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Killing Floor (1992)

by Vigilantes of Love

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1.
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
2.
Undertow 03:03
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
3.
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
4.
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
5.
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
6.
Motel Room 03:20
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
7.
Deep End 02:43
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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Hip Train 03:27
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Eleanor 05:42
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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about

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The record that got the national "buzz" going on VoL! This album continues to be many people's definitive VoL fav.
Multi-instrumentalist uber-great, Bill Holmes and I delivered most of this in a two week span, with Mark Heard, myself, Peter Buck, John Keane at the helm...
©1992 CyBrenJoJosh (BMI); .
Produced by: Mark Heard, Bill Mallonee, Billy Holmes, and Peter Buck
All songs written by Bill Mallonee.

credits

released July 4, 1992

Bill Mallonee: guitars, vocals, harp, drums
Billy Holmes: pretty much all the other stuff
Bob Gowin: double bass
Travis McNabb: drums

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about

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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