1. Treat Yo Mama – 4:47
2. Peaches and Cream – 6:47
3. Company Sin – 4:39
4. What You Want – 5:21
5. Damned To Hell – 1:49
6. Hello – 4:26
7. Bound To Ramble – 6:08
8. Seeing Angels – 6:14
9. There’ll Come A Time – 3:36
10. Zebra – 3:57
11. Mist – 2:25
12. Oldman – 5:10
13. Sometimes – 11:05
Later copies included at the end of the CD version:
14. Something’s Gotta Give – 10:14 (Includes 7:07 of silence and ambiance)
Additional songs featured on the Limited Edition Vinyl:
Losing My Cool
Something’s Gotta Give
Across The Universe
Treat Yo Mama (Country Funk Mix)
John Butler – vocals, guitars; banjo (tracks 5, 7, 8), lapsteel (track 1), E-Bow (track 9), string arrangements (track 4)
Shannon Birchall – double bass; electric bass (tracks 9, 12), vocals (tracks 7, 13), piano (track 3), strings (track 4), string arrangements (track 4)
Nicky Bomba – drums; vocals (tracks 7, 10, 13), tambourine (tracks 4, 6), shakers (tracks 3, 9), djembe (tracks 1, 11), sticks (track 3), tikky tak electric guitar (track 3)
Michael Barker – congas (tracks 1, 3, 10), tambourine (tracks 1, 3), marimba (tracks 8, 9), darumbukka (track 1), marching bass drum (track 7), cymbals (track 7), kooky spoon solo (track 10)
Danielle Carauna – backing vocals (tracks 1, 2, 4, 13)
Michael Carauna – Hammond organ (track 10)
Dave Pensabene – backing vocals (track 10)
Tim Neil – Hammond organ (track 13)
Sunrise Over Sea is the third studio album by Australian band, the John Butler Trio. It was released in March 2004.
In late 2003, John Butler entered Woodstock Studios in Melbourne owned by Joe Camilleri, the leader of Jo Jo Zep and the Black Sorrows. He had a new band consisting of percussionist Nicky Bomba and upright-bass player Shannon Birchall. After recording the album, Bomba returned to his own reggae band and was replaced by drummer/percussionist Michael Barker.
John Butler told the Australian edition of Rolling Stone released in April 2004 that he wanted greater freedom to pursue his vision.
The title Sunrise Over Sea is taken from the lyrics to the second track, Peaches and Cream. The album debuted at number one in the national album charts in 15 March 2004 and achieved gold record status in its first week of release.
The Zebra EP was released in December 2003 and made the ARIA singles charts in early 2004. The song was voted No. 7 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2004 and also was the first John Butler Trio single to gain significant airplay on commercial FM radio across Australia, although it was still quite popular on Triple J. John Butler would win an Australasian Performing Rights Association award for Song of the Year in March 2004. The track also appeared on the popular US Crime drama ‘Numb3rs’ as the opening music (Season 3, Episode 6).
In 2005 John Butler and co-founder Danielle Caruana (his wife) inaugurated the JB Seed grant program. “The Seed aims to help Australian artists from any background, creating art and music across any genre, to establish themselves as self-sustained, professional artists.” Caruana also plays independent music, she plays under the name Mama Kin.
Following the Boxing Day Tsunami, the John Butler Trio appeared at the Wave Aid fundraising concert in Sydney, to raise funds for aid organisations working in disaster affected areas.
The John Butler Trio played at all venues for the Big Day Out music festival, starting in Auckland, New Zealand on 19 January 2007, and finishing in Perth Western Australia on 4 February.
All the songs on the album were written, arranged and produced by John Butler, except for “What You Want” where the string section was arranged by Shannon Birchall and John Butler and was scored and conducted by Shannon Birchall.
Don’t call me hippy cause the way that I look,
Cause I got a recipe and you know I can cook
And I come forth with only good intent,
You know I am Heaven bound but I’m surely hell bent
On getting the job done like I know I should,
Get the job done like my momma told me to.
Only one thing can remember she said,
You gotta earn all of your respect.
And I don’t care what race or what colour or what creed
All that shit don’t bother me,
Only one thing that you should not forget,
You gotta treat you mama wit respect
And I don’t care what fashion the styling of yo hair,
I don’t care about the car or the clothes you do wear.
Only one thing that you should not forget,
You gotta treat yo mama with respect.
I got a couple of friends up in a tree in North-Cliff
You know they’re doing their part
You know they’re doing their bit.
Trying to save our Mother from all this greed
You know they know what she wants,
You know they know what she needs.
I got a couple of Sista’s in South Australia,
Stopping the Uranium from coming up,
Oh yeah man you know they know what she need.
They’re stopping all of that Government Corporate Greed!
Well there’s far too many questions to ask,
To answer all of them tonight.
For I wear, too many masks,
To tell if any of them are wrong or right.
And confusion casts a shadow upon me,
Like a great big cloud in the sky.
And now I pray for rain
Cause it’s been so long since I let myself cry
For so long, I’ve sang this sad ole song.
And it feels like my time is up.
For she came and landed in my arms
And she filled my half empty cup.
Yes she filled my half empty cup,
Now I look up above me,
And I thank that Great Old God in the sky.
For telling me my cup ain’t half empty.
Just took my little girl to show my why
There you are.
Right in front of me,
A brand new day,
Sunrise Over Sea ,
No longer,
My cup half empty,
Cause there you are,
You and your mum in front of me.
Your Peaches & Cream to me.
You both are Peaches & Cream to me.
All I know is
All I know and
I love you…
Ben got a job at the mine along the way.
He said everything was fine until that fateful day.
That’s when his life, started to change.
The day he went to help and go blow up that Mountain Range.
Ben Moved to town a year ago or maybe more
Straight out of High School
the whole world he had in store
Wanted to travel, needed some dough
Everybody worked the mine why should he say no.
Don’t ask him why
Now things for him have changed
It’s not his land, they’re not his song’s
He can’t work out why he don’t belong,
He part of Company
part of Company Sin.
Won’t someone please tell the lad,
when Humbug did begin.
Now legend has it or so they say,
The Bones of an Ancient People,
Yeah, that’s where they lay and,
Their Descendent’s, Hold close to Heart.
Oh that Mountain Range Ben was helping blow apart
And as I said for Ben things weren’t quite right.
Now he’s waking up, screaming every single night.
Hearing voices in a different tongue,
The screaming of the Old, the screaming of the Young
He part of Company
part of Company Sin.
Won’t someone please tell the lad,
when Humbug did begin.
Now Ben moved on, job left him a while back
Now his thanking God that his boss gave him the sack.
But in the mirror, yes he can face.
The day he stopped helping go blow up that Sacred Place
What you want to say,
Wait till you get home.
I’m sick of communicating over the
Telephone.
But tell me how you feel,
For I am lonely too
Need you to know
I’m just as cold & numb as you.
But I could fly away,
Or I could be no one.
And you could be the
Sunshine falling over the Mountains
Or you could come to stay
You could come right home
Don’t use why I have to
Live this life all alone.
I know there is a way to make up for old Mistakes
And I know what’s happening is for a reason
I know…
Where you run is where you hide,
Better hope you’re hiding well
Cause when the angle catches you
You know you’re damned to Hell
Damned to Hell is what you are
Can you hear the Church Bells toll
and all the money in the world
Can’t save your sorry soul.
And when you reach the Pearly Gates
And Peter reads your tale
He’ll send you back from whence you came
Back to your living Hell
Damned to Hell is what you are
Can you hear the Church Bells toll
And all the money you have made
Can’t save your sorry Soul.
And I believe there comes a time,
When justice does prevail.
It may not be in my lifetime,
for you that’s just as well.
Damned to Hell is what you are
Can you hear the Church Bells toll
And all the money you have made
Can’t save your sorry soul…
Hello, Hello, whats going through your head,
Hell there boy better get it read…
You used to be so real
And all of your love everybody did feel
But now your turning into a fake
And all our hearts yeah you do break
Cause of all those drugs you do take
One big asshole of you it does make
Sticking all that shit up your nose
Hell man that’s where all your money goes.
Then you start ripping off your friends,
Hell yeah man that’s where my story ends
Going around to your Mum and Dads
Sticking all their valuables into bags.
Going around to the hockshop
So once again man you can go and get ripped off
But what your looking for inside
It’s up jumped gone and died
Don’t your see your wrongs
They can’t all be right.
Can’t you see your days,
They’ve turned into night.
Can’t you see the sun,
Can’t you see the moon,
Can’t you see that Karma will be coming for you.
Hello!
Ripping off your friends,
Now I don’t mind just a little indulgence,
But you gotta do it with a conscience.
Now all your into is drugs.
Talking your shit man hanging with thugs.
Speed equals confidence imagine that
But you be acting like a spoiled brat,
Thinking that everythings your way
Getting what you want but you don’t have to pay
Don’t listen to a word anyone say .
Your gonna wind up in the lockup some day
Hello!
I walk for miles.
Circumnavigate these lands.
Walking blindly,
Holding out my hands.
And I pass the stones
That remind me why I’m here.
I follow the setting sun
And you were there.
Don’t you see what she done to me.
I was running blind but now I can be
And if theres just one sign
Hell you know I can see.
Girl I was meant for you,
You were meant for me,
Her teachings in everyday
And boy I know she ain’t preaching
But I feel the need to pray.
She like the ocean size
Pounding on my shores.
Knocking down my walls,
opening up all my doors.
I’m Bound to Ramble
All my days with another…
Why do I deserve such a visit
From the one I thought I’d never meet.
Beyond my greatest expectations.
You exceeded everything.
Well here I am
Take me for what you see
For I’m transparent in the light of you.
And look inside,
See that fire burning bright
The same one you rekindled inside me
My mouth was dry
only you quenched my thirst
I thought I was last
You told me I was first.
And I thought I was seeing Angels
And now I know I was.
your wings around me
Feel good they always does.
So there I was
Ain’t the same man I used to be
But do you still like what you in me.
For I am frightened
Shed so much I clung onto
The only thing I got left is this guitar and you.
Nowhere to run
Been out here too long
Under the sun.
Am I too afraid
To get some.
To afraid to give myself some shade
I hope and pray I do some day
There’ll come a time
When you may want just a little more
Society’s luxuries are not what you had in store.
They offer no security for your soul.
So Mother Earth is what you need
Maybe this is what you be looking for.
Oh Mother Earth
Got to respect her
She’s all around me
Under my feet you know I got to remember,
Mother Earth
Got to defend her.
And to defend her I must respect myself
You know I got to remember
I must remember.
There’ll come a time
When we can’t take anymore
When the air that we breath
Has left us rotten to the core
And the water that we drink
You know its no good to drink any more
Do we have to let it go,
Do we have to let it go this far?
Beautiful moon shining over the ocean
Don’t you know I’ll do it all for you.
Give up my days and my tomorrows
If the words I singing are not true.
Cause in this world and the others
Not a thing that I wouldn’t do
Mother Earth your in my soul.
It’s my blood your running through.
Must respect myself to respect her,
Must respect myself to Defend her.
Must respect myself to respect her.
Must respect myself
I can be loud man, I can be silent
I could be young or I could be old.
I can be a gentleman, I can be violent.
I could turn hot or I can be cold.
I could be just like the calm before the storm
Waiting for all hell yeah to break loose.
I could be innocent or I could be guilty
Doesn’t mean that I man believe in no noose
I could be rich like a wandering Gypsy
I could be poor like a fat wallet lost.
I could be first or I could come last
Its not who breaks the ribbon
It’s how you get across.
I could be red blue black + white sunset
Darkest at day man brightest at night
I could be the sun man I could be the moon
I’m made up from the stars man
I shining so bright.
I could be asleep man, I could be awake
I can be alive or be the walking dead
I can be ignorant, I could be informed
I could lead my life or i could be led
I can be anything i put my mind to man,
all i gotta do is give myself half a chance
I can bring love back into my life
and share it with the world if i got some balance
Old man he looks out the window
You know he gets quite a fright.
Whole world has gone and changed on him
Feels like it was overnight.
He saw a world war yeah it came and went
The man walked on the moon right there in his living room
Saw that TV become a religion,
The Wall came down and Big Mac beat the communists.
Feels like it was overnight.
Old man looks out the window
You know he can not open it anymore.
The air outside its gone to rancid
And the doctor said for him you know it wouldn’t be so good for
He saw a hole start opening up in the sky
He’s buying water man he doesn’t even know why
The smog alerts don’t let him even go outside
And then he start he start to think
When the Earth it start to die.
Feel like it was overnight
Enjoy your last.
Last taste of freedom!
Old man he looks out the window
You know he does not feel so safe anymore.
he come from those supposed good ole days
When you did not even have to go lock your doors
He saw security man look Police man
Saw the Police start looking like the Army Man,
He saw Army start acting like the C.I.A
And guess what, the C.I.A was the president.
Feels like it was overnight
Enjoy your last.
Last taste of freedom!
If you just want to know something.
All you got to do Is ask me.
Cause though the sunsets all around us
The truth is often plain to see.
I know you been going through some hard times
Yes I have been there too before
And thought the truth is sometimes hard to hear
It’s harder still to ignore
It doesn’t gotta be this way
You don’t gotta worry about what everybody might say
You just gotta follow your heart.
Right now yeah man right from the start.
I know we don’t always see eye to eye
I guess it’s different things that were trying to find
But if we can’t look each other stone cold in the face
Yes you know we might as well be blind.
Does not mean one of us is wrong man
Does not mean one of us is right
Does not mean yeah we just get along
Just because we don’t fight
I be up sometimes, down sometimes
We’re often in between but mostly in the middle
You be up sometimes, your down sometimes
We’re often in between but mostly in the middle
I’m up sometimes, your down sometimes
We’re often in between but mostly in the middle
You’re up sometimes, I’m down sometimes
We’re often in between but mostly in the middle
We be up sometimes, we’re down sometimes
We’re often in between but mostly in the middle
A little feeling in my gut that I get of late
When I think about these cats running the world with hate
I say… something’s gotta give
Got the whole world fighting for the Texas tea
Got a little for you, I got a little for me
But the kettle’s leaking like a sieve
There’s a puddle on the floor
There’s a puddle in the sky
The kettle’s leaking so much man it’s burning my eyes yeah
Can’t you just throw that damper out
On the subject of throwing stuff away
I know some deaf men who can’t hear a word we say
No matter, No matter how loud we do shout
And I say…
Something’s gotta give right now boy
Something’s gotta give right now for you
Something’s gotta give right now man
Something’s gotta give right now
I was reading the newspaper just yesterday
Got the headlines reading God bless the USA
And I thought… God Bless Everyone
God bless the people in New York when they were attacked
God bless the children being bombed there in Iraq
God bless the goddamn junkie with a monkey on his back
God bless everybody under the sun
Cause the world ahead will end if we don’t got love
Do your job and pay attention to God above
But eventually the only guarantee will be that the tea in your tank will run dry
Because without love you know there aint no life
You can duplicate it and bottle it up all you like
But it doesn’t mean you’re gonna get another try
Get another try boy
Something’s gotta give right now boy
Something’s gotta give right now P-Yoo
Something’s gotta give right now man
Something’s gotta give right now
I Said..
Something’s gotta give right now boy
Something’s gotta give right now (Yeah)
Something’s gotta give right now
Something’s gotta give right now…..
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