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The Long Goodbye

by Chris Velan

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    All album pre-orders include digital liner notes, featuring eight pages of lyrics and , photographs and album credits.
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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Comes in a sweet looking sleeve with artwork by Peaks.

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Limited edition beautifully hand-screened album artwork by Peaks on recycled cardboard sleeve. Comes in four series: yellow, blue, pink, green. Choose your favourite colour, signed and numbered by Chris.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Long Goodbye via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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    edition of 248  18 remaining

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  • T-Shirt/Apparel

    Wrestling mask artwork on a unisex, fitted, 100% cotton, Alstyle red heather t-shirt. Super soft and comfy and printed with water-based inks so the print already feels like your favourite, well-worn tee.
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    5 remaining

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1.
BOTTOM OF LOVE Your songs will all be sung You won’t arrive there young No lie can live on your tongue When you get to the bottom of love No you and no more me Unbound from history As empty as a sea When you get to the bottom of love Cauterize the shame Forgiveness has a name And no one is to blame When you get to the bottom of love Fall trembling to the floor Kill off all that you adore Soon your soul will ache for more Tear your heart open wide Spill out what’s inside There’s no use trying to hide When you get to the bottom of love Eyes become unblind See through your mastermind You may not like what you’ll find When you get to the bottom of love To the bottom of love To the bottom of love
2.
Waking Heart 03:48
WAKING HEART You’ve been holding out Sleeping for so long You never even knew That anything was wrong And then it came one night It gave you such a start You looked all around But it was the sound Of your waking heart Your waking heart Your waking heart You never learned to build The fences in your west To let in what you need And to keep out all the rest Now you’re staking your claims Re-drawing maps and charts You’re trying to decide If I’m on the side Of your waking heart Your waking heart Your waking heart Now you’re losing the signal The volume’s getting weaker And you’re scared that the voice might disappear It’s getting hard to listen With all the interference And the voice that you heard is no longer clear I’ll do my best to wait I try to give you space I know you need some time For the truth you’ve got to face But if you can’t be whole You know I’d rather be apart 'Cause I could never stay Standing in the way Of your waking heart Your waking heart I’d never make you try 'Cause you can never lie To a waking heart.
3.
HARD DECEMBER When the words were finally spoken They filled the street and they clogged the drains When the dam was truly broken We could have drowned that city with our tears and pain It’s going to be our hard December Prepare, prepare for the worst you can remember And I’ll fan you in my heart Like a glowing ember Through this hard December In a basement off of King’s Cross As we lay trembling in the dark Finding our way through the new loss Our bodies curled upon the sheets like question marks Chorus Whether you leave or whether you stay You know it’s going to hurt you anyway Chorus
4.
HANG ON TIGHTLY I’d lie to myself for you But that would mean I lie to you, too And I love you too much for that Yeah, I love you too much for that I got caught up in our parade So happy with the dreams that we made And I didn’t need to admit To the piece that didn’t quite fit Hang on tightly Let go lightly I thought we make it to the end But you wouldn’t le me pretend There are things we can live without And the heart’s got a drawer for doubt So we’ll lie in our favourite bed And say all the words we’ve not said And hold each other one last night And know that it must be right Chorus I’m sorry that I let us down I wish that I could turn it all around I wanted just to be your man I’m still trying to understand Now I’m betting on a secret sun That’ll find us when we’re coming undone To remind us that it’s all a ride That’s there’s something on the other side Chorus
5.
THE LONG GOODBYE I’d hurt myself To keep from making you cry ‘Cause I’m a master of the long goodbye Some find it easy to walk away When things are wrong They just can’t stay They don’t dwell ‘cause that’s the trick Rip off the bandage hard and quick But I’ve never known just how to leave I stick to the plan ‘Cause I believe Better to hold on at all cost Than to regret what might be lost I’d hurt myself To keep from making you cry I’d rather stay Than learn the reason why Be here for a moment longer I need to feel a little stronger I’m a master of the long goodbye Yes, I’m a master of the long goodbye I thought I knew the way to love I felt like a hand inside your glove I knew what I wanted to be true It’s all that I needed to be with you If there was a fear I never spoke A sleeping hound I never woke’ I chose to banish it from me Making it my sworn enemy Chorus Who was I trying to protect Your or I the selfish architect Love is honest when you learn It gives asking nothing in return I made you crazy I made you wait I made the night become too late Can you forgive my coward heart You had it from the very start Sometimes aching for a clue It loved you with everything it knew Chorus
6.
Not That Man 04:29
NOT THAT MAN Gather all ye mourners There are questions made of fire What growls from distant corners In the caves of your desire Call off the wedding Call off the hounds He was last seen heading Now he’s nowhere to be found You’re not that man You’re not that man When you’re not the man you thought you were When you’re not the man you thought you were Caballero sunset Shipwrecked on a shoal There’s too much here to forget At the tropic of your soul Rat out all your culprits Sing like a bird May you protect your witness May he have the final word You’re not that man You’re not that man When you’re not the man you thought you were When you’re not the man you thought you were Dig your grave and visit often There’s no use hesitating Build a fine coffin And know it’s there waiting You were born into a fiction Your home never existed A well-rendered depiction Whose echo persisted When the story won’t hold up It’s flawed from the start And the columns don’t add up In the ledger of your heart You’re not that man You’re not that man When you’re not the man you thought you were When you’re not the man you thought you were
7.
GORGEOUS MORNING Slow my heartbeat Sound my retreat Save me one seat I’m just Working up the steam To start a new dream If don’t go now I’ll never know how Take a deep bow and turn Don’t let them see you cry It’s finally goodbye On a gorgeous morning On a gorgeous morning On a gorgeous morning I’ll be gone I’m a man, Lord I fall on my sword The glass has been poured, the bottle Is broken across the floor I can’t stay here anymore Chorus Leave the loose ends Call the old friends Where the road sends me now I’m no longer sure I always thought it would be with her Mercy, sunlight Treat me just right I will not fight you now I know this is the day That I start to fade away chorus
8.
DID WE EVER HAVE A CHANCE Take me to the start, You came in with a broken back Night bird singing out Billy boot heart attack Floating in our orbits How did we ever decide Did we fall into each other Was it just a slow collide Ooh, are we missing something Were we meant to complete this dance Ooh, is it ever one thing Wish it all away, wish it all Did we ever have a chance Did we see each other clearly Were there questions we didn’t ask You only took me home with you When I wore my wrestling mask Started running thick as thieves Felt just like we owned the night You said I was hiding something I didn’t know that you were right Chorus I became your valid reason I was going to follow you You became my sweet permission To be who I wanted to We know where the body’s buried We’re guilty accomplices We know too much about each other Maybe that’s just what love is Chorus Wish it all away, wish it all Wish it all away, wish it all Did we ever have Take me to the start Billy boot heart attack We held something for each other Now it’s time to give it back

about

“The Long Goodbye” is the musical diary of a break-up. This was a difficult album to write and record. It took a lot out of me on every level. But it also forced me to bore down into parts of myself, as an artist and a person, that, until now, I’ve been scared to explore. For that, I’m grateful. The songs run in a sort of narrative order, charting a path through the emotional landscape that I’ve walked . I tried to be as fearless and honest as I know how in presenting them. It’s a lonely listen, with only a male, Greek chorus to accompany you until the final number. But I hope there’s some sort of reward for you in there. Thank you for taking the time to let these songs in - and for feeling whatever it is they make you feel.

Chris
Montreal, March 4, 2013

credits

released July 23, 2013

The Long Goodbye
© 2013 Getaway Van, LLC
All rights reserved.
All songs written and performed by Chris Velan
Publishing administered by SOCAN / ASCAP
www.chrisvelan.com
www.newsongrecordings.com

Produced & Mixed by Iestyn Polson
Engineered by Julian Dryer
Assistant engineered by Drew Thilmany
Recorded & mixed @ Echo Mountain Studios; Asheville, NC
Mastered by Tatsuya Sato @ The Mastering Palace; New York, NY
Executive Producer: Gar Ragland


Bottom Of Love
Chris Velan: vocals, guitar, bass, synth, drum programming

Waking Heart
Chris Velan: vocals, guitars, bass, percussion

Hard December
Chris Velan: vocals, guitars, bass, synths, percussion
Sara Johnston: cello

Hang On Tightly
Chris Velan: vocals, ukelele, guitar
Billy Jack Sinkovic: cello
Kevin “Krum” Rumley: drums

The Long Goodbye
Chris Velan: vocals, piano, synths, percussion
Kevin “Krum” Rumley: drums

Not That Man
Chris Velan: vocals, guitar, synth, percussion
Chris Riale: trumpet

Gorgeous Morning
Chris Velan: vocals, ukelele, guitar, percussion

Did We Ever Have A Chance
Chris Velan: vocals, mellotron, piano, guitar, bass, percussion
Cariad Harmon: vocals
Aaron Steele: drums


Special thanks to:
Sara, Iestyn, Gar, Jessica Tomasin, “the man choir,” Cariad, Aaron

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Chris Velan Montréal, Québec

Montreal singer-songwriter and producer, Chris Velan, has always been crossing borders with his brand of world music- influenced, singer-songwriter pop. Drawing comparisons to the smart, genre-mixing writing of Neil Finn, Nick Lowe and Paul Simon, Velan's
latest album, “Amateur Hour”, will be released September 14th with touring to follow.
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