1. |
If You're a Lifer
03:14
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Time is wasting away.
All was quiet on the morning we met on a hot June day.
Yeah, it won't last too long.
It's a real cheap hit, if you blink you could miss it,
a real cheap hit, it's gonna go by quick,
then we're gone.
(Then we're gone).
If I'm James Dean
you're "Easy Rider."
If I'm "Led Zeppelin III"
you're "Holy Diver."
If you're Keanu in "Speed" I'm your Winona Ryder.
Why hide from history if you're a lifer?
You know I can't stand the waiting.
But it's hardly the hardest part.
I was born in the 80s.
Too late for the good shit, too early to get over it.
Too young to be dull, to old to be sharp
like James Dean.
But you're "Easy Rider."
Barely "Led Zeppelin III"
you're "Holy Diver."
You're Keanu in "Speed," I'm your Winona Ryder.
Why hide from history if you're a lifer?
When I'm forgetting my place you are the reminder.
Why hide from history if you're a lifer?
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2. |
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Sitting where it was designed,
trying to be obvious and wondering if you’re blind.
Nursing a drink until my vision blurs
while you check in with the regulars,
just talking shit with you all night.
Sussing out the vibe.
And passing up on rides.
If I could read your mind
then I could catch my breath, I think I’d be just fine.
You could die waiting for an omen, valentine.
I don’t believe in a good moment at the wrong time.
Put on “Feeling Strangely Fine.”
The nights not over until the third attempt
at “Closing Time.”
You’re drying drinking glasses,
ushering out drunk dumbasses.
I cock my head, “Do you want to have one more?”
You pull an ash tray out and lock the door.
If I could read your mind
then I could catch my breath, I think I’d be just fine.
You think it’s just a little crush—hush.
There’s no such thing as a good moment
at the wrong time.
I’m trying to catch my breath,
but I’ve got nothing left
waiting in my lungs.
And If I’ve lost a step,
then we’ll just try our best
to keep the tempo up.
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3. |
Out of Reach
02:59
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Here we go, it's a Monday.
I'll carry on doing all of my Monday things.
I'll do them all again in seven days,
I've got big goals, but growing up isn't my scene.
Ooo-ooo-ooo-oooooh
so they're out of reach.
At least that's what I think.
Let's make a baby in a year or two.
(Nature willing) when there's a little less on our plates.
If I'm lucky it will be like you.
Cuz if we stall 'til my hearts peaceful, god, that's gonna be a wait.
Ain't it just like they told me?
Ooo-ooo-ooo-oooooh
but it's just out of reach.
At least that's what I think.
It's woefully dystopian, it's a leaky little boat we're in.
And the channel is wide.
I'll count your strokes, keeping track of it, before I really put my back in it:
a mutually assured bummer vibe.
And in the sad event we don't see the other side
ooo-ooo-ooo-oooooh
it was just out of reach.
At least that's what I think.
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4. |
Ordinary Wine
01:50
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I'm not too sure if there's a god above,
and if there is if he's someone we can trust.
What if there is no shepherd, if there is no flock,
just a bunch of dirty sheep trying to wait out the clock.
That's not to say the cabernet's not divine
But it's just ordinary wine.
With no king of kings sitting on the throne
we're just a couple billion people trying to make it alone.
Bouncing numbers in the bingo hall
waiting for the evil eye, or the old hand of fate to fall on your ball
I'm hungry to live instead.
But there's just ordinary bread.
I hate to share the bad news
but part of me always knew.
Need something strong to unwind.
So mercy me, I hope you don't mind,
the least I can expect is one more sacrament.
If you can smell it on my breath please don't be unkind.
It's just ordinary wine.
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5. |
Matter of Trust
03:18
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Chariot drivers let me know
if you can just hang tight on swinging low.
I'm not that worried about my soul
but I can't just Irish out and go.
It's just a matter of trust
to let me love you.
It's just a,
it's just a matter of trust.
Forgive me William, I don't know,
I must have heard you on the radio.
So sue me like you need the dough!
You wouldn't do that to me Bill Joel...
would ya?
No.
It's just a matter of trust
to let me love you.
It's just a,
it's just a matter of trust.
I'm trying to tell you the truth
overhearing me on the other line.
It's hard to sing you the blues
when you're looking me square in the eye.
But I'm never lying to you valentine.
It's just a matter of trust
to let me love you.
It's just a,
it's just a matter of trust.
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6. |
Dumber and Older
02:37
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I'm thinking of you--
what kind of trouble you might get up to
when I'm away for a week or more.
And if I'm being honest the best case is you're just bored
without a head on your shoulder.
Somehow both dumber and older,
the weather's getting colder now.
Who doesn't need a vacation
to see how to be a person?
Please be patient while I'm learning how.
It's beautiful here.
But you wouldn't like the odds of seeing Mt. Rainier.
But you can still snap some real good shots
just hiking up the hill and hitting the coffee shop
without a head on your shoulder.
Somehow both dumber and older,
the weather's getting colder now.
Who doesn't need a vacation
to see how to be a person?
Please be patient while I'm learning
how is every day getting shorter?
No matter the season there'll always be a reason to stall.
Might do some years as a loner.
I'd rather be a little lonesome than kick rocks and be nothing at all
without your head on my shoulder.
Somehow both dumber and older,
the weather's getting colder now.
Who doesn't need a vacation
to see how to be a person?
Please be patient while I'm learning how.
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7. |
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To the brim —
Spilled my cup on the sidewalk,
bad luck wherever I went.
Trying to keep it level,
to try and keep it on the level for ya.
Moonstruck, ‘til the bolts cut
on the garage, keys cold in your hand.
Yeah we had some weather.
There’s gonna be bad weather,
with or without you.
And you can’t hang on to everything,
but you can’t hang on to nothing.
You know I’ve tried.
There’s room in the trunk and half of the backseat,
so take what you need to drive.
Drifting lanes
on the fucking freeway,
with way more weight than I planned.
Trying to keep the wheels straight,
to keep on the straight and narrow for ya.
You’re a tough guy ‘til the wells dry,
trying to haul up a bucket of sand.
Praying for the rainy season,
hoping for a sign, a reason.
To go on without you.
And you can’t hang on to everything,
but you can’t hang on to nothing.
You know I’ve tried.
There’s room in the trunk and half of the backseat,
so take what you need to drive.
Just take what you need to drive.
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8. |
Kept It Buried
03:48
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If my hour-to-hour is cowboy chords,
before I’m home at night I guess my job’s the IV.
Drinking myself blind,
smoking myself dumb,
straining to hear the V
before the I.
A swarm of little birds
whip-cracking through the sky.
Know how to keep the pace,
know how to fall in line.
There’s no emergency.
There is no reason why,
I just woke up one day
too tired to fly.
Kept it buried
for a long time.
You just met me,
but you think you know me, right?
Yeah, tightrope walker there’s a lot on the line.
Kept it buried
for a long, long time.
Didn’t used to be this hard
to avert my eyes
from the heart of man,
from the rising tide.
Grasping through the dark,
though I’m not trying much,
to find that thin bare wire
I’m scared to touch.
Kept it buried
for a long time.
You just met me,
but you think you know me, right?
Yeah, tightrope walker there’s a lot on the line.
Kept it buried
for a long, long time.
Oh good, I’ve got me phone,
with algorithmic dogs and babies,
naked ladies, shit,
I’ve never felt more alone.
So go on take it hard.
Thumb through all the shots you blew,
the friends you knew,
be advertised to,
go on and feel it all.
Don’t keep it buried
It’s been a long, long, time.
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9. |
Don't Sing So Hard
02:01
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You don’t really want to sing the blues.
You’re not sad, but you know that you’ve got to
blast it out while they’re pouring drinks.
Give ‘em hell while they’re ordering chicken wings.
Don’t sing so hard.
You don’t really want to play guitar,
but you’re taking requests and covering Big Star.
Barely a glance from the chattering crowd,
if you’re singing “Night Moves,”
might as well sing it loud, loud, loud, loud.
Don’t sing so hard.
I keep it quiet when I’m driving home.
Fuck the radio.
Fuck an open road.
Window down, wind crushing my ears,
could be no one, nowhere, easier than myself here.
Don’t sing so hard.
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10. |
Back to the Start
04:04
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There's a room I keep under lock and key,
walking by it ten times a day at least.
Absentmindedly touching the door knob
expecting it to be cool or hot.
But it's not.
I can’t change,
and lord I want to.
Might seem strange,
but it’s hard to go back to the start.
It's hard to go back to the golden age now
that we are so far apart.
I’m waiting for curtain call from side stage while
wishing I had one more shot.
Today I drilled a peep hole,
the racket raising every damn soul.
Saw shapes that made it hard to breathe,
things I know are there but try not to see:
all the ugliness inside me.
I can’t change,
and lord I want to.
Might seem strange,
but it’s hard to go back to the start.
It's hard to go back to the golden age now
that we are so far apart.
I’m waiting for curtain call from side stage while
wishing I had one more shot.
I can’t change,
and I don’t want to.
I just want to go back to the start.
Might seem strange
when moving on to
just want to go back to the start.
Maybe tonight I’ll set them free
and let em get their yayas out on me.
Roll my eyes at some while they give me grief,
let others stare me down while I beg and plead ,
"Get back in there by morning please."
I can’t change,
and lord I want to.
Might seem strange,
but it’s hard to go back to the start.
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11. |
Carrying the Stone
02:17
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"If you’re feeling lost,
I’m feeling most lost.
Playing my part,
trying to escape my chart--
the story that I tell myself to impart
some meaning to this meaningless heart."
"Jessie, let’s get real--
that’s how we all feel.
Carrying the stone
without wincing when we stub our toes.
But at least I’ve got you here to compare notes
And chit chat ‘bout the things we used to know"
Walking the same ground,
bothered by the same sound:
A whisper under breath
saying nothing’s for or not for the best
except trying to let each other suffer less.
Sorry if I’m preaching,
and boring you to death.
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Cataldo Seattle, Washington
Cataldo has been hailed as “the rare kind of artist who’s able to absorb the chaotic world around him and distill it into crystalline song” by American Songwriter. Keepers has been welcomed as “nostalgic, and effortlessly, poetically profound,” by Nylon and “wistful and hopeful and beautiful, a brightly emotive yet understated slow-build." by Stereogum. ... more
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