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Theory of Ruins

by Matt Steady

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Courtney Johnson
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1.
Theory of Ruins 05:26
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Have you ever heard the theory of ruins? A design for more than life, extending past the fall Gratefully crumbling into legend What’s left behind never-ending I have seen the burden laid on the human race Everything is beautiful when considered in its prime Eternity’s placed into our human hearts No-one can fathom the path to the end of time When I’m taken by the flames What will I leave behind? How many souls will I have touched? That’s what stands the test of time The theory of ruins The theory of ruins The days of kings have long since ended The heart that fed besides a broken mocking hand Look upon my works you mighty and despair Two legs of stone standing in the sand When I’m taken by the flames What will I leave behind? How many souls will I have touched? That’s what stands the test of time The theory of ruins The theory of ruins
2.
Roamer's Rest 06:41
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I've been travelling for many a year Never had a place to call my own Friends come and go but the road stays the same There's a comfort and safety in being alone The earth is my pillow, the wind is my song I pass through prairie and canyon Sun burns by day, night is the time The moon's my light and companion But I'm tired so tired My bones they ache and I'm turning to dust But I'm tired so tired My soul won't stop walking, but my body must Met a lady at a watering hole Her heart was wild and free So we settled down and I worked at a ranch She said there's a comfort and safety in being with me Hair gold as fields of corn, eyes brown as the soil Proud and strong as a cherrybark tree Her love as wide as the dusty planes She became the world to me But I'm tired so tired The vista's staying still, with the same old sky But I'm tired so tired My feet are getting restless, no matter what I try But I'm tired so tired Highway stretched before me horizon full of haze But I'm tired so tired Heading south, three hundred miles, dry wind fills my days
3.
Old John 05:37
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4.
The Simplest Test 09:01
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It's true I am a traveller Of plains across these lands And of my mind-forged turrets I've tread 'cross boundless sands You know I've touched such beauty No other eyes have seen Such sights would shame and humble Those hanging gardens green I've held apart with bravery The fiercest lion's jaw I've known the love of strangers But somehow wanted more I've fought for countless victories I've shouldered heavy loads Such feats would strip the honour from That ancient guard of Rhodes Looking back across these memories They all fail the simplest test Out of all these marvels It was you I loved the best Trust me I've had struggles I've felt the masters whip With the beating sun burning my back Lord knows I didn’t quit I've tasted of the sting of death Destruction in its wake I've seen the mausoleum of old And I know that I can't break Looking back across these memories They all fail the simplest test Out of all these marvels It was you I loved the best I’ve experienced dreadful power I take it in my stride I heard the rise and fall of Zeus And watched as his love cried I’ve been a witness of the light I'm basking in the glow Never broken like that ancient house Through me, from Him it flows Looking back across these memories They all fail the simplest test Out of all these marvels It was you I loved the best I’ll admit I had ambitions Crafted temples with my toil Your words, your deeds are fruitless What I have, you can't spoil Looking back across these memories They all fail the simplest test Out of all these marvels It was you I loved the best
5.
Heart of a Wolf 02:53
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Like most things in life, I can hide it away Or show it off proudly, the scar of the day Like most things in life, it’s hard to explain Geri is swinging from a fine silver chain You can’t shame me - I don’t want to know You can’t scare me - I’ve known worse than you You can’t take me – I don’t want to go Cos I’ve got the heart of a wolf Like most things in life, it started off small My body’s rebellions started the fall Like most things in life, the end isn’t clear The journey is far, but each step is near You can’t shame me - I don’t want to know You can’t scare me - I’ve known worse than you You can’t take me – I refuse to go Cos I’ve got the heart of a wolf
6.
Black Dog 04:51
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Black Dog is coming for me Blood red eyes and teeth like a knife Feel his breath on the back of my neck Been stalking me all the days of my life I see a movement from the corner of my eye But nothing’s there when I turn The smell of fuel is rising high Come on now, gonna watch you burn Watch you burn Black Dog is coming for me Dragging his chain, haunting my nights Pinned in a corner, he won’t let me leave Snarls and howls, he claws and he bites As the days go on I’m starting to see His bark is worse than his bite It’s fear and dread that’s clouding my mind He may be strong but I’ll put up a fight As the flames lick higher the fog recedes My pulse slows and my mind begins to clear I look around me with glistening eyes I begin to realise Black Dog was me
7.
When It Comes to You 07:52
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When it comes to you, I’m like an open book My mind is not my own When it comes to you, there’s not a word I’ve said You haven’t already known So I’ll keep on running Till I know my own heart And I’ll keep on running Till I get back to the start When it comes to you, you’re like that locked-up gate In the fence at the end of the park When it comes to you, I can feel something else Hidden deep in the dark And I’ll keep on wondering As I go with the flow And I’ll keep on wondering If you even know When it comes to you, at the end of the day It’s got to be your own choice When it comes to you, the decision is yours What to hide, and what to voice And I’ll keep on loving If you hide it away And I’ll keep on loving If you open that gate
8.
Jane Grey 05:19
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9.
Lying in the Rain 05:32
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I lied last night in the rain And you cried last night all the same If I could do it all again I’d lie through my teeth and be damned You would have gone away all the same But these things happen when you don’t have a plan So I lied last night in the rain I gave you my coat and you gave me a smile A brief flash of triumph, like you’d passed a trial Hunching my shoulders, shirt stuck to my back Trying not to shiver, soaked to the skin But you made me laugh, you always had the knack Of summing up my life in that crooked grin So I gave you my coat and you gave me a smile You broke open a kit-kat and gave me a half As you ate yours in one mouthful, I started to laugh That platform for a second became a shrine To what we’d once had, and what might still be The chocolate was blessed, our bread and wine A show of faith, we believed in you and me So I lied last night in the rain

credits

released July 9, 2017

All songs written by Matt Steady except "The Simplest Test" by Matt Steady & Caz Grayson

Vocals, electric & acoustic guitars, resonator, lap slide guitar, fretless bass, fiddle, keyboards, MIDI by Matt Steady except guitars on Black Dog by Matt Steady & Dana Bradshaw

Drums by Niklas J. Blixt except bodhran and cajon by Micky Mcnulty, and drums on When it comes to you by Joe Tuson

Produced, mixed & mastered at Studio Stoic, Leicester by Matt Steady

Photography by Nick Tsiatinis

Wonderfully supported by Carlos Castillo, David Wood, Dusty Eagle, Graciela Lange, Robert Jordan & Simon Johnson

Matt plays and is sponsored by Blake Wright guitars & pickups

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Matt Steady Leicester, UK

I'm an independent musician from Leicester, England. Epic Guitar Instrumentals at your service.

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