Get all 93 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), GLIMMER Spring 2024 (demos are back up for 2 days), 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), and 85 more.
Excludes supporter-only releases.
1. |
Real Down Town
03:52
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hey look at me now
i've been impaled on the horns of your sacred cow
now there's a train wreck up ahead
i was given up for lost given up given up for dead
hey come and see what i have found
in your real down town
in your real down town
in your real down town
the expositor wears an apron
like the butcher down the street
he's gonna sell you some meat market music
cut dried and cheap
better take stock of where you're going
by where you have been
oh sweet Lord Jesus
come wash away these sins
hey look at me now
i'm still impaled on the horns of your sacred cow
now there's a train wreck in my head
ah but darling your love keeps me so well fed
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2. |
Undertow
03:03
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i got an idea in my head
i been kicking it around for days
i've been trying to make it quit
but it won't go away
now the girls are gonna hate it
when i turn the cameras on
i've been trying to get away
from the night watchman
reason dies collapsing
under its own load
if i can't reach you from the shoreline
i'll watch you sink below
into the undertow
you've been stealing all my children
and raping them repeatedly
it's not a one time thing
you do it instinctively
i put landmines in my front yard
and i bought a wicked beast
i put bombs in all your letters
to brighten the correspondence
i'm gonna rip out my heart
i'm gonna sew it on my sleeve
i'm gonna preach the gospel
on the corner of the street
i will be pulling you no punches
if i'm up against the ropes
let me show you all the carnage
on the killing floor
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3. |
River of Love
03:00
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well your spirit is strong
but i'm a nervous wreck
there's something about you
that's so fragile and delicate
if i could wrap up your innocence
i'd have it done quick
keep it from the wolves
of this present darkness
trade your crown of thorns
for a crown of joy
i was wearing my weariness
like a badge of glory
you're trading your secrets
after nothing remains
i was checking my pockets
and counting my change
now the words in my ears
the winds up above
i will shed my skin
when i jump right in
to this river of love
you get moved by the Spirit
but i'm so out of touch
you're down on your knees
but i'm down on my luck
you're doing your labors
in the fields of the Lord
working hard at nothing
in this cheap room and board
well your spirit is willing
but my flesh is weak
used to make my pronouncements
now it's harder to speak
and dig up a word
that is good for the soul
'cause down in these mines
there's a lot of fool's gold
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4. |
Anybody's Guess
03:14
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fell into the arms of joy
it happened with your first kiss
i was overcome drowned three times down
i certainly am enjoying this
fell into cleopatra's lair
she was well endowed with lots of hair
she said "did you ever learn how to love 'em and leave 'em"
i was trying to remember her last victim
rebel rogue and infidel
Son of man and son of hell
bundle of lies and contradictions
bad intentions skewed predilections
i put my head into the noose
looking and feeling my best
when will the bottom drop
well it's anybody's guess
fell into a life of crime
and a life of misspent youth
people became my enemies
or just something else to use
and all the friends i know
they're just dying to be living
a lot of apologies need to be spoken
now a lot of sins need to be forgiven
well i fell into the arms of hate
she put a big second helping on my plate
led me blind into her house
and french kissed me on her couch
fell into cleopatra's lair
she's still well endowed with lots of hair
she said "did you ever learn how to love 'em and leave 'em"
well i finally remembered her last victim
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5. |
I Can't Remember
05:11
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we were thrown into a snowbank
into this screaming night
i heard the splintering of bones
i heard the cries of pain and fright
we had laughed and shared a kiss
mingled there our lives honey
doing ninety miles an hour
when our train hit the ice
now i can't remember
what was i so excited about
i can't remember
why all the fuss and shout
i can't remember
ah watch the ember going out
we were joking about the club car's
noticeable bad taste
the food was barely edible
and the opulence and waste were simply astounding
the passengers spent hours dismissing
rumors of their demise
and it's true a little make-up
can make a corpse look fine
but i can't remember
i've been this way since birth
i can't remember
who gives a rat's ass who is first
i can't remember
ah what is any of it worth
i caught sight of a body
in a coat that looked like yours
and i called out your name darling
but i guess you never heard me
instinctively i reached out
and i pulled you near to me
sometimes God's grace won't let you look upon
what you can't bear to see
but i can't remember
all the idols on parade
i can't remember
buy low sell high trade away
i can't remember
ah watch the embers die away
i saw Jesus in the air
now there's a face that you can't miss
i saw Him brush away the snowflakes
and bestow on you a kiss
He gathered you up in His arms
God you looked so fine
that white dress you were wearing darling
like a billion stars did shine
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6. |
Motel Room
03:20
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here's one for the record
here's one for the spent
here's one for all liars harlots
kings and queens and the fraudulent
if i'm poor in spirit
give me a second chance
i could rape you with a single look
kill you with a glance
come up to my motel room
it ain't dying but related
come up to my motel room
it all gets so complicated
wait for a wake up call
put the demons all to flight
if i'm stuck in this motel room
can you save my life
the art is so generic here
the decor and the drapes
why the decorator ought to get two consecutive life terms
for stuff like this
dick is next door lying jane
who he's never seen before
she'll even moan with the price is right
it says so on her business card
can you come and pick up
another skeleton man
i been cutting my wrist cutting my wrist
on a little sickness within
can you come and heal me up
in each and every way
in that gideon's bible there's blood spilled
on each and every page
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7. |
Deep End
02:43
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well sledgehammer jackhammer
rocking it to my brain
i been looking for a rescue
in the magazines and thorazine
i called in sick today
i'm looking for a rescue
darkness closing in
make no mistake
i can take my medicine
but sometimes it don't take
when you're looking for a rescue
i'm jumping in but where do i begin
when it's cold and lonely
here in the deep end
i've been staring at the ceiling
i've been staring at the floor
i'm looking for a rescue
i'm a million time loser
but who's keeping score
i'm looking for a rescue
up and wash my face
water down the drain
everything's extended metaphors
or completely mundane
when you're looking for a rescue
dj play the record
without picking up the phone
i'm looking for a rescue
and the man on the screen
is sending messages to my home
i'm looking for a rescue
that man on the screen
i know he's a liar
i got this natural-born talent
but who's gonna hire
someone looking for a rescue
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8. |
Sick Of It All
03:51
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9. |
Sweet Fire of Love
02:13
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10. |
Hip Train
03:27
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11. |
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12. |
Port of Entry
03:55
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13. |
Eleanor
05:42
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Eleanor music & words by bill mallonee
Written by Bill Mallonee for CyBrenJoJosh (BMI) ©1990, 1992
i think she wanted your affections
well at least that's what i've read
God knows the world is a cruel place
when beauty don't grace your head
when your two legs withered
she offered her caress
her love deeper than warm springs
but lucy got your best
yes eleanor taking what she could get
surely love must have an object
when refused so many times
she gave hers to the orphans
the weak the starving sick and blind
ah but the credit it fell back on you
you pinned her to your chest
her love deeper than warm springs
but lucy got your best
yes eleanor taking what she could get
she knew about those seedy little business trips
but she became your welcome mat
and i bet she could've used something from you
something more than a fireside chat
hey history's flesh and blood it seems
there're no more heroes waiting in the wings
franklin she never loved you any less
eleanor taking what she could get
now to those who wield great power
popularity vulgarity and the sword
you know those little molders of public opinion
create the stuff of graffiti legend and folklore
we remember your profile and cigarette
she's just a footnote in your text
her love deep as the ocean
ah but lucy got your best
yes eleanor taking what she could get
Did You Know?
In the midst of this song you will hear a trumpet playing "Hail to the Chief." That's Billy Holmes on the trumpet, which is an instrument he had learned in grade school but had not touched in years...
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14. |
Keep Out the Chill
03:45
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15. |
Andersonville
03:45
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16. |
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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