Mark Lotterman - Year Without Summer - 08 Brighton

BRIGHTON

It's a sunny day in Brighton and as i walk the Brighton pier
i am feeling better than i have felt in years
The sunshine hits the water and i stand still to see;
how it reflects the days i lost to bitter misery.

there's this kid from way up north and he waits for me back home
he knows all about that tragedy in which people come and go.
i could see his face in mine when i heard his mother died,
he loved her very much, for seven months he cried

i think that it is time now to stand on my feet and say
that it's such a fucking miracle that i am who i am today
and if a fool like me can conquer and island from the sea
i'm sure a kid like him will get the Devil on his knees.

I wake up in the heat of the sun in Birmingham,
i look outside and wonder, did i do all i can?
to make sure that i killed the doubts that you still have
as i told you how i love you just before i left.

I travelled miles to play my songs in smelly empty bars,
spent the night in filthy beds next to my guitar
they might not agree, but this is what i do,
with my life on earth from birth to death from me to you

it's better to have questions than answers learned in school,
cause they would never teach you we all will die a fool
i might not be Hank Williams, i might not be Neil Young,
but i work very hard to put some truth in every song.

as i travelled England's roads i remembered how it felt,
to wake up from the flames and find yourself in hell.
i don't know the kid that good, but he must have had some dreams
he must have had some other view on the year he turned 18

some said it's part of life when the news got around,
but may he without grief be the first to let him down
may he without sins be the first to cast a stone,
may the one with friends like he has be the last to feel alone.

we got this big and scary thing we call the universe,
and to cope with all these mysteries we send our kids to church
we tell them that their happiness waits for them at work,
we lie to them that strength means you can't get hurt.

It's a sunny day in Brighton and as i walk the Brighton pier,
i am feeling better than i have felt in years
the sunshine hits the water and i stand still to see
how it reflects the days i lost to bitter misery

down the boulevard the pretty boys parade,
it's great to see them fear that they won't get laid
the people here look happy, and i am happy too,
and i know we came from far, i know what we've been through

the kid that lost his mother one day will fall in love,
he'll look over his shoulder and think man, it has been tough
he will watch the sunlight reflect into the see,
and think of all the days he lived in misery.

He turns around and smiles and walks the Brighton pier,
he'll be heading home where he hasn't been for years
he walks across the beach and dives into the sea,
he cries a little tear because he knows that he is free.

my nephew is a Buddhist, he says "Mark, we all are one,
and nothing of that changes the day that we'll be gone"
We've been talking here for hours, in those dark and lonely nights.
Though i still think that he's a fruitcake i know he must be right.

The kid is out of sight, he swims from shore to shore,
cause that is what you do when you don't hurt no more
once he reaches land he will walk the last miles,
she'll open up the door and welcome him with a smile.



Credits Year Without Summer

Mark - acoustic guitar & vocals
Leon den Engelsen - piano & accordeon
Bas van Holt - acoustic guitar & vocals on "Rolling Stones"
Tessa Douwstra - vocals on Indie
Teus Nobel - Flugel Horn on "Watch the Season Change"
produced by Frank Jonas
mixed by Martijn Groeneveld
mastered by Darius van Helfteren
album cover by Auke Triesschijn