1. |
Neil the Dancing Girl
03:15
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My best friend was Neil
We loved to parade around town
We were a low budget Daisy and Gatsby
We wore thrift shop clothes mostly.
Our favorite thing to do
Was go to Noise rock shows at Hampshire college
And by the end of the show we usually were dancing (instead)
To the songs in our own heads
I wonder if Elliott Smith was there
At those shows at Hampshire college
Because he went to school there around the same time
He probably thought we were dumb
Well I miss him, Neil
We’d dance all night
We’d do the can can
When we could
Me and Neil.
The dancing girl.
Neil the dancing girl.
Us UMass kids and private schools didn’t mix
At least not in my experience
But we got to see free bands
And I could dance all night
With Neil the dancing girl
Neil and I lost touch
He told me he was a victim of ritual abuse
Then he started having weird friends
And stopped drinking
Neil the dancing girl.
I miss him, Neil
We’d dance all night
We’d do the can can
When we could
Me and Neil.
The dancing girl.
Neil the dancing girl.
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2. |
Competitive Clara
02:09
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I never understood
female competition
It’s like it’s some sort of
bullshit sexual selection
And i am not an animal
I make my own decisions
There’s nothing wrong with animals
But I like to think i use my head
so when i met miss clara
i treated her with respect
i didn’t have an agenda
i guess i didn’t expect
That She was plotting against me
She wanted what i had then
Our conversation turned ugly
For her its all about men.
So competitive Clara
Hows all that working out for you?
Did you get what you wanted?
Like an animal in the zoo.
Your mating call it boomed out
And your species came running
For that sexual arms race
Your plumage was so stunning
I guess your genes were better
For that sperm competition
And i really don’t blame you
It’s all for evolution
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3. |
Johnny and Mary
03:09
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4. |
Party
02:59
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When we had parties I’d sit on my porch
And wave to passerby
I’d say “yeah we’re having a party.
Would you like to come inside.”
We’d have art and music
And bands would play
Sometimes it went til 5.
Yeah we’re having a party
Would you like to come inside.
With a cheap bottle of vodka
I’d make a punch
I spent all I had
And it wasn’t much
We’d wear crazy costumes
And dance all night
Our record collection
Kept us feeling allright
You didn’t need money
Young and in Allston
In 1995
Yeah we’re having a party
Would you like to come inside.
We didn’t care about appearances
We didn’t have a plan
We just did whatever came into our heads
Our house was a big playpen
We’d sit and wait for people to show
Some music scene people that we know
Some were friendly and some were not
But they came to our parties,
Yeah they came to our parties.
No party was ever the same
Sometimes I was high
Sometimes I was sitting by the phone
waiting for some guy
I’d say “yeah I’m having a party
Would you like to come inside”
When we had parties
I’d sit on my porch
And wave to passerby
I’d say “yeah we’re having a party.
Would you like to come inside?”
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5. |
Night at the Cooler
02:31
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I walked into the place
And didn’t exactly get
The welcome I had hoped to expect
Some ass called me a Sonic Slut
And the audience, they tried to shut
Us out.
But the band was nice
I made them a pie
You could tell he was the apple of her eye
Cuz she haunted my dreams
In the van that night
She turned into a wolf
And she tried to bite
Ouch!
I learned one thing Playing in New York
It’s not about your music or your art
The scene only cares If you’re a part
And if you’re not Don’t hope to try
Trust fund kids Man the door
You need not apply If you’re poor.
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6. |
Lady of the Lake
02:52
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This is my lullabye
To the lady of the lake
You can see her in the sky
She’s the lady of the lake
She was the lady of the lake
She was the bus that you didn’t take
She gave you love that she didn’t fake
She was the lady of the lake
This is my lullabye
To the lady of the lake
You can see her in the sky
She’s the lady of the lake
She was the
star of the whole show
She geared you up and made you go
She taught you things that you didn’t know
She was so young, she was so old.
This is my lullabye
To the lady of the lake
You can see her in the sky
She’s the lady of the lake
She was the sun when things turned cold
She took you in and she would hold
You in her arms and she never asked
For anything in return.
This is my lullabye
To the lady of the lake
You can see her in the sky
She’s the lady of the lake
She was the beauty in the dirt
She’d give the world her only shirt
You’ll never meet anyone like her
You never will.
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7. |
Tom and the Dog
02:43
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My ex boyfriend talked to anyone he met -
He was the ex boyfriend you’ll never forget -
He didn’t judge
In his collection
Of the strange and the lonely
(He didn’t quite abide by the standards of society)
There was a man named Tom with a dog
Tom would come over
Tom liked to talk
I was always polite
But I never quite got
Exactly What is was that my ex boyfriend
Thought.
Was he friendly to everyone
Rich, poor, big and small
Because he didn’t need them
Or he needed them all?
Tom with the dog
Would come over unannounced.
He’d never call first.
His silly dog would pounce.
And make a mess of our bathroom garbage can.
Embarassing messes in front of a man.
I was always polite
But I never really had
anything to say To Tom and the dog.
There was a man named Tom with a dog
Tom would come over
Tom liked to talk
I was always polite
But I never quite got
Exactly What is was that my ex boyfriend
Thought.
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8. |
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Dawn and a bottle of wine
Dawn and a bottle of wine
She’d bring out all her 45s
Dawn and a bottle of wine
When I was just 25
She liked to give me advice
She was the ripe old age of 39
Dawn and a bottle of wine
She was feelin oh so fine
When she finished that wine
She took my palm and read the lines
Dawn and a bottle of wine
She looked at me and then she sighed
Dawn and a bottle of wine
She said “Girl you’ve had a really rough time”
Dawn and a bottle of wine
And I still still think of her from time to time
Dawn and her bottle of wine
In that attic room she liked to hide
With her huge collection of 45s
She’d give you advice
If you gave her your time
Dawn and a bottle of wine
And stories to go with every 45
Dawn and a bottle of wine
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9. |
Spirit Haus
02:42
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After college I got a job -
It wasn’t much but it paid the rent -
I managed to mess up my fingers real bad -
From some nasty fungus the bottles had -
My old professor from Middle Eastern Studies -
She came in one day and she saw me -
She said: “well i guess it’s good for the environment” -
But she didn’t appear to approve of my predicament. -
Then one day a guy from Hampshire college came in -
And I told him his fancy bottle wouldn’t get him a dime -
He said “stupid people at stupid jobs”
But I think he meant poor people that time.
Bottle redemption department
Bottle redemption section
I worked there because it wasn’t too bad
But no one else seemed to agree
Bottle redemption department
Bottle redemption section
I worked there because they gave me a job
And it was pretty easy.
I don’t remember why I left that job
Maybe I moved away
It wasn’t the customers, it wasn’t the fungus
That made me leave my job that day
Oh now I remember,
I came into money
$4000 to be exact
From a bank account
My grandmother left me in the 70s
For me it was a lot
So I quit my job
And took up being rich
Mostly I went to bars.
I spent it all
Pretty quick
Them I left town.
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10. |
Palm of Your Hand
01:55
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She said: "You Have the World in the Palm of Your Hand."
Dreams, like drops, they fall
Fall into a puddle
Do you have a barrel I could use?
Barrels filled with dreams.
Take them to the place that barrels go
A warehouse full of fools.
Drops like dreams, they fall.
If you try to grab them
they’ll slip through your hands because they’re invisible.
Go on hold them in your hands
Just pretend that you can see them too.
I dare you.
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Leah Callahan
Known for experimental pioneers Turkish Delight US, critics’ darling Betwixt, and shoegazers The Glass Set, singer-
songwriter Leah Callahan navigates between pop and art-rock on her 2023 album Cut-Ups, which charted in the top 200 on North American college radio NACC200.
Callahan's next album "Curious Tourist" is set to release April 29, 2024.
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