1. |
No Wires
04:00
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Shake in the winter, top bunk in a hostel
I feel like a lover, took Dylan for gospel.
I get on the northbound, I get on the bus,
get up in the evening, drink dinner, sip dust.
Everyone’s saying the river dam’s bust.
Scrawled on the bathroom stall: revel in rust.
I forget names while I’m still shakin’ hands.
Let’s go down to the ocean in back of a van.
If anyone’s wondering, I am your man—
Tell them that, babe if you can.
Put all my faith in the captains of state
to just do what they want I’ll keep living here.
Put all my faith in some shimmering fate
but tomorrow will dawn like today:
with no Wires, no Towers, no Crew.
No wires, no towers, no…
Lately I’m feeling like keys without locks,
lately I’m feeling too free.
It’s been a week since I looked at a clock
and I’m feeling like Philippe Petit
With no wires, no towers, no crew.
No wires, no towers, no you.
Here we go Judy, the sun’s in the west
Stay for a while, stay and we’ll rest.
Stay for a while, my time-honored guest.
Here we go Judy, the skyline is yours,
the place that you come from is littered with stores.
The place that you come from is heavy and bored.
Here we go Judy, the kids are alright,
they’re playing the records you keep out of sight.
They’re playing the records that kept you up at night as a girl.
Here we go Judy, the sun’s in the west.
Stay for a while, stay and we’ll rest,
Stay for a while, my time-honored guest.
Lately I’m feeling like keys without locks,
lately I’m feeling too free.
It’s been a week since I looked at a clock
and I’m feeling like Philippe Petit
with no wires, no towers, no crew,
no wires, no towers, no you.
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2. |
Lost in California
04:05
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I was lost in California when I first saw your face
I was dying of indifference, you were playing in the waves.
I was lost in California when I finally found a way
to stop the dull incessant chatter of my brain.
I was stuck in some hotel room with the air conditioner high
I was drowning in some stupid magazine.
You were lying by the pool, you had that glimmer in your eye.
There was nothing I could do; I had been seen.
Time rolls down the lonely road,
I know you’re not the type
to change your name and say goodbye
Waiting on a masterpiece,
it only gets you feeling so,
feeling high and dry.
I was lost in California when I finally found a way
between the trash along the shoreline and the beauty of the bay
I was lost in California wasting all my given days
I was looking for a good excuse to stay
Somebody said the last thing on my mind before I left
was how divine it was, divine it was to be here.
Somebody said the last thing on my mind before I left
was how divine it was, divine it was to be here.
Somebody said the last thing on my mind before I left
was how divine it was, divine it was to be here.
Somebody said the last thing on my mind before I left
was how divine it was, divine it was to be here.
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3. |
||||
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Down with the lonely expatriates
out in a cocktail dress, making the rounds,
smoking those cigarettes you’d never smoke
in Tacoma, where you were a loner.
You’ve got the bracelet that your baby gave you;
you know that he bought it at a pawn shop
it’s frayed but it’s all that remains of him,
no solid facts, just a circle of cloth that will snap
under pressure
from any confessor
who buys you a jack and a coke
or a Singapore Sling—
so you’re down with the lonely expatriates
Down with the lonely expatriates
Like it or not we’ve arrived in the dirty resort town
where promises go when they die.
Call it their own private Florida.
I hope I’m not boring you.
Watch as his memory fades,
ordering takeaway, sweating all day,
smiling at men that you’d never smile at
in Seattle, losing the battle.
Faithful’s a four-letter word,
well it starts with an F and it ends with an L
but you’re bored, there in your black dress,
bored as hell.
So you’re down with the lonely expatriates
Down with the lonely expatriates,
Bored, there in your black dress,
bored as hell.
Light your last cigarette, sip on that jack,
talk about home though you’re not going back.
Here in the desert there’s no solid facts,
so if you should need me, I’ll be in the back.
And you’re down with the lonely expatriates
Down with the lonely expatriates
Down with the lonely expatriates
Down with the lonely expatriates
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4. |
Craigslist
02:55
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Thanks for taking the time today to talk to me about my better qualities
I know that it's a holiday and that you'd probably rather be
somewhere with your wife and your three perfect children
Thank you for the water too, I really needed water.
Let's talk about my resume: it’s such a lovely resume
It's got all of those bullet points to let you know I'm great
When I was a boy, I thought I'd be some brave explorer,
but the corners of the world had been cornered when I got here
so I saw your ad on Craigslist and thought this could be better than
the nothing I've been doing all year
Now that I am older, I can see the world is colder
than I thought when I was 17 and stoned out in Boulder
so I think I'm finally ready, think I'm finally ready
to be part of this American machine
Let me tell you about myself: I was born between the two Iraq wars
in a house with two floors, in a suburb of a suburb of a town outside a city
that you have never heard of.
I was raised on MTV and lunchables and apathy.
Does that sound good to you? ‘Cause it sounds great to me.
I never thought I'd ever be such a perfect potential employee
When I was a boy, I thought I'd be some brave explorer,
but the corners of the world had been cornered when I got here
so I saw your ad on Craigslist and thought this could be better than
the nothing I've been doing all year
Now that I am older, I can see the world is colder
than I thought when I was 17 and stoned out in Boulder
so I think I'm finally ready, think I'm finally ready
to be part of this American machine
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5. |
Settle In
04:16
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When morning falls
all fresh and blue on red brick walls
3 feet of snow,
there's nothing to be done except to put the water on for coffee
Settle in, settle in
Settle in, settle in
You take your time,
the morning is masterpiece, the evening is a sweet divine
horizon line,
the winter is the sweetest thing, the winter is a friend of mine
You lock the doors I'll screen the calls
We'll paint our portrait on the wall
You don't believe in anything,
I don't believe in anything
So settle in, settle in,
settle in, settle in.
When evening comes
I'm sitting in the living room marooned under the setting sun
it's all I need
the winter has funny way of showing you what you believe.
You lock the doors I'll screen the calls
We'll paint our portrait on the wall
You don't believe in anything,
I don't believe in anything
So settle in, settle in,
settle in, settle in.
You wait in Worcester for your life to begin.
You mix a cocktail out of chamomile and gin.
You wait in Worcester for your life to begin
You put a quarter in the slot and start again.
Gonna go home and light a candle
tell my friends I got this handled
put a quarter in the slot and start again.
Gonna go home and light a candle
tell my friends I got this handled
put a quarter in the slot and start again.
Gonna go home and light a candle
tell my friends I got this handled
put a quarter in the slot and start again.
Settle in, settle in
Settle in, settle in.
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John Shakespear Brooklyn, New York
John Shakespear writes albums that tell a story from start to finish. The next one, 'Hail Bohemia,' comes out on May 17.
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