1. |
Seventeen
03:35
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It was a long, hot summer
Guitarist and a drummer
The year I turned seventeen.
Guess we were trying to make a statement
Rockin' the church basement
Bleached-blonde hair and ripper JNCO jeans.
We new it couldn't be long
Before we wrote a hit song
Finger numb trying to figure it out.
Three chords and a back beat
A blown-out thrift shop Peavey
And two kids too dumb to have doubts.
We were alive
And we were free.
The future wide
As our dreams.
We would arrive
On the scene.
"You'll never get a job dressed like that."
Man, we don't even care.
Late nights at the Cradle
Whenever we were able
Smell of sweat and smoke filled the air.
Knowing that some night
Be us caught in the spotlight
Looking down on the world from up there.
We were alive
And we were free.
The future wide
As our dreams.
We would arrive
On the scene.
"You'll never get a job dressed like that."
Man, we don't even care.
And we would drive
Those empty streets
1979 on repeat
All through the night
Nowhere to be
With that hot Carolina wind
Blowing through our hair.
"We'll make it big someday, man,"
I would swear.
"We'll make it big someday, man,"
I would swear.
"We'll make it big someday, man,"
I swear.
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2. |
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...
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3. |
Do You Ever?
04:50
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We watched the clouds pass us by
In the early April sky.
I closed my eyes and day-dreamed in the sun
About the road ahead and the days to come.
We took a walk in the woods.
We both said more than we should.
I walked for miles with my eyes on myself
When I finally looked up, I was somebody else.
Do you ever wake up in the night, cold and alone?
Do you ever wake up in the night, wondering where our dreams have gone?
I plunged head-first into the lake.
The world came crashing as I sank.
I kicked and struggled towards that distant shore.
I reached out for a hand that just wasn't with me any more.
Do you ever wake up in the night, cold and alone?
Do you ever wake up in the night, wondering how we got so far from home?
Do you ever wake up?
Do you ever wake up?
Do you ever wake up?
Do you ever?
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4. |
Sad-Eyed Love Songs
02:23
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I will play you a song,
But you've got to sing along.
The storm is raging outside,
But these chords will build a place for us to hide.
I may play out of time
And my words may strangely rhyme.
I may sing out of tune,
But that's ok, it's just for me and you.
And all night long, I will play you sad-eyed love songs.
All night long. All night long.
I will tell you my dreams,
If you can tell me what they mean.
And you can tell me your fears,
We'll cast them out 'cuz there's no use for them here.
Lift up your hands in the night
As we dance in the fire light.
Lift up your voice to the dark
And sing. And sing.
And all night long, We will sing our sad-eyed love songs.
And all night long, We will sing our sad-eyed love songs.
All night long, We will sing our sad-eyed love songs.
All night long. All night long.
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5. |
Salome
02:17
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Salome, where did you go?
You let us all down, you know.
You let us all down so low.
So you say, it had to be done.
You had to have your fun
At the expense of everyone.
Salome, where did you go?
You let us all down, you know.
You let us all down so low.
I'm sure someday we'll meet again.
Try to forgive me then
And I'll forgive you.
And life's too short to let it slip away.
Don't let it pass you by.
And life's too long to fill it up with hate,
So lay down your silver plate.
Salome, where did you go?
You let us all down, you know.
You let us all down.
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6. |
A Song for Kathryn
00:36
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Take these cares and fears
I don't need them now, you're here.
I have found a peace in your arms.
You're everything I feel.
You're everything that's real.
I just want to be where you are.
I want to listen to you breathe as I slowly fall to sleep.
I want to feel your heat in the dark.
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7. |
You
03:19
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I don't mind spending all my time thinking of new rhymes to sing to you.
Oh, I'm okay spending every day thinking of new ways to say that I love you.
Just wanna sit here in the sun and have a little fun.
We'll listen to the trees swaying in the breeze.
Oh, I'm alright spending every night dancing in the light that shines from you.
They may sound strange, these words I say, but all the dark clouds melt away in you.
Just wanna lie here in the shade and sip your lemonade.
Run your fingers through my hair, cuz we ain't got no cares.
No no no.
Rockets over Washington on the fourth of July.
The smoke in the woods.
That light in your eyes.
Your laugh in the dark and the touch of your hand and I knew
That all these roads I had travelled led to you.
Here comes my sunshine
Oh, here comes my sunshine
Here comes my sunshine
Run your fingers through my hair
Cuz, darling, we ain't got no cares.
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8. |
Mostly Good
03:00
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Went to the park, radio in hand
A longing in my heart, a ring and a plan.
Lying in the grass, a song began to play
The first I ever wrote for you, it was a good day.
It was a good day
It was a good day
I guess it's a good thing I like to use my hands
This little, yellow house has so many demands.
Late nights hanging cabinets, painting the walls
Taking breaks for making out and dancing in the halls.
It was a good day
It was a good day
Brown-eyed baby girl so little in my hands
You smile just like your mother and I'll do the best I can
To love you and to guide you, catch you when you fall
Now at night there's three of us dancing in the hall.
It was a good day
It was a good day
Oh, I know some days the rain can fall so hard.
Yeah, I know some days just living can break our hearts,
But mostly they're good days
Yeah, mostly they're good.
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9. |
Chinese Cigarettes
03:41
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We sat and spoke about our regrets
As we smoked our Chinese cigarettes
And listened to those distant jets
Pass us in the sky of blue
And you
Told me that you'd lost your faith
Or at the very least, you had lost your way
And I struggled to find the words to say
Or look you in the eye
So I
Promised you that you'd be fine
You would find your path and I'd find mine,
But we both knew that was just a line
To fill the empty space.
Well, if there is a God above,
I am sure He's kind and full of love
And wondering at the mess we've made
Out of everything that He's given us
But
If it turns out they are right
And there's nothing past that veil of night,
No choir of angels and no bright light
To greet us on the other side
I'd
Rather just as soon not know
I'm heading down a dead-end road
Oh without that certainty, there's hope
And maybe that's enough
And so,
Strike up the band, play the songs of old
The sea of crystal, the streets of gold
Repeat the stories that I've been told
Since I was just a little child.
It will be alright
Tell me it will be alright
Cuz He's won the fight
Everything will be alright.
It will be alright
I promise it will be alright
Just close your eyes tonight,
Everything will be alright.
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10. |
Martha Tells Me
04:02
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Martha tells me that we all end up the same
Whether you're the pauper or the king.
She's right, I know,
But even so I long to be
Remembered as the one
To make you sing.
Well, I've been told the East Coast is the Beast Coast, whatever that means.
All I know is it's the only place for me.
It's where I met you and it's where we dreamed all our dreams
And there's no place that I would rather be.
And Martha tells me that we all end up the same
Here but for a moment, then we're gone.
It goes so fast and once it's past, there's no return
And all that's left of the Singer are the songs.
Heading down the freeway with the blue lights overhead.
You're at my side and the windows open wide.
There's a thousand places out there that I'd still love to see
But tonight, there's nowhere else I'd rather be.
Still Martha tells me that we all end up the same
Whether you're the pauper or the king.
She's right, I know,
But even so I long to be
Remembered as the one
To make you sing
Louder and deeper than the sea,
Brighter than the stars.
You and me may not be perfect but I see
The beauty in our scars.
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11. |
Visions of the Saints
05:14
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Oh, I saw Saint Paul
He came to me in a dream.
He wasn't quite as tall
As I thought that he would be.
He showed me the path to God,
But I must've gotten lost
Who could imagine that righteousness
Would come at such a cost?
And I saw Saint Peter
Walking 'cross the sea.
He started sinking beneath the waves
When his eyes fell upon me.
He reached out his hand to save
But I just looked away.
If God helps those who help themselves,
Then who am I to get in His way?
And sometimes I wonder, "Is this my life?
Is this everything I am?"
I saw Saint John
Singing songs of love.
Singing songs of holiness
Singing songs about the Blood.
Sonnets of truth and light
And the Golden Rule.
But the tune wasn't quite the same
As what I'd learned in Sunday School.
And I saw Saint Jude
Looked into his eyes of blue.
He told me there are no lost causes
And I want that to be true.
But still I can't help but wonder
When it's my time to leave,
Will the devil and the Archangel
Still be fighting over me?
And sometimes I wonder, "Is this my life?
Is this everything I am?"
And sometimes I wonder, "Is this my life?
Is this everything I'm ever gonna be?"
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12. |
Into the Bright Lights
03:11
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...
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13. |
Highlands
03:22
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Bury me in the highlands when my time has come.
Bury me in the highlands for that's always been my home.
In the shadow of those ancient cliffs
As the evening fog rolls in
A song will rise up from those lonesome pines
As holy and as pure as any hymn.
Bury me in the highlands once I've thrown off this mortal coil.
Bury me in the highlands to become one with my native soil.
To sleep forever 'neath those cypress boughs
Where the four winds call my name
With a headstone of forget-me-nots
Keeping watch til nothing else remains.
Bury me in the highlands when I'm finally laid to rest.
Bury me in the highlands for that's the place that loved me best.
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Gross Mannequin Durham, North Carolina
Eclectic rock and roll with thoughtful lyrics and a few plot twists along the way.
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