1. |
Emerald City's Gone
02:53
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Remind me what are we doing here
Didn’t we both say that we didn’t want to come back
And what now that we’ve realized the fear
Our little promised land has fallen through the cracks
Soon I’ll say farewell again and finish moving on
The luster of the emerald city’s gone
Call it a fabricated fit
Squeezing back into the places we got stuck
Aware what this air hangs heavy with
Can’t help breathing in the need to self-destruct
Soon I’ll say farewell again and finish moving on
The luster of the emerald city’s gone
A lengthy list of little things
Who’s gonna hang on to our friends once this is through
Remind me what the difference is
Between enemies and friends not spoken to
It’s time I said farewell again and finished moving on
The luster of the emerald city’s gone
The luster of the emerald city’s gone
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2. |
We Can Beat Mercury
04:03
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It was a beautiful doomsday when we left that town behind
We spent hour after hour inching down Interstate 5
“This place won’t let us leave,” you cried, “these stars aren’t on our side”
Darling we, we can beat Mercury
Your old deck of tarot cards said movement was the way
Without a word of warning ‘bout things born in retrograde
But we can’t half believe in this it’s real now or it ain’t
Darling we, we can beat Mercury
Hang on while I try to make this right
Cause we were the perfect team in what seems like a lifetime prior
Now every hoop we’re jumping through the other lights on fire
Our signals aren’t crossed it’s more somebody stole the wire
Darling we, we can beat Mercury
Help me while I try to make this right
And Boulder sounds like someplace where two of our kind can hide
Darling we …
We’ve visited these crossroads now a couple dozen times
Forget each other’s limits though we’ve got ‘em memorized
The road ahead is crumbling but only in our minds
Darling we, we can beat Mercury
Hand in hand we always make it right
That bastard ain’t fast enough to catch us not tonight
Darling we, we can beat Mercury
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3. |
Poor Waking Hours
04:58
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Poor waking hours, they hardly stand a chance
There’s no following the dreams of what we should’ve had
As days drag on I can’t figure my way through
How I lost you over on 12th Avenue
Sarah, can’t no one care about you deeper than I do
Sarah, are you aware of how my heart keeps breaking for you
Sarah, that’s damned unfair of you to treat me like your fool
Still you do and I’m scared that there’s no getting over you
Was never one for these Sunday afternoons
Don’t help to know exactly where you are and what you’re doing
Again ignored you try to trick me but I’m sure
You’ve got your phone in hand goddammit why won’t you just answer it
Sarah, can’t no one care about you deeper than I do
Sarah, are you aware of how my heart keeps breaking for you
Sarah, that’s damned unfair of you to treat me like your fool
Still you do and I’m scared that there’s no getting over you
A ways over your shoulder
We could be so much closer
But I know I’m not the only one
Sarah, can’t no one care about you deeper than I do
Sarah, are you aware of how my heart keeps breaking for you
Sarah, that’s damned unfair of you to treat me like your fool
Still you do and I’m scared that there’s no getting over you
Poor waking hours, they hardly stand a chance
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4. |
Gaslight
03:05
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Seems I lost track of the time
And my once reliable mind
To frame the events of the day
In a perceptive, objective way
The night outside might fix to freeze
Just like Joshua Tree on Christmas Eve
But I’ll keep warm by a gaslight tonight
I’m not often one to forget
Or go out of my way to upset
It’s strange but as sad as it sounds
The details escape me right now
The night outside might fix to freeze
Just like Joshua Tree on Christmas Eve
But I’ll keep warm by a gaslight tonight
Worn out from beating me up
Remorse, it ain’t ever enough
A shame that I can’t trust myself
That’s right, I could use some help
The night outside might fix to freeze
Just like Joshua Tree on Christmas Eve
But I’ll keep warm by a gaslight tonight
I’ll keep warm by a gaslight tonight
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5. |
Stranded
03:50
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All you want is a lover to leave
A kind of cold that I ain’t ever seen
Reaching to rip out the rug any old time you please
I love you honey, why you so mean to me
Stranded at the altar
Of a beachfront wedding in Bayview, Milwaukee
Borrowed this suit of clothes
From another groomsman with twenty pounds on me
Stranded on a sidewalk
This street’s native name it’s sort of tricky to speak
Bless the happy couple
Who put me up on a sofa bed in the honeymoon suite
All you want is a lover to leave
A kind of cold that I ain’t ever seen
Reaching to rip out the rug any old time you please
I love you honey, why you so mean to me
Stranded at The Backyard
Count me minus one with lots of time to explain
Heads up, pressing my luck
Playing at a backyard by any other name
Stranded at a campground
Happy ever after was a lot to assume
I’m doing all I can now
To remember how I got to depending on you
All you want is a lover to leave
A kind of cold that I ain’t ever seen
Reaching to rip out the rug any old time you please
I love you honey, why you so mean to me
I love you honey, why you so mean to me
I love you honey, why… why you so mean to me
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6. |
The Good
03:42
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These days I can’t help feeling like a shell of my old self
Like some backward evolution turned me into someone else
And would you believe I can’t stand being downtown anymore
There’s some memory of her lives in every doorway
From what I gather her heart’s a fluid, ever-moving part
Because every time I reached for it, it’d skip a little farther
And somewhere in her mind it may have seemed a simple ask
A love brand new out of the box without a past
She said I’ve seen the good in you
I’ve seen the best that you can do
When you elect to do your best
When circumstances call for it
Oh baby won’t you do better for me
And I haven’t any use for February, end it please
We would sit and we’d play cards in her apartment and we’d freeze
And it made no sense to me why she refused to let me go
That night she chased me outside barefoot in the snow
Now I picture early April when the snow begins to melt
And I picture her descriptions of how terrible she felt
In a twenty-two page letter with a name but no address
Just to put some context on me at my best
She said I’ve seen the good in you
I’ve seen the best that you can do
When you elect to do your best
When circumstances call for it
Oh baby won’t you do better for me
Baby won’t you do better for me, please
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7. |
My Little Hypocrite
04:31
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I knew her last, I knew her least
I did my best to keep the peace
Now I’m covered in the dust
She used to draw her blueprints for us
She said go when she meant stay
I’m her favorite thing to throw away
Her last resort is her first line
Of defense every time
She’s my little hypocrite
She gives up quick
She loses temper preaching patience
She makes each mistake with confidence
Tell me how do you argue that
Simple wishes turn back time
And live a history revised
So she’ll imagine what she wants
Those things she thought they’ll get me caught
We share our spoils til things get tough
One of us can’t be blamed enough
A simple standard to adjust
What works for you should work for us
She’s my little hypocrite
She gives up quick
She loses temper preaching patience
She makes each mistake with confidence
Tell me how do you argue that
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8. |
Light Me A Candle
04:02
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I swam across the Rio Grande to clear my weary head
I slipped down to rock bottom on the way back to Big Bend
I thought about letting that current carry me away
But I was hanging from a noose tied to the Empire State
We’ll see if damage done is something can be left behind
So I’m coming down from booze tonight for the nineteen-hundredth time
There’s all my failures flashing off like fireworks in my mind
And stabbing pains at random intervals in my right side
Light me a candle, say me a prayer
Or lay me to ruin in this disrepair
Teach me a history, one where we’re not there
This is bound to be over soon
Atop my fridge I see exactly where you left your heart
On multi-colored Post-its stuffed inside a mason jar
If I’m the common thread that simply frayed and broke apart
Then that makes you the needle kept on stretching me too far
Light me a candle, say me a prayer
Or lay me to ruin in this disrepair
Teach me a history, one where we’re not there
This is bound to be over soon
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9. |
Turn Your Luck
03:00
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En route to New York City from old sunny Buffalo
I’ve budgeted for gas and parking, ferry boats and tolls
To a bougie Village nightclub I ain’t getting paid to play
Chin up you’re gonna turn your luck some day
A dozen years of overhead not sure how wisely spent
I’m busking at the baseball game to try and cover rent
It would seem I’m doomed to starve until I learn another trade
Chin up you’re gonna turn your luck someday
Can’t do no right by Anna we ain’t talking anymore
Hell all we had to do was drop our baggage at the door
But people treated poorly gonna make more of the same
Chin up you’re gonna turn your luck someday
It’s always darkest before the dawn
Are we sure the dawn is coming?
En route into Ontario another show to do
Tomorrow this old aching throat will be a full-on flu
If we had known this was our last good night we mighta stayed
Chin up you’re gonna turn your luck someday
It’s always darkest before the dawn
Are we sure the dawn …
It’s always darkest before the dawn
Are we sure the dawn is coming?
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Brendan & the Strangest Ways Buffalo, New York
Brendan & the Strangest Ways is the moniker adopted by songwriter Brendan Shea to create music for the restless spirit. His songs are heartfelt reflections on countless miles traveled in a search for something that always feels just a little out of reach. Brendan’s peers have called him a true songwriter’s songwriter who expertly crafts his lyrics like a mason building a brick wall. ... more
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