Get all 32 Paris Street releases available on Bandcamp and save 45%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Fade, I Want To Write A Song About That, Brief Feelings, Copenhagen, London, Everything And Less, Sparks, Mostly, and 24 more.
1. |
Reconstructing Fresno
02:08
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They are reconstructing Fresno
They’re gonna give it another try
They’re saying, “this time – surely, this time will be different
We’re gonna get it right
It won’t be 109 in summer
We will bury the 41
Change our name to South Yosemite – this time
We’re gonna get things done”
They were reconstructing Fresno
Yeah, they gave it their best try
They said, “next time – surely, next time will be different
Someday we’ll get it right”
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2. |
Death 3
04:50
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There’s a knock on the door
A muffled scream
The synapses are failing
The soul is weakening
The heat is off
And the knives are in the fridge
The pills are in the oven
The pills are in the oven
There’s a knock on the door
A muffled scream
The system is derailing
The panic is extreme
The heat is off
And the knives are in the fridge
The pills are in the oven
The pills are in the oven
There’s a knock on the door
A muffled scream
Fate tires of waiting
The river stops midstream
The heat is off
And the knives are in the fridge
The pills are in the oven
The pills are in the oven
There’s a knock on the door
A muffled scream
The rational is fading
The force runs out of steam
The heat is off
And the knives are in the fridge
The pills are in the oven
The pills are in the oven
There’s a knock on the door
A muffled scream
The darkness is prevailing
No one can intervene
The heat is off
And the knives are in the fridge
The pills are in the oven
The pills are in the oven
There’s a knock on the door
A muffled scream
The ending is unfailing
Uncaring, and unseen
The heat is off
And the knives are in the fridge
The pills are in the oven
The pills are in the oven
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3. |
Highway 61 Visited
04:27
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When Memphis gives way
And nothing takes its place
But barren fields and casino billboards
Past the husks of mobile homes
Impossible to feel more alone
And even the devil doesn’t come ‘round anymore
Progress stalled, time reversing
Humidity that’s ever surging
The levees soon at the point of bursting
Everything at the river’s mercy
A dog, a deer – who knows?
On the side of the road
Picked apart by turkey vultures
‘Til nothing much remains
A skull, a spine, and a ribcage
Just one of many – they never hunger
Progress stalled, time reversing
Humidity that’s ever surging
The levees soon at the point of bursting
Everything at the river’s mercy
Beautifully apocalyptic
Entirely anachronistic
And yet so hard to resist it
Oddly serene and much worth the visit
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4. |
The Lobby
02:23
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She is crying in the lobby
She is crying on the job
What’s the source of her sobbing?
Why and how? Who or what?
I walk past – so unexpected
But I don’t have time to stop
And I’m not at all invested
Enough to interject or interrupt
‘Cause it’s not as if I’ve ever
Been any good with sage advice
Or had a warm, consoling shoulder
To rest on ‘til the tears have dried
So she cries – I make my way out
To grab some dinner and a drink
I can’t shake her from my mind now
The time was there, wasn’t it?
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5. |
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Has anybody heard from Christy?
Has anyone seen her around town?
She used to spend her nights at Raven
But she doesn’t seem to go there now
All calls to her go straight to voicemail
And that inbox has been full for days
Has anybody heard from Christy?
By phone, online, through text, or face-to-face?
I’ve problems, of course that’s no surprise
Some linger and then some are new
Some I can solve in time, but for some I need
A little bit of help to see things through
And no one really helps like Christy
She’s always, always done me right
There’s nothing that I’d rather do this moment
Than to talk with her tonight
Has anybody heard from Christy?
Since when, oh when, has she been gone?
It’s not the first time that we’ve lost touch
But it’s never been for this long
On this evening here the Raven
Serves another lonesome glass
Has anybody heard from Christy?
Why did I wait so long to ask?
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6. |
Redding
04:29
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Far from Shasta’s shadow but close enough to enhance the view
From a stripped-malled, hilltop, sun-baked, shade-free, soulless avenue
Where I stress-ate at a Chinese place when my job seemed to be ending
Though I was later consoled by a cute bartender at the Holiday Inn
I was heading out when I got word that my old boss had died
And I was coming back when I got the call about D.C.’s suicide
When the fires came I, of course, hoped for everyone’s well-being
But I mostly thought about the cute bartender at the Holiday Inn
Thunderbird soars around
A wistfully crispy Whiskeytown
Alights atop a sleek Sundial
In a cantilevered dream
Thunderbird soars around
A wistfully crispy Whiskeytown
Alights atop a sleek Sundial
In a cantilevered dream
The massage parlor neon-lit walk towards the Village Pub
The Humboldt highway pitstoppers sharing some of the crops they cut
The creepy Christian coffeshop that’s part of a greater scheme
To build the most boring utopia anyone has ever seen
Thunderbird soars around
A wistfully crispy Whiskeytown
Alights atop a sleek Sundial
In a cantilevered dream
Thunderbird soars around
A wistfully crispy Whiskeytown
Alights atop a sleek Sundial
In a cantilevered dream
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7. |
Chicago
06:08
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this is what i wore that day
the morning after we became
happier than we had any right to be
a hoodie from a Portsmouth Gap
salvaged from the clearance rack
a campaign shirt and a pair of black jeans
we pulled into Chicago late
but just in time to celebrate
even though we should have been working
but it was our last night of work
and our boss was quite the jerk
we had long ago stopped caring
it felt as if we had seen
every inch of this country
after months spent living in a van
Chicago was our final stop
a friend let us crash in her loft
we passed out quickly after all we drank
this part of town was unknown to me
wasn't as safe as it appeared to be
cos while we slept someone was up to no good
one of the van's windows was busted out
bits of glass were strewn about
but it failed to put a damper on our mood
we had one last meal as a group
we'd be going our separate ways soon
after all this time, our work was through
some would be st louis-bound
and some of us still further south
and some would stay 'round town a week or two
we talked of getting tattoos done
a different design for everyone
each an inside joke no one else would get
but we dawdled on a bit too much
time finally caught up with us
we went back to our friend's loft instead
we gathered around the van to take
a picture that'd serve as a keepsake
a small way to sustain the memory
a van with a busted window
an unknown part of Chicago
i never thought it'd be so hard to leave
this is what i wore that day
a t-shirt from the old campaign
a hoodie and a pair of black jeans
a picture of a group of friends
i hope to someday be with again
there's so much of this country left to see
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8. |
Amanda In A Dozen States
04:24
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I met her in Columbus
And I’m ashamed to say just how
But I met her in Columbus
That’ll have to do for now
On an afternoon in Madison
We shared a crossword by the lake
And some beers from the student union
She corrected my mistakes
We drank so much in Milwaukee
At some spy-themed place
The hangover was such that
It wrecked us for two days
Once I drove five hours
In freezing rain and snow
To a hospital in St Louis
Where I dropped by to say hello
I dropped by to say hello
I dropped by to say hello
In cities, small towns, mountains, plains, and coasts
It’s nothing but the best
When our lives intersect
They’re the best times I have known
We had lunch at a taqueria
Out on the lower east side
Before a drive to Coney Island
We skipped out on all the rides
The time we spent my birthday
In a cave in Tennessee
Watching as the Silver Jews
Bowed out gracefully
I upset her in New Hampshire
By Vermont, though, things were cool
We spent three days in Baltimore
And two in Newport News
‘The Lighter Trick’, ‘Black Mountain’
The ‘Chicago’ cameo
When I held her in Raleigh-Durham
I didn’t want to let her go
I didn’t want to let her go
I didn’t want to let her go
Through cities, small towns, mountains, plains, and coasts
When our lives intersect
It’s nothing but the best
They’re the best times I have known
The last time out in Austin
Where she seemed on the fence
About where her life would take her next
Our paths haven’t crossed since
Now I’m back here in Columbus
Scribbling at a laundromat
Wishing she was here with me
There’s no shame in that
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9. |
You're The Best
04:43
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You’re the best
By a mile
You make this slog worthwhile
In this world
These dumb times
Your future’s still so bright
But you’ve got to get your mind out of the past
There you are
After all
Somehow standing tall
It’s not great
Please stay strong
Just don’t stop moving on
Cuz you’ve got to get the past out of your mind
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10. |
Great Souls
02:23
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Sorry, I’ve been busy, I haven’t had time to mourn
To cry in the car when that song comes on
You know the one
Of enchantment and resistance
Of a path out of the gloom
Sung by a great soul taken far too soon
I wish I had got here differently, wish I had learned another way
To take the time that’s available
And create, create, create
It took a great soul’s suffering
To guide me towards the process
Wherein I can make my own happiness
I know myself enough to admit reality
There’s more than enough proof to show
There’s no great soul in me
But I’ll still create, resist, try to enchant
And dodge the gloom
For as long as time permits me to
It’s not like I’ve got better things to do
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