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. |
Mistakes We Have Made
04:12
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the treasure of treasures
in lightness arrayed
is the result
of mistakes we have made
all those crazy mornings
spent wandering around
i walked into the city
when the fremont bridge was down
coming home at daylight
after a 20-hour day
getting blown out at the paramount
blowing into my own cliche
my mama died my sister died
im singing in a rock and roll band
trying to write a movie
about a song from another land
you were always on my wavelength
i never tuned you out
didnt know you never understood
what the song was all about
i ride my bike into a car
fly face first into the street
then roll into a basement
dark, and try to catch some sleep
ive got one pair of sneakers
and youve got 50 shoes
half the people in the united states
thinkk willie nelson invented the blues
when you look upon me now
it is with contempt and scorn
but once the certainty of love
ensured a star was born
my hands are tied behind my back
the railroad cars are sealed
the tracks are set in bloody steps
across the sacred fields
i was an outcast of the islands
she was a child of the sea
"this is a crime against nature," the thunder protested
"this love is not meant to be"
Had we been born in ancient times
They might have burned us at the stake
But the greatest gifts from heaven
Come from the mistakes we have made
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2. |
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i believe communism is a good idea
capitalism isnt bad either
its just the way they carve things up
that gives me chills and a fever
some people like it one way
some people like it the other
some women play the part of the patriarch
some men play the part of the mother
some will always vote democrat
even when the candidate is a pig
some vote republican
just because clint eastwood did
some will fly confederate
some wave the stars and stripes
its all just toilet paper
doesnt matter whose ass is being wiped
some people are judged by what they eat
but the good food book announced
it aint what you shove down your throat
but what comes out of your mouth that counts
some will drink off of a plate
some will eat out of a cup
What tastes good to a woman
Might make a man throw up
Some kids believe when Jesus was born
he was visited by 3 unicorns
they believe in superman and pokemon
the lake of fire and waldon pond
kids see the moon in the daytime
and wonder why they cant see the sun at night
if they dont ask the questions
they will get all the answers right
papa believes in mummies mama believes in ghosts
kids believe in everything
theyve seen bread turn into toast
some thing are right before our eyes
other things are hid
but kids believe in everything
i guess im still a kid
kids believe in science and fairy tales too
sometimes the sky is on fire and sometimes it is blue
sometimes they cry because they are sad
but some tears are tears of joy
kids dont fight over politics
kids fight over toys
it more important what you do
than what they say you did
kids believe in everything
thats why im still a kid
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3. |
I Made 100 Today
04:28
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when i was a child
i believed in creation
because the world was a miracle
and i was a miracle too
we had to learn the steps
before we could dance
and we all moved so perfectly
it couldnt have been left up to chance
in what direction
will the dancers
be turning tomorrow?
what tunes will the orchestra play?
to be honest
i dont even think about tomorrow
because im turning 100 today
when i was a teen, i loved racing cars
i thought the planet
on which i was spinning
was lost in the stars
if god existed for us
we did not exist for him
and the odds of getting out of this world alive
are looking pretty thin
when i was a man
i forgot all about god
i had a family to raise
and life was hard
if there ever was a creator,
he must have been a sadist
because he left us ini the rain to rust
after he made us
when people see me, they say i am old
and my race is run
what i have left to do
has already been done
as for the problem of god
i leave it up to te seers
and the saints of tomorrow
who already are on their way here
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4. |
John Ford
03:45
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that desert oasis
was an venus fly trap
we fell right into
the enemys lap
the doc was a drunkard
the sheriff was quiet
some called him earp
but to his friends he was wyatt
you can search for a meaning
on the enlightenment ward
but ill take my chances
out here with john ford
we never meant to kill lincoln
it was a kidnapping plot
the ransom was freedom
for the rebels they had caught
but at the last minute
a decision was made
to shoot the man dead
and to hell with the trade
so take your fistful of dollars
and those morricone chords
ill throw in my lot
out here with john ford
three years ethan wandered
alone on the plain
taking the scalps
of the injuns he'd slain
with a hatred so fierce
he would kill his own kin
had it not been for the love
he had stifled within
there is a depot called hell
where the grapes are stored
the stagecoach aint stopping
because it carrying john ford
after the lights
came up on red river
john said to howard
you made a damn good picture
its no fort apache
but im a little jealous. im fact
i never even suspected
that big dumb bastard could act
its a long voyage home
for the damned and adored
expendible sailors
going down with john ford
from the myths and the movies
and the cheap paper backs
you learn more history
than from history hacks
we were born in the rubble
of an uncivil war
and johnny's not welcome
in his brothers house any more
and when justice prevails
and our sanity restored
ill stand with the indians
along with john ford
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5. |
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some say the ghost of gypsy rose
still haunts the trampled lawn
in between the wind and trees
a forlorn song is sung
the panes on these old windows
have been shattered by election
and glassless windows cast
the most terrible reflections
as a child i was raised
in this house on haunted hill
renting rooms to killers on parole
who worked at the sawmill
and in our thirteen dusty rooms
lost souls were resurrected
where glassless windows cast
the most terrible reflections
13 faces at the table
13 jailbirds on the wire
13 colonial cables
13 skeletons in the fire
the old house is still standing
but is buried deep in sand
there might have been a landslide
but there was no sliding land
a rain of sand fell from above
with no sense of direction
and glassless windows cast
the most terrible reflections
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6. |
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one more charade
another act
scrapbook of
artifacts
one more story
another lie
fiction filled
alibis
false loves true crimes
tears flush out open eyes
false loves true crimes
hearts bleed out..
bleed out in time
one more insult
another look
trails of
grappling hooks
one more stifle
another sigh
tactics that
crucify
false loves true crimes
tears flush out open eyes
false loves true crimes
hearts bleed out..
bleed out in time
your
artifacts
alibis
grappling hooks
crucify…
crucify us
false loves true crimes
tears flush out open eyes
false loves true crimes
hearts bleed out..
bleed out in time
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7. |
She Died in His Arms
02:56
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she died in his arms
he will never forget it
but she was my girl
he knew it
and will always know it
i had no right to her love
but i had it just the same
although she carried my child
she bore another mans name
i was a ghost at her window
a shadow on her balcony
her last words were, "Billy,
why didnt you marry me?"
she gave me her innocence
when she was yet a flower
we met in secret every night
at the midnight hour
one morn i set out for London
my fortune for to find
when i returned my darling lass
was no longer mine
her wedding was no secret
by her father it was decreed
she begged him let it not be so
in the end she did concede
and accepted a man she did not love
to be her husband true
her hatred for him was sanctified
her love for me taboo
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8. |
Edgard Guillen
04:21
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9. |
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clouds as white as feathers
above two gliding swans
even now are drifting
to sea, where love has gone
our lake, once placid
as a smile
prosecutes
a lovers' trial
with words,
hateful and harsh.
two sides
of a reedy marsh
they strip away eternal vows
our dreams take flight
like swans in the clouds
and down below, a rupture long and loud
blows ashes high to hide
the swan and the clouds
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10. |
The Ancient Songs
02:16
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only now i realize
what i tried to do was wrong
the ancient ones are the only ones
who can sing the ancient songs
man in a wheelchair autoharp in his lap
melodies running in and out of every hole in his body
like snakes
kid turns to his mom and says hes good
mom says he should be
hes been singing the same song for 50 years
without taking any breaks
he stole a melody and wrote a poem
he stole the poem as well
what he lacked in eruditon
he made up for in tradition
where every mothers story was his to tell
so yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
look out baby, here i come
to put a new beat on your rowdy dow dow
and break every bell in the tower
and if people believed
that his songs were the best songs
they were only best
because they were so old
fame is the last reward of the pirate
the sailor who hides his treasure
keeps his gold
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