1. |
For Isabella, March 1990
01:23
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2. |
Scenes from an Art Heist
03:07
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Shards of glass litter the floor
A table turned to block the door
A single shred of canvas left to find
Wrists tied to a drainpipe
Mouths taped so they won’t snipe
The tortured work of art you left behind
I’ve no idea, but I wonder
Cos the money ain’t much at all
You’re painted on the TV screens
And we’re waiting for the fall
Thomas Crown or Dr. No?
A charcoal sketch don’t really show
If it’s dollar signs or daggers inside your head
Now every paper and magazine
Cops and agents and in between
Left to wonder where you’ve gone or if you’re dead
I’ve no idea, but I wonder
Cos the money ain’t much at all
You’re painted on the TV screens
And we’re waiting for the fall
I’ve no idea, but I wonder
It can’t be this hard to survive
I’ve no idea, but I wonder
Did the loneliness eat you alive?
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3. |
Coffee and Art
02:52
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I can’t sleep, though the coffee’s faded
My swimming heart after years being jaded
So long wounded without being aided
It’s the world to me
It somehow feels like an accident
Or some little detail I failed to represent
But no one here’s asking me to repent
It’s the world to me
It’s the world to me
It’s the world to me
I’m so lost for words
An embrace and a kiss, and a lurch forward
Its the little details I try to recreate
The painting and her perfume
I think of while I lie awake
Until today, I had lost my faith
Walking the earth just like a wraith
Out of the sun and playing it safe
It’s the world to me
It’s the world to me
It’s the world to me
It’s the world to me
It’s the world to me
Counting the days
Counting the hours
Counting the days
Counting the hours
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4. |
Jenny
04:06
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I used to fall asleep thinking of the time we’d spend
My only daughter at the museum or the toy store on Main
Now Jenny all I think about are your trembling lips
And the tears that poured down your cheeks like Seattle rain
Your mother and I tried to spare you the best that we could
From the damage that only a rental truck can do
And your supernova smile it dimmed by the second
When that UHAUL hauled me away from you
I used to revel in all of the time that we’d share
Skipping down the corridors to gawk at plaster and paint
But wild horses couldn’t tear you away from all of the anger
Even though you held your mother up just like a saint
And time went by without a word or a call or a mention
Empty Christmases, holidays and birthdays, I’d wait
Every day, and every week would bring another rejection
Every year spent searching for another way
Jenny what will it take?
To ease this heartbreak
I don’t have much more to wait
Before I’ll meet my fate
Each day my memory fades
And retreats to the shade
If I could steal one embrace
Or just one look at your face
Tell me what could I give
That would be enough to forgive?
That favorite painting of ours
Would that get rid of the scars?
In the morning you’ll find
A canvas wrapped up in twine
I stole it clean in the night
To be all yours by first light
I hope and pray this painting finds a space above your mantle
And your father finally earns a lasting place in your heart
Remember me by the scurried script I left on the canvas
Some final words to comfort you though we’re forever apart
“Hey Jenny, my love
Hey Jenny, my love
Hey Jenny, my love is always here for you
Hey Jenny, my love
Hey Jenny, my love
Hey Jenny, my love will always see you through”
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5. |
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Its a lonely afternoon
Such a lonely afternoon
The offices full, and the laughter is flowing
But nobody else here is dying not knowing
Man I feel alone
One o clock meeting and the heats at full blast
If only I could ditch this suit and tie fast
The chill outside will help me dry up the sweat
Hopefully while walking home, far from the Met
All on my own
All of it would be ok if Ivan would call
And tell me that he ripped the Monet clean off the wall
And placed it nice and gently in the center of my hall
All of it would be ok if Ivan would call
And tell me that he ripped the Monet clean off the wall
And slipped away all on his own into the fall
It’s a lonely afternoon
Such a lonely afternoon
The autumn leaves turning, and the wind at full blast
But nobody else here is walking this fast
Man I feel alone
Three o clock moving calmly but quick
Is everyone but me so ridiculously thick?
Ivan got roughed up once his cover was blown
It’s always so much easier to do this alone
Do it all on your own
I wouldn’t be here if Ivan had called
And told me that he ripped the Monet clean off the wall
And placed it nice and gently in the center of my hall
I wouldn’t be here if Ivan had called
And told me that he ripped the Monet clean off the wall
And slipped away all on his own into the fall
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6. |
Cat / Mouse
02:49
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A porcelain black calling card
He’s a professional
He knows how to savage every inch of my pride
A porcelain black calling card
He’s a professional
He knows how to savage every inch of my pride
But tonight belongs to me
The longest running game of cat and mouse you’ll ever see
And the little bird caught in between
The longest running game of cat and mouse the world’s ever seen
And the little bird, and the little bird
I’ll set the beams, and the heat seeking lenses
I want your A game out on display
I’ll set the beams, and the heat seeking lenses
I want your A game out on display
The longest running game of cat and mouse you’ve ever seen
And the little bird caught in between
The longest running game of cat and mouse the world’s ever seen
And the little bird, and the little bird
Tonight belongs to me
Tonight belongs to me
When the last guest leaves for the night
All the floods will be burning bright
Cmon, steal it now, steal it now, steal it now, steal it now
When the last guest leaves for the night
All the floods will be burning bright
Cmon, steal it now, steal it now, steal it now, steal it now
Is that your shadow up there on the ceiling?
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7. |
Hey Little Bird
03:29
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Hey little bird
Such a gilded cage
A lovely artifact
From a different age
Would you like to see
What your wings can do
In another hemisphere
What you always knew
I’ll keep you safe
I’ll keep you free
You’ll keep me warm
Fly away with me
Come fly away with me
Fly away with me
Let’s fly away
Fly away
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8. |
The Day I Die
02:50
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No longer lovers
No longer friends
I thought you’d be with me until the very end
The tears are burning, and the world’s cold
I thought our story’d be the greatest every told
Pray to the heavens and kneel on the floor
What would it take for you to walk right through that door?
I’d beg and borrow, I’d steal and lie
I’d write a thousand sonnets long into the night
My heart is yours until the very day I die
My heart is yours until the very day I die
I’d scale a mountain, or museum walls
No height too great for me and no fear that I’d fall
I’d sprint down the marble halls just to break a sweat
Anything to feel the heights I felt when we first met
A touch of lavender and a blush of blue
Those swirls and strokes of paint that clearly meant so much to you
A quick tug off the wall, cold brass in hand
It’s the only way I can make you understand
My heart is yours until the very day I die
My heart is yours until the very day I die
Counting the days
Counting the hours
Counting the days
’Til I see you again
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9. |
Portrait of a Smuggler
03:54
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Mallorca in the early spring
A villa bought and paid for by an art theft ring
A younger man would be so thrilled
And truth be told, they’d probably get killed
A warm wind lilting through the shade
A hand running through hair that’s since thoroughly grayed
I’m the portrait of a smuggler, bored
Servicing rich men who just like to hoard
I need a way out now before my brain turns brown
I need a way out now before my sanity drowns
I need to get out long before the breakdown
Munich in the middle fall
I’m trying my best to avoid their every call
But my pager doesn’t know how not to ring
They stole a Dutch girl but can’t move that thing
There’s forgers sitting in my den
Working hard on a new name or ten
A license, passport, and some cash
Ready to turn this life into ash
I need a way out now before my brain turns brown
I need a way out now before my sanity drowns
I need to get out long before the breakdown
When I was very young
I dreamed of laying in the sun
With nothing on my brain
Except if or when it’s going to rain
And this life that I’ve designed
Dead to the world I left behind
The irony has struck a chord
I’m the portrait of an ex-smuggler, bored
I need a way out now before my brain turns brown
I need a way out now before my sanity drowns
I need to get out long before the breakdown
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10. |
Ghost in the Cityscape
05:00
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Five weeks out of prison
I tried to write you a song
Bursting with major fourths
And seven or eight verses long
The next day I just threw it out
The words didn’t sit quite right
After the last thing you said on the courthouse steps
Echoed in my head all throughout the night
Five months out of prison
I tried to paint a portrait of you
It was full of color, full of light
Porcelain and auburn hues
The next week I just shredded the canvas
You see I’m all in my head
Are your eyes green or are they blue?
When I last saw you they were red
You’re my ghost in the cityscape
Always haunting me
Even here on the outside
I'm never quite free
Five years out of prison
I finally wrote you a song
This is what I came up with
Not sure what took me so long
Somehow I doubt that you’ll hear it
It’s really just for me
When the melody bursts and escapes my throat
Then I’m finally free, now I’m finally free
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11. |
Frames
01:45
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Woke up this morning, battered and thrown to the floor
Ivan broke through her defenses and tore her away
Woke up in mourning, bits and pieces and an eye to the door
Ivan will grow tired of her, and we’ll be back together some day
Won’t you sing me a midnight lullaby
Under the gold and white security light
And tell me I’m not alone in this world?
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The Eighty Six Seas Brooklyn, New York
The Eighty Six Seas is the moniker of Nick Stevens, a Brooklyn-based artist who weaves a tapestry of indie rock, indie pop, indie folk and folktronica into a sound all his own. Decorated with sweeping strings and poetic stories, it’s a sound shaped by influences as wide-ranging as The National, Frightened Rabbit, New Order, Belle and Sebastian, David Byrne, The Mountain Goats and Bon Iver. ... more
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