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Demos {dee​-​mos}

by Greg Zoller

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1.
[some people wanna fill the world with silly love songs...] Bright-eyed sunbeam Tripped over Gulf Stream Nervous he would pale and whither when he met up with you So away he flew But he took a tale of you up to the moon Timid moonlight Waits for the nighttime Peeps her little head through the clouds, just a-thinkin’ she might Catch a little sight Of what the sunbeam told her of that night But it was so much more than words could say So all the earth stood still that day With your sun-bright hips and your moonlight lips And your wind-swept words and your sap-sweet kiss They just wanted for you to know Then soft-lipped north winds Whisper on by, then Stop right there in their tracks to make a southward bend Just to see you again Cuz you were so much more than the moonlight described to them Trembling trees Get caught in the breeze And scratch upon my window, relentless, till I beg them to cease And just tell me, please But it’s only words of you that they release But it was so much more than words could say So all the earth stood still that day With your sun-bright hips and your moonlight lips And your wind-swept words and your sap-sweet kiss They just wanted for you to know And then you come and sit down with me Right beneath your window pane And tell me ‘bout your vacuum heart Those six whole years you spent Living alone, oh Living alone Now night is calling Stars are falling Earth is stalling, stalling Yes, it’s stalling for you Stalling for you
2.
Well, I had to close my eyes Before his boot heel hit my head Placed an ace upon my face And he left me there for dead One that that was certain In that one-horse town called Braede Everyone and their son knew That Ace Williams, he was bad He drank his gin all by the bin But not once did he pay Everyone despised his ass But you knew you couldn’t say Your daughters and your sons You’d better hide them all away You best look out, you better run Cuz Ace Williams, he’s about today Ace Williams, where did you come from? Didn’t your mama tell you back when you was young: Ace Williams, don’t you act that way Or else your devil will come down and take you away Once day old Cal Wilson, sheriff of the next-door town Walked in the bar and yelled out hard, "Oh Ace, I’m gonna shoot you down!" Ace, he didn’t flinch He just glanced over toward the door And said, "Old man, let’s step outside and I’ll give you what you’re lookin’ for." Out there on the street side With their eyes a-burning red Ace and Cal, they danced around As we all looked on in dread Ace took out his pistol At the same time so did Cal Two shots rang out, I heard a shout And Ace Williams, he hit the ground Ace Williams, where did you come from? Didn’t your mama tell you back when you was young: Ace Williams, don’t you act that way Or else your devil will come down and take you away
3.
Though we’ve traipsed these three-thousand And five-hundred miles We still don’t know our way The sign on the door Says it leads up to heaven But would it for sure, no one can say Now we’ve grown so old and set our feet up for the night The dark’ning sky Casts a sinister shadow and everything in it is draped Our thoughts extracted from our minds in the pale moonlight To let them dry Letting all we desire run free as a convict escaped Feel the madness rush in And get lost in the din As control fades fast away And the wind-beaten walls Of your conscience will fall To the storm clouds thick and gray “You know dreams reflect an external reality,” Your lover said As he slipped deep down into new Quaalude-induced euphorias, Causing castles to crash, raising choirs from the depths of his malady Just to paint them red Like a drunken new Ares creating a world he thought glorious Something’s creeping slowly up inside The straights, they skew, the yellows blue A cry We try To hide We're fine
4.
[fun with alliteration :) ] A ring around a mouth Ripe-red as roses writ in gardens in the springtime Set so softly in the soil A breath beats barely b’neath a breast Bends a breeze into the bedroom air, the dust drawn up Drops gently ‘pon her pillow, poor sweet soul A light, it leaks, a lurking figure, Fingers frozen firm in fist upon a saber Feet a-flutter on the floor As the tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock Of time turns ever more Hear the click, clack, click, clack, click, clack Of boots against the floor And just sit back, relax, know that There’s nothing you can do With a hunched back, coat black, Old Jack He’s coming for you, too. Oh…. A hunch, a hand held high Heading hurriedly towards the tender tresses, dagger turning Glint of steel that splits the night A scream strips silence of its sound Coming to a crisp crescendo, cresting climax As her corneas crack open in a fright As the tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock Of time turns ever more Hear the click, clack, click, clack, click, clack Of boots against the floor And just sit back, relax, know that There’s nothing you can do With a hunched back, coat black, Old Jack He’s coming for you, too. Oh….
5.
After the progress of a score and one centuries We distrust the right friends and we fear the right enemies They say that we’re fighting for noble ideals and for hope, but Listen in close and together we’ll see That we simply cannot go on like this But this is not the worst that it could ever be An emptied-out cartridge, a grenade that’s missing its pin Can quell any dissent and all forms of argument win But out there it’s cold and it’s dark, and there’s thunder and lightning So we’ll all seek asylum in this beautiful state we are in Him – is it him that we’ve been searching for? Or is it everyone that we can see? See the broken old desks all marked up with the last legs of patience As the eager young learners all snored through the wisdom of ages The empty dark schoolhouse is buried in layers of dust now And the stale yellowed chalkboard’s all stained with the musings of ancients Sense – is it sense that we’ve forgotten now? How didn’t we notice this before? Here the roads are all faded with plastecine shadings of dye And the things that we hear are all jaded and riddled with lies Could the words that we say even hope to have slightest of impact On their crooked old ways, or their twisted-up phrasings untie? I just wanted to make us see That we have the power to make us free
6.
[wrote these lyrics while in a Decemberists phase (thus the tragedy/darkness)] What’s there left now to say? I was always my best with you near As if my right arm – perfect fit, Quite the match for its mate It was clear Dream not back on the days We traded sweet nothings 'twixt our ears Oh, but it’s all for the best, Passing out of that phase After years Now come, I’ll throw you away I’ll destroy everything you hold dear With my right arm, as the left Makes a loop ‘round your waist To keep you here Then let me hear you call my name You’ll meet your fate, you shan’t escape It’s clear Those tears draw me near, oh… Ya da da…. Drift deep down, Desiree First you thought there was no cause for tears Then my right arm right arrested Your shock-stricken face Full of fear That look of shock fades away As your body, snow-white through the clear Water so warm, touches ground As the waves seal your fate With a leer Singing la da da… One last debt left to pay I shall come down to meet you, my dear See my right arm reaching out In the depths of the lake Do you hear As I dare to call your name? We’ve meet your fate, we shan’t escape It’s clear Those tears draw me near, oh… Ya da da…. Now I’ve license to say Without hint of humor or cheer Despite my right arm, always thought you A lady first-rate Without peer
7.
You say that you’re sorry, but you’re not You say not to worry and it will be okay Well, is that so? Remember the times we yelled and fought I’ve heard it before and all that I have to say Is you gotta go We can’t get out of this now, cuz it’s far too late I really don’t understand how you sealed my fate But you don’t know It takes its toll But it’s all so strange Cuz if we don’t Then I would never be the same I’m walkin along the empty street I light up a smoke and I think I hear your name You just won’t erase I can’t look at anyone I see A million strong, oh, but they all look the same All I can see is your face We can’t get out of this now, cuz it’s far too late I really don’t understand how you sealed my fate But you don’t know It takes its toll But it’s all so strange Cuz if we don’t Then I would never be the same So what do I do now but go back To the only thing that I know, oh it ain’t perfect But well you know It’s all I got, though it’s out of whack You’ve stolen my heart but you haven’t earned it yet But here I go We can’t get out of this now, cuz it’s far too late I really don’t understand how you sealed my fate But you don’t know It takes its toll But it’s all so strange Cuz if we don’t Then I would never be the same
8.
Know yourself and nothing in excess That’s what the oracle said But all you want’s to drink into a stupor state From now till we’re dead Until we’re dead What a funny pair we are On two diverging pathways we tread I agonize o’er every word You say things off the top of your head The top of your head And when you say it doesn’t bother you I know that that means nothing at all And when you tell me that you’re doing fine I know you’re really riding for a fall Cuz with everything you say You’re like a mockingbird who sings Your lips, they move, the words, they sound But it all means nothing Cuz you don’t care, you don’t care You don’t even care to tell me You know that I’m the silent type And you’re as chatty as can be And nothing we could say or do could alter that Just take it from me Take it from me Would that we could change our ways As eas’ly as the morning breeze But no matter how much they’d want to The rocks can never turn into trees Turn into trees Cuz when you say it doesn’t bother you I know that that means nothing at all And when you tell me that you’re doing fine I know you’re really riding for a fall Cuz with everything you say You’re like a mockingbird who sings Your lips, they move, the words, they sound But it all means nothing Cuz you don’t care, you don’t care You don’t even care to tell me One thing you might tell me Is there even any chance That we could ever be Or is it all about the dance? Spinning circles ‘round the room We go sashaying down the line You have to let me know If this is just a waste of time Cuz when you say it doesn’t bother you I know that that means nothing at all And when you tell me that you’re doing fine I know you’re really riding for a fall Cuz with everything you say You’re like a mockingbird who sings Your lips, they move, the words, they sound But it all means nothing Cuz you don’t care, you don’t care You don’t even care to tell me
9.
Would you like it if I sang you a song? It won’t take long But when I stop, would I just fade away To a shadow on your wall? And you’d say nothing to me at all Until the next time I’d sing you a song Would you like it if I wrote you a speech About how much you mean to me? Would your cheeks blush As you’d sit close and hug your knees? But then you’d up and leave Until the next time I’d write you a speech Would you like it if I made you a gift myself With paint and glue and sticks? Would your eyes glow And a smile touch your lips? Or would you forget about it Until the next time I’d make you a gift? Would you like it if I bought you Some cookie-cut consumeristic fare Out of a gross misconception of what it means to care? Would you hug it? Would you kiss it? When you’re gone, would you miss it? Or would you recognize it’s all bullshit?
10.
[a lullaby for my nephew] Miracle, so new to life Raise your head and see our eyes They’re watching over you at night Then lay your head on the pillow soft And let it steal the thoughts That bothered you when you were not Feeling at home Tired eyes Tired hands and tired feet Shove off, my friend, to meet The sandman in the sea of dreams If you feel afraid, all that’s to do Is to think of us with you And know that nighttime’s nothing new So close your eyes and breathe the sweet Air upon the sea of dreams You’ll see the world so fresh and clean When the sun breaks Tired eyes Tired hands and tired feet Shove off, my friend, to meet The sandman in the sea of dreams (humming) Tired eyes Tired hands and tired feet Shove off, my friend, to meet The sandman in the sea of dreams

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Just some rough demo recordings. Maybe I'll make a 'real' album soon (i.e. in the next several months) when I have time/energy/resources to make one, and if there's interest! Who knows?

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released February 28, 2012

All songs written and recorded by Greg Zoller.

Big thank yous to: all friends & family for being supportive, encouraging, and inspirational, and to Rohs Street Cafe for fostering creativity in all us Cincinnatians! Also to Adam for use of the recording device.

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Greg Zoller Cincinnati, Ohio

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