1. |
Leading Lady
02:44
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Driving sight unseen
Like the dead on the way from Cleveland to Machine
Nothing in my pocket and nothing to gain
Work hard at your woman's work and you'll be promised fame
It ain't the same
Where even mountains are dead, living is hard
Somnambulate through every waking hour
A thread is pulled, unravelling
Who winds the string is the master of everything
Let yourself sing
There ain't no reason to sleep through the night
I heard Truth in the desert stars and all made right
And a long way back with my pockets still dry
Just a hidden leading lady, ain't no fame could get me so high
I'll get by just fine
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2. |
Persona
04:11
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I'm the kind to hide behind the eyes
To cast off any gaze to recognize
A face, a discernible taste
Of individuality
Silence shakes opinions
See without being seen
You're a catch, a veritable match
For don who falls prey to your gaze, poor thing's attached
It's true that words will follow you
Painted in print and wrapped in jeans
Flor amidst the fauna, the silent one who speaks
Won't let me be
Running rampant through the streets
As the lyric sound of your new name completes
What before was sin but I
I will run with you tonight
Turn the seer to the seen
Lose my keyhole anonymity
La mirada es todo, he told me
Now you're running round in threes
Afternoons best spent in hotel rooms
A tourist in your temporary home
Stop the lift at the third floor, don't mind the window in the door
What ever happened to secrecy?
Running rampant through the streets
As the lyric sound of your new name completes
What before was sin but I
I will run with you tonight
Oh all night
Near regret on your tongue
Watch the rising sun
Unabashed new history
Alter ego flows through me
Because that poor green fairy wasn't meant to fall down in the street
Shroud her body in smoke, let the lights drip her eulogy
Belle Epoque incarnations in alleyways
Painter's inspiration if only you or I could fucking paint
When planned spontaneity becomes normality
You can't sustain that life, come back to me
Leave undergrounds behind, but give me back your sight
What a persona we could be
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3. |
Music History
02:27
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From bayou porches to Memphis streets
Ring Southern soul and melodies so blue
Boot soles on pavement, clumsy syncopate
To sounds of weathered wood and rusted strings
They tune the pitch of calloused fingers to
The frequencies of cotton hymns, so hear
The gravel in their lungs as not from wear
But the stories of the theft of brothers' breath
I've got the blues, blue eyes and eager ears
Through which lamenting sounds may ring so sweet
My voice no product of history and so
My calloused fingers tuned to a different key
With soul and rhythm souls, with wood and string
Yet lacking still, whose blues am I to sing?
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4. |
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Remember when I materialized
Beside you as if you and I
Had teleported side by side
A million and one times
Remember when we sailed the golden coast
And a siren sang she loved you most
My song was wax and your ears a host
And my kiss could sink the boat
Remember when your third eye was cut
Thought death was near, oh anything but
With spider silk I sewed you shut
You didn't know for what, know for what
Remember the maze I once found you in
Shaped like the face of nihilism
I helped you unzip and step out of your skin
And denounce the futile with a grin
Remember when when I sprouted wings
And left you grounded to search for things
To fabricate for me a ring
All you could find was string, only string
Remember how my face was a game
Remove the sheet, you'll see the dame
You've loved in dreams, too illusive to tame
Do you remember my name?
Do you remember my name?
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5. |
Sweet Apathy
04:32
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What's in a name?
Letters and things, I don't know
Cigarettes and champagne
Won't calm you down
Where there's palm trees in the sky
You'd think there'd be paradise
But blue relief
Don't come easy with this kind of life
So with apathy and no set of keys
You wonder what comes next
Borrow some letters for tonight's endeavors
With lies, well what did you expect?
Orange help is the last thing that I need
Flickering with your insecurities
I promise I ain't red
There's just that girl I'm looking for
Name is sweet but she's a mystery
No alter ego in the way no more
You fake your way through life
How do you get away with it most every night?
If you can't get close enough
Then why do you keep stealing all of my stuff
And nesting like a desert bird?
Well I say that's absurd
Secrets held so tight they just can't breathe
Sing them loud, it don't matter if they're off key
They're coming after you
So just let them have their fun
Band has struck its last triangle
Until the night is done
Shackles hold if you don't know how to break them
And things once stolen are gifts to those who take them
What is love but a gilded M
Or a foot out the window for feminism?
So why start the truth right now?
We could drown all our letters all over town
Sweet apathy brings you close to me
So close that I might bite
For trust is but a lie we tell ourselves
To sleep at night
To sleep at night
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6. |
For Fiona
02:44
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Why have you waited oh so long?
They said, you can't measure value in gold
Why has your gaze diverted so?
Drip the grains of sand as you grow old
And he saw her cross her eyes
And he saw the warning signs
Why do you shy away my dear?
They said, you can't get away with a grin
Why don't you sing and bat your eyes?
With most colorful wings his affections you'll win
And he pulled her to his arms
Said I promise I won't cause you harm
Why have you given yourself away?
They say, a man won't wear a dirty shoe
Why did you borrow another's wings
When your own grey and weathered truly reflect you?
And he left her on the bed
And like wildfire whispers spread
And the scarlet lives on in her head
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7. |
Fair Warning
03:57
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Now you've told yourself it's about time
To let your wandering eye rest
And it lands on the prettiest of smiles, oh boy
What a choice, she's gonna put you to the test
Well first she'll insult your mustache
You'll lean in and she'll just lean away
She'll bite you til you bleed when you kiss her
Yet you love her more each passing day
You think she's the kind who'd speak her mind
A slanted word is more her style
You may think you've cracked her sarcasm code
But you'll burn from the fire in her smile
There's a devil
On her shoulder who whispers in her ear
"Don't you ever fall in love"
With that call she'll disappear
She's the fiercest of cynics
From the pessimism pages that she's read
And the certainty of death
Ain't what you want to think about in bed
It's like dragging a dead crow
Behind you on a string
It don't make no sense
But something about it's dark and appealing
And if morbid metaphors
Still won't deter
She's got you good
You might be done for
You've learned to love between
The shadow and the soul
Where a hand to hold is worth more than gold
And how I love you green
So when your eye has fallen
She'll hold out her green hand
And pull you deep, most joyful breath
Your final on dry land
Your final on dry land
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Sophie Rae Chicago, Illinois
I play all the strings and other things: from Colorado to Chicago, all around and in between.
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sophieraegordon@gmail.com
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