Get all 89 Bill Mallonee releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, & WEST, ABOVE, BELOW & WITHIN (free single from Orphan Songs 2018), Here It Opens With A Prayer, But It Closes With A Song, A CLAMORING OF GHOSTS (2021), STUNNED (an anniversary song), "Lead On, Kindly Light" & "This World & One More" 2020, ORPHAN SONGS (2018), NEED TO BLEED (expanded version) Bill Mallonee & Vigilantes of Love, FOREST FULL OF WOLVES (2018), and 81 more.
Excludes supporter-only releases.
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1.MUST HAVE BEEN THE FIRST THING COME INTO MY HEAD
words & music: Bill Mallonee
admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music c.2022
I don't know why I spoke so harshly
i don't know why, I said what I said
Every utterance has proved to be costly
Must have been...Yeah, must have been
must have been first thing in my head
God knows the truth is not relative.
Ask any drunkard in this bar
They all wonder in here for different reasons
But they all leave; they all leave, they all leave
wishing upon a star
Now I hear the stage coach was held up
The bank vault? It's as empty as a tomb
Darling, I don't wonder 'cause my heart is ever smitten
And I will carry, Yes I will carry
Your Love deep inside that room
Baby, we could hitch our wagon to the nearest star
Lose some of this baggage, who knows just how far?
It's a long, long way to water
At least that's what I've heard
Let's travel on as one
To where Love gets the last word
Here it opens with a prayer...
And it closes with a song
And in between there are smiles to wake the dead
Every utterance of turbulence is costly
Must have been...Yeah, must have been
Must have been first thing in my head
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2. |
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CAVE IN (Faith Seeking Understanding, Or The Other Way Around)
words & music bill mallonee
admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time with Feeling" music c.2022
Hand me that dusty clipboard
It's time to call the roll
Just answer me by saying "present."
Or let silence take it's toll
Now, some of us have taken flight
With our coal dust souls this day
'Cause the earth is filled w/ violence
Just like the Bible says
Let there be light no cities left in the dark
But no seems to recognize deserted cities of the heart
Words stretched out to the breaking point
It's all wrecked up 3 miles down
Faith seeking understanding or the other way around
Give me that dusty clipboard
On this the saddest of all days
Just answer me by saying "present."
Or let silence have her say
chorus:
Better tell it with tears
Ya' better speak it with sighs
Ya never know, ya' never know, ya' never know
When you're saying goodbye
Now the West wasn't won with liquor
The West wasn't won with guns or gold
No, no my friend, the West was won
With our coal dust soul
There's widows & more orphans
On this the saddest of all days
And the earth is filled with violence
Just like the Bible says
Better tell it with tears
You better speak it with sighs
You never know, you never know, you never know
When you're saying goodbye
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3. |
MOTHER~LODE
03:54
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MOTHER-LODE words & music: Bill Mallonee
admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music c.2022
Now, I remember when we first saw it
it was bigger than we'd heard
I remember when we got close
no one said a word
3 days beneath the earth
like Jesus 'neath the stone
just how we came to stumble on
and behold mother lode
We'd been running out of hope
till running was all we did
No one knows the secrets mother Earth
chooses to keep hid
3 days beneath the earth
who ever would have known
how we came to stumble on
and behold mother lode
Sure, you could give it all to God
You could drink the whole town dry
You could bind up the wounds of the poor
Give the rich man the evil eye
3 days beneath the earth
like Jesus 'neath the stone
just how we came to stumble on
and behold mother lode
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4. |
ONE MOMENT STANDS OUT
05:47
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ONE MOMENT STANDS OUT words & music: Bill Mallonee
admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music c.2022
I remember it just like it was yesterday.
One moment stands out above all the rest
And everything bathed in candle-light adorning your face
And that bourbon kiss, followed by embrace...
chorus 1
Taste it's Hope. Tastes it's Joy
the banishment of noise (alt: drown the static, kill switch the noise)
that modernity's decades of devices has gainfully employed
to shackle down your spirit & rain on the parade
of that kid beneath your skin, rejoicing in the day...
Now the messages got garbled
But, I'm not one to boast
You get good at chasing phantoms
You get good at seeing ghosts
I count myself an enemy
See, I'm no good for my health
Lord, I asked You for a heart of gold
'Cause i didn't have one myself
Train-wrecks, wayward souls, gospel prodigals
Puttin' the asphalt to the test
When persuasion lives in your fingertips
Piss & venom can do the rest
Now, words can be like flowers
And words can be like bombs
Or they can truly be like falling,
Falling into Your arms
You can her freeze-framed forever smiling
Her face turned upwards towards the sun
She's a rock we all could be, a gift to each & everyone
Now, the wind blows leaves of memory past
We arrange these shards of our stained glass
Some we hallow...some we crash
God's forever settin' bones
chorus 2
Taste the Hope. Taste the Joy
Drown the static, Kill-switch the noise
That modernity's decades of weaponry has gainfully employed
to cauterize your spirit & rain on the parade
of that kid beneath your skin, rejoicing in the day,
of that kid beneath your skin, rejoicing in the day...
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5. |
TUMBLE WEED DREAMS
05:08
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TUMBLEWEED DREAMS words & music Bill Mallonee
admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music c.2022
When I first met him, he was sitting on the fence
we talked and then he stretched out his arm
All the sweat & blood he'd spent & all the years had wrought
working on a sharecropper's farm
He said, "All I ever had are tumbleweed dreams and
and strange enough, sometimes they will get cha through."
Tumbleweed dreams, tumbleweed dreams
Tumbleweed dreams blowing through..."
Now, you know they speak in murmurs when ever you're around
You learn to grab your dry goods & staples and get the hell outta town
It all opens with a prayer here and it closes with a song
All I ever had were these tumbleweed dreams
and sometimes even those will see you through
Tumbleweed dreams, tumbleweed dreams
Tumbleweed dreams blowing through...
Now, it'll wear some new disguises in each & every age
but it always has that grabbing hand, of that make no mistake
from their money in their banks, to their wielding of the sword
My fathers worked their land and my sons fought their wars
All I ever had were tumbleweed dreams
and strange enough sometimes they'll see you through
Tumbleweed dreams, tumbleweed dreams
Tumbleweed dreams blowing through...
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6. |
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PERFECT CRIME (Feeling Lucky This Time)
Words & Music Bill Mallonee
admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music c.2022
Oh, to steal your heart! Oh to make you mine!
You know, I never learned the ropes; to the perfect crime
Ah, but Baby, I'm feelin' lucky this time...
I've got a little bit of lowdown,
a dash of dirty & mean
Just a wink away from nefarious
The secret handshake, if you please
I hear any door will open...with a skeleton key
I had some friends at Soledad
Big Mac guaranteed a lengthy stay
but Folsom's where you wanna be
Johnny Cash would come and play
He said: "I love each & everyone of you,"
And then he bowed his head and prayed
Now Philly's got the soul
and Memphis has got the blues
The French Quarter has the Zydeco,
so I can fall in love with you
I don't have much to offer
but I'll sing you a song or two
Oh, to steal your heart! Oh to make you mine!
You know, I never learned the ropes; to the perfect crime
Love is the game you gotta play
Sometimes it'll rob you blind
Ah, but Baby, I'm feelin' lucky this time...
Baby, I'm feelin' lucky this time...
and I hope you're feelin' lucky this time...
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7. |
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IF MY HEART IS BROKEN (THEN MY SPIRIT'S NOT FAR BEHIND)
Words & Music: Bill Mallonee
admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music c.2022
Now, you ask me if I saw it coming.
No, I'm not sure that I did
All those voices at the table
And all that stuff they try to keep hid
Chorus:
Baby, my heart is broken
And it's just like the first time
And if my heart is broken
Well, you'd best believe my spirit's not far behind
No, my spirit's not far behind
I heard Billie Holiday singing on the radio
Should you find yourself down, down on your luck
"Baby, you can help yourself...
But, please don't take too much..."
Chorus
Baby, my heart is broken
and it's just like the first time
And if my heart is broken
Well, you'd best believe my spirit's not far behind
No, my spirit's not far behind
Now I work where the sun don't shine
beneath some God-forsaken site
Filling cars with anthracite
Morning noon & night
And those suits there at the table?
Keeping there crimes well outta sight
Baby, my heart is broken
No, no, no it won't be the last time
And if my heart is broken
Well, you'd best believe my spirit's not far behind
No, my spirit's not far behind
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BENEATH THOSE CAROLINA PINES words & music by: Bill Mallonee
admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music
It took a Georgia girl & a Virginia reel
A little Kentucky bourbon to seal the deal
And my mind...was doing time...
Beneath those Carolina pines
She said: "There'll be no sittin' on the fence..."
I was under no illusion, this girl is gonna need some convincing
A weddin' ring & 3 chords & the stars aligned
Beneath those Carolina pines
bridge:
It was more like finding my long lost friend
Some stumbles at the start but I love how it all ends
Some speak the apocalypse
Some preach Armageddon
I say Love will get the last word
lest we be forgetting
And my mind was doing time
Beneath those Carolina
Beneath those Carolina
Beneath those sweet Carolina Pines
Beneath those Carolina Pines
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9. |
ROUGH PATCH
04:51
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ROUGH PATCH words & music by Bill Mallonee
admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music
Here you go again you old truth dispatcher
Rosary on the van's rear view and that frayed dream-catcher
Could it be there's a big picture no one wants to see
Prophets went blind from no vision and fewer epiphanies.
when the vehicle hits the rough patch, i guess we'll wait & see
It's more about pullin' on Love's muddy boots and rollin' up your sleeves
Baby, it's all gone up to come tumblin' down to you & me...
Now the Kings had no solutions; the Leaders mumbled incoherent
Paupers grabbed the steering wheel and hoped the guard rail would bear it
So is there a bigger picture no one wants to see?
Prophets went blind from no vision and fewer epiphanies.
when the vehicle hits the rough patch, i guess we'll wait & see
It's more about pullin' on Love's muddy boots and rollin' up your sleeves
Baby, it's all gone up to come tumblin' down to you & me...
Baby, it's all gone up to come tumblin' down to you & me...
Now the fire of the Refiner puts all of it to the test
And the dross of our duplicity, will be made manifest
Prophets were blinded by ambition seeing only what they wanna see
Could it be there's a bigger picture that everyone should see?
It's more about pullin' on Love's muddy boots & rollin' up Love's tattered sleeves
Baby, it's all gone up to tumble down to you & me...
Baby, it's all gone up to tumble down to you & me...
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10. |
TAKING US ALL FOR A RIDE
05:11
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TAKING US ALL FOR A RIDE words & music Bill Mallonee
admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music c.2022
Well, I cover the waterfront mostly these days
Between Paper Moon's & Tin Foil stars
You know I use to be a lawyer but Justice wasn't served
Last Time I saw her she was passed out at the bar.
It's no use pretending; you cant keep it all hid
It's all hangin' in the balance and it's all on the skids
Well you might be pointing fingers and tempted to curse
But by God you ought to check your own condition 1st...
Now you're making me, now you're making me
Now you're making me cry, cry, cry
And you're taking me, you've been taking me,
Taking us all for a ride, ride, ride...
It's gotta stop
I came home from the war just in the nick of time
You know, I dodged all those bullets to go back to the grind
Back to all those beer runs to Seven/Eleven
Bread & circuses 24/7
Now you're making me, now you're making me
Now you're making me cry, cry, cry
And you're taking me, you've been taking me,
taking us all for a ride, ride, ride...
It's gotta stop
I use to be prophet, but that all went South
It gets hard to speak with all those embers in your mouth
No, God's not in His heaven and it's not right with the world
No, He's down here among us, every boy, every girl
No, it's no use pretending; you cant keep it all hid
It's all in the balance and it's all on the skids
Now, you might be pointing fingers & tempted to curse
But drop and see what condition your condition's in first
Now you're making me, now you're making me
Now you're making me cry, cry, cry
And you're taking me, you've been taking me,
Taking us all for a ride, ride, ride...
Now you're shaking me
Now you're breaking me
Taking us all for a ride, ride, ride
Taking us all.....
It's makes me wonder when it's gonna stop
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11. |
HEARTS UP ON THE GALLOWS
05:28
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HEARTS UP ON THE GALLOWS
words & music bill mallonee BMI.c2021
published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" Music
Perspectives are half the diagnosis
to an answer we seem eager to evade
And your heart? It's looking like more than just psychosis
What you see in the clear light of day
Chorus:
There are crosses & there's nooses & electric chairs
For the kind of tidings you seem apt (prone, poised) to bring
But, as long as there are hearts up on the gallows?
You still have a song or two to sing;
You'll still have a song or two to sing
No doubt the game was rigged & the deck was stacked
Still, you carried on with a studied nonchalance
You up and grabbed the take and beat it out the back
Now, I call that a healthy response
repeat chorus
Exporting violence in one form or another
Drawing lines between sisters & brothers
Love's an idea still gone unaddressed
If you live by the sword?...
Ah, well, you know the rest
repeat chorus
Bill Mallonee: Vocals, electric & acoustic guitars, bass, drums, harmonica, harmony vocals
Bill Pratt: pedal steel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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12. |
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'TIL YOUR HEART GOT IN THE WAY words & music: bill mallonee
admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music c.2022
There's no secrets that will keep
and yours? They drew me in
to a circle way to deep
I wonder sometimes if it's better
to not look before you leap?
I was wrecked up on the guardrail
God knows i was stormed tossed
how do galaxies collide?
How do stars get all crossed
I've proffered alibis
ah, but none of them will wash
Chorus:
You said: "Baby, i was doing just fine; No really i was OK.
I had my path to walk and I had my prayers to pray
Till your heart got in the way...Till your heart got in the way..."
I've was lost & I was lonely
but still delivering of course
with guitar & song with 6-string drag
Sometimes a critics choice
but every night I checked my heart
I could barely feel a pulse
Now loneliness & doubt
can sometimes have a face
to those who recognize it
in each other's embrace
and embrace a kind of song
I knew each and every line by heart,
but I sang my parts all wrong
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13. |
NOTHING LASTS FOREVER
06:24
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NOTHING LAST'S FOREVER words & music by bill mallonee
admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music c.2022
Well there are no guarantees when you answer the call
with a beat up guitar and a suitcase full of songs
once every bend in the road held a new surprise
every cloud broke thru to sunny skies
tables they turn, times they change
Darlin' just like the weather
and nothing lasts forever...
A six-string in the desert? Now, there's a drug that you can trust
you drench of voice in whiskey and drown your soul on dust
you never read the fine print, so you never caught the catch
and even if you did, would have choose a different path
Desperation is a kind of fuel when you're far from home
in that borrowed threadbare suit and splash of cheap cologne
and when it all went South you were the last to know
there's no guard rail gonna hold a worried man's woes
Empires they will crumble from sea-to-shinning-sea
and tyrants the may hang from the highest tree
They're out to steal your joy, but 1st they'll steal your horse
but lovers they're the only ones who really know the score
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WHATEVER'S LEFT OF ME NOW words & music bill mallonee
admin by BMI c. 2022 published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" Music
Well, fill up the tanks & the memory banks
Whatever's left of me now; whatever's left of me now
Let loose with some "Thanks"
But I must be frank: It's been "harder & how"
With whatever's left of me now; whatever's left of me now
Sold up the farm & I gave 'em the team
Wiped away a tear. Handed them the key
To the banker man I drove; Gave 'em my motherlode
And I vowed all the rest in a promisory note
Whatever's left of me now; whatever's left of me now...
Here we go...
Whatever's left of me now; Well who could say?
When the Good Lord renders on Judgement Day
Will these dry bones dance? Will my songs I still sing?
Will the birds of the air pick these bones clean?
Whatever's left of me now, whatever's lect of me now.
Well, fill up the tanks & the memory banks
Whatever's left of me now...
Let loose with some "thanks;"
Ah, but first share a kiss
Honey, you've got my heart through all of this.
Whatever's left of me now, whatever's left of me now...
Now Joy, she called. She said she's running late
But, She's bringin' Love, too
So, for now....we wait.
Whatever's left of me now, whatever's left of me now...
(harp outro)
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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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An outstanding remaster. The extras are great. I hope this is the start of his whole discography being remastered with extras.
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Fantastic album/CD with great instrumentation and vocals. Also an inspiration listening to the lyrics. Excellent recording quality as well. I give this my 5 Coconuts!
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