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Americayana

by Aaron Rester

/
1.
Nights on the farm You try to stay warm hold tight to his arms and pray for a son It's good to be king Not so much to be queen who can't give him a child to carry on his name Two years since the day He brought you to stay White dress in your trunk Silence on the train He's a man of few words but he treats you good keeps you well-fed and a roof overhead So you go to the priest and fall on your knees begging him please why won't God help me? He smiles a sad smile Says stand up my child, faith can take you far but not the last couple miles He don't always play nice But even God has a price he can bring you your son for a small sacrifice and on the day that he's born and the last breath leaves your lungs you'll go up to meet him with your journey all done
2.
Got to Go 03:57
That boy was born under a bad sign he gives this town the creeps strange things keep happening when in those tongues he speaks He got to go... Some say that he's touched by God some say he's devil-bound I don't give a damn which one, I don't want either one around He got to go... His father is a good man His mother God rest her soul But let him peddle this revival act further on down the road He got to go... It's a great, big old world I'm sure he'll find his way And if he lives to tell the tale Maybe he'll be back some day But he got to go...
3.
Left 'em rolling in the aisles in Standing Rock stood 'em back up in Falling Creek They ran me out on a rail from Peaceful Pines I thought my goose was cooked in Kettle Falls The mayor gave me the key to Devil's Gate in Angel's Grove I cursed them all Some may say that I'm a holy man Mostly I just feel full of holes my heart needed mending until I met you in a little town called Broken Bow The nights are long in Day's Corner Got a sunburn in Evening Shade Nearly died of thirst in Whiskey Ford Almost drowned in Dry Tavern, PA Couldn't hear a thing in Silent Springs Lost my voice up in Nightingale Thought I might settle down in Ramble Hills Busted out of the Liberty Fork jail Some may say that I'm a holy man Mostly I just feel full of holes my heart needed mending until I met you in a little town called Broken Bow Some say that I'm a holy man But sometimes I just don't know But I found my salvation when I found you in a little town called Broken Bow
4.
Adelene 03:04
Adelene, they don't like you down in Abilene Ask for water give you gasoline, oh Adelene oh why? Adelene, making out in the mezzanine, they'll break your heart and make a scene, oh Adelene, oh why? Adelene, been there and done benzedrine nothing dirtier than getting clean, oh Adelene, oh why? Adelene, staring down the barrel of a magazine, stopped living at seventeen, oh Adelene, oh why? The preacher man, he don't understand this town just can't be kind The preacher man, he took your hand He's a braver man than I... Adelene, oh why?
5.
The preacher man left me bleeding in the alley behind this bar. Maybe I had it coming, but he didn’t have to take it this far. The preacher man left me bleeding, and yes, I was shaking down his friend. But my life leaking through my fingers ain’t how this all had to end. A bullet in the back from a holy man’s gun ain’t how I thought the man on the cross would have done. Lay me down in the potter’s ground. I swear all I wanted was his money, I wasn’t gonna hurt no one. We all could have walked away now all I can do is pray that the end of these days gonna come. A man has got to make a living, whether it’s right or wrong. To put food on the table for his children, he’ll even sing the devil’s song. Lay me down in the potter’s ground.
6.
Shirley 03:20
Shirley slings hash at a diner 30 miles south of nowhere. She purrs as she greets every man that she meets, you know Shirley likes her meat to be rare. Shirley’s used to getting what she wants, in love, all-out war is fair. I think she used to be quite the beauty, now I think her prey is just scared. I know you got a woman, but Shirley she surely don’t care. I’m not saying she’s a maneater, but boy you better beware. Well Shirley, she’s gonna get you, Shirley is sharpening her claws. And it’s coffee she pours, while right through the doors, her next meal walks straight into her jaws. Wells dry up when she’s walking by, and the birds they stop their songs. The dogs start to howl with the foam on their jowls, she likes to put her nose where it doesn’t belong. Shirley’s gone down to Houston, you know she’s got a brother down there. They say he’s got connections to the Outfit, you can ask him yourself if you dare.
7.
Who you been lovin’g since I’'ve been gone? A long tall man with a red coat on Good-for-nothing baby, you doin’g me wrong Who you been lovin’g since I’'ve been gone? Who’'s been playin’g around with you? A real cool cat with eyes of blue Triflin’g baby, are you bein’g true? Who’'s been foolin’g around with you? Somebody saw you at the break of day Dining and dancin’g at the cabaret He was long and tall, he had plenty of cash He had a red Cadillac and a black mustache He held your hand and he sang you a song Who you been lovin’g since I’'ve been gone?
8.
I know I told you to go But I really wanted you to stay Stupid to make you prove what I already knew You love me enough to go away Daddy was a rich man in a poor town Mama taught me everything I know I left them all behind so many years ago To follow you out on the road You were so beautiful back then Like an angel who had lost his wings And when you held me close there was no such thing As original sin Our love used to burn so bright, Now it just burns I never complained about my lot in life But I got something to confess It was never easy being your wife Best intentions make an awful mess On that day I picked a fight Another hint you never heard I yelled at you to leave, I was feeling the wine You left without saying a word When that man came to the door Selling his bibles and knives I wasn't myself, he could have been anyone else I let him take me for a drive Our love used to burn so bright, Now it just burns It was already light when I came home With a scar I'd never show You turned around when you heard the sound Your eyes were smoldering like coals
9.
Dreamland 05:20
Dreams are just smoke and when there’s smoke there’s fire and Dreamland is burning tonight where the electric lights danced like sparks on a wire Dreamland is burning tonight on the edge of a beach on the edge of the world Dreamland is burning tonight where the Alligator Boy loved a Lilliputian girl Dreamland is burning tonight it’s hard to sleep with a fever your dreams get all twisted and bright and waking up just never feels right and Dreamland is burning tonight Sober Sir Ed never did smile and Dreamland is burning tonight But he loved his wife so he wed her ashes when she died Dreamland is burning tonight There goes One-Armed Captain Jack attacked by his cats Dreamland is burning tonight You can’t close some gates once they’re open wide Dreamland is burning tonight You could shoot-the-chutes from great heights and the boxes of babies, such a sight and the city of white shone so bright but Dreamland is burning tonight
10.
In the End 04:36
In the end You’re gonna leave me Lie to and deceive me In the end In the end Someday I’ll stop wanting Your ghost will stop haunting me In the end In the end You’ll leave my heart broken Burnt, smoldering, and smoking In the end But maybe just for now I can believe That you belong to me And you won’t let me down In the end Someday I’ll stop wanting Your ghost will stop haunting me In the end In the end I’ll do it all over And I’ll love another In the end

credits

released August 1, 2017

All songs written and performed by Aaron Rester, except: track 7, written by Willie Bea Thompson & Lilian May; tracks 8 & 10, music by Aaron Rester & Erin Fusco.

Additional musicians: Will Anderson, trumpet on track 9; Sarah Blick, fiddle on track 3; Kate Krajci, vocals on tracks 8 and 10.

More info, including sample sources, at americayana.com.

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Aaron Rester Chicago, Illinois

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