1. |
Harder to Pretend
03:27
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when he was a child he always felt he was a stranger
and he dreamed of silver starships from the skies
he wondered why they'd left him on this often hostile planet
scanned the shortwave for an alien reply
he would stay up all night
waiting by his open window
for the flashing lights from heaven to descend
every now and then he'd say,
"at last! oh, just an airplane"
and he found it that much harder to pretend
in his adolescence he encountered the rejection
of his parents and his teachers and his peers
he didn't know how to conform nor how to be himself
he only knew how to express himself in tears
he would stay up all night
lying on his soiled mattress
waiting for an emissary to befriend
every now and then
he'd listen to the roaring silence
and he found it that much harder to pretend
finally had it sized up
he grew up and wised up
damned his dreams as infantile
made the big decision
to give up his vision
gave the world a winning smile
then one day long after he'd abandoned his delusions
and accepted his terrestrial address
he was caught within a beam of purest, whitest light
and he was shanghaied by the Milky Way Express
he would stay up all night
in his laboratory cage
to greet the rescue party planet Earth would send
every now and then
he'd glance at fellow zoo exhibits
and he found it that much harder to pretend
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2. |
Yesterday
02:39
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yesterday I was feeling sorry for you
and all the sorry shit that you've been through
but today I am living my own life
and the furthest thing from my mind today is you
some say it's typical, the way that I treat you
I wish they knew you yesterday
I don't know if I'll ever see you again
but if I do, just bring some beer and everything's okay
you may think that I'm just using you
but I don't care about that just as long as I get laid
some say it's typical, the way that I use you
I wish they knew you yesterday
you and I both know it's wrong, but I think I owe you one
for all the shit you gave me yesterday
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3. |
Sunday Driving
03:23
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the streets gleamed in the midday sun
chrome trim was shining like a star
a family filed out of church
filled up the tank, got in the car
guiltless and fatted by the calf
soundtrack of laughter rolling past
they struck some poor and nameless soul
member of some forgotten caste
when they went Sunday driving, Sunday driving
wind in their hair, not a care, not a care
when they went Sunday driving, Sunday driving
wind in their hair, not a care, not a care in the world
"these are no common criminals
no dead-eyed beasts out for a ride
upstanding citizens like these
aren't capable of homicide
they had a blind spot in their minds
our expert witness insist
they had decided years ago
his kind simply did not exist"
they tell ya "do it for the children"
they tell ya "bring 'em back alive"
the odds may be one in a million
but Sunday morning comes and they drive right over you
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4. |
Mr. Williams
04:06
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"drive the man in the wide-brimmed hat
his engine's blown and his tires are flat
we found him face down in a scandal
his habit's hard, but it's agreed
you can't deny him what he needs
God gives you nothing you can't handle"
now I'm sailing away in my own universe
cast adrift in Mr. William's hearse
I opened the door to greet the star
he stumbled inside with his guitar
and promptly passed out in his madness
in the rear view mirror, a vacant face
an engine's roar in quiet space
the radio played tales of sadness
maybe he's tired of this endless road
maybe his shoulders can't carry the load
maybe it's meant to be this way
maybe it's me who's got nothing to say
all night long he sat in back
of that long, black Cadillac
and not a single word was spoken
somewhere on that lonely ride
the singer found the other side
and still the silence was unbroken
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5. |
Empty Bed
02:33
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you may feel a little cocky
you may feel a bit afraid
but so long as you are reaching
you will never feel like you've got it made
and I know why
your heart grows colder as you feed your head
and I know why
you're crying in an empty bed
you can claim to know the reasons
you can claim to write the rhymes
but so long as you are dreaming
you will never quite fit in with the times
and I know why
your eyes keep spinning from the things I said
and I know why
you're crying in an empty bed
so you're feeling untogether
so you're never satisfied
that just means you're on the right track
that just means at least you tried
you can try your best to fit in
you can try your best to blend
but so long as you are living
you will never know who's really your friend
and I know why
your VU meter's always in the red
and I know why
you're crying in a empty bed
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6. |
Bagels in Bangor
05:10
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Making love in a shack by the shore on a full moon night
Skipping stones ‘til they fall off the edge of the world
Watch the gulls wheel and glide overhead at the end of day
A convertible trip with a beautiful girl
Something’s gotta give ‘cos I’ve got no time to live
And I think I’ll go insane if I don’t get myself back to Maine
Doo doo doo (etc.)
I want to eat bagels in Bangor with you
Little towns that were founded in Benjamin Franklin’s day
Little lighthouses perched on their rock lofty peaks
Buy a novel to read on the beach as the sun goes down
While the loons on the water snatch life in their beaks
It may sound like a whim bound to slip from a fickle mind
It may sound like impossible pipe dreams deferred
But it’s good for my body and twice as good for my soul
And I’ll be on the next plane if you say the word
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7. |
Mr. Bickle
03:31
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I gotta have a bite of what you've got
chew it up and start all over again
I call you up, you say that you're not home
I can tell that this is going nowhere
I can see you
but you don't know that I'm there
and do you really care
that I just got a key
I walk the avenue just a step behind
ducking into doorways when you turn
I think I've got a life and a stable mind
holding on to memories I should burn
can you hear me breathing
standing right outside your door
I can't take it anymore
but I can't walk away
maybe someday
you'll give me something more
why won't they unlock this door
they threw away the key
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8. |
Oh No Not Love Again
03:09
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why do you laugh for an hour and a half
when I tell you a joke that others roll their eyes at
why do you seem to be lost in a dream
when I tell you uninteresting stories of my childhood
little girl, you'll regret
having made my acquaintance
little girl, I got wise
I slapped myself silly and said
oh no not love again
oh no not love again
I don't think I can take it this time
why do you call to say nothing at all
amusingly musing about tomorrow's weather
why do you hide criticism inside
and create an image of me that is flawless
and if I should ever find
that I can't get you off my mind
you'll be the last to know
you'll be the last to know
and if I cannot conceal
the strong emotions that I feel
I'll pack my bags and go
I'll pack my bags and go
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9. |
Invisible Hand
02:07
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10. |
Heavy Juju
03:47
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she had a gothic horror story for a bio
and her resumé was just a list of failures
somehow that just made her all the more attractive
soft enough to love me but too hard to be destroyed
she's got heavy juju in her absence
she can't be discarded like an anniversary flower
she's got heavy juju in her absence
it's like she's still here
she shook up all of my preconceptions
quickly laid to rest some tired old clichés of gender
then she took me by surprise by kissing me
while I was contemplating whether I should kiss her first
I've got a heresy in my pocket
fresh data-crime from headquarters
don't tell my children, don't tell my parents
they'd only brief the reporters
she is just a fiction loosely based on someone
long ago and far away in teenage folklore
she is perfect in a way her prototype could not
and would not be 'cos I forgot about the flaws
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11. |
Let Me In
02:39
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I'm standing here outside your door
and wondering why it's locked
I think it's time we cleared the air
I think it's time we talked
let me in
won't you open up your door and let me in
just twenty minutes of your time
to tell you how I've been
let me in
I'm sitting on your porch
when I could be back home in bed
I've knocked so many times
my knuckle's looking raw and red
you're gonna miss me one fine day
just ten more minutes and I'm gonna walk away
Mary had a little lamb
who fell out of the fold
he's lying on your doorstep
and he's shivering in the cold
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12. |
Praying for a Plague
03:43
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I’ve seen the human race; in fact, I’ve seen too much
I’m sickened by its scent, recoil from its touch
So many people with no reason to be
I’d like to see them put out of my misery
I’m praying for a plague
I’m just not feeling philanthropic anymore
And in a pinch I’d settle for a global war
But when it comes to putting millions to rest
I’d like to think that Mother Nature knows what’s best
I’m praying for a plague
Microassassins scale the wall
Mission accomplished as you all fall
I’ve seen the human race; in fact, I’ve seen right through
Truth that’s unbeautiful and beauty that’s untrue
There’s too much talk so I will keep it succinct
I’d like to thin the herd to just shy of extinct
I’m praying for a plague
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13. |
So Long
03:48
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so long
this is goodbye
this is so long
thanks for the memories
so long
thank you for being my friend
thank you for everything
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14. |
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Rubberstamp Records St Louis, Missouri
Rubberstamp Records is a DIY indie record label based in the Saint Louis, MO area and helmed by local music scene veteran Brian Andrew Marek.
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