1. |
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Why you gotta be so serious kid?
You are where you are and you live where you live
Ya know everybody’s got some poem about a sparrow perched on a dumpster in an alley,
In some city, experiencing rapid revitalization and growth at the cost of a widening inequity
You been down to the street side mall? My sister’s friend, she painted the mural
She works at the coffee shop and her boyfriend Greg, he plays in some band
You know they’re getting pretty big
They were top ten something on something or other
And I’ve never caught a show but I’ve seen some clips and they sound pretty cool
Why you gotta be so serious kid? You are where you are and you live where you live
You know everybody’s got some theory strung together by loose threads on Reddit
And they’re sure it’ll all pan out man just you watch
And it’s further justified by some article they read in the Times
There’s this new burger joint, you just touch the screen and you drive to the window
It’s branded real slick but fast food is fast food now ain’t it kid,
You know I saw my sisters friend, I didn’t know it but her and Greg split
She said it was for the best and that between me and her there’s this A&R rep
That’s been talking with Greg which is good, but it might be going a bit to his head...
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2. |
Artvertisement
01:10
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Well the label man sat at a big round table
Staring out the window of his ninth floor suite
I sat at the other end, thinking this is a pretty big table
He said let me clear, I’m just spit balling here, tossing around ideas, catch my drift?
I was thinking about Warhol, I was thinking about Sartre, I was thinking about Joni Mitchell
Man, I love Court and Spark
So I bought a beret, sat at a cafe, walked down Martin Luther King even though it was dark and I smoked Parliaments like I did in college when it hit me...
Artvertisement
We put your brand and their brand together
Artvertisement
We put your brand and their brand together
Artvertisement
We put your brain and there brand together
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Like brands are better together
Gah gah gah
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3. |
XXY Top Left
02:22
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There’s no such thing as a flying car
I know, I’m just as bummed as I presume you are
It was a bright idea that didn’t make much sense
Imagine the implications of a flying car wreck
“Officer it came out of nowhere and the sun was in my eyes”
Every day on the news some idiot falls right out the sky
I believe in aliens, just ain’t sure where they are
Saw one as a kid dead behind my garage
Hairless and grey in a pile of leaves
Eyes black as midnight, smaller than I thought it would be
My father said it was a possum but I knew that he was wrong
And who ever got to him would surely becoming for me before long
I’ve been walking around for 30-odd years
And I’ve still got no clue as to why we are here
But I think Rayvon’s right - it’s just a video game
And you gotta accept maybe you’re being played
Up button down XXY top left
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4. |
Exile on Myrtle Beach
02:47
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I was counting roaches in a chicken shack
Down on Myrtle Beach, the sun to my back
I got caught stealing hubcaps off a Pontiac
Yeah and here I am
Just skipping stones and watching birds
Headed from Albuquerque and I made a wrong turn
Picked up some cardboard wrote down some words
Someone said it was a sign
Yeah you and me we’re off scot-free
Like Bruce on a bike with some boardwalk queen
They say two lanes will take ya anywhere
I guess they’ll take ya on down
Down past Myrtle Beach
I saw Richard Pryor throw a stone into the ocean
Had a couple new jokes, none of them were worth quoting
A couple good quips and I guess that’s it
Nothing really on fire
I seen Elvis Presley down at the popsicle stand
Taking cues from Andy Kaufman on how to shake his ass
They’re doing a double bill co-header three-night stand down at Fran’s East Side
Yeah you and me, yeah we’re off scot-free
Like the heads that roll off the French royalty
The revolution was nothing more than a strong narrative with great publicity
Keeps the tourists at Myrtle Beach
Well I guess I’ll keep quiet like old Charlie Chaplin,
I didn’t like the steak so I spit it in the napkin,
It was too well done for anything to happen
Guess I wanted something rare
But the ball game’s starting so everybody cheer
You know it’s a good song if it sells some beer
You held me in the nosebleeds saying why are we here and I said why do you care
You and me yeah we’re off scot-free
Like Eva and Adolf in a submarine
Some folks say they’re in Buenos Aries
But I seen them both chomping on hotdogs
And strolling down Myrtle Beach
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5. |
The Wedding Song
01:55
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Love is a lie that you tell yourself
To soften the blow that you’re dying alone
Dig too deep, you know, you’ll probably hit stone
But I love your green eyes and the way that you smile
When you hold my hand it all seems worthwhile
Regardless of this feeling, we’re both dying alone
You see the birds and the bees fight in the trees
Fall dead and rot on the ground
Despite all this I’m so glad you’re around
The meaning of life is often misconstrued
Don’t think too much, maybe reproduce
And 3 months out of the year, the weather is fair
If the average life span is 72 that’s 108 months with the flowers in bloom
And that ought to be enough to stick around
And watch the birds and the bees fight in the trees
Fall dead and rot on the ground
Despite all this I’m so glad
Despite all this I’m so glad
Despite all this I’m so glad you’re around
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6. |
Deanna, Deanna
01:47
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Deanna Deanna, I’m sorry that I didn’t call
It’s hard to explain without seeing my face
But I’m lost and I wanna go home
Are you still up in Mahwah shacked up with that fella?
He wasn’t the father but he seemed pretty solid
In a garden apartment, the one by the freeway
I visited once on a day off from tour
And you told me I was starting to get
This funny little southern accent
And we both laughed a little in a way that kinda felt like crying
Deanna Deanna, they gave me a contract
And guess what I’m a rockstar now
No not really, but I did get this check
The kinda check with some zeros in it
And maybe if I get a few more of those
I can find my way home
And we’ll both laugh a little in a way that kinda feels like crying
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7. |
Shiny Town
02:02
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I went to Shiny Town and I didn’t get nothing but a busted boot and a cardboard crown
Climbing up the ladder, it wasn’t that bad, wasn’t that great but hey, Shiny Town
There was a neon sign in a patch of clouds, a big long line, and an iron gate
The sign said welcome but the gate did not
It was guarded by some dudes that looked like John Wayne
When you got up close it wasn’t very shiny
Saw a giant smoke stack hurling up smoke
I asked the guard what the hell is that
He said “No one asks cause no one wants to know”
Everybody had a hat and every hat had a story
The hats did the talking while the folks stood around
It got pretty meta, I mean, who was wearing who?
All these talking hats here in Shiny Town
When the alpha hat speaks, the beta hat listens
The humans they was walking, didn’t have no say
Glazed eyes looking over your shoulder
Waiting for a bigger hat to come their way
And if you didn’t have a hat, then you probably wore a suit
And if you had a suit you swore it wasn’t a suit
The suits worked way up high in that smoke stack
And they swore they were blowing smoke on everybody but you
I went to Shiny Town and I didn’t get nothing but a busted boot and a cardboard crown
Climbing up the ladder, it wasn’t that bad, wasn’t that great but hey, Shiny Town
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8. |
Pizza & Drugs
03:41
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I could sleep away the morning wouldn’t bother me,
I could drown out my thoughts with daytime TV
‘Cause afternoon’s for wasting like beer is here for chasing you away from me
I want the lions share
Just want your palms to bare
Am I asking too much?
For a silly Sunday morning with pizza and drugs and your love
For a stupid Sunday morning with pizza and drugs and your love
I could turn off my phone it wouldn’t bother me,
‘Cause your secret to tell is my burden to keep
Conversations are for stalling like baby birds are falling out of blooming trees
In the spring time
Your ugly hand in mine
Am I asking too much?
For a silly Sunday morning with pizza and drugs and your love
For a stupid Sunday morning with pizza and drugs and your love
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9. |
15 Shovels
02:38
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The old man at the lighthouse is screaming bloody Mary
But no one will give the poor bastard a drink,
I guess around here tomatoes must be out of season
Said my reflection in the kitchen sink
It’s a long way down through the cold jasmine water
I think I see something shining at the bottom
At the bottom of what guess it don’t really matter
‘Cause nothing round here really matters anyhow
Outside my window the wind is howling,
Never thought about how those words relate
I wish it was a dog howling at the moon
I would share my sandwich and we could escape
Is this a hotel? Is it a hospice?
I’m waiting for the light from the lighthouse
I thought I saw a woman, but I guess it was a shadow
A shadow of what doesn’t matter anyhow
Cause it ain’t no thing at the end of the world
You’re at the top my man no deals to be made
Everyone around here just keeps their eyes to the ground
You catch a patch of sun like a drop of rain
Take the boat to the middle, take the plane to the side
Take the car round back, hold her hand as you drive
Circle that bike around the same old spot
It’ll drive you mad cause you’re already at the top
This morning they buried the old man at the lighthouse
At the service I got a good look at his face
Deep lines where the wind cut his cheeks
Dark jasmine eyes, skin cold and grey
They dug a hole but they couldn’t reach the bottom
15 dudes with 15 shovels
The ground was cold but that didn’t stop ‘em
15 dudes with 15 shovels
15 dudes with 15 shovels
Trying to get back to the bottom of the top
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10. |
Those Beautiful Days
02:22
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I remember those beautiful days
Though I wish I could forget them sometimes
It plays like a film that I couldn’t finish
Due to budget cuts and unmet deadlines
But I remember those beautiful days
Every character that’s ever been written
Someday, somehow will die
It’s rarely on the page or in some profound way
Most are just swallowed by time
But I remember those beautiful days...
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11. |
Busted World
02:17
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I was born in a busted world
Threw my lover off the tilt-a-whirl
I got snake skin boots and a tinfoil hat
An ‘83 Marquis and a record contract
I got god on the line
We are strangers here in stranger times
Said my son you wanna know the truth?
The whole thing is a joke and the joke’s on you
The whole thing is a joke and the joke’s on you
I got blood on my shirt and piss in my jeans
Taking someone’s mama out for ice cream
Cold as the water, smooth as a stone
Sometimes you sink to the bottom just to be alone
I got god on the line
We are strangers here in stranger times
Said my son you wanna know the truth?
The whole thing is a joke and the joke’s on you
The whole thing is a joke and the joke’s on you
I was born in a busted world
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12. |
Mikey Shoulda Died
02:34
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Mikey lost his voice down at the Clash Bar
Singing for those Clifton kids
Under red hot lights that look cool at the club but in the pictures look like shit
Now don’t get me wrong he sounded real good
I saw a few friends from the old neighborhood
But he always said he’d quit when the room was just Clifton kids
Mikey’s cleaned up, yeah, he’s gained some weight
He’s dressed to the nines but wears his age on his face
And there’s a sadness in his smile that says far more than his songs these days
Mikey shoulda died
Back then with the scene
I checked out before the last song
It’s not that it was bad, just already stayed too long
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Darrin Bradbury
Songster living in East Nashville.
Folk Satirist/No Point Storyteller
Travels Alot.
"Redneck Noir"- No Depression Magazine
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