1. |
Harvest
02:49
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john michaelson
come close the door
your father's let a man in
they said they could use our only son
now it's come the revolution
so wash your hands, sit at the table
we haven't got a thing to offer him
you're a strong lad, so capable
spring harvest was thin
a single plate translucent skin
we turned away and kept it in
and prayed for better days
the summer harvest fell to rot
we held too tight to what we got
it split in two but still it was too few
and so we prayed for better days
the autumn harvest disappeared
a confirmation of our fears
we killed the thieves among the dusty leaves
and then we prayed for better days
the winter harvest still unfound
the stone and fever sealed the ground
we stand in silence gathered round
and pray for better days
we pray for better days
one day
one day
one day
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2. |
Genuine Fake
04:12
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I met you once in Glasgow town
your arm in mine as we wandered around
the glossy streets as the rain came falling down
the words you never did say out loud
the year you came out to L.A.
you were impressed how I knew all the freeways
we drove out west stopped at old McCabe's
and sat on the beach as I watched you play
and you
your face so bright in the storm
chasing light every day like you're being reborn
always finding a spark
and the beauty in the dark
your love so big for everything
I never knew you wanted my heart
hold a mirror to the setting sun
the people we have been and everything that we have done
the quiet space between us like a home to which I run
and every time I see you
it's you
your face so bright in the storm
chasing light every day like you're being reborn
always finding a spark
and the beauty in the dark
your love so big for everything
I never knew you wanted my heart
but do you know what my heart is made of
how easy can you break it
does it need more than you can take
and are you sure it's not a genuine fake
I met you once in Glasgow town
your arm in mine as we wandered around
the glossy streets as the rain came falling down
the words you never did say out loud
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3. |
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you took my hand in the fever dream
the sweat flowed freely from the cracks and seams
if I could just burn through the heaviness and blue
the patchwork and the pieces that keep covering the true
all I wanted was a kiss
an easy thoughtless way to get out of this
a melody a song
that wanders along
but all the kisses you could give me
couldn't keep me strong
the weight of the world and the weight of a man
the words in your head and the silence you say you just can't stand
oh you just can't stand
you took my hand in the fever dream
I knew it wasn't what it seemed
the two of us burning through
little heaven little blue
little lies unfolding to cover up the true
the weight of the world and the weight of a man
the words in your head and the silence you say you just can't stand
oh you just can't stand
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4. |
Great Imperialist State
02:15
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there's a farmer in a distant country working on the land
a hat upon his head and a shovel in his hand
till the soil plant the seed wait a while cut the leaf
and send another cup of tea to me
I'm a spoiled child of the great imperialist state
I cannot kill my meat nor grow the food upon my plate
I never walked a mile to the well, when the tap runs dry do tell
what will become of you and me
what will become of us, who will give us trust
will you believe me when I say I never loved profiting from your pain
that I felt shame when I looked the other way
woke up this morning, the revolution knocking down my door
those capitalist pigs? no, they don't live here anymore
slipped out the back door into my car how far can you drive how far
there's a farmer in a distant country working on the land
food turned into flowers for the uptown florist stand
what you saved another paid to turn his soil into sand
the world will not deliver on demand
what will become of us who will give us trust
will you believe me when I say I never loved profiting from your pain
that I felt shame when I looked the other way
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5. |
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if you stay a while I promise I'll find a happy song to sing
it's dark but I can see in the dark and you're smiling
no don't go yet don't be upset it's a sweet evening
and we'll go inside and light a fire
and have a laugh and have a cry
it's the little things that add up to life
ten thousand moments of paradise
lost between the big dreams and the headlines
I can't help you quit the blues
the lonely and the heartache and the bad bad news
and you've still got to pay the rent
and all those years and where they went
I don't care where you've been
how you made your enemies and lost your friends
why'd you miss those lucky breaks
and how everything is just a big mistake
you've come all this way
I know it's hard but won't you stay
all I can promise you is that tomorrow
is a brand new day
ten thousand moments of paradise
lost between the big dreams and the headlines
if you stay a while I promise I'll find a happy song to sing
it's dark but I can see in the dark and you're smiling
no don't go yet don't be upset it's a sweet evening
and we'll go inside and light a fire
and have a laugh and have a cry
it's the little things that add up to life
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6. |
So It Goes
03:21
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you found hope
in a signal sent from outer space
and it showed what you thought you'd lost
without a trace
I want to wrap my arms around you
and keep you safe
wish I could kiss the tears off of your face
now here's a story
and I know you've heard them all before
this one's crazy and it's past the point
of no return
think I could love you from a million miles away
the planet's spinning and I'm standing in place
but oh
so it goes
you're never just alone
no no no
there's a light on every door
it's the universal glow
lighting up with love to show
lighting up with love to light the dark way home
you found hope
in a signal sent from outer space
and it showed what you thought you'd lost
without a trace
I felt you wrap your arms around me to keep me safe
I feel your love from a million miles away
and oh so it goes
you're never just alone
no no no there's a light on every door
it's the universal glow
lighting up with love to show
lighting up with love to light the dark way home
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7. |
You May Be In Darkness
03:00
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I thought you were my best friend
we'd be together till the end
in all the world I'd never find
someone like you
you understood my mind
you felt my heart
with all your heart
when you kissed my mouth
you took your time
I thought you were mine
those seeds we planted in the spring
refused to grow and now we have nothing
nothing in our hearts
and nothing in my belly
what once was cannot be made
I'm afraid it's too late
but I know it's true
there's no one that you're loving
I take back my heart
and give you my blessing
your light will shine
though you may be in darkness
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8. |
Victoria Anne
03:16
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you and me and your brother
spent the summer
catching crawfish in the creek
mosquito bites spitting watermelon seeds
your mama's pork fat grits
stacking pennies on the railraod tracks
got drunk on homemade gin
and robbed the general store
got a hiding and a licking
and a seeing to
boy my butt was sore
was your butt sore too
victoria anne victoria anne
don't ride your bike behind the fog man
victoria anne victoria anne
don't ride your bike behind the fog man
you'll regret it someday
but why, I cannot say
wonderbread and mayonnaise sandwiches
smoking jimpson weed cigars
sitting in the swamps
I saw a haint
no you d'aint
slinging cemetary stones
wearing spanish curly moss wigs
chasing chiggers in my hair
you gave me ringworm scabies and the lice
yes I did but it was not my fault
daddy says there's a devil in the woods
and he's got his eye on me
leaning on his shiny cane
gonna take me away for all my evil deeds
but it was you that chucked the kittens in the river
I threw you in straight after
laughing falling on the fire ant hill
tore my clothes off and jumped right in
running naked down the street
your mama screaming chasing us as fast as she can
calling come home goddamn
victoria anne victoria anne
don't ride your bike behind the fog man
victoria anne victoria anne
don't ride your bike behind the fog man
you'll regret it someday
but why, I cannot say
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9. |
Rain
02:59
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I heard your voice
a silver thread
you cast a net
capturing me unaware
my heart laid bare
a tangled boy
you made a bet
unraveling
daring me to bust your cover
woven lover
rain rain
filling up the well
rain rain rain rain
don't care where it fell
and underneath the ground
what made you new
once left behind comes into view
could you be persuaded or convinced
what lies beneath
contains the kiss
rain rain
filling up the well
rain rain rain rain
don't care where it fell
if I slip I'll surely drown
pull me out and lay my body down
if I slip I'll surely drown
pull me out and lay my body down
if I slip I'll surely drown
pull me out and lay my body down
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10. |
Only the Moon
02:42
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the one I love is like the moon
so unattainable
bathing me in light
I gaze
my heart is filled
but I will never hold him in my arms
others may take my hand
and gently lead me to the dance
saying
you are dreaming tonight
your eyes are always skyward tonight
and I blush and I say
it's only the moon
it shines so bright
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11. |
Mary Jane
03:22
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Mary Jane got married at seventeen
he was the loveliest man she'd ever seen
till the day, six months after the baby came,
he became a man who inflicts pain
Mary Jane forgot her past and changed her name
she learned to sing the blues
sewed on sequins and high-heeled shoes
she took off her glasses and took the stage
the audience vanished in the haze
she bowed and blew a kiss
Mary Jane was Little Abner's Daisy Mae
a sweet Marlene
the geisha girl and Salome
a cowgirl too
she spun her pistols to the roof
a poor man's Marilyn Monroe
he never came to sit in the front row
he never heard her sing
they live today in a quiet suburb of Tampa Bay
he drives to the bank
takes her out to eat at Burger King
she walks the dog
keeps the radio on in every room
a silver wedding anniversary
the children pray he'll be the first to leave
she gave her life to a man who wanted just a wife
Mary Jane was Little Abner's Daisy Mae
a sweet Marlene
the geisha girl and Salome
a cowgirl too
she spun her pistols to the roof
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12. |
We Used to Stand So Tall
03:20
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hush now darling, my mama said
your daddy's worried 'bout the reds
one day you'll learn about the enemy
you have to fight so you'll be free
another day will dawn
our country will be strong
god knows we can't go wrong
be good darling, do as we say
one day you'll learn to work for pay
and you will understand that we are poor
you must work hard so you'll have more
another day will dawn
you will grow up so strong
we know you will belong
listen father, there is no work
it seems that no one sees my worth
I have no money to pay my rent
I cannot pay back what was lent
listen mother, I lost my man
he was shot down in a foreign land
the captain cannot say what he died for
they only tell me we're at war
another time will come
you'll see what we have done
I only hope we may be forgiven
another rain will fall and wash away us all
we used to stand so tall
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13. |
Sweetest Love Song
03:45
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I don't listen to the radio
I sold my old stereo
that record player stopped playing
it's just for show
I don't care what goes on downtown
I'm not up on the latest sound
as far as I can see there's nothing new to be found
you are the sweetest love song in the world
now I can't hear any other thing
you're the only song my heart will sing
I'm not going out tonight
I don't want to take in the sights
stay home go to bed
dream you're beside me and everything is alright
you are the sweetest love song in the world
and I might not remember every word
but you're the best melody I ever heard
you're going round and round and round in my head
I wish I had you in my arms instead
I don't listen to the radio
I sold my old stereo
that record player stopped playing
it's just for show
you are the sweetest love song in the world
now I can't hear any other thing
you're the only song my heart will sing
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14. |
I Am The Man
02:17
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I used to be angry at the man
the one with the big frying pan
who takes all the meat and leaves nothing to eat
for the poor with their outstretched hands
but I am the man
I understand
I used to be scared of the government
silencing voices of dissent
but the voices of scared folk will never be heard
open your throat and sing like a bird
cos in my own government I am the president
yes it's my own government I represent
stop pointing the finger (at yourself)
look in the mirror and see how your enemy fell
I used to think I was alone
a motherless child far from home
but the family I found is in everyone
open your heart it's time you've come home
is the house you build with your bones
yes home is the house you build with your bones
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15. |
A Girl You Never Met
03:22
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some emotions burn so clean
some fires don't need gasoline
I've got nothing left to talk about
please have mercy and put me out
here is my hat here is my coat
here is a box with everything I ever wrote
look now I've gone and made you cry
it's true I hurt you
it's true I lied
yes my heart's made of stone
what keeps this cold blood flowing
I'll never know
it hasn't always been this way
once I was happy to greet the day
I was a girl you forget
I was a girl you never met
you've seen me only old
keeping all of these secrets
you know I can't hold
the needle marks what it has sewn
my life it's cut me to the bone
I think it's finally time to go
scatter my ashes don't tell me where
say what you like about me
I don't care
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16. |
Yakiimo
03:20
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when summer's gone and the leaves are falling
the air is cold and the sky is grey
I hear a man who is sweetly calling
from long ago and far away
yakiimo ishi yakiimo
yakiimo oishi yakiimo
it's just a truck of sweet potatoes
roasted on coals
wrapped in old newspapers
something warm to hold
yakiimo ishi yakiimo
yakiimo oishi yakiimo
when summer's gone and the leaves are falling
the air is cold and the sky is grey
it breaks my heart to hear him sing
it's like the end of everything
yakiimo ishi yakiimo
yakiimo oishi yakiimo
yakiimo ishi yakiimo
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17. |
The Beep Beep Song
01:35
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beep beep beep beep beep beep beep
go the horns in the cars in the street
we walked away from the lover's leap
opposite directions
synchronised feet
wait wait wait wait wait wait wait
for the time it takes a heart to mend a break
how many moons are reflected in the lake
can you wait forever if time is all it takes
despite all the warnings
I landed like
a fallen star
in your arms
beat beat beat beat beat beat beat
goes my heart on the side of my sleeve
whispering something I can hardly believe
"let me take the lead
cos love is all we need"
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Simone White
"Simone White has a voice like ether. It's sweetly airy and hypnotic. Hearing it can pull you under to a strangely beautiful, glittering world where nothing seems real." - NPR
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