1. |
Molly the Flood
03:32
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Molly was an orphan saved from a flood
Meaner than the water that turned dirt to mud
She had the backbone I had the time
She held the needle and I smoked the dime
She held the needle and I smoked the dime
Let me tell you boys when she was yelling at me
I won a river from the heart of a stream
She shook my feathers and riled my dog
Curled my fingers and drained my pond
She curled my fingers and drained my pond
Lived on nothing but fast food and wine
Cried at commercials, blamed it on pride
She never got tired but slept through the night
With a cigarette burning, the ash held fine
Cigarette burning and the ash held fine
Let me tell you boys when she was laughing at me
I won a river from the heart of a stream
She shook my feathers and riled my dog
Curled my fingers and drained my pond
She curled my fingers and drained my pond
Oh lead me to the heart of the pine
It’s just and easy lie
Getting by
We got old and she got bored
Traded in her needle for a look at the lord
Three weeks later she was off of her knees
Saying all those believers can never be pleased
All those believers can never be pleased
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2. |
The Ragged Kind
03:42
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I’ll drink my coffee from your broken cup
When all that remains are lipstick and dust
And I’ll let this house surround me love
Till there’s one wall standing in a midnight sun
One walls standing in a midnight sun
No peace to find
I saw you leaning on a purple heart
In the back of the room you were tracing his scars
Oh I thought that I could please you love
By scratching out your number from the bathroom stall
Scratching out you number from the bathroom stall
For some peace of mind
One morning broke and another arrived
Then I traced my shadow on the ground for you to find
Could you save me save me from these stupid games I always start
I’m an only son you’re my evergreen
You turned your pillow to the ragged kind
And you branded their sleep with shivering eyes
When the rumors from your creaking bed
Crept down the alley and back again
Crept down the alley and back again
With no peace to find
One evening broke and another arrived
Then I burned my shadow on the ground for you to find
Could you save me save me from these stupid games I always start
I’m an only son your my evergreen
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3. |
Shadowboxer
03:39
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Brother I’ve seen the night in the eyes of the enemy
Scarred and bored, lit up like a dime
My welcome home came with no song
I’ve never been much of a lauded man
They told me I’d find you in trees we used to climb in
Spun around like a weathervane
Before I let you down you threw me your crown
And said I must be one of the lucky ones
One of the lucky ones
Dreamed that I’d lived my life in the arms of the enemy
Starved and bored, swept up in the tide
There’s Queen Anne’s Lace on the floor by a vase
I’ve never been much of a patient man
Sat on the stoop in our grandfather’s suit
And watched you sweep leaves off the balcony
Before I let you down you threw me your crown
And said I must be one of the lucky ones
One of the lucky ones
When lightning struck the roof
And split the walls you had your proof
That’s how if feels to take
The first real punch of a shadowboxer
All the years we used to bleed
I don’t recall but I believe
That’s what it takes to face
The first real punch from a shadow boxer
Long before I let you down
I stole your name I wore your crown
Now I’m here to take
The first real punch of a shadow boxer
Brother I’ve lived my life in the arms of the enemy
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4. |
City of Vines
03:32
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One more fall near the wrecking ball
Old shoes on telephone wire
Where the streetlights tease the sky
And try to hold winter at bay
I have always walked that way
Trying to learn how to find
The sound of the thunder in the coming tide
I heard the words of the corner girls
Baby please love me tonight
But in the front of a Greyhound bus
I couldn’t think of something clever to say
I have always left that way
Trying to learn how to find
The sound of the thunder in the coming tide
If I stay here any longer
I fear I might never go
Cause on the one hand
I’ve seen it all friend
These streets once paved in sand
I thought I stood real tall then
But on the other hand
I’m getting old friend
Seasons and cities change
And I’ve been thinking about a southern home
But I don’t think I’ll go alone
You and I
Lived our lives in a city of vines
Never had more than we could take
Never asked for much of nothing at all
Except for one more fall near the wrecking ball
Trying to learn how to find
The sound of the thunder in the coming tide
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5. |
16 Lovers
03:32
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Born of midwest skies
That hid the walls ‘neath summer vines
And branded me no wealth no fame
With 16 lovers who would share my name
All the notes I wrote
To praise the days of skin and oil
30 nights and one to find
16 lovers and they all went blind
So I leave it all
Left abandoned by the roadside dancers
Cast for the calls
Black the night I woke
To the sounds of cards against the spokes
Of a wheel that rolled without a frame
Chased by 16 lovers who all looked the same
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6. |
Tooth and Tongue
03:21
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Don’t be afraid of the sounds that we made
Banging on your bedroom door
We were looking for Linus who has hepatitis
He was sleeping on the pharmacy floor
His little sister the one who can’t say mister
Cause her tongue is always hitting her teeth
She woke up dancing put into a trance
By the devil and the deep blue sea
Her name is Lilly but we all call her Billy
And her hair’s too red to be real
She swears that it’s hers it’s been like that since birth
But those pictures all got lost or got burned
Well I kissed her once we were both on the run
But her tongue kept hitting my teeth
When I backed up she threw me a punch
And was laughing when I started to bleed
Do you miss the days when we ran wild
Let the Green Line take us home
In the morning we would talk a while
And I’d strip your memories for my songs
Linus was found in a heap on the ground
Lilly let the music play
She gathered him up with the pills and the dust
Like the candy of some twisted parade
Well he’s just fine he’s back on the wine
They both get a little bit week
If they ever get caught listening to the song
The devil and the deep blue sea
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7. |
Diamonds
04:36
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In the backwater lights
Of the town where my parents were
Raised from the cornfields
And freed in the pines
They thought they made diamonds
And praised it a miracle
But it wasn't miracle
It was more of a crime
Burnin the hours away
When the ones left behind
Couldn't pay the price
For twisting in the light
Some breaks you buy
One grandma was born
Somewhere in Arkansas
Where the orphan train rattled
Left her mother a bride
The other one hailed
From the Upper Peninsula
Where the miners still miss her
‘Cause she always wore white
The bartender's brother
Drank all the liquor
And slept in the back room
With his twin to the side
And my grandfather's sister
Had 6 boys and 3 girls
Who never quite knew
When their dad would arrive
We lived on Belmont
Not too far from Addison
They’d visit on Sundays
With diamonds to find
And we'd listen to baseball
On a broken old radio
With the tv turned quiet
Beneath the flickering lights
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8. |
The Winding Hour
04:05
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When I was 8 or 9 or 10
I pulled a ribbon from your curly hair
It’s been in my pocket now for all these years
But I could never really hold my breath
Waiting on you babe
I wasted all those days
begging for the winding hour
I thought I’d show myself with time
But a light in your window made me chang my mind
Now I’m the crooked teeth in an old man’s smile
I could never really lay my hands
Dirty on your bed
‘Cause the wrinkles in my skin
Are begging for the winding hour
I’ve been threaded but never stitched
One man’s prayer is another’s pretend
I don’t know which is which
But I’ve been longing to be sought
If you find me
I could be your wild rover
Sing for me the wild rover
I could be your wild rover babe
When I was 8 or 9 or 10
I rode my bike down your street through the leave so quick
Now your house is gone but those leaves still stick
I could never really say goodbye
If I never said hello
But I had to watch you go
With pity for the winding hour
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9. |
Cherokee Rose
02:55
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Pale John the beggar told Charlie the queen
The trick to this poison is loving the sin
They kicked all the rust off an 89 Ford
And wound up somewhere north of Salinas
All through the night they laughed so hard the road shook
Mary the jilted told fast Paul the shamed
The days I longed for you dried my veins
She stood in the ocean, she pealed off her dress
Let it float out and get lost in the breakers
All through the night she screamed so loud the moon shook
Could those battle cries maybe be the sound
Of haunted American lives
Or just the wind upon a chain
Or a long goodbye
Or a long goodbye
Could it be the sounds of haunted American lives
Pale John and Charlie saw Cherokee Rose
Tattooed on the back of a girl with no clothes
Who stepped from the water like she’d never seen land
And asked if they’d take her to Salinas
And all through the night
They sang so loud the road shook
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10. |
July
04:09
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Have you thought about July
Had regrets you couldn’t hide
No never me
I’ve been in Angola’s pen
Told the devil kept the bad ones in
But I’ll get over it
When I can pay for what I’ve done
And dance on broken bones
Are you scared are you cruel
Have you ever told the truth
No never me
I’ve been guilty and I’ve been framed
Never had much of a soul to save
But I’ll get over it
When I can pay for what I’ve done
And dance on broken bones
Heroes rely
On a villain for their play
Which one am I
You came to find
A simple way to say that I’m
Just one more shade of grey
So cut the world loose from that string
Never cared much what they thought of me
And I’ll get over it
When I can pay for what I’ve done
When I can dance on broken bones
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