1. |
Acquired Taste
04:28
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Acquired Taste
Sunny days, silver skies, another plan to devise
Walking through the pouring rain
On a diamond studded cane
Blood running black and gray
I love you baby and I told you so
You love me too and I have always known
It’s more than acquired taste
Words we speak, beads we hold, to whom we pray, stories told
Born into a time and place
Putting on the bravest face
Masking every lucky break
Chorus
A mountain view, coral reef, closer to the never seen
Sometimes it takes my breath away
All the minutes that we waste
On this endless chase
Chorus
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2. |
Blooming Roses
04:09
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Blooming Roses
I was walking through public housing
Flyers in my hand
Screen doors rattled, the wash on the line
Danced like a crazy man
On the face of it, I must admit, there’s so much I don’t understand
And the garden plot that lined the walk
Was overgrown with blooming roses
Blooming Roses
She was sitting on a concrete porch
Braiding her little girl’s hair
Sirens roared, the wind kicked in
Blowing dust into the air
I wouldn’t preach, but I had to reach for a picture of my boy to share
Chorus
We laughed and talked of miracles
Waves of thunder rolled
The sky grew dark, a growing storm was
Getting ready to explode
Beyond the fray, another day, all we noticed was heart and soul
Chorus
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3. |
The Best There Ever Was
04:46
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The Best There Ever Was
He said, “I want to be the best, that there ever was
When I stand on the mound, the crowd will pause
And wait for me to fire, and when I do retire
They’ll tell stories of me to their daughter’s sons.”
She said “I want to the best, that there ever could be
When I stand on the stage, the crowd will weep.
Treasure my finest hours, throw me carts of flowers
My autograph will be worth a million bucks.”
The best there ever was….the best there ever was
Now, everything happened as they knew it would
Through college and the minor leagues he could
Dominate the hitters, throw nasty sinking splitters
His legend grew, some whispered Hall of Fame
She rose through the ranks, Hollywood hits
Action flicks and serious bits
From coast to coast, billboards called her the most
Glamorous starlet of the last hundred years….
The best there ever was…the best there ever was
Brother and sister on a mountain train, peaks and valleys in every frame
Nothing’s ever what it seems to be
The final game at Fenway Park
The sun was low, it was getting dark
He struck out the side, at home that night
Stopped the flow with a flourish and a flash
She read all about it in the L.A. Times
Didn’t know whether or not cry
The sun began to rise, she watched it justify
All the movements that anyone ever made
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4. |
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The Naper Vegas Scrabble Club
The Naper Vegas Scrabble Club
Meets every other week
In a three story yellow house
On a quiet shady street
I’m going home - home today
Well, let me tell ya, man, this place has changed
This place has changed
She studies her tiles for hours,
He descends like a starving man
Smiles come over weathered skin,
And aching shaking hands
Everybody knows what’s comin’,
But they still act surprised
It doesn’t matter who you are,
You never have enough time
I’m going home - home today
Well, let me tell you man, this place has changed
I’m going home, I’m going home, I’m going home
Today….this place has changed
When it rains, they ride the bus
Otherwise, they drive
Coming to a four-way stop
Searching for a sign
All that's thought or been forgot
Dangles on the trees
Where words fit perfect on the board
Free of life's tragedies
I’m going home, home today
Let me tell ya, man, this place has changed
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5. |
Your Sweet Love
03:31
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Your Sweet Love
Such a big world – so many places to see
So many things to talk about – so many people to be
I can frown when I’m happy, I can smile when I’m sad
All I want is your sweet love to pull the good from the bad
To pull the good from the bad
Your sweet love
I walk on streets of stone – underneath a castle on the hill
Among the strong and the weak – and the battle of the will
I can see into the future when I look into your eyes
All I want is your sweet love to bridge this strange surprise
To bridge this strange surprise
Your sweet love
Such a big game – so many things to do
So many things to take apart, before I find the proof
I can swim through the mountains, I can fly through the sea
But all I want is your sweet love, to pull the good out of me
To pull the good out of me
Your sweet love
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6. |
Instincts
03:06
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Instincts
I trusted my instincts, but they led me astray
Telling me of a brighter day
When all that we have is in front of us now
My instincts have let me down somehow
My instincts were true, my instincts were wrong
Should’ve given a clue instead of a song
Should’ve told me to walk when I wanted to run
My instincts are tired, my instincts are done
I’m selling my instincts to the bidder who knows
The up from the down, the way that life goes
All that I have are the pearls of your love
The truth that I need in a place I can’t touch
My instincts come cheap, they were only a crutch
My instincts are tired, but my instincts are good
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7. |
Subway Train
04:27
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Subway Train
A ladies-only subway train rides through Yokahoma
In the morning hour, pink doors, little flowers
A seat for mama, it rides through Yokahama
In the morning
The subway train, there goes the subway train
A fellow on the platform watches as it flies
Filled with lovely women, he feels like he’s in prison
The fence is ten feet high, tips his hat as life goes passin’ by
Pockets lined with wishes, heart inside his sleeve
A bridge of the senses he wants to cross without pretenses
For a chance to meet, the beauty of his dreams
In the morning
The subway train, there goes the subway train
Across the world, at State and Lake, she hurries up the steps
Coffee in her hand, in the car, she wants to stand
Her fingernails are chipped, she ain't the kind to easily forget
Watching through a window, brownstones against the gray
A boy she knew lived in one, against the track the loudest sounds
Would sweep them both away like the subway train
In the morning
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8. |
Gavin Geist
04:02
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Gavin Geist
So many people pass us by
I remember Gavin Geist
Short and squat, glasses round
Good at trig and figuring Pi
He carried a silk handkerchief
His dad was a puppateer
They moved to town from New York City
In the coldest part of my freshman year
Ho ho ho, hey hey hey, everybody’s looking for a better day
Lord of the flies every day
A fight broke out in the locker room
When a wrestler taunted him
And the little man snapped in two
Tears and jears and a little blood
After that Gavin changed
Where before he’d been a jolly boy
He winced at the sound of his own name
(chorus)
So many years passed us by
Our reunion rolled around
A girl from the committee called
Short and squat, glasses round
A silk scarf hung around her neck
She kissed me on the cheek and smiled
When she stepped out of the dark, I saw
Her name tag read Gwendolyn Geist
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9. |
Disrepair
04:12
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Disrepair
Every shop and restaurant’s closed
Clouds of dirt like forgotten thoughts
Land random on my restless shoes
The stains regain what is lost
I wonder where she is tonight
The one I left behind somewhere
I never think about her at all
Unless I’m in a state of disrepair
Hmmm, hmm disrepair
I see a plank comin’ loose at the bottom of the stairs
Disrepair
I pass the empty factory
Dilapidated last time, too
One day it’ll house expensive lofts
When we are all convinced to move
People struggle, and are turned away
From the things they love and do the best
They work twice as hard for half as much
The voice within whispers us or them
Chorus
The edges of this town are cracked
Like a postcard from the forgotten past
It always seems like Sunday here
The first in line, their fates are cast
I wonder where she is tonight
The one I left behind somewhere
I never think of her at all - I confess
Unless I’m in a state of disrepair
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10. |
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Part of the Problem, Part of the Solution
Every time she asked a question
She never stopped to wait
For the answer comin' to her
Like wind across the face
She loved to listen to the sound of her own voice
In the end, around the bend, we come back to make a choice
Part of the problem or part of the solution
I know a man with a calculator
Maximizing deals
Working out the bottom line
Abstract becomes real
Corner stores, historic homes, gone like a pack of smokes
It looks to me like monopoly, a ticky tack burlesque show, to be
Part of the problem or part of the solution
So, come to me, whispered words, flicker like fireflies
Here and gone we carry on throughout the lonely night
There’s a crowd walking down the street
Torches in their hands
He said, she said, somehow it all spread
Does anybody understand?
I saw the anger mount on the black and white video
Open up the window, baby, you can catch another show
To be part of the problem or part of the solution
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11. |
Everywhere is Somewhere
06:51
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Everywhere Is Somewhere
There’s a girl by the window, waiting in the sun
There’s a girl by the window, she’s waiting in the sun
Bright as origami, she blinds me like a gun
She’s got honey colored hair, and a navy colored coat
Her hands are in the pockets of her navy colored coat
Her slingshot opinions hit me like waves upon a boat
She says it’s all about the moment, but I’ve got one eye on the clock
It’s all about the moment, I’ve got one eye on the clock
She says, open up a little, you might see what you have got
There are stars up in the sky, that burned out long ago
They take so long to reach us, they burned out long ago
Something about the time, it passes faster than you know
There’s a house in the picture, doors and windows painted black
In a corridor of white, doors and windows painted black
If I could get a little peace, I’d never want to give it back
She said, many people play, but not so many care
She said, many people play, but not so many care
Everywhere is somewhere, and you’re already there.
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Doug Hoekstra Nashville, Tennessee
Doug Hoekstra’s singular musical persona sets sympathetic narratives against understated vocals, memorable melodies, and subtle but unexpected arrangement turns. His albums have earned Nashville Music Award and Independent Music Award nominations, a bevy of top 10 list appearances, and a reputation as a “songwriter’s songwriter” (CMJ Music Monthly). "The Day Deserved" due out Spring 2021 ... more
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