1. |
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To regret 200 missteps
My miscalculated negotiations
Energy inefficient
Most of me has been on vacation
The ground was shaking beneath my feet then
In for the ride of my life
Through tired eyes, the gift of freedom
Looked more like a bag of cheap potting soil
I wonder what the move is now
With new shit to care about
It’s good to be back again
In the company of a caring friend
The smell of the water on the pavement
(Knowing, remembering a place)
Any time’s the best time I have ever known
(I wouldn’t trade this feeling back)
The best liars can convince themselves of anything
(Fixed on a fact like life depended)
On some form of objective truth
I wonder what the move is now
With new shit to care about
It’s good to be back again
In the company of a caring friend
So we accept new destinations
Reluctantly
To make a point to make a point
And off the cuff, the glasses sound pretty sound
Comfort in numbers makes me sick
When in comes to this, nothing gets solved, nothing’s fixed
If logic claims one kind of person’s lazy or crazy, I don’t buy in
Splitting, tearing
Division’s the brand we’re wearing
Our bold colors burning eyes out of the sockets
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2. |
The Good Life
03:32
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We were talk talking the light away about something nice and mundane
Holed up in an abandoned gas station
Watching graffiti slide across the walls
2084 was 10 minutes away and we were staying awake
Pulling for the loudest words we knew at the quickest rate
Years of this, the ringing in my ears
It’s a ‘60s jingle covered to fit the era
Rehashed and mixed apart
Is this the good life?
Are these the good times?
The dim light of a starving fire cast our silhouettes
Against the musty wallpaper we’d clung to at the outset
We just felt the movement of an entire generation in one
Simple, sweeping motion
Years of this, the ringing in my ears
It’s a funeral dirge with a catchy verse or two
All eyes, all eyes on you
Sooner or later, you’ll wonder what you pay for
The daytime will steal your breath
And the most you make will never be enough
Well, sooner or later, you’ll wonder what you pay for
The daytime will steal your breath
And the most you make will never be enough
Is this the good life?
Are these the good times?
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3. |
Leroy
02:42
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Leroy made such beautiful boxes
Gave his money to food banks and NPR
His house was cluttered 'cause he built it that way
A real fire hazard with books and busted guitars
The fat check for fact checking
Will not be cashed ‘til you check out
Leroy sang when he could
He wasn’t ever that good
He wrote a little bit and smoked a little bit, but could not stick to one or the other
He read all the news, but didn’t feel much smarter
He gave up on you when all he had to do was work a little harder
The fat check for fact checking
Will not be cashed til you check out
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4. |
Let
04:20
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You’ve seen how long it takes
For a change to come across
A storm brewing softly
Tiny droplets pierce the ashy sky
Say those ancient words
Comfort in the strangest times
It’s warm but it’s fleeting
Outside heavy smoke sits still above
Empty your mind, dear
I’ll be around
For whatever you find here
I’ll be around
A road paved for the two of us
The ground will swallow up our swollen feet
And birds will sing our work for years to come
Lying still, eyes closed, mind racing
Something coming over you
It’s mind over matter
Loosen up and let the music play
Empty your mind, dear
I’ll be around
For whatever you find here
I’ll be around
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5. |
Donziger's Diary
03:44
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Could all opportunists meet with sober cartoonists
And draw a roadmap out of hell?
Thanks in advance for trying to end the war
On universal rights to basic necessities
But we’re total amnesiacs
Lucky we don’t come back
As something more accountable than fertilizer
Not to get all Soylent Green or Sweeney Todd
But it sure feels like shit standing at the pump
To all you fuckers, there’s a special place for you in hell
Lago Agrio
Please stay strong
Black, pumping heart cut off from air
Come on, dopamine
Don’t let us forget a thing
Feels like we’re being slowly drugged
Thanks, lawyers and reporters
Although you’re double-edged swords
Probably read a million words a day
How’s that roadmap coming?
How fuel efficient is our bus?
Are we eating well and do we have enough?
Lago Agrio
Please stay strong
Black, pumping heart cut off from air
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6. |
Glasses
02:39
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Take these glasses
They’re great for seeing things
That you never knew were there
Isn’t it pretty?
Show me what you see
I won’t tell anyone
We’ve been inside for too long
Check out the almond buds
Bees buzzin’, sun shinin’
Water flowing down from the mountains
To keep this valley alive
For everybody else
I have to say
It’s my favorite time of year
Savoring the sun before the fires come
Should we put our astronauts in congress and send our politicians to space?
At least for a term or two
I don’t have the answers
Let someone else decide
It’s true, I’m just an ordinary guy
But even I can feel the penalties
Of payments overdue
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7. |
City Rats
03:18
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To think I know enough to think I know enough
I’m addicted to this information overload
A critical examination is overdue
I need a drink or something cool to refrigerate my thoughts
Before the concrete spreads
I need a year to clear my head
Hell I’m not ready for this
Feeling unsteady
Forget the payout, I want to stay out
And chase my will
Scared to death of money and time
Mosquitos, big needles and Black Friday lines
But more so of keeping people close enough to hear me
To think you know enough to think you know enough
About turning pages, making changes
Before the concrete spreads
I need a year to clear my head
‘Cause I’m not ready for this
Feeling unsteady
Forget the payout, I want to stay out
And chase my will
I’m not sorry, and I’m sorry for that but there’s nothing I can do to change
At this point, I’m rolling in the grass without a compass or a map
And I’m not worried
It’s got me on edge, but it’s better than where I’ve been
I can learn to run like the rats in the city
I can learn to run like the rats in the city
Before the concrete spreads
I need a year to clear my head
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8. |
July 2017
05:09
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I closed my eyes for quite a while
Slept halfway through July
And logged my dreams in water color paints
I kicked the shakes out to the curb
Cleaned up, went out and found a girl
Who makes me wonder about myself
And it felt like raindrops on my cheeks
Wondering whether tongue-in-cheeks
Had left me stranded feeling good
And it felt good
I think I better decide, I think I better decide
I let down my guard
Thought long and hard
I'm working harder than before
To turn my oceans into snow
To cool my head
In freezers far, far away
They're singing songs about the nights we spent alone
In this photograph you're eating corn right off the cob along this highway in Chiang Mai
It winds off and up to cooler air and a view of the city
I think I better decide, I think I better decide
I let down my guard
Thought long and hard
But that was then and this is now
I think I better decide, I think I better decide
I let down my guard
Thought long and hard
But that was then and this is now
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9. |
Tethered
04:41
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It’s getting late out, quiet setting in
I’m off in my own little world
Let’s try that last part again
I’m having beers in American Canyon
Amp feedback humming in the background
The room’s pretty hot, but there’s savory conversation
The kind you wish you’d make more time in the day for, but you never do
The times you’re trying to get back to without really knowing
Well now I’m moving, rolling down West Cliff
I see the lighthouse and dogs everywhere
There’s been sun and sand in my hair
A little on edge all the time
Clanking around in this melting pot
There are people dancing with fire in the forest
Where the hell am I?
Oh, to taste the flavors of five past lives
And hold it long enough
To let it all go
I’m rolling dice in a dorm room on the central coast
But I’ve still had weirder birthdays
I’m latching onto anything that reminds me of home
It’s pretty unhealthy
But I’m making a lot of music
Hoping that I don’t lose it
Now I’m complacent again, sights locked between
Two posts or two girls
Who I think understand me better than they do
I spend the summer playing this guitar alone
I’ll make a real album one day
Something to keep me tethered
Oh, to taste the flavors of five past lives
And hold it long enough
To let it all go
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10. |
Next Stop
02:49
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Stand here and make some noise
The show’s not long
The colors keep you engaged
Across the sky, the weekend fades
I’m watching the tide wash garbage in and out of this place
But it won’t take you
A breeze rolls through the trees
We’re laying on a blanket
At a public park
You’re scared of this place after dark
I’m watching the tide wash garbage in and out of this place
But it won’t take you
We talk about the bay like there’s no way of ever going back
Up north the air’s a lot colder
But not as bad as Boulder
Don’t get me started on the East Coast
Where could we make the most, but not sell out, but get the hell out?
I’m watching the tide wash garbage in and out of this place
But it can’t take you
I’m watching the tide wash garbage in and out of this place
But it can’t take you
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11. |
Ode to a Miner
04:10
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We found a planet with platinum deposits worth a fortune back home
Deployed every drone 10 miles deep; no signs of life, but it’s a steady job
Quiet and dark with no end in sight; a rare gem collection in the cargo hold
Is this where we grow old?
You’ve got a crew that looks to you for simple answers, but you’re running out
What are you gonna do
Do now, with your time?
You’ve got your books and an old guitar; makes a happy home not seem so far
Used to argue about what to save or how to spend your whole goddamn day
So afraid of missing out
When you left the earth you started believing in ghosts
Never thought you’d long for dirt; dirty looks in rush hour traffic
Awkward conversations, untimely tests of patience
One day you’ll bleed this whole claim dry
What are you gonna do
Do now, with your time?
What are you gonna do
Do now, with your time?
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Water Color Weekend Santa Cruz, California
Formerly a 5-part Indie Rock band that played around the Santa Cruz area, Water Color Weekend is now the solo project of
frontman and songwriter Davis Harper, who hails from Oakdale, California.
Influences: Modest Mouse, Radiohead, Sparklehorse, Beck, Grizzly Bear, Tame Impala, Fleet Foxes, Mac Demarco, Ween, Built Like Alaska, Grandaddy
... more
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