Selcouth
by Marc Gunn
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Digital Album
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T-Shirt/Shirt + Digital AlbumSelcouth artwork on Port & Company 100% cotton shirt. Blue and beautiful. Get a free songbook with purchase!
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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Selcouth, St Patrick's Day, As Long As I'm Flyin', Flower of Scotland, Pirates vs. Dragons, St Patrick's Day Songs for Kids, Celtic Christmas Greetings, Sci Fi Drinking Songs, and 18 more.
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1. |
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The Mona Lisa never learned to smile
You came along and made her sing
She’s not posing anymore. She’s dancing.
You see the bright side of everything
A romantic walk along the sandy shore
The sky opens and it starts raining
You jump in puddles. We both start laughing
You see the bright side of everything.
* Someplace better someplace warm
Someplace alone just you and me
We can laugh at life’s uncertainty
While it's happening
And the bright side of everything
Though gravity may make us fall
Our stomachs feel like they’re turning. You say…
Falling is a lot like flying
You see the bright side of everything
Night is falling. It is getting dark
You hold my hand like you hold my heart.
Inside of me I feel torn apart. But…
You see the bright side of everything
Someplace better someplace warm
Someplace alone just you and me
We could laugh at life’s uncertainty
While it was happening
And the bright side of everything
Now you're gone and it”s hard to breath.
I think of you as you used to be.
If you were here, then you'd say to me,
Sweet baby, please…
See the bright side of everything.
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Through the market, I wandered and prayed
That I'd find me a woman I might marry one day.
Well, I never dreamed when I prayed that prayer
That the woman I longed for was standing there.
* When she held me in her arms that night,
I held her close, and I held her tight.
And I swore that day forth, I'd love her all of me life
When she held me in her arms that night.
She smelled of the sweetest lilac skin.
And I admit it now it drew me in
Oh, her voice cast a spell I could not disobey.
Every word was a river that swept me away.
Oh, the market became a more beautiful place,
The flowers more fragrant, and the clothing all lace.
And her eyes, oh, her eyes! They begged me to stay.
And twenty years later, I've not regretted a day.
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You wanna keep breathing, don'tcha,
Breathing in and out?
Gotta remember the reason, won'tcha,
The reason you take her out?
Treat her properly.
She'll be with you the rest of your days.
But it all starts with breathing, deeply,
Breathing in and out
It all began looking past what was
To what our life could be.
That's where I found so much Freedom
And a little Serenity.
An explosion knocked us to the ground.
But we got back on our feet.
Turned back the clock, to remember why
And what our life could be.
Some face life's challenges
With a little bit o' prayer.
Others turn, face it head on.
That's how they take in air.
Sometimes it's sad to face what's true
And try a different tack.
We gotta keep on breathing.
There ain't no turning back.
You better believe that I'll fight on
Through space, though I might fail.
I'll boost the signal through the night
Even if I'm feeling frail.
When at last you answer my call,
We'll fix our damaged hearts.
Together we'll keep on breathing
And we will never part.
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5. |
Why Do You Torture Me?
02:40
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Why do you torture me?
Oh why… Do you Request a song that I can't sing?
Why do you torture me?
Oh why… Do you wanna hear a song I can't sing?
Believe me when I say that I am happy you like this song.
It makes me smile when you light up at the chance to sing along.
The problem is I read the lyrics in the studio as I recorded it.
I haven't played the song since then. Never thought that you'd look forward to it.
You ask me for a Christmas song in the middle of July.
What's wrong with you? Why that song? Do you want to make a grown man cry?
Don't get me wrong. I'm proud I wrote it. But that was my old band.
Good satire, sure, but it's not a great song. You're the only one to make that demand.
I'm pretty sure I know most of the lyrics to your fine song request.
But as I sing, I forget the punchline my eyes dart around in distress.
If I’m gonna screw up the words to a song, at least let it be great.
Cuz the chances are I played it enough that at least I'll make it out the gate.
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6. |
Lads in the Shire
02:23
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Come young Hobbit maidens where'er you have been,.
To the hills you call home and the Green Dragon Inn
In all Middle Earth, you’ll ne’er find a friend,
Like the lads that were reared in the Shire
* Your Dwarf feasts away in caverns so tall.
Your parties with Men-folk, your great Elven balls.
For a dance ‘neath the Tree is worth ten in the hall
With the lads that were reared in the Shire.
Take a walk ‘round your cities, its walls reach the sky.
Gaze on the White Tree and Tower with pride,
But the best pipe-weeds’ grown on the Farthing’s south side
By the lads that were reared in the Shire.
When Gandalf needs bearers or burglars to send
On a mission quest thing...there and back again.
Even unto the Black Gates they’re true to the end
Are the lads that were reared in the Shire.
Now Rivendell boasts of their songs and their prose.
And Fanghorn can boast for the trees that Ents grow.
But give me the land where the Brandywine flows
And the green rolling hills of the Shire.
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7. |
Wherever I May Roam
03:02
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In younger days I used to wander
Through the lonely lanes of life.
Spun out of control, dizzy and alone
Nothing running right.
* Now I have love inside me
Wherever I may roam.
I have my family beside me.
I'm never alone.
I turned my back on dissonance.
Struck a new chord and hit it twice.
Raced towards the sun and a new world begun.
And then I met my wife.
Ate fish and chips on the streets of London.
Savored Abita in New Orleans.
Walked in cold rain of Galway town.
She was prettier than a dream.
Music alone was my one companion.
But songs alone have no melody.
Now there's adventure and love in my life.
And then the cries of our baby.
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8. |
Serenity Valley Waltz
03:13
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There's a place that I go.
When I'm feelin' low.
And a battle is ragin' in my head.
It dries up my tears
And holds back the fear
Gives me strength to face what's ahead
Serenity Valley Waltz
When I'm feelin' like everything's lost.
My heart is all ablaze
And my mind's in a haze
Let the Angels dance away my faults.
I felt the sadness that you caused
When you exposed all my flaws
And treated my fears as unreal.
There is truth in your lie
So much hurt as I cried
When you left my soul scarred and unhealed
Each day that I rise
I look up in the skies
I'm grateful my family's with me
Still I wait for the dawn
And struggle to go on
So I pray for Serenity.
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* These are tough times, and it feels just like a crime, if I
Put my conscience aside to live on the edge.
These are tough times. If I hope to survive, I’ll use my
Conscience as my guide. I must do what is right.
I got a job all lined up. I hope it ain't too bad.
But times are tough. Can't afford to pick and choose.
The boss man is all fired up, and it raises my alarm
If I don’t look too close, won’t see no harm.
Racing on a train. No longer society’s drain.
Pullin’ a job right under the Alliance nose.
I’m feeling rather smug when chance pulls out the rug.
I meet the workers I’m dragging through the coals.
Pain is in their eyes. I can’t help but empathize.
We stole their meds. Now their suffering is in store.
This gangster overstepped. Yet despite his unlovely rep,
I return the meds, and I knock him through the door.
The job it has gone south. I’m back living hand to mouth.
But I feel a little prouder than before.
Desperation made me look the other way.
I realize now, I must make a better choice.
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10. |
Mingulay Cat Song
04:03
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Little girl holds a full sippy cup.
Only drinks half of the juice up.
She leaves for school then the bottle lands with a splash.
Your paws get sticky on the floor.
* See the glass cats. Watch it splash cats.
See the liquid roll off of the table.
See your human in their socks cats
As they step in the puddle you made.
Humans watching TV distracted,
Or they leave to use the bathroom.
Jump up on the coffee table.
Knock the milk down and lick it up.
Ice cold glass of water at bedtime.
Set it down not far from the pillow.
Tongue can't reach it at two in the morning.
So knock it down, then you're satiated.
What care we if they're done drinking.
What we care about is physics in motion.
Tap the glass cats, watch it jiggle.
If it doesn't tip over, then knock it again.
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11. |
Loch Lomond
02:55
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By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes,
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond,
Where me and my true love were ever wont to gae,
On the bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.
* Oh! Ye'll take the high road, and I'll take the low road,
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye,
But me and my true love will never meet again,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.
'Twas then that we parted, In yon shady glen,
On the steep, steep side of Ben Lomond,
Where, in purple hue, The highland hills we view,
And the moon coming out in the gloaming.
The wee birdies sing, And the wild flowers spring,
And in sunshine the waters sleeping.
But the broken heart it kens, Nae second spring again,
Though the waeful may cease frae their greeting.
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12. |
Genetic Counseling Song
03:09
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I ask you questions to build your pedigree.
You share half-siblings in your history.
Running short on white out. But I’ve got to correct
Your brother of a stepmother I don’t need to connect.
Ancestry, birth defects, disabilities,
I’m putting the final touch on your family tree.
Four generations in, and I just about lost it
When you said, “By the way, does it matter that I’m adopted?”
* Genetic counselors.
Genetic what?
Genetic counselors
Let us look into your genes
FISH and SNPs
Arrays and WES
We’ll teach you what it means.
Setup your appointment for
Genetic counseling.
It’s Friday afternoon, but I’m here working late,
An insurance warrior with letters to write.
Benefits, investigations,
Medical necessity pre-authorizations.
The paperwork piles with each case I complete.
It’s up to me to get the testing that they need.
So I keep Color coding, stacking, and sorting.
How time has flown. Oh Look! It's Monday morning!
I pick up the phone on the second ring
DTC testing… It’s my favorite thing.
But I hear them out. I assess their Risk.
But every word I say is missed.
They fill my brain with questions. I groan in despair,
Because they read about it on a blog somewhere.
Keeping my patience is oh so hard.
It’s just another case of MTHFR.
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13. |
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Let me tell you who I am, red-blooded American.
I work 12 hour days, sweating hard for crap pay.
The days are far too long. When at last the weekend comes,
The pants go in the bin, and the kilt comes on again.
Some days I wake up with a joyful expression
As I wrap my kilt round my waist.
I latch on my sporran and pull up my stockings.
A smile grows on my face.
Then I’m off to the pub or the fair or the fest.
A wee swing goes into each step.
‘Cause I’m American born and Celtic forever,
And both are truly blessed.
* I may never know what it means to be normal,
Nor have I knowingly cared.
I will dance through the streets though it makes you uncomfortable.
My kilt will fly in the air. Because it’s my kilty pleasure.
Yes it’s my kilty pleasure.
Some say that I’m strange or call me a girl.
They like to make fun of me.
I blow off their jokes, because I am proud
Of my Scottish ancestry.
But I’m also proud of the blood in my veins,
As different as our country.
My kilt is a symbol of the land that I love
And all of its diversity.
You can say what you like, but the times they are changing.
We celebrate our differences.
Be ye black, brown, or white, I will fight for your rights.
Cuz I know what it means to be scared.
See, my family wore kilts and we fought in Culloden.
We Celts were all one time oppressed.
So I’ll tear down your walls with my southern drawl,
While donning my highland dress.
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about
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--
Selcouth means, “when everything is strange and different, yet you find it marvelous anyway.”
My wife found that word. She found a whole bunch of old words with cool meanings. But selcouth is the one that stuck out to me. It just seemed to fit me and my music.
I play Celtic music with a science fiction twist, while wearing a kilt and playing an autoharp. If that's not strange and different yet marvelous, I don't know what is!
But I asked her what should the album cover look like. I no longer remember what she said. But it was something like this. Strange and different yet marvelous.
--
Selcouth means, “when everything is strange and different, yet you find it marvelous anyway.”
My wife found that word. She found a whole bunch of old words with cool meanings. But selcouth is the one that stuck out to me. It just seemed to fit me and my music.
I play Celtic music with a science fiction twist, while wearing a kilt and playing an autoharp. If that's not strange and different yet marvelous, I don't know what is!
But I asked her what should the album cover look like. I no longer remember what she said. But it was something like this. Strange and different yet marvelous.
credits
released February 14, 2022
Marc Gunn: autoharp, vocals
Screeched Inn guest on "Bright Side of Everything"
The Muckers guest on "Kilty Pleasure"
Jamie Haeuser guests on "Breathing"
Miranda Nelson laid out the cover for me. The photo is by Gary Hook from a photo shoot we did in Austin back in May.
Marc Gunn: autoharp, vocals
Screeched Inn guest on "Bright Side of Everything"
The Muckers guest on "Kilty Pleasure"
Jamie Haeuser guests on "Breathing"
Miranda Nelson laid out the cover for me. The photo is by Gary Hook from a photo shoot we did in Austin back in May.
license
tags
about
Marc Gunn Atlanta, Georgia
Marc Gunn is a rhythm and folk musician inspired by Celtic culture, science fiction, fantasy, and cats--Sci F'Irish
music.
He breathes new life into the autoharp, which continues to surprise musical veterans and fans alike for its unique sound and spirited energy. It’s like a satirical jam session between The Clancy Brothers and Weird Al Yankovic.
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shows
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Apr 01McDade, TX
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Apr 08McDade, TX
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Apr 29Avondale Estates, GA
discography
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Feb 2022 -
Mar 2018 -
Feb 2017 -
Aug 2007