1. |
hard work
03:19
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They said it was gonna be hard work
No one told me it was gonna be easy
Things won’t work out my way
But I ain’t looking back
And I can’t take the high road
‘Cause you keep dishing low blows
Like tired jeans you outgrow
I’m throwing this away
Because I can’t stay
And I’m sick of hearing you say
“You’re talking kind of loud”
In this library of your life
I just want to shout:
You took everything you wanted
Left me to find myself
There is something kind of haunted
About the empty shelves
Because I can’t stay
They said it was gonna be hard work
No one told me it was gonna be easy
Things won’t work out my way
But I ain’t looking back
And I can’t take the high road
‘Cause you keep dishing low blows
Like tired jeans you outgrow
I’m throwing this away
Cause I can’t stay
Something slow and steady
Got me looking towards the west
It ain’t the fires burning
But I got something in my chest
No one is gonna save you
Until you let it rest
My heart is rising like a phoenix
From the embers of it’s nest
Because I can’t stay
Because I can’t stay
Because I can’t stay
Because I can’t stay
They said it was gonna be hard work
No one told me it was gonna be easy
Things won’t work out my way
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2. |
milktooth
03:11
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One street town and you know I’m wanting more
One street town and you know I’m wanting more
One street town, they’re wanting more
The moon like a grapefruit on the porch
I’m always fighting in this civil war
Since the devil told me I was born a girl
All I ever did was loose you
Build then tear the tower down
Oh days of my misspent youth
Never could pull my milk tooth
Never could pull my milk tooth
Holy woman said I deserve what I want
So I told her what I want is you
You’re the only chance I’ve got
To build my sorrow into someone new
This sorrow ain’t got no where to hide
Can’t hide this shifting heart of mine
Of broken rhymes and great divides
Her hands were my lifeline
Taught myself to hold my lips in place
Smile on my face doesn’t mean I’m trying
Hail that Mary full of grace,
Can’t keep gambling for better timing
Can’t keep gambling for better timing
Holy woman said I deserve what I want
So I told her what I want is you
You’re the only chance I’ve got
To build my sorrow into someone new
Mama said she’d never say my name
God would turn his back again
Learned to live with no refrain
When I was only seventeen
Words have weighed in my mouth for days
Take them out one by one
While you stand and look amazed
You never realized what you had done
You never realized what you had done
Holy woman said I deserve what I want
So I told her what I want is you
You’re the only chance I’ve got
To build my sorrow into someone new
Holy woman said I deserve what I want
So I told her what I want is you
You’re the only chance I’ve got
To build my sorrow into someone new
Holy woman said I deserve what I want
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3. |
hungry ghost
02:49
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Come to me, come to me
With your 10 drops of lavender
My mouth shaped in apology
While I’m walking out the back door
I’m always out of reach
Come to me, come to me
In the wayward lamplight hour
My hands holding a summer peach
Take a bite before it sours
I’m always out of reach
I’m always out of reach
Come to me, come to me
Share your single serving life
There’s enough for us to eat
These words can be our bread knife
I’m always out of reach
I’m always out of reach
I’m always out of reach
I’m always out of
You’re close talking to a room of mouths
But you come back full of stories
You fold them beautiful paper towns
Always find me in the morning
Burn for me show me why we even bother
Burn for me, tell me why
Burn for me, show me why we even bother
Burn for me, I don’t mind
Burn for me show me why we even bother
Burn for me, tell me why
Burn for me, show me why we even bother
Burn for me, I don’t lie
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4. |
so it goes
02:23
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It was cold enough to see the melody
You were singing through the glass
Why is it so hard, why is it so hard for me to ask?
I know it don’t make sense
Can’t learn geometry when my heart is breaking, my heart is breaking
I know it don’t make sense
When you found the one true thing to keep on waiting, to keep on waiting
Never met a soul like mine, the other line
Is aching off the hook
Am I moving on to slow? Turning through the pages in this book.
I know it don’t make sense
I’ve loved you in secret, I’ve loved you out-loud, loved you out-loud
I know it don’t make sense
The voice inside my head won’t let me open my mouth, open my mouth
So it goes
It was cold enough to see the melody
You were singing through the glass
Why is it so hard, why is it so hard for me to ask?
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5. |
running of the bulls
03:17
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The matador gazed out the window
The bloody sun rising over the ring
With his head in his hands, he curses the man
Who says “it’s not safe to fight in the streets.”
The world’s title card cries riot
The reels are a tired ghost town
The talkies have gone silent
And the color is bleeding out
The running of the bulls was cancelled
And the people didn’t fly to Pamplona
And what can you do, when everything you knew
Is gone
The red flag was sewn for provocation
But bulls they are colorblind
People pay big money to see it
But I tell you it is all a lie
Some say it takes some courage
To look the devil in the eye
What is art if it’s not made of pain?
The road to hell is the wave of a cape
The road to hell is all the same
The running of the bulls was cancelled
And the people didn’t fly to Pamplona
And what can you do, when everything you knew
Is gone
And if you bought a ticket,
To the running of the bulls
Plan on staying home this year
it isn’t safe to show
The bell that’s ringing on your neck
Makes you easy prey
Bullfighting turns death into art
and puts our fear of it on display
The running of the bulls was cancelled
And the people didn’t fly to Pamplona
And what can you do, when everything you knew
Is gone
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6. |
gas station rose
02:41
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Gas Station Rose I’ve been up all night
When everything is closed, this is all I have in hand
And gas station rose, I’m sorry for the lies I told
This only cost 3.25 but I love you more that
Knocking at your door, I am always running late
I hope I’m worth the wait, got you whispering stalemate
Gas Station Rose, I haven’t told a soul, someone tell me I’m still whole, I can’t hold on anymore
Gas Station Rose we are made of broken bones
Tender petals on the floor, you call me on the phone
Is there anybody home, you say, it doesn’t sound like you
You’re a changer in the streets and a stranger in my room
Gas Station Rose I got two diaries in my drawer
One speaks of dying young and one weeps of wanting more
Gas Station Rose, the only one I ever seen
With all five eyes on me, pulled a chair up to my dreams
Gas Station Rose I’ve been up all night
When everything is closed, this is all I have in hand
Gas Station Rose, I’m sorry for the lies I told
This only cost 3.25 and I love you the most
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7. |
goddamn, sylvia
03:48
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Goddamn reticence I was driving home to you
While you were running away, running away, running away, running
Goddamn reticence there was nothing I could do
Cause they were coming for me, coming for me, coming for me, coming
The revelation appeared to late write the rules for me
So I’m crawling at the foot of their idols, crawling on my knees
Oh there ain’t no prize for paying to play the machine
I know it feels futile when you’re the only one who dares to scream
And oh I can’t complain the state of us stays the same
And oh won’t you explain why you can turn your head the other way
Goddamn reticence I was driving home to you
While you were running away, running away, running away, running
Goddamn reticence there was nothing I could do
Cause they were coming for me, coming for me, coming for me, coming
And oh useless histories between wordsmith and a thief
Her pupils shine like perfect crimes been searching for relief
She’s pouring her lilac wine into her bitter black coffee
They finally listened when she died an all-time tragedy
And oh I can’t complain the state of us stays the same
And oh won’t you explain why you can turn your head the other way
Goddamn reticence I was driving home to you
While you were running away, running away, running away, running
Goddamn reticence there was nothing I could do
Cause they were coming for me, coming for me, coming for me, coming
Goddamn Sylvia
I won’t wait for you
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8. |
sissy
01:46
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He sits, putting on his lipstick
Painting on his make-up into a smile
His mirror broke long ago, he said so
The ugly days were painful
But his life is back in style
Tell me am I handsome, tell me I am pretty
Tell me I belong on a stage in your City
Tell me I got your standing ovation
Tell me I’ll make it out alive
Death prefers blondes he said
As he placed his wig upon his head
But I’d rather die trying
Then spend my whole life lying
Tell me am I handsome, tell me I am pretty
Tell me I belong on a stage in your City
Tell me I got your standing ovation
Tell me I’ll make it out alive
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Em Ayres Williamsburg, Massachusetts
Em Ayres calls what they write: folk journalism. Like a magpie sitting on a shimmering nest of 31 years of stories, the cinematic reel of Americana inspired sounds leads the listener through an archive of familial memory, the high lonesome rasp of loves lost and won, and an unshakable political ethos. ... more
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