1. |
Blue Jeans and Daydreams
03:36
|
|||
|
BLUE JEANS AND DAYDREAMS
The children laugh and scream in the parks in Calistoga
The water lilies gleam by a restaurant shutter door
The dogs bark in the stairwells that don’t have a light
As I stare at the rock in the pond
I saw a man who staked his life to live through the sledge
To make something more, to make a pledge
He was broken and drunken on a window ledge
And the bridesmaid waived a wand
And I put my foot in the lawn
I’ve got my blue jeans, got my daydreams
My mind is troubled but my soul is clean
Took me back to Hyattsville, far before Manitoba
When I wanted to be chill, and feel the barking of Batogas
I dropped a few names and heard a distant De Colores
And I saw Deloris drifting down the lane
She said I was too soft to hold her, yet too young to care
Too young to be done with romantic love, but too old to share
And the difference between us was lost in the chair
As I stared at the overhead plane
And prayed this was going insane
I’ve got my blue jeans, got my daydreams
My mind is troubled but my soul is clean
Look away, look away, do not drink all the poison
Let it swirl down your drain, let a mythic man behold ‘em
Let the good life of a Roman Hill try to unfold them
Before they all go away
What did that mean, the last thing you said, without finality?
You said you weren’t wise, but you knew your mortality
Would not be a match for hills, when you got out of Mill Valley
And got lost in the spray
I hope you are still okay
I’ve got my blue jeans, got my daydreams
My mind is troubled but my soul is clean
|
||||
2. |
Phillip Thrill
03:41
|
|||
|
PHILLIP THRILL
Phil Thrill he swallowed pills,
When he came back to Tennessee
The years away
Had made his hair gray,
And made it hard for his eyes to see
But pills were plentiful,
And alcohol was in the skull,
Made him feel okay to be himself,
With his tattooed arms and his empty shelf
It’s a pity how they took it away,
I guess he was not meant to swing and sway
Oh, but all the great things fade, yeah
Phil Thrill’s bunker hill
Tried to build him up but he fell
So he numbed that empty feeling
Now he was stuck in pawn shops for show and tell
They say blood is thicker than water
But he could not talk to his daughter
So he wandered aimlessly through his days
And found it hard to find a job that pays
It’s a pity how they took it away,
I guess he was not meant to swing and sway
Oh, but all the great things fade, yeah
Phil Thrill was sitting still
He felt anxious as the dreams declined
All his friends had built mountains
While he got better acquainted with his mind
He had so many illusions
In that room he had to lose them
His legs had gone, now the rest of him followed
And he was taken to a hill where a hole was hollowed
It’s a pity how they took it away,
I guess he was not meant to swing and sway
Oh, but all the great things fade, yeah
Bringin’ him in, leavin’ him out
Not really sure what the fuss is about
It could have been better but it’s not now
Well it could have been better but it isn’t now
Well it could have been better but I don’t know how
Well it could have been better but the world keeps
Turning ‘round and around and around
La-La-La-La
Yeah
La-La-La-La
Yeah
|
||||
3. |
Fear of Heights
04:01
|
|||
|
FEAR OF HEIGHTS
Where do they go?
The trees that stretch so high
To the sky
Playing with the leaves
Balance with the breeze
That blows by
Down is a long way to fall
Look at the books
Look for the heroes
In the songs
They felt no fear
And as the future neared
They pushed on
Down is a long way to fall
Down is a long way to fall
Up on the bridge
Where we played as kids
We felt so tall
Like all those great men
Who took the world with them
And risked it all
All of those words
I’m not sure if
They came from me
Were they from a script
Or from a show
I watched on TV?
All those great moments
Heaped high upon
One another
They appear in dreams
But they can never be
Recovered
|
||||
4. |
||||
|
THE BLUES HAVE BEEN GOOD TO ME
Billy, my hands they hurt
I can’t play the songs the same
I reach for the note
I slip and
My throat is
Worn out, it seems
Just like a worn out dream
My plan was always to play
Guitar in a band
I set up my amp
And play like a champ
For what is good and right
3 or 4 sets a night
How did I end up in blight?
The blues have been good to me, Billy
It’s still okay
But my hair’s gone gray
We always knew
We weren't rich, but we were free
But the blues have been good to me
Billy, the weirdest dreams
Have made me wake up in the night
There’s me at 15
A guitar and a dream
And a girl on my arm
On a boat by the beach
In a bar
Billy, I lived in my car for a while
The money was tight
150 a night
Was not enough
But I took it
And sold my stuff
Even Grandpa’s ring from the war
The blues have been good to me, Billy
Now I’ve heard
The club has closed
The residency is up
And it’s back to the road for me
The road goes on as far as the eyes can see
But the blues have been good to me
|
||||
5. |
Radio
03:06
|
|||
|
RADIO
Made an album in 4 days
Made it with my friends
Sold it at our tavern shows
Made the rounds again
Drove 5 hours to Pullman
Drove 7 hours to Bend
Got good news one afternoon
They said it’s in regular rotation
I’m on the radio, radio
Wake up, I got to go, got to go
Rock you like Jellyroll, Jellyroll
And I'll keep on dancin' tonight
Had to pull the car over
When the song came on
Somehow people liked it
Made it to number one
On the top ten most requested
List that they compiled
When I heard it through the grid
It brought me and mine a smile
I’m on the radio, radio
Wake up, I got to go, got to go
Rock you like Jellyroll, Jellyroll
And I'll keep on dancin' tonight
The shows were sold
And the people sang
What they heard
On the radio waves
They sang along
And I had to smile
While the band
Played and played
I’m on the radio, radio
Wake up, I got to go, got to go
Comin' in stereo, stereo
And I'll keep on dancin' tonight
|
||||
6. |
Come to Me
03:18
|
|||
|
COME TO ME
When the wind ain't at your back
When the sands shift beneath your feet
I will be here for you, come to me
When the bells of the cathedral
Stop echoing through the canyons
I will be here for you, come to me
Come to me, come to me
Come to me, come to me
I will be here for you, come to me
When the people who are angry
Are the only ones you meet
I will be here for you, come to me
When the sad and sunken eyes of strangers
Destroy the fire that burns
Inside of you, come to me
Come to me, come to me
Come to me, come to me
I will be here for you, come to me
When the day is never-ending
And the road is full of sleet
I will be here for you, come to me
You need some comfort, baby
You need some harmony
I will be here for you, come to me
Come to me, come to me
Come to me, come to me
I will be here for you, come to me
|
||||
7. |
Mr. Brooks
04:27
|
|||
|
MR. BROOKS
VERSE 1
In some slum, in some town
Under some bright half moon
You got to bring brass knuckles
And a big belt buckle
’cause you might meet the man
You might meet the man
He stands about 6’2” or 6’3”
He’s got a bevy of fine ladies
Got a big, shiny car and a place at the bar
That’s where you might meet the man
You might meet the man
What’s his name?
What’s his name?
What’s his name?
You can hear them say
CHORUS 1
He’s a crook, he’s a crook, he’s Mr. Brooks
Watch out before he gets his hooks in you
It’s true
It won’t be long
As I sing this song
‘Cuz King Kong ain’t got nothing on Mr. Brooks
VERSE 2
Few folks know his first name
Come through the back door in the rain
Most call him Mr. Brooks
To avoid gettin’ one of his looks
They don’t want to meet the man
You don’t want to meet the man
He takes some dudes out in the alley
He beats ’em up when he’s feelin’ squirrelly
Sometimes they owe him money
Or maybe just looked at him funny
Then they must meet the man
You must meet the man
What’s his name?
What’s his name?
What’s his name?
You can hear them say
CHORUS 2
He’s a crook, he’s a crook, he’s Mr. Brooks
Watch out folks or he’ll get his hooks in you
It’s true
It won’t be long
As I sing this song
‘Cuz King Kong ain’t got nothing on Mr. Brooks
BRIDGE
Some shoeshine boy
Told me on Tuesday
That he was at the club
On the first Friday
In May, and, oh, oh
What could he say,
Things went astray
At the end of the day
Out in the alley
Dorsey’s woman, Sally
Was with man named Remy
Dorsey happened upon it
And exploded like a hurricane
And Remy met his maker
What a sorry end
VERSE 3
Oh, oh, oh
It's true
It won’t be long
As I sing this song
‘Cuz King Kong ain’t got nothing on Mr. Brooks
|
||||
8. |
To the Tycoons
02:30
|
|||
|
TO THE TYCOONS
Hey, do you envy Hollywood?
A simple life ain’t no good?
Get what you want, lose what you have
Hey, the news is titillation
Ruminations of charlatans
Jagged as the supple sun
And the soft sea
Well, it’s the urban life
In the midsummer bloom
The medicine black of the suit tycoons
The polished shoes
Of the rogue festoons
The Black Dog Regatta
Sang some coffin tunes
And the last of the tycoon types
Made off with the loot
Hey, you’ve got antique creek connections
Square, stuffed-sturgeon squawking inflections
And the idle sadness of the patient poor
Aristotle has two stiff rum and cokes
And whiskey soda with some monorail blokes
At the castle till five a.m.
Toasting to the loss of passion
For the dying young
Sex and love aren’t quite so fun
The few who do
Say, “Bienvenue”
Light the lantern for those who apologize
In the city center
And bid sad, sad goodbyes
Well, it’s the urban life
In the midsummer bloom
The medicine black of the suit tycoons
The polished shoes
Of the rogue festoons
The Black Dog Regatta
Sang some coffin tunes
And the last of the tycoon types
Made off with the loot
|
||||
9. |
Memory Betrays You
02:55
|
|||
|
MEMORY BETRAYS YOU
My memory has left me with conclusion I could never have foreseen
Is the point of a conclusion that it summarizes what you really mean?
Or a call to arms to the parts of a person, saying, “All of you, it’s time
to come clean!”
Well, whichever way you look at it, memory coats the truth with a nice sheen
Oh, the icy milk memory of the days of life gone by
Does anyone care about the jokes you cracked when you were high?
Or the time you got thrown in jail for getting in a fight in college?
If you didn’t remember your reasons,
And you never brought it up,
No one would ever talk about it
Or ask you why
My memory is fading and I’m getting careless, babe
Maybe it’s the way that time decreases what you can get away with
Oh, well, I’m not sure if I was made for this kind of game
I’ll do what I can and I’ll try to not feel any shame
Oh, the icy milk memory of the days of life gone by
Does anyone care about the jokes you cracked when you were high?
Or the time you got thrown in jail for getting in a fight in college?
If you didn’t remember your reasons,
And you never brought it up,
No one would ever talk about it
Or ask you why
|
||||
10. |
Ceremony
02:48
|
|||
|
Look at the bios
Look at the songs
That was all there was
Stories of grandiose
Men, some overlong,
Those who created a buzz
Compare that
To your photos
And your empty shelf
You spend your
Nights hiding from questions
And sweeping dirt under the rug
It’s not my problem
But you can’t repeat the past
And I’m sorry that God made you that way
You think today should be
All pomp and ceremony
Of all that led you to this day
Maybe you can move
To a new city
Start over and make new friends
Get a new job
At the local bar
And tie up the loose ends
You can create a
Brand new picture
Of yourself
Where no one
Knows all of
The blows you’ve been dealt
It’s not my problem
But you can’t repeat the past
And I’m sorry that God made you that way
You think today should be
All pomp and ceremony
Of all that led you to this day
|
||||
Ben Mish Seattle, Washington
Ben Mish writes songs and performs them frequently.
If you like Ben Mish, you may also like:
Out on the line
by The Blue Highways
The slashing roots rock on “Out On the Line” always makes its way to the kind of triumphant chorus that quickens the pulse.
go to album
Where's The One?
by Congotronics International
Members of Konono N°1, Deerhoof, Kasai All-Stars & more combine to make killer party music.
go to album
Backed by a rotating cast of collaborators, the Australian singer-songwriter refines her folk-tinged indie pop sound.
go to album
Echo Dancing
by Alejandro Escovedo
The legendary Alejandro Escovedo returns with another country-rock scorcher.
go to album
Nina Nastasia & Jeff MacLeod join forces as Jolie Laide, playing noir-y songs that glow soft as moonlight.
go to album
24th Street Blues
by Tom Heyman
Tom Heyman documents life in San Francisco circa 2023, refusing to succumb to easy characterization & instead capturing the city’s nuance.
go to album
Drag All the Lights Inside
by Nesting
From Seattle comes this tumultuous art rock record, full of intricate songs that alternately whisper and kick.
go to album
