1. |
Achilles
03:24
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When Mama dipped me in the river
I bet she didn’t think of you
I’ve been so careful to keep
My heel safely in my shoes
To the sweetest boys I’ve been the first to say goodbye
And the cruelest man I ever met, he could not make me cry
But when Mama dipped me in the river
I bet she didn’t think that I would find you
But what a weakness,
What a wonderful weakness I have found
Take me home and keep my head
Spinnin’ all around, around, around
When Daddy built me a fortress
I bet he didn’t think of you
The world, they meet a stone wall
But there is one who walks right on through
I will take on an army with my own two hands
Then you take me down with a single glance
When Daddy built me a fortress
I bet he didn’t think that you would find me
But what a weakness,
What a wonderful weakness I have now
Take me home and keep my head
Spinnin’ all around, around, around
When Mama dipped me in the river
I bet she didn’t think of you
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2. |
Turn The Key
03:50
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I saw you outside of my window
I let you in though I didn’t plan to stay
I loved you the best that I knew how
We consumed the amber waves of grain
Feel your heart beat in my chest
Imagine the air of a higher altitude
I let you in when I wanted out
The chains are only as heavy as what we are tied to
I was a songbird in ink on your arm
You were a redbird caged in my parlor
I turned the key, I let you loose
Into a cold, harsh winter that was the truth
I saw you outside of my window
Just like you had intended
The glass filtered everything out
But painful images
If I had other voices
I would call you out into the streets
If I had wings like an angel
I’d have guarded you from me
But I’m just a songbird in ink on your arm
And you are a redbird that my hands can only harm
I turned the key, I let you loose
Into the last song that I can sing to you
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3. |
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We were two ships passing in the night
Too unexpecting to put up a fight
I thought that I could mold my life
And make whatever I wanted to
But how could I, how could I
Have imagined you
And if you told me right now
That we should go our separate ways
I’d feel just as lucky for
The minutes, the hours the days
We are a palindrome
We are waters yet unknown
I would have spent a lifetime
Just looking for you
So how did I, how did I
Find you so soon
My Mother says life isn’t fair
And for once that’s working out in my favor
‘Cause we’ve left the world behind out there
And I have taken the best of it with me
I have taken the best of it with me
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4. |
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All the beautiful people in this world
They only make me want you more
What’s going on?
You’re across the country
And all of the eligible bachelors in this room
Only make me want to be attractive to you
Maybe I was wrong when I said
That “Love is just a mad rush of chemicals to the brain
That catches me at the right time,
something easily explained”
Had I forgotten that I could feel this way?
We don’t know what kind of affect we’ll have
On each other
And for once I don’t care to meet
The girl at the end of this road
But if I looked into your future
And I saw that I was no good for you
Baby I would go
Maybe I was wrong, when said
That “love is not for others, a decision to be made
It is only given with the intention to take”
Had I forgotten that it could be this way?
Maybe I was wrong, maybe I was wrong
Maybe I was wrong, maybe I was wrong
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5. |
Not For This
02:21
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I can see the cortisone injections in my fingers now
I can hear the cough I’m coughing as I lay me down
I can feel the back I’m breaking finally giving out
I never said I wanted to put a good body in the ground
I want my hands to be ruined by the matters of my heart
And I want my love to be used by someone
For whom I can thank my lucky stars
I want my legs to be broken under that which can be carried
Far, far, farther than I
Farther than I..
Can see the cortisone injections in my fingers now
I can hear the cough I’m coughing as I lay me down
I can feel the back I’m breaking finally giving out
But not for this, not for this, not for this
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6. |
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Sometimes everything works out all by itself
Sometimes accidents are good for your health
I went out that night ‘cause I was obliged
Who knew head on collision could foster life
Murphy’s Law couldn’t stand up to you and I
Sometimes everything that could go wrong goes right
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7. |
Limberlost
03:41
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8. |
I Can't
03:23
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You’re asking again if I’ll let you stay
‘Cause you’d rather it end any other way
And you try to remind me of the battles we’ve won
This is bigger than that, this is Armageddon
I’ve loved with my body, I’ve loved with my soul
I’ve loved with my mind but never the whole
And I need to know, I need to know if that’s possible
I try to explain but my words just pollute
I told you I loved you, how can this be the truth
But I’ve studied the structure we built with our time
Brick upon brick it’s your and it’s mine
And you are the ceiling, you are the floor
You are the windows and the door
But I can’t, I can’t live alone inside this house anymore
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9. |
As Small As We Are
03:40
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You were taken from the hospital into the lion’s den
Where they found you a baby boy while they were looking for a fugitive
There was no custody battle ‘cause Mama didn’t show
So you slept in a cradle in my bedroom five years ago
You were so weak and they were so strong
As you took the brunt of the things they did wrong
But as weak as we are I won’t be gone long
And you’re safe with me when I’m holding your hand
Whatever you are, child I understand
And now you’ve got a new Mama and a little sister
The harder you try to get their attention the further you’re pushed out the picture
Take the medicine down for your rotting baby teeth
You are much too young to be asking “why do you love me?”
You were so small and they were so big
I couldn’t move a finger while I watched what they did
But as small as we are I promise you this
That you’re safe with me when I’m holding your hand
And whatever you are, child I understand
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10. |
Sticks and Stones
03:37
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Put a bandage on the scrape
Peroxide washes the germs away
Tears and kisses on the face
They help alleviate the pain
It was easy to be resilient on the outside
You just get back on that bike
Harder with the things that can be kept in the dark
I can open my hands but can I open my heart?
You’ll find evidence if you map out the scars
Of living soul and beating heart
I used to know my enemies like I knew the pavement
Hitting my knees
It’s not sticks and stones, it’s words
And it’s not broken bones
It’s love that hurts
Living is messy business if you’re doing it right
I want to go to bed with my feet dirty tonight
And loving is gonna hurt you but I think it’s worth the price
Like grass stains on my jeans and a ruined bike
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11. |
Retreat
04:58
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When you think more often than not
That you should have stayed in
When you can count the faces out there
That you’d like to see on one hand
That’s when I remember
That there’s no place in this world I have to be
And I can just go home to my handful of friends
And retreat
When you’ve got no one to prove yourself to
But the devil on your shoulder
When all this practice and perfection
Is just getting you older
That’s when I remember
If I can write just one song I want to sing
Then I can rest in peace
When you’ve got nothing to reach for
But gray skies up above
And beneath your feet is only
The sad excuse for a hill to prop you up
That’s when I remember
that I shouldn’t stop, not for anything
And if I can just keep moving
I will be happy
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Laura K. Balke Indianapolis, Indiana
I love winners when they cry, losers when they try, music when it's good, and life
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