1. |
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The sound of the drum
The pulse of your feet
The sight of the mountain
The scent of the sea
All of the earth that gave you your strength
That formed you and bruised you and brought you to me
Here in the high and low
All that came before has to go…
Guard what’s gentle
Not castles or kings
They’re future ruins
You’re planted seeds
That cover the earth
With flowers and leaves
For children to wander and hunger to feed
Here in the high and low
All that came before has to go…
We’re building our ship
We’re making our plans
On rising water
And sinking sand
So join in the song
Join in the band
My only one, you don’t have to be the hero
Here in the high and low…
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2. |
On the Silver and Gold
03:05
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From the hay the pair arise
Sun and moon on either side
Clean the soot from cheek and thigh
Soothe the burns with dew that’s gathered
Sun the driver of the day
Heat that bucks and dreams that fray
Needs awaken, bellies ache
All the grief you can imagine
On the gold we’ve been waiting
On the gold and the silver we arrive
In the roses hide again
Find perfection’s damaging
The sensual resides within
Rest here you’ll find the answer
On the gold we’ve been waiting
On the gold and the silver we arrive
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3. |
Field Guide to Wild Life
02:59
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Field guide to wild life
One human wild child
She’s easy
To catch when hungry
Foot prints small next to mine
I’m watching, tracking
I make a steady line
She’s dancing, spinning
Blinded by the look of her
Every emotion in one small hour
A raging ocean, a meteor shower
Blinded by the fire in her
She’d like to live in groups
One boat for the whole family
Teach her fishing too
She’d paint and sing her shanty
“With you red and blue”
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4. |
Wooden Boat
03:17
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Wooden Boat, sun and snow
Breaking through the icy flow
White and blue and gray and gold
Cormorant and crow and gull
Tracking snow lines, feline paws
Chill me till your fingers thaw
Hold my face and wet my jaw
I’m all in
Wooden boat, sun and snow
To the islands we will go
Sunken bear with sandy hair
Find the belly, anchor there
Pouring honey on her burns
Hide among the softest ferns
A den to sleep till season turns
We’re all in
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5. |
For When You Can't Sleep
03:05
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For when you can’t sleep
For when you can’t feel
Alone in the dark
The fuel without the spark
Here’s an easy love
You be the diver
I’ll be the canopy
The white sail
The saving knot
The clearing among the rocks
Here’s an easy love…
You be the captain
On the widening sea
When the storm comes in
See the shore
That’s me
Here’s an easy love…
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6. |
Everybody
03:32
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I’ve been waiting for a sound to take me out of my meanness
I’ve been leaning on her smile to bring me out of the dark
Because once I felt the shine
Once I felt divine
Was it mine?
Now we’re living by the road, far from our little Eden
I’m afraid I gave away our little bit of freedom
Because we were pigs in mud
We were sparrow, kea, dove
We were love
There’s no armor you can wear to guard the soft, open body
There’s no serum they can sell
To soothe the rug burn of time
But god, if I could guard you
Take your fire, then burn me now
Is it allowed?
Everybody join in
Everybody
We see what we want to see
Everybody join in
Everybody
We hear what we want to hear
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7. |
New Anthem
03:49
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I want the anthem that feels like first love
I want the chorus that warms like fire
I want the tune that swells like a full moon
Knows your deepest desire
Just like the wild bear that roams these mountains.
Just like the wild cat that claims these hills.
My songs the size of the room you provide it -
If you don’t hear it, who will?
You be the lead, I am the rhythm that carries.
You have the hands, the touch, and the tone.
My false rhyming, my crooked timing -
You give it all a home
And heaven help us when hate has the reigns.
God forgive us, when we’re silent and stunned.
Though bruised and burned, my love returns
if you pour honey on my tongue.
I want the anthem
I want the anthem that feels like first love.
I want the chorus that warms like fire.
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8. |
Heaven Knows
03:44
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I was born in a breaking.
I was born in love lost and a simmering anger, wild heat
I was born loving you.
I was born tied to a silent grief, a tangled thing
You came in and with a glance
made me spin your silver dance,
broke my fever, fed my hunger
You were bright in my torn sky.
Filled my nights with lovesick eyes,
like a rippling river of every color
Wounds defended, wounds repaired.
I turn my face to shield the glare
and in your absence
see what’s there
We got more than we deserved.
You got blinded, I got burned.
Pulled apart
but then returned
The world expands, the world explodes
I ground my feet and hold you close.
Its not an end, its how it grows,
heaven knows
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9. |
Ever Entwine
03:03
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Begin sunburned
Cool by iceberg
Steep in river
that runs from the mine
One cup real moon
Half-drunk teaspoon
Beat well, fine tune
For desperate times
Press well, stop time
Rise till alpine
Braid with end rhyme
Forever entwine
Fold well, make room
Heat at high noon
Need me (I need you)
In desperate times
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10. |
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Give it up you breaking heart, it’s too much to hold
Nothing extra, leave it at the door. Let’s see something worth begging, barking for. You need some meat, you’re an omnivore. I’m rare
Give it up you breaking hearts
You’ve been feeding the mice in the cellar while the garden’s as dry as a desert
Oh honey you can’t hide / Full moon in each eye. Can’t you see that you’re wide open? The country choir’s spoken: It’s time
Give it up you breaking hearts, it’s too much to hold
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11. |
The Orchard
04:12
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The dark is closing in now, the air is going too.
The water’s stuck below the ground, the power’s cut in two.
The bakeries were blown to pieces for panels on their roof. They’re told to flee by foot we’ll see if they can make it through
A child like mine was orphaned by design, a gruesome plan.
A mother heard her baby birds crushed in the revenge.
And all the while the vultures smiled who put the guns in hand.
A factory for misery that prays that war wont end
They’re burning orchards, fig and olive, trying to claim the roots They’re digging for a legacy, a claim to land that’s proof
But who belongs to rock and farm when bombing fast and loose? You hear the ground below resound, the cracking land abused
The scene is sad too sad to bear, but of this world I sing
The happy tune is spun around a world of fantasy
They say the stars will pull a part and gravity will lose
Into this storm I launch my love, I watch her walking new
So call the angels loudly now to enter every room. It cannot be that entropy will claim us for the gloom. But if you pulled away from me I hope you have a tune, the will, the seeds to grow again, the blossom, and the fruit
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12. |
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This one will be in a minor key. What do you need on your way out?
I’ll sort your clothes, I’ll take one of those. We have more than we need of that
Say your feet ache and your hands ache
And you can’t sleep at night
And when you can’t see, who will drive?
Who do you want checking in on you?
Who do you want checking in on you?
Who do you want seeing your decline?
Is it my prying eyes, or a stranger’s who
Never knew you in your prime?
One who is strong enough to carry
Your still thrashing frame
Who do you want checking in on you?
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13. |
The Hum
02:03
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Hum so that the spirits hear you come
so they are always near you
always
At the shore, each wave an answer told before you asked an ocean’s knowing Always
We are thrown by a world that’s spinning, grown at an angle singing “Always”
So hum so that the spirits hear you come and I am always with you, Always
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Joan Shelley Louisville, Kentucky
Joan Shelley is a songwriter and singer from Louisville, KY. Often joined by guitarist Nathan Salsburg, she has shared shows with the likes of Jake Xerxes Fussell, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Richard Thompson, Wilco, Marisa Anderson, Daniel Martin Moore, the Other Years, & Michael Hurley. ... more
Joan Shelley recommends:
RYAN DAVIS & the Roadhouse Band "Dancing on the Edge"
by Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band
Ryan Davis Louisville's pride and joy (or at least one of mine).
go to album
On The Green
by Gibson & Toutant
Joe O'Connell aka Elephant Micah step into a new suit, great album by him and his partner Josephine.
go to album
Humanhood
by The Weather Station
The new record from long time favorite the Weather Station
go to albumIf you like Joan Shelley, you may also like:
Cardinals At The Window
by Various Artists
supported by 156 fans who also own “Real Warmth”
Came here for “pianos” by MJ Lenderman. Stayed for the constant gems. So good. And for a good cause, love to NC
go to album
supported by 115 fans who also own “Real Warmth”
When (in 2040 maybe) an indie rom-com set in 2024 uses this song for the moment when two rugged protagonists come back together in an uneasy but comfortable third act reunion, we will all nod our heads and say "Yes. This is what it was to be alive in 2024--we were so beautiful and so rugged and we loved this song."
go to album
Infowars
by Ben Sollee feat. Jordon Ellis
featured on Bandcamp Radio Oct 25, 2016
go to album