1. |
New to Me
00:40
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2. |
Sparrow Suite
02:24
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3. |
Wolves
03:23
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Wolves
(Kristofer Wenzel)
There was a girl who was raised by wolves
Everybody thought she was dangerous
so they went into the forest with a net and gun
and they shot the wolves
and they caught the girl
And they put her in a house
gave her a bed
but she slept with the dogs in the yard instead
and she thought about the forest
and she took a deep breath
and howled
Lie Die Die, La Da Da Da Die Die Die
Mm Mm Ah Ah
Under the cottonwood
down by the bend
another girl brought her like minded friends
expressed concern for the captured girl
and decided to change the town from within
But the town didn’t change
the girls got tired
And the wolf girl started waiting tables at Earls
And the girls came for dinner
and the wolf girl was their waitress
And they all said ‘fuck this’
and ran into the forest
Out on the road by the public art
The town folk met and said 'We better get 'em'
So they went into the forest with a GPS
And the found the girls with a family of wolves
But they didn't have a gun so they watched and saw
The girls seemed fine and the wolves weren't dangerous at all
So they left through the resurrected trees
Followed by the din of wolf girls howling
Lie die die....
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4. |
You are my Choices
04:29
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You Are My Choices
(Kris Wenzel/Miranda Martini)
Oh, my heart
I’ve come to know you through your fears
I’ll build a life and in the coming years
I will send for you
Oh, my heart
Though it may seem my fate is sealed
Our love is both a cutlass and a shield
I will reach the shore
You are my choices
One life of doubt and shame
One of aspiration
You are my choices
One night to ease your mind
And help you to believe in what I decide
I know, my heart
The family of the man who made the deal
The cost of passage was a steal: everything I own
See, my heart
Freetown, Moroccan coast by train
Canary Islands, then to Greater Spain
Where I have a friend
You are my choices…
Oh, my heart
Is not a plaything or a flag to bear
As you march into the life we’ll share
Though I cannot be there
I know, my love
I’ve walked this empty room before
And I can blame the ocean, blame the shore
But I will pray for you
Fancy soap and dresses for your mother
World news and football for your father
And we will have a car
You are my choices…
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5. |
Sunrise Before Bed
00:28
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6. |
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Always Have Wine When You Fly
(Kristofer Wenzel)
I always have wine when I fly
Just in case, you know
While I scope the seats
Around me for someone to kiss
The German said:
‘Better chance cutting an artery shaving’
I thought: Hey
Wine while I’m shaving
Always have wine when you fly
Always have wine when you fly
Going down I salute you
There’s always something to say goodbye to
There’s always something to say goodbye to
Why not be ready?
I didn’t mean us you silly goose
The goose will stay with its mate when the mate’s wing is broken
Text me when you’ve landed in London
Always have wine when you fly…
The spring Phil goes to drink from on the moor is dry
The motorbikes riding the riverbed echoing
What is that?
Is that a bat flying a straight line?
I fly
Everyone flies
And the young still long to fall in love
Always have wine when you fly…
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7. |
One Alone Cannot
02:16
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One Alone Cannot
(Wenzel)
lyrics from Epic of Gilgamesh
Should my heart not be wretched, my features not haggard?
Should there not be sadness deep within me?
My friend, whom I love deeply, who went through every hardship with me
The fate of mankind has overtaken him
A slippery path is not feared by two who help each other
A three-ply rope cannot be cut.
Two cubs can roll the mighty lion
One alone cannot …
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8. |
Nose in the Straw
03:47
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nose in the straw
(Kristofer Wenzel)
by the second week of the quarantine
she stopped washing her hair
she would never find a better time
for the natural oils to take over
And when she wakes up with a weight on her chest
to find me similarly silently screaming
oh, what you do know?
I just put my nose in the straw
and I sleep again
well she reads her news from a magazine
I try not to spoil the surprise
and she reads me, rolls over and sighs
I bury the lies in her tangle
and when I wake up with a weight on my chest
to find her quietly counting dictatorships
oh, what you do know?
I just put my nose in the straw
and she sleeps again
we make a broth from the bones
she sold a screenplay
we went to Spain
she tosses her hair in the Aftermath
I dance behind with a goblet of water
thinking yeah, it’s gonna get bad before it gets better
and when she wakes up with a weight on her chest
to find me trying to take her mind off whatever’s next
oh, what you do know?
I just put my nose in the straw
and we can sleep again
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9. |
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Lovely Lovely Lovely Lovely
(Andrew Arida)
Taking walk after the April rain
The grass is wet, you see the sun again
And it’s lovely
lovely, lovely, lovely, lovely
lovely, lovely, lovely, lovely
lovely, lovely, lovely, lovely
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10. |
The Tennis Song
06:14
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The Tennis Song
(Kristofer Wenzel)
Here I am
Sneaking around again
It’s summer, and it’s hot
I go where the music is
But I swear on the unknown
I will be in your arms by the birdsong
I just gotta take care of my own serve out there
cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep
They followed me here from Old Europe
They’re showing me
How if you want to belong
when you’re so out of place
Well, you just put your stamp on it
hard
And I swear on the unknown
I will dance you lightly into the fire storm
I just gotta take care of my own serve out there
Here I am
Just strapping in
A got the family sword
And an army to slay
Andrew’s here
So I’m smoking in that summer haze
But I swear to the newborn
I love as completely as I mourn
I just gotta take care of my own serve out there
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11. |
All We Have is the Past
01:32
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All We Have is the Past
(Kristofer Wenzel)
You can slip away from the party early
Or hugs all around, crash on the couch
Either way, you won’t remember
You need a friend to resurrect the memory
Tennis racquets are guitars
Couch cushions are Melanie and Barb
Slow dancing to Open Arms
People say that all we have is now
But it won’t last
We are Vesuvius
A heyday, and then a rest
All we have is the past
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12. |
Der Rattenfänger
02:32
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Ich bin der wohlbekannte Sänger, I am the well-known singer,
Der vielgereiste Rattenfänger, the widely-travelled rat-catcher,
Den diese altberühmte Stadt of whom this old, famous city
Gewiß besonders nötig hat. certainly has an especial need.
Und wären’s Ratten noch so viele, And even if the rats are very numerous,
Und wären Wiesel mit im Spiele, and even if there are weasels in the picture,
Von allen säubr’ ich diesen Ort, of each and every one I'll clear this place;
Sie müssen miteinander fort they must all go away.
Dann ist der gut gelaunte Sänger Then also, this well-disposed singer
Mitunter auch ein Kinderfänger, is from time to time a child-catcher,
Der selbst die wildesten betzwingt, who can capture even the wildest
Wenn er die goldnen Märchen singt. when he sings golden fairy tales.
Und wären Knaben noch so trutzig, And even if the boys are defiant,
Und wären Mädchen noch so shtutzig, and even if the girls are startled,
In meine Saiten greif ich ein, I pluck my strings
Sie müssen alle hinterdrein. and each and every one must follow.
Dann ist der vielgewandte Sänger Then also, this many-skilled singer
Gelegentlich ein Mädchenfänger; occasionally is a maiden-catcher;
In keinem Shtädtchen langt er an, in no town does he stay
Wo er’s nicht mancher angetan. where he does not bewitch many.
Und wären Mädchen noch so blöde, And even if the maidens are shy,
Und wären Weiber noch so spröde, and even if the women are prim,
Doch allen wird so liebebang each and every one becomes lovestruck
Bei Zaubersaiten und Gesang. from his magical strings and songs.
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13. |
Ping Pong Pan Man
01:46
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Ping Pong Pan Man
(Phil Harty)
Ping Pong Pan Man
Ping pong ball
Ping Pong Pan Man
Doing it all
Trying to make a living
Trying to make a killing
The ping pong pan man and his ping pong ball
Ping Pong Pan Man
Clowning around
Ping Pong Pan Man
He can be found
Trying to make a living
Trying to make a killing
The ping pong pan man and his ping pong ball
Ping Pong Pan Man
Tapping a beat
Pans on his hands
Pans on his feet
Trying to make a living
Trying to make a killing
The ping pong pan man and his ping pong ball
Oh, the ping pong pan man and his ping pong ball
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14. |
Ballad of Fitz
04:35
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The Ballad of Fitz
(Kris Wenzel/Bob Keelaghan)
Long before Charlie John Fitzgerald was known to all by Fitz
His mother begged him not to seek his fortune west
She said I see you lost my son in a tidal wave of dirt
Fitz said Then mother, I’ll sell the world a dustpan and a broom
He left his parents’ mercantile where learned to count and save
And loved the sound of coins jangling in his palm
He took a blanket, tin cup, navy blue coat, straight razor and a comb
So he’d look respectable in the face of any hell
And one thing Charlie John Fitzgerald’s Father said to him
As he handed him that razor and he cuffed him on the chin
He said, You will be a king of men and lord over the land
If you’ve got a mind for money, a thick skin and two strong hands
He walked and hitched, could hardly fit in the back of rusted trucks
Spilling out with so much crap and barefoot kids
He saw skeletons of homes and combines buried in the earth
And more than once he turned around and started walking home
He dug post holes for the father of a smiling peach named Laura
Who showed him pleasures he’d never felt in his whole life before
He met a man called Teddy The Bastard who took him on the rails
Extolled the virtues of bluffing, bluster and persuasion
Chorus
Fitz was never fool enough to work the cruel fields
Eternal dust in ears and nose and mouth and eyes
He hustled meals on charm, peddled soap and towels
Kerosene and boots and bad potato gin
Five years on Fitz got word that Laura had left this world
And left behind a child by Fitz’s seed
His heart and mind went places that they’d never been before
He found the child and he took her in his care
And it’s true he had to kill a man who tried to harm the girl
And started dressing her in different clothes
So she could be unbothered to grow up innocent and free
from the burdens and inequities that god laid upon Eve
And one thing Charlie John Fitzgerald’s Father never said
Is that you can’t take that dirty money with you when you’re dead
But if you believe that what you’re worth is what you leave behind
Then there may be a spot of peace behind those tired eyes
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15. |
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The Seagulls are Flying Again
(Kris Wenzel/Walter Wenzel)
The seagulls are flying again
Untroubled by comings and goings of men
Free to see anything
The seagulls are flying again
Hey boys, it’s all your fault
I guess you forgot or never were taught
Here comes a reckoning
The seagulls are flying again
May 30, 1930. I sign up for dancing lessons in Breslau. Everything at home looks so small. The creek where we spent so many delightful boyhood days fishing has been straightened, so it flows much faster. The deep corner pools where the fish loved to hang out are no longer there. I dance with my friend Ursula, but in my mind, it is Maria. It is for Maria that I am taking the lessons.
Oh how sweet it will be
Leaving the dump
Finding the sea
Something else will begin
The seagulls are flying again
The seagulls are flying again
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16. |
Goodnight
00:39
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Goodnight
(Lawrence Welk)
Goodnight, sleep tight, and may your dreams come true
Here’s a wish, and a kiss
That every dream comes true
And so until we meet again
Adios, Au Renoir, Auf Wiedersehen
Goodnight
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17. |
New to Me (reprise)
02:13
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New to Me
(Kris Wenzel)
I’ve got to learn not to follow
No one to pave my way for free
How should I know which pills are safe to swallow?
It’s so new, it’s so new, it’s so new to me
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Kris Demeanor Calgary, Alberta
Kris Demeanor is a Mohkinstis (Calgary) based songwriter. He was Calgary's first poet laureate (2012-14), and acts in film and theatre. 'songs for my father to fall asleep to' is his 10th release of original music.
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