Get all 7 Wampeters releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Murder Your Darlings, Hey Judas, Look What's Left, Bloodline, Pagan's Nest, Folk Medicine, and Screen Test.
1. |
Heart Like a Badge
03:52
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in the middle of a mid-winter squall
the icicles form
on the ceilings and walls
and the refrigerator's low on food
she lies on the couch
with her attitude
Amnesty International came calling today
thanks to old reliable
the U.S. Mail
and Greenpeace wants to save all the snow
take it to the desert
make an irrigation bungalow
but the weather's just another distraction
another bagatelle
that could stop her taking action
she's got a mind like a bumpersticker
and a heart like a badge
she thinks of what she'd do if she could
send half a million dollars
to Planned Parenthood
feed the hungry out in Mandalay
or set fire to the headquarters
of the NRA
but the weather's just another distraction
another trifle
that could take her satisfaction
she's not happy
and she can't sleep at night
she's not happy
but she knows that she's right
she digs down deep into her firesale purse
a dollar fifty-eight
probably won't lift the curse
and the wind won't leave her alone
no heat in the loft
home sweet home
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2. |
Simple Life
03:36
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can you tell me about the simple life
one more time
I want to get my money's worth
out of this thin dime
you know, your voice is kinda strained on the phone
like a transistor radio jammed full of stones
I only ask about the simple life
this last time
I want to know if it's real
or if it's just a line
is the simple life the latest craze
or can I really find the blue highways
because I've heard about the simple life
again and again
I've heard it from the TV
I've heard it from my friends
but you're the only one who knows
the simple life's the one you chose
so do you work the land
do you drive the plow
do you sow the seeds
and make it matter somehow
or are you lost in the simple machine
one more thing about this simple life
and I'll let you go
now that you've finally got it
what more do you know
has it answered all your questions then
or would you hesitate to do it again
'cause I've been wondering if this simple life
could be a myth
if it really held the answers
there'd be much more of it
sometimes it seems like all there is to say
is that nothing's simple, anyway
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3. |
Delivery Van
02:07
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he is a young man
he has forsaken schoolin'
he drives an old van
and practices tattooin'
one day his designs will be known from here to there
he has a girlfriend
that he's been dating steady
they'll tie the knot when
he's good and plenty ready
one day their estate will stretch from here to there
and to repopulate their hometown
a decrepit old relic with nobody around
well, they disappear whenever they can
into the back of his delivery van
he does some hard work
until his back is breakin'
he plays the cool jerk
or works real hard at fakin'
one day he'll reveal his talent for tattoos
she's givin' haircuts
she went to beauty schoolin'
she's waxing fat butts
and making mucho moola
one day she'll depart and go to Hollywood
delivery van, deliver me
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4. |
Shot of Halcyon
03:15
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in the wake of all that's happened, he said
my spirits are dampened
and it feels like I've lost my way
when I try to gain my footing
it never is a good thing
it's not like it was in the halcyon days
when everything is said and done, he said
the years when you were young
never really pass away
they hang in the air
like a trunk full of spares
in case you're getting bored with today
so give me my shot of halcyon, he said
God knows it's no crime
to return to the time
when the dreams were filling
and the girls were willing
take me home
nothing ever happens anymore, he said
when you think you know the score
the whistle blows and it's over
and it's plain as day to see
that it's not a best of three
when you find yourself running for cover
he said that once the cards are dealt
the hand is merely held
take me home
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5. |
Jupiter and Its Moons
03:21
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when it's cold at night she lights a fire
so he can keep on keeping on
slaving till the dawn
and the children see him on Saturdays
when a wave of enervation
has put him away
when duty calls she answers the bell
so he can save the western world
with his old typewriter
and she makes him eat when he forgets
so he can build a taller mountain
of ink-stained paper
and she says
will it be over soon
but she knows the familiar tune
it's like the sight in the sky
of Jupiter and its moons
and when he sees the children in the park
he's the conquering hero
the one they adore
and when he sits down to tell them a story
they make a circle around him
and hang on every word
look in the sky
the untrained eye
can find a bright bold planet
hanging high
but the telescope reveals
the satellites floating
in space above their moorings
night after night
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6. |
The Big Finish
02:45
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I knew a girl who was new to the city
and she knew she'd never live on the streets
with legs like those
she'd never beg like those
miscreants out on the beats
the message that she left with her daddy
as she boarded the Greyhound north
was "I never want to see
the likes of you near me
so long as I walk this Earth"
and she did what she had to do
did what she came there to
she had a window on the west side
it looked out on the sunset sky
and night after night
the big finish beckoned
opportunity knocks in the city
and it pays not to worry which kind
so she did odd jobs
for the ticker tape slobs
she went ahead and made up her mind
she did what she had to do
did what she came there to
but the big finish never came
day after day
it was more of the same
she left the curtains drawn all day
her window was a world away
then one day she walked out
and caught the next Greyhound south
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7. |
Matchbook Poetry
03:24
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Janey says that fate is cruel
that it ignores the worthy
and rewards the fools
but I say that fate is blind
that it knows no better
than to be unkind
and I know that Janey's not alone
in thinking that fate
has got a mind of its own
but Janey ought to kneel and pray
if she thinks that fate
cares about her either way
and there's a matchbook in her purse
where she writes down her poetry
she's got a chip on her shoulder
that's only gotten bigger
as she's gotten older
and she rants and she raves to me
about discrimination
at the publishing companies
Janey talks about it some
and I know she's gotta mean it
though I admit I've never seen it
but the secrets in that little tome
must be like guardian angels
on the head of a pin
or maybe they're just
her imaginary friends
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8. |
Bloodline
02:52
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if blood is the bond
that holds you to the rack
how can you march into the sun
and say there’s no turning back
say it’s all in the past
say that’s all over now
gonna get on with your life somehow
if blood is the oath
makes you loyal to the ones
who nursed your wounds
before you thought to run
why do you go
why do you leave
what more do you think that you need
is it in your bloodline
to find somebody
who says what you say
who does what you do
does that explain it all for you
if blood is the line
that links you to the Earth
how can you cut it in two
and rob it of its worth
deny what you were
disown who you are
do you think that that’ll take you far
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9. |
Long Distance
02:41
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your voice sounds a little thin
are you taking care of yourself
keeping out of the wind
I was just thinking of you
and way back when
well, me, I guess I can't complain
of course I could but I won't
it'd be too much of a pain
but I was just wondering
if you were still sane
he left you alone
I didn't know
we had a foot of snow today
and the power's been out
so I'm at loose ends anyway
you know, when it gets this quiet
I never know what to say
it's been great talking to you, too
you ought to visit sometime
we'd love to have you
but the doorbell's ringing, and I've got to go
we'll talk again real soon
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10. |
Lions and Bears
04:54
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hey, do you have any plans for Thursday
I thought maybe you'd like to drop by
we're gonna get a meal together on Thursday
maybe you and the kids could stop by
and your mother would love to see everybody
and somebody's got to drink this wine
so do you have any plans for Thursday
I thought maybe you'd like to drop by
we could have a little dinner upstairs
and then tune in to the Lions and Bears
hey, they're calling for snow on Thursday
makes me think of once when you all were kids
we took the sleds outside after supper
you didn't think I'd take that hill, but I did
and your mother can't wait to see everybody
and somebody's got to drink this wine
well, Sanders isn't Sayers
and he won't ever be
but you know
welcome home
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Wampeters Fairfax, Virginia
Posthumous icons of the iPhone.
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