1. |
Kind of Mind
02:34
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It’s just the kind of mind I have, it all fades away
Dissolves like water into clay
Nothing more than a shadow when the evening turns gray
It’s just the kind of mind, just the kind of mind
Just the kind of, kind of mind
It’s just the kind of mind I have, it’s for my own good
It’s not made of straw, it’s not made of wood
It’s American steel and barbed wire and a big bad wolf
It’s just the kind of mind, just the kind of mind
Just the kind of, kind of mind
It’s the kind of mind that reads words on a page
Can recognize the hand but not the day
Can’t rewind, recover, or replay
Doesn’t even know what’s been betrayed
It’s just the kind of mind I have, to put it back in the box
I won’t throw it out now, but I’ll keep it locked
Watch it slink deep into the dark like a little red tail fox
It’s just the kind of mind, just the kind of mind
Just the kind of, kind of mind
It’s just the kind of mind, just the kind of mind
Just the kind of, kind of mind
It’s just the kind of mind, just the kind of mind
Just the kind of, kind of mind
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2. |
Jimmy Took the Money
02:38
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Jimmy took the money took the money took the money
Put a bullet in that poor man’s head
Jimmy took the money took the money took the money
Put a bullet in that poor man’s head
They were driving on the south side
Armored car, smooth ride
Turned to his partner
Said I’m tired of the nine to five
If you don’t speak a word of it
I’ll do a eighty twenty split
The man said Jimmy what the hell
Ran a stop sign
Jimmy took the money took the money
Put a bullet in that poor man’s head
Jimmy took the money took the money took the money
Put a bullet in that poor man’s head
Well he left a pile of dough
In the graveyard with a note
It said I’m so sorry, mama, so sorry sorry so so
Daddy shook his head and said
That boy ain’t got a lick of sense
Looked at the bloody coat
Wiped his eyes, called the po-po
Jimmy took the money took the money
Put a bullet in that poor man’s head
Jimmy took the money took the money took the money
Put a bullet in that poor man’s head
Now he’s out there on the run
Another white boy with a gun
He said I’m sick of this steel town
Want some Florida sun
It’s a shame he never got to see
His picture on the TV
By the time he hit the state line
Everybody knew what he done
He took the money
Put a bullet in that poor man’s head
Jimmy took the money took the money took the money
Put a bullet in that poor man’s head
Everybody knows that he should have gone to Mexico
Should have took the back roads
Should have kept his mouth closed
He’s sleeping in a crack house
That’s how it’s going down now
There’s nowhere to go, Jimmy
There’s nowhere to go, Jimmy,
Nowhere to go go go
Jimmy took the money, took the money
Put a bullet in that poor man’s head
Jimmy took the money took the money took the money
Put a bullet in that poor man’s head
Jimmy Jimmy
He put a bullet in that poor man’s head
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3. |
God Bless the USA
03:40
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Raymond Jones came home to Greenville
After his second tour
They showed a video on the local news
Of his kids waiting at the door
He threw his boots down on the carpet
They were still filled with desert sand
He laid down on the couch for the next three days
Because he couldn’t bear to stand
But he’s proud to be an American
Where at least he knows he’s free
And he won’t forget the men who died
Sometimes he says it should have been me
And he can’t escape the movies running
Through his mind most every day
Well there ain’t no doubt that boy’s not the same
God bless the USA
He spent six months pacing the floors
He didn’t know what else to do
Then he got a job pushing a broom around
At his old high school
He looked down when he passed the teachers
Of every class he flunked
The kids would sneak up behind him
and yell boom boom
Just to see how high he’d jump
But he’s proud to be an American
Where at least he knows he’s free
And he won’t forget the men who died
Sometimes he says it should have been me
And he can’t escape the movies running
Through his mind most every day
Well there ain’t no doubt that boy’s not the same
God bless the USA
From sea to shining sea
Bombs are bursting in the air
And sometimes you take the long way home
Just to find them still exploding there
But he’s proud to be an American
Where at least he knows he’s free
And he won’t forget the men who died
Sometimes he says it should have been me
And he can’t escape the movies running
Through his mind most every day
Well there ain’t no doubt that boy’s not the same
God bless the USA
Well there ain’t no doubt he’ll never be the same
God bless the USA
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4. |
Run Like the Devil
03:34
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When my mama moved south she was chasing a man
Who was chasing the American dream
The one with women and wine, driving fast, doing time
Spreading wildfire and misery
And it seeped in the ground, in the water, the air
In our hearts and our bodies it seems
Now Ryan’s out on parole, Dylan’s 19 years old
Dealing junk and shooting off steam
And as for me, I’ve been dancing at Betty’s again
Jesus Christ, hallelujah, amen
Well come on my brothers let’s go find some trouble
We better run like the devil, run like the devil
Out of this town
Well we might bring some fame to the family name
We ain’t had no luck climbing up
Let ‘em take us down
So we put all our guns in the blue Buick trunk
And from then there was nothing but noise
Robbed a bank in Algiers, dumped the car in Eau Claire
Felt my first little glimmer of joy
We were cutting our teeth
When we made that man bleed
And when we mixed the weed and the wine
We took the AK47 in a 7-11
And they chased us across another state line
And then we saw our faces on the six o’clock news
I said come on boys we got nothing, nothing to lose
Well come on my brothers let’s go find some trouble
We better run like the devil, run like the devil
Out of this town
Well we might bring some fame to the family name
We ain’t had no luck climbing up
Let ‘em take us down
Well they took us in alive
Outside of Maryville, Missouri
Tell me who you have to kill these days
To get a little blaze of glory
Well come on my brothers let’s go find some trouble
We better run like the devil, run like the devil
Out of this town
Well we might bring some fame to the family name
We ain’t had no luck climbing up
Let ‘em take us down
We ain’t had no luck climbing up
Let ‘em take us down
We ain’t had no luck climbing up
Let ‘em take us down
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5. |
The Dream
03:47
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Honey was the hottest thing on eight little wheels
Down at The Dream every Friday night
She’d roll backwards and forwards, let herself be adored
Under the disco ball’s sparkling lights
There was a boy one summer working at the hotel
And the way he moved suited her fine
He said she’s the one thing worth stealing
From this tourist town
And I’m gonna make her mine
They went round and round and he took her hand
Like it was shipwrecked treasure he’d found
She could still remember every moment
The day The Dream shut down
They’d go and sit on the beach
The future just out of reach
He’d point across the waves and say
There’s a big old world just waiting
We can see it all someday
Honey tried to act unimpressed
But couldn’t help to confess
The dreams she’d never said out loud
How she wanted to be more than a roller queen
Or a standout in a small pond crowd
They went round and round and he said my love
You can be bigger than this town
She could still remember every word
The day The Dream shut down
The days grew shorter and the seagulls all soared off
To a warmer coast
He said another month I’m leaving
Come with me when I go
She went round and round like a riptide
Felt her courage growing thin
He pulled up to take her away
She said maybe one last spin
He sent postcards from Paris
She got pregnant and married
Never seemed to want much more
She tried not to think about how she could’ve got out
Till she watched The Dream close its doors
She sat across the street and wandered back
When hope hung heavy like a crown
She could still remember every moment
Clear enough to make her drown
She could still remember every moment
Though she never made a sound
She remembered every moment
The day The Dream shut down
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6. |
Waiting Around
04:38
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I saw you in line at the grocery store
I tried to turn tail then my basket hit the floor
Dropped down to the ground
But I still caught your eye
Before I could take a breath
You were standing at my side
I said hey old friend, well I guess it’s been some years
But I finally swum out of my big puddle of tears
And you’re finally back on earth after that long sky dive
I guess it’s good to know you’re still alive
There was fire, flood, wind and rain and
Fear and hope and doubt
And all that time I was just waiting around
I was just waiting around
I was just waiting around
Does your dog still spin when he wags his tail?
Did your brother ever get clean, is he out of jail?
Does your knee still ache after the first frost?
Did you ever find those pictures that we lost?
And did she finally let you have the boat?
Or did you find something else to help keep you afloat?
Do I cross your mind every now and then?
Are you still searching your soul and living on dividends?
You had to go and try to get yourself all figured out
And all that time I was just waiting around
I was just waiting around
I was just waiting around
Did you ever wonder if you were a fool
And how a human being could be
So goddamn accidentally cruel
Do you ever feel frozen counting days and marking time
Did you ever look up and see me
Writing love songs in the sky?
You said you hoped that I was doing well
So I curled my toes and opened my mouth to tell
How you wore down that one spot in my heart
Then she came and stood beside you
With a baby in her arms
She had a baby in her arms
And gee I guess it’s good to see you’re finally happy now
And you didn’t waste your time
Just waiting around
Like I was just waiting around
I was just waiting around
I was just waiting around
I was just waiting around
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7. |
Cecilia and the Saints
04:45
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I walked 20 miles in bare feet as a child to see your face
Dragging hope and fear and loneliness
Across the Spanish plain
My arms and chest were leather brown
My mouth was desert dry
But my thirst evaporated in the shadow of your eyes
Now I walk into this holy house, a pilgrim bowed and bent
Seeking gossamer connection, ever throwing filament
I kneel and light the candle, say a prayer and genuflect
But only gazing on your golden lips
Can make me feel correct
It’s a parable of gratitude and cavernous, cruel faith
In the strange misshapen beauty of Cecilia and the saints
I have watched you as you flickered
I have watched you dull and fade
As the glowing, tireless growl of time
Coerced you to decay
And oh Santa Maria, for this man that I behold
Send strength coursing through this body
Emanating from my soul
Please bless these trembling fingers
Bless the shiver in my hand
Bless the naked blazing empty space
In every mortal man
Bless the pigments and the brushes
Bless the deep burnt browns and reds
Bless these pious pure intentions
Bless what commenced instead
It’s a parable of gratitude and cavernous, cruel faith
In the strange misshapen beauty of Cecilia and the saints
In this stucco sanctuary, fiery frescoes beaming down
Watching wretched resurrection
Hang upon your thorny crown
I lean into the withered comfort of your flowing robes
For at last we are together, at last we are alone
And when I finally touch your hair
It’s like a floating fever dream
Can you feel me, are you reaching
The sublime or the obscene
Please accept my true apologies
My passion and my ache
And this graceless, sacred offering
Left tumbling from your gates
It’s a parable of gratitude and cavernous, cruel faith
In the strange misshapen beauty of Cecilia and the saints
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8. |
Water in the Well
03:16
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Tell me who put the water in the well?
Tell me who put the water in the well?
Who put the clouds up in the sky
And made them fall to the ground when the dirt was dry?
Who put the water in the well?
Tell me who put the cotton in the fields?
Tell me who put the cotton in the fields?
Who made the fall wind blow and sing
And lift the blossom on the air like angel wings?
Who put the cotton in the fields?
Tell me who put the muscle in the man?
Tell me who put the muscle in the man?
Who wakes him when the rooster calls
And makes him break his back till darkness falls?
Who put the muscle in the man?
Tell me who, who put your hands in chains?
Tell me who, who put your hands in chains?
Who stole you from your earthly home
And fed you bit by bit to the beast below
Who put your hands in chains?
Tell me who put the hate in your heart?
Tell me who put the hate in your heart?
Who crawled into that blood red cave
And made your soul the devil’s slave?
Who put the hate in your heart?
Who put the water in the well?
Tell me who put the water in the well?
Who put the clouds up in the sky
And made them fall to the ground when the dirt was dry?
Who put the water in the well?
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9. |
George Sodini
04:21
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Are you from around here
Won’t you tell me your name?
You know the faces they all change here
But the scenery, it stays the same
I’m a lonely man, it’s another lonely day
It seems nothing besides loneliness
Ever really comes my way
People say, well he’s so nice
But none of you ever look at me twice
Are you scared of me? Are you scared?
Why are you scared?
Are you scared of me? Are you scared?
Why are you scared?
Why are you scared?
You know there’s something dark
Something running deep
And with all that shouting, all that noise
No one wants my soul to keep
We all have demons we shove down inside
And we walk through the world like everybody else
Till one day they refuse to hide
Just one touch would mean everything to me
But you’re all whores and you look right through me
Are you scared of me? Are you scared?
Why are you scared?
Are you scared of me? Are you scared?
Why are you scared?
Why are you scared?
The earth moves round in circles
Hands move round the clock
I love to watch your body move
Now I’d love to make it stop
Are you scared of me? Are you scared?
You should be scared
Are you scared of me? Are you scared?
You should be scared
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10. |
Chicken Salad
03:32
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If grandma taught me one thing
From the wisdom of her years
There’s a surefire way to save some time
And dry up all your tears
You can’t turn the streetlights into stars
A field of rocks don’t make a farm
You’re better off if you can see
Things for what they are
If it don’t feel right
There’s something wrong with it
You can try for your whole life
But you’re better off to quit
When you push and shove with all your might
But you just can’t make it fit
Remember only this
You can’t make chicken salad out of chicken shit
You came on like lightning
In the middle of July
And I gave up my heart and brain
To give you a good try
I thought that love would bring you help
Or turn you into someone else
The kind of someone I had always
Wanted for myself
If it don’t feel right
There’s something wrong with it
You can try for your whole life
But you’re better off to quit
When you push and shove with all your might
But you just can’t make it fit
Remember only this
You can’t make chicken salad out of chicken shit
There’s nothing in this great big world
Could make you right for me
Not one more promise from your mouth
Or all the mayonnaise in Tennessee
If it don’t feel right
There’s something wrong with it
You can try for your whole life
But you’re better off to quit
When you push and shove with all your might
But you just can’t make it fit
Remember only this
You can’t make chicken salad out of chicken shit
You can’t make chicken salad out of chicken shit
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11. |
When the Day Was Done
04:33
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The overpasses turned to covered bridges
On the two-hour drive down to my grandma’s house
We pulled off on the dirt road that led to Bedford County
Where the August sun burned the grasstops brown
She’d tend to the zucchini in the garden
And I’d run straight down to the creek to wade
When evening came she’d pick and slice the peaches
That will always be how summer tastes
There was so much I didn’t know back then
And so much that I’d give now to talk to her again
I guess I never really thought to ask her
And I’ll never get a chance now that she’s gone
The fading twilight swallowed our unspoken words
We sat silently when the day was done
You know she’d never talk much about trouble
But others told me that she had her share
The nights that she was left with just a prayer to her name
Did she feel broken down beyond repair?
As the sunset turned the steel blue sky to red
So many things between us were left unsaid
I guess I never really thought to ask her
And I’ll never get a chance now that she’s gone
The fading twilight swallowed our unspoken words
We sat silently when the day was done
If I had just one more day
There’s so much I’d want to know
How to make it through the heartache
Of having nothing real to show
Why the world turns so fast
When there’s still so far to go
I’ll have to find out on my own
I guess I never really thought to ask her
And I’ll never get a chance now that she’s gone
The fading twilight swallowed our unspoken words
We sat silently, we sat silently
We sat silently when the day was done
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12. |
Come Along Children
02:40
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Children you’ll find me at the bottom of the lake
Children you’ll find me at the bottom of the lake
I’ve had about as much of this old world as I can take
Children I left your supper on the stove
Children I left your supper on the stove
Now feed the dog and the baby if you make it home
Children he left me and he ain’t coming back
Children he left me and he ain’t coming back
The day he walked out the door is
The day my heart turned black
So come along children, let’s go for a ride
Come along children, let’s go for a ride
I’ll leave the window open
See if you can make it out alive
Children you’ll find me at the bottom of the lake
Children you’ll find me at the bottom of the lake
I’ve had about as much of this old world as I can take
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Tracie Potochnik Providence, Rhode Island
Providence-based singer-songwriter Tracie Potochnik is noted for applying simple arrangements and delicately crafted narratives to songs exposing the complexity of the human condition. Tracie brings three chords, the truth, and occasionally a mandolin to her shows. She once killed a man in Reno, but not just to watch him die. Bastard had it coming. ... more
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