1. |
Golden Years
03:28
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Long before I ever got this bored
I thought about getting old
I’d drive around in a smoked out Mercedes-Benz
And wave to all my friends
I’d sell herbs and spices twice a week
At the market down the street
And I’d pour my wife a nightly glass of whisky neat
But I’m almost 30 and just about ready to go
Plugging away with shit to show
Figure since the future’s far from clear
I might as well make these my golden years
Long before I ever got this bored
I thought about getting old
We’d revel in a cool breeze on hot late summer days
Mapping out our next getaway
We wouldn’t have a boat, but we’ll have a friend who does
And a festival season bus
We’d wake up bright and early, just because
But as far as what comes next, I know
About as much the birds crashing into the window
Figure since the future’s far from clear
I might as well make these my golden years
Long before I ever got this bored
I thought about getting old
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2. |
Basement Checks
03:20
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I can see your bouncing heel in the reflection
Trying to fill all the gaps in the door
Not quite winter, but close enough to worry
Close enough to numb your fingers
And threatening even more
You wonder whatever for
Lay some salt, ask which basement’s next
Steal a bike, steal a book, write some checks
“The need goes on and shall go on”
That’s what a need is for
Pestilent nails, greasy fingers always wanting more
And you wonder whatever for
You seem to be working hard
Stretch a dollar pretty far
Never gripe about some life that never was
Thought you were better than that
But I guess a son always does
Tell the neighbors to holler if they need you
Mr. Wright says his wife is on the mend
Scared what you’re scared of has already happened
A cartoon cliff jump, a headless feathered friend
And you wonder to what end
Heave the trash out and hum an old reflection
Head back home in the dying of the day
Cross your fingers and let your ring dig at you
It could be worse, and maybe better’s not better anyway
Maybe it’s ok
Yeah, you seem to be working hard
Stretch a dollar pretty far
Never gripe about some life that never was
Thought you were better than that
But I guess a son always does
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3. |
Hemlock
03:18
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In the cool of the hemlocks
Up on Hemlock Hill
Where I spent my younger days
Nothing to do and less to say
I found a place where I could stand still
In the cool of the hemlocks
Where the brook trout bite
From a stream running clear
Ruby kinglet in the air
Flitting around in a fractured light
Before the blight
White wooly vagrants and grey ghosts on the hill
Starved and making room
Leaving big red boots to fill
For whatever comes next
And something will
White wooly vagrants and grey ghosts on the hill
In the blue shade of the hemlocks
Tunneled, holding your breath
Up over the bald rocks
Past the claw-marks in the mountaintop
Make a bed
Take a rest
The dry bones of the hemlocks
Haunt the pine swamp mine
I mourn the loss but know these hills have
Been through worse and stand here still
And it was always just a matter of time
Before the blight
White wooly vagrants and grey ghosts on the hill
Starved and making room
Leaving big red boots to fill
For whatever comes next
And something will
White wooly vagrants and grey ghosts on the hill
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4. |
Cheap Beer
02:24
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A pint of nine-percent’ll do a number on an empty stomach
And a slight from a lover hurts most when you don’t see it coming
There’s a bar around the block that knows what I’m talking
But they remember me from last time and tell me to just keep walking
Cheap beer ain’t cheap when you buy it by the case
Sleeping in doesn’t do a thing when you’re staying out so late
Feeding yourself the lie that you are what they ain’t
Cheap beer ain’t cheap when you buy it by the case
Eight or nine or ten’ll do a number on an empty wallet
But I’m feeling wrecktrospective, got some people on my mind who need calling
Lucky for them the stupid engine’s stalling
I’m fuckin’ Tom Petty, Bush Jr., parachuting, free falling
Cheap beer ain’t cheap when you buy it by the case
Cheap is lying to them just to keep yourself contained
“One of these days…” becomes a refrain!
Cheap beer ain’t cheap when you buy it by the case
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5. |
Low it Goes
03:39
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Jackie turns the burner off, pours herself a cup
Sits down in a chair that she bought
Crosses off a list just to fill it back up
Allows herself a wandering thought
How every stitch of clothing in the bedroom
Every bulb in every light
Would be better suited to a better human
Who needs ‘em and could treat ‘em right
They feel stolen
She feels holed in
Charlie’s got the makings for a helluva night
Half-dances down Franklin Street
Meets up with his girl and he holds her tight
While the band plays, “Don’t Touch Me”
8 limes later and they’re calling a car
Like they have so many times before
When he wakes in her arms, he still feels apart
And his heart is through the floor
Cause it’s a short one, in a long one
Keeps him hoping for the last one
That’s how low it goes
Richie keeps his mouth shut, ignoring the crowds
Trying not to squeeze too hard
Wondering if the secret that they’re in on is a good one
And why he’s gotta walk this far
He’s losing daylight and he knows it
But he’s not just tongue-tied, he’s frozen
Cause it’s a short one, in a long one
Keeps him hoping for the last one
That’s how low it goes
Days pile up like stones across your chest
Like everyone got some letter that you missed
That had everything you’re supposed to know
Everything you don’t
Becca lights a joint in the parking lot
Thinks about taking off
She’d have to leave her friends, but they’d understand
And besides she’s got a bit of a cough
What’s a friend in the end-all?
Someone to bitch to or pass the time
They’re probably talking shit right now
And if not it’s just a matter of time
This night’s a short one, in a long one
Keeps her hoping for the last one
That’s how low it goes
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6. |
Useless Old Names
02:52
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Useless old names don't mean anything
This hound only hounds after other pups' pee
The shepherd just herds your inadequacy
We're all sporting useless old names
Me and my brothers, Gardner's all three
Not bad at mowing, but can't raise a seed
Not even a lousy bonsai tree
All sporting useless old names
My buddy's a Tyler, a friend to the death
A monstrous picker, a phenom on frets
But if this band goes south, he may lay tile yet
So far, a useless old name
She called me lover, I called her wife
She took my name and we started a life
Now it's all over, yet the checks that she signs
Still bear my useless old name
These city dogs lose all their utility
Greyhounds on concrete can't gather speed
Mountain dog stuck in Apartment 3
Lamenting his useless old name
Useless old names don't mean anything
This hound only hounds after other pups' pee
The shepherd just herds your inadequacy
We're all sporting useless old names
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7. |
I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome
02:27
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8. |
Sing
02:39
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There’s a big-haired boy at the bar with a “Fuck Tomorrow” hat
Maybe I’ll see him again
Maybe I’ll drive west, become a Rockies fan
Maybe I’ve just stolen
And you ask yourself, how much can you take?
And by take I mean receive
Or maybe I mean trust
Or believe
No, really, how much can you take?
There’s a basement show with Wisconsin powerviolence
And this no-charm bar with specials until 10
And all my friends are growing further away
Just like me and her
And the meaning and the days
But I’m gonna sing
I’m doing everything
I’m doing everything that you let me
But is letting just leaving behind? Or is it more than that?
Letting go or letting it be?
Letting up or letting it open?
Makes it sound nice being broken
And you ask yourself, how much can you fake?
Before you pull a muscle in your face
Or stop looking around
For a meaning in the days
And I’m gonna sing
I’m doing everything
I’m doing everything that you let me
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9. |
Sit Down
03:06
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Sit down, it won’t be long now
You’re a real smooth talker, better watch where you’re walking
Or you might get caught up at the wrong end of a dressing down
You started at a deficit and if you had a lick of sense
You’d fix it, but you’re mixed in with a feeling you’re supposed to drown
I think your level might be broken, I don’t know if you’ve been smoking
But your fence is missing posts and I can drive right through it
To the old house
Where I know you’re hiding out
With the windows boarded, quiet as a mouse
For fear I’ll hear you if you start to shout
Sit down, it won’t be long now
What you want and what you need are often differing degrees
Of the same damn thing and I got both in the trunk of my car
There’s no use running, you know I’m coming
I’ve whispered into nothing people worse than you by far
Let me in, I’ll make it easy
Don’t make me strip it to the studs
Let me in, I’ll make it easy, let me in, I’ll make it quick
I’m at the door, can’t you see that it’s over?
Rain is pouring
From a
Black
Sky
As I skirt around the sides, over thunderclaps I hear a voice inside
Saying twist me, turn me, bleed me, burn me
Just wait until you see what comes of us
You say it’s over and think that that’s enough?
Nothing ever really ends, cuz!
Sit down, it won’t be long now
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10. |
Bear Tune
04:01
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I was half-dead this morning, hit snooze for two hours
I rolled out and stepped out to check on the flowers
They're lovely
And I stare for a minute or twelve
A redwing is calling while I'm out here yawning
A squirrel's been gutted, a hawk's been along here
A breeze blows And I'm whirling three feet off the ground
I float past the pine, don't have to climb
But the bark's peeled back, so is mine
And the needles
Are browning and fading to dust
I think what a strange morning when a woodchuck gives warning
Crawls out from the shed, tells me I'm not alone
In a low voice
And I'm back on the ground when I see
There's a bear in the driveway and a fox on the lawn
Here to ask me a question, take someone home
Someone ungrateful, careless like me
To a place where no one will ever see
I think, "What a strange dream..." as the fox starts to scream
When I look down I'm knee-deep in a fast moving stream
There's a bridge out
And I feel like I've been here before
A body floats down, apples stuffed in it's mouth
Takes a bounce off a rock and starts spinning around
He has my face and his eyes are looking away
There's a bear in the driveway with a crown on his head
His paws are streaked silver, his nose dipped in red
Here to ask me a question, take someone home
“What's lost in the blood is found in the bone”
I was half-dead this morning, hit snooze for two hours
Had a dream about a bear and some pretty little flowers
Or something
It's hard to remember that stuff
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11. |
The Apartment Song
01:49
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12. |
Mask Like That
02:49
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You couldn’t wear a mask like that if it didn’t have holes in the eyes
And that’s where I’ll get you by and by
Yeah, maybe you were born this way
But we both know nothing ever stays the same
Only grows or slowly dies
It’s a long drive to hell
The signs don’t say how far you fell
Cause in truth, it’s just a roundabout
But you’ve known that all along
Groan into the steering wheel
Pull your shoulders back
And be gone
You couldn’t wear a mask like that if it didn’t have holes in the eyes
So you can make sure they buy your lies
“Good-for-nothing” is a fine excuse
To get good at nothing
But it falls on you
This isn’t shade, it’s dead of night
It’s a long walk to home
And it feels longer when you’re alone
Cause in truth, it’s just a circle
But you’ve known that all along
Watch the spiral fold
And be gone
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13. |
I Gotta Get Drunk
01:14
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