1. |
Cemetery
03:25
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It's useless to deny I'm lonely
No books or records or light could comfort me
So, in darkness I will sleep
In silence I will dream
Cast a shadow on the Green Inn door
Take a breath of the ocean air
Drink with strangers to infinite love
Curse the sadness over there
What's that you said
Underneath the shady tree
In between the cool breeze
fifty feet away from the cemetery
People in this town don't know my name
They refer to me as the one who got away
But I thought I saw you there
With a flower in your hair
What's that you said...
It's useless to deny I'm lonely tonight
No books or records or light could comfort me
So, in darkness I will sleep
In silence I will dream
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2. |
Friday Morn'
03:19
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Putting the pieces together
Of a shattered newborn child
On my knees in faith
That it will all work out
But I wake up to a dream
And realize my fate
And wander further down the road
Of good intentions
All is quiet
On this Friday morn'
I am not breaking
I am not torn
Putting the words together
Of a scattered place in time
Without a clue of what it takes
To turn this mess around
But I am grateful to you
I've only come to know
You're spirit walks without the promise
Of happy endings
All is quiet...
Letting the knot unravel
It's not a miracle I need
With every fracture comes
A day for mending
All is quiet...
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3. |
Kitchen
02:50
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if my vision fails
when i'm crossing over
i'll use my hands
like anyone
somtimes a nail
in my kitchen table rises
i hammer it down
like i would
in anyone else's kichen
the veil is gone
the flame is warm
i have my doubts
like anyone
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4. |
Under The Water
03:26
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What did you say?
The next thing I was screaming
Storming for the door
Where did we go wrong
Or is this just the way?
Under the water, under the water
I can't keep my head up for much longer
Under the water, under the water
I can't hold my breath for much longer
A little bit of free time
I think back on you
I can't be the villain here
But I don't see it in you
Must be someone in the news
Under the water...
You're so faraway from me in the kitchen
So close to me from a distance
That I'm not really sure what to say
There's a house in a field
Surrounded by spaces
It's beautiful and unshakably sad
But I won't have it any other way
Under the water...
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5. |
Kerouac
02:29
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paradise overnight on the road on a scroll kerouac in the back moriarty magic act real deal at the wheel on the road overload good times fun and frolic buddhist loving alcoholic
scar tissued liver stopped functioning
beat genius writer poet
buried in Lowell at 47 years old
he was married three times
and was friends with alan watts
I salute you
I am grateful
paradise overnight on the road on a scroll kerouac in the back moriarty magic act real deal at the wheel on the road overload good times fun and frolic buddhist loving alcoholic
scar tissued liver stopped functioning
beat genius writer poet
buried in Lowell at 47 years old
he was married three times
and was friends with gary snyder
who was the first american to receive the buddhism transmission award from the japan-based bukkyo dendo kyokai foundation
I salute you
I am grateful
May I realize
the path to
enlightenment
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6. |
Downtown
03:46
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7. |
Palisades
03:13
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Palisades on landscapes of failure in succession
One for every unkind word aimed in your direction
You're a hero, you're a villain, it depends who you're killing
You aspire without faith to be delivered
Monuments of discontent raised on lost foundations
One for every crooked mile away from your intention
You're a slave, you're a master, it depends who runs faster
You aspire without faith to be delivered
From this race against faces that dimly look familiar
Your relations replaced with strangers, you brace yourself for a shake
And when you go, you go down fighting
And when you rise, you rise quietly
Souvenirs of cold years passed, up for presentation
These pillars, posts and chicken wire entangle your creation
You're saved, you're discarded, but you're never unguarded
You aspire without faith to be delivered
Tour groups in rain boots sit in judgment on your fences
As the water level rises, you get more defensive
You're an artist, you're a bum, it depends where you beg from
You aspire without faith to be delivered
From this race against faces that dimly look familiar
Your relations replaced with strangers, you brace yourself for a shake
And when you go, you go down fighting
And when you rise, you rise quietly
Beaten trails with handrails lead to all the same indifference
This narrow path of disbelief is a threat your existence
We're free, let's face, we can never escape it
It requires a little faith to be delivered from this place
And when you go, you go down fighting
And when you rise, you rise quietly
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8. |
Release
02:18
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too many words
too little soul
chewing the bread
lighting the coal
nothing from something
i need release
walk in the graveyard
knowing the past
picking out plots
moving too fast
might as well give in
i need release
clanging of bells
ringing the new
pastures of silence
grazing for food
something to feed on
i need release
we'll all be all right
when the wind dies
when the soldier flies
and the rain comes
washing us into
a cool release
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9. |
Nothing is Real
02:06
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all the questions
sometimes lose their feel
nothing is real
we swim in great peace
what is the sound of one hand clapping
will you still need me when I’m sixty four
can you step twice in the same river
can you even step once by your own free will
all the questions
sometimes lose their feel
nothing is real
and we swim in great peace
where is my spot at the table
my place in the sun
my bed to lie on my shoulder to cry on
my better day, my come what may
all the questions
sometimes lose their feel
nothing is real
and we swim in great peace
see you in the end
where the beginning begins again
see you in the end
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10. |
Jealousy
03:26
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Jealousy is haunting me
I'll knock you down so I can breathe
And pick you up when I'm in need
It's push and shove and blood and greed
And love obscured by jealousy
Old man led by the hand
Speaks so loud with a quiet stare
An expression that I've seen before
But, mostly, I don't understand
This old man
I could do in just one night
Things I've put off all my life
I'm sitting here now with a picture in my mind
Wondering if it's not too late this time
A thousand lies that I have told
Can't take them back when I get old
Maybe that's what it's all about
Regret is part of coming out
Forgive me now, I have contrived
A thousand lies
Humility is looking for me
I'll tell you now what I can see
I'd give you love unqualified
Unpiled by confusion and lies
If I could get some sleep tonight
And wake up with humility
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11. |
Untitled
02:35
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Your jet black hair
Blood red lips
Your drug eyed stare
And your little girl dress
These are a few
Of the things I like least
About you
Your shiny hatred
Convenient fears
The poor, poor me thing
The trail of your tears
These are a few...
My attraction to you is the thing I like least about you
My attraction to you is the thing I like least about me
Your instant success
Confident smile
Your sacred eyebrow
Fashionable lies
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12. |
Ghosts
03:22
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Like ghosts, our heads in some of the same space
Moving around, nothing to get in the way
From my bed, I pattern the world in a different way
What was wrong, within me was gone
A smooth sleep came over me
And the still water of love
Surrounded me in my dream
I was walking away
I was walking away
I was walking away
From the motions of faith
Like ghosts...
What was wrong, within me was gone...
I was walking away...
And the still water of love
Surrounded me in my dream
And the still water of love
Surrounded me in my dream
Surrounded me in my dream
I was walking away...
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13. |
Down
01:24
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little mannequin boy in a cheap suit
barefoot man selling jesus statues
drunk in pink pants off his ass
stares at nothing and laughs
so fucked up he's down
so far down he's down and out
skid row luxury lofts
hand in hand
calloused and soft
where does the grace of god get off?
so fucked up he's down
so far down he's down and out
this is how it is
this is just a shame
maybe in the end
we all suffer the same
so fucked up we're down
so far down we're down and out
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14. |
So Many Pieces
04:11
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15. |
Soul Asylum
02:02
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this understanding is a soul asylum
i walk these halls, i am a bad prisoner
sometimes i wonder if i ever should have looked out that window that day when the shade was up
'cause now i know
there is more than a whisper
there is more than a calming smile
and yet i find myself a partner to...
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16. |
Langston Hughes
02:20
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I am white, Irish-Catholic, 27, 5'11", 157
schoolteacher, songwriter, singer and guitar player
I'm a husband, father, brother and son
and I am one of everyone
and you are a part of me as I am a part of you
and we are a part of Langston Hughes.
I listen to Bob Dylan sing "To Ramona"
and Billy Bragg to "Shirley"
and REM to "AnnElise"
I love their music
People who listen to my songs hear part of them in me
and what I've come to do is becoming part of you
and we are a part of Langston Hughes
Everything we do we are a witness to
I see the way you live and I take it inside
Every move is a rock that shatters a stagnant pool
And it travels from me to you and beyond to Langston Hughes
I've seen the look on another man's face
who came from somewhere faraway
He spoke with such humility
that it keeps a certain peace in me
Yes, I've seen another kind
and I cannot chase it from my mind
But I act in any way I choose
knowing I am part of you
and we are a part of Langston Hughes
Sometimes I feel so free
The littlest things amaze me
and sometimes I get lost in confusion
and I go searching aimlessly
But I have my family and my friends
to help me find the key
And I have records to play
and poems to read
and bits of inspiration can be seen
on every evening's news
and there's always the "Theme for English B"
written on a page by Langston Hughes
Everything we do we are a witness to
I see the way you live and I take it inside
Every move is a rock that shatters a stagnant pool
And it travels from me to you and beyond to Langston Hughes
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17. |
The Heat The Light
02:06
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the shadow of a wall
under the sun
the wall in pieces on the ground
i know where the heat comes from
i know where the heat comes from
where does the cold come from?
the echo of a voice
two hundred years old
like a one track train
pushing through the rain
i know where the light comes from
i know where the light comes from
where does the dark come from?
some things are beyond your control
try try again to enlighten
when you're already lit it's fruitless
try to put blood in your vains
it's all the same
the distance betweeen the truth
and the mind's tollbooth
no price you can pay to get through
i know where the heat comes from
i know where the heat comes from
where does the cold come from?
the shadow of a wall
under the sun
the wall in pieces on the ground
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18. |
June Fifth
02:59
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19. |
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let me just straighten up
a few things
standing on the groundless ground
falling with no end down
so maybe i’ll reach out, try to grab some
knowing there is none
let me just see
i don’t know
i guess i get it
i get lost so easily
but i can see
there’s no one to be
no sorrow and joy
to take personally
in the fragmentary desert
we will try to fit in
but nowhere to go
nowhere to have been
just the unfold
is all that can be
the rest is a memory or a want to be
let me just straighten up
a few things
before you get here
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Chris Hickey South Pasadena
Chris Hickey has six solo records, was a member of the bands “Uma” and “Show of Hands”, and has appeared on records by Joe Henry, Michael Penn, Indigo Girls, and more.
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