We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

The Summer We All Bought Guns

by Kevin Dixon

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. Paying supporters also get unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app.
    Purchasable with gift card

      name your price

     

1.
You get stupid when the stars align. We get even dumber when we step outside. What else do you think that we're trying to do, aside from lay down in the street to just die for you? It's been great. Thanks for playing. No whammies! Yeah the secret is it's all how you lie. You can turn it into whatever you like. Please read the chaos buried deep in the chyron. It's a conspiracy to keep the TV on, and the kick of the rays hits more guts than brains. I learned it from a rerun of Star Wars. All you ever really gotta do is just use force to obtain more gold for your chain. It ain't only one time a year this applies to, so if someone like me is a concern to you, take that get up and go and fill it with holes. May every comment to which you reply upon settle every little beef here to Taiwan, and in between we'll so gallantly stream it. You sure get stupid when the stars align. We get so much dumber when we step outside. While the insanity repeats in the chyron. A conspiracy to keep the TV on. Another way to fuck with your brain. Every channel that you subscribe to, will burrow its way deep inside you. Any day, this could change. I sure hope that it does. For everyone's sake.
2.
Something tells me that this beat's no good. Your neighbor says he's gonna call the cops. You'll probably never find when Waldo is, so drop it like it's hot. If only for the reason that it's not. Close the windows, lock the doors. Here comes a storm that's looking for a fight. It could be nothing but you might have to flip a bitch. If only for the reason that it might. They're coming but you just ain't ready. You're sick of running but your feet won't stop. My my- Ain't it funny how we keep forgetting? Your brand of wow is just another can of chow to slop. The fun it comes in dribbles while the trouble bursts the pipe. It's always such a drain just to feel alright. You can tie it up in ribbons or just throw it off a cliff. If only for the reason that you like. Please won't you look both ways before it falls down from the sky. Or maybe it's a brewing underground. Don't matter where it swoops from you'll get swupt up in the end. If only for the reason you're around. Oh man, it's no wonder that they keep on winning. My my, just look at all the talent they got. So sorry ain't no button you can keep resetting. Poor boy I'm down, but with that sound you're bound to flop.
3.
Fuck It! 04:57
Everybody's got something to sell you. Hit you right smack dab in the face. It won't be long once you bring it all home, you'll be throwing the damn thing away. But if that's what you want, don't let anyone tell you that you're doing it wrong, just cuz they ain't never tried it that way. Come and see what we've done. Is there any point in keeping it going? Who hasn't needed a bump? So what's the rush with you in packing it up? If there is one thing that you best keep in mind down in the jungle. When you get mad, and you're planning on throwing a bomb. For whatever they did, they deserve to be fried in a kettle, but you wouldn't like it if somebody did that to you. So set it alight, but don't say I didn't warn you. Go out and get all the scars that you can. Think about it next time, before you let it get all infected. Instead of stroking the fire with our hands. So fuck it! And the horse it rode in on. Motherfucking horse. I got jack squat to compel you, but it shouldn't have to come with a prize. And I'm fully aware that you thought it was weird, but we shouldn't have to wear a disguise. It's always something. It'll never get near to being perfect. But for all its flaws, it's hardly the worst in the world. Have some patience. You'll always desire what you're craving. But just ten thousand more tickets and I'll be able to get you that thing. Whatever it is. But if that's what you want. If that's what it takes. Do what you like, and have a good time with yourself. There ain't that much I can tell you, that you can't already guess. I'd be rolling the dice to continue, but since we're taking the time to confess. I need a four letter word that's not given, when you're boiling and done taking names. Ain't no amount of time that can heal all of that it only prevents you from remembering the pain. We gotta stop that thing from pecking out whatever pieces that remain. Oh don't you pull that lever to release the hounds. I'm too tired to outrun them again. I'm too tired. So fuck it.
4.
Hey have you heard the news? Cuz we got ya covered. It’s all come true, but we couldn’t be bothered. She got the bug. He caught it too yeah. She caught the crud. He got it too yeah, along with everyone else. Here comes the curve. Here comes the curveball. And wouldn’t it be such a joy, if we could just ride it out here in the country. Who cares where you went? Who knows what you spend, but I’m fine with what I see here in front of me. Everybody wants a piece of everything else to try and make em feel a little bit better. Why don’t you cmon over soon and see me sometime, or maybe you should just send me a letter. Then the devil came up to our door, so we tried to sneak out of the window. Now he’s locked us out while he sits on our couch. I don’t remember who invited him in though. Get your back to the wall. Get your back to the wall cuz I swing for the fences. Pick up your glove. So much for this summer I’m striking you out. Here comes the curve. Here comes the curveball. I always thought that I would have a decent life. I thought I tried to be a reasonable man. But don’t you wake me in the morning throw my breakfast outside. Just try to be as nice as you can. And when it’s copacetic maybe we can fly away together far across the sea. I always thought that I would have you by my side but I let it get the better of me. And we couldn’t believe what we saw. All the angels were bagging our groceries. Here’s what you bet and now here’s what you get. Feel free to use whatever you find in the pantry.
5.
The Pope and his wife, they're so set in their ways. And so are the stars in the night. They heard it from God so they made up their minds. But something don't jive with their take. Oh I don't think I can relate. Not according to my calculations. The object's in flight, as it rolls round the sun. Just like the path of the moon. Oh yes it does. It's just circles and rocks when you get down to it. And we are just more of the same. You can do what you like, ain't nobody get it right. Might as well try to explain. But hey now- Don't let me stand in your way. Do you want me to lie and claim it's in place? Just lying there perfectly still? And yet it moves. Oh yes it does. You can say I was wrong, you can make me play dumb, but you can't make me say my own prayers. Skip the torture, avoid the fines. I'll just stay in my house, and pretend that it isn't my gig. And yet it is. Because it moves. Oh yes it does.
6.
Hey- I heard a rumor that we're not really here. We're all locked in a dream, and none of it's real. Like there's no other way to explain all the horror you feel. I hope it isn't too late for us to awake. My body's corroding and turning to slime. I ain't out of it yet, but I'm falling behind. So don't you wait for me to incubate. Don't you slow down. Even though I'm calling to you. Don't you even look back. I'll just turn into a puddle of goo. I will never forget every minute we spent, but as our timelines untangle, I can see now they were never the same. I will never regret, when our universe met. But it's ruining mine, watching yours unwind slowly, curling away. Spooling off into space. You didn't need to come all the way down here, into the Underworld. With all the nights and the days you still got left. But won't you sing me a song, before you return to the sun. Give me one final kiss before I never get to see you again. I hope it's not too late, for our respective planes to collide. I can jump into yours, or you can jump back into mine. Hope it isn't too late. Or did we just cut to the chase?
7.
I wrote this riff when I was about 17. I was hoping that it sounded like the Who. In all the years since I have never used it once. Don't know why it never slipped into a tune. You can imagine how it feels to be locked away, for almost 40 years just waiting for your chance. Maybe there's a reason I can still remember it. If you believe in God then this should be your jam. All our past attempts ran out of steam, it's obvious. But we got all the power we need at our fingertips. To hammer out that magic riff, but it's not my choice. Someone else has to agree that it's worth making the noise. You gotta concede that it's possible that something you did ages ago could exceed the improbable and get you where you're wanting to go. They all laughed when I told em I was gonna win the Golden Boot, but you blinked and it happened. I had to trick myself into thinking I'd do it. Could it really be that everyone, has got it inside em, to make something real? It can't be that easy, or we'd all have thrones. But if anyone does, we all got the same deal. You gotta conceive of the rarest form of something for it to exist. You can't see with in a microscope, but I'm watching it explode in my head. Anything that is verified, well that don't need anyone's help. So I don't think that it would hurt to try making up this thing by ourselves. What the Hell? Who wants to go there? Cuz I do. I know it sounds kinda stupid, but who gives a fuck? How can we not have a bad attitude when it gets so dark? Only a fool would be seen stepping through the void. When all the shout outs you get from the team are a lonely voice. Hey! But you gotta believe we're all there for you, cuz some of us actually are. There's no need to be embarrassed dear. We all leave most of our dreams in the car. They're too weak for embellishment. It's not your fault that you're overwhelmed. Just point out all the things that are stopping you. I swear I'll help you to destroy all of them. Who wouldn't go there? I hope you got a kick to hear the magic riff, that redefined the world and made it yours. We all might wish that I had used it sooner, but we need it now more than I did before.
8.
When life wants to hold you back, and all you want is to wail, when it all gets too much, I'll send you my love without fail. When the oceans have all been fried to dust, but not the tears on your face. When all of your potions have dried up, why not try love in their place? When the cows have all fallen over, and there's miles of space, why not try love in that place? It's such a strange little world. It gets stranger each day. The world gets stranger each day. If I could only make it clear, but I hit the wrong end of the nail. When the last of the coke is divided up, and their rocketships all fly away. When we all end up going off the grid. When it all comes into play. Why don't we both just walk right into it hand in hand? Why not try love anyway? Cuz emptiness is a cold, yes it is- lunch.
9.
You and I should take a ride on a temperamental journey. Who knows if we will fight along the way? Oh won't you come with me tonight on a temperamental journey? Who knows if it will be alright, or ever end? One side I'm never on is the reason that you're gonna say. I don't try I only want it to rain. And if it won't I'll be there anyway. And if it does, well then you won't have to come out and play. You poor little boy feel the temperature rise. It's never boring when you need it to chill. Who's got the time to want to hurt you so bad? Who wants that kind of crime on their bill? No I don't mind if I belong. You don't ever have to put your phone away. I won't bite I only want you to stay. And if you don't, I'll be here anyway. And if you do, I won't get a minute of rest. Are you looking for another kind of temperamental journey? One that isn't looking tired of being drained? Why am I the only one who seems to like our temperamental journey? What's the use of getting high, when you're dead? Poor little girl there's no love in your eyes for the one you thought could meet your demands. Who's got the time to put up with all that? Maybe they got too much time on their hands. Everybody knows that you don't take it kindly, I can't fault you for believing in that. But give it just a second to bless. Because we all can't be what we expect. And I never said that I was the best but I could be wrong.
10.
1X1 03:47
A shore to smoke upon a season to unwind. This pony's only pretty when she runs. You're out there spinning but the party's lost its flair. That boy just isn't any fun. Can't seem to find a way to slip into your bunk. You feeling sore? They said you got the mumps. Down at the border they are putting up a fight. Baby always said I'd see her side. See that all the time. A way to be richer to find. They might look friendly but they've more than had their share of bowls of bread and shade between the skies. A bright young hero to remind us what he did. Hear them fall to pieces when he lies. Hear that all the time. A way to be richer to find. Whose cruddy bass line soon comes clashing with the chorus? Who only cares if they can hear his drums? Who really hopes to heap this wretch who speaks in verse beneath his puns? That ain't no way to get it done. One by one. That ain't no way to get things done. I'm only asking for a little more support to fall in place and squeeze between the wires. All men in secret plead their penance to the lord, say they only meaning to be kind. Say that all the time. A way to be richer to find. Who's gonna stay to greet this badass at the door? Who won this latest flight of fun? Who's gonna wait to see this letch who beats a horse release his tongue? That ain't no way to get it done. 1x1.
11.
We're all having a hard time. We're all feeling afraid. We all want this to end, but we're not quite ready to face it yet. Calling off the evacuation. There's no escape anyway. Don't quote me on this cuz I'm sure that I'm wrong, so I ain't gonna say it again- We'll be fine. It's alright. Although it sure don't look like that is the case. Still alive. At least it's something. We'll survive. Or at least something will in any event. If I could laugh in my own face, I'd be ROTFLMAO. I think that's something the kids say, when they know it's really starting to blow. So won't you spare me just a minute to spend, believing there might still be a twist. You don't have to tell me you don't wanna hear it again, but maybe this time it will stick- It's OK. Don't you cry. Even though everybody who loves you gonna die. We don't want you to mourn us, until the day it's your turn. We remind you to be joyous, cuz there ain't no other concern. Or we can spit in our own food. And smear shit all over the place. But we gotta come up with something or choke on our towels in disgrace. It's a goddamn shame we're still fighting over who invented being insane. Might be the last thing we both share in common. How bout we try to give each other a break? We all know that there's tragedy coming. Gonna hurt more than ever before. I wouldn't mind a little company, since we're both gonna be walking that road. Ain't nothing smaller in the world than good intentions. So I don't see there's any reason to stop. Grab whatever you can before it's melted, and try to keep a little bit in your thoughts. Cuz that's all we got. That's all you got.
12.
666 02:40
Well I seen him in the movies and I seen him on TV. Looked a little stiff beside the monkey. Now he's walking backwards to get more dogshit on his feet. Telling jokes that I don't think are funny. This oily leather bastard and his wife they take the prize. No ordinary fat between the thighs is so unkind. Slept with the Ayatollah and then he gave his buddies guns. Set forth his dukes and waled them on the Russians. Prayed with the holy rollers while the heathens up and died. It wasn't even part of the discussion. And now It's OK for their kind to show their spite for you and I. No ordinary hack forsakes the crime and pays his fine. That's one bad mood until you've gone away. None too soon is too long to wait. Let's just say that 1 in 10 could keep their kids in line, instead of making psychos with their cousins. Where you gonna send em to and who they gonna fight, before you need to ice em by the dozens? That ain't no ketchup bottle bursting at his side. No ordinary actor fakes his lines and stays in time. That's one bad mood...
13.
Forgive my introduction but our days are wearing thin. Too jacked up and bedazzled to play this game again. The folly and the fumbles, the commotion in your hair. Gonna look for the golden valley, that wasn't ever there. Hold off until we get to town so I can rest my head, and dream of all the villains that are rising from the dead. I hope to meet my mascot. I hope to meet him soon. Gonna set his big head on the level and wait until he calls for you. The awful fires of Heaven compel you to eat dirt. The powers that be won't rest until you're handing in your shirt. I don't know what to tell you, cuz it ain't really clear. The best odds I can give you are a warning. Oh won't you stay for all the hard times to come. Don't be late because it's fun! Won't you play until the house is falling down, or do you hope that it's already gone? Are you hoping it's just gone? How often do we wonder just what it takes to prove? Give thanks to all the good things and cry when we're abused. The passion and the labor, the howls of discontent. Gonna take a bit more than heavy mettle to plow this field again. You can round up all your captives and bind them to your hate. May ten thousand dirty old bastards come clawing at your gate. Will it end in a violent frenzy, or taper off like a turd? It's the least that I can give you. It's more than what you're worth. The Autumn sky it rumbles and brings forth the millionaire, who purports the extra value of the little that he shares. But it ain't much of a bounty when you're chucking out paper towels. Take two pills and call me in the morning. Oh won't you sing a little halfhearted song? Don't be afraid to be dethroned. Nobody wants you to get back in the zone. We're only praying that you're done. I'll find another rat's nest where I can run and hide. I ride a filthy mattress a six pack at my side. Pardon my disposition. My favorite things are few. Lost my grip on the handle and now they're even fewer.
14.
Black magic- Even though we know we're bewitched. Bad habits- Why you gotta be so hard to ditch? Dark matter- How can I get rid of this stuff? Where's all my takers? Have you suddenly taken enough? Gimme that! I don't even know what it is but I want it! But today I feel great. See how long that it lasts. Get packing before they can bore us to death. Act casual. Maybe no one will notice we left. Hey where'd those guys go? And for once in a long time I feel I know what to do. Now the joke is in their court, until I get it too. And then nobody will be laughing. Grim Reaper will... Classic matchup. Same one we've been touting for years. Thought we could catch em, but it don't look like it matters who wins. I'd be glad to if we could simply just vote it away, but Count Dracula, he don't always wanna stay in his grave. I got a stake. Bleah! I vant to suck your blood! But today- I feel great! And I ain't sorry about your fate. I know that dagger stabs both ways.
15.
Eddie's Gone 02:27
C'mon man, cut it out. One cut, coming up! Goddamn it! What are you doing? With billions to choose from why you stacking the deck? How come you gotta keep on taking all of the good ones? Plenty more worth your smiting, the last time I checked. And now Eddie's gone. Who's it gonna be next? We all get it. We all know that it sucks. We all reach our limit. Everybody's biting the dust. You'll always have a steady stream of fatalities flowing, but do us a favor man and slow down your roll. Cuz every toss of the dice can't keep coming up snake-eyes. If you play by your rules, that's just not how it goes. Of the 38 million who lay sick in their beds. Out of all of the carnage, you're giving that guy a pass? Don't pretend you don't know when we ask for a break, we want a change in the tone, we don't mean our leg. So how about you lay off all the musicians, and turn the heat up on some of them politicians? Instead of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Eddie Van Halen- How bout putting the squeeze on the forces of Satan? Ain't that your job? I think it's more like 40 million now man, but who's counting?
16.
You wanted a love song. I'll give you ten. I hope that you find one you'll wanna listen to over and over again. Nobody knows it, but who cares? They all got their own songs to sing. And if they don't, we can share. Give em the ones that aren't really your thing. But you get first choice, and that one is yours. It always will be, even if you don't want it no more. It'll follow you round, like a dog. It won't ever leave you alone. Because you can't tell a love song to stop loving you and simply go home. I imagine you dancing, and it makes me cry. What I wouldn't give, to bring a little smidge of that kinda joy to your life. If I could only write a couple of lines that made you move. Then it would be enough. If it meant even that much to you. So I'll keep on trying. Wish I could do better. And I hope that someday we can sing it together.
17.
What happened to you? Hey what happened to me? Ain't nobody where they wanna be. You can say it's a crime you can call it a curse. At the same time babe you're only making it worse. I see where you're coming from I hear what you're saying. What I don't understand is why you're walking away. And I know and I'm sorry that I let you down. At the same time honey there ain't much around. Let it run. Let it ride. You can let it change but don't let it die. Keep on acting like you feel OK and I'll be fine if you'll be mine. There's one day we were and then one day we won't, but I always thought someday we could make it all work. I tried and I tried, you know I love you the most. At the same time honey there are times when I don't. We can be sad and we can wanna die. You can be mean and I can be nice. But it really don't matter what we're gonna do. Ain't no pain like the one we're going through. Let it rock. Let it roll. Let it rot right through your soul. No point in asking why you need it this way. You'll be fine, and I'll be crying. You're not gonna like what you're looking for. And I'm pretty sure that I don't even know you no more. I don't want you to fight. I don't want you to quit. At the same time girl I could get used to it. We got caught on the wind and it's looking bad. It's so hard on the brain it took all that we had. We should probably flee for a calmer course. At the same time I couldn't ask for anymore. Let it out. Let it in. Let it sound like the worst it's ever been. I'll keep on wishing for good things up ahead. But I'd be wrong, and you'll be gone. Let it rock. Let it roll. Let it rot right through your fucking soul. You can keep on pushing but you need a friend. If you're in town, I'll be around.
18.
Waylaid? Come and visit Toothache Prohibition. Nightmare feeling stunned while the squirrels in my attic run. Sleepwalk through the days. Nightmare stays the same. Eat more feel a fool. Nightmare's coming true. All you down ticket sons of bitches, blind bats on a mission. Licking off my bumper sticker surely that will make you sicker. Would somebody kill the light? Won't somebody please kill the light? Let's all kill the light! It's in need of a shade and it's right in my eyes. It's burning the drapes and it's shining too bright. Think I'm getting a migraine at least dim it a bit. It's improving my view but I don't wanna see that. Eh. Like a buncha cockroaches scurrying off. Ain't no fact check so stake your claim. You're camouflaged so blast away. Nightmare's cancelled cuz we're working on a better one. Don't be such a chickenshit! You're the one signed up for it. Your fat face gets more beautiful the more those blankets cover you. That white rage just doesn't rate when you hold it up against the flames. A solid two from one to ten, but you get a point just to spell your name. Would somebody kill the light? Would somebody please kill the light? Let's all kill the light! Put a bag on your face while you shelter in place. Don't call us and we won't call you. Here's a song you can sing while you wash your ass in the sink. That should give you something to do.
19.
Future Lover 03:19
There's a place we're all going. No escaping, so why you gotta act like a fool? No no no! Cuz it's tragic. Yeah! Muddy water is a flowing. Driving and churning til there ain't anything left. So you better get a pump. Or another way to make you jump. And while you're giving it a test use whatever you need from my bag of tricks baby, to make it get wet. Yeah yeah yeah! I'm gonna kill all your future lovers. Even if I can't get em dead, they'll never rate. So you better warn em, I drove you crazy. They're gonna regret that you can't forget what I did for you. Never in a million years. You can't make that shit up. There's no telling. There's no answer. So why you gotta walk around like there is? Hope they're jealous. No satisfaction. No doubt there's plenty willing to give it their best. You can bargain. You can beggar. But you'll never come as much for all that's coming for you. No no no! So you better get in shape. Cuz there ain't nobody else who is gonna make you shake, the way I can make you yell.
20.
You can spare me the truth but I'm gonna need a better lie. Sometimes it's just nice to know someone tried. You can stand on your head, you can shuffle your feet. I ain't in no hurry to die. You're so bold and cunning as long as no one calls your bluff. How does that cat even stay in range? You bet all the marbles but you put them in your mouth. Ain't nobody left still wants to play, no. Die die die die. Why won't you die die die die. I could just die d d die de die etc. Oh won't you let me come in cuz I've seen the wolf outside. That isn't heartburn when he cries. I should believe in my worth, but I don't want to anymore. That's just a coffin in disguise. You won't like what's coming but you can't always turn it off. How come that rat's still preaching pain? I don't want no trouble but this used to be my house. There's no pretending it ain't changed.
21.
Organ Donor 05:40
Got a hole in one- of my only nice pair of shoes. But I'm getting it done, when there ain't nothing to do. Got my ticket to ride. One more thing that I'll never use. I'm taking it back, and hopefully returning with a dollar or two. Gonna go with the flow, pouring outta my neck. Straight to the top of the charts, that the doctor said he needed to check. Pull on my heart if you lost one. I won't be wanting it back. You can have it. Yeah I'm turning it up, into a dead end street. When the going gets tough- why is everbody lookin' at me? Got an ace in the hole, going 6 feet deep in the ground. Skip to the dark before dawn when there ain't nobody around, who knows what to do, or even a clue. We're all waiting for the word to come down, cuz milking the clock depends on whether or not that it's true. Hey are you coming to the party? It'll be a good time when it ends. I think we should go there's no telling if we'll ever be invited again. are the demons all delighted? Are they crawling away satisfied? Cuz they never tip or post a good write-up. So God only knows that you tried. And the angels couldn't care any less, but the one guy you really seemed to impress is the one that got caught up in the mess. So take it. Take it baby. Take it away. Take it away as far as you can. That's one for the books that nobody reads. You get two for the money, cuz zero ain't a hard sum to beat. Getting back to the basics. Like water and bread. Ain't no skin off my back, cuz hey- I got shot in the head! I don't wanna be such a drag. I don't wanna complain. But can we please fuck your awakening and just go through the motions again? Aren't you tired of all the fretting? Hit #1 because he wants to hit you. The way things are going is unrelenting, but not as bad as you thought you would do. So we're gonna try another setting. See if screaming makes it roll on ahead. Got no idea on earth where it's heading if it will. But there's only one way off the top off the hill. So try not to trip over yourself as you get out of the way.
22.
Now that you are home for the night, and everything's right, and nobody's peeking. All your things are put into place. Like the smile on your face, while the skin is all peeling. What is left for you to do, more mindless and cruel, than killing flies on the ceiling? Hope you don't mind hauling out the door. If there's a potion, you ain't got one, nor will you ever find. Hope it's alright. Sorry bout the war. If there's an ocean, it's a hot one that's seen better times. There is nothing left to say. We'd call it a day, but nobody is speaking. Here we go again my friend. This will never end, bent on ceaseless repeating. Hope you don't mind- Crawling on the floor. If there's a cure for, it's forgotten. Kiss your ass goodbye! Hope it's alright-Everybody's dead! If there's a rainbow, it's for dinner. Keep yourself alive. Some folks going to rock this town. Some folks going to Hell. Some folks know when there's something ain't right. Some folks know when they're had-yeah, or better off dead. You and I won't pass this test. We'll sit at our desks. Make sure nobody's cheating. Now it's time to say goodbye, and forfeit the prize that is hammered and leaking. Finally you can get some rest, and be at your best, but nobody is sleeping. Will you stay or will you go? The answer is no. I have a hard time believing you.
23.
Yeah you're a hot mess aren't you? Are you looking at me? Have you got nowhere else to go? I got me a feeling. Don't need to give you no reason. Sometimes you just gotta roll with the choke hold. I'll be around when the show is over. I don't know about you. You cannot tell me you're not up to something cuz I don't even care what you do. Gotta be a better way for you to beat the bad man. That old school tussle is always so hard on your hands. Aw! Put on your vest. Sit on his chest until he's wheezing. It's just another day's hustle. when you're "playing" with the "band." Inna gadda vida da loca honey. That's all you got to know. All that you need is the air that you breath, gonna need it more than ever before. Always the same old story- He said he wasn't sorry but you can't just shoot him in the back. Why you gotta fire all of your guns at once and take him to jail in a bag? There is no way you can delay what you're receiving. Don't move a muscle. How much longer can you last? Get on the floor.Get in the car- I think you're scheming. Don't say nothing or you'll wind up living in the past. Yeah you're coming down fast, but don't let it break you. cuz the Devil herself could never repay you. Oh she's leaving a mark. Yes she is. Oh yes she is. You got peanut butter on my chocolate!!!!
24.
The times to come don't look so nice and radio friendly. We might be done, if we're not biting the bullets already. The mood's a little shaky at home. I don't know if we can ever get this stupid thing restarted. So we won't. Don't come hunting round here if you're looking for a favor. Cuz I don't know who you are, or you aren't, or where you're coming from. Don't wanna hear you out there tapping on my window. Cuz it's freaking me out. And I ain't gonna lie, you ain't looking like my kind. I'm boarding it up, holding it down. Sitting in my own little slice of containment. Hoarding gin, playing cards while they're out there strafing the pavement. I see you over there. Flapping round like you might be in trouble. That's too bad. Hope you aren't, but you shoulda been running for cover. Don't wanna spend all day always looking over my shoulder just to see what was once just another pair of punks who wouldn't even go there. Even if you made em all cry. Don't wanna walk that far to see the revolution. I always wanted it to come, but then it caught on, and now I gotta run if I want to get along. Yeah I gotta move it on. So here's to getting wild but try to keep it in check, from the moment we knew it was gone. So much for the title had a decent attempt. We can't let them get away with taking it all. Woulda settled coming home with a draw. Won't you pick me last when your choosing sides. I forgot which color shirt I should wear. Ain't nobody ask, but I'm playing out wide. Not really wanting the ball to be fair. But you don't have to face them alone. No you don't. Because once we had a deal we could count on. But it broke, so we froze. Don't believe that it's finally come down to this, but I guess ain't nobody wants to know. We just hop in the crowd and we kill each other now. And there's a price if you miss. Yes there is. Think maybe now's a good time for you to learn to reload. So here's to the wine and all the people we scared, the Summer we all bought guns. So much for the tribe. There's a stink in the air. Can you a remember a time when there wasn't? Ask me about it sometime I'll tell you straight to your face, but for now you better leave me alone.
25.
Hey! C'mon everybody- Put your hands together! We can do this, if we just put our minds to it! Alright! Yeah! I don't even care. Look at old Country Junction he don't know where to sit. Thinks he's some kinda cowboy, but his boots don't even fit. Hit the nail on the head. Called the eight in the side. We don't know what he meant, but we know what he might. Ask him why he's down and the kid's got nothing to say. You gotta kick him like a habit cuz he ain't killed nobody yet. Oh no he didn't. Here comes the grind. Don't look so mean in her dress. Now I can't decide if we are really under arrest. Don't you kinda admire how it don't ever end? We get back in line and then we do it again. What's a couple dimes when you can't conceive of the rent? Just put me in the pile and I'll see you when you're needing to mend. I'll see you then! I don't even care. Oh no I don't. Hey truck driver is your load a little lighter today? Why yes it is! Hey fat mama could you dial down the drama instead? Please? It's a quarter to nine and there ain't nothing in the oven. Gonna be such a riot but there ain't nobody comin'. It only took one little breeze to blow it away. Get out your jock. Brush the shit off your threads. Gonna find me a job that ain't so intense. Give it all back to the vines and let it all hang out. We don't understand what we're talking about. Oh no we don't. It's a bit overdone but it's not like you wanted a taste. I ran outta time when I was just about a minute away. Aw, yes I was. I don't even care. I don't even care now. I don't care anymore- Not sure that I ever did now. I don't care anymore.
26.
Hey you don't hear what I say. Just gimme that thing. Cuz now that you can't put it down, it's only hanging around like a weight. The look in your eyes is so far away. You can see for miles and miles, and ignore what's right in front of your face. And to think you're afraid that they'll watch you undress. But they're really only sneaking round to peek in your pockets. As you whisper demands to the spy in your hands, who takes every single secret you got straight to the market. Now does that sound like a friend you can depend on at all? We hardly ever even use the damned things to call. Hi it's Paul. Did you get those demos I sent you? I left them in the mailbox. Meanwhile in the corner sifting through the dust, searching for your lost earring is the one that you don't trust. Don't want to mess up the movie you're making, but why'd you give me the part that I got? I'm not so sure I agree with my motives here. I don't think I would have given you up. And no I ain't the one around here babe, that's always lying to you. I'll help you catch who it is, but you know we'll never have any proof. It's a real humdinger! Who do you think it is John? I think it was Ringo. Don't look at me I just play the fucking drums! In the yard, with the wrench, I was found I confess, but I swear I was really only gonna use it as a hammer. Like "bang bang Maxwell's silver hammer." Oh I hate that song. Makes you want to bash your own brains out. But I guess that I am the thug. Who took all that he could. Who's been bleeding you dry for half of your life. And you're probably right. I deserve to expire. Cuz this ain't my first spin. And I'll just do it again. Until the day that I can't. I think that that day has passed. So maybe baby, I finally learned my lesson. Be a whole new world by the time I get outta prison.
27.
I kiss the scream in your mouth. Slide over the grief til it drowns. Walk closer to me, we’ll get lost. Die along with the leaves in the frost. We all know just how low. It takes everything to get back to nothing. Hold my soul, make it whole. Can you jiggle it and get it to function? How are we supposed to be moving out when the only place that feels real is the doubt? It’s funny once, but oh how we cried. The conflicts were all interrelated. But how can I trust what’s on my own mind when everything has been infiltrated? Now I can’t speak for everyone, but people die for less, so it shouldn’t be that bad. And I don’t even know whether I am coming or whether I am going. The crew is on it’s way. They brought a rudder. They got it covered. But you, you know what a rudder is, and what they’re selling just ain’t gelling. I try to remind you of the diamonds hiding under the weeds in the garden. There’s smoke in the sky but you don’t want it to show less than a couple thousand mornings to go. It’s formless and drab, a woe to behold, but it’s better than you get going solo.
28.
It’s getting loud. Are you feeling stressed? Why wait til now to please yourself? A lonely bunch of all your dearest friends are wondering how you’ll come around again. Once in awhile I get it right where I want. You know it took a lot of meetings to plan. But scratch that clown, throw it right in the trash it’s so pathetic. Don’t know who to trust cuz you can never tell what they’re doing deep inside of the well. If you want to check out heap it all on the ground, then come and get it. Acting out. Feeling fresh. Don’t know how you can be so dense. Come and get some if you think you’re so tough. Or get out now before you lose your touch. There’s something about the way you never fit in, makes you wonder if the world’s even there. But that kind of line can really screw with your mind if you let it. Don’t be so clumsy or you’ll break it again. That’s a five dollar glass in your hand. One day you’ll learn but by that time we’re gonna need a medic. Hey- lookout! You won’t believe what you missed. Don’t see it now, I guess you had to be there. Hey- Get down! Don’t want to let them see just how we exist. Why does it seem we’re so proud to be so depressed? It ain’t hard to pretend. But if it’s too much for you to be so strange. I’m only understanding what I thought was true. But I just don’t get what’s been following you. It was only a dream, I thought I had me a home. I remember it all too well. Gonna take something stronger than a knife in my back make me forget it. We all cope as we can so we wash it away, a shot of whiskey an hour everyday. Now we could move on if it wasn’t taking so long for me to get it. Hey- Slow down! Everybody’s needing a break. If it’s up in the clouds, I guess I woulda seen it. Hey- Back up! You can be about as right as they come. But if you don’t wait for the lights I think you could regret it. Oh won’t you break out the guns for our mutual health. Just in time for another random event. Count up all the nights and all the minutes we shared, try to jam it all back in your head. Know it sounds crazy but it won’t do you no harm if you’ll admit it. And when I’m gone just cram some seeds in my mouth. You can say I was a comfortable soul. You can repeat it ten times but it don’t make it so just cuz you said it.
29.
Now that don’t sound like something I’d say but if you wanna believe it then it’s all yours to explain. How many breaks can we keep giving the shake in a year? Go on and lop off the edges til you make the whole fucking thing disappear. Saw it off with a shovel. Over time you can wear it away. Grind it to dust, do what you must, make it pay! Get out of the red. Get into the grey. Get off of the road. Get on with your trip. Backstabber I know that you’re hiding there foaming. Hey jack rabbit can you hop a little higher this morning? Boing! Drop it in flame do it again. Lay asunder all the parts that you’re dreading. Give it a kick tap on its wrist. Is it dead or is it only pretending? Get outta the dark. Get into the dank. Get off on the shine. Get onto the stain. You’re always chop chop chopping. Now ain’t it a bitch? You gotta keep it from rocking and running right in the ditch. What’s the secret you say, how do I find the time. Try not to spend it all dying and hating my life. No I don’t. Ain’t no way! Ain’t no money for nothing but that seems to be the place where it goes. Go out and get yourself something, even if it’s only for show. Rip into it! Hack off a limb! They had it coming! Wrap it in tape, send it away. Be glad that it’s finally done in. Get out of the sun. Get into the shade. Get off of the junk. Get on with the rape. Hold all my calls there’s a knock on the door just round midnight. Ring! That’s not a knock. Hey pretty lady can I see you sometime in the daylight? Ehh. Cat found its claws somewhere in a drawer. I think it’s hungry. Finish it quick it’s making me sick. Don’t think that I can make it out of the tunnel. Blurf! Get off of my lawn. Get onto my tip. Get outta the cradle, and get back in your grave.
30.
I’ll never be the same again. I wouldn’t want to anyway. I was living in a trance. Didn’t think I stood a chance. But then I saw you running you were coming to the ball. Then you blew me away with a legal shoulder charge and all the dungeons went away. And I was free to breathe again. Now it’s 20 years later and I think you’re done. I’m going right back where I started from, but I thank you for the days when you made me feel I wanted to live. Won’t you let me try, see if I can make it right. Let me hold you like we mean it for a night. You got to know how much that I love you. You got to see it’s all I want to do. That’s a fine set of shutters you are putting on the house. Ain’t nobody looking in ain’t nobody looking out. Won’t you come back baby? Cuz I love you! There ain’t nothing I can do to keep you off my mind. You saved me once, shouldn’t have to save me twice. But I thank you for trying and sticking with me for as long as you did. Ain’t no wonder that you’re looking for a change. Now that the Death Star has come rolling into range. A million souls all crying out as one. Can you hear my voice stand out amidst the drone?
31.
Is there anyone here who can tell me where the day goes? Does it turn into tomorrow, or does it just stay yesterday? Now night has come and it’s raining again. How I long to feel the sun. When it’s dark and it’s gray I can take a few days, but I’m not quite ready to freeze for three months. I can still take delight as the leaves turn to fire, and the AC goes back into hibernation. But they’re telling me hey, you know what’s ahead. Yeah yeah yeah it’s gonna be sad. But you already knew that. Who wants to awake before even the slightest hint of daybreak? Hope you’re on your way home, cuz it’ll be dark before six. All week long is such a major ascent. There’s no time to be someone. When winter finally comes.
32.
Leave, leave a little left. Think about the outcome. Think how many tries that we get. Lean, lean into the wind. Treat it like it’s holding you close, there ain’t no other shoulder to lend. I don’t know how many times that you said I best get ready to prepare for the shock. I don’t know why I couldn’t pull it together, not like I never even gave it a shot. Cuz I thought I did. Why, why are you so convinced, it was nothing but a long haul, nothing but a drag in your midst. Cry, cry for 1,000,000 years. It don’t make up for nothing. It won’t shake off the wanting. Hold, hold it in your sight. Get a little down time. Get a bit of cold air to rise. Sleep, you can sleep for days. Glide along the contours. Crash along with the waves. Dream, dream about the gifts. Spraying like a fountain. Drifting off away in the mist. The tide’s coming in it’s getting over my head and it’s time to get out of the water. Just one more ride and I’ll be with you then, I was the last thing you wanted to mother, but I needed it. Who, who would ever dare? Let em come and pry from your grip all the lonely silence you cherish. Fall, fall amongst the trash. Glittering like firewood. Floating in the air with the ash.
33.
Casa Azul 03:39
Not exactly sure what I think that I’m building. The plans went out of the window long ago. I even measured this time, but it still don’t look right. Don’t know what I’m still doing it for. The tower hasn’t gotten any higher. It’s still really just a big pile of bricks. And you’re right the floor would probably cave in, but I haven’t even got to that yet. But if you’ll indulge me for the rest of your life I guarantee you someday all this will end. It’s not the world’s strongest foundation. Maybe I shouldn’t have used the world’s cheapest cement. At this rate I can’t promise you dear, there will ever be a roof overhead. But don’t you give me a hard time about nothing, cuz that’s all I got to add to the mix. Every day something new becomes broken, and I still got last year to fix. What’s a couple more miles since we’ll probably never get there? At least I got some of what you need on my back. I know it’s not the best entertainment, and you’ve earned more than I’ll ever be. But you’ll take a hundred pictures of nothing, so why can’t you see what I see? It’s not invisible. If only it wasn’t so tainted. The shamble is part of the charm, but you’re not into that. Sorry you got roped in by the dream, while the reality is anything but. Although there may not be a counter to cut on, there’s no doors that need to be shut. I wish that it wasn’t so boring. You deserve to be more than content. If there’s anything left of your patience, I’m prepared to wallow in it again. It’s a sight unseemly it’s folded in half. It barely makes a dent on the readout. And you can hate it just as much as you like (like this song) but it’s more than just another hole in the ground.

about

I did it! I accidentally made a solo concept double album on my couch! I was originally trying to whip up a few demos for my beloved band, Zen Frisbee. There was a brief glimmer of hope that maybe we could get our shit together and record one more project. We’d even agreed on a title for it already- The Summer We All Bought Guns. Perfect! The band has always had a huge backlog of unrecorded material, most of it deservedly so, but here was a chance to finally give those hidden gems a chance to shine. Songs that are never documented only exist in performance, and when that’s over, they’re just gone forever. I find this heartbreaking. Think of all the songs condemned to purgatory, never entering heaven as a beloved melody, however obscure. They aren’t even sentenced to hell for being the worst shit you ever heard, they’re just ghosts. Nobody hears em. Nobody sees em. But they’re there. Cursed to exist and not exist at the same time. Sad as that is, we all agreed we wanted to try a few new things too. Nobody wanted to dwell completely in the past, so I started coming up with a few things to see if they interested anyone else. I used my iPad to record all this. I think it’s like a first generation one my step brother gave to me years ago. It came with what I believe is the first edition of the Garage Band app. 8 tracks. No real mixing. You set a level for the track and that’s it until the song is over. The mic on the iPad isn’t any bigger than the tip of a ball point pen. I got some kinda guitar jack into the iPad cord, and a cheap set of Walkman type headphones. Pretty rink sink set up, kinda like if Fisher Price made a toy studio for kids. That would be this, which is probably the only reason I could figure out how to work it by myself. And it didn’t need to sound good anyway. These were just gonna be demos for the band. Mere blueprints. Ultimately disposable. But of course the band couldn’t get their shit together. Even if we did, by this time I had way too many new things for me to even ask the band to consider. 4 or 5 newies to choose from, sure. But 10? There was no way they were gonna want to do even half of these, and I wouldn’t expect them to. I didn’t feel like arguing endlessly about trying my new favorite instead of dusting off “Count Chocula” from 1987. But I had to keep going. Like most of us, 2020 has been the suckiest year for me ever. Really bad. Not as bad as it could be, but don’t say that because then of course you will be proven right. And it ain’t over yet folks! I’m not alone in that music became my major source of therapy. I did some painting stuff too, worked on some comix, but music works best. Like alcohol, it’s great! You are numbed to reality while you create music. Oh yeah you may be feeling the emotion of what you’re working on, and your general state of mind is gonna influence what you come up with. But when you’re painting or drawing, your mind can stay focused on the worst possible thoughts. The hand can still draw a funny bunny with a boner while your brain still wants to slit your wrists. All art is a great way to channel and deal with these feelings. Hopefully you get something pretty cool when you’re done, and not a trip to the emergency room. Music has the added bonus for me, probably cuz I’m not very good, to require such complete focus that I really can’t feel sorry for myself and dwell on my misfortunes. I can certainly feel it when I’m playing, and a personal, too soon, open wound lyric might be hard to sing, but the act of creating the music is cathartic and empowering. The very expression of it feels good, whereas a steady background noise of self loathing and depression while you crosshatch or blend colors is not. Again like alcohol, at increased levels this music therapy can get out of hand. I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t watch tv or read. I could barely eat or sleep. If I didn’t have my guitar in my hands, or the headphones on, plunking away on the canned Garage Band drums or keyboards, or writing lyrics, or singing them, or ransacking the kitchen searching for a pot lid that actually sounds like a cymbal. (Recording tip: None of them do. They are fine for gong or cowbell simulations, but for more of a crash/ride cymbal, hit a metal potato masher with a set of keys dangling from a chain.) If I wasn’t doing one of those things I was feeling like complete shit. I started having some pretty weird experiences, where hitting the snooze on my alarm clock was like redoing a punch in overdub. I’d “try another take” by falling back to sleep, maybe having a quick dream, and then hitting snooze again in 15 minutes because I thought “I got a better one in me.” I really got confused as to what I was doing sometimes and was late to work at least once because of it. (Sorry Hunter) I wasn’t sure if what I was doing had drifted into an unhealthy obsession. I’m still not sure. I’m not sure any of this is even fit for human consumption. The recording is primitive. I never claimed to be a good singer. But I do think some of these songs are good enough not to have to wander in the ether forever, waiting in vain for some “real” band to record a “real” version. A big reason I’m willing to share this project warts and all is due to the common suckfest we’ve all shared this year. Our individual agonies have never been more in synch. There is a strong collective misery going on now. Since I’ve been using the songwriting and recording process to vent and complain, and express my fears and anger, the resulting mess is probably the most relatable, in touch with my fellow human beings music I’ve ever attempted. It’s pretty raw, but who doesn’t feel that way right now? My musical diarrhea explosion wasn’t meant to stain anyone’s pants but my fellow band members. The fact so much came out all at once, while I was trying to give myself a psychic enema on the other end simultaneously gave me a common theme. Unintentional at first, but it’s all 2020. There’s Covid all over it. There’s Trump and his ilk. There are wildfires and hurricanes. There’s Eddie Van Halen and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. There’s the same foreboding anxiety and chronic low grade depression we’ve all felt for the past 10 months. Unfortunately for me, it also includes separation and divorce, but that shit is a classic for any era. (See also: Our body’s slow but ever accelerating and inevitable decay, Life on the road, Surfin’) So the concept for this collection starts Jan 15th 2020, when things started going south for me, and ends as recently as last week. Once I decided I was gonna share this stuff as is, I set myself a goal to get it out there before Nov. 3rd. The concept is only the first 5/6ths of 2020. The rest of the year will have to go on the next record. I wanted to at least symbolically release it before Election Day, so even if only for myself it would exist while we still all shared our communal dread for the future. Let’s hope that gets better! Don’t worry I’m sure there will still be plenty of suckitude to come to keep our blues from getting stale. Just last night, I’m typing in the last lyrics, excited about doing this and beating my deadline, and my poor old computer up and died. Just like that. Can you believe it? On top of everything else I gotta get a new computer now too? See, it can still get worse. Any second just like that. Worse. But that’s ok, cuz it keeps the angst trendy and fresh. Good for the record. That mishap knocked me down, and it still fucking hurts, RIP computer. I’m happy to say that I figured out how to finish this up and it is 12:20 AM nov 1st and I’m just about done. I’m stealing the title “The Summer We All Bought Guns” from the band cuz they’ll never use it for anything and it’s more perfect now than when we first thought of it.

credits

released November 1, 2020

Brian Walker wrote some words as noted. I did everything else. You can hear Dave Sinclair calling on the telephone in one song.

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Covid Charlie's Demo-lution Chapel Hill, North Carolina

contact / help

Contact Covid Charlie's Demo-lution

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like The Summer We All Bought Guns, you may also like: