Get all 30 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 22 more.
1. |
Turn Off The Lights
04:24
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Turn Off the Lights
when did we forget who we were
and where we came from?
was it in the jungles of Vietnam
black and white blurred?
turn off the lights, maybe in darkness we’ll stumble
without our eyes we’ll have to rely on mystery
where did we go wrong
and stray into despair?
was it in Dallas in ’63
when the motorcade became a blood parade?
turn off the lights, maybe in darkness we’ll stumble
without our eyes we’ll have to rely on mystery
when did we become so cold
blind to our neighbors’ despair
was it from staring too much at a screen?
horrors scroll by until they don’t mean anything
turn off the lights, maybe in darkness we’ll stumble
without our eyes we’ll have to rely on mystery
cut off my arm if it offends thee lord
tear out my eyes if they cause me to sin
so much to cut and render
to ever be whole again
somewhere in each of us is still a seed of redemption
a deep connection to a universal dream
all that we can feel but cannot see
what we lost that can set us free
when did we lose our soul?
what demon possessed and drove us to sorrow?
no thought for tomorrow?
leading our children to doom
turn off the lights, maybe in darkness we’ll stumble
without our eyes we’ll rely on mystery
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2. |
Stay
03:24
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quarantined with my favorite person
nowhere to play but still rehearsing
drinking tea in the afternoon
feels like one long honeymoon
I know you’re probably sick of me
contemplating murder in the first degree
but I am still so stuck on you
Still turned on by the things you do
when it’s over
and we can go out and play
I want nothing to change
as long as you stay
having lunch in the mid-day sun
no one to put us under the gun
walking around in the swirling leaves
coming home its time for tea
there’s no hell hound on my trail
I read the news and you let me rail
when I’ve finally shouted it out
you can always calm me down
when it’s over
and we can go out and play
I want nothing to change
as long as you stay
days turn to weeks and weeks turn to months
as we watch our country fall apart
but its all right because every day
you are here
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3. |
Autumn Turns To Winter
02:44
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autumn turns to winter
stark mornings
rusted gold
chapped lips
grungy masks
don’t keep out the cold
new president says it will be a dark one
the winter of our discontent?
light fades
solitude sinks in
everything light and shadow
good and evil
joy, sorrow
black and white
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4. |
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all the things that went on my permanent record
never ever even heard from again
acting out against anything that looked normal
trying not to do whatever my parents did
future redneck with one foot in the past
and one foot in freedom and mystery
a rebel without enough to do
drinking beer and sniffing glue
saved by rock and roll
the last stop on the bus out of town
the numbered streets of my home town
only dead ends and the smell of oppression
the road out of town was paved
by rebellion plus obsession
future redneck with one foot in the past
and one foot in freedom and mystery
a rebel without enough to do
drinking beer and sniffing glue
saved by rock and roll
the last stop on the bus out of town
red, white, and blue
searching for the truth
the only way out is to disappear
red, white, and blue
sign my name on the dotted line
now I think its time to disappear
all the things that went on my permanent record
never really mattered, did they then?
if you don’t burn out, then you rust
stand still too long, and you’ll become dust
future redneck with one foot in the past
and one foot in freedom and mystery
a rebel without enough to do
drinking beer and sniffing glue
saved by rock and roll
the last stop on the bus out of town
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5. |
Seeing Only Red
02:51
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Hatred fills your eyes, middle finger to the sky
blue flag waving, black gun loaded
seeing only red, seeing only red
seeing only red, seeing only red
disillusion creeps in, no place to put frustration
a target appears, fitting all requirements
seeing only red, seeing only red
seeing only red, seeing only red
you don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story
all is fair in war and you’ll fight to the death
don’t let the enemy get inside your head
solo
all the things you were not allowed to say
all the crow you ate every minute every day
all the things you thought you’d never live to see
came to pass so fast, changing history
seeing only red, seeing only red
seeing only red, seeing only red
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6. |
We Know Better
02:49
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we want a Mr Smith to send to Washington
we want him to fight but we want him to be nice
we want everyone to get along but we allow no compromise
if you disagree you’ll cause everyone’s demise!
stridently walk the line
follow only our design
we know better, we know better
and we’ll spell it out for you
we want free speech, but don’t offend anyone
justice for all, but not in our neighborhood
progress not perfection, and equal protection
but don’t take our trust funds if you get elected
stridently walk the line
follow only our design
we know better, we know better
and we’ll spell it out for you
a blue wave of a certain shade
curated, collated, and displayed
nowhere to sleep because the tent’s too small
built by accountants who paid for it all
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7. |
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sitting in the banana republic of america
staring into the mouth of the devil
an empty hole, a gaping wound
nothing coming out but fear and lunacy
tear gas burns our eyes
on the streets the numbers don’t lie
the police stand by
as the Republic dies
staring endlessly at this tiny screen
the battery-powered price of my soul
a lie-machine, a dirty hole
filled with only more nothing
tear gas burns our eyes
on the streets the numbers don’t lie
the police stand by
as the Republic dies
judge pounds a gavel, the hammer of authority
ceremonial dramatization of dignity
an empty gesture, a hollow sound
a mockery, but still it pounds
sitting in the banana republic of the U.S.A.
wondering if there will be any news today
the posse’s noose is on the tree
ready to chase down and lynch history
tear gas burns our eyes
on the streets the numbers don’t lie
the police stand by
as the Republic dies
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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
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