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There are thieves here Stalking in the weeds
Keep the does grazing ‘neath the far moonlit trees
Oh mother mother Save your garden green
Pray burn the chaff Confound all beasts on the breeze
Do some fey creatures call To your last born son
Do the wolves cry Bark and yell at the rising sun
It’s a fine dark night Barefoot on the clover green
But wary be child oh child Keep latched the garden gate
There are monsters here Steel eyes as the veil parts
Junkies, liars, wrong felt men Will steal away a true born heart
Safe and green this verge High walls a haven make
Peek over if you must But wander not out the garden gate
Wander not past the garden gate
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2. |
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3. |
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Was I a lost ship a dot on the horizon
Or am I a hermit at home
The light it fades but still I am standing here
For I am alone and not afraid
Buildings and bridges are built by hand
What could be done with these of mine
Ant-like precision has made me all wrong
Still I am alone but and afraid
What is this beauty that I can see before me
And how is it I missed it before
Contempt is swept away in silent awe
Yah I am alone but and afraid
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4. |
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Trains in the yard push and pull each other
And I drink and I think about each car
Slowly it comes into clear that it’s been up to me
That it’s been my job to carry you this far
I guess no good was done by yelling at you
On the phone the other day
But I was feeling the damage only a father can make
And it made me so fucking angry
For my youth
Seasons like clockwork drive me crazy each year
Birthdays in May and winter’s Christmas days
You’ll forget mine again like you did last year
Holidays un-wrap the old hurts just to hide them away again
From my youth
I find it soothing the exacting nature of industry
Cars that run into each other and latch on tight
Hanging on as sure as a link in a drawing chain
Knowing exactly when it’s time to let go and break flight
So I release you I release you to roll away from me
You never held my hand -- I held yours
I release you I won’t ask you anymore to look back for me
May you roll where you want and roll far
From my youth
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5. |
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6. |
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Gifts go wanting, lacking children to wonder
Junkies are flaunting their lives torn under
The view from the bar is a sea of the drowning
Elusive that love, a bastard, or some lost foundling
And how to get on oh where to put in
Bet there’s somewhere to start before the dark ending
All stumbles land hard on the struck faces
This waste among wasters is in all these places
And I am
So goddamned tired
People disappoint and people will fade
Days go by sometimes in a cheerless parade
And what little you’ve got now is almost all you can win
So if you’re too dead too embrace it then kindly stay out of my skin
‘Cause I have held to my heart
Some truly great hearts
But they failed, ‘grew-up’, quit or went crazy inside
And they died oh they died oh died died died
They died
Oh I am grown tired and heartsick
Of giving so much to all this
To all this failing
So I keep things shut these days
One small light
A last shiny piece
Is mine to keep
Is mine to keep
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7. |
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A smile like a light from a righteous land And eyes sharp and blue
But fair warning pretty little girl Shining else where’d be better for you
So what do you think pretty little girl Of the word so true
I’d only wish you knew me well But I’m just no good for you
I raised up among darkened men And there was little room
For anything but the grey in mind A veil cast over this world
So what do you think pretty little girl Of the words so true
Now trust me and turn straight away For I am no good for you
So a kindness shown blows away It’s the rightist thing to do
For blackened blood through a golden heart It’s nothing I’d wish you knew
So what do you think pretty little girl Of the word so true
Though it rends right through me I’m just no good for you
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8. |
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9. |
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Smoking kills and rain relieves
Thieves are taken with stolen pretty things
So bring home the bacon- envy the bird her pretty wings
Pay your bills and clean the house every spring
Fire a gun straight up pretend it’s not a thing
Raise up your fine children- envy the bird his pretty wings
And everything is fine
It’s A OK
Strays run the alleys make a mess of things
Kids throw rocks and run see what tomorrow brings
Breaking bottles key a car- catch a bird and pet its pretty wings
Drive fast out of town, leave behind that sad old thing
Smile at a baby watch it turn and to its momma cling
Breathe out the wrongs- enjoy the way the pretty bird sings
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10. |
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I woke up this morning after such strange dreams
Of animals and friends all fighting
Opening my eyes, I realized I didn’t know a one which
Somehow, seemed a very sad thing
I bunched up and held to me a blanket
That I’d kicked off in the night
And I held it for a long while remembering the last time
The last time when I felt right
I longed for a person to lean upon
To remove from my mind
The longing left over from you
When that hope left me happily blind
I thought of how you’d felt next to me
Tempting me to guards undo
So I got up, made my bed and got my book down and scratched out
The number so I’ll never call you
Another grey day coffee and cream
No jam for the toast
I eat my breakfast watching the weather outside my mind drifts and I find myself
Wondering what I want the most
If you came to me would I hold it against you
Everything that I couldn’t fix
Or would I simply be happy and hold you again
Knowing it’s something that will never stick
So I put the dishes in the sink, I smile and chide myself
For lingering again at this same worn page
But while it may not have been love you surely are
The one that’s done the most damage
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released December 1, 2009
Mike James played guitar on tracks 2, 6, 9 & 10 and sang on 3 & 4.
Aubrey Webber played cello on tracks 2,3 & 4 and sang on 3.
John Vecchiarelli played drums on track 10.
I played the rest, and recorded the whole kit and caboodle too at Materials to Outlet.
All songs by Jake Kelly except-
Willow Tree arranged by Jake Kelly
A OK by Jake Kelly & Mike James
He Was a Friend of Mine by Dave Von Ronk
Heaven Only Knows by Emmylou Harris
