895,901 views Jul 25, 2012’The Lark Ascending’, inspired by a poem of the same name by George Meredith, was begun shortly before the outbreak of the First World War but not completed until Vaughan Williams returned from active service in France. This performance is by Nicola Benedetti with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andrew Litton.
I was eight years old And running with a dime in my hand To the bus stop to pick Up a paper for my old man I’d sit on his lap in that big old Buick And steer as we drove through town He’d tousle my hair And say, “son, take a good look around” This is your hometown This is your hometown This is your hometown This is your hometown”
In ’65 tension was running high At my high school There was a lot of fights Between the black and white There was nothing you could do Two cars at a light on a Saturday night In the back seat there was a gun Words were passed in a shotgun blast Troubled times had come To my hometown To my hometown To my hometown To my hometown
Now Main Street’s whitewashed windows And vacant stores Seems like there ain’t nobody Wants to come down here no more They’re closing down the textile mill Across the railroad tracks Foreman says, “these jobs are going, boys And they ain’t coming back To your hometown To your hometown To your hometown To your hometown”
Last night me and Kate we laid in bed Talking about getting out Packing up our bags, maybe heading south I’m thirty-five, we got a boy of our own now Last night I sat him up behind the wheel And said, “son, take a good look around This is your hometown”
There’s a hero If you look inside your heart You don’t have to be afraid Of what you are There’s an answer If you reach into your soul And the sorrow that you know Will melt away
And then a hero comes along With the strength to carry on And you cast your fears aside And you know you can survive So when you feel like hope is gone Look inside you and be strong And you’ll finally see the truth That a hero lies in you
It’s a long road When you face the world alone No one reaches out a hand For you to hold You can find love If you search within yourself And that emptiness you felt Will disappear
And then a hero comes along With the strength to carry on And you cast your fears aside And you know you can survive So when you feel like hope is gone Look inside you and be strong And you’ll finally see the truth That a hero lies in you, oh, oh
Lord knows Dreams are hard to follow But don’t let anyone Tear them away, hey yeah Hold on There will be tomorrow In time you’ll find the way
And then a hero comes along With the strength to carry on And you cast your fears aside And you know you can survive So when you feel like hope is gone Look inside you and be strong And you’ll finally see the truth That a hero lies in you That a hero lies in you Mmm, that a hero lies in you
In this proud land we grew up strong We were wanted all along I was taught to fight, taught to win I never thought I could fail
No fight left or so it seems I am a man whose dreams have all deserted I’ve changed my face, I’ve changed my name But no one wants you when you lose
Don’t give up ‘Cause you have friends Don’t give up You’re not beaten yet Don’t give up I know you can make it good
Though I saw it all around Never thought I could be affected Thought that we’d be last to go It is so strange the way things turn
Drove the night toward my home The place that I was born, on the lakeside As daylight broke, I saw the earth The trees had burned down to the ground
Don’t give up You still have us Don’t give up We don’t need much of anything Don’t give up ‘Cause somewhere there’s a place Where we belong
Rest your head You worry too much It’s going to be alright When times get rough You can fall back on us Don’t give up Please don’t give up
Got to walk out of here I can’t take anymore Gonna stand on that bridge Keep my eyes down below Whatever may come And whatever may go That river’s flowing That river’s flowing
Moved on to another town Tried hard to settle down For every job, so many men So many men no-one needs
Don’t give up ‘Cause you have friends Don’t give up You’re not the only one Don’t give up No reason to be ashamed Don’t give up You still have us Don’t give up now We’re proud of who you are Don’t give up You know it’s never been easy Don’t give up ‘Cause I believe there’s a place There’s a place where we belong
Tough You think you’ve got the stuff You’re telling me and anyone You’re hard enough
You don’t have to put up a fight You don’t have to always be right Let me take some of the punches For you tonight
Listen to me now I need to let you know You don’t have to go it alone
And it’s you when I look in the mirror And it’s you when I don’t pick up the phone Sometimes you can’t make it on your own
We fight all the time You and I, that’s alright We’re the same soul don’t need, I don’t need to hear you say That if we weren’t so alike You’d like me a whole lot more
Listen to me now I need to let you know You don’t have to go it alone
And it’s you when I look in the mirror And it’s you when I don’t pick up the phone Sometimes you can’t make it on your own
I know that we don’t talk I’m sick of it all Can you hear me when I sing? You’re the reason I sing You’re the reason why the opera is in me
Hey now Still got to let you know A house doesn’t make a home Don’t leave me here alone
And it’s you when I look in the mirror And it’s you that makes it hard to let go Sometimes you can’t make it on your own Sometimes you can’t make it Best you can do, is to fake it Sometimes you can’t make it on your own
Have I told you lately that I love you Have I told you there’s no one else above you You fill my heart with gladness Take away all my sadness Ease my troubles, that’s what you do
For the morning sun and all it’s glory Greets the day with hope and comfort, too You fill my life with laughter And somehow, you make it better Ease my troubles, that’s what you do
There’s a love that’s divine And it’s yours and it’s mine Like the sun And at the end of the day We should give thanks and pray To the one, to the one
Have I told you lately that I love you Have I told you there’s no one else above you You fill my heart with gladness Take away all my sadness Ease my troubles, that’s what you do
There’s a love that’s divine And it’s yours and it’s mine Like the sun And at the end of the day We should give thanks and pray To the one, to the one
And have I told you lately that I love you Have I told you there’s no one else above you You fill my heart with gladness Take away all my sadness Ease my troubles, that’s what you do
Take away all my sadness, fill my life with gladness Ease my troubles, that’s what you do Take away all my sadness, fill my life with gladness Ease my troubles, that’s what you do