1. |
There You Are
04:21
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THERE YOU ARE
There’s a line in a book that I often overlook
It says, “While you’re here, might as well, shout it out and ring the bell, ring the bell”
And this I know to be so, but today I lost the flow
My shadow left and hit the road
My reflection never showed
I opened up the magazine
I sat and watched the movie screen
Thank God the TV avatar
He caught my eye and he pointed out//
There you are
There you are//
Calendars and specials charts
All the names and all the hearts
Entropy and finger snaps
A million dots on a million maps
You’ll face in back and half way down
But turn around or you just begun
That name tag from the seminar
Just take it off yeah throw it out
There you are There you are
See I’m a speck and you’re a ghost
Renters of this dying host
But if I love you anyway is that enough for today
You say you don’t feel like you’re here
You’re losing something every year
There’s your skin and there’s your scar
I lift the sheets and without a doubt//
There you are
There you are
There you are//
So make believe if you must
To satisfy your wonder lust
‘Cause the earth is down
The sun is bright
Your hand is left and your foot is right
So raise yourself and deeply sigh
Step out in the nighttime sky
Tilt your head and find your star
If you don’t know, where you be
And if you don’t know where you be//
There you are
There you are//
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2. |
Long Way From Home
04:22
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LONG WAY FROM HOME
Take a plane through the skies
Touch down, step out, squint your eyes
Welcome all, shake my hand
There’s not much you understand
Over here, we are good
We die younger than we should
What we make all gets spent
Better love our President
So they say every road’s gonna lead to Rome, but//
You’re a long way from home
You’re a long way from home//
Trade a master for a thief,
We don’t dare wish for relief
See here we have no safety net
Even the walls drip with sweat
Carry ‘round a couple bills
Rebels massing in the hills
Prayers start you’re out of light
Where you gonna stay tonight
Could it be were separated by a chromosome, ‘cause//
You’re a long way from home
You’re a long way from home//
We don’t want to envy you
But it’s just too hard not to
See we can’t leave the same way
Wish that we could have a day
To take a plane through the skies
Touch down, step out, squint eyes
Take some pictures, maybe learn
Then be happy to return
See you where you live
See you in your Superdome//
And be a long way from home
And be a long way from home//
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3. |
Best Of Me
04:15
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BEST OF ME
If today I’m not myself
Far off in some distant place
And I cannot seem to give
I know you see it in my face
If I could I would explain
Why I don’t feel right in my skin
And though you give me all you can
It’s hard for me to take it in
No, I’m not fine
But I’m not broken//
Go ahead, forget the rest of me
I love it when you get the best of me
If I was bad I never meant to be
I loved it when you got the best of me
Will you know just what you are to me
I love it when you get the best of me
Everyday is a long-gone memory
I love it when you get the best of me//
Lately I’ve been short on grace
Like my train jumped off the track
As soon as I hang up the phone
I wish that I could take it back
Sometimes the hours aren’t enough
For all I think I need to do
Though I only have two hands
I’ll grow a hundred more for you
‘Cause this is not me
It’s my shadow//
Go ahead, forget the rest of me
I love it when you get the best of me
If I was bad I never meant to be
I loved it when you got the best of me
Will you know just what you are to me
I love it when you get the best of me
Everyday is a long-gone memory
I love it when you get the best of me//
I push away and you leave
I want to chase you down but I won’t
The poison that you know, sometimes
Is stronger than the cure that you don’t//
Last night I woke up in a sweat
From dreaming that you left for good
So much I had not told you yet
Though I always knew I should
It’s like sand inside my mouth
Shards of glass stuck in my throat
It’s beautiful to rise above
Too easy just to stay afloat//
Go ahead, forget the rest of me
I love it when you get the best of me
If I was bad I never meant to be
I loved it when you got the best of me
Will you know just what you are to me
I love it when you get the best of me
Everyday is a long-gone memory
I love it when you get the best of me
And if it takes up my last energy
I love it when you get
And please take this as my apology
I love it when you get
‘Cause everyday is just a memory
I love it when you get the best of me
I love it when you get the best of me//
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4. |
So Wrong
04:37
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SO WRONG
The big hand reaches up and hangs from the nine
The small hand’s asleep on the two, it lost track of the time
And we’re going to stay here until
Something breaks or turns out fine
It never is my intention to send us into a dive
But it’s times like this I feel like
I’m shaking a beehive
Maybe what you want so much to hear
Is not what I can contrive//
It starts with the thought
I’m going to make this be right
The message gets carried on a million nerves
Straight to the mouth, with a clear order
You’ve got to make this turn into words
And if we’re all just a ball of electrical signals
Hardwired for to pass them along
When it gets to the moment that the words are needed
Why do they all come out so wrong
Why do they always come out so wrong//
You’re so quick to speak how can you be sure
That what you’re saying is not coming out premature
When I put my arms around you
Do you not feel secure
So can’t we sit around and laugh without drowning in consequence
And you can know I’m yours without all the wild suspense
We’ll get our answers without
Forcing providence
Cause what I say, always lets you down//
It starts with the thought
I’m going to make this be right
The message gets carried on a million nerves
Straight to the mouth, with a clear order
You’ve got to make this turn into words
And if we’re all just a ball of electrical signals
Hardwired for to pass them along
When it gets to the moment that the words are needed
Why do they all come out so wrong
Why do they always come out so wrong//
Knock, knock, knock is anyone there
Underneath that head of hair
Don’t worry ‘bout what you can’t here
It’s in my left hemisphere so
Let me get my dictionary, build my vocabulary
Find my encyclopedia, maybe try some visual media
Fire up all my synapses, clear away those memory lapses
Build up an argument so strong that it never collapses
Step inside my frontal lobe, conduct your special probe
Take a walk on my cortex, you’ll find I’m like a rolodex
So why must it be so slow
To let the words flow
It’s hard to speak when I know
That what I say, is going to let you down//
It starts with the thought
I’m going to make this be right
The message gets carried on a million nerves
Straight to the mouth, with a clear order
You’ve got to make this turn into words
And if we’re all just a ball of electrical signals
Hardwired for to pass them along
When it gets to the moment that the words are needed
Why do they all come out so wrong
Why do they always come out so wrong//
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5. |
Continental Divide
05:56
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CONTINENTAL DIVIDE
From here on in, the water’s flowing eastward
From here on in, it’s generally all downhill
I could stare here in Billings County, North Dakota
But there’s somewhere else that I should be
I never thought, that this could feel so lonely
I never thought, I’d find myself here again
But the Great Lakes, radio preacher
He’s got me happy
‘Cause he cries we all can find the Kingdom, too//
And I’m tilting
On my axis
To get closer to the sun
Tilting
On my axis
To get closer to the sun//
I lost my nerve, but found it in a rainstorm
I lost you, too, but don’t think I could find you again
Still I’m racing the freight-train horizon
Towards the ocean
Through fields that don’t seem like they want to end//
So I’m tilting
On my axis
To get closer to the sun
Tilting
On my axis
To get closer to the sun//
If I need to, I’ll pull up my equator
If I need to, I’ll bend my latitudes to keep you in
And push up mountains, suspend all erosion
And hold the winter
To get back to you
Before the last leaf falls
So I’m tilting
On my axis
To get closer to the sun
Tilting
On my axis
To get closer to the sun//
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6. |
Shiver
03:42
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SHIVER
Lock the door my one son
Soon it will be all done
They’ll be coming for me shortly
There’s blood upon the streets tonight
You should know I’ve done no crime
But this will be the last time
We can sit by the fire
And I can tell you what you need to learn//
I shiver ‘cause it’s understood
Shiver when the day is good
Shiver at the very sight
Shiver ‘cause I know I’m right//
You’re young but you’re able
To put food upon the table
Now your mother will need you
Your sister won’t understand
And in the years that follow
If you’re lost and hollow
Remember why they stole me
Because they couldn’t take my soul//
And I shiver for the love we give
Shiver for the life we live
Shiver when I look at you
Shiver ‘cause you’ll make it through//
Don’t carry ‘round the weight
Of a vengeful hate
Soon you’ll become the ones
For whom we sit and wait//
Hear the slow clock ticking
Like a trigger clicking
Footsteps in the alley
The wolves are upon our door
And your tears flow free
But don’t fear for me
You’ll be my keeper
A ghost is what they’ll get//
And I shiver at the very thought,
Shiver ‘cause it’s all we’ve got
Shiver when the sky turns black
And I shiver
‘Cause I won’t be back
I shiver ‘cause I won’t be back
Shiver’ cause I won’t be back
I shiver ‘cause I won’t be back//
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7. |
Twenty-Year Flood
04:40
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TWENTY-YEAR FLOOD
If we can’t stop the water from rising
Then we’re going to get carried away
Nobody is realizing, but I’ve been watching the banks all day
Go tell the town of the danger
Go ahead and sound the alarm
Everybody’s out laughing in the rain
Nobody thinks they’ll be harmed//
In the twenty-year flood
We’ve got to reach high ground
Mamma grew a wing to look for the king
But he already drowned
In the twenty-year flood
All the boats have burned
Now the wolves and sheep gonna get no sleep
Till the tides have turned//
There’s a wicked wind coming up the valley
Old folks never seen it this bad
Congregation sings, Hallejulah
Don’t fear we should all be glad
Governor says it’s never going to happen
We’ll never have to leave this place
Black clouds and the river is swollen
Black clouds and the river is swollen
He’s got his bags packed just in case of the
Twenty-year flood
We’ve got to reach high ground
Mamma grew a wing to look for the king
But he already drowned
In the twenty-year flood
All the boats have burned
Now the wolves and sheep gonna get no sleep
Till the tides have turned//
Jody, we have to go
Everybody has lost their mind
I know your brother’s on the other side
But we have to climb these hills
And see what we can find//
When the dam could hold no longer
It crumbled like Jericho
In a lightning flash it was over
There was nowhere left to go
Some say that the town was dancing
Celebrating one more day
Sleepwalking into the future
When the water washed all away
In the twenty-year flood
We’ve got to reach high ground
Mamma grew a wing to look for the king
But he already drowned
In the twenty-year flood
All the boats have burned
Now the wolves and sheep gonna get no sleep
Till the tides have turned//
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8. |
Little Hula Girl
04:02
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LITTLE HULA GIRL
Queen of the concrete
Heels on your small feet
Head at an angle
Like you know something, thing, thing
You know something
Car takes a right turn
Rolls to a slow burn
And you start shaking
‘Cause it’s just what you do, do
It’s just what you do
Little hula girl
You’re absorbing the world
With your swing-around hips
In a grass skirt swirl
Little hula girl
You’re like a plastic pearl
And we’ll all spin around you,
On a tilted world
Does it ever get you down, down
‘It ever get you down
Never even make a sound, sound
You never make a sound//
Shadow-maker
Sweet love-faker
City is breathing
And whispering your name, name
Whispering your name
You’re Flowers for the ugly
And warmth for the lonely
You’re food for the hungry
And everything in between, ‘tween
Everything between
Little hula girl
You’re absorbing the world
With your swing-around hips
In a grass skirt swirl
Little hula girl
You’re like a plastic pearl
And we’ll all spin around you,
On a tilted world
Does it ever get you down, down
‘It ever get you down
Never even make a sound, sound
You never make a sound//
Orange hand says you should know
White man walking says let’s go//
Windshield gazes
And awkward phrases
The restaurant neon
Is winking and blinking, ‘king
Winking and blinking
And I passed you last night
My head was not on right
I was scared that you just might
Sprinkle your dust on me, me
Your dust on me
Little hula girl
You’re absorbing the world
With your swing-around hips
In a grass skirt swirl
Little hula girl
You’re like a plastic pearl
And we’ll all spin around you,
On a tilted world
Does it ever get you down, down
‘It ever get you down
Never even make a sound, sound
You never make a sound//
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9. |
Drive-By Smile
04:14
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Drive-By Smile
Hey, do I know you
You don’t look familiar
But the kindness in your eyes puzzles me
I was just driving around in circles
Getting lost intentionally
Is this your corner, your own piece of Heaven
Or is it just a place you ended up in
Why do you live here
Does it even matter
Where would you be if you could be anywhere//
Simple as a drive-by smile that you gave me
Your drive-by smile
Might be the thing to save me//
Who is your hero
Do you dream often
And can you dance to save your soul
What makes you angry
Fills you with hatred
Or do you try to practice love and being whole
What are you moved by
Are you a believer
Who do you call to when you think you’re going to die
Was your heart broken
Did you find the answer
Do you carry it around with you//
Simple as a drive-by smile that gave me
Your drive-by smile
Might be the thing to save me
Your drive-by smile//
For all I know you’re a killer
With hard to fathom reasons
And we both go through our seasons
For all I know you’re a mirror
Turned at such an angle
To throw it back on me//
And what do you do to fill up the hours
What makes you get up and do it again
Must you rely on strong medication to make it better
Do you have a best friend
Who was your mother
Do you know your father
Are you the last one with your name
You seem like you’re happy
So what made you want to wave to me
What made you want to wave to me//
Simple as a drive-by smile that you gave me
Your drive-by smile
Might be the thing to save me
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10. |
What We Do
04:07
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WHAT WE DO
The night only left when it made it’s point
And staggered off drunk with a terrible cough
Morning swore this will be the last
Snooze button worked till you turned it off
The bus is a stretcher for the graveyard shift
Coffee doesn’t work for the hummingbird heart
Someone got fucked by the water duct
Somebody’s making a brand new start
And the eyes are going to focus for the sake of the hair
Static is erratic in the northbound lane
The sound of I think I can, I think I can, I think I can
Rises up in a chorus strain
How’s it going, jackpot growing
Message beeping, I’ll be sleeping awake
What do you make//
Day in, day out, this is what we do
Day in, day out, this is what we do//
The horoscope brags to the shopping cart
Fanfare kick through the upright posts
Daydream trip to a warm screensaver
Gate goes up if you pay the ghost
In the other part of town where the checks bounce hard
The planes fly over and the trains go through
They’re crying on the steps of the Information Age
Fathers of the Church don’t know what to do
Say, Come back, children
All is forgiven
You need blessing, stop your guessing and stay
It’ll be OK//
Day in, day out, this is what we do
Day in, day out, this is what you do//
So we all will jump ‘cause the ding means go
And everybody’s sad that the trees are gone
Crawl out of the tunnels like blinking moles
Laugh when we turn the boxes on//
The papers can’t tell who the culprit is
And someone’s going to die if you don’t move fast
The question of the day is not how it’s going to change
It’s how long will it last
And I’m not who I want to be today
There are riots in the minds and the suburbs on fire
I’m sorry but it never turns out that way
It’s all held together by tape and wire
Day in, day out, this is what we do
Day in, day out, this is what we do//
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11. |
Evolution For Beginners
04:34
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EVOLUTION FOR BEGINNERS
I get sick, of all the sickness
So much pain in a city block
My skin’s thick, it’s got thickness
But not enough to avoid the shock
‘Cause we’re, we’re born without hating
Without blaming
Without shaming ourselves
But see that man beat his kid
‘Cause he was beaten, too
For what he did
And what he’ll never do
How many lives ahead will be enough
To change what we want to change//
Running out of room
And we can’t return
Genealogical take-out but we can learn
Evolution for beginners
Forget what you know
And come back new//
She needs a drink just to get her blood flowing
He hates the colour of different skin
She doesn’t think there’s any love owing
He doesn’t see the enemy within
‘Cause he’s a bomb-dropper and a
cross-burner and a
fear-monger from way, way back
And she doesn’t need anyone to hit her
She puts herself on the torture rack
How many lives ahead will be enough
To change what we want to change//
Running out of room
And we can’t return
Genealogical take-out but we can learn
Evolution for beginners
Forget what you know
And come back new//
Oh, it’s true
We have invisible fins
And tails and fangs
And ancient, unforgiven sins
We carry ‘round the weights and scars
But they’re not ours
And then we hold out the baton
And pass it on
Pass it on to you
Am I destined to fight them
Or burn their forest
Or make you the poorest
Or cover you in kisses and prejudices
How many lives ahead will be enough
To change what we want to change//
Running out of room
And we can’t return
Genealogical take-out but we can learn
Evolution for beginners
Forget what you know
And come back new//
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12. |
Batmobile
05:37
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BATMOBILE
Oh, Lily, I am waiting at the secret hiding place
The leader’s chair is open just for you
That time I made you follow me through the cemetery gates
You swore you hated me, now was that true
You can always catch the bigger frogs and almost spit as far
And when we race we’re mostly close to tied
Whenever we arm wrestle, I never tell you this
I let you win just once, the rest I really tried//
Now the Batmobile, lost a wheel
The Joker got a way
And I don’t feel like playing much today
No I don’t feel like playing much today//
I still have never French-kissed, you’re right it was a lie
But I was thinking maybe that we could someday try
I hope you’re not forgetting the night we slept outside
We pinky-sweared you’d marry me as soon as we could drive
So I dug up the jar of coins we saved and those cigarettes
The army knife we cut our hands upon
And I’ll work until the jar is full and buy that rusty car
That sits upon the blocks behind the neighbor’s lawn
Now the Batmobile, lost a wheel
The Joker got a way
And I don’t feel like playing much today//
If you lean outside your window
I’ll pull a wheelie on my bike
And hold it all the way to Maple Street
I’ll do my monkey imitation the way you always like
And write our names into the wet concrete
Because your brother says you’re sick
Much sicker than a cold
Kind of like what Mister Sutter had
If you start to lose your hair you can wear my lucky cap
And I’ll live with you in the hospital
Lily it won’t be bad
Lily don’t be sad//
Now the Batmobile, lost a wheel
The Joker got a way
And I don’t feel like playing much today
‘Like playing much today
‘Like doing much today//
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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.
... more
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