Get all 7 Joe Griffin releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Wonderland, Fourth of July Sad Doggie, Verona Sunday (EP), My Cartoon Mind/Carrion Bird (Single), As Lost As We Are Now (EP), Countdown to Apostasy (EP), and Rough Cut Love.
1. |
Clearly Better
02:55
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2. |
Feedback
04:55
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I’m tired of figuring out your lies
I’m tired of hanging out in spite
I’m tired of listening to you screaming
You say you want to share the pain
But you just want to share the blame
It doesn’t matter what I’m feeling
You say there’s truth behind your lies
I just can’t understand your mind
It doesn't matter much at all...
See, anyone can whine, anyone can cry
Anyone can Feedback
It doesn’t take a genius
Anyone can bitch, anyone can moan
Anyone can Feedback
It doesn’t take a genius...
It’s always written out in code
I’m always doing what you’re told
You try to kill me when I’m sleeping
You never stop to shut it off
And while I’m carrying your cross
You can’t decide what’s worth believing
You say there’s truth behind your lies
I just can’t understand your mind
It doesn't matter much at all...
See, anyone can whine, anyone can cry
Anyone can Feedback
It doesn’t take a genius
Anyone can bitch, anyone can moan
Anyone can Feedback
It doesn’t take a genius...
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3. |
On Your Own
02:37
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4. |
Cold Hands Warm Heart
03:39
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Watch out where you walk in here
This is where it all went down
You can still see the blood from yesterday
When we put the devil mask on
And break out our giant costumes
Twist around the words the masters used to say
I borrowed this; you’ll never know
We all steal from someone
But if you’d understand, even if you know where to start:
Cold hands, warm heart
I know it’s a source of pride for you
To trace the background of it all
And tell me all the different poets I ripped off today
And then when you’re done you’ve got a hundred different ways of saying
I have nothing left to say
I don’t remember all the things I ever read; do you?
Don’t tell me the things you see don’t affect the things you do,
my baby blue.
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5. |
Never Leave You
03:22
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You feel like satin on gold
You're never dry; you're never cold
But as long as you're wild and as long as you're sick
I'll never leave you
She'll never leave you
You pull like siren-song kiss
I can't explain; I couldn't resist
But as long as you’re mad
And there’s rage in your eyes
I'll never leave you
She'll never leave you
Make me forget
Make me count down the times
The times that it was someone else and
Make me go back / Make me go on
Never divorcing your right from your wrong
You talk like there's a way home
If I saw the signs I wouldn't have known
But till you pull to the right
And drive off of the side
I'll never leave you
We'll never leave you
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6. |
You Again
03:29
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Hello, hello, goodbye, hello
Can it just stop...stop it in time now
One more time now...
I flay my wrists in front of you
My suicide note on the radio
You close your eyes and sing along
rock back and forth like a baby
Oh no, not you again
You seem to think that you know me
Read about my divorce on the radio
Turn the page and read along
Get ready to cry at the ending
Transmissions from men who travelled to Mars
invade my sleep
I’ll take my chances with the multiheaded monsters
Nevermind the pop star
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7. |
Never the Dawn
03:37
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Never the dawn with you. Always the twilight.
Always the last gray gasp of the dying day
Always the clouds smother the weeping moon.
Never the dawn with you.
Never the bloom of spring. Always the winter.
Always the bald bare branch and the barren field.
Always the frosts banish the helpless sun.
Never the bloom of spring.
Terrifying tales of angels and poison.
The deeper I dig, the farther I am from the light.
Never a song with you. Forever silent.
Held like the fettered frets of a martyr’s lyre.
Always the notes die on your poison tongue.
Never a song with you.
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8. |
If You Ever...
05:09
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Tenants of a dry house
Tattoo of a headphone rhythm
Tape stopped by an unseen hand
Portle of pipes and hissing of linen
Corner of the old couch
Nestle on a previous pillow
Visions from an unwatched eye
Creaking of stairs and gordle of windows
You won’t get that kind of love from me
although I’m not leaving
You won’t get that kind of love from me
Though I’m not leaving here
Gripping on a dead love
Crinkle of a read-out letter
And I’m just thinking out loud
And you’re there living out the better part.
Return to the wild. Will I still remember?
Roll it round and round and I’ve got no more time.
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9. |
Year of the Car Crash
05:56
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Waiting for God/Waiting for Godot
And the truth teeth chattered out a rhythm you were sure no one would know.
Is that a cross in your pocket? Or are you just glad and gifted?
Do you know what has flowered must fade?
Do you still think that it can be lifted?
And the chorus in not on your side
And they’re telling the crowd and you can’t fight the tide
And it’s the hour of the unexpected
The year of the car crash
Stay up all night / wrestle and toss
And the year-end tally that tells you the total of all that you’ve lost
Is it just paranoia? You hear footsteps ‘round the corner
Do you notice the fates at your back—do they blend in too well with the mourners?
Stuck in Ice/Bang on the hood
You didn’t know when you had it good.
Up through the fog / down through the list
And the Plenty of time that you had is becoming the chances you missed.
Is that a chip on your shoulder?
Is it bigger than your tombstone?
Is the hero face down in the dust?
Is the prom queen drinking alone?
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10. |
Left Turn at Albuquerque
04:18
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When I’m sitting, feet on the table
Asleep in my office
Thinking about things and where it went bad
I’m here hide from the sunlight
Waiting for midnight
Telling myself it never could’ve been different
I tried rolling bones and I tried divining
Tried counting cards and I tried the Shining
Went to Madame Ruth and she had me rutting
Walked with the spirits and found out
I should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque
I should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque
I should have taken that left turn…now I’m here
These are bad guys, straight from the novel
Up from the tunnel
Out of the theatre and where is the car
Victims bleed on the carpet, die in the desert
These dogs smell fear; you can see it in their stances.
Once chance; stab with the pencil
Deal with the devil
If I tell it all will you really let me out?
That’s me, grave in the mansion, gas in the kitchen…
Sometime later you will understand, I promise.
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Joe Griffin Chicago, Illinois
Singer/songwriter in Chicago, IL.
Cover photo by Joe Mazza. Banner photo by Peter Angus Medlock.
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