1. |
Lonely Spires
02:58
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lonely spires
when you go away / and say you’ll return some other day / but until then i must stay and sing / and learn the taste of remembering
when you go away and say you’ll return some other way / but until then i must stay and sing / and meet you at the shores / we used to fill with silver stones and bones and tones of no remorse / and build our castles with their lonely spires high
i could learn to melt into the sand / i could learn to grow into the ocean / i could learn to fade into the air / and then hover and stare / at children playing where our kingdom used to be
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2. |
You Only
02:46
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you only
come to me, come tonight
come to me with both hands
you can be quiet but don’t be shy
i’ll leave the kitchen light on
summer’s here, kick off your shoes
and slip across my backyard
you can be quiet but don’t be shy
i’ll leave the kitchen light on
for you only
lord have mercy on my soul
lord have mercy on your
peace of mind but don’t be shy
i’ll leave the kitchen light on
help yourself to honeydew
bread & tea if it pleases
you can be quiet but don’t be shy
i’ll leave the kitchen light on
for you only
coz nobody fills me like you do
no one thrills me quite like
you can be quiet but don’t be shy
i’ll leave the kitchen light on
so come to me, come tonight
come to me with both hands
you can be quiet but don’t be shy
i’ll leave the kitchen light on
you can find me dreaming in my bed
then turn the kitchen light off
for you only.
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3. |
Our Summertime
02:43
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our summertime
weary man of my heart -
let me know when it’s time to start loving again
we are colder than this autumn night deserves
holly places her bets on who will leave before the first snow flies
but place them high coz i know i will stay through the summer time
weary man of my heart -
it is now time fall into the drifted snow behind the house
and let the cold win out
then back into the house to lie beside the hickory fire
to drift and doze, one day closer to the summertime
winter came, winter went
the devil came, the devil up and left us here
you & me, dear
dearest man of my heart -
spring is nigh and it’s time to find a plot of land
to tend and temper with our homely plans
where there’re weeds weeds there will soon be okra
and tomatoes and rutabaga
and our namesake will endure through this, our summertime
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4. |
Luckiest One
03:33
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luckiest one
I’m the luckiest one
I’m the luckiest one
to be sitting here at the seaside thinking of you
Oh they all come and go
like the tide & the cold
but my baby still has a hold on my soul
the winter winds blow
and the ocean shore is freezing
my feet when I get too close to the water’s edge
but I’m the luckiest one
yeah I’m the luckiest one
to be sitting here at the seaside thinking of you
I’m the luckiest one…
you put the record on
and you hold out your arms
and with nina on the stereo you spin me ‘round the room
the winter winds blow
and the heater’s down again
but do I care? Oh no, when I’m with my dearest one
coz I’m the luckiest one…
the world may fall away
but with you I will stay
I’m the luckiest one
I’m the luckiest one
to be sitting here after hours thinking with you
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5. |
Valentine, NE
03:21
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Valentine, NE
i found my home last night
on my way through valentine
nebraska said - hey, how you been?
you’ve been gone for so long
how you been, my sweet valentine?
well, i’ve been in a concrete palace
singing for rocks and dimes
wondering just how long i’d last
living in a city on fire
but how you been, my sweet valentine?
there’s a man down chicago-way
thinking i’ll be home by supper time
but he’s no prairie -
aint got no sky-
so goodbye, my old valentine
goodbye, my old valentine
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6. |
Cleveland
02:12
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Cleveland
i’ve been to cleveland and i don’t want to return
your mama threw me out
there i was on the frontline, front lawn, looking confused
when your mama threw me out
don’t look surprised
don’t you give me that sigh
that woman’s crazier than me
so i’ll shuffle through georgia
and then on through tennessee
you can come and find me
i don’t know what i have done to deserve such misery
i best make right with the Lord
there i was on the frontline, front lawn, looking confused
when your mama threw me out
so i’ll shuffle through georgia
and then on through tennessee
you can come and find me
you can come and find me
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7. |
October
03:16
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october
when october comes i’ll be home
i’ll knock three times on your back door
and maybe, maybe you’ll answer
you’ll look surprised
i’ll shrug and smile
hold out my hand for you to shake
and take me
take me in
and love me like you never did before
hold me like you never could before
pull me down and show me so i know
and let’s go so slow that i don’t notice the morning
i sing for you only on this lonely highway
the devil come, the devil care but i only want you near
i want you, dear
when i’m on the prairie i see my hope, i see my fear
and you, you are always there
holding out for just the right amount of luck & grace -
dear, i am always here
dear, i am always here
i sing for you only on this lonely highway
the devil come, the devil care, but i only want you dear.
i want you
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8. |
Unkind
03:11
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unkind
i know the best years of my life are ahead / you don’t have to tell me again and again / the paint’s peeling off of my sweet, smiling face / and someday soon all sweetness will be erased
i met you in Texas, i left you in Rome / i held your hand through an Irish storm / i know i’ve been unkind to you / but i can’t say this chapter is through
my youth, it keeps me cold
i’ve married another and bore him a son / and now i run through the world trying to be made undone / i just want for someone to swallow me whole / and then i’ll rise up and ride on a chariot
i’m crazy, don’t you know? / i fed the horses cardboard & coal / now i’m saving up my soul / to barter later so i can get back home
i loved you in Texas, i hated you in Rome / i tried so hard to care in an Irish storm / i know i’ll never be kind to you / so i best be going - you take care of you
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9. |
Sad Saturday
02:29
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Sad Saturday
it was a sad, sad saturday
and everyone could tell
by her wet eyes and sad mouth -
the pretty lady on the bus
spring is nearly here
and i don’t wanna be alone
spring is nearly here
and i want
when it’s warm again
i wish to hold you in my arms
when it’s warm again i wish to hold
on this sad, sad saturday
i just saw too much blood
coursing down the cross,
meant for me -
a bloody, bloody mystery
when it’s warm again
i wish to hold you in my arms
when it’s warm again i wish to hold
can i ever be forgiven enough to make a dent?
can i ever be forgiven enough so that i stay?
on this sad, sad saturday
when everyone can tell
by her wet eyes and sad mouth -
the pretty lady on the bus
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10. |
Summer Came, a Warning
03:45
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summer came, a warning
In this breath of morning
i’ll be satisfied as long as i can
still see straight
in this breath of morning
i’ll be saddest without warning
why do i cry?
mama, something happened last night
thought i put up a pretty good fight
but where am i now?
mama, where did i go,
papa, where did i stay,
sister, what’s my name?
now i stand at my window, half-bathed in light,
and i’d like to fall
i stand at the window, half-bathed in light,
and i’d like to fall
into the street,
into the sea,
into the sky
last night when i finally slept
i met a man -
he waited for me on the other side
he had kindly eyes and every word he said to me
came from them, shining
but now i stand at my window, half-bathed in light,
and i’d like to fall
i stand at the window, half-bathed in light,
and i’d like to fall
into the street,
into the sea,
into the sky
summer came, a warning,
so i held my breath for morning -
yes, this very one
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11. |
We'll All Be the Same
04:13
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we’ll all be the same
you are letting me go / you are holding my heart
i try my best with smoke & mirrors / i try my best with crocodile tears / it’s hard to forget / where we started from / over the back roads - on into the sun
remember when we used to waltz in the grass? / crickets chirping, wet feet - we dance / now i’m in the parlor laughing too loud / while you’re in the backyard, drawing a crowd
take your son to the ravine / showing him moss and frogs in the stream / i’ll slip back out the way i came / no one’s the wiser, we’ll all be the same
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12. |
3 am
03:29
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3am
you cross over, you talk to me
you tell me things i’ve wanted to hear since last year,
maybe the one before
you ask me to understand
you ask me to hold your hand and come back
- baby, please come back -
sweet, this chaos, fine
fine to finally understand
what it was really all about
now i’m shaking, i’m seeing double
i’m halfway to heaven - looking trouble in the eye
what have we done?
what do we do with all this clamor & all this truth?
you cross over, you talk to me
what have we gotten into?
what did we leave behind?
what does it even matter this time?
i saw you at 22
you were all undone and run through
your life like a knife, straight through your dreamer’s heart
now i see you in front of me -
cigarettes & coffee
it’s 3am like it always, always was
but what have we gotten into?
what did we leave behind?
what does it even matter this time?
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13. |
And For This
03:14
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and for this
you’ve been so good to me & the others
you’ve been so good to me & then
your kindness rolls over & through this failing blue
and for this we will always remember
i’m sorry you heard about the ending
i’m sorry you saw it’s just a false door
it’s really the end and then we never begin again
it’s a sorry ending
he says his religion is other people
but i get so lonely and let down
i wish i could keep you in my coat pocket
and hold you and roll you around in my hands through winter
look at me standing at the curb
wishing i could bring you back home
look at me standing at the curb
shifting from one foot to the other
hoping to let you back in in time for Easter
coz you’ve been so good to me and the others
you’ve been so good to me and then
your kindness rolls over and through
this tremendous blue
and for this we will always remember
your kindness rolls over and through this brilliant blue
and for this we will always be grateful
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Rachel Ries Minneapolis, Minnesota
Rachel Ries, hailing from the prairies of middle America, crafts sly and compassionate songs for the crooked-hearted. With an electric guitar and piano; a clear voice and steady hand; she deftly pulls listeners in with disarming candor and holds them there with smart and tender poetry. ... more
Rachel Ries recommends:
Oh Ana Egge! Solid and soft, true teller of stories not always her own. Undeniably sensual. She'll hush a room with the quietest nudge and no one else has a voice like hers.
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The Silver City
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Somehow, and this has gone on for years now, I'm pretty much always in the mood to listen to Jeremy. And sing along at high volume, of course. You can also find me singing harmony on Breaking Down.
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Longtime collaborator, gem of a man, and the biggest heart in the midwest. It's all beautiful. Rail to Reel has some of my voice and Andru engineered and played & sang all over my album, For You Only.
go to albumIf you like Rachel Ries, you may also like:
To Gentlemen (EP)
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Addictively enjoyable album, always bringing my mood up, guaranteed to get stuck in my head any time I listen to it
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TO LOVE TO LEAVE TO LIVE
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One of those records where my favorite song from it will change each time I listen. Each track is a treasure that never fails to leave me in goosebumps.
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Forever Only Idaho
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Big, strummy songs that recall the heart-on-sleeve earnestness and lo-fi glory of early Mountain Goats.
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