1. |
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well it's a beautiful day
and there are flowers in the garden
everybody's laughing
they're having a good time
look at Mrs. Masch
put her wash on the line
did you ever think she's conscious
of the dozens of eyes
watching her
on display
and it's a typical summer's day
in
the superficial life
of an American boy
some kind of dream
somebody
somewhere
had
yeah it's a beautiful day
and there are flowers in the garden
everybody's smiling
they've taken
their pills today
look at Mr. Moore
oil his squeaky back door
the pleasure he takes
in the rounds and the chores
and the many routines of his day
and it's a sensual modern play
in
the surface and soulless
rich American land
successful with things
hopeless with real ideals
some kind of dream
somebody
somewhere
had...
Albert Arthur Parker Boone the Second
Albert Arthur Parker Boone the Second
scared mom cries
shrill whistle from your stepdad
won't you go home A.P.?
please won't you go home?
Albert Arthur Parker Boone the Second
Albert Arthur Parker Boone the Second
two whistles means
a whipping from your stepdad
make it three
everybody knows what that means
that's the paddle
he'll never sit down for the week
one time we heard a fourth whistle that
became the sum of all our fears
A.P. had finally made a stand
he'd run away
and finally
he'd never sit down for the year...
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2. |
barnbrooks
01:53
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we figured out that was all we needed to know
about the Barnbrooks
they had the best clothes
they had the best TV
they had the best food
they never grounded kids
for getting F's and D's
and isn't it good to be a "Barnbrook?"
we figured out later on
that maybe it's
not
so good for Barnbrooks
they had the best clothes
they had the best things
they always felt full
but somehow never seem too
satisfied with things
so maybe it's not so good for "Barnbrooks"
we heard the first news
of Shelly's blues
we heard the next news of
Shannon's meth abuse
Bryan too
ran into some things
he's got a "baby now too young
a girl he doesn't love"
So maybe it's hard
to be a "Barnrook"
we figured out that was all we
needed to know
about the Barnbrooks
maybe it's hard
to be a "Barnbrook"
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3. |
michael nelson
02:44
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Michael didn't take a pill today
they say he's "hyperactive"
he was "born that way"
it's "in it's mind"
they say it's in his mind
they say it's all in his mind
Michael's home again from school today
they say he kicked a kid
took his lunch away
it's "in his mind"
they say it's "in his mind"
they say "it's all in his mind"
Michael Nelson
holds his heart
inside his fist
I feel the raging love for me
as he breaks my wrist
can't be alone anymore
can't be alone anymore
Michael's dad drives
a 309 porsche
he skids it too fast
up to the front porch
to drive
to give his son a ride
give Michael a ride
Michael's dad
takes the corner too fast
we freeze in play
Bryan's dog escapes
Muffin dies
it blows his mind
(Bryan's dog really died)
Michael Nelson
Holds his heart
down deep inside
Feel the raging
love for us
as they race and hide
can't be alone anymore...
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4. |
biggest headache
01:55
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what?
is that the time already
I woke up this morning
with the biggest headache
what makes you happy?
there's not one thing you could do
to make me smile today
ah
but that's okay
what?
did I forget it's Sunday?
why do you always make me go to church
it's funny
you don't seem happy
unless some other person
is suffering
right with you
what's to do?
guess I should not be so ungrateful
and hateful
bout these things
but then again I'm sure you've had the same ideas
through the years
things have a way of coming back
to hit you square
(and all the tears)
oh mother dear
oh mother dear
(how do you get home)
oh mother dear
oh mother dear
what?
is that the time already
I woke this morning
with the biggest headache
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5. |
free fun
03:41
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there was a sidewalk
we used to skip the cracks
they would break the backs
when we'd walk
we'd lift our legs
we'd jump and say
"no one will ever be as great!"
we got our loose change
out of a broke vase
we'd cut lose
ever day
the summer sun
it burned our necks
"no one deserves so much respect"
fun fun fun
we'd see the side of fun
what a free fun!
we'd get our 5 cents
jollies and charlestons
we'd get the most
out of our gold
A.P would spend
all of it fast
Bryan was last
and he saved it best
we'd skipped the fence then
chased by a yard dog
one time a cop
caught Degman's friend
one time we beat
a trestle train
"no one will mess with us again!"
fun fun fun
we'd see the side of fun
what a free fun!
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6. |
summer of love
03:12
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it's the summer of love
there's a saying where I come from
everybody uses too much
take comfort in familiar things
everybody wants to stay involved and love
everybody wants to stay involved and love
it's the summer of love
it's the summer of love there's a saying where I come from
just about all used up
take comfort in the easy way
everybody wishes all good things would stay
everybody wishes all good things would stay
it's the summer of love
it's the summer of love
where these songs have their cure
where all feelings are pure
where nothing is sure
but that
all things will one day be gone
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7. |
tiffanie's gone
02:15
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Tiffanie's gone
will I get her room?
will I get the same
privileges as the Barnbrooks do?
do I get to bring
my lovers around
every time our folks
go out to dinner
somewhere out of town
I can still remember the sounds they would make
in the locked basement bedroom they'd shut up
me and Chris would huddle taking turns at the door
learning through a keyhole
what a body is for
Tiffanie's gone
will I get her place
at the kitchen dinner table
where we used to make faces?
when will we know
if she's gone for good?
if the couple she ran off with
really made for Hollywood
I can still remember the night when she left
in the trailer at some out of state campground
remember when I woke up, saying
"go back to sleep"
always wonder if I didn't where would she be
Tiffanie's gone
that's more stuff for me
somehow that just seems
a really empty victory
I've always been struck
the way people leave
seems to leave you more
than anyone could ever be in person
I can still remember the sounds they would make
in the locked basement bedroom they'd shut up
me and Chris would huddle taking turns at the door
learning through a keyhole what the body is for
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8. |
dick and marie
01:31
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I don't know what to do with you
soon the wondrous white
of your snow will be gone
Dick and Marie
I don't know what to do with you
all your spicy smells
all like
carefully canned perfume
Dick and Marie
I don't know what to do with you
all your ordered world
that the rest of us
refused
Dick and Marie
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9. |
wildest thoughts
01:19
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how
we ever got out of the cave
I will always wonder
there's that sound
of thunder again
meanwhile the child sleeps
without waking
the sidewalk's wet
from the constant rain
besides the pets
no signs of life
the cab skids close
to the black
front curb
I see your form inside
oh
the wildest thoughts
go
around my head
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10. |
robert decker
03:01
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follow the rain
into a drain
until
your brain
goes with it
you'll take your paper mickey mouse
under your tongue
now stick it
stick it out!
stick it out at me
and stomp your feet
inside the acid tunnels we'll meet
to trip and re-decipher
those wall graffiti
about the time the drugs kick in
then lankey Robert Decker
pulls in
always the king of everything we wanted
and more
from him
follow the road until it goes around
a pole near Jaquith
that's where we meet inside a tree to be alone
and stick this
stick this pipe
stick this pipe
inside your bag
at the apple orchard we meet
to drink and smoke the feelings
we need to be free
about the time the drugs kick in
then lankey Robert Decker
appears
always the Lord of Overstock
there were no
limits
to him...
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11. |
ronnie v. dana
02:11
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Ronnie Mills has got the best punch in school
Ronnie Mills is gonna fight Dana
you know he can hold his own
Dana's fights are always fair
pure lion inside his bones
this time we knew
he should be scared
Ronnie Mills has got the best punch in school
Ronnie Mills is gonna fight Dana
I heard it's behind the lot
everyone spread the word
at three by the maple tree
after school
is all we heard
later by some phony law
whereby
we couldn't stand
squirming in the dirty field
we cheered for our man
each one took a swing
and Dana stalled
for some time
Ronnie slapped his neck
that's when we noticed
the beehive
and by
some divine intervention
we never had to see
Dana lose...
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12. |
goggles
03:40
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take your goggles off
we’re about to land
and the spider man
has the radio on
he’s on the wrong channel now
save the song…
take your goggles off
hallelujah
hardly knew ya
now to know you so well
puts a thought into ya
I guess he really lost it
somebody call the paramedics
take your goggles off
do you know where this is?
there’s your sister Tiff
she’s been waiting here with Chris
you’re on your own buddy now
save your soul
don’t say we never ever told, told you so
take your goggles off
hallelujah
glad I knew ya
would not want to be you now
you’re a new intruder
I guess I really lost it
somebody tell me where to put it
take your goggles off
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13. |
game
03:51
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how was it going to the game
they took your number and your name
how was it silencing the naysayers
how was it going to the game?
you came into this place
with a wild look on your face
then you ran
down the road
and returned
down
looking old
how was it going to the game?
you let 'em automate your brain
made you interrogate the prisoners
how was it going to the game?
you flew to the east
with your man-model mystique
drank a few
soju drinks
your whole world
started to stink
how was it going to the game?...
so the game goes on
and the rain
falls
down
so the game goes on
and the soldiers
are silent
now
how was it going to the game?
you let 'em fiddle with your brain
you let 'em diagnose your illness
how was it going to the game?...
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14. |
dream fog
03:56
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what am I to do
with all of these ideas I have of you?
sometimes I want to be alive
sometimes I want to be dead
sometimes I mistake you for the
dreams
inside my head
I just have you in my mind
some dream to chase a past-time
my fears no doubt have sometimes
cooked the books and wagged the
dog
someday I hope to meet you
in the flesh
without this dream fog
what am I to say?
when all of these ideas just float away
into a dream world that I make
so that my reals don’t seem fake
go peacefully into the night
and may your own dreams give you light
I just have memories that chime
and ring like screams at nighttime
my love no question sometimes
cooks the books and wags the dog
someday I hope to touch you
in the flesh
without this dream fog…
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Matthew Caleb Rockford, Illinois
Original songs of Rockford, IL singer-songwriter Matthew Caleb. These are DEMOS. Everything is a
demo.
Header and background photos by Reka Ehrentreu
reka.ehrentreu@gmail.com
Contact Matthew at soap.flossers@yahoo.com
... more
Matthew Caleb recommends:
The Art of Mothering
by Special Explosion
This album is an absolute cover to cover joy. Prog-structured, heavy-light, full-stop, to blasting off moments, first rate songwriting...
go to album
This record cover to cover is full of first rate hooks, infectious cascading proggy drumming, and all glued together with the genius vocal and songwriting...
go to album
Day of the Tiles (EP)
by The Human Hearts
Franklin Bruno is one of the most criminally underappreciated songwriters. Aside from ongoing solo work (music and writing, he's a poet and philosopher of music), Human Hearts is his musical home.
go to albumIf you like Matthew Caleb, you may also like:
Every Bird Ever [Album]
by Ilithios
The new record from Brooklyn indie group Ilithios is full of big-hearted songs with the hooks to match.
go to album
Backed by a rotating cast of collaborators, the Australian singer-songwriter refines her folk-tinged indie pop sound.
go to album
Habibi's garage minimalism has a bit of post-punk, bubblegum, and indie in its DNA, but remains something entirely, coolly their own.
go to album
