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1. |
They Never Bring It Back
05:19
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I never knew this hotel was so tall
It’s just another piece of urban sprawl
This satellite landscape takes away the mystery
Twenty stories this place has it all
Fancy t.v., high priced mini bar
A bird’s eye view of the worn out factories
You can see how the river carves a line
Undercurrent sweeps the grit and the grime
Unwanted history drowning in it’s wake
Safely kept away behind a flood gate door
Hidden from our eyes it’s easy to ignore
Til the waters rise to wash our sins away
All the shine is on the right side of the city
Neighborhoods are safe, the people pretty
When any town has it’s wrong side of the tracks
Where the weight of poverty is like an avalanche
Crushing everything caught in it’s path
Once it’s gone
They never bring it back
They never bring it back
The day they found the baby in the garbage can
On the good side of the river a panic began
A quick arrest helped restore the malaise
With the breaking of the story half the city sighed
She had crossed the bridge from the other side
Another forgotten face beneath a back page headline
We try to pretend it doesn’t exist
Lit up at night this city chases it’s bliss
But from this hotel room there’s another view
We don’t give a damn about dignity
As long as there’s a well defined boundary
Across the river the lights flash red and blue
Red and blue
Red and blue
All the shine is on the right side of the city
The neighborhoods are safe, the people pretty
When any town has it’s wrong side of the tracks
Where the weight of poverty makes life a living hell
Hard won dependencies don’t numb it very well
Because once it’s gone
They never bring it back
They never bring it back
They never bring it back
I was drawn to the street by a rapid fire sound
He was beating a retreat for a city winding down
Drumming on a bucket, fighting for his life
A good kid from the wrong side escaping his need
The only things missing, the ways and means
I dropped thanks in his jar and went back inside
I turned back inside
I turned back inside
I turned aside
Away from the sight
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2. |
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Even on the prettiest days hard choices have to be made
Some will greet their demons, others avoid their fate
Some will die just a little saving it up for another day
A few will atone for their sins, most deny the blame
What they have in common is
The dirt treats them the same
Even on the prettiest days the world makes no sense
Death discharged from the sky by disaffected men
Some just follow orders, some cry self defense
A few will spend their anger to be fifteen minutes famous
What they have in common is
How long they lay at rest
Even on the prettiest days good people say goodbye
Some will face the music, some run and hide
Some reach out for Jesus, others demand a retrial
There’s always one who brings a gun hoping for one last fight
What they had in common was
The precious gift of life
Even on the darkest of days the choice is up to us
To open up our wounded hearts, expose ourselves to trust
Deep inside we’re all the same, celestial light and star dust
Humans being in search of peace, the meaning of existence
And what we have in common is
It all begins with love
What we have in common is
It all begins with love
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3. |
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Do you remember when we met date night meant
We would be driving my car to the refinery
Parking round back
Pretending to look for stars
There were none to be seen they’re all foreign to me
Just like everything
Outside of this town
Where the talking is cheap and doing nothing is free
And we pay the high price
For all of our fooling around
The smell of the oil man’s money soaks into our clothes
They tell us our future is right here under our nose
Once upon a time is a story for children
You know that tale isn’t gonna tell itself
Make a few more like our parents before
Live happily ever after
Trapped in this working class holding cell
Do you remember when the rich kids came
Slumming down here on our side of the line
Trying to find how we defined
The reasons for this life
They couldn’t believe we didn’t just leave
Said they wanted to see
If the road went that far
We showed them the map, they never looked back
Left with four flats
On their daddy’s car
The smell of the oil man’s money soaks into our clothes
Looks like our future is right here under our nose
Once upon a time is a story for children
You know that tale isn’t gonna tell itself
Make a few more like our parents before
Live happily ever after
Trapped in our working class holding cell
Do you remember the road trip to Kansas
When your uncle said come get this car
It’s a fifty-seven Chevy you gotta hurry
The bank’s foreclosing the farm
Another piece of history fading to obscurity
Lost to a time when a man could be proud
Hold your head high in that car when you drive
Knowing you’re both gonna die
In this factory town
Where the smell of the oil man’s money soaks into our clothes
Turns out our future was right here under our nose
And once upon a time, that story for children
We knew that tale wasn’t gonna tell itself
We made a few more like our parents before
And live happily ever after
Trapped in our working class holding cell
Trapped in this working class holding cell
Do you remember the night sky over Kansas
That time when we saw the stars
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4. |
One Way Ticket
04:53
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A Midnight city snow
Covered in a blanket of cold
A sight quite beautiful to behold
That’s a cold comfort, here on the street
The passers-by most aware
Have taught themselves not to stare
Or chance a glance to see if they care
That’s a cold comfort, here on the street
I guess it was time to move along
The city workers came along
With their one way tickets
Out of town
With a one way ticket headed south
A one way ticket and I’m not their problem now
A one way ticket, I’m not their problem now
The city has an image to keep
And a guilty conscious that won’t let it sleep
So they thought up, and bought up the answer cheap
That’s a cold comfort, here on the street
Out of sight, out of mind
Send the symptom down the line
To freeze in the breeze of a warmer clime
With a one way ticket headed south
A one way ticket and I’m not their problem now
A one way ticket, I’m not their problem now
I’ve got no reason to reminisce
Under any bridge it looks like this
I’m nameless, faceless, easy to miss
Just a pawn in the game of politics
Where re-elections are claimed for the price of a one way ticket
With a one way ticket headed south
A one way ticket and I’m not their problem now
A one way ticket, I’m not their problem now
A one way ticket
And I’m not there now
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5. |
See No Evil
06:25
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On their way to drunk, they knew they’d had enough
A glance at their phone, time to get home
His shit-eating grin made him seem innocent
But the hate in his eyes betrayed their demise
And everyone in the room
Had something else to do
The Bible in his hand, his lack of melanin
Helps him to believe in a false supremacy
Starts with a slur, escalates in a blur
Shouting in their face, he’ll teach them to know their place
And everyone in the room
Had something else to do
See no evil
Adopt an attitude, the proper somber mood
See no evil
Avoid any questions, blame the victim
See no evil
We deny humanity, dismissing the things
We won’t see
Your trouble is your own
You know ’ve got kids at home
With any luck they’ll grow up
With the status quotient
A diminishing assessment
Of their worth as a human
Because they’re a little different
So I guess this must concern them
But I did not create the system
We all have to live in
And right now my life’s okay
But I’ve got bills to pay
And the promise made today
Is they’ll take it all away
If I see
Righteous his right fist
Silence our Judas kiss
Will anyone in the room
Cry at the funeral
(When we) See no evil
Adopt an attitude, a proper somber mood
See no evil
Avoid any questions, blame the victim
See no evil
We Deny humanity, dismissing the things
We won’t see
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6. |
Song For Joseph
05:05
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Joseph Silver is living on the street
He’s got a sleeping bag
Nothing to eat
Joseph Silver is asking for small change
The mercy of strangers
He never prays for rain
Joseph Silver keeps a treasure box
Buttons and beads
He finds in his cup
Joseph Silver knows the vault is empty
A false facade
On the land of plenty
Truth before the lie staring at the void
He’s been trying to fill since he was a boy
Joseph Silver comes from a broken home
Never knew mother
She was a name on a stone
Joseph Silver climbed up on the cross
For a better view
Of what he had lost
Father never cared for the son crucified
Alone in his empire, alone when it died
Joseph Silver has never been in Love
No one’s shown him how
He has no mourning dove
Joseph Silver suffers a small child
She’s not afraid
That makes him smile
She doesn’t see him as a broken man
Looks in his eyes sees through his past
She stands beside him so he won’t be alone
A Thief for the Martyr until it’s time to go
Then this Cassandra turns around
She says “Joseph you can lay your burden down”
Joseph Silver is living on the street
(And)The greatest gift
He ever received
Was a hand outstretched leading him to peace
When he left this world
He was at ease
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Turtle Zwadlo Crozet, Virginia
Turtle Zwadlo is a singer-songwriter whose narrative style songs are infused with rock and folk elements, often focusing on social issues. The new release, Cold Comfort: Tales From Whitelandia continues Turtle's DIY experiment and is entirely self produced. ... more
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