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V​.​O​.​L​.​/​Vigilantes of Love - Greatest Hits 1992​-​1996

by Vigilantes of Love

/
1.
all is quiet on the western front there appears to be a lull john and jane doe are sleeping well tonight with the little thoughts inside their skulls salome she's undressed to the nines and although a few pounds fatter she got pavlov's bells on her ankles and wrists she coming at you with a platter so i stole down to the waterfront to escape the desert heat oh what on earth you gotta do around here to try and get yourself a drink heard john the baptist preaching "make way for the King but if you want to recognize Him you gotta tell me all your sins" they are building a new gallows for when You show up on the street polishing the electric chair they're gonna give You a front row seat heard a sneer outside the garden salutation so well heeled "welcome all you suckers to struggleville" i've been trying to negotiate peace with my own existence she got a stockpile full of weaponry she breaking every cease-fire agreement oh the whole thing is full of decay as sure as i'm made of dust and into rust i know the beast is falling they are building a new gallows for when You show up on the street polishing the electric chair they're gonna give You a front row seat heard a sneer outside the garden salutation so well heeled "final stop no points beyond struggleville welcome all you suckers to struggleville"
2.
hey look at me now i've been impaled on the horns of your sacred cow well there's a train wreck up ahead yeah 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 well the core of my problem is this driving the nails and all but you know that possession is nine tenths of the law better take stock of where i'm going by where i have been oh now sweet Lord Jesus come wash away these sins hey look at me now still impaled on the horns of your sacred cow now there's a train wreck in my head but darling your love keeps me so well fed
3.
Blister Soul 03:54
yeah you got this place you go it's just a trip before the fall way past the fevered pitch just a spit from the wrecking ball said you woke up this morning said you woke up under a curse i've heard the blues are bad but this is something worse and the ambulance driver well he tips his hat and stares and he asks you in a grave voice can i take you anywhere yeah the thing we cannot speak of too painful to behold oh this blister soul there's a smaller place you go where there's hardly any sound where the deals have all gone sour and the house of cards comes down and the damage is costly it's beyond all dollars and sense you can't measure it with graphs and charts or any instruments yeah the thing we cannot speak of the secret we all know oh this blister soul yeah from the trumpet blast i hear the banging drum yeah from once upon a time to the kingdom come and the thing that's yours for free is the thing i need the most oh stifles every boast stifles every boast yeah the thing that's hard to speak of but the secret we all know oh this blister soul
4.
Double Cure 05:09
yeah today i'm sick of all i am today is my setback first i swear i love you then i stab you in the back i wanna drink out of that fountain on a hill called double cure i wanna show you my allegiance Lord yes i wanna be a son of Yours so tired of all my toys they never last for long they keep beaming dreams and wishes to a big dish on my front lawn bet you all have got a story you're just aching to tell haven't we thrown our coinage down the wishing well so go and call your neighbor proceed with all due haste go grab your wife and sweet family see there is no time to waste we're gonna drink out of that fountain on a hill called double cure i wanna show you my allegiance Lord yes i wanna be a son of Yours ask me why i love Him He gave riches to this poor yes and i will one day see that face over yonder shore
5.
stumbled into this car crash i crawled out of it and drowned leaving me somewhat paralyzed at least from the heart down everybody knows something yeah that's long since gone wrong everybody know something ah but they're not letting on and you sink without sound in those arms and you drown and you drown and you drown i think i've got it down now let me repeat back what i've heard "first there comes the subject then there comes the verb" mother teresa well i wanna be there when you get your reward me i'm writing these scrap notes down here in the terminal ward i hear that this is an election year and i suppose it's true big world gonna get what little it has coming to her i looked over my shoulder yeah and hit the pedal fast in an effort to elude my rapidly approaching past
6.
Tempest 02:16
watching the tempest stir in your soul watching the tempest stir in your soul we are storming the battlements razing the arguments got your letters here by my bed got these visions of you in my head we are storming the battlements razing the arguments one down i don't know how i lost my way two down now she knows all my yesterdays watching her secret side come to life watching her secret side come to life we are storming the battlements razing the arguments writing the installments
7.
Skin 05:01
now i'd seen him despondent a few times as of late sometimes the answer that love gives is the hardest one to take i know he was prone to paint the voice of his own fear so vincent he picked up the blade and he put it to his ear look at yourself in the mirror you're all rumpled red stubbled and gaunt you walk a dead end path in a dry corn field and now this morose response your princess she don't wanna see you no your princess she don't wanna hear so vincent he picked up the blade and he put it to his ear now look if you're gonna come around here and say those sort of things you gotta take a few on the chin you talking about love and all that stuff you better bring your thickest skin sometimes you can't please everyone sometimes you can't please anyone at all you sew your heart onto your sleeve and wait for the ax to fall you there with the paint box you there with paper and pen me i got this blunt instrument i'm gonna play on 'til the end and you know you come with empty hands or you don't come at all you deal your best hand out in the marketplace and let the chips fall the package it comes wrapped up there is a lesson here vincent he picked up the blade and he put it to his ear now look if you're gonna come around here and say those sort of things you gotta take a few on the chin yeah you're talking about sin and redemption well you better wear your thickest skin sometimes you can't please everyone sometimes you can't please anyone at all sew your heart onto your sleeve and wait for the ax to fall
8.
i'm a chemistry of flesh and water of blood and guts a savage disorder i made the wrong move oh what a bother ever since then i've been looking for my father when this darkness rolls in i can't read my id who knows when the sunrise will be martin luther said to one of his brothers except for one instance no one can die for another the devil makes me fearful about my survival one's gone before to assure your arrival sometimes the darkness rolls in and just takes hold of me who knows when the sunrise will be see i feel like barabas with his sentence reversed i've got my handgun of conceit but at least it's registered and i checked out my best western motel i saw a man on the hill in place of my hell when the darkness rolls in it chokes the life out of me who knows when the sunrise will be you can count on your charm revel in your wealth improve your appearance hope in your health houses of cards tumble and reputations fail marriages crumble and interest rates sail and there's there are no more heroes and there are no rules of thumb criminals are pardoned 'cause there's no place to put 'em and babies are torn 'cause nobody wants them and whales canonized by some government program blind men sad men dreamers with wishes paralytics lunatics and the back street fringes all find a place in Your home at Your table You make them well 'cause You're willing and able still in the darkness there's a candle you will see who knows when the sunrise will be
9.
left your bags in the hall your harsh light ghost came in full needing the most after withdrawing all your savings you were playing a game where there were no winners your credit is bad and nobody's lending this time the rules they are not bending when i'm broken see what happens arms wide open see what happens when i'm broken see what happens see what happens to me should've known better coming 'round with your needs your mouth full of roses heart on your sleeve only love just begging to stay you're bring in nothing and it's all that you got you're rest assured it's more than enough only love just having the last say gotta stay clear of the star-on machine venom and bile a venting one's spleen oh yeah you know what i mean throw us all in a van and see if we care a little beat up worse for the wear oh yeah see how we tear
10.
only heard a few stories really only seen a few works tractor paints on plywood covered with verse you see so much see not much at all but we're treading down serpents and we're breaking the fall if a picture's worth a thousand words what i've seen is what i've heard the image writhes flickers on the screen distance grows wide between the glory and the dream you may be out there on the river with your bridges all burned cannot swim a stroke 'cause you never learn never learn sure some wear it like a badge or a noose around their neck but call me home early Lord i swear there's nothing to protect
11.
atlanta sixty miles to go on a ghost-green sign athens another seventy-five there on the backside yeah no brass band triumphant heard flying home to love maybe crawling's a better word a bed of nails you can lie on if you want it always an ax to grind with your name upon it hopeless is as hopeless does i love you i love you well just because that's to say if i drown let's no go into that now eyes on Him i am found there's a cross before the crown hopeless is as hopeless does i love you well just because i love you well just because yeah i fell asleep when you needed a friend you were sweating blood and talking about violent ends ah we're pulling swords talking real loud pledging allegiance yes us bunch of cowards
12.
EARTH HAS NO SORROW HEAVEN CAN'T HEAL words & music by Bill Mallonee .c.1990. 1992 it's time to get the lash it's time to get the rope sharpen the razor grab the microscope it won't be pretty when they cut the tether sometimes you lose your address to find your shelter why is joy something i must steal? starving skeletons looking for a meal out in the graveyard the church bells peal earth has no sorrow heaven can't heal i bought a crap detector it emptied all my savings it's got a hair trigger feel for the slightest provocation not there to spill blood or judge out of line Let's call it a modern convenience to save you some time johnny says to sarah as he takes her by the hand "i hear angels 'cross that river in beulahland" the waters are cold and they're deep my friend i'm going down down down and coming up again i've been checking my closets since i don't know when surely life is more than learning how to live with your skeletons wind swing low whisper in my ears wind swing low dry these tears
13.
Undertow 03:05
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
14.
America 05:56
america america my dad sure believed in you he said "a man's gotta do what he's gotta do" got his degree at your diploma barn he was the first kid off the farm gonna change the world with chemistry but i know he'll do what you ask him to for america buy a new house with a tailored front yard run up all the credit cards there's more where that came from it's a cinch i knew by the age of six i'd never make a scientist when i saw the price you paid in their trenches they cut the moorings of your sacred ship pushed her out and they let her drift then the wind changed unannounced brought a new friend home to watch tv to help you deal with the anxiety she measured out her love in ounces yeah i've seen you do what she asked you to for america i remember standing 'round the vacant corner of some playground hoping we would get you back dying to make contact america now i struggle to pretend and fill the gaping holes in and remember all you did looking back to take inventory put the best construction on the story i'm now writing for my kids 'cause i know you'd do what they ask you to for america america america God shed your grace in his lonely heart this evening and if he falls asleep gather him and hold him tight and help me with this grieving 'cause i know he'd do what you ask him to i salute you
15.
Losin' It 04:42
climb the tower with me tonight speak long with the wind let your laughter drown my sorrow let an age of hope begin loyalty is not a word heard 'round these parts these days love gets drowned in a pool of tears i'm drunk on anyway hold me tight God i'm losing it hold me tight i'm confusing it job lost all his daughters job lost all his sons lost all his crops and his animals each and every one still i know whom i believe in and persuaded He is able to keep track of all the cards laid out on my table oh please don't get upset you know these means of grace have never failed me yet see the harvest getting ripe there's a wine press almost full michael swing your sickle wide and take off both your shoes sold me a wealth of pleasure it was a dime store full of pain the stuff i thought was jewelry it turns out to be chains hold me tight i'm abusing it hold me tight i'm losing it
16.
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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The Vigilantes of Love greatest hits, good intentions & near misses 1992-1996

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released September 10, 1996

Previously Unreleased Tracks:

Bill Mallonee: lead vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, harmonica

Tom Crea: drums

Chris Bland: bass and backing vocals

John Keane: electric guitar on "Double Cure"

Previously Released Tracks:

Bill Mallonee: guitar, harmonica, percussion, drums, vocals

Chris Bland: bass, vocals

Andy Carlson: violin

Newton Carter: guitar, vocals

Tom Crea: drums

Matt Donaldson: drums

Chris Donohue: piano, guitar, vocals, bass

Billy Holmes: keyboards, bass, mandolin, trumpet, guitar, sitar, vocals

Joey Huffman: keyboards

John Keane: percussion, pedal steel guitar, guitar, vocals

David LaBruyere: bass

Phil Madeira: keyboards, accordion

Travis Aaron McNabb: drums, percussion

Produced by Bill Mallonee and John Keane. Compilation Produced by Dan Russell. Compilation Executive Producer: Barry Landis. Engineered and Mixed by John Keane. Mastered by Ken Love.

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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.
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