Get all 10 Ola Onabulé releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Point Less, It's The Peace That Deafens, Love For Sale - An all-Vocal Track, SEVEN SHADES DARKER, THE DEVOURED MAN, IN EMERGENCY, BRAKE SILENCE, AMBITIONS FOR DEEPER BREADTH, PRECIOUS LIBATIONS FOR SILENT GODS, and 2 more.
1. |
Every Prey
05:23
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EVERY PREY
Ola Onabule © 2010
Damn! Did it again
I know if things go on this way, I'm gonna falter
I keep tryin' to hold it way down at my end
But you won't seem to play your part ...it's started to matter
I stretch my range extend my scope
But give some people too much rope
They're gonna hurt someone or tie loose ends together
But soon my hour of reckoning
and retributions beckoning
If you ain't keeping up your guard,
I think you ought ta
Some joker's always trying to get away, with!
Playing your mind all night and day, As if!
You're like the poster boy for every prey
If you're gonna make those tables, just Turn!
You gotta shake that label, and learn!
That you're the hunter born for every prey
Only way you got a prayer
Damn! Don't have a chance
Guess I'm that way too easy guy, that makes a bad fighter
I tell my self it's just my positive stance
But I know deep down I'd do ice if you wanted fire
I need to sweep those thoughts aside
When confrontation won't run and hide
Work some hutzpah up and brace for stormy weather
And soon my hour of reckoning
and retributions beckoning
If you ain't keeping up your guard,
I think you ought ta
Some joker's always trying to
get away, with...
If you don't believe in this boy you're gonna suffer
If you don't subscribe to this Dude, you're gone suffer
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2. |
Be A Man
05:18
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BEAMAN
Ola Onabule & Matt Johnson © 2010
Oh! What I'd like,
and what I'll get
Ain't ever quite
the what you guessed
The way I do,
and aim to be
might not impress,
might not redeem
But who's gonna take a stand
On what I bear with pain
I can't expect to breathe relief when it's back to back to back, Oh no!
So I'm gonna think again
About the players and the game
You know the rules have just been changed
Be the champ but not the same
Be a man
No backing down or skirting round or taking flight Oooh!
Stand up and do it right
I'm not a creature of the night
I straighten up my back and fight
Just like a man
They think it's me,
I know it's you
It's in those eyes
That ain't ever been blue
The chance is love,
not lived enough
The loss is love,
not felt enough
But who's gonna take a stand...
Be a man
No backing down or skirting round or taking flight Oooh!
Stand up and do it right
I'm not a creature of the night
I straighten up my back and fight Just like a man
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3. |
Let Love Alone
06:04
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LET LOVE ALONE
Ola Onabule © 2010
You, linger far too long on sad thought
That I'll stray from the path back to you
Because of a smile.
Why, should some new charm fascinate
More than all that we have yet to do .
Just settle your mind.
We're still ours,
ike that strong heart you carry.
If it’s shaken we can build you faith anew
I would do this for you Just so you
Fly those fears and see them
falter on their own.
Slip those doubts you trust in,
Just let love alone.
She may turn phrases I’ve heard you say
And yet not make me feel what they mean
When said in your way I feel a calm,
the sort that keeps you honest
When the sirens come to sing virtue away
They can’t lead you astray,
No way. Just go ahead you...
Chorus
Let love alone,
To breathe on its own,
Exhale and let go
Then you'll find the thread of hope,
that binds us...
Back together, ...in a good place, ...making resolutions, ...to make us stronger,
You know you know me, ...I strive to be good man, ...the kind you build a life on,
...But if it makes the slightest difference...
You’ll discover ...I can go much further ...To get us even nearer ...to what ever will bring us even closer
I’m totally all about this ...absolutely mean this,
...All you’ve got to do, is... Just let our love alone
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4. |
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GREAT EXPECTATIONS
(Sans Frontier)
Ola Onabule © 2010
Nubian dawn, a trier is born.
His home's war-torn, his trust outworn,
He'll try to stay, survive the fray.
It' ain't hard to love, what you're a part of,
But that dread front line, draws closer each time.
The decisions made, he must steal away
Fortunes everywhere, but not yet here
Laden with hope he'll sail.
Across seven seas of sand
Endless oceans, To find a new land
An unknown destiny,
Awaits under cloak of night
For a heavy heart that's
travelling light
To alien destinations, Sans frontiers
Wasted aspirations, Sans frontiers
Of Great Expectations
Elysian fields, the grass is sweet.
Birdsong yields, when it's joys complete
What he sees from here, but forbidden near,
An ethereal scene, Of a spring morning.
But this camp gets cold, and his story's grown old
He may yet return, before bridges burn
It's a chilling choice, live without a voice or
laden with hope sail back
Chorus
Bridge
Now I know, There are no new lullabies here
And the sleep is troubled The nightmares doubled
And when I shut my eyes
Great expectations lie still ...helpless on the floor
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5. |
The Need To Be Loved
05:51
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THE NEED TO BE LOVED
Ola Onabule © 2010
Quarter past dawn, still of the night,
I'm feeling the need to be loved.
You sound heavy sleeping, I'm hoping for light,
o be heeding my need to be loved.
Pin point staring, at sheep I can't count,
Ain't shifting the need to be loved.
I'm for subtle nudging, in a moderate amount,
Till we're feeding the need to be loved.
Who wouldn't want to be held close
Who'd fight the need to be kissed , so...
Who wouldn't want to have
The one you need prove they need you too...
Let some other guy play it cool, man, I'm getting loved
You can bet I ain't got no qualms, I need to loved
I know some people really get burned, And that can be rough
but best you soon get back on that horse
Feed the need to be loved
Middle of the day, You just swung by,
But that look says you need to be loved.
I see right away, but I never ask why,
Just attend to your need to be loved.
And there's no denying it's a sensual thing,
Someone cares how you need to be loved.
And it sure feels good, what deep joy it brings
That by me you still need to be loved
Who wouldn't want to be held close...
Chorus...
What I need to have Is to be your most wanted need
There's no one home, Just that feeling and I,
We're starting to look at my watch.
Till you're through that door the soonest minute past five,
I'll be hanging with the need
for your love.
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6. |
He's Gone
05:08
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HE’S GONE
Ola Onabule © 2010
You miss him, so much that, Sometimes you break. Downhearted, crestfallen, disconsolate.
You never, once waver, Such devotion. No daughter's father could, ever have known love so strong.
But he's not gone, If gone is that point of no return. I still see him in the eyes, Of that smile upon our child, And I believe, He's elsewhere But not gone.
So much said, between you, So much unheard. Kind words that, rang hollow Meanings reversed
But he's not gone, If gone is that point of no return. I still see him in the eyes, of that smile upon our child And I believe, he's elsewhere But not gone,
Because gone... Gone is the worldly strife and pain You could touch it in his voice, The sense he never had a choice
In what life became, Then you were gone...
I love you, so deeply, trust that I'm here, To shoulder, your sorrow, Till it's undone, Now that he's gone
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7. |
The Desperate Ones
05:52
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THE DESPERATE ONES
Ola Onabule © 2010
My desperate ones Oh so undone...!
Here lie the desperate ones Dark and disillusioned gentlemen They answer now not to anyone
Soldiers of misfortune Who dared what comes
If you sense a heartbeat, a flicker way deep To where the rage keeps out the sun,
You'll know where it all went wrong
My desperadoes All run, the stuff in your head you can't outrun It's true there ain't no happiness in any gun Sooner than you know you're out gunned, They drop you in the very deepest of holes It drinks up your soul, When you're alone with nowhere to go You'll know you're the last of the desperate ones
See how the desperate ones Rush to their destruction, each mother's son It don't take long, it has begun
Scorn an education, defeat is won
Penitentiary blue jeans, plans without means Of yielding promise is all there is
Everybody knows this
Chorus
My desperate ones
Oh so undone, By your own hand
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8. |
A Name
04:20
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A NAME
Ola Onabule © 2010
So what's in a name, That begs you heed it's call And binds you in it's thrall Tells of where you hail What flag your faith may sail. Tell me what’s in a name!
So what's in a name, That beats a courage down, Or a people to the ground, etching pride away, and makes a difference pay.
In a foreign land, some are deemed to stand Not by how they live, but the name they give
Like an easy brand, a label close at hand A veil across a mask, to silence all they'll ask
And it dares, to live long after I've gone, Amplify the things I've done. And sit in judgement of me, Exhale with all who fear me, Weep with those who knew me,
by name, my true name.
I heard of a boy, Who knew he'd left his name, behind, when history came, To take it all away, one dark African day.
He went to find his name, So tell me what's in a name that etches pride away Or makes a difference pay. Can take it all away On dark African days. That begs you heed it's call And binds you in it's thrall.
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9. |
Swinging Wide
05:17
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SWINGING WIDE
Ola Onabule © 2010
I know some people would say anything, To make themselves sound good.
Until you hear a lot but not enough, Of what you really should.
But please don't tar me with the same brush, girl You know I mean you well. And what I mean is I care for you,
I know that he can tell.
It's why He says our love, will soon subside But that remarks clean missed the mark It's swinging wide I search myself, and I only find For you my hearts an open door that's swinging wide
I don't resent the fact he wants you for himself, It just makes common sense. But it ain't right he whispers in your ear, Our love is a vain pretence.
And if he doesn't mend his ways then, We'll have more than words 'Coz I ain't taking no more Junk like what
I've already heard
Chorus
I don't believe you're hearing the power of what I'm saying No one can ever, ever not ever change my mind No swinging back and forth for us, that's what I'm praying We'll get lost in a world of love so broad and wide
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10. |
Sanctuary
05:48
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SANCTUARY
Ola Onabule © 2010
There, on the brink of new frontier Where we weather the storms of our time Where we clamour to take control As we dutifully drain our souls
We push till life shoves Past all we're made of And leaves no space to exhale
Ooh! Step into our sweet sanctuary, It's safe within, You don't have to justify to no one.
Just dream out loud This is where your spirit can run free Step into our world Step back into our sweet sanctuary
Sense, That's what none of this can make Sit back, and let fate play the guide
At the mercy of come what may Knowing each day might lose next day
We ebb as time flows We wane as love grows It's all too much to conceive
Chorus
Sanctuary, There's no place I'd rather be than right here with you Sanctuary,
And no words can quite convey how it makes it all seem so easy, Sanctuary
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11. |
Cheap Cologne
04:30
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CHEAP COLOGNE
Ola Onabule © 2010
Dear God it's eating up my soul, Tell me and if you want I'll go, I'm asking much, but this much you owe,
The less I know the more the feeling grows, Suspicion doing overtime, Supposition catching up behind,
Dead cert as far as I've contrived, But we all know intuition lies.
What's been going on? Has it been going long? Don't try to string me along the way
Throw me a reason. That I'd believe in Make it a bearable day!
I wear the doubt out each night But its revived come morning light
And it hangs around like cheap cologne Hearing the things you don't say
Expressions you don't give away They sting my eyes like cheap cologne
I've moved through possibilities Way down to probabilities Maybe it's just a flaw in me To see what I imagine vividly Doesn't help you act so patiently Smiling so reassuringly So forgiving
where I could not be So tell me why this isn't helping me
I'm gonna turn time, Into prime some time Get to righting my mind I need to reason, Till I believe in Pushing worry aside I wear the doubt out each night..
Oh why don't these thoughts just go where I want? Away!
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12. |
Behind
04:54
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BEHIND
Ola Onabule © 2010
Flash your phone and shoot some mail.
Check the stats and close a sale.
Grab a skinny on the move.
Hit the gym and skim the news.
You don't have to spare time, coz time's always on your side.
Plan your week, schedule your year,
Like rest's a jaded souvenir. Play the field, to field a catch.
Career's your ever perfect match.
You're living the dream, let someone else live a life
Made a pretty picture real clear,
Still there's something missing right here.
Shooting off to Mars,
Scrambling for the stars,
Feel like something's been left behind.
It's gone too far for me,
I just need the simple needs,
I’ll take love, leave the rest behind,
Upgrade the car, update your spouse.
Enhance your face, improve the house.
Pose like in the magazine Invent a truth to sell the dream.
They see you as you are, you've probably gone too far
Made a pretty picture real clear
Still there's something missing right here.
Chorus
Solo
Choruses Out
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13. |
Hard Nut
04:04
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HARD NUT
Ola Onabule © 2010
That's Big J, kept alive by the power of anger.
Never knowingly ran from a chance to get hurt, Or make hurt.
But his girl says she don't even wanna know no more, She's got all his things together, placed them by the door
Out in the field, He's free to get killed. Drew up his own will, when he was just seventeen.
Some guys ain't afraid to try whatever Some guys ain't afraid to die whenever
Somethings ain't a cinch like that however Love's a pretty hard nut to crack
Big J's home from a stint at her majesties pleasure, With good intentions and ambitions to do good things, Spiritual things.
But his girl didn't quite make it past judgement day, Got her things together,
moved in with new fiance. Problem with J, is someone must pay, For this new pain, that won't fade away.
...Love's a pretty hard nut it's hard not to crack!
He feels like nobody knows, all of the things he's done for that woman. Kept the clothes on her back, Nasty guys off her case,
and made her like a beauty queen. So how's she gonna repay a brother,
By taking up with another, Damn love hurts! Her love hurts yeah!
Chorus
So he calls in one more favour from shady friend. She may have one over on him but not in the end.
You don't mess with J, That's what they say, You don't take his love then throw it away,
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14. |
Fast
05:22
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FAST
Ola Onabule © 2010
They work those artful voices hard, to scramble words They do not mean or mean not to be heard,
And make a point of talking for, no point at all
Save for to save the truth from a certain fall
Into silence that makes me call.
Chorus
They can throw that stuff at someone else's wall,
There's ...quite enough stuck on mine from ages ago And it's still holding fast
So dude the second you know exactly you want,
Please lets do lunch or brunch or something cool,
'Coz I'm a give-it-all-up-for- food fool.
Chorus
You can throw that stuff at someone else's wall,
There's ...quite enough stuck on mine from ages ago
And it's still holding fast
And I'm all for hanging till the cows comes home, But ...where I'm gone I wouldn't make it with you, no I'd have to slow down fast.
Bridge
Your world is not like mine
like oil and water can’t combine
You can't go, Where I gotta flow...
They'll say you waited too long And say you did it all wrong too busy pacing it slow
Coz on the planet they know everything burns up fast
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Ola Onabulé UK
Ola’s new album, POINT LESS has been critically received worldwide. The new
album is on the DownBeat list of Best Albums of 2019. .
Onabulé is a rugged individualist, a deeply soulful musician. Possessing an emotional intensity and vocal virtuosity, a poignant storyteller and capacity to cross cultural and musical boundaries with an unflinching lyrical pursuit of truth and justice.
... more
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