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The Great Beforetimes

by The Great Beforetimes

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1.
Well the sunlights been peekin through since a quarter til a half past 6 And I spent the whole time just losin my mind over the way it dances on your lips When suddenly awareness of the passin of the time Like a railcar on my ribcage as another train goes by The dogs start pacin back and forth, you say that we should get a move on too And though my heart rejoice at the sound of your voice, I don't think I can bear to move In this relief the world could burn and I would be just fine So stay with me until another train goes by I gave up cocaine but I’d sell my shirt for a bump right now Are these growin pains or the first breaths of my hardest comedown I buck and spin tryna read you madeleine Woulda thought I’d learn by now Chirps and vibrations from your bedside table say goodmornin fore I waste my breath I know that dreams are cheap, but I heard in my sleep that winter’s just a yearly test I once believed that all could heal if given ample time Now I lose sleep with every other train goin by So I put my work boots on, and I get a little high I wish I could recall how I felt last fall, aint it funny all that slips my mind So take your leave, I won’t even take a leaf of what’s not mine Already got both feet on a freighter pullin west down the line
2.
Overgrown 05:52
Well I’ve been walkin down some highways and toll roads This broken ground is talking, where once was barren is now overgrown Now I owe my life to death I owe my gods the rest All that's mine is this listless reverie And it's been raining for 40 days but I’m parched as a bone All my mem'ries fadin, sunbleached by a light that all around me shown Now, I got a restless tongue I’ve never been but young Am I defined by this listless reverie And I’m right in the middle of my skin But oooh, I’m not sure how long I'll be here Where prophets call, my spirit wanders Where towers fall my spirit wanders And one and all we all shall wander - Bodies stalled, our spirits wander When my mind is breaking cause I spent too much time on my couch in my house all alone All my fears I’m takin, making every one of them a loud, loud and rattlin bone Oh how sweet to forget I’m not my own self yet I’m still defined by this listless reverie And I’m right in the middle of my skin But I’m not sure how long ill be here Where prophets call, my spirit wanders Where towers fall my spirit wanders And one and all we all shall wander - Bodies stalled, our spirits wander It’s been a long time comin. Long time comin. Long time comin But now that long times come and gone
3.
Calming Down 04:11
Fold me up, I’m gettin wrinkled and a blown around Like a paper cup, drip stains from the rim on down Cause I don’t wanna be a go getter I’m just tryin to get out of this alive Old enough, nobody blinks when you get it right Fingers rough, been grabbin roots just to slow my slide Cause I don’t wanna be a go getter I’m just tryin to get out of this alive The feeling of calmin down The feeling of calmin down The feeling of calmin down The feeling Scream and shout into the mirror bout your heavy load then Face the crowd, and stutter somethin from a script you wrote You don’t have to be a go getter Do whatcha gotta do to get you out alive Burnin out, but I can fight so long as I can stand this Aimless doubt that brings the ground up to meet these hands I always thought I was a go getter Now I’m just dyin to get out of this alive
4.
Cut of Sod 03:53
Lift me up on laughter Lift me up cause I ain’t so tall anymore I could brush the rafters But not with my feet on the floor Wake me up in Dayton Wake me up when the trees ain't runnin to more Cause I could plant a garden But not in a concrete floor My face is to the sun My legs gone stiff and my feet won’t run Too many roots undone I was a cut of sod, but now I thank my gods Their love is ancient It stands like a willow in a summer storm Oh to sit within it and sing to the rain as it pours
5.
River Ballad 03:01
Four feet planted in eroding soil Two heads baptized, one with water, one with oil Gotta leap, but these souls is slick And the thought of breakin loose makes my head sick There’s a boulder midst the rapids, bout 4 foot wide And a jump would clear the gap, but would I stand or or would I slide? Gotta loosen my grip on these hands in mine ‘Fore the water claims us both, coulda sworn I had more time The taste of iron, but in my bones I did not enter this world nor will I leave it alone The river’s cold and deep, yes it’s cold and deep But the stones they sing, yes the stones they sing They say Ya---ah--weh Abba Yahweh Yaweh Wasted months, wasted years When I feel that all is waste, well I get wasted outta fear The Spirit tells me, “child, ya aint just what ya make You aint just what ya have, you sure ain’t what you take You’re reachin out for rocks, cuttin up your hands Mistakin driftwood for dry land Close your eyes, relax your grip, If you aint holdin onto nothin then from nothin will you slip
6.
Addonai 05:09
It’s a long way back from heaven, it’s a long way home from here Every mile behind me’s one mile from you my dear I may be the worst of sinners, but damn I’m holy when you’re near So why’m I walkin up this river? Well someone told me home’s up river Who spoke like into this frame? Addonai, Addonai Did I fuck up or who’s to blame for what I Could I have maybe come out wrong this time, Addonai? Feels like when you sit too long on a lie Who made hold to feed let go? Addonai, Addonai And who taught squashes how to grow on a vine? And who made marshes one part sea? Addonai, Addonai And then saw fit to think up me, fuckin life It’s a long way back to heaven, it’s a long way home from here Every mile behind me’s one mile less my dear And I’ll always be a sinner, but I’m holy cause I’m here On a sunny bank down river, in this sacred land of sinners
7.
2 Cents 04:04
I was keepin my 2 cents in a pocket of flesh I was rollin my bad days into cigarettes I got a soul to meet, and I’m prepared for you to leave Til the day that I can look you in the eye Ever wish you was a blackbird or a sycamore tree Ever ask the creator what they made you to be I’ll wrestle with the gods myself and you can pray for someone else If all your prayin’s for a part of me to die Please know I love you And know that if I didn’t, I’d’a kept my damn mouth shut It’s hardly new For me to lie But you want the truth Least that’s what ya say, though of late don’t know bout what It’s hard to do And it takes time Don’t wait up, no don’t wait up for me That hill you’re dyin on ain’t Golgotha but Gethsemane You’re cryin, "Abba, father, why have you forsaken me?" While your hands hold a sword and your ear it bleeds Ask me what, what do I need from you? I told ya all I need’s for you to say you’re human too I’ve screamed it wrote it out in kerosene my temple through Your blind assurance is a yolk bound to the privileged few
8.
For ya too 04:13
Been tryna write a song bout you Spent weeks just pickin at this stale line It goes up and down and back again Like a dizziness I get when I'm still high But that disorienting swirl ain't nothin that I felt round you, my dear So I guess it ain't a song bout you But I wrote the bridge the last time you were here To every lover, god, hell even every enemy I've had something to sing cause most have had a table set when I arrive Before they ask "what did ya bring?" So then I'd write a song to prove My place or justify my stew That always seems to drip between fork tines (But you made it clear that) I can't write A song for you Til I believe that I deserve one too Is it something bout the way you greet The morning like a friend you's waitin on That raises every hair along my side that sunlight touches at the dawn I'm thinkin no less than all The glistening, melting frost could e'er outshine The crackling embered afterglow Of knowing I'm worth being on your mind I pick the crust out of my eyes and catch the scent that your hair left upon my palm Makes me wander to the mirror and see My body, sunlit, naked as a psalm Then the last bug songs of autumn Adorn these moments while they got em And all their chirps start blending to a tune So I'm goan try to play it true Cause I believe they sang it for ya too
9.
Ran outta gas on my way to evermore Broke down on your couch I can't recall what I thought I was looking for Used to sing about apocalypse til apocalypse did come Now the only blinding light I'm tryna see is that porch light on Would you tell me 'gain bout that thing that brings you life When it comes round 'gain, would you thank it for me kind? Smoke in my head and a fire in my belly Quit burning other folks brush to stoke the coals what's in me Rum and chamomile, sweet potato, lime Been simmerin in that crockpot so long this whole house smell like suppertime Would you tell me 'gain bout that thing that brings you life When it comes round 'gain, would you thank it for me kind?
10.
Gaspin 04:32
The sky’s a grayin but I’m still wide awake It’s all replayin and I can’t but buck and shake And there’s a demon whisperin “it’s too late to learn what we don’t know by now” Fine dining's anything but rice n beans Got me wonderin if I’ll ever know what sayin “sure” means Should I be diggin through my days or dreams To find what we don’t know by now? Oh, I don’t know but I’m sure it’s a lie Been starin at the wall diggin my veins out all night No I don't know, but I sure am alive How bout you? And I don’t know why you’re makin that face I’ve seen that one before, but something’s out of place Like a show where someone trips and unplugs the bass But in you And I don’t know who’s makin that sound But I don’t think it’s me and it’s too goddamn loud I watch my fingers like vines stretch to silence the whole crowd But you Sometimes my dog’s all that keeps me sane, When I can’t trust a smile or hand or phrase And I’m not sure if I’m to blame for what we don’t know by now Red flags refract from another light Cause this self don’t exist beyond its place in the fight So if ya ask if I’m alright Well we sure don’t know by now

about

folk tunes from the 9th apocalypse

credits

released May 3, 2022

Recorded and engineered by Lance Koehler, at Minimum Wage Recording in Richmond, Va
Produced by Trey Hall of Vocal Rest Records
Mastered by Allen Bergendahl, Viking Recording
Artwork by Valerie Burgess of Big Fog, LLC
The Great Beforetimes are: Ceili Gallante, Taimir Gore, and Ærn Stapel
Songwriting by Ærn Stapel
© Vocal Rest Records 2022

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The Great Beforetimes Richmond, Virginia

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