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The Beginning is at the End

by Dave Houston

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    Dave Houston's first solo album. The Beginning is at the End (2016) is a mellowed treatment of themes dear to Houston's heart. It swerves like an old Holden across the desert, careering from the angst of the travelling songwriter to the troubles of our dear heaving continent. Aboard nine tracks of folked-up psyche rock we’re given the digestible banquet of a travelling bard’s global misgivings.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Beginning is at the End via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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1.
House 4 $ale 03:46
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I hear they lost fathers and sons in the great world wars There’s no front line anymore But we’re still loosing men Missing in action or ya missing yourself So you won this battle but you’ve lost this war You coming home? You coming home at all? There’s a house for sale And a home for sale in my heart So grit your teeth and bear this load Walk on down that Trojan road grit your teeth and bear this load Walk on down that Trojan road For love He’d rather be fighting her than fighting himself inside She’d rather be fighting him This chance to win to save this pride The battle for custody A pawn or a weapon gained Call me your kid and I will call you my dad Any other day it’s just not father’s day So grit your teeth and bear this load Walk on down that Trojan road grit your teeth and bear this load Walk on down that Trojan road For love She’d rather be fighting him than fighting herself inside He’d rather be fighting her This chance to win to save this pride Missing in action or ya missing yourself So you won this battle but you lost this war You coming home? You coming home at all? There’s a house for sale And a home for sale in my heart So grit your teeth and bear this load Walk on down that Trojan road grit your teeth and bear this load Walk on down that Trojan road For love
2.
Suburbia 04:20
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Intro chord pattern x 2 A E F# Brick veneer and a big front yard D7 Fist of valium to keep the façade A E F# TV shopping and midday soaps D7 Just the remedy to keep up the hope A E F# Six o’clock, dinners on the table D7 The old man would run if he was able A E F# Behind the ‘Sun’ he hides his face D7 D7 Checking for winners in the last race A In suburbia, there’s lot’s of trees E In suburbia, there’s lots of peace A I’m waiting for my folks to die D D7 So I can have my little piece of the pie A E? A In suburbia, In suburbia. A E F# Where’s the key can I borrow the car D7 I’ll put $10 bucks in and I won’t drive too far A E F# Just to Westfield or shopping town D7 Chucking donuts and hangin’ around A E F# I’ll grab the milk on my way home D7 Racin’ back quick for my morning cone A E F# Computer game on my big screen D7 With my music up loud you won’t hear me scream A Suburbia, I’ll live my life E In suburbia, where I’ll find a wife A I’m just praying for Friday to come D D7 Spending my weekend as drunk as a skunk A E In suburbia. No place to go D7 D Except to my dealers where I’ll score an ‘O’ A E And quick as a flash I’ve spent all my cash D7 A Just to keep me sane for the week Middle 4 patterns A/E/F#/D7 16 bars - solos A In Suburbia, there’s lot’s of trees E In Suburbia, there’s lots of peace A Just waiting for my folks to die D So I can have my little piece of the pie A E In suburbia, I’ll live my life D7 Behind a white picket fence D Behind me my wife A E And a nice cut lawn and a wire screen door D7 A And a dog, and a cat, oh and some kids.
3.
This Body 03:06
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Don't go dragging this body round flesh like stone falls mornings round this old way say it's three laps everyday two bodies lie, one is still one is dragged, behind a mans darkest will neither laid to rest they’d buried standing up if they could she’s wearing sunglasses again and I seen that look in your eye she says she says, she says, she says One is dead and one is dying dragged across this field flying Flesh is torn and flesh is ripped it's cut along this funeral strip A body tares as somebody's tears It's one more bandage and one more year I said I'd never be like him Punching doors and kicking bins I see myself myself in my kids eyes. staring at me with these eyes a child Don't go dragging this body round flesh like stone falls to the ground.
4.
Fire Water (Home) 03:53
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Sinking down Settle on the bottom Old man sitting there He starts to sing Old man singing. notes come from the deep ground Old man singing notes come from deep below Fire burns Water flows Fire burns Water glows I'm here Sinking - floating down Sing to me old man The notes come from deep within Sing to me old man Sounds from deep below Fire burns Water flows Fire burns Water glows I'm home
5.
Hotted up Ford 03:18
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Walk along in a different time. Don’t step out of line Looking at a screen too closely leads to being blind A hotted up ford runs a red light and streaks into this night A back seat full of young boys, stubbies on that floor Hanging out those windows and opening those doors A couple walk on a summer’s night, a hand upon a hand A couple kiss on a summer’s night, a man with a man A Friday night in this city street 6 boys step from a car A clenched fist and a kick of boots, a cry ‘watch out for that blood they laugh’ I believe in love and it don’t matter bout your colour, your sex or your god-damn creed. We become what we watch and fact is Fiction on this square TV In a black and white world, there’s only room for boys & girls Not boys with boys, or girls with girls or boys who are girls. The couple didn’t match what’s on the TV, it was boy and boy A polaroid snap from Dougie in the back he sorted the men from the boys.
6.
Another Night Alone 05:36
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Been drivin’ all night now Back from an interstate show 300 K’s west of home Another night alone Intro – 1 pattern His stories are songs Road house coffees and this road so long He’d play more gigs if he could He’d do it for ever, yeah, touch wood He’s got his old guitar case Stickers from all over the place A list of venues in an old folder And from an outback pub, a favourite stubbie holder Run down x 1 Just an old school cowboy Travelling this wide, wide land Always got more to see Living his life on the wallaby Intro – 2 patterns He used to play with a band Until a road accident, so hard to understand Now they only play Europe, they travel by train Sometimes sleepless nights Haunting memories of that crash Life goes on and on Hey it’s another song Run down x 2 Intro – 1 pattern Outro verse – change to 100 K’s – Then harmonics short Been drivin’ all night now Back from an interstate show 100 K’s west of home Another night alone
7.
Fighting Forces 02:51
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He’s fighting forces he can't see Some God declare this destiny? The old lines are fading Their drawing from the inside now He carries the shield of his father She carries the shield of her mum He carries the shield of his father Put another tank of fuel in this Trojan Horse I'm going in I’m going in Break 1 pattern Where’s the commander who tells him to turn and fight Charge the front line wield a sword With murder in his eyes He'd cut them down like saplings He'd cut them down like small fry He'd cut them down like saplings You let these sleeping dogs lie Oh Let them Lie Let them Lie Break 1 pattern He’s fighting forces he can't see Some God declare this destiny?
8.
Sing Me Up 04:37
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Sing me up Get me there sing me up Dreaming Sing me up Get me there sing me up Dreaming ‘Life ain’t no rehearsal When the stage is so grand Sing me up boy Get me there sing me up Dreaming Sing me up girl Get me there Are you gonna sing me up Dreaming ‘Cause life ain’t no rehearsal When the stage is so grand
9.
See the Stars Fall 03:00
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See the stars fall from the sky tonight Catch one as they all come crashing down A starless sky tonight Put it in your pocket and walk that lonely road There’s a star inside Maybe in your darkest days Bring out that little star Throw it to the sky, throw it afar It might just hang there Light the way for you For others too in their blues Throw it to the sky Throw it so far, though it so hard, through that night time When it’s burning, when it’s hurting, when every single part of you stopped working. When you are so close to the edge you can’t breathe, you can’t stop your mind. Let it go. See the stars fall from the sky tonight It starts again, the beginning is at the end

about

Renowned theatrical impresario Dave Houston is releasing his first solo album The Beginning is at the End, adding extensive flavours to his three-decade theatrical portfolio.

The album is mellowed treatment of themes dear to Houston’s heart. It swerves like an old Holden across the desert, careering from the angst of the traveling songwriter to the troubles of our dear heaving continent. Aboard nine tracks of folked-up psyche rock we’re given the digestible banquet of a traveling bard’s global misgivings.

Dave’s celebrated stage career has incorporated music since he started out in 1988. A veteran of the Victorian College of the Arts in 1991, (Acting school) he’s since toured the world in various incarnations, gracing stages from the Edinburgh Festival to Mexico City and Chiang Mai. He has created over 12 original theatre shows & toured nationally and Internationally since 1993. He is a musician, writer, actor, teacher & community worker.

Best known around Australia for his work with The Bongo Brothers, in that freewheeling act he’s fused cabaret with kids entertainment and a musical groove that delivers a message harder than Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five.

He has recorded numerous albums with bands in Mexico City and Thailand but in The Beginning is at the End he’s dropped the cabaret schtick to concentrate on a purely musical and lyrical axis, hammering themes of indigenous dignity and anger at white imperialism with sharp, incisive songs that weave in elements of Greek tragedy and wry pisstaking.

‘House 4 $ale’ hits a Dave Graney groove as one part of a trilogy exploring the relation of Homer’s ‘Iiliad’ to modern divorced fathers. ‘Suburbia’ is a piece of savage dystopian pop that brackets Houston’s staunch disdain for the conservative mainstream. Written by an acting mate from VCA who took his own life a decade ago, it’s the only cover and a fitting tribute. A song written for his friend, Arnhem Land songman Roy Ashley on Fire Water gives voice to the marginalized, while Another Night Alone salutes the voyagers across the starlit streams of the subconscious.

The album was produced and recorded by Christian Pyle who has worked at Studios in London, Tokyo, LA and has custom built a beautiful studio in the hills behind Byron Bay. Houston is building towards a theatrical tour of the material with his band the ‘Pine Gap Cowboys.’

credits

released November 18, 2016

All tracks written by Dave Houston

Except ‘Suburbia’ written by Mick Burkett
Musical arrangements by Christian Pyle & Dave Houston

Tracked, Mixed and Produced by Christian Pyle
Recorded at the SS Prawn & Spanner Studios, Goonengerry, Australia.
Additional recording at the Aviary Studios, Collingwood, Australia.
Mastered by Michael Worthington at Soundworthy, Ballina, Australia 2016

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DAVE HOUSTON Melbourne, Australia

Renowned theatrical impresario Dave Houston has released two solo albums, and an EP and a bunch of band albums.

FRONTIER is ______

Houston's music is mellowed, rocky & psyche-folk treatment of themes dear to his heart. It swerves like an old Holden across the desert, careering from the angst of the traveling songwriter to the troubles of our dear heaving continent. ... more

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