Get all 9 Laura Meyer releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of 2020, RISE UP!, Close to Home, Golden Delicious, Been Here Before, Miles From Nowhere, Roadwork EP, Boys & Eros, and 1 more.
1. |
Just A Thumb Blues
04:15
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Winter in the city is a bullet in the gun
Nothing makes the barrel spin like being locked out of love
My heart’s as numb as winter fingers missing gloves
’Cause in the mitten of your world, babe, I am just a thumb
You could never fit me in, but you found room for her
Said I deserved better, but better is nothin’ but a word
Like the sun I tried to melt my way into your love
But in the mitten of your world, babe, I remain a thumb
With knuckles white like the light that shines off the snow
I pull my sleeves over my skin, tough and leathered from the cold
It’s no consolation that warmer weather will come
’Cause I’m a victim of your cool babe; to you I’m just a thumb
© Laura Meyer, 2007
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2. |
U
02:17
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U, U, U, U, U
Aren’t there any other letters that are left?
Of all the ones that I could use, U is still the one I choose
Cause U, U, U, U, U – you are the best
U, U, U, U, U
You flow so freely as I sit here at my desk
It’s as easy as ABC, but a little more like LUV
When U, U, U, U, U – you’re in my head
U, you are my favorite syllable
Without U “pleasure” is impossible
Some say it’s just a silly phase
But “you and I” is my favorite phrase
True, True, True, True, True
I truly mean each of these words that I have said
Before your name had reached my tongue I already knew you were the one
Oh U, U, U, U, U – you’re my whole alphabet
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3. |
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I watch a drop of water
Cling to the faucet
And immediately my thoughts flow to you
I poke it with my toe
And away it goes
Like a dream without hope of coming true
With a twist of my foot
I turn the water back on
To rinse away the chill and refill with hot
And as it rushes out
I am burned by the spout
Like a dream that’s turned bitter with misuse
By now most the bubbles
Have fizzled into puddles
Hissing as they melt out of view
And my dizzy head
Thinks only of bed
Like a dream I’m too tired to pursue
I pull out the plug
And stay in the tub
Until it’s drained the whole way through
But still there’s a drop
Caught at the faucet
Like a dream that will not be refused
I leave it alone
In honor of my hope
As I reach for a towel, worn and blue
I tried my best
To wash you out of my head
But I guess I’m still dreaming about you…
Now nice and clean
I crawl into my sheets
My wet hair smells of shampoo
And as it soaks my pillow
I think only of my fellow
Yes, tonight I’m gonna dream about you
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4. |
Gray Again
02:36
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I blow on the coals and they glow
This is how it’s always been
I lose my breath to keep the fire going…
When I stop they become gray again
When I stopped to catch my breath
You weren’t there to tend the fire
Now it has gone out
You let it die
Love is a fire that must be tended
It goes out or it grows violent
We burned through all we had to keep us ablaze
And now for us it’s too late
You kneel before this smoldered ash
In disbelief you call me back
But there’s nothing left to feed the flame
And if there were it wouldn’t catch
Love is a fire that must be tended
It goes out or it grows violent
You neglected my heart and now nothing remains
Except a pile of soot, cold and gray
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5. |
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I thought I'd fall out the window of the plane
If it tried to turn too tight
I thought I'd grow a tree in my belly
If a seed got stuck inside
I thought the alligators would eat my feet
If they hung off the bed at night
I thought a monster would come to steal me
If I didn't leave on a light
Amazingly, I thought I could love you
And still be all right
Should've known
From all those bedtime stories I read
You were the wolf in sheep's clothing
And I was the little pig
Now I am a woman
Though I still feel so much like a child
Especially when I think of
All those times spent by your side
Amazingly, I thought I could love you
And still be all right
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6. |
Buckets of Words
03:40
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Buckets of water, I can't catch my breath
Buckets of words and nothing’s been said
Buckets of water, I can't catch my breath
Buckets of words flooding my head
You lie in bed and tell the truth in the morning
I know you too well to fall for your bedtime stories
But Sunday morning comes sooner than expected
And you are not the person I remembered
I’d like to evaporate your words
And lock them in the clouds
I’d rather suffer in your overcast
Than have them come crashing down
In this case, I choose drought
This morning I shredded every letter you ever sent me
My head was as muddy as your words were empty
The machine sank its teeth into each of my mixed feelings
To see it eat the words you wouldn’t was healing
I’d like to evaporate your words
And lock them in the clouds
I’d rather suffer in your overcast
Than have them come crashing down
In this case, I choose drought
Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink
Words, words, everywhere and I can’t hear myself think
I’d like to evaporate your words
And lock them in the clouds
I’d rather suffer in your overcast
Than have them come crashing down
In this case, I choose drought
Buckets of water, I cannot catch my breath
Buckets of words and nothing’s been said
Buckets of water, I cannot catch my breath
Buckets of words flooding my head
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7. |
The Rain Is Gone
04:55
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He was like an earthquake
And she was like the rain
Every hole that he made
She would fill up again
He made his share of mistakes
And every time she forgave him
Until the day finally came
When there was nothing left worth saving
She said, “I’m no longer coming down from these clouds”
Of course he didn’t expect
The sudden change of events
He had seen the forecast
It was supposed to rain again
But this time the predictions were wrong
He woke up one morning and found the rain gone
You were not a bad man
But you tried to keep me captive
After all that happened
I can’t afford any more sadness
So I’m no longer coming down from these clouds
Because this time your predictions are wrong
You’ll wake up one morning and find the rain gone
Yeah, one day you’ll wake up and notice the rain is gone
You can keep on breaking, there’s no use waiting for her song
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8. |
Nothing's For Free
02:17
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He asked what I was doing later
Then said, “Dinner’s on me”
But I know every worm has a hook
Every hook has a string
So I paid for my drink
And before he could catch me
I swam to the safety of the street
And hailed a taxi
I ride the tide downtown
The lights coming crashing
Loneliness sure is expensive
But so is anything that’s worth having
’Cause nothing’s for free
Nothing’s for free
Nothing’s for free
So I keep getting a whole lot of nothing for free
Nothing’s for free
Nothing’s for free
So I keep getting a whole lot of nothing for free
Everything comes with a price
Whether it’s money, morals, or time
So I do my best to travel light
But empty bags don’t carry themselves
And it’s hard to get mad at someone else
When all that you have or haven’t
Is because of yourself
Nothing’s for free
Nothing’s for free
So I keep getting a whole lot of nothing for free
Nothing’s for free
Nothing’s for free
So I keep getting a whole lot of nothing for free
Everything comes with a price…
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9. |
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First time I saw you
I saw our history
Spread out before us
Waiting like a summer heat
I was like dry leaves
And you struck a match
Stuck out your right hand
Just to see me catch
Fire in the heart sends smoke into the head
I meant to fall in love, but fell apart instead
Now I am crawling
So afraid I'll choke
Can't find an exit
Through the thick black smoke
I hear a siren
Come to rescue me
They better hurry
’Cause I am growing weak
Fire in the heart sends smoke into the head
I meant to fall in love, but fell apart instead
And this sweltering heat
Is too much to take
I gave you my heart
And you made it break
I know I'll make it
Because it's always worse
Before it's better
And now the smoke's dispersed
And ’though I’ve suffered
From your arson
If you leave now
I will grant you pardon
But this sweltering heat
Is too much to take
I gave you my heart
And I will make you pay
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10. |
Headed for a Waterfall
02:01
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We both can see it coming
But we do nothing to change our course
This ain't some little detour, but a
Killing wind blowing in from the North
Morbid fascination
Is something that I will admit
How long can you tread water
Before the water welcomes you in?
You and I, honey,
We're clinging so tightly to this log
It's all that's holding us together
And we're headed towards a waterfall
Neither of us wants to be
The first to swim away
So we're caught in this stand-off
Afraid of confrontation
Well I can't hold on much longer
I'm beginning to freeze
The rumble's becoming louder
And the tide is picking up speed
You and I, honey,
We're clinging so tightly to this log
It's all that's holding us together
And we're headed towards a waterfall
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11. |
Single Red Pink
02:13
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I don’t want you to simply play the part
I want you to surrender your whole heart
And there isn’t really that much I can do
To make every dream come true
I don’t want to spend my life in waiting
Life’s too short and waiting’s too frustrating
So let me hear those words from you
To make every dream come true
If I can hold on tightly
To the faith that’s inside me
I know we’ll be okay
There’s no doubt of our love
The end is unheard of
For fate can fade away
I don’t want to make your own decisions
But I can’t live with a mere vision
You have no intention of seeing through
To make every dream come true
If I can hold on tightly
To the faith that’s inside me
I know we’ll be okay
There’s no doubt of our love
The end is unheard of
For fate can fade away
All I want is what you can offer me
You add breath to every fantasy
And I know that all I need is you
To make every dream come true
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12. |
Subway Lover
02:21
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13. |
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He brought me lilacs in a jar
I placed them by the window’s light
But lilacs don’t last very long
And he said he was leaving before they’d even died
There ain’t nothing good ’bout goodbye
His words sank in slow and deep
Pressed against my head like hands in the wet cement
Before they dried I had no time
To pretend I didn’t know what he meant
There ain’t nothing good ’bout goodbye
Just as earth becomes dirt, love becomes hurt
As soon as you let it inside
I sweep the floor and strip the sheets
But now I can’t see the bed without seeing sides
My feet are like ice and my tears are the mice
That gnaw all around the pipes to get in from outside
’Cause like the reflection of light on a wet road at night
You are always on my mind
And there ain’t nothing good ’bout goodbye
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14. |
The Road
02:59
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The sky is a lid on my soul
As it simmers quietly on the stove
And deep in the reefs of my ocean bones
I feel the stir of The Road
The steam begins to leak
My old man turns down the heat
But the fire leaps under a cloud of smoke
Like the hot wild dust of The Road
For every heavy foot it holds
It’s led me on every life I’ve known
There’s no denying The Road that I rely on
Is what makes a place a home
He takes my hand in his two
Like a treasure that he knows he’s ’bout to lose
And then I ride that wave like a homesick ghost
To my one true love, The Road
And it lives at the tip of my pen
Like the finger knows the number of a friend
By the shape of the dial more than the digits alone
Every letter I write brings me back to The Road
For every heavy foot it holds
It’s led me on every life I’ve known
There’s no denying The Road that I rely on
Is what makes a place a home
Yes, the highs are high and the lows are low
And they’re united by The Road
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15. |
Atlantis (Bonus Track)
02:58
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A rising tide doesn’t raise all boats
Only those that are able to float
The ones with the holes stay scattered ashore
And wait for the waves to take away their boards
Getting ahead isn’t even a thought
When the treading of death keeps getting harder
And you’re doing everything you can
To keep your head above the water
The dream is what keeps us afloat
When the bottom drops out of our boat
The waters are rising higher and higher
And my arms and legs have grown tired
Atlantis sank into the ocean
In a “single day and night of misfortune.”
America stands at the edge of the sea
Searching the waves for signs of steam
If you launch too many ships
Towards other people’s shores
You can wash the blood from your hands
But that will not win the war
Golden City of the Sun
Faced with the wrath of Poseidon
If America is the new Atlantis
It’s because everyone deserves a second chance
The land takes care of her children
You just gotta get out there and start swimming
If America is the new Atlantis
It’s because everyone deserves a second chance
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Laura Meyer Chicago, Illinois
I’m a writer and musician working in experimental memoir and sound at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where I tutor and assistant teach. Previously I toured internationally for over ten years, collecting and curating experiences, melodies, language, characters, and sounds from the natural world. ... more
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