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When the Present and the Past Align

by Martin Dunlea

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    Comes in a beautifully produced 4-page digipak including 16 page booklet containing lyrics.

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1.
Vices 05:45
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Vices All my vices hear the sirens' song trying to possess me Every sweet note like a velvet tongue trying to caress me There's no moving chords or harmony Just the purest sounding melody If I give in well then it's guaranteed I'll lay my vices open In my weakness I could run aground on every mean street Lose my bearings or just sink and drown in every cheap treat If I succumb now to the sirens' song There's no doubting then it won't be long When rhyme and reasons’ relevance is gone I'll lay my vices open It's dangerous Enticing It's treacherous Beguiling Unscrupulous Dividing It's dangerous It’s dangerous Crew of virtues tie me to the mast, ignore my pleading Keep me fettered though the spell is cast and keep believing When I listen to the sirens' song Keep the knot tight, grip it, keep it strong If it loosens then it won't be long I'll lay my vices open Words and Music Martin Dunlea (Peermusic UK Ltd.)
2.
Don’t Hold On 04:51
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Don’t Hold On Your strong hands overprotecting Grippng tight never deflecting Don't hold on Don't hold on let go Don't hold on Just release stop holding on Real old school clouded reflection Stifling thoughts and words of affection Don't hold on Don't hold on let go Don't hold on Just release stop holding on And your hands feel so cold Talking No time for talking When you're head is buried in the sand There's no point in talking No getting through just sinking No letting go just holding on Pushing Pushing and shoving Words of love can't surface to be heard When pushing and shoving If letting go is loving I'll let you go stop holding on Eyes are closed You're faintly breathing Time to go, time you were leaving Don't hold on Don't hold on let go Don't hold on Just release stop holding on And your hands feel so cold Words and Music Martin Dunlea (Peermusic UK Ltd.)
3.
When the Present and the Past Align 03:59
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When the Present and the Past Align Feelings can't just be consigned to history Doesn't matter where in time you are They outlive each seasons’ failing memory Doesn't matter if you're near or far And when I think of you No bitterness turns the smile I just want the best for you and your life Hoping you've no trouble or no strife We were young and life was full of mystery Took our freedom with a pinch of salt Not weighed down with great responsibility So naive to think we knew it all But nothing stays the same We're growing or else we die Fate will always intervene if we lie Making time to laugh and time to cry And when I think of you No bitterness turns the smile You're not just a memory in my mind Feelings don't care much for bonds of time When the present and the past align Words and Music Martin Dunlea (Peermusic UK Ltd.)
4.
I’m a Drone Again 04:08
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I’m a Drone Again Time away is such a drain when duty calls the shots Eating all my energy, tying my mind up in knots Console I'm a drone again I can go the extra mile when needs are not my own Keep my plans on the shelf Work myself down to the bone Catch me I'm falling Scratching and scrawling Zen I long for sweet serenity Time upon some tranquil shore No responsibility It's a dream It's so inconceivable, so irretrievable now All the ties that bind Dim the light inside me I'm a drone again Da da da da da da Sometimes I fantasise that I could disappear Make a new identity Dissipate familiar fear Clear the confusion See through illusion now Habit's my reality Walking on well trodden ground To avoid banality It's a dream It's so inconceivable, so irretrievable now All the ties that bind Dim the light inside me I'm a drone again Da da da da da da Words and Music Martin Dunlea (Peermusic UK Ltd.)
5.
Walk Away 05:21
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Walk Away She closes the door of her car Steps into Shanganagh Park As the raindrops fall There's a faint hint of salt on the breeze A rustle of leaves in the trees Only shadows play There's a bite in the air so she buttons her coat Checks the directions contained in a text on her phone Lost and confused she checks on the time Flags down a runner and asks him if he knows the way Oh won't you walk away She crosses a bridge, peers down at the tracks The rails and the sleepers look like a freshly stitched scar She follows the path leading down to the strand Drawn by the force of his cold gravity You know its a dangerous game When you're playing the part of a slave And the master's cruel The meeting was only a ruse He drove you to Killakee woods Where he buried you Oh won't you walk away Words and Music Martin Dunlea (Peermusic UK Ltd.)
6.
Too Long the Night 05:25
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Too Long the Night Look what it’s come to, this stain on our hearts Too many cross words, too many false starts It seems like we’re holding some cheap souvenir Sounds like a story that’s going nowhere We bare the daytime, the face of the sun It seems to be jeering at all that we’ve done We call distraction to put things on hold But night-time there’s tension that always unfolds Too long the night Can’t break it up, can’t break it up There’s not enough light For making up, for making up Finding no comfort In this cold bed of tears Too long the night Can’t break it up, can’t break it up When we’re awake it’s like we’re asleep Lost in illusion and fantasy dreams Like an addiction designed to deceive It tells us to stay It tells us to leave Daytime’s a jailbreak when we’re on the run Night-time’s a sentence that’s hardly begun Counting the hours is all we can do Hoping a new day will bring something new Too long the night Can’t break it up, can’t break it up There’s not enough light For making up, for making up Finding no comfort In this cold bed of tears Too long the night Can’t break it up, can’t break it up Words and Music Martin Dunlea (Peermusic UK Ltd.)
7.
Sunflower 05:29
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Sunflower I love how you tilt your head and track the rising sun Open to the energy once the day's begun Not confined by space or shade You're reaching high to touch the sky No concern for tomorrow Now's your time to shine You don't mind if people stare or share their point of view Try to tell you what you need or look at you askew You can see what they can't see You're reaching high to touch the sky No concern for tomorrow Now's your time to shine I love how you bow your head and give thanks for the rain How you dance with every breeze and embrace every change Nothing's going to tangle you You're reaching high to touch the sky No concern for tomorrow Now's your time to shine Words and Music Martin Dunlea (Peermusic UK Ltd.)
8.
Only Love 04:49
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Only Love It's not complicated, it's not easily defined There’s no way that it can be undermined It won't dig our trenches, it won't draw our battle lines It won't create dividing walls in our minds It's only love Only love is good enough Only love can teach us how to give ‘Cause only love Only love can keep us true Only love can show us how to live It’s the question and the answer when we’ve lost our way It can make the daily grind seem okay It’s the healer and the soother, antidote to hate It’s the precious lesson learned It’s the way It's only love Only love is good enough Only love can teach us how to give It's only love Only love can keep us true Only love can show us how to live What can now sustains us, help us weather any storm Respecting every difference, every form What’s the only thing that can unite us in the end That never will betray us or offend It's only love Only love is good enough Only love can teach us how to give It's only love Only love can keep us true Only love can show us how to live Words and Music Martin Dunlea (Peermusic UK Ltd.)
9.
I Know You’re Waiting 04:03
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I Know You’re Waiting I know you’re waiting I see you light the fire and chill the wine You lay the table Set up some candlelight then check the time I know you’re waiting I see you freshen up and comb your hair Peer out the window Wondering if I’m safe and if I’m near It’s too long this lonesome road Blurred white lines go on and on I need the final turn To let me know I’m nearly home I know you’re waiting Maybe it’s my conceit that lets me know I know you’re waiting Maybe it’s only love that tells me so It’s too long this lonesome road Blurred white lines go on and on I need the final turn To let me know I’m nearly home Words and Music Martin Dunlea (Peermusic UK Ltd.)
10.
Death Denial 05:02
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Death Denial Late last night I gazed at the sky and I thought about time and distance All those stars many light years away Maybe some had burnt out long ago Then today I flipped to the sun and I thought about it dying I can't stare at its face for too long What's the truth that I'm denying now? Life is just a tiny chink of light Death's eternal darkness Now is all I have of certainty So I believe Next my mind turned on lost faith, present gods and those of history Self styled prophets proclaiming the truth What's the truth that I'm denying now Life is just a tiny chink of light Death's eternal darkness Now is all I have of certainty So I believe Words and Music Martin Dunlea (Peermusic UK Ltd.)
11.
Where’s the Silence 05:37
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Where’s the Silence Where’s the silence Where’s the silence Where’s the silence Where’s the silence Text alerts and clicks and ringing On and on and on and on Leaking headphones tuneless singing On and on and on and on Slow Where’s the silence Where’s the silence Where’s the silence Where’s the silence Blaring horns and rumbling engines On and on and on and on Drills and hammers saws and welding On and on and on and on Slow Where’s the silence Where’s the silence Where’s the silence Where’s the silence Creaking doors and floors and ceilings On and on and on and on Racing heart and shallow breathing On and on and on and on Slow Words and Music Martin Dunlea (Peermusic UK Ltd.)

about

This album is a collection of eleven self-penned songs encompassing themes of loss, relationship conflict and resolution, love, familial duty, murder, optimism and frustration. It was written, recorded, mixed, mastered and designed in my home studio in Bray, County Wicklow.

credits

released July 10, 2019

All instruments played by Martin except harp on track 3: Sue Daly

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Martin Dunlea image

Martin Dunlea County Wicklow, Ireland

Cork born self-taught guitarist and singer.
Plays in standard and open tuning mostly fingerstyle.

Former member of Empty Space, Scotus, Erin’s Ghost, Kiev Connolly and the Missing Passengers, The Bellows, Stepping Out, Soon, The Roche Five, Blooming Headers, Iron Lung, Triple Harp Bypass.

Recorded and performed as member of duo with Cormac Breatnach.

Human Givens Psychotherapist. ... more

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