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City Synchronicity

by Julia Turner

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1.
Melodies rise as the traffic roars Well I’d rather be out here than stuck indoors Harmonies vie for the street side Oh what a way to ease my mind... Street side in the summertime These melodies run through my mind Lucky me I’ve got the time To sing as children dance on the street side Standing under clear blue skies Sunshine brings the girls and the guys Lucky me I’ve got the time To sing as lovers recline on the street side Outside in the summer sun The heat is getting to everyone Lucky me I’ve got the time To sing as a sax man burns up the street side Too much work is just perverse I think I’ll just sing one more verse Lucky me I’ve got the choice To sing whenever, wherever I lay my hat
2.
Driving to the desk Endless phone calls wait for me I’ll be there all day Yesterday was warm Outside in the sunlit streets Now I’m stuck inside Stuck inside with the desk dweller blues Spinning haiku I’ve only been here three days but I’ve got ‘em bad I’ve got the desk dweller blues Northern winds catch dust Lift it to my window pane Inside it is still Repetition bores One call ends, another looms Sick of this same line I’ve got the desk dweller blues Spinning haiku I’ve only been here three days but I’ve got ‘em bad I’ve got the desk dweller blues Feel like a zombie Always staring at this screen Makes my vision blur Ringtones intersperse Fairground music, put on hold It’s driving me mad Going mad with these desk dweller blues Spinning haiku I’ve only been here three days but I’ve got ‘em bad I’ve got the desk dweller blues Leaving there in haste With relief I reach the door Out in the fresh air My head starts to clear As I walk along Southbank The sun is shining As I walk away those desk dweller blues All day long I’ve been spinning haiku Counting syllables keeps me sane When I’ve got the desk dweller blues.
3.
Nan 04:02
The last time I saw you, you seemed quite chirpy Telling me of the world you saw true Telling me of the comings and goings Of people and ghosts from a life you once knew The last time I saw you the girls were on lunch They’d been sewing all day and all night in your room They’d been terribly noisy and though you complained I could see you took comfort in their rattle and hum The last time I saw you there’d been renovations Banging to build you a boxing ring The banging continued when boys came to box ‘Cor what a racket, they don’t ‘alf make a din’ The last time I saw you I smiled at your stories Though far fetched they harked back to the past Your beloved Frank and his passion for boxing Your skills as a seamstress passed down from your mum The last time I saw you the nurse had been lying She said it was six when it must have been nine As time slips and trips you play out your life story Clearing your mind for the end of the line
4.
My Victorian boyfriend has a pipe He bought it with our last blue note He rarely smokes it, but often sits, pipe in lips A mock stern expression on his brow My love was meant for another era He doesn’t like phones or the Internet He yearns for a time when people wrote each other letters When met wore waistcoats and epaulettes My Victorian boyfriend likes to recite Poetry prose and haikus alike He’ll speak with clear diction and accented phrases He won’t need persuading to take to the floor My love is now my husband He wooed me with old-fashioned wit and charm Here in Melbourne he’s closer to history He’s a real Victorian man with a wife on his arm
5.
He stood by the boat out on the bay I stared and hoped he might look my way He smiled and my heart leapt But he can’t stay I moved a if I might go towards him He turned as if he might come my way We smiled and my heart bled For he can’t stay
6.
Sweet Guitar 03:49
My calluses are softening Nails growing long Without you to please I am letting myself go I want to hold you close Warm your neglected core Caress you with my fingertips ‘Til the skin is red and raw I tried to write a song today Without you it was bland I wrote down all the ways you please me You’re always so understanding Without your harmonies I become frustrated Don’t know how to ease this itch Without your sweet vibrations I’m lonesome You put my senses at fever pitch Without you these harmonies wouldn’t even exist I can’t be without you for too long My sweet guitar
7.
Wondering through the gallery In a daze A well of emotions are bubbling and popping within me This is where I need to be Each painting is meaningful, beautiful and infinitely calming As I stand and I look, I can forget. Forget reality, but live in a new one, a calm one Surrounded by colour and texture These Infinite Horizons draw me in And as I am guided away I feel calmer But as the hand guides me out towards the door I feel an urge to turn around and bolt right back Back to Fred Williams and live inside his paintings For now For now, I can forget.
8.
Down Time 02:45
Things were good, I had coins to spare I sang to all who would listen, without a care I was learning fast, each day a milestone But when life threw shit my way, I felt too exposed Dr Don’t Care didn’t try to see He just showered me with drugs that didn’t work for me I tried to stay calm, tried to stay upbeat But singing in the street isn’t always easy I need some down time I need some down time Life is getting too much I need some down time I powered on, didn’t want to give up Until my body reacted and my glands shot up Well they say thing come in threes I grieved for my nan, my broken family And now my teeth are giving me grief I need some down time I need some down time Life is getting too much I need some down time Down time
9.
I met her on my first shift waiting tables We chatted as she showed me the ropes She said she’d lived in my new suburb until just last week But what’s weird is I’d just moved into her old house Ten thousand miles from home Here in Melbourne where the cafes thrive It’s a big city but a small world When just days ago she slept in this same room Waiting at the tram stop we saw another couple And when no tram came they offered us a lift On the road to the city we ask where they are headed Turns out we’re all going to one tiny basement jazz gig Ten thousand miles from home Here in Melbourne where the culture’s high It’s a big city but a small world When these musicians live just steps from my front door I saw him at the bike shed down the creek As I put down the spanner to wipe my cheek I heard ‘Can I borrow that?’ I looked up dumbstruck Because standing there was a guy I went through school with Ten thousand miles from home Here in Melbourne where the streets are flat It’s a big city but a small world When Jimmy Keen turns out to be my neighbour
10.
Cutlery Shed 04:34
I’m banished to the cutlery shed where I sing, sing sing as I sort my forks. Yeah I’m banished to the cutlery shed where I sing, sing sing as I sort my forks. I sort my forks and I sort my knives and in them I see clear reflections of my life. My fake smile and my corporate shirt, I’ve got to find me some meaningful work, Where I’m not banished to the cutlery shed where I sing, sing sing as I sort my forks. Yeah I’m banished to the cutlery shed where I sing, sing sing as I sort my forks. Polish, polish ’til they’re nice and shiny, But wait a minute ‘cos this one is grimy. What’s this smeared all over my spoon? This cutlery must have been washed by baboons, Or more likely it was just some guy, Who spent the night asking how? when? and why? Was I banished to the cutlery shed where I sing, sing sing as I sort my forks. Yeah I’m banished to the cutlery shed where I sing, sing sing as I sort my forks. I try to ignore the rumbling of my tummy, I try to forget how much I miss my mummy. I try to remember what I came here for, Why am I always asking for more? I left my home for this far-off continent And if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s to live in the moment…. That’s why I’m singing as I polish my cutlery and as I sing I compose a song. ‘Cos if I’m singing as I polish my cutlery then at least this shift won’t seem quite as long.
11.
Little One 03:47
Little one as yet unborn What can I offer as the party ends? Will you find the beauty? In this land bled dry as the weather is closing in. Mother have the courage to bear me I might be someone who’ll find Some kind of answer To the problems past generations have left behind But baby when you’re ten years old Will there still be hands to hold? Who’ll provide the answers? In a world that’s getting darker every day. Mother born in this strange time I will learn to guide us I will hold your hand Though dark to you this world is all I ever knew Darling on your twenty-first Will your young heart die of thirst? Will your chest be full of fury? As the Fat Cats die and they leave their mess behind. Mother there’s no time for hate We must push for progress Now’s the time to act Though we’ll struggle I see brighter times ahead.
12.
Maya's Song 04:14
Hmmm…As I’m walking you’re humming yourself to sleep Sleep little monkey girl Sleep softly as I carry you along Drift off in the fading light And when you wake up you’ll be back in your own room Hmmm…As I’m walking you’re humming yourself to sleep Hush now my sleepy sweet Shhh, as if back in the womb Hug me like a young ape As we walk dark streets where lamps light up the gloom Hmmm…As I’m walking you’re humming yourself to sleep Sleep little happy thing Sleep as humming courses through our bones Be lulled by rhythmic footsteps And the interplay of heart and feet and moon Hmmm…As I’m walking you’re humming yourself to sleep

about

This album is a collection of songs inspired by the highs and lows of a year lived far from home busking and blogging in Melbourne.

credits

released December 13, 2012

All music written and composed by Julia Turner (except Girl With a Trumpet, words Julia Turner, music Sunniva Brynnel)
Recorded and mastered by Pikkle Henning, Melbourne, 2012.

Julia Turner – lead vocals, guitar (tracks 3 & 11)
Heather Stewart – violin, backing vocals (tracks 1, 4, 8, 10),
Sam Lemann – guitar (all tracks except track 3)
Leigh Barker – double bass
Sam Young – drums, cutlery

Album cover artwork: Tom Allen
Logo & merchandise design: Simon Baker
© 2012 Julia Turner

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Julia Turner Bristol, UK

City Synchronicity is a collection of songs inspired by a year lived 10,000 miles from home, busking and blogging in Melbourne.

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