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1. |
Greatness
03:29
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Greatness (Emaj)
do we still believe
can we achieve
yes you insist
on greatness
goodness wasn’t adequate
all those starving children
fairness in all fairness
wasn’t much help
old and naive
we have this crazy need
it’s deeply rooted
in our mortality
losing sight of our lives
compressed into apartments
to think at other times
people actually changed shit
all these people that you’ve known
unlike those who’ve
left their homes
they took a stand for dailyness
you could easily describe
the years gone by
as just a way to hide
all that greatness
verse: Gbm7 | Ebm | Dbm
ch: Bmaj7 | Gb | E
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2. |
To Joy
02:40
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To Joy
like a baby at the breast
a child with a toy
something pulls us up
from sadness to joy
your lover left for a scholar
who just lost his job
the sun setting on the city
outshines us all
a planet moans in ecstasy and pain
-space is unconcerned
unlearning our lives
simplicity returns
Lenny Bruce in an ambulance
macking on the nurse
Pavlova on her deathbed
demanding the swanå costume
neither torn nor melted
with ambitions or regrets
just moving forward
with tiny little steps
something else to think about
one more thing to learn
exhibitions inspire
ideas burn
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3. |
Obsessives
02:21
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Obsessives
sometimes you know
what you’re doing even when you don’t
getting the blow up
out of the way way up front
someone
taking your heart apart; it’s not her fault
chemical levels
are what it’s all about
obsessives are only
worth a damn when they’re all the way on
pretty, lazy cats
when they’re not
desire’s leaning back
with all she’s got
beauty’s in the eye
of the distracted mind when it’s turned on
obsessives are the only things
that matter in every crowd
protecting the body
sounding an alarm that goes unheard
B7/11/F# | B7 | E9 (no 5) | C#7 | F#7/C# | G#7|D#
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4. |
Questionnaire
02:01
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Questionnaire
are you passionate
do you cry
at unanswered questions
at mysteries of life
do injustices
of the world
make you call in
sick from work
does the sight
of an unsmiling train
fill your gut
with laughing gas
do guitars
make you swoon
coupled with poetry
from your room
do you measure the distance
in moments
between yourself
and the world
imagining people
coming together
for something
more than sports
D | F | C
A | G | F#m
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5. |
Traffic Islands
02:47
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Traffic Islands
Amongst poorly designed things
we construct relationships
The world does its thing
we go about our business
struggle it's trouble
dangerous and beautiful
swirling motions
of oceans of vehicles
all I ever need
is you to be here
nothing else matters
take my passwords
we vibrate we change
we do evil things
spending nights and days
balancing sanities
nights slow dancing
on broken glass
over the surface of a planet
made entirely of gas
morning thoughts
abstract, unbroken
fold themselves up
as the door opens
struggle it's trouble
dangerous and beautiful
swirling motions
of oceans of vehicles
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6. |
Ohmyfatherfatherfather
03:01
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Ohmyfatherfatherfather (fm)
The time I swear
I never saw it move
I was twenty-seven
last time I looked
I took the money
(it might be returned)
other things went missing
some things I learned
I get reminders
little stings
someone's born
someone's dying
other than that,
I don't feel a thing
the rock’n’roll
keeps me
hallucinating
I remember the songs
I forget the changes
I have these thoughts
how very convenient
for a regular job
and regular ambitions
I think of different times
of that happiness
wonder how you survived
I can’t imagine it
live a bit
die a bit
each day we take and give some of it
working to escape
thinking and dreaming
the golden past
falls out of our pockets
Cm | Eb
Ab | F
D | Bm | E | G
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7. |
My Favela
03:44
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My Favela (B)
come to my favela
everybody sings
the power of dreams
illuminates the city
thousands antennae
broadcasting
songs of love
to mansions on the hill
here in my favela
everybody reads
on playgrounds
where children teach
no dilemmas
with police
nothing’s here
nothing to steal
two deep pools
sharp hill in between
caves to explore
forest receding
moist jungles
fruit on trees
beaches like hummus
oceans of cream
come to my favela
make your film
let your hair down
where I live
don’t tell anyone
where you’ve been
badly painted signs
are easily missed
C#m9 | D#dim | Emaj9 G#7sus4 | B7#9 G#7#9
G#m | G3m9 | Bmaj | Amaj
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8. |
Dream of Life
02:46
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Dream of Life
between crawling and falling
we live our days
as we get closer
something moves away
sometimes we get lucky
love stays
before it becomes
something else
in the still of the night
Fred Parris sings
still we look around
for something moving
getting to the sweet spot
before sleep moves in
clocks take off
milking inspiration
for a dream of life that gets closer every night
falls to the heart through an open mind
tempered by the pain of everyday
irritations form pearls in the darkest depths
DM9 | FM9 | G9
Em | G7 | Dm7
C | FM7 | G
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Bob Gaulke
SInger/Songwriter/
Rootless cosmopolitan. I sometimes produce others.
Bob Gaulke recommends:
Emilia Cataldo is a great songwriter.
go to album
Due South/Donna Summer/Call The Cops
by The Welfare State
Eric Gregory and company are the best.
go to album
StillLife/RealLife
by Peri Mason
...because I co-wrote the songs!!!
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