1. |
Learning too Slow
03:12
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Learning Too Slow
call this evening or call me fool
call me stubborn as a damn old mule
because I'm not gonna bend
I'm not gonna break
see, missing you is my finest mistake
I'm learning too slow
I'm still a loner, I'm still a lonely lady
with a heart not stone enough
you're a gentleman and a drunk
see, I'm calling you out
but I'm calling you up
I'm learning too slow
summer was on its way out
when you finally found your way into my heart
now winter's on its wind-up
as you finally find your way into my house
into my house
so meet me here with my tongue of silver
and eyes of ice and stories delivered
hand to mouth and heart to hand
babe, I'll try to be kind if you'll be my man
I'm learning too slow
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2. |
Never You Mind
02:53
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Never You Mind
never you mind this being yours
and you being mine
what I mean is
come over anytime
you feel so inclined
to see my shining face
lit by a summer daze
on a hazy, drunken-something afternoon
the streets are full of the bustle & the bang
how they rush - it's a crying shame
run, run as fast as you can
no, no I won't
so here's a song
to slow us down
for you & me on a lazy afternoon
then after you get back to town
after all of your running around
and still you choose to find me in the afternoon
we watch the clouds roll in
and close all the windows and pour the coffee
this is what I need
time slows down
we sit on the back step
and watch the rain fall
on the backyard
hear the city street slow down
you stay awhile until the storm falls away
then go back into your life
and your day to day
just remember me as one who knows
just how to spend
a rainy, lazy summer afternoon
then after I get back to town
after all of my running around
and still I choose to find you in the afternoon
after we get back to town
after all of our running around
and still we choose
yeah we do, oh yeah we do
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3. |
When Will You Be Mine?
03:27
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When Will You Be Mine?
when will you be mine?
when will heartstrings find their melody?
when will fate shine her eyes on me
and stay for all time?
I feel it everyday
sure I’m fine and I get my own way
but a lady longs to compromise
every once in awhile
yeah a lady longs to compromise
every once in awhile
I guess I shouldn't complain
coz the blues are company for a lonesome dame
with her hair done up only for the rain
falling on the windowpane
only for the rain
falling on the window pane
so come on, find me here
you know where I can be found
where the lights are low & the piano's loud
that's where I can be found
so when can you be mine?
coz my heart's found her melody
and when fate shines her eyes on me
seems to me that you could be mine
oh you could be mine
seems to me
that you could be mine
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4. |
Chicago
04:16
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Chicago
just come home and you will find
I’m alone most of the time
I’m spinning wheels on a chorus line
sometimes finding my way
through a verse been on my mind
since late last night
when I heard a sleepy bird
on my windowsill
I share my bed with a cat
a typewriter & a laptop
it’s telling, is it not?
I pull the covers up
and then I close my eyes
to the city lights
coz I’m the same, aren’t I?
oh, Chicago
come and find us
come and hold us
come and be with us
oh, Chicago
come and hold us
come and find us
come and be with us
I’ll sing for you in your kitchen
coz this song has a mission
to bridge the gulf
and call the storm
by name and God’s grace
and all this impotent rage
I turn aside and I turn to you
then I open my eyes
to our city life
coz I have changed, haven’t I?
oh, Chicago
come and find us
come and hold us
come and be with us
oh, Chicago
come and hold us
come and find us
come and be with us
because the sun is sinking down
and if the sun is sinking down
then this heart is learning how
to sing for you forever
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5. |
Fine, I'm Fine
03:14
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Fine, I’m Fine
tell me how much farther
we’ve gotta go
before we can leave Chicago
you know I get tired
and I’m tired now
please let me just slow down
because I could pick a small town
on the prairie instead
stop telling lies and be early to bed
I’d watch the sunrise from an easy chair
maybe have a couple kids and start dying my hair
just put on that Bird song
y’know how he sings?
he sings like a wire that’s melting
I’ve got so much to learn
if I’m in this for good
God help me lose these ringing blues
coz I could get a home on the coast somewhere
buy myself a boat
and cut off my hair
I’d be weathered and worn out and wise
I’d hum a tune but just to clear my mind
it’s just to clear my mind
only to clear my mind
but I’m fine, I’m fine
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6. |
Visit
05:34
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Visit
if you come and visit me I’ll fall down on my knees
I’ll remember everything
I’ll remember everything
I’ll place an avocado in the palm of her hand, say
- I receive you in peace, I receive you in peace -
everyone’s gonna see I’m down on my knees
I’m down on my knees, I’m down
if you come and visit me my tongue will not believe
I’ll point to the weeds
I’ll just point to the weeds
I’ll tell her
- it’s ok, it’s ok that you won
and how are your sons? how are your sons? -
everyone’s gonna hear my tongue won’t believe
my tongue won’t believe, my tongue
if you come and visit me I’ll stop missing you
I’ll speak only true
yeah I’ll speak only true
when she says she don’t believe me, I’ll say
- you win again. but it’s never the end,
no, it’s never the end -
and everyone’s gonna see I’m not missing you
I’m not missing you, I’m not
everyone’s gonna see I’m not missing you
and I’m not Mrs. You and I’m not
I’m not
I’m not
I’m not
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7. |
I Could Leave
04:50
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I Could Leave.
I could leave you in your run down, crooked flat above the bar
sitting with a Guinness on the floor
I could leave you with your clocks & scraps of broke down memories
piling up in the corners of every room you’ve lived
I could leave you walking out the back to plant your pumpkin seeds
never saying what you really mean
I could leave you looking down at me with the saddest eyes
from the window of every room you’ve ever lived
hard it is to go, harder still to stay
look, I swear I can drive away
hard it is to stay, harder still to go
oh my heart unravels
I could leave you on 4th street at 5 am
a cup of coffee warm in your hands
I could leave you, December 23rd
but what’s it for? what’s it for, my lonely bird?
what’s it for?
my lonely bird, you’ve been so long
with your shoulders down
and sleeping soundly alone
I’ve come and gone
holding out for something
kinder than just a song
I sing For You Only
don’t you get this by now?
so I leave you picking fights on New Years Eve
drinking too many daiquiris
I leave you but know I’ll just return
to the doorway of every room you’ve ever lived
to the doorway of every room you’ve ever lived
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8. |
Without a Bird
03:21
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Without a Bird
how do we remember days
when they pile & they fray
adding up a lonesome rosary for the years
that I wear around my neck
with it I fidget and I fret
but I'll be damned if I stop trying
to find a way through this mess
with a halo in my chest
will we still tell the tales
when the stumble & they trail
at the edges of a mind
when we're trying to forget
so it seems I'm just placing my bets
on the ones I haven't met yet
but I'll be damned if I stop trying
to find a way through this mess
with a flame in my chest
there's a lot to handle here
somewhere between the sheets & a song
it's gonna be a long night when we wake
to find another day
rising up up up over the lake
but I'll be damned if I stop trying
to find a way through this mess
with a bird in my chest
I'll be damned if I start trying
without a bird in my chest
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9. |
Hands to Water
04:43
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Hands to Water
My hands turn to water in the sunlight on the coast
You push a boat from shore and glide out to the sandbar
I remember you on the island in the summer when your mother was still alive
Looking after you and saving us all the time
Now your father’s somewhere on the Atlantic, tossed about and true
You know that if I had my way I’d return to you
Why does it have to be lonesome now?
Why does it have to be lonesome now?
Remember that night way out past the house, you and me curled up in the woods?
I fell asleep trying not to worry about your mom
Nobody knows a thing about growing up and letting go
Until it’s done and you just lose your hold
Why does it have to be quiet now?
Why does it have to be quiet now?
You were born on the waves
You were born to be saved
You were born on the waves
You were born to be saved
One more time, one more time
Give me one more time
My heart turns to water in the sunlight on the coast
I push a boat from shore and glide out past the sandbar
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10. |
Here We Lie in Wait
03:21
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Here We Lie in Wait
here we lie in wait
waiting for the day
the sun will shake us down
and in the morning we will laugh
the sun will shake us down
rattle tooth & bone
we’ll put that bottle down
and want no more
we’ll put that bottle down
and pick up the cross
lying in the yard
wet with morning dew
and I will know your name in time
I will baptize you in time
I will cut your hair in time
and may you follow suit
here we lie in wait
waiting for the day
the sun will shake us down
and in the morning we will laugh
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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:
Bad Blood
by Ana Egge
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
by Jeremy Messersmith
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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Rail To Reel
by Andru Bemis
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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supported by 16 fans who also own “Without a Bird”
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
by Her Crooked Heart
supported by 11 fans who also own “Without a Bird”
Every song a gem. THE album of 2019. Recommending to everyone I know who has ever loved great songcraft and melody.
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Forever Only Idaho
by Harrison Lemke
Big, strummy songs that recall the heart-on-sleeve earnestness and lo-fi glory of early Mountain Goats.
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