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Tonight We Sail

by Sue Smith with the Potion Kings

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    "A beautiful and thrilling respite from the shit-storm that was 2020 and the gaping, looming maw of 2021. Sue Smith with the Potion Kings and her new album Tonight We Sail is the perfect blend of Sue's delicate, controlled vocals and the Potion Kings’ frenetic deep grooves." Michael Timmins, Cowboy Junkies

    "With the deep mature swagger that emanates from the great Sue Smith, Tonight We Sail is an album that has us hanging on to every breath she inhales and every sound she delivers to the last drop of audible and imperceptible possibilities."

    Karen Kaeja
    Award-winning Choreographer and Performer
    Co-Artistic Director Kaeja d’Dance

    “Authentically mysterious - at once, melancholic, universal, and poignant.”
    Nora Hutchinson, MFA
    Performance & Video Artist

    There is a quality to Sue Smith's voice, so evident on "Tonight We Sail" that simultaneously earns your trust while somehow remaining inscrutable. It's the voice of a mysterious and experienced shepherd, someone whose job is to lead visitors safely through unknown spaces, without necessarily giving her secrets away. And I think that's what this album represents, 11 songs that collectively build a liminal space, melancholic and yearning--a space that requires a shepherd.

    It's a tricky business to describe liminal space in music, because I think the only way you can do it is to be in it. I imagine the temptation to overplay, overdramatize is always there, but if it's indulged, it will surely break the spell. What I love about "Tonight We Sail" is the feeling of every musician sitting back on their skills in order for the songs to waft up like smoke. Kevin Breit's guitar makes the most demonstrative punches here, growling asymmetrical phrases that give these otherwise lush environments their requisite drop of tension.

    The production is spare and exquisite, done so I think to heighten the live interplay between Smith's voice and the Potion King's rhythm and lead instruments. It is impossible to imagine these songs being layered up in a studio, there is such evident synergy and seasoned understanding between musicians. The thrill of these tracks lives therefore in their immediacy--they unfold in real time, they exist in a room just big enough for you to drink your potion and get lost.

    Tiny Bill Cody
    Hamilton, ON Icon
    ... more
    Purchasable with gift card

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Featuring the painting "Ghostboat II" by Julie Wyn Summerfield. Design by Nick Craine. Recording session photography by Tom King.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Tonight We Sail via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 2 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $20 CAD or more 

     

1.
Night Skies 04:59
NIGHT SKIES Written by Sue Smith Far away eyes Sighs I can’t hear Imagine them soft At my ear Alone in the evening I think of you now Reach out to hold you Somehow Under the moonlight Out on the lake Lights on the water One star awake Little boat drifting A loon in the night Calls sad and lonely And then she takes flight Night skies, come closer The beat of her wings Over my head Wind in the pine trees The words that you said Recall the laughter I see your smile There in the starlight With me a while Night skies, come closer
2.
WHERE OH WHERE music & lyrics by Sue Smith (SOCAN) Where, oh where is my Aphrodite? Where, oh where can she be? I thought I heard her calling I thought I heard her calling It was a dark and stormy night There in the shadow What can not be tamed Sure, sure, I heard her She was singing my name She’s moving in a slow curve Slippin’ out of sight Ev’ry now and again I catch a glimpse Of her flickering tail lights There, there she goes There in the shadow There in the doubt Desire like a beacon When the lights go out Out beyond the sunset Underneath the skin The place where she leaves off The place where I begin There, there she goes
3.
IF I AM SLEEPING Written by Sue Smith (SOCAN() If I am sleeping, do not wake me I need to dream the night to day And in my slumber, let me reveal me Show up my story Technicolour, light I will not waken until the morning When I will be, the picture clear I have requested a hand in guidance I am the singing, the flame is near I am the flower of the springtide I am the fire upon the hearth I had mistaken my love for danger I am delivered from the dark
4.
MET HIM ON A TRAIN Written by Sue Smith (SOCAN) Met him on a train, a long time ago He was headin’ down to the east coast He said, “Hey there, c’mon and set yourself down Let me buy you a drink We’ll talk our way out of this town” He smiled so sweet, I drank him up like wine Drank him up for hours it was a long sweet ride Another face of glory another angel in the flesh Left him late that night, I confess He is one who comes from a long way back Rolling through the years, on down the track Met him on a stagecoach Just a few years back It took a while to come clear, well how about that He played solo, he played so sweet Had me reeling, had me weak on my feet He is one who comes from a long way back Rolling through the years, on down the track What the weather brings, what the days show Give you something to think about Gives you something to know And he said, “Tomorrow I’m headin’ down I’m gonna catch the next train Head right outta this town” He is one who comes from a long way back Rolling through the years, on down the track…
5.
Swingin' 04:37
SWINGIN’ Written by Tom Petty Well, she was standing by the highway In her boots and silver spurs Gonna hitchhike to the yellow moon When a Cadillac stopped for her And she said, "Hey, nice to meet you, Are you goin' my way?" Yeah, that's when it happened The world caught fire that day Yeah, she went down swingin' Yeah, she went down swingin’ Well, she was over twenty-one In trouble with the law And it didn't faze her none She called her mother-in-law And said, “I need a little money I know I could count on you After that night in Vegas And the hell that we went through” We went down swingin', like Benny Goodman Yeah, we went down swingin', ya we did Moonlight on the interstate She was 'cross the Georgia line Looked out the window feeling great Yeah, it had to come in time And she said , “I'm never goin' back” She said, “At last I'm free I wish Ma could see me now, she'd be so proud of me” She went down swingin’, like Glenn Miller Yeah, she went down swingin', like Tommy Dorsey Yeah, she went down swingin', like Sammy Davis She went down swingin', like Sonny Liston
6.
YOU COME CALLING Written by Sue Smith (SOCAN) Dark is the night You come calling, you come calling Take me home, take me home I’ve been waiting for so long Sweet is the sound You come calling, you come calling Say my name, say my name I’m here listening Just the same I try to follow you into the night Find my way through to the other side But I’ve lost you, I’ve lost you Dark is the night You come calling, you come calling Take me home, take me home I’ve been waiting for so long
7.
ONE THING I KNOW Written by Sue Smith (SOCAN) The trees have grown, the kids are gone The coffee’s on and I’ve got no-one to talk to Nothing to say anyway More bad news today My head hurts and I can’t move This big old world is one big old bruise And I’m crying All the cheatin’ and the lyin’ Like there’s no tomorrow Whatever happened? Where’s my baby? Where’s my joy? I can’t give up on it That’s the one thing I know Some days, the walls come down Understanding shining all around Like the moon and the stars and the dream in the night The little baby laughing with all her might The chance to get away and sing and pray and believe It’s all gonna be OK Words come and the words go And another voice says, “I told you so” I’m not listening, I got a secret mission In my soul Whatever happens Here’s my baby Here’s my joy I can’t give up on it That’s the one thing I know
8.
Ophelia 03:01
OPHELIA written by Robbie Roberston Boards on the window Mail by the door Why would anybody leave so quickly for? Ophelia, where have you gone? The old neighbourhood just ain't the same Nobody knows just what became of Ophelia, where have you gone? Was it somethin' that somebody said? Mama, you know we broke the rules Was somebody up against the law? Honey, you know that I'd die for you They got your number They’re scared and runnin' But I'm just waitin' for the second comin' Of Ophelia Please darken my door Was it somethin' that somebody said? Mama, you know we broke the rules Was somebody up against the law? Honey, you know that I'd die for you Ashes of laughter The ghost is clear Why do the best things always disappear Like Ophelia Please come back home
9.
1 STEP, 2 STEP written by Sue Smith (SOCAN) The ballroom was empty, the lights were dim She was the last to leave Shadows play, lights betray Where the road might lead She said she’d been searching For that jewel to add to her crown Or something beautiful Or useful, to repair her gown One step, two step Or standing by the side of the road They say you are lost, but I know You’ll find your own way home These shoes are going nowhere But into the ditch Along with the pumpkin, the mice and the prince I’ll just wait here a while ‘til inspiration Brings me to my feet again One step, two step Or standing by the side of the road They say you are lost, but I know You’ll find your own way home One step, two step Or standing by the side of the road They say you are lost, but I know You’ll find your own way home In the dark of the night You’ll find your own way home Never give up You’ll find your own way home
10.
BELOVED, SCORNED written by Sue Smith (SOCAN) I go to the mountain I go to the sea I go to the forest, to set myself free I go to the cedar I go to the pine I go to the raven, to work for a time I stand in the silence, the sound of the green Rages and crashes, trumpeting Inside of me My eyes on the growing My hand at the brush I follow the lifeline I do what I must My days here are numbered My time here is short The clearcut before me Beloved, scorned
11.
CHURCH OF BEAUTY written by Sue Smith (SOCAN) He said, “Beauty is something you find And some are seeing beauty all the time And some never find it” I saw beauty in his eye His eye became a storm The most howling gale of laughter In the early morning blue pink dawn And we got caught In the downpour We stood shiverin’ on the beach Listening to the day breaking All around us The wind knows no fences Just finds the way To blow And the wind she’s howling now Through my bones And I say welcome, come Let us pray Climb the steps to the steeple You can hear the heavens sing Listening to the day breaking All around us Let us please the day, the night The moon, the stars The silver light Cuts us to the ground In dark defined shadows, dancing Laughing Trying to find our way home And we got caught In the downpour We stood shiverin’ on the beach Listening to the day breaking All around us

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released February 25, 2021

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