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.
1. |
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YOU'RE STILL CRYIN' HARD (ON THE INSIDE)
words & music: bill mallonee c. 2016 BMI
There's only so much you can do
to pretend it doesn't hurt
gone from bad to worse
and then invisible
Ya' wear your frown upside down
& tell your pretty little lie
you're still crying hard on the inside
you're still crying hard on the inside
Now, it's written in the stars & sung each night
in every honky tonk
from Tucumcari clear to Tennessee.
Take the whole thing a part for the 1000th time
you're still crying hard on the inside
you're still crying hard on the inside
there is no anesthesia that'll get you free
no debauchery that isn't really slavery
you can hold what little does remain to the kindly light
you're still crying hard on the inside
you're still crying hard on the inside
if fools blurt out what angels fear to whisper
every time i'm with her it's as bright as the sun
given to the tremolo and a lap steel's lonesome swell
we make our beds in hell...a stone's throw to redemption
Ya' wear your crown upside down
& tell your pretty little lie
you're still crying hard on the inside
you're still crying hard on the inside
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2. |
KISSING BOOTH
04:17
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KISSING BOOTH (electric version)
words/music: bill mallonee c. 2014 BMI
there's a kissing booth and so these folks
they come from miles around
when'er that kissing booth and carney
they pull into town...pull into town
they say it only costs a nickel; to close your eyes and feel
something far beyond this world; now i call that a deal
& you're hoping she might be the one to melt your heart of steel
they say it all goes by so quick
and it'll all go by so fast
nothing you can do but leap
and hold onto your hat...hold onto to your hat
Love is always a gamble, but you want it to be real
in a world of kisses & hard sell; a spinning of the wheel
& you're hoping she might be the one to melt your heart of steel
she smiled pretty as a picture
and me? I swallowed my fear
it wasn't for my looks for sure
but she drew me oh-so-near...drew me oh-so-near
sometimes the jailer & the prisoner they hold each other dear
anyway, something opened up and the skies they became clear
she whispered something softly to me
but i can't repeat that here
now, there's a few things to be thankful for
if you know what i mean
i've never been a pauper
i'll never be a king...i'll never be a king
but it only costs a nickel to close your eyes and feel
something far beyond all words, now i call that a deal
and ever once so often, she melts your heart of steel
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3. |
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DOESN'T TAKE TOO MANY FRIENDS, REALLY, ONLY ONE words & music: bill mallonee/BMI 2016
1. soundchecks & rendezvous; always charged deja vu.
then again there are thin places that will call
there are symbols veiling secrets;
too much light and they vanish
words soaked in heartache?
we're always my downfall
Chorus: No, it doesn't take too many friends
most of mine are gone
doesn't take too many friends
really, only one...really only one
2. tweed amps breaking up too loud;
"devil-may-care" college crowd
the melody of here & now with a 6-string drag
pawn shop guitar with the finish worn off;
you ureally ought see to that cough
It's hard to get found...and easy to get lost
it doesn't take too many friends
to get the job done
doesn't take too many friends
really, only one
3. Now, there's some thing youi can rejoice in
and there's so much to grieve
things you hold too tight, til the life just leves
bring it all out in the open; bring it all into the light
whatever it is you're showing...it'll be alright
No, it doesn't take too many friends
most of mine are gone
doesn't take too many friends
really, only one
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4. |
STAR~LIGHT
03:27
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STAR~LIGHT
words & music: bill mallonee c. BMI 2016
You know i wonder how you got there
'Cause it's more than a mystery
For all those pages that we turned
there's still so little that we see
i tried to watch your every gesture
to see if they'd reveal a plot
I tried to see if that smile you smiled
was the real one or not
it's a world just like a house of cards
and our fault lines are hard to detect
in a world full of simple, wide-eyed souls
there is so much to protect
Chorus:
so, if starlight is your gift
let it shine all through the night
for the storm-tossed
who have no land in sight
so, if starlight is your special gift
let it be special night
for the drowning
who have no land in sight
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5. |
AND I'M GOING UNDER
03:28
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AND I'M GOING UNDER
words & music: bill mallonee c. 20016 BMI
I was watching from the wings
too young to put together much of anything
every encore is a going through the motions
till you collapse into that deeper ocean
ether bound
and i'm going under
lost & found
is it any wonder?
does your soul make a sound
when it's torn asunder?
ether bound
and i'm going under
broken words to broken songs
made it hard to sing along
and every town starts to look the same
and your heart is caught in the freeze frame
ether bound
and i'm going under
lost & found
is it any wonder?
does your soul make a sound
when it's torn asunder?
ether bound
and i'm going under
and i'm going under, etc...
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6. |
FOREVER & FOR ALL
03:47
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FOREVER & FOR ALL
words & music: bill mallonee (BMI 2016)
A crack in the new dawn
crossing the Rubicon
and it all comes with a cost
row towards the lighthouse, you storm-tossed
it's the same breath we all breathe
it's the same blood we all bleed
when will we start to know?
let it all go
let it all go
let it all go
Chorus:
there is moonlight like a blade
there are stones that must be rolled away
Love has the last say
forever & for all
forever & for all
forever & for all
The window pane reflects
a soul in silhouette
in this room where we learn to wait
too near the static and the ticker tape
the flotsam and the jetsam
the shame and the sham
and a face you could never show
let it all go
let it all go
let it all go
there is moonlight like a blade
there are stones that must be rolled away
Love will have the last say
forever & for all
forever & for all
forever & for all
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7. |
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RENO IS A HELL OF A PLACE (To Have Your Luck Run Dry)
words/music: bill mallonee c. 2014 BMI
Well, Reno is a hell of a place to have your luck run dry
all the things you bank on vanish...in the wink of an eye
slipping through your fingers leaving you to opine
Reno is a hell of a place to have your luck run dry
Cracklin of a CB has always brought a smile
breaking up the engine drone o'er many a mile
And it's "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" under wide open skies
ah, but Reno is a hell of a place to have your luck run dry
It's the stories that you learned back home. Their the ones that last
but the stories that you're writing now, well, they all go nowhere fast
and yes, there are some that you'd erase with a deep & heavy sigh
and Reno is a hell of a place to have your luck run dry
now life, she is the perfect thief committing perfect crimes
takes it from you slowly, the nickel & the dime
With a log book full of questions, and answers in short supply
Reno is a hell of a place to have your luck run dry
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8. |
GHOST WALTZ
05:43
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~ GHOST WALTZ ~
WORDS/MUSIC: BILL MALLONEE c. 2012 BMI
WELL, THE LAMPS BURN LOW IN THE ROADHOUSE
& THE DANCERS THEY DRIFT OFF TWO AT A TIME
THERE'S A BLUE MOON ON THE SNOW & THE WIND IS MOANING LOW
YOU’D SWEAR YOU THINK SHE’S CRYIN’
I MAY HAVE COME HERE, COME HERE BY ACCIDENT
I MAY HAVE COME HERE, COME HERE BY DESIGN
COULD I TROUBLE YOU GIRL FOR ONE MORE TWIRL ON THAT DANCE FLOOR?
IF YOU’D BE SO KIND
CHORUS:
I WILL RAISE A GLASS TO YOU SWEETHEART
AND TO EVERYTHING WE EVER WON OR LOST
I WILL HOLD YOU CLOSE & STAMMER A TOAST
AND STEP TO THIS GHOST WALTZ
I HAVE SEEN MANY A GHOST ON THIS DANCE FLOOR
THEY'RE ALWAYS LOCKED IN EACH OTHERS EYES
& THEY WALTZ TO A TUNE...IN A STAR-LIT ROOM
TO HOLD BACK THE NIGHT
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9. |
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THEY'RE NOT IMPORTANT ANYWAY words/music: bill mallonee
I won't bore you with the details
they're not important anyway
no judge or jury ever bet the farm
when the truth got in the way
Now, the prophets, they all died by the hands of profiteers
but it all happen more or less out of sight
compromise is a drug measured out, to everyone involved
so most folks slept well enough at night
Chorus:
when it all gets shaken
when it all gets torn
when we see what's real and what's been faking
on the Kingdom's first new morn
Me? i took it to the road when the cities weren't safe
after man's heart took this devilish turn
there's far worse things than being alone
so homelessness became the better home
I dunno how every tear will be wiped away
God's got a lot on His plate
i won't bore you with the details
they're not important anyway
they're not important anyway
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10. |
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Losin' Streak words & music bill mallonee
Your coach is bound for New York; should take about 2weeks
If that Indian summer holds...back her tears of grief hear there's new beginnings after everythings gone dead
life's unfinished sentences...from a chapter never read
losin' streak...losin' streak
Now, Autumn speaks in whispers if she speaks at all
But, I swear she spoke in tongues to me beside the waterfall
spoke to me of true love; at least that what she preached
Me, well, it always seemed to be one prayer outta reach
losing streak...losin streak
Now, Winter speaks in silence so I never heard the call
a boarding house in Durango is where i chose to fall
with a mind full of confusion; clouds gathering for the storm
they tell you 'bout the rose; but don't mention the thorns
losin' streak...losin streak
Now, one must pay the piper in heartache or in gold
but one thing you should n'er do is ante-up your soul
Lady Luck departed. Her exit is n'er too discreet
time to turn & shake hands with your losing streak...
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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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