Get all 92 Bill Mallonee releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of WELCOME TO STRUGGLEVILLE (Remaster by Pete Lyman), Comes To Life (New single released March 14th, 2024), NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, & WEST, ABOVE, BELOW & WITHIN (single from Orphan Songs), HERE IT OPENS WITH A PRAYER, BUT IT CLOSES WITH A SONG (2022), A CLAMORING OF GHOSTS (2021), THE LOT OF EVERYMAN (a free download today), STUNNED (an anniversary song), "LEAD ON, KINDLY LIGHT" & "THIS WORLD & ONE MORE" (2020), and 84 more.
Excludes supporter-only releases.
1. |
HARD LUCK & HEART ATTACK
04:45
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Hard Luck and Heart Attack
Written by Bill Mallonee for CyBrenJoJosh (BMI) ©1998
clouds break for a moment when you're coming off desolation
and frisco's your appointment you're the way you were before
trying to gaze east but with no one to depend on
and the blisters on your feet yeah from coming down the mountain
your friends won't let you down but friends they're not the refuge
you're tearing up the town with a hip flask of red wine
scrawling visions buzzed in that five and dime notepad
saving them just because angels seemed so sad
a ticket from the coat-check girl
her words and flesh they're laughing
taking down her number
on that lipstick-stained napkin
sainthood for anyone yeah who knows you lose it to save it
a prayer for everyone who's ever been out on the pavement
a sound inside of me as i'm falling through the cracks
hard luck and heart attack of hard luck yeah and heart attack
arms around me if i'm going through the ceiling
service stations of the cross yeah the doctors they need healing
things clear for a moment when you're coming off desolation
between nothing and the atonement it all bleeds behind your cadence
Did You Know?
Based loosely on the life of Jack Kerouac, this song was inspired by Kerouac's work entitled Desolation Angels. It opens with Jack atop Mount Desolation where he would do fire watch. It touches on his self destructive lifestyle, his partying trips to San Francisco and his belief in the innocence of American spirit. Bill attempted to write this song from Jack's mindset. ~ Jason Horst
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2. |
YOUR PART OF THE STORY
05:18
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Your Part of the Story
Written by Bill Mallonee for CyBrenJoJosh (BMI) ©1998
yeah you get to tell your part of the story
yeah you get to live it for better or worse
yeah your lips were alluring and slightly moist
so let's kiss away our part of the curse
we've been dragging our dreams across the asphalt and pavement
try to speak of the gift yeah and the one who gave it
but it's hard to distinguish to the untrained eye
yeah this thing that you love but it's taking your life
nothing feels as good as holding you again
breath and whisper pressed up against the skin
and oh that sweet caress we're so familiar with
sooner or later yeah it comes down to this
yeah it's all just gift that you're living with
we've been digging through notebooks some empty some full
yeah and mapping the caverns of our little skulls
i've been trying to find something you might need
maybe a little goodness in me
good people have sent me these cards and letters
say "we love what you do" suppose it makes me feel better
but you can't carry the weight when you're so unstable
you let us sleep in your beds yeah and eat at your table
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3. |
GO & ASK HER
03:48
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Go and Ask Her
Written by Bill Mallonee for CyBrenJoJosh (BMI) ©1996
a hard line taken every path you crossed
baby what was never found is never lost
long ago you stopped thinking about what it costs
to live in this skin
yes and all those men who ran out on you
who climbed your mountain to steal their view
well they took all the treasure but they left you
with a mind full of nothing
go and ask her
you're innocent when you dream
floated on down to new orleans
with the drifters and the gamblers and the river boat queens
we're all taking our chances on what we've never seen
with our own two own eyes
oh the first time i think i hear you say the word trust
was one half prayer the other half curse
i was hoping you'd think of me none for the worse
for loving you
you can build a big wall around your heart
you can win all the battles before they start
you could claw your way straight to top
of the wreckage and bleed
i wanna hold you in my arms at night
what's it take to make life turn our right
if love is the clue
let's follow it right to eternity
was watching you sleep it was late last night
with a smile on your lips were you dancing in the light
of a place where i
i could not quite reach
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4. |
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When You're Blinded by the Light
Written by Bill Mallonee for CyBrenJoJosh (BMI) c.1997
trusted you until it hurt
don't wanna go there for a while
barely recognized the word
i've been forgetting how to smile
it's funny how supposed friends
trip in here so fancy free
ah but when the story ends
we just rewrite our histories
and it's no good telling stories
when my ears are sealed up tight
does no good to see the sunrise
when you're blinded by the light
gave you all the best we had
of our labors and our trust
played a benefit of doubt
yeah but we couldn't raise enough
bought a one-way ticket to nowhere
on a ship called lost at sea
well it was there i found my courage
she was sleeping next to me
Lord show to me Your face
Lord show to me Your skin
Lord show to me the places
where they put the nails in
gonna crawl in there with all my fears
introduce them to my pretense
yeah introduce them to my sorrows
they'll become the best of friends
Did You Know?
Bill has introduced this song as being about humility and working through one of the hardest emotions, that being anger that ends up being self-righteous indignation. In the lyric sheet for the 'Cross the Big Pond EP, Bill says this song is about "betrayal and perspective - watch your heart." ~ Jason Horst
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5. |
SHE WALKS ON ROSES
03:19
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She Walks on Roses
Written by Bill Mallonee for CyBrenJoJosh (BMI) 1997
got a skeleton closet we've got a dreaded disease
i been looking high and low for my skeleton key
and they say that pride well it's is the chief of sins
well i know all of his deputies i'm well acquainted with them
yes she walks on water
yes yes she walks on sky
yes yes she walks on roses
yes yes she walks on by
she got a brand new ache she got a brand new crutch
got a brand new scar take a lifetime to cover it up
and this ground is barren honey this place was dry
that's a long long time ago 'til i looked in your eye
everybody got a secret deep under the ground
you can take it out once in a while when there's no one around
you can grab for it all yeah with your list of demands
or you can come as a small child yeah with your empty hands
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6. |
BERLIN IN '53
04:07
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Berlin in '53
words & music: Bill Mallonee BMI1995
i have a photograph
detailing the matter
quite a formidable pair they were
full of grace and swagger
those smiles are disarming
it's like a drowning sensation
their hands full of each other's
highly classified information
Berlin in '53
a young lieutenant i admire
he took his young bride up in his arms
they set the whole city on fire
on fire it was
saved from distraction
on fire indeed
with their love and passion
he covered her with kisses
he adorned her with praise
she took him unto herself
they set the whole city ablaze
tear down those walls
when she walked by in that dress
melt all the stone hearts
melt the machine gun nests
and let freedom ring
in that bloc to the east
those two got a weapon
they will soon unleash
well the devil he roams
the big machines they rust
kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall
trampled in the dust
i saw it in that photograph
they haven't stopped it yet
whatever Romeo whispered
to his sweet Juliet
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7. |
AUDIBLE SIGH
05:25
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Audible Sigh
Words & Music; Bill Mallonee for CyBrenJoJosh (BMI)1996
all these vain distractions
yeah and the worship of the buck
somewhere i think we gave out
at this club called the out of luck
it's deeper than the blackness
yeah than all the blacktop holds
starving for an omen
and the spaces they're wide open
and it's where you cast your heart tonight
from your less than humble home
and out here don't you learn to bleed
like something from a deeper need
yeah and all that's underneath unheard
still unspoken in other words
the open sky audible sigh
a simple science and good report
some human interaction
feelings long since disappeared
reported missing in action
an image lands the knock out punch
at the end of every quarter
yeah and trends they are tomorrow's landmines
we are always tripping over
yeah and all the common standards
and the measurements you use
to judge the labors of your hands
your threshhold of abuse
yeah and failure she's a new-found friend
you let her sleep once on the floor
when you rise to check out
yeah she follows to the door
is it a sign you're getting sicker
is it a sign you're almost well
the way it is with skin and bones
well who on earth could tell
you pitch your tent and you sing your song
by morning you're forgotten
and we're falling off that old soap box
and the chasm has no bottom
Did You Know?
This song is a demo from the Audible Sigh sessions, which did not make the final cut. Bill "cherry picked" lyrics from this song, using them in other tunes.
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8. |
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a less forlorn early version of Solar System.
Moonlight Dripping
Words/Music Bill Mallonee
come in here and have a taste
hey really what's one more hopeless case
after all that's been said and all that's been done
there's a lot more said than ever gets done
threw it all in a pack and left with a haste
you walk away from once was never yours in the first place
at the bar of what it might cost
check all your burdens at the foot of the cross
her lips were red and her hair was brown
and you're feeling like the luckiest kid in town
she says i'll follow you well to the ends of the earth
said i'm not going that far for what it's worth
i really love to see you like this
the moonlight dripping from your fingertips
when the short wave dies and there's no one to listen
stars going cold in your solar system
it's thick and thin and off through bad weather
it takes just a promise to bind you together
you put all your love where it hurts the most
expect a little visit from the Holy Ghost
this ground was barren this place was dry
that's a long time before i looked in your eyes
you spend a lifetime trying to find the words to use
to tell about the thing that you're trying to lose
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9. |
MY YEAR IN REVIEW
03:57
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My Year in Review
words & Music: by Bill Mallonee for CyBrenJoJosh (BMI) ©1993/2002
all those nice little things you say
oh i really appreciate them too
all those kind little things you say
keep those cards and letters coming too
i spend a whole lot of time
with my reconnaissance photographs
irrefutable evidence
never pleads on my behalf
though they're not well developed
my mind's eye sees them true
all these little failures
of my year in review
there's a photographic essay
and you know cameras they never lie
little slips on little tongues
and my stinking alibis
let them stay unembellished
let them say what will say
they need no running commentary
'tween the pages of my days
though they're not well developed
they should tell the naked truth
all these little failures
of my year in review
check my passport and credentials
you see i come from a long lineage
but down here in the darkroom
you can manipulate the image
yeah my snapshot emotions
and the rough footage of my panic
i'm a poor composition
with a flair for the dramatic
and i don't show them often
oh you know what that might do
all these little failures
of my year in review
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10. |
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Falling In and Out of Favor words & music by Bill Mallonee
if you're standing without countenance out in the hungering dark
you're stuck inside this compound of your twisted little heart
all your phantoms finally fess up and reveal their true source
all your life you're begging change outside the liquor store
you're thirsty very thirsty although your cup is brimming
starving yes you're starving although your plate is full
we've been earning and slaving scratching and saving but never really gaining on it
brother i have seen my dread condition
oh when i told you so i'm used to this it's so cold
oh see you later i'm falling in and out of favor
ninety-nine of hard labor i'm falling in and out of favor
oh my blessed Savior i'm falling in and out
if you're stuck out on the ledge and at the end of your rope
the rain is coming down in sheets soaked your last match of hope
no alibis left upon this tongue not a single solitary one
i'm falling off these high cliffs right into your arms
we will crawl through this veil of tears that our own hands have made
we will run through the fire hey we will remain unscathed
draw the water of life from the Rock of our salvation
lay down in those sweet dreams wait for all this unfinished business
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11. |
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Bill Mallonee
Bill Mallonee is an Americana artist w/ 80 plus albums over a 30 year career. Voted by Paste Music Magazine #65 in their
"Top 100 Living Songwriters" poll. He was the
founding member of Vigilantes of Love. He has worked with Mark Heard, Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris, & Peter Buck from REM.
His most recent work, "Lead On, Kindly Light" is a 23song double Cd released Feb 2020.
... more
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