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Be When Done

from NATIVE by John Ellis

/

lyrics

humpback floating on the
low tide beneath a
dark lighthouse on a
rainy night
i guess all journeys
end on a foreign shore
i’m on my own now –
wonder who i’ll be when i’m done

highway collapsed on
Christmas day – by the
time they noticed i was
miles away
i’m not suggesting
i’m fully responsible
but these things happen
wonder where i’ll be when i’m done

devil’s in blackface
God’s in white
everything’s mysterious if you
look at it right
Jesus is an acrobat
who talks this and acts that
right now i’m a dancer –
wonder who i’ll be when i’m done

inside that humpback
they found my painting
there were signs of struggle some kind of
battle had been raging
i caught my reflection in my
whale’s dead eye - they were
three long nights while i
wondered where i’d be when done

© John Ellis 2022

credits

from NATIVE, released April 27, 2022
Produced by John Ellis
Executive Producer: Duncan Brown
Recorded, engineered and mixed by Brent Quinton
Assisted by Dale Wardell
Mastered by Rogan Kelsey

Recorded at The Audio Suite, Westville, KwaZulu-Natal Feb-April 2021
Additional recording at the Atterbury Theatre, Pretoria March 2021 by Fuzz Senekal and at the United Rhythms Studio, Durban May 2021 by David Jenkins
Some extra recording happened in Durban North and Pietermaritzburg May 2021

String arrangement and orchestration for “Dogs”: Bryan Schimmel

Artwork: Aimee Lindeque
Art Direction: Antony Ellis

Words and Music: John Ellis
“Down Paradise”: John Ellis, Patric van Blerk, Fransua Roos
Published by Jellisongs/ Admin. by CNC Music
All songs © John Ellis 2021

These musicians played these instruments:
David ‘Qadasi’ Jenkins (umhuphe, concertina, maskandi guitar) Njabulo Shabalala (percussion) Victor Sithole (umqangala, udloko, umzaneno) John Ellis (guitar, singing, additional percussion)

“Native” was made possible by the AW Mellon Foundation through the “Rethinking South African Literature(s)” project at the University of the Western Cape.

Siyabonga:
All the wonderful musicians. Brent Quinton. Dale Wardell. Fuzz Senekal. Bryan Schimmel. Aimee Lindeque. Antony Ellis. Rogan Kelsey. Jill Flusk.
Siyabonga kakhulu:
David ‘Qadasi’ Jenkins. Susan du Toit. Duncan Brown, without whom this album would not exist.

For Liam, Bethany and Sadie: natives, too.

A Luta Continua.

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John Ellis Durban, South Africa

A singer-songwriter from Durban, South Africa, John has played his music all over the world. His fifth full-length solo album "Native"will be released on April 27 2022.

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