1. |
Of Gods and Men
03:19
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Once upon a time
I moved in you — you moved me, too
The moon was still on fire
I sang alone on my throne
What was was still to come
I was the air; I was the choir
You danced to raise the sun
I am
The prayer
I am
The liar
Once upon a time
You drew the dark — you drew me, too
Words leapt from a spark
You named the stars, called the hours
What was was still to come
I was the air; I was the choir
You danced to raise the sun
I am
The prayer
I am
The liar
Once upon a time
The silence broke — heaven spoke
Your arms took shape as wings
We fell uncrowned toward the ground
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2. |
You're a Star
05:23
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No matter how loud we yelled
At the screen we knew she wouldn’t — survive the scene
And who would have guessed that her short bloody dress would get auctioned
And who’s that fashioning a cross
In the corner while the extras — waltz to stir the slaughter?
Shouldn’t somebody tell them that we’re all just victims here, ohh yeah
Ahh — the horror
Ahh — the holy and the dumb
You’re a star now, baby
Smile for everyone
Under all that gold she wears
She’s canvass thick with makeup — the seraph of the war
The violence and envy we stash behind each noble gesture
And who’s that man in a mask
Walking slowly out of rhythm — a shrouded refugee?
Shouldn’t somebody tell him that we’re all just victims here, ohh yeah
Ahh — the horror
Ahh — the holy and the dumb
You’re a star now, baby
Smile for everyone
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3. |
Like Any Other Man
03:57
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With a dance you’d wrest devotion
I close my eyes and chase you there
But all I hear’s the rain ‘a coming
And those neighbors fight and swear
What I mean to say is
Those days were more than nothing
And getting harder to resolve
What I mean to say is
I wish you’d call
Those years went fast as lightning
Ain’t youth wasted on the young?
Now I go weeks without smiling
Your salt still on my tongue
What I mean to say is
Those days were more than nothing
And getting harder to resolve
What I mean to say is
I wish you’d call
There's that place in the kitchen
Where you’d sing and cut my hair
It haunts my recollection
And sits empty as a prayer
What I mean to say is
Those days were more than nothing
And getting harder to resolve
What I mean to say is
I wish you’d call
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4. |
Ouroboros
04:00
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I tried to fit the world in a song
Light: a particle, a wave
Dark delivered then bound and slain
Lost in patterns and names
You were right about the sound
It’s forged in shadows and flames
Paid in blood, born of desire
Echoed back to us in choir
We were born into light
Just threshers of stone
We were cast upon the shores
And forced to walk alone
I played the notes by heart
Life: a vision, a curse
Time a wheel spinning fate
Days wanting of weight
I tried to find my way back home
Hope: a dragon, a hearth
A war inspired then fought and lost
You were wrong about the cost
We were born into light
Just threshers of stone
We were cast upon the shores
And forced to walk alone
I tried to fit the world in a song
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5. |
Somewhere Still
04:27
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There’s a long time between being high and dying
There’s a sad note between being low and gone
There’s a misery felt between your heart and mine, dear
There’s a love lost deep somewhere still
There’s an ocean between the clever and lying
There’s a red moon between the sinner and the saved
There’s a tragedy hangin’ between your eyes and mine, dear
There’s a love lost deep sometime still
There’s a truth hiding somewhere on the page
There’s a grace lying somewhere on the trail
There’s beauty somewhere in this pain; I’m sure my dear
There’s a love lost deep somewhere still
There’s a bell tolling beyond the lost and forsaken
There’s a field beyond the sacred and profane
There’s a slow rolling thunder on your mind and mine, dear
There’s a love lost deep somewhere still
There’s a comfort beyond the shame and the pleasure
There’s a mountain beyond conviction and faith
There’s a mercy felt between your hopes and mine, dear
There’s a love lost deep somewhere still
There’s a truth hiding somewhere on the page
There’s a grace lying somewhere on the trail
There’s beauty somewhere in this pain; I’m sure my dear
There’s a love lost deep somewhere still
Somewhere still
Somewhere still
Somewhere still
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6. |
Fall
03:34
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It’s that time of the year again when trees catch fire
Your hands in sacred dance across the wire
Some verse I swore I knew but not the choir
You loved me you said but I never knew what that meant
It meant I should suffer and die for you
Which is nothing at all if you think about it anyway
Cause to live is to suffer and sing the blues
Does an ocean current deepen without sound?
Will the lonely beggar hang with the drowned?
Can the desert flower absolve evil ground?
You loved me you said but I never knew what that meant
It meant I should suffer and die for you
Which is nothing at all if you think about it anyway
Cause to live is to suffer and sing the blues
It’s that time of the year again when trees catch fire
I’m burning, burning, burn
And fade way
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7. |
Last December
04:18
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You haven’t even touched your eggs
And your coffee’s getting cold
Outside the snow is falling
I’d forgot we’re getting old
I’d forgot we’re getting old
Maybe it’s the burning trees
On the news tuned to a hum
Maybe it’s that aching notion
Or that call we’re waiting on
Feels like forever —
Ohh, forever
You didn’t even ask one question
You almost braved a smile
I managed to stare out the window
Growing angry like a child
I was angry like a child
Maybe it’s the pain before us
Or the snow this time of year
Maybe it’s that aching notion
That your smile turned into fear
Feels like forever —
Ohh, forever
You hadn’t even touched your eggs
And your coffee’d gotten cold
You got up to watch the TV
And left me here alone
You left me here alone
Feels like forever —
Ohh, forever
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8. |
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Sometimes it's one foot in front of the other, and one day at a time
Sometimes feels like forever, and sometimes nothing rhymes
Always is never sometimes, but sometimes you get it right
So always drink old, good wine, and burn till you’re out of time
Yesterday we were young and hungry
Went and sold ourselves a lie
So we packed up all our junk in a van
And swore we’d never die
Now we have good jobs and bought a house
And sold those old guitars
And our cars shine like those old stale dreams
We swore we’d never buy
Sometimes it's one foot in front of the other, and one day at a time
Sometimes feels like forever, and sometimes nothing rhymes
Always is never sometimes, but sometimes you get it right
So always drink old, good wine, and burn till you’re out of time
When this TV show is over
Let’s head on up the stairs
To replay the same old tired scene
That getting us nowhere
But hey, tomorrow let’s map out a plan
And reclaim all we are
We’ll wave goodbye to all we have
That’s killing who we are
Sometimes it's one foot in front of the other, and one day at a time
Sometimes feels like forever, and sometimes nothing rhymes
Always is never sometimes, but sometimes you get it right
So always drink old, good wine, and burn till you’re out of time
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9. |
Beyond Good and Evil
03:40
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She said, “God is dead,” and took a long, slow sip
I used to love the smell of scotch and Nietzsche on her lips
When things got good, she’d be the first to go
Should have seen the pileup coming all those years ago
It was something in the way she moved her hips
And that unrepentant timbre and her soft eclipse
She had me beggin’ for a bite ‘fore the fruit was ripe
And a thousand-yard stare that fit my vision just right
It was cold May night about a decade back
When the neighbors called the cops ‘fore I drank my six-pack
Josie’s toys made him pause ‘fore he walked me outside
Sobered up an hour later, sick and tired
I found the test in the trash, such are vicious gifts
And her note in my book like a poet’s fist
Didn’t mean a thing then; doesn’t mean a thing still
Just more haunted lost souls in the killing fields
She said, “It’s not your fault,” and left her key in the door
I felt the wounds tear open bleeding from our silent war
She didn’t give me a name; didn’t give a goddamn
Just left a trace of nothing and a blue sedan
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10. |
Some Other Fire
02:47
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It must have been 2:00 AM
Ghosts rise in the darkest hour
Your pillow cold
Still smells like flowers
Was it in LA?
Long years melt into night
Weren’t we working in stone?
Weren’t we in a fight?
Where are you tonight?
Did you trade in your soul for silver and spite?
Where are you tonight?
We were a fool’s parade
You with your dull desire
While I buried the ashes
From some other fire
Staging odes to pain
You made your beauty a knife
That you stuck in my back
Now you’re his wife.
Where are you tonight?
Did you trade in your soul for silver and spite?
Where are you tonight?
It must be 2:00 AM
Ghosts rise in the darkest hour
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11. |
Peace for All
05:11
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What kind of poems did you speak
While the world fell fast asleep?
(Did you) shout or let the silence stand in for you?
Where your symbols broken bells
Or shapes deep from the well?
(Did you) cry or light a cigarette in mourning?
Da, Shantih, Shantih, Shantih, Om
Da, Shantih, Shantih, Shantih, Om
What kind of message did you leave
With no one there to grieve?
(Did you) laugh while the sacred became shadows?
Where your signs a pretty joke
Or a tongue you only spoke?
(Did you) see the works of your creation?
Da, Shantih, Shantih, Shantih, Om
Da, Shantih, Shantih, Shantih, Om
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Justin Baker Baltimore, Maryland
A bookish songster for the wayfaring stranger, Justin Baker writes songs that revel in ambiguity, songs that examine the morbid and metaphysical. Jonathan Smith of Americana UK called Baker an "American wordsmith" and an artist whose "highly literate lyrics" are "wrapped in music whose primary purpose is to serve the words." Baker's songs are the kind that get deeper with each and every listen. ... more
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