1. |
Laurels
03:33
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Once placed forever on her lips
And I've lost years in consequence
But I just hope that whatever I become
I don't say, "I was a fool when I was young"
These bony hands once rose as fists
And splattered blood on wet cement
But when I hear the remnants of those North Atlantic drums
I'll make peace, yeah, it's all right, we were young
When lines grow out from the corners of our eyes
And when mine close for the final time
Don't turn me gold, just let me go as I am
Trudging westward through the weeds
Where I once ran victoriously
But I don't think all the new laurels of the spring
Could restore the crown I wore as child king
From where I stood the Earth looked flat
So with my pen I made it fact
I might have lost my way, but I found another path
I'm not ashamed, it isn't heart that I lacked
When lines grow out from the corners of our eyes
And when mine close for the final time
Don't turn me gold, just let me go as I am
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2. |
Oldest Son
03:35
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I was dancing down Dufresne Street with a bird's nest in my hair
I was handsome if not beautiful, more alive than I could bear
The fireworks display echoed through this little town
The reds and blues shot across the roofs and burned a building down
But all the wine in this Coke can couldn't keep you off my mind
And all the times when you wove your slender fingers between mine
I was a king reaffirmed by what I'd won
Now abdicated all my confidence undone
I've never been an oldest son
I've never been the only one
I knew the rain was coming, war was raging all around
But there was no truth I could not stomach
No words could bring me down
But cold and quiet mornings came to take me by surprise
When the silence turned to nothing, I took comfort in the lies
But all the wine in this Coke can couldn't keep you off my mind
And all the times when you wove your slender fingers between mine
I was a king reaffirmed by what I'd won
Now abdicated all my confidence undone
I've never been an oldest son
I've never been the only one
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3. |
Clementine
04:00
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You could say it's not the same, but don't do that
The only difference was a mother and a coonskin cap
Call it lies or call it lame, just call me back
I'm not a fire, I'm just a flame on a midnight raft
And all I needed was an easterly to hold me back
Or some climate change denier to tear in half
And oh no, there's no hope of letting go
And it's not mean, it's just enough for you's not enough for me
For all of the flames that fell out of the aeroplane just to freeze
And every moment of silence is another moment of violence inside of me
Now it's only fair that you enjoy
A coronation of the characters that I employed
To get inside and live alone
It's a lonely little town on a torn up map
Making confetti of the paradise that I once had
I was alone, I was alive
And oh no, there's no hope of letting go
For all of the flames that fell out of the aeroplane just to freeze
And every moment of silence is another moment of violence inside of me
Holding it together on a Saturday night
Hold me like a tether from the wings of your kite
'Cause I know this might not make it home
But you better make it over to me
And don't you feel lucky when your head's feeling light?
Tiptoeing 'round each other for the rest of our lives
'Cause I know that I'm your little baby and you're my little clementine
And every moment of silence is another moment of violence inside of me
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4. |
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This morning's got us noble know-it-alls huddling for comfort
From the tide we just discovered
Here we stand such dedicated soldiers, foreheads pressed on shoulders
Whispering, "One day it'll all be over"
But I don't want to wait on a midnight rider
I don't want to hold hands with the past
It's so easy to forget when the sun gets brighter
So I'm calling on this thundercloud to last
Don't you carry on, and don't you tell me everything's okay
I have a right to be afraid
What we've done and what's to come can never truly be erased
So I'm not praying for a change
I don't want to preach to a hunchbacked choir
I'll say my incantations in the streets
Put away your pride and take off your blinders
Take a look at everything you see
Don't you smile and say that all in all what we all want's the same
The only difference is the name
What we've done and what's to come can never truly be erased
There's more to fire than the flame
(It's so easy to forget when the sun gets brighter)
Don't you carry on, and don't you tell me everything's okay
(So I'm calling on this thundercloud to last)
I have a right to be afraid
(It's so easy to forget when the sun gets brighter)
What we've done and what's to come can never truly be erased
(So I'm calling on this thundercloud to last)
So I'm not praying for a change
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5. |
The Harlequin
04:02
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Remember to wave at the motorcade
As the women we loved drive away
They're bricks in the arc
And they've always been all you have left to defend
You'll melt by the fireplace
And you'll freeze by the door
Revisiting past mistakes
You deserved so much more
But oh dear great harlequin, did you catch any keepers?
Did the weight of your silver tongue turn them into believers?
What went wrong? What went wrong? What went wrong?
Who is that square-jawed warrior?
And why is he calling our name?
Give up the fate of the carpenter
Who could never live off the rain
You've got it all figured out
You're just misunderstood
You took what was owed to you
And you used it for good
But oh dear great harlequin, did you forget the fevers?
The weight of your silver tongue, oh, it just made your teeth hurt
What went wrong? What wen't wrong? What went wrong?
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6. |
Hollywood
03:24
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When you were wrong and I was right this past September
I saw a light fade in your eyes
And if it's happened once since then, well, I don't remember
Once love is made it starts to die
It's an easy explanation for how you ruined my life
I've got that famous inclination to be a runaway child
Hollywood, fix what I got wrong
Sell me a dream and I'll go limp in your arms
Who doesn't love another prodigal son?
Hollywood, please, I think I might be the one
You can leave me at the station, the centerpiece of my despair
I'm filled with hot anticipation of the polyester girls who'll place flowers in my hair
Haven't you heard how my sister died?
Take pictures of me and some 4-H child
I might have the skill and I've sure got the style
Hollywood, please, while my oats are still wild
Hollywood, fix what I got wrong
Sell me a dream and I'll go limp in your arms
Who doesn't love another prodigal son?
Hollywood, please, I think I might be the one
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7. |
Kate Kohne
02:28
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Kate Kohne rides across the bitter world
Bringing light wherever darkness has unfurled
And then there's me
I move about the Earth alone
Losing friends everywhere that I go
I just leave
No one really liked me there
I just leave
I couldn't take the desert air
Kate Kohne, I wonder if you'd take my call
I know it's been a while, and we were never all that close
And I don't mean to burden you, as none of this is your fault
I just like your world view, and I've been feeling quite lost
And I know you know the words to make me feel strong
To give me what I need to buckle up and carry on
And just breathe
Nothing thrives this time of you
So just breathe
Until your demons disappear
Kate Kohne, I'm sitting staring at my phone
But now I just realized it's Saturday night
And you're probably not even home
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8. |
El Valle
04:06
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Where were we going when we found ourselves here?
And what were those stories that forced us to stay?
From dreams we cut ribbon to mark off the race
And welcomed our fate as a postal bouquet
But have you ever wondered about the ways that we came to lose ourselves?
Just wait by the hallway door so that we can assign you your worth
'Cause the sun doesn't shine in El Valle
So we learned to infest these walls
Turned grain into jungle and drew up the maps
To revel in all that we lack
But I fell in love and that made it okay
Until she left when the sky was most gray
And now I'm alone with these wolves on my back
They haunt all these rooms to scorn how I'll react
And I can't stop wondering why I never tried to leave all of this here
We lost half our memories
Now we all must combine them to know
'Cause the sun doesn't shine in El Valle
So we had to defend these walls
We spent all our time trying to fill up the holes
To ensure all the things we don't know
Oh, but didn't you know that the wind cuts like daggers through the snow?
Oh, and where can you go?
Do you believe that Graceland is a home?
'Cause the sun doesn't shine in El Valle
So we learned to love the wall
That blocks out the storm and keeps in our shame
But I called the wind and it came
So I have only myself to blame
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Jordan Graves Seattle, Washington
Jordan Graves is a DIY musician operating out of Seattle, WA
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