Blister Soul

by Vigilantes of Love

Blister Soul cover art
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about

nice!
produced by super producer John Keane!

credits

released 23 May 1995
Bill Mallonee: guitars, vocals, harmonica
John Keane: Electric guitars, bgvs
Matt Donaldson: drums
Chris Donahue: bass, guitars
Netwon Carter: guitar on "5 Miles Outside of Monroe"
Phill Maderia: organ

tags

tags: aaa radio americana college rock country-alt folk-rock indie rock Santa Fe

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about

Bill Mallonee is an Athens, Ga. Americana artist with 40 plus albums, spanning a 20 year career. He was voted by Paste Music ... more Magazine #65 in their prestigious "Top 100 Living Songwriters" poll. He fronted the band Vigilantes of Love from 1991-2001. Mallonee (pronounced "Mal-o-knee") has worked with other great artists such as Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris, and Peter Buck from REM. less

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Track Name: Blister Soul
yeah you got this place you go
it's just a trip before the fall
way past the fevered pitch
just a spit from the wrecking ball

said you woke up this morning
said you woke up under a curse
i've heard the blues are bad
but this is something worse

and the ambulance driver
well he tips his hat and stares
and he asks you in a grave voice
can i take you anywhere

yeah the thing we cannot speak of
too painful to behold
oh this blister soul

there's a smaller place you go
where there's hardly any sound
where the deals have all gone sour
and the house of cards comes down

and the damage is costly
it's beyond all dollars and sense
you can't measure it with graphs and charts
or any instruments

yeah the thing we cannot speak of
the secret we all know
oh this blister soul

yeah from the trumpet blast
i hear the banging drum
yeah from once upon a time
to the kingdom come

and the thing that's yours for free
is the thing i need the most
oh stifles every boast
stifles every boast

yeah the thing that's hard to speak of
but the secret we all know
oh this blister soul
Track Name: Five Miles Outside Monroe
five miles outside of monroe
they said man there just been killed
say you don't wanna talk about it much
twenty dollars says you will
i thought we made some progress
we stayed up 'til the dawn
i thought we made some progress
oh then again i could be wrong

five miles outside of monroe
you're drumming your fingers on the dashboard
otis redding's on the radio
he's always so lonely at the dock of the bay
i thought we made some progress
with the advent of a kiss
i thought we made some progress
oh then again it was just a wish

on and on brick by brick
i come and build my house
while i try to get real good
at putting words in people's mouths
one day when the bottom drops out
we'll lay this thing to rest
the truth sleeping like dynamite
inside this paper flesh

phone calls have been placed
letters have been sent
we've been trying to determine the exact nature of
your critical involvement
five miles outside of monroe
there's static on the dispatch
freedom there's a holy word
but there's a simple catch
Track Name: Skin
now i'd seen him despondent
a few times as of late
sometimes the answer that love gives
is the hardest one to take
i know he was prone to paint
the voice of his own fear
so vincent he picked up the blade
and he put it to his ear

look at yourself in the mirror
you're all rumpled red stubbled and gaunt
you walk a dead end path in a dry corn field
and now this morose response
your princess she don't wanna see you
no your princess she don't wanna hear
so vincent he picked up the blade
and he put it to his ear

now look if you're gonna come around here
and say those sort of things
you gotta take a few on the chin
you talking about love and all that stuff
you better bring your thickest skin
sometimes you can't please everyone
sometimes you can't please anyone at all
you sew your heart onto your sleeve
and wait for the ax to fall

you there with the paint box
you there with paper and pen
me i got this blunt instrument
i'm gonna play on 'til the end
and you know you come with empty hands
or you don't come at all
you deal your best hand out in the marketplace
and let the chips fall

the package it comes wrapped up
there is a lesson here
vincent he picked up the blade
and he put it to his ear

now look if you're gonna come around here
and say those sort of things
you gotta take a few on the chin
yeah you're talking about sin and redemption
well you better wear your thickest skin
sometimes you can't please everyone
sometimes you can't please anyone at all
sew your heart onto your sleeve
and wait for the ax to fall
Track Name: offer
they were making available the dreams of the past
for a limited time while the supply lasts
i got in line and i gave the man my cash

yeah i was buying fake diamonds buying fools gold
and i keep them in a sack shot full of holes
in this land of plenty with an empty soul

no mountain too high there's no ocean too deep
no castle too strong there's no lock that'll keep
no river too wide there's no desert too broad
no stone you can't break no heart that's too hard

from parting shots to parting the seas
from stabs in the back to turning the cheek
opening cells and throwing away the key

and i distinguish a voice that i hear in the wind
like a radio station not quite locked in
once a whisper now as loud as a scream

you're the judge and you're the law
the criminal in place of us all
father and mother sister and brother and friend

you say give me your sickness give me your pain
your empty cup and i'll fill it again
why on earth are you digging your own grave
Track Name: Baalam's Ass
yeah i've always wandered by this riverside
i've always wondered what it's like to be more than alive
yeah the boss man says "i'd advise you resist"
i just nod my head and look off in the distance

these days i never go out looking much
or feeling my best
i'm sorry this stuff
it clings to my flesh

one is men's hearts that are failing for fear
two see the carnage strewn on the shore
three are the life boats full to capacity
four is there room for just one more
five you will feel like the great wallenda
six as he stepped out over tallulah gorge
seven i will bind myself to the truth
and speak it like balaam's ass once more
say yeah life boats are burning

she said it's days like today that make me know God is near
said it matter of fact said it so sincere
well he's got your eyes and he's got my ears
hope he sees what you see
hope he ears what i hear

the statue of liberty i could just stand and stare at her
i've always heard that sports builds character
masses and multitudes mumbling their parts
dying come crawling with holes in their hearts
Track Name: Bethlehem Steel
we ain't keeping secrets
we ain't telling lies
going public with this one
going nationwide

hey start the presses
this ain't pay-per-view
roll the cameras this is front page news
roll the cameras this is front page news

you can buy a little
and you can buy a whole lot more
can't take a red nickel of it with you
when you go

and go you will
and go you shall
go sooner or later
go then and now

hammer come down you're gonna spin the wheel
coming forth true like bethlehem steel

whisper in the office
tell it in the shop
speak about it in the studio
shout if from the highest rooftop

hey i'm very thirsty
but i can't complain
stuck in the desert but expecting rain
stuck in the desert but expecting rain

hammer come down let the bells peal
coming forth true like bethlehem steel

and you sleep because you're lonely
and you sleep because it's night
and you sleep well 'cause only
you've been doing it your whole life

yeah it's one thing to be dead
in your trespasses and then again
it's quite another to remain in them
it's quite another to remain in them
Track Name: Tempest
watching the tempest stir in your soul
watching the tempest stir in your soul
we are storming the battlements
razing the arguments

got your letters here by my bed
got these visions of you in my head
we are storming the battlements
razing the arguments

one down i don't know
how i lost my way
two down now she knows
all my yesterdays

watching her secret side come to life
watching her secret side come to life
we are storming the battlements
razing the arguments
writing the installments
Track Name: Bolt Action
man at the crossroads with a voice of anticipation
he's playing elmore james and reciting lamentations
i am one i am two
to whom the stroke was due

up here in this tower for forty-eight hours
without food or drink or water
maybe i oughta

try to remind yourself to tell yourself it doesn't really matter
why are my lips so blue my pulse ever getting shallow
didn't hurt whatever do you mean
didn't feel a thing

know i know i could hear it if the truth be told
ya'll step right up and pop the trip wire soul
my bolt action
my dissatisfaction
Track Name: Parting Shot
words of wisdom quotable quotes
reader's digest sayings for those losing hope
why do i feel so mocked by the hands of the clock
well anchor me down to the solid rock
i want to leave you with something but i almost forgot
was it a closing statement or a parting shot

well you lie on the flowers here in the wind
i've twisted it all with original sin
there's a knowledge i traded a long time ago
well i bartered it off for these rags i call clothes
i learned how to fake it and remake it on cue
but i swear i never stopped needing you

there's a question forming out here in the dark
in the heavy air all around my heart
now laden with consequence chain link fence
and shot through with all manner of lies
i've been trapped in and caught

and the world like a tempest in your ears doth roar
and the flesh wants to dress up and play your whore
and the devil wants to cast all manner of doubt
on the real lover with the key dying to let you out
from the bars that you fashioned with your stolen clout
well i may be confused but i'll play my hunch
did it feel like a kiss or a counter-punch

evening is closing and the kid drones on and on and on
well get out your car keys i hope this is his last song
wait it's bigger than life it is gracious and grand
something a child readily understands

hey you know i sure could use a new suit of clothes
see i'm gone all threadbare and my shoes are worn
now the flowers are growing right out of these bones
and i hear the trumpet sounding like louis armstrong
when the great divorce happens hide me in your song
though i don't deserve it and i don't belong
i want to leave you with something will you take it to heart
are you a closing statement or a parting shot