1. |
Pieces
04:21
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Pieces, broken pieces, of a heart that once was whole
But now it’s torn, it’s shattered on the floor
Pieces of a daydream, that seemed like it was real
Till you went away and left me here in pieces
Stories, love stories, keep running through my mind
Though I’ve tried to push them out a hundred times
Of happy ever after, of never ending love
The kind you only hear about in stories
Well I once believed; now I’m left to grieve
The touch that made me tremble - how am I to reassemble these
Pieces, broken pieces, are all I have to hold
Since you went away and left me here in pieces
Well I once believed; now I’m left to grieve
I’m broke down and defenseless, trying to make sense of these
Memories, faded memories, of a time when love seemed true
When I spent most every evening holding you
Memories of the old days when you were by my side
Now the only thing I’m left behind is memories
Faded memories of the love you find in stories
But the story’s done, and here I am in pieces
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2. |
Broken Down Van
04:16
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We met in December of twenty oh nine,
I was waiting your table, I brought you your wine
And you said that you wanted to see all the world had to share
And I’d never really been anywhere
So we went in together on a beat up old ride
You worked on the engine, I hung curtains inside
And we both quit our jobs, said goodbye to our families and friends.
That’s how a love story begins
With a pair of young lovers, a rusty old van
Eighty eight dollars, and a quarter-baked plan
To see California or get just as close as we can
With eighty eight dollars and a rusty old van
Nearly made it to Tulsa before we broke down
We walked through the rain till we made it to town
Found our way to a church that would give us a bed for the night
You held me and said it would be all right
But days turned to weeks and bills had to be paid
The sense of adventure had started to fade
All the money went into just keeping us out of the cold
Like so many stories already told
Just two weary lovers, a broken down van
Down to four dollars, not much of a plan
The homes that we’d left behind as starting to look better than
Four lonely dollars and a broken down van
In mid January, it started to snow
I woke up one morning the bed had gone cold
I saw you were gone without even a note to defend
Guess that’s how a love story ends.
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3. |
God Willing
04:20
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Go to sleep now little darlin’
It’s been a long and tiring day
Don’t worry about what you heard
You know daddy doesn’t mean it when he gets that way
So tonight I’ll pack a suitcase
And have it waiting in the car
In the morning we’ll be on our own
You know half a tank of gas should get us pretty far
God willing and the creek don’t rise
Till we reach a higher ground
Come tomorrow we’ll be on our way
Just running from this fear and these lies
God willing and the creek don’t rise.
Grandma doesn’t know we’re leaving
Every time she tells me I should stay
It’s an old and tired story
And all I know is I’m not gonna live this way
I hear there’s lots of jobs in Denver
Real nice folks in San Antone
If I can save a little money
Maybe someday we can have a house of our own
God willing and the creek don’t rise
Till we reach a higher ground
Come tomorrow we’ll be on our way
Just running from this fear and these lies
God willing and the creek don’t rise.
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4. |
Won't Be The Rock
04:23
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I’ll be the moonlight guiding your way home
I’ll be the hillside where you can rest your weary bones
I’ll be the tailwind helping you along
But I won’t be the rock your waves can crash upon
I’ll be the sunshine, warm upon your skin
I’ll be the rainfall to help your flowers bloom again
I’ll be the birdsong to wake you with the dawn
But I won’t be the rock your waves can crash upon
Won’t be the rock that your waves can crash upon
Won’t be to blame for everyone who’s done you wrong
Won’t bear the shame of a sin that isn’t mine
I’ll be by your side when all the rest have gone
But I won’t be the rock your waves can crash upon
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5. |
A Curt Little Nod
04:08
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A curt little nod, and a hello when I pass you in the hallway
It’s not what I wanted, but it feels too late now to turn around
When we got together we both agreed if it ended we’d be all right -
So why does your curt little nod keep me awake at night?
A curt little nod, and you’d never even know that we were lovers
Did I just imagine, or did you really once hold me in your arms?
I knew it was coming, we were destined to part -
We began with an ending in sight.
So why does your curt little nod keep me awake at night?
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6. |
Railyard
03:37
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Monday night, the middle of November
Yellow leaves are piled upon the ground
There’s a train that just pulled in from Denver
At the railway yard just outside of town
The thermometer is reading close to thirty
Oily steam is rising from the rail
Every car is worn out and dirty
Like some old western ghost city jail
Way back behind the station
In the last car of the rake
There’s a boy wrapped in a blanket
Huddled waiting for the dawn to break
His pa’s been gone now for four days
Left him there at the yard without a cent
With just his pack, a jug full of water
And a knife his old man gave him for defense
Not his first time out by his lonesome
After thirteen years living with his pa
He’s become familiar with the bottle
No stranger to a late night barroom brawl
Finally he’d fallen into slumber
When the car began rattle on the track
In the doorway, a floodlight from the station
Lit a silhouette ready to attack
The boy jumped up from the corner
Two bodies met and grappled for a hold
The railway car rocked with the scuffle
Then everything went quiet, still and cold
As the panic faded to silence
He unraveled himself from foreign limbs
In the light he saw his old man
A Bowie knife stuck between his ribs
A Bowie knife stuck between his ribs
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7. |
Long Stories
05:09
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My lover, the one who stood by me
The one who would always be there in the hard times
We promised to stay through thick and thin
Even though by then we’d begun to crumble
It didn’t go the way we hoped when we said our vows
You may not want to hear from me right now
But I believe in growth. I believe in change
I believe in the way we fall, and find our feet and get up again
I believe that a pause isn’t always an end
I believe on the other side you’ll find me here as a lifelong friend
I believe in long stories
My sister, do you recall the times
We skipped rope to nursery rhymes out there on the blacktop?
I’d whisper my secrets in your ear
Don’t let mama hear, we’re up past our bedtime
But growing up, we grew apart, now there’s not much left to say
But maybe we can change all that one day
Cause I believe in growth. I believe in change
I believe in the way we fall, and find our feet and get up again
I believe that a pause isn’t always an end
I believe on the other side you’ll find me here as a lifelong friend
I believe, oh I believe, in long stories
My best friend, we were joined at the soul
Like two halves of a whole, best friends forever
By your side, I became a better me
There was nothing we couldn’t do together
Till something changed, it all felt wrong, and I tried to say goodbye
You said maybe all we need is time. You said
I believe in growth
I believe in change
I believe in the way we fall and find a way to get up again
I believe that a pause isn’t always an end
I believe on the other side you’ll find me here as a lifelong friend
Oh I believe, I believe, yeah, I believe in long stories
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8. |
A Perfect Song
04:05
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You said goodbye a week ago today
You got into a plane and flew away
I haven’t heard a word from you
So there’s just one thing left to do
I’m gonna sit right here and try to write a perfect song for you
I sat right in the front row at your show
And afterward I said I’ve got a place that we can go
By noon on the next day you were in my heart to stay
Now I’m sitting here trying to write a perfect song for you
Well the first few days I sat right here and cried
Pushed out every feeling through my aching, weary eyes
Now nothing else remains, I’m a blank and crumpled page
I’d feel better if I could write a perfect song
If I wrote a perfect song
Would you hear it, would you want to sing along with me?
No one knows what the future holds
If we’re lucky we’ll both stay around, slowly getting old
Maybe one day we’ll be friends
Might even hear you sing again
In the meantime I’ll try to write a perfect song
We know that life goes anything but slow
In that time a lot of folks are gonna come and go
I thought maybe you would remember me for good
If I could only find a way to write a perfect song
If I wrote a perfect song
Would you hear it, would you want to sing along
Or would it make it so
I could let it go
Well all of your songs make me cry
So I guess the bar is pretty high
But still I’m gonna try to write a perfect song for you
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9. |
Keep On Movin'
05:07
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She wakes up laying next to him, a stranger in their bed
The man for seven years she thought she knew
She cries now not for what it is but what it used to be
This time takes her toothbrush when she leaves
And later on she’ll wonder if she should have turned around
But there’s just one thing she can do right now, and that is
Keep on movin' puttin' one foot in front of the other
Keep on movin' no matter how slow
Keep on movin' just put one foot in front of the other
Keep on movin' no matter how far you gotta go
He comes home late after a sixteen hour day
Hangs his head and holds it in his hands
He thinks about those babies in the next room fast asleep
Two jobs and these ends don't seem to meet
Maybe luck will smile on him later down the line
Till then he’ll keep looking for a sign, and he will
Keep on movin' puttin' one foot in front of the other
Keep on movin' no matter how slow
Keep on movin' just put one foot in front of the other
Keep on movin' no matter how far
The weight it presses down and opens up the cracks where
Darkness has a way of creepin’ in
It ain’t the stuff of glory, no, it’s just the air we breathe
Sometimes you gotta lose before you win
Keep on movin' puttin' one foot in front of the other
Keep on movin' no matter how slow
Keep on movin' just put one foot in front of the other
Keep on movin' no matter how far you gotta go
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10. |
Sailboat On The Water
04:35
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Looking back, when you said that you were leaving
Should have known that this time would be for good
I let you go, never once believing that you would
So tonight, I’m drifting through the hallways
Of this house, never more to feel at home
Every word that we said hangs here and cuts me to the bone
You were once my compass, now I’m spinning in the wind
Hoping I can find my way again
But for now I’ll float along
Like a sailboat on the water
When there ain’t no way of knowing
If the wind is gonna rise
And I’ll sink into the waves
Of the should’ves and the oughtas
For I know I may be drifting for a long long time
I may very well be drifting for a long long time
Turn the page, see your name in all the spaces
Turn the dial, hear your voice in every song
Turn around and try to find a new place to belong
Breathing out, I sink into the silence
Breathing in, turn my eyes into the storm
Holding on to the faith that I’m enough to keep me warm
The north star that I followed got lost behind the haze
I’ll set another course but for today
I’ll just keep on floating here
Like a sailboat on the water
When there ain’t no way of knowing
If the wind is gonna rise
And I’ll sink into the waves
Of the should’ves and the oughtas
For I know I may be drifting for a long long time
I may very well be drifting for a long long time
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11. |
Thank You
03:18
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You asked how I’ve been doing since we spoke the other day
When an icy wind was blowing, when my hair was soaked with rain
Right now the sun is shining and I’m feeling dry and warm
But thank you for being with me in the worst part of the storm
Thank you for being with me in the worst part of the storm
You were there when I was weary, when I had no will to fight
When it was so dark I couldn’t see an ending to the night
I’ve gathered up my forces, got the strength to carry on
But thank you for staying with me in the hour before the dawn
Thank you for staying with me in the hour before the dawn
When the world was on my shoulders, you helped me to stand tall
You were there without condition, and stayed with me through it all
Now the dawn is breaking and I see a ray of light
Thank you for standing by my side in the darkness of the night
Thank you for standing by my side in the darkness of the night
Thank you for standing by my side in the darkness of the night
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Audra Nemir Portland, Oregon
Audra Nemir is a Portland-based singer, songwriter, and bassist. A true storyteller, Audra experiences life with openness, notices the interstitial places where the human experience is most potent and illuminates them with universally relatable songs. Venturing into a solo project after years of performing in bands, Audra lifts other voices while she works on amplifying her own message. ... more
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