Get all 14 Nathan Leigh releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of SPOOKYLOOP1, All Myths Are Remixes, Pirkei Avot (Single), House On Stilts, Myths, Conspiracy Theories, and Other Stuff I Made Up To Sound Interesting, Ordinary Eternal Machinery, The Slumlord's Kids EP, Never Be Normal EP, and 6 more.
1. |
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someone get me a lifeboat
i'm drowning in a sea of white folks
with acoustic guitars
and the worst part is i'm as guilty as you are
the best way to tell you're part of a problem
is if you don't think that you're a part of the problem
ain't nobody's hands clean
there's rapists in our scene
they're all good dudes backed hard
fucking rock stars
and if you feel like giving up
that's when you can't give up
matthew got his citizenship
so that he could protest the government
and that's the most patriotic shit i've ever heard
when you're dancing on the barricades
remember it's a privilege to be taking space
with a sign in your hands
there's folks who just can't
it's not that they don't care
it's just that they're scared
and when you feel like giving up
that's when you can't give up
if you think gg allin's punk then we probably can't be friends
if you care about what is or isn't punk then we probably can't be friends
and i'm aware of all the hypocrisy in all the things that i've said
i just don't care about all the hypocrisy in all the things that i've said
fuck all that i've said
cause when you feel like giving up
that's when you can't give up
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2. |
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all i want is a lot
all i want is a lot more than what i got
all i want is a lot
all i want is a lot more than nothing
all i need is time
all i need is time to do what i want
all i need is time to do nothing
i'm good at disappointment, and i'm great at getting better
but i'm better at being sick, and i get the best rejection letters
so put your fucking hands up if your life didn't turn out quite the way you planned
[chorus]
i'm not ashamed of getting older, i'm ashamed of being tired
six hours on the interstate, feeling worn and uninspired
so let's turn the amps to 2, i wanna be in bed by 9
[chorus]
so let's fetishize the youth the way we fetishize rebellion
you can deny you've been commodified, but look at what they're selling
such a fantastic demographic, they say money talks and honey i'm all ears
[chorus]
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3. |
No Poetry
03:42
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we know it's not enough
but in the end it's all we have
the things we do for love
when we've given all we can
and these are the lies we tell ourselves
when we're drinking our bodies back to health
in the silent refrain i hear it well
we kill ourselves for nothing
and it's not enough
hey orpheus
tell me where'd you get that stone
was it worth the mess
now that you're alone?
cause these are the lies we tell ourselves
while we're drinking our bodies back to health
in the silent refrain i hear it well
we kill ourselves for nothing
and there is no poetry in the falling apart
no glory in giving up all that we are
no grace in retreating back to the start
and we know it's not enough
so give me something new
give me cocktails with molotov
and tell me what to do
when all the lights are off
cause these are the lies we tell ourselves
while we're drinking our bodies back to health
in the silent refrain i hear it well
we kill ourselves for nothing
and it's not enough
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4. |
All Our Racist Uncles
01:51
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all our racist uncles
you know they're really all right dudes
but all our racist uncles
they just hold abhorrent views
so you've gotta talk to your racist uncle
and i've gotta talk to my racist uncle
and we've all gotta talk to our racist uncles
about the fucked up things they say
and all our misogynist uncles
they really do love their wives
but all our misogynist uncles
don't really value women's lives
so you've gotta talk to your misogynist uncle
and i've gotta talk to my misogynist uncle
and we've all gotta talk to our misogynist uncles
about the fucked up things they say
[whistle break]
and all our homophobic uncles
they really do mean well
but all our homophobic uncles
just kinda think that i am going to hell
so you've gotta talk to your homophobic uncle
and i've gotta talk to my homophobic uncle
and we've all gotta talk to our misogynist uncles
about the fucked up things they say and think and do
and things will change
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5. |
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for two years i lived across the street from where biggie grew up
it was a pretty good apartment
and i'd tell people that so they'd think that i was tough
but truth is it was just a pretty good apartment
and now the new york that i never knew is dead
and i'm pretty sure it's my fault
maybe that place i knew from books and record sleeves
was never really real at all
so save your scene, you can't save yourself
save this city from folks like me
if you just take the things you want
you'll have nothing left
when there's things you need
in 2010 i was born again: i quit my theatre job to hang out with the band
i slept in basement floors and parking lots
and headed west without a compass or a plan
and the scene that wouldn't have me now is dead
and i'm pretty sure i'm to blame
they were all trying to make a mountain
selfish me was only trying to make a name
[chorus]
now half my friends are settled down
and the other half are just trying to stay out of jail
sometimes i get jealous of them both
but right now i could not afford the bail
[chorus]
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6. |
Watch the Waves
03:03
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lights out it's 3 am and i'm walking
at 120 bpm the clock's tocking
and i'm not sure if there's anyone listening
and the place that i once lived is a ghost town
the things that i can't forgive are all past now
but still i can't let go of anything
but we could build a house beside the lake
far from all of our mistakes
where we could sit out front and just watch the waves
they should give awards for being broken
an oscar for the words not spoken
i'd thank you all for almost tuning in
cause i was gonna write a song about travelling
an anthem for getting lost but i'm finding
that nothing's quite as good as staying in
come on let's build a house beside the lake
far from all of our mistakes
where we could sit out front and just watch the waves
and we'll dig for the moments of quiet
when the world is on fire
and everything falls around our heads
with the noise getting louder
at least we'll be proud of what we said
then we'll stand on the banks of the hudson
looking for nothing
with a city of emeralds at our feet
and we're running from nothing
we're just running to nothing
do it all for nothing
we do it all for nothing
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7. |
Thank You America
04:04
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i remember in 2004
we took a bus down into new york
90,000 marched against the war
and i'd never been there before
and i remember when roman asked
a cop what he thought of the protest
he said "honestly, i don't mind
i'm getting paid overtime."
so thank you america
600 billion for the bankers
thank you america
got our priorities straight
thank you america
my car takes oil by the tanker
and if you can't afford this life
you don't deserve to stay
and when madison erupts in flames
thank god we broke up all the unions
cause i wouldn't want your private plane
to miss a weekend in spain
and i'm sorry if the picket lines
are interfering with your tee time
but the roads are all barely paved
so you couldn't go anyway
so thank you america
600 billion for the bankers
thank you america
got our priorities straight
thank you america
my car takes oil by the tanker
cause if you can't afford this life
you don't deserve to stay
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8. |
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"your goals are not realistic
your tactics do more harm than good
sure, i agree with you in theory but i'm staying home
you'll never win the fights you say that you could..."
not with that attitude
you back imperfect politicians but not imperfect movements
nice to know where you draw the line
righteous centrist indignation is the newest dance craze
everybody do the doing fine
[chorus]
if you try defending folks who wanna see me dead
my friend i really don't know where to start
cause the really real fascists call themselves real fascists
it's not hard to tell the sides apart
[chorus]
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9. |
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steal yourself and settle for the silence and bittersweet
you can't take it with you so this might as well be defeat
the good intentions never mattered,
the bad result was all we saw
like green siberia after the thaw
and in the end you will be crowned victorious
in the end you will be king of nothing
welcome to the feast i think we both know what's on the plate
you all did the least you could, too little, too much too late
so goodbye paris, goodbye kyoto
goodbye east and western coasts
just check the stock price
before you check your coats
and in the end you will be crowned victorious
in the end you will be king of nothing
all i want is a lot
all i want is a lot more than what i got
all i want is a lot more than nothing
here's a plaque to celebrate the best thing you ever did:
an empty stretch of highway just for you and all your kids
and in the end you will be crowned victorious
in the end you will be king of nothing
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10. |
How The West Was Won
04:37
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this is how the west was won:
through genocide and segregation
this is how you build a myth
the heroes and the villains that they're fighting with
this is how you build a wall:
tell a big lie to protect the small
call one side savage and one side strong
and hope to god you're on the right side and nobody proves you wrong
and the truth is never pretty
but i'm pretty sure it's better than
the big lies that we tell ourselves,
the cowboys and the indians
and i am just one man inside the mess of all this history
but big lies follow little ones
and this is how the west was won
this is how you build a man:
clamp down every single little goddamn feeling that you can
and if you can live with what you've done
when the war is over, you can fight another one
and the truth is never pretty
but i'm pretty sure it's better than
the big lies that we tell ourselves,
the cowboys and the indians
and i am just one man inside the mess of all this history
but big lies follow little ones
and this is how the west was won
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11. |
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"there's no time to waste," he said and grabbed himself a beer
if there's no time to waste than what the hell are we all doing here?
the revolutionaries meet on thursday afternoons
oh how we love to hear his monologues about the storm that's coming soon
oh you're so ernesto
you're so bob dylan
and i know you'll make history
yeah you'll make millions
we all love the piper's song, especially when it's free
well here's the offer of a lifetime on the storm of the century
oh you're so ernesto
you're so bob dylan
and i know you'll make history
yeah you'll make millions
and the funny thing, you know it's true
and the funny thing is that i hope you do
when the rain comes down, where will you be?
will you be standing in the bag with itchy trigger fingers?
when the rain comes down, where will you be?
will you be standing in the front your smile getting bigger?
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12. |
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it's 2 am in tulsa, i need some sleep
in a beer-strewn old apartment in a booster seat
ralph's got all the answers, but i got none
he says "do you wanna know a secret about how the world is run?"
and daniel's never met a new conspiracy he didn't like
he says the rosicrucians faked the moon landing in ‘69
there's lots of things we'll never know what's wrong or right
but i'm pretty sure that's not right
but it's so hard when there's nothing true
and the papers say it's all just a point of view
so i hold on to you cause nothing feels as real as this
i'd fly you to the moon if you could prove the moon exists
now we've got brand new games that we can play
and we've got brand new mouths but still ain't found shit to say
and history don't repeat but they say it rhymes
but the clocks are moving backwards it feels like half the time
now val's the new voltaire she says she'd die for someone's right to speak
but she's somehow always silent when there's folks out dying in the streets
and there's lots of things we'll never know what's wrong or right
but i'm pretty sure that's not right
[chorus]
and these are the lies we tell ourselves
when we're drinking our bodies back to health
in the silent refrain i hear it well
we kill ourselves for nothing
[chorus]
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13. |
Pirkei Avot
05:02
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i was gonna change the world
dig for the brightest pearl
but i got lost along the way
i thought i had it all worked out
but every time i opened my mouth
i found i didn't know what to say
but there was gonna be time
so much time
i wake up and i pretend
then do it all again
it's like a simple sad refrain
you sing though you don't know the words
you sing it though you feel unheard
and you think nothing's gonna change
and i don't know how to tell you
that it probably won't get better
i don't know how to tell you, but it's true
and i don't know how to tell you
that from here on it gets harder
and i don't know what i'm supposed to do
but there's gonna be time
so much time
and no-one's gonna wake you up
like when you fell asleep at the movies
after the credits rolled
and no-one's gonna warm you up
nobody's gonna show you love
when you're coming in from the cold
but there's gonna be time
so much time
and when you feel like giving up
that's when you can't give up
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Nathan Leigh Brooklyn, New York
guitars, synths, orchestra, and suitcases
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