1. |
Hardscrabble
03:34
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We’re going back down to hardscrabble.
Taking a wagon ride.
I’ve never seen ya so scared -
like a deer in the headlights.
Limestone bluff -
It was never quite enough
This river of mud
couldn’t quite satisfy
Satisfy…satisfy.
Here are the artifacts
And here’s my rhyme:
We can sing our hearts out, break our backs
but it won’t buy back the time –
those hard times – those tight-knit times.
those hard times – those tight-knit times.
Ashes, bones, and cinder cones,
a volcano of exhaust.
The canary in the coal mine
is always choking on our dust.
So go ahead and leave this place
If you must…
but the guilt is here to stay
it is rooted to this rock:
this old rock….this old rock….
this old rock....this old rock.
refrain.
Vultures on the horizon,
the smell of carrion.
A dream has to start somewhere
and it started in this dirt, poor ground
Carry on…Carry on…
Carry on…Carry on….
Carry on....
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2. |
Bluebird
03:49
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Bluebird, bluebird where did you go?
What land are you flying over?
Whose borders enclose your new home?
Whose branches are you pining for?
Bluebird, bluebird how far can you see?
Can you see through a sky so full of uncertainty?
We puff up our clouds, toss stones at your wings
Or are you blind to all of these human things?
These man-made walls, the fate of your homes,
The titles to the limbs you claim as your own?
One day, one step at a time.
Food, water, shelter, I’ll meet you head on.
One land we all rely upon –
I can’t live off of fragments for long.
Who owns the land when the land is all gone?
Who owns the land when the land is all gone?
Carry your song to another sky
Where you can fly without closing your eyes
To the terror we’ve inflicted on you.
To the pain in a bird’s eye view….
Bluebird, bluebird where did you go?
Whose land are you flying over?
Whose borders enclose your new home?
Whose branches are you pining for?
Sure wish we’d left you alone.
Sure wish we’d left you alone.
Keep your eyes wide and travel light.
We might surprise you, we just might.
Keep your eyes wide and travel light.
We might surprise you, we just might.
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3. |
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Nature Always Finds A Way
When the rain falls…
for hours,
And the waters rise…
they overpower us.
Then the damn breaks:
that’s when we lost faith
Cause nothing feels safe
when it’s floating away.
Nature always finds a way.
Nothing man-made's here to stay.
Buried under silt and sand
Pollen grains and shifting lands.
Like a ghost town,
The dust’ll settle down.
Some will sit tight…
Others will move on out.
Like a butterfly…
One wing beat at a time,
We snap into flight…
Not knowing what it buys.
Repeat Refrain.
Repeat verse 1.
Cause nothing feels safe...
when it's floating away. x3
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4. |
Red-winged Blackbird
03:26
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Red winged blackbird: where are you going?
Red winged blackbird: where have you been?
Big sky – butterflies, hills that keep rolling.
Just driving by, you caught my eye, as we hit a bend…
I’ve got the good Earth right under my feet,
a big blue sky right over my head,
a million miracles in between: there’s enough to go round.
Gravel roads, driving slow, twisting and turning.
Speeding up, then down the hill. It’s not so bad.
Corn tassels and tiger lilies: dancing wildly in the breeze.
Roll the window down and stop looking so sad!
I’ve got the good Earth right under my feet,
a big blue sky right over my head,
a million miracles in between: there’s enough to go round.
Scat-round:
The chase is on…. I’ll follow you …up, down,
and around…the chase is on.
The chase is on…… I’ll follow you under…
deep deep down into the everlasting ground.
So don’t box me in! Don’t package me up!
You can’t brand-this-shit! You can’t figure-it up!
Don’t narrow me down. I refuse to choose.
I’ll swoop with the birds through the great wide blue…
through the great wide blue!
I'll swoop with the birds through the great wide blue...
Through the great, the great, the great wide blue...
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5. |
Starling and Crow
04:24
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Starling & Crow:
Intro: Starling & Crow singing.
I know this flower will open.
I know this bird’ll fly away.
I’ll follow the river to the ocean.
Meet the sunshine and welcome the day.
Starling and crow:
swoop high, swoop low.
There is no limit.
To what the sky can hold.
Starling and crow.
Swoop high, swoop low.
Wheel round, touch the ground
Reach to the sky.
Pivot. Then let it all fly.
The petals won’t last forever.
And the colors slowly fade.
I’ll follow the wind that brings new weather.
Spread my wings, stretch my mind,
as I change.
Starling and crow.
Swoop high, swoop low.
There is no limit
To what our sky can hold.
Oooh – ooh – ooh…
Starling, crow, & grackle singing together.
Pause.
Starling and crow:
Swoop high, swoop low.
Wheel round, touch the ground
Reach to the sky.
Pivot. Then let it all fly….
Pivot. Then let it all fly.
Outro: Birds & Leah whistling
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6. |
Wings Spread
03:00
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Here we are. Stuck again.
Here we are. Stuck again.
Trying to fly with our wings spread.
Trying to fly with our wings spread.
Repeat this a gazillion times.
Vary the harmonies & tempo each time.
Occasionally singing in round.
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7. |
Drink This Water Down
03:20
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Drink the water down.
The day is winding down.
The sun is…the sun is setting now.
The fire’s burning out.
We whisper more than shout
So drink this water…
Drink this water down.
Who’s gonna tell you, how to live your life?
It’s no one’s but your own.
Yes, who’s gonna tell you, how to LOVE your life?
Nobody but you: that’s who. That’s who.
Repeat Verse 1.
Who ya calling?
Who ya, who ya calling?
Another bird that’s who.
Bird’s of a feather:
stick ta, stick together:
You’re calling up a loon!
A barred owl, a mockingbird.
A whippoorwill, a night singer.
Who ya calling? Who ya, who ya calling?
Another bird that’s who.
So drink this water down.
The day is winding down.
The sun is…the sun is setting now.
The fire’s burning out.
We whisper more than shout
So drink this water…
Drink this water down.
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8. |
Black-capped Chickadee
01:33
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Intro: Chickadee singing.
Black-capped Chickadee: sitting in a willow tree.
Singing “here Petey, here Petey, here Petey, here Petey.”
Sun-dazzling. Dazzling down.
Leaves drifting. To the ground.
“Here Petey, here Petey, here Petey, here Petey…”
“Here Petey, here Petey, here Petey, here Petey.”
Red-winged blackbird: caught my eye…
Red-winged blackbird: gonna fly.
Black-capped Chickadee: sitting in a willow tree.
Singing “here Petey, here Petey, here Petey, here Petey…”
“Here Petey, here Petey, here Petey...”
Outro: Chickadee and red-winged blackbird sing together.
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9. |
Let Deadwood Stand
03:23
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Let deadwood stand, let bygones be.
Let eagles nest in deadwood trees.
I wanna be a part of the whole.
Sometimes this demands a lil of us all…
We subdivide, we parcel, we pave.
We run off ramps: we’ve made ourselves
slaves to these ways.
I won’t compromise another
fragment of being.
Give me wild.
Give me song and dance.
Give me dead trees and green things.
Let weeds alone. The crop is fair.
They blanket the ground from the gusting air.
I wanna be a part of the whole.
Sometimes this demands a lil self-control.
We compromise. We’ve run off track.
We’ve tied ourselves
to some stack of
washed-up ideas.
How can we even quantify the
value of our freedom?
Give me wild.
Give me song and dance
Give me dead trees and green things…
See the eagle fly.
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10. |
I'm Still Here
06:52
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I am still here. Can you see me? Can you feel me? Can you hear-ear-ear me?
I am still here. Can you see me? Can you feel me? Can you hear-ear-ear me?
Sitting in the tall grass….Just beyond the glare….Can you hear me?
Over the roar of engines….in and out one ear…. Can you fe-eel me?
Under the old fur coat That wasn’t good enough? before you wrapped yourselves in
…synthetic plastic….Just outside the beltway…you used to cut me off?
I am still here. Can you see me? Can you feel me? Can you hear-ear-ear me?
And it’s never. Been. So clear. That I need you, to speak up for me, to hold these songs dear…
Instrumental Interlude – ooh – aww…
Sedges have edges, Rushes are round, Grasses are Hollow, All the way to the ground.
Creatures have needs and when they are not met,
Oh ya get what ya get what ya get what ya get….
I am still here. Can you see me? Can you feel me? Can you hear-ear-ear me?
Singing my song, clinging to my stem – the only home I’ve ever known…
Or am I like those ghost words – hollow bone and stem.
Were you too wrapped-up in your two-legged drama – to ever let me in???
That I never. Had. A chance....That you forgot. To stop. And. Cry….
That you forgot. To shut your noise off? And look me in the eye? And look me in the eye-eye???
Cuz: I am still here…Can you see me? Can you hear me? Can you fee---eeel me?
And it’s not too late. To reach out to me, to listen for me, to celebrate:
All life. All love. All life. Every part of this beautiful web.
Repeat last line.
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11. |
All We Want
03:21
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All we want…is a little peace and quiet,
is a little peace and quiet,
That’s all we want.
All we want…is a little peace and quiet,
is a little peace and quiet. That’s all we want!
Go to sleep. Go to sleep little baby.
Go to sleep little baby.
That’s all we want.
Go to sleep. Go to sleep little baby.
Go to sleep little baby. That’s all we want
Shut your eyes. And dream sweet dreams now.
And dream sweet dreams now.
That’s all we want.
Shut your eyes. And dream sweet dreams now.
And dream sweat dreams now.
That’s all we want.
Hush little baby. Don’t say a word!
Mama’s gonna buy you a mocking bird
AND, if that mocking bird don’t sing,
Daddy’s gonna buy you a diamond ring...
A lookin glass, a billy goat,
A dog named Rover, a horse n cart...
We’ll buy you just about anything
In your sweet lil baby dreams.
So hush now, go to sleep!
Repeat 1st verse
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The Quiet-Loud Machine Easthampton, Massachusetts
Bridging the rural-urban divide, the Quiet-Loud Machine blends sounds of the city with sounds of the countryside.
Like her collaborator, the beat-smith, Tea So Cold, Leah Nichole loves working on concept albums and experimenting with a variety of styles and genres. So far these include alt-country, indie-folk-pop, the sounds of nature, and classical piano.
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The Quiet-Loud Machine recommends:
Birds, Bees, The Clouds & The Trees
by HARRISON
Great instrumentals. I like the bluesy/jazzy styled and have lined up the lyric-less tracks for long car rides or stints in the kitchen when I just want to mellow out.
go to album
If albums could be friends, Birdsong and Great Thunder would prolly be pals. Feels more like the real, spare, interesting country sounds I grew up with than anything contemporary country offers...
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Trying is all we ever can do.
by EYEMNOBDY
featured on Bandcamp Radio Apr 19, 2024
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Diamanda Galás In Concert
by Diamanda Galás
A live record from the legendary Diamanda Galás finds the artist exploring the outer fringes of pop with only her voice and a piano.
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The Brooklyn-based cellist cultivates a digital forest with an astonishing array of sounds.
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We Have Dozens of Titles
by Gastr del Sol
A new compilation of studio recordings and live rarities captures another side of ’90s experimentalists Gastr del Sol.
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