1. |
Poor Pretender
03:52
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I told you I’d be just fine
When you set me down gently
Told you I had a ride
To get me back home
But I’m walking on 35 southbound
And I think Gavin saw me
I’m sorry, babe
I’m a poor pretender
I promised my family
I promised my friends
Made a deal with myself
I’d keep it together after our story ended
But this phoenix is drinking fire
Holding court in the ashes
I’m sorry, babe
I’m a poor pretender
My mother she taught me
How to build, how to thrive
With nothing but my hands,
My voice, my heart, and my singular mind
Always been a point of pride
To keep my head above water
Now I’m no good at this, babe
I’m no good at this, babe
I’m no good, I’m no good
I told you I’d be just fine
When you set me down gently
Told you I had a ride
To get me back home
But it’s pouring at the side door
Won’t you let me inside?
I’m sorry, babe
I’m a poor pretender
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2. |
Half Love
03:17
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Don’t want to be your half love, baby
Your half flame flickering out on your broken stove
Don’t want to stay and wait around ‘til morning
To hear you call my name and pound at my back door
Don’t want to watch a fire when it’s dying
That half flame flickering out as the smoke it climbs
Don’t want to see you wander, see you roaming
See you halfway out the door as you say goodbye
Oh, I’ve been down that one-way road
Now I see where it goes
I’ve tasted your blues
And I’ve had enough of those
Don’t want to watch the sun shine as it’s sinking down
That half flame flickering out as the dark it grows
Don’t want to hear your engine sputter and leave this town
See you halfway up the hill from here below
Oh, I’ve been down that one-way road
Now I know better than before
I can’t watch a man half-love me anymore.
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3. |
Badlands Honeymoon
04:29
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South Dakota, about five years ago
We had driven straight for two days up from Chicago
And we drove out to that desolate plateau
Steel eyes staring out across the Badlands below
We crept down, down, down into the mazes
Our boot prints in the mud our only traces
You spied a Coke can from 1965
And I stopped to ask you if you thought the guy was dead or alive
After the sun set, we threw our blankets down
And made love while above us on the prairie the coyotes howled
And that very same night, Lord, I dreamed such dreams
I was sinking through the water, only catfish could hear my screams
When I awoke, the moon was shining bright
But when I looked around there was no sign of you by my side
I waited for the sunrise to take a shot of liquor
Then I turned, and I began to walk across that lonesome desert
After three long days, I thought I saw you, honeybun
You were smiling real sweetly at me right up the barrel of a shotgun
But when I looked again, there was nothing there
Just the sun above and the rock below for me to bear
So when you’re staring deeply into your woman’s eyes
You better not start, no, you better not show any surprise
When you hear my voice from many miles below
Saying, “Come back, baby, better kiss me once before you go.”
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4. |
Kite Flyer
04:29
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Kite flyer
You’re no good company
You got a tight hold
And no hurricane’s setting her free
Kite flyer
You let her fly high, dip low
Dance with the wind for a spell
But you ain’t letting go
How you gonna reach for the clouds
When you’re stuck on the ground?
When life keeps you down
Hitch a ride, don’t be found
Kite flyer
You live for the sparkle and flash
Show off your kite ‘til it fades
Send it out with the trash
Kite flyer
I can see right through you
You don’t think you’re worth much
Underneath all that tinsel, do you?
How you gonna reach for the clouds
When you’re stuck on the ground?
When life keeps you down
Hitch a ride, don’t be found
Kite flyer
You’re no good company
You got a tight hold
And no hurricane’s setting her free
Kite flyer
You let her fly high, dip low
Cut that line
You know she ain’t coming back no more
No more
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5. |
Quiet
06:11
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Hold my hand as I leave the hide
Shield the sun so the snow don’t blind
Be mine
All alone am I
All mothers sing themselves a sweet lullaby
To conquer the quiet
Calf left home and lost the herd
Read my lips as I speak the words
Be mine
All alone am I
All children sing themselves a sweet lullaby
To conquer the quiet
Polish no stone, hinder no fire
Settle no bird on the telephone wire
Be mine
All alone am I
All lovers sing themselves a sweet lullaby
To conquer the quiet
Look to your bed
Blankets undone
Saltwater dry slow
Waiting for sun
The harder one tries to sleep
The harder sleep seems to come
Look to your coat
Still hanging around
Gathering leaves
There on the ground
Pockets still full of receipts, loose change,
And a match that you found
Tell me, my love,
Do you ever slow?
Down on that river
Down on that road
Will you find what you seek or dig deep
‘Til you’re rolling in fool’s gold?
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6. |
The Narrows
04:37
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They called me a madman
They called me a ghost
Forty-eight days running at forty below
They gave me no rest
They gave me no peace
Corner this dog and it’s powder you’ll eat
If you follow me to the narrows
If you follow me to the narrows
They thought they had me at Whitehorse
At Rat River they came
Four mounties’ men to put me away
But I will not go quietly
And I will not surrender
And I will not falter before I fire
If you follow me to the narrows
If you follow me to the narrows
I’ll run ‘til you can’t find my tracks in the snow
If you follow me to the narrows
When they finally gunned me down
May’s mounties from Calgary
They listed the things that they found on my icy cold body
A needle and thread
Five pearls and a pocket knife
Nine dollars in gold, twelve matches,
and seven little pieces of moosehide.
A .30-30 and .22
Ten laces for snowshoes, too.
Fish hooks and pills and twine
Who was I, who was I, who was I?
They call me a broken man
They explain me away
Fought in the trenches, seen too many graves
Or am I your very heart off-beat and untame
Who’d rather wreak havoc than more of the same?
Won’t you follow me to the narrows?
Won’t you follow me to the narrows?
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7. |
Clean Break
04:16
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You could have gone so loud
With a holler and pout
Could have slammed the door
Could have called me out
You could have danced all night
‘Til you had to go
You could have held me before
You left me out in the cold
You thought you’d make a clean break
No letters to leave and no goodbyes to say
You thought you’d make a clean break
Didn’t you, babe?
You could have gone so sweet
Could have said some things
Little eulogy
For the love that stings
Could have made believe
Could have told me true
What I did wrong
Or what I couldn’t be to you
You thought you’d make a clean break
Your eyes on the road and your mind off the ache
You thought you’d make a clean break
Didn’t you, babe?
But you went and left
A goddamn mess in your wake
Wondering weighs heavy on a lonesome heart
I’m rattling these chains
Can you hear them from afar?
You could make me free
You could cut me loose
You could deal an ace
To this hand of blues
You could shine a little light
On this darkest mine
Or maybe some night you’ll pull over
And drop me a line.
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8. |
Dust and Gravel
03:30
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I drove for seven days
‘Til I hit dust and gravel
It was high time to get away
From that corner where I
Where I saw you, I saw you
Running loose and untame
You had the mark of the blues
I had the mark of the maimed
Now you’ve got me in a spin
And I can’t set myself right again
I drove for seven days
‘Til I hit the Steese Highway
‘Til I couldn’t see back
To that corner where you
Where you set your little snare
Made of plastic and tin
I saw something shiny there
And I rolled right in
Now you’ve got me in a spin
And I can’t myself right again
You poured sugar in my engine
You poured sugar in my engine
I drove for seven days
‘Til I hit dust and gravel
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9. |
Take It Out
03:30
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Baby, you’ve got it all
I’ve lost count of those lucky stars
Tonight I’m taking you out
To your favorite neon bar
I know that I was cruel
I can’t seem to stay above this blue
But I didn’t mean to take it out on you
Seems like one minute my ace is high
And the next my ace is low
These days I wake up crying
Buddy, how can I roll when the wheels won’t go?
I’m trying, I promise I’m trying
To pony up, to get this right
Oh, I didn’t mean to take it out on you
No, I didn’t mean to take it out on you
Hollowness works its way in
Like a porcupine quill through a puppydog shin
But tonight I’m taking you out
Tonight I’m saying thank you, my friend
‘Cause I didn’t mean to take it out on you
No, I didn’t mean to take it out on you
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10. |
Lonerman
03:49
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Lonerman
Why do you walk alone?
Walk ‘til you’re lost
Tracing dog tracks home in the dirty snow
When you’ve got loving
Right under your nose?
Heart like a broken toe
Grows back crooked,
But no one will ever know
Ever know
Let me make my apologies
I’ve been on a wild streak
Drunken archers never win
Line up the empties
You’ve got a criminal
Asleep in the alley
No coat on her shoulders
Only the pigeons and sparrows for family
Lonerman
You’re braver than I
I’m a spooked little pony
Cloaked in a caribou hide
But I won’t let nobody
Tie up this wild mind
I’ll graze here a while
Then I’ll run off again
In sudden flight
So let’s take hands
And douse our blazing lives
With all the liquor and love
We can find in the city tonight
In the city tonight
In the city tonight
In the city tonight
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Long Mama Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Long Mama’s music blisters with the heart and grit of someone who has lost hard, loved harder, and licked her burns until they stung then silvered. In a drafty attic just west of the Milwaukee River she grew up on, you’ll find songwriter Kat Wodtke (Wood-key) raking through notebooks in search of a salve: words, stories, and sounds to temper the dumpster fires we never mean to light. ... more
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