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. |
Reinvent The Lie
03:50
|
|||
|
REINVENT THE LIE
just like the dove
we're hanging on to love
to watch it grow
and flutter through the snow
into a soapy stain
when the idols take the reins
and blow by blow
they cover up the blood and go
to see the future
on the inside of their minds
wasting time
scraping off the residue of bygone crimes
and the mystery of the rain
won't wash away these sunken eyes
take a moment out to reinvent the lie
just like the sun
we're barely holding on
to seek the twilight
in the darkest hour of night
to feel the dirty wheel
pressed against this heart of steel
sometimes the only way to know
is just to go
capping off the years
when solace wiped away the tears
and dried the rain
when the only steps led down the spiral drain
waiting for the morning
when we'd do it all again with variations
celebrate the sky and reinvent the lie
just like the fog
we react like rabid dogs
poison flesh to flesh
it's only just a test
to be the wader now
to release the inner growl
on the first that makes a break
or hesitates
to reenact the moment
when we fell flat on our face
in front of grace
she had no hold on us
she's really kind of cold
and sometimes she comes
screaming down the wire
just in time
to rearrange the fire
and reinvent the lie
-7/18/06
|
||||
2. |
Kitestrings
02:53
|
|||
|
KITESTRINGS
the summer winds
always take me back again
reminder of a time ago
days like these
leave me in the trench
waiting for a way to go
or am i just too high?
my eyes, they wander
in the sweet bye & bye
i'm afraid of heights
still tangled in the kitestrings
waiting for the wind to blow
her nakedness
standing on her head
buried in the quicksand
two times over
and another one left
she holds it in her other hand
or am i just too high?
my eyes, they wander
in the sweet bye & bye
i'm afraid of heights
still tangled in the kitestrings
waiting for the wind to blow
over the top
wandering about
i'm waiting for the wind to blow
here i am again
just hov'rin in the wind
i'm waiting for the wind to blow
or am i just too high?
my eyes, they wander
in the sweet bye & bye
i'm afraid of heights
still tangled in the kitestrings
waiting for the wind to blow
-7/27/02
|
||||
3. |
Sittin' Down
03:28
|
|||
|
SITTIN' DOWN
"Meet me in the kitchenette", you said
Laugh and laugh along
A thousand words spill out your head
Secondary comfort zone
And all those faces come and gone
Keep it in your skin
And wait for everyone to fly
No one is a genius
When they're falling from the sky
And you can save it
For the sun's gonna shine
And we'll be laughing
On that last go 'round
And now I'm saying here
For one last time
Yo, I'm sittin' down
Somewhere in the cupboard
With the wine
Drink and drink alone
I see those colors every time
Another face to laugh about
Falling down and falling out
Thinking's never thinking
When you're thinking on the fly
Everyone's a genius now
Do you wanna kiss the sky?
Now you can save it
For the sun's gonna shine
And we'll be laughing
On that last go 'round
And now I'm saying here
For one last time
Yo, I'm sittin' down
Sleep and sleep alone...
-July 2001
|
||||
4. |
Million Million
04:45
|
|||
|
MILLION MILLION
9:15 and the bell starts ringing
What a way to start the day
Behind my house, the gate's a-swinging
Footprints in the sand will wash away
Tiny lights on tiny cars
Tiny skirts in tiny bars
Masquerade your face
You're looking mighty mighty grey
Talk about the sky
And it's a million million miles away
'Til we both fly.
10:16 and my head's still ringing
What a way to live the day
Inside that bar, the fish start drinking
Footprints in the snow will melt away
Tiny signs on tiny walls
Tiny doors in tiny halls
Hide behind your face
Until you're not so very grey
You talk about the sun
Like it's a million millon miles away
Eyes are eyes and teeth are teeth
Yeah, mine are rotten underneath *
12:15 and the bell stops ringing
What a way to end the day
Those fucking dogs are always screaming
Footprints in the air will drift away
Tiny lights on tiny cars
Tiny skirts in tiny bars
Masquerade your face
You're looking mighty mighty grey
Talk about the sky
And it's a million million miles away
'Til we both fly.
-September 2000
* - Stephen Malkmus
|
||||
5. |
Calamity Jane
02:42
|
|||
|
CALAMITY JANE
calamity jane flies a plane thru the city space
lights seem smaller than a newborn child's face
even when she cries she can't see thru those battered eyes
and world war seventeen knocks her from her velvet sheen
and takes another spin outside
she walks and talks like the roman army's on her side
calamity jane flies a plane thru the desert skies
no wind greater than air of her stupid lies
lines so crossed that you can never get thru
but even when you do it's a waste of you
and your imagination's better outside
she screams and cries like her god has fluttered from her eyes
calamity jane flies a plane thru the heart of suns
she don't feel the heat as it takes her over one by one
no time thinking of the past or the future
hell, she don't even think of the
moments when we teach her
that it doesn't matter what she says
when she moans and groans and complains like all the rest
-7/26/03
|
||||
6. |
This Old Engine
06:21
|
|||
|
THIS OLD ENGINE
meloncholy demons flutter all around her head
on that day, it was a monday, when we thought we found her dead
on the dark side of the river with an angel in her head - come over
simonie was a half-baked child who fought the laws of time
and tried and rearrange her thoughts and pass them off as mine
still, i kept on stumbling, moving further down the line
this old engine's gonna blow your mind
so delicate in half-dim light, she fought to hide away
behind the old pavilion with the ghost of yesterday
she laughed and said "i'm sorry man, i don't know what to say - talk slower"
we talked about the weather and we talked about the wine
i laughed and said "it's better now, i know what we can find"
on the runway, she was waiting there, her eyes a worryin' vine
this old engine's gonna blow your mind
we took the car and drove to see that healer from the show
i turned and saw the time and said "can't talk - i gotta go"
i laughed at her excuses and i said "i told you so - it's over"
her eyes, i saw them open for the 42nd time
like a superficial psychopath who says that all is fine
but still i kept on pining coz she's still a friend of mine
this old engine's gonna blow your mind
-Fall 2000
|
||||
7. |
Confess
05:06
|
|||
|
CONFESS
you confessed to the killing
you confessed to the crime
you looked her up and down
like you were both doing time
you had your head in the stones
and your heart in the dirt
you took a second out
to think about what it was all worth
to you now
it'll make you crazy anyhow
you confessed to the lying
you confessed to the rain
your boots were too big
to stop the cryin' train
she's possessed by the motion
of her tears on your cheek
her heart's a wide ocean
but her will is a creek
or canal
it'll make you crazy anyhow
and all this talk about
winding down
and winding up
on the wrong side of town
it's the people in the magazines
that i just don't like
all this talk about
waking up
and shaking up
and breaking up
it's a new thing
chaining our woes
to the weary spike
you confessed to the laughter
you confessed to the joke
but you still hide behind
all the mirrors and smoke
you got a partial redemption
and a stash in your seat
for every time that they mention
all the chaff in your wheat
take a bow
it'll make you crazy anyhow
and all this talk about
mending up
or sending up
or just ending up
it's the face behind the face
that i just can't see
and all this talk about
making love
or making noise
or just making sense
we gotta tear down the fence
but keep a little bit of levity
you confessed to the warning
you confessed to the light
but you can't tell the morning
from a hole in the night
your pockets are filled
with all the gravel and gold
that you stole from the purses of
everyone they told you about
it'll make you crazy anyhow
you confessed to the preacher
you confessed to the pope
you confessed to the jury
at the end of your rope
you confessed to your mother
you confessed to your saint
you confessed to the mirror
you can see that it ain't
heavy now
it'll make you crazy anyhow
and all this talk about
shaping up
and shaking off
it just ain't enough
we gotta sing to the
poision in print that we all deny
and all this talk about wanting
bleeding, longing, loving
believing or needing
it's times like these
when we just can't escape the high
you confessed to the modern
you confessed to the past
you confessed to the ones
who said it wouldn't last
you confessed to the wisdom
and the signs of the times
you confessed to the dogs
and the rats, and those pulling the plow
it'll make you crazy anyhow
-9/11/06
|
||||
8. |
The Yammering Song
06:05
|
|||
|
THE YAMMERING SONG
I looked around her
and I saw that she was laughing out loud
aloud to nothing at all
but this I said I was a gypsy king
and that was just the life
the life I never should have lead
in this reflection
I saw images that were not my own
and so I cried myself to sleep
and dreamt of thirty years ago
when you all were strange
but never so bold
and aye im just a rambler
a man, a boy - that I cant decide
but this is all so new to me
what did you say when you walked away
and said that I could live
but all the same you walked away
I have never felt so old
decrepit but romantic
this must be a dream
and yet im never so sure
what it was you said
when you said goodbye
so as I sing this song again
i'll only think of
what this could have been
if it wasn’t just
the same goddamn thing again
whoa!
-1990
|
||||
9. |
Old Bones
03:47
|
|||
|
OLD BONES
the other day, i thought of you
it was something in your face
the way it tripped my dream
you were just how i remember you
from all those years ago
you came to me
with stories of your
brand new sort of life
you always walk and talk
just like a storm wind blows
sit down, shake it off
humor my old bones
no leap of faith
or act of grace
could break me now
and again today, i thought of you
i remember how you ached
and wept about the time
and all the distance in between
here and all those years ago
you'd start me up, wind me down
scatter ashes 'cross the town
blowing up and over
like a storm wind blows
sit down, shake it off
humor my old bones
no leap of faith
or act of grace
could break me now
-3/31/05
|
||||
10. |
Bridges Burning
06:01
|
|||
|
BRIDGES BURNING
every time i sing the blues
i get mysterious
sometimes delerious
every time i'm set to lose
i get so furious
maybe i'm just spurious
who really knows for sure?
is there a cancer for the cure?
or just a little red radio fly
buzzing around the source?
you better not stand here
while the bridges are burning
you better not get caught up
between the laughter and the yearning
you better not wait around
or touch it while it's turning
no, you better not cross
while the bridges are burning
every time i bring the pain
i get sentimental
or kinda judgemental
every time i caught in the rain
sometimes i am gentle
or just detrimental
who really knows for sure?
is there staccato in that slur?
or just a half-baked resolution
penciled in between the stir?
you better not talk too loud
while the bridges are burning
you better not act too proud
before you know all that you're learning
you better not wait around
or cry or be discerning
no, you better not cross
while the bridges are burning
every time i loose the chains
i get regimented
sometimesdemented
every time my interest wanes
i feel like i am dented
or just lamented
who really knows for sure?
is there a bark inside that purr?
or just a tailored, stock response
to the widows of the war?
yeah, you better find a new way out
while the bridges are burning
better not get too spent
before you grab all that you're earning
you better not go too fast
before your moment of returning
no you better not cross
while the bridges are burning
every time i shoot the moon
i get elated
sometimes deflated
every time i grease the spoon
i feel created
or just sedated
who really knows for sure?
is there a marker where we were?
or just a loosely based impression
of our bare feet on the floor?
no, you better not cross
while the bridges are burning
-2/28/06
|
||||
11. |
Saskatchewan
03:40
|
|||
|
SASKATCHEWAN
i wanna go to saskatchewan baby
escape the heat baby
escape the everyday
i wanna go to saskatchewan maybe
we'll buy a farm baby
and sleep in peace maybe
and all those thoughts
those nasty politicians
amass their ammunition
and crash and burn along
and all our days
will be spent so far away
but i never meant to say
that they'd never do no wrong
and though it's gonna be cold
it doesn't matter
still better than the clatter
we dealt with for so long
and all our nights we'll be
laying by the fire
relaying our desire
to play another song
-3/20/03
|
||||
12. |
Leaving Asking Questions
03:17
|
|||
|
LEAVING ASKING QUESTIONS
Too many days gone
Too many ways to play this game I made for you
The words, they buckle all around you
Too many ghost scenes
Coast to coast and sea to sea
The sun will shine down
Save a table, we'll be back tomorrow
Leaving asking questions
Arrive without the answers
I don't believe in asking questions.
And all those laugh tracks
And those phony in-jokes
Smiles are all jive-talkers
Shake 'em off and just keep walking
Don't say I'm too old
Don't steal this gold
It's all I have from all this gawking
A tiny picture staring down tomorrow
Leaving asking questions
Arrive without the answers
I don't believe in asking questions.
Her voice, it haunts me
Too many choices
Taunting every move I make
Think it over, take two steps and
That lost reflection
She does her best not to
Infect me with her nonsense
Leave it on the table 'til tomorrow
Leaving asking questions
Arrive without the answers
I don't believe in asking questions.
-May 2001
|
||||
13. |
Me & I
06:02
|
|||
|
ME & I
some days you feel like cutting loose
and some days you wanna fly
some days you think you've got the blues
take a step and pass them by
some days you think you made the grade
and some days you tear it down
some days you're lost in the parade
around the bend, it never ends
me and i, we shine out like the summer
me and i, we got a good thing on the ground
me and i, we see all that we imagine
it's a draw, we're calling now
some days you hold it in your hand
and some days you let it go
some days you see into the future
for the necessary flow
some days it's like a caterwaul
and some days it's a whisper
some days we're set up just to fall
into the faint abyss
me and i, we're white as last december
me and i, we're like a mountian on the rise
me and i, take all that we consider
to be aloof or be alive
some days we read between the lines
and some days we take it
some days we're swinging from the vines
just to reawaken
some days it's like a thousand words
some days it's just a picture
some days we reenact the flood
to wash away the dust, yeah
me and i, we fade into the background
me and i, we look good here on the bank
me and i are of two minds caught together
and there's no one left to thank
-2/5/08
|
||||
14. |
Mississippi Train
02:17
|
|||
|
MISSISSIPPI TRAIN
every single state line looks the same
through the eyes of the train
every baggage claim
has its own resistance
mirrorballs and movie stars
cash advance and cheap applause
i keep writing all my letters home
still you keep me jumpin' off the track
mississippi train
and every mountain looks the same
through the eyes of the train
every movie car shows the same thing twice
drop me off in fields of gold
and leave me there til i get old
think of me each time you give advice
still you keep me jumpin' off the track
mississippi train
hold me down, don't let me walk
throw your stones across the loch
every time you speak, you sound the same
mississippi train
and every skyline looks the same
through the eyes of the train
every railroad tie
has seen me once or twice
left my home, forgot to pack
sold my soul, i can't go back
some day i'll make it
even if i try
still you keep me jumpin' off the track
mississippi train
-spring 1998
|
||||
15. |
Fallin' Down
07:24
|
|||
|
FALLIN' DOWN
look at the sky, look at the ground there
look at them floating in the cold air
dot your i's and join the party
picket fence, green grass, we're starting
taking steps, too rash, too latent
breaking lines too dashed, too jaded
a million years we all have wasted
a minute more, we're sure to break it
fallin' down - tryin' not to get in the way again
fallin' down - tryin' not to get in the way again
this dirty town is holding me back
it won't let me in
fallin' down - starin' at the wind
and the driving rain
fallin' down - but i don't think
i could leave this place again
i left those moments in the mirror
it's not as though they were too clear
borderlines and jagged coastlines
morterbricks and sippin' old wine
the days keep slippin' thru the sifter
no time to think or just uplift
making way for new salvation
or at least a new imagination
fallin' down - tryin' not to get in the way again
fallin' down - tryin' not to get in the way again
this dirty town is holding me back
it won't let me in
fallin' down - runnin' from the wind
and the driving rain
fallin' down - but i don't think
i could leave this place again
supermen are only fiction
no test of wills, no contradiction
no telegrams, no mental queries
no time to mingle when you're steering
fallin' down...
-9/6/04
|
||||
16. |
Zero Jane
02:41
|
|||
|
ZERO JANE
zero jane was holding hands
alone and whispering commands
demanding locks and keys
zero jane could hold applause
understanding all the laws
of nature, bending in the breeze
and still her eyes were closing on this
and still her hands would break
and bend in shapes unknown
sometimes her walls are imposing
zero jane would always say
the best is better on the way
to somewhere other than this hole
zero jane knew happenstance
was more design than random chance
events are worth her weight in fools gold
zero jane and idle bill
drunk and stumbling down the hill
laughing laughing on their way
zero jane let go his hand
to squat on some old borrowed land
where she figured she would stay
-5/24/02
|
||||
17. |
||||
|
THE BIGGEST DANCE HALL IN THE WORLD
i woke up screaming down on baker's port
after some late night masquerade
her hands were colder than a missionary's mother's face
that scowled at every move i made
she looked just like mary
she kneeled by the side of him
\she taste just like cherry
i sank more than i swam
her words were spilled along the riverside
but i could learn to read and write
her glass was empty so she turned away
and drove into the night
she laughed just like mary
but she wept at the sight of him
her perfume was more than ordinary
i sank more than i swam
she wrestled the angels from my face
threw on a hand me down soul of sorts
sold out and waiting in her own carnival
one stop ride, she's got two tickets and a cheap disguise
and all the while she screamed
on the bust out of heaven
and all my wily demons dragged her down
sit down
oh man, i'm so tired of aging
i took another drink and laughed again
emotion seems to me absurd
her head was hanging as she slithered
back with her tail between
just couldn't say another word
and she cried just like mary
and then leapt at the sight of him
her hea was too much for me to carry
so i sank more than i swam
and when i woke up i was playing
in the biggest dance hall in the world
and when i woke up i was __________
in the biggest dance hall in the world
and when i broke down, i kept screaming
in the biggest dance hall in the world
and when i woke up, i kept smiling...
-january 1997
|
||||
18. |
||||
|
SOME DAYS I REALLY FEEL LIKE I'M A SCHMUCK
some days i'm kinda bitter
and some days i'm a wreck
some days i'm out to get her
some days i look like heck
some days i'm just pretending
i don't even have a buck
some days i really feel like a schmuck
some days my heart is open
some days the vault is closed
some days i'm tired of hoping
that i could get me one of those
some days i wander cursing
words like shit & piss & fuck
some days i really feel like a schmuck
some days i feel i'm tattered
some days i'm up on top
some days it doesn't matter
if it's ever gonna stop
some days i wonder if i'm really
running out of luck
some days i really feel like a schmuck
some days i'm not in the mood
some days i find i am
some days i'm full of attitude
some days i'm full of spam
some days i can separate
and other days i'm stuck
some days i really feel like a schmuck
some days i lie a little
some days i lie a lot
some days i state the obvious
even if it's not
some days i walk on water
and some days i'm in the muck
some days i really feel like a schmuck
some days i find the pleasure dome
some days i'm in a hole
some days i'm sober in my home
some days i smoke a bowl
some days i'm doctor feelgood
some days i'm mister yuck
some days i really feel like a schmuck
some days this song is over
some days it's just begun
some days it's kinda boring
some days it's kinda fun
some days it's transcendant
and some days it just sucks
some days i really feel like a schmuck
-4/22/03
|
||||
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
If you like Chris Anderson, you may also like:
Making The Saint
by Chris Schlarb
Truck-driving Asthmatic Kitty recording artist, releases 5 new pensive tracks, recorded solo, in an old cabin.
go to album
California group Floral combines dizzying guitar work with frenetic drumming for head-spinning, deeply complex post-rock.
go to album
Crunchy punk rock with angular riffs, unexpected time changes and big guitars right up front (and also lasers.)
go to album
The Calming Influence of Teeth (Reissued and Remastered)
by Boss Keloid
featured on Bandcamp Radio Mar 15, 2024
go to album
featured on Bandcamp Radio Oct 27, 2023
go to album
featured on Bandcamp Radio Oct 27, 2023
go to album
featured on Bandcamp Radio Oct 27, 2023
go to album
