1. |
Desert Song
05:08
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open road ahead and I’m coming clean
taking what I need
moondust on the hills and they’re calling to me
they say it’s raining in the valley
widows on the march and they’re calling to you
they’re saying don’t you cry for me
cause oh, my sons and daughters love is a stone
made of lime and quartz and longing
and when you push it up the hill
it’s got to roll back down
so do your best not to be found
underneath it when it does
midnight in the desert smells like sun
when it’s been laced in skin
my books have took to rotting at my feet
they all forget how they begin
so strap me to the saddle I’m free enough
I’ve been chasing that word for years
and when I finally tracked it down one day
all I had left were my fears
so if freedom’s what you’re looking for
don’t you be fooled like me
you can operate a single ship
from the middle of a fleet
take me down to the ocean
take me back up to the lakes
freedom is a dream lovers relinquish
if they want to stay awake
take me down to the mountains
take me back up to the snow
freedom is a poem you must read softly
if you’re ever gonna know it
take me down to the desert
take me back up to the oaks
freedom is a trembling yellow bird
that puts music in our bones
freedom is a trembling yellow bird
that puts music in our bones
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2. |
Bones
03:28
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there are the days I will sit and watch the cars go by
with all those people inside them will all of their places to go
and I look down at my feet and all this road in front of me and I say: girl,
how long do you plan to stay here and stand in this corner of the world
we all had the places we wanted to be
and instead of conversation we drew tactful demonstrations
through our telephones
and we all miss the dead
torture ourselves with things we would’ve said if
we’d only known
but they are still around and when we walk across the ground
we are walking on bones
the walls in this room may just as soon crumble down around me
one day when I’ve had enough I will leave my love and declare myself free
and until that day comes I will run and I’ll run til my legs fall apart
and with a backdrop of grey I will go my own way and declare myself smart
we all had the places we wanted to be
and instead of conversation we drew tactful demonstrations
through our telephones
and we all miss the dead
torture ourselves with things we would’ve said if
we’d only known
but they are still around and when we walk across the ground
we are walking on bones
we walk and we walk and we walk
we walk and we walk and we walk
on bones
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3. |
The Waltz
05:02
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when I was young I took the oak by the hand
made me a blistering palm and then I made myself better with it
and I was never good at letting go
but I learned how
so don’t give me the lessons of anybody else
don’t show me the record don’t tell me where they fell
if I’m to learn anything I’ll learn it myself
and if I’m to go my own way I’ll go it like hell
here we are singing the same sad little songs
but everything’s different we’re tapping new prints in the ground
and each day is a dream I could wake from if I closed my eyes
and the world sings on anyway, some lullaby.
so open your eyes and touch with your hands
let the sky snap back at you like a blue rubber band
don’t you go anywhere you don’t want to go
and if someone is wronging you tell them so
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4. |
King Woman
03:13
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woman king sits on her throne
winds up the day and gives it a throw
and there, and there it goes
woman king, boots in the dirt
climbs on her horse and rides to the river
and there, and there it flows
and she sits in the shadow of the mountain with her crossbow
woman king rides to the west
hears of unrest and calls on the wisdom of her past
thinks what to do
woman king rides to the east
tells all the women to get to their feet
and they, they listen and salute
and she leads them off to battle cheeks glowing like a ripe fruit
woman king with an army bold
riding for freedom in the new world and the old
they meet her foes
woman king, arrow in the arm
rides to the medicine woman in the Beqaa Valley
where the olive trees grow
and she waits at the Litani til the bleeding and the fever go
woman king, beneath the microscope
underestimated in her power and her hope
but she’ll use both
woman kings, centuries apart
see their lineage in the eyes of all the others
and there, and there they stand
arm in arm in arm into the floods that follow broken dams
woman king, wolf beside a fire
knows the parts of her to keep alive and which ones should die
the fall and rise
so leave her to her power she’ll come back to you an opened sky
leave her to her power she’ll come back to you an opened sky
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5. |
Chameleon Skin
05:11
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there are answers stuck to the palates of people
whose tongues are tied in knots
and they never know just when to keep talking
and when it’s time to stop
and that frustrates me takes me newly to the whetstone
to kick all of these men off of their bloodstained thirsty thrones
and I’m back here again in the same chameleon skin
I will be here all the while and you’ll be none the wiser
hanging still lives on your walls, watching as your time falls
in puddles at your feet, the droplets they will meet the ground
and drown all your worries cause time can be saved
you can burn all the witches before they can sing
you can burn the protégé who waits in the wings
you can beat us in this round cause time’s just a game
and I know better I know better I know better
I know better I know better I know better
oh I know better I know better I know better
than to play
there are ideas swimming in minds of people
whose words are turning to water
what do you get when you speak to the lord
we will each of us end up a martyr
blowing each other to pieces over the words of Mohammed and Jesus
we’re all living contradictions while our bodies run up their leases
so I walk out the door determined not to hit the floor
well I will understand eventually
at least that’s what they’re telling me
or we could start like Joan of Arc to move the mark
be smart enough to say this is reality
even if we don’t want it
to be
to be
to be
and they will tell you it’s a waste of time
to sit and turn your words to rhymes
but I know better I know better I know better
you know better you know better you know better
I think we know better we know better we know better
than to listen
cause if you can turn a thing inside and out
then you can wield its power
I know better I know better I know better
you know better you know better you know better
I think we know better we know better we know better
than to listen
than to listen
than to listen
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6. |
Manifesto
02:33
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take what I say with a grain of salt
cause I never do know what I’m talking about
I will never lead you astray
but I may not lead you to the place you think you’d like to be
take what I do with a look into my shoes
cause that’s the only view that’ll show you where I’m coming from
I never claimed to be happy at heart
but it looks like that’s the way it’s turning out
take my hand if you’ll be good to me
and if you’re not then I will take it back
I never was one to take bullshit from lovers
and I sure as hell won’t be starting now
take my faith if it’ll be of use to you
I never have been one for praying in a pew
but I know my god and I know she knows me too
so to hell with all your minor little details
take my advice with the knowledge that it’s nice
but it never really worked out for me
all I can say is you’ll know either way
when everything is at its ending
and until then, I suggest you sing
sit by yourself or in somebody’s company
until then, I suggest you sing
sit by yourself or in somebody’s company
take my advice with the knowledge that it’s nice
but it never really works out for me
all I can say is you’ll know either way
when everything is at its ending
when everything is at its ending
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7. |
[Blue Skies]
00:34
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so, if women must, they will paint blue sky on jail walls
if the skeins are burnt, they will spin more
if the harvest is destroyed, they will sow more immediately
for most women, to let die is not against their natures
it is only against their training
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8. |
Follow Me Down
04:50
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down on the shores of Lake Michigan
I found my way to the priestess
she said up on the peak of Rubidoux
the angels all know they are godless
they bend at their knees, sing for whom was I made
and keep giving the mountains their sermon
but for all of their flying and all of their light
they really are just so human
I made my way through Appalachia
and all of those deserts out west
I laid down my mind, quit trying to hide
how desperately I need my sadness
but in the springtime’s rebirth, when the stars fall to earth
and set fires in wandering souls
I pick up my feet, pack what I want to keep
shove the boulder and watch how it rolls
I am exactly where I said I’d be going
I’m just where I said I’d be
the trees on the shoreline, the wind on the road
have made a wanderer out of me
do you see the flowers in the fields of the great plains states?
do you see the moon pulling waves across the great lakes?
do you sleep soundly in the desert where the world has no sound?
follow me sisters and brothers, follow me down
so pick up the road, take all that I’ve got
you won’t be stopping me now
because one day I heard that sweet whisper of freedom
and I’ll never forget the sound
and I am exactly where I said I’d be going
I’m just where I said I’d be
the trees on the shoreline, the wind on the road
have made a wanderer out of me
the trees on the shoreline, the wind on the road
have made a wanderer out of me
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9. |
Lineage
03:09
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why are we counting down to our deaths
when we’ve got so much life inside of us
just take a moment
sometimes the world presses its palm against the window
and things get a little bit rough
but I know it’s passing
cause my mother used to tell me
there is life beyond everything you lose
and my father used to tell me
right or wrong be proud of what you choose
now I am aware that there are people out there
who would kick me down and shoot me full of bullets
and they’re not going away
but I will remain, they can bare their teeth
but they can’t take the soul away from me
no I am not afraid
cause my brother used to tell me
do not fear death and he just might fear you
and my sister used to tell me
tread carefully and you will end up a fool
I love the sun as much as anyone does
it can make you feel like you will never die
and I love the feeling
but once in a while I like a thunderstorm to come along
remind us that we’re all just animals
regardless of everything
and my little brother mocked me
when I told him that rain could clear his head
but maybe somewhere down the line
he will sit and ponder all the things I said
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10. |
Lucid Dreams
04:14
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I’ve been having lucid dreams
multiplicities and somebody’s gun
and when I wake up in the morning
I’m a medicine woman
and when the sun is in the sky
I am just another human
and when I go to sleep at night
I am under construction
don’t take me at my word
take me by the wrist
sit me on a throne
cause I’m just a story that you heard
a plot with a twist
carrying a stone
that I believe will carry me back home
can you feel it in the air
hear it on the wind, coming down the mountain
no, we in the age of prophecy
look to our books for our predictions
go on and read yours out loud
tell me is it matching what you’re seeing?
before taking anything for truth
I ask you are you sure you aren’t dreaming?
don’t take me at my word
take me by the wrist
sit me on a throne
cause I’m just a story that you heard
I’m a plot with a twist
carrying a stone
that I believe will carry me back home
[we heard news that the chief of staff and the generals, these men, and Marcos, had agreed just to shoot us down. right when dawn broke, you know, we saw the choppers coming in, we were going, this is it guys. we’re done. but I just hope that other people carry on]
quiet, in the deep of war
someone’s lucid dream takes hold
and there, in the royal cockpit
she finds herself a rebel
and joins the people
I’ve been having lucid dreams
multiplicities
and somebody’s gun
don’t take me at my word
take me by the wrist
sit me on a throne
cause I’m just a story that you heard
I’m a plot with a twist
carrying a stone
that I believe will carry me back home
[all of a sudden they went into their dive. and you saw the guns point up, because they’re just hanging off the choppers. and right when they were coming, all of a sudden, the first leader pulled up. and I saw the guy holding the gun go like this—and this was our sign. it was ‘laban.’ it means fight. and he […] and he took off. and I went with the guys locked in with me I went: they’re joining us! and everyone was going: no, did you see—I said: they’re joining us! and nobody knew anything. then the other four came in, and they did the same thing. and they landed with the crowd. and they joined us. that’s when we knew—we were taking over]
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11. |
[Simple Math]
00:49
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it's a simple math
we've got wrath, we've got atom bombs
we've got all these euphemistic
names for our kingdoms
so go on send the mailer
post the photo, watch the sitcom
try to keep it straight
what you speak of, where you speak from
and when you find the day has a temper with you
don't give it all it wants, there'll be nothing left of you
the sun it falls like broken glass through a copse of trees
so take it to the woods and rewrite the day's decree
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12. |
Dorian Gray
03:50
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all the catalysts in white
toss their sins into the backdrop badlands sky
which hover just outside heaven’s gate
and wait patiently for them to die
lost souls fear the devil
but the wise ones don’t, they all sing
for all anybody knows there could be worse things
there was a man down the road called Dorian Grey
he kept a portrait of himself in his closet, he kept it safe
until one day he met his own eyes, met the monster with disgust
and just like that he was a pile of dust
proud souls fear themselves
but the wise ones don’t, they all say
I am only everything that I am meant to be until my dying day
now the wheels are spinning and the lights go out
and the raindrops seek out the simplest route
and she who tries her hand and fails each time she goes
will soon be amazed by what she knows
cold souls will fear the world
but the lovers don’t, we all sing
after all the things that I have seen I could conquer anything
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13. |
Bullet Blanket Sieve
03:55
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It was christmas eve of that year
you held me close sang something in my ear
we never seemed so alike my friend
my lover my stranger my double my brother
and when I tell you that I miss you I ain’t lying
or when I say you make me less afraid of dying
there’s a road and it calls to us both
I’d ask you for a promise if one of us believed in those
take anything that you will
I’ll be a river or a cup you can spill
and if you don’t come back in the morning
I will dream of our next meeting with my head up on that train windowsill
I don’t believe in chance I don’t believe in meaning
I don’t believe in knowing what to be believing
I wasn’t raised with my eyes on the stars
but that’s where I first found it just as near as it was far
and there was silence of some kind in the snow
that Christmas day in that blue-sky morning glow
if we’re both patriots to the countries in ourselves
we know patriots drink whisky and lament their fallen foes
take anything that you want
I can’t be trapped or persuaded or bought
but I can give you what I’ve got to give of love
and I’ll meet you out there singing of the rain and of the night and of the road
you like to say everything’s in my hands
but what I’ve got I keep up my sleeves
god of luck, god of wile and whisky breath
god of whet, clothes wrung, of hunger, god of gone
god of wood and lake, blank verse and hammer-on
loyal god of got your back, god of stray dogs
god of melody, of words that we outlive
you open like a bullet like a blanket like a sieve
you open like a bullet like a blanket like a sieve
you open like a bullet like a blanket like a sieve
take anything that you will
I’ll be a river or a cup you can spill
and if you don’t come back in the morning
I will dream of our next meeting with my head up on that train windowsill
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14. |
[KW]
00:39
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15. |
Drones
05:22
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there’s a woman at the bus stop who’s wringing her hands
counting her change, shuffling where she stands
and she’s all bone and whisky paper mache
she puts up with men always wanting something
sometimes it’s her life or a savior or sex
sometimes it’s what they already have and not what they want
that keeps her eyes nervous and watchful and her face gaunt
but maybe sister one day we’ll all walk free
sister we’ll fly like drones through the city streets
she wants to walk free in the dark in the streets
she knows she’s much bigger than a princess story
and she don’t want all the daughters taught to keep quiet
for all the missing women she prays every night
and the underpaid the prostituted the abused the child bride
she says them all out loud before closing her eyes
and the last one she says for herself so that she may be spared
but maybe sister one day we’ll all walk free
sister we’ll fly like drones through the city streets
but I am not clean
I have fed the machine
I have made myself small
so that men could feel tall
I have not spoken up
not demanded enough
chosen men over women
chosen crumbs over living
but no more
no, no more
so how do I grant myself a pardon
where can I plant myself a garden
how do I grant myself a pardon
how do I plant myself a garden
how do I grant myself a pardon
where can I plant myself a garden
how do I grant myself a pardon
where can we plant ourselves a garden
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Nicole Olweean Kalamazoo, Michigan
Nicole Olweean is a singer/songwriter from Kalamazoo, MI and Riverside, CA. Combining genres like Folk, Rock, and a little Country, she delivers a sound all her own.
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