonely,
And every bluster howls the words “If only”
There’s a beating rain that hammers home so clearly
The meaning of those cold, cold words “So nearly”
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If I knew now what you knew then
I might have forged a different path
And shaped the many outcomes then
To rectify this aftermath:
I might have seen it coming from the start -
The rock that edged a hard place from your heart.
(Contents)
THINGS WILL TAKE THEIR COURSE
(Words and music: Robin Hill)
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Held
now in sunlight,
Bathed warm and lit bright,
Your hair reflects that golden force:
We will shine today,
To warm us on our way,
And things will take their course…..
Captured in moonlight,
To hold back the dark night,
Your face reflects that silver source:
We will glow tonight,
Our spirits held in flight,
And things will take their course…..
Radiant in firelight,
Expectant and lit bright,
Your eyes shine soft to reinforce
The flames that hold us here,
To draw us ever near;
And things will take their course…..
Things will take their course…..
(Contents)
A SHRUG OF THE SHOULDERS
(Words and music: Robin Hill)
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She
never seems to worry what we think of her,
Disregard just part of life’s long stride,
Nonchalance a measure of achievement,
Rebelliousness a badge to wear with pride.
She never seems to bother what we say to her,
A grimace or a scowl the stock reply,
Their wordless silence always more effective
Than any scathing put down they imply.
A drumming of the fingers,
A flicking of the hair,
Met by a smile that hides the despair
Of seeing her here, beside you, elsewhere;
A shrugging of the shoulders,
A look of great disdain,
Implacably parried, to stifle the pain
Of desperately failing to find her again;
It never seems to matter that we care for her,
Attention met with scorn, concern with blame,
Distrust at thoughts that anyone could love her,
Indifference that they love her all the same.
(Contents)
UNTIL ...
(Words and music: Robin Hill)
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Did
you pause to notice
How failure sets a trend?
The boulder’s hit the valley floor,
But still you’ll chase down from the hill,
To roll it up the slope once more,
Until …
Did you spot the lesson,
And did you comprehend?
In spite of all futility
You’ll take the beach, compelled by will,
And stand, commanding back the sea,
Until …
Did you once consider
How all of this might end?
The last saloon is almost dry,
But you’ll still stand, and take your fill
As one by one, each chance slips by,
Until …
(Contents)
ONE HELL OF A PARTY
(Words and music: Robin Hill)
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Wow,
that was one hell of a party,
It’s not just our heads that are sore:
Even the table we danced on
Is now lying in bits on the floor,
And I feel an apology forming,
If only I knew just what for
Well, that was one hell of a party,
My brain is still locked in a skid,
My inside feels like a dustbin,
My outside still rattles like the lid;
And I feel strangely guilty for something
I seriously doubt that I did
Recollecting nought about
Some indiscretion thought about
But surely never brought about,
Just one night short of a one night stand,
A vague plan away from impeccably planned,
Rock and roll short of a rock and roll band,
Morning can no longer recognise
That glint within a stranger’s eyes,
Or whispered words where danger lies,
Just a fine line short of a very fine line,
Perfection away from a perfect crime,
Memory short of a memorable time,
Yes, that was one hell of a party,
And I can only vaguely recall,
As we struggle to carry the empties
To the black plastic bag in the hall,
Some liaison which might have been dangerous
If only it had happened at all.
(Contents)
ONE DANCE
(Music: Robin Hill)
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(No
lyric)
(Contents)
I MIGHT HAVE HAD THE MOON
(Words and music: Robin Hill)
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They
told me
I might have had the moon,
But now it seems
They spoke too soon;
They told me
I might have claimed the sun,
But now my schemes
Are dead and done.
The light goes out on all I’d hoped would be,
The night is whispering “emptiness” to me
They told me
I might have had my fill,
But now it seems
I never will;
They told me
I might have nabbed the lot,
But broken dreams
Are all I’ve got.
They told me
I might have bagged it all …..
(Contents)
FALLING AWAY FROM THE PAST
(Words and music: Robin Hill)
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A
long time,
It’s been a long time,
But we’ve found you at last;
You’re here today,
Falling away
Away from the past.
Old trials,
And accusations,
Their verdicts long since cast,
Black fades now to grey,
All falling away,
Away from the past.
The hours that filled these moments
Just whispers of before,
Like old forgotten shadows
That lurked behind a door:
Vaguely enthralling,
But no longer calling,
And falling,
Falling away from the past.
.
The days that filled these hours
Now ever more unclear,
An echo in the distance
That fades to far from here,
The memory now palling,
Recollection stalling,
And falling,
Falling away from the past.
What once was,
What has been,
Now vanquished at last,
What more to say,
Falling away,
Away from the past.
(Contents)
TAKE HEART
(Words and music: Robin Hill)
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Hold
on, we’re coming with you now,
Wait there, we’re coming too:
My friend, did you think that we would fail to stick with you?
Take heart, we’re there beside you now,
Be glad, you’re not alone:
My friend, did you think we’d let you face this on your own?
We’ll stand together,
Pooling our strength once more,
Sharing our love, with our arms open wide,
We’ll be there fighting,
Just like it was before,
Fighting for you, once again by your side.
We’ll stay beside you,
Making you strong again,
Fuelling the courage that you hold in your heart,
We’ll stand and face it,
Victory ours to gain,
Holding together, now no longer apart
Have courage, we’re walking with you now,
Be brave, be of good cheer,
My friend, did you think that we would simply leave you here?
(Contents)
SO I CAN BE BESIDE YOU
(Words and music: Robin Hill)
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So
now, within this candlelight,
Our shadows side by side,
The world beyond these curtains
Forgotten here inside,
Move in ever closer,
Reaching out to span
The warmth that makes a woman,
The strength that makes a man.
And who, who can tell
Quite what the dawn will bring
If all these hopes and dreams can stay alive?
And who, who can tell
In spite of everything
If what there is right here tonight will still survive?
So hold me close,
Stay with me through the night,
So I can be beside you
Until,
Until the morning light.
Moving ever closer,
To conflagrate and fan
The strength that makes a woman
The warmth that makes a man
And who, who can tell
Quite what the morn will bring
If all these plans and schemes can stay alive?
And who, who can tell,
In spite of everything,
If what we hold right here and now will still survive?
So hold me close,
Stay with me through the night,
So I can be beside you
Until,
Until the morning light.
(Contents)
EVERY SOUL TURNING
(Words and music: Robin Hill)
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For
every soul that’s turning,
For every doubt filled night,
A distant lamp is burning
And still shines bright;
For every spirit falling,
For every deepest fear,
A distant voice is calling,
Still loud and clear;
I sense the grief
That wells inside you,
Tearing you apart;
But sense me, too,
Just there beside you,
Let it ease your heart.
.
For every grasping finger,
For every grip that fails,
A distant wish will linger,
And hope prevails;
A distant wish will linger,
And hope prevails.
(Contents)