1. |
No Regrets
04:20
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father won’t take them pills
no doctor is gonna make him ill
and mother, she just stands still
puts both hands upon her hips, fresh lines of worry
and father he don’t ever say he’s sorry
he never will
he never will
my brother had no mind for school
weren’t no teacher gonna make his rules
found himself a lover, man she loves her jewels
she’d put both hands upon the men who would supply her
my brother’s perfect angel was on fire
he never knew
he never will
so please baby, don’t hedge your bets
cuz just maybe you ain’t seen it all yet
just how crazy this family gets
so put both hands upon the wheel and push the pedal
cuz the farther we get now the less they’ll meddle
won’t be no regrets
won’t be no regrets
no regrets
no regrets
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2. |
Affluence Disease
03:31
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Affluence Disease
in a world that has come to need
human shields in olive fields
in a world, in a world, in a world, in a world, in a world
that has come to need
advocacy for honesty
some one tell me, what can we do now?
some one tell me, what can we do?
some one tell me what can be done?
some one tell me what can be done?
to be free of all this
worry and wonder and wonder and worry
to be free of this affluence disease
to be free of all this
worry and wonder and wonder and worry
in a world that has come to see
reality on the t.v.
in a world, in a world, in a world, in a world, in a world
that has long forgotten
that good food is the greatest medication
some one tell me, what can we do now?
some one tell me, what can we do?
some one tell me what can be done?
some one tell me what can be done?
to be free of all this
worry and wonder and wonder and worry
to be free of this affluence disease
to be free of all this
oh the crossfire on the line graph of technology versus time
our very evolution is mapping out our very decline
all this adulation for a nation that’s really on its knees
suffering the ill effects of this affluence disease
When will we be free of this affluence disease?
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3. |
Some Fine Day
03:08
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what have we really got to do today?
let’s start by throwing that loud, loud, loud alarm clock away
stretch into the wind,
let time drizzle like the rain
and tomorrow we’ll let our wake-up call be the sun, be the sun
some day, some fine day
we will all sing
some day, some fine day
we will all sing
never has the time been more right
to put down your weapons, take up the fight
throw, throw, throw away the blame and start forgiving
and do everything, everything in the name of the living
some day, some fine day
we will all sing
some day, some fine day
we will all sing
some day, some fine day, some fine day, some fine day
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4. |
Bliss
03:22
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here is a town called Bliss
first thing you’ll see are mobile homes
perched on cinder blocks looking dusty and forlorn
rusted tractors, three-legged mutts,
peeling paint and jacked up trucks
boarded up shops, vacant lots
curtains and faces drawn
how could we let it come to this?
this silent scene of emptiness
how could we let it come to this?
this backwards bliss.
do you wanna know the answer?
do you wanna know, do you wanna know?
there was a time when hope
wafted from gardens and chimneys,
shafts of light cast on piano keys
living rooms full and singing
but then the mine was shut down
and all the families left town
those church bells stopped ringing.
how could we let it come to this?
this silent scene of emptiness
how could we let it come to this?
this backwards bliss.
do you wanna know the answer?…
seems like we’re leaving the asking up to somebody else
seems like we’re leaving the asking up to somebody else
when they say thou shalt not question,
they really mean the corporation.
when they say thou shalt not question,
they really mean the mining industry.
there’s not much left to see…
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5. |
Mental Breakdown
03:38
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i am a statue of solitude
and you are a sales rep for romance
out on your rounds today,
you pulled up with your attitude
now you’re standing on my doorstep
as if I should open up for you
go on home before you drive me crazy
go on home before you drive me crazy
it’s just another mental breakdown here, don’t mind me
turn around let me go, let me be, let me go crazy
it’s just another mental breakdown here, don’t mind me
turn around let me go, let me be, let me go crazy
there is a market for romance, I do agree
and you have invested heavily
but I think you should just get back into your automobile
cuz I don’t buy what I don’t feel
it’s just another mental breakdown here, don’t mind me
turn around let me go, let me be, let me go crazy
it’s just another mental breakdown here, don’t mind me
turn around let me go, let me be, let me go crazy
… let me be
… let me be
I think you should just get back into your automobile
I think you should just get back into your automobile
cuz I don’t buy, but I don’t buy,
but I don’t buy what I don’t feel
no I do not buy what I don’t feel
It’s just another mental breakdown here …
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6. |
Impossible to Tell
03:45
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if I squint and blur my eyes a little
i can almost see you
you’re like a swirling, verbal riddle
and the answer shaves its edges well
sandy with the travel
smooth & rough at once
and impossible to tell
you are impossible, impossible, impossible
you’re like those endless pattern prints
sold in framing shops at the mall
if you stare and squint and blur and wait,
you might discern the hidden form
but it’s always something stupid like a leaping unicorn
ready to hang forever on someone’s bathroom wall
you are impossible, impossible, impossible
you are impossible to tell,
impossible to tell,
it is impossible to tell
with you.
i wonder why I waste my time, staring and curious
i know the glimpses of you that I find are temporary, at best
and always disappointing, though I wonder all the same
if one day while I’m staring,
i’ll see these brilliant colourful flames
lick up and heal the gaps
between your meaning and your claims
And all that I know is:
you are impossible to tell,
impossible to tell,
it is impossible to tell
with you.
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7. |
Ten Pin
03:36
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i go away, go away, oh-oh
i go away, go away, oh-oh
the gig was so bad
i felt like a flight attendant giving a safety demonstration
no one looked my way,
no one came here to watch me play
but that’s okay, it’s okay, it’s all the same:
we focus on the destination,
forget to be entertained by the journey
and so I packed up my guitar
and headed for the nearest bowling alley
better make it ten pin
i’ll put my fingers in
i like the holes wide
better make it ten pin
i’ll put my fingers in
i like the holes wide
i go away, go away, oh-oh
i go away, go away, oh-oh
so I checked into a hotel
where the mid-section of the bed sagged
like an old mare put out to pasture
and it does not really matter with what words it is said
just sometimes it’s time to be the student, life the master
and so I packed up all my clothes
and headed for the road again,
better make it ten pin
i’ll put my fingers in
i like the holes wide …
the gig wasn’t half bad
i felt like a flight attendant going up and down the aisle
with free food and drinks
everyone looked my way,
there was no need to pay
but that’s okay, it’s okay, it’s all the same:
we focus on the destination,
forget to be entertained by the journey.
and so I packed up my guitar
and headed for the nearest bowling alley
better make it ten pin
i’ll put my fingers in
i like the holes wide, wide, wide, wide …
i go away, go away, oh-oh …
and besides,
i look good in the shoes.
oh yeah, I look good in the shoes
don’t you know it baby
i look good in the shoes.
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8. |
Thirteen
04:02
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finally I’m thirteen
it’s the year of valuable lessons
i can baby-sit the neighbor’s kids so I can earn my way
collect the paper bills inside the pages of my Nancy Drew books
cuz they’re my most valued possessions
yes, they’re my most prized possessions
but that’s a secret
finally I’m thirteen
and I am fully grown
this will be my shoe size when I’m thirty and old
people ask me,
“what’dya want to be when you grow up, little lady?”
but no one tells me i won’t have to go
no one tells me that i won’t have to go
when they know, when they know, when they know
i’ve got a treasure between the covers
i’ve got the means to be grown up
i’m gonna stay strong and defend her
i’m gonna stand tall, keep my chin up
and remember that I am all these things
underneath the slouch and frightened stare
i’m gonna save up so I don’t have to care
i’m gonna save up so I don’t have to care
between the covers of
Nancy Drew mystery, Nancy Drew adventure
my treasure is my history
and it will follow me, it will follow me, it will follow me
until I’m thirty and old
or so I’ve been told
finally I’m thirteen
and I want to run away
but what I really want is just for someone to say
that I won’t have to go
won’t someone tell me
that I won’t have to go
when they know, when they know
when they know my secret
i’ve got a treasure between the covers …
I’m gonna save up so I don’t have to care
I’m gonna save up so I don’t have to care
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9. |
Intervention
03:38
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Intervention
“whatchado” and “whatchasay” don’t talk much
“whatchado” won’t listen to “whatchasay”
“whatchado” just walks around all puffed up
and “whatchasay” just talks and talks all day
and cnn is endless on the t.v.
people here are numb to all the news
even playing in the airport lobbies
only the outsiders are confused
better get ready for an intervention
cuz we’ve got your best interests at heart
we see you struggling to simulate perfection
we think you’ve gone too far
you like to guard your borders
keep the outside out, don’t want no spies
you’re following your orders
it’s against the new laws to ask why
why don’t you let some other leaders have a try now?
they may just know at thing or do
and, “whatchasay,” you quietly step down now
and give some care to “whatchado”
ya better get ready for an intervention
we’ve got your best interests at heart
we see you struggling to simulate perfection
we think you’ve gone too far
“whatchado” and “whatchasay” don’t talk much
“whatchado” won’t listen to “whatchasay”
“whatchado” just walks around all puffed up
and “whatchasay” just talks and talks
and talks and talks
and talks and talks
all day
you’d better get ready (we think you’ve gone too far)
you’d better get ready (for an intervention)
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10. |
Witness
03:00
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i am awake now
i cannot go back to sleep
consciousness is stealth, on quiet feet it creeps
once you let it in your house, you cannot get it to leave
i am awake now
i can hear it breathe
the more I learn about food, the less I want to eat
the more I learn about water, the less I want to drink
the more I learn about people, the fewer I want to meet
the more I learn, the less I want to think.
i am a witness
i’ll tell you what I have seen
ignorance is bliss only when you’re fast asleep
once you let in consciousness, you’ll never want it to leave
i am a witness,
this is what I’ve seen.
the more I learn about food, the less I want to eat
the more I learn about water, the less I want to drink
the more I learn about people, the fewer I want to meet
the more I learn, the less I want to think.
but I cannot starve, die of thirst, be a hermit
and nothing really works when you want to turn off your brain
you gotta be a witness, witness, witness, witness
be brave enough to say, “this is not the way for me.”
the more I learn about food, the less I want to eat
the more I learn about water, the less I want to drink
the more I learn about people, the fewer I want to meet
the more I learn, the less I want to think.
be a witness, be a witness
you cannot turn off your brain
be a witness, be a witness
you cannot turn off your brain
be a witness, be a witness
you cannot turn off your brain
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11. |
Ease
03:38
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je ne porte jamais mes souliers
quand je suis dans la forêt
je trouve que c’est la seule facon de s’équilibrer
je ne porte jamais mes oreilles
quand je suis dans la ville de bruits souillés
je trouve que c’est la seule facon de s’écouter
we’ve got to ease off and ease up
feed the flames and cool the coals
i’m am exercising my right to hand over the controls
and tonight in the clear moonlight
i know balance trumps talent every time
flames need to be fed in order to climb.
on n’est que des arbres qui cherchent le soleil,
toujours faim pour la journée
je trouve que c’est la bonne raison de monter
on n’est que des sons qui veulent être équilibrés
le feu quie est dans mes oreilles
je pense que c’est vraiment le silence qu’on doit toujours garder
we’ve got to ease off and ease up
feed the flames and cool the coals
i’m am exercising my right to hand over the controls
and tonight in the clear moonlight
i know balance trumps talent every time
flames need to be fed in order to climb.
je ne porte jamais mes souliers
quand je suis dans la forêt
je ne porte jamais mes oreilles
quand je suis dans la ville de bruits souillés
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12. |
Reinforced Concrete
03:39
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rainy night in April
busy intersection downtown
a lone man in the middle of traffic
was wandering in circles, crying out
the traffic stalled and waited
nobody went to help him
broken record of his voice in the air
nobody went to help
the traffic inched around his jagged despair
what have we done here?
what have we not done?
my cousin called me up on a rainy night in April
words like bells ringin’ – we’ve found the long-lost relative
married 18 years in abuse and self-defacing, foreign fears
and she’s free now, but I guess that’s all relative
nobody came to help
the family stalled and waited
nobody went to help her
broken record of her absence in the air
nobody went to help
the family tiptoed around her ragged despair
what have we done here?
what have we not done?
oh the rain makes everything lonely
urban silence is bleak
nobody went to help
nobody reaches out
not in the shiny, dark street
amidst the fallen feet
this is reinforced concrete
reinforced
this is reinforced
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Ember Swift 北京市, China
Canadian artist Ember Swift is an internationally touring musician, songwriter, and founder of the independent label Few’ll Ignite Sound. Originally from Toronto, she has spent the past decade + in the magnetic city of Beijing, China. In non-pandemic times, she tours throughout Europe and Asia and returns to North America at least once a year for live performances and special events. ... more
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