1. |
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An Alley Opens Its Mouth and Roars
The steps fly underneath my feet
I follow you out to the street
Where dirty water undisturbed
Runs along a stone curb
A sewer swallows you too soon
I lose the shadow of the moon
An alley opens a mouth and roars
I see ya swallowed in to score
I’m sick of all those little blue
Bags you’re looking for just like clues
The night runs underneath today
Like a river by the quay
Sneaking underneath a bridge
Disappearing down a ridge
You turn a shoulder, I can see
You don’t really want, you don’t really want
Help from me - you don’t want help from me
You say you do, it’s just a bluff
I think I’ve helped quite enough
You say you do, it’s just a bluff
I think I’ve helped you quite enough
An alley opened a mouth and roared
You won’t come out from there no more
You’re hooked on all those little blue
Bags you find there just like clues, just like clues
So like a paper in the wind
You lose your will, you start to spin
I watch the trail of your cape
As you make for one last escape
You feel superhero strong
Too bad not for very long
Shop windows as bright as eyes
Bear witness to your demise
An alley opens a mouth at dawn
It spits you out with just one yawn
You’ll have to face the light of day
Or try your best anyway
The steps fly underneath my feet
I follow you out to the street
Where dirty water undisturbed
Flows along a stone cold curb
A sewer swallows it too soon
I lose the shadow of the moon
An alley opened a mouth at dawn
It spits you out with just one yawn
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2. |
My Eyes Were Stars
02:14
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My Eyes Were Stars
I had a handful, but of sand
It wasn’t quite what I had planned
I had an arm across your dress
But not the one that I liked the best
To count on you was shooting craps
You turned on and off the taps
My eyes were stars but yours were stones
By your side I felt alone
Any man that dials a phone
Could have said, leave well alone
Those eyes are onions dressed as pearls
They’re big and round as this old world
Yeah, any man that holds a hat
Could have warned me, I knew that
What more can a man expect
When he dives into a wreck
My eyes were stars but yours were stones
By your side I felt alone
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3. |
Director Unknown
02:40
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Director Unknown
Was He very scared?
In his ripped jeans and ill -fitting underwear
Nine years old with heart in mouth
Nine years old with his heart in his mouth
It just happened and that is all
It just happened and that is all
I can speak only for me
Speak only to me
I was frightened and I was scared
I was so afraid
It just happened and that is all
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4. |
The First Move
03:24
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The First Move
In romance and in war
It’s good to be the first to score
In combat and in love
The first move is what I dream of
It’s so disarming, yes I find
To make the first move every time
A filibuster just delays
To be a tease should be a phase
Better write a bill to pass
Or make a move and make it fast
It’s so alarming, but I find
The first move works every time
You never know the result
A hug and kiss, a new insult
But you’ll never have to guess
What might have been, not unless
Afraid of harming even a fly
You let the first move pass you by
It’s so disarming, but I find
The first move works every time
It’s so alarming, but I find
The first move works on your mind
A shield can only just defend
But enemies come back again
So draw that pistol from the hip
And form the words and purse your lips
It’s so disarming, Oooo yes I find
To make the first move every time
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5. |
The Old Casino
03:46
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The Old Casino
If I am to lose
Well I’m going to lose
I’d rather the old casino
I’d like to be
Where so many others have been before me
I’d like to be
Where you had been
Right where you’d been before me
Where the phillips screws in the brass barstools ache and bend
Stripped of their teeth
And we can barely breathe
But still holding on with our filthy hands
With our losing hands
Just a few more seconds
Just a few more minutes
Just a few more months
By then we can wash all our rent away
By then we can be so far in debt
As to not pull up
If I’m going to lose
I’m always going to lose
To be with you
To the old casino
Let’s go
Let’s go
And that old man all we have
And Give that old man once again
All we have
All we have
If I’m going to lose
I want to with you
go
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6. |
Those Who Preach
04:04
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Those Who Preach
A head of cabbage would know
More than yours does to be so
You always call me on the phone
And say I think just like a stone
But one thing that I know for sure
Those who preach are insecure
You know a lot, but about who?
Certainly not much about you
The sun is blue, or so you say
The river ran uphill today
The snow falls up, the trees grow down
According to your cap and gown
The Brooklyn Bridge is not for sale
You tried to tell me but you failed
You know a lot that I see through
Certainly not much that rings true
Copernicus, Leonardo
They would hear you say
I told you so
Oh Socrates and Liebniz
Oh they couldn’t seem
To fathom it
The bottomless and ancient well
Of a knowledge, I can tell
You cherish more than life itself
It can’t be held by no bookshelf
Why are you so hard to endure?
Those who preach are insecure
You know a lot, or so you say
I feel some hot air come my way
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7. |
Light Sleep Ready
07:20
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Light Sleep Ready
I slept with the lights on
My shoelaces tight
I left the front door open
I was ready
I was light sleep ready
If it happened to be you
Should it be you
Rapping at my window then well, out of my bed
I’m prepared
I’m prepared were that it you
We had and then as quickly
No more
Friends who were lovers
And family that swore us off
Ah, for sure
You can quit anything
And you can leave anyone
Just not simply
Just not with ease
I left a light burning and it took down my house
Wax dripping on my bookshelf
Until it bore into the oak
And soon enough
Oak no more
As quickly as no more
As quickly
And then no more
And then no more
You were my rug for awhile
But now it’s back to hardwood
You were my rug for awhile, for awhile
What to put up with, and who to discard?
You were my rug for awhile
It’s back to hardwood
But now...hardwood
What to put up with, who to discard?
How long, forever, buried in backyards
Deep in backyards
Your voice on my machine
I won’t hear it again
When you called me that day
I felt something end
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8. |
Cash Nexus
02:45
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Cash Nexus
Gold, silver, and baubles
Oil drums, incinerators, and gaskets
Necklaces, lace curtain and lexus
Stock trader, hedge fund, cash nexus
Plated compound and gated command
Dear dilapidated, much too shrill to command
Newspapers, glue, and trash bags galore
You got so much to wait for, but you got so little in store
Highways and exits, your debts call collect
Your rewrite and your edits, do they curse what comes next?
Rings without fingers, lonely’s a bore
Don’t just scratch the surface
I’ll give you the core
I’ll give you the core
I’ll give you, I’ll give you the core
Yes, I’ll give you the core
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9. |
The Weight of Joy
03:45
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Weight of Joy
I had your hand in my hand
I held stumbles then
And you
You held me up
There I was knee knocking
Tongue nervous, roof stuck
I knew then I could push on
I didn’t know these were the last few steps
I couldn’t know salvation was around the bend
That was you
You held me up over that sill
You had been caved in
Downward chest on your chin
When I got home
Home just wasn’t in
There you were in tears
Them reflecting pool mirrors
In them
I could see a way to move on
We didn’t know that these were the last few steps
Couldn’t know our salvation was around the bend
That is us
Holding
That is us
Better than simply holding on
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John Davis & The Cicadas Durham, North Carolina
John Davis is a musician who works solo, with Folk Implosion, with a backing band called the Cicadas, and with Dennis Callaci. He also works on defending and transforming public education as a teacher - organizer with the Durham Association of Educators. ... more
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