Starlit Night
You ́ll lose your life, you won ́t last the night
on this starlit night, starlit night.
The cold attacks it cuts like a knife
The little birds watch she won ́t last the night
The snow like flies round a corpse descend
The birds sing we on her death depend
The cold attacks like a hungry dog
With bloodlust that wind has no remorse
Until your body is a corpse
Slippers for a Cradle
Slippers for a cradle now you can sleep for here
is a place where your dreams you can keep
Where with pretty toys you can pretend
and a mother ́s love you can depend
There in the street the snow it runs deep
but here in your cradle you sleep
Slippers for a cradle here you are safe not
trash on the street a bare headed waif
Presents and sweets and all you desire
and most of all a big open fire
Sippers for a cradle now you ́re warm
no longer lost lost and forlorn
Around you you feel the warm glow
of love for mother, father and god above
Red and Blue with Cold
Red and blue with cold so this dream unfolds
Red and blue with cold god no mercy shows
Like Jesus for our sins you are suffering
God of mercy god of love why does
she suffer so
Red and blue with cold she ́ll die do
You all knowing know?
Is she like Jesus on the cross an angel
for our sins
Or lucky for in one night a lifetimes suffering
Then she will be released in heaven
she will roam
While we are left the winters nights bereft
and all alone
Your long golden hair
Your long golden hair is worth more than
all of the diamonds in the richest mine
Or all the pearls in all the necklaces,
all of the necklaces put in a line
But as you bathe in this sunlit dream
you know that nothing is what it seems
Your long golden hair is worth more than the
gold all the gold in the mines richest seams
Or all the countless hours the dreams
that poets do dream
Your long golden hair will lie with your
corpse buried in the pure white snow
Your long golden hair will continue toeven when you soul does go
Man in the moon
Alone with the man, the man in the moon
No one buys a match from the urchin
in the street
Though each sees she has no shoes
upon her feet
They ́ll cook and eat by their Christmas tree
Their children play with presents all warm
and happy
While her flesh starts to freeze they eat
and drink and are happy
And when next time their confessions
they do make
Will they remember the match girl each one did break
one did break
The one they left freezing on the street
Without love and with no shoes
upon her feet
The Match Girl
The little match girl her homes cold and bleak
It ́s almost as cold as on the street
But if she returns to her home so cold
Her father will beat her no matches she ́s sold
The little match girl her homes cold and bare
No toys and no fire she will find there
Her mother for her doesn ́t much care
And her father will beat her if she goes there
The match girl ́s roof the wind whistles through
With nothing to eat and nothing to do
But if she returns to her home so cold
Her father will beat her no matches she ́s sold
The Fire
The fire it warms the little match girl
and she is free to dream
Of a happy place where no one to her is mean
She dreams of love an kindness her mother
she does smile
Her father with no violence does her defile
The fire it warms the little match girl
and she is free to dream
Of a place called paradise where it is
warm and clean
Where her mother she does love her,
her father not a swine
Of a place called paradise where everyoneis kind
The Feast
The little girl dreams one day to eat
a feast for free
To be served by waiters the finest food to see
In beautiful bone china served the finest wines
While behind her a grandfather clock
will chime
To start a soup hot and strong and clear
Then the steaming goose laughing
in good cheer
Her family around her smiling happy kind
All dressed in the finest clothes
and having a good time
The little girl dreams one day to eat
a feast for free
To be served by waiters the finest food to see
The little match girl dreams of the finest feast
With her family the laughter does not cease
An open fire flickers in the grate
And in her dream her heart it does not ache
Peace on Earth
The little match girl dreams
of peace on earth
Where all the greed and hatred
everyone deserts
Where all the poor match girls
are never ever cold
Because of the kind people their matches
all are sold
The little match girl dreams of peace on earth
Of fires burning brightly in the hearth
A thousand candles burn upon the tree
And now the little match girl knows
she will be free
Now the little match girl ́s match it
may go out
But the candles on the tree they will
still burn bright
And now in her heart she has lost all doubt
And in heaven the angels they all shout
Falling Star
So now someone is dying when you see
a star fall
It means that God in heaven for their soul
has called
And so from all their fear and suffering they
are free
The little matchgirl wondered could it be me
When you see a star falling from the sky
It means someone somewhere they have died
And as the star does fall their soul does climb
And all of their suffering is from a passed time
So if you see a falling star her grandmother
had said
It means a person somewhere has gone
to join the dead
Their soul it goes to heaven in the sky
Those they leave behind are left to cry
But the Little Match girl know only one
for her cared
So now no more suffering she has to bear
So the little match girl strikes a match
a final time
To see the one whom to her had been kind
When you see a star falling from the sky
It means someone somewhere they have died
Take me with you Grandma
Take me with you grandmother do not
disappear
Don ́t leave me in the cold alone with my fear
When all my matches I have struck please
don ́t go away
Don ́t leave me in this cruel world to face
another day
A little girl needs to be loved you alone did give
So please now take me with you for I don ́t
want to live
The grandmother embraces the little match girl
Her angel ́s wings she starts to unfurl
And so they go up together, together in the sky
The little match girl tears of joy she cries
In radiance rejoicing they flew up so high
To be with God in heaven they do fly
Your body lies frozen
Your body lies frozen in the early morning cold
Because no matches you sold
Around you the matches which you did burn
In this cruel world which you has spurned
They thought you did it to keep warm
As the old year passed and the new on dawned
But we know of the beautiful sights
And know your eternal delight
So your blood is frozen ice
So you leave us to our vice
So your frozen frozen blood
Is all that ́s left for us to love
Your smile now does cheer
In happiness the new year
And now in radiance you do live And in your mercy you forgive
THE STORY OF THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL
"As a songwriter I am always looking for fresh inspiration for subjects on which to write . One of my chief sources of inspiration is to take other people work and adapt them into songs. The poignant and tragic tale of the LMG is one such inspiration for me . I was originally approached by the Hans Christian Andersen foundation to adapt one of his stories to coincide with the bicentennial of his birth ( or death ?) and of all his stories the Little Match Girl has always been the most sad and beautiful, I hope the music and theatre piece that we we are creating will reflect this"
On a terribly cold and dark New Year ́s Eve, a
poor little girl attempts to sell matches on the
street, with bare head and naked feet. She is
wearing a pair of too large slippers when she
leaves home, but she looses them, one she can not
find and the other is seized upon by a boy who
runs away saying he could use it as a cradle. So
the little girl goes on, red and blue with cold, the
snowflakes falling on her long, fair hair. She dares
not go home, fearing her father, for she has sold
no matches.
Desperately trying to warm herself, the Little
Match Girl begins to light her matches. As she
lights each matchstick, a new fantastic image
appears in front of her, only to disappear as the
matchstick looses its flame. The first image is that
of a hot iron stove. The next is a fully-decorated
table, complete with candles and ornaments.
When the match goes out, the Christmas lights
rise higher and higher. Then she sees a star fall.
The Little Match Girl remembers her dead
grandmother, the only one who had ever loved
her, and who had told her that when a star falls,
a soul is going up to God. She again lights a match.
In the brightness stands her old grandmother. "O
take me with you", cries the little one who makes
haste to light the whole bundle of matches to keep
her grandmother there. The Grandmother takes
her up to heaven and in the morning her little
frozen body is found, with a smile on her face.
Credits:
Produced by Christian Kolonovits & Tiger Lillies
All songs written and composed by Martyn Jacques
Strings arranged by Christian Kolonovits
Recorded at the Vienna ODEON 02.Feb - 19.Feb 2006 by Kurt Richter
Mixed at homebase recording studio, Vienna by Kurt Richter
Mastered by Mischa Kraus at Sunshine Mastering Vienna
Design: Meran Karanitant, www.dreihundert.com
* Photos: Richard Haughton
* Drawings by: Sylvie Martin-Hyszka
* By courtesy of Bureau Karin Dix
Musicans:
THE TIGER LILLIES
Martyn Jacques - Lead-Vocals, Accordeon, Guitar, Ukulele, Piano
Adrian Stout - Double Bass, Electric Bass, singing Saw, Backing Vocals
Adrian Huge - Drums, Percussions, Backing Vocals
Violin: Andrea Hahn
Viola: Cordelia Kirchmayr
Cello: Alexander Rauscher
Orchestra Contracting & Supervision: Andreas Winkler
Copyist: Hans-Peter Sumereder
Music based on the theatre production "The Little Match Girl"
Based upon Hans Christian Andersen’s tale
