1. |
The Old Wall
04:00
|
|||
|
These bricks are breaking down
The powder they leave on the ground
Is their matter returning to where it was found
The names that are scrawled on the wall are the remnants
Of ghosts who refuse to admit that they're gone
We can try to decipher and speak them to life
But the syllables slip and we lack the right tongue
This city's built on dust
We know in the end that it must
Be returned to the clay that was baked in its bones
But, oh, I couldn't bear the thought
Of you lost to time and forgot
So I carved your whole name in a bit of the stone
The words that I scrawled on the wall are the pieces
Of people who passed in the blink of an eye
You can try to decipher and speak us to life
But we're already gone, so don't even try
Hoist your towers high to the sky
They'll still fall
And you hold your empire tight
'Til you're up against the wall
These bodies will break down
The trace that we leave on the ground
Is our matter still longing to reach for the skies
But, oh, I couldn't bear the pain
To go tumbling through life once again
Without your name written next to mine
These bricks are breaking down
The powder they leave on the ground
Is their matter returning to where it was found
|
||||
2. |
Work 'Til You Die
03:36
|
|||
|
Your sister's as thin as the cornsilk
And your brother's as thick as a stone
They swung down the path
They're out on their ass
And I don't think that they're coming home
You can mark it all down, you can storm into town
But it's better to let it alone
The big machine's humming, the new roads are coming
And I don't think that they're coming home
I said son don't you lie
You'll work 'til you die
And be buried alone in your field
The powerline's down on the pavement
And that pavement is starting to crack
You're worn to the nub
Your fingers are stubs
And there's no one to put it all back
You can write your complaints, you can show great restraint
You can shove it all into a pack
You're the only one now, there's lines to be plowed
And there's no one to put it all back
I said son don't you lie
You'll work 'til you die
And they'll pave right on top of your grave
Your father was promised a pension
And your mother was promised a dream
But the only return
They've got now is dirt
It's the only ghost left you can glean
You can get yourself high, you can scream to the sky
You can batter yourself on the beam
Put your shoulder into it, these boulders don't quit
And they're the only ghosts left you can glean
I said boy don't you lie
You'll work 'til you die
And they won't even put up a stone
You can come with your hand on the bible
You can come with it full of receipts
If you want sugar in your tea
You won't get none from me
You can choke on the bitter, you see
Boy, I won't lie
We're all meant to die
'Til the fields spill out into the sea
|
||||
3. |
So In Love?
04:11
|
|||
|
Dip your feet in the river and feel
The current still pulling you into the flow
All the water that passed here before you
Continues to run on long after you go
Run your hand through your hair
Let him see you're still there
In your mind you are millions of miles away
Wondering what it would take to stay
Can you stay so in love?
Diving into the hollows you know
Every switch in the path and it scares you to death
To be rooted down into the soil
That birthed you your body and gave you your breath
Build a monument to your desire
It would sink down into the mire
When he catches your eye you can turn it away
'Cause you know that he would beg you stay
So in love
But can you stay
So in love?
Will you remain
So in love?
Can you stay
So in love?
Give yourself up to the night and you might
Be the bird that never took flight
Do his arms hold you tight
Or just hold you down?
Turning over on the bed in the morning
You're struck by the sight of his shape on the sheets
With his gravity drawing you slowly
You toss back the covers to set free your heat
Morning light slips in through the door
Drawing arrows onto the floor
It's half a mile to the highway that drives you away
But you're afraid half of you might stay
So in love
But can you stay
So in love?
Will you remain
So in love?
Can you stay
So in love?
|
||||
4. |
No One Knows
04:08
|
|||
|
The siren screams its song into the sky
And no one knows
And no one knows
The note that calls him down into the night
The serpent sinks its fangs down to the bone
And no one knows
And no one knows
How quick the poison works or how it flows
The wounded man who will refuse to speak
And no one knows
And no one knows
The true name on his tongue or where it leads
The book laid open with its pages ripped
And no one knows
And no one knows
The words that crawled up out between his lips
The ferryman must keep his boat in sight
And no one knows
And no one knows
If he'll accept the coin you have in mind
|
||||
5. |
Fall Into Me
03:55
|
|||
|
The horizon is filling with billowing clouds in the sky
Lit from within by the force of their heavenly fire
And I could swear that the light was made just for us tonight
And the elements swirling is what's keeping us alive
And gravity exists just to keep us in orbit around
How quietly the skies can fall
With a flash and hush we could float to the ground
And exchange our energies there
And this is how
We keep our bodies from bursting apart at the seams
Reaching across from the pulses that pull us away
Your skin is resolving itself into radio waves
Forever revolving in myriad schemes
Escape velocity is unattainable, it seems
So fall into orbit, where never to wander astray
How quietly the skies can fall
With a flash and hush we could float to the ground
And exchange our energies there
And this is how
We keep our bodies from bursting apart at the seams
Closing your eyes to survive every shift in the sea
But we are made of the stuff all the stars wish that they could all be
You're the lightning that leaps across the dark and empty space
I'm the breath of the wind and the taste of the rain
So resolve yourself to make one final promise to me:
Say that you will
Fall into me
|
||||
6. |
||||
|
Come on, step up
I'll place my hands on the captain's wheel
Climb aboard, bring your friends
My sword is tarnished, but it's sharp as the wind
Sail away under threatening skies
A murder of crows wanna peck out your eyes
Douse the lights and brandish the guns
If they're coming for us, they got a long way to come
If that dirty old skull in his billowing robes
Wants to drag us down to the darkness below
With chattering teeth and rattling bones
Well, roll the dice, 'cause we're never sailing home again
Come on, spin that wheel
And place your nickel on the head of the drum
Pick any song, I will sing along
Pull the splinters from your heels when the stomping's done
We're rolling out the carpet for the raising of the dead
Shake the dirt from your hair and leave the dust on the bed
There's only one truth, and I'll pass it along:
Nothing you've buried stays buried for long
If that dirty old skull in his billowing robes
Wants to drag us down to the darkness below
With chattering teeth and rattling bones
Well, roll the dice, 'cause we're never sailing home again
If that dirty old skull in his billowing robes
Wants to drag us down to the darkness below
With chattering teeth and rattling bones
Well, roll the dice, 'cause we're never sailing home again
Come on, pay up
You made your gambles, walk away when you're done
Come on, it's done
A pound of flesh always pays off in blood
You got fire in your heart and you got ice in your veins
But the midday son's gonna boil your brains
So lash that rope and brace in the wind
If lightning hit us once, it'll hit us again
Come on, step up
|
||||
7. |
Buried
03:11
|
|||
|
She sits by the window and watches the old road
Taking their sons once again
The ruts in the cobbles preserving the troubles
Of boots pounding stones into sand
And they say they will be born again
And they say they will come back as men
The new banner waves in front of the brave
Inviting them into new lands
With the multitudes cheering, the old woman's hearing
The same old drum clanging again
And they say they will go hold the line
And she prays they will come back this time
The fall without warning on some early morning
As tossed as the water beginning to boil
They buried the masses on top of the ashes
A whole generation turned into soil
And the old lady's watching the clock never stopping
The clanking of metal and gnashing of gears
It's blood makes the grass grow outside of the castle
Just to be cut down year after year
And they say that they were buried as men
And she says that they were buried nonetheless
|
||||
8. |
We Do What We Must
04:12
|
|||
|
All alone, you ripped the world apart
With the right word at the wrong time
Lord, I tried to keep your secret from the start
Like a hot coal under my tongue
But when your lips can form the question
When the answer is resigned to the dust
When they write the book about us, they'll tell themselves
We do what we must
We do what we must
I was first to taste the water from your well
Down the dark path beyond the pale
Drown the thirst when you cast a simple spell
There was no wall I would not assail
When they hew the whole that holds you
When they try to leave you tucked and untouched
When your bones come back to haunt you, they'll say
We do what we must
We do what we must
I confess I was swallowed by the sound
Of the masses pressing up against the door
And I swear I will make this hallowed ground
Where their filthy feet will never touch the floor
When they meet me in the moonlight
Their faithless prayers must all be cut from their tongues
When I find them in the firelight, I'll say
We do what we must
We do what we must
|
||||
9. |
You Could Be the Moon
03:50
|
|||
|
I know you heard the call
That no one else can year
I see it in your eyes
You could be anywhere but here
You could be the moon
Running from the sight of the sun
And you know I only stand in your light
I could be the man
writing down the changes of your phases
As you crawl across the sky one more time
I could be the ship
That skims across your sea
Or I could be the sailor
That sights you from the lee
You could be the stars
That draw a line that burns in the night
And you know I'll only follow your light
I could be the man
writing down the changes of your phases
As you crawl across the sky one more time
I could be the stone
That lies beneath the earth
Holding up the house
To which you will return
You could be the moon
Running from the sight of the sun
And you know I only stand in your light
I could be the man
writing down the changes of your phases
As you crawl across the sky one more time
You could be the stars
That draw a line that burns in the night
And you know I'll only follow your light
I could be the man
writing down the changes of your phases
As you crawl across the sky one more time
I could be the call
That no one else can hear
|
||||
10. |
The Levee Will Not Hold
04:27
|
|||
|
Devil's dancing out on the water
We oughtta sink down to the sand at the bottom
Scurry over the sunken ships
And let our bones drift in the water
Mother dear, won't you shed a tear?
The levee will not hold this time
We made a place to erase ourselves
Planted feet first in the mud and the sun
And you will not be the same again
And you will not be the same again
Ain't easy pickings, you all it a living
Eating dust and bone and ash
Every wall will just fall on you
And you don't even have to ask this time
And you will not be the same again
And you will not be the same again
Devil's dancing, he's got his tap shoes on, he's going downtown
He's going straight for your heart, gonna tear it all apart until we all fall down
Bit by bit and brick by brick until the buildings are gone
And sun shines down on your face
Bleeding, smiling, and
You will not be the same anymore
You will not be the same anymore
|
||||
Derek Lee Miller Minneapolis, Minnesota
If you like Derek Lee Miller, you may also like:
no place that feels like
by Ellis
Another devastatingly beautiful batch of indie rock confessionals from Ontario singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Linnea Siggelkow.
go to album
The experimental rock band's new record is as melodic and inventive as ever, but now with an even more honed sense of play.
go to album
Ross J. Farrar of Ceremony creates dubby outside punk evoking the minimalism of Young Marble Giants on his second solo record.
go to album
Have Some Shame
by don't get lemon
Gutsy New Romantic synthpop from Austin, Texas with hooks and heartache galore.
go to album
featured on Bandcamp Radio Apr 23, 2024
go to album
AMARGO
by Nina Maia feat. Chica Barreto
featured on Bandcamp Radio Apr 23, 2024
go to album
Dreamy indie rock a la Duster/Sparklehorse with interesting with dynamic shifts and subtle hooks to keep things moving along.
go to album
