1. |
Nine Beers
02:40
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The light in this barn is moldy
Fix your eyes on the dust motes and reach for a coldy
I think about my one and only, and it's here
And it's a
Nine beers in, and I'm nine beers out
From touching something vital at the end
Ain't that true my friend?
I'll have the same again
Pigs in a poke don't smoke
But what else am I supposed to do?
Sorting cans from one side to another
Is both a dangerous and a boring thing to
Nine beers in, and I'm nine beers out
From the searing self-reflection that I'm gunning for
What's that you say, my friend?
I'm gunning for the floor
Tinkle at the piano shadow darling
Me and me just need some company
I'm hoping that you know the one where someone drinks the sea
And it's upbeat, because that's
Nine beers in, and I'm nine beers out
From the ending I've been waiting for so long
Is that a light? Has it been long?
And that's my song
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2. |
Hotel in the Sky
03:10
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Upon this bed of stones I lie
Copper covering my eyes
Silver river rushing by
My little hotel in the sky
Angel maids they all say "hi"
Some I loved and some I lied to
No need to apologize
You already took the ride
Up to that hotel in the sky
Up to that hotel in the sky
We all get there by and by
My little hotel in the sky
Checkout time it never comes
The worms they dig into my gums
You don’t have to leave a tip
Into the kingdom we all slip
You don’t have to pay the bill
For the soldiers that you killed
The temptations you fulfilled
Or the wine that you spilled
In that hotel in the sky
In that hotel in the sky
We all get there by and by
My little hotel in the sky
See my bride dressed in white
Waltzing in the moonlight
My heart trembling with fright
Who is that stranger on her right?
Satan comes and Satan goes
Dressed in all the latest clothes
The sun shines the wind blows
Where it goes now I know
Up to that hotel in the sky
Up to that hotel in the sky
We all get there by and by
My little hotel in the sky
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3. |
Hipster Brunch
02:13
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Eggs and leeks don't ever speak
Of the harmony between us
With your cowgirl eyes and your punk rock style
I wait all week on pins and needles
Your laughter is like riding on the plains
On a horse with golden mane
One more hipster brunch like this is gonna do me in
Working 'neath a woman who must be much more than a friend
Can you bring up some champagne for my Sunday morning pain?
Got a vision of you in my Tom Waits T-shirt, hanging past your hip like a nightgown
Bloody Marys are the least of the things she carries
On the breast of her worn-thin hooded sweatshirt
She moans and she complains, "Eight more hours of this shame"
I can promise this much, that it won't hurt
In a little Texas town by the name of Houston
Someday, our flock may be a roosting
One more hipster brunch like this is gonna do me in
Working 'neath a woman who must be much more than a friend
Can you bring up some champagne for my Sunday morning pain?
Got a vision of you in my Tom Waits T-shirt, hanging from your hip like a nightgown
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4. |
Piermont Basement
03:36
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Walk down those stairs, don't forget to latch the door
I see a pianio
And some bottles, I forget for what they're for
Dirt floor
A Piermont basement is an island
But metaphor ain't like to likely sell
Better off with simile, no, semaphore
Greeting the last bell with a go to hell
Rocks and sand and sea smell, tides
River bank and bridge so high
Petroleum, we don't give a damn
Our corrective is some slow-cooked morning bacon
A Piermont kitchen has an island
It's just the dishwasher with a top
That's where we make eggs and mix Nathaniels
Hey man, where's your plate and where's your cup?
Let's board the windows, don't forget to lock the door
Sweep the porch and check the yard
Leave the pianio, forget what that was for
And scope that river view one last time
A Piermont basement is an island
And so it goes for a Piermont house
Everything you've done here is a shibboleth
A sign that signifies
Everything is well
We are all together
till we go to...
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5. |
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When I was just a lad, didn't have no debts I had to pay
Started walking loud and proud down that King's Highway
I guess I just left too many crumbs on my trail
Now many debts are many and I got wolves on my heels
Time is on my side but my burden is on my shoulder
Got to get back to California before I get too much older
I may find relief in a house along the road
I may find a friend to help me carry that load
I may find a stream in which to wash myself clean
I may find a pillow and escape to the dream
The women in Schenectady always turn their necks to me
That's the way they glue you up in Skunktown, yeah
At least they don't lead you on, drag you home then cut the line
That's the way they'll screw you back home in Stumptown, yeah
When I was just a lad didn't have no debts I had to pay
Started walking loud and proud down that King's Highway
I guess I just left too many crumbs on my trail
Now many debts are many and I got wolves on my heels
Time's still sliding by but my burden still sits on my shoulder
We got to get back to California before I get too much older
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6. |
Hogs & Carousels
03:31
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"We're all in this together, ain't none of us getting out alive"
Is a weird thing to say for a liquor store clerk
At a mini-mall in Wappingers Falls
Right near the Hyde Park home of the Roosevelts (I knock, hello)
Is this the agency to adjust my expectations
And open a door to the land of hogs and carousels
Or get in the whip
And just drive?
Riding in my tan-gold Ares
And Dewey is steady in the clutch
The bench seat holds a box of tapes and a Radio Shack boombox
It's not much, but I like it
The sweet smell of failure is familiar
Ain't none of us getting out alive
Well sure Route 9 looks a little sinister
But I've got time, and there's wine in Tivoli
I seek a home on a bridge that spans the Upper Hudson
Let my thoughts just float like trash down to the ocean
Dredge 'em up and drop 'em on a Piermont shorefront, if you want
But let me and Dewey just drive
"We're all in this together ain't none of us getting out alive"
Is a weird thing to think if you're one of us living
But a comfort to those who've just died
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7. |
Tragic Light
04:43
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Tragic light
An hour before night
Tragic light
That's the light I never see you in
People coming home from the office
Stop at the store
Oh what for
Eating alone, leaning up against the kitchen counter
Tragic light
Just an hour before night
Tragic light
That's the light I never see you in
Sitting in my car in the traffic
Thinking of you
And all the things that we could do
Like read the paper, walk the dog, go on vacation
Oh this frustration
This tragic light
It's the light I never see you in
Tragic light
Illuminating all the blight
Of our lives
And the city
Oh it's so pretty
It'd be prettier with you
This tragic light
That's the light I never see you in
We could be collaborating
We could be just gravitating
Toward each other, oh
You're such a mother, oh
That's the light I never see you in
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8. |
Time Zones
02:55
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I got a woman who loves me
On the other side of the world
Here in New York City
I ain’t got one girl
She calls me in the morning
For her it’s late at night
She tells me she’s been thinking about me
She thinks that I’m alright
I work hard for me baby
I send her Valentines
But I’m all alone in my one-room home
Drinking Balantine
Sometimes I don’t want to remember her
I wish I could forget
That there’s a little pearl across the world
Whose love I can’t neglect
Well she goes to sleep and I hit the streets
Something don’t feel right
Gotta back to my baby before the morning light
No looks from passing strangers
No date on Friday night
I’m living for a day that may never be
I’m saving for a flight
I call her in the morning
For her it’s so late at night
I tell her I been thinking about her
I think she’s outta sight
Well she goes to sleep and I hit the streets
Something don’t feel right
Gotta get back to my baby before the morning light
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9. |
When I Give
02:41
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When I give acne and addiction to my children
Will they move out to San Francisco?
Will they tire of the bay and move on up into the county
And be happy?
Will they grow pot and on to be hale and hearty
Cured like redwoods in the brine
Tire of the life, take up with a wife
And be married?
New York
Is shit for rhyme
Maine has a way
In a day will make you happy
Vermont plays it's part
Though the people there are wacky
And Californ-i-a
Sacraments though, and Palo Alto
The Tenderloin's fine
And the bridge I'll make you mine
And the County
I had beer and beans and franks on the beach
Somewhere south of Patrick's Point
The cooler was warm but the people there were charming
And I laid down
We drove through a tree and made it to Eureka
Hurried up to Crescent City
The geezer at the door
Said the lost coast is lost for a reason
(And he bought us a paper)
New York
Takes too much time
If I had my way
I'd pack it up today
Set out for LA
But turn north along the way
Around Albuquer-u-e
The strip in Reno and Lake Tahoe
Sacramento
In and out and and on the go
And the County
When I give acne and addiction to my children
Will they secret me in Humboldt County
To grow old with the fog and maybe have a dog
Or a puppy?
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10. |
Between Rooms
02:57
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I long to be between rooms with you
Where the air flows through and our thoughts are few
I long to be between rooms with you
Between what we’ll know and what we once knew
I long to be between rooms with you
In the doorway we stand but we can’t walk through
I long to be between rooms with you
In the darkened hall dancing shoe to shoe
I long to be between rooms with you
The things I’d do for you if you’d just let me to
I long to be between rooms with you
The fire in our hearts under midnight blue
I long to be between rooms with you
It’s the song we’ll sing when all the words are through
I long to be between rooms with you
And all that’s left is just me and you
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11. |
Brothers in Barns
04:05
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When I’m not crazy and you’re not loaded we’re a perfect fit
When I’m not loaded and you’re not distracted we get into it
Brothers in barns
Tallying the charms
Of the Midwest river valleys plains and stars
Of the Midwest river valleys plains and stars
Saoirse from St. Louis has long brown hair
She put a picture on the Internet for all to see
Well, I think that she’s pretty and I like the haircut
But I don’t think she’d go for guys like you and me
Brothers in barns
Tallying the charms
Of the Midwest river valleys plains and stars
That girl at the Atlas, I forget her name
She makes eyes at me like it was her job
That's the girl for me, love of the century
We could make each other happy like it was our job
Brothers in barns
Italian charms
Of the Midwest river valleys plains and stars
Out here in the country I'm a perfect fit
but if we don't go for beer soon, Goodnight Moon
Here's the keys to the Dodge, best get going now
If it were an Ares I'd get into it
Brothers in barns (wah-oh) staring at the pavement
Brothers in barns (wah-oh) wondering where the day went
Brothers in barns
On the Midwest river valleys plains and stars
On the Midwest river valleys plains and stars
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12. |
Whooping Crane
03:31
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Fragile like a subway train
A thousand hearts in pain
She emerges from underground
And I discharge the rain
Wayward like a whooping crane
Every town’s the same
Is she lost or homeward bound
The anchor or the chain
Fragile like a subway train
A thousand hearts in pain
She emerges from underground
And I discharge the rain
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Harry Kimball Lisbon, Maine
Harry Kimball is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose compositions carry a wistful melancholy tinged with dark humor. He borrows from John Prine’s sepia realism and Warren Zevon’s playful world-weariness, adding the lyrical density of Stephen Malkmus and the literary sensibilities of Bill Callahan. Follow Harry on Facebook + Instagram @ harrykimballsongs ... more
Harry Kimball recommends:
This record is soulful, authentic, gritty, very funny and very confident. It also is stealthily pop gold. Paul Cauthen has chops and is also interesting. Johnny Cash meets Rihanna plus Dr. John.
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Diane Cluck was my first up-close encounter with a songwriter who was unabashed by her need to express her talent. Sidewalk Cafe, NYC circa 2001. This record brings me back; as brilliant as ever.
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Spending Eternity In A Japanese Convenience Store
by Forests
I just really really love this. I think it is because I am jealous of the easy virtuosity and the enthusiasm. I never knew I was a Midwestern emo guy until I found it on Bandcamp from Singapore!
go to albumIf you like Troy Pork Store, you may also like:
Thoughtful and poetic folk with a Cosmic Americana flavor from the Brooklyn singer-songwriter.
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24th Street Blues
by Tom Heyman
Tom Heyman documents life in San Francisco circa 2023, refusing to succumb to easy characterization & instead capturing the city’s nuance.
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Zed For Zulu
by Those Pretty Wrongs
Jody Stephens of Big Star and Luther Russell of the Freewheelers team for a radiant LP packed full of slide guitar and pop smarts.
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