1. |
Hungry Times
02:26
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I'm a wanderin' traveler
Sporting six old rusty strings
With tales of many hungry times
That make the buzzards sing
These pots and pans might bang a sound
But never serve the art
Got a mouth that's full of many words
And an empty shopping cart
So here's a toast to better days
Got free drinks on the house
Bartender says it's my only pay
Still keeps me off the couch
These messages get lost at sea
When radicals drown in hypocrisy
But if no one buys the merch
Then who will feed the band
And somewhere down this dirt road
There's a rose
So foreign to the soil
Which it grows
And once it's plucked
Will it forever stand
Or will it fall and rot
In the palms of these desperate hands
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2. |
The Unemployment Line
02:43
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It seems such a waste
To watch the passing days
Just waiting ‘round
For the first
But working all day
For little pay
Will start to make
Your muscles burst
So I hit the clock
And then I hit the tracks
In my box car
I hit the floor
It gets 25 miles
Down to the gallon
But I only could afford
Two doors
‘Cause I’ve never seen a fair day’s pay
So I’m a drifter of the trades
And now I’m down under
Drinking Doctor Thunder
In the unemployment line
Well people will say
Bouncing job to job
Will bury me
In the end
Even though these songs
Won’t pay my rent
My next check all starts
With a pen
So I write each line
As I apply
But I never will get
No work
But that’s just fine
I’ll just try to survive
All the way until
The thirty-first
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3. |
Fermented Fruit
01:29
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All walks of life from 'round the woods
Come dashing from the trees
To fill up on fermented fruit
'til they're knocked off of their feet
For the birds are flying to the south
And the water's freezing up
We might just get snowed in for good
So go on and fill your cups
One man's rotting autumn gourds
Is another's glass of wine
Helps for taking off the edge
As we near the end of time
So when the sky comes falling down
And the trees are coated white
Fill up your glass like it's the last
And drink away the night
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4. |
The Ringleader
01:47
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We know how to move
And we know when to jump
This ringleader guy’s
Got to go
He’s famed for the circus
And claims our awards
When after all
We run the show
And leads us along
On a tightrope
With nowhere to land
If we fall
He sits while we dance
And shaves our bare hands
To watch all his money
Stack tall
The curtains rose up
But the show came to stop
Clown shoes have been tossed
In the gears
With no one to juggle
Their time for his wages
The ringleader’s now
Shedding tears
The freaks have declared
The circus for all
And the lion’s been freed
From its cage
So let’s pack up the show
And we’ll skip town to town
Pull them ringleaders off
Of the stage
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5. |
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Goodnight to you
My true love
May your worries drift away
Let's toss stones at
The path they sail
And sink them to the sea
Then I'll wrap you up
Inside my wings
And I'll carry you to sleep
And above the stars and
Beyond the moon
I'll meet you in our dreams
A tune was heard
on that late spring night
And my heart began writing a song
A rhythm inside
My chest did beat
And soon you were singing along
And to the chorus
We sang and danced
Upon the fountain of youth
And somewhere between
Tall tales and lies
We finally discovered the truth
And when things go bumping in the night
We'll push on toward the dawn
When clouds are grey and waters high
The lighthouse still shines on
Like a campfire under a moonlit sky
That somehow just never burns out
Serenading the silence of night
With its crackling sound
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6. |
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Well I've been happy and I've been sad
I've lost some things I never had
Like a world that listens when I speak my mind
But these rebel tunes don't blend your style
They don't fit 'tween them radio dials
So I guess that's one step backward for mankind
'Cause I wanna be a shepherd of the sheep
A lighthouse for the lonesome ships at sea
A mural every plain wall hopes to be
But I'm a dusty book for the man that never reads
Well I've been strong and I've been weak
I've seen some things that eyes don't see
A mute that's tired of singing for the deaf
So listen close, just one last line
And let these words crawl up your spine
'Cause I ain't gonna play more live songs for the dead
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7. |
Big Bully
02:03
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Big bully, big bully
Sits on the hilltop
Comes stealing your lunch
When your guard has been dropped
Shaking his finger
In front of your face
When his pride has been broken
And turf’s been defaced
‘Cause sooner or later
The tables will turn
And big bully will stumble
And fall to the ground
When recess is called
And that bell makes a sound
The kids will chase big bully
On out of town
Big bully, big bully
You’re unwelcome here
Your cover’s been blown
Your intentions are clear
The schoolyard got wise
To your games and your tricks
Gonna give you the boot
And we’re stealing your kicks
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8. |
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Watching nights wasted
Washing down the drain
You're wiping grease off on your clothes
To leave your pride with stains
And you stare off in the distance
To abandon the pain
When the folks and knives
Slice your hands like razor blades
And you're sweating and sulking
As you gaze at the sink
Got plenty of time
Just to stand there and think
How the daylight's been stolen
By a mountain of plates
And the crumbs of food
Of which you never even ate
There's fire in the dish pit
How could it be?
The kitchen's been washed and mopped
With gasoline
The nuts and bolts are popping off
This old machine
And there's fire in the dish pit
How could it be?
Oh no
Despite all the scars and all
The time that's been robbed
The dish boy comes clocking in
To finish his job
He'll sweep away the rubble
And plant him some seeds
And watch the seasons pass by
And spring a wild oak tree
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9. |
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I was sweeping up the grounds inside a coffee house when
You said something that really struck me
I was bummed on me and mumbling something about the trash
While you were talking bout the hungry
They were cutting off the water in Detroit the same day
That we had our conversation
The one about all of the kids that they were trying to turn away
Because of biased legislation
You were talking up a storm
Yeah, you were really angry about something that I was saying
I think it was something along the lines of 'knowing where you come from.
We've never known subjugation.'
The problem's not that I'm too left-wing for my own good
It's that, it's not that hard losing empathy
Sometimes all it takes is a conversation over coffee to break the spell of being pacified and lazy
Yeah, I'm a pacifist but I wanna set fire to
What makes you comfortable and give you what we got from you
Kick down your podium and never let things get this bad again
Not sure what I believe, but I've got hope in anarchy
'Cause, if it's against you, then I know it's the thing for me
Me and all of my friends-we've got everything that we need without you
Not sure what I believe, but I've got hope in anarchy
'Cause, if it's against you, then I know it's the thing for me
Me and all of my friends-we've got everything that we need
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10. |
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Waiting in darkness to light up the night
Quietly still, as they stand side by side
Three candles awaiting to shine off their light
If only their flames were free to ignite
May no whispers or winds come blow us away
Knock down and break us apart
May the cold winter breeze never shake us from ease
And extinguish the flames in our hearts
When the sun goes to rest and the stars fill the sky
May three candles scorch through the night
Let their flames burn away the burdens and pain
Forever, glistening bright
But their wicks are unlit and untouched they will sit
'til a match is finally sparked
Three candles remain left there
Alone in the dark
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11. |
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Watching vines wrap 'round brick walls like the trees
Brings delight to the woods and the same as for me
A symbol of hope, alive from the dead
Like the moss that cracks through the sidewalks we tread
When nobody's home, there's mold to be grown
And as decades go by, it made it its own
Like love boats that crash into icebergs at sea
Love finds a new home for the life underneath
And as vessels sink deeper, finders are keepers
And treasures finally reclaimed
Lost by one hand and found by another
But no longer tied to a name
Some folks think it's odd finding value and charm
In the scraps that we left in decay
If only they'd see the new life it brings
Like the nightfall brings forth a new day
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