Get all 8 Paul Tabachneck releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Our New Life, New America b/w The Monster, Two People Made This Mess, Merry Fucking Christmas, Here Goes Nothing, Boy Meets Girl, Glutton's Dozen, and Sally FortH!.
1. |
Empire
03:06
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so here we sit
you and your dirty little secret
and you're staring into middle distance
"wow," i say, "i never thought you liked that window,
but the two of you could fall in love right now"
you say, "i'm just tired," but i know a half-lie
when it's dripping from your mouth
i'll let it slide but i know one day i'll find out
we're only temporary
we're only temporary
why lie to me?
i know we're heading for the same place every empire goes
why lie to me?
i know, i know
so here we are
me and the one who'll break my heart
guess i should've known it was a snake
when i picked it up
took it to my room
let it sink its fangs back into me
with a bite so righteous i wear the bruise
like a badge you pin each week
a secret shared
between each mirror that sees me
it's only temporary
it's only temporary
why lie to me...
see there's a line
and you knew it
and you know what you did
this could end
quick and simple
but you're keeping it hid
and i'm sure
that you're sorry
but it ain't like we're kids
'cause you knew
if you did it
it would come down to this so why lie?
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2. |
Inaccessible
03:54
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we've been playing chicken with our eyes
since we laid them on each other
suddenly, i've come to realize
you're not quite as inaccessible
as i want to think you are
now the barrier is gone and i am frozen
and i'll open up my mouth
and try to talk about these stars
just as soon as i remember to breathe in, breathe out...
now i know your name, i know your voice
and the wondering is over
despite your quiet beauty and your poise
you're not quite as inaccessible
as i want to think you are
now the barrier is gone and i am frozen
and it's easier when i can just
admire from afar
where i don't have to remind myself, "breathe in, breathe out..."
i don't know how long
this boat i'm on
can float for
and it's tempting now
to steer it back for shore
you're not quite as inaccessible
as i want to think you are
now the barrier is gone and i am frozen
and i'll try to take the ball and run
for shelter in your arms
but it's all that i can do just to breathe in, breathe out...
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3. |
Right On (f/Zé Luis)
03:29
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you say you're with somebody
i say, "right on"
fighting over you never got me far
you stay at home each night
and do it with the lights on
then you mention how rejection always helped my art
and what he does for you
somehow i don't do
and you say, you're in love....
you say you're with somebody
i say, "right on"
if you're happy, then i'm happy and we're smiling fools
and if i love you, then i'll love you from a distance
i can cope if you can -- can you?
if there's something in my eyes
i apologize
it's not 'cause you're in love....
i'm just happy that we never got together
it would all end in tears...
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4. |
Foxhole
03:16
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it got tough
i won't deny it
the further you dig
the thicker the dirt and clay
hitting rock bottom
just seemed like it was
the next logical step to take
but i
wanna let you know that i'm ok
despite what everybody says
i'm climbing back out of my foxhole
i
wanna let you know that i'm ok
despite what everybody says
i'm finding out lately i'm no longer afraid
we both
tried so much harder
than anybody else
in the human race
i was your martyr
you'd lay me low
every time you could turn a phrase
but i...
never asked for this circumstance
never begged for a second chance,
you say, "nothing comes for free"
i say, "fine by me,"
i used to be concerned about the gossip on the street
i used to be concerned about what people thought of me
i used to worry that i had been buried hip deep
and i'd never get out
you beat me than you had to drag my name around the town
you sold me out for nothing and it used to get me down
but now i'm climbing my way back and i will not be shut down
'cause i know who you are now
i....
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5. |
Tossing and Turning
04:25
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hey
how've you been?
how's your dog?
how's your new boyfriend?
is he nice?
does he love you?
do you love him?
do you want to?
is he better than the life i gave you?
is he nicer to your mom and dad?
does he fill your life with wine and roses?
is he the best lover you've ever had?
was he worth breaking my heart in half?
oh and hey
how's your life?
and all your plans, did they turn out right?
do you miss me ('cause i miss you)?
you don't need this but i need you
i could never be the one who holds you
who sleeps beside you 'til the morning light
now i'll never know just what you wanted
and i'll never know if i was ever right
you'll stay in mind, not in sight
as i'm tossing and turning all night
without you by my side
alone and awake in my bed
remembering how you said
that nothing could ever be right
you won't be here by my side
i'm tossing and turning all night
oh and hey
how've you been?
i was wrong -- can we still be friends?
did i change?
does that scare you?
would you stay if i dared you?
could you tell me that you really loved me,
even if we both know it's a lie?
i could take those words
they'd surround me
so i just might not need you tonight
you'll stay in mind not in sight....
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6. |
Novice
03:24
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all the lonely nights
i sleep to keep the world from turning
are worth the sacrifice
if i know that you're returning
i get so nervous
that i don't deserve this
i'm learning to trust you but i'm still a novice
strange and neurotic
slightly obsessive, somewhat depressive
and it gets the best of me
i used to think that fate
was one big heap of misdirection
i almost changed my mind
when it led me to your affection
i get so nervous....
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7. |
I Only Have Eyes For You
04:00
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i no longer play games with the neighbors
to take my mind off all the bills and bad news
oh, i know you don't believe me
but i only have eyes for you
i no longer go out to the nightclub
have one-night stands and blame my actions on the booze
none of them could ever please me
'cause i only have eyes for you
i'll never find a better lover so i don't try
that doesn't mean they can't ask, and they do
but i send them all home lonely
'cause i have these eyes only for you
i no longer flip through my black book
looking for something or someone to do
i'm so tired of being easy
'cause the others just don't please me
and i know you don't believe me
but i only have eyes....
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8. |
Up For Hire
03:19
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if i could i'd trade our wisdom for a party ball
so we could get drunk and make love and never think at all
we'd be blissful we'd be dumb
yeah we could have it all
if i could i'd trade our wisdom for a party ball
a high wire
and a low flyer
will converge and merge into a burst of tragic fire
you're so wired
and i'm so tired
by tomorrow my position will be up for hire
if i could i'd trade my kingdom for amnesia
i'd forget the way you treated me last summer
i'd forget the lovesick trance you had me under
if i could i'd trade my kingdom for amnesia
a high wire....
don't try to get so
faux sentimental
don't try to cloak our love in cheap nostalgia
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9. |
It Hurts
04:02
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most of your time
used to be mine
now i don't know where you stay
i used to get
every wan smile
now i just get in the way
and it hurts
even though we've both got new lives that work
i still get the shell-shock surprise 'cause you lurk
just to remind me
just to remind me
just to remind me how much it hurt
you put me down
you made a vow
never to stand in one place
i could be found
asleep on my couch
or up and staring into space
and it hurts
feels like i'm running through mud to dry earth
held back by arms that grow out of the dirt
just to remind me
just to remind me
that i
shouldn't have let you cut so close to the bone
and i
should've just taken your word
when you warned me to leave it alone
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10. |
If We Can't Have Love
02:17
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if we can't have love
it's a proven fact
my body moves
yours reacts
from my house to yours
there's a two-way track
i wanna get to railin'
if we can't commit
there's a lot of acts
we could still commit
no strings attached
if we can't have love
we could still have that
come on baby, baby
you like the break of a man
to leave me shattered like it was your plan
you're kind of a bitch but you've got great hands
that know how to make me, make me
scream at the top of my lungs
feel like you're everywhere at once
keep me awake 'til morning comes
come on baby, baby....
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11. |
Sad Songs
02:08
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i started out tonight
with a pen and this guitar
and a simple plan to make sure you'd be sorry
but then i realized
nothing could be gained
by selling out the drama of our story
it wouldn't bring you back
it would probably make you sad
but that does nothing for me
oooh i'm tired of sad songs
tired of wasting breath on what went wrong
oooh i'm tired of sad songs
maybe you could help me not to write one
i never sing about
the mornings spent in bed
that turn into full days of being lazy
no, i never sing about
the way you kiss my head
the way that you amuse me and amaze me
oooh i'm tired....
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12. |
I Love You
05:07
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i keep watching these moments drag on
and fritter away 'til they're gone
and i wonder what happens
if i try to grab hold of one
will i stumble when words hit my tongue?
will i look in your eyes and become
one more stuttering fool,
chasing windmills where there are none?
could i tell you just once so you'd always remember
in words that i can't dance around
lose the hints and suggestions
and unanswered questions
forget there's an easier way out
and say i love you?
i've been desperate since i was a boy
i'd forgotten pursuit of the joy
that i've heard comes around
when you know that you've made the right choice
i've had water that tasted like sand
put my heart in indelicate hands
like a china shop calling a bull with a getaway plan
and i've thought this one over
the only conclusion that reaches me every time
is that hints and suggestions
and unanswered questions
can't be all i take from this life
and i love you
take me seriously now
this is the one thing i can't joke about
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Paul Tabachneck New York
I started doing music in Pittsburgh, fronting the folk-rock band Stone Soup, the dark-pop band Dead Pressed Flowers, and the Power Pop band Manpig aka Everybody Wins. After that, I moved to New York, mostly playing solo and busking a lot. Now I live in CT and play in my home office because everything is bad and no one can go out. See me Wednesdays at 7:30 at facebook.com/paultab! ... more
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