1. |
Torch Song
02:48
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I torched the steely dross of all we had
To forge a shield embossed with tales of woe
The fortunes we have lost to Cupid's bow
But I want you so bad
Let's get sad
I salvage scraps of heartache and abuse
Now I'm down to bottle caps and screws
Crush me for the crucible in you
Let fire make me new
Let's get blue
Bets are off--the deal was rearranged
Banks are closed--the vows have been exchanged
Fill me up and break me, like the pig I am
I need a little change
Let's get strange
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2. |
Blue Silhouettes
03:01
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The curve of your arm
Is the comfort I crave,
My moon, my castaway crush.
I'll weather the storm
In taverns and caves,
While I covet the warmth of your touch.
Hang on to your heart;
And I'll carry mine.
Let none of us run, when we're called.
Just crawl through my window,
Some slow, summer night;
And throw blue silhouettes on the wall.
I saw, through the fog,
Your faraway isle,
When you laid your green lamp on the dock.
Just sing me to sleep
From your bright, crescent beach,
While I try not to crash on the rocks.
Hang on to your heart;
And I'll carry mine.
Let none of us run, when we're called.
Just crawl through my window,
Some slow, summer night;
And throw blue silhouettes on the wall.
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3. |
Little Girl Blue
04:21
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I remember you well, at your lemonade stand,
how the cool water dripped on your little, pink hands;
and how no one was buyin', but me and your mom,
so you drank it yourself, 'til the streetlights came on.
Then, several years later, when the streetlights came on,
how we crept to the creek with a ball jar of rum
and a fistful of squares that you stole from your mom;
and they curled up in rings on the tip of your tongue.
Oh, but I never kissed you, my little girl blue,
just spent my nights drawin' and thinkin' 'bout you.
Then, after high school, I had to leave town
to sing for the swallows and sleep on the ground.
Guess I'll never know, if you think of me still,
how we used to sneak out and get high on the hill;
and how I tried to teach you the words to my song,
just to watch the notes dance on the tip of your tongue.
I suppose you've grown older and hardened your hands.
You've forgotten my songs and your lemonade stand.
I imagine you're married, with kids of your own,
whose lemonade tastes like the day I left home.
I never kissed you my little girl blue.
Still sing to the moon,
When I drink about you.
I'm howlin' you into the song of this town.
The owls and swallows
Will follow the sound.
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4. |
Kiss The Ground
03:44
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Woke up this morning
Fingers found a suitcase in my hand
Woke up this morning, with a suitcase
I had a suitcase in my hand
Face against the glass
My eyes didn't recognize the land
Wires stretch out ahead
Like an ocean, waves rollin' up and down
Wires stretch out before me
Like a wine-dark ocean, rollin' up and down
If I ever get off o' this bus,
I'm gonna lay down, gonna lay down and kiss the ground
One night to flatten mountains
And turn white sand to snow
One night to flatten mountains
Oh, and turn white sand to snow
This old, grey beast freights loneliness--
She takes it everywhere I go
If I ever get off o' this bus,
I'm gonna lay down. I'm gonna lay down and kiss the ground
If I ever get off o' this bus,
I'm gonna lay down. I'm gonna lay down and kiss the ground
I ain't got a soul
Ain't got a soul
To throw my arms around
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5. |
Don't Be Long
02:58
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I’m goin' to the city to sell my song
Goin' to the city, but I won't be long
Don't be long
Just follow the stream to the railroad track
Follow this dream to the city and back
But I'd rather be kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kissin' you
Don’t be long
Went to the city to sling my print
To squeeze three dollars from the four I spent
Don't be long
I'd rather sing underneath your tree
Maybe you'll share your peaches with me
I'd rather be kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kissin' you
Don’t be long
Goin' to the city to sell my song
Goin' to the city, but I won't be long
Don't be long
Got a pocket full o' pickin and rhymes
To trade for bottles and nickels and dimes
But I'd rather be kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kissin' you
Don’t be long
Went to the city to sell my soul–
Try a deal with a devil–his hands were full
Don't be long
Brought five and forty for the radio
Please spin my story, so I can go--
Home
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6. |
Never Trust A Barber
03:40
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All my life, dead folks tellin’ me how to live
All my life, I’ve had dead folks tellin’ me how to live
Martyrs and fathers and lawyers–all kinds of other stiffs
All you dead folks, go away, don’t bother me
I wish all you dead folks would go away and quit botherin’ me
Don’t know how to live, don’t try and tell me how to be
If you’re so smart, tell me, why are you so dead?
If you’re so smart, how come you’re so dead?
Never trust a barber with a toupee on his head
All you dead folks, go away, don’t bother me
I wish all you dead folks would go away and quit botherin’ me
Don’t know how to live, don’t try and tell me how to be
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7. |
Falls Thistlethwaite
03:09
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'Round my Indiana homestead wave the cornfields.
In the distance, loom the woodlands, deep and cool.
Summer fills my head with scenes from childhood,
Of climbing trees and dancin' like a fool.
Behind closed eyes, it's just as I remember:
Children's laughter chimin' through the street--
My mother's silhouette stands in the doorway,
Eyes framed by waves of sunset-tinted wheat.
The railroad bridge beyond the spring grove heights
She's the backbone of the deep whitwater gorge.
I used to step between her ties
And climb her walls with wand'ry eyes
Dreaming of a path, next noon to forge.
Falls Thistlethwaite, I skinny-dipped below you
With lovers lost, whose loss was wet with tears.
The mill is gone--the miller, too--
Whose gristle cut your heart in two.
Falls Thistlethwaite, your heartache holds me here.
The time has come to call this rose my home.
I've memories enough to pull me near.
My mother's garden, father's grave,
The woods where once I misbehaved--
This Indiana town I hold so dear
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8. |
Pipedream Blues
01:22
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Sun comes shinin' down my drain.
"Climb! Climb," calls the rain.
Warms my face, browns my skin,
'Til the storm comes to chase me down again.
Hey, little spider, why'd you climb?
The devil made heaven sound so fine.
Failure told me not to climb,
But Nature fooled me, every time.
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9. |
Tincture for Trouble
02:59
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There’s a tincture for troubles, a salve for souls,
In a bottle, in a well, in a watering hole.
You'll never feel pain. You'll never grow old.
It's all under control. You're under control.
Remember Joe, baby. Remember, Joseph.
Remember, you tend to forget yourself,
When you've had one-two (many), three-four (many),
Far too many to count
On yourself.
Slip through the bars. Shake all the hands.
Dance with the women and chant for the band.
Shout every first name. Mouth every last word.
Sometimes, you take pictures, but it's always a blur.
Remember Joe, baby. Remember, Joseph.
Remember, you tend to forget yourself,
When you've had one too many, three-four many,
Far too many to count
On yourself.
Sing loud and hard; and pound your guitar.
Put another round on the wrong credit card.
The bartender knows you'll come crawling tomorrow
To kiss Irish coffee and pick up your car.
Remember Joe, baby. Remember, Joseph.
Remember, you tend to forget yourself,
When you've had one too many, three-four many,
Far too many to count
On yourself.
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10. |
Howlin' at the Earth
04:42
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Tied my heart to a
Rocket for the moon
Sent my love on a
Mission to the moon
Nobody home
Now my heart's marooned
Poor little fool won't
Make the homeward race
Packed no fuel
To make the homeward race
Said he didn't have room
Now, all he's got is space
There's nothin' up here, but a
Flag stuck in the dirt
Found nothin' up here, just a
Flag stuck in the dirt
Only know one song, just up here
Howlin' at The Earth
Nothin' up here, but a
Flag stuck in the dirt
Nothin up here, just a
Flag stuck in the dirt
Only know one song, just up here
Howlin' at The Earth
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Achilles Tenderloin Indiana
"...unforgettable, filled with both intense emotion and playful reflection. You’ll never forget the day you first saw Achilles Tenderloin..."
"File this one under brave, new blues."
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