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Blister Soul (1995)

by Vigilantes of Love

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1.
Blister Soul 03:53
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
2.
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
3.
Skin 05:00
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
4.
Offer 04:30
OFFER words & music by Bill Mallonee admin BMI 1995 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 You're 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?
5.
Baalam's Ass 03:45
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
6.
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
7.
Tempest 02:15
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
8.
Bolt Action 04:20
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
9.
Parting Shot 05:37
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
10.
11.
12.
Unsuccessful 03:19
13.
Blister Soul (Reprise) Music & Lyrics by Bill Mallonee baptize me in elijah creek how could i continue near the furnace at debtors forge just east of west virginia heard the strain as a small child of the drum and bugle corps oh my blister soul we interrupt this program this report just in carnage continues unabated according to recent bulletins yeah we're live on the scene baby so let those cameras roll oh my blister soul why did you spend so much why did you give it all poured out on cold little misers and the returns are so small yeah those strange economics and the length that love goes oh my blister soul no doubt your honor i stand condemned by law wire photo of a grinning man beside a bullet-riddled fuselage i got this bolt-action heart and a lot of ammo oh my blister soul well the patient looks healthy and the citizen free but there been lots of known cases of mistaken identity "and if the shoe fits" the preacher extolled oh my blister soul

about

nice!
produced by super producer John Keane!

credits

released May 23, 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

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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.
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