Get all 9 Kirsty McGee releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Diamond Days EP, Those Old Demons, Sandman [Single], Contraband, No. 5, The Kansas Sessions, Hobopop E.P., Live Downloads, and 1 more.
1. |
Omaha
03:53
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she was born on a farm way back in 57
got a free education up until the age eleven
her father drove a ford and her mother drove her mad
they would bicker and theyʼd squall about what the other had
he got drunk twice a week and they carried him back home
she never lied except on Sundays and on the telephone
she called her father and she told him what he didnʼt want to hear
he watched her crying in the rearview mirror
they donʼt make cars like they used to
they donʼt make many things good
so you pray to god...but you row for the shore
all the ones that you love are only bones and blood
she joined the circus with her eyes every time it passed on through
she hung out with the freaks and talked no colours, only blue,
and when the winds rose she watched the circus packing up
there was always room for Sally Ann in Marlowʼs truck
she built a fire on the ground and they danced around the flames
with the cheap tang of moonshine and he carved her name
on the back of his hand with a foldaway knife
she never washed that blade although she had it all her life
she met the love of her life in a broken down car
he had ivory ribs and a smile that stood ajar
grit-grey eyes and skinny blue jeans
you can wash that boy with water but heʼll never come clean
it gets a little hazy right about here
i lost her trail 2004
omaha
a house with nine doors
seventeen windows and a broken down ford
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2. |
Alibi Blues
02:25
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i lost the right to pity on some dark city street
though when i spoke your name, the words were mighty sweet
well you can trust this city to mould you into its own
and when it's had the best of you you'll find the rest of you gone
oh find me the place where i belong
for i have travelled in between
the tall skyscrapers and the sea
for home is where iʼve never been
give me a train ticket and a few days to myself
iʼm on that train else iʼm fearing for my health
well you can trust that train to take you anyplace new
but when youʼre there what the hell are you supposed to do?
i found love in unexpected places
i found fear where i expected change
i found in you six million graces
i found my meaning in your name
i lost my map i followed the road so what do i care?
i donʼt need more than food and clothes and air
give me a train ticket and a few days out of town
but just donʼt mention settling down
(until youʼve found me the place...)
i keep thinking thereʼs a place thatʼs really rare
the trees are taller and the grass is greener there
oh wonʼt you lay me down so that i can see the sky
give me a few square feet where i donʼt need no alibi
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3. |
Last Orders
03:46
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a heavy rifle magazine
find the name and scratch it clean
i'm waiting till the orders come
take the bullets from the sheaf
hide the papers underneath
till the orders come
slit the sky with flashing blade
beam as cold as lemonade
watch the insects in the light
they circle round and then ignite
wash your face before your hands
in the hollow of the sand
when the orders come
take good care and take good time
every breath a living wine
till the orders come
clouds move over, fine as lace,
so the colour leaves the face
when the orders come
punch the sky with bullet bright
on this sorrowful, bright night
flip your satchel by your side, hide
cross the ground, then thrust, then fly
leave them in the dirt to die
till the orders come
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4. |
Sandman
03:35
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right before the you close your eyes
whispering your prayers
when the sandman blows your eyes iʼll be there
when you wake up in the night
sounds the second stair
that creaks under the careless foot iʼll be there
gather roses while you may
while the bloom is full
for the blossom soon will fade
and the bloom grow dull
right before the morning light
creeps soft upon the sill
when the shadows chase the night i never will
when your voice is softly heard
singing in the morning air
but the note does not ring true iʼll be there
right before you sleep at night
closing up the blind
in the windowʼs black embrace if you find
the face of a lover long-forgot
forgotten eyes, forgotten hair
forgotten words that stretch like salt iʼll be there
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5. |
Bliss
05:33
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if bliss was a place
it would be in your arms
to find ourselves again
skeleton to skeleton
with nothing in between us
but the beating of our bosoms
and the light on our faces
from the fire and the candles
love and fire
theyʼre one and the same
lift you to the heavens
only to drop you down again
oh the blistering heat
of a loverʼs embrace
can bring tears to your eyes
leave you devastated
and home is where it feels right
home is where your heart is
and my heart is the one place
i think only you can touch
and your touch
is as light as any zephyr
the summer breeze
couldnʼt touch me so tender as you
when the heat of your arms
and the strength of your skin
the fire in your eyes
melt me again
well iʼll rise like a phoenix
and iʼll fall like a moth
or iʼll crumble into ashes
in the strength of your touch
if bliss was a place
it would be in your arms
to find ourselves again
skeleton to skeleton
with nothing in between us
but the beating of our bosoms
and the light on our faces
from the fire and the candles
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6. |
The Last To Understand
03:42
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you can't put a price on love
you can't put a price on shame
and there's no charge for compassion
or for calling on god's name
and the ripe fruit by the roadside
doesn't charge the bird to eat
you don't have to pay a penny
for the ground beneath your feet
you can't charge for hailstones
and you can't charge for rain
for the dust-winged sparrow's shallow song
no profit and no gain
for the life we're given
nobody has to pay
for the shadows at the water's edge
at the ending of the day
so i guess i'm just the last one to understand the joke
i'm standing here so patiently when all the rest went home
i must have slept right through because today when i awoke
all the birds who sang so sweet to me were flown
so i'm standing to my ankles
in the dust of my misgivings
between the living and the dead
only the dead can make a living
and i'm fool enough to try to sell
what others give away
they set the price so high
only a fool like me will pay
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7. |
Stonefruit
04:00
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i wish to god that i could tell
all the ways i mean you well
to boldly speak out loud, not care who's hearing
i found some kind of hidden law:
stonefruit has a bitter core
and i cannot speak my wonder without fearing
i search and search and cannot see
the simple path in front of me
that leads me to the simple truth i'm seeking
like there's some other place that i
in ignorance perhaps slipped by
on the road that i've been taking
i wish to god i would not waste
the bountiful and the pleasing taste
of the gracious food that's placed upon my table
it's not so easy to ignore
stonefruit has a bitter core
and i find that i'm not able
i wish to god that it was so
that i could stand to never know
the promise of the sun upon hot sand
i've lived a life of lucky bliss
the gentle hand, the open fist
the open fist and the gentle hand
but we rise together out and down
the joyless sting and the barren ground
oh, won't you tell me what you want - i'll do it all
i search and search and cannot find
in weariness my peace of mind
the brittle light too bright, the summer sky too tall
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8. |
Dust Devils
04:07
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iʼve got you over my skin
canʼt tell you what a state weʼre in
i chase you here chase you there
in the corners and under the stairs
iʼve got you under my nails
everything i do seems to fail
like the god of falling apart
everything tastes of you
iʼve got you inside my shoes
as thick as blue suede
iʼve got a coat made from you
you are my lampshade
iʼve seen you outside in the sun
your hair is grey like the moon
you leave your hair in my room
everything sounds of you
dust devil in pale blue
shaking hands with the tiles
and itʼs one of your smiles
that i see in my mirror ball
dust devil and moonshine
neither your fault nor mine
but itʼs the curve of your spinning smile
that returns in the dead of night
dust devil in pale blue
the fur of yesteryear
everything smells of you
youʼre spent like a magazine
iʼve got you over my skin
godʼs arms, what a state weʼre in
i chase you here chase you there
in the corners and under the stairs
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9. |
Faith
05:09
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easy, i say, easy
you donʼt want to miss the spring
there are things you do
and things you donʼt consider
like settling down before you ever saw a thing
there were birds inside the supermarket
i saw the dawn, forget its pride
i saw angels on the water and on the waterside
easy, i say, easy
see her curve around the buildings in her shift of yellow silk
you wouldnʼt ride that train
unless you knew that train
was headed for the city with its honey and its milk
and you say youʼll go and then you go
you can trust a lying man to tell the truth
even these days
you say you will and you never do
i can trust no one like i trusted you
and i lost my faith in so many ways
easy, i say, easy
will they take from you the spring?
if iʼm to lose you like i lost you before
am i to lose everything?
there were birds inside the supermarket
i saw the dawn, forget its pride
i saw angels on the water and on the waterside
and you say youʼll go and then you go
you can trust a lying man to tell the truth
even these days
you say you will and you never do
i can trust no one like i trusted you
and i lost my faith in so many ways
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Kirsty McGee Manchester
A wandering maverick and spellbinding live performer with a voice that has been described as having the texture of smoke & velvet, McGee defies categorisation, to make 'hobopop' –“music of no fixed genre”. Her continuously evolving musical personality is proof that a freedom from artistic restraints can sometimes produce a unique, enthralling and original voice with a rare honesty. ... more
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