1. |
Sunrise
01:01
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2. |
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On a desert Christmas morning 1981
One month shy of six years old
In the valley of the sun
My first two wheel bicycle stood by the tree
My heart thumping in my chest
Though I'd tried I couldn't ride one yet
Out on our street when my dad let go of the seat
I rode off and down the road
Somehow I never went back home
But I remember what it was like
Astride my yellow bike
First freedom, second life
All the places I could ride
Leaving early, packing light
That little ache inside
My kingdom for someone to ride with
Now a highwayman who traded in his handlebars
Going back and forth
In vans and rental cars
On the 10 the 5 the 90 and the 95
In love with every stretch of road
But when I drive them on my own
They remind me what it was like
Astride that yellow bike
My kingdom for someone
Some folks are loners
And you learn from them
If you’ve always been a joiner
On the move again
But if you keep your legs pumping
Despite everything
Well you can take that sting
You can make it swing
Just remember what it was like
Astride that yellow bike
First freedom, second life
All the places I could ride
Leaving early, packing light
That little ache inside
My kingdom for someone to ride with
I’d trade my kingdom for someone to ride with
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3. |
Clean Up
02:48
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Sitting alone here in my grown up mess
I wish I’d known better
Weight of the world is bearing down on me
Like biblical weather
Feels like my destiny to always be
A chronic forgetter
That sometimes you just have to
Clean up, clean up, clean up, clean up
clean up, clean up, clean up, clean up your stuff
If nobody else has to
Clean up, clean up, clean up, your stuff
Your lovely head might just be clear enough
For getting some work done
Or even having yourself some fun
I tried eternity and a couple of other drugs
Such a romantic place to hide
from taking my lumps
I still get overwhelmed and think about giving up
Til I remember the gospel of
Clean up, clean up, clean up, clean up
clean up, clean up, clean up, clean up your stuff
If nobody else has to
Clean up, clean up, clean up, your stuff
Your lovely head might just be clear enough
For getting some work done
Or even having yourself some fun
Clean up and we all might get there together
If nobody else has to
Clean up then we all might get there together
If nobody else has to clean up our stuff for us
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4. |
Powerful Taboo
03:24
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Little clues half hidden
But you can always smell which fruit
You really want to bite into
With the candle trembling
And the wax all down the side
You could light your way
With what you're desperately trying to hide
Now that’s a powerful taboo
That's a powerful taboo
Hold it in till your heart turns blue
That’s a powerful taboo
If you can find good vibrations
They'll try to tell you
That you’re in danger
Of falling into temptation
It’s the devil’s bargain
That to save your soul from hell
Deny your senses
Be a stranger to yourself
Now that’s a powerful taboo
That's a powerful taboo
Hold it in till your heart turns blue
That’s a powerful taboo
I refuse to be that separate from
The flesh of my own flesh
And the blood of my own blood
Powerful taboo, powerful taboo
Don’t let them take your wits from you
That's a powerful taboo
That’s a…
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5. |
Model Homes
03:21
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Once church emptied out
We lobbied hard
To look at track homes’ open houses
With our mom and dad
Fantasize in the air conditioning
Instead of quiet time in my room
Where Sunday afternoon felt like a tomb
Never not dreaming big
Looking at model homes again
Tired of where we live
Hoping that it’s not if but when
Shuffling our shoes on brand new carpet
Freeze tag with static electricity
Wondering how our lives would be
I wanna live with someone else
Give them my whole self
I wanna not be lonely
Never not dreaming big
Looking at model homes again
Tired of where we live
Hoping that it’s not if but when
When will the wait be over
When will the wait be over
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6. |
Piano Bench
01:38
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At Sunday evening service
The faithful knelt in worship
Mother singing, swaying
Dad piano playing
His gentle nature soothed me
The ache in her voice moved me
Sitting side by side on the piano bench
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7. |
Circle K
03:34
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Got a little allowance from doing chores
Saving up for a Santa Cruz skateboard
Kid sister said how
much have you saved
I calculated then hung my head in shame
I spent it all at circle K
Dreaming it was only pocket change
Half a mile astride my yellow bike
All the candy and soda pop I liked
Windows covering one wall of the store
Shelves bathed in the golden hour glow
I spent it all at circle k
Dreaming that the light would never change
I spent it all at circle k
And the good Lord smiled and
looked the other way
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8. |
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Staving off rejection
Which always hurt like hell
I took the devil’s bargain
Made a stranger of myself
If anything was wrong I couldn’t tell
So I didn’t see it coming
But now it’s pretty clear
I traded my own wisdom
For a jury of my peers
I ignored you for 30 years
You don’t have to tell me
How hard it must have been
For you to let me in
Nothing lasts forever
Now I understand
I hurt you again
My quietest friend
Fifth grade in the lunchroom
Fickle friends were telling jokes
Making you the punchline
Of some random thing I wrote
They were looking to me
To land the final blow
Just to be included
Went straight up to my head
I thought the joke too stupid
For it to matter what I said
I was wrong
But I went along with it
You don’t have to tell me
How hard it must have been
For you to let me in
Nothing lasts forever
Now I understand
I hurt you again
My quietest friend
We could write me some reminders, I’d memorize them
I could sing them to myself and whoever’s listening
I could put them on a record about my hometown
Sitting here with pen and paper
I’m listening now
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9. |
Tracing The Grid
03:15
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New phone on the seat
Fancy rental car
Need no directions
When you know by heart
The low slung houses
Between Hilda’s and our old house
Driving my favorite route
Tracing the grid at night
Valley floor incandescent light
I’m orbiting North
Mountain pretty close
For not even half a life
The mark she made is wide
I never dreamed that I would find
Another way home
Around the table
Aunts and uncles are all there
Communicating so animatedly
My favorite stories
I memorized them all
They showed me how I’d always be
Tracing the grid at night
Valley floor incandescent light
I’m orbiting north mountain pretty close
For not even half a life
The mark she made is wide
I never dreamed that I would find
Another way home
Someone is calling me
Someone is following
Someone is finally listening
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10. |
Black Canyon
05:23
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Just after midnight
Black Canyon Freeway
A man, when he could no longer deal,
Stepped in front of 18 wheels
My uncle Ray was a paramedic
One of the first boots on the ground
He saw the man beneath the truck in several pieces
Obviously gone, time to call for clean up
More flashing lights came
Cops blocked off the road
Ray’s pal from another engine came over with a gallows joke
Come on, Ray, we can save him
Come on, Ray, we can save him
Come on, Ray
Ray’s pal went closer to see the broken body
Pretty quickly he came back looking queasy
Saying Ray, you won’t believe what that man said to me
Get this truck off my back
Don’t know what I expected but that hurt really bad
Where were my people at
Coiled up like a rattlesnake waiting to attack
Next up the female fire engine driver strolled
To see the body solo when Ray declined to go
Against her better judgment all her training and her plan
She recognized in those pieces a broken hearted man
Compartments came apart then
Compartments came apart then
She gathered herself and crept back to the truck
Remembering all of the times she’d nearly given up
She had to be twice as human and just as tough
She knew it was never enough never enough
To get this truck off my back
Don’t know what I expected but that hurt really bad
Where were my people at
Coiled up like a rattlesnake waiting to attack
Tell them your stories
If you carry them by yourself
The gorier the details
The more you are alone in hell
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11. |
My Phoenix
03:24
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I memorized the verses
And the names of every road
Then studying the history
Saw how badly things can go
I thought you saw it too
I swear I learned it all from you
But now our home is burning
And you don’t have a clue
From a disappointed son
To the city that he loves
The flags you wave around
Have got me wondering
My Phoenix, My phoenix
If my Phoenix still shines
If my Phoenix will rise
If the vision of the Christ
My family sees
Is my blurry vision’s
Greatest enemy
Then I still try to tune it in
When I get lonely
You know I chase around this desert
Because I think that’s where you’ll be
Whether high and lifted up
Or dust becoming dust
Somehow I’m still in love
With
My Phoenix, My phoenix
My Phoenix still shines
My Phoenix will rise
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12. |
All Seeing Eye
02:42
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If I still say “here I am”
When something wakes me up
At 4am
If I still see desert roads
When I close my eyes
And long for home
If by someone else’s plan
Things fall apart again
In the promise land
Then how can this be goodbye
How can this be goodbye
All seeing eye
The only sky I’ve ever known
How can this be goodbye
All seeing eye
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13. |
Leaving The Valley
06:09
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Leaving the valley
In a uhaul loaded down
All of our belongings
Except for what we left in
storage back in town
Long desert highway
Where the wheels stop
No one knows
My sister breathing
This song playing on the radio
How do you stop a rolling stone
How will you know
You're finally home
Finally home
How many canyons will you run
Before your face warms in the sun
In the sun
Before you’re finally home
Finally home
Wish it would rain now
Like Hilda always says
The devil beats his wife again
As the monsoon clouds start rolling in
We got our model home
But what the Lord gives he can take away
Raindrops on windshield
As the wipers wave
A long goodbye
How do you stop a rolling stone
How will you know you're finally home
Finally home
How many canyons will you run
Before your face warms in the sun
In the sun
Before you’re finally home
Finally done running
Oh Dunlap/ Oh Peoria
Oh Cactus/ Oh Thunderbird
Oh Greenway/ Oh Bell rd
Oh Union Hills & 35th ave
Oh Union Hills & 35th ave
If I swung my tassel
To the left side of my cap
After graduation
Will there be no going back
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