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small ponds

by the cashews

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1.
in my backyard there is a pond as great as any ocean there are fish of every size and shape and colour and emotion and i was looking in the pond today beyond my own reflection when i saw the nearest thing i’ve ever seen to fish perfection. one fish sang a song so true and all the other fish were cheering and when they turned and sang to me here’s what i was hearing. it sounded something like come on in the water’s great. i asked that fish that sang so true why would you be at my place when you could be in a bigger brighter pond up in the rat race? and the fish said oh i think you know exactly what i’m thinking. now it’s time you joined us all here in this pond life we’re all drinking. so come on in the water’s great. you’re not too early you’re not too late to come on in the water’s great. my neighbour she looked across the fence and i was crouching in the water and she said you’re up to something fishy pete and i said yeah, right, sorta and i don’t know what happened next, who waved the magic wand but i do know that there’s room for you too here in this small pond. so come on in the water’s great, you’re not too early you’re not too late to come on in the water’s great.
2.
these are the things you do, i don't know if i like them, but i know i like you. anyway i see them with a smile. anyway i lounge by them for a while. you swagger when you’re feeling unsure. how you tell it is always skewed from what you saw. you take the aisle seat at the cinema. you can’t work out how to change a doona cover. these are the things you do, i don't know if i like them, but i know i like you. anyway i see them with a smile, anyway i lounge by them for a while. you hate magpies, they give you a scare. you punctuate outrageous comments with extravagant flair. you take the longest time to say just one thing. you can’t work out how to sing in tune but that’s ok cos you’ve got great enthusiasm. and i know that i cry when i’m tired and i know that i twitch when i’m inspired and i poke my tongue when i think and i air-guitar when i drink and you bear these idiosyncrasies.
3.
fly 03:20
you’re a fine keeper of your family home. you’re a fastidious cleaner. we are the forces of nature you’re fighting. your vigilance just keeps us keener. i’m the fly you’ve been trying to kill sitting here on your window sil.l it wasn’t you but the door was left open, and i flew in on the aroma. when i first landed you swatted me well but i was just faking that coma. i’m the fly you’ve been trying to kill sitting here on your window sill and i see that you’re sadly lacking in skill but i’m starting to lose the thrill.
4.
home 02:32
your presence has the sway of my mother’s embrace. your strength like my brother’s quiet voice. like a friend who is not feared, i want you all here all of the time. your song is as profound as my sister’s smile. your love like my father’s pride. like a correspondence gym class our love is strengthened by our distance. i feel closer to you when i’m farther away. i wanna be all together all of the time. i wanna see you in the shining sun. i wanna feel you in the stillest night. i wanna hear you with each beat of my heart. i wanna taste you with each breath of life. your song, your sway, your love, you’re home.
5.
ancestors 03:52
i’m in the car heading south on the federal highway i’m passing lake george where they say that you shouldn’t go sailing i look over, across the water, and there’s hardly a tree to be found and i’m stuck between angry and proud at this work of an ancestor’s hand. we played a game called who’s first to see black mountain tower and i got confused by the safety lights on mount majura and she’s friendly, she’s like family and the mountains that lay down behind and the planning’s as good as you’ll find, its the work of an ancestor’s hand. when our good great grand children have just the things that remain of us... i’ve got this lingering question to do with my ancestors if a wound doesn’t heal, does it fester? feels like murder to remember but if it’s black then i must wear the band cos there’s something i owe to this land for the work of an ancestor’s hand.
6.
gunnatell 04:03
high noon rise from my slumber. help myself to a coffee. hear a song on the radio, have you been thinking of me? walking home after that first time that i met you in a yellow cardigan i think i saw it cos i’m ready now to start again. gunna tell the whole world about you. little questions got me talking, left me thinking that i should have listened more to you. forget important passwords. fidget my way through meetings. find joy in all the smallest things. feel my way through my feelings. gunna tell the whole world about you. catch it through smile lines sunken. yellow cardigan caught me. call it with soft words spoken. spoke so much forgot my listening. keep it to yourself snug and warm. it seems my heart must be opening. clearly your heart will open. gunna tell the whole world about you.
7.
cotter river 03:13
we put the tent under the trees at the cotter river. the kids spread out their sleeping bags, i could hear them laughing. on that little stove you bought, we got the kettle boiling. maybe you’re still at your desk or maybe on a bus but i can’t wait to tell you everything. our dinner time in evening light we saw a wombat walking. heard the sound of jumping fish in the cotter river. a conversation about stars and the space they hang in and i can’t wait to tell you everything. a list of things to bring next time, we put marshmallows on it, and under that we wrote your name in capital letters. little things that we have learnt at the cotter river and i can’t wait to tell you everything.
8.
i'm moving with the metal flow, across the bitumen here i go. my daily dose of parkway time, 24km of me and my mind and so if i start my heart might just explode and ill discover things id rather not know. i’m looking in the traffic for an explanation of this pain. i’m heading in a new direction but the road remains the same. i’ve been broken in to so i’ve changed my locks again. and if i start my brittle heart might flow and ill spill in to everyone i know. travel on this road tip toe. before and after working days, the weston creek exit marks my half way to the jagged rim of tuggeranong, a place to run to or to run from. driving fast but moving so slow. black this ashphalt like my Jericho my walls have tumbled down. and if i start my bitter heart might one day finally let go.
9.
down by sullivan’s creek, your soft breath on my cheek, there’s no reason to speak, we don’t need anything more, we don’t need anything anymore. old sullivan, in his possum skin coat, moved to springbank, but it’s now afloat in a lake full of dreams, that you’d be crazy to swim in. old sullivan, a formidable man, entertaining catholics from queenbeyan. he came from ireland, so far, then he moved south to sullwood in Kambah. down by sullivan’s creek, your soft breath on my cheek, there’s no reason to speak, we don’t need anything more, we don’t need anything anymore. old sullivan, your tentative hold, it’s just one tale in a place so old. rivers of stories run deep down by sullivan’s creek.
10.
girlsong 03:29
what would you say if i said you were the start of the day, if i said you were the opposite of grey that’s sometimes there at the start of the day? what would you do if i said the words you wanted me to, if i told you i was thinking of you when the sun came up and the sky was blue? and if i never met you, these words would not be here. i hope that just like you they’ll help to make a dull day clear. and now there’s music where there wasn’t for so long. that makes you the girl that makes the song. walking around, ice cream dripping onto the ground i got something i could never have found if i tried to discover what is deep and profound. what would you say if i said you were the start of the day, if i said my heart was melting away in your hands like a paddle-pop? and if i never met you, these words would not be here. i hope that just like you they’ll help to make a dull day clear. and now there’s music where there wasn’t for so long. that makes you the girl that makes the song.
11.
gig 05:24
skipping feet down wexford street, queuing up, laughing at our luck, anticipation soars, imagining the great applause as you come out to play. in front of me there is a guy who keeps on turning ‘round to catch my eye, he’s pretty cute, he’s got nice hair, safari suit, but i can’t bring myself to stare ‘cos my attention is elsewhere, it’s on the stage it’s on the band, it’s on the fact that i’ve been standing for three hours and i could stand ten more. well i think i lost all sensation in my feet an hour ago, but i know this is the destination that i’ve been dreaming of and so even though i can only see your left shoulder when the guy in front of me leans down to kiss his girlfriend, don’t care, cos i love every second of this gig. now i can hear the girl behind me singing along all out of key, she’s spilling beer upon my back but i don’t notice for the fact the song you’re singing now takes me back home to when you and i sat around singing songs we love. well i think i lost all sensation in my feet an hour ago, but i know this is the place that i’ve been dreaming of and so even though i can only see your left shoulder when the guy in front of me leans down to kiss his girlfriend, don’t care, cos i love every second of this gig, well it’s a multisensory environment, this gig, well it brings me back to all the hours i’ve spent crammed in to crowded bars, big day out under the stars, drums, vocals, bass, guitars, this gig. this gig, yeah. now i’m trudging back to westmoreland, remembering i’ve only three pounds left to spend to catch the night bus home and then stay up and dance around and send text messages that make no sense to all my tolerant good friends, scoff down some toast and fall asleep with a ringing in my ears. so now i dream of loosing all sensation in my feet and in my toes, cruising on that high you get, that pre- and post-gig afterglow, even though i can only see the bands that play for next to nearly free, you know i will attend cos i don’t care, i love every second of this gig. this gig.
12.
mountains 03:28
lift your eyes a little high where the earth is in the sky, you don’t need to float or fly to see a mountain. we can walk into the blue every step will bring us to an even more breath-taking view up in the mountains. a big relief above the heat, a landscape made to help your feet rise up into your spirit’s restoration. so come to the mountain top with me i wonder what we will touch and feel and hope and see. i think of those who came before they will live for ever more with their culture and their lore up in the mountains. in the days when thousands came, tried to make the mountains tame life would never be the same up in the mountains. holding life and melting snow into rivers for the world below the great divide is the great unification. so come to the mountain top with me i wonder what we will touch and feel and hope and see. so everyone in every land, find your higher ground and stand i hope you feel a little grand upon your mountain. a big relief above the heat, a landscape made to help your feet rise up into your spirit’s restoration. and its holding life and melting snow into rivers for the world below, the great divide is the great unification. so come to the mountain top with me i wonder what we will touch and see. come to the mountain top with me there’s no other place as good for us to be
13.
h.u.g. 05:19
it’s like an m.o.u. between you and me my favourite thing to do a daily h.u.g. an envelope of you a warming cup of tea straightens what’s askew a daily h.u.g. a gesture of support reminder, guarantee, impenetrable fort a daily h.u.g. take a deep breath in, count to three, let out a sigh andstay here with me. an amorous embrace shared amicably the world’s most peaceful place a daily h.u.g. a cuddle that contains high doses of vitamin d, its good for hearts and its good for brains a daily h.u.g. a tactile feast relieves anxiety dopamine release a daily h.u.g. tilt your head to the side, i don’t mind which way you incline, just find a comfortable place where i can feel you smile. revitalise, renew, receive it happily, reciprocate it too a daily h.u.g. without it, life’s a test afloat amidst the sea, an inflatable life vest a daily h.u.g. when shaky is my base it can restore for me my homeostasis a daily h.u.g. put your left arm out. and your right one too. plant your feet down firm. and hold me close to you.
14.
spring 05:59
it wasn't love at first light, but as they were leaving the disco he’d impressed her alright, with his talk of the sea about which he knew many things, he’d got his doctorate in cisco so she’d said how about studying herring for breakfast with me? and hobart had hope for this one, it did everything for her. there were markets and mountains and moons rising on sandy bay. five days of laughing in the sun ‘til the good ship aurora would sail him away so he suddenly needed to say. i’ll see you in the spring when the ice so wide between us melts into the mighty southern sea. i’ll be on the first boat home ‘neath the guiding light of venus just to see you in the spring if you’ll see me. but she was less than impressed by his pledge of devotion ‘coz she wasn’t looking for love over distance or time. oh but as she watched the boat sailing away, ‘til there was only the ocean, those words that he said, they started to work on her mind. and then hobart got cold and wet and dull, as if to force her decision. and sure enough by the late august she knew where she lay. and she was speeding down the road to kingston down to the australian antarctic division to found out how to send what she needed to say. and so they said he’re y’are fill out this fax and she wrote i’ll see you in the spring when the ice so wide between us melts into the mighty southern sea. so be on the first boat home, ‘neath the guiding light of venus and i'll see you in the springtime here with me. he was out on the ice doing seal observation when they radioed him that a fax from a girl had arrived and was speeding back to base on the brand new skidoo when he suddenly lost concentration. the search party members couldn’t believe he survived. but if you look at him now, you might think he's just sleeping there in that southern most surgery in the whole world. but he's watching a faint little star that is guiding him back to a safe keeping and he’s hearing his words on the voice of a beautiful girl. i’ll see you in the spring when the ice so wide between us melts into the mighty southern sea so be on the first boat home, ‘neath the guiding light of venus and i'll see you in the springtime here with me.
15.
enough stuff 03:34
i’m spending my time. i’m savouring the days. i’m overcome with the good things that you’ve brought my way. i’m shouting this out. i’m waving this high. i’m so proud to declare it. i have no doubt how you have made my heart stop all its drifting; how you have swum with me through all this ocean of trouble we’ve found ourselves in. i wanna reveal. don’t care to disguise. i’m resolved to sing see this through now i’ve realised that what is happening now i hope it won’t stop for good. i want you to understand. i won’t be misunderstood. so i’m letting you know, no more metaphors and stuff that i don’t see i time when i will have had enough of you
16.
slow 02:46
sometimes if i’m lucky i get time to myself for walking slow not so fixed on some destination nah that’s just where i’m going as i go i won’t call it a mistake. i’ll take the time that it takes. at my table, sometimes i’m able to savour things my friends have helped to grow, and pleasure taken in preparation of what were little seeds not long ago. and i won’t call it a mistake. i’ll take the time that it takes. i've been given privilege for living, i’m grateful in more ways than what you know but sometimes if i’m lucky i’ll get time to myself for walking slow.
17.
tendaytour 03:14
september sun. silent in your arms. i sing out my soul as we swap ten days of me for ten days of you. a ten day tour of you. jam packed with mattieu. i’ve never met a boy who could fall for a smile like you did and you do. ten day tour of you. je t’aime mon coeur. je suis bien dans tes bras. all these words, they don’t mean much compared to what i hear in that sigh before sleep, ten day tour treat.
18.
is it a fact? will you be my headline act? will you step up to complete my line up? the wait’s been long but now i am ready for your song. what will be your tune? What will be your design? what’s your rhythm? how will you be defined? who will be my headline? is it a fact? will you be my headline act? i’ve seen supports and i have given due applause. i’ve danced and sung but now i believe your time has come. who will be my star? who will shine? who will set my benchmark? my baseline? all before’s acoustic, so come on, amplify. who will be my headline? salt/saccharine, card/valentine, beer/fine wine, couch/recline, headline.
19.
all the people were assembled in a venue with a big chair. there was somebody who was speaking who was special coz he sat there. and he had a snappy suit on and he spoke into a microphone. i can’t tell you what he said coz i was thinking of a new song. a pencil and pad for the little thoughts i had. i was commuting like i have to at the end of every working day. i was looking at the city and the sunset as i made my way. but there were moments that i really can’t remember now, they’re all gone. i can’t tell you what they were coz i was thinking of a new song. a pencil and pad for the little thoughts i had. all the people were assembled in a venue with a small band and the singers sang a song about a song and you’re not listening, that’s not wrong, you’re thinking up a new song. a pencil and pad for the little thoughts i had.
20.
found 03:36
when the morning came you were feeling alright you made it through the darkness of the night you went outside, to be a part of the day, a part of all the beauty that had washed the night away. you could be anywhere, that’s why you’re here and you’ve got nothing left, nothing left to fear. the sun is shining now upon your town, you walk the little hill and you look back down, the subtle beauty of the landscape all around says you are found. its been a while since the day you recognised that everything was grey i always knew you’d rise but its good to see the sunlight in your eyes. you could be anywhere, that’s why you’re here and you’ve got nothing left, nothing left to fear. the sun is shining now upon your town you walk the little hill and look back down the horns are tooting at the local football ground coz you are found.

credits

released August 16, 2008

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the cashews Canberra, Australia

The Cashews are contemporary acoustic nuts.

They describe their music as original indie-folk because acoustic-brain-pop is too challenging a category for most people to comprehend.

Quirky, catchy, melodious, grounded original songs with a lingering social conscience.
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