1. |
A Haunted Guitar
03:41
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Rise up out of bedlam
Blink the dust out of your eyes
& have a little faith in
The shakin of the dice
Listen to the hummingbird
Who nests inside your head
Wings beating like a drum
Like a song that comes
From a haunted guitar
When you hardly even try
It’s a contact high
Hello, Mister Sunshine
Won’t you come in from the cold
& sip a cup o’ coffee
While you tell me tales of gold
I’ll add a little melody
If I might be so bold
As the notes that flow
From a haunted guitar
Grace the days floatin by
On a contact high
You can make a ilvin'
Off another sufferin' brow
You might be forgiven
For the sin of bein’ proud
Might even get to close to heaven
If you follow the crowd
To the beating of the drum
Like a song that comes
From a haunted guitar
When you hardly even try
It’s just a contact high
Seldom have I seen
Seven sunsets in a row
Long gone are the days
When I searched in Tupelo
Now I’m takin' some comfort
From the things that I know
Like the notes that flow
From a haunted guitar
Such a sweet lullaby
It’s a contact high
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2. |
Runnin On Low
03:32
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Runnin on low now
Runnin runnin, runnin on low
I lost one bag at the station
Lost one more on the train
Along the line
Somewhere along the line
Now I don’t want to remember
Where I lost my temper
Along the line
Somewhere along the line
Somewhere along the line
Somewhere along the line
I lost my Five and Dimers
I lost my Blonde On Blonde
Along the line
Somewhere along the line
Runnin on low
I lost my musical saw
My brother, my sister, my pa
Along the line
Somewhere along the line
Oh yeah
Before you fly up into space
You gotta pass through time
And by the time you find some grace
You might’ve lost your mind
Somewhere along the line
Somewhere along the line
Somewhere
When you’re runnin on low
Go slow, and head for the light
Runnin on low
You never know
You might get one thing right
Somewhere along the line
Somewhere along the line
Somewhere
We are runnin, runnin on low now
Runnin runnin, runnin on low
We are runnin, runnin on low now
Runnin runnin, runnin on low
Runnin runnin runnin runnin runnin runnin
on low
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3. |
Angel Of Mercy
02:17
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Sweet Angel of Mercy
Please help me I’m thirsty
My eyes are too dry to see
Thru wildfires of insanity
Oh sweet Angel of Mercy
Won’t you ride a raindrop down
And fall on me
Won’t you ride a raindrop down
Mendecino’s burning
And yet the world keeps turning
So nonchalant, it doesn’t seem quite right
Ain’t nothin can quell the appetite
Oh sweet Angel of Mercy
Won’t you ride a raindrop down
And douse the light?
Maybe bring a mighty shower
To set things right
Sweet Angel of Mercy
Please help me I’m thirsty
My eyes are too dry to see
Thru wildfires of insanity
Oh sweet Angel of Mercy
Won’t you ride a raindrop down
And fall on me
Won’t you ride a raindrop down
And fall on me
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4. |
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I’ve tried so hard to love you better
Turned another fifty shades of blue
I know I may never get ahead now
It’s hard enough just keepin up with you
I’ve tried, yes I’ve tried
To turn back the tide
I even tried to even up the score
Now if I can’t love you better
I’ll just have to love you more
My cards lie naked on the table
I’ve shown you the best I’ve got to give
I wish I could offer something finer
The promise of a sweeter life to live
We humans need to know our limitations
We play the same old aces as before
So If I can’t love you better
I’ll just have to love you more
One life is all I’ve got to live
And I intend to spend it all on you
Honesty is all i‘ve got to give
Four simple chords
One heart that’s true
My touch won’t get much stronger
But I will love you longer
I’ll love you as you’re walkin
out the door
If I can’t love you better
I’ll just have to love you more
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5. |
Joy
02:18
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Joy Is a feeling
I tend to avoid
I’m always trying not to be
Too overjoyed
But then it happens
It always happens
Joy
Here comes joy
Creepin up from behind
I feel joy every time I look at you
You’re a joy to behold
A joy to be holdin
And a joy to be beholdin to
Joy Is a feeling
I tend to avoid
Always trying not to be
Too overjoyed
But when it happens
It really happens
Joy
Here comes joy
Creepin up from behind
I feel joy every time I look at you
You’re a joy to behold
A joy to be holdin
And a joy to be beholdin to
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6. |
River Bottom
03:34
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Gonna send my troubles
All down to the river bottom
The muddy river bottom
Way down down below
Send my troubles
All down to the river bottom
The muddy river bottom
Way down down below (x2)
Way down, way down, way down below (x2)
Gonna send my jealousy
Down to the river bottom
The muddy river bottom
Way down down below
Send my vanity
Down to the river bottom
The muddy river bottom
Way down down below
Send my sickness…
My vindictiveness...
Way down, way down, way down below (x3)
Gonna send my television…
Send my chauvinism…
Send that cigarette…
The whole damn internet
Down to the river bottom
The muddy river bottom
Way down down below
Way down, way down, way down below (x2)
Gonna send that whiskey bottle…
Send the oxycontin…
Send a deck of cards…
All my best regards
Down to the river bottom
For all my friends
Who gonna party hard down below
Way down, way down, way down below (x5)
Some day we’ll be together
Down on the river bottom
The muddy river bottom
Way down down below
We’ll start all over again…
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7. |
Nothin Soon Enough
02:01
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I wanna splash around
in the fountain of youth
until I have grown old
Then lie down on the ground
And imagine the truth
as new fables unfold
I wanna stay
here for a while
To walk that long last
mysterious mile
To cast an eerie glow
In the shadow of answers
I never could find
To gaze up from below
at the beauty of you
I could never call mine
And when it’s time
I’ll go high up as I can
And slowly wave goodbye
To who I think I am
If this life could last
til my wages surpass
all the debts I must pay
I wanna live
long enough to have given
it all away
I don’t need
any more stuff
No need to long for nothin
I’ll know nothin soon enough
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8. |
Dire Straits
02:50
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I walk the line and it’s a thin one
through dire straits
Somehow I get by on my income
through dire straits
I see rock bottom right below me
In dire straits
It looks like hell but you know it’s only
some dire straits
Along this crooked passageway
Are many sticks and stones
But I will take it all the ragged
Jagged way back home
Through wind and rain and fire
Through dire straits.
I walk the line and it’s a long one
through dire straits
Somehow I manage to get the song done
through dire straits
I cut some corners when have to
in dire straits
But takin corners too fast can cast you
further into dire straits
The bitter end is nobody’s friend
The addressee unknown
And I might fake it all the naked
Sacred way back home
Clingin to the wings of desire
Through dire straits
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9. |
Bird Song
04:27
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There’s a troubled bird outside my window
He's been singin there for forty-one days
Is there somethin he’s tryin tell me?
Somethin he’s dyin to say?
Or is he just hoping for a handout
Or longing for a place to stay?
Soon come the colors of October
Soon he’ll be flyin' away
Tweetiebird, oh tweetiebird
Come tweet me out a song
Tweetiebird oh tweetiebird
Come tell me what went wrong
Your mama wove a home up in the sky
And daddy drove to Leavenworth to die
Rorschach Cadillac
Come give that dog a bone
And give that cat a cat call
On the devil’s telephone
Hit reverse and try to turn back time
Back to where the sun would always shine
Tweetiebird, oh tweetiebird
No tellin what’s in store
Your message in a bottle
Only tells me “nevermore”
Tweetiebird don’t cry
It’s time to testify
Leave that bottle right outside the door
Crossed hearts may hope to die
Leavin bottles where they lie
Plastic wishes washed up on the shore
Tweetiebird, oh tweetiebird
Please grant one wish for me
You can rack the heavens
But please don’t shake my tree
While temptations a'plenty would be nice
Some semblance of serenity will suffice
Tweetiebird, oh tweetiebird
Lest I fail †o mention
It hurts, you know, to see you so
In need of some attention
There’s always gonna be a next in line
New love blooms and new lights always shine
Tweetiebird don’t cry
It’s time to testify
Leave that bottle right outside the door
Crossed hearts may hope to die
Leave bottles where they lie
Plastic wishes washed up on the shore
On the shore, new lights shine…
Hummingbird, oh hummingbird
Come hum me out a song
Hummingbird, oh hummingbird
Come show me how it’s done
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pat mAcdonald Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
From my bedroom to barrooms to Timbuk3, to exile in Spain with an album in the can & no plan, I was always chasing increasingly trivial triumphs & glorious failures. A midlife German label deal enabled European tours from home base in Barcelona. From Legendary Sons of Crack Daniels to Purgatory Hill &back, i now live and work projex out of the Holiday Music Motel in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. ... more
pat mAcdonald recommends:
For The Wolfish & Wandering
by Kate Vargas
Great album, beginning to end!
go to album
Pain By Numbers
by Eric McFadden
Great guitar, songs, person...
go to album
Girl In A Box
by Andrea Wittgens
Brilliant writing!
go to albumIf you like pat mAcdonald, you may also like:
The Man Downstairs: Demos & Rarities
by Robyn Hitchcock
supported by 5 fans who also own “The Ragged Jagged Way Back Home”
Such a joy to see live at Pappy & Harriet's and here's to your 70th - may the next trip around the sun bring you the joy you have brought us
go to album
Purgatory Hill
by pat mAcdonald / Purgatory Hill
supported by 5 fans who also own “The Ragged Jagged Way Back Home”
This right here is just possibly the best thing to happen to the blues in the current millennium. Hard to believe he's playing it on a 4-string electric cigar box with two broomsticks stuck through it....
go to album
A collection of short stories set to music, the latest from Dave Perkins pairs evocative writing with rustic Americana arrangements.
go to album
