1. |
Sun Phases
01:17
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2. |
Capitalism
04:31
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The problem as I see it, he said
There’s no humanity
Left for you and me
No moral guidelines
Left for you and me
Here in this thing they call
Capitalism
We worked harder than we really could
Till we were ghosts of ourselves
Idealistic, but not much else
Buying all you had for sale
Hungry, but not much else
Except the thought of having more
It’s capitalism
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3. |
Modern Gems
03:58
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So many modern gems
But not a one of them shines
Though their lines are all cut precise
To refract the light just right
But not a one of them shines
Not a one of them modern gems shines
Meet me downstairs in the bar
when your number’s drawn
our hometown scattered
our passports gone
we all make up this faceless crowd
and God knows where we’re going now
but we have to go
because I’ve got to know
it was worth the life we gave
So many hands to shake
And so many inside rules
Each one designed to make you think that you
Haven’t got the right tools
For all their inside rules
That come after you shake their hands
Meet me downstairs in the bar
when your number’s drawn
our hometown scattered
our passports gone
we all make up this faceless crowd
and God knows where we’re going now
but we have to go
because I’ve got to know
it was worth the life we gave
So many modern gems
Waiting for the pressure
The steam and the tether
To hold them together
Until the shine can be measured
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4. |
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Sun kissed ice in lemonade
Out in the courtyard of the St. Ann Marie Antoinette Hotel where we stayed
Love was the purpose we were thinking of
Though neither of us had a plan to get there
I recall you were dressed like Clara Bow
The strap from your dress hung off your shoulder
The humidity kept the crickets low
To serenade us with their drone
I flagged the waiter for another round
It wasn’t hard to let love in
The sun on the water of the pool
The Southern thrum on your skin
I still have the scarf you wore
Though it’s been a long time since I saw you
I hope this little note finds you well
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5. |
Modern Western Homes
05:01
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Again today I was thinking of Western homes
Their spacious vacant rooms
I could almost smell the mountain air
But it was something the color of coal I was feeling
Maybe it’s the pitch of the roof
Or the color of the door I find appealing
But I get no satisfaction from this dreaming
I’m looking for a modern Western home
I want a modern Western home
No I didn’t know it rained
It’s hard to hear the weather when you’re underground
But I played that Chi-Lites song
Oh girl I’d be in trouble
Stained glass infection spreads
Maybe we should buy a house
And fill it up with kids and debt to weigh it down
I’m looking for a modern Western home
I want a modern Western home
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6. |
Backhand of A Preacher
03:17
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She’s not a girl, she’s a prize
And you wouldn’t be surprised
To learn that she once stole a horse
She had electromagnetic shock treatment
From a doctor in Waukegan
The year her parents sent her off to college
She says there’s nothing so grand
As the backhand of a Preacher
Call her Sally, call her Jane
She says what the hells the use in a name
As she braids her hair into a noose
Yes, that’s a diamond embedded in her forehead
Her chamber’s full of hot lead
Her bullet’s all blessed by the pope
She says there’s nothing so grand
As the backhand of a Preacher
She ran a gambling den whorehouse
In Tijuana in a tight blouse
While wiretapping the President
Soft skin, and dry blood beads
Yes, that’s her rosary
But you’ll never hear her pray
She says there’s nothing so grand
As the backhand of a Preacher
Now lightening struck her, but just one time
She claimed it sharpened up her mind
But it took the hearing in her right ear
Now, on occasion she gave me a ride
Had no idea I’d be riding beside
Someone who’d take so much from me
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7. |
Flashlight
05:02
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Picked up my tie, but I didn’t put it on
Slipped on my ring, but left behind my dedication
To half remembered marches in step and time
The tissue of my heart is mystery
I was half out the door as this occurred to me
Just had to hang it here in innocent morbid rhyme
It leaves me open to certain lines
in paint and pencil lead
some take to erasing,
and some I hide beneath my bed
And with my age my confidence fades
Though my hard edges grow harder every day
I feel the weight of each passing day
I scattered a flock of birds on my walk across the church parking lot
Longing to be taken too, but grateful to have not
My pocket is full of a plan I must complete
Splendor shades the hardship it took to reach
The kind of ends of which great men speak
Still knowing we all must sleep and eat
The horizon keeps shifting beyond the edge of the flashlight
Moving in silence that cancels noise where we all simply trust it to be right
And with my age my confidence fades
Though my hard edges grow harder every day
I feel the weight of each passing day
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8. |
Lion
02:20
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At night chased by a lion
I awake believing
I can still hear the roar
And the breathing of my hunter
Lying still all I can hear
Is my own breathing
And mortality
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9. |
Gardenias
04:54
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I remember gardenias in the front yard
Soft white and fragrant, nature’s wild card
Just like you
How you could always take up all the oxygen in a room
The truth is here in these precious hours
The truth is here, there’s something about that flower
I’ve always loved gardenias in the summertime heat
The finch that nests in the branches, shaded and free
And you always spoke of travel
Opting for the back roads
You liked the way it slowed you down
The truth is here in these precious hours
The truth is here, there’s something about that flower
I remember gardenias and the Loblolly Pine
The floral printed curtains that held up the window to the outside
Of a little brick house not far from mine
I’ve always loved gardenias
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10. |
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I was thinking of another place
One far away from here
I was thinking of another place
Root taps the water
Water runs through the blood
The blood that pumps
Till it pumps no more
Essence of essence
I was thinking of another place
One far away from here
I was thinking of another place
I’m alone in a room
With just a chair
My mind is heavy
Shore to share
Thickening ocean
Thickening ocean
Thickening ocean
Thickening sky
But if you doubt me
I change
I change in your mind
Like the symmetry of sleeping
I was thinking of another place
One far away from here
Thickening ocean
Thickening ocean
Thickening ocean
Thickening sky
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11. |
The Levee
02:28
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Slip down inside that burlap sack
as much sand as you can put on your back
we got to hold that river back
and there ain’t no telling if we’re coming back
so let’s all go to the levee
The smell of rain kills all that’s dry
we’ll have to keep out an eye
fixed on that waterline
careful of the debris that’s floating by
and let’s all go to the levee
Slip down inside that burlap sack
as much sand as you can put on your back
there’ ain’t no telling if we’re coming back
and we got to hold that river back
and let’s all go to the levee
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12. |
Restless Waters
04:57
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We can’t hold this back
Or deny that it’s taken its toll
Maybe even vengeance
Water came through every crack
Swallowed every heroic flagpole
Without mercy or penance
And now...
Restless waters rise up
Restless waters rise and dance
Outside my back steps
Restless water scares me to death
We clung to trees
Trying to wade
To safety across what was a street
No one had the means
The means to escape
We just hoped it would recede
But now...
Restless waters rise up
Restless waters rise and dance
Outside my back steps
Restless water scares me to death
All our prayers were makeshift rafts
Oh God
Don’t let it sweep us away
All Truth Sayers ply their craft
And we held our bit of sod
Never thought we’d see the day
But now...
Restless waters rise up
Restless waters rise and dance
Outside my back steps
Restless water scares me to death
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13. |
Broad Mind/Strong Heart
02:42
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The best piece of me is wasted chasing fools out in then street
But I get on up, I get on up because it’s what I need for me
To snatch it back and hold it, snatch it back and hold it
It takes a broad mind, and a strong heart
Just to feel that you’ve done your part
Have I done my part?
Flash fire of love don’t go out on me the city’s too cold
23minutes of daylight remain, and the moon sho’ nuff is gold
If I could only, if I could only break off a piece for you
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14. |
Rabbit and The Lamb
00:48
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She took the rabbit, and she took the lamb
Walked down to the water, and drowned ‘em with her hands
She looked at her watch, looked back at the water
Then she went back home, and put herself to the slaughter
Oh yeah...
He took her hand when he found her dead,
And he cried, and he cried no words to be said
No, no...
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15. |
Ears On Fire
02:40
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Your ears must be burning
With all this talk of you
To tell the truth it makes me nervous too
Tiny little tones blowing up your phone
You’re never all alone
Even when you’re all alone
Privacy Piracy
Codes and keys that can’t protect anything
But at least you’ve got consumers like me to hold on to.
And I feel the calling
To stand near where you’re falling
With a car parked right outside
To take your place in line.
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16. |
October Air
04:58
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My hat was tipped, but not by me
Some daughter smiled at the theme
That shouted forth from my reverie
The texture of her skin
Reminded me of October air
Now, well, I think you know the truth
I gave my heart to you
To save it from me
And someday, maybe I’ll do
Better by God, and better by you
The years descend under then rug
Woven with time
And unbearable dream seem smug
When set against the baluster of feeling
Wrapped around my inner core
And now I just say “you know”,
Instead of “I love you” to show
A more refined side of me
And someday, maybe I’ll do
Better by God, and better by you
From this marble slab across the street
We mix our sacrament of flesh
To stand on moral high ground and speak
Of mercy with hands tightly clinched
And holding firm
And now, well, I believe we’re standing waist deep
In a ocean of mist that feels more like sleep
In a Blakean verse
And someday, maybe I’ll do
Better by God, and better by you
Someday, maybe I’ll do
Better by God, and better by you
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17. |
Lion (Reprise)
00:42
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18. |
Ready For Home
03:26
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The last piece of trash has been sold
The sun stains then sidewalk where I stroll
I heard that old song about an uncloudy day
A mark hit hard, it’s here to stay
And I’m Ready for home
Premium blends buzz hatted heads
I try to stay alert till I’m sentenced to bed
All my skin feels tight and dry
Working my work to avoid judgmental eyes
And I’m ready for home
Blast me back, brother, to our time on the hill
When our hearts were undamaged by unbending wills
May our half-empty glasses once again be filled
Once again...
Cleaned all then dust out of my room
Wrote down my near misses, then burned ‘em then entombed
The ashes in tobacco stained leather
The daylight’s hot, and bleaching all that holds me together
And I’m ready for home
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Til Willis Lawrence, Kansas
Til Willis, born in the heat of 1980, has been making music for a long time. Currently, when not performing solo, he makes noise with Erratic Cowboy. The style of music is lyric driven rock, that draws influence from many sources. Some have described it as Tin-Roof-Rain-Water-Bop. In his years of touring the country, Til has had the pleasure to perform with such notable talents as Pete Seeger.... ... more
Til Willis recommends:
Oozing the laidback lush California sound, Windwolves puts you in that warm breeze off the ocean summer night state of mind.
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This is Steve Faceman's first solo album, and it captures a lo-fi intimacy that underpins the poignance of the lyrics, and gets in your head.
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Sad Box & Other Hits
by Scott The Hoople
If you don't know Scott McCaughey's work, you're missing out. And, this year he has released some gems, like this one. If Why Can't We Do Less Wrong doesn't wrap itself around your heart, well...
go to albumIf you like Til Willis, you may also like:
Echo Dancing
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The legendary Alejandro Escovedo returns with another country-rock scorcher.
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Turn My Radio Up
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Big, sunny country songs from this Santa Cruz duo summon the spirit of late-period Byrds.
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Passion Fruit Boys
by Passion Fruit Boys
Nashville’s Passion Fruit Boys nail the effervescent janglepop of ’80s college radio with bright guitars and immediate hooks.
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