1. |
Lady Wisconsin
04:37
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LADY WISCONSIN
You brought the cold wind, late in September
Don’t you remember
This was the beginning of the end
You caught my heart, I tried to run
You shot love through a smoking gun
Blood poured out, and I tried to pretend
Sometimes It’s beautiful, meant to be
Sometimes it’s a beautiful tragedy
I guess this time, we’ll just have to wait and see
Cause I fell in love with Lady Wisconsin
I fell in love with Lady Wisconsin
And I’m pretty sure, she fell in love with me
We danced in the sun, we laid in the grass
I wished that time would never pass
These bells were ringing loudly from the start
We smoked thunder from a broken bone
Rode our bikes the long way home
Got lost in the storm, but you couldn’t lose my heart
Honey moon, she cried tears
You said I’ll see you in 15 years
But threads like these don’t break so easily
‘Cause i fell in love with Lady Wisconsin
I fell in love with Lady Wisconsin
And I’m pretty sure she fell in love with me
You said you wanted me to be your man
But you had shackles on your hands
The wind on the great lakes cried above our heads
You tried to take me to the shore
But I couldn't take any more
And soon the autumn leaves will all be dead
Sometimes It’s a beautiful rhapsody
Sometimes it’s a beautiful tragedy
I guess this time, we’re just not meant to be
Cause I fell in love with Lady Wisconsin
I fell in love with Lady Wisconsin
And I’m pretty sure she fell in love with me
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2. |
Drifting at Sea
04:25
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DRIFTING AT SEA
August Winds a-blowing
Gust through my door
It might as well be snowing
You're not here any more
Into the desert you've taken
A sweet heart of me
Please be careful don't break it
I'm drifting at sea
It's lonely here without you
Getting too dark for me
No idea how much I'd miss you
A-drifting at sea
And so this picture is painted
In light pinks and blues
And for the dawn I am waiting
A sunrise of you
Oh say hello to the stars
Sing a sweet melody
And I will listen while drifting
A drifting at sea
It's lonely here without you
Getting too dark for me
No idea how much I'd miss you
A-drifting at sea
Your love's a wave that keeps me from breaking
and washing up as debris
Without you I can't' find my way in
A-drifting at sea
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3. |
Back to Your Door
03:20
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BACK TO YOUR DOOR
All around the world and back
Our love is like a railroad track
We've been through the thick and thin
From Santa Cruz to East Berlin
I praise the dirt upon my feet
From every city street
That’s helped us both to come so far
Holding you under the stars
I've seen you through the darkest nights
And in the burning desert lights
I've watched you live and lose and die
Goodbye my love goodbye
And when we part
I lay a penny on the track and I know
That wherever we may wonder
I keep on coming back
From Amsterdam to New Orleans
I have always know a queen
And once you crafted me a crown
I have never put it down
And there's no rings on our hands
We are bonded by a plan
That's greater than the alter
Ever could compare
I'll dance you in a dress of blue
Till we're one hundred and two
And I’ll be yours as we return
To watch the dusty temple burn
And when we part
I lay a penny on the track and I know
That wherever we wonder
I keep on coming back
All the miles on my shoes
I'd walk a thousand more
They keep bringing me
Bringing me back to your door
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4. |
Yellow Gardenias
04:32
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YELLOW GARDENIAS
I found you in the middle of an Indonesian market place
The sun shone diamonds upon your face
You drew upon my heart and left a trace
And then you sang a sweet refrain
Of yellow gardenias in the rain
We lost ourselves
In the space between the sunset and the wet rice fields
Where holy priests, dance among the temples where one they kneeled
A kiss as sweet as sugar cane
In the yellow gardenias in the rain
You gave me your heart
Underneath a mango tree
Built an altar at my head
And pushed my mind into the sea
I always knew I'd find you in this crazy land
God blew smoke into my soul
I found my self within the sand
We said a prayer as we looked for ceremonies in the stars above
And the crazy wind, whispered of the way we used to love
And perhaps we'll find it once again
In the yellow gardenias in the rain
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5. |
Gospel and Grain
04:49
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GOSPEL AND GRAIN
I broke bread upon the plough man’s table
Did the good work when I was able
Found my way up when it was hard to stand up
Never gave up when the going got rough
I’ve slipped on rocks made of flint and bone
Fell into the darkness, all alone
Broken by the highway, living in despair
Never thought I’d find my way back from there
Not proud of all that I have done
Shot poison from the barrel of a smoking gun
Made a recipe of cinder and smoke
Been caught wearing the devil’s cloak
I try to shake my shadow on the daily
But it’s a battle, takes me close to crazy
Like a snake, trying to shed it’s skin
Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever win
And you kept me faithful
You took me by the hand
When I left myself for dying
The sweet Summer rain
The gospel and the grain
You are my church
And your love is sanctifying
When I was lost, my father told me son
You won’t find God on the run
Into the rocks of the desert or the sea
When the wind stops truth be waiting there for thee
To find the word of a true apostle
Step into the river and listen to the gospel
All I need is this fire and sky
A dusty guitar fashioned from an alibi
Pain, she can be a teacher
Find your courage and you will learn to love her
Every scar that I’ve ever known
Takes me closer close to my home
Darkness is simply lack of light
When I was a fighter I was told to fight
But when I love, I gotta let it go
That’s the hardest truth that I’ll ever know
And you kept me faithful
You took me by the hand
When I left myself for dying
The sweet Summer rain
The gospel and the grain
You are my church
And your love is sanctifying
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6. |
Bridge of Saint Johns
04:42
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BRIDGE OF ST JOHNS
Oh St Johns
With your dirty streets and you grey boots on
The wild wind, she grabbed my hand
And carried me to your ampersand
Broken beers and pushing brooms
Old men trade tales in tired saloons
We confessed our secrets to the moon
And you know she’ll never tell
You know she’ll never tell
Oh river wide
I etched my ache into your side
I came here once again to die
As I marched across your great divide
The queen of Portsmouth built your arch
Suspended by a funeral march
We wrote our vows at Cathedral Park
And this bridge will never tell
This bridge will never tell
Oh coal black crow
We followed your cries down Ivanhoe
December swallowed up the day
Your love was a train that would not stay
It’s hard to leave it all behind
I guess you’ll go your way and I’ll go mine
And if one day our paths align
Only time will tell
Only time will tell
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7. |
Tears for the Soul
05:33
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TEARS FOR THE SOUL
Oh you came so far
All alone, only sixteen
All alone, mama said be strong
You were the one, you were the one
Who bade farewell to mother Russia
Tolstoy broke your heart and set you free
You were the one who carried the torch
For your own Mishpoke
You brought your courage across the sea
Dark was the night
Cossacks shook you awake
So you took flight mama goodnight, goodnight
Light, light on the river black
Travel at dawn never to come back
You left it all you left it all
And found the shores of Boston
Where cobblestones and cousins brought you in
From brick to bone, you built a home
From the ghosts within your hands
From Latvia to land we are your Kin
A note in your hand you boarded the train
Babka in your pocket, your feet so cold
Uncle dear uncle let me forget
What soap does for the body, tears do for the soul
You left it all you left it all
And found the shores of Boston
Where cobblestones and cousins brought you in
From brick to bone, you built a home
From the ghosts within your hands
From Latvia to land we are your Kin
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8. |
Saint Valentine
06:02
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SAINT VALENTINE
We sat there at the cafe
Up on Telegraph Hill
The margaritas showed no mercy
And love couldn’t foot the bill
Your words were like the barrel of a smoking gun
I knew right then that this trip was done
We took our tears onto the grass
Outside of St. Peter’s church
On that holy day in February
When my faith turned for the worse
And the mariachi band played in the rain
And no amount of prayers will cease the pain
Saint Valentine I think you broke your promise
This wasn’t quite the deal we had made
Now I’m out on a line, lost my heart in San Francisco
And your tears are pouring down on my parade
We walked on through the city
The painted ladies they took pity
On this funeral march of many
Why did you have to look so pretty?
The wind won’t cease the waning of the moon
Acceptance is a quiet, empty room
In a crack down in the pavement
I picked you a broken flower
And the barker and the anchorman
Sang a dirge outside Coit Tower
And Valentine, why is love so hard to keep?
The ghost of your kiss burns me in my sleep
And once we were close friends
Now wearing the clothes of strangers
And the streetcar is full of lonely drunks
And I didn’t see the danger
Of letting you so far back in
And the moon over the mission is growing thin
I held your hand as we walked to Dolores Park
And we said our final rites within the dark
And we watched the silent fog roll into the bay
As I we said goodbye to Valentine’s Day
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9. |
Ghost Under my Skin
04:27
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GHOST UNDER MY SKIN
It just feels like a minute
Since we said farewell
I think I’m moving on
But I really can’t tell
So now what?
We just wait for this feeling to pass us by?
Might as well wait for
the sea to run dry
Cause you were my best friend
But now you closed the door
And that doesn’t keep me
from loving you anymore
Cause the deeper you go
The more it cuts like a knife
Sometimes a scar
is the sacrifice
Last night I held you in my arms for the final time
I always thought that love like this could make it through the night
I know that you wanted it as much, but you wouldn’t let it in
And now you’re just a stranger to me, a ghost under my skin
Fool's gold, is easy to find
But you showed me something rare, I didn’t know was mine
And it ain’t easy, to put this book back on the shelf
Cause losing you is really losing a part of myself
And I’m tired of this story
It’s old now let it burn
And with it all the pages
we’ll never turn
Cause I’m not here to inspire you
to join me on the bridge
And though I miss your kisses
I don’t miss your ambivalence
Last night I held you in my arms for the final time
I always thought that love like this could make it through the night
I know that you wanted it as much, but you wouldn’t let it in
And now you’re just a stranger to me, a ghost under my skin
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10. |
Dark Stars
06:02
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DARK STARS
I looked into your eyes
For the last time
This story half written
Never to be read
And as I closed the book
My fingers burned
With black soot
As this song it slowly bled
And the dark stars in your eyes
Circled my heart
With their beautiful lies
That kept me coming back to you
And as the sun went down
We smoked a wooden cigarette
You blew rings
Like the hoops you led me through
Though your kisses were sweet
I said good bye, I said good bye
Cause the way you played this game
Was running me dry, running me dry
This was supposed to be a love song
But now the words I guess you’ll never know
Cause we were running in circles
The only way to save us was to let go
You felt like coming home
To a place I had forgotten
Made of sweet songs
And your hands upon my head
But there was no moon that shone
The doors were locked
Secrets unspoken
Of ghosts that still lingered in your bed
Though your kisses were sweet
I said good bye, I said good bye
Cause the way you played this game
Was running me dry, running me dry
This was supposed to be a love song
But now the words I guess you’ll never know
Cause we were running in circles
The only way to save us was to let go
And if we meet again
I’ll roll up all your kisses in a cigarette
And blow smoke rings at the moon
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Robin Jackson Portland, Oregon
Award winning songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist known for his wild contributions to bands Vagabond Opera and the March Fourth Marching Band, Robin Jackson presents his debut album. The ethnomusicology major has mastery of almost a dozen instruments and played with everyone from Gogol Bordello to The Decembrists. "A catchy and captivating song-crafter... true storyteller." - NPR ... more
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