Get all 7 mark mathis releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Night Hymns, a' la carte, Secret In This Town, We Both was Young, warship, public radio by mark mathis, and songs i learned in college.
1. |
secret in this town
03:01
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I am a rake - I am a wire
I am a kettle on the fire
I am a dragon - I am a wraith
You are the lady of the lake
I am an accountant - I have a wife
And I have a house in central heights
I am a baron - with a beautiful mistress
That's my castle in the distance
'Cos there's a secret in this town
And I will search until it's found
There is a reason and I can't escape it
There is a place - I like to go
With my typewriter alone
To the mystical mountains - to the source of my powers
To enquire of him who knows
'Cos some days you fell normal - not magic at all
In your four beige bedroom walls
But there's a bat in your belfry, babe
there's a ghost in your hall
there is a treasure in us all
'Cos there's a secret in this town
And I will search until it's found
There is a reason and I can't escape it
There is a ladder to the clouds
There is a highway underground
there is a doorway and it can't quite open
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2. |
barnstormer's confession
03:16
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will you come and hold me when i'm old
and bring a couple photos of us when we were young
do you have a sentimental bone for me
will you play me records on the phone
echo through the hallways of my convalescence home
will you sleep alone there like a ghost - without me
what do you want my sun - i have nothing left to give to you
what do you want my moon - love is all that i can give to you
we both miss the aeroplanes - she'd climb out on any wing for me
and the crowds were struck silent - cos we were both violent and free
blue sky meets a sea of green - and it took you just like an offering
and 40 feet down it's as quiet as it can be
what do you want my sun - i have nothing left to give to you
what do you want my moon - love is all that i can give to you
well i went into that cathedral and i burned a single candle
and i have burned the whole town down
if i thought that you would see - the incendiary grief burning in me
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3. |
shoulder-width apart
03:01
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you - standing on the sidewalk
true - lover has gum on her shoe
and i will not be lonely anymore
house - shoulder width apart that we bought
we lay down in our front lawn
happy for the things we have
you - staring at the ceiling
true - you knew i was feeling so blue
'cos you wear my heart on your sleeve
sail over the horizon - leave the coastline of our lives
'cos i want to be alone with you
high - higher than the trees grow
low- lower than their roots go
i am being pulled by you
please - please don't you hate me
try - try and recreate me
i am so very into you
i wrapped you in my arms
like a sweet summer morning fog
and you didn't want the sun to come up
i want to be the drip of the wine
falling from your lips
when you taste of the good life for the first time
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4. |
crazy
03:18
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came to town to see you - catch your show and spend my money
came to buy a front row - but the box was boarded up, honey
how long have you been this way - working nights as a cocktail waitress
how the heck do you drive in this city - how the heck do you stand this winter
it's driving you - driving me - crazy
what do you want me to be - i am you - you are me
did you forget that
growing up in the country - you wanted yourself a piece of red carpet
stepping out a black limousine - i held you hand and we walked together
underneath that willow tree - i could never forget did you remember what you said
it's driving you - driving me - crazy
what do you want me to be - i am you - you are me
did you forget that
i am a forest of trees - falling down - bending over in your soft breeze
we're gonna stake our claim - mark it out - make it real and watch our heart swell
i still dream about you - you still dream now don't you
let me do you a favor - cos i'm a good lookin' man who can save ya
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5. |
rainbow
03:36
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i know that you're searching - for the end of the rainbow
better put your shoes on - you're gonna go through some storms
we used to walk out in the street and hit every puddle that we'd see
what has changed - is it you or is it me?
everybody's talking - everyone's worrying so
everyone's repeating - what they already know
and i've got to tell you honey - before you give up hope
you are my rainbow - you are my rainbow
i miss your long hair honey - why did you cut it all off
i miss your earrings - and those holes in your jeans
i miss the light in your eyes - that i trusted all the time
you were crazy - and so was i
everybody's talking - everyone's worrying so
everyone's repeating - what they already know
and i've got to tell you honey - before you give up hope
you are my rainbow - you are my rainbow
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6. |
wandering star
03:54
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I was rolling to the edge of the world - coming in from the deep
i was bathing in radio waves - listening to you breathe
i can't see you but i can feel you - pulling me
close my eyes as you come into view - gravity
'cos i am a wandering star - you are the constellation i belong in
passing you in the night - you are such a beautiful sight to me
i was young, i was burning love - the center of your heart
the first to come and the last to leave - holding you in the dark
city lights and carbon monoxide - people stopped looking, people stopped dreaming
pretty soon it was mixed up and i was drifting away
'cos i am a wandering star - you are the constellation i belong in
passing you in the night - i would love to make everything right
i would trade all my traveling days - to lay my head on your chest
close my eyes and think of you - in your milky white wedding dress
i can't see you but i can feel you coming to me
hold my hand as we kneel at the altar - gravity
'cos i am a wandering star - you are the constellation i belong in
passing you in the night - you are such a beautiful sight to me
'cos i am a wandering star - you are the constellation i belong in
passing you in the night - i would love to make everything right
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7. |
independence day
03:12
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Keep it going - through the motions
coat your dry heart - with the lotion of the sense
you belong here, yeah, you were born here
open the window, let some light in
you've got some gifts that you've been hiding ever since
they didn't want you to be free
But you've been off your game - for quite a while
I'm gonna rattle your cage - I'm gonna rip the door right off
Who told you that - would you believe that it's a lie
I've set you free, it's independence day
Yeah I know it's Sunday, but why don't you sleep in
I've got some things that I want to speak to you again
Like you were younger, my how I treasured those days
You thought you lost it, and that I left you
stand up and face it, you know that just isn't true
your name is always on my mind
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8. |
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Life and Death of a Rock 'n Roll Star
I was looking for a revolution
I was looking for a chance to start again
with you my friend
I was looking for a grassroots movement
One that's peaceful and non-partisan
do they exist
But oh. what a feeling
when you were driving in your car
And when you were singing
Nobody cared who you are
I was looking for a restitution
all those years in college that I spent
looking for you
I was looking for a long-haired groupie
someone to tell me that I was important
And that I wasnt alone
But oh, what a feeling
When you strapped on your guitar
And when you were playing
You could forget who you are
I was looking for a new solution
maybe if I went on tour again
I could pretend
That I was in a crowd that adored me
listened closely - hung on every word
mouthing them back to me
But oh, what a feeling
When they laid you in the ground
In the summer, off a country road
yeah, some say the saw you smile
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9. |
deliverance
04:10
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hello, you are a freakshow
hello, you on the backrow
hello, driving on the wrong side of the road
singing with your eyes closed
we all listened to the radio
we all rockin' to the heart of gold
we all bit into the apple
we all were very bad examples
this is the night that your fever breaks
this is the morning that your soul will awake
this is the day that the lord has made
you should be glad
hello, you on the front row
hello, you're on a tightrope
hello, looking hard and trying to find
a new hope - praying for the holy ghost
this goes out to the hungry
i hope that you can hear me
tune me in on your stereo
rolling down that country road
this is the night that your fever breaks
this is the morning that your soul will awake
this is the day that the lord has made
you should be glad
so take this thing and hold it to your face
let it disgust you
taste it a breathe it in
this is what used to control you
now raise it above your head
so all the world can witness
someone destroy their sin
hallelujah
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10. |
growing young
04:27
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you grew up too fast - mississippi's arms could hold you back from being all that you could be
catfish summer - silver moon - and looking for another to share your life and all that you hadn't figured out
when you get that feeling in your lungs - in your lungs
like you could cry out - but you don't - no you don't
it's like being in love - it's like growing young
illinois winter - well it got you down - and the great lakes weren't that great at all
hold on november - i'm not ready for another winter - without a true and tried friendly by my side
when you get that feeling in your bones - in your bones
something comes alive in you when you run - when you run
it's like being alone - it's like growing young
there's a ghost on the piling - of my friend
and he's smiling as the tide rolled in - then he was gone - yeah then he was gone
he said hold onto memories that are true, but don't forget the good times ahead of you - yeah, don't forget the good life ahead of you
when you get that feeling in your lungs - in your lungs
like you could cry out - but you don't - no you don't
it's like being in love - it's like growing young
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