1. |
Namesake
03:51
|
|||
Met my grandpa, he was black & white
And a few years from his teens
Held my father towards the flashing light
In 1963
There’s my grandma standing to the side
Got my auntie round her knees
Only standing about 5 foot 5
But she seemed so tall to me
And I’m told I have the same face as my namesake
We’re all going to the same place when we’re done
Even if we all ain’t got the same names
I’ll be proud to call you family sure enough
Some jumped from airplanes, some ran the family farm
They raised my dad, my mom, and they raised me
Some aren’t related by words or blood
But they’re still your family
I hope I’ve grown to be my mother by the time I have a son
I hope he takes after my father, I hope they just be who they want
I hope my friends will all surround them like crazy uncles and aunts
I hope they know that they don’t have to be related to be loved
It’s just love
|
||||
2. |
Given Up
04:07
|
|||
Got a friend that I don’t get to see too much
Called me up and told me that he fell in love
Said he’s getting married in about 6 months
Gotta beat the baby if they can
I don’t think we’ve talked since graduation day
Guess I’m lucky that my number didn’t change
Tried to call but I didn’t know what to say
Guess I’ll try to make it if can
He said “I’ve given up on getting much from you” x2
Know a girl who lives a couple states away
Asked her why she always felt the need to stay
I am hypocrite but I’m trying to change
Isn’t that a part growing up?
She said that she’s working on herself this time
“Baby what can I give to you if I ain’t got mine?”
Guess that all I lost was all my precious time
Guess I thought that I was showing up
She said “I’ve given up on getting much from you” x2
Sometimes I like to go out where I can’t find friends
Stumble home and leave a bucket by the bed
I go to sleep on fire wake up soaking wet
I thought I could do it on my own
I open my eyes and see her standing there
Mother Mary in a T-shirt and her underwear
“I don’t know how to help you but don’t be scared.
Nobody can do it on their own”
I have not given up on getting much from you x4
|
||||
3. |
Phil's Song
03:56
|
|||
Dearly beloved, we have gathered round this phonecall
Can I put you on speakerphone?
I just punched a hole in my wall
We’ve been sifting through the memories of the last we got to see that shit eating grin
Would it be beautiful if we could see that smile once again
Damn I still love you
Damn man, you got to know I still love you
Have you heard the one about the two kids swore that they’d get out?
See the world, kiss those girls, make that noise they swore they’d heard
But you’re not really from here, are you? Hometown hero meant for stardom
Dammit man you said what you’d said you’d do
Damn man you got to know I still love you x2
There’s a time to laugh, a time to cry
There’s one for both at the same time
Sometimes that’s what I feel when I think of you
Do we ever really die if love is what we left behind?
Sometimes that’s what I feel when I think of you
Damn man you gotta know I still love you x2
Do we ever really die if love is what we left behind?
Because love is what I feel when I think of you
Damn man you gotta know I still love you x2
|
||||
4. |
April 1st
04:41
|
|||
You said your middle name was tragic, and it was stitched into the fabric of your shirt
But by god it felt like magic when we sang it back to you on April 1st
I know you’ve heard it all before but I’ve been trying to be more careful with my words
I’m just trying to say I love you without it ever feeling so rehearsed
Saw you again in summer weather, wearing an ugly christmas sweater in July
You assured me I’d feel better so I relented and I stayed with you that night
We had a spirited discussion about the lasting repercussions of that fight
I’m just trying to say I love you, because I’ve tried it and no other words seem right.
You handed me my heart back, bought a ticket for that amtrak rode away
As I was standing on that tarmac, you checked it for an expiration date
There’s not a night that ends without me wishing that I hadn’t been with you that day
I’m just trying to say I love you because by now there are no other words to say
I let my hair grow to my shoulders and a beard to feel a little older than I was
You told me this would all blow over by the 18th of October sure enough
I am not the man you think I am, but maybe you can see what I’ll become
I’m just trying to say I love you, and hoping that this time it will be enough
|
||||
5. |
Knuckleballer
02:55
|
|||
Daddy was a knuckleballer in the minor leagues
We’d head to the park and holler for some kind relief
He had half a shot at stardom and he had half of me
Daddy was knuckleballer in the minor leagues
Momma wore a bluer collar than seen on TV
She watched daddy live in squalor without no release
She had half a mind to leave but then she’d have half of me
My mama wore a bluer collar than seen on TV
I have been mistaken for them both
Each time I have taken that as growth
Clara wears a ball cap and hits her balls off a tee
T-shirt tucked into her pants, brand new baseball cleats
When my baby smiles, she’s missing half her teeth
My daughter throws a knuckleball and she learned that from me
I have made more mistakes than them both
Each time I have taken that as growth
Daddy was a knuckleballer in the minor leagues
Anything to make a dollar for my momma and me
Momma loved that pitcher, and both of them loved me
Daddy was a knuckleballer in the minor leagues
|
||||
6. |
Canyon
03:52
|
|||
I am a canyon , You are a creek
You wove and you wound to the bottom of me
10 million years after, your mighty river a stream
I am a canyon, you are a creek
Call you Colorado, but you’re from the midwest
Met you in December in a floral print dress
Those honky tonk ceilings like me were low
But you laid down beside me and I felt you flow
The morning after, my sides were sore
From all of the laughter from the night before
And all over breakfast you were reckless in love
My heart it flowed over, I have more than enough.
You walked on water, and said I could too
When I stepped to follow the thin ice fell through
Hope my love can hold you like your love held me
Felt like a lake laying next to the sea
|
||||
7. |
Repurposed Frowns
03:29
|
|||
She drove her leather jacket f’n classic Chevrolet with vanity plates
When she left me standing silent on the corner of 16th & State
I was lost in my hometown
And I didn’t know what I could do
I started to panic, f’n classic, you can see the lines on my face
There’s gray in my hair from the times that I stared off in space
I was lost in my hometown
And I didn’t know what I could do
Guess I’m on my own now
This town’s different when it don’t got you
I tried to be happy with you not around
But all of my smiles felt like repurposed frowns
It felt automatic, out of habit, the way that you told me farewell
You can leave with my heart but don’t keep that part to yourself
When you’re lost in your hometown
That doesn’t mean that things have changed
You’re on your own now
This town’s different but it all stayed the same
I tried to be happy with you not around
But all of my smiles felt like repurposed frowns
Lying back then feels like loving you now
Truth is hard but it pays to go through it
Life is hard but it pays to go through
|
||||
8. |
Just Friends
03:34
|
|||
Well the last time that I saw you I gave you a bloody nose
That dry air in my apartment went and ruined both of our clothes
Took that sweatshirt that I loaned you, took the t shirt you left
I said “We’re mutually self destructive” as we shared a cigarette
If you’re leaving here tomorrow, I’ll be leaving here tonight
I’m gonna beat you to the punch without putting up a fight
Self care for the selfish, self prescribed, self diagnosed
Don’t tell me what it is doc, I don’t even wanna know
Took the 8-ball from the corner pocket, threw it towards the bar
And I watched that mirror shatter down into a million parts
When I saw my reflection in that smithereen display
I knew I couldn’t wait no longer, I should be leaving here today
Took those lost loose leaf love letters, put them on a shelf
Drank my weight to celebrate they were addressed to someone else
And on the outside looking in at the beginning and the end
You know I’m happy that it happened, but maybe we should be just friends
Just friends
|
||||
9. |
1st Team All - American
04:10
|
|||
I had first team All-American dreams
17 to 23, I ran this fucking town
State school ball caps, name spelled out in all caps
I have a tendency to tear the whole thing down
You never thought you could fall in love in somewhere so small
This city’s full of people who will tear down your walls
High school sweetheart cut you into three parts
Put you back together when you stumbled into town
Backwards car seats, syncopated heartbeats
She wasn’t supposed to be the one to slow you down
You never thought you could fall in love with someone so small
But the notches in the bedpost turn to lines drawn on the wall.
You’re an all american boy, you’re an all american boy
You’re an all american boy, just like all american boys
I like to make something out of nothing
So when it falls apart I can pretend I didnt care
You have spent your whole life building something
I’ll stick around until I got some more to spare
You’re an all american boy, you’re an all american boy
You made a promise you would never be the one to destroy, Just like all american boys
You’re an all american boy x3
Just like all american boys
|
||||
10. |
Hallelujah
03:47
|
|||
Stream of consciousness
Vowels and consonants
Feeling confident today
Dad’s cardiologist
Don’t think that they know shit
Always had his heart in the right place
Hallelujah
Hallelujah til it works
Hallelujah
Hallelujah til it hurts
Learning right and wrong
Through classic country songs
Willie and Waylon and the boys
We tried to get along
Dreamed of playing G chords on a Jumbotron
Silly for staying unemployed
Paint by number masterpiece
Fill in the blank biographies
Plagiarized apologies to you all
I read the words they put in front of me
Hoping they’re not making fun of me
I am not having any fun at all
|
Them Coulee Boys Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Them Coulee Boys are Folk-Punk Americana band from Eau Claire, WI playing everything from pure and genuine ballads to a leaping, countrified take on rock and roll.
Streaming and Download help
If you like Them Coulee Boys, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp