We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

The Red Room (Album)

by James Harker

supported by
Ralf Klonowski
Ralf Klonowski thumbnail
Ralf Klonowski Deep lyrics, fine vocals and beautiful arrangements. Sometimes reminds me of the later work of Joe Jackson. Some songs are hollywoodesque, conjuring up scenes of lost movies that somehow never made it to the silver screen, but probably should have. Favorite track: Nowhere To Hide.
/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. Paying supporters also get unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app.
    Purchasable with gift card

      name your price

     

1.
Blood rushing round And wine pouring down The walls of this place we called home This masquerade A last serenade For the undertakers of Rome It’s late in the day We’re losing our way And we’ve nothing on which to rely The night’s drawing in And the wall’s crumbling But the moon lends a glint to your eye And well, look around There’s not a sound So we touch And it’s all just too much We forget who we are Now we’ve come this far And we share a kiss in the dark And I no longer care For the world out there It can burn in a single white spark My world’s spinning round The blood starts to pound With your touch And it’s all just too much The cold light of day Shows up the stains On the walls of this place we called home Last night’s masquerade A last serenade For the undertakers of Rome Don’t leave me alone I’m stripped to the bone And I don’t know the way to get home I slump to the floor Outside your front door And I know that I’m finished with Rome And well, look around Till your eyes have found all the pain Like thundering rain But I cannot blame You, all the same, It was only the last days of Rome And now that we’re through Perhaps me and you Will find our separate ways home And well, look around There’s not a sound Oh, it’s strange That nothing remains
2.
Counterfeit 04:47
Under golden sun I saw your face And watched your flowers to the pace Of music for the summer wines And on your life I marked these lines Of memories, of name and place And wrote you down, just in case The petals of the summer bloom Might suddenly float in scarlet plume From the perfect picture, away from me With a sceptic stricture, I did not flee This denial I prepared to see But it was not to be Neon bulbs and halogen lamps The sun of yours was held in clamps The artificial voice of you You took a pencil and you drew A mere sketch, a piece of art The quintessential paper heart The flowers in the summer bloom Decorate to brighten gloom You can be bought for decent price But I will give them good advice You may look like the real thing But counterfeit – your heart it sings
3.
Words, they patrol my lips I’m never off my guard Hid safely behind the script I simply play the part Sometimes I play the king I sometimes the fool Strutting from wing to wing And never lose my cool Oh, but Lord, it’s stealing my soul away I’m lost in this – this tragedy Lord, I’ve words of my own to say So who do I want to be? I laugh and I cry, I fret My hour upon the stage Nearing a dusty death I creep from age to age Living my life asleep From day to day to day Characters, they will creep Into my waiting gaze Oh, but Lord, it’s stealing my soul away I’m lost in this – this comedy Lord, I’ve words of my own to say So who is the real me? I think that you took my heart But maybe it’s an act I cannot tell them apart The fantasy, the fact Silently we learn to speak Across the sacred wall Words, they are far too weak But eyes can tell me all Oh, stop for a moment, and walk into the wing No one to prompt you – just let the silence ring Stare in the mirror, and wipe away your role Hang up your costume, and take back your soul Oh, but Lord, it’s stealing my soul away I’m lost in tragedy Lord, I’ve words of my own to say So who do I want to be? And who is the real me? Playing your soul away…
4.
Hey, sweetie-pie, heard that you could fly Or something strange about the sky Or was it something like telekinesis Or pretending to be Jesus, just remind me So, superbear, show me how your flare Ensnared the magic in the air You’ve wonders up your sleeve But I won’t leave until I see, then I’ll believe And suddenly everything’s hazy Is it really you, or are you going crazy? Reality rumbles like thunder Makes you wake and wonder if anything’s real Or is it all about your flimsy whimsy? Just the way the wind takes you So, tell me how, every time you bow You all kow-tow to Simon Cowell I’m dreaming of a place, an empty space Where I will never see his face But you’re wed to the machine, now it’s obscene The time you’re giving to the screen Come, follow me outside, now open wide Let’s see what’s on the other side But the image reflected is hazy Is it really you, or are your eyes lazy? The monotony of the music That echoes through the mall is strangely accusing Shuffling through your flimsy whimsy Just the way the wind shakes you And yet the image reflected is hazy Is it really you, or are you going crazy? While we are distracted by thunder They’re putting asunder the world of the real Until it’s all about your flimsy whimsy, Topsy-turvy, bendy curvy, Helter-skelter, bare unsheltered, Nothing but the pretty, twitty, bit-by-bitty Throat-slitty, half-witty, (such a pity) Infinitely shitty way you feel
5.
Falling 02:35
(No lyrics)
6.
The Exile 07:28
The last I saw of you Was your face lit by the flicker of the picture And sparkles in your incandescent eyes Like the dance of fireflies The night drew close and tight And I watched you disappear under fear So I held you, wrapped around an empty space Just to beckon back your face And could I close every yawning mile With a touch, or a whisper, or a waning smile? Could I claim you again for a tiny while From my place here in exile? The pulse of fear drew near And the firmness of your hand turned to sand And swiftly slipped from a truth into a dream And the sky split with the scream And now I turn away Yearning for the light of day far away But I see only clouds coloured with the taint of red Where the angels fear to tread And could I close every aching mile With a dream, or a whisper, or a desperate smile? Can I claim you again for a tiny while From my place here in exile? All I am is flesh bone In a house without a home I seem to be turning to stone Deafened by the dialling tone Imagining within the gloam A single dove to bring me peace On the wings of my release A firebird to give me peace With the tears of my release Release me Dona nobis pacem But there will come a day When I’ll spirit you away – far away And I’ll be warm and holding you again You need only tell me when You need only tell me when You need only tell me when
7.
Mrs Caesar 07:05
I catch you in the wine cup Like the moon upon the water Your faint reflection My frail perception Until today And the more I gaze at her I see the Devil’s daughter And in the corner Of the trattoria He stands, he watches As our hands entwine And her lips meet mine While the taste of blood Washes through my mind What have I done, what have I done Mrs Caesar? I’ve torn our empire limb from limb Just to please her And this honeyed taste of love Embittered with his blood The Rubicon flows red tonight Like the water when I bathe And as she feels me The scarlet steals me From the bed And as I pace the kitchen floor He whispers at the door And crowds the silence With raging violence Like a hum, a heartbeat Like a swarm of bees Or the crash of seas While the weight of blood Brings me to my knees What have I done, what have I done Mrs Caesar? I’ve paid the life that ran through him To release her And this honeyed scent of love Embittered with his blood While feather crests of red Lie in copper-coloured mud And I become a knight Who knows no royalty And for the sake of love I know no loyalty
8.
Bleeding 06:16
So many days And yet I find I’m still bleeding From the ruby lips that never dry So many hours And how the winter’s still feeding On the rusty rose that never dies And then I wake To find the world in hot ashes To a rain of cinders on my face And across the sky A streak of red flashes Fire raining down upon this place And does the Janus face Of drama still wear you? Are you dancing at the midnight ball? Do the wrinkles Forming underneath scare you? Are you dreaming of your curtain call? So let me adorn Your pure complexion with scarlet Flood your body, enjoy your cries Let me reveal you As my ruby, painted harlot Till the light begins to sting your eyes And now I wake To find the winter clouds receding To the breath of sunlight on my face And a warmth to dry The wound that’s still bleeding You alone can be my saving grace Falling from the tree of hearts Hit the ground and break apart…
9.
(No lyrics)
10.
I don’t know quite how But everybody seems to know I tried to lock it down But secrets just seem to grow You shared me love And now it seems I’m sharing you The secret beat me black and blue I waited by the clock But couldn’t make you tick away You tripped out of my lips I couldn’t bear another day Now you’re not mine In truth you’re everyone’s But at least I can be sure you’ve gone And now you’re standing there You’re standing right in front of me A secret fully formed Exposed for all the world to see And at this time There’s nowhere left to hide It’s too late to crawl back inside And I’m sure that he must know He surely has to know by now I see sharp his shadow I feel his presence all around And when you break I hope that he’ll hold true I pray he doesn’t shatter too
11.
Ticking 05:29
Listening to the pendulum Regiment my conscience Commanding endless armies Of the hours Marching to the kettledrum The souls succumb to rhythm Time beating down like rain Upon the flowers Lights are blinking all around To tell me stop and stand by To tell me when to stall And when to break To keep my eyes upon the ground Until the mind is empty Until the heart and spirit Start to ache Imagine that the sky is down It’s up to the ground The ropes that tie you to the earth Lost in rebirth Could you ever fall this way Deep into space? Well, take your beliefs And throw them away Herds and herds of empty words Retire upon the pages Grey prairies for as far As I can see Meaning curls into absurd In righteousness and rages Please tell me how to think Or who to be And every word will spell your name From here to revelation And form the signs that guide me To the night And if my end is in the flame Far below salvation Then let the fire guide me With its light Let me be a child again Colours running wild again Faith enough to feel the earth Understand its real worth Most alive in your dreams Fire’s kiss on sleepy streams Open your eyes To another day Another day Open your eyes It’s another day
12.
You are still lagoon Silent water Lapping gentle at my wound Oh, pale and cool Moving round me like the moon And I am silt and stone Earth and mortar Circled round you like a home Of skin and bone Now the water flows alone And so you end In the wide Sargasso Sea White horses made of memory And there you ride on their melody You ride with grace and beauty You are drifting wide Taking water Struggling weak against the tide On an ocean wide Between your dreams and mine But dream of distant shore ‘Cross the water There you’ll find a place to moor Oh, rest assured And I’ll watch tsunamis soar And so you sail In the wide Sargasso Sea White horses made of memory I watch them rise to your melody Your soul rides on and sings to me And so you end In the wide Sargasso Sea White horses made of memory I watch them rise to your melody You ride with grace and beauty And so you end In the wide Sargasso Sea White horses made of memory I watch them ride You’re riding on melody You’re riding on melody You’re riding on melody You ride with grace and beauty

about

The debut album from James Harker
Released 15th March 2012

credits

released March 15, 2012

All songs written by James Harker
Lyrics on (2) written by Dagmar Makara

James Harker: piano, vocals, keys, wine glasses, bass
Chris Cummins: drums, percussion
Matthew Powney: electric guitars, acoustic guitar, bass, fretless bass, backing vocals
Jessy Price: backing vocals, acoustic guitar
James Hyde: acoustic guitar
Cheong Li: erhu
Charlotte Ward-Caddle: solo violin
James Whittle: solo cello

String Quartet
Nicholas Chen, Sarah Barker: violins
James Whittle, Ellen Jordan: cellos

Produced by James Harker & Chris Cummins
Recorded by Chris Cummins at Peak Studios, Derbyshire
Strings recorded by Chris Robins at What'sHeBuilding Studios, York
Mixed & Mastered by James Hyde at De Lane Lea Studios, London

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

James Harker UK

UK singer-songwriter. New album 'LIMERENCE' out soon. One half of electronic fusion duo Vast & Harker. Follow for updates!

contact / help

Contact James Harker

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like James Harker, you may also like: