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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Chords of Courage Volume One, Live At The New Deal Cafe, cicada, Seasons (Chris Cornell cello cover), A Message In the Mess, Another Life/Another Live, A Gift For Saint Cecilia, Between Lover and Twilight, and 4 more.
1. |
Drown
05:11
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It's all the past-tense beautiful ones
They're working in these bars
They keep the lights dimmed down down down
In the hope that the years don't grow
And they raised up their eyes in revolution
And they open up their mouths
A gutter baptism won't ever save you baby
But it won't be suicide if you drown
I'm too young to hate the games you play my friend
And I'm too old to turn you down
You want a love what leaves bruises where he pleases
I'll try
And all the young ones if they're still young enough to run
They're better than me still
Their hungry eyes seek out the strongest longest best
But they're just angry at the rest
They open up their thighs in revolution
And they open up their mouths
Some will learn to fight down down upon their knees
Most will just drown
I'm too old to play the games you play my friend
But I'm too young to turn them down
You want a love what leaves bruises where he pleases
I'll try
And yet you always cut the deepest
And yet you always fly away
Dry out your flesh on me
They will burn you anyways
They will burn you anyways
They will burn you anyways
And what of me and all this noise I bring
I'm still working in these bars
I keep the lights dimmed down down down down
In the hope that the years don't show
I raised up my voice in revolution
And I opened up my mouth
One more angel in these legions
I'm just waiting to be drowned
Out
And I will always cut the deepest
And I will always fly away
Dry out your flesh on me
I will love you anyways
I will love you anyways
I will love you anyways
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2. |
Pine
04:04
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There's a beauty to soft woods with knots that untangle
easily by chisel, easier by saw
but press a finger deep and you may even dent the surface
like talc, parading as a rock, one scratch removed from dust
No my grain is not complicated
But my heart is solid and well-made
Pleasantly understated
and I might be the wood
But you're the lathe
No, I'm not too proud to bend to fit the space I'm given
You can cut the dovetails right into my spine
For you I would crush myself to paper
and drink up your every word like wine
No, my grain is not complicated
But my heart is solid and it is well-made
And I might be just pleasantly understated
and I might be the wood
But you're gonna pine
I might be scraped and scarred,
but they say I've got a lot of character.
And I will probably fail to warm you
by the fire that you make here.
Every day I get less new but maybe more amazing,
but I promise I'm in progress
and i might be worth the waiting.
I wish I could have been born purple heart
I'd love to bleed like that
hearing everyone say how pretty
when they saw me in half
but in me's a sweetness untapped.
You take me down when the year if over
just one more past-tense passion it's time to put away
and all the sparkle you put on me
is boxed up for next year's love,
next year's tree.
And I will let you put me in a box
just as long as it is mine
one day they will bury me in a redundant skin
people are buried in me all the time.
I don't know when I started believing
to be good you have to be defeated
so I am good but I am lonely.
I am good but I am lonely.
I tried to slip a splinter underneath your skin
when you weren't looking.
you weren't looking.
But I missed.
©2003 heather lloyd
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3. |
March of the Rabbit
04:43
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Frightnened beyond belief
It had no mind
The rabbit brought itself to bear
On his whitened eye
Frustrated, grew in numbers
Multiplied we keep them running
We focused on his head
His brain was reeling, it's all too real
Gunshot spoke
Focused on his lack of mind
He came dying
He came dying, we helped him die
Frustrated beyond belief
The knife blade it simply went too deep
The rabbit's eyes rolled
The burrows were flooding
And heads were rolling
Or going to roll
And the alleys were flooding
And I've just about reached that point
"The city burns tonight!" I cried
Paws lying at my side
I was lying soiled on my side
Glamour worn to skin
I am all that's left of sin
And I have lost my fight
Yeah I have lost my fight
Taking the great white tower
Wasn't as easy as it looked
Their man kept leaping back
(Man kept leaping back)
His eyes were full of doubt
But his teeth were full of rage
And he came flying
He came flying so high
It was a grey day
Much greyer than you might think
The heat was too much
They all dropped who couldn't take the heat
The rabbits dropped like rabbits
And you know they dropped like flies
But they kept on coming
Kept them coming
"The city burns tonight" I cried
Paws at my side
I was lying soiled on my side
Glamour worn to skin
I am all that's left of sin
And I have lost my fight
Yeah I have lost my fight
The march of the rabbit took too long
Satisfaction was guarenteed
They marched too long
They starved too long
They left the rabbit to the dead
They were lying rotting on their sides
The hare left their skulls
They still line that
They still line that
They still line that
They still line that road
The cross I bear
Is too much to bear
I fear I hear
It all falling through
We are watching
We are watching with our bright pink eyes
Our bright pink eyes, well
Frightened beyond belief
It multiplied
Heads were rolling
And you know we dropped like flies
We burned the tower down
We burned the tower down
We burned the tower down
We burned the tower down
"The city burns tonight!" I cried
Paws at my side
I was lying soiled on my side
And I've been left for dead
More than once I've lost my head
But I won't lose my fight
No I won't lose my fight
No I won't lose my fight
I won't lose my fight
©1998 rob hinkal
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4. |
In The Water
06:26
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It's cold down here, but I am used to the chill,
And the fish are more friendly now than when at first I fell,
And the weeds are quicker to dance than when my eyes first closed.
It is my secret hiding place - nobody else knows.
It's dark down here, but I am used to the dim,
And I have the minnows to teach me how to swim.
And I can stay under longer now than even you or dad,
And I'm heavy as a stone and I’m light as a lily pad.
Don't worry mother, I have found another home.
You'll find me in the water. You'll find me in the water.
I know you told me not to stray away too far from home,
And to stay away from strangers who would do me harm,
But he promised I could be the Lady of the Lake,
But he lied because I died just up there in the cave.
But a storm kept his promise and carried me to the deep.
I wear water flowers in my hair and mud between my feet.
Don't cry for me mother, I have found another home.
You'll find me in the water. You'll find me.
Muddy water keeps a secret better than if you lock it up
And throw away the key.
Hush now, Hush now. Go to sleep.
Breathe.
So, I like to tease the rowboats, tickle their bellies, white.
And free fish from hook and net, while boatmen turn their eyes.
They blame it on the hour, on the season, on their luck,
But the trick is it's me all along, they never think to look.
Don't lose sleep for me mother, I have found another home.
You'll find me in the water. You'll find me.
© Heather Lloyd
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5. |
Valeri
07:38
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The flesh in my bones is not quite as thick as it used to be
Some days I think that the ridges in the tips of my fingers have been worn away
I load my back with 16 tons
I'm listening hard for the camel crack
When Fear brought the church to me I thought I'd
Touched stained glass for far too long
My fingers yellowed, my fingers stained
You died in glass that was stained that color.
I found you soft in a cold, dark place,
eyes so wide I could barely see the whites.
In a cold dark place I could not find the softest part
In your eyes
In your eyes
The flesh in my bones is not quite as lush as I thought it was now I find I'm as soft as a cat
I load my head with 16 tons
I'm listening hard for that that I hope is there
I have been told what to do, what to be, what I cannot be.
I have been many things I don't even know what I want to be
I hope I am much stronger for these things that I have been
I thing too clear, too dear, too cold, I fear
I fear I see the bottom of the sea
A thing to clear
She was ice green clouded over
She faded fast as she faded fast
As the sun came clear.
As the sun came clear.
I hunt this photograph that binds you to me
I hunt this dream that I thought was part of you and me
I burn the locket, I collect this ash,
I hold the dust, I hold it dear
until the sun came clear.
Until the sun came clear.
I hunt this photograph that binds you to me
I hunt this dream that I thought was part of you and me
I burn the locket, I collect this ash,
I hold the dust, I hold it dear
until the sun came clear.
Until the sun came clear.
You know I held you so dear.
Like Mary in the sky a small blond skull turned to me
It's time for me to leave
Nothing left but the creature in the corner
Nothing left but the beast behind the door
I let loose, I screamed at the storm
I could have saved her
I could have saved her
I could have saved her
I could have saved her
If I'd only had the time.
If I'd only had the time.
If I'd only took the time.
The flesh on her bones is no longer on her bones,
It has seeped, been stripped it has found and wound it's way
And open, the eyes lie live at the bottom of the sea
They lie accusing me,
They lie accusing me
of everything I wish I could be in her eyes.
In her eyes.
In her eyes.
©1997 rob hinkal
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6. |
Illinois is Overflowing
08:00
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I'm so tired of water.
Three inches of rain in the passenger side.
The intestines of cassette tapes
are shining at the curb,
begging just one more play,
begging just one more ride,
but I just keep driving.
I just keep driving.
You close your eyes,
three inches away in the passenger side.
James is on the radio singing,
"Don't let me be loney,"
as I turn off the headlights,
take two states by moonlight,
I can't stop driving.
I can't stop driving.
(chorus)
And you say,
"Baby, it's alright,
the rain's subsiding.
We might even be dry tonight."
My wheels aren't even
touching the ground.
We're flying on faith
that the engine will hold.
Keep us going.
Keep us going.
(chorus)
I'm so tired of highway.
Three miles to the toll at the coming state line.
No quarters but this quarter tank,
we search our empty hands.
As Illinois is overflowing,
we hope for a little change here inside,
so we can keep driving.
So we can keep driving.
(chorus)
© Heather Lloyd
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7. |
Pocketing
04:57
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in the pockets of my jeans
are all the things that I might need
it's cash and coins and nails and string
I keep my courage in my pocket
I keep my armour and my strut
right next to lint and fingertips and change
but I lay down
and feel that creeping crawling feeling
as it all just slips away
give me time
it's a slow drift motion
condoms, nails and guitar strings
they migrate slowly
round the room
from bed to floor and back again
I keep them within reach
the nails are tell-tale
where I keep the knife
is all they ever seem to need to know
so what is this?
a gift a shelf an open box?
consolidation it is my enemy
I am cancer creeping
crawling feeling
hard to remove
rooted deeply
I'm dreaming dreaming
nightmare screaming
I'm thinking of my
leaving
in the pockets of your old jeans
are all the things that I might need
it's cash and coins and nails and string
I kept my courage in that pocket
I keep my armour and my strut
right next to space for fingertips and change
but I stand up
and feel that creeping crawling feeling
no gift like that of gravity
to keep my conscience clean
but I stand up
and felt that creeping crawling feeling
no gift like that of gravity
to keep my conscience clean
©2004 rob hinkal
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8. |
No Place is Home
04:16
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The days are getting cold -
Ther’ll be coats this Halloween.
All the children are disappointed,
all their sequins will go unseen.
And the pirates and the goblins
will steal you far away from me,
leave me nothing but hollow faces,
all used up of their flame.
(chorus)
There’s a whisper in my blood
of something darker in the road,
but if I can just make it ‘cross the bridge
before the horseman runs me down,
runs me down.
The leaves are not the only ones
who are losing all their green,
shedding red glitter from my shoes
no place is home this Halloween.
And I cannot reattach all that has fallen away.
That road doesn’t lead me back
and there’s nowhere I can stay to rest …
To stop this pounding in my chest.
(chorus)
No place is home. No place is home. No place is home.
Please invite me to come inside –
I can stay young one more night.
Underneath this half-moon safety,
we've got the rest of our lives.
(chorus)
© Heather Lloyd
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9. |
Bulldozer
04:37
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Oh those men they frighten me
with their talk of cars and guns
and I was hoping you might comfort me
with sense and eyes and skin
breathing is the moment
it's the moment caught inside of you
it's the purging of the past
so when I lie beside you breathing
the moment's all I ask
yeah the moment's all I ask
Oh those men they frighten me
when they talk their righteous talk
they took out a church my Grandfather's spring
and hush now baby, you know they can not bulldoze everything
breathing in your hair
I hold you here in my heart
I ask you to hold me there as well
I'm weeping
it's like satin slipping glass
it's like the moment is slipping past
and this moment is all I have
sharp wit shatters silence
and sharp wit shatters bone
I sense frustration in you
under-estimated
I'm cutting up the time like a clock
keep your voice beneath me
I know it keeps your breathing easy
but keep your voice beneath me
because you know you still are breathing
and oh you know you frighten me
with your talk of boys and fun
and I was hoping you might comfort me
I was hoping you might cover
I was hoping you might breathe with me
I was hoping you might breathe.
©2000 rob hinkal
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10. |
Rob's Lament
04:45
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This space is getting smaller now
in an instant inward goes the frame
Schwarzschild would be proud
of the compression
of his equations
as we tighten up the grip
as we tighten up our eyes
as we tighten up our belts
this space is buckling all the while
~~
a hairline at the corner
it's forming into fracture
she's already cursing
but I'm just looking up
~~
this space is getting smaller now
I know you know that I had dreamed of something bigger
for all these dreams
and all the wiles
and all the songs
and all the miles
this dream will lose some inches
at 60 miles an hour
~~
fracture stresses structure
the cylinders are trembling
and there's something steel and hungry
and it's coming through the hood
~~
and I don't think it's known
how a car is like a gun
but exploding gets you nowhere
see, it's all in the control
'cause halfway out
it falls back in
and I'm falling in again
yes, I'm falling in again...
well, I've been focused all the while
on the dreams and on the miles
never noting that emotion
was what carried us so far
so it's the silence of the start
before the molecules were moving
they've been shocked into this silence
from which nothing can depart
~~
now this space is resting quiet
Schwarzschild would be proud
we didn't even half it
but those six inches held the whole
they talk of hearts of stars
they don't mention souls of suns
cut it out and crush it
the physics always win.
~~
a fracture at the corner
the dreams are leaking out
she's already crying
and I'm already angry
but I'm just sitting looking out.
a fracture at the corner
the dreams are leaking out
she's already crying
but I'm just sitting looking out.
© 2004 rob hinkal
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11. |
Strain
04:12
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incomplete and left undone
the chord fragmented
left unsung
city-born and city-bred
I'll be lucky if I end up quick city dead
the rats all mutter in the gutter
in the sewer and the rush
as they rat race home
as a beast of burden I can carry my weight
maybe I try too hard
Back in the woods on a wood-lot trail
working hard like an animal should be
I write my songs in a backwoods bedroom
I ignore the snore of the clockgear
and I've been dead for the past six days
that's more than Lazarus ever could claim
back from the dead now look at me
I'm as strong as I ever thought I could be.
some people are better off dead
some people shouldn't try so hard
if they could then they would
but they can't so they won't
so you know you can rest here
so you know you can rest here
don't let them step on what these others
now could become
no no no!
maybe it's the clock gear
that keeps my blood going
and here I thought it was my anger or my rage
or my father or my sex drive, SOMETHING
but maybe it's the fear of the gear
and accompanying arm
and the passage of time
age and life, vitality, strife
maybe it's the blood that keeps the heart pumping
some people can't be left behind
now that they've tried so hard
Just cause they haven't doesn't mean that they won't
so you know you can rest here
so you know you can rest here
don't let them bring down the bird
that you now have become
no no no!
so they think they can break you
maybe you believe that they can
I know that they tried so fucking hard on me
but I found the direction I was headed
when I took a left turning
at the wrong right turn
spent a year light-headed
now I'm better threaded
together we will overcome
this isn't what you're here for
you were meant to go somewhere
never what you were meant to do
you never should have had to deal with all this
STRAIN
incomplete and left undone
the chord fragmented
but at least it's sung
city-born and city-bred
looks like I'm dying
that slow suburban death
the rats all mutter in the gutter
in the sewer and the rush
as they rat race home
as a beast of burden I can carry your weight
maybe I can help you
home
© rob hinkal
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12. |
Will
05:58
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The rain came down
Back washing alley ways
Drowning men out of holes
The water ran red
As people lost skin
And a frightened young man
He looked down upon his toes
He's in danger of getting his feet so wet
Ships are tossing down in the harbour
The wind is raising, the rain is pounding down
Ships are sinking down in the harbour
As the waves came up
They climbed past the dykes
They climbed past the fenceposts
They snuck past the sentries
And lapped at the locked tight doors
As the rains came down down down down
These are the martyrs and these are our prayers
These are our lives
Down in the harbour there forms a storm
That could wipe us all clean of life
Stick tight now and close your eyes now
And hope the storm pass you by
Then came a woman, a hero a martyr
They called her Mary
She needed no comfort
Down in the harbour she walked in the sky
She walked on the waves, she walked on water
These are the martyrs and these are our prayers
These are our lives
They're given to us to do with as we see so fit
Rest assured that I will
Rest assured that we will
Rest assured that we will
Rest assured that we will
With a 6 foot frame
She walked on the ocean floor
She shone like copper
With a 6 foot frame
She walked with the sun
She walked too far high to see
And she asked me to walk with her
6 foot tall with her
She turned to me and whispered:
"Don't fear the storm."
#INSTRUMENTAL
And now the water is 6 foot deep
And the people in the mud, another 6 foot under
It's a struggle, such a struggle to keep my head above water
And I'm clinging on to Mary's shoulders
And I'm standing up on Mary's shoulders
And I'm weighing down on Mary's shoulders
As she drowns
These are the martyrs and these are our prayers
These are our Lives
They're given to us to do with as we see so fit
Rest assured that I will
Rest assured that I will
Rest assured that I will, yeah
©1997 rob hinkal
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13. |
Letters from the Front
05:08
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I bought a Che Guevara T-shirt
and vowed my revolution,
But I have yet to wear it –
It’s still hanging in my closet
beside the blue jeans I had on
when we abandoned our stalemate.
I know they’re the ones –
There’s still ammunition in the pocket,
and grass stains on the knees …
(Chorus)
It would have been easier by bayonet, by bullet,
instead of by degrees,
but we always were so stubborn,
waiting on the wait and see …
no stomach for execution.
Ours is a language of pine cones and razorblades,
codes unbreakable,
but this flesh can only take so much.
Like the paper of our letters,
like the jeans that are my uniform,
we are weaker than we think,
more used up than we know,
and worn out at the knees …
CHORUS
I am open to suggestion. I am open to solution.
And in the quiet between fire, we could trade absolution.
Cause I tell you that I doubt that we know what we are doing,
And if you see a way out, I will follow you into it.
You are not my enemy. You are not my enemy.
We get no peace of armistice
from these battles in our hearts -
No one gets their way. No one gets away.
We are the POWs
of our abbreviated sin,
wielding our grenades
with all the pins half-in.
And we are down upon our knees …
CHORUS
© Heather Lloyd
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14. |
Counting
04:44
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I spent 8 hours driving yesterday
Seems only 4 spent moving
I spent since Friday on the road and roaring
And since this morning I've been stalled
It's been 4 days
Since I last touched these strings
That momentum could be hard to break
I spend so much time so crunched up and cramped
I feel like screaming
I feel like screaming
It's been 5 years
Waiting for this day
When I'll be leaving I'll be strutting when I'm leaving
I spent 5 long years waiting for this release and release it is
I've gleaned nothing save some man's idea that I'm better
Than I was before
When in truth, now I'm simply very very very very very very poor
That fucker seemed so very distressed
That fucker does nothing
That fucker seems so very distressed
Maybe that fucker would be better off dead
The streets are clogged with the useless
Thrice damned and nothing more
Once cause born, twice cause living
Thrice cause damned cause they live next door to each other
And I'm thrice blessed and I bless my soul
I can heave myself up out of this hole
I count once cause born
Twice cause living
And I count you
As I'm blessed thrice
And I count you
As I'm blessed thrice
And I count you
As I'm blessed thrice
©2006 rob hinkal
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ilyAIMY Baltimore, Maryland
ilyAIMY is a percussive acoustic rock animal hailing from Baltimore, MD. Mixing genres from rock to folk to soul to bluegrass; flavours as varied as jazz and hip hop curl through what is undoubtedly one of the most exciting sounds in today’s folk(ish) music scene. Instrumentation includes acoustic guitars, cello, djembe, cajon, Irish bones, keyboard, bass, drums & harmonies. ... more
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