Get all 91 Bill Mallonee releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Comes To Life (New single released March 14th, 2024), 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), ORPHAN SONGS (2018), and 83 more.
Excludes supporter-only releases.
1. |
Locket Full of Moonlight
04:03
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if i could draw for you that perfect circle
where form and substance gradually collides
it may have been your laugh or maybe just perhaps
it was your locket locket full of moonlight
her words they held the scent of roses
she was the love of Christ and the law of Moses
it poses many many questions but suggestions flood the night
they're pouring forth from your locket full of moonlight
perfect circle perfect kiss
perfect train we might have missed
perfect picture deep within
perfect secret under your skin
i've spoken about a self i hardly know
and i can live with that if it's that self you'll hold
well she is my glittering prize forever shining bright
yeah we're all mesmerized by that locket full of moonlight
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2. |
Shellshocked
05:25
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say a prayer for me
i think i'm worse off than you thought i was
i'm increasingly afraid
i might hurt the ones i love
ever since i was a kid
the skies were always blue
so even when the well was dry
your sea was always full
now i cannot hold the joy
whatever device i employ
and the techniques i have used
well i'm the only one who's fooled
when you're wanting to be something
and you get good at pretend
til you're thinking you are someone
that you've never really been
are there angels on the waters
in this turbulence of thought
hey babe i'm all shellshocked
the cut came fast and deep
but this will come as no surprise
baby i was always told
the hand is quicker than the eye
and if radio is waves
and waves are like the ocean
i'd be drowning in your swells
instead of going through the motions
truth is like a stone
and falsehood's always liquid
but with eyes so blind and hands so numb
you can hardly tell the difference
from the part that's on the stage
and underneath these lights
we are traitors and we're treasonous
hidden just out of your sight
you can look into your mirror
you can inspect every trace
yeah i may have found my id
but i have yet to find a face
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3. |
After the Glow
04:23
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just what were you expecting
what were you hoping for
only wish i could have given
oh given you a little more
first you learn to laugh it off
but that will only go so far
you'd always like to be someone else
but you're only who you are
only after the glow
only after the fade of her kiss
only after the heartache do you know
what you've missed
been there and tried with all my might
but i couldn't move the stone
words sound different in the night
over your telephone
i still see you in the streets
sometimes even our eyes meet
i hear your voice in this old house
i still hold you in my dreams
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4. |
Sweetness and Light
03:40
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her wings are as soft as roses
and as you might have guessed
although they're made of roses
they are fragile none the less
see i handed you a book
and that book was my life
as i recall that moment
it was all such sweetness and light
you came from california
by way of tupelo
yes there were some others before ya you said
ah but you don't need to know
so i fell into an ocean
but it was her sea green eyes
as i recall i was calling
it was all such sweetness and light
i was moved more by her tears
than i ever was a sermon
got more from every tender kiss
than i ever got from book learning
cannot say why the tides changed
maybe i held on too tight
but for a while i was a child
and it was all such sweetness and light
she told her friends i'd come to her on some noble steed
ah but it wasn't anything like that
maybe empty-handed and full of need
ah but at least good for a laugh
love makes you better than you really are
sometimes it happens overnight
come with the sunrise
you are all sweetness and light
never handed you a single word
when you set foot on that leaving coach
yeah it's hard to say i'll miss you girl
with a lump in your throat
me well i'm still swimming for shore
in those sea green eyes
but i recall once before when i was all
i recall once before when i was all
i remember once before
when it was all such sweetness and light
sweetness and light
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5. |
Table for two
04:35
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just how did this start
this breaking of our hearts
or anything anymore
that beats true
the transitions are forced
i'm drowning in remorse
the awkward silences
are a tragic novel
the things that we once said
like the vows that kept us from walking
up there next to God
was that just two dumb kids talking
one more voice i'll only hear
on your phone machine
one person who's getting free
and another casualty
we're so close we can touch
God how i'd love to
we're a million miles apart
at my table for two
finished the coffee in your cup
just after you went
pressed my lips upon that lipstick stain
babe it was a sacrament
one thousand little tugs
at a heartstring you once pulled
like the smell of your perfume my love
and our little rituals
you're deep inside my skin
like the ink in my tattoo
but we're a million miles apart
at my table for two
and the seasons they keep changing
and the world spins so unsure
there's only so much rearranging
you can do with the furniture
in these motel rooms of autumn
and the shadows are getting longer
and the grave is the last room
we all check out of
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6. |
Overflow
03:59
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as you walk down your road may the wind rise to greet you
eyes linger long under the light of her face
may your burden be as nothing with the smile of Jesus
may your heart overflow with the touch of his grace
i once knew a boy who was drowning in sorrow
joy as elusive as the morning dove
her body was a vessel and the sail was her kiss
and they sailed on God's love together radient
you will swim for her shores drown in her passion
drink deep the waters of love that's a-flowing
behold in wonder the children she bears you
and you'll nurture the flesh and the blood of your bones
though the sun may beat down and the land be as barren
though the thunderclouds fail to give up their rain
though confusion may sound like a trumpet for battle
there is a truth that will always remain
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7. |
Jaws of Life
03:25
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if i forgot something
out here along the way
let it be forgotten
we didn't need it anyway
it's hard to believe
we ever made it out of town
look how far that we've come
considering what we drag around
loved all my simple chords
and i loved your def low end
loved the big bang boom
and that piece of crap we traveled in
made us some records
that really weren't so bad
made us some real good friends
with this 6-string drag
must be Something must be Someone bigger than
pulling me out jaws of life from my skin
you can tell she's in love
'cause she's got that summershine face
you can tell he's in love
he wants to bask inside her rays
took my things to the Goodwill
to give them away for free
they said hey kid we like those blue suede shoes
but you can keep that Christmas tree
babe what's your poison
yeah we choose our own trouble
babe here's my poison
whatever's cheap make mine a double
strange fascination
with what never satisfies
we're either eyes glued to the ground
or Lucy in the skies
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8. |
Rearview Mirror
04:38
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starts at that place near the lake of tears
it's at that part of your throat where the lump first appears
we've been taming the world with an old tweed amp
but it snarls at your tent just as you're breaking camp
so we drove all the night but we're not any nearer
now the sun's coming up in your rearview mirror
God i miss my wife and i miss my kids
and those little ways you die just to live through this
you're all writing your chapters with swagger and flair
and i'd love to read them ah but i'm not there
well there will be no medals won't get a crown
for this little thing you picked up you can't put down
you've been spending what you have to pay all your dues
for this thing that you love takes me farther from you
it's always the sound of a lonesome guitar
under cool autumn sky under solitary star
yeah it's all that stuff a child's faith believes
they say all the rivers they run to the sea
so here's to the joy and no regrets
what with all of these dear friends and loved ones we've met
and i'm so bad at the math when counting the costs
you just go where you will under the sign of the cross
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9. |
Dirty Job
04:05
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ten years gone and a few songs
i'm drifting in this place
conclusions drawn in blood
they're the hardest to erase
yeah and you could call it fate
and say it could be worse
but sometimes you've got to wonder
if the whole thing was a curse
and it's gnawing at you
till the hours they get late
and it's there by your side
when you awake
they used to think bloodletting
could make you well again
so i bled some soft
and some i bled on ten
till i couldn't separate
my bleeding from my health
yeah but most of all as i recall
i was just trying to save myself
what is the illusion
and what can you lean on
there's this sword called coming-up-empty
that i have fallen upon
she's this job description
and no one will walk you through it
yeah failure's such a dirty job
i don't know if i'm up to it
good night america
wherever we have been
and good night to my family
good night to my friends
i'm changing my address
until we meet again
i'll be checking into a world
they call oblivion
and the suit
swallows you full
but it's the only one they had
for me in the window
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10. |
||||
out beneath the milky way
trying to find a place to stay
it got harder after time
became this line you crossed and somewhat undefined
now i'm drifting
beneath those things that held me up
all those thing my hands could touch
like my lips upon yours
they're all gone
that's all gone
that piece of the romantic
always dies a death that's tragic
and the part that felt so clean and new
that's now vanished inside you
never underestimate
distance is a feather or a crushing weight
somewhere in the darkest night
lost your locket full of moonlight
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11. |
Hat in Hand
03:47
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pen the lament and shadow your eyes
there's a vapor trail stretching across a kansas sky
dirt lot kids making dirt lot plans
shuffle forward your hat in hand
could be the hangman could be the noose
could be the engine could be the caboose
it pays to know on which side you stand
shuffle forward your hat in hand
yeah gold in this house there's gold in my band
there's gold in your blouse honey gold in my hand
it's a rhythm and mystery you don't quite understand
shuffle forward your hat in hand
run fast after everything
and that's just what you'll miss
live your life opened armed
or with a clenched fist
dirt lot kids doing dirt lot deeds
way too much living in the minor key
burn all these sins in a Love so grand
shuffle forward your hat in hand
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12. |
I'm Not There
03:56
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there's a wreck on the highway and it hasn't been there long
south bound on eighty-four back side of oregon
there's no silver lining in these clouds today
all the clues a few good leads they got swept away
been out proclaiming a thousand miles from home
with a few tools of the trade and a lot of more less alone
we live these lives like they never will run out
sand through the hourglass but we've lost the count
so you listen to the wind and you listen to the rain
and trace the trail of crumbs up the path again
when you're writing your chapter know how much i care
and forgive me darling when i'm not there
the soap box has never been as big as you hoped
was it the scar on the wrists you showed them or that lump in your throat
you pull your life from the wreckage and it's there you set up camp
some beat up guitar and some old tweed amp
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13. |
Half Mast
04:54
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who would have ever thought
it would come to this
who would have ever thought
you would betray it with a kiss
and the days bleed into others
and nights they look the same
the empty glass it holds no answers
and the mirrors are all full of shame
the thoughts they turn in circles
stomachs tied in knots
these memories all lead back to you
and you are what i have not got
the lie is that it happens
always to someone else
the line you crossed no turning back
and who on earth could ever tell
the flag is stuck at half-mast
it's been that was for awhile
put to bed the old dreams
and rearrange your smile
i'm turning off the tv set
i did not need this my love
your thick and heavy farewell note
well i need something to thin the blood
main street is never on the map
in the bars where you now dream
and last call is but a whisper
where eternity should be screaming
a sinner's worthless currency
a psalmist's sad lament
the prophets are without vision
and the shepherds are way too content
i'm opening the window up
room is spinning black my love
and all i have is this farewell note
well i need something to thin the blood
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14. |
Bearing the Load
04:01
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here's to all you ragged ones and torn
some of us are waiting here a lifetime to be born
there are some things you will save
ah but most we'll cast away
bearing the load bearing the load
stories in your face
well they use no words at all
my cadences they're all car crashed
on the retaining wall
and there are no graveyards
we know better than our own
bearing the load bearing the load
turn out on the highway
yeah and it's never what it seems
just what was that
tugging at your sleeve
prayers slip through the fan blades
or they open every door
bearing the load bearing the load
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15. |
Weight of Glory
03:38
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16. |
Going South
05:29
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years been cruel i'm going south
the river's high and the bridge is out
this nagging doubt we're all alone
cannot scrape it out of your bones
something young has now grown old
something warm is growing cold
when all the doors are slamming shut
all the windows boarded up
i'm going south it's all i see
don't like what it's doing to me
makes you less than you should be
i'm going south by slow degrees
and another page that we turn
another bridge that we all burn
the safety net i cannot find
another shiny ax to grind
so i love this life and i love your part
i love your eyes honey look in my heart
but here is where it's blown to bits
say your lines and i guess that's it
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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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