1. |
Lover's Curse
04:31
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Son, stay, stay where you stand
Don’t march, don’t join in hands
They are weak, and oh how they tire
Young ambitions, they always expire
Oh, how our dreams die
Oh, how it’s no surprise
I was like you once, quick to believe
Gave my body at a lover’s plea
All her sorrows, I took them in
Fought her battles, absolved her of her sins
Though at morn, I’d sadly wake
To find her missing from where we’d lay
Soon that spirit I’d come to know
Was no more than a vagrant ghost
Oh, how our dreams die
Oh, how it’s no surprise
I served my sentence, or so it seemed
Tried to drown her, with a bottle and a wheel
But the fates, too cruel to cry
Stole my legs, instead of my life
Once a soldier at the heart’s command
Now a cripple in a foreign land
Take this wisdom, for what it’s worth
Don’t fall to the lover’s curse
Take this wisdom, for what it’s worth
Don’t fall... to the lover’s curse
Oh, how our dreams die
Oh, how it’s no surprise
Oh, how our dreams die
Oh, how it’s no surprise
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2. |
All I Need Is All I Saw
02:12
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A death, for the hand
of my emerald eyed songbird
No cause for alarm, bird
It’s smoke in the wind
Subtle tea, subtle skin
All I need, is all I saw
With your hair down
Charming your man
He didn’t steal, by your clever smile
But the hands slip
In the hours of sand
A kindness, a call
Would it kill you, I beckon
in song, not in weapons
Your silk for a sigh
On a full moonless night
Steal away, from his lighthouse
Pour the oil fast
Upon every wall
And with a spark, I’ll dissolve his love
Who would crave more
From a gesture so tall
It’s true, that I lied
But all are forgiven
By God, who are driven
To cleanse longing hearts
With a fearless fresh start
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3. |
Poor Babbitt
03:34
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Poor Babbitt, under scarlet moon
There she lies with sunken eyes
upon a bed of gloom
Poor Babbitt, your veins all full of sin
You stepped away to far to play
among the devil’s kin
The sky will weep no more
For those who sleep, and dream
of lives they left to whore
Poor Babbitt, Poor Babbitt
Poor Babbitt, Poor Babbitt
Oh the lies you never never tell
Tossed pennies in a frozen well
You smoke leaves in a midnight haze
To forget you ever ever knew her face
Small steps now, small steps, atone
No need to carve past the bone
Conform you sad soul, alone
Leave starry nights and endless woes
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4. |
On The Lake
02:43
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Were you the hand
of the true beam
thoughtful, planned
with a grain so
thin, careful years, kindly wind
on my Father’s land
Hewed to bone
even steel
so warmly honed
to an edge
unseen by the sun’s fiery gleam
No reflection known
Stay, oh, star
Gone are the pages and pain fearing rages
Of winter’s harm
I’ll burn them all
Tinder anew may it color flame blue
And draw memories small
And, on the lake
I’ll further score
The ice to make
A resting shore
Your apron white
In your hair
A braid so tight
Hidden scar
You’re strong even when the day’s wrong
Past, the noble fight
Smile, once more
In the mind of
One adored
For the image
Fades ever more, every day
In this silent war
Stay, oh, star
Gone are the pages and pain fearing rages
Of winter’s harm
I’ll burn them all
Tinder anew may it color flame blue
And draw memories small
And, in the woods
With crooked teeth
The dying, stood
In near defeat
I draw the steel
I sweat, I breathe
Saw your ghost
In the tumbling leaves
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5. |
At The Skyway
03:43
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No, the ink would never stay
Long enough to know it’s place
Whether carved upon the page
Or written sadly on my face
It would fade and lose it’s shape
At the skyway
I was not afraid to show
My skin, my canvas to the soul
To every eye so sad, alone
A warmth upon the coldest home
And that pain as clear as day
It would fade and lose it’s shape
At the skyway
And that pain as clear as day
It would fade and lose it’s shape
At the skyway
At the skyway
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6. |
Little Falls
02:29
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Once, far away
was a boy of an age
in a time, in a place
where kindness was the only way
my home, Little Falls
where the Great River still calls
never lonesome, not at all
(in) Little Falls
Oh, when I fly away
Oh, will this place remain
Oh, when I stake my claim
Will they know my name?
Once, far away
was a boy of an age
in a time, in a place
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7. |
Flight Of The Pleiades
03:00
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Are the rope secure my love?
Will the sisters pull me up
to a hiding place
to a darker space
Twice a lesson wrought with soil
blame my anger bound to boil
I did not see this day
Not in my mind, not in your face
It’s all imaginary, fame
The printed word, the liar’s game
And when all you know is untrue
What then is a fool to do?
Let go now it’s time
The silence of the night is mine
They were wrong dear
And now they’re fading from my sight
Let go now it’s time
The silence of the night is mine
They were wrong dear
And now they’re fading from my sight
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8. |
Marguerite
04:32
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She drew words from my lips
just as poison from a wound
Her voice the fading beacon
of a piano out of tune
Dare I admit, my eyes did find
their way to kinder shapes
As she spun another tale for me
of sooner fuller days
Now sitting to left of me
is a man down on his chips
Who notices I notices him
and offers me a sip
Of the nothing left to lose
of the nothing really gained
When we pour into our demons
to abandon other’s pain
It’s not right
That a love should feel my blight
But I’m weakened, by the creatures
Of the night
And I’ve burned
Every goodness that I’ve earned
Just to prove I’m, not a man
Who fears the light
Let’s sit beside the garden
and pretend the air is sweet
So, captured is the image
of the fairest Marguerite
She promised me her body
but it wouldn’t please my mind
still reared and pulled astray
by something darker by design
It’s not right
That a love should feel my blight
But I’m weakened, by the creatures
Of the night
And I’ve burned
Every goodness that I’ve earned
Just to prove I’m, not a man
Who fears the light
It’s not right
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9. |
In Matters Of Sin
05:07
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When I heard his name I did howl, and did storm
The claws in my cave still uncomfortably worn
And me with a drink, huddled down and forlorn
Writing fast a young letter, now sure to be torn
His songs I did count, twice in nails, for the sake of
Pounding them in - oh, a dizzy mistake
And now unconvinced I was ever awake
I cut the strings and swore never to play
We traveled the blue, heavy pulled by our guide
Who once swallowed his key just to prove he could hide
Saying, “blanket your worries and die with your pride”
Oh, we’ll laugh at the kings now with god on our side
Then cough and coalesce on the ship of our fate
Ever drive at the heart, it is never too late
We’ll blow evermore at the flower’s escape
Or pull out their pedals until they play (the game)
My captain, please tell me is distant love true?
Like the sweet of a mist on a lake ‘neath the moon
Or do memories dissolve to a life we abuse
I need to know if and how much I will lose
For there are dangers on dangers in matters of sin
And I won’t pretend I don’t breath the same wind
Yes, twice I’ve found pleasure, and died once again
(I’ve) Never turned to the prophets on temperance of skin
Child, we live all alone ‘til the moment we die
Lest we allow ourselves silent places to hide
Whether past or the future, a dream or a lie
Best not to believe in a present so wide
Just bask in the sweat you can earn from the night
With smoke in your hair and a fear in your eyes
Draw a bath full of wisdom and wade through the lies
They may call and clamor, but damn - when it’s right, it’s right
Breathe patience and rise like a spire in the rain
Tear off brittle armor and relish the pain
You may fall in the salt, but don’t sully your gains
Push ever onward, beat blood through your veins
For, soft is the call of a muse in the night
With ear to the dirt you may hear of her might
As she holds to her breast every worldly delight
Of none you will see, though all you may write
He sang me these words and fell to sea
With a smile and crash I knew I would be
No longer a shadow below tallest tree
Less than a promise, no more than a seed
So, I strained and I cut at the earth far below
To reap of the tales so many have sowed
Basked in my irrelevance, but still further toed
The silent dance, the endless road
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10. |
Souls Too Sad To Save
04:00
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With a word
I knew my weakness was a curse
Hollow eyes, and fever smile
Swollen tongue, with bones defined
I’ll trust no savior who cries
“It could always be worse.. child, it could be worse”
With a sigh
I found I could not manage further pain
Wrapped in stories of a pure delight
I lost all reason to believe in my own might
I’d sooner seek the flower, the final tide
So far away, beyond these reins
I’ve no soul to rest
I left it cured in a bottle of your finest fragrance
Oh, lover please
Use it sparingly
With a blade
I carved your name into the sand
This ocean has a way to heal the shame
Each wave oblivious to the worries that they bathe
May they wash all souls too sad to save
For it’s not salvation they seek, just some peace before the grave
I’ve no soul to rest
I left it cured in a bottle of your finest fragrance
Oh, lover please
Use it sparingly
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Paul Otteson Madison, Wisconsin
A Midwestern Folk style, blending lyrical prowess with seasoned arrangements; wrapped in a cloak of beautiful harmony.
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