JULIA SABRA - Skyscape [Video by Camille Cabbabé]
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The couch where you read every morning at six
The sound of the doors closing, violent and crisp
My bedroom window’s now blocked by a tree
Maybe it’s better
Here is the corridor we hid in from guns in the streets
It was all so exciting, I was only fourteen
We carefully planned our escape
But we never did leave
Neon bright kitchen light
You asked about lunch every night
til I typed you a list, which you hung on our fridge
And we all sat for dinner
How could it be better?
The vomit green carpet that covered the floors
The glass of the dining room door you once broke
In a fit of anger
How I always cheated in card games we played on your bed
And you knew but you let me win, or so you said
I knew all the footsteps, the key turns by heart
I knew who played piano, even in the dark
I knew it all by heart
White walls and light wood
Ate up what I called home
Now it all seems so small
Somewhere
in my dreams when I fall asleep
I’ll find it all as it was
as we were
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2. |
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Frozen skin
But I can feel my limbs again
The morning glow
Same as it’s always been
Four loose threads
hanging from the shroud I hold
I wash it in
the river we once bathed in
as children
Same as it’s always been
Mountain trails and sunshine rays
and gentle flames of white
Wrapped around you
as you lay
asleep as you’ve always been
Frozen skin
Your little hand so crystalline
I hold my breath
and fold your arms across your chest
I kiss your face
your marble eyes
Your hair falls to the side
I watch you float
Into the light
as waters slowly rise
Mountain trails and sunshine rays
and gentle flames of white
Fill each corner of the sky
Same as it’s always been
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3. |
I Want It All
03:28
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I can barely remember
any words from books I have read
But I carry with me
their liquid memories
recollections of stories told by dead men
I know I want a quiet life
A simple home, someone to love
Is there such a thing
When your body’s made to scream
and your heart has never known any peace
I want it all
Do you ever just know that
everything will be alright
Or, is it me
And my cavernous beliefs
Is my faith still there after all those years?
They say grief is oppressive
But happiness too, can be cruel
I know you’ll disagree
Say I’m my own worst enemy
And I’ll take the blame
I want it all
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4. |
Goodbye
03:22
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I’ve said goodbye
so many times before
To places and friends
To making amends
I used to jump
From mountains
overlooking cedar forests
terrified and fearless
Once, with a friend
We followed a strange man
into a natural history museum
When her father died
That’s all I could remember
the day we spent with fossils
Two 8-year old girls
With total faith in the world
When they find my body
When they say my name
I hope you know I’m sorry
That’s all I can say
We both pretend
That nothing ever happened
I know love conquers all
But I feel so small
One little scratch
Is enough to bring it all up to the surface
How I never let myself be true
and how you never knew
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5. |
Home Is So Sad
02:31
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6. |
Fall From Grace
02:57
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Same as ever
Shut the door on your way out
one-word answers
to questions I’m too afraid to ask
Take all the time you need
I’ll be waiting here
Watch me tear it all apart
As I fall from grace again
Old passport photographs
Make me sick to my knees
Here’s one more silver hair
The sole growth-indicator
The beginning of the end
There’s a light somewhere
But I’m giving up the search
The wires are all tangled up
And I’ve long abandoned the church
Take all the time you need
I’ll be waiting here
Watch me tear it all apart
As I fall from grace again
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7. |
Hands
02:00
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Never thought I would be held by arms like yours
the arms of a butcher
with hands that shape time
hands, like clockwork,
turning flour to bread
turning seeds into flowers
Hands that sew up holes, made by explosions
erasing the traces from a couch, a nose, an eyebrow
Hands as warm as a radiator
You turned a girl’s crush into
a love so true
With the heart of a boy, wide as a mountain
A heart strong for me, only moved by the lucky few
A heart that sees people as they should be
A heart that knows
beyond language, beyond words
Who needs fairytales
when I have you
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8. |
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Voilà combien de jours, voilà combien de nuits
Voilà combien de temps que tu es reparti
Tu m'as dit cette fois, c'est le dernier voyage
Pour nos cœurs déchirés, c'est le dernier naufrage
Au printemps, tu verras, je serai de retour
Le printemps, c'est joli pour se parler d'amour
Nous irons voir ensemble les jardins refleuris (down)
Et déambulerons dans les rues de Paris
Dis, quand reviendras-tu
Dis, au moins le sais-tu
Que tout le temps qui passe
Ne se rattrape guère
Que tout le temps perdu
Ne se rattrape plus
Le printemps s'est enfui depuis longtemps déjà
Craquent les feuilles mortes, brûlent les feux de bois
A voir Paris si beau dans cette fin d'automne
Soudain je m'alanguis, je rêve, je frissonne
Je tangue, je chavire, et comme la rengaine
Je vais, je viens, je vire, je me tourne, je me traîne
Ton image me hante, je te parle tout bas
Et j'ai le mal d'amour, et j'ai le mal de toi
Dis, quand reviendras-tu
Dis, au moins le sais-tu
Que tout le temps qui passe
Ne se rattrape guère
Que tout le temps perdu
Ne se rattrape plus
J'ai beau t'aimer encore, j'ai beau t'aimer toujours
J'ai beau n'aimer que toi, j'ai beau t'aimer d'amour
Si tu ne comprend pas qu'il te faut revenir
Je ferai de nous deux, mes plus beaux souvenirs
Je reprendrai ma route, le monde m'émerveille
J'irai me réchauffer à un autre soleil
Je ne suis pas de celles qui meurent de chagrin
Je n'ai pas la vertue des femmes de marin
Dis, quand reviendras-tu
Dis, au moins le sais-tu
Que tout le temps qui passe
Ne se rattrape guère
Que tout le temps perdu
Ne se rattrape plus
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9. |
Minor Detail
04:05
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Just a palm of hand
Parts in plastic bags
Just the keys of your car
Tube still in your arm
Teeth I recognize
How do you hold it all?
How do you hold it all?
Just a palm of hand
Parts in plastic bags
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Julia Sabra Beirut, Lebanon
Julia Sabra is a Lebanese musician and songwriter. She released her debut solo album “Natural History Museum,” on Beirut’s
Ruptured Records on November 1, 2024.
Sabra co-founded dream pop outfit Postcards in 2013, and is also one half of Snakeskin, the acclaimed drone/pop dup alongside Fadi Tabbal.
She's the co-owner and manager of the legendary Tunefork Studios in Beirut.
... more
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ethereal and melting tones, arising from nothing and floating back to the source. haunting, warm, icy, sinewy, stretched out, burned away melodies drifting out to the horizon. 100% recommend blind buying this one and letting it carry you away.
go to albumEpic, immersive songs that you disappear into, with rich layers of keys and ghostly vocal melodies conjuring a misty dreamworld.
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beautiful music translating directly into aid for those suffering unjust colonial subjugation of their homes by a brute military force.
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