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Kind Old Soul (Not Me)

by Easter Island Lumber Co.

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1.
Oh see my splendid artifact, I'll remove it from its case, the tone is so sweet from its tobacco sunburnt face, but do not assume that I know what it's for, 'cause how good is your music when your instruments worth more? It's not the only instrument that I brought along, I have a half-string banjo and cursed Tibeten gong, I don't know how to play them but they look good on the stage, the most important things that you remember my name Can you hear the affect I'm a struggling to voice? it's a faux mid- Atlantic, a popular choice, I think you may have heard it played on the radio, but you gotta find self-direction somewhere don't you know And I don't lack emotion you can read it on my brow, it's such a burden to bear this beauty for you now, oh I'm so earnest, I'm so heartfelt about myself, if you can't relate you must be someone else... I'm so glad you're here to gaze upon my face, did I tell you how much I love the way I sound in this place? oh who said that you must only please yourself at home?, welcome everyone to my show Did you think you'd hear music, oh I'm sorry to disappoint, I'm just advertising Tuesday, when I play another joint, and there I'll advertise for the Thursday after that, but please don't forget to put some money in my hat... Oh in a bit of irony, the writer of this song, he took his inspiration from others years along, I think you'll know their names as Robert or Jack Frost, but all that's new is old when creativity is lost...
2.
I packed up my things and I headed east, I don't know why but it seemed like the place to be, I could swear Pennsylvania's as wide as the world is round, or maybe I just can't wait to get to New York Town I spent my last dollar crossin' the New Jersey line, the George Washington Bridge ain't cheap, but it's alright, Lookin' out from there I could see a million lights, oh New York Town you're lookin' good tonight... I abandoned my car and headed down to the subway, took the F train all the way to Delancey, I played my guitar and I sang till' I could not speak, The only ones who listened were the hobos, the bums, and the freaks, Well that's just fine with me, I only want to speak to those who live honestly, I don't know what I'd say, To all you well-dressed people in a hurry... One day I was playing in Jackson Heights, That is until the cops showed up and said I ain't hit the right, they said...eh...it's without a license, the only right you have is to get locked away, I said that's a tempting fate, it would look pretty good on my resume, but for now I'll acquiesce to the state, and try and live to play another day...
3.
3. Got Born 03:58
First I got born, I felt too cold, but I'd toughened up some by two days old, I drank some milk and I stared straight ahead, try in' to get this old world inside my head Sooner or later, I tried to crawl, scratched my knees on the carpet, knocked my head into the wall, I'd have screamed until my throat was sore, if my mother hadn't come, picked me up off the floor At some point I began to think, my first memory was taking a bath in the sink, in the same moment I met my muse, she said welcome to the state of a,ways being confused Well the years went by and I guess I grew, learned how to talk and who not to talk to, yeah shake their hands and make eye contact, unless you think you might get kidnapped I made some friends, we had some laughs, the trees were green and the water splashed, had no fear of pain or death in mind, we pretended to kill each other a thousand times And of course I went to school, learned how to treat people unkind and pretend to be cool, no so much from the ones in the classroom seats, but the ones at the front who pretended to teach After high school I planned to continue to exist, someone said not without a job and a watch on your wrist, I said "you mean I can't just be alive"? he said "no"..."and you can't afford my advice" So I worked everyday until the sun went down, but when you only live in the dark it's hard not to frown, so I had to find some drinks to cheer me up, and ever since then I never gave a care... That is until...just then in then in the midst of my misery, that's when my true love, she first came to me, oh I'd never known such company, but of course she had to leave Well I liked her a lot... she liked me a little... those who say it's better to have loved and lost, I doubt they ever did My friends don't play cops and robbers no more, I'm beginning to wonder what friends are for, everytime I run out of money they kick me out the door, and I still don't know Oh why must everyone always be leaving so soon, be it jobs, it hopes, or loves, or wombs, I wished for s more permanent place to stay, a man with a shovel overheard, said "I'll dig you a grave" I said "I only got five dollars left" he said 'that's fine, you can just will me the rest" "that's a pretty old coat, and I don't like your vest... but I do like that hat"... So here I sit with the sun in my eyes, just a' waitin' for the moment I die... but it's not too bad considering I, had a pretty good time anyway No it's not too bad considering I, had a pretty good time anyway
4.
General Lee he did his damndest, to send me back to Kansas, but I guess that we finally won the war, I don't remember what I was fighting for, someone direct me to the liquor store, please I nailed too many coffins, kickin' up dust and coughin' stealing whisky wagons on the sly, well if there's a thorn in my side, its that I've seen too many die And Jackson held a tough line, givin' us boys a hard time, we were surely dropping like flies, if you could see those widows red eyes, you'd know how many died Father Abraham says "I need another hundred thousand, I'll be damned if we're gonna lose this fight", Father Abe says right makes right, but is it right if you're dead by night? Brother against brother and father against son, I think I shot my uncle, I think I shot him with a gun, no, no, no, no and those flames come and meet me, warm me like the morning sun My old buddy Burnside sent me slopping through the mudslide, and now my feet are covered in the mire, well that's not just mud in my eye, it's that I seen too many die Too many sad faces, too many lowdown places, and now I can never go home, on the battlefield will rest my bones, and wander will my soul Threatened with eviction there's a notice on my soul, can't get no relief...in this hellhole, no, no, no, no, those old flames come and meet me, warm my cold dead wet bones
5.
I work for a company who work for a company, who work for a company, they were the lowest bidders, amongst all the other companies they hardly even pay me, they hardly even pay me, they hardly even pay me a dime, they don't give me any benefits, they work me a minute less than full time I need another job, I need another job, only two more jobs to find, maybe someday I'll make a living, but first I have to survive They don't care if I live, they don't care if I live, and they sure don't care if I die, if I don't show up to work on time, they'll replace me with the next cog in the line I thought the word union, I thought the word union, for a half second in my mind, before I'd even finished the thought, I was fired and back in the unemployment line I used to work for a company, work for a company, who is now overseas, I dunno who works there now, but I'm sure they got it worse than me, Yeah whoever's working there now, I'm sure they got it worse than me
6.
No matter how many times you've been told, you never let the advice take hold... How could you lose that job? what's left for you but to thieve and rob? oh you're gonna be out a home, you'll be all alone Haven't you heard, you have to work, "Yeah I can't find a job that doesn't hurt", and I'm feeling the pain now, but I'll make it right somehow... Gotta get a job, no matter how difficult it may be, that's the job, for me Gotta make that money, gotta bring home the butter and honey, or my Honey-Buttercup, just might leave She might leave me, on a train I might never see, her face again If you were to leave me now, I know what I'd do, see you're the only that I have, all I have is you... You are the only one I see, you're the only one for me, the only one I've ever really seen, Cause you have something no one else has, when I'm with you I feel so glad, when I'm not with you I feel so down, so broken hearted and sad So please, won't you not leave home, won't you ever look at your phone, I've been holding onto my phone, like I once held onto your hand can you understand I need you, I've breathed you in and now I can't let you go So darling, believe me I need you, I got a job now, I could feed you, You know I don't mean it like that, I know you're just fine on your own, but wouldn't it be better, to not always be alone Yes just to clarify, my lack of sexist intent, all I'm saying is I'd pay my half of the rent, you'd want someone, not some bum No you don't need no prince, carrying a bag of gold, and you don't need anyone, telling you as you're told, that's not what I'm thinking of, I'm thinking of love I told you once to stay safe and I could hear your smile fade, well I did not assume, to try to point your way, just because I want to hold you, doesn't mean I want to control you I love you
7.
I saw a bum die today, it was on the subway, everyone agreed it was his time Not a single hand reached out, we were too busy covering our mouths, the stench of death was ripe I had a dream I didn't make it, I had a dream I was alone, but I woke up with no regrets, my life isn't a nightmare quite yet I saw a bum die today, I felt the eyes of Simone Weil, if she were here what would she say? Not to mention Jesus Christ, I don't possess the self-sacrifice, to risk my health or whatever else to say You are a Human Being, if I listen closely I can still hear your mother singing, "baby go to sleep, baby have a dream..." I had another dream, I'd built a time machine, the person I saw dying there was me, No details on circumstance, but there always was the chance, my cruelty would come back home to me And I am a Human Being, if you listen closely you can still hear my mother singing, "Gabriel go to sleep Gabriel have a dream" Have a dream
8.
I tried to play an old folksong, I couldn't play it right and I got the words wrong, but the cops burst in and they hauled me off to jail, for copyright infringement, oh I might hurt the sales It's a hard times in the country, since we sold the farm So I went to the judge and I pleaded my case, pointed to my leaders who were thieves just the same, the judge might have sympathized with what I expressed, then he received the verdict via federal express Oh it's a hard times in the country, since we sold the farm So they sent me to prison, yeah they put me in a cage, I work all day and I barely get paid, Not much different than my life before, but I get the room free, don't need to take the subway no more It's a hard time in the country, since we sold the farm Well a few years later they let me out of there, but now I got a beard and too much hair, I don't look like myself, my license is expired, I'd get it renewed if I could prove I was alive, It's a hard times in the country, since we sold the farm I tried looking up to see the sky, Four thirty-two Park Ave was blocking my eye, I heard they designed it off an old trash can, I guess that explains who's living there... It's a hard time in the country, since we sold the farm I was in the city when I heard the news, the press picked a president, nothing I could do, heard the whole thing was "all locked up", Election Day tomorrow, don't bother showing up It's a hard times in the country, since we sold the farm I find myself stuck in old New York Town, walk in other folks tracks and mimicking their sounds, I reckon this town is the same as before, but the rents come due and we owe a little more It's a hard time in the country, since we sold the farm Just last night another madman struck, fifty more Souls, out of luck, I can't see an end in sight... well I wonder where my country is tonight It's a hard times in the country, since it bought the farm
9.
Oh Stockhom Syndrome, you never let me down, got me kissing the hand that knocks me down on the ground, Stockholm Syndrome, it's running this town, got a pitchfork mob of apologists, tearing My Lady down She was a KIND OLD SOUL, She always shared her crown, now She's a Wall Street whore, the joke of thieves and clowns, Stockholm Syndrome, in every soul I see, everything I have belongs to The King... Well I went to the library, tried to place my vote, they said "I'm sorry son...don't you know we don't count em' anymore?" well I got so mad I ran home and I told my friends, but they were all coming down with a case of Stockholm Syndrome again.. Nat Turner and John Brown walked into the bar, all the holy men on the scene said "you righteous boys will go far" but Stockholm Syndrome snuck up from behind, they called the whole thing off and got drunk on their masters wine, Well I still remember the day back in 1776, when the founding fathers said: "you know...we should call it quits... "well the evil King of England is breaking our backs, but Stockholm Syndrome, maybe it isn't so bad" Stockholm Syndrome in every soul I see, everything you have belongs to The King, Stockholm Syndrome in every soul I see, everything I have belongs to The King...
10.
The starving stranger gasped, he surely clasped his hands upon me, foaming at the mouth I heard him scream "I do not need a bed"...then he tore away my sign that read "Down, down with the King" He continued with his eyes, all bulging, heaving sides, saying "who am I to have a mouth to feed?" I said "man you are Gods child", but those words just made him writhe, he said, "No, I belong to The King" "And he may take from whom he will, all my daughters he may fill, my future and my past he may unwrite if there is hate that I should hear, or things that I should fear The King will never fail to give me sight" Well I did summon up my strength and I shook him at some length, until it seemed to maybe break the spell, said "What endears you to him, he who's all but done you in, and he who will just as soon as he can" "He takes from you your crutch, sells you misfortune he calls luck The King is the burden on your back" well the man stared at me awhile and then past me many miles, until his face, it crept into a grin He said "my greed is so great I even hate myself I hate everyone except for him when The King kills or he steals, it frees and fulfills me, to wish I could partake in the sin..." I said "ok, good luck" and I walked away... most likely in just the nick of time, Down oh down, down with The King, I so urgently began to hang my signs As I went along, hanging up my signs who should I see out there in the street? first I heard the rabble cry, but when I heard them sing I knew it was The King The King he was out for his daily jaunt, he was a' kicking every peasant in the shins, after which he'd ask if they thought it was for free, and demand they hand over a shilling I said "hey King, I sees you over there I just had a word with your poor man, I tried to help him see just what a scoundrel that you are, but I could not make him understand" The King he turned to me with a sparkle in his eye, and a grin so big he fairly beamed, he glanced upon my sign and reading it in time, The King he began to speak... He said "Oh thank you my friend...what would I ever do, without such a fool as you, for as long as you peasants will a'fight amongst yourselves, I shall never lose my grip upon you" He bounded away and a silence did fall, the misery of the street all creeping in, and I tried to hang the last of my signs, but I didn't have the strength to finish So I stumbled home in the fading light, the tears they were brimming in my eyes, just then in the distance I heard the sound, of church bells ringing in the night Oh dear Lord, protect me will you Protect me from myself, Let me hate no Earthly Man, even those who hate themselves... Down oh down with the Earthly King The king that I am too Up, up, with my heart, wont you keep it close to you
11.
All I can think of is Stone and Earth, no Fire, or Sky do I see, all I can drink is the saltwater thirst, I can find no well or spring And all I have I have stolen, and all Ive given was to myself, none of my money is golden, but money was never my wealth And all of my burden is fiction, I carry inside my head, all of my life is so easy, but I never can understand And none of my Love is real, at least that's what my friends say, they might not be wrong to say it, but it hurts me anyway And all of my woes are common, to every man, woman, and child, but I'll never know how they do it, whenever I see them smile Oh the rose is the prettiest flower, but a rose never smells like a lilac, and neither will sustain you, if it's food that you lack But when ai lie facedown, in the mud and the grass or Spring if I hear a New Bird crying, I still hope by summer She'll sing...

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released September 11, 2016

Music by Gabriel Priddy

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