1. |
Dirty
05:04
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DIRTY (Give Them Me)
Your names are precious
give them me, give them me
Your eyes they shine
Give them me
Your fruits are bursting with the promise of nectar
dribbles down my chin, hangs just a moment
before it stains my shirt . . .
See I want to get dirty, dirty
I want to make a mess
I want to leave a permanent mark staying out after dark
I won’t settle for less
Gonna put em on notice, notice the folks drawing all the lines
gonna color outside in scribbles nice and wide
you can take it as a sign of the times
All of your dark secrets, give them me
All your heavy habits, give them me
All of your downward spirals, let it be
Don’t fight no more, it’s alright
‘cause every day needs a night...
All of your dark secrets, give them me
All your heavy habits, give them me
All of your downward spirals, let it be
Don’t fight no more, it’s alright
‘cause every day needs a night...
They got you holed up, cold-cocked,
shell-shocked, locked down, wound up tight
Just trying to put it to the question before we put it to the flame
I think it’s worth another look if you’re living by the book
thinking I’m the one to blame
So you got a box of old bones in your closet on your shelf
You know, the things you try to hide, they rot you inside
don’t blame me, you do it to yourself
All of your dark secrets, give them me
All your heavy habits, give them me
All of your downward spirals, let it be
Don’t fight no more, it’s alright
‘cause every day needs a night...
Oo, give them me.
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2. |
Nova
04:50
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NOVA (51/49)
Sitting, waiting for the sun to go nova
so I don't have to get a full time job
'Cause what cat wouldn't rather watch his world go to hell
than spend his life working like a dog?
It's clear by now I'll pay for all my patience
sketching my mysteries, etching these lines into my face
Don't suppose you'll believe me when I claim it’s evolution, lord
the next great leap of the human race?
Ahead of the pack
Lead engine on the railroad track
You can keep your design
I didn't start the revolution but I'm making it mine
When 51 say 49 are crazy 'cause they can't agree
on the proper price of freedom we must trade for our security
then it's fences versus fields, crashes versus yields
and who can blame those shameless sharks for their backroom deals?
But when the sun burns up, and then explodes
and we'll greet the goat at the final crossroads
he'll snatch up every sin we've known, cruel, cold, and overblown
But,oh, this cat will take his back
this cat will take his back
this cat will take his back
‘cause I don't believe in no Spring Heeled Jack, no
I'm ahead of the pack
Lead engine on the railroad track
You can keep your design
'cause I'm using mine this time
If I had the faith I'd find a way
to cast my demons out today
move my mind beyond the crowd
raise my voice and cry out loud and clear
"This cat's done waiting here
This cat's done, this cat's done…"
I'm ahead of the pack
Lead engine on the railroad track
You can keep your design
'cause I'm using mine this time…
They won't get the best of me
No, not this time
Not this time
This time.
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3. |
Helicopter Eyes
05:34
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HELICOPTER EYES
If I asked her for the method to her madness
she would smile and then fade away
I guess she thinks she must sacrifice her happiness
to play her politician games
She whispers wrath while we make our love
but I never let it get me down
‘Cause the truth comes out in the morning hours
when I call her by her secret name
Still she feels paranoid that I might
take her by surprise
So she runs the risk of having
helicopter eyes
There she falls again
There she falls . . .
What I’d like the most
walking along the windswept coast
is to take her by her little hand
To show her all the wonders of the ground beneath her feet
but her eyes are skyward
Feeling this way it’s not
revolutionary
but seeing her standing there
could just change everything about me
Still she feels paranoid that I might
take her by surprise
So she runs the risk of having
helicopter eyes
There she falls again
There she falls down to the ground
This time I’ll be there to catch her
She runs away
into the blue night
Stakes a claim
in the moonlight
Shakes the shadows
creeping up behind her
She disappears
Now no one can find her
Still she feels paranoid that I might
take her by surprise
So she runs the risk of having
helicopter eyes
There she falls again
There she falls down to the ground
This time I’ll be there . . .
. . . to catch her
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4. |
The Shag
04:53
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THE SHAG (Love You Right)
I never asked for these
sandstone memories
No use today
fine detail worn away
Still I am carrying
probably bury me in it
Dead weight straightjacket
pyrites packed in the pockets
All I'm asking for
a little reciprocity
Down here on the floor
with no soul to satisfy me
Eternally waiting my turn
stone cold prone on the shag
Don’t mean to bemoan my fate
probably just something I ate
Clock keeps creeping on
Seed, blood, dust, then gone
Washed away in the water
Time is a mob, won’t give you no quarter
It's just us crucifying ourselves
Shelf life, half-life, divided in twelves
Each slice ain't coming back
Damn this train and its one-way track
All I'm asking for
a little reciprocity
Down here on the floor
with no soul to satisfy me
Eternally waiting my turn
stone cold prone on the shag
Don’t mean to bemoan my fate
just curious if you could relate
The endless iterations
complicate it so
This passion play, these stations of the -
cross my heart you’ll never know
which of us wasn't shaken down
Sporadically breakin' down
Faking the cool when our pride
was straight taken down
You see, it's not so easy to love you right
I have to put up a fight
To love you right
I have to put up a fight
To love you right
I have to put up a fight
You see it’s not so easy to love you right
Have to put up a fight
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5. |
City Ways
04:18
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CITY WAYS (The Sad Crowd)
Considering all the time
I wandered ‘round this town of cards,
you’d think I’d not quite feel so alien.
But here I am all thick-skin grey,
slick dark eyes just staring away.
Nothing to drink, nothing to say,
but I slither in my leather through the sad crowd anyway.
Try my best to remember their names.
Just play along with their old guard games.
Meet Joe and Laurie and Angie and Ben.
Repeat the same boring story again and again and again and a…
You know the one where I find myself -
lost in the urban maze -
Tossed to the rocks in my black flack-jacket
and my big city ways.
Home coming -
Ain’t I the fortunate one.
Rome’s humming
with the promise of the prodigal son.
Still I’m just a jack
trying to make my money stack;
Pack my guitar in a gunnysack,
‘til I’m on my way, I ain’t coming back.
I could wax poetic about what gets me high -
Gazing up at tiled reflections of sky.
I could try to define what it means to me -
This evolution through population density.
But behind the façade of an alien thing
burns the ember of a future king.
I keep it under cap - my secret thunderclap -
and I’m wondering why the hell I put up with this, up with this shit. . .
Home coming -
Ain’t I the fortunate one.
Rome’s humming
with the promise of the prodigal son.
Still I’m just a jack
trying to make my money stack;
Pack my guitar in a gunnysack,
‘til I’m on my way, I ain’t coming back.
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6. |
Minotaur
04:33
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MINOTAUR (Icarus Iterations)
Turn my face to the terrible sun
These wings of mine they work just fine
I can fly so high without even tryin'
Sure hot today, but that’s the price that I pay
Light so damn bright, kinda feels like I’m melting away
Oh, these days almost forget about
the minotaur and the maze
Escapes my attention
my own invention
Did I ever mention to see
that minotaur and me
we're merely halves of a whole?
Can't shake him, no
He follows wherever I go
Saw it in the news tonight
Another son fell out of the sky
Said it was a moving sight
poor kid must've forgot how to fly
Well, fools will prosper 'til they get too complicated
then Fate's to blame
Poor kid, can't remember his name
You and I almost forget about
the minotaur and the maze
It's crazy to think that we might
take it tonight, shake it tonight, make it tonight
See, that minotaur and me
we’re splitting the best of soul
Can't shake him, no
He follows wherever I go
How safe can anywhere be
when the Minotaur's in me?
How safe can anywhere be
when the Minotaur's in me?
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7. |
Whispers
05:08
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WHISPERS
She was never really with me
She was just a dream keeping me awake
Paid for by the pressing need
to feel some fantasy in my documentary
And, oh, it’s over now
And such a long way to go
Could we ever really
get there?
I don’t know
‘Cause I have whispers in my way
though I try to leave ‘em all behind
I have whispers in my way
though I try to leave ‘em all behind
I have whispers in my way
though I try to leave ‘em all . . .
And I’m no soldier
in these plain clothes
No one knows
what I’m
fighting
Sitting silent like the master
but I’m just trying to find some peace of mind
I don’t know what to do with all these wishes
that didn’t come true
But it’s over now
and such a long way to go
Could we ever really
get there?
I don’t know
‘Cause I have whispers in my way
though I try to leave ‘em all behind
I have whispers in my way
trying hard to find some peace of mind
I have whispers in my way
though I try to leave ‘em all . . .
And I’m no soldier
in these plain clothes
No one knows
What I’m
fighting
‘Cause I have whispers in my way
though I try to leave ‘em all behind
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8. |
A Holding Light
04:31
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A HOLDING LIGHT
It’s easy
in the world today
to let it all fade away to the dark
with stars in our eyes
heavy clouds in the skies
and the shadows fall hard on your heart
Sometimes it feels like I’m taking on water
tremble and totter
I’m tipping toward the black
drinking the cold
sinking so low
I might be never coming back
As the day burns away
the blue turns to grey
Hyperion surrenders to the night . . .
everybody knows
just before it goes
there’s a holding light . . .
Sure, just take a look around
you know the nightwolves are bound
to pull some weak ones down
but if it’s you they’re coming for this time
damn them and their line
you got to keep the fight with all of your might
just reach out your hand and remember that light
and hold on, hold on, hold. . .
As the day burns away
the blue turns to grey
Hyperion surrenders to the night , , ,
everybody knows
just before it goes
there’s a holding light . . .
to help you to get through alright
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9. |
Ever Closer
03:35
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EVER CLOSER
Moonlight sculpt your skin
smooth and precious like porcelain
Ringlets falling down like rain
draw me in to share a soft refrain
Creeping like pilgrims through ecstasies
Seeking communion on our knees
Ever closer when we make the scene
Redefine
reasons for
ghost in these bones
the blood between
Dim the lights
lock the door
Ever closer when we make the scene
Salt water hits my face
paints my skin until her sainted ink is finally sinking in
But my mouth can't say no prayer
Bated of breath when we're almost there
Creeping like pilgrims through ecstasies
Seeking communion on our knees
Starry-eyed, sanctified and shaking like leaves
Washing our sins away in primal seas
Ever closer when we make the scene
Redefine
reasons for
rest of my life
what came before
Redefine
everything
this animal brain
this selfish gene
Dim the lights
lock the door
Ever closer when we make the scene
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10. |
No Devil
05:09
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NO DEVIL
Were you there when the money came tumbling down
like the tower of Babel?
Did you wade into battle with your fist in the air?
When your neighborhood crumbled did you even care?
Or were you waiting on holy hands to bear you to the sky -
nothing left but to turn your back when the fire burns so goddam high?
If you're running out the clock with a conscience pure as snow
What if there's a tomorrow?
I don’t need no devil to tell me
what I should be tempted by.
Don’t need no heaven or hell
to sell me a season of penance for asking why.
My, my, my…
Were you there after the TVs all went grey -
like they had nothing to say?
Did you wake up then or are you sleeping still?
Are you filtering all you feel through a pill?
Are you hunting witches, raping riches
Digging ditches to bury your head?
Is that your claw that clutches, takes what it touches?
Or is that just the cruel world such as it is?
Or were you waiting on holy hands to bear you to the sky -
nothing left but to turn your back when the fire burns so goddam high?
If you're running out the clock with a conscience pure as snow
What if there's a tomorrow?
I don’t need no devil to tell me
what I should be tempted by.
Don’t need no heaven or hell
to sell me a season of penance for asking why.
Sure we dream of the end sometimes -
hoary echo of a trumpet keening somewhere in the distance.
To know, to lay this burden down at last
To wake up
To wake up
To wake up
To wake up
To wake up I should
To wake up be a
To wake up good little boy
To wake up go back to sleep
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11. |
Lazarus
03:27
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LAZARUS
Well, the cave was dark
and smelled of must.
The only sight in the latern light
was motes of dust.
Then a deep deep sigh
on a slab of cold stone...
old friend with leaded lids
and lying prone.
I said, “Lazarus,
time to clear your head.
You been staying still
like you’re already dead.
Just rise to your feet -
let me show you the way.
The one trick to the game I play:
you gotta live it like you got one more day.”
So we exit through the gift shop,
head back to the hotel.
On the front steps stand record reps
begging for a slice of the soul we sell.
Well, in this and most realities
where cool cats cut grooves like these,
you gotta put up if you want to get down.
Looks like the word’s getting out we ain’t fooling around.
I said, “Lazarus,
time to clear your head.
You been laying low
as though you’re already dead.
Just rise to your feet -
let me show you the way.
The one trick to the game I play:
you gotta live it like you got one more...
one more...
one more day."
Lazarus,
time to clear your head.
You been laying low
as though you’re already dead.
Rise to your feet -
let me show you the way.
The one trick to the game I play:
you gotta live it like you got one more...
one more...
one more day.
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12. |
My Cat's Tail
05:45
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MY CATS TAIL
My cat’s tail
is curved like a question mark
Though he doesn’t understand
what that means to a cat like me
He just sits on the windowsill
staring at the blue, blue sky
He’s probably thinking about
Eastern philosophy
Lord, it seemed so easy to believe
in anything, oh, when I was young
A flash of light could make the demon go away,
magic was a fact,
and I hoped that I might fly someday
But now I challenge anyone to stand upon their faith
and make the case for me beyond a doubt,
iron all my theories out
Well, straighten up these questing curves
Calm the sea with certainty and offer me enlightenment
And I would believe
I would give up these pragmatic tendencies
Oh and I would play
to that Absolute everyday
My cat sighs
in the middle of the night lying in a shaft of window light
I guess I envy him sometimes
‘cause he just seems so content in dreams
But he can’t even go outside
He’s a prisoner –never has to make up his own mind
Well, well. I guess that’s one cozy way to make in this crazy world,
but what’s the price of his advice, when...
If I could believe
I would give up these pragmatic tendencies
Oh and I would play
to that Absolute everyday
My cat’s tail is curved like a question mark
though he doesn’t understand what that means to a cat like me
He just sits on the windowsill staring at the blue, blue sky
He’s probably thinking about chasing the birds flying by
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Letters From Traffic Seattle, Washington
Letters From Traffic is a Seven-Piece Seattle Rock and Soul Phenomenon featuring soul-sweetened vocals, fresh horns, hot guitars, kickass grooves, and life-shaking lyrics. Original songs layer trumpet, trombone, saxophone, vocal-harmony, lead & rhythm guitars, bass and drums. Contagiously moveable, inspiringly anthemic, or just dirty and fun, Letters From Traffic is always quality, always true. ... more
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