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The Soot Will Bring Us Back Again

by The American West

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1.
Well I’m back out on the road again Just another half baked plan A promise in the rearview of my mind And I’m calling you, my long lost friend Another smoke trail in the wind Half-made dreams lead to half held sighs Chorus: Two shots of bourbon, a pint of booze A cigarette for the memories that I’ll someday lose Ain’t seen you for a month, or is it two I’m a thousand miles from nowhere, so I sing these roadsick blues You told me once that we would make it if we tried But you quit playing guitar and you’re halfway alive You’ve been working in a kitchen, struggling to pay rent But its hard to feed your soul, when you work the breakfast shift Chorus The highway is for gamblers but I’m just a rolling stone All that separates us is where we’ve been and where we’re goin’ The radio sings Hank Williams hear the lonesome whipper-will cry It just screams into to the night sky as the diesels lumber by.
2.
Westward Man 03:49
Westward man can't see his eyes He's blinded by the open space All he sees are endless skies He doesn't seem to mind the planes He's a shipwreck, he's a bounced check He'll cut you down in the muddy street He's a tin can, he's a fake tan If you can read his smile, you know you're halfway there Westward man don't roll the dice He stacks the cards to his command Religion is his secret gun He'll praise whatever god you seek He's a shipwreck, he's a bounced check He'll cut you down in the muddy street He's a tin can, he's a fake tan If you can read his smile, you know you're halfway there Goddamn the Westward Man Westward man is a native son His family toiled in the land They were the first, they were the last Their names are written in the trees He's a shipwreck, he's a bounced check He'll cut you down in the muddy street He's a tin can, he's a fake tan If you can read his smile, you know you're halfway there Goddamn the Westward Man
3.
Ritalin 03:54
You dance like lights on a paper wall Burning candles to no end Maybe we're just wasting time We talk in circles, seldom crossed Crossed like legs of lovers new Maybe we're just wasting time Well you drove to the coast, called in sick for the week Went to bed with tears on your check Tell me it ain't that bad, tell me it ain't that bad She's a ritalin head, she'll wind up dead.
4.
You met me when my heart was stone, Cut by the winter, and left alone Been cut so hard by rocks and ice You can drown a man, but still he won't die Stone, heart of stone Stone, heart of stone Drowning in drink doesn't numb the pain Wake in the morning to fog and shame I lost the best that I ever had It doesn't even make me mad, cuz I am Stone, heart of stone Stone, heart of stone Maybe I could've kept you But baby I tried We were on the rocks, you were weeping, But I, just can't cry Maybe I'll get better Someday when I'm old I've been thinking, I've been walking in the rain, But my, heart is stone Stone, Heart of Stone (repeat)
5.
I searched for you in earnest Everyday when I was young But now that I've grown older, All I know is you are gone I’ve stumbled on every bramble And hidden under trees I’ve looked through every valley But I never found the seed Looking for you Looking for you Looking for you Looking for you And I’ve read the mystic pages Of every book that I can find I’ve been drunk, I’ve meditated And tried substances divine But I’ve just heard bits of whispers When I expect a colossal roar And my dreams are mostly muddy So I don’t search anyone Refrain Some say you're all around us Some say you’re in you and me Some you don’t exist And that the joke is all on me But until then I’ll keep looking, Albeit in vain I will fall, I will travail On the path to hear you plain Refrain
6.
Years fade swiftly, like a winter's day As the sun points past the canyon Dreams fade away Western wind winds down the track Cutting hard it's way Trails of blood and broken back Lie in its wake On you young conquistador Fill your heart's desire Gifts of blood and innocence Progress will require On to fill your namely due Keep your spirits higher Fortune strikes the bold young lad Let it stoke the fire Falling leaves and rotting soil Mark this sacred land Hazards lie in broken thought Safety never stands Bandages and broken hearts Dot the blood lined field Patience young conquistador All will be revealed
7.
Ghost Town 04:04
I live in a ghost town And its just me And the memories here What I saw on T.V. I'm still breathing, holding on to a memory I'm just thinking, bout the way it used to be I live in a plaid shirt A pair of faded jeans Everyone I once loved Has gone away from me I'm still breathing, holding on to a memory I'm just thinking, bout the way it used to be It's a ghost town
8.
Voices 03:54
I hear the voices of my generation, Calling out too stoned to meet the morning. Thinking that they're saying something, Only that they're saying nothing we ain't heard. I heard a thousand people screaming, They were tired of all your telephones and bullshit. Their voices died cuz no one looking up, And they flew away beyond the distant mountains. You're not from here, boy. You're not from here. We got people locked up, crazy. Say they're useless and there's no way to protect them. But I hear you screaming, useless, Wandering restless in the soft wings of the morning. You're not from here, boy. You're not from here. When your rooftops are collapsing, And your horizon lines finally disturb you. Who will you call when no one looks up? What will you do with all of your possessions? You're not from here, boy. You're not from here.
9.
There's a brushfire tickling a cloudless sky, The flames are pushing past the eastern ridge. This Santa Ana wind is kicking in, Sucking all the water from my skin. There's a dust storm moving past the grazing land All my memories have turned to sand An old wedding dress flaps in the wind Still I'm haunted by our kiss. Would you let me love you like a pauper does? Full of fire, and always afraid That our love will always go unnamed. You'll grow tired of me someday. There's nothing in this wasted land, What's gone is gone, there's nothing to forgive. And the farmhand cracks his withered limbs, They say the soot will bring us back again. But the blackened hill don't call out my name. The desert hides the secret of our fate. Stripped of all identity and left, Our sallow teeth form puddles in the rain. Would you let me love you like a pauper does? Full of fire, and always afraid That our love will always go unnamed. You'll grow tired of me someday.

about

Debut album by The American West.

credits

released March 17, 2017

Production: Matthew Zeltzer
Engineer: Jordan Richter
Tracked at: The Hallowed Halls, Room 13, and Cloud City, in Portland, Or

Musicians: Matthew Zeltzer (vocals, guitars), Maria Maita-Keppeler (vocals, violin), Will Haas (electric guitar, bass), Tucker Jackson (pedal steel), Lewi Longmire (Bass guitar), Benjamin Nathan O'Brien (wurlitzer, drums), Erich Spielman (drums, percussion)
"Heart of Stone" tracked at Cloud City Studios, and features Eduardo Miranda on drums, and Scott Warneke on Bass.

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The American West Portland, Oregon

The American West's debut album, "The Soot Will Bring Us Back Again," is out now! Get your copy today.

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