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1. |
What We Saw
03:48
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Well, the country’s on fire, It’s like Vegas in space.
The stakes are so high — man, there’s no time to waste:
All the darkness surrounding, the punches all landing too low.
‘Cause we stepped off the edge, got lost in the crowd.
Found out it’s not what you say but how loud.
We ain’t given up, just settling in for the show.
We’re all stallions, spooked and wild in the stall.
Soliders — too quick on the draw.
Teachers left wondering, What’s that I hear down the hall?
You would be too if you saw what we saw.
‘Cause we grew up on Cosby, Sex, lies, and dreams.
Baptized in cars burning cheap gasoline.
Our disease just keeps spreading like lead down some Michigan stream.
And we take from sickest ones, steal from the the poor.
If it can’t fix itself, that’s a problem ignored:
Living high on the gun and getting low on the floor.
We’re all movies, with an ending too sad.
Mothers, with our babies gone bad.
And we’re dreaming of something that maybe we ain’t ever had.
Is this your civil war?
Is this our revolution?
Well I guess it depends
On which side’s giving in.
So This is America — Standing in line.
John Wayne ain’t dead, and the markets are fine,
But the bullets cost money,
And I ain’t got a dime.
We’re all stallions, spooked and wild in the stall.
Soliders — too quick on the draw.
Children left wondering, What’s that I hear down the hall?
You would be too if you cared much at all...
Struggling to breathe with your back to the wall...
Wondering which body will be the last straw...
You would be too if you saw what we saw.
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2. |
Catching On
03:43
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Taking one last look just like the plot in some old mystery book —
I never know the next move til it’s played. Turning on the brights —
Trade a thumbnail moon for highway lights.
Wondering if this time I should have stayed.
Rollin' in the black, runnin' low,
But never lookin back.
Listening for the sirens in the wind.
Words are sharp as knives, so I keep this blade real close to mine —
Shining like a last chance closing in.
As this road unravels,
All the warning signs are gone.
No one left to say which way to run.
Chasing shadows in the distance through the calm before the storm,
Laying low, take it slow. I’m catching on.
The ties that bind and hold me are more precious than the gold —
But the ghosts out in the darkness stitched the wind across my soul.
I wake up in the morning before they know I’m gone —
Stranger than the first run through an unfamiliar song.
So I try hard not to linger on the world that might’ve been —
Each exit's just a new place to begin.
Counting cars to ease my mind, hoping that the stars align.
Grab the wheel and steer into the rattle and the spin.
Staring out a window of a truck stop in the rain —
Wondering when it all began to change.
Longing for the days before the sparkle and the lie.
Lost out on the back roads on the edges of my mind.
As this road unravels, I’m out searching for the dawn —
Or anything that flashes like the sun.
I see shadows in the distance, dancing wild across the morning.
Laying low, take it slow.
I’m catching on.
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3. |
Gemini Blues
03:31
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Well on the day I was born, I said, “Bless my soul,
Somebody must’ve torn me in two,
And left one half with a wild pack of dogs,
Sent the other out looking for you.”
Now baby, two heads may be better than one, you know,
But half a heart is never gonna do. It leaves you running around
with ‘em both hung down
Just howling those Gemini blues.
Hey, I thought I told ya,
Ooh, baby that I ain’t no good,
Shame might as well be my last name.
But I am trying hard to love you like I should.
Ooh, baby like I should.
You think I'm pulling your strings,
But babe I'm giving you wings
And getting higher than you ever coulda flew.
By the end of the game
I'll have you calling my name,
And wondering when we ever gonna lose.
And if you just don't believe,
Or think I'm pulling your sleeve,
Well, I hate to have to tell you the news.
I'll get you under my thumb
Or send you out on the run,
Just moanin' those Gemini Blues.
Hey, I thought I told ya,
Ooh, baby that I ain’t no good,
Shame you don't understand this game.
But I am trying hard to love you like I should.
Ooh, baby like I should.
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4. |
K&W
04:35
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In this old dirty barroom
No one cares who you know,
On the wrong side of Cleveland
Like a worn-out old joke.
I drove all day to get here.
Now the night’s coming on —
Draggin' out every haunted old mem’ry
To welcome me home.
Heavy eyes driftin’, off a long bobtail run. Made it clean up from Charleston, 'Neath a November sun.
The phone just kept ringing,
So I guess you ain’t home.
Hell, I hope that you ain’t out tyin’ off While I’m tying one on.
Chorus:
This old K&W it’s blue and it’s white — Painted up just like my Saturday night. On this lonely parade.
Wandering around in the wind.
I’ve been out in the cold for too long to just stumble back in.
Out on 77, I can push it all down.
When the high lines stop moving,
I’m afraid I might drown.
In my own bad decisions
Or the sound of the rain.
But you shatter my heart
And this old rig just rattles my brain.
So I’ll roll out this morning
With a fistful of pride.
Hit Alonzo’s off Sunset
Feeling half-way alive.
It’s been years since I’ve seen him
And you know I just might,
Buy some cocaine and cotton
And find me some new place to hide.
CHORUS
Bridge:
Dream weaver steal me a dream,
All wrapped up in chrome
Like some rubberneck scene.
Left there alone with the fire
And the first flashing lights,
You’re the drug that I need more than this.
Hell, I tried to get clean,
But I’d die for your kiss.
I’m wrecked either way,
So I might as well go out in style.
This old K&W is just a burning jack-knife —
Lighting up somebody’s Saturday night.
On this lonely parade,
Finding one last way to bend.
I’ve been out in the cold for too long to just stumble back in.
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5. |
Heavy Steel
04:17
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Staring at the clouds around
A freshly setting sun —
A gang of grey, just pushing out
The yellow and the orange.
Watch the lights turn down
The shadows that were born today.
The ashtray fills, the bottle’s low.
A flip-top box reveals a lonely lucky cigarette.
You touch the flame to the tip and watch it glowing red,
And breathe in all the answers to
Your life and how it ends.
You snuff it out — much too soon, remembering...
Chorus:
Like jeans these dreams are worn —
Trying hard to beat the rain out on the highway tonight.
Heavy steel and spinning wheels collide.
We left town some time ago
For all the things we ever wanted,
Only I came back alone.
But last night I took your old guitar
And plugged it in your amplifier —
The action’s low, but like the tubes I know
You’re humming right along.
So I’ll drink vodka to remember you
And whiskey to forget.
If I don’t say your name,
Well I can act as if you never left.
Without your laughter,
This old town seems that much darker,
And the ashtrays fill,
But the bottle’s never full enough.
CHORUS
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6. |
Low Pressure
03:44
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Can you hear the engine revving? Burning outta control?
People screaming on the sidewalk. Somebody gonna lose their soul.
Tiki torches on the TV.
Waiting on the President.
Don't know what to tell my little boy,
Or where 60 years of progress went...
Chorus:
What’s the difference ‘tween pride and hate?
Just a little bit of sin.
Hot water, low pressure.
Makes the whole world start to spin.
They counted 51 inches.
That’s Old Testament rain.
You flood a city of 4 million,
Where you think it’s gonna drain?
Rivers flowing through the sidewalks,
God calling from the sky —
“We’re all the same color
When the water’s this high.”
CHORUS
Bridge:
So if you raise your hand, then make a fist.
Because there’s people in this world
That don’t believe that we exist.
And if you’re dreaming of a time
Where only walls will set you free,
Step down off your higher ground. Look around and see...
Hot water, low pressure.
Old Testament rain.
We’re all the same color.
Where you think it’s gonna drain?
Tiki torches on the TV.
Tears falling from the sky.
We’re all the same color.
We're bringing fire next time.
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7. |
Somebody Else
04:24
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And I know that I’ve been In this house before.
I remember every picture on this shelf.
I thought I’d recognize your face
When you came walking through the door,
But you look like somebody else.
I wish I didn’t feel like such a stranger.
And this house just like sSome out of town motel.
When you came around to see me
I thought I’d fall in love again,
But you look like somebody else.
Ain’t it sad the way that all these years have robbed us nearly blind?
Feeling round the darkness of a cell.
Where every day’s the same,
But love is just a name.
That fades away ‘til you can hardly tell.
Did I really throw my back out late last summer,
Hanging up that heavy mirror in the hall?
‘Cause now you’re standing right beside it,
And I can’t do a thing to hide it,
But you don’t look a thing like you at all.
We’ll hide in distant memories that flash from time to time,
Calling from the bottom of a well.
The echoes sound the same,
But love is just a name
That fades away ‘til you can hardly tell.
Did we ever really get to know
The people hiding out behind our shells?
Now your hands they look familiar,
When you wipe away a tear,
But you look like somebody else.
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8. |
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She’s lying alone on a Thursday —
Hiding out ‘neath the cheap hotel lights.
She’s learning how lonely the evening can be,
When the wrong moves all start to feel right.
There’s coffee for two and a TV.
There’s breakfast at 7 AM.
She wakes up and screams
As her black and white dreams
Start turning to color again.
Chorus:
The truth can move through you like lightning,
And the lies fall like ash on the ground.
When the storm passes through,
Then you’ll open your eyes
And look for a way out of town.
But that’s her Bible there on the nightstand
And there’s words she can tell you by heart —
When the wind slapped her face
And her eyes filled with rain —
Her young family falling apart.
Now she’s down at that same dirty crossroads,
Where the soul and the mind can’t agree,
When to bear down and fight,
Or cut clear through the night,
With one last ounce of courage to leave.
CHORUS
Barefoot and kickin' up cinders —
She’s still learning how to be free.
When the sun’s on the rise
And the clouds all surrender,
It’s time to get up off your knees.
CHORUS
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9. |
Darla Mae
05:55
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6 kids and 7 horses.
A jukebox up for sale.
A party line and Bible time.
Apples by the pail.
Apples by the pail, sack lunch by the creek.
Time that don’t pass easy,
Playin' hide-and-seek.
Chores were up and early,
But you set off on your own —
Waving like an actress on the screen.
Swimming in some California dream.
4 sisters and 2 brothers.
The youngest of them all,
Hair all dark and curly —
The Baby of the ball.
But the baby just gets restless,
Born to spark and shine.
Never lets her guard down,
Always looks behind her.
She don’t care much for the bad boys,
Checking round to see which ones will play.
Motor-bikes and high-heels on the scene.
Drive-ins and the busting at the seams.
Darla Mae, the world gets in the way
Of all your childhood plans.
Who’s to say we always have to play
The same old losing hand?
I can see your fears.
Bring your whispers here.
We’ll bury all our secrets in the sand.
Darla Mae, you’re the only one
I think could understand.
This body’s like some prison,
It ain’t who I’m s’posed to be —
A dress of expectations
And ragged apron strings.
I wish you’d learn to love me —
See underneath this shell,
And call me by a new name.
Make me someone else.
'Cause I was born a little early
For kickin off these blues —
Dreaming of a face that’s not like mine,
Wondering if there’ll never be a time.
Darla Mae, the world just fades away
Each time I touch your hand.
Who’s to say you’re ever gonna find
A better-suited man?
I can see your fears.
Bring your whispers here.
We’ll bury all our secrets in the sand.
Darla Mae, you’re the only one
I think could understand.
We might not make forever,
Or even leave this town alive,
But I got no tomorrow
Without you by my side.
I know you might need someone
For things that I can’t do.
You kept me from the dark side,
So I’ll learn to make some room.
When no one cares about you,
There ain’t much left to lose.
We’ll move to San Francisco in the spring.
Nobody has to know my other name.
Darla Mae, the world gets in the way
Of all your childhood plans.
Who’s to say we always have to play it
Lying where it lands?
I can see your fears.
Wipe away your tears.
We’ll leave our secrets buried in the sand.
Darla Mae, you’re the only soul
I think could understand.
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10. |
Mountain Pose
03:33
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The sky is grey, the birds are singing
Songs I’ve never heard.
I woke up feeling strange, but then
That’s really not the word.
I woke up feeling hungry.
I woke up feeling strong.
I woke up wondering how we let this
Linger on so long.
There’s a line — a long dividing line,
That stretches through the neighborhood
And wrestles in the street.
There’s a time to put our fears aside
And leave our anger lying at their feet.
I turned it off.
I went outside and called up all my friends.
I even called some of my enemies
To try and make amends.
We drew up all our courage
And pushed down all our pain.
We said some words for those
Who’ll never get to speak again.
There’s a song — a long-forgotten song,
We used to hear our parents sing
Before we knew the tune.
We could fall.
Yeah, we could lose it all.
So everybody has to make some room.
We’re standing in the mountain pose
And stretching out our hands.
We come in peace and pray that’s still
A word you understand.
We used to dream of chasing stars
And filling every cup.
Now all we want is every
Sleeping soldier to wake up.
There’s a line that we all hide behind.
We act like we're not one of them,
Pretend that we don't see.
There’s a time to put our fears aside
And leave our anger lying at their feet.
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11. |
Gravity
02:49
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And when you say I shall instead of will, I know it isn’t you —
Just a lifetime in the Bibles and the pews.
Automatic, like the way I sing off key
When I’ve had too much to drink,
And all the words come tumbling out,
Like careless sparks above the screen.
The gravity has changed
And now I’m underneath.
All the words don’t mean
The things they used to mean.
See them shifting with the swivel and the show.
The sparkle and the glow.
The less is more and oh I thought you heard,
We had to let those spirits go.
All swords and eyes and wings,
Just like the other beasts.
Stars are falling as the earth and sky recede.
Trumpets calling out
The last song to be played.
The angels take their place.
Your face says you’re still wondering if
You might have rather gone a different way.
There’s evil in this world, I hope it isn’t me —
An earthbound watcher,
Made of fire and mystery.
But disbelief ain’t worth
The coin it used to be.
The river underneath,
I feel it like a wave that floods my mind, Until these words are all I see...
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12. |
Best Beasts
03:45
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Pick me up and take me for a ride.
Flip me over like a 45.
Drag me tumbling through the riptide.
I need to look the way I feel tonight —
Fucked up and twisting on my axis and
Iinhaling lies to find the truth in them.
Strung out on pills that feel like heroin.
Man, I’m no different than you.
Lit up like gods or barely getting by.
Concealing secrets from our darker sides.
Pure demand wrapped up in infinite supply.
Man, I can’t stop it — how bout you?
We are no different.
From West Virginia to the Golden Coast.
Thin-skinned and howling on the radio.
No single one of us immune.
Who’s got you certain of the world you know?
Half stitched together, where the seams all show.
No single one of us in tune.
Chorus:
We’re just trying to be
The best beasts we can be,
And find a way to sleep.
Don’t dig too deep.
Hanging on to ships that sailed away.
Pretending things should always be this way.
The future’s coming for you soon.
We’re all so certain of the world we know —
Half stitched together,
Where the seams all show.
No single one of us in tune.
CHORUS
You'll see the best beasts we can be.
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13. |
Another Bad Day
03:10
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Another bad day —
Maybe thought we’d seen the end,
But we never could say when.
Call it wishful thinking.
Another bad day —
Sure feel like giving in.
Gettin’ lost downtown again,
Pretend the ship’s not sinking.
We paid to watch this.
We can’t turn our heads and say
“Look at all the mess they made.”
Our prayers and thoughts
Must be a million miles away.
Maybe no one’s listening out there anyway.
Another bad day —
Another scene that makes no sense.
Another angel on the fence.
Maybe its the morning star.
Another bad day —
You know I tried to shake it loose —
Find a different point of view.
Pretend the sky’s not falling.
We came to watch this,
We can’t turn ourselves away.
Think of all the plans we made.
Our prayers and thoughts
Fall just like snowflakes on the flame.
They're not quite strong enough
To stop the blaze.
Another bad day.
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Matt Harlan Houston, Texas
Matt Harlan is a troubadour of the first degree, bringing songs of bus-stops, coffee-shops and lives overlooked to stages across his home-state of Texas, the USA and Europe. His expressive vocals recall Chris Smither and Chris Knight, shading his poignant songs with soaring heart and aching grit. ... more
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