BIG UMBRELLA
VERSE 1
Rain keeps calling us – Better stop and take the bus – All the way home
Fumbled keys at the door – Throw your wet clothes on the floor – Turn off the phone – Every trick in the book – Couldn’t get me to look behind you now – I was so overdue – I could melt just talking to you
VERSE 2
When you find you’re lost in love – That’s all you be thinking off – Have no doubt – Gotta tell the world about it – stand on the mountains shout about it – no other way out – Find a better way in – Gotta get me under your skin – Every feeling I have is so indescribable
Chorus
Writing books about my past – Romeo in Alcatraz all alone
Stranded with the broken hearted – last flight out it just departed – Twilight zone
VERSE 3
Who knows where or when – I just know you’re back again – don’t complain – Cut your losses cash your winnings dry your tears and start your grinning – later for the pain – Its a question of faith – Its a test of what you believe – All the answers you need they’re there inside you now
VERSE 4
Have a whiskey and a smoke – Didn’t mean it just a joke – don’t you get it – Insofar as my bad habits – Just like Alice and her rabbit – Russian roulette – Every lesson I learned – came after I was burned again – Every step that I take – Is there anyone watching me
Chorus
Writing book about my past – Romeo in Alcatraz all alone
Stranded with the broken hearted – last flight out it just departed – twilight zone
VERSE 6
Rain keeps calling us – Better stop and take the bus – All the way home -Fumbled keys at the door – Throw your wet clothes on the floor – Turn off the phone
I WANT TO TALK TO YOU
WHEN YOU’RE ALL ALONE – AND NO ONE IS THERE
AND YOU’RE BLOWING SMOKE – INTO THE AIR
WILL YOU THINK OF ME – DO MY THOUGHTS COME THROUGH
I WANT TO TALK TO YOU – I WANT TO TALK TO YOU
IT’S JUST A MATTER OF TIME – AND WE GOT PLENTY OF THAT
AIN’T GONNA PULL ANY TRICKS – OUT OF MY HAT
MAYBE A DESPERATE MAN – IS WAITING TOO
I WANT TO TALK TO YOU – I WANT TO TALK TO YOU
IS THERE A SECRET TO LIFE
OR IS IT STRUGGLE AND PAIN
MAYBE WE’RE BORN TO LOSE
BUT I JUST WANT TO SEE YOU
AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN
WELL I GOT SOMETHING TO SAY
AND THESE WORDS ARE TRUE
I NEVER MET NO ONE
WHO THRILL ME LIKE YOU DO
IT’S A CHARMED LIFE
THAT ALWAYS GOT ME THROUGH
I WANT TO TALK TO YOU
WHEN YOU’RE ALL ALONE – AND NO ONE IS THERE
AND YOU’RE BLOWING SMOKE – INTO THE AIR
WILL YOU THINK OF ME – DO MY THOUGHTS COME THROUGH
CAN YOU TAKE SOME TIME TO MAKE IT TWO
‘CAUSE A DESPERATE MAN IS HERE WAITING FOR YOU
I WANT TO TALK TO YOU – I WANT TO TALK TO YOU
I WANT TO TALK TO YOU – I WANT TO TALK TO YOU
I WANT TO TALK TO YOU – I WANT TO TALK TO YOU
NAVY BLUE
I WAS SAILING THE OCEAN WATCHING A RADAR MACHINE
YEARS AGO HAD SOME BAD TIMES –L LANDED IN THE MERCHANT MARINE
WELL I GUESS I KNEW – WHEN THE TRIAL WAS THROUGH
THE JUDGE LOOKED AT ME AND HE SAID SON WHAT ELSE CAN I DO
GOOD LUCK TO YOU – NAVY BLUE
WE WERE LANDLOCKED IN OLD AMSTERDAM WHERE I GREW TIRED OF SCRUBBING THE FLOOR – THOUGHT I MIGHT TAKE A WALK THROUGH THE RED LIGHTS – MAYBE BUY MYSELF A WHORE – I’M A MAN LIKE ANY OTHER – YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN MY BROTHER – THE FIRST MATE LOOKED AT ME AND HE LAUGHED – SAID OLD SAILOR WHAT YOU GONNA DO
GOOD LUCK TO YOU NAVY BLUE
NOBODY’D CALL ME HANDSOME – I’M NOT THAT MOVIE STAR STUFF – I GOT A HEART THAT KEEPS ON BEATING – AND ONCE I WAS IN LOVE
SHE WAS PAINTING HER LIPS RED AND THEN SHE PULLED THE CURTAIN DOWN
– AND MAYBE I WAS THERE FOR HALF AN HOUR – BUT IN THAT TIME THE MOON TURNED AROUND – WHEN I ASKED IF I COULD TAKE HER AWAY SHE SMILED AND SAID NO SHE HAD TO STAY – THERE WERE REASONS I MIGHT NEVER UNDERSTAND – BUT SHE TOLD ME TO COME BACK ANOTHER DAY – GOOD LUCK TO YOU NAVY BLUE
SO TWICE I YEAR I WOULD SEE HER WHEN WE STOPPED IN THE PORT OF AMSTERDAM – AND I THINK I GOT TO KNOW HERE AT LEAST THE BEST THAT A CUSTOMER CAN – SAID HER NAME WAS MAGALI – AND SHE CAME FROM HUNGARY MADE MORE MONEY IN A WEEK THEN HER FATHER WAS EVER LIKELY TO SEE GOOD LUCK TO YOU NAVY BLUE
NOBODY’D CALL ME HANDSOME – I’M NOT THAT MOVIE STAR STUFF – I GOT A HEART THAT KEEPS ON BEATING – AND ONCE I WAS IN LOVE
I SUMMER WITH MY SISTER IN CLEVELAND – AND I WINTER IN OLD SANTA FE – SEE MY SITTING ON A PARK BENCH – ANOTHER OLD MAN TAKING IN A SUNNY DAY – AND THE ONLY THING I FEAR IS IF I DROP THAT FIRST TEAR – FOR THAT GIRL CALLED MAGALI – THEN I’LL BE CRYING THE REST OF MY YEARS GOOD LUCK TO YOU NAVY BLUE – GOOD LUCK TO YOU – NAVY BLUE
“Big Umbrella,” “I Want To Talk To You” and “Navy Blue” by Elliott Murphy – ©Elliott Murphy – Lyrics Reprinted by Permission
La Terre Commune
Eminent Records EM-25070-2
2000
Produced by Elliott Murphy
Engineered by Florent Barbier
Recorded: at Franklin Studios, Le Havre, France
Album Design by Chloé
Photography by Vincent Lignier
Musicians:
Elliott Murphy – Vocals, Bass, Guitar, Organ
Iain Matthews – Vocals, Guitar
Olivier Durand – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Florent Barbier – Drums, Percussion
Wolfgang Niedecken of Bap – Vocals on “The Soldier’s Wife”
Michael Nass – Piano on “The Soldier’s Wife”
Record By Record, Murphy By Murphy: La Terre Commune
Ian Matthews (Fairport Convention & Matthew’s Southern Comfort) and I had been travelling the same singer/songwriter road for years but we only really met once a few years before we began this duo recording. He was more of a folk artist then me because I’m a rocker at heart and I think we complimented each other’s talents. La Terre Commune was done so fast with no rehearsal, which probably saved us lots of arguments. I love Iain’s singing on “Fading Fast,” the ultimate singer/songwriter lament. My best song is probably “Navy Blue” inspired by Brel’s “Port of Amsterdam.” Ex-Roadrunner Florent Barbier did an incredible job both playing drums and mixing this album. Iain couldn’t speak a word of French but he found the title for the album on a fountain in Le Havre.
Taken from Crossroads magazine.
A collaboration stemming from longtime mutual admiration, Iain Matthews and Elliott Murphy find more than a little common ground on La Terre Commune. With each contributing four songs to covers of Bob Dylan’s “Blind Willie McTell,” Bruce Springsteen’s “Sad Eyes,” and Jesse Colin Young’s “Darkness, Darkness,” the two succeed in creating a seamlessly cohesive song cycle. Allowing each other to stake out his own territory in the recording process, Murphy and Matthews complement each other extremely well, not just vocally, but stylistically. Though generally soaked in a contemporary folk-rock aesthetic, their collaboration rocks with heartland soulfulness when not visiting the more pensive moments of Murphy’s “Navy Blue” and “Dusty Roses.” Similarly, Matthew’s “Close to the Bone” recalls the homespun folkiness of Neil Young with its starkly languid tones. Bertold Brecht and Kurt Weill’s “The Ballad of the Soldier’s Wife” is given a menacing Tom Waits-like feel, with Matthews employing his best raspy growl. Overall, Murphy and Matthews achieve a rare synergy that is mutually gratifying for both songwriters.
Matt Fink – AllMusic
Vinyl LPs
Germany:
Blue Rose Records BLU LP0231 (2LPS)
CDs
US:
Eminent Records EM-25070-2
Germany:
Blue Rose Records BLU CD0231
France:
Last Call Records 3066912
Holland:
Coast To Coast Records CTC 29990192
Japan:
Music Scene MSI 9806
Please note: If you have additions or corrections to this discography, please send them to the webmaster.