1. |
Your State of Mind
03:16
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Does it suffice to say that mortal hearts are blind
Given this lowdown situation
Given your uptown state of mind
The loaded dice you play won't buy you any time
Given this lowdown situation
Given your uptown state of mind
Hey Mama, did you see my face on the picture screen
I took at streetcar named desire but I landed somewhere in between
Hey Mama, are we just moving from scene to scene
Moving in and out of somewhere but I'm never really where I seem.
Is it enough to try to memorize your lines
Given this lowdown situation
Given your uptown state of mind
Choke back the tears and deny mistakes you can't rewind
Given this lowdown situation
Given your uptown state of mind
Hey Mama, did you see my face on the picture screen
I was standing on the waterfront trying to justify the means
Hey Mama, are we just moving from scene to scene
Were you emulating Monroe living in the Whole Year Inn
Is it alright if we just leave the script behind
Given this lowdown situation
Given your uptown state of mind
Your State of Mind
Your State of Mind
Your State of Mind
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2. |
North Central Line
05:48
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There are boards on the windows and They've locked all the doors
Though there's nothing to keep safe inside anymore
Just aged yellow paper and old photographs
Lying there on the floor like some sad epitaph
Oh lying there on the floor
Scraps of history lying, not a whole lot more
I'm waiting on the North Central Line
At a station that has no place or time
On a platform pushed up against the new highway
Waiting with the ghosts here at night
Searching for the tracks or the light
Of the engines that interstate dusted away
That train don't stop anymore…
There's a bridge over nothing on the old interstate
Past Route 14 'round mile 168
10 tons of steel over an old railroad bed
Just in case they decide to bring it back from the dead
Maybe lay those tracks down once more
from those city lights
To the Ontario Shore
Waiting on the North Central Line
At a station that has no place or time
On platform that is slowly rotting away
Waiting with the statues at night
Searching for what's long out of sight
At this station next to the new highway
That train don't stop anymore
Gleaming white sign for the last gas station
Out on the new highway
Takes on a new kind of personification
Out on the new highway
I'm sure that horizon looks just like a mirror
Out on the new highway
Maybe the blue reflection's a little bit clearer
Out on the new highway
The tranes in your mind seem to all intertwine
Out on the new highway
All of the tears seem a bit less sincere
Out on the new highway
The ghosts of the past are all walking at last
Out on the new highway
The trains are all gone but your still moving on
Out on the new highway
Waiting on the North Central Line
At a station that has no place or time
On platform where nobody waits anyway
Waiting is only a word
That is seldom spoken or heard
At this station up against the new highway
That train don't stop anymore
That train don't stop here anymore
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3. |
Ashes
04:01
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If the law comes knocking I might just sent them your way
Since I over heard you talking on the main line yesterday
We were playing Russian roulette, it was the game we'd always choose
It was always five to one I guess that someone had to loose
You thought yourself the prophet poet flying high above the scene
Erasing lines and blurring edges between reality and dreams
With a gaze much wider than how singular it seems
Now that you lost track of the way you got your means
It all lies below you as you fall above the ashes
She was beautiful like pictures of the mountains in Tibet
Glorious and unattainable by those who haven't been there yet
You thought they were all bastards, but they were just caught in the glare
It's not everyday you see that kind of halo around here
But you saw it and you used it like a free book of matches
Letting each one burn your fingers till you dropped them on the floor
And when the last flame was gone, through the wispy smell of sulfur
You tossed the book aside and when out in search of more
But 'neath the cover on the cardboard lies a number scratched in pencil
And some words you've done your dammedest to ignore
Now all that is pining in your hall is just the ashes
The old ones smile back at you because they know your bound to roll
Their jaded eyes and white lies shine in the water of your soul
That flows the path of least resistance, as crooked as the cracks
In the mirror that you shattered when you saw what was looking back
No reflection, no perception, no consequence to your deceit
No sympathy for the pigeons laying bloody at your feet
Now that razors in your pocket and your smiling sicky sweet
At the next victim that you're about to meet
They all wait in line just to find themselves in ashes
I can't say that I like this, or that I'm not like you
Yeah, there are moments I commit the same crimes that you do
We're seeking the glory of flying up to the sun
But there's more wax in my wings than I had thought when I was young
Hell, I'm STILL young, and I'm still full up
Of ideals and false pretense
Trying to walk the fine line between pride and arrogance
But when you sacrifice the journey to indulge the present tense
Will your soul withstand the weight of the expense?
Now all that's waiting for your curtain call are just the ashes
So here's to what you stand for
Be careful who you trust
You want to go up in ashes
But your destination's dust.
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4. |
Will My Mind
05:01
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Those Christmas lights are glowing yellow
On a maple tree that looks like hell
Strange mix of tinsel and dead leaves
Outside the waterfront motel
The clouds are as gray as your eyes
That used to sparkle ocean blue
But the sea will always match the skies
And my weather will never equal you
This resort town is abandoned
The winter months just bring the cold
To all the gift shops by the town dock
Where the sunny postcards will be sold
The ice is halfway through the inlet
Pretty soon it is going to freeze straight on through
I'll walk out on the water
And will my mind away from you
I can't say I blame you for leaving
I can't say we didn't have some fun
We watched the town lights on the water
Fade out with the morning sun
These islands are so pretty
When they're the only thing you know
But your eyes needed other beauty
So I understand you had to go
Now the snow is blowing sideways
With the first good storm of the year
There's nothing moving down on James Street
There's nothing living around here
Those breezy summer scenes
Can be so hard to live up to
So I'll just breathe in this cold air
And will my mind away from you
So I'll walk out on the water
And will my mind away from you
I've been going to church on Sunday
For lack of something else to do
I've been trying to get close to God
Since I can't be close to you.
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5. |
Diamond Ring
03:58
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Diamond Ring, Diamond Ring
Shine on forever make her heart sing
Her heart sing, her heart shine
Shine on forever gonna make her mine
Her blue eyes are a gypsy's song
Spin me dizzy all day long
One look I hear jigs and reels
Drunk on the song those eyes reveal
We're going to go together
To the end of every road
Arm and arm forever
Never gonna let her go
Diamond Ring, Diamond Ring
Shine on forever make her heart sing
Her heart sing, her heart shine
Shine on forever gonna make her mine
Her smile has sunshine's golden glow
Makes my heart move fast and my mind turn slow
When she holds my hand I'm smiling too
With her warm touch burning right through
We're going to go together
To the end of every road
Arm and arm forever
Never gonna let her go
Diamond Ring, Diamond Ring
Shine on forever make her heart sing
Her heart sing, her heart shine
Shine on forever gonna make her mine
I can feel my future in her kiss
Filled with the truest happiness
Makes me feel all good inside
I'm her man and she's my bride
We're going to go together
To the end of every road
Arm and arm forever
Never gonna let her go
Diamond Ring, Diamond Ring
Shine on forever make her heart sing
Her heart sing, her heart shine
Shine on forever gonna make her mine
Diamond Ring, Diamond Ring
Shine on forever make her heart sing
Her heart sing, her heart shine
Shine on forever gonna make her mine
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6. |
Uneven Road
04:14
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Her Dreams are sewn under her sleave
She always shows them to me
From the shape of the stiches, you could guess what they might be
But here only her and I see
She wants the things she deserves
She haunts the space behind my words
She knows the places where they cannot be heard
She only wants what she deserves
It's an uneven, uneven road
She follows the path I have chose
Barefoot and freezing in the snow
She stands in the cold with a will made of stone
She will never let me go
It's an uneven, uneven road
She made a creed of my name
With eyes that will always remain
To beautiful to not withstand the pain
She made a creed of my name
It's an uneven, uneven road
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7. |
Guardian
04:35
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He put his head down on my leg and fell asleep
And I looked over him, and over seven years
Of joy and loss and prayed the lord his soul to keep
And felt assurance trickle down my cheek
Keep his soul for I know that when I was
The guardian of him, all his love was
Given freely without fear, regret, or even pause
And lavished on us despite our many flaws
She looks so beautiful in that gown
Light coming through the door
It surrounds her
blinding and pure
blinding and pure
No pause or regret I tell myself cause
I was once his guardian entrusted with
The love he gave which I decided if should live or die
And I decided
To die or live for the safety of her world
A simple answer questioned when the man
Jumped off his moped, swung at me and yelled in creole words
I did not understand and wish I never heard
She looks so beautiful in that gown
Light coming through the door
It surrounds her
blinding and pure
blinding and pure
Words of creole that I'll never understand
Have torn the white vale of security
That I once tried to give to him then ripped with my own hands
With which I hold her
Cause I'm her guardian.
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8. |
Haley Wall
04:09
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Haley Wall will take you down,
Drag your ass through Chinatown
Spend all of your money and leave you flat
I first met her when I was a kid, not for long 'cause of what she did
But there aint no sense in re-hashing all that
Every now and then our paths would cross out in the dirt
She'd be leaning against some bar wearing some black mini-skirt
Her legs were just as long that day as they had ever been
I knew that there was no way I could win
Trash was piled on the sidewalks, the neon shined on the buss stop
In that part of town where Haley likes to play
I walked in and ordered two, not sure what else I could do
I knew that she'd be coming round my way
I could feel her presence before she even caught my eye
She slithered up beside and brushed my hand with her thigh
She said "hey there stranger, it's sure good seeing you again"
And I knew that there was no way I could win,
Haley spin my world around
Take all your lies and whisper them true
Your fire is burning in my eyes
Haley wall, I owe it all to you
Clothes were spread across the floor, private sign hung on the door
In a hotel down the street without a name
Names are no use in that light that hangs around that time of night
And the shadows on the wall look just looked the same
The memories were rolling just like fire through my blood
Haley took that desire and just dragged it through the mud
When the dirt of all our history was covering our skin
And I knew that there was no way I could win
Haley spin my world around
Take all your lies and whisper them true
Your fire is burning in my eyes
Haley wall, I owe it all to you
The hours dried with beads of sweat, burning like cheap cigarettes
The whiskey and the dope just numbed my head
We passed out sometime after dawn, when I woke up she was gone
I laid there tangled in that hotel bed
Now what happened next has never been so easy to recall
But it seems like I remember someone screaming in the hall
Next thing I knew a uniform in blue came busting in
And I knew that there was no way I could win
It seems had possession of some things I won’t mention
But honestly I don’t remember holding shit
But with Haley you never knew what she had or what she’d do
Or what she’d leave behind her when she split
The preacher says that there’s a price for every little sin
Now I’m here just paying with my mandatory five to ten
But I know when I get out I’ll look up Ms. Wall again
Because I know there’s no way I will ever win
Haley spin my world around
Take all your lies and whisper them true
Your fire is burning in my eyes
Haley wall, I owe it all to you
Oh now Haley Wall I owe it all to you
Haley wall I owe it all to you
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9. |
Cigarettes
04:00
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You were buzzing like a short electric circuit
Burning sparks through broken neon signs
I'd call you out, but I know that it wasn't worth it
You'd only shut me down and then unplug the lines
So instead I listened to you tell your story
With a weary eye one the asphalt down below
As it moved beneath my wheels in solid motion
I trusted it to tell me where to go
Cigarettes
Gasoline
A TV Set
James Dean
A shape that looks familiar in the static on the screen
What does it mean
I can't say we ever were like brothers
But this is the second time you've moved my weary pen
I tried to write you off like all the others
But your demon words keep coming back again
You're nothing but a streetlight in the roadway
You're nothing but some fireworks in the night
And even thought the ambers burn your body
You can't help getting closer to the light
Cigarettes
Gasoline
Wasted Breath
Kerosene
A lamplight in a fortress where it's cold
And dark
And mean
Is that where you've been
I'm glad you picked up the goddamed receiver
I might as well have said nothing at all
All I spoke were words of a craven deceiver
And all you heard were distant echos in the hall
I'm not sure that I've done you any favors
I'm not sure that we'll ever speak again
All I can do is pray you'll still be breathing
When she calls the white coats to come marching in
Cigarettes
Gasoline
Crystal Methamphetamines
I hope you find an answer that is
Beautiful
And Clean
And Unforeseen.
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10. |
Dear Eugene
04:54
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Dear Eugene
Where am I going today?
The dark is coming on and the path is splitting different ways
There is no map, I guess I'm really on my own
Eugene, which one of them leads home
All I see
Are the tears welling up in her eyes
While she's carrying the fear of hearing another goodbye
They're so damn blue, and so am I
When all I can say is "pretty baby please don't cry"
Eugene
I need to hear your voice again
Telling me how to bring her tears to an end
With the answers that I just don't know
Eugene, why did you have to go?
I found a card
That I wrote you but I just never sent
It said "Dad, happy birthday, you don't how much you've meant"
I forgot it at the time, you were just a phone call away
Now there are so many things that I'd pick up that phone and say
Eugene
I need to hear your voice again
Telling me how to bring her tears to an end
With the answers that I just don't know
Eugene, why did you have to go?
Gene
You told her to take care of me
You could always spot the signs I never could see
No matter how far up the road, they were always painted in your mind
Eugene, I wish you had a little more time
Eugene
I need to hear your voice again
Telling me how to bring her tears to an end
With the answers that I just don't know
Eugene, why did you have to go?
Dear Eugene
Where the hell am I going today?
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11. |
Don't Want to Wait
03:11
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Head full of whiskey, heart full of woe
I've got an evil woman with her fingers on my soul
If I was talking sober I might get back in control
But I don't want to wait that long
Her eyes, they look like heaven
Her lips taste like rain
Her hips are swaying back and forth
Through my weary brain
If I watch her move a minute more
She might drive me insane
And I don't want to wait that long
I don't want to wait that long (good God honey)
I don't want to wait that long
I might be alright when I'm back in her arms tonight
But I don't want to wait that long
Well it's one round for the money
Two rounds it's a show
Three rounds and I'm good and ready
After four rounds I should go
That fifth round, don't tell me
I don't want to know
I don't want to wait that long
Well if whiskey was a river
And I was a diving duck
I'd be stranded on the shoreline
'Cause you know that's just my luck
I'd watch you diving down
And someday you might come back up
But I don't want to wait that long
I don't want to wait that long (good God honey)
I don't want to wait that long
I might be alright when I'm back in her arms tonight
But I don't want to wait that long
Well that fiddle it's ringing yeah the bass is pumping loud
And I can see you staring at me from clear across the crowd
Way you got me feeling only heaven will allow
And I don't want to wait that long
I don't want to wait that long (good God honey)
I don't want to wait that long
I might be alright when I'm back in her arms tonight
But I don't want to wait that long
I don't want to wait that long (good God now honey)
I don't want to wait that long
I might be alright when I'm back in her arms tonight
But I don't want to wait that long
I don't want to wait that long
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Ryan Fitzsimmons Boston, Massachusetts
Aquarium Drunkard said: "His rhythmic folk songs are more of the hand-banging variety, his delivery marked with dark traces like the end of the night, and he plays with captivating confidence."
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