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1. |
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Don't wake me when the sun rises.
Your house is burning down.
The water in your eyes will only
Make the flames feel a hundred times worse.
The crow calls when the sun rises,
The sparrow calls at dusk.
The collection agent calls day and night,
Either he's lonely or an optimist.
Listening to a young Bob Dylan sing,
"Please see that my grave is kept clean."
Now I know exactly what he means.
Don't wake me when the sun rises.
Let me sleep this one off.
Unexplained bruises.
At least I know now what everything costs.
My true love hit the road.
Proud Mama is a vagabond.
Some people lose a little.
They want to prove they're lost by loosing it all.
When my trial goes down on Judgment Day.
I don't know just what it is I'll say.
I just wish you given me reason to have some faith.
Don't cry little children,
Your house is burning down.
But we'll build another,
Right where it stood, a hundred times strong.
Come on down and let me sing my song.
I call it the wages of hope.
And it when it gets better tomorrow,
We'll pretend it was just a joke.
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2. |
The Promise
04:08
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It's not your good looks that got me
Tied up in string.
I've had my share of some beautiful things.
It's not your way with words that puts the others on the shelf.
If I want sweet talk, I can talk to myself.
It's not the books you've read or these places that you've been.
I've got experience girl,
There ain't nothing I ain't seen.
It's when you look at me,
It's just like you understand.
Oh, pretty baby, I'm gonna steal you from your man.
The sun shines down on Union Street.
Looks like it's an early spring.
Don't get too complacent the thunder clouds are rolling in.
Your from a gambler's town built on casual sin.
And you tell me I'm funny when I say, "I only play to win".
You've got so many close friends who only want what's best.
Some are closer than others.
I can see that it's true.
But when he looks at you, do you think he understands.
Oh, pretty baby, I'm gonna steal you from your man.
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3. |
Marshlands
04:26
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Got no expectation of Heaven.
Never had much need for any kind of wealth.
Some fool is always saying, "At least you've got your health".
I'm out here at the end of the marshlands,
Where the stone walls battle time
And the smoke rises to meet the moon
And I empty another jug of wine.
Once you told me there's no time to lose.
So I turned my car straight for New Orleans
The quarter was a mess and I waited till dawn
For the boatman to take another passenger on.
I guess I'd be asking too much.
I guess I'd be asking too much for you to come and find me.
My touch was a little rough,
But I was only being honest.
The people in town they got their opinions,
I'm keeping mine to myself.
From up here in my turret, I can see what's coming.
The ghost of Ahab and the old whaling ships.
It tooks years to learn there's no time to win.
So I boarded the hound back to New England.
I drink my wine and wait until dawn.
For the boatman to take another passenger on.
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4. |
When I Die
03:32
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When I die, will you bury me?
So I can keep good company.
It’s not as lonely as it seems.
My dear, I’ll see you in your dreams.
When I die, will you bury me?
You can only go so far 'till you start coming back.
You’re only welcoming a burnout.
The booze and the pills are just artificial will.
The white flags had quite the turn out.
When I die, will you build a fire?
Use the whole damn barn as the funeral pyre.
With the smoke I’ll rise to the ashen skies,
And wait for you to join me there.
When I die will you build a fire?
It can take you right down to the touch of the skin.
How the whiskey works like medicine.
We watch it wash away what the doctors couldn’t quell.
There ain’t no prayer in the world that seems to work that well.
Here we are, don't try to change the DNR
Though my heart keeps on beating.
Our love can never die,
I’ll always keep a watchful eye.
It’s only death that we’re cheating.
So when I die, will you follow me?
This life is a simple boundary.
Two in the world that cannot part,
I love you dear with all my heart.
When I die, will you follow me?
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5. |
Brand New Widow
02:25
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Don’t you see I don’t my dying, my dear,
I don’t mind…
It’s living that’s killing me.
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6. |
Butcher Dogs
03:25
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Hope you sleep tonight.
It's Sunday in Trastevere.
Just for a day they might leave us alone.
The Pope has told them to go back home.
They're after blood and our bones.
As they rip away the skin.
We're like the first line of an army
Cause we're riding on the shin.
The soul of this whole town
Is west of everything,
With some girl in Trastevere.
"Honey", she said,
"Take me to bed".
And the party had just begun.
They're all gathered at the door.
We know what for.
But the party has just begun.
I met the king at the Coliseum.
Everyone thought he'd died.
When they stuck him down in Memphis,
Everybody cried.
The secret she spoke
Was heard around the world,
"The king is now a girl".
I have a box
And in it a plan
That concerns both of us.
But not to worry,
For if it fails
We've got the butcher dogs by the tails.
Yes, the butcher dogs of Rome
Can clean up the rest.
I think it's best if we go back home.
Yes, I think we're ready to go back home.
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7. |
The Island
03:20
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My girl lives on the biggest island.
No one can find her for days.
Until she invites you,
Then you can see her
Using her only good device.
She hides like shadows from the sun
Until forgot by everyone.
Then arises while we are drinking
And have forgiven what she’s done.
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8. |
Metairie
02:45
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Can’t Sleep
Light Shines in from the streets
A dog is lost
He keeps barking
Next room
It’s either a fight or a fuck
I’m out of luck
You don’t want me
I was born too late
My friends they all talked
I shrugged them off
I saw you and gold and fame
And I wanted it all
They told me
They told me
I’m not free
Tenth Floor
Hotel Shang-ri la
You’ll get my call
But you won’t pick up
And I know
I’m no longer welcome there
But I never meant’a
Expose you
I just wanted to sing
Of mercury things
My words don’t come out
The way I always mean
In my mind
In my mind
Can’t be free
Broke down
Waiting to see what comes next
Between what I need
And what I’ve got coming
I’m like a mole in the ground
No sight, No sound
Of all the pretty people
Who don’t want me around
Take me home
Carry me home
Metairie
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9. |
California Song
04:20
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You keep looking toward the big time.
You don’t know when, but it’s gonna come.
You say you saw yourself up on the big screen.
You see the bait but not the hook.
You live your life it’s a fetish party.
I call you the bride of “Live Free or Die”.
If you’re a nonbeliever in the end times,
Then anything goes.
California song.
My California song.
Everybody talking about the future
Like it’s sitting here in this dive bar,
And not sweating behind in some bunker
Where we are afraid to look.
I keep on dreaming of the palm trees burning.
Boom, boom, boom, they go up in flames.
If you don’t believe in premonitions,
Then anything goes.
California song.
My California song.
You think you’re dying in this small town.
One more shut-in winter will be the end.
Don’t you think I’ve felt the same thing?
But once you go you can never come home.
You won’t be the same.
My California song.
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10. |
Eramun
04:07
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Your dreams are for the public
As you put them on display
All over New York City
Like burlesque cabaret.
You can’t keep your eyes open.
You’re nodding off at the wheel.
Sleep is nearly upon you.
Success has a similar feel.
I could never do it like you do, Eramun.
Take no notice of the women
Who’ve gathered up behind you at the bar.
The heard you singing to them, Mademoiselle.
This passage to fulfillment,
You’re holding on so dear,
Is the line between the perils of desire and fear.
I know it’s gonna come to you, Eramun.
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Putnam Murdock Massachusetts
Every Thursday night the Centre Streeters would gather in circle in a living room and evoke every damn lost, drunk, and brokenhearted song known to man... in four part harmony of course. Each time brought me closer and closer to the point of knowing no other way of life. My bio is isn't finished, but I've been gifted with humility. Sitting in a circle, playing songs is where the real music exists. ... more
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