1. |
American Slang
03:41
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Look what you started,
I seem to be coming out of my skin.
Look what you've forgotten here.
The bandages just don't keep me in.
And when it was over, I woke up alone.
And when it was over, I woke up alone.
And they cut me to ribbons and taught me to drive.
I got your name tattooed inside of my arm.
I called for my father but my father had died.
While you told me fortunes, in American Slang.
Look at the damage,
The fortunes came for the richer men.
While we're left with gallows,
Waiting for us liars to come down and hang.
And when it was over, I woke up alone.
And when it was over, I woke up alone.
And they cut me to ribbons and taught me to drive.
I got your name tattooed inside of my arm.
I called for my father but my father had died.
While you told me fortunes, in American Slang.
And here's where we died that time last year,
And here's where the angels and devils meet.
And you can dance with the queen if you need,
And she will always keep your cards close to her heart.
Before they tear you apart.
And they cut me to ribbons and taught me to drive.
I got your name tattooed inside of my arm.
I called for my father but my father had died.
We called for our fathers but our fathers had died.
While you told me fortunes, in American Slang.
While you told me fortunes, in American Slang.
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2. |
Stay Lucky
03:08
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It took so long to get me back on my feet
It takes so long to find the words and the beat
And Charlie's waiting on the end of the phone
To hear you call on him to try to recapture
But them old records won't be saving your soul
And them feelings died for reasons you know
That you've forgotten somewhere riding a train
To place you bought out in BaCoCa
And it feels like all you'd have to do is step outside
Stop pacing around and waiting for some moment
That might never arrive
But you're never gonna find it
Like when you were young
And everybody used to call you lucky
Nothing feels right in the wintery cold
Steam, heat, clang, and the dark at your door
All the other rooms are a party tonight
And you never got an invitation
And you feel it in your bones Steady aching some more
Twenty five years gone just an hour ago
Momma never told me there'd be days like these
Until it was much too late to recover
And it feels like all you'd have to do is step outside
Stop pacing around and waiting for some moment
That might never arrive
But you're never gonna find it
When your knees got so weak
But it's right here in case you need it
Like when you were young
And everybody used to call you lucky
When you were young
And everybody used to call you lucky
But it feels like you just might explode inside
You've been pacing around and waiting
For some moment that might never arrive at all
What you don't have, you don't need it anymore
What you don't have, you don't need it anymore
But you're never gonna find it
When your knees got so weak
And it's right here in case you need it
Like when you were young
And everybody used to call you lucky
When you were young
And everybody used to call you lucky
If you're anywhere in Manhattan
In the next eight days or so
Let me know
Speak soon, stay lucky.
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3. |
Bring It On
03:26
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My Queen of the Bronx
Blue eyes and spitfire
I saw you walking back and forth
About another boy
Thinking that you may want to leave
So give me the fevers that just won't break
And give me the children you don't wanna raise
And tell me about the cool he sings you in those songs
If it's better than my love
Then bring it on
And take it back out to the streets
Where you know you used to be
For the Romeos uptown
If I bring you down
And you're tired of those vows
And you're really walking out
And give me the fevers that just won't break
And give me the children you don't wanna raise
And tell me about the cool he sings you in those songs
If it's better than my love
Baby bring it on
Oh bring it on
Stop clicking your red heels and wishing for home
I'm hearing that he tells you he can read your palms
Is he better than my love? (better than my love?)
Is he better than my love? (better than my love?)
So I found the letters with the reasons,
Two things you been feeling that he says they'll never know
And you say the night just got too cold
Well everybody's cold
Who's gonna keep my baby warm (who's gonna keep my baby warm)
When everybody goes?
So give me the fevers that just won't break
And give me the children you don't wanna raise
And tell me about the cool he sings you in those songs
If it's better than my love
Well then wait a minute, wait a minute
(Wasn't I good to you?)
Wait a minute, wait a minute
(Wasn't I good to you?)
Wait a minute, wait a minute
(You don't know what's good for you)
So give me the fevers that just won't break
And give me the children you don't wanna raise
And tell me about the cool he sings you in those songs
You've been my baby for so long
Come on, bring it on
Oh bring it on
Stop clicking your red heels and wishing for home
I'm hearing that he tells you he can read your palms
If he's better than my love (better than my love)
If he's better than my love (better than my love)
If he's better than my love (better than my love)
Then go on, take it all.
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4. |
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Now the lights go low on the avenue
And the cars pass by in the rain
University boys and the girls fill the bars
While I'm just waiting on the light to change
And the steam heat pours from the bodies on the floor
Down in the basement where the Jacknives play
For the hub city girls in the ribbons and the curls
Who know the meaning of staying out late
The know the meaning of staying out very, very late
Singing, who does it better than we do?
Than them sopranos in Andy Diamond's choir?
Woah, nobody knows
I've been crazy for so long without you
They'll find me beat down out in the universe
Though I'll never forget where I'm from
I might have moved away from home
And slept out there on my own
A million miles away in the storm
But the beat never leaves
And the tempo's a relief
I took my aching bones rambling all over
And if I'm gone for too long
I can always hum along
So don't you never forget what I told you
So don't you never forget what I told you
Everybody singing, who does it better than we do?
Than them sopranos in Andy Diamond's choir?
Woah, nobody knows
I've been crazy for so long without you
And just, baby who sings the rhythm and the blues
So sad, so slow
Like I do, like I do
And oh, ain't it just like you want to
And oh, ain't it just like you always wanted to
Every night waiting
So long without you
But baby, who sings it better than we do?
Than them sopranos in Andy Diamond's choir?
Woah, nobody knows
I've been crazy for so long without you
Just, baby who sings the rhythm and the blues
So sad, so slow
Like I do
And just like you want to
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5. |
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Did you grow up lonesome and one of a kind?
Were your records all you had to pass the time?
Or maybe you were taken by the mystery of New Orleans?
Or the uptight, rowdy girls in Lower Chelsea?
And we hustled in London but we live in the city
And we keep it down while we take a beating
Yeah, we keep it down with the radio on
And if you found a good man, don't take him home
When you're working full-time
And spending all of your nights, never dancing like you did
And the gravity hangs on all the selling points you had,
Should've stayed and been the Queen of Lower Chelsea
Did you grow up a good girl,
Your daddy's pride?
Did you make all the right moves,
Take all the right drugs, right on time?
American girls, they want the whole world
They want every last little light in New York City
But we hustled in London and we're fast asleep
And we keep it down when we take a beating
Yeah, we keep it down with the radio on
And if you've found a good man, don't take him home
When you're working full-time
And spending all of your nights, never dancing like you did
And the gravity hangs on all the selling points you had,
You should've stayed and been the Queen of Lower Chelsea
Where they say these days,
Nothing comes cheap
And everything has a price
Everyone has a price
Now nothing is free
Not even me
When you're working full-time
And spending all of your nights, never dancing like you did
When the gravity hangs on all the selling points you had,
You should've stayed and been the Queen
When you're working full-time
And spending all of your nights, never dancing like you used to
And the gravity hangs on all the selling points you had,
You should've stayed and been the Queen of Lower Chelsea
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6. |
Orphans
03:23
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Goodbye circus wheel
May you rest along the sea
I have given you the fire of my youth
And the triumph o're my enemies
Goodbye fair weather home, and your faithless factories
I have given you the blood and the truth
from the wounds they laid onto me
And whatever they left, well, I kept it for my own heart
And the lonesome all understand
With the choirs in my head
And we were orphans before
We were ever the sons of regret
My baby
And on and on and on
the alphabet boys carry on
We were orphans before
We were ever the sons of these songs
And now my lights, they never go down
they waltz the moon and stars for me now
So you can find some local libertine
to take your daughters out on the town
And I can feel it in my aging bones
How the sound of the rain mixes up
into the fountains where I drank my hero's blood
So I left you to find my very own hat full of rain
And the lonesome all understand
With the choirs in my head
And we were orphans before
We were ever the sons of regret
My baby
And on and on and on
the alphabet boys carry on
We were orphans before
We were ever the sons of these songs
Now I'm trying to keep it straight
Learning all the streets and the alleyways
And learning where they lead
Now that I'm left alone here to drive
But it's so hard to stand on your own
Against mirror of glass, hard and cold
But the clothes I wore
Just don't fit my soul anymore
No the clothes I wore
Just don't fit my soul anymore
And the lonesome all understand
With the choirs in my head
And we were orphans before
We were ever the sons of regret
My baby
And on and on and on
the alphabet boys carry on
We were orphans before
We were ever the sons of these songs
When we were young
We were diamond Sinatras
Like something I saw in a dream
We kept our secrets in rooms
locked up tight like a tomb
Where the ballerinas lay
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7. |
Boxer
02:46
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Boxer
You got your pride and your prose tucked just like a Tommy Gun,
Somewhere in the smoke just in case you need it.
I know you got your pride and your prose
Tucked just like a Tommy Gun
Somewhere in the smoke, just in case you need it.
I heard its been a ride, rougher than the last one.
Once you used to say the harder they come.
And he says he's praying for a good time.
And he says he just doesn't miss her.
And I know you never really loose it, do ya? Well do ya?
You took it all gracefully on the chin,
Knowing that the beatings had to some day end.
and you found the bandages in side the pen,
And stitches on the radio.
And there was something heavy holding you down,
And whispers that were driving you crazy.
And now you haunt the heart of this town,
I remember when I knew a boxer baby.
And your tattooed knuckles, oh, how they grind down.
Try to be a man, tough just like your father.
Try to settle down, boy I could calm down.
Remember them songs and the the reasons we were singing for.
But he says, he just doesn't miss her.
And he, he says it's somewhere in his frame work.
And I know you never really loose it, do ya? Do ya?
You took it all gracefully on the chin,
Knowing that the beatings had to some day end.
and you found the bandages in side the pen,
And stitches on the radio.
And there was something heavy holding you down,
And reasons that were driving you crazy.
And now you haunt the heart of this town,
I remember when I knew a boxer baby.
And you can wait all night long, until it all goes wrong
And you waste away your soul, until you can't wait, wait, wait...
You took it all gracefully on the chin,
Knowing that the beatings had to some day end.
and you found the bandages in side the pen,
And stitches on the radio.
And there was something heavy holding you down,
And reasons that were driving you crazy.
And now you haunt the heart of this town,
I remember when I knew a boxer baby.
I remember when I knew a boxer baby.
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8. |
Old Haunts
03:29
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A cherry bomb, you are a mystery
Exploded, sparkling quiet nights
My teenage heart packed all my misery, baby
To fingertips that might ignite
And all along you knew my story, didn't you
And all night long I carried yours
Your blood was mixed wine and robbery, baby
And left us always wanting more
So don't sing me your songs about the good times
Those days are gone and you should just let them go
And God help the man who says
If you'd have known me when
Old haunts are for forgotten ghosts
Old haunts are for forgotten ghosts
Cherry bomb, your love is surgery
Removing what you don't regard
And every breath felt like a funeral, baby
While you were packing up your car
And with the window down
I hear your tired mouth
You borrowed everything
And wore all your old welcomes out
And shame on you, my love
You sold your youth away
Memories are sinking ships
That never would be saved
So don't sing me your songs about the good times
Those days are gone and you should just let them go
And God help the man who says
If you'd have known me when
Old haunts are for forgotten ghosts
Old haunts are for forgotten ghosts
And shame, shame, shame, shame on you
You kept your mind and heart and youth
Just like a tomb
And shame, shame, shame, shame on you
You kept your mind and heart and youth
Just like a tomb
And don't sing me your songs about the good times
Those days are gone and you should just let them go
So God help the man who says
If you'd have known me when
Old haunts are for all those ghosts
And don't sing me your songs about the good times
Those days are gone and you should just let them go
And God help the man who says
If you'd have known me when
God help the man who says
If you'd have known me when
God help this man who says
My baby, if you'd have known me when
Old haunts are all we've ever known
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9. |
The Spirit of Jazz
03:13
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The cool is dead, baby go on and sleep
Rest your weary head and lover, bury me
And in the morning we'll start over again
That's how they do it up on the screen
See, me and my baby, we would dance all night
But I don't know the steps in my baby's time
To do it like they do it for the girls uptown
I heard they light them up like the blues
So I'm waiting (So I'm waiting)
And she's waiting (And she's waiting)
For us to remember
Was I good to you, the wife of my youth
Not another soul could love you
Like my rotten bones do
So I will wait on the edges in between
These New York streets
Where you and I would meet
For twenty nine years we loved that line
And I would take it easy if I had your mind
But I'm a cannonball to a house on fire
And you're slow like Motown soul
So what now lover with your long black hair
If I cut you open, baby I can repair
And bandage your wounds with the salt on my tongue
And I'm the only one round here
And I'm waiting (And I'm waiting)
And she's waiting (And she's waiting)
For us to remember
So was I good to you, the wife of my youth
Not another soul could love you
Like my rotten bones do
So I will wait on the edges in between
These New York streets
Where you and I would meet
And only I can heal your wounds
Only I can heal your wounds
When you can't go on
When you can't go on
When you can't go on
Any more, hold on
Was I good to you, the wife of my youth
Not another soul could love you
Like my
Was I good to you, the wife of my youth
Not another soul could love you
Like my rotten bones do
So I will wait on the edges in between
And I will wait on the edges in between
And I will wait on the edges in between
These New York streets
On all these New York streets
Where you and I would meet
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10. |
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Don't write me no more letters
My mailbox is full of bombs
Between you and the Cookes on my block
I don't remember the good times
I wasn't there and you were kind
And my wife has some dogs in our yard
And I cannot hold a candle for every pretty gun
We were strangers many hours
And I missed you for so long
When we were lions, lovers in combat
Faded like your name on those jeans that I burned
But I am older now
And we did it when we were young
I am older now
And we did it when we were young
There are no reasons to believe
I buried my faith in another plot
Where your heart and your claws
Will not find
And I don't feel you or recall
I'll put your bones out in the yard
For someone else to be called and caught by
And I cannot hold a candle for every pretty gun
We were strangers many hours
And I missed you for so long
When we were lions, lovers in combat
Faded like your name on those jeans that I burned
But I am older now
And we did it when we were young
I am older now
And we did it when we were young
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The Gaslight Anthem New Brunswick, New Jersey
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