Attempto

I was a stranger who came to this land
Came from an island into your town
Poor as a church-mouse with no-where to go
I didn’t know it but I’d found a home

I’ve never lived here but somehow its home
It’s like a magnet made out of stone
Don’t have to go far to get what you need
Everything’s local if you know what I mean.

With every little word that I’ve read
With every single picture in my head
With every needy child that I have fed
When all is done and all is said -
I’ve come to love this town.

Know every café, know every street
Know every cobble-stone under my feet
Know all the church bells and when they chime
Know many faces, they seem to know mine!

Tübingen

You are my anchor when I need land
Sailing on rough seas, not running aground
You are my passion, the wind in my sails
You are my reason, the rudder I hold
Quo vadis? Attempto! Quo vadis?
I’m going home

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Nomads

Nomads in Deutsch

On the road again at the break of day
Our precious, little things companions on our way
Crossing borders, we are free
To travel as we please
Create a sense of home wherever we may go

For we are travelling people
For ever on the move

Always on the move, our load is light to bear
Our fare is simple food, the winds can take all care
People look when we arrive
They stare and wonder where
We go and whence we come and what we have to share

For we are travelling people
For ever on the move

Come away, from afar
Come away, from afar
Raise your tent, put up your stand
Show your goods, they’re made by hand
For we have come from many lands
Here’s to the Nomads!
Here’s to the Nomad
and the blood left in our veins

Children are our friends and old folk too are dear
We share with them our dreams, we share with them our cheer
We watch their smiles, we feel their tears
As song and dance goes on
And on into the night, the cheerful sounding night

For we are travelling people
For ever on the move

Come away, from afar
Come away, from afar
Raise your tent, put up your stand
Show your goods, they’re made by hand
For we have come from many lands
Here’s to the Nomads!
Here’s to the Nomad
and the blood left in our veins

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Seven Stars

Seven Stars in Deutsch

Seven stars are shining in the sky
Seven stars are showing us the way
To work and to plough the fruitful earth
To plant the seed that brings new birth

Feed, feed our chidren
Bring us new life
Rain, sun, the changing of the seasons
The cycle, the never-ending
Seven stars are shining in the sky

Seven men are ploughing early in the year
Breaking up the hard clod, steady as they clear
The land of old and sow the new seed
That day by day they pray will grow

Seven maids are wedding, dancing in the corn
Giving of their blessing, rejoiceing in the form
And the colour of the golden seed
That gives to each it’s daily bread

Seven towns are feasting, giving thanks for wealth
Now the harvest’s gathered, celebrating life
And joy and the children growing strong
And the ever-lasting on and on

The Atlantic Sea

Atlantic Sea in Deutsch

And the Atlantic Sea seems so far away to me
As I look out from my window
There’s a hard frost on the ground
Not a movement of a leaf to be found
The smoke that climbs from the chimney-pots
Is as straight as the pine-tree stems
That break the sky that’s blue as ice and cold
The sun rises mechanically and shines without effect
Almost out of duty, till it sinks in the west
And the Atlantic Sea seems so far away to me

If I close my eyes, I can see it
Beating the pebbles into sand
I can hear the rushing waves beating the land
Trees are bent with endless wind
The people are intent
On forging on despite the wind and cold
Stormy nights and stormy days
Exciting every nerve
Stormy nights and stormy days
Is what the heart deserves
And the Atlantic Sea seems so far away to me

People and Places

I set off in the morning sun
In May with the sense of summer to come
And now as I smell the autumn air
The people will ask – did I get anywhere?
No great feats worthy of mention
Several hours in police detention
I can’t remember all the songs I’ve sung
I can remember that it was fun

I love new places and people I meet
I love to sing for you on the street
To give what I’ve got and take what I need
In the winter’s cold and the summer’s heat

Someone asked what message I’d got
They were right to ask, it was quite a shock
To think that they thought I was just having fun
A student on holiday, a man on the run
They asked again - and what of my wife
And how could she share such a vagabond life
And what of insurance and illness and health?
They even asked what I’d put on the shelf

I really love to be outside
With the whole wide world before my eyes
I’m not such a friend of the wind and the rain
But you can’t have the peace without the storm
When birds are singing in the trees
The breeze is playing with the leaves
You don’t have to own it or say it is yours
The main thing is you’re out of doors

For every king and every lord
There’s a jester in the court

Someone said – you should be a star
And they wondered why I hadn’t got that far

The funny thing is, if you hear it enough
You begin to believe in this flattering stuff
I‘m not a musician, not really a poet
If you read these lines you will surely know it
I give what I’ve got, take what I can
And happy to be a vagabond man

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