1. |
Slide
03:02
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SLIDE
In the grand scheme of things,we're as fortunate as kings
but we're drinking ourselves to death just to feel alive
yeah, we sleep through our dreams, as backward as it seems
yeah, we're wracking our empty heads trying to get it right
sleeping on the floor don't have the keys to my own door
and even if i did i still couldn't get inside
and we slide, we're only getting by
in the autumn of our youth, we went searching for the truth
we left no stone unturned and what did we find?
but a new drug we can use and a substance we can abuse
and all to stay amused and to lose our minds
i wish i had a car, i'd drive it fast and drive it far
and i'd leave this broken heart i found behind
we slide…
play us a sad song, the saddest song that you know
we would be glad to sing along
play it to four chords, live the beat as you go
only so we can sing along
if you want to tell it straight, we have cause to celebrate
so let's pretend that it's the weekend all of the time
we've been getting when we can
more than you can count on your hands
sliding through the complication only getting by
I'm gonna ride that northbound train
i feel hear the rails calling out my name
i'm gonna let that wind carry me back to your side
we slide...
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2. |
Bargain Land
03:56
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BARGAIN LAND
looking for love among the cans, for the low, low price of all i have
the hangers-on, the sidelong glance
they're all monotones in bargain land
you wheel and deal and you make change
but you're still essentially estranged
and what's the worth of a singer's soul
when in bargain land they give it up for gold?
and come to find it's you i need
i'd never trade the words we spoke for anything
and don't you know that we are not expendable my friend?
here in bargain land
stealing to get the things we need
it doesn't mean that we're a bunch of thieves
for if they steal a part of who i am
is that the price you pay to be in bargain land?
well you can rob us blind but, sonny, understand
no matter what you take you never own a man
you can buy the world, brother, and the moon
but you cant have me no matter what you do
and in the end what can i keep
and if it's real can i take it when i leave?
and don't you know that anything that's worth my while is free
here in bargain land
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3. |
Good Right Back
03:49
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if i was insensitive
would it make you love me all the more
would you crave my company
if i went a walkin out the door
tenderness seems poisonous
to you in a peculiar way
you know i wouldn't quit you momma
but i think i'm wearing out my stay
i tried being kind to you momma
but it blew up in my face
i know i got a mean streak momma
but i keep her in her place
be good to me and i'll be
good right back
if you want me
keep me momma
its as simple as that
you do me wrong
long enough and i'm gone
singing adios and so long
and i'll be singing
somebody else a song
when i hold you in my arms
i give the sweetest kind of love i can
and i listen to your every ambition
all your dreams and your schemes and your plans
but it's something deep in you
that you think i have a mind to take
well you can keep all that shit to your self
but you'll never get to eat your cake
i know that I'm a convict momma
but i done gone did my time
i'm tryn'a be a good man momma
but you won't forgive me crime
be good to me and i'll be
good right back
if you want me
keep me momma
its as simple as that
you do me wrong
long enough and i'm gone
singing sianara so long!
and you'll be stringing
somebody else a song
you know that i'm nuts for you momma
but i think i gotta let you go
i know that i'm a strange one momma
my heart is a good one though
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4. |
BMF
04:55
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5. |
Sub Serene
02:05
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SUB SERENE
the sun decided not to shine today
and that's OK with me
yeah that's OK with me
cus if she had i'd have to hide away
and now I'm on my way
to feeling A-OK
knocked out the worst part of a lingering dream
with a 1-2 punch
and a shot of something clean called sub-serene
and if I want I'll take a walk downtown
to my favorite joint around
where everybody's down
and we'll pound a few before we hit the ground
and i'll be safe and sound
i will be safe and sound
making opaque faces turn translucent green
with a triple shot of my all time favored queen
called sub serene
she's called sub serene
i sit in suchness
but i'm so incomplete
til i swim or sink
in a river of the drink
called sub serene
its called sub serene
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6. |
The Restaurant
03:32
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7. |
Crazy Glue
03:08
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CRAZY GLUE
you're a beautiful liar hiding right behind your smile
but i can see you screaming from inside
with your pants on fire smoking up the whole damn place
I can barely blink my burning eyes
I know i don't deserve it
And i know i should be hurting
but maybe you can change your mind
i could still be yours
and you could still be mine
will you be my valentine?
you look good in that shirt
so good it hurts me not to take it off
i know what you look like underneath
i wanna know you again
we could be pressed up against a wall
you owe me a kiss as i recall
I know i don't deserve it….
You can break me in two
in fact you frequently do
and you put me back together with crazy glue
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8. |
The Orphanage
03:39
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THE ORPHANAGE
Did your dream lead you far from your home
Just to cheat you
And to beat you
And to leave you on your own
Did you find that your voice even changed
To a soft one
Often quiet
Sort of foreign in a way
Did your thoughts drift off into the void
Contemplation make you crazy
With the questions you employ
Welcome to the orphanage my friend
It ain't much but it's home
Welcome to this family of fools
You ain't gotta be alone anymore
Welcome Home
All my fathers and my mothers
All my sisters and my brothers
All my enemies and lovers
Different versions of each other
And we hold it together
And we rend it apart
And it goes on forever
Like a self perpetuating work of art
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9. |
Chief Joseph
03:20
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CHIEF JOSEPH
well i ain't got no fight
left in me anymore
and i'm tired of killing my mind in the trenches
of this here lover's war
and i might as well lie to you babe
cus there's no way that you'll understand
and i might as well try to do
the very best that i can
to pretend i feel really good
and act like i'm free
pretend like i'm understood
ain't that the way it oughta be?
there's a hard way to love
it seems it's the only way you know
well i'm tired of watching my back all the time
like you're headed for the door
and the truth isn't setting me free
it's just making me feel like a jerk
i try hard not to self medicate
but it's the only thing that works
now i know how old chief joseph felt
when he laid down his guns
my soul is all bent and my spirit is broke
but i'm still too proud to run
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10. |
The Wild Ones
06:05
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THE WILD ONES
I bow before no woman
I bow before no man
you can act your age and you can turn the page
but i will bow before no man
woman, you got to cool it down
i said brother you got to cool it down
you got to cool it down if you wanna fool around
cus ain't nobody gonna bring me down
we're the wild ones with the music in our heads
we're the wild ones and we're here to raise the dead
Listen to me sister to what i have to tell
surely the world is a beautiful place
but it can be a living hell
listen to me brother, listen to me well
all of these wizards and witches will bend you to their wishes
and this is how you break the spell
stand up tall my sister
stand up brother man
you can dance in the face of any fool in your space
and you will bow before no man
we're the wild ones and we live the best we can
we're the wild ones and we bow before no man
I bow before no woman
I bow before no man
you can read your books, give me dirty looks
but i will bow before no man
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11. |
The Insomniac
05:17
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there's a world out the door
but it remains firmly closed
like your mind and your windows
cobwebs
in another broken doorway
have it your way
but i swear you're gonna see some fireworks
through the mirror
and they're burning up like lucy in the sky
they'll burn holes in your eyes
all the friends i ever had
were bad, bad men
and all the girls i ever loved
were bad women
they were so damn bad i can't see right
they get so damn glad
when i can't sleep at night
can't sleep at night
rainstorm
its normal for this time of year
let's break in
and get as far away from here as we can get
on half a tank of gas and common sense
let's make mistakes
blame it on my searching crying fate
you'll never make it at this rate
and all the friends you'll ever have
will be bad, bad men
and all the girls you'll ever love
will be bad women
they'll be so damn bad you won't see right
and they'll get so damn glad
when you can't sleep at night
can't sleep at night
don't close your eyes
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James Byous Los Angeles, California
James Byous is a singer songwriter from Los Angeles. After living on the street and selling off slightly less than vital organs to buy his first guitar, he began writing strangely compelling songs and singing them on street corners until he was taken in by a buddhist monk in 2012. Since then he's been playing his songs around LA and learning the way toward enlightenment from his unlikely friends. ... more
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