Get all 7 The Pinkerton Raid releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Winter Songs by Other People, "Wiggins Special (Freedom Ain't Free)", The Highway Moves the World, WHERE THE WILDEST SPIRITS FLY, Tolerance Ends, Love Begins, A Beautiful World, and The Pinkerton Raid.
1. |
Basement Tapes
04:37
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194 West Rosemont in a cold New Hampshire town
I came in from Ohio, I'd been away too long
My little brother's playing the guitar
Keeping up with the old man
I bought myself a four-string bass, so I could join the band
The rain's a running down the walls, the harmonies a rising flood
Them basement tapes, the songs of sorrow
We live and breathe, the band plays on
194 West Rosemont in a cold New Hampshire town
Mom and dad been fighting again, just like they always have
My little brother finds the old man's truth
In the floorboards in the strings
So many way to dull the pain, but daddy keeps on singing
194 West Rosemont, we left you way back when
The fighting's never left us though, we're taking punches still
You face the music long enough, you learn to juke and jive
There ain't no peace as long as you think fighting's being alive
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2. |
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I am 27 years old, my baby's almost four
You meet us in the labor ward, 3,000 miles from home
You still wash my sister's clothes, my brother needs to learn to shave
You've got five babies of your own, with mine we seven make
Mass Pike, the G-dub Bridge, the Jersey tolls, the Chesapeake
South of the Border in the sun, Bradenton to Chapel Hill
You take the long way round about; geography's a magic art
The highway makes a home for us, the highway moves the world
Your mom and dad in Florida; your brother, sister Boston town
You leave your friends and bring the rest
My brothers, sisters all your best
You convalesce our broken home, my babies miss their mother
You hold 'em close into your heart, and that's where they find home
For us, you move the great, big world
For love, you move the great, big world
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3. |
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They named that child for a tree that flies
with the fairies of the woods
Long fingers waltz like magic batons,
tiptoes tappin’, roots in dirt old as earth
Rowan flies above the door. Rowan, child, you guard our joy
Rowan flies above the door. Rowan, child, you guard … us
We’re lost out here, child. We wander the miles.
Wicked riddles bewitch us.
Your sister the rose lays her thorns in the road,
but the sun laughs, bright, when you light up the sky
The roots are strong in this holy-rollin’ grove,
down in the soil where they cling to one another
The rowan tree fell, blood rain from the sky;
mountain kings, winter deities keep hold
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4. |
In Your Eyes
03:16
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I spy you in my eyes
Your face, my face, they never lie
Mirror, mirror, I can't hide
Your unmistakeable almond eyes
You look familiar
I spy me in your eyes
In snapshots of love and flashes of light
Your face chiseled in marble white
My old age in your almond eyes
I spy you in their eyes
We dance together in jagged lines
It's rough and tumble, big hearts collide
Misaligned minds behind their eyes
In your eyes, the world was beautiful
When you'd dance, your feet were beautiful
When you'd paint, the world was beautiful
In your mind, the world was beautiful
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5. |
Au Cheval
02:25
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He says, 'boys, it's time to take a shot.'
'Tick tock, goes the cosmic clock.'
You only live, only love,
only live what what you want
Breathe deep, the air intoxicates
Take it by the bottle
Flip a nickel, double down
Cash the chips, scatter gold
Suck the marrow from the bones
At Jack's black deck, he won't leave a dime
He'll take the hit, he's too bold for the grind
The risk's a rush, the thrill's a ride
He'll raise the stakes, he'll roll the dice
Take it by the bottle
Flip a nickel, double down
Cash the chips, scatter gold
Suck the marrow from the bones
Take it au cheval
Flip a nickel, double down
Cash the chips, scatter gold
Suck the marrow from the bones
au cheval, au cheval
a vaincre sans peril
un triomphe sans gloire
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6. |
Sometimes, Brothers
03:25
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You're my brother, and sometimes brothers
can only watch from far away
Hello, my brother, we wandered far from home
The roads divided, you wandered on your own
My brother, are you taking care?
My eyes can't see the light out there
Hello, where are you? Will you find yourself a home?
Hello, my brother, your baby has a brother now
Two surprises, your firstborn has a sister too
They're so very far from home
Their family, they may never know
My dear brother, does the distance feel like home?
I know, my brother, you've been pining for a home
Since the days when we were boys
who thought a wife could make us grown
But I've had one, and I've had two
And I'm telling you the truth
You've found a wife, you've found a home
when there's nothing left to prove
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7. |
Blood in My Eyes
04:13
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Oh sister, I am down on my knees
And my head is spinning 'round
I took a punch, somebody beat me real bad
Who was that man, and where's he gone?
Oh brother, I am down on my knees
You're with me here on the ground
When we were kids, you'd trip, you fall on me
But would you kick me when I was down?
I wanna hit somebody
But I can't see clear for the blood in my eyes
I wanna hurt somebody
But I can't see clear for the blood in my eyes
Oh my brother, did you see just where
The road we rode turned so wrong?
I check the rear-view mirror, my friend
And just one thing's clear, you're gone
You went your way, I went mine
Now I walk along, alone
Maybe, my brother, you see why
But my bloody eyes just don't
I wanna hate somebody
But I can't see clear for the blood in my eyes
wanna forgive somebody
But I can't see clear for the blood in my eyes
Would you come back and wipe my face
And wash the blood away?
Help me see you through clear eyes
Like when we had brighter days
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8. |
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Mama broke the rich man's heart, for the guitar-slinging boy
With the curly hair and the hippie beard and the hustle on the side
Her daddy said, 'Be careful, child.' But she did not heed his word
The kingpins came with guns afire and a baby in her arms
You know, mama, she's a rebel. And rebels always trade
one hipshot-shooting showman for the next
She said, "So long, Father Anthony,
I gotta find myself a preacher man.
Cuz I don't need no haloed saint to pray me into heaven'
The preacher man wore power suits
He drove a Corvette painted white
The maidens, wives and concubines all paid their widow's mites
You know, mama, she's a rebel. And rebels always trade
one hipshot-shooting showman for the next
Mama heals the hurting ones, making room for everyone
But when it's time to pay the taxman,
She says, 'Taxman, leave us be.'
She speaks up for the billionaires, sets fire to the deal we made
You want a revolution, well, mama, take it slow
You know, mama, she's a rebel. And rebels always trade
one hipshot-shooting showman for the next
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9. |
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Who's the one to keep you safe?
From what you don't know you don't know?
I know you know; you're the knowing girl
I know you know that this glowing world
is a shine put on synthetic pearls
The good old boys, the princes, the kings
they pass the scepters, kiss the rings
They wanna put one on your calloused finger
but your fist is raised, your fist is raised
You sing, "No, no, not if the boys will be boys."
Mama's truth, you should never hear
You knew the pain before you could feel it
Regret's a shield, but regret will deceive you
And you could lose her memories
Keep singing, "No, no, not if the boys will be boys."
You can love who you wanna love
And you can love no one at all
But, darlin', love, love, it's all we've got
And trust is the life worth living
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10. |
Cinnamon Sweet
03:27
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Ooh, she’s the cinnamon sweet
Lips of fury, her tongue is a flame
Ooh, she’s the cinnamon heat
She ain’t no fainting flower for hearts that faint
Walk down the street, lady catch your eye
Say so, son, you’re gonna catch her fire
The sun will burn, you stare too long
She’s fireball taffy, she’s light-speed sunlight
Her star’s ablaze, glows red with light
Better play the man born speechless, blind
Her curves are not for your caress
Eyes up, my friend, you know how this ends
I’ve tasted love, and I learned to wait
The time is right at the end of days
When words are warm and kindness heats
Just let it boil and let it steep
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11. |
Lisbet Cries
02:55
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The child's crying for her mama, it's a story old as time
Dear sister keeps on carrying on, from sunrise till the morning light
I walked her to the schoolbus in the thousand mile dew
She held my hand, we cried goodbye, a child I hardly knew
Lisbet cries for mama's arms and mama's arms can't reach
Around the world, to brace the tattered seams
The child's crying for her mama, it's a story old as time
Dear sister, grown, she holds back the tears
while mama feeds her broken child
She needs someone to care for her, old Johnny breaks her down
She don't leave home without a happy face
She's paid to smile, by the hour
Lisbet, Lisbet, she's got no child. She's got no child at home
She tells them stories, hears their own, listens for what no one knows
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12. |
Dream the Sun
02:58
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You were born in winter, with months of Sundays left in dark.
How far could new eyes see? To dream the light in icy fog?
Beware the ides of February, stinging fingers cling through spring.
A baby knows no cold; her mother's arms a fever dream.
Dream brighter. Dream brighter.
Dream the sun before it rises.
Dream, the sun will rise.
You sing our sweetest dreams, the oohs and ahs for all our songs.
It's time to sing your own. It's time to dream your own.
Dream brighter. Dream brighter.
Dream the sun before it rises.
Dream, the sun will rise.
You set places for everyone, no celebration left undone.
You make the plans, call forth the crowd,
now sip your wine in quiet love
Dream quieter. Dream quieter.
Dream the sun before it rises.
Dream, the sun will rise.
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13. |
Merseybeat
03:59
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A calf was born, named Daffodil
Across the Dee she sees St. David's Hills
Sir Walter sent his Yankee son
The Wirral rhythms took him home
That Merseybeat, a ballad slow
For memories and growing old
In the church they mourn poor Eleanor
And Gerry sings, 'don't walk alone'
Old Ismay's sandstone tower stands
Old Ismay's titan fell below
The Kendricks work the noble soil
They sing and dance like wild roses
The lads and ladies dressed in white
They cross the hundred in midday light
They promise, join their houses' line
To dance in step, in truest time
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The Pinkerton Raid Durham, North Carolina
"Radiant"
- American Songwriter
"Anthemic" -
americanaUK
"You won't be able to stop humming." - No Depression
“The garage rock swagger of the White Stripes and the irritated kick of Cage The Elephant.” — GLIDE MAGAZINE
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