Get all 5 Zephaniah Stringfield releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of How Quickly It's All Gone Away/Do I Need You?, Ipse Dixit, Stick To Nowhere, The Book Of Zephaniah, and Odds And Ends.
1. |
When I Wake
04:02
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when i wake a thousand miles from my mind
a thousand lifetimes behind
and i lay in bed a while
and i gaze out my old window
at the green and scattered gold
and i turn up the radio
is it fair to say i’m dreaming of a love i had to leave so long ago?
and the picture perfect memories take me back to somewhere i don’t want to go
so i take a breath of morning air
and i shed off all my cares
and tear a hollow in the day
and i rake the leaves off of my thoughts
try to write an honest song
and shake a living out somehow
is it fair to say i’m hypnotized by how you look right about now?
with your head beside me smiling and your auburn hair falling ‘cross your brow
but oh oh oh, where will i go?
when i leave home again
i’m all alone again
and oh oh oh, time moves so slow
and there it goes again
i’m feeling old again
is it fair to say i’m leaning on the notion of a haven down the line?
but i’m leaning into my vocation ‘hind the mule i’m ploughing all the time
so i thank the stars for what it’s worth
for the birth of this old earth
that someday must die
and i make my first move of my day
and i walk the other way
from all i left behind
is it fair to say i’d lead a life of misery if i didn’t clear my mind?
so i am reaching through the ether just to find an easy reason to get by
and i’m pleading these uneasy feelings leave me where they belong, a thousand miles behind
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2. |
Reason To Go
04:45
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everybody’s talking to their honey sweet
everybody’s loving but me
me i’m sitting lonely in the corner of an old piano bar
and the closest thing i got to a baby
she’s up north a thousand miles
but a thousand miles ain’t nothing, you got a reason to go
i’m just a tired old bar room jack and she’s my midnight run
we’ve been singing love songs for too long
and how long she has been away, i don’t know
i could pack my bags and grab my only hat
take off in the morning with the sun
because i do believe that i have got a reason to go
old mattingly and eli can take the trouble off your mind,
if only for a moment with their song
but the company of men is beginning to wear thin
i feel that it’s a drag and i can’t see what’s the use
of telling yourself that you ain’t got the time
sometimes you just find yourself itching with a reason to go
out upon those worried streets away from which you hide
there’s a vendor on every corner of your mind
selling front row tickets to the real-time midnight alley circus show
where everyone’s a star when they surrender to the stage
you can set your house in order by the door
and though nothing is for free, they'll only ask you for a reason to go
but don’t let me mislead you, lest you be denied
a reason ain’t the easiest to find
these things come and go away just about as easy as they please
you might find one tomorrow, but then it’s gone with yesterday
today is like the men inside these bars
whose elusive chances always find themselves a reason to go
so me i’m heading up to meet my honey sweet
to see if we can’t settle up a deal
see if we can’t find ourselves some tickets to she show
so start lifting up those lips, cause i’m bound to make you smile
i’ve been making you frown for too long my babe
and every slip of downturned lip that your smile has ever hid whenever you were feeling low
can always be forgotten when you find it a reason to go
yes, it can always be forgotten once you’ve found it a reason to go
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3. |
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it’s a mighty lonely lifestyle, this leaving that i do
often times i find myself reminded of you
lordy how i miss those hips, i miss your sweet lips too
i could sit and stay awhile without ever feeling blue
but i try not to cry when i say goodbye
and i’ll see you when i see you if i do
now winter’s almost over and summer’s coming on
soon i will return again to my new mexico home
and you’ll be down in new orleans, you tell me on the phone
i could stop my rambling and never feel alone
but i know down in my bones that i have got to go
and i’ll see you when i see you if i do
it’s a mighty lonely lifestyle, this leaving that i do
often times i find myself reminded of you
lordy how i miss those hips, i miss your sweet lips too
i could sit and stay awhile without ever feeling blue
but i try not to cry when i say goodbye
and i’ll see you when i see you if i do
i try not to cry when i say goodbye
and i’ll see you when i see you if do
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4. |
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it’s wet in the RV and the roof’s caving in
i could tell you a story, where should i begin?
we’re parked in a walmart and it’s starting to rain
we’ve been a long way away and we’re coming home again
we’ll be in ohio by tomorrow night
if this engine stays running, we’ll be alright
the emerald city is coughing up smoke
it blackens the sky and it makes me choke
we’re off to the land of horizons and sun
and it seems to me lately my story has hardly begun
we’ll be in missouri by tomorrow night
if this engine stays running, we’ll be alright
can you tell from my motions that i don’t like to work?
but, it is not that i am afraid of the dirt
it ain’t that i’m lazy or that i want to lay low
i just can’t get my mind to unwind and move that slow
we’ll be in kansas by tomorrow night
if this engine stays running, we’ll be alright
i’m tired and i’m hungry, but i don’t want to eat
i’m stressed and i’m restless, but my bones are weak
i want to get stoned, but the cops are about
my lady is sweet though, and she’s got it all figured it out
we’ll be in colorado by tomorrow night
if this engine stays running, we’ll be alright
we’ll be in new mexico by tomorrow night
if this engine stays running, honey, we’ll be alright
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5. |
Bit O' The Blues
03:01
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i have been thinkin’ about wastin’ away
away, away, a-way
and i have been drinkin’ but i can’t seem to taste
today, today, to-day
there’s cigarette upon my breath, biringin’ me closer to my death
but i am a-knowin that death is days
away, away, a-way
so i, i, i
i’ve been livin’ with hope
fillin’ my pipe with smoke
thinkin’ of ways to be free
and ways that I can cope
‘cause life ain’t really that bad
least not more than I can take
and everybody needs a bit o’ the blues, I say
so I have been waiting for a freight to roll
on by, on by, on by
and I’ll hop on that train and I’ll ne’er look
behind, behind, be-hind
this whiskey’s goin’ to my head and I’m startin’ to think I’d be better off dead
but this way of thinking will soon pass
on by, on by, on by
so i, i, i
I have had cause to wonder aloud
sittin’ out in the night, just starin’ at the clouds
people tell me I don’t know what’s allowed
but I think I know by now
i just find your laws a little too proud
they don’t leave enough room to be loud
and I choose not to follow anyhow
so i, i, i
i’ve been movin’ around
just roamin’ from town to town
lookin’ for a place to stay
where I can stick my roots in the ground
but you ain’t got me beat
i’m still standin’ on my own two feet
and everybody needs a bit o’ the blues, I say
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6. |
Hardwired
02:38
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just like a cold splash of water
or gin straight from the bottle
she’ll wake you up and set your nerves on fire
and i’m hardwired to love her so
and it don’t really matter
what she takes or what you give her
we both know when a liar is a liar
and i’m hardwired to love her so
won’t let her go..
and she’ll paint you up a picture
like you never seen before
give you the key and throw away the door
and i’m hardwired to love her so
and she looks just like the mirror
on the tail end of desire
she’ll beat you blue and leave you wanting more
and i’m hardwired to lover her so
won’t let her go..
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7. |
Devil Is A Worried Mind
03:10
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why, oh, why
does you love capture me
when i could lay my body down
and drift away to sea
and why, oh, why
must your smilin’ feel like home
when i could lay my body down
until the dust becomes my bones
i have tried a million times, but i can’t seem to get you off of my mind
if i can’t get to heaven lord, then i will die tryin’
i can’t get no peace of mind with you by my side
and everybody’s telling me that the devil is a worried mind
and i say why, oh, why
must you hang around my door
when i could lay my body down
and sleep forever more
and why, oh, why
does your love capture me
when i could lay my body down
and drift away to see
death is at my door now, babe, and it’s either heaven or hell
st. peter’s on the telephone, he’s asking me if i am doing well
just who and what the prophets are is getting mighty hard to tell
when the banker is the dealer and he’s asking for your soul to sell
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8. |
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lord i’m walking in the dark
i’ve sunk ten feet down
and i can’t feel anything but water
lord i’m not sleeping now
i’ve sunk ten feet down
and i can’t feel anything but water
lord i’ve prayed at the mission
i’ve read the book
the side door is open
lord i’ve taken the bread
i’ve sat on my knees
i have touched the holy water
why am i alone in the night
i’ve sunk ten feet down
and i can’t feel anything but water
why am i a gatherer of women
who hear not me talking
and leave me to question my being
lord i’m writing what is nothing
i’ve sunk ten feet down
and i can’t feel anything but water
i can’t feel anything but water
i can’t feel anything but water
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9. |
Year Of Good Faith
04:13
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27 is a year of good faith
it’s a ripe and admirable age
it took me all of my life to arrive at this place
i’m feeling calm, and lucid and brave
and it’s a cold end of october
when we awake in the morning together
and the snow falls like down from your torn feathered comforter
and i don’t want to get out of your bed
somebody wants me to be here
i say as i look in the mirror
when a flash from the past casts a shadow on the glass
but my future gets a little bit clearer
you know, janis and jimi and jim
they say they died before their time
well i do not intend to end up like them
i’ve taken that weight off my mind
you can stare up at the sun
you can idolize it’s shine
and it’s true that our sun is a glorious one
but you keep staring, you’re gonna go blind
this world is not as it seems
death is no more than a dream
life is a heartache, a party, a lottery
and no one gets out of it clean
so i’m planting myself some corn
gonna grow some brand new ears
gonna harvest the sounds of some kernels of truth
to get me through the rest of my years
27 is a year of good faith
it’s a stark and remarkable age
it took me all of my life to arrive at this place
i’m feeling calm, and lucid and brave
it took me all of my life to arrive at this place
i’m feeling lively, and lucky and free
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10. |
Streets Of Calgary
04:07
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there’s a bad storm moving in across the prairie sky
the clouds roll like thunder and the lightening splits the night
i’m alone with my memories, the darkness and the pain
the trees are trembling in the wind, i hear the falling rain
oh, sweet maggie lee, do you remember me?
i used to be your sweetheart out by the rolling sea
i came here to this prairie town when the stakes were running high
now the booms gone bust, the works played out, the money’s running dry
every day i walk the banks of the ice fed river bow
to watch the river running east, that’s where i’d like to go
i’ve seen the streets of calgary, i’ve known the prairie sky
i’ve made and lost a fortune since i left and made you cry
and now i wonder why
you said that i should have stayed and we might have settled down
but the western plains they called to me and they took me from your town
now there’s nothing i can do or say to stop this falling rain
but if ever i can find a way, i will hold you once again
every day i walk the banks of the ice fed river bow
to watch the river running east, that’s where i’d like to go
i’ve seen the streets of calgary, i’ve known the prairie sky
i’ve made and lost a fortune since i left and made you cry
and now i wonder why
every day i walk the banks of the ice fed river bow
to watch the river running east, that’s where i’d like to go
i’ve seen the streets of calgary, i’ve known the prairie sky
i’ve made and lost a fortune since i left and made you cry
and now i wonder why
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11. |
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please don’t waste your time on me
we’ll only sit in misery
and watch the clouds as they go by
and watch the flowers grow
well I thought I had me a shinin’ thing
it’s brilliance made my heartstrings sing
but it tarnished like a silver chain
or like a band of gold
and I ain’t the first and I ain’t the last
to watch his time like an hourglass
i’m only waitin’ for that day
when I can climb down in my hole
but I guess I’ll move along again
endure the world, embrace it’s spin
i never have been one to turn
and make my way back home
oh, and I’m not the man that I used to be
livin’ hard’s had it’s way with me
i’m on the outside lookin’ in
california, take my mind again
scatter me in my old backyard
show me somewhere where it ain’t so hard
but let me go when the time is right
i can’t stay here for my whole life
black crows on the wing again
through my window, I let ‘em in
one for every mile I’ve gone
they just keep comin’ on
and when the world returns to ash
i’ll be there to have my laugh
the procession of the noblemen
will pass beyond my view
oh, but I ain’t the man I used to be
livin’ hard’s had it’s way with me
i’m on the outside lookin’ in
california, take my mind again
scatter me in my old backyard
show me somewhere where it ain’t so hard
but let me go when the time is right
i can’t stay here for my whole life
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Zephaniah Stringfield Taos, New Mexico
If you ever get the urge to get in your car and take off without a plan, Zephaniah’s voice is your ideal traveling companion. If your date didn’t show at the bar, and you need the music to become your human connection for the night, he’s got you covered. His songs are the type you can never quite believe you are hearing for the first time, and he made them for you. ... more
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