Get all 3 The Here and Now releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Dear Dionysus, Sweet Aphrodite, Underneath The Orchard Wall, and Songs From The City That Destroyed Us.
1. |
Home?
04:08
|
|||
|
I got my bags packed, all my goodbyes off my back; I’m going home, away from you. Cars out in the street, all you’ll hear are my two feet; I’m running home, away from you. When the rooster crows at dawn I’ll be gone ; heading east, away from you. I’m gonna take this burnt-out car and see what it can do. Going away, away from you. Spent my last buck, chalk this all up to bad luck; I’m leaving town, leaving today. Don’t dare ask me why, all I’m gonna do is drive; I’m leaving town, straight away. When the rooster crows at dawn I’ll be gone; heading east, away from you. I’m gonna take this burnt-out car and see what it can do. Going away, away from you. Oh, going away, away from you.
You should know that this is a lie . There’s no home without you. Had to leave so you wouldn’t see me cry. Is this goodbye? When the rooster crows at dawn I’ll be lost; how to get back to you? This car is a holding cell straight on its way to hell. Gotta get back to you.
|
||||
2. |
12.31.09
03:29
|
|||
|
Staring away from a blank sheet of page, that I’ll write. Can’t find the words to make you stay, it’s alright. You said I’d be fine but that’s not too kind, tonight; When the phone rings and rings and answering machines blink twice. But, what do I know? What do I know, oh, oh? What do I know? Finding the means to pack all these things so slow. Dust down the hall, memories and all must go.
In ten minutes cheer the new year is here, hooray. A toast with good friends, “Here’s to the End” we’d say. But, what do I know? What do I know, oh, what do I know? I know that we’ve got to own our decisions, wouldn’t you say? And how expectations can become our own reality. And when the clock strikes midnight there’s no one at the door. But, what do I know? What do I know, oh, what do I know? I know that I won’t lie. I know I’ve got this time, this night. I know that I can’t fight. Oh no, I can’t, not tonight, not this time. I know that I won’t lie. And no, my dear, you’re not here tonight.
|
||||
3. |
The Ballad of Judy Jones
04:11
|
|||
|
Oo, Oo, Oo, Oo. I knew her when, we were so young. That smile, green eyes I knew “I’m done.” Then in evening light, holding Winter Dreams tight, she said “Come to dinner tomorrow night…” Oo, Oo, Oo, Oo. In my best suit, her dress bright blue. Outside we kissed Winter Dreams came true.
She said “I love you” that Fall. “Maybe someday, Doll.” I knew she meant none of it at all. My life; deconstructed twice. Void of malice or of spite. Just searching for that Summer night. Oo, Oo, Oo, Oo. Beat it out of my head. Judy Jones is dead. I’ll get sensibly married instead. “Hello Darling”’s all it took; bait, sinker, hook. “I’ll come in” I said. In her arms I shook. Oo, Oo, Oo, Oo. It didn’t last that long. Again Judy was gone, oh, oh. I tasted pain reserved for the strong. Seasons turned to years. Her name crossed my ears; her beauty washed away by all my tears. My life; deconstructed twice. Praying for malice and spite. Just searching for that Summer night. Long ago, there was something in me. Now it’s gone that Winter Dream. I cannot cry, or care, I know in my core. “I can’t get it back any more…”
|
||||
4. |
How It's Supposed To Be
05:27
|
|||
|
Don’t go back inside. You won’t make it out alive. When your heart’s made up, besides. Don’t go back home. Riding that wind that’s long gone. When you refuse being alone. And on the night that you asked me “Is this how it’s supposed to be?” I lied when I said “I don’t know.” I should have said or screamed “Hell no! I love you girl, don’t let me go…” Instead I hid deep inside me. So pick up a new song. You’ve been singing that regret for too long. When you feel it in your bones. Open up and find a way, Oh, to express the things that you had meant to say. Would they matter, somehow, someway? And on the night that you asked me “Is this how it’s supposed to be?” I lied when I said “I don’t know.” I should have said or screamed “Hell no! I love you girl, don’t let me go…” Instead I hid deep inside me. Oh, Honesty’s arrow cuts deep to marrow. You’re asking the blind to see how it’s supposed to be. Wanna know what I know? Oh, I know. I know what I want, what I need, but the difference between is too damn far from me. And on the night that you asked me “Is this how it’s supposed to be?” I lied when I said “I don’t know.” I should have said or screamed “Hell no! I love you girl, don’t let me go…” Instead I hid deep inside me. Oh, instead I hid deep inside me. Oh, instead I hid deep inside me. I won’t go back inside. No, I won’t make it out alive. My heart’s made up besides. And I won’t go back home. Oh, ‘cause home’s a place I no longer know. And I’m not through loving you.
|
||||
5. |
Season's End
04:22
|
|||
|
The vendors are closing up all their stalls. The sheds are all asleep; the market’s closed, what’s left becomes antique. Remember Saturday’s laughter? Sunday’s sorrow sings a lament for our dreams. What if I’d known the way? What if I’d known what to say? How would all of this be changed? All our sadness rearranged? I can’t even bear to look, or think about the chance we never took. “No more flowers for the season.” The weathered bard proclaims, “all I’ve got are seeds forgot their name.” “Soils scorched these Latter Days .” “Hide ‘em deep below tenuous skin, grow!” What if I’d known the way? What if I’d known what to say? How would all of this be changed? All our madness rearranged? I can’t even bear to look, or think about the chance we never took. What if I’d known the way? What if I’d known what to say? How would all of this be changed? All our sadness rearranged? I can’t even bear to look, or think about the chance we never took. I can’t hold you now. I can’t hold you now. We lost us somehow. And I can’t hold you now. Oh, no. I know but I can’t believe. Searching for a song of reprieve, when all I’ve got are seeds. I know but I can’t believe. No love, no home, or relief. I can’t afford deceit. I know but I can’t believe.
|
||||
6. |
No!
05:37
|
|||
|
No! Oh no! Complacent me how could you never see the urgency and potency of dreams? Wake up. The Fall has come and gone like what we had, flowers on the table wilt and sag. And now. The paint bleeds from the walls, another petal dries up and starts to fall. Whiskey breath, cigarettes, and thyme . And they burn with all the fire in my mind. Simmering in blood and brine. When you said that I’d be fine, were you lying? Oh, no! Glasses empty, ashtrays full, dim red light and laughter fill this hole. Don’t look! A stunning girl with long, dark hair; floating more than walking, with no cares. And me. In search of reprieve; amused by the irony of come to leave. Whiskey breath, cigarettes, and thyme. And they burn with all the fire in my mind. Simmering in blood and brine. When you said that I’d be fine, were you lying? Oh, suddenly, it becomes clear; as the corner of Cass and Canfield draws near. Self-destruction or deceit? I need to know what is, and isn’t me. My consolation corner seems a pathetic and inglorious scene. Fingers flirt with phone dials; piano starts, I fake a smile. On the juke box Old Tom Frost calls Martha , his love lost. The cello sways soft and slow, he mutters his “hello.” Last call for alcohol and relationships. Time to leave my seat; cash, credit, or defeat. Whiskey breath, cigarettes, and thyme. And they burn with all the fire in my mind. Simmering in blood and brine. When you said that I’d be fine, were you lying? Oh, No!
|
||||
7. |
||||
|
Hello Darling, are you really listening? This is what I need to say. Forget the hard times, the mind games, and land mines. I just need you to know that you’re the reason for the seasons and me. You’re the reason for the seasons and me. So hold me. Hold me forever; at least this young boy can still dream. I know that this time’s much harder; to say it hurts more than it seems. Forever and ever I’m true. Forever and ever I’m true. Forever and ever I’m true. Hello Darling, are we wake or dreaming? Seems I meet you here every night. We’re alive, the clock died at one, one, and one, five. Stay awhile. Is that alright? We’ll watch the sunrise through our eyes closed tight. We’ll watch the sunrise through our eyes closed tight. So hold me. Hold me forever; at least this young boy can still dream. I know that this time’s much harder; to hear it hurts more than it seems. Forever and ever I’m true. Forever and ever I’m true. Forever and ever I’m true. I’m true. I know I won’t forget it; the hopes and fears, laughs and tears, and love. So I’ll make a toast to what I’ll miss the most; “To rail ties and sunflower eyes…” Oh, to the soft cries of rail ties at night. Oh, to the firelight of your eyes burned bright .
|
||||
8. |
||||
|
I sit and watch the traffic lights begin to change; red to green and yellow’s caught somewhere in between . Cars race around and down the veins of this old town; raising dust and moving dreams across open seams, In the skeleton of architecture where the city’s song is home but not for very long. Oo, Oo. Witness the shifting of the skyline what once were beacons of Eden at least, now banished east . In place are Sirens tragically no comfort to the weary or the blind, the young at heart, unsound in mind. Warning! The thunder of the Sirens’ refrain claims; it rises, falls, and moves to change; and I remain. Oo, Oo. This street knows the sound of obsolescence that hollowed, hurried sound of Fall echoed on frozen ground. And the not so subtle difference implied by repeating and retreating. Afraid of the gravity that first step brings to being, and changes to what happened from what’s happening. Songs from, the city, destroyed us, did we? Songs from, the city, that destroyed us, or did we?
|
||||
If you like The Here and Now, you may also like:
The haunting new record from Canadian folk artist Avi C. Engel bridges old and new traditions with a minimalist approach.
go to album
The latest from the UK’s Chris Brain is a gorgeously wrought album of tender acoustic folk music.
go to album
they only talk about the weather
by Arny Margret
The Icelandic songwriter packs her stunning debut with sweeping melodies delivered via intimate, folky arrangements.
go to album
Ruth's sophomore release explores sacred signs against a backdrop of folk melodies and acoustic guitar.
go to album
Fool Me As Many Times As You Like
by Daudi Matsiko
featured on Bandcamp Radio Aug 29, 2023
go to album
The latest from Shana Cleveland is a Californian fantasia that conjures worlds both real and surreal.
go to album
A vibrant vision of "Central Americana" from the Costa Rica-based artist, blending heartland devotionals with playful Tropicália grooves.
go to album
