1. |
Local Pickup Only
04:20
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New listing, local pickup only
So that I don’t get lonely
With things that I don’t need
Accepting offers, because I’d like to move it quickly
Call or text the number at the bottom of your screen
There’s a pointy guitar that I played at Springwater
That time when Goose caught on fire
When Arsis came to town
Some bloodstains from the small stage
At the old Masquerade
Long before they tore that old building to the ground
New listing, local pickup only
So that I don’t get lonely
With things that I don’t need
Accepting offers, because I’d like to move it quickly
Call or text the number at the bottom of your screen
There’s an ’08 Econoline
New locks from that one time
When St. Louis stole all of our shit
250,000 miles, and a few loose scratch-off tickets
From a few loose scratch-off states
Hiding under the bench
New listing, local pickup only
So that I don’t get lonely
With things that I don’t need
Accepting offers, because I’d like to move it quickly
Call or text the number at the bottom of your screen
And when your bumper sticker
Peels off the green room door
And your bass player finally sells the van
To a young power trio
With a down-payment and a dream
But ain’t nobody else know where it’s been
And they’ll cross some state lines
Hit some toll roads and traffic
And apologize for load-in times missed
And they’ll break down and get robbed
And play some lousy shows
Trying to hard to just exist
So we sing our songs
When it feels like no one’s listening
Feels like we might as well be ghosts
We forget better stories
Then most people will ever know
But will anybody else remember those?
New listing redacted from the News Feed
So that I can tell my stories
Of all the things I’ve seen
Accepting solace with myself and with my history
Call or text the number if you’d like to grab a drink
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2. |
Northern Lights
05:07
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Going on six weeks
As we drove north up 63
Another town we’d never seen
Slim Alberta sun
And we had set our sights
Upon the Northern Lights
But instead, we just shut our eyes
Catch it on the next one
Catch it on the next one
And at the end of our roam
Everything had changed when we got home
Another Summertime had come and gone
And shorter were the days
And like a fever dream
All of the places that I’d seen
And all the people that I meet
Slowly fade away
But the ghosts still haunt me from time to time
Yeah, the ghosts still haunt me from time to time
No longer on the run
The life I left, and the one I’ve begun
But even though I’m satisfied in one
Sometimes I think about the other
So adapt to impermanence
Make the most of every circumstance
And see the Northern Lights if you get the chance
You might never get another
Because like a fever dream
All of the places that you’ll see
And all the people that you meet
Will slowly fade away
But the ghosts will still haunt you from time to time
Yeah, the ghosts will still haunt you from time to time
Because those ghosts still haunt me from time to time
The ghosts still haunt me from time to time
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3. |
Skulls and Antlers
02:50
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Chords and words and hearts on sleeves
Verse, chorus, verse, repeat
I’m bored from the monotony
Another song about the sad bar band
Playing in the sad bar
Singing about being a sad bar band
Playing at the sad bar
We’ve taken nostalgia too far
A little less feigned altruism
A little more escapism
To break out of the algorithm
I wanna start a blackened death metal band
Thrash riffs at breakneck speed
A logo like a pile of leaves
Just let me brain be free
Another song about, like
A wizard fighting a dragon
On a mountainside
And more cool shit like that
And like, a kickass two-handed tapping guitar solo
Make it fast, because the clock is ticking
Corpse paint and double kicking
Blastbeats and tremolo picking
I wanna start a blackened death metal band
Tune my guitar down to C sharp standard
Let my voice sound like Muppets angered
Dress my stage with skulls and antlers
I wanna start a blackened death metal band
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4. |
See You Next Year
04:00
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We’ll never get away with this
Not if they have anything to do about it
This isn’t going anywhere
And the sooner we understand that, the better
We’re just happy anyone’s still here
Thanks for coming, we’ll see you next year
We’re never gonna get out of here
Might as well just make do the best we can
At least we’re having fun for now
How many can say the same?
We’re just happy anyone’s still here
Thanks for coming, we’ll see you next year
These jean jacket tax brackets
Making racket in our Stratocaskets
A new revival, deal on arrival
Self-denial, we’ve been here awhile
Let me surrender, return to sender
This break and bender, this long December
My eyes are open, my lungs are choking
My heart’s unbroken, I’m letting hope in
We’re just happy anyone’s still here
Thanks for coming, we’ll see you next year
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5. |
Health and Safe Passage
03:53
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We weighed anchor
Seeking refuge, and a good night’s sleep
I saw you standing by the bar
And you bought me a drink
And we embraced and raised our glasses
To toast the same old adage
“to health and safe passage”
And thoughts with those we’ve outlasted
We’ve got a long way left to go to get back home
Still trust the stars to guide our way after all these years
Fighting our conscience, “are we pirates or privateers?”
Seeking different ports for shelter from the same storm
But I won’t see you back in port anymore
And then we parted
Breaking anchor in our separate ways
Seeking fortune in adventure out beyond the bay
Holding fast and holding steady
With all hands at the ready
Lest we start forgetting
A sun that’s always setting
We’ve got a long way left to go to get back home
Still trust the stars to guide our way after all these years
Fighting our conscience, “are we pirates or privateers?”
Seeking different ports for shelter from the same storm
But I won’t see you back in port anymore
And I awoke
Miles away in some other bay
The sun was shining as we rose to face another day
And we choked on our breakfast
When we received the message
Of news of the wreckage
And we struggled to make our exit
And we embraced and raised our glasses
To toast the same old adage
“to heath and safe passage”
And thoughts with those we’ve outlasted
Still trust the stars to guide our way after all these years
Fighting our conscience, “are we pirates or privateers?”
Seeking different ports for shelter from the same storm
But I won’t see you back in port anymore
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6. |
Bradford Pears
03:03
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See the Bradford Pear
Looks like Spring, but smells like Death
Trees, they sway, wind carries it your way
Mutter something under your breath
And I know they don’t belong here
Frankly brother, neither do we
Conflicting theses, invasive species
Line the highways far as we can see
When I was a boy
Some friends went off to fight a war
Some didn’t go and still met their end back home
In scraps of metal thrown about the floor
And I know they still belong here
Bitching ‘bout the smell of Springtime trees
“Acceptable losses” and plastic crosses
Line the highways far as we can see
See the Bradford Pear
Just like us, bending to the wind’s will
Bows unbending through Winter’s ending
Hold until our fetid flowers bloom
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7. |
Nahmericana
03:01
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I am not punk enough for your brand new Black Flag tats
And I’m not Americana enough for train beats on open hi-hats
I’m not heavy metal enough for the trve kvlt scene
And I’m not country enough, and I’m not really sure what that means
I like Hank and Iron Maiden, Counting Crows and Suffocation
Is that ok with you?
Stevie Ray Vaughn, Drake, and Slayer
They’re all on my record player
Does that make me less cool?
Did I go too far? Did I say something wrong?
Will you walk out of this bar before I finish this song?
But if this makes you move and makes you feel good
It’s just rock and roll doing what it should
I am not hardcore enough to wear gym shorts to hardcore shows
But don’t you dare think I didn’t do my time bleeding in the front row
I’m not well adjusted enough for this culture game
And I’m not well dressed enough to be on this stage
Taylor Swift and then Tom Waits
Katy Perry, At the Gates
Is anyone still here?
You’re hanging tough and hanging stubborn
And moving right back to the suburbs
In just a few more years
Did I go too far? Did I say something wrong?
Will you walk out of this bar before I finish this song?
But if this makes you move and makes you feel good
It’s just rock and roll doing what it should
Did I go too far? Did I say something wrong?
If I sing it one more time, would you sing along?
If this makes you move and makes you feel good
It’s just rock and roll doing what it should
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8. |
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Black metal t-shirts in my drawer
That I can’t wear anymore
Skeletal depictions in black and white
Get the wrong looks in the daycare pick up line
But if I make it to the weekend
Maybe I can see a show
But they start so late these days
Do I even want to go?
But I’ll probably stay up anyway
Watching baseball and playing videogames
Just like I did when I was 13
It’s been 30 years since the Great War
And the Nords can’t worship Talos anymore
The Emperor signed the treaty, Gold and White
But Ulfrik’s headed for The Reach to pick a fight
And now he’s taken Markarth
And the Legion’s getting scared
And the Stormcloak Revolution
Has the Thalmor unprepared
But over here in Helgen
We’ve got dragons in the air
Just like I saw on Fox News
Black metal t-shirts in my drawer
Save them for the reunion tour
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9. |
Can't Sit Still
04:05
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When I was 9, I busted out of class
Singing songs for all the kids in the hall
And I could around the bases faster than anyone
But couldn’t keep my eye on the ball
Eventually, I went to see the doctor
And she asked me what I thought was wrong
But, I didn’t have an answer ‘cause
I’ve felt this way all along
I said I don’t know what I’m doing
And I probably never will
‘Cause I can never seem to get moving
And I can’t sit still
And it feels like I’m always losing
Chasing what I’ll never fill
‘Cause I can never seem to get moving
And I can’t sit still
When I was 19, I busted out of town
Never knowing what I’m running towards
Singing my songs to anyone who’d listen
But always forgetting the words
Eventually, I learned to find a bottle
When I felt sad or incomplete
But it never helped me feel any better
It only helped me sleep
Because I don’t know what I’m doing
And I probably never will
‘Cause I can never seem to get moving
And I can’t sit still
And it feels like I’m always losing
Chasing what I’ll never fill
‘Cause I can never seem to get moving
And I can’t sit still
Now I’ve got a couple little ones of my own
Trying to teach em right from wrong
And how to be calm and how to be kind
But they don’t always follow along
Eventually I went and asked my father
Why it never goes according to plan
He said I should know just as much as anyone
We’re doing the best we can
He said we don’t know what we’re doing
And we probably never will
‘Cause we can never seem to get moving
And we can’t sit still
And it feels like we’re always losing
Chasing what we’ll never fill
‘Cause we can never seem to get moving
And we can’t sit still
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10. |
Separate Beds
03:34
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We both know the first thing
About the worst thing
About falling in love
We’ve been up and down
And kicked around
And thrown off of the horse into the mud
And I know nothing about horses
Except they’re fickle and they scare me half to death
But I think I’d like to learn, if you can learn
To help me ease my breath
And there’s things I’d like to tell you
That even I can’t understand
And I’d like to walk these streets
But only if you hold my hand
Would you wanna come home
And have Thanksgiving with my family
And sleep on separate beds?
You don’t know the first thing
About turning
A 6-4-3 double play
But your dog’s got a collar
With my team right beside his name
And it’s endearing to put your faith
Into something with a future so dark
And it kind makes me nervous when you laugh
Every time he barks
And I know that you get sad
Sometimes when I’m gone
We do the best we can
From 1000 miles long
But it’s never too far
Before we don’t have to fall
Asleep in separate beds
There’s things I don’t believe in
Like wishing on a star
But for you’d, I’d build a rocket
And we can sail to worlds afar
And when we get home
We’ll take your dog to the park
But he’ll have to sleep on a separate bed
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Todd Farrell Jr. Nashville, Tennessee
Solo material from Nashville based songwriter/guitarist Todd Farrell Jr, of Benchmarks.
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