1. |
The Holding and the Held
01:53
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2. |
Ocean, You Owe Me
03:31
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Trinidadian traffic jam, tears under dome light
Submarine, sonar sound, hollow ring, droning box kite
Flying high, flying low, under ¾ moonlight
Ocean, you owe me.
Over that mountain peak, there is just more confusion
I was fooled into thinking I’m immune to delusion
I’ll believe anyone who confirms this illusion
So I’ll stay where I’m loved
A third hand source once told me
“Beware of relevancy”
So a third place horse is what I’ll be
And I’ll be spared any whips
From the salt of the earth comes the next free world leader
Sprouted from briar patch and it nearly did bleed her
And some crows stole her clothes but untangled and freed her
And now her empire feeds her
We’re seated by our middle names
The ones with two must give one away
I slam the door shut and I say
“Ellis climbed the trellis!”
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3. |
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A wink, a nod to city crowds
The future was the never now
When welcome mats were read aloud
and we’re Bypassing Beautiful Beginnings
They lionize, then nullify
Grow suspect of your eagle eye
Grow wary of your weary sighs,
and we’re....
An alchemist, a brilliant hang
A pricey cut with bargain bangs
Won’t find approval from our gangs
and we’re....
We’ll walk 10 feet above the ground
Through August heat, we’ll soldier on
Relationships wash up at dawn
and we’re....
So 6 am has come and gone
The promised storm, mocked by the sun
We shared a smile, we’re out of style
and we’re...
Come inside and stay awhile....
And so it ends, we stirred the pot
We eyed the bait, but only caught
An enigmatic parting shot, and we’re...
A wink, a nod to city crowds
The future was the never now
When welcome mats were read aloud
and we’re bypassing beautiful beginnings
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4. |
Shackle Dance
02:27
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Laughing, and I’m feeling so lucky
But I worry almost every single day
Oh, why am I thinking all the years away?
Dancing, look beyond the kitchen curtain
See that nothing’s shackling my feet
No reason I can’t go dancing in the street
At night time, the butterflies sleep inside of me
Hold the cage door open, but they don’t want to be freed
It takes time for significance to take root
No one’s really where they ought to be
A clay bust, a mugshot, a picture on TV
Come morning, I wonder if I’ll find the thread
That makes the day make sense, that gets me out of bed
Starlight, look at all the stars within us
Sounding like a million singing suns
Sing a song about the person I never could become
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5. |
Bread and Butter
03:33
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We go just like bread and butter
So I won’t leave you all alone
You cast your net across a frozen pond
You didn’t know that I’d come slipping along
Lost my balance, had no sense of time
Until you pressed your mittened hand into mine
You wouldn’t leave me all alone...
Never been in this cabin before
A copper vase hangs above the front door
You served me right, I was so shaken up
Justice over crushed ice poured from cauldron to cup
You wouldn’t leave me all alone...
Honey! Honey!...
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6. |
A Map of Oregon
04:03
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string the lights across the laundry line
play the favorite number nine
meteor submarines will fly
starry antlers across my thigh
the sky’s a ribbon and you’re a mess
bottle caps on the party dress
as the fireflies light the field
the siren-secrets are revealed
the geese are flying north and south
like the words then from my mouth
and like the summer days
all i see sets to golden blaze
hoof prints in the sandy bank
at the road’s edge where we sank
there are a million of us here
fey eyes glinting the secret shared
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7. |
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Today I saw storm clouds--I thought I should maybe make my will
But you closed the windows and sat next to me
I thought of some questions--I thought maybeI could break your will
But you looked in my eyes and reminded me
That the worst was all behind me
Pick up the scene from when the rain stopped
Pick out your favorite line
Pick up the wet things and hang them all up
Pick up a stitch in time
I never could see any other way
I never could see any other way
I’ve made an art of coming apart
You put me together today
My sun shone too brightly--I was scared that you’d just get burned
But you took the rays and shone them back at me
An air of finality--if from you I had fled
My life would be something I need never have led
You said forget it and just come to bed
Pick up the scene from when we wake up
Pick up a guitar and sing
Pick out your best clothes and get all dressed up
See what the day will bring
I never could see any other way
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8. |
Turn Turtle
03:46
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9. |
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They shared a dream, so they slumbered all summer
Planned to return, having cashed in their Karma
Where’d they go, Nobody knows
They left the keys and a note on the table
Followed a stream somewhere near Coral Gables
Why’d they go, Nobody knows
Hollywood, Hollywood
Wouldn’t Understand them, wouldn’t understand them
Hollywood, Hollywood
Wouldn’t understand them, wouldn’t understand them
No they wouldn’t. No they wouldn’t.
He caught the fish, and he waved it to Mother
Dog on the leash, on the loose--too much bother
Where’d he go, nobody knows
As tall as the trees were, they still could see daylight
Got so much done, but so little of it done right
Why’d they go, nobody knows
Hollywood..........
Wouldn’t understand..........
They looked out to see, but stayed put in the harbor
What did they sail to Marina Del Mar for?
Nobody knows.
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10. |
The Wrong Tree
05:29
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Branches sprout doubts and clues come from clouds
No one dare say what they’re thinking out loud
No meetings held, no rioting crowds
What you refuse to believe can remain in a shroud
We raised a family, and they raised one too
We’d meet up on weekends for something to do
Then comes the work week, the kids off to school
So no one was home when it all came unglued
They cut the wrong tree, they cut the wrong tree
And now there’s nothing left for me
They cut the wrong tree, they cut the wrong tree
And where’s my family, where’s my family?
A friend comes around, I ask, “what did you see?”
He said “no one saw through them, before they sawed through the trees
We sent out a call for some hornets and bees..
Why don’t you come stay at our place for a night or two or three?”
They cut the wrong tree, they cut the wrong tree
And now there’s nothing left for me
They cut the wrong tree, they cut the wrong tree
And where’s my family, where’s my family?
There’s so much anguish, I need to let go
I’ve got so much sadness, I’ll never let show
Maybe I’ll sit and seethe in the snow
Maybe I’ll cry when I see the moon’s glow
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11. |
Trying New Jokes
02:59
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up in the hot air balloon
you said it was too soon
so we landed outside the living room
you started howling at the moon
you’ve gotta know that things are dire
sitting under the mushroom dryer
liar liar head’s on fire
you said i’m tired of the routine
give me something new to see
give me something i’ll believe
if it means lying through all of your teeth
i am trying new jokes
treating you to french fries and coke
we’ll stay in tonight since we’re broke
you said i’m tired....
take off your helmet, shake out your hair
hold hands while the sunset flares
it’s so cinematic, but we don’t care
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12. |
Verbal Income
05:13
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An opportunity fell in my lap-I brushed it off
The perfect turn of phrase slid down my throat--I tried to cough
Tried to escape it, I couldn’t walk
Tried to explain it, I couldn’t talk
Said I was late, but I couldn’t find a clock
Just static and traffic and the doors all locked
Who threw the dice for me while I stood by--with fingers crossed?
Who said who my friends would be, and who would comfort me--when I was lost?
Who invited me to this space? Whose party is this? Where is this place?
The key information is classified
As to why I’m walking home glassy eyed
I spent my verbal income--a million per annum
The dividends, they say, will serve me fine
Then I feel a stab in the back, I hear a pop and a crack
The heartbeat stops, but the drumbeat is still mine
I spent my verbal income--a million per annum
The dividends, they say, will serve me fine
Then I feel a stab in the back, I hear a pop and a crack
The heartbeat stops, but the drumbeat is still mine
Hey prehistoric man, look at the things that we can do
They futuristic man, look at the scary things that all came true
Give me an estimate, a more-or-lesstimate of how much to give
To these new friends I found in this new hallowed ground in which I live
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Sitting Next to Brian Northampton, Massachusetts
Sitting Next to Brian is drummer Brian Marchese's occasional outlet for his songwriting. He tries to write normal songs like everyone else but they come out like this.
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