1. |
King of Air
03:41
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We didn’t smell the gas
Lingering in the house
We didn’t fix the thread
Dangling from your blouse
You were a sleeping giant
You were the King of Air
You showed us your true face
But we didn’t care
We didn’t fix the cracks
In the foundation
We didn’t stop the hacks
From poisoning the nation
You were a sleeping giant
You were the King of Air
You showed us your true face
But we didn’t care
No, I never really understood you
At least not fully
Forced austerity, wealth disparity
Throwing in your lot with a bully
You were a sleeping giant
You were the King of Air
You showed us your true face
But we didn’t care
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2. |
I Hate Problems
03:30
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I curse the rain
I scorn the sun
Why must I be the only one?
To stand alone, I stand alone
I cross their names
Off my mind
Invitations have been declined
To stand alone, I stand alone
Turn around, turn around again
One for one, ten out of ten
I wanna get close to you
But whenever I do I start to remember
That I hate problems
Yeah, I hate problems
The streets of Spain
Rooftops in Rome
And a hunger for the unknown
To stand alone, I stand alone
Turn around, turn around again
One for one, ten out of ten
I wanna get close to you
But whenever I do I start to remember
That I hate problems
Yeah, I hate problems
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3. |
Kill for a Living
04:39
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Give me another, watch me shake
Loneliness will make a woman’s heart break
Give me another, watch me shake
Loneliness will make a fella’s heart break
How much is your money worth?
To kill for a living
Is a defect of birth
Where’s my mother, where’s my pa?
We’re stuck inside waiting for the ice to thaw
Where’s my brother, where’s my dog?
Free from the clutches of a demagogue
How much is your money worth?
To kill for a living
Is a defect of birth
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4. |
Not Here for Comment
04:19
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Well I wanted to tell you
Something I recalled
Gallows humor, lascivious rumors
A murder at the mall
I wanted to hear you laughing
Like all the times before
But you’re not here
You’re not here for
You’re not here for comment anymore
Someone drove a semi
A hundred miles an hour
Burning rubber into the suburbs
straight through a water tower
Business were burning
You would’ve smiled for sure
But you’re not here
You’re not here for
You’re not here for comment anymore
We’ve got missiles but no mistletoe
Friendly fire but no friends
It’s the things you can’t foresee
That’ll get you in the end
We were wasted on the weekend
We burned out every bar
Crying into microphones
Falling through guitars
I heard a simple melody
Pulled some lyrics from the drawer
But you’re not here
You’re not here for
You’re not here for comment anymore
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5. |
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I used to run when you'd call
now I’m stifled by suburban sprawl
Look out below!
Modern life is a game show
And the prizes we’re competing for
Are hollow and askew
Can I come over (when I get over you)?
Half the country's yearning for the past
while the planet changes to a ball of gas
I'll be alright at home
while you're children face the ThunderDome
that's the moment I'll no longer long to be alone
Can I come over (when I get over you)?
When I really want to hold you in my arms
the planet will be smoldering just like the burning stars
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6. |
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Come tell me something I haven’t heard yet
Maybe there’s time enough to stamp out my regret
We’re no longer young but our ears are still wet
Down by the river, hidden pleasure swirls
Dancing with the village girls
It’s been ages since you reached out your hand
When you touched me and you made me a man
I’ve fallen short of all of your plans
But I’m still the duchess to your Duke of Earl
Dancing with the village girls
The self-made man is starting to croak
His gray flannel suit is beginning to choke
His credit is shot, his family broke
But his mistress wears a string of pearls
Dancing with the village girls
The forests are burning, they’re wasting away
The oceans have risen 3 feet since last May
Our crimes against nature are out on display
There’s a place where hope still spins and twirls
Dancing with the village girls
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7. |
The Great Beyond
03:49
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Monday makes you want to vomit
Tuesday life’s gone awry
Wednesday you look in the mirror
See yourself and start to cry
Thursday you’re looking for answers
In the bottom of a glass
Friday your spirit’s rich
But your cash flow is working class
Nobody knows
We get our news from TV shows
In the Great Beyond, surely they’re not
Crazy for the country club
One day you’re flush, the next day you're mush
Don’t need a savings bond
In the Great Beyond
The grease in the hair of the 50’s
Gave way to the swinging 60’s
The hippies are yuppies now
Finance is their sacred cow
No one’s sure
What to believe and what to ignore
In the Great Beyond, surely they’re not
Psycho for a FICO score
One day you’re set, maybe not yet
Accounts are never overdrawn
In the Great Beyond
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8. |
Never Want to Go
03:27
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Stomping down on foreign soil
Fleeing from the turmoil
Stateless stationed refugee
What you get is what you see
Managed by the Mustang
Bullet catcher/bang-bang
Recoiling at the slightest sound
Jack boots are on the ground
I never want to go with you again
Sky blossom, pink mist
Some are drafted some enlist
Jesus slippers, jockstrap
Force projection, claptrap
Fast mover, first light
Chest candy, crash site
Blue Falcon, Bullshit Bomb
Gone Elvis, camouflaged
I never want to go with you again
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9. |
Don't Be Afraid
04:50
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I’m walking alone again tonight
I’m looking all around me
For some way to hold on
Your voice is coming through the radio
Erratic in the static
Like some kind of phantom
Don’t be afraid
Life is full of absurdity
We celebrate the selfish
And stumble the humble
Most of the things that believe
In one way or another
Have started to crumble
Don’t be afraid
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10. |
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Black-eyed Susan
Blue-eyed soul
All the colors of existence
Live inside your camera roll
I used to wonder
Wonder how we’d survive
Now I sit and ponder
Being single in the afterlife
How long have you been gone?
Clear-eyed soldier
Cross-eyed child
The spoils of modernity
Are leading us back to the wild
You used to promise
We’d stand side by side
Together in the jungle
Drifting toward the great divide
How long have you been gone?
I hear your footsteps on the floor upstairs
I hear you laughing at our fears and our affairs
Our prayers answered with a sigh and a yawn
While the war keeps waging
How long have you been gone?
Red-eyed morning
Wide-eyed night
You’re somewhere in The Garden
Of Heavenly Delights
How much longer
Can we get by
When all you’ve left us
Is a pigsty
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11. |
Halls of Valhalla
02:50
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The Halls of Valhalla were shaking in their stead
as the moon arose over the living dead
a crown is a ghost town, a scepter is a snake
Elvis sings and dances for his own sake
Was she really there?
What do we really know?
Can we start again?
What do the feelings show?
What makes a home a home?
What makes a man a man?
Why do the wicked rise?
Is this part of the plan?
The Halls of Valhalla were shaking in their stead
as the moon arose over the living dead
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Ben Brown Austin, Texas
Ben Brown, whose previous work includes No Show Ponies and The Savage Poor, is a singer/songwriter & multi-instrumentalist with a dramatic baritone voice and eclectic, introspective songs. Spanning the rock, alternative, pop, and singer/songwriter genres, Brown combines memorable melodies, idiosyncratic instrumentation, and thoughtfully poetic lyrics to describe and document the modern moment. ... more
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