1. |
No Return
03:50
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Exterior city limits in the night
A car’s pulled over by the beacon lights
Insert of an eye in the rear-view mirror
A cop is outside and walks our way
We may hide from our shadow
Walk in the meadow
Our share of darkness
Will always claim its due
We don’t need anybody
To make us fall from above
Flashback quarrel in the downtown nightlife
A man is drunk and he pulls a knife
A woman and her kids drive back to her hometown
No one’s watching for the queen and the pawns
Extreme close up on a wooden gavel
The verdict is evil
The case is closed
We don’t need anybody
To make us fall from above
Brother and sister are swaying on a seesaw
They see their father at the end of the park
An engine roars on a southern highway
Radio dispatch: code for some runaways
We may hide the beast
Hold its leash
The wounds of the past
Always find the breach
We don’t need anybody to make us fall from above
We don’t need anybody
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2. |
Shutdown
04:45
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He’s coming back from a shutdown
Like a distant squall on the harbour
Who’s up on the night watch?
He’ll be rambling soon for the seagull waltz
He’s been gone for the last eight months
Better lay those shots for the living night Jack
Who’s next in line?
There’s no woman here
Who could tame his thirst
He’s up for a good old fight
Better keep your cool when he’s playing with a jackknife
Too late for shelter
The eastern gale has hit the coast
Who thought he could be the king
But when the cash flow’s high
The man’s gone wild
He knows his freedom is like a match
When the time has come, the time has gone
(chorus)
He spends a long time
Working for a living
Hell, a long time
Working, working
Yeah a long time
Working for a living
He spends a long time
Waiting, waiting
Now the streets are naked
Restless neons passing by
Too late for the last drop
Just burning flags and lonely souls
He’ll be mulling in the night
One more track to drown his shivers
Hold back the morning light
All those years just sipping on faith
(chorus)
The days seems longer
When he’s working
And he can’t see the end
No—just long, long hours
Far from home
In the northern lands
Where the sun don’t shine
In his winter grave
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3. |
Gamblin' Man
04:38
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I have given, I have given
Gambled all that could be gambled
Hoping my last hand would pay for
What you took from me
I clench my fist inside my pocket
Looking down on the pot
I’m struggling with the landing
You have taken me down
Now I’m walking
In the morning
No more money in my hand
I am hiding from the shame
I’ve lost my guns without a fight
I had told my girl last night
That I’d left the room for good
Foolish talks and foolish vows
There’s no such fold for a gamblin’ man
Fearless and regardless
Of what may come my way
I have chosen my religion
I have sealed a pact with luck
Now there’s no one
Who can stop me
I will live the life I want
Leaving fortune for the tellers
And my white chips for the blinds
’Cause I’ll be living
I’ll be all in
I’ll be right here at this table
Shaking hands with the devil
I’ll be staring at your soul
I’ve become a block of stone
You will never read my mind
I am living in a quarry
Living like a gamblin’ man
Gamblin’ man
I wonder ’bout my girl
Wonder if she’s still around
I remember when she told me
We would flee but I could not let go
I don’t know if I’m right
Or if I’ll ever reach the end
For what I won I’ve lost again
I’m so sorry but I can’t let go
No, I won’t let go
I’m a gamblin’ man
Gamblin’ man
Now I’ve passed so many draws
But kept believing in my gut
Betting more than what I own
I dug my grave and lost my luck
It takes one foolish bet
To kick you off your throne
And when you’re bluffing for the kill
You better stand up like a man
I have given, hell, I’ve given
Gambled all that could be gambled
I’m still waiting for the closure
But my money’s all gone
I’ll get it for tomorrow
I’ll get it for the honour
’Cause once you taste that fucking rush
You’ll give it all to be a gamblin’ man
Gamblin’ man…
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4. |
The Vagabond
03:16
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Give to me the life I love,
Let the lave go by me,
Give the jolly heaven above
And the byway nigh me.
Bed in the bush with stars to see,
Bread I dip in the river—
There’s the life for a man like me,
There’s the life for ever.
Let the blow fall soon or late,
Let what will be o’er me;
Give the face of earth around
And the road before me.
Wealth I seek not, hope nor love,
Nor a friend to know me;
All I seek, the heaven above
And the road below me.
Or let autumn fall on me
Where afield I linger,
Silencing the bird on tree,
Biting the blue finger.
White as meal the frosty field—
Warm the fireside haven—
Not to autumn will I yield,
Not to winter even!
Let the blow fall soon or late,
Let what will be o’er me;
Give the face of earth around,
And the road before me.
Wealth I ask not, hope nor love,
Nor a friend to know me.
All I ask, the heaven above
And the road below me.
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5. |
Bowling Alley
03:20
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Winter’s blooming
On Ticken Cove
It’s a lonesome harbour
When the boats are gone
Hey—when the early nights
Knot to dock
We’ll be meeting at the bowling alley
Hoping we can ease the cold
Girls, I’m the only man left in town
I’ll be drinking ’til I kiss the ledge
The waitress is a friend of mine
She was a sleeper on the pin deck
Hidden from her kingpin
But I’ve been out and in
A creeper on the drive
Yes I’m the kegler of the town
When the boys are gone
Blowing all the racks for the neon girls
On the neon lanes
Since I sold my boat
I’ve been three sheets to the wind
I can’t slow down on the booze
I’ve been singing Anchor Aweigh
Sitting at the bowling alley
Beached high and dry
Darkness is in the offing
I’m stranded at the bitter end
Listening to my siren sing
She was the Berlin wall
Of the telephone poles
But I’ve been waiting on the runway
To make my steal
Yes I’m the kegler of the town
When the boys are gone
Blowing all the racks for the neon girls
On the neon lanes
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6. |
Devil on the Corner
03:47
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I met a girl from the east side
I met her in the park
As the sun began its daily slide
And the clouds were getting dark
I brought her to a hotel
Took her right there in the hall
Her eyes they filled with glory
As my ring scraped the wall
(chorus)
There's a devil on every corner
There’s a devil in every seed
A devil in every soul
A devil inside of me
We ran into each other one evening
There was a man holding her hand
She pretended not to see me
But we both knew she had
I paid my tab and left the bar
Then she came running to my car
Saying meet me back at the hotel
(chorus)
Weeks go by and crumble
There’s a shadow in my home
Between my breaths I stumble
I just want to be alone
Ain’t no lie a man can hide
I try my best to choke my heart
But every time I close my eyes
I see her in the park
(chorus)
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7. |
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8. |
Tiger
03:54
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Send off to sleep the tiger
Don’t let in the fire
It’s dark but it’s darker
Don’t unravel the wire
Hide in the trench longer
It’s dark but it’s darker
Keep watch in the tower
Kill the light on the water
It’s dark but it’s darker
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9. |
You Don't Know Me
04:40
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My bones are hurting
Quivering from
The lack of words
The pain has settled
No way to tell
That a yesterday
Has been lost
Just slipped away
I dream
Of a tale
That could recount
Without a fault
A whole life lived
But you don’t look here
You don’t see me
(chorus)
You don’t hear me
You don’t listen
You don’t speak to me
You don’t know me
I’m a prisoner in my own land
I’m a sleeping hurricane
Don’t you wait ’til I get angry
Don’t wait ’til I break my chains
You don’t know me
You don’t know me
You don’t know who I am
You’re here as a conqueror of my earth
You’ve imprisoned me
In my lands
Deprived me
Of my territory
Deprived me
Of my identity
You’ve chained me on reserves you’ve created
You want to be the master
Of my soul
You don’t know my legends
No you don’t know my history
(chorus)
You call me Blackfoot and Blood
You call me Slavey, you call me Alabama
You call me Mohawk
You call me Nez Perce and Crow
You call me Flathead
You call me Greenlandic
You call me but you don’t know me
(chorus)
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10. |
Famous Girl
04:29
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I’m in need of her hips
But the rain has battered the autumn’s last red blazing leaf
She just left this morning and the clouds are mourning
The last cigarette an old souvenir
Yeah I’m a chain smoker and I’m in need of a cocaine rush
I’m a rare toker without the cash of my famous girl
And now that she’s gone I’m soaked to the bone
A fine silhouette of a broken match
Will she ever come back to me
My famous girl
And now I’ll dance to her song
And the light will shine on all that’s dark, cruel and poor
I fought not to fall but stumbled to my needs
A polished revival of foolish desires
Yeah I’m a chain smoker and I’m in need of a cocaine rush
I’m a tired crook without the heart of my famous girl
Now that she’s free, what’s left for me?
A cold silver stone shackled to my chest
Will she ever come back to me
My famous girl
And now I know that she’s gone
But I’m so blind I still hear her lips on my ear
I just packed my bags, and I’m going far
Farther than the end of the Roman road
’Cause I’m a mean drifter in the wheel of a Russian gun
Yes I’m a sick bastard without the kisses of my famous girl
Now that I’ll die for her will you let me go
To my final destination
Or will she come back in time
My famous girl
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11. |
Western Soil
03:02
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Someone's playing on a French torn horn
They're all saying the hell with gold
Now I've joined their shouts
To lead the way
Doesn't matter which way
To the western soil
When the town runs dry
It is time to fly
The marching bang
And the east burns oil
Now we’re aiming for the chimney
To free our burden
The wives stay home
And the whores will follow
Hey yeah…
Cocaine cowards and Indian powder
The fight will come
To the western coast
Now we’re gaining more than money
We’re gaining for the ride
The acid kicks in
And the heart keeps pounding
Now there’s black gold mud
Running through my veins
And I'll shoot my brother
If he's standing in my way
We'll be working night and day
To ease our sorrows
The boiling ground
Is calling your name
Hey yeah…
Now I don't know
When I'll be back
It seems I've lost
My way back home
The sky’s turned crude
And the storm is pounding
And my big black boots
Are sinking in the ground
I’ve drunk my pay
I've snorted my mind
I'm drowning at the bottom
Of the western soil
Now the tide has swelled
And my guns are loaded
But they'll take me down
When sun goes over me
Over me, over me
It was a sad cold day
For an eastern cowboy
Asking why in hell
He ever left home
Left his wife
And left his life
To set foot here
On western soil
Hey yeah…
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12. |
Island & Rupees
04:51
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I’m an island
In a bottle
An old rupee in a box
Daydreaming about the places I’ve been
And I walk some streets to lose myself
Yeah it gets me far, far from this shore
I’m a picture on my fridge
A ticket for a bus
Someone’s buried beneath the stones
The thrill is tattooed on the bottom of my shoes
A needle filled with foreign girls
Foreign girls
I’m the Eiffel on my keys
The night before I leave
Le bon voyage, we’ll meet again
Another round before the blast
Before this wound’s a souvenir
I’m a Turkish book of matches
A deserted peace of mind
While waiting for the train to come
That’ll bring me to where they know my name
Saint Christopher has gone away
Gone away
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Mentana Montréal, Québec
Mentana :
Robin Joel Cool, Viviane Audet, Yannick Parent
Erik West-Millette
Official website: www.mentana.ca
facebook.com/mentanamusic
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