The Way The World Works

by Galen Curry

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    edition of 127 
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2.
03:41
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4.
04:59
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03:06
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02:23
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11.
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12.
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credits

released 14 July 2012
Galen Curry - vocals, guitar, kazoo
Chris Smith - guitar
Jared Lawson - mandolin
Trixx - bass
James McLaughlin - drums, percussion
Jesse DelGizzi - organ, keys, guitar
Stavros Calos - fiddle
Tess Curry - piano
Mark Maynard - trombone, horn arrangements
Brandon Rose - trumpet
Haywood Giles - saxophone
Engineered and Mixed by James McLaughlin
Mastered by Fred Kevorkian
Design by Kate Ringo
Cover Art by T Sivasubramanian
Sea Creatures by Conrad Gessner

tags

tags: americana folk rock rock singer-songwriter americana curry folk rock rock singer-songwriter songs way the world works Austin

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Track Name: Ghost Song
I was modeled after generals, athletes, doctors, and supermen,
but the oven wasn't hot enough to bake my clay into a final mold,
so the slightest breeze can change my very character,
and a kiss alters my view of the world,

I was formed by inspiration, acclimation, observation, imitation,
like any mortal soul who thinks he's made himself into some kind of man,
but you just can't depend on human calibration,
try to define everything that I am,

So I get stuck in these lives and convince myself that I belong,
but the foundation I build on the truth always seems to be wrong,
then I think about the men I admire and try to be close,
I look back and pretend I lived all the lives that I loved the most,
but now all those lives are the ghost of a ghost of a ghost of a ghost of a ghost

I was raised by wise old patriarchs, mothers, sisters, and brothers,
what they do unto me I try and pass to my friends and my lovers,
but we're so small and confused, we see everything in different colors,
and what good is a golden rule if it don't apply to others,

So I get stuck in these lives and convince myself that I belong,
but the foundation I build on the truth always seems to be wrong,
then I think about the men I admire and try to be close,
I look back and pretend I lived all the lives that I loved the most,
but now all those lives are the ghost of a ghost of a ghost of a ghost of a ghost
Track Name: Virginia
You've been all kinds of places,
you've felt all kinds of joy,
you smiled in San Diego,
I missed you in Detroit,
And all your plans to run away,
to some far exotic land,
they always seemed to make more sense,
the harder you clutched my hands,
and I'm sure in Puerto Rico we'd find things to do,
but it's Virginia where I fell in love with you,

I wish I'd been to Boise,
on some old forgotten quest,
my life would be romantic,
in the wild untamed west,
I'd sing about El Paso,
lose my mind in Santa Cruz,
would've spent some time in prison,
sleeping off the booze,
but with all these lies, know one thing is true,
it's Virginia where I fell in love with you,

And you know I'd follow you anywhere,
it don't matter where you roam,
if you end up in Kentucky,
then Kentucky is my home,
I might just be nostalgic,
have trouble letting go,
but everywhere there's rivers,
and those rivers always flow,
and I'll remember in all these places, as we pass through
it's Virginia where I fell in love with you.
Track Name: Rule of Desire
The sun still rose, the stars still shone,
when two unknown bodies clung to each other just flesh and just bone,

I ain't no sage, I ain't no seer,
I can't tell if the love of my future is something to fear,

And you love who you want to love,
don't ask for my guidance, don't ask for some light from above,
and I,

It seems alright, yeah, the way we feel,
the fact that my mind's an issue, means that it's real,

But before I came, it was you, it was he,
we all got to belong, but I want you to belong to me,

And you love who you want to love,
don't ask for my guidance, don't ask for some light from above,
and I,

Jealousy is a burning fire,
the flames come up, and I'm just a heart for hire,
another blank slate for your perfect face to inspire,
you're never alone, that's the very first rule of desire,

If the passion is real, then that passion is right,
one man's pain is another's unbridled delight,

And it don't affect me you say, not even us,
but it feels like I've been hit by a god damn bus,

And you love who you want to love,
don't ask for my guidance, don't ask for some light from above,
and I,

Jealousy is a burning fire,
the flames come up, and I'm just a heart for hire,
another blank slate for your perfect face to inspire,
you're never alone, that's the very first rule of desire.
Track Name: Brand New Blue
I could live without you, I used to do it all the time,
you know before I met you, you were rarely on my mind,
I could transfer my obsession to a girl roughly your size,
or I could dream up another you, with diamonds in her eyes,
or I could curse your name for hours, from the highest mountaintop,
or I could give my life to the lord, just give him all I've got,

But I think that I'd rather stick around with you,
if it's all the same, lets play it safe for a while or two,
I don't want to discover a brand new blue,
oh cause baby, I've got nothing but love for you,

I could start a business, hire my heart out by phone,
or I could steal all of your pictures and pretend I'm not alone,
or I could just be open, about the way things really are,
girl if you ever left me, there would be no simple scars,
I'd just be a fragile flower, drop my petals to the ground,
i would wilt into oblivion, with a quiet, whimpering sound,
I would lose all of my color, everything just fades away,
I could live without you baby, maybe for a couple days,

Oh but I think that I'd rather stick around with you,
if it's all the same, lets play it safe for a while or two,
I don't want to discover a brand new blue,
oh cause baby, I've got nothing but love for you.
Track Name: The Way The World Works
I don't know.
Track Name: Man in Love With You
It'll never be the case that his attachment to a place was more than homesick, no matter how strong,
But it's sad that the house he was born in, the house he was raised in, ain't where he belongs,
and there's all this movin' round from bigger town to bigger town, maybe prove to your friends that you've grown,
But he couldn't help but think he was balanced on the brink of betraying everything he's loved and known,

Come on now, she said, life's not the tragedy you paint,
and he said, sometimes it's hard to know what you are and what you ain't,

I ain't no lone wolf, I ain't no flock of sheep, I ain't lived long enough to be the me I wanna be,
I ain't no homebody, I ain't no busybody, I ain't met nobody not trying to be somebody,
I ain't no congressional caucus, I ain't no diplodocus,
no, no, no, no, no, no, I'm the man in love with you

It'll never be the case, the revelations that he's made are more than human, no matter how inspired,
But his reality is framed, by the thoughts that bear his name, conducted by a string of fragile golden wire,
And as everything unwinds, reveals the limits of his mind, he hopes that golden wire will carry something more,
so he hears thoughts, and reads thoughts, and makes thoughts, and has the thought, maybe everything he's thought's been thought before,

Come on now, she said, life's not the tragedy you paint,
and he said, sometimes it's hard to know what you are and what you ain't,

I ain't no lone wolf, I ain't no flock of sheep, I ain't lived long enough to be the me I wanna be,
I ain't no homebody, I ain't no busybody, I ain't met nobody not trying to be somebody,
I ain't no congressional caucus, I ain't no diplodocus,
no, no, no, no, no, no, I'm the man in love with you

I ain't no space traveler, I ain't no waste of space, I ain't seen nothing like the sunlight across your face,
I ain't no placeholder, I ain't no bookend, no no no no no no, I'm the man in love with you.
Track Name: Auburn Hair
There's a map I saw, used to show me the way,
the roads forked out towards the beautiful gray,
but the signs were moved, not they're not pointing straight,
and the paths seem childish, and way out of date,
and my sight grows dim from all the wear,
so I hide my eyes in your auburn hair,

There's a bird I knew, used to live round here,
He'd crawl out of my mouth, fly into my ear,
and deep in me, he'd find a soul,
he'd parade it around, let it all unroll,
and I try to call, but the bird's not there,
so I make a nest from your auburn hair,

There's a heart that beat, but love drips away,
from a little hole, in a little vein,
desire, lust, and love's deceit,
collect in a puddle at my feet,
and I can't ignore the smallest tear,
so I stitch it up, with your auburn hair,

There's a life I had, some meaning I'd amassed,
now I'm standing still, as the world spins past,
the bed keeps me under, I'm going nowhere soon,
so all my mornings are afternoon,
but I have no reason to be anywhere,
so I get lost in your auburn hair.
Track Name: Last Man Alive
I spent all this time memorizing your face,
the wrinkles and lines only I could retrace,
the contours and imprints that meant only you,
I tried to remember, retain the whole truth,
but life it gets messy, unruly, unkind,
and it didn't make much difference,
when I was the last man alive,

Things they weren't easy, but I can't complain,
I could be happy between all the pain,
and looking back now, the whole thing in review,
I'd always be grinning, when I thought of you,
but life it gets messy, unruly, unkind,
and I didn't smile all that much,
when I was the last man alive,

I saved all my money, I read lots of books,
three meals a day, and perfected my look,
I did twenty push-ups, I ran twenty miles,
I tried to be perfect, make it all worthwhile,
but life it gets messy, unruly, unkind,
and I felt like I'd wasted all my time,
when I was the last man alive,

Even now I don't know if I did it all right,
loving you here with all of my might,
thinking some day I'd have you, further down the line,
when it wouldn't just be dreams, when you were all mine,
but life it gets messy, unruly, unkind,
I wish things worked out like they did in my mind,
I wish I'd acted, while I still had the time,
but my wishes weighed the same,
as when I was the last man alive.
Track Name: Marlena
Marlena, marlena, my eyes are getting red,
I'm wide awake in bed,
can't make my way into the world of dreams,
but it's not because of all those tears you made me cry,
I just forgot how to fall asleep without you by my side,

Marlena, marlena, my knees are getting brown,
I'm crawling on the ground,
I'm living with the spiders and the worms,
I didn't choose this over cars and trains, I'd rather jog or fly,
I just forgot how to stand up straight without you by my side,

Marlena, marlena,
Marlena, marlena,

Marlena, marlena, my face is getting blue,
my time is almost through,
I'm wheezing, coughing, spitting all around,
but my passages are clear, my dear, my mouth is open wide,
I just forgot how to catch my breath without you by my side,

Marlena, marlena, I'm staring in the black,
are you ever coming back,
am I stuck here feeling useless all the time,
I'm not embarrassed or heartbroke, it's not stupid macho pride,
I just forgot how to live my life without you by my side,

Marlena, marlena,
Marlena, marlena,
I just forgot how to live my life without you by my side.
Track Name: That's My Girl
She's got a face that smiles, she's got hips for miles,
she's got a thrift store rewards card, a cigarette style,
she's got some feet that move, she's got high-top shoes,
she's got a thorough understanding of the kama sutra,

She's got gills to breathe, still makes time for me,
when she's hanging with the submariner under the sea,
she's got golden arms, keeps me safe from harm,
she's a stay at home business chick with voodoo charms,

She flies but never leaves the ground,
she always up, unless she's down
if there's anything she wants to do, she says,
come on baby, lets give it a whirl,
that's my girl,

She's got the grace of a swan, knows how to allemande,
yeah, she'll school you on the dance floor, but look withdrawn,
she's got a mind like glue, adamantium views,
she shows the doers how to do when she doo-bop-dee-doos,

She's got a voice that's clear, she's always so sincere,
she's got Stephen Fry diction, up for girl of the year,
she's got her eyes on the skies, don't need no horoscope guy,
she's got her own constellations, Leo need not apply,

She flies but never leaves the ground,
she always up, unless she's down
if there's anything she wants to do, she says,
come on baby, lets give it a whirl,
that's my girl.
Track Name: Cocoon Arms
No rearing rules to read, recite,
your cocoon arms held us tight,
no need to forge expensive lies,
to prove that you are kind and wise,
you're like Coltrane as you improvise,
under the gaze of your loving eyes,
we came bursting out like butterflies,
bursting out like butterflies,

It's imperfect, it's innocent,
it's a burden you always accept,
it's fragile and it's delicate,
but not hard to say cause it's definite,
we love you,

When trumpets smile, you hear their sounds,
and flowers pop up from the ground,
but I feel mute I must confess,
at times I feel emotionless,
unable to show or express,
the beauty of your pure success,
in helping life and love to coalesce,
life and love they coalesce,

It's imperfect, it's innocent,
it's a burden you always accept,
it's fragile and it's delicate,
but not hard to say cause it's definite,
we love you,

So when the fog is feeling thick,
we're lonely, tired, and homesick,
I hope that we will all insist,
it's too hard fighting through the mist,
we can all move back and coexist,
I'll get all our stuff, I'll make a list,
we can share it all like communists,
share it all like communists,

It's imperfect, it's innocent,
it's a burden you always accept,
it's fragile and it's delicate,
but not hard to say cause it's definite,
we love you.