Get all 98 Chris Anderson releases available on Bandcamp and save 70%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Goodbye Eden (fdm152), The Trials Of Henry (fdm154), Ghost Town (fdm153), Standing Sideways On The Sun (fdm151), The Catalyst (fdm150), Storm Free EP (fdm149), A Thousand Heels Abound EP (fdm148), Dented (fdm147), and 90 more.
1. |
Vines
07:50
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VINES
a pillar of dust
a cavern of silver and rust
as clear as your eyes
or as clear as a curtain of lies
carolina, she's bold
but she does everything that she's told
carolina, she's gone
through the door to the sweet unknown
take a step back
sinner, you've got nine tries
to fade to black
then reinvent and realize
you can have it all, you can have it all
i wanted to fall
i wanted to tear down the walls
to rebuild them again
turn my back to the face of the wind
by the time i got home
the tiniest woods had grown
and so i called it my own
and i threw out the daggers and stones
to the crowd
who had gathered on my front lawn
am i proud?
well, i'd rather they just move along
they gotta have it all, they gotta have it all
break out the gold, the wine
the fortune, yeah, it's plenty
clear out the vines you climb
their roots, they never end
to reach for the sky, you know
it'll only leave you guessing
swing on the vines, you'll rise
but then you've gotta break
i dreamed of a town
i dreamt that i wore the crown
i had figured it out
i didn't care what it was all about
but then the war, it came on
i never saw it and so i drowned
then took it all on again
to wear the bruises with pride on my chin
you can fool
but you better keep it outside
with all your tools
and all the secrets that you can't hide
we can have it all, we can have it all
when all the wisdom of the
wires leave you restless
when all the weather of
the world is on your chest
clear out the vines, you know
they'll only leave you guessing
to return, it's only ever second best
break out the gold, the wine
the fortune, yeah, it's plenty
clear out the vines you climb
their roots, they never end
to reach for the sky, you know
it'll only leave you guessing
swing on the vines, you'll rise
but then you've gotta break
clear out the vines, you know
they'll only leave you guessing....
-5/22/09
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2. |
Mortality Song
04:26
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MORTALITY SONG
i wake up in the same old bed
take my tea and read the mail
wash it off and then i hit the road
every day, it's getting kinda stale
i could be grappling on a mountainside
i could be dining with the king
i'd trade it all for just a piece of pride
or some expression when i sing
like what flows under the bubbles
like a box under its lid
i'm thinking about mortality
and all the things i never did
i eat the same thing everyday
this begging life, i can't relate
it's just a money thing, i have no faith
besides, it's getting kinda late
i could be singing to some passer-by
or making love under the moon
or watching all the buzzards fly
straight through another afternoon
these ghosts are in the open
still we keep them all well-hid
i'm thinking about mortality
and all the things i never did
i do the same thing every night
sittin' down and wasting time
just can't bear to beat or join the fight
or give a shit about the slime
i could be on the road to nowhereland
i could be tearing down the wall
or building kingdoms out of mud and sand
and calculating when they'll fall
feeling older than creation
but i know i'm still a kid
i'm thinking about mortality
and all the things i never did...
-7/23/09
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3. |
Feather
05:14
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FEATHER
i would have thrown out the clause
that kept me on the fine line
between the exit and the gold keys
i would have held it like a sneeze
or locked it in the vault with
all the secrets of the seven seas
hide out, lie down,
take a look outside
there's nothing left
to hold back
the sudden rising tide
what's your request, then?
i've got a million other
things i'd rather do
the answer's right in front of you
until the hammer falls again
it's like a feather in the wind
the way it gets under your skin
you've never wanted anything more
i thought i held it all inside
but then i saw the headline
it read "disaster in his own mind"
i never thought to be so proud
but then i saw the clowns
and all the lions breaking down
and so it was then, the buzz then
was that it was a ruse
and so i buckled, and ducked
and i found a new excuse
and disappeared for a year
or was it two or maybe four?
i closed the door
on everyone who wanted more, more, more
and when the circus comes again
we'll watch it scatter in the wind
and settle back down on our skin
we've never wanted anything more
until the hammer falls again
it's like a feather in the wind
you're like a feather in the wind
and i've never wanted anything more
we'll raise our glasses and make a toast
to everything we know and some we don't believe
we'll watch it bubble to the surface
til we realize there's nothing left to see inside
i could have reinvented lies
just to see the look in their eyes
as i threw the punch and stole the prize
or maybe thrown down the crown
into the gauntlet of the mad crowd
where all the evildoers perpetrate
but i'm here, stuck here
dreaming of a way
to move around it, to think
or to conjure something new to say
and if that's just the way we'll always be
i guess it's gotta be, yeah it's gotta be
between the madness and the greed
and the things we didn't need
we're living in a hole, that's it for sure
between the wonders and the void
and all the ones that we annoy
we're floating like a feather in the wind, yeah
between the anger and the pain
and all the salt between the rain
we're tearing down the walls to raise again
between the laughter and the tears
and all the burden of the years
we realize it's nothing new, it's nothing new
between the poison and the blood
emotion's washed out by the flood
we're floating like a feather in the wind, yeah
-6/18/09
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4. |
Hello, Central
06:51
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HELLO, CENTRAL
hello, central, can i hear her voice again
just one more time before i step out of this skin
hello, central, can i hear her voice again
it's been a long time coming, i don't know where to begin
hello, central, i got news for you, my friend
it's coming down like buckets and the fires don't wanna end
hello, central, can i hear her voice again
kneeling down in the gutter, feeling the world and her spin
i got down on my knees
and i begged them for the sun
to shine down on the lovers
and the marauders on the run
but still we're standing here
until they say the coast is clear
hello, central, can you pull me out of the wind
to sit me down for the riot, 'fore the big guns take us in
hello, central, can i hear her voice again
before they wise to the thunder and the lightning crash around the bend
i got down on my knees
and i begged them for the sun
to shine down on the lovers
and the marauders on the run
but still we're standing here
until they say the coast is clear
hello, central, can i hear her voice again?
-7/16/09
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5. |
Dark
05:38
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DARK
dark like the night
like the oil in the fields
they spill and burn
hand in hand
with those they terrorize
dark like the fog
like the ones we don't recognize
they're here
we dissolve before we realize
the light
burning bright, it's like
a new machine, it's like
a figure of our old minds
this light
blinded now, it's like
a wounded bird, it's like
salvation on our own time
dark like our souls
like the folds between
these blankets, we're still cold
we lie awake
and think about it now
dark like the road
like the path that leads us
out of here, suppose
we begin and do it all again
the light
burning bright, it's like
the sorest sight, it's like
a shadow of our old minds
this light
blinded now, it's like
a brand new wow, it's like
redemption on our own time
dark like the coal
like the way that we would
black out in our holes
sleep to sleep
it could never be
dark like this mood
like a grunt, like this attitude
we're here, wipe it clear
and bury all our fears
-6/20/09
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6. |
In Circles
05:10
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IN CIRCLES
dim, dim lights - barroom smoke
face to face with the remnants of
we hardly spoke, or made a sound
just sat in silence and you looked around
casting stones in circles
to hit the ones who are still there
if you believe it is nothing
have another round, if you dare
we all were told, it's nothing much to fuss on
we all get cold, sometimes the fire's not enough
raise a glass and toast to our good fortune
toast to yesterday and whatever's yet to come
casting stones in circles
to hit the ones who are laughing
if you me standing there
have another round, if you dare
dim, dim lights - barroom smoke
face to face with my reflection, so i'm told
we move along, forget the songs
we sang to breathe anew, redemption's kinda old
casting stones in circles
to hit the ones who need it
if you bleed, i'll still be there
have another round...
-7/19/09
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7. |
Calm Before The Storm
10:12
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CALM BEFORE THE STORM
where are you now?
are you still looking out?
at the sea and its faded blue
you're counting the cars
and the rats and the scars
for the idylls have less to do
but realign all the clouds
to stand with the proud, in a line
and we all feel fine today
do we wait now to cross
through the muck and the moss
to the meadows we've yet to clear
to chuck all the rocks
at the wings of the clocks
who maliciously welcome us here
we stand in doubt of the sun
and we're willing to run when it's warm
to the calm before the storm
i can still remember well
the twists and turns of the mother tide
that shook and tossed me from my shell
but still i laid me down inside
silence gold and wisdom canned
spill to drench to blow up wise
it may not go the way you planned
and i can barely close my eyes
what did you see
when you came up to me
and said the sky is a bloodless hue
where the clouds all collide
with all the demons of pride
and the magnets for all that we do
we steal away for some grace
and maybe some space, for the time
we all feel fine today
-7/30/09
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8. |
Connect The Dots
03:37
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CONNECT THE DOTS
i can feel your heartbeat
knock me to the ground
you pick me up
it's such a violent sound, yeah
between your ribbons and your bows
between the gravel in your toes
we're still climbing up this hill
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
the messenger decrees and he leaves
us with all the things
we didn't think we'd ever need
like violets and golden tongues, yeah
connect the dots to find your soul
it's somewhere way beyond the hole
we talk of liberty and free will, baby
connect the dots and it's still there
erase it only if you dare
will they still love you
when you're ten feet tall, eh?
the spectre disagrees and he leaves
us with all the things
we didn't think we'd ever need
like pestilence and good old fashioned greed
like candy drops and musket seeds
and a rainbow that tears and bleeds
like violets and golden tongues, yeah
i can feel your heartbeat
knock me to the ground
i'm lookin' out
another dot is found, yeah
we find them underneath the stars
and in between the burning cars
as we're falling down the hill
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
and still the patsy isn't pleased
so he leaves us with all the things
that we didn't think we'd ever need
like violence and jumping beans
and the speed of lightning, marbles
or this shade of green
like videos and walrus face
and the urge to put every
adversary in their place
like ferris wheels and pigeons
and the right to lie
like violets and golden tongues, yeah
connect the dots to find your soul
it's somewhere way beyond the hole
we talk of liberty and free will, baby
connect the dots and it's still there
erase it only if you dare
will they still love you
when you're ten feet tall...
-7/30/09
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9. |
Nowhereland
05:25
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NOWHERELAND
i thought we'd meet halfway
down the mountain, before the rain
where it's not so steep
those hills erode
i'll grab my coat
and get on down the road
i thought we'd need some time
to come around, you're like an island
off the coast of nowhereland
out in the sun
i'll stay for tea
but then i've gotta run
we're crawling back
behind the fire's light
beyond the violet do-si-do
when we shall speak
perhaps we'll never know
perhaps we'll never know
this nowhereland
is where i wanna go
it's where i wanna lay my bones
and call it home
i thought you'd start anew
and paint a picture of the point
you never saw in front of you
instead you lay right here
and sleep to sleep a million years
beyond the glory of these tears
i thought we'd move along
and get to dryin' in the sun
you know you're not the only one
who comes and goes
we'll grab our coats
and get on down the road
to nowhereland...
-7/8/09
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10. |
The Thing That Jane Said
02:57
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THE THING THAT JANE SAID
jane says we gotta move along
it's about that time
and i wanna get back home
jane says we better get along
or the thunder's gonna get you
'fore too long
it's a long, long way
back to the garden
it's a long, long way
back to the grind
where the lightning shines
and we better do it right
for once, this time
jane says we gotta find a place
where the gravel in her eyes
would match my face
jane says we better find a place
'fore we get too worn out
to run the race
it's a long, long way
back to the garden
it's a long, long way
back to the grind
where the lightning shines
and we better do it right
for once, this time
if you can count to zero
mostly you may find
a calamity a-waitin' 'round the bend
if you can hear the train
derailing from the track
you better watch your back
or the next time you'll be
falling down again
jane says we gotta find a song
to sing before they shuffle us along
jane says we better find a song
or at least some peace
or a shelter from what's wrong
it's a long, long way
back to the garden
it's a long, long way
back to the grind
where the lightning shines
and we better do it right
for once, this time
-7/19/09
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11. |
See If It Sticks
04:17
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SEE IF IT STICKS
yeah, look around, yeah
at all the demons on the ground
they hide behind the tension and the shutters
and the sound, it's like a lion
or a line dance, fever in the street
we got another dirty number
and it's murder on our feet
we cannot hide it, hide
is there something to deny?
we spin around in circles
and pretend we're getting high
but do you buy it?
by the way, it never rolled away
it just settled in my pocket
but i just forgot to say
it's like this
we all waste our time at home
it's nothing personal
we all have no time at all
the writing's on the wall
let's throw it up right quick
and see if it sticks
it's like this
it's not the marbles that we miss
it's not the fire or the gold
or the poison or the fists
it's something else, like a moth
and it flickers all around
like a candle or the lightning
or the one true middle ground
it's like the sound
of hands clapping in the street
count em, one, or was it two
there's nothing like the stamp of feet
upon your face, and you faith is
spilling down the drain
your only hope is that you catch it all
before it turns to rain
it's like this
we all waste our time at work
it's nothing personal
we all waste our time at play
the seas still wash away
let's throw it out right quick
and see if it sticks
it's like this
we build a castle just for kicks
and tear it down, burn the town,
and rebuild it all again
we take it in, we take it in
and we nail it to the wall
and we paint it over 47 times
and we still fall into the trap, yeah the trap
that we set up in the flat
it's nothing much, just a mood
and a lousy one at that
but we're still here, and we're here
and there's nothing left to fear
but the nothing isn't nothing
and the nothing's ever near
it's like this
we all waste our time at home
it's nothing personal
we all waste our time at home
the writing's on the wall
we all waste our time at work
it's nothing personal
we all waste our time at play
the seas still wash away
let's throw it out right quick
and see if it sticks
-7/8/09
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12. |
Vines (reprise)
03:33
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Chris Anderson Alexandria, Virginia
Chris is a wildly prolific songwriter who has hovered among the outskirts of the music world for over 30 years. On his own
label, Flying Dachshund Music, Chris has released 154 CDs, 96 of them being full-length albums. That's just the tip of the iceberg and there are no signs of stopping. Ever.
chrisanderson-earlyfdm.bandcamp.com/music
chrisanderson-bg.bandcamp.com
... more
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