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. |
Katrina, Katrina
02:04
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2. |
Miles From Nowhere
02:18
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MILES FROM NOWHERE
50 miles from water
40 miles from wood
30 miles from nowhere
And I gone there for good
A bird in a cage ain’t a bird at all
It sure ain’t safe to breathe in all this smog
You can stay in your city
You can have your sirens
You can keep your bright lights
Just leave me out in the sky
A bird in a cage ain’t a bird at all
A girl’s gotta fly where a man must fall
I know you tried to love me
And I know you thought you did
But I know a heart’s not a locket
On a chain around the neck
A bird in a cage ain’t a bird at all
A girl can’t be blamed for what is not her fault
No, a bird in a cage ain’t a bird at all
Now watch me fly - I’m gotta sing my song
50 miles from water
40 miles from wood
30 miles from nowhere
And I gone there for good
© Laura Katherine Meyer, November 2008
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3. |
Used To Be
02:24
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4. |
Flying V
03:47
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FLYING V
There’s a flying v passing overhead
I wish I knew where it went
The sleeping fields wear frost in stripes
And my spirit longs to fly
There’s a flying V passing overhead
The leaves are gold and red
The branches burn across the sky
Even the trees yearn to fly
From the beach I see both land and sea
But I belong to neither
I breathe the freezing air inside
And try to bring the sky to me
I wish I had feathers of my own
And a flock with which to fly and find my way home
There’s a flying V passing overhead
Slow like frozen breath
I watch mine rise like a cloud with my eyes
They are blue because I cannot fly
I wish I had feathers of my own
A flock with which to fly and find my way home
I wish I had feathers of my own
A flock with which to fly and find my way home
There was a flying V passing overhead
I do not know where it went
The waves below spray hopeful and high
But even the ocean knows it cannot fly
I wish I had feathers of my own
And a flock with which to fly and find my way home
But this flying V high above me
Is as close as I go to getting free
© Laura Katherine Meyer, January 2009
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5. |
Back in New York
03:42
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BACK IN NEW YORK
In the high, dry desert, the last night of spring
The sky falls quiet to hear him sing
The air is thin; the dust is thick
His eyes hold the water that I long to drink
His song is as silver as the solstice moon
It spins me dizzy with altitude
Like snow on the mountains flows over me cool
Our love is a flower starting to bloom
He comes from the East; I come from the West
We meet in the valley of my chest
My heart softens where his head rests
As subtle as thought; as tender as breath
He sings of subways and city skylines
But tonight the only lights are the stars above Telluride
All that’s below is the stream so serpentine
Our love is the apple that I want to bite
Instrumental
The birds are stirring with wordless songs
Soon the day will have to respond
The full moon will fade, but she won’t be gone
She’ll wait undercover like a kiss on the palm
His bags are packed; they sit by the door
The weathervane is pointing North
But the fire is strong; the house is warm
And our love is shining Back in New York
The sun is rising Back in New York
Our love is our paradise Back in New York
© Laura Katherine Meyer, July 2008
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6. |
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BETWEEN THE EARTH AND THE SKY
This morning I woke up gray
Just like this cloudy day
Still haven’t made up my mind
Whether to shine or to rain
So I lie here on the floor
Listening to the cars roll by
Thinking about where I’d like to be
And oh, how many miles…
Between the Earth and the Sky
Between your heart and mine
The clock says that I should go
By now I know his face better than yours
But the distance is so great
Between my hand and the door
Ain’t it funny how two things can touch
And still be so far away why?
I thought that it was love
But I was just caught in the space
Between the Earth and the Sky
Between your heart and mine
© Laura Katherine Meyer, May 2009
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7. |
In the Clouds
03:35
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IN THE CLOUDS
As I look into the face of the Moon I know I’ve lost the Sun
I watch Her beauty bloom as He waxes poetically thereof
I know I fell too soon - I could’ve reached Him with a little time
But I’m just vapor passing through - just a visitor in His sky
The snow spills like frozen feathers split from a pillow turned inside-out
Disclosing stolen treasure that has been hidden In The Clouds
They say Icarus was brought down by the wings of false desire
But, like me, he was a cloud, heart heavy with heaven’s fire
He tried to rise above to collect that burning light
He was a martyr to his Love, crucified by ice
The snow flies like an arrow to the heart of the Ocean where it drowns
These white flags like bandages for a scar that is far too deep to find relief In The Clouds
In Love I have touched the sky
Now the stars are floating in my eyes
Like Prometheus unbound I will rise again, in time
To stay tethered to the ground would be a fate much worse than mine
I’m grateful for my fall for it taught me how to fly
And though it left my insides raw, Love is worthy of sacrifice
The snowdrifts rise against the dunes and the wind unfurls them like a shroud
The tides lift like fingers towards the Moon, that shimmering Pearl In The Clouds
In Love I have touched the sky
In The Clouds I thought we could unite
But the Sun’s light was just a lie
I was grounded by His ice
© Laura Katherine Meyer, January 2009
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8. |
Chelsea Hotel
01:58
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CHELSEA HOTEL
So what if you lived at the Chelsea Hotel
Last time I was there your place looked like hell
All the must and the mold sunk into my clothes
And now I can’t get rid of the smell
So what if you lived at the Chelsea Hotel
Last time I saw you your whole face had these welts
From the dust and the blow that ate holes in your nose
And it seemed like you couldn’t even tell
So what if you lived
So what if you lived
So what if you lived at the Chelsea Hotel
No one remembers you well
So what if you died at the Chelsea Hotel
I still can’t forgive you for never having felt
For me as you did for those stupid drugs
For me as I held you, withdrawn from my love
I hope that you like it in hell
I hope that you like it in hell
I hope that you like it as much as your days
And nights in the Chelsea Hotel
So what if you lived
So what if you lived
So what if you lived at the Chelsea Hotel
No one remembers you well
© Laura Katherine Meyer, June 2009
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9. |
New York, New York
02:46
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK
I’ve always felt like New York is a yoyo
Tied to my finger, I can’t throw her away
But now I see after coming and going
New York’s the only one who ever stays
I am just a toy in her hand
Like a boy who thinks he’s a man
I am just a toy in her hand
She throws me away and I go back again and again…
I’ve always felt like love is for strangers
Soon as you know it, it goes away
I tried to love him despite the danger
And when he left only love remained
I was just a toy in his hand
That boy, he had big plans
I was just a toy in his hand
He threw me away and I went back again and again…
I always feel like I know where I’m going
Even when I don’t know where I am
Every time I’m feeling lonely
New York, New York is where I land
I am just a toy in her hand
And I know our game will never end
I am just a toy in her hand
When she throws me away I know she will hold me again…
When she throws me away I can only think of him…
© Laura Katherine Meyer, March 2009
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10. |
The Ocean
05:40
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THE OCEAN
My heart was once a stone that could not be broken
Locked in a shell I vowed never to expose it
But then like the ocean he came to me, hoping
With persistence, he could help me open
He came back like the tide again and again
And took a little sediment each time he went
Yeah, all this sand on which I’d been choking
Could not withstand the strength of the ocean
Like the sea in the shell I can hear him approaching
The sound of his breath sends my heartbeat exploding
Love is a poem that can’t be spoken
I thought it was something else; now it’s time I rewrote it
Because it turns out that love is not just some emotion
I know this feeling doesn’t come from outside only
Love was always here but I needed him to show me
That all of my fear ain’t as deep as the ocean
The shells from the reef settle at my feet
I used to take them home; now I leave them at the beach
They don’t belong to me and I’ve spent too much time holding
Onto bones of the past – I throw them back so that they can keep growing
Sitting on the shore I finally see
That it’s not the man, but everything
That brings me love – you can’t separate what’s flowing
And each of us is a wave in this great big ocean
The wind that’s blowing, the sea as it’s foaming
The face that’s glowing, the embrace of unknowing
Love’s always growing, each and every moment, no matter if we don’t notice
Because a heart, once it opens, never closes
Love is a shipwreck that needs a little probing
Swim past the jewels and gems because when love’s genuine it needs no token
Deep into his eyes I dive and I am beholden
When I return to the surface a whole new world has awoken
Love is the sun as it paints the blue sky golden
It’s the kiss of the current as the mist turns the surf into a rainbow
It’s the trust that’s more real than the dust on my heels from all of this roaming
It’s the breeze in the sail of the boat that’s so frail but it keeps coasting
The love he gave me is as great as the ocean
No longer am I afraid to swim
The love he gave me is as great as the ocean
I discovered what love is inside of him
© Laura Katherine Meyer, October 2008
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11. |
New Moon
02:20
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NEW MOON
The night quickly turns black
The sheets beside me lie flat
But the moon always comes back
And so do you…
I feel the silence of the night inside my chest
The stillness fills me like the space between two breaths
And as I take the next I memorize its shape
So I’ll retain its taste after it goes away
New Moon, I know I’m okay
Everything waxes and wanes
His love was never mine, and thus not mine to lose
In every darkened sky, there hides a moon
And though where he once slept there is an empty space
All of the love I felt still remains
New Moon, I can’t see your face
But I feel you in the love that I gave
New Moon, each night turns to day
And true love does not fade away
The light slowly comes back
And it was just as I imagined
The moon was never absent
And nor were you
My love shines through
Like the sun on the moon
© Laura Katherine Meyer, January 2009
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12. |
Night Drive
04:19
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NIGHT DRIVE
The moon rises like a ripe peach
I'd like to taste it, but it's out of my reach
I shoot for the stars, but I mean no harm
I just want to be where they are
The air is heavy like a sigh
And it grows stronger the faster I drive
I stick my hand out and try to catch it
But like anything else, it just passes
And the beauty of the evening makes me think of you
’Cause summer evenings make the winter worth living through
I can't help wondering where you are
So many nights I have wished on these stars
Connected them like lines between dots
I have sketched out your face with my thoughts
And the beauty of the evening makes me think of you
’Cause summer evenings make the winter worth living through
And I trust the universe takes care of me
But sometimes my trust is just so hard to believe
I don't want to be where I'm leaving
I don't want to be where I am going, either
Right now I just feel kind of open
Soaking up the present moment
I trust that the universe takes care of me
But sometimes my trust is just so hard to believe
The moon rises like a ripe peach
I'd like to taste it, but it's out of my reach
I shoot for the stars - I mean no harm
I just want to be where they are
I just want to be where they are
I just want to be where you are
© Laura Katherine Meyer 2006
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13. |
Black Belt County
01:45
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BLACK BELT COUNTY
Open screen
Eighty-five degrees
The sirens cry
For the absent breeze
Palms are open
Like the broken men
Get through the night
Just to get through it all again
Elevated by the
Sweet sound of rain
But it’s just the faucet
Leaking on the rusty drain
Four more hours
Before this ship will sail
Four more days
And then four more nights of jail
Four more hours
But there’s no wind to sail
Four more days
And I am free of this jail
© Laura Katherine Meyer, March 2008
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14. |
Carolina Rose
03:24
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CAROLINA ROSE
Carolina Rose, Love is dangerous, I suppose
Winter came and stole you away
Carolina Rose, I shouldn’t trust a wind so cold
Just leave it to a season to change
Have a heart when the cold wind bites
Have a heart, but please not mine
Carolina Rose, I thought that we’d outlast the snow
But weeds have overtaken your place
Carolina Rose, Now the garden’s in repose
The bed is as silent as a grave
Have a heart - don’t let us die
Have a heart and don’t break mine
Your petals press against letters I write but never send
I confess I’m a shrinking violet in your rose bed
But cold weather strengthens the roots you cannot see beneath the snow
And by May or June I’ll be blooming like a Carolina Rose
Carolina Rose, Love is dangerous, now I know
Even still my feelings stay the same
Carolina Rose, You cannot kill my hope
And the nights are getting shorter than the days
Have a heart - the sun will shine
Have a heart - the seed survives
Have a heart - love grows in time
Have a heart - take care of mine
Carolina Rose, You grow along the road
And I know that wind will bring you back one day
© Laura Katherine Meyer, January 2009
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15. |
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IT’S EASIER TO PICK YOU UP THAN IT IS TO PUT YOU DOWN
It’s easier to pick you up than it is to put you down
And I’ve been trying to pick you up since you came into town
But you won’t budge - you just stand there, looking so tall and proud
I know a man must stand for something, but boy you know I want to lie down
It’s easier to pick you up than it is to put you down
So I sit here on my stool, sipping you like a cloud
Growing tipsy on my view and wishing I could touchdown
But it’s past last call and still I’ve had no sign of breaking drought
You know I’m not bitter and in case you haven’t figured out
I’m no quitter - I’m ready for another round
It’s easier to pick you up than it is to put you down
I’m addicted to your stuff - it’s the best I’ve ever found
When the light spills on my boot heels and the night slips away like stout
I still haven’t had my fill of you - I will drink you until I drown
© Laura Katherine Meyer, April 2009
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16. |
Long, Long Time
01:34
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LONG, LONG TIME
When’s my number gonna come up
I’m tired of standing in line
Yeah, when am I gonna find love
I’ve been waiting a long, long time
You know that you have got what I want
Don’t you even try to hide
Just give me a little taste of your love
I’ve been waiting a long, long time
I’ve come to quench my thirst
And I believe it’s about my turn
I’ve come to quench my thirst
And I ain’t leavin’ ’til I’ve been served
Soon my number’s gonna come up
It might even happen tonight
Yeah, you’re gonna have to give me some of your love
You’ve kept me waiting a long, long time
© Laura Katherine Meyer, March 2009
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17. |
City of Angels
03:20
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CITY OF ANGELS
City of Angels, where is your miracle
Do all your angels fall into the sea?
City of Angels, I want to burn eternally
I came in search of heaven - tell me, is there room for me?
The stars are among us
Down here in the sidewalks
These poor fallen angels
Lured by the desert’s mirage
Yeah, it got me too
And now I’m caught in between
The fake paradise I walk upon
And the one I cannot see
City of Angels, where is your miracle
Do all your angels fall into the sea?
City of Angels, I want to burn eternally
I came in search of heaven - and tonight the sky is empty
We drink those stars straight from the sky
Until down looks like up
And when the empty bottles hit concrete
We finally feel how far we’ve come
Just like the glass
That sparkles beneath my feet
I, too, was once fragile
But I was hardened by the street
City of Angels, I need a miracle
I want to get to heaven - tell me, are you make believe?
City of Angels, I’m flying in circles
I keep on losing feathers - can you make some room for me?
© Laura Katherine Meyer, June 2009
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18. |
To Paris, From New York
01:30
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TO PARIS, FROM NEW YORK
A streetlight shines through the fog
Like a porch light surrounded by moths
It whispers to the one who’s been gone
Come kiss me, it’s been far too long
And the river carries the sigh
The ending of last year’s goodbye
The ebbing of tears we both cried
Lifts like the mist in the sky
And the moon is full behind his eyes
I feel the pull of flooding tides
This city’s grip holds me tight
But I feel it slipping in the night…
Paris, it’s for you that I burn
These evenings when your breath can be heard
In the clicking of wet cobblestone
Sweet Paris, I am coming home
© Laura Katherine Meyer, January 2009
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19. |
Expecting Rain
02:15
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EXPECTING RAIN
“Everyone’s either making love or else expecting rain”
I listen to his voice against the windowpane
There’s no escaping the heat of July
And it looks like it’s gonna rain tonight
“Everyone’s either making love or else expecting rain”
As soon as I lay down I hear the water’s soft refrain
It makes no difference – might as well be dry
Because I feel like I’m raining inside
I ascend to the roof to escape the heat
The air is so humid I can barely breathe
So I lie down, not expecting to sleep
And the rain comes to my relief
“Everyone’s either making love or else expecting rain”
It’s been a hot summer so I cannot complain
I let the water wash over my eyes
Leave it to the water to make things right
I let the water wash over my eyes
Yes, you can expect it to rain tonight
© Laura Katherine Meyer, December 2008
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20. |
This Land
06:40
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THIS LAND
Don’t know if this land was made for you and me
In the night sky of New York shines the torchlight of Lady Liberty
Of course I can’t see through the orange of the high rises lining every street
But I believe she’s watching over all of us tossing in our sleep
Don’t know if this land was made for you and me
So I set out on this great blue highway trying to see
Sunrise pours out on the horizon like a Georgia peach
When the juice of the fruit and your dry tongue finally meet
And in the rearview mirror, the skyline’s swallowed by the trees
Don’t know if this land was made for you and me
As I glide through the high ground and the grassland of Tennessee
The low fog left from nightfall starts to lift as I leave her soggy peaks
With the sunlight behind me I follow shadows cast from back east
What’s left of buffalo roam the pastures like a passing dream
Don’t know if this land was made for you and me
In the flatlands of Nebraska I can feel my whole body breathe
The wind moves like water through the prairies painting pictures in the wheat
Like sand along the shorelines, the switch grass is dragged out to sea
The sweet warble of a meadowlark fades in the breeze
Don’t know if this land was made for you and me
Across the Rockies, further west, and in the desert I hear the silence speak
High noon in Nevada and the sand dunes listen as they gleam
Not a movement as they heed the hush and I wonder why can’t we
Dust spirals on the highway then scatters like a laugh that’s free
Don’t know if this land was made for you and me
As I reach California the sun leads me straight to the beach
And the Pacific’s like a skillet as the light sizzles out of my reach
The stars rise like steam in the twilight between redwood leaves
I’ve searched for answers in this land from sea to shining sea
I watch the water take the sand and bury my two feet
© Laura Katherine Meyer, January 2009
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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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