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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of 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, Leap Songs, Part 3, and 20 more.
1. |
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Wish I were you and you were me
Maybe the taste would be sweet
Better to ask than wonder why
Over the Southern Sky
Picture a night together
Higher than I can measure
Capture it all in a letter
And seal it with a kiss
Throw to the wind a question
How does a loss become a lesson
Give it away and learn to listen
I hope you’re hearing this
Wish it were easier done than said
To forget what I regret
Lookin’ for sunshine through the clouds
Or the last train out of town
Picture a night together
Higher than I can measure
Capture it all in a letter
And seal it with a kiss
Throw to the wind a question
How does a loss become a lesson
Give it away and learn to listen
I hope you’re hearing this
Let the colors come and comfort me
Paint the river like a galaxy
Now is all we really ever have
Maybe you’re my better half
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2. |
02 - Made For Joy
04:13
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Captive or free born to believe
A sweet paradox intercepts
Never complete we pay our dues
Still a supple heart is beset
Once at the shore twice on the tide
Paradise belongs in the hands
Holding out for the dawn asking only for time
With the facts and the hint of a chance
We were made for joy
Made to embrace in the fullness of time
And a grateful poise
Strapped to the stars with a flicker sublime
It’s a perfect mess
Black on the inside in a silver disguise
Can the best be blessed
To receive it all as a sacred surprise
When they pull the shells out of all the guns
And the empty shelves can be filled with fun
Then and only then will the children dance
In the empty streets if our best laid plans
Say the clock ran out and the people shout
Give it up run away crash and burn no doubt
But we have ourselves and we have our dreams
And the future stars orbiting upstream
Not the only way to change the course
There’s like a million different buttons on an iron horse
Somehow we gotta open up a new discussion to ask
For all the superheroes hiding in the Welfare Class
To lend their voices to the choices of the governing few
And open up a new horizon for the red white and blue
I never seen a real democracy but heaven is now
Maybe the music leads the way so can you show me how
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3. |
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Where are you now
If only the barber salon in Plainfield
Atomic Dog on the water horse
Straight outta’ the speaker
Real time dollar holler
Pick up sticks to your shoe
Now a ballot always a ballot
Give ‘em what they want
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4. |
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Figure 1. The VLA in one of its more compact antenna array configurations.
The 27 antennas are moveable on rail tracks, and different configurations
are used to obtain different spatial samplings of incoming cosmic radiation.
Figure 2a. An example of a possible SKA configuration. In this model,
patches of collecting area (stations) extend from a dense core in a
log-spiral arrangement. The pattern continues to baselines of ~3000 km.
The huge number of SKA sensors gives excellent spatial sampling characteristics
without the need to periodically relocate antennas.
Figure 2b. An artist’s impression of the SKA core region, with planar-aperture
arrays and dishes visible. All the sensor technologies will share wide band
communication as well as signal processing and
data-processing infrastructures.
Figure 3. A view of the SKA as an information and communications technology
(ICT) machine. Signals from a variety of different types of electromagnetic-field
sensors (antennas and receivers) are transported and processed via
common machinery. Sensors are chosen largely on the basis of their
performance-to-cost ratio within particular frequency bands.
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5. |
05 - Hey Cowboy
06:33
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Hey cowboy won’t you let me in
I’m nothing if I’m not your friend
And if our dreams catch fire we can start again
Hey cowboy, hey hey hey cowboy
Flannel and leather, iron and ash
Circuits and starships, blasters and cash
Bullets and powder, granite and slate
History and future, horse hair and faith
Reach for forever wring out the reins
Pull not your punches speak not your name
Spin only clockwise let out the sound
Fall never silent shut never down
Hey cowboy won’t you let me in
I’m nothing if I’m not your friend
And if the wheels catch fire and the roof descends
Hey cowboy, hey hey hey cowboy
Stranded expanded hands in the sand
Landed in tandem branded and planned
Offhand understanding demanded the cans
Commanded a band and manned it firsthand
I have a lump of lead in my sock
And boots in the water slick as a fox
Give me the hatchet bury the keys
Take off your handcuffs light the marquee
Hey cowboy won’t you let me in
I’m nothing if I’m not your friend
And if the wheels catch fire and the roof descends
Now, cowboy
I can see the world but the world cannot see me
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6. |
06 - Wall Or No Wall
03:51
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Wall or no wall, the floor is cracked
Gotta’ find a way to turn the clock back
Wall or no wall, we trashed the attic
Because the man next door called us melodramatic
Wall or no wall, the doors are locked
The rooms are becoming like a prison block
Wall or no wall, the gas is leaking
Getting light headed and my thoughts are fleeting
Wall or no wall, the plumbing is wrecked
The pipes exploded out of sheer neglect
Wall or no wall, the switch is defective
The circuit set off all the smoke detectors
Wall or no wall, the paint is peeling
The sight is giving me a sinking feeling
Wall or no wall, the windows are broken
Around the foundation there is steady erosion
Wall or no wall, the roof is gutted
The rain poured in and the basement flooded
Wall or no wall, the garden’s dead
But all the worst weeds grow inside my head
Wall or no wall, we destroyed the frame
Tried to flush our mistakes but they clogged the drain
Wall or no wall, the ceilings falling
If we’re not careful it will crush us all
Wall or no wall, we shredded the curtains
Threw ‘em to the ground lit a match and burned ‘em
Wall or no wall, that’s not the question
Not if Cain and Abel turn to Smith and Wesson
Wall or no wall, we’re afraid of the neighbors
And it’s making us a bunch of haters
Wall or no wall, with or without
The call is coming from inside the house
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7. |
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Hey be honest with me for a moment
When we go see your favorite band
Or take the Bowery with our boots on
Did you think it would be like this
Talk to me about midnight slices
And a rich tobacco dawn
Could you wake up feeling any better
South of Houston west of Wall
You will always be my something
Full of what I can’t remember
Such a stunning never mind
A thousand words you may have heard
From the moment we began to
Just a gorgeous I forgot
A pretty excellent whatever
Truly beautiful I guess
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8. |
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So Brilliant So Striking Let’s Paint Something Great
Like Every True Echo Impaled On The Ice
Our Aches About Nothing Fall Under Our Voices
Which Say Yes Despite These Reluctant Poor Eyes
You Ain’t Called Away But Lament How Relieved
Once Bound And Windblown Our Intense Urge Inert
Use Low Light Afoot To Keep Safely Secure
Ride Yonder Make Yesterday Hope Each Hurt Ends
Sweet Rain Rinse Your Embers How Willing Toward
Else Eons Embed Over Years At A Haste
Let Aces Slip Up Even Righteous In Exit
For Dunces To Rest So Delightful This Noise
Don’t Ask Why For Underneath Rides Something Foul
Oh Saints In Elite Prisons Act In Accord
We’re All Teaching Art In Its Greater Locale
Never Nervous How Rare Newly Noble He Lies
Jump Over So Limber Such Wicked Wide Beams
Use Patience Use Image Or Inhale And Act
Slight Errors Can Kill For The Luscious Corrupt
Though No Hope Escapes True Hypocrite Karmic Kings
Owed Before We Were Golden Erased From Despair
Now Our Instant Illusions And Armor Runs Out
Crying Out Let’s Not Zero Sum Everything Wild
Even Killers Love Deeply Each Evil Eyed Night
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9. |
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Heavy as a tidal wave washing up on shore
Easy honey we got saved so many times before
Altogether let it breathe
Ready we can stand beneath
Trouble with a T on the double with a D in the rubble of a jubilee
And maybe it was Jacksonville could be twenty years
Smoking on a picnic bench naked in the pines
Underneath a half pint moon swimming in the summer air
Neon ether motel crush gasoline and wine
Devil in a paper bag like the southern tide rolling up in rags
Early in a morning dive lift another drag let the feeling rise
Risky letting out the words to escape a tongue let alone who heard
Angel with a blackened lung to a hummingbird beautiful and stunned
Nowhere near the finish line this is not the end
Gracefully a last goodbye or funeral for a friend
Elevator tumble dry sixty second drop
Lemonade and stumble by take it from the top
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10. |
10 - JFK to DUB
05:19
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Can the tide itself decide when to ebb and when to flow
Or does someone high and holy hold the rolling undertow
When the water wants your body and the clouds have cut a deal
Make a circle on the ceiling really none of this is real
At the end of every story there’s a door that we can open
With a key we’ve always carried but we thought that it was broken
On a bird comprised of metal moving faster than a prayer
Something happened in an instant to awake the unaware
Even if the crew had shown a swift reaction to the rumble
It was too late to elude the taste of trouble
JFK > DUB
There was ice across the aisle and a whisper in the wings
Someone asked about the exit as our hopes began to sink
First the wheels were not responding to the buttons at the helm
Then the luggage started dancing and the crew was overwhelmed
Like a tidal wave toward me came a thousand words a minute
And I tried to offer solace but my heart just wasn’t in it
What’s the answer to the riddle or does asking change the game
If we reach our destination we may never be the same
If the captain had been warned the shift might not have been so sudden
But what’s done is done and no one saw it coming
JFK > DUB
To bear witness is to honor what another hand has carved
After giving up the concept of the outcome we deserve
Should our plans be all but shattered and we barely wash ashore
Drop the rock and listen closely this ain’t Kansas anymore
In the morning we are taller than ourselves when evening falls
When we still don’t see the reason and the mirror can’t recall
I’d be lying if I told you that I never told a lie
But I know it never saved me from the way I felt inside
Thank the heavens all the engines simultaneously stumbled
Opened fire on our pride and made us humble
JFK > DUB
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11. |
11 - Grand Finale
06:16
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A lotta’ people talk about the many metaphors
What a stellar way of marketing a couple story boards
Get a couple colored pencils an eraser or two
Then before you even notice you’re a big cartoon
Well it happened all around me and before I was hip
They put some crazy ass computer graphic microchips
With a dude in isolation and the comic reel
So the audience believes the way they think they feel, wait
Thought I was Aladdin but maybe I’m Jafar
How did this shit happen to a movie star
Wasn’t I Mufasa, what the fuck I’m Scar
Check out the grand finale it’s my au revoir
Now I kind of always thought I was the belle of the ball
And someone else was the beast but baby now I recall
My magic carpet is sunk, the talking teapots have quit
My luck is just about out I guess I gotta’ admit
So if it’s all about perspective and the narrative voice
Could I get another chance to be the popular choice
Or has the illustrator spoken with her circles and lines
And have the viewers seen it all and all but made up their minds
Thought I was Aladdin but maybe I’m Jafar
How did this shit happen to a movie star
Wasn’t I Mufasa, what the fuck I’m Scar
Check out the grand finale it’s my au revoir
And my mama told me it will all be alright in the end
But baby it’s not alright so we just have to pretend
Eat the red pill and the blue pill and the red pill and then
Watch your nose it’s gonna’ grow until you’re honest again
OK I’m talking to the mirror and the map on the wall
And if I’m getting any answers are they lucid at all
I’m not the fairest nor the cleanest, better try to get smart
Never mind all the dalmatians I got fleas in my heart
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12. |
12 - X Is For Eyes
05:25
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White as snow holy hollow hands
Vexes and sighs dive down deep
Upper apex supple run for red
Tarot atlas shining via vida
Slice and hook notches broken
Rhythmic reason fallen spoken
Qourse qorrecting qarthorse qarving
Pistol perfect pitch preserving
Orthopedic autotuner
North by western rotten rumors
Milk and honey napalm necktie
Lets go steady burn the bonsai
Klezmer sweetheart pigtail earthworm
Jumping jackknife light up lead mine
Into action out of exile
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13. |
13 - Plastic Machete
05:20
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s p e l l i t o u t t o m e
e x p o u n d y o u r p o v
i f o r g o t m y s m i l e
h e r e a n d l a y n u m b
a l l o f m e p l a n n e d
t o d r i f t o u t o f o z
s o m e o n e l i f t o u t
t h i s o d d f e e l i n g
f o r o n c e m y h e a r t
s t o p p e d b e a t i n g
c l a s s i c y o u s a n g
t h e p l o t d e s c e n d
g e t t i n g t o o l a t e
b o t h d i d o u r b e s t
t o s l i n g o n e l a s t
p l a s t i c m a c h e t e
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14. |
14 - Real Specific
04:30
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I got a real specific itch that only you can scratch
‘Cuz there’s a real specific way you turn the tune
And it’s a real specific moment when you pop the hatch
Before the real specific flowers start to bloom
Unslide this real specific knife out from my play-doh ribs
Remove this real specific rope from where it binds
Replay the real specific reel, reveal the tongues and the lips
Return the real specific pieces right on time
From Atlantic to Pacific BE REAL SPECIFIC
You only wanna’ be prolific IF YOU’RE REAL SPECIFIC
A couple verses are terrific WHEN THEY’RE REAL SPECIFIC
Or did it get too scientific? WELL IT’S REAL SPECIFIC
I want your real specific soul between my mental paws
Give me the real specific key to swing the door
Disclose the real specific facts and do it just because
You had this real specific feeling once before
A couple real specific words come quickly to my aid
To show you real specific why you got no time
Until my real specific love either inches or invades
Beneath the real specific rules we left behind
From Atlantic to Pacific BE REAL SPECIFIC
You only wanna’ be prolific IF YOU’RE REAL SPECIFIC
A couple verses are terrific WHEN THEY’RE REAL SPECIFIC
Or did it get too scientific? WELL IT’S REAL SPECIFIC
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15. |
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It’s no one’s fault but mine
And there’s no more alibis
Yeah I just ran out of time
Out of reasons and resigned
Won’t try to shake the blame
To unbreak the window panes
Nothing good is gone to stay
It’ll all come round again
Sorry that I missed your birthday
That you might never hear these words
Better if I send a letter
I wonder what would you prefer
Never want to miss the sunset
Or to tell a friend goodbye
Maybe next year I’ll surprise you
With my eyes and ears alive
Imagine with a flutter
A mockingbird in flight
Unwind the sunny summer
It was October overnight
The changing of the chapter
As the leaves begin to glow
Carry with you all the laughter
If it’s heavy let it go
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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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