Get all 29 James Tristan Redding releases available on Bandcamp and save 75%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Leap Songs, Part 5, Leap Songs, Part 4, Song A Week, Vol. 8, Leap Songs, Part 2, Leap Songs, Part 1, The Nashville 24, Vol. 3, Look Out World, Song A Week, Volume 7, and 21 more.
1. |
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How do I know that I love you
How do I know what that means
I heard it whispered in the distance
In a dream
How do I know I'm devoted
How do I know we're a team
I got the message like a lesson
In a dream
Eyes were closed heart was open
Shoes and socks layin' on the floor
In a dream I was just hoping
That you were mine and I was yours
How do I know our love was planted
How do I know we'll grow the seed
I felt it hit me just like lightning
In a dream
What tells me that I've always loved you
What makes me think I always will
In a dream I had this morning
You gave me chills
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2. |
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Three ninety nine
Two pairs a pack
Shoe strings they don't cost that much
But three ninety nine
Sounds like a lot
When you ain't got enough
Three ninety nine
Brown black or tan
All the colors cost the same
So tell me why
These human eyes
Play these kind of games
Hand to mouth paycheck to paycheck
The ones with green are feeling fine
Saving up just for some shoe strings
Three ninety nine
Black and tan
Pour it tall
Drown your troubles in a glass
Best way I know
To guess the future
Is looking at the past
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3. |
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Fitbit
Airpods
Cell phone
New socks
New shoes
H2O
Long road
No cars
Tie those kicks
Leg stretch
Deep breath
Hit the bricks
One foot in front of the other
Sunlight fillin' your eyes
Run run like you stole it
Blue sky feeling fine
New heights
New sights
Brand new route
New day
New pain
Let it out
Go far
Go fast
Go forever
Live fast
Live long
Never say never
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4. |
One Brick (#693, 231014)
04:11
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Red clay
4 x 2 x 8
Cooked at 2,000 degrees
4 pounds
5 ounces
Don't look like much to me
Your house
My house
Sing Sing the big house
Starts with
One brick
Laid on the ground
White sand
Blowtorch
One pane of glass
Picture
Window
Well built to last
Paper
Wrapped 'round
Tied up with rope
One brick
Flies high
Window gets broke
Run free
Lost souls
Out from the cell
Clean up
Then help
Free somebody else
Start with
Those tools
You already hold
One brain
One brick
One careful throw
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5. |
My Baby (#694, 231014)
02:50
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You been my baby since I saw you babe
Talk about that love at first sight
Oh baby you were dynamite
I knew I'd want to build a life with you
Big house lots of friends picket fence
Have our own baby too
And now she's come along
And our old life is gone
And I wouldn't trade it babe for anything
Our love is so strong
Got me singing' this song
And I can't believe I get to sing
Baby baby you're my baby
One's my daughter one's my lady
We're babies havin' babies
Figurin' it out and maybe
We were young but we had fun
And now my baby
Is holdin' my baby
You rocked my world the night I met you
I knew I'd never forget you
Kissed me and baby I let you
Seems like just yesterday we tied the knot
And now just look what we got
Kinda' love that can't be bought
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6. |
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Paper soul I got a paper soul
My heart is drawn just inside the fold
With a sharpie so the edges kind of bleed
Through my paper soul
Paper soul I got a paper soul
Yellow edges show it's gettin' old
Almost weightless but the words are kinda' heavy
On my paper soul
Paper soul they gave me a paper soul
Fits in your pocket the one without a hole
Rip it burn it give it wings and you can fly
On my paper soul
Paper soul anyone else got a paper soul
Came from a pine tree or so I'm told
Went through the wash now it's hard to read the words
On my paper soul
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7. |
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Back is achin' sweat is breakin'
Bleedin' through my shirt
Every day that ends in Y
I been workin' 'til it hurts
Life ain't perfect but you're worth it
Walkin' through that door
Before you ask me how my day was
Before you tell me yours
Love me 'til it hurts
Kiss me 'til I can feel the burn
Somewhere underneath my skin
There's a bruise
From where I think you've always been
So before we're in the dirt
Love me 'til it hurts
Six days on and church on Sunday
Watch the game and clean the house
It hurts so good to watch that clock
'Cause any minute now
Life ain't perfect we're barely gettin' by
Some days it won't quit rainin'
But I ain't quittin' with you by my side
What's a little bit of pain
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8. |
Thank God (#697, 231014)
02:47
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Long before my time
There was a man named Hank
A lot of modern tunes
Have him to thank
Later on came Johnny
The city flipped its lid
We write a certain way today
Because of what he did
Don't forget about Merle
He was tried and true
Defined a generation
Of red white and blue
But I'm here to tell you
Right here and now
Even if no one's listenin'
There's a new guy in town
Thank God I'm here
In the nick of time
Brought along my guitar
And a bag of rhymes
Hate to think what woulda' happened
If I hadn't shown up
Thank God I came
You clearly give a fuck (darn)
We can talk about Willie
Kris and Waylon all day
Somethin' 'bout their tunes
Really shaped this place
But look out Music City
You've been hashtag blessed
Now I'm on the scene
Could you care any less
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9. |
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Sunrise sunset
Since the day you left
Dark as it gets
Inside my head
I been waiting on the corner
I been watching for that car you used to drive
Black paint on the outside
Looks just like this heart of mine
I been waiting on the corner
Breathe in breathe out
There ain't no doubt
No good is going down
Here in this town
I been waiting on the corner
I been watching for that car you used to drive
Black paint on the outside
Looks just like this heart of mine
I been waiting on the corner
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10. |
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Action says it all move it or lose it
But not all action means running fast
Sometimes standing still is the next right move
While the world is flying past
Lights camera inaction
I could use a lot more practice
Breathing deep and that's a fact it's
Lights camera inaction
I've become a human doing
Racing rats up that hill
Hard to listen when you tell me
Now it's time for standing still
Lights camera inaction
I could use a lot more practice
Breathing deep and that's a fact it's
Lights camera inaction
What if I don't need to earn it
The love God has for me
If I already deserve it
Maybe then I could just be
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11. |
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There's no rain in the desert
There's no sun when it don't shine
There's no wrong there's only lessons
There's no way when you ain't mine
There's no saint above the savior
There's no water into wine
There's no life in the graveyard
There's no way when you ain't mine
You promised I'd regret it
Walking out on you
You told me I would curse the day
Well I do
There's no gold past the rainbow
Can't rewind the hands of time
No one living gets a halo
There's no way when you ain't mine
There's no check in a stale mate
No win or lose we walk the line
Trying to see the line between love and hate
There's no way when you ain't mine
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12. |
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It's not your smile that moves me
It's not your pretty eyes
It's not your brand new hairdo
It's not your slender thighs
It's not your bubbly laughter
It's not your tender kiss
It's not your bouncy buttocks
Can you guess what it is
Knobbly knees you had me at knobbly knees
Knobbly knees please oh baby please
I don't care if you bring the heat
As long as your knees are knobbly
Knobbly knees I love them knobbly knees
It's not your sexy walk that does it
It's not your painted toes
It's not your sexy talk that does it
By know I think you know
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13. |
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How do we get to heaven
If we're building hell on earth
Killing the ones who need us
Putting them in the dirt
How do we get to heaven
After a life of sin
The angel that guards the gates
Knows where we have been
They say the road to hell
Is paved with good intentions
But what about us heathens
Whose motives aren't so pure
If there's a life beyond this
Perhaps we will not see it
But if you get into heaven
I'll be just outside the door
How do we get to heaven
Holding all these guns
There's a difference between protection
And killing everyone
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14. |
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From the first moment I was hooked
You had me where you want me
Laughed out loud cold hands warm heart
Those words came back to haunt me
When you kissed me like you mean it
And together we dared to dream it
I fell like April rain into your arms
You tell me words I wanna' hear
Whisper sweetly in my ear
It's forever me and you as you lean in
We both know it ain't the truth
But you say it like you mean it
I'm not ready to let go yet
And you don't seem to mind
That I'm hanging on your every word
Never mind that you're lyin'
I don't regret a single thing
About our time together
Some things just don't work out right
Blame it on the weather
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15. |
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Yesterday is gone
Like a faded love song
And tomorrow never comes
I know it broke your heart
And left you in the dark
That you're not the only one
But you're so close that you can taste it
Turn around right now and face it
No slowing down
No turning back
Can't stop you now
Way down the track
Nothing to prove
No time to lose
All that you need
Is you and only you
Hand on the wheel
Needle in the groove
Leave behind the stuff that hurts
Look out below
This is it now here you go
Ditch everything that doesn't work
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16. |
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At the edge of town
Forty feet off the ground
Stands a plywood mystery
Painted black and white
In the early evening light
With a message for all to read
They're not pushing politics
Hotel rooms or holidays
Not selling cars or sex or booze
It's a different message
For everyone who gets it
Straight from God to you
One saw "you're enough"
Another "all you need is love"
A third saw "Hector she loves you go ahead and propose"
Some bittersweet some terrific
Others oddly specific
How it works nobody knows
So what are you waiting for
Leave your house don't even lock the door
Hop in the driver's seat and go check it out
I wonder what you'll see
And if you'll be able to believe
Whatever message you find at the edge of town
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17. |
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He stands ten feet tall
He's got stainless steel balls
And he carries a bible and an axe
He can see through a lie
He can float and he can fly
And he can stop a locomotive in its tracks
He wrote "Ain't Too Proud"
And "Sunday Morning Coming Down"
Then he gave the lyrics to old Kris
He was there with JFK
And he couldn't saved the day
But he was counting on Lee Harvey to miss
He's an angel from the sky
He's the devil in disguise
He's knows what happened to Jimmy Hoffa
And not to disrespect the dead
But he drives faster than Earnhardt did
And when he walks it's one part samba one part bossa
Yes you've seen him in the movies
And you've seen him with the floosies
And you've seen his mansion on the sunset strip
He's just like Visa vis a vis
He's everywhere you wanna' be
And I only met him once but what a trip
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18. |
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Like handmade jeans or tempered steel
Sometimes a dream is real
I said a prayer the night that I met you
That this might be my tried and true
Highest highs and the lowest lows
And what comes next everybody knows
Made me promises you couldn't seem to keep
Now I'm talkin' in my sleep
Pure and simple soft and sweet
That's the kind of girl I wanna' meet
I did my best to make it work with you
But no matter how I tried
But no matter how I tried you can't be true
A dream can break like shattered glass
Leaving pieces of the past
I once believed but now it's time to leave
With my heart right on my sleeve
Right as rain or made to break
A touch too much more than I can take
If it's real it's really true blue
But that ain't the case with you
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19. |
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Autumn breeze in the trees
Reminds me not to dwell
Upon mistakes I used to make
When I was someone else
Winter days are on their way
To freeze the tender ground
And clear some room for what will bloom
When spring time comes around
The scenery changes stay on the bus
Nothing's forever not even us
I love you today and that's all I know
Easy it comes easy it goes
Leaves of green we have seen
Since some months before
Turning brown and falling down
Covering the floor
Hearts of red words we said
Fading with the light
Keep the faith and just you wait
It all turns out alright
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20. |
Yin Yang (#709, 231014)
01:55
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I was walkin' by the convent
Overheard somebody prayin'
Speakin' words I'd never heard
So I ask what she was sayin'
Musta' come on a little too strong
'Cuz she squinted her eyes real tight
And made her voice real low
Like she was lookin' for a fight
She said I'll punch you in the yin yang
I'm gonna' hit you in the star and crescent
You're gonna' wish that you were never reborn
Yep I'm sendin' you back to the mission
Gonna' rough up your wheel of dharma
And make you scream ramalama ding goddamn
Leave you hurtin' at the torii gate
I'm gonna' punch you in the yin yang
Well I picked myself up
Tried to say a prayer
But I didn't know who to pray to
There was so many deities there
I went and dusted off my ichthys
My dharmachakra and triskelion
Drank some water from a flaming chalice
And lifted up my unicursal hexagram, whatever that is
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21. |
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I don't know where I'm drivin'
Just had to get on the road
Before the moon started risin'
Had to pack up and go
I didn't bring any gasoline
Car doesn't have any tires
There ain't no chassis it's just me and the road
And I keep shifting higher
First gear I'm gettin' movin'
Second gear I'm takin' off
Third gear I can prove it
'Cuz just one more makes it four
I'm hittin' fifth gear in a made up car
That doesn't exist
It's just me and the road
In the evening mist
Bought my car from a dealer
He really cut me a deal
Threw in all kinds of extras
Drove away with a steal
I forget what the brand is
Think it's made overseas
It didn't come with a logo
And that's just fine with me
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22. |
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Wallpaper is peeling
Paint is chipped on the door
Tiles are loose in the ceiling
How my feet hate this floor
I will do as you order
When I'm inside these walls
But beyond that there border
You don't stand so tall
My heart has gone somewhere to never return
Wasn't usin' it anyway guess it finally learned
It ain't wise to come back here no it ain't safe at all
You won't catch my heart here again not inside these walls
Watch the clock as it's ticking
Freedom ain't far away
How the pace seems to quicken
As your grip starts to fade
I will build me a fortress
Far away from this place
Already know I'll adore it
My heart will guide the way
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23. |
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Went out walking in the park
All alone just after dark
Ducks were playing in the pond
As the streetlights all came on
Well I hummed myself a tune
Underneath that crescent moon
And I wished that you were there
With your beautiful long black hair
Long black hair who's playin' with it now
Long black hair as the summer lights go down
Long black hair oh I miss it falling everywhere
Everywhere around me your beautiful long black hair
There were kids and dogs that night
And some long lost fireflies
They all asked me how you've been
And if you'll be back again
I didn't know what I should say
Or how long you'd be away
I just smiled and sang my song
And they all sang along
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24. |
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Can you tell
What I am saying
Can you hear it
When I'm praying
My tail is wagging
And my ears are calm
If dad don't understand
Maybe I'll ask mom
Do you know
What I care about
Can you tell
I like when you rub my snout
You should scratch my butt
A lot more often
And give me human food
When it goes rotten
Did you know
I was made to love you
By a gentle God
Who presides above you
I think that means
That you should take us fishing
And give us attention
When we feel like kissing
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25. |
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Before there were humans
I walked the earth
No friends no enemies
Just me and the dirt
Sunrise in the Andes
Sunset in Nepal
I could go anywhere I want
Five hundred meters tall
One day outta' nowhere
Sounded the alarm
There were someone else out there
Who meant me harm
It was five feet even
Naked, cold, and scared
It didn't have no place to hide
And it's little teeth were bared
Well we met on the battlefield
I was ready to kill
This pathetic little creature
Was gonna' die up on that hill
I respected its courage
And I chose to spare its life
We divided the world in half
You get the day and I get the night
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26. |
After You (#715, 231014)
02:43
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All those late night streetlight symphonies
Pillow talk and wine
What I'd give if I could just relive
One more perfect night
We gave it everything we had to give
Left it all out on the floor
The neon lights keep flashing neon lies
Like I don't miss you anymore
After you no one could mean so much
I'll won't miss someone's laughter
Or want to feel their touch
After you I'll never be the same
But goodbye means goodbye
I won't run after you again
Denim dreams and colored plasticine
Left behind you in the dark
You may be gone but your memories lingers on
I still feel the spark
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27. |
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It's raining somewhere
And somewhere else it's bright
Somewhere dawn is breaking
And somewhere it's the dead of night
Up beyond the clouds
There's crying somewhere
And somewhere only smiles
Somewhere a heart a broken
And someone's love just flew a thousand miles
Up beyond the clouds
Beyond the clouds the sun is shining
And it's drying up the rain
Hold on tight in the middle of the night
'Til it comes around again
There's evil somewhere
And somewhere justice thrives
Somewhere prison's ugly
And someone got a second lease on life
Up beyond the clouds
There's chaos somewhere
And somewhere only peace
Somewhere there's a final breath
And somewhere someone's learning how to breathe
Up beyond the clouds
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28. |
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They should sell presidents at Walmart
We would have thirty days to try them out
And if they didn't work how they said they would
We'd return them to the warehouse
There's be a choice of affiliation
Of age of gender and of race
They'd come with batteries included
And they'd probably be on sale
We could redefine both major parties
And really jump start this weird land
Besides if the president's a puppet
Don't you wanna' be the hand
Imagine posing with the president
You'd look so big next to him or her
The only question I can't answer
Is who decides what each one's worth
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29. |
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Another downpour it's my downfall
Pretend they're all my tears
After hours on a phone call
Just wishing you were here
Keep me waiting
Keep me always missing you
I'll be empty
I'll be wrapped up in the blues
Keep me hoping
Keep me underneath your stairs
I'll be open
I'll be ready I will follow you anywhere
Black as midnight in the alley
Running naked with the moon
This was all that I could carry
A needle and a spoon
You were meant for me
I meant to lose
You're escaping me
I'll go down for you
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30. |
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You bought me my first paintbrush
And so many kinds of paint
You taught me how to hold it
And wipe the paint away
It's been years since I last held it
But I know exactly where it is
I promise now before you leave me
For as long as I shall live
I will soak up every sunset
I will honor your memory
I will paint with all the colors
That's what you mean to me
I will cherish the years I knew you
I will carry that smile of yours
And I will paint with all the colors
With all of them and more
As you're fading in the twilight
I hold you one last time
And you look up for a moment
I manage one weak smile
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31. |
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I got the no green blues
From my head to my shoes
I got the no green blues
From my head straight down to my shoes
Anybody got a dollar
That's somethin' I sure could use
I got the no green blues
On my black and white TV
I got the no green blues
On my little black and white TV
Won't you lemme' splice your satellite
Imagine all the colors I'd see
I got the no green blues
Been blue since I recall
I got the no green blues
Been blue ever since I can recall
If I had a little stack of green
Well I'd grow it nice and tall
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32. |
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Summer at the lake
Summer wearing swim trunks
Smell of open air
Smell of brown bag lunch
Napping on the pier
Getting my first sunburn
These are just some the memories
I wish I had
I wish I had tried it
I wish I had known
I wish I was braver
Thirty years ago
I wish I could go back
Knowing what I know today
But it happened how it happened
And that's how it will stay
Kissing what's her name
Underneath the bleachers
Dancing cheek to cheek
Surrounded by our friends
Crying when she left
Headed off to college
These are just some the memories
I wish I had
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33. |
Passenger (#722, 231014)
02:21
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Put me in your pocket
Bring me anywhere you go
Let me see what you see
All the world's a show
Put me in your backpack
Let me tag along
We'll share with each other
A story and a song
Have you ever been a passenger
Watched the world as it goes by
There is magic in the patience and the peace
There is magic in the ride
Put me in your lunchbox
Bring me out when you're at work
Let your colleages ask about me
What was that noise must be the birds
Put me on the dashboard
Like a puppy in the wind
I'll watch everywhere we're going
And everywhere we've been
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34. |
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Some of us are brilliant
At doing long division
Others have a knack
For doing nuclear fission
The only super power
That I'm aware I've got
Is I can forget anything
Believe it or not
I forgot my pants once
That was embarrassing
I forgot to brush once
One more important thing
I forgot to study
That's why I got only C's
I'd forget my head
If it were not attached to me
Some do algebraic
Computations really fast
Some pull foreign languages
Right out from their ass
So far the only genius
I believe I got
Is forgetting everything
Except that I forgot
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35. |
Grace (#724, 231014)
02:53
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Down here I'm broken
All but forgot
I need your grace
And I need a lot
All my devices
Leave be betrayed
Give me some Grace
Desperate I pray
Grace of the father
Grace of the son
Grace of the spirit
Grace to everyone
Grace for the shortfalls
Grace when we lose
Grace does for us
What only Grace can do
Though I keep trying
To do things my way
Why do I always
Do what I hate
I watch my left hand
Fight with my right
Please will you help me
I need you tonight
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36. |
Rebecca (#725, 231014)
02:12
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Rebecca is the woman of my dreams
She's everything everything she seems
And on the day we finally meet
I believe it will be sweet
Rebecca she knows all there is to know
About the world since long ago
No she isn't perfect but she tries
And she'd never tell a lie
Rebecca has been waiting just for me
And I too am waiting just for she
When we find each other all the clocks will freeze
And life will just be her and me
Rebecca is a tale I tell myself
When I don't have no one else
To pass the time and laugh together
Rebecca waits forever
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James Tristan Redding Nashville, Tennessee
British-American songwriter, singer, audiobook narrator, studio player, Godin Guitars official
artist.
Founded global collective www.SongAWeek.org, performance art experience The Under Over: tinyurl.com/uoxuo (song circle underneath a highway) and writing retreat www.TheNashville24.com (annual challenge: write 24 songs in 24 hours).
Cuts by Sarah Harralson, Eli Alger, Emma Gale, David Easterling
... more
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