Get all 17 Mark Automaton releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Ernie Protocols #1, A Child of Five Could Do That, The Kill-Switch Fails, The Automaton Variations, you are not the reason, anymore, IMPOSSIBILISM, Trust Issues, Thin Silhouettes, and 9 more.
1. |
My Silks and Fine Array
04:49
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My silks and fine array,
My smiles and languish'd air,
By love are driv'n away;
And mournful lean Despair
Brings me yew to deck my grave:
Such end true lovers have.
His face is fair as heav'n,
When springing buds unfold;
O why to him was't giv'n,
Whose heart is wintry cold?
His breast is love's all worship'd tomb,
Where all love's pilgrims come.
Bring me an axe and spade,
Bring me a winding sheet;
When I my grave have made,
Let winds and tempests beat:
Then down I'll lie, as cold as clay.
True love doth pass away!
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2. |
Lowlands of Holland
03:34
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On the night when I was married
And on my marriage bed
There came a bold sea-captain
And he stood at my bed head
Saying "Arise, arise young married man
And come along with me
To the low lowlands of Holland
To fight the enemy"
Oh I held my love all in my arms
Still hoping he might stay
But the captain he gave another order
He was forced to march away
Saying "There's many a blithe young married man
This night must go with me
To the low lowlands of Holland
To fight the enemy"
Oh Holland is a wondrous place
And in it grows much green
It's a wild inhabitation
For my true love to be in
Where the grasses do grow and the warm winds do blow
And there's fruit on every tree
But the low lowlands of Holland
Parted my love from me
No shoe, no stocking I'll put on
Nor comb comb in my hair
And shall neither coal nor candlelight
Shine in my bower bare
Nor will I lie with any young man
Until the day I die
For the low lowlands of Holland
Have parted my love and I
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3. |
Cold Blows the Wind
03:47
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Cold blows the wind o'er my true love,
Cold blow the drops of rain
I never had but one true love
In the Greenwood he was slain
I'll do as much for my true love
As any young girl may
I'll sit and weep down by his grave
For a twelvemonth and a day.
But when twelve months were come and gone
This young man he arose:
“What makes you weep down by my grave?
I can't take my repose!”
“One kiss, one kiss from your lily-white lips,
One kiss is all I crave.
One kiss, one kiss from your lily-white lips,
Then return back to your grave.”
"My lips they are as cold as clay
My breath is heavy and strong,
And if you were to kiss these lips,
Your days would not be long.
Way down in yonder garden green
Where we both used to walk
The fairest flower that e'er was seen
Has withered to a stalk.
The stalk is withered dry, my love,
So must our hearts decay.
Then rest yourself content, my love,
Till death calls you away
Go dig me a grave both wide and deep,
As quickly as you may
That I might lie and take my rest
For a twelvemonth and a day"
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4. |
Horkstow Grange
02:39
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At Horkstow Grange there lived an old miser
You all do know him as I've heard say
It's him and his man that was named John Bowlin
They fell out one market day
Chorus:
Pity them that see him suffer
Pity poor old Steeleye Span
John Bowlin's deeds will be remembered
Bowlin's deeds at Horkstow Grange
With a blackthorn stick old Steeleye struck him
Oft times had threatened him before
John Bowlin turned 'round all in a passion
He knocked old Steeleye to the floor
Chorus
Steeleye Span he was fell'd by John Bowlin
It happened on a market day
Old Steeleye swore with all his vengeance
He would take his life away
Chorus
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5. |
The Drowned Sailor
03:19
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As I was a-walking down in Stokes Bay
I saw a drowned sailor on the beach as he lay
And as I drew nigh him it put me to a stand
When I knew it was my own true love by the ring on his hand
As he was a-sailing from his own dear shore
Where the waves and the billows so loudly do roar
I said to my true love I shall see you no more
So farewell my dearest, you're the lad I adore
She put her arms around him crying Oh my dear!
She wept and she kissed him ten thousand times o'er
Oh I am contented to lie by your side
And in a few moments heart-broken she died
And all in the churchyard these two were laid
And a stone for remembrance was placed on their grave
Our joys are all ended and our pleasures are fled
This grave that we lie in is our new marriage bed
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6. |
Unfortunate Miss Bailey
02:44
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A Captain bold in Halifax,
Who dwelt in country quarters,
Seduced a maid who hanged herself
One morning in her garters,
His wicked conscience smited him,
He lost his stomach daily,
He took to drinking turpentine
And thinking on Miss Bailey.
Oh, Miss Bailey, unfortunate Miss Bailey,
Oh, Miss Bailey, unfortunate Miss Bailey,
One night, betimes he went to bed,
For he had caught a fever,
He said, "I am a handsome man
But I'm a gay deceiver."
His candle just at twelve o'clock
Began to burn quite palely,
A ghost stepped up to his bedside
And said, "Behold! Miss Bailey."
Oh, Miss Bailey, unfortunate Miss Bailey,
Oh, Miss Bailey, unfortunate Miss Bailey,
"Avaunt, Miss Bailey," then he cried,
"You cannot fright me really."
"Dear Captain Smith," the ghost replied,
"You've used me ungenteelly.
The Coroner's quest went hard with me
Because I've acted frailly,
And Parson Biggs won't bury me
Though I am dead Miss Bailey."
Oh, Miss Bailey, unfortunate Miss Bailey,
Oh, Miss Bailey, unfortunate Miss Bailey,
"Dear Ma'am," said he, "since you and I
Accounts must once for all close,
I have a one pound note in my
Regimental small clothes.
'Twill bribe the Sexton for your grave."
The ghost then vanished gaily,
Crying, "Bless you wicked Captain Smith,
Remember poor Miss Bailey."
Oh, Miss Bailey, unfortunate Miss Bailey,
Oh, Miss Bailey, unfortunate Miss Bailey
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7. |
Died For Love
03:08
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When my true love courted me
He stole away my liberty.
My liberty and my right good will
But I'll confess that I love him still.
There is an ale-house in yonder town,
Where my love goes and he sits him down;
He takes another girl on his knee
And tells her things that he won't tell me
I wish my baby it was born
And smiling on its father's knee;
And I myself was in my grave
With the green grass growing over me.
I wish, I wish, but it's all in vain,
I wish I was a maid again.
But a maid again I will never be
Till apples grow on an orange tree.
Go dig me a grave both wide and deep
Put marble stones at my head and feet
And on my breast a snow white dove
To show the world that I died for love
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8. |
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The provost's young daughter was walking alone,
Oh but her love it was easy won,
When she heard a Scots prisoner a-making his moan,
Oh and she's the fair flower of Northumberland.
He said, “Oh, if a lassie would borrow a key,
Oh but her love it was easy won,
I would make her a lady of high degree,
If she'd loose me out of this prison so strong."
So she's gone up to her father's bed stock,
Oh but her love it was easy won,
And she's stolen the keys for many a brave lock,
To loose him out of his prison so strong.
Then she's gone down to her father's stable,
Oh but her love it was easy won,
And she's taken a horse that's both fleet and able,
For to carry them over to bonny Scotland.
As they were a-riding across the Scots moor,
He said "Oh but your love it was easy won,
Get down from my horse, you're a brazen-faced whore.
Though you were the flower of Northumberland.”
“For I have a wife in my own country,
Oh but your love it was easy won,
And I cannot do nothing with a lassie like thee.
Though you were the flower of Northumberland.”
“Well it's cook in your kitchen I surely can be,
Oh but my love it was easy won,
For I dare not go back to my own country,
Where I was the flower of Northumberland."
“Well it's cook in my kitchen you never shall be,
Oh but your love it was easy won,
For my lady she will not have servants like thee.
So get you back home to Northumberland."
And when she got back her father did frown,
He said "Oh but your love it was easy won,
For to be a Scot's whore when you're only fifteen,
And you were the flower of Northumberland.”
And when she got back her mother did smile,
She said "Oh but your love it was easy won,
But you're not the first lass that the Scots have beguiled
And you're still the fair flower of Northumberland.”
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9. |
The Old Churchyard
02:54
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Come, come with me to the old churchyard,
I so well know those paths 'neath the soft green sward.
Friends slumber there that we want to regard;
We will trace out their names in the old churchyard.
Mourn not for them, their trials are o'er
Why weep for those who will weep no more?
For sweet is their sleep, though cold and hard
Their pillows may be in the old churchyard.
I know that it's vain when our friends depart
To breathe kind words to a broken heart;
And I know that the joy of life is marred
When we follow lost friends to the old churchyard.
But were I at rest 'neath yonder tree,
Why would you weep, my friends, for me?
I'm so weary, so wayworn, why would you retard
The peace I seek in the old churchyard?
Why weep for me for I'm anxious to go
To that haven of rest where no tears ever flow
And I fear not my fate when it's time to depart
I will set with the sun in the old churchyard
I rest in the hope that one bright day
Sunshine will burst through these prisons of clay
The trumpets will sound in the hills near and far
And will wake up the dead in the old churchyard
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10. |
Annachie Gordon
07:00
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Buchan is bonnie and there lives my love
My heart it lies on him - it will not remove
It will not remove for all that I have done
I'll never forget my love Annachie Gordon
For Annachie Gordon, he's bonnie and he's braw
He'd entice any woman that ever him saw
He'd entice any woman and so he has done me
Oh I never will forget my love Annachie
Down came her father, and he's standing by the door
He said, "Jeanie you're trying the tricks of a whore
You care nothing for a man who cares so very much for thee
You must marry Lord Salton and forget young Annachie
For Annachie Gordon he's only but a man
Although he may be pretty but where are all his lands
Salton's lands are broad and his towers stand high
You must marry Lord Salton and forget young Annachie"
"With Annachie Gordon I'd beg for my bread
Before I'd marry Lord Salton with gold to my head
With gold to my head and gowns fringed to the knee
I'll die if I don't get my love Annachie
And you that are my parents to the church you may me bring
But unto Lord Salton I'll never bear a son
A son nor a daughter, I'll never bow my knee
I'll die if I don't get my love Annachie"
When Jeanie was married from the church she was brought home
She and her maidens so merry should have been
When she and her maidens so merry should have been
She's gone to her chamber and she's crying all alone
"Come to bed now Jeanie, my honey and my sweet
For to style you my mistress it would not be meet"
"Oh it's mistress or Jeanie, it's all the same to me
For it's in your bed Salton I never shall be"
Up and spoke her father and he's spoken with renown
"All you that are her maidens won't you loosen off her gown"
She fell down in a swoon, so low down by his knee
Saying "Father I'm dying for my love Annachie"
The day that Jeanie married was the day that Jeanie died
And the day young Annachie came home from the tide
Down came her maidens and they're wringing of their hands
Saying "Woe to you Annachie for straying from the sands
So long from the sands and so long upon the flood
They've married your Jeanie and now she lies dead"
"All you that are her maidens won't you take me by the hand
Won't you lead me to the chamber where my true love lies"
And he's kissed her cold lips til his heart turned to stone
And he's died in the chamber where his love lay alone
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11. |
Poor Murdered Woman
03:57
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It was Hankey the Squire as I've heard men say
Who rode out a-hunting on one Saturday
They rode out a-hunting, but nothing they found
But a poor murdered woman laid on the cold ground
About eight o'clock, boys, the dogs they throwed off
On Leatherhead Common, and that was the spot
They tried all the bushes but nothing they found
But a poor murdered woman laid on the cold ground
They whipped their dogs off and they kept them away
For I do think it proper she should have fair play
They tried all the bushes but nothing they found
But a poor murdered woman laid on the cold ground
They mounted their horses and they rode off the ground
They rode to the village and alarmed it all around
“It is late in the evening, I'm sorry to say,
She cannot be removed until the next day.”
The next Sunday morning about eight o'clock
Some hundreds of people to the spot they did flock
For to see that poor creature, your hearts would have bled
Some cold-hearted violence came into their heads
She was took off the Common and down to an inn
And the man that has kept it, his name is John Simms.
The Coroner was sent for and the jury they joined
And soon they concluded and settled their mind.
Her coffin was brought and in it she was laid
And took to the churchyard in fair Leatherhead
No father, no mother, no friend I am told
Came to see the poor creature laid under the mould.
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12. |
Blackbirds and Thrushes
02:15
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As I was a walking for my recreation
A-down by the gardens I silently stray'd
I heard a fair maid making great lamentation
"O Jimmy will be slain in the wars I'm afraid"
The blackbirds and thrushes sang in the green bushes
The wood-doves and larks seemed to mourn for this maid
And the song that she sang was concerning her lover
"O Jimmy will be slain in the wars I'm afraid"
Her cheeks blushed like roses, her arms full of posies
She strayed in the meadows and, weeping, she said
"My heart it is aching, my poor heart is breaking
For Jimmy will be slain in the wars I'm afraid"
When Jimmy returned with his heart full of yearning
He found his dear Nancy all dead in her grave
He cried "I'm forsaken, my poor heart is breaking
I wish that I never had left this fair maid!"
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13. |
The Muir of Culloden
04:01
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I will sing of my country, its deep glens and fountains,
Of its woods, and its rivers, and its steep-rising mountains
I will sing of a battle — the saddest in story,
Of wintry Culloden, and Cumberland gory.
On the sixteenth of April, oh well I remember,
The night it was dark as the deepest December,
The moon shone no light, something awful foreboding
And dark were the streams on the muir of Culloden.
We lay under arms while our chiefs were debating,
Some were for fighting and some for retreating
But up spoke the Cameron and young Lewis Gordon,
Drew their swords and declared they would die on Culloden.
The war-pipes did play — the fierce charge was sounding;
From the wild rocky hills with the echoes resounding;
If the charge had been given as the clans did at Flodden,
The day had been ours on the muir of Culloden.
The Gordons, the McGregors, and the McDonalds,
The Camerons, McPhersons, and all the clan Ronald,
They rushed to the charge, and thousands were trodden,
Determined to conquer or die on Culloden.
No more the pipes play "Prince Charlie's a-coming,"
No more the hurrah that the Red Coats are running,
But oh for our Prince every Scots heart is sobbin'
And cold lie the lads on the muir of Culloden!
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14. |
Jenny Kiss'd Me
01:59
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Jenny kiss’d me when we met,
Jumping from the chair she sat in;
Time, you thief, who love to get
Sweets into your list, put that in!
Say I’m weary, say I’m sad,
Say that health and wealth have miss’d me,
Say I’m growing old, but add,
Jenny kiss’d me.
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Mark Automaton UK
Mark Automaton came to prominence as a founding member of the seminal “cassette culture” band the Instant Automatons, who
were instrumental in spearheading the UK DIY music scene of the late 70s and early 80s.
Since then, Mark has been active as a producer, musical collaborator and solo artist, releasing music under his own name and also as 391 and randomk/automata.
... more
Mark Automaton recommends:
Sincerely Making A Noise
by Instant Automatons
Instant Automatons retrospective released by BFE Records
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12 errors of judgement
by richard randomk
Music and passion
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Music/Poetry/Video project by Will Vigar and Mark Automaton
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Eerie and mystical tunes from musician and visual artist Julie Crawford that fuse art pop with goth sensibilities.
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Do You Have My Money?
by flanafi
This riveting new LP from Philly artist flanafi gorgeously blends post-rock with soul music, with striking results.
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