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) 2024, Comes To Life (New single & free download), 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. |
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BETWEEN THE HEARTACHE (& THE STARS I COULDN'T CATCH) words and music: bill mallonee
Let’s, see I guess it’s been...almost 2 years, my friend
since she left my side
to cross over...from my arms
that River a thousand miles wide
Baby, you were the jewel in that Carolina school
but rendering was my humble trade
had a little schooling...maybe I could have gone further
but...there were wars to be made
chorus:
now all that’s carved in stone
and all that’s writ in ink
all you though that you could bank on
well, it’s not what ya’ think
started fallin’ off the radar
started fallin’ off the map
between the heartache and the stars I couldn’t catch
between the heartache and the stars I couldn’t catch
the fragrance you would wear that lingered in your hair
your eyes were stars...and all that I could see
we’d dance the world to bed with Glenn Miller in our heads
honey, you always got the best of me
I clean off those dust vents in this period of adjustment
and I still do your “honey-do” list
but the light in this room on those late afternoons
...just bring and ache...and loneliness
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2. |
COAL DUST SOUL
05:27
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COAL DUST SOUL Music/lyrics: bill mallonee
You tell yourself it’s only temporary
just a few years to shave off of your youth
But sure as tomorrow, given all you’ll have to borrow
that company store won’t ever turn you loose
chorus 1
a miner’s world is a dark one
miner’s world is full of ghosts
a miner’s I’ll guarantee...
she prays more than most
I won’t have much to offer
no, I won’t have much to show
nothing but this coal dust soul
nothing but this coal dust soul
There’s always one more kid that’s gonna gamble
but there’s no escaping the curse
when all yer measured by down here are the veins you can clear
and what you can scrape outta the earth
chorus 2
a miner’s world is a dark one
miner’s world is full of ghosts
a miner’s wife, I reckon,
she prays more than most
and if I get to heaven
I won’t have much in tow
nothing but this coal dust soul
nothing but this coal dust soul
now to steal the earth’s possessions
must surely come with a cost
and I know all my friends down here
by the sound of their cough
I know ‘em by the smiles they smile
beneath the grimy face
I know ‘em by the things
they can’t really say
chorus 3
a miner’s world is a dark one
miner’s world is full of ghosts
a miner’s wife, I’m here to say
she prays more than most
and if I do get meet Jesus
I won’t have much to show
nothing but this coal dust soul
nothing but this coal dust soul
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3. |
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FAIL (Straight, No Chaser) words/music: bill mallonee
trails that led to the mountain top
too late to turn back, too late to stop
friends? they left with logs in their eyes
clapped invisible hands at my demise
and that's how the righteous always apply
the justice of God with a cold clear eye
ain't no souls here without a taint
in every sinner there lies the perfect saint
chorus:
lay down you sorrows...they'll still be there tomorrow
for you to pick up again
lay down your fears and doubts
give of your heart from the inside out
and all those sad mistakes?
They'll still be there when you awake
a million knocks at unopened doors
a million questions there are no answers for
always the last to know the score
with these splinters in my knuckles
sun going down and the city arises
shakes off the dust of her compromises
and down here kid, you know it never really ends
ya' gotta learn to dream in colour again
chorus:
i swam out far; way past the shallows
there was a thousand dreams hangin' on the gallows
and the shadows they cast on the tender blades of Spring
gave me just enough heart to sing again
sing of the kisses, sing of the failures
sing of the sadness; straight, no chaser
sing of all that's poisoned you well
sing of all you had to sell...
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4. |
BAKERSFIELD
05:21
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BAKERSFIELD
words & music: bill mallonee
You crawled into that boxcar...thinkin' you were alone
let your eyes get adjusted to the light...and those fifty other souls
some runnin' from the law...some runnin' harder from the Lord
most just lookin' for an honest job...to feed the kids back home
Chorus:
from the drought in Oklahoma...to the stockyards of Bakersfield
it's mostly bread we begged for...with some sawdust in our meals
the only gold i ever found...the only treasure i could find
was looking in your eyes...your body next to mine
how much of this is punishment? how much are our own choosin'?
how much got set in motion....when the garden fell to ruins?
would you be my brother and sister? we all could use a home
the pride of man may stand real tall but no one goes at this alone
There's so little we walk out with...and there's so much that gets lost
seems to me it's pretty easy to see...where all cut from the same cloth
you crawled into that boxcar...thinkin' yer alone
let your eyes rest with a hallowed-ness on all those other souls
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5. |
RURAL ROUTE
05:38
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RURAL ROUTE
words/music: bill mallonee
I’ve been bringin’ it now for 16 years or more
I've been bringin’ it right to your front door
I've been bringin’ it through the rain; the sleet and the snow
past the old windmill, the cows and the corn
chorus:
I’ve been drivin’ these back roads
with all of these doubts.....rural route
you always wear that pretty dress and a smile
and you like to comment on the weather
and me? Well, me? I smile right back...and I reach in my pack
and I hand you your letters
I heard you had a son who went off to Iraq
a medal and flag is all that you got back
heard you had a husband once somewhere in the past
you said, “that all got broke and nothing ever lasts.”
I’ve seen a lotta of sunrises; and a lotta sunsets
seen a lotta folks holding on and doing their level best
and me? I bring ‘em the good news...and the bad before too long
sometimes I just bring ‘em the shoulder to cry on
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6. |
FROM DAY ONE
04:51
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FROM DAY ONE music/words: bill mallonee
It was an empty page and the margins were free
at least that’s how you...described it to me
and your boots wandered the earth; across the hills and traces
and you said that it all knew you...on a first name basis
Chorus:
And the sky held a sun...and it shown on your heart from day one
and the sky was your friend...
and the sky will take you back again
You knew about the language used by springtime
in Missouri
when rays warm your face...and the earth she is a-buzzin’
ya’ learned to speak in tongues as your team pulled the rig
and it made your hands strong...and it made your heart big
Ya’ found a pretty wife and you called her your best friend
and you leaned to lose your sadness in the contiurs of her skin
You raised you up a family...but they moved on to other things
and the sky they never loved it...quite the way you did
And the one that held the sun...
that shown on your heart from day one
and the sky was your friend...
and the sky will take you back again
It was an empty page and the margins were free
at least that’s how you...described it to me
and your boots wandered the earth; across the hills and traces
and you said that it all loved you...on a first name basis
And the sky held the sun...that shown on your heart from day one
and the sky was your friend...
and the sky will take you back again
and the sky will take you back again
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7. |
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NEON PASSES THROUGH music/lyrics: bill mallonee
At first it felt like alight in my eyes
and a question i didn't know the answer to
and me being of such a tender age
i told 'em everything i knew
i learned early one there were ghosts in the room
and ghosts you will meet along the way
never dismiss a spirit or kiss
you're gonna need them one day
CHORUS:
and you shine cause you can still muster a spark
blind your eyes and cauterize your heart
here's a little something i'd like to give to you
skin gets thin when the neon passes through
all this time to kill and all these moments to embrace
all these wastelands to fill with a smile on your face
and me just wanting to be understood?
i bled every drop i could
make a world you can believe in..make a word you can kiss
let it slid right through your fingers...or smash it with your fist
at first it felt like a light in my eyes
you learn to tell the truth
and you learn to lie
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8. |
COWBOY SONG
05:54
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COWBOY SONG words/music: bill mallonee
Like a cowboy song........from a time bygone
long on brighter days
when the melody...gotta lil' buried
and the good things...they just fade
from the pure white dress...to the long black veil
to the broken paths you took
from the first breath pulled...to the last shovelful
and the closing of the book
CHORUS:
Away to the River
Away to the Sea
Away to a better place of peace
well, we'll just wait
we'll just wait...and see
In between the seams...of the requiems
i saw you in the sun
And God's last Word...sweetest poem i've heard
in the warm fields where you now run
Like a cowboy song...sung out loud & long
forlorn in the night
God's......grace....is an open space
and we were all bathed in light
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9. |
BREAD & CIRCUSES
05:31
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BREAD & CIRCUSES words/music: bill mallonee
Old man wipes a sweaty brow, with a work shirt he had on
"one more shovelful," he said, "and that should get 'er done."
"All these new arrivals; that never have their say..."
A prayer for the soul's repose...and then he walked away
chorus #1:
Empires die at midnight...ah, don't look so undone
you can't we did not have us; one hell of a good run
for those bread and circuses...bring 'em on
going...going...going...gone
type setter hit the printin' press, and he rode that thing till dawn
clothe us all with hollow words...leave us naked in the storm
He said, "You know i started out this enterprise, selling door to door
I poured it out like strong drink...Now they all come back for more."
yeah open the store house, let's see what's left in there.
My, my how the foundations, seemed to vanish in thin air
who put these locks upon our hearts, who put them on our hands?
who made us so afraid, to help the fellowman?
what could change the tide, prevent such sad out come?
i'm gonna get down on my knees and ask the Lord
to show me how to love
best to go down swinging, best to go down slow
still, it was such a nice place...i'm gonna hate to see it go...
chorus #2
Empires die at midnight...now there's some sad poetry my friend
drowning in it's own greed...rigor mortis settin' in.
Empires die at midnight...ah, don't look so sullen
you can't we did not have us; one hell of a good run
for those bread and circuses...bring 'em on
going...going...going...gone
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10. |
WYOMING Bonus track
04:56
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WYOMING Words/Music: bill mallonee
Some say the world is a path you’re meant to ramble
an everything I believed in was in shambles
and so I headed for the big sky & warm weather
to find a place to get my head together
The Tetons are a grand sight to behold
summer on the trails of Yellowstone
the back country has a language I was learning
less about words and more about yearning
I thought there was nothing that I needed
and nothing I could not do
but, I never had friend....till I met you
all you lose...and all you try to win
all you do just to feel at home in your own skin
and faith becomes a coin that you toss
heads or tails, well, it all comes with a cost
and love? well, isn’t that the greatest of all gifts
you could ever present anybody with?
Love is all that makes you laugh & all that makes you cry
and Love? well, it’s just like Wyoming sky
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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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