Get all 8 Peter Hazen releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Empty House, Ocean Echo, Crow Folk, Vol. 1, Trusty Dusty Ghost Suit, Wasteland Salvage Co., Jack Casually, Live at the Meg Perry Center, and Sing A Song For the Revolution!.
1. |
Promises & Trains
03:22
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Well those promises you gave me, you made them prematurely
I said surely you don't want my wedding ring
You said that this will be the best, but then our progress was arrested
when you next said, “Well, I can't be sure of anything.”
So I watched that train pull out the station with it's windows tinted black
and those big black metal wheels pointed southbound down the track
so I couldn't see you wavin' if ya waved, or cryin' if ya cried
all I knew was that I didn't know if you were comin' back
So just ride those tracks, baby, ride 'em hard
Go forth and find out who you are
You'll never know where to go if you don't look far enough
Everyone must find their guiding star
I wished you'd never promised nothing that night I heard the phone ring
I slept with all my clothes on and the dishes in the sink
You said “I need a break from this,” I said “Okay, well take it,
and take my heart, 'cause I won't need it in the interim.”
I promised that I'd never make a promise that I couldn't keep,
keep it honest so I don't wake up from tossin' in my sleep,
but since you been gone the words we speak all become complicated
patient negotiations, careful not to wade too deep
So just ride those tracks, baby, ride 'em hard
Go forth and find out who you are
You'll never know where to go if you don't look far enough
Everyone must find their guiding star
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2. |
Red Sky
03:54
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well, ya thought ya made a clean break, but I saw ya hop that train
with a satchel and a chip on your shoulder in the bitter winter rain
you can only cheat the cards until the dealer kicks ya outta the game
you'll always be yourself no matter how often you change your name
no matter how far you run, you'll never outrun yourself
it's no surprise your factory of lies is poisoning your well
so now you're runnin down the sleeper car, tryin to avoid detection
but I tell ya this train is runnin off the rails
the emergency break handle's broken off – there ain't no stoppin' her now
you're like a mineshaft collapsing underneath the hills
you're like a stowaway at the baggage-claim
you're like a fugitive wearin old blood stains
red sky at midnight – you'll never get away
so ya hit that dusty trail, you think that nobody's spotted you
but I've got your number down, you're in my sights now, I know I've got a shot at you
yeah ya hit that dusty trail, you're ankles all blistered and bruised
and your nostrels burn from the smoke of the burning rubber on your shoes
but no matter how far you run, you'll never outrun yourself
it's no surprise your factory of lies is poisoning your well
you're like a stowaway at the baggage-claim
you're like a fugitive wearin old blood stains
red sky at midnight – you'll never get away
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3. |
Busy Man
04:10
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give me a dollar and i'll give a story back
give me ten dollars and i'll tell you a secret
it makes no difference to me – i'm a busy man
give me a dimebag and i'll take ya to the roof
i've got a pound of flesh if you have got a room
it makes no difference to me – i'm a busy man
i've got no need to steal, i've got no need to kill
it's never come to that – but don't test me or i will
the give and take, but some take and don't give back
take it or leave it, but this one is all i have
it makes no difference to me, but there's been a change of plans
pick me up down at the railyard, by the hole in the fence
night by night i take the bitter pill
decide what you want to do, call me if you're in still
sometimes you choose the path, sometimes the path choose you
when there's blood on your hands, you know your number's due
when your nights are so long, and your days are numbered few
just call this number – charlie will tell you what to do
i've got no need to steal, i've got no need to kill
it's never come to that – but don't test me or i will
pick me up down at the railyard by the hole in the fence
we'll change our passports at the dock, the boat leaves by ten
i'm a busy man – but there's been a change of plans
and if we're very, very lucky we can never go home again
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4. |
Broken Box
04:31
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Sometimes I scare myself when I go out,
myself when I go out on the street
I can see myself like I'm floating above the ground,
pulling on my own puppet strings
Oh, I can see many versions of me!
Sometimes I scare myself when I go out,
hit the scene and I throw down, and like it's all meant to be
Sometimes the best part of the show's when it lets out,
take the barricades down and do whatever feels free
Oh, I can see the cracks in your street!
I've got gypsy's blood moving my veins around
I hear ancestors sing, but I can't explain the sound
I've got shaman's blood pushing my brain
Take it easy on me – my skin is a broken box
The way the whiskey sings may seem out of character
There's a ghost in my bones rearranging the compass points
The words you'll hear me say needn't frighten you
Just embrace what the night can do – spirits invited you here
Oh, I can see the hearts up your sleeve!
I've got gypsy's blood moving my veins around
I hear ancestors sing, but I can't explain the sound
I've got shaman's blood pushing my brain
Take it easy on me – my skin is a broken box
Sometimes I wear myself out and I slow down
Put my knees to the ground
and I lay myself down to sleep
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5. |
Long Road To Mexico
03:41
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Well, this is why I've changed my mind: no one keeps time, and we all die alone.
Everybody's wishin that they had a bigger kitchen
and a bigger fridge for fittin drinks for drinkin and forgettin
and nobody's learned the lesson trading blood for paid expenses
I've heard every dark confession – well, we all have been molested
I call up my representatives in my fits of depression
Lord, I'm mess and excessive and I'm pressed with many questions!
Who's runnin this show?
Well, it ain't no one I know!
How do I put up with all of these down-lows?
Oh, now I'll never get to Mexico!
In the businesses of distance the accountants are persistent
they insist on hidden clauses, prophet margins and permissions
and the bison hit extinction 'cause they didn't read the fine-print
but at Wounded Knee they didn't treat the problem, just the symptom
Tossin wrenches in the system? Well, don't get the wrong impression.
In a pinch you'll get conscripted and they'll have ya diggin trenches!
Who's runnin this show?
Well, it ain't no one I know!
How do I put up with all of these down-lows?
Oh, now I'll never get to Mexico!
So now I'm stitchin up my britches, cryin missin all my women,
puttin patches on my sinnin soul so I'll stay outta prison
Now they're tearing down my building, say it isn't fit to live in
Since I moved into my van, got fifty parking ticket written
I'll never win, I'm sick and dismal, I give into my addictions
I'm sticking to my story, but there ain't nobody listenin
Who's runnin this show?
Well, it ain't no one I know!
How do I put up with all of these down-lows?
Oh, now I'll never get to Mexico!
How will I get home?
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6. |
Ghost Suit
03:57
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I've got one hand six fingers short
I've got one foot on distant shores
But I don't care who's keepin score
I'm makin bets I can't afford
But I put my ribcage forward,
look to the sky and I shrug my shoulders,
'cause you'll never break me down
I got my liver second-hand
My lungs are full of soot and sand
I pierced my skin, I bled a river
This shattered frame continues to give
But I throw my ribcage forward
look to the sky and I shrug my shoulders,
'cause you'll never break me down
I've got a spasm in my side, I've got a mind that's choosin sides
as I decide what's mine, what remains is left behind
You drive your circus to the bank
roll down the hill on an empty tank
I hear your hollow bones inside your shell,
burlap sack of matchsticks, drag yourself back up the hill
But you will never die, 'cause you are a part of mine
until we both can see the light, our moments peace just pass us by
But I throw my ribcage forward
look to the sky and I shrug my shoulders,
'cause you'll never break me down
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7. |
Living With Lions
03:23
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I'll give you a lift, if you've got a sieve
you can help me sift for gold in the river
I'll give you ride if you've got the time,
but I'm taking the scenic way home
And in the dark woods at night, if the lions tear you apart
then the crows will sew your bones back together by the morning light
I hide in the thickets, don't need any witness
because it's nobody's business but mine
I'll pay you a visit no matter the distance
and get back to my camp in the twilight
But in the dark woods at night, if the lions tear me apart
then the crows will sew my bones back together by the morning light
I've got a few on the side – hey you could be one of mine,
if you don't mind a little challenge once in a while
I take it in stride, but if you come back a second time,
you may find the road folds back over many times
And in the dark woods at night, if the lions tear you apart
then the crows will sew your bones back together by the morning light
And in the dark woods at night, when the lions tear us apart
then the crows will pick our bones clean by the morning light
I'll give you a lift, if you've got a sieve
you can help me sift for gold in the river
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8. |
Turn It Around
03:34
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tried to hitch a ride on my way outta town
ended up walking fifteen miles in the dark
and it wasn't anything you did,
and i'll be comin back again
but when those circles wrap you in, you gotta turn it around
i said oh, you gotta turn it around
no no, don't let it bring ya down
oh, when you hear that sound
then you know it's time to turn it around
i don't know what it was that drove me on
some things you can't explain as simply as a song
but when your bones tell you there's rain,
and you know that something's gotta change
you'd be a fool not to listen to your heart
when it tells you to rise up, gotta get up and go
'cause if ya don't ever then you'll never know
you gotta rise up, gotta get up and go
the padlock to my heart's got a skeleton key
and inside of my mind's an invisible city
you can get lost on the same old street,
or travel miles and not see anything
just let the spirit of the wind come set you free
when it calls you to rise up, gotta get up and go
'cause if ya don't ever then you're never gonna know
you gotta rise up, gotta get up and go
you gotta rise up, gotta get up and go
'cause if ya don't ever then you're never gonna know
you gotta rise up, gotta get up and go
the road will lead you many places
and one of them may be home
the road will lead you many places
and one of them may be home
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Peter Hazen Portland, Maine
Keeper of stories and songs. Blues, rock & folk in the American tradition. Sprouted & grown in New York State, hardened through many lake-effect winters, tempered by several season on the Maine coast, dazzled by the brilliance of nature & the cultures of man, amidst the dizzying phantasmagorical spectacle of life, Peter Hazen cannot help but burst into song! ... more
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