1. |
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There's a crazy old homeless woman
With more fingers than teeth
She's got headphones but no radio
Doing a raindance down this forgotten street
She points a finger at me and says "Boy,
I've got my good eye on you"
Then she raise it up to heaven, singing
"Hallelujah, the lord does too."
There's a place called the Old Miami
Down on the Cass Corridor
All the veterans bellying up to the bar
Telling jokes they've all heard before
Now Dan's a big man, but not terribly tall
And he smiles like it's all he's got
He's had the Miami since '79,
Now they want it for a parking lot
He puts a hand on me and says "Boy,
Before I was old enough to drink
I was watching boys die in the jungle
Down in the trenches where you just sink
Into the mud
Covered in the blood of somebody's son
The old Packard plant stands in ruins
Unused since '56
Thousands of windows shattered out by the vandals
That keep setting fire to it's bricks
The streets are eerily empty
For a day with such welcoming skies
Half of the towers that shadow this city
Are as vacant as a junkie's eyes
She points a finger at me and says "Boy,
I've got my good eye on you"
Then she raise it up to heaven, singing
"Hallelujah, the lord does too."
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2. |
I'll Come Running
04:40
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I would sail across the sea
To breathe the same sweet air you breathe
And though the clouds black out the sky
And angry waves swell up so high
I'll come running home to you
By and by
I would walk the desert wide
To feel your tender lips on mine
And through I burn neath endless sun
And vultures circle high above
I'll come running home to you
My love
I would climb the mountain high
To put your precious hand in mine
And promise though I walk and wander
I swear on my honor
I'll come running home to you
My love
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3. |
Not Quite December
04:15
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Not quite December, the lake has frozen over
And there's winter in the wind
The trees have all gone naked, stripped down in the cold
In the spring time, dress again
Should we not follow ?
Come to know each other underneath
A sparrow wheeling through a concrete sky
How the hills must look to him
Our garden dying, underneath the white
In the springtime, dress again
Should we not follow ?
Let it fall away like brittle leaves
Should we not follow ?
Grow our love anew from hidden seeds
Not quite December, the lake has frozen over
And I wonder where you've been
These trees can live a hundred years, stripped down in the cold
In the springtime, live again
Should we not follow ?
Come to know each other underneath ?
Should we not follow ?
Grow our love anew from sleeping seeds
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4. |
Sweet Angeline
04:14
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Sweet Angeline
Walks into a liquor store
Bells banging against the door
Picks her poison and pays with a handful of wet dollar bills
The sun is shining way too bright today
The sun is shining way too bright
Sweet Angeline
Walking down Bedford
Why does it seem like
Every girl I see is so beautiful, more beautiful than me ?
At least the boys in the bar know her name
They all gather round when she's onstage
And she goes round and round and round and round and round
She goes round and round and round
Sweet Angeline
Locks the last deadbolt
Pulls the curtain and strips her clothes
Falling through the floor all the stars burn her eyes while she sings
"I wish that I could get so high that I stayed there
I'd drop a penny from the sky, from my ferris wheel"
And she goes round and round and round
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5. |
She
05:20
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She's a whisper of breeze, a breath of fresh air
A stare from a beautiful stranger
When the skies are blue
And what, what would she say
If I took her hand
And led her away from the noise of the promised land
And told her some truth
She lays like a river in my bed
And she is a melody that plays in my head for days
And sways to the tune, like a reed in the wind
And I know I'll never sing another song again
Please, give me a chance, to answer that lingering glance
To hide my pride and find the words
To ask you to dance with me
In a world that can be so cold
Where everyone's scared
Of growing old and dying alone
I just want to hold you
She lays like a river in my bed
And she is a melody that plays in my head for days
And sways to the tune, like a reed in the wind
And I know I'll never sing another song again
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6. |
Finally Come Home
05:26
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How will they greet you when you finally come home ?
With your broken hands dirty and your deeds widely known
Will they open their arms to their lost flesh and bone
When you finally, finally, finally come home ?
Will you offer them reasons, some blameless excuse ?
Or will you cry out apologies, deep and profuse ?
Will you sink down in silence, with the weight of your load
When you finally, finally, finally come home ?
Will they ask for the story of how it all crashed,
or will the leave the dead buried and force you to ask
If a seat at their table is worth more than your throne ?
When you finally, finally, finally come home
What if it turns out that you've been forgotten ?
That the flies ate your name when it first went rotten
And your face bears no trace of the boy they'd once known
When you finally. finally, finally come home ?
But what if it turns out, they remember you fine ?
That the words that were spoken ring loud in their minds
And hard as you knock, that old door remains closed ?
When you finally, finally, finally come home.
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7. |
The Painter
05:07
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It's a man's face he sees in the mirror
But a boy's heart still beats in his chest
You can see the first lines
Being sketched in by time
Around blue eyes his mother loves best
He walks from the sink to the window
Where Canal is a beehive below
He laughs through the glass
Cuz they're walking so fast
And he knows they've got nowhere to go
The painter's asleep in the bedroom
Naked on top of the sheets
She's long, smooth, and wet
From an August night's sweat
And the smell of sex lingers in the heat
She shifts when he lays down beside her
In a room that the sun never sees
He places a hand
On the small of he back
And kisses good morning her cheek
She smiles and turns in slow motion
Raising her arms over head
He catches the glimpse
Of something on the tip of her tongue
That she lets fall unsaid
A kiss on the lips but he can't stay
Some appointment that he just remembered
It's always the same
But they both play the game
Cuz the difference is safer than surrender
He walks down the stairs to the front door
Where Canal is a beehive below
She sighs through the glass
Cuz he's walking so fast
But she knows he's got nowhere to go
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8. |
Just Be Here With Me
03:31
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Let your dress fall
From your shoulders
To the floor
Let me see
Something beautiful
In this ugly world
Hold me tight, hold me right
Just be here with me
With you I can let myself be weak
Got no need to know the answer
Dancing with my slow, slow dancer
Telling little lies to my timepiece
There's nowhere to go, oh no
Just be here with me
Let your shirt fall
From your shoulder
To the floor
Let me see
Something natural
In this plastic world
Hold me tight, hold me right
Just be here with me
With you I can let myself be weak
Got no need to know the answer
Dancing with my slow, slow dancer
Telling little lies to my timepiece
There's nowhere to go, oh no
Just be here with me
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9. |
Jellyfish
04:33
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So we all went to the ocean
Even though I had a fever
It was worth it to see Push's friend doing jumpkicks
Like Karate Kid
And the waves sound like traffic
Scratch your name in the sand
Put your hand in mine and told you
What jellyfish are made of
A million single cells, all woven together
Like our fingers
There's a tree in the graveyard
Leaves the color of wine
All the ghosts, they were whispering for us to close our eyes
To the skeletons that just won't seem to die
Hard as we try
Can't you see I can't run fast enough ?
We cut the last head off the hydra
When the bees began to grind
It seemed right at the time but I can't remember why
I thought running was the safest bet
The two of us could make
I feel so old choosing safety
Can't you see I can't run fast enough ?
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10. |
The Bed We Used To Share
02:52
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Hush now darlin, don't you say a word
There are certain truths that can go unheard
And it's far too late to speak of right or fair
So lay me down, in the bed we used to share
I don't need to know
How she hurt you this time
Or why the number that you called was mine
Just let me hold you like I used to
Run my fingers through your hair
And lay me down in the bed we used to share
I don't need to know
What it means or what it don't
I can pretend that you love me again
And you can pretend that we're friends
And in the morning, I'll be gone
And she will find you there
Sleeping softly in the bed we used to share
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Sweet Ghosts Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, AZ based Sweet Ghosts is a collaboration between Ryan Alfred and Katherine Byrnes.
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