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Morning Walk

from Ghost Year by Toby Darling

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lyrics

Morning Walk

E Bm A G
Up at six for a coffee and a smoke
F#m Bm A G
Checking my newsfeed to find out what I missed
Em C G D
In an hour dawn rises, the sun starts to poke
Am G F
Its head above the side of Pearl Hill to the East

A shower, a scramble for mask and cell phone
Tiffin box, house-keys, a sweat-cloth and bag
Down to the garden, along a path and down
Am G F Em
Through an iron gate onto the beach and the sand

F Am G Am
The old man is sweeping or asleep in a chair
Dm Am F Am
Almond trees hide him but I wave as I pass
B7 Em A
Early-morning walkers take the heat and sea air
G F Am Dm
I take of my flip-flops on a hunt for sea glass

Heineken, Carlsberg, green and sharpish
Or brown beer, rounded by the ocean’s rasp
Fragments of a Chinese cup or a dish
Mother-of-pearl freed from nature’s clasp

I wade the creek, scared where I might tread
Then enter the kampong where fishing boats lie
Dogs come to greet me, crows tilt their heads
Eagles in the distance, great circles in the sky

I cross an old bridge over a foul-smelling stream
Monitor lizards eye motionless as I pass
I gaze in wonder at an old Banyan tree
Then walk up a muddy path to the street and the cars

I cross the jalan looking four ways at once
Not trusting the traffic lights to keep me from harm
I pass the stalls, meagre wares out the front
Mangoes and pineapples fresh from the farm

The market is open but the tables all bare
Just a few stalls selling take-aways
I order wonton mee, tea tarik - I don’t care
I’ll take my chances come what may.

It’s Chinese New Year, the year of the Ox
And nobody’s mourning the end of The Rat
Cleverness has left us sealed up in a box
We’d rather drag a plough than be eating bats

F Em F Am
I make my way home to eat breakfast alone
G F Am
Gazing out at the shimmering sea
F Em Dm E7
My glass from the shore like worn-out old stones
C G F Em
Sits before me like my old clapped-out knees


TJD 8.2.21

credits

from Ghost Year, released June 27, 2021

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Toby Darling image

Toby Darling Penang, Malaysia

Amateur enthusiast.
Feel free to do anything you want with these tracks, I am not interested in making money from music.

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