1. |
She's A Keeper (Reprise)
04:43
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There’s a yellow house across the street
Sometimes at night I watch the people there sleep
From my front porch I see them clear
And think on the simple joy of having you near
And then I finish my smoke and climb the stairs
Come in close no one dares
It was a series of moments and number of words
Some of them blurry most of them slurred
Most of them worn with repeated use
It was “I love you” and “I’m sorry” as some kind of excuse
It was a sad holiday and a quiet drive
It was a goodbye letter that never arrived
She’s a reaper
My lips are sewn
She’s a keeper
But I can’t keep her for my own
She calls me up in the afternoon
To tell me the court date’s been set for June
I say that I hope that it rains for forty days
And it carries the courthouse away on a wave
She says “drinking again, well that’s no surprise”
Then she hangs up the phone without saying goodbye
She’s a reaper
My lips are sewn
She’s a keeper
But I can’t keep her for my own
I bet on it going my way in the end
Too stubborn to change, too bitter to bend
Too bitter to taste, too little to own
The mistakes that I’d made or the fits that I’d thrown
Or the sad consequence of a wasted ring
It’s a little life, it’s a funny thing
She’s a reaper
My lips are sewn
She’s a keeper
But I can’t keep her for my own
Halifax, NS - 2016
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2. |
Relative Thing
03:37
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I wake up, I look around, you’re sleeping on the ground
You’re sleeping on the ground beside my bed
I thought that you were gone, long gone
Long gone, long enough to clear your head
But you look warm, you look content
Just an angry angel heaven kindly sent
To my floor, to my bed, to my heart, to my head
To my heart
Now you feel shortchanged
Tell me who doesn’t feel shortchanged?
Who’s getting all they give,
And giving it just the same?
Mama, mama I know
This is just you and you told me so
You told me this is me and it’s okay, to feel that way
‘Cause it’s a relative thing,
Suffering
Good story, happy end, pleasant memory, faithful friend
Faithful friend, holy wonder
Bad luck, bad blood, bad heart, hard love
Hard love, rolling thunder
But I have been warned, I crossed a line
Your eyes are on the door, you’re ready to say goodbye
To my floor, to my bed, to my heart, to my head
To my heart
Now you feel shortchanged
Tell me who doesn’t feel shortchanged?
Who’s getting all they give,
And giving it just the same?
Mama, mama I know
This is just you and you told me so
You told me this is me and it’s okay, to feel that way
‘Cause it’s a relative thing,
Suffering
Banff, AB - 2018
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3. |
Hoped For More
03:00
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She folded and unfolded her ticket 20 times
Sitting on her suitcase, waiting in line
Mom’s out in the parking lot, pretending she’s on the phone
Allowing just a couple tears, then driving home
Looking out through the dirty glass
Through the rain and the cars going past to the
Sign that says YOUR AD HERE CALL
TOLL-FREE ANYTIME, she whispers on the quiet line
I’d hoped for so much more
I wanted so much more
Hey don’t I deserve a little more
On the plane from Coeur d’Alene
Tomato juice tasted the same
She leafed through the local news
Grieved through her leaving blues
Local time was 3 AM
3 degrees with a southeast wind
A bit of snow still hanging on
But nothing like Alberta
She got in at an ungodly hour
Drank some water, took a shower
By the light of the refrigerator
She whispered an angry prayer
Said it to thin air
I’d hoped for so much more
I wanted so much more
Hey don’t I deserve a little more
Monday morning, 8 AM
Late for work, late again
Used to cause all kinds of stress
But lately she’s been caring less
Nobody asks and just a couple know
Why last week she’d had to go
Mostly folks keep to themselves
And they don’t ask any questions
Banff, AB - 2018
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4. |
3 Different Towns
02:58
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Thank God she said he’s got a weak left hook
Lit a cigarette, gave a little look
I hope he’s not home when I got there
If he’s home I’ll kill him, I’ll kill him I swear
I just got this dog last week
He’s got so much goddamned energy
And I can’t walk him, I gotta go to work
I hope the landlord doesn’t find out
‘Cause I’ve lived in three different towns
Since January and it’s wearing me down
I just gotta find a place I can stay
And a man that’ll treat me okay
A little yard for the dog to run
It’s been hard trying to meet someone
I’ve got a little boy but he lives with is dad
Things were so good, before they went bad
I miss him sometimes, it feels like dying
But I don’t somehow I must be born to survive
And I wish that I could keep him but it’s better for him there
It’s hard for me to give him
The right kind of care he needs
That’s hard for me
‘Cause I’ve lived in three different towns
Since January and it’s wearing me down
I just gotta find a place I can stay
A place he could come visit someday
If his dad says that it’s alright
It’s gonna be a hell of a fight
I’ve been sitting in this parking lot
Just sitting and thinking since seven o’clock
I hate the thought of leaving, it’s more than I can bear
But I’ve wasted so much time, more than I can spare
If my baby doesn’t want me than that’s all I need to know
I know just how to pack my things and go
I wish that I could stay here, just the way I am
I wish that I could settle but I don’t think I can
‘Cuz I’ve lived in three different towns
Since January and it’s wearing me down
I just gotta find a place I can stay
Nashville, Tennessee - 2017
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5. |
For You
04:06
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For you I’d hope, for you I would abandon hope
For you I’d try, for you I would let it go
For you I’d lie, for you I’d speak the cold hard truth
For you
For you I’d speak and be heard
For you I’d lay down in the dirt
For you I would slip away, for only you I’d pull through
For you, for you
For you I’d stay, for you I would gladly stay
For you I’d drop it all and walk away
For you I’d stop, and start over new
For you, for you, for you
For you I’d smile, for you I would refuse to smile
For you I’d burn the bridge and walk the aisle
For you I’d turn a deeper shade of blue
For you
For you
For
You
Victoria, B.C. - 2017
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6. |
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There’s a picture of you that I will always keep,
I took one morning in Val Marie,
Your eyes are shining with the rising sun,
I knew as soon as I took it that I’d like that one.
There’s a picture of us at Lake Louise,
We wanted the water to be brochure green,
But the snow was slow to melt last spring,
We’re disappointed but we’re still smiling.
That was the last time I was sure,
That was the last time you were, too.
There’s a picture of us in Winnipeg,
I’d finished playing to an empty bar,
You got up on the stage with me,
I hope you get better but you don’t get far.
Further and further my mind moves on,
To the day we drove straight through Marathon,
Rented out a room in cold North Bay,
Where we passed two last days of grace.
After the last time I was sure,
After the last time you were, too.
Because summer came and then you went,
Back to paying full rent.
So all these pictures of you I will keep with me,
In case I ever go through Val Marie,
I’ll return them to that plain,
What I’d give just to hear you complain.
Still there’s one picture of you that I will always keep,
It’s one I see when I sleep,
I’m no more than seventeen,
And of you I don’t even dare to dream.
Banff, AB - 2018
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7. |
Effects
02:22
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He arranges all his things
just so:
shine on his boots,
boots by the door,
a pen, a pencil, a lighter and some picks,
a box from Kansas City of
wooden match-sticks.
He reads the Sunday paper,
he hates the Yankees,
he tries to read a column, the columnist is cranky.
He reads his horoscope; it doesn’t
do him any good.
Can you imagine if they knew? Just
imagine if they could.
Baby, baby, baby, why’d you let me down?
I’ve been trying to do better, I’ve been
trying to get around.
He arranges all his things;
he calls them his “effects.”
He puts some kibble in a bowl, his name on a cheque.
He listens to the message saved on the machine
I am just
stopping quick for cigarettes I’ll
see you in fifteen
Baby, baby, baby, why’d you leave me last fall?
I’ve been trying to do better but
today I hit a wall.
7:37 blinking on the microwave. Fly
buzzing, caught between a window pane.
He’s got a real mosaic
going on the table, a
collection of his garbage, a
collection of a fable. Well,
baby, baby, baby, why’d you let me down?
I’ve been trying to do better I’ve been
trying to get around.
He listens to the message saved on the machine
I am just
stopping quick for cigarettes I’ll
see you in fifteen.
K, bye.
Banff, AB - 2018
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8. |
Without You
03:09
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I’m not the kind to put my foot down.
I’m not the kind to make you stay.
If you feel like you need to get gone,
I won’t be standing in your way.
But, I might lie down in the street.
Please don’t leave me ‘cause I
cannot
live
without
you.
I was
dead when you
found me now I’m
feeling pretty good.
Please don’t leave me ‘cause I
cannot
live
without
you.
I haven’t got the answer, no
I haven’t got a
goddamned clue.
Please don’t
leave me ‘cause I
cannot live
without you.
You treat me like some kind of stranger.
You keep one eye upon the door.
If you feel like your good time’s in danger,
what can I do but walk the floor?
Victoria, B.C. - 2017
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9. |
Van Gogh
04:59
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How’s the baby?
Remember to sing to him.
It’ll be a week before
I can call again.
The warden is cracking down on us all and
I can’t find myself a dime
behind these prison walls.
I see him
on his way each day.
He doesn’t even have money to pay
for the rose he brings.
The smell of hospital is like home
and she won’t get to see him grow.
It’s the aggressive kind
I’ll take
450 volts to my head and
spend the month in bed and
forget about my pain
I’ll have the number
3 with fries if you please,
and occupy my window seat
every Friday at 5.
She used to love it
when I’d take her tray and pretend
like we were 17 again,
with all these years gone by.
You don’t think
that life is kind of sad.
Me and Van Gogh do but mister it’s just
the manic-depressive blues.
They’re acting up again.
Halifax, NS - 2015
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10. |
Ticket, Ring
03:43
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You thought it’d be me and I thought differently
You believed in leaving it alone
I believed in shedding light by picking fights and wounds
I thought it’d be you
You thought it’d be me
And I thought it’d be me, too
You thought it’d be me, we’d just wait and see
You were honest, clear and understood
I was indecisive I was sad and I was cruel
Still I thought it’d be you
And you thought it’d be me
And I thought it’d be me, too
You thought it’d be me, every time I tried to leave
I deserved your patience less and less
We played a game that you maintained and swore you would not lose
While I thought it’d be you
And you thought it’d be me
And I thought it’d be me, too
You thought it’d be me and it’s funny
I don’t think it’s even sinking in
If you buy the ticket I will buy the ring
Because I want it to be you
And you thought it’d be me
And I thought it’d be me too
I want it to be you
And you thought it’d be me
And I thought it’d be me, too
Toronto, ON - 2017
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11. |
She's A Keeper
04:33
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Campbell Woods
Campbell Woods pays attention.
He sings soft songs about hard luck. Writing songs rooted
in the tradition of Townes Van Zandt, his style is tried and true, but he’s no dinosaur. You’ve heard it all before, but not like this.
... more
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