1. |
Night Sky
04:42
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Charlie’s eyes trace the path of a bullet
cutting clouds into lines in the air
watch his face, lines that trace
this Godforsaken place
this place
this place
And it’s all I can do to cry
under the ever-blackened night sky
I’m singing behind the choir
watch as the walls fall
on your empire
Daddy says we’ll wait around for the earthquake
seismographs counting cracks in the ground
swears this round is the sound
of the sky falling down
falling down
down
And it’s all I can do to cry
under the ever-blackened night sky
I’m singing beneath the floor
knowing that you’ve got nothing
to be sorry for
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2. |
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[alternate verse:
in April you were 17
in August, 41
chase the taillights of your bad ideas into the darkness
ask, "what have you done?" ]
put your heart into an envelope
go send it through the mail
the words you used to build your walls and cities out of
were constructed to fail
but I'm not lost
you will find
count the cost
of all the lights behind you
waste my time
write your name out with a sparkler
lose your letters in the flame
know that nothing burns as furious
and blue and hopeless
as a paper airplane
hang the heavy things with fishing line
tie the fragile ones with rope
wash my hands of you
'till the skin cracks and bleeds and grows in
this time I will use soap
cause I'm not lost
you're not kind
count the cost
of all the lights behind you
change your mind
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3. |
Closed Circuit
04:52
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let go fear
allow connection
close circuit
open door
take a chance
we crave the real, somehow forgetting
we must create the life we want
take a chance
reach out a hand
if we leave this life alone, then it's all for nothing
we can live what we dream and make that connection
take a chance
reach out a hand
step out to the ledge
see beyond the edge
----break------
let go fear
allow connection
close circuit
open door
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4. |
Monsters
05:32
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Heavy things moving fast won't slow down for you
and ink may be permanent, but you can always tear up what it bled through
and I can’t see holding my tongue for the sake of monsters
swinging from the rafters and stealing our better halves
feather-shaped words tickling the wrath of gravity
on their way down, I just hope they
make you laugh
Crazy planes flying so far west, they end up in eastern Australia
heavy winds blowing every which way they confuse the greatest of sailors
still I can’t see holding my tongue for the sake of monsters
scratching at the screen door and fogging up the window pane
the whole world knows they’re terrified of water
I guess that’s why we’re always seeing them
run from the rain
We’re stealing our ideas from the ceiling
pulling diamonds out of thin air
chasing molecules of carbon
up
the
stairs
Go on catch your train, catch your last breath, of the rotten inland wind
and all those things you were too afraid to write down
you don’t need ‘em, you never did
(And I’ve never been one for holding my tongue for monsters
I’ll tear ‘em apart, throw their skeletons at the sky
leave the whole world left to operate in shadow
and ask superfluous questions, like “why?”)
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5. |
Struck From a Bell
04:49
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what happens to a bell if it isn't struck?
is it just a cup?
what happens to your song if it isn't sung?
do you come undone?
do you come undone?
chorus:
songs were made for singing like bells were made for ringing
and i was made for you
what if a song was struck from a bell but you couldn't tell?
but you couldn't tell
what happens to a kite if it isn't flown?
is it still your own?
what happens to a dream if it doesn't sell?
is it just as well?
is it just as well?
chorus
solo
chorus
what becomes of your soul as you grow old?
does it overflow?
and when the candles on your cake could a new cake bake
do you lie awake?
do you lie?
chorus
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6. |
Chemical Action
07:15
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when you came out from that rock you were living under
and you pulled me through the park i was thrown asunder
when you came down from that cloud you were glowing under
and you showed me what it was like to survive your thunder
i would have given anything just to taste your lips
when you pulled up in that car you were painting on
and you drove me to the beach well you drove me wild
i would have given anything just to touch your hair
almost gave up everything but i broke that snare
chorus:
well it looks like love from afar and it feels like love but it's not
it's just a chemical action
well it looks like love from afar and it feels like love but it's not
it's just a chemical action
just a cheap satisfaction
----break------
when you came into the house and you were alone
i saw the danger in your eyes and i wanted to go
i would have given anything just to meet you there
would have traded everything to be the end of your stare
(chorus twice to end)
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7. |
Maple Leaves
04:54
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you had your fingers crossed behind your back the whole damn time
your index and your middle digit intertwined
so no promises were kept
they were never even made
stapled to the start line and right there they remain
i hear them sing - the demons in your throat
sprout big wings of fire
and high skyward they float
i let a heart of lead
hang his head
on my sleeve
but there is hope in that
handful of
maple leaves
you had your mind made up in wire knots the whole damn time
your failures and your good intentions intertwined
so no promises were kept
you gave them all away
to places you can't get to and things you'll never say
yeah it's a mess of thread - but I've seen harder things
the quickest way to the end
is backwards from the beginning
i let a heart of lead
hang his head
on my sleeve
but there is hope in that
handful of
maple leaves
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8. |
Ancient History
06:01
|
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i know that sometimes i am divided
into separate lives
and when you find me deep in the darkness
you may have trouble reviving
me from that slumber on which i rely
so i fall through the rabbit hole
on my way to the courthouse
my search for the mystery comes up dry
given our recent history of missing
the point we're trying to make
it seems our only course of action
would be to fall back to love
trusting each other implicitly
i fall through the rabbit hole
on my way to the dance hall
and my search for your mystery comes up dry
then when our timing seems to be skipping
a gear lifetimes away
now that we've wandered so far from needing
the things we wanted so long
can we re-connect to what we once were?
and i fell through the rabbit hole
on my way to the bedroom
so my search for your misery comes undone
seems such a long time ago
such a long time ago
lifetimes ago
not so long ago
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9. |
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Always a dollar short, a decade late
There's a fire on the fire escape
but this fire it does not give and take
it consumes
I have surveyed your present past
and all I've ever learned of glass
it's the thing you might see past
but not get through
Always the first one
through the wall
Why always the first one
through the wall?
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10. |
Moth
06:16
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moth, bound forever to this earth
did you find the light that you were seeking?
did you find the secret was worth keeping?
through the door that you were leaping comes a frost
car, how could you know?
the damage you'd be rueing
your fossil bones would be undoing
and the red that would come weeping through the cloth
only crows and garden gnomes were witness to events unfold
no flamingos were in attendance
surely dogs did hear but they aren't barking
in this silence that can't be broken
there's no un-breaking (repeat phrase)
---------break--------
so, i'd love to know
did you make it through to the other side?
is the grass far & deep & wide
with trees to climb and bugs that need a chasing?
you know, we miss you here
thank you for the memories
for giving love so easily
remind us not to take these things for granted
chilled beneath the tree
whose fruit will always taste
of the climb & fall & grace of your adventures
if remembrance comes when we least expect it
when will we learn that though we try
there's no protecting? (repeat phrase, then “no matter...”)
when will we miss the ones we love? (don’t follow me)
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Atlas Cedars Long Beach, California
After getting together to work on a few cover tunes for some one-off shows, Jenny Stockdale & Chris Berens felt a certain chemistry that told them they should form a partnership-- so Atlas Cedars was born. Since then they've put their heads & hearts together and come up with some original songs which they've decided to record for an album in the summer. We're excited to see what the future holds. ... more
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