1. |
Our Forbidden Country
04:03
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Our Forbidden Country
(Verse: Droney A, Chorus: A, G) (Guitar Tuned down half step)
Before the plague
Before the rage
Before the body count
Angel-faced young men of summer
Gathered on these shores
Women loving women loving women in sunlight
A salty kiss on sandy skin
Lovers limbs entwined
Past the Breakers, sick with hunger, Our Forbidden Country
Past the benches , built for lovers, Our Forbidden Country
Kept it like a secret ‘til you could keep it no more
Found love in a subway station, pressed against the bathroom door
Dare to let your glances linger longer than before
A city park, the darkest corner, kneeled upon the forest floor
Past the benches built for lovers, Our Forbidden Country
Past the Breakers, sick with hunger, Our Forbidden Country
Once a lover, once a fighter, once a fierce unruly queen
Now carried through the streets, their mortal body’s but a dream
No Liberation, liberation without memory
Buried deep in our endurance, our collective fury
Past the front doors to the alleys of Our Forbidden Country
Past the marchers, angry rallies, Our Forbidden Country
Past the benches built for lovers, Our Forbidden Country
Past the breakers, sick with hunger, Our Forbidden Country
Another night unfolds, Why Sleep? In our forbidden country
Another night unfolds, Arise! In our forbidden country
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2. |
Late Nights in the Lab
02:52
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Late Nights in the Lab
(Chords: A, D…)
I was 17, a student at the experimental college
Late nights in the lab on the A/B Roll Edit
Living off Luckies and marijuana
A young party monster, looking for trouble
Driving down the I-5 to get to a show
Or the reservation liquor when the others were closed
Whiskey for my coffee for my early class,
Queer Poli-Sci, a little over my head
I remember you a teacher at the experimental college
A tough queer femme with a political edge
Hell bent on the ideals of social justice
Teaching Ecofeminist Documentary Production
But it must have been lonely in that small town,
You must have wanted so much more,
Just to get the hell out.
A single gay bar with a single drag queen,
Surrounded by your students,
With fake ID’s.
We sat that night after class
Late in the lab
I shuffled papers from the students into one neat little stack
And made a note on a list, tapes I loaned out
These were just the little things from the times we hung out
I admit I had a crush that I slowly got over
And I know I had questions like had you been older
In the back of my mind, in the video lab
There’s a knock on the door
You’re holding a 6-pack
Cause I’m 17 at experimental college
Late nights in the lab on the A/B Roll Edit
Living off Luckies and marijuana
A shy queer kid looking for a role model.
17 at experimental college
Late nights in the lab on the A/B Roll Edit
Living off Luckies and marijuana
A shy queer kid looking for a role model.
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3. |
Wanting to Stay
01:54
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Wanting to Stay
[VERSE: C Am G F C / C F G F C CHORUS: C Am G F CGF CGF]
You were a southern storm
Hypnotic and bright
You were sand in my shoes
You were all that I knew for a little while
Sudden and cruel
Soaking me through
Frozen in fear
Somehow wanting more
Was all that I knew
But oh for a gentle breeze
on one sunny day
I was a crab on the shore
Digging my little home
Singing wanting to stay, wanting to stay, wanting to stay
wanting to stay, wanting to stay, wanting to stay
You were Kudzu vine
Blocking out all the light
Weaving in between trees
Climbing taller each day
Chocking out all the life
Persistent and strong
A weed through and through
Spreading far and wide
No place that could hide from your system of roots
But oh for some sweet relief
For a tidal wave
I was a crab on the shore
Digging my little home
Singing wanting to stay, wanting to stay, wanting to stay
wanting to stay, wanting to stay, wanting to stay
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4. |
In the Life
03:27
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In the Life
(VERSE: E A E B CHORUS: A E A B E)
I’ve been a trapper, out cruising the tender
The hungry young hustlers in the city of night
I’ve been a terror, a fierce younger lover
I’ve traded my body at times to survive
I’m haunting the hollows
the back alley boroughs
the dark movie theaters and discos and dives
If we hovered so nearly
Together just barely
Felt the wonder between us
What wonder we’d find?
Could you count all of those who abandoned the fight
Or list off the names of those who have died
In the city of night, the death tolls were raging,
The church bells were ringing, but not for our kind
Please pardon my yearnings
They hit without warning
My heart so commanding, my body, my mind
And all of our secrets that we hold between us
All shine so clear in the glowing moonlight
We’re haunting the hollows
the back alley boroughs
Dark movie theaters and discos and dives
If we hovered so nearly
Together just barely
Felt the wonder between us
Dear what would we find
If we hovered so nearly
Together just barely
Felt the wonder between us
Dear what might we find
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5. |
Deceit and Deceive
02:21
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Deceit and Deceive
[E A E / C#m A E]
A safe full of secrets, so dark and so deep
Young horse-whisperer,
Who knows not to speak
When there is no need.
A vision so lovely
A swan so deceived.
It cried out for days
In love with the view
Of what it perceived.
Oh falseness entangled
The human of beings.
Not quite what you thought,
Nor need dream or want
Deceit and Deceive
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6. |
Somewhere In Between
02:49
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Somewhere In Between (C F)
By the time you read this you’ll be 17
Smoking stolen cigarettes, writing bad poetry
Crushed out on a classmate who’s kind of a stoner
But you think she’s real cool and you wish you could know her.
By the time you read this you’ll be 22
Have your heart broken, a couple shitty tattoos.
High School will feel like a bad memory,
Now you’re washing the dishes at a place down on Holly.
CHORUS: BACKUP VOCALS: “SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN” x8
Somewhere in-between the stacks of book and papers,
Found a place to call your own and a reason to stay there
With a record collection, a single ray of light
You sleep through it every day, live only for the night.
Somewhere in-between the stacks of book and papers,
Found a place to call your own and a reason to stay there
With a record collection, a single ray of light
You sleep through it every day, live only for the night.
By the time you read this you’ll be 30-something
You’ll be out of the restaurants but you’ll still be hustling.
Free time will feel like a dream you have
About a time and a place you will never get back.
By the time you read this you’ll be nearly 40,
Have a real good laugh about a dog eared copy
Of Lesbian Poetry, the Anthology, from 1981
Sent like a time machine.
CHORUS: BACKUP VOCALS: “SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN” x8
Somewhere in-between the stacks of book and papers,
Found a place to call your own and a reason to stay there
With a record collection, a single ray of light
You sleep through it every day, live only for the night.
Somewhere in-between the stacks of book and papers,
Found a place to call your own and a reason to stay there
With a record collection, a single ray of light
You sleep through it every day, live only for the night.
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7. |
The Party's Over
03:18
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The Party’s Over
[VERSE: G Em C D CHORUS: C G D G]
Was it the fever or the fear or the way he held the floor?
Was it the back-beat of the bass drum that just kept you wanting more?
Were you reeling from the poopers?
Was he just another screw?
Or we’re hell bent on making him the one you’d love so true?
Was it how the party ended, just when you finally felt so free?
Was it the death of the gay disco or the murder of the queens?
Was it the burying of bodies or one endless eulogy?
Or the government officials, “Quiet down don't make a scene.”
Turn on the lights
The Party’s over
Lost to the night
Forever young
Christopher Street
The Hudson River
Will keep on flowing
After we’re gone
Was it the way his body moved to the music you adored?
Or the way the disco ball just sent you spinning round the floor?
the glitter on his face, the sweat upon his brow?
His short shorts shirtless body moving to Dinosaur L
Was it the how we were so wild? how we sleeplessly endured?
The way raged against the night, against the cruelties of the world
In the seedy basements, back alleys, the dark clubs and the discos
For one moment felt alive, took all our shame and let it go
Turn on the lights
The Party’s over
Lost to the night
Forever young
Christopher Street
The Hudson River
Will keep on flowing
After we’re gone
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8. |
The Worst July on Record
03:01
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The Worst July on Record
[VERSE: E B A B CHORUS: Low E, High E B A, Low E C#m B A]
It was the worst July on record,
Lost a dear dear friend to cancer
Then a suicide right after
Shook the scene right to the rafters
We all huddled close together
Sweating out the liquor
Arm-in-arm, shoulder to shoulder
We sang songs about departure
There was a wrinkle in the fabric
We all say each other older
Time and space it did collapse
And I was leaning on your shoulder
And the music it was loud
Not much one could say
My sarcasm crept right in
Come on, lets watch this shitty band play
Oh distraction, the pool the beach the fire
Late nights spent talking, the early morning sun
Oh distraction, the beer the weed desire
Call your old friends, make sure they’re not alone.
And the heat it was oppression
And the world was even worse
Can cops were killing in the streets
In gay clubs a massacre
And the media just loved it but it made all of us sick
All the murder of black people, trans women, the innocent.
Dog-piled in a hotel room,
No one sleeps alone tonight
The TV’s on, I’m kind of drunk
There’s no relief in sight
Tomorrow another memorial
Another fallen friend
All I can think, this is too much
Holy hell, just fuck this shit.
Oh distraction, the pool the beach the fire
Late nights spent talking, the early morning sun
Oh distraction, the beer the weed desire
Call your old friends, make sure they’re not alone.
Call your old friends, make sure they’re not alone.
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9. |
When Home was a Blue Sky
02:59
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When Home was a Blue Sky
[VERSE: Asus Dsus BREAK: F# E D F# E D]
When Home was a Blue Sky
I sat captively craving
When Home was a Blue Sky
I patiently pondered
When Home was a Blue Sky
Was I always wanting
When Home was a Blue Sky
I just had the feeling
[Break]
When Home was a Blue Sky
Their ashes just scattered
When Home was a Blue Sky
We found ourselves howling
When Home was a Blue Sky
We're you buried beneath it
When Home was a Blue Sky
Did you wake on the wind?
[Instrumental jam on Asus and D]
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10. |
Dear Jeffrey
02:17
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Dear Jeffrey
[VERSE: G D C D CHORUS: C D GDC C D Em / C D GDC C D G]
Dear Dear Jeffrey, oh please tell me
How is New York City?
Do the pretty boys all shine in your light?
Do you stay out all night dancing,
Just to watch the sun come rising?
Have you finally found a lover that feels right?
And have you found a way to fight the feeling with each day,
That says you’re not worth a damn thing, just go die?
And have you found a way to hold the feeling with each night,
That says you’re finally free to love, just go try?
Dear Jeffrey oh please tell me,
You still write poetry
While waiting for the subway home each night.
Are they songs for your lost father,
A sonnet for your new lover
Does it still bring you joy to write?
Like a piece of twine, we co-exist,
Though its been some time since we did twist
And turn the streets of the lower east side
Few and far apart these days,
I hope you know that I do take
Time to let you tumble round my mind.
And I hope you’ve found a way to fight the feeling with each day,
That says you’re not worth a damn thing, just go die.
And I hope you’ve found a way to hold the feeling with each night,
That says you’re finally free to love, just go try.
Dear Dear Jeffrey, oh please tell me
How is New York City?
Do the pretty boys all shine in your light?
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11. |
Keep on Livin'
03:12
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Keep on Living
[C G F G]
For the times you got fucked senseless just to not feel so alone
For the wonder in discovering a Sadie Benning film
For the record spinning, Donna screaming, Don’t try suicide
There’s another way to paradise, only in your mind.
For the rumors in the hallway, you might be so different
And the tags upon your locker that said, die you fucking faggot.
For the innocence you lost, but the wisdom you did gain
Now you know what tender is, you know how to be brave.
For the feelings that do linger so much longer than they should.
For the moments when the anger is all you can see for miles
For revenge you knew was coming, but couldn’t quite yet taste,
But you knew would be so sweet, so you made it through the day.
For the glory holes you dreamed of, your secret circle jerks
For the late nights in the library bathroom on the 3rd floor
For the times you tumbled sentences, afraid to speak the words
As if coming out would change the very person that you were.
For the sissies and the queers who feel forever so alone,
For the queens who wake in glitter, well into late afternoon.
For the ones we’ve yet to meet, ‘cause they are still so young,
And the ones we will remember, long after they’re gone.
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Your Heart Breaks Washington
Your Heart Breaks is a queer Northwest band. Originally founded by Clyde Petersen in Bellingham, Washington in 1999, Your Heart Breaks has toured the world for over 25 years as both a solo performer and a large ensemble. Their new album comes out on Kill Rock Stars in 2023. ... more
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