Get all 146 Bill White releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of State of the Heart 4, Human Music, radio art -sightlines, Songs for Kelly, Footprints, Brothers and Sisters, BROTHERS, SISTERS, and 138 more.
1. |
West Coast Cities
02:10
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gonna be leavin these west coast cities
leave these west coast cities behind
gotta get away from these west coast cities
these cities been my life
i was born in seattle washington
now im livin in lima peru
gonna fly across the atlantic
gottia change my point of view
gonna be leavin these west coast cities
aint never gonna come back
theres nothin for me in these west coast cities
blue skies turnin to black
if youre goin san francisco
take the flowers out of your hair
nothin but money and gloomy sundays
no beautiful people there
how to get out of these west coast cities
maybe buy me a ticket to spain
instead of countin russian ships in the pacific ocean
ill be swimmin in the bay of biscay
i got rusty strings and broken wings
im losin faith in all mankind
if i stay any longer in these west coast cities
im bound to be losin my mind
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2. |
Shapes
03:46
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when i awoke one morning
my shape had sorely changed
i went to the confessional
my shape to rearrange
how many prayers must i recite
to receive absolution
i asked father confessor
to reverse my devolution
he stood behind a curtain
and bade me "please come in"
i said, "forgive me father
but it is you who have sinned."
"you must write a dozen songs." he said
without telling a lie"
"i could never do that" i answered
"i refuse to even try"
i cannot change my shape
from this new false back to the true"
we evolve not from what we make
but from everything we do
and the things we take
cannot be taken with us
only the things we give
will remain behind us
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3. |
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you keep hangin on
each to his own
mason to bricks
queen to her throne
why cant you let go
the prejudice and the pride
sit back and enjoy
the rest of the ride
the new blues shall destroy the old blues
while you were sleeping
your kids were awake
finding solutions
to all your mistakes
your revolution
lies dead in the street
when you cannot advance
it is time to retreat
the new blues shall destroy the old blues
your destiny written
on faded tattoos
get out of the way
why do you refuse
if you cant read it
ill tell you the news
the new blues shall destroy the old blues
you keep hangin on
each to his own
mason to bricks
queen to her throne
why cant you let go
the prejudice and the pride
sit back and enjoy
the rest of the ride
the new blues shall destroy the old blues
while you were sleeping
your kids were awake
finding solutions
to all your mistakes
your revolution
lies dead in the street
when you cannot advance
it is time to retreat
the new blues shall destroy the old blues
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4. |
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the old film rolls have been removed from the basement
of the forsaken art house where they languished for years
and have housed these rolls of common memory
in their acceptible position in a museum of history
now i see our rolls of film will never come together on a reel.
there are many who have tried to unlock the frames of yesterday
to see faces of old friends and themselves as they used to be
but the movie of their lives as told in fragile images
is a movie i fear now they will never see
with the old film rolls consigned to history
at least for now and now for us is the edge of eternity
but the time may come when we are revived
and the future looks back to see
who we were and what became
of creatures like you and me
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5. |
The King of Hollywood
04:41
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of all the pretenders to the throne
you were in a class of your own
chuck e you shall always be
the once and future hollywood king
the king of hollywood
the king of hollywood
no one will ever stand where you stood
you will always be the king of hollywood
the streets are filled with wannabees
glamorizing their own private scenes
in their little busted dreams
never know what a crowning really means
the king of hollywood
the king of hollywood
no one will ever stand where you stood
you will always be the king of hollywood
one claims to be the king of sunset strip
another keeps the peace on hollywood and gower
one interviews the starlets in the alpha beta parking lot
another never leaves his ivory tower
when chuck e moves, the world moves with him
from a broom closet at he trop
to a jukebox-playing booth in the greek pastry shop
they can rename the central tavern to the viper room
but those walls will always echo with chucks immortal tunes
the shieks if shake the goddam liars
that little flintstone man is breathing fire
as frank zappa stole his jokes from jeffrey simmons
tom waits took his voice from chuck e weiss
the streets of hollywood are thick with dipshits
like rodney bingenheimer and art fine
when chuck made number one on the charts
it was not as an artist but a title
they put his name in the wrong column
but he was too polite to sue rickie for libel
the king of hollywood
the king of hollywood
no one will ever stand where you stood
you will always be the king of hollywood
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6. |
Mr. One Percent
01:49
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im the boss im the top dog
my money makes the world go round
they call me mr one percent
im the man who elects your presidents
im in the air and on the ground
im a motherfucking hellhound
they call me their prince
but i am the king
imprinting myself into everything
if you dont believe i am real
ill take you for a ride in my fuckmobile
i believe in me and now
i dont believe in why and how
i am not straight i am not bent
i take what i want without consent
all the money you will ever see
has fallen from my family tree
so if you want to buy or sell
you gotta deal with me
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7. |
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8. |
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ingress and regress
progress is progress
business is business
and business is war
approach and reproach
withdraw or encroach
a dance is a dance
romance is romance
in love as in war
the dancers want more
what she had there
was a sweet, simple prayer
what she has here
is bloody with fear
i am drinking sarsparilla
she is dancing with gorillas
regressing, yes
how far back will we go?
when the party ended
the universe had bended
like the knee joints of some knights
from long ago
business is business
and business is war
a dance is a dance
and the dancers want more
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9. |
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V1
they said she was aloof
called her a loner
they said she was outcast
no friends would phone her
they said she was lost
in her own small world
they said nothing good about
that fourth grade girl
C
but she was never lost
in a library
she was always found
deep in a story
and she was never lost
in her dreams and thoughts
she was happily found
in joyful glory
V2
they said she was special
not in a nice way
they said her eyes crossed
from reading all day
they said she was lost
didn’t fit in this world
they said she sure was
an odd little girl
C
but she was never lost
in a library
she was always found
deep in a story
and she was never lost
in her dreams and thoughts
she was happily found
in joyful glory
V3
she’d walk to the library
every day after school
while other girls played Barbies
thought they were cool
she read novels and poetry
essays and biology
books about sex and art
cultures and history
C
as she was never lost
in a library
she was always found
deep in a story
and she was never lost
in her dreams and thoughts
she was happily found
in joyful glory
B
she read her way to success
a happy family and good career
and over fifty years later
she keeps several books near
C
as she was never lost
in a library
she was always found
deep in a story
and she was never lost
in her dreams and thoughts
she was happily found
in joyful glory
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10. |
The Erotics of Healing
03:25
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ambigous feelings
the erotics of healing
pleasure and paina
love and disdain
pieces of shape
arrangement excites
sleep when awake
no sleep tonight
hard to discern
the nature of feeling
sickness confused
in erotics of healing
hands press
on the abdomen
fingers in the wound
the knife is quick
its scarlet path
the crescent of a moon
i still dont know what happened
was i asleep or was it real?
did i die in the lost time moment
or did i step aside to heal
hard to discern
the nature of feeling
sickness confused
in erotics of healing
sometimes its best to acquiesce
sometimes its just a big bloody mess
sometimes fight against it
like cold against heat
or lie like dead,a piece of meat
ready for the carving
and hope the surgeon is not starving
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