On the Border - Al Stewart

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On the Border Lyrics

The fishing boats go out across the evening water
Smuggling guns and arms across the Spanish border
The wind whips up the waves so loud
The ghostman sails amoung the clouds
Turns the rifles into silver
On the border

On my wall the colors of the maps are running
From Africa the winds they talk of changes coming
The torches flare up in the night
The Hun that sets the farms alight
To spread the word to those who're waiting
On the border

In the village where I grew up nothing seems the same
Still you never see the change from day to day
No one notices the customs slip away

Late last night the rain was knocking on my window
I moved across the darkened room and in the lampglow
I thought I saw down in the street the spirit of the century
Telling us that we're all standing

In the islands where I grew up nothing seems the same
It's just the patterns that remains - an empty shell
But there's a strangeness in the air you feel too well


The fishing boats go out across the evening water
Smuggling guns and arms across the Spanish border
The wind whips up the waves so loud
The ghostman sails amoung the clouds
Turns the rifles into silver
On the border

Lyrics provided by LyricsEver.com
Al Stewart (born in Glasgow, Scotland on 5 September 1945) is a British songwriter and musician. He is best known for his 1976 single Year of the Cat and its 1978 follow-up Time Passages (both produced by Alan Parsons). Stewart's inspiration for his songs primarily comes from the past; indeed, he is credited with creating his own genre, "historical folk rock". At one time in his life, Stewart took guitar lessons from King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp.

Stewart grew up in the coastal resort town of Bournemouth, Dorset. According to Songfacts, in days of youthful folly Stewart played in a beat group with later BBC DJ Tony Blackburn before moving to the capital to seek fortune and fame.

Having bought his first guitar from future Police guitarist Andy Summers, Stewart traded in his electric guitar for an acoustic guitar when he was offered a weekly slot at Bunjies Coffee House in London's Soho in 1965. From there, he went on to compete at the Les Cousins folk club on Greek Street, where he played alongside Cat Stevens, Bert Jansch, Van Morrison, Roy Harper and Ralph McTell

Although he had his share of the breaks, including a tenure at Bunjees coffee house and a record deal with CBS, life wasn't always easy for the young troubadour; his first serious love affair ended in disaster, and he experienced all the usual insecurities of the stranger in the big city trying to find his way.

In January 1970, Melody Maker named his second release Love Chronicles its Folk Album Of The Year, but in spite of his obviously carving out quite a name for himself, it was not until Year Of The Cat - the single and even more so the monster album - that he really shot to fame.

He emigrated to the United States as his career took off in the mid 1970s, and still lives in California. While studio albums are now few and far between, he still tours extensively in the United States, and, most years, in Europe. Recordings of concerts are often made available through his fan clubs. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

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Al Stewart