Get all 11 Matt Kaye releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Don't Watch The News, The Spring Connection Suite, The Guardian, Gettin' Things Done, Rock'n'Roll (EP), Four Square Meters (EP), Unarranged, Cerebral Palsy Blues, and 3 more.
1. |
The Guardian
03:15
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Remarkably smart and remarkably stupid
I've seen it all in my time
And when being asked which one I prefer
I answer with tobacco and mime
You have good taste, I haven't seen many
Trout Mask Replicas in hands
Of highly suburban, shirt-matches-trousers
Bespectacled ornery men
I've walked all your streets, I've seen all your ZOOs,
I met a songwriter or two
I've seen all the outtakes from Danny Kaye movies
But they really don't look good on you
If you locked yourself in this room by the pool
You should've known better than that
You say you'll be bigger than Baldensperger
But I guess you know that he's dead
So when you're looking for gold in the cities
Carved in perpetual bronze
You must understand that I can't help you
Or your polite lot of loved ones
I can't get bands to sing at your weddings
You'll have to pay them a fee
You'll probably say what kind of a guardian are you
But then, what do you know about me
Remarkably smart or remarkably stupid
I don't need much time to decide
I want your breakfast, I want your lunch
And by the end of this cycle, your wife
You better hand me your manuscripts, boy
You better hand me your Strat
If you by this time haven't amounted to nothing
We might as well leave it at that
So when you're looking for gold in the cities
Carved in perpetual bronze
You must understand that I can't help you
Or your polite lot of loved ones
I can't get bands to sing at your weddings
You'll have to pay them a fee
You'll probably say what kind of a guardian are you
But then, what do you know about me
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2. |
The Suburban Song
03:24
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The ambulance wants to be heard
Over whispers of suburban misery
Look how those houses have aged
And railroad still crosses the highway
Where you would least expect it
And trees look like Donovan Leitch
Look at these hands on pianos
In those nightclubs with five people listening
And the band's getting up to five thumbs
The rain is still playing the postman
And someone's back from another delivery
Walking through this city on crumbs
I have my fears, I admit it
Yes I dread the ambulance passing
With sounds that just pierce thru my bones
But nothing disturbes me as much as
The silence from afore-mentioned railroad
With no trains, just time movin' on
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3. |
Thank You for Your Time
01:53
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Thank you for your time, they said
Now you're eating into ours
Was it just a joke? More likely
Their manifest of power
They know how to play the organ
They have all the dough
What you got is rhythm and a copy of
Hunting High And Low
On your desk you left your watch
Besotted with its job
Someone will come by and trash it
Causing it to stop
Someone will come by and trash it
Causing it to stop
Johnnie Ray was singing high
I am singing, too
Walking in the rain or not
Falling into you
City statues smile their smiles
And Macheath's back in town
Talk him into giving you
His England for your pound
Everybody wants to see
Love letters in the sand
Write a few, express yourself
Before you pitch your tent
You can bark and you can bite
And curse the Tower Guy
But there's no future-bending man
On a flaming pie
You can buy yourself a barrel
Be Diogenes
Do The Pony or some other
Form of expertise
Do The Hucklebuck or else
Andres-Valdes your mime
You can always sing in church
Thank you for your time
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4. |
Things
03:19
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Things that I endure
Have cut their cords before
I'm forbidden to come in
I can't trust them anymore
Trains have left this town
And I'm no longer here
Casey Jones is dying
Of this I have no fear
And I'm tossing and I'm turning
And the session is adjourning
And the judges are not guilty
After all
Things that I endure
Have sipped their alcohol
They smoke what they can get
In hope that they grow tall
But trains have left this town
And fog is coming in
And I don't understand
Its stern discipline
And I'm tossing and I'm turning
And the session is adjourning
And the judges are not guilty
After all
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5. |
Where You've Been
04:32
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Night never comes without agenda
She chooses tasks so carefully
She takes old dreams down to the gallows
She makes new ones a misery
You say you feel the heat of footsteps
Turning your feet to chunks of coal
You say there's too much space around here
I don't say anything at all
I'm not all smiles, but you can see that
I don't wear top hats anymore
I wear umbrellas and bright blazers
I know all stanzas to Milord
And I don't want to stand before you
If your shadows don't know what I mean
I'll disappear like a tamed wildflower
If you can tell me where you've been
What painting have you been a part of
What nightmare did you coproduce
And I must know if my old letters
Brought some old dandy a mess of blues
I've been through divine interventions
I've broken lots of crystal stuff
You've done your lonesome time with china
And now you think that that's enough
And I don't want to stand before you
If your shadows don't know what I mean
I'll disappear like a tamed wildflower
If you can tell me where you've been
What painting have you been a part of
What nightmare did you coproduce
And I must know if my old letters
Brought some old dandy a mess of blues
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6. |
Small Town Wedding
02:08
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Meet the baker, he's up early
Throwing the bouquet.
Meet the banker, he's just signed his
Compliments away.
Everybody's quiet while they're
Figuring it out –
Is she getting married, or else –
What's it all about?
Meet the pastor, he's too young
And Jesus makes him think
Are those sandals or is he only
Ordering a drink?
Drink it up and make a living
Benefit on doubt –
Is she getting married, or else –
What's it all about?
Decorating the gazebo
Humming Pat Boone songs –
Postmen come and postmen go
And they all speak in tongues.
They are trained to throw newspapers
But they've never vowed –
Orbison just taught them how to
Go out with the crowd.
Meet the parents and the family
Meet the best men, too.
They are frozen until dusk
But what's it all to you?
Go to sleep, don't question them
Are they ashamed or proud.
Now, is she getting married, or else –
What's it all about?
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7. |
Close the Door
02:11
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Traffic lights don't go to school or else I'm misinformed
Red lights buskin' and green ones howlin' – talk about the norm
Trees along the street are haunted, but who they're haunted for
Would they move away from here if you just closed the door
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8. |
Sweet Perfume
04:03
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Nothing is stronger than additional layers
Of horn-rimmed glasses that can't sleep at night
Baskerville dogs have been put out, don't worry
They shouldn't wake up, but the old landlord might
Better forget what's in it for him and
Better forget what it all means at all
Long years have passed since we've walked down that hall, dear
Since all these old men were on our beck-and-call
We've burnt down the walls and made us some paper
We've written some stuff for King Lear to read
He's better, you know, his obsession with horses
Has burnt to cinders in our time of need
Better forget what's in it for him and
Better forget what it all means at all
Long years have passed since we've walked down that hall, dear
Since all these old men were on our beck-and-call
Blessings to those who can ride without armor
Blessings to those who can only assume
Summon Grenouille, let him bow down before us
And tell us the essence of his sweet perfume
Better forget what's in it for him and
Better forget what it all means at all
Long years have passed since we've walked down that hall, dear
Since all these old men were on our beck-and-call
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9. |
After Christmas
03:18
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You'll never know what's going on
Inside those mangers in the dark
Do herald angels smoke cigars
If so, who shot the northern star
The snow that reeks of silence now
Has gone from preciousness to wreck
And all the love that he endured
Will turn to hatred in a sec
The shops just disilluminate
From all the dark nightwatchman stares
And all the million dollar brats
Suddenly turn to billionaires
The church bells all seem out of tune
But now that's all they can afford
That being said, it's hard to ring
"Where Could I Go But to the Lord"
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10. |
Menuet
03:15
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The carousel is honkin'
A haunting menuet
The happy Jack is yearnin'
But the crowd's already dead
Ya ever seen a man with
No future in the mail
The Platters may be singin'
But that ship ain't gonna sail
You see, nobody's ringin'
At my front door anymore
Company's overrated
Irma la Douce is still a whore
A woman, pretty lonesome,
Is tryin' to sneak a smile
But Frankie killed her Johnny
And went out with Nellie Bly
The carousel is honkin'
But that's not where it's at
The cole is in the bathroom
The king's without a Nat
The good ol' times are gone now
The rhyme's been overused
Look at them lonely people
Still dancin' to Blue Suede Shoes
The carousel is honkin'
A haunting menuet
The happy Jack is yearnin'
But the crowd's already dead
A woman, pretty lonesome,
Is tryin' to sneak a smile
But Frankie killed her Johnny
And went out with Nellie Bly
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11. |
The Song of Cicadas
02:58
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Drop to your knees in slow motion
Especially at this time of day
Drop to your knees in slow motion
Drop to your knees and obey
The one next to you must be quiet
The one in the mirror is mute
Sing us a song of cicadas
Let's see if you're any good
I own a few English castles
And I give birth now and then
I know a lot about taming
Your lot of conspicuous men
The one next to you is courageous
The one in the mirror is lame
Sing us a song of cicadas
Cry for your fortune and fame
Drop to your knees in slow motion
Drop until someone says »Cut!«
Later we'll fire your double
Later we'll fire a lot
The one next to you never bothers
The one in the mirror breaks free
Listen to the song of cicadas
It fades out mysteriously
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12. |
Wrong Dreams
02:20
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Wrong dreams
Oh they should've been yours
You sleep like a baby, you show no remorse
I'm tossin' them round, but they keep comin' back
It's quiet tonight, and peace is somethin' I lack
With wrong dreams
They never ask when they enter
They smell like an old fighter when they should've been gentler
I'm shooin' them off, but they turn deaf to my pleas
Well I just don't know if I can keep it like this
With wrong dreams
And no excuse after all
For gettin' stuck in narrations just like Robert Duvall
But the deeper the voice, the merrier they are,
And while it's freezing outside, well it's colder by far
With wrong dreams
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Matt Kaye Ljubljana, Slovenia
Born in 1975 in Maribor, Slovenia (EU). He holds a master’s degree in comparative literature. He published his first book in 1988 and started combining poetry and music into a singer-songwriter routine in 1992. He's a member of SLO National Writers’ Association, National Literary Translators Association, PEN and MIRA. ... more
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