1. |
Wander With Me
03:20
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Oh, do you wander with me,
Waiting for a smile?
I feel like a mother to ya,
Stealing though the pines
Fool, hear that major warning
Howling 'round our heads!
Oh, do you wander with me,
Waiting for a while?
You called down the canyon
Now, that's the way you die
You'll crawl out the morning after,
Guards around your tomb
We came upon a tiny town
The people sure did stare
I sang a song for wine and bread
While you sat over there
The children asked about the tales
Of dark satanic mills
We both gave different answers,
Then we headed for the hills
And still do you wander with me,
Climbing through the vines?
Your grip is slipping quicker now,
Can't catch you every time
We step softly in the garden
To sneak fruit from the trees
So do you wander with me,
Waiting for a sign
To tell that all our traveling
Is leading towards a light?
I'll try, but I've still got one eye
That's always looking back
Later on in pastures green
The shepherd stood alone
Opened up his arms to us
As if we'd made it home
Silence in the valley now
Except those little bells
It seemed like time to stay a while
And wait for someone else
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2. |
She Is Among Us
04:22
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She is among us, let the news be spread
Faded away, but now she's back again
I'd almost forgotten how sharp her eyes could glare
Now she's returned to slice me up again
Open the docks, let the ships come in
Cover your frowns, there is no room for your tears
She must not see us with our knives in hand
Show her only what she expects of this land
No more love in vain from now on
We will really feel her power
Peace to all the wailing world tonight
Her peace devours all the Earth
We were only flailing in the rain without her
See her blazing through the gate to ease the hours
Time becomes a funny thing to us
The stars above are on parade
She is among us, now the eyes get grown
Popping on up and breaking through the stone
There's ice in her hands and the child's upon her knee
I'm feeling her touch and being reborn so free
Pull up the pants, cough and blow your nose
Shake off your bones, the slime has got to go
I was fading, drowning in despair
She says, "Hello my dear, I see you under there"
Piece by piece and bit by bit we learn to love her
All the fathers take their place with every mother
Sisters set the seven seas alive
Brothers break the animals
Still she takes us by surprise and rolls the dice
Watch her close this time, because she just comes twice
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3. |
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I've been along a lonely road
And I know what it means
To be mislaid among the many lanes
Of ancient history
I'm roaming on because I know that beauty is the place to be
There's a place for me
On distant sands
Out in the wind
Far away from where I am
Take me there
And don't delay
You'll see the smile upon my face
I know I've been rambling 'round
This old town for too long
Either everybody's acting up
Or else trying to cut you down
I know there's nothing here for me, and beauty is the place to be
Where I'll be free
And proud we'll stand
With open hands
No devils walking
Through my land
No city fathers
With cocks in hand
It must be out there, strike up the band
Now I can hear us breaking through that haze
That fell upon the field to hide the way
Get down here, there's no need to stand in line
We don't know where we're going and it's fine
Big brass is blowing, drums are cracking loud
The singers take a breath before the crowd
So now we stand and spew our souls in twisted rhyme
But all of that will fade after a while
So take me to the place where nothing dies
Take me to the pictures in my mind
I've seen it in your postcards
and the scenes I dream at night
I've seen it in the paintings
of the places long gone by
Don't tell me it's a trick of fate,
Don't tell me that I'll never go
I won't be sold
Just to survive
I won't be beaten
For living life
I won't be bribed
Into speaking lies
I won't be buried
In a tinsel tide
I won't be ground down
Without a fight!
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4. |
A Major Investation
04:01
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Last week it was reported
Their last venture raked in ten million pounds
Green rush got to their head
and now they’re hauling their assets out of town
They left that slim apartment
On the corner of the city that swept them to their feet
But it’s no place for these artists
With such delicate sensibilities
They’re moving out
You’ll never see their faces on these streets again
They hit the big times, now there’s no room for their heads
They’re moving up
Onto that big old hill, now don’t they look a pair?
And your city streets look so sad from up here
And now some sad parishioners
Follow their marriage in the trash-talking tabloid press
And in their satin mansion
They find their miracle minds are such a mess
Clogged up with catalogs
That define the refined details of their life
And they’re thinking “what to do now
To bring back some of that magic to our eyes?”
So they called me up
Just a real estate appraisal kind of guy
And when I heard their plan I swear I almost cried
They had their sights set on some major investation by the bay
And I tell you friends, that’s how I get paid
So we talked for many days
Weighing all the options
I found them the cheapest spots
Old and run-down blocks
Where we could unfold all their trendy schemes
And dress things up so pretty
Restaurants and fashions shops
Spreading glitz and glam across the city
And now they’re very happy
Their major investation was achieved
They look down on the new block
Bustling with such great activity
And quite unfortunately,
all the original residents did leave
But still, as you can see,
it’s been quite a boon to the local economy
So how d’you do?
I see you running round the town ‘bout every day
Maybe hoping that you’ll somehow find your way
It’s all okay
You’re here to play and we have set the stage
Here’s hoping that we’re on the same page
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5. |
Island Moon
04:26
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Even now in our cage of time
We walked the rocks under midnight skies
Felt the burning of the lights above
So we traced our lines in fire and blood
But even all of the evening’s embers
Must fade away to face the morning after
When it’s all so clear in the washed-out light
That weary mind never passed you by
It only slept the night
And if I built a constitution true
Out of a thousand lives across a thousand moons
Then maybe this one would not shine so strange
Upon your eyes so dark and my mind deranged
So now I’ll just embrace the passing
Of the hands outstretched and never clasping
And it makes me sick when you make believe
That you can’t see the horizon line
We could walk for miles
The rolling waves they hit the sand
The lighthouse winks at last
I see the ferry pass
The people swarm to land
They give commands
In markets grand
And we meet demand
No staring
Just keep it moving
It’s not for money
It’s our solution
And in time I make amends
So we wind up as friends
And then when summer ends
The ferry rounds the bend
Alone again
The seasons spin
The bills get paid
The beds get made
And in my moonlit daze
I smile and walk the bay
Even now, I can’t hide my pride
Knowing that at least this once I tried
Tried to follow what was calling me
If it wasn’t you, it must be out at sea
On this island time will surely show the wiser
Either you or I will soon be found a liar
And I feel so sick
Cause I make believe
That I can be the one who leaves
And walks the sea
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6. |
The Friends Back There
03:20
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Ooh, I met some friends back there
Some would talk but some just stared
Some would walk me to the station
When I knew it was time for leaving
Ooh now, those were the best
Ooh, I met some real secure
Banker types, and then what's more is
Some would give me words to spin
Through my mind and when they did,
Somehow I was not broken
Some you met and some you called
Some would not be seen at all
Some they paid me in advance
Some they did not share my stance
On politics and religion, but that was okay
'Cause they were friends of mine
And you know, friends always disagree sometimes
And then they get back on track
Boy, can I babble on
When I need to talk
Now I need to take a breath
And make some sense of all this
I'll go down and make some tea
Stare out vacantly
Try and forget the past
Aw shit, I just remembered that...
I made a friend in a Utah town
Who pumped me up
And then squeezed me down
After that, my sanity was all that I could take with me
You win some and you lose some, I guess
Peter Tosh, well he once said
That friends will fry you in the end
Depends on what kind of friends you make
'Cause my friends only got me baked
And that made a meal out of me
I'll make more friends on down the line
I know they're coming all the time
Well, it can get so hard to see
But some of them can still see me
Oh now, those are the best
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7. |
In This Nighttime
06:01
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In this nighttime we are awake and sleeping
In the coldness of the air surrounding us
The wolves howl and houses with lights grow silent,
As the mist will soon descend to cover us
Truly this nighttime makes a different place,
No bustle and no hurry to complain of
All the shadows hold their secrets;
You are alone and need no one to give love
In this nighttime, listen for silent echoes
Of the world that lives and breathes in mystery
Take a walk down roads of inviting quiet
With a head of thoughts and words as company
And all the people who you saw by day
Are just a fading, distant memory
To spend your time alone in darkness
Holds a sacred meaning that only you see
In this nighttime, all of the moods move slower
And the stillness always hangs so easily
From the belfry up in the church house steeple
I can see the town asleep so peacefully
And the only way I wish to go
Is deeper into this energy
Oh, how it moves and rolls and flows
All through my moonlit memory
In this nighttime, who walks beside and who is tracing every step of mine so far behind?
Where’s the one who hides when I turn and tell me,
Where’s the one who comes and locks in with my stride?
If no one knows, then that’s okay
Yes, things will change when the tower chimes
Come along and find out how I write my many rhymes in this nighttime
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8. |
City Child
02:44
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I am a city child
And I know what it's like in my town
Sunday nights on the one-way streets
When I feel I could run myself down
Every day the same old dance
Rolls me over and afterwards I let myself pass
Through the night and down the pipes
To the poison of the sea
I'm exactly where I should be
I am the only one
Who is watching my time as it flies
Flies through my fist
Into the gut of the next goddamn guy
People lying all around
They say I'm sick and I'm antsy
And I'm on my way down
But I know best, I cannot rest 'till someone
Takes me back
Take me back to where I'll relax
In the morning after, your fading light has died
And the one you wanted, so far, so far behind
Let the street speak for you, you ain't got shit to say
You wasted everyone and now it's time to pray
I am a city child
And I know what it's like in my town
All the days that pass you by
When you feel yourself running around
Running out to Nowhere Place
Maybe that's what I wanted when I started the race
You slow it down on the edge of town
And you think you should look back
But the mirror already cracked
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9. |
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You reek like a golf course, baby
You smell like the pool
Did you forget to wash yourself after you left school?
Now you're wanting to include us
And you're doing very well
Pretty soon we'll all be choking in your personal hell
Doesn't matter what you say you do
'Cause I can tell very well
That your heart is playing putt-putt in some fancy hotel
You've been riding on your one-way track
With your thumb in your mouth
But soon the coal for your choo-choo train's gonna run right out
You've read the reports
And you recite them well
The only poetry you know is in the lies that you tell
And I reek like the golf course, baby
I stink like the pool
It rubbed off when I was lucky enough to meet you this afternoon
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10. |
The Day Comes Easy
04:34
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Sit down with me,
Come on, listen to me baby
I only get around easy
I let the day come to me
I get to sit around lazy
Until the nighttime rules me,
I let the hours come easy every day
I only like it when I'm sitting on my sofa
Watching the hours melt away just for fun
Maybe I'll walk the town and see the stupid faces
It's just a laugh to think they live under the sun
Sit down with me,
Come on, listen to me baby
I only get around easy
I let the day come to me
I get to sit around lazy
Until the nighttime rules me,
I let the hours come easy every day
Oh share some tea with me in my enchanting ballroom
Or walk the grounds in some exotic frilly lace
Forget the phony friends and all your dreadful family
You just need me to put a smile upon your face
Sit down, baby
Come on, listen to me,
Won't you think on what you're doing,
What do you mean by you don't need me?
You better take it real easy
And start listening to me
Why would you just ditch me for the door?
Oh baby now I see I've been so very stupid
I only lounge around cause I am such a grouch
I think you’ve taught me something I won’t be forgetting
And I need you beside to keep me off the couch
I can't sit around easy
Baby, listen to me
I got to see it's not easy
And make the day come to me
I get to run around crazy
Until the nighttime soothes me
I let the hours flow through me every day
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11. |
Flight Deck
04:48
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On the flight deck, looking at the trees
Many of them now, standing at your knees
But all you rule are strange and barren lands
So dig your boots down in the dirt
And clear yourself a path
I pull a steady comb
I keep my hair so flat
That you could never see anything beyond it
That's how I get all my steady jobs
One time I had so many I could rarely see my mom
Maisie meant it all, every word she said
Seb, he scratched his head and fell into a trance
'Cause it's a soft and often soothing sound
When you hear somebody speaking their way
Six feet into the ground
I went from motorcar
And got to motorcade
When Jesus came to me, I sent him on his way
And he fell back alongside the parade
He started offering his services to anyone who'd pay
On the flight deck, in your first class
Teacher comes to you and says, "you're gonna pass"
And you scream out, "No! I've got to hang right on"
Then she tells you with a smile,
"We'll all miss you when you're gone"
Johnny said to Jed, "It went right to my head"
He set the needle down and words began to spin
From Johnny's lips that weren't really his
And Jed just takes what he can get,
Never questions what it is
The sunny country soul, he saw the city's flames
He stepped into the smoke and ran back out again
Then slunk back to tell his Fireman Jane
I saw them walking hand-in-hand
With one last can of kerosene
Committees come and go,
But still our own remains
We're growing old together, getting through the pain
Of every task that has yet to be done
Of every battle in this town that has yet to be won
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12. |
Repeating Ourselves
02:50
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I’m only waiting for a chance to move
Oh, it’s bound to come someday
I know I'm only repeating ourselves
But it’s bound to sound that way
All my life I’ve spent my time
Stealing faces and lifting melody lines
And in the autumn I chanced to move
And found my feet once again
And though I’m only repeating ourselves
You’re bound to see me again
Oh it’s been so long
And the ancient times,
That state of mind is now lost and overthrown
What’s the news today?
Do you have a tribe where I could hide?
I promise I won’t hold on too strong!
And in the winter my feet turned to stone
And so I settled down in the snow
Stuck in the church with all those country Joes
Oh, I gave them all quite a show
I’ve got flair that’s all my own
At least I think so,
But I might have borrowed from home
And then when spring sprang, my feet slipped off my bones
Oh, and I was melting down the road
And now I’m really repeating ourselves,
But I’m glad to have a second chance at all
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13. |
The Steps
03:26
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She left with her gun and returned with a smile
Two tracks trailed behind which they traced her down by
Two easy steps would have kept her from harm
But even here she took out her charms
And folded her arms
And I used to think everyone had a home
That out in the night there stood a gravestone
With everyone's name carved in oh so clear
Calling us back to a place without fear
Loose talking around every table at night
Tall tales of the time I saw her pass by
She swept me from the avenue
And left me lying here to you
But I hope you're amused
And she's on my mind when I run out of time
And leave the door wide for you all to come find
We're taking a hike down the tracks late at night
They stop at a rock in a pool of moonlight
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14. |
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Every morning crawling 'round, reaching for the time
But there's so much more to see once you cross the line
And my mind is blasted by the pins of the ghostly glowing haze
Just a million smiling faces that will always look the same
Of course they do,
They speak to you as one
Softly coo to you
Of the things you must become
But I do alright, I do
I do alright, I do
I do alright, I do alright, I do alright
Play the pocket pinball game, watch the dancing lights
Every one neatly arranged to keep you occupied
And keep on telling yourself that you'll get it all in time
As you gamble out your minutes with a million by your side
We're all alone
But forgotten what it means
So it goes
'Till we begin to bleed
Life, it finds a way
It will come someday
Not from power lines,
No warning signs on the screen
Rumble 'neath your feet
Cracks grow in the street
Soon all time is wrapped up
In a scream
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15. |
Exhibitionism
04:02
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You never felt this safe before,
Even when you were at home
But now you're sure you've found the one
She speaks in two-dimensional drones
You're a flat man in a flat land,
Walking around with your heels to your nose
Exhibitionism makes you
Feel yourself so free, and it shows
It shows, you know it shows
You wanted some excitement
So you showed up at the daily parade
Where you get stripped and flattened out
And all the newest stars are made
You flashed the world and then she turned
And sucked you down the lines that were laid
Exhibitionism gets you
Half the way, and then you will pay
You'll pay, it's all the same
You ever wonder why you got those
Things you keep on shaking at me?
You ever think that maybe that's
Exactly what I've already seen?
The years are moving through like glue
You're chewing fruit from a dying tree
Exhibitionism is the end of all
Your true mystery, you see
I hope you see
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16. |
Dead-Eyed Man
05:40
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Dead-eyed man came to my door
He was selling something, oh that I knew for sure
‘Cause a dead-eyed man’s got nothing left
Not the chance of a saving breath
Dead-eyed man lost it all somewhere
Dead-eyed man don’t remember how to care
And you said “why not let him in?”
You said life could just begin
The dead-eyed man, he spoke to us in rhymes
Said he’d rearrange our rhythms and our times
He’d make things easier and keep them running smooth
As he said all this he stared straight at you
After that, there was nothing I could say
You took his word and I was sure you’d slipped away
It’s impossible to stop this now
He’s set up in the middle of town
First it started oh so slowly
Then quick by surprise
Everything changing right in front of my eyes
The distant drum was booming
in perfect time
Counting out the minutes that were left in my life
Needles fell in patterns
Across the plains
Pointing out clearly all the space that remained
Staring through the window
All the people looked mean
Felt like everybody wanted something from me
I staggered in the hallway
I fell to my knees
Covered my head, then
I said “Please, God, please”
Hold me close
Hold me close now
It cleared my eyes when I felt you there beside
The patterns passed and silent was the night
Sweet lover with life in your hands
You do things I’ll never understand
So, a wild-eyed man came to my door
Wasn’t selling nothing, no, that I knew for sure
‘Cause a wild-eyed man’s got nothing left
Just the chance of a saving breath
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17. |
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I Am A Poor Pilgrim Of Sorrow
Cast Out In This Wide World To Roam
I Have No Promise Of Tomorrow
I Am Striving To Make Heaven My Home
I Know I'm Weak And Unworthy
My Heart Is So Prone To Sin
But Jesus The Saviour Almighty
Has Promised To Take Me In
My Mother Has Reached The Bright Glory
My Father Still Wandering In Sin
My Brothers And Sisters Won’t Own Me
Because I'm Trying To Get In
When Friends And Relations Forsake Me
And Trouble Roll 'Round Me So High
I Think Of The Kind Words Of Jesus
Poor Pilgrim I Am Of The Night
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18. |
To Walk Free
04:02
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To walk free
That beautiful dream
To step strong and fearless
It must come to be
To walk free
And carry the light
To bring it a’shining
Through the city at night
To breathe free
To take in the air
To spend a life living
And never despair
To breathe free
To know what that means
And still we’ll forsake it
Whenever we please
To do all this at once
To do all this at once
To do all this at once
And more
To lay it all down
To make sure that it counts
To speak all that you want
Aloud
To walk free
That’s easily done
You harden your heart
And you walk with a gun
To walk free
When you know what you’ve done
To feel in your body
That you’ve ripped out the sun
To grieve
To pour out the pain
To hope that we’re never
Going back there again
To see
To see something clear
Once in a while
It seems to appear
To do all this at once
To do all this at once
To do all this at once
And more
To lay it all down
To make sure that it counts
To speak all that you want
Aloud
To peace
The peace that comes slow
And slips through the country
‘Till everyone knows
To the dream
The dream of the soul
That will not be realized
In this life alone
To the need
The need to be whole
That will not be granted
‘Till justice is known
To thee
The one I now love
Can we stay together
In the midst of this flood?
To praise all these at once
To praise all these at once
To praise all these at once
And more
I lay myself down
I pray that it counts
I speak all that I want
Aloud
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Lukas Olson Minneapolis, Minnesota
Lukas Olson is a songwriter from Minneapolis, Minnesota. This is where he keeps all of his aural lunacies, and you are welcome to listen.
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