Eastward + Onward
by audio/rocketry
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Digital Album
Immediate download of 14-track album in your choice of MP3 320, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.Buy Now $5 CAD
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On My Way
03:37
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2. |
Ramblin' Shoes
02:19
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3. |
Ghost Town Stories
04:30
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4. |
Across The Crossroads
03:28
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Hitchin' Blues
02:54
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Athabasca Roll
03:31
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7. |
Up & On the Ground
02:03
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8. |
Two Chords
04:30
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9. |
Hallelujah Halifax!
03:30
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10. |
Gypsy Gal
04:40
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11. |
Lone Trail
03:17
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12. |
Dear Margaret
04:09
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13. |
Harvest
02:57
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14. |
Root of Living
04:08
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credits
released 05 March 2010
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The voice behind the poetry is frontman Joe Vickers, who along Matt Murphy (bass) and Blair Drover (banjo) form the core of ... more the band. While these three are ever present, live shows have been known to include up to six members. But one thing that can be said about the live Audio/Rocketry experience is that no matter how many folks may be on stage, the audience is always part of the band. less
discography
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Mar 2011 -
Mar 2010 -
Jan 2009 -
May 2006
contact / help
For help with downloads, click here.
For all other inquiries, click here.
- Track Name: On My Way
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On My Way
I’m headin’ north on the forty three
I’m making my way to the Peace Country
Where crosswinds howl in harmony
Through the timberline inviting me
And I’m on my way
As soon as instinct gained control
I packed my duffle bag and I hit the road
“So long, see you soon”, is all I could say
Take care for now while I’m on my way
The country air is mighty nice
I think I’ll settle ‘neath it for the night
Beneath the stars, northern lights, rocket ships, and satellites
I’ll wish for luck upon my flight and I’ll be on my way
Once I touch my finger to my lips and have it raised
Into the air with my uncertainties
There’s a bird of guidance no matter how far I stray
I might be lost right now but I’ll soon find my way
Let the crosswinds blow and I will follow
Point while eyes are closed and I’ll leave without sorrow
I’m just a young country boy with old fashion ways
I’ll tip my hat to you and I’ll be on my way
Well, I’m reading, writing, pleading, fighting,
And taking in all my head may hold
I’m meeting, greeting, learning, and leaving
From all kinds of kinship – young and old
While out of your comfort,
There’s no need to be afraid
Complacency is more frightening
I learnt on my way
On my way toward defining
is more a quest than a discovery
Who you are and where you’re coming from will always stay the same
But where you’re heading you’ll carve on your way
Let the crosswinds blow and I will follow
Point while eyes are closed and I’ll leave without sorrow
I’m just a young country boy with old fashion ways
I’ll tip my hat to you and I’ll be on my way
She played my heart strings like a harp and every chord she strummed
I did all I could labour just to play along
But our rhythm never matched and our parts hardly changed
I’m thankful ‘cause I’ve found a sounder song in the wake
A melody is a-ringing on the far shores for me
Singing in the coastal shells echoing
I will be by your side in three weeks to the day
Hold tightly sweetheart, I’m on my way
Let the crosswinds blow and I will follow
Point while eyes are closed and I’ll leave without sorrow
I’m just a young country boy with old fashion ways
I’ll tip my hat to you and I’ll be on my way - Track Name: Ramblin' Shoes
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Ramblin’ Shoes
My old ragged ramblin’ shoes are travelin’ me around
My ramblin’ shoes are finding me another town
They’re huggin’ my feet, cause they are itchin’
Bummin’ about, hoppin’ & hitchin’
Without a care, we roam anywhere
My old ragged ramblin’ shoes left without a trace.
These ramblin’ shoes have taken me a-many o’ places.
They had me in my fears; they had me in my doubts.
They got me into trouble and they got me on out.
They’ve taken me east, west, north, and south.
My old ragged ramblin’ shoes are covered in tears and holes.
In these here ramblin’ shoes, my heart is stitch within the soles.
Take me now, I wanna go. The compass on the tip of my toes
Will guide me into the unknown.
My old ragged ramblin’ shoes, they carry me along.
These ramblin’ shoes don’t keep me in a place too long.
Fasten to me where they belong, when I’m a-wearing em, I’m a wanderin’ on
If you look the other way, I might be gone.
My old ragged ramblin’ shoes have written a storyline.
These ramblin’ shoes are never polished nor shined.
Character grows with every rip. They’re one pair I’ll never part with.
These ragged shoes, I’ll wear into the grave.
Hey, hey ramblin’ shoes make that familiar sound.
When my heel is a thumping against the ground.
Ramblin’ shoes keep a stompin’. Until I break
every string I won’t be a stopping what I love to do.
I’m keeping on the move. Squeezing through thick stampedes,
I’m rolling like a tumbleweed
with my ramblin’ shoes that are always
On my feet. - Track Name: Ghost Town Stories
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Skeleton man play a song for the alive and the dead
Sing a song to bring at ease amidst the unrest
Let it marvel our thoughts and rattle our bones
And give all the lonely drifters the feeling of home
Sing a song for where they’ve been and now for where they are
Either on the shoulder of a road or a freighter flatbed car
They said good-bye to the old way. It’s deceased as far
As one knows it when they’re in plight from the family farm
They moved to the shanties and left a ghost behind
In the shacks and abandoned buildings that now hold an eerie shrine
Of a better time, a better day, and better way of life
The hard stricken battle stole away their lifestyle
The town settled with the boom and emptied with the bust
Folks came with the wind and left with the dust
The golden-paved streets have been left to rust
And their forgotten stories are now left up to us
To share and to tell ‘cause a ghostly spirit is all that dwells.
Skeleton man bang those pots and pans
Set the tempo for the night’s song and dance
Sing out the ballads of yesterday and we will join into
The welcoming melody of those familiar tunes
Because right here is where we belong
We are at home when we’re singing along
We’ll wrap ourselves under a blanket of comfort tonight
And keep it folded at side for every campsite
The long road that stretches ahead
Was given to us without alternative
You can call it a calling, you can call it fate
We didn’t question it until it was too late
Come around all you dreamers and freewheelers
And rustlers and buskers and drifting hoboes
Come around all you gypsies and hippies
And wayward wanderers and honest folk and rogues
Come about the bonfire stones
And share your hard-up tale for you are not alone
Join your voice into the swelling chorus
And sing with the howling wolves in the forest
No, no, this ain’t a dead-end route
We’ll wake up with empty pockets but a company of wealth
Even though our compasses cast us off upon our separate ways
So long skeleton man until we meet again, I’ll keep on singing - Track Name: Across The Crossroads
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Across The Crossroads
I stumbled upon the Crossroads
Upon it in the evening’s cold
If the legend is true I’ve a lot of thinking to do
Before I walk across the Crossroads
The dirty soil is collecting on the bottom
Of my ragged old ramblin’ shoes
But before I cross that narrow intersection
I’m calculating my gains and losses
Along with my choices in tow with my bag
Three new and one old direction are weighing on my head
East or West or straight ahead
My conscience knows no differently
I’m standing at the crossroads
I’m standing here on my own
I’m pondering my thoughts
before I walk across the Crossroads
Two businessmen appeared in a wink
Providing separate offerings
To tune my guitar in exchange for
My soul in their different afterworlds
Well , the man wearing black extending his hand
And said “shake for a life a stardom and fame my friend”
Heed the terms; sign it off. X marks the spot
Here at the post where the two roads cross
I’m standing at the Crossroads
I’m standing aware of the unknown
Am I going to give it away or going to save my soul
When I walk across the Crossroads
Oh my son don’t lead a-stray
On the path to righteousness
Take my deal and I’ll guarantee you higher living
If you praise His name in all you manifest
The two began to fight for the rights to my spirit
Sweetening the terms to persuade my decision
Enticing lures flew back and forth
As this choice held the fate of my course
I’m standing at the Crossroads
I’m contemplating which path the follow
East or West or S.O.S
Do I stay true or compromise who I am?
I got the Devil on my left
And an Angel on my right
Pulling at my conscience at either end
In a tug-o-war of picking sides
But I’m not picking sides
To vaguely drawn lines
I’m leaving them both behind
I’m walking across the Crossroads
I’m walking across it alone
No need to sell nor save nor to give nor to take
When I’m walking alone across the Crossroads
I’m walking alone across the Crossroads
I don’t need no company
When I follow my own lead
I’m walking alone across the Crossroads - Track Name: Hitchin' Blues
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Hitchin’ Blues
I kick the pebbles and gravel stones
Up and down the road – east and onward I roll
Outside the rumble strips I await
Counting on hope while counting license plates
In stream and rivers, cars are passing me by
Leaving me and my faith behind
It’s doubtful tonight that I’ll reach New Brunswick
The sun has gone down and my luck has gone down with it
I’ve crossed my fingers, hoped, and prayed
For a lift to take me from this lonesome highway
Nobody is stopping and there’s nothing I can do
But sit on the shoulder and wait for somebody to
Save me from my hitchhiking blues
The dirty sky paints an overcast
I better pick up the pace ‘til the next overpass
And if I don’t make it, very well I suppose
It can’t get any worse when you’re drenched to the bones
My spirits are sinking, they are dragging
The river’s depth wayward and down
My luck is failing. I am faithless
Beneath a road sign I can hardly pronounce
These break lights are so teasing
Folks turn their heads pretending they don’t see me
My cardboard sign is no more convincing
For me or for you while I’m stranded outside of Rivere-de-Loup
With my hitchhiking blues
The St. Lawrence rages parallel to me
I’ll keep walking east ‘til my legs give away
With a bag on my back and guitar in hand
My hitchhiking blues are my only friend
Then I tossed and discarded despair in the ditch
My savior on four wheels blessed me with a hitch
Now hugging my luggage, squeezed in the backseat
I caught a ride now I’ll try to catch some sleep - Track Name: Athabasca Roll
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At the feet of the
Columbia Glacier, the rapids form
As of the Rockies, they sweep hard across the Alberta plains
This course has been the source of pain for over centuries
It opened up the west and ever since
Them early days the waterways have been rollin’ with distress
Despite the river’s ancient utility of life
It’s harming many now within its currents of strive
Athabasca Roll
Well, it’s cutting through the heart of the Tar Sand mines
Picking up contaminants and depositing them down the line
If you don’t believe it, confront the health risks
Subjected to the folks who are living in Fort Chip
The dikes ain’t holding back all of the toxic brew
Even though we live upstream, it should be a concern to me and you
Cancer rates are rising while the industry grows
Accountability is lost in the undertow
Athabasca Roll
Roll on Athabasca, you use to roll just like a dream
Now you rage like a nightmare shipping poison downstream
Albeit, I’m not ready to give up on you yet
I just think I might reevaluate who really runs this province
Knowledge is the effort to keep a breath above the water
If we take a plunge of ignorance we may drown out altogether - Track Name: Up & On the Ground
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Up & On the Ground
Well, it’s been three longs days since I’ve fallen down
And I haven’t had the wits to pick myself off the ground
I’m ready to distance myself from any doubt
It’s time to get my two feet back up and on the ground
I’ve been stressing on the sorrows and dwelling on the aches
It’s time to get my two feet back on the ground again
And it don’t matter if I walk anything but straight
It’s time to get my two feet back on the ground again
I’ll dust myself off and hear the birdies sing
It’s time to get my two feet back on the ground again
The whiskey has worn away and the sunlight is on the break
It’s time to get my two feet back on the ground again
It’s been three long days and I’m getting up - Track Name: Two Chords
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Two Chords
I’m staring beneath at an empty page
And I’m thinking about y’all three thousand km away
I’m at a lost for words and I could not find
But these two chords that always make me cry
I’m staring beneath at my feet on an open road
This guitar has brought me this far and one day it’ll take me home
Hard travelin’ wouldn’t come so easy if it weren’t for the ties
And these two chords that always make me cry
I’m staring at myself in a truck stop bathroom mirror
I’ve traded my old collection for a new set of fears
There’s always changing unlike
The sound of these two lonesome chords that always make me cry
I’m staring at my fingertips
And the calluses they’ve grown
I could wrap them around my heart
And press back to this fret board
And always without failure
They’d repeat all the while
The sound of these two lonesome chords…
I’m staring at a photograph
Darling, I miss you so
My eyes are locked upon a lady across from me
And I don’t even know
Why she reminds me of you
You don’t even look alike
It must be the power of these two lonesome chords
That always make me cry
I’m staring at my scars
Tattooed upon my skin;
The permanence of who I am
And who I have been
They’re never fading unlike
The sound of these two lonesome chords
that always make me cry - Track Name: Hallelujah Halifax!
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Hallelujah Halifax!
Rolled into town on rusty tracks
Hallelujah Halifax!
We made it looking our worst and feeling our best
For the past month I’ve been trekking to you
Eastern port city upon the Atlantic blue
Once just a dot on a map, a purpose, a dream,
Beyond a foreign city of streets and people to meet.
We dropped our anchor into splashes and sighs
Of relief that soon drowned in a triumphant cry
All truth be known we should’ a sunk long ago
But our optimistic effort kept our vessel afloat.
Chorus
Against the flow of the migrant tide
Two Albertan refugees distant for the Maritimes
In search of a treasure, one which we did find
Buried beneath the surface of humankind
Although rough sailing was felt throughout the course
Across the fierce terrain of the mighty great north
Each day’s adventure gained momentum toward
The coast while becoming a reckoning force
Chorus
And we’ll toast to the stories in our journals
From the first page until our arrival
When we slept in a booth in Toronto
The Trans-Can became my second home
I felt inferior beside Superior
Our luck it did come and go
I held my head high and I hung it real low
But all the while I was thinking of you
Chorus
I was tossed in the drunk tank in Sylvan Lake
I learned how to flat-pick in Winnipeg
I was bootlicked by moonshine in PEI
I tore up my old ramblin’ shoes and I had spell of hitchin’ blues
Between the two I was still dreaming of you
Hallelujah Halifax! - Track Name: Gypsy Gal
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Gypsy Gal
My gypsy girl
Roamed into my world
As I traveled afar
I stumbled into her arms
Although they warned me never to trust a gal
Who dwells in a caravan
But who am I to judge
When I’m one of them ramblin’ men
We both had left a trail
Of broken hearts from town to town
It was poetically just in the end
We had to break apart in order to mend
We were two or a kind; one of those
Vagrants distant for the unknown
We hustled, tumbled, rambled, and roamed
Then gambled in love but still drifted alone
I bumped into her at the campsite
I was drawn by her curls in the wind
I was lonely as the ghost town
We were settling in
I said, “girly come sit near the fire
While the coals still a-brightly glow”
She nodded, “I will providing
You sing ‘til you break the canyon wall’s echo”
We shared in songs and homebrew
And tales of foreign lancin’
Around and around the bonfire
We were a-laughin’ and a-dancin’
As the last of the firewood smoldered
Surrendering to the dark
I curled up tightly next to
A thief who looted my heart
And I didn’t even have the chance
To kiss her good-bye
She left without a trace
Before sunrise
And they said, “if that’s all she
Stole, boy, you are lucky”
But she took her love away
And that’s all I ever wanted
Yet I’ve heard if you ain’t got nothing
You ain’t got nothing to lose
I embarked on a quest to recapture my ticker
And tried to win her heart over too
Away, again, a-hustlin’, tumblin’, and roamin’
I was hollerin’ my blues until the early hours of the morning
With all my lung capacity I sang until the canyon walls collapsed
And when they did, she appeared at last
My gypsy queen where have you been?
It was foreseen I had to be gone she said
For our hearts to break before
They’d fit as one
So darling, take my hand
We’ll roam side by side across near and far lands - Track Name: Lone Trail
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Lone Trail
The trails of the world are countless
And most of the trails have been tried
Yet you tread your heels on the many
Until you reach where the ways divide
Where one lies safe in the sunlight
And the other in the darkened shadow
Still your eyes are cast down the unlikely path
And the lone trail lures you on to go
Cause deep down you’re sick of the highway
With its noise and uneasy needs
You seek the risk of the by-way
And consider not where it leads
Sacrifices are to be made
Before you call that trail your own
You gotta say good-bye and leave everything
Behind in the place you call your home
You gotta bid farewell to your sweetheart
And bid farewell to your family and friends
The lone trail you have chosen,
You gotta follow ‘til you reach the end
There’s something to be said about the unknown
How adventure is found in a mystery
Just be prepared when the lone trail
Leads you down a path right to agony
Cause sometimes it’ll lead you to the mountains
To the top of the snow-capped peaks
Where it’ll force you to scale the gorges
And condemn you to disbelief
Sometimes it’ll lead you to a canyon
Where you’ll find a hollow company
In the echoes of a distance
Who’ll reply to your greetings in repeat
And sometimes it’ll lead you through darkness
By the light of a lone campfire
And it’ll remind you of the love you left behind
And the warmth she emitted at night
You gotta bid farewell to your sweetheart
And bid farewell to your family and friends
The lone trail you have chosen,
You gotta follow ‘til you reach the end
If the lone trail doesn’t lead you to glory
It’ll always lead you to pain
The hunger, the heartache, and the hard luck
Won’t do nothing for that lonesome refrain
If you give into that sense of wonder
To wander down the path least tread
Know that when you take one step down
There’s no turning back around, the lone trail is yours ‘til the end - Track Name: Dear Margaret
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Dear Margaret
Dear Margaret, while paddling down the river
In your little ol’ canoe
May never your travels be empty
And always company for you
Dear Margaret, yonder on the river’s bend
Carved into the bank shoreline rocks
Lies one lonely love letter
Sealed forget me not
Dear Margaret, you asked for something original
And I haven’t a clue where to begin
I haven’t one thing original in me
Except one original sin
Dear Margaret, when the golden sun is setting
And your heart from care is free
While you’re a-thinking of others
Will you ever think of me?
When the years and months have past us by
And on these pages you cast your eyes
Remember Margaret, a fellow sincere
The one who left you these faded souvenirs
Dear Margaret, we’re worlds apart by now
You anchored in our sweet home town
Abroad the globe I am bound
To where skies are foreign as the ground
With constellations upside down
And a moon that is sending me a frown
Oh Margaret, I’m lonesome
Without you around
When the years and months have past us by
And on these pages you cast your eyes
Remember Margaret, a fellow sincere
The one who left you these faded souvenirs
Do you still visit the river’s edge
And hum those folk songs like you do?
While I would thump a tune or two
With the crickets underneath the chandelier moon
Now sitting on your bedside
Reading poetry I’d write
Years ago for you
Know that those words still hold the truth
Now sitting on your bedside
Reading poetry I’d write
For you, oh Margaret,
Know the words still hold the truth
The poetry I’d write for you
Are now relic souvenirs
Forget me never,
Margaret dear - Track Name: Harvest
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Harvest
I settle with the seasons
And pick up when they change
I hunt for reason
Wherever calls my name
Within familiar and foreign
A conflict has be torn
A part of me is destine to travel
While the other is tied to the place I was born
So when the seeds are sowed
I’ll be heading down the road
Racing to complete the circle in time
For when the crops are full grown
Y’know I’ve a wanderin’ spirit and deep it runs
Life offers no guarantees; my unfulfilled dreams will never be abandoned
But before I’m gone, know I won’t be away for too long
You’ll see my face sometime in September – I’ll be back when harvest comes
I know that pops
Each year gets a little harder
Taking off the crops alone
Ain’t suffice for you aging farmer
So while I’m out chasing dreams
I’ll keep an ear out for the homestead’s calling
And keep true to the word I left you with
I’ll be home in time for harvest
Y’know I’ve a wanderin’ spirit and deep it runs
Life offers no guarantees; I pursuing these dreams while I’m young
But when the crops turn from green to gold, remember what was told
A promise made by your only son - I’ll be back when harvest comes
I’ll see the ripe fields wave
And I’ll navigate my way toward
The family farmland to provide a helping hand
Because when the dust is cast, there’ll be no question at all
I’ll exchange my wandering ways in for
A pair of dirty overalls - Track Name: Root of Living
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Root o’ Living
I drew a map onto a napkin
And followed it from end to end
Coffee stains ran the ink off the edge
I merged right on with a mood of suspense
I know it is much in your nature
To fear the way you often do
Regarding my uncertain path ahead
Just so you know, giving up is not an option
To any of them, I promise you this
‘Cause that’s how you raised me
Oh mother don’t you worry
Boys will be boys - we’re gentlemen
Hearts might be torn to threads – all will be re-sewed in the end
When the circle is tied, this will be known
Big sis you wear your heart on your sleeve
And there’s no other place I’d rather it be
Than worn on the tip of your cuff
You wore it proudly when urged to roll up
You proved stains will fade to growth
In character while make your skin tougher
Soon you’ll match that one as your lover
And finalized the story you’ve been meaning to uncover
The paper and pen are in hand
I know it’s hard to be patient
Oh sister don’t you hurry
You’ll write that chapter 3 one day
And type text forever long - time meets in the epilogue
For now take one word at a time
The comrades on leisure are always in my corner
I’ll never need to ever question the notion
As for I, the same can be said
With respect to my forever reciprocation
All the authors, all the writers
Have said it best in a more poetic manner
About the amplitude of actions over words
And how far more deafening they are
No battleships could ever sink our friendship
Oh brothers don’t you worry
We’ll break the odds through and through
Feast or famine, sink or swim, all or nothing,
Thick or thin, you already know which one to choose
You’re my roots. You’re my all.
