Get all 28 Fred Gillen Jr releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Kaaterskill (Winter Instrumentals), Turn Off The Lights, Birds, See The Light, Into the Darkness, All In, If I Woke Up This Morning and Died, If I Woke Up This Morning and Died (Unplugged), and 20 more.
1. |
Coney Island
04:01
|
|||
Coney Island
You held my hand while I shot the freak
I bet the man five bucks and laid my money down
we celebrated victory at Nathan's
on the boardwalk walking down
this is a dangerous place to fall in love
a very dangerous place to fall
this is a dangerous place to fall in love
the wonder wheel, great miracle of physics
spinning madly like the earth around the sun
the ghost of Woody Guthrie flying through
the air above everyone
this is a dangerous place to fall in love
a very dangerous place to fall
this is a dangerous place to fall in love
Coney Island, Coney Island, Coney Island
you ate cotton candy while I played my guitar
it was too sticky for my fingers I said
when you'd made it through that big, pink cloud
I put my guitar away and we rode that wheel again
this is a dangerous place to fall in love
a very dangerous place to fall
this is a dangerous place to fall in love
Coney Island, Coney Island, Coney Island
sometimes when I feel lost
in the deep, dark recesses of my head
I go back to Coney Island
and ride the wonder wheel, somehow it brings me back again
Coney Island, Coney Island, Coney Island
|
||||
2. |
Devil's Bluff
04:45
|
|||
Sometimes the night literally calls out to me
beautiful shadow women in bar neon’s glow
the tinkle of ice in glasses, different jewels in different boxes
all traps for my delicate fingers
We will shine and hope that its enough
to make dreams from despair and call the devil’s bluff
I bang this old guitar, reach deep into temptation
and let it mingle with the smoke, turning grime to gold
angels in hell, their halos dim in the blackness
pale, but shining still
We will shine and hope that its enough
to make dreams from despair and call the devil’s bluff
Sometimes in spite of the danger ‘round here
through the taste of disappointment and smell of stale beer
I hear angel voices answering me
clear and echoing
We will shine and hope that its enough
to make dreams from despair and call the devil’s bluff
To see light in the darkest corners may be crazy
or it might be some form of second sight
unexpected, unexplained, it has found us again
never lost but always wandering
We will shine and hope that its enough
to make dreams from despair and call the devil’s bluff
|
||||
3. |
Witness
04:37
|
|||
You're so beautiful
if only you could see you as I see you
you'd be in love with you too
you're so beautiful
like one of those sped- up films of a flower
from swollen bud to brilliance in a moment
the sound of your crying after its over
is the voice of God saying "I love you"
the voice of God saying "I do"
the voice of God saying "I love you"
you're so beautiful
if you could only feel your hands on my back
you'd be in love with you too
you're so beautiful
like an engine that's choking but starts anyway
you fuel me up to keep me alive
and the energy of rushing after so long in decay
is the feel of God's hands on my face
the feel of God's hands on my face
the feel of God's hands on my face
and oh, that I am your witness
its not for me to question why
oh, that I am your witness
I'll just be here with eyes open wide
its not for me to question why
I'll be here with heart open wide
you're so beautiful
if only I could see you again
you'd see that my love has not waned
you're so beautiful
|
||||
4. |
Elliott
04:34
|
|||
The heartbreak flickered from his fingertips
floated in the air above his head
it wasn’t such a surprise when I heard that he was dead
his halo the glow of a neon sign
sometimes a light shines so bright it burns out
and sometimes there’s a warm afterglow
sometimes you wonder how you got so low
after flying so high
goodbye Elliott goodbye
your whole life was a cry for help
a gentle voice in the wilderness
lost, alone, and unanswered
a futile challenge to a silence so deep
your beautiful voice never gave you any echo
sometimes a light shines so bright it burns out
and sometimes there’s a warm afterglow
sometimes you wonder how you got so low
after flying so high
goodbye Elliott goodbye
nothing shines like a tiny needle
when it’s finally found in that great, unending hay
but for every little sparkle seen by searching eyes
there are a thousand that shine on eyes that are blind
goodbye Elliott goodbye
his fingers flickered across the strings of that guitar
just as fluid as the cooking works
but he couldn’t see what those works could mean
in between the feelings and the fire
sometimes a light shines so bright it burns out
and sometimes there’s a warm afterglow
sometimes you wonder how you got so low
after flying so high
goodbye Elliott goodbye
|
||||
5. |
Gone
03:57
|
|||
Always at the tip of my tongue
is the truth that's gonna set someone free
but the lump in my throat won't let go
so silence is the way it's gonna be
I'm lost and sick and confused
I feel like I've been too many times abused
alone with the whole world in my face
if I could disappear without a trace
I'd be gone, I'd be gone
Always at the back of my mind
the thoughts that keep me forever confined
I get a sudden burst of that light for which I thirst
then it's back to the same old blindness
I'm lost and sick and confused
I feel like I've been too many times abused
alone with the whole world in my face
if I could disappear without a trace
I'd be gone, I'd be gone
there's no answers in the sounds
or poignant words words of any poet that I've found
and no bartender can give me relief
sometimes I want to just sleep, sleep, sleep
but then the sky clears or a beautiful girl walks into the room
and I'm home again, home free
I'm lost and sick and confused
I feel like I've been too many times abused
alone with the whole world in my face
if I could disappear without a trace
I'd be gone, I'd be gone
|
||||
6. |
Censor The Wind
03:52
|
|||
Censor the wind
it is carrying dangerous messages
pave the land we walk on
there are germs where we stand
I will lay down and press my ear down to the ground
pick up the signal that's been lost
Broadcast some white noise
keep all frequencies out of range
keep up this constant chaos
maybe we'll all be deceived
I will lay down and press my ear down to the ground
pick up the signal that's been lost
Help me lift this hammer
so that we can smash this T.V. screen
someone lend me a lighter
so we can burn this magazine
Tie up my hands
there are too many locks to pick
cut off my fingers
So I can't turn the winning trick
I will lay down and press my ear down to the ground
pick up the signal that's been lost
I can leave the light on but you'll have to climb the stairs
open up this package when you get there
Censor the wind
it is carrying dangerous messages
stick both your fingers in your ears
|
||||
7. |
Listen!
04:26
|
|||
Look down at your feet and see the ground where you are standing
everywhere is sacred in this land
the road that you are walking doesn’t have any beginning
it is never-ending in this land
The rhythm of your steps tries to call to you
Listen!
High above cell towers and the periwinkle flowers
squeezing through the cracks across the tracks
I hear faint and beautiful above the roar of rubber
through the ghost exhaust there is a song
a song once sung cannot be unsung
Listen!
Put your ear down, hear the echo
remember fleeting voices that you heard as a child
Stubborn and defiant you once walked with your head high
every step you took was multiplied
you have learned to tip-toe when you even walk at all
making little echo now you’re so quiet
but a song once sung cannot be unsung
Listen!
Listen to the murmur of your echo
Listen to the song that you once sung
Listen to the calling of your rhythm
Listen to the fleeting sound of freedom
Calling
|
||||
8. |
||||
Dying Gasp Of An Old Machine
letters and photographs, scrapbooks and scraps
nothing can replace the heart's memories
lights in the mist, when it clears they shine
with no respect for timing
can you really replace a part of your past?
because history doesn't go anywhere
it flutters behind like the tail of a kite
and the wind keeps all memories for the right time to fly
how can you erase the human heart?
dreams don't die though memories fade
they live in our eyes, in moments they surprise
and we take a step back and reach out for their light
can you really replace a part of your past?
because history doesn't go anywhere
it flutters behind like the tail of a kite
and the wind keeps all memories for the right time to fly
like the dying gasp of some old machine
with a hiss you shudder to a halt
after crawling along with a prayer and a song
peace comes in silence when the present defines us
can you really replace a part of your past?
because history doesn't go anywhere
it flutters behind like the tail of a kite
and the wind keeps all memories for the right time to fly
somewhere along the line
the truth refuses to be denied
and despite the dreams replaced with little lies
this world once so cold somehow becomes home
|
||||
9. |
Eleanor
04:26
|
|||
Eleanor
I got a $10 cup of coffee
'cause I forgot to feed the meter
you'd think it'd make me slow down
long enough to breathe
but the voices in my head
aren't simple, brave, and free
I know they want me dead,
or at least stressed out to some degree
whisper to me gently, say something I need to hear
make me laugh or make me cry, help me lose this sneer
sing me your song, tell me your story
bring me back
I never knew this street was called Eleanor,
until I read it on the ticket I got
the first girl I was ever crazy about
her name was Eleanor
I remember her face like yesterday
I remember her hands and her smell
25 years just fell away
and there she was my Eleanor
here she is my Eleanor
whisper to me gently, say something I need to hear
make me laugh or make me cry, help me lose this sneer
sing me your song, tell me your story
bring me back
I got a $10 parking ticket
and now I'm singing in the street
a song I heard with Eleanor
in eighth grade at the roller rink
I hadn't noticed the warmth of the sunshine
or the lilac scent on the breeze
Eleanor came and her gentle hands
touched my eyes and now I can see
whisper to me gently, say something I need to hear
make me laugh or make me cry, help me lose this sneer
sing me your song, tell me your story
bring me back
|
||||
10. |
||||
11. |
Satan (BONUS TRACK)
04:47
|
Fred Gillen Jr Athens, New York
NYFA grant recipient Fred Gillen Jr has released 12 solo albums, and 6 ep’s, has toured all over the U.S. and Europe solo, and Nepal/ India with Greenheart. His songs have been on ABC's "All My Children," NPR's "Car Talk," CMJ, and his version of Woody Guthrie's "I Ain't Got No Home" was featured on Pete Seeger's "Pete Remembers Woody." He is also a founding member of THE TRIKE rock trio. ... more
Streaming and Download help
Fred Gillen Jr recommends:
If you like Fred Gillen Jr, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp