Get all 7 Li'l Andy releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Complete Recordings of Hezekiah Procter (1925-1930), All The Love Songs Lied To Us, While the Engines Burn, ...Sings "The Shigawake Song", All Who Thirst Come to the Waters, Home in Landfill Acres, and Tombstones & Arcades.
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All The Love Songs Lied To Us
All the love songs lied to us—
the truth is so much worse.
The rush is so much better when
You feel your small heart burst.
And if you wanna hear it straight,
I will tell ya how
All the love songs lie—
except this one I’m singing now
All the love songs lied to us:
They told us “Love is Blind”.
But those oh-so-charming little songs
Have just one thing on their mind.
They peddle their convenient lies,
And whisper to our hearts,
Just so they can quickly rise
And make it in the charts
Yes, the love songs always simplify
Cuz that’s how they make it pay.
The love songs lie. But that’s alright,
We wanted it that way.
All the love songs lied to us:
They said: “Love Is All You Need”.
(If the world were only as simple
As Paul McCartney would have you believe.)
But the hell of it comes down to this:
Life is such a bore
Without it you will not find happiness
Or make it to the corner store
And those Country Western cheating songs
They never got it right:
It’s hotter than you ever dreamed
On those lonely, horny nights.
So all the love songs lied to us,
I’ll tell you one thing more.
It lifted me like a tidal wave
And broke me on the shore.
And I fell in love with Love itself,
So it wasn’t very long
‘Fore all I had was broken loves
And this useless little song.
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2. |
The Lives of Others
04:19
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The Lives of Others
She took the day off cuz her father died.
But next day morning when she walked outside,
It bore the mark of her professional pride
That she went right in to work.
Her little daughter said, “But Grandma’s alone—
How can we just go make her live in a home?
It’s not so much death I fear as that Great Unknown
That sends these chills up my spine.”
Do do do do do do do do do do….
But every evening when they walk in the park,
And stay out late until it’s dangerous and dark,
Each one feels that some magical spark
In their lives didn’t light.
And as they walk on home on tired feet,
Past all the lit-up houses lining the street,
The lives of others are so calm and complete
Through their windows at night.
Do do do do do do do do do do….
Upon the mountainside we bought a home,
Far from the students and the freeway’s moan.
The market’s great now if you’re looking to own;
There’s lots being sold.
And in the morning, we get tons of light—
Isn’t the view just gorgeous from this height?—
Even the social housing sparkles at night.
It glitters like gold.
But every evening when we walk in the park,
And stay out late until it’s dangerous and dark,
I’ve always felt that the narrative arc
Of my life wasn’t right
And as we walk on home on tired feet,
Past all the lit-up houses lining the street,
The lives of others are so calm and complete
Through their windows at night.
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3. |
Out on the Old Highway
04:36
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Out on the Old Highway
Out on the old highway, out on the old highway
There’s range lots for sale; there’s a million failed motels
Out on the old highway
From Dacre to Belanger Bay
All the mayweed and grass that is growing through the cracks
Out on the old highway
Far from the four-lane divided
We’ve had no filling station here since ‘85
Keep your eye on the shoulder
Any small shape could come alive
In the churchyard at St. Harriday
There’s ghosts of young mothers who pray
They are there in the night, just beyond your running lights
Out on the old highway
Far from the four-lane divided
We’ve had no filling station here since ‘95
Keep your eye on the shoulder
Any small shape could come alive
I believe there’s a Heaven above
I believe in brotherly love
But when daylight is done
I don’t stop for anyone
Out on the old highway
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4. |
Ahhhhhh... Loneliness
05:00
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Ahhhhhh… Loneliness
Again at the diner, on my own.
I’m having breakfast with my phone.
Little milks, mini-creamers,
Little man—I’m a mini-dreamer.
Across the table you took me by surprise
In the empty chair there’s an absence I recognize:
Ah! Loneliness—there you are,
Ah, loneliness—there you are.
It’s been so long, you were gone.
Loneliness has come back home.
Loneliness is like a blank cassette,
A snowy signal on the tv set.
And I can’t live without him and you know it’s true,
But there’s no living with him—so what’ll I do?
I’m up in the morning and on the internet.
Whatever affirmation I can get.
Ah! Loneliness—there you are,
Ah, loneliness—there you are.
It’s been so long, you were gone.
Loneliness has come back home.
Things are thin and flatter now;
There’s no good way to be.
My life feels like some tinny, shitty-bitrate mp3.
Ah! Loneliness—there you are,
Ah, loneliness drives my car.
Ah, loneliness—the guiding star
That leads me home.
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5. |
The Night Sky
05:10
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The Night Sky
I drove home from Wakefield
And got back too late,
Came in without making a peep.
I turned off the tv
And sat in the dark,
Just listening to silence and sleep.
And isn’t the night sky
Just somethin’ to see?
Tonight, the bright sky
Is too much for me—
The stars in the darkness,
The planes flying by,
The fire of each firefly.
The darkness above us
Seems to contain
Such diamonds and glittering wealth.
Like thousands of sequins,
The stars burning cold,
Like pinholes to heaven itself.
In this world there are lessons
You learn on the run—
Things you can’t put to a tune.
I thought of my darling,
Our daughter and son,
An evening so early in June,
An evening so early in June.
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6. |
This Is Heartbreak
04:44
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This Is Heartbreak
So, this is heartbreak.
I never knew,
I never knew it could hurt so bad.
Checking my phone
For a message from you;
I hadn’t been here, but I thought I had.
I listened to those lonely country songs,
And they sang of cheatin’ hearts.
But the tear that’s in my beer
Was just the start.
This is heartbreak.
I wanna die. And I hope you’ll be a mess.
I wanna see you at my funeral.
I wanna see you in a little black dress.
And I heard Otis Redding cry,
Felt the emptiness in these arms of mine,
I thought “I’ve hungered for your touch”
Was just a catchy line.
And so…
This song is not about you.
This song is not about you.
It’s about someone else,
Someone who meant more—
This is just something I was humming
On my way to the store.
So this is heartbreak.
And if you choose, you can put this record on.
And if you are heartbroken too
Pick up your pain and sing along.
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7. |
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Kiss Me Like It’s the End of the War
Take my hand and walk me to the hilltop
Let’s gaze down at the city as we did in days before
The glowing fires, the burning tires—
All the things we cannot stop
And then kiss me like it’s the end of the war
Across the seas they’re starting up the old machines
But soon you’ll hear the All Clear
And I’ll march through the door
Don’t make a fuss, let’s not discuss
All the things I’ve done—and seen
And kiss me like it’s the end of the war
Kiss me like it’s the end of the war
Like we’re free to live the lives we never could before
There’s bluebirds over the Cliffs of Dover
There’s wreckage on the shore
Just kiss me like it’s the end of the war
Every night, there’s crowds and speeches in the square now
And I don’t know how things will go
Or what we’re fighting for
I fall on my back in the gas attack
And I’m dreaming of your hair now
Kiss me like it’s the end of the war
Now we’re going home to sweethearts and to young wives
Through the cheer comes a tear that I cannot ignore
Oh the drill parades and bombing raids
Were the best years of our lives
But kiss me like it’s the end of the war
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8. |
Limestone Song
05:44
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Limestone Song
Bring back the sun when leaves have softly fallen;
When all our bones have been laid unto waste.
Bring back the wind when mourning doves are calling;
Beneath the stones we leave not a trace.
Bring back the bells when there is only silence,
When all our songs have been lost on the air.
Let every bud and blossoming of violence
Wilt on the vine and whither with a prayer.
But on this morning
Make gentle things forsake the earth.
Send out a warning
For every seed to quit its birth.
Bring back this day when histories ignore us,
When every map makes no mark for this place—
The men who cut our children down before us
Walk through the world, the sun upon their face.
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9. |
Desire (Again)
05:31
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Desire (Again)
The first time that I saw you
Working at the café,
I thought, “The waitress is beautiful.”
Then I thought, “That’s soooo cliché.”
But clichés ring true sometimes,
And it was nice to see
How you make that old magic work for you
Oh so effortlessly.
It comes like a thief,
It comes like a friend.
And here it comes—
Desire again.
You saw me at the party
And you reached up and took off my hat.
You stood back to regard me:
“Y’know, you look much more handsome without that.”
I’ll stand still for you baby;
You can fix my hair.
I would much rather see you smiling at me
Instead of seeing a mirror there.
I cheated on my girlfriend—
I’d do it all again.
You would never have become my darling
If I’d acted like a gentleman.
And I’m in love with falling in love—
Why should I explain
How your heart seems to float to the top of your throat
And the tremble rolls through your veins.
It comes like a thief,
It comes like a friend.
And here it comes—
Desire again.
Here it comes.
Here it comes.
Here it comes.
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10. |
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Forgive Me with a Waltz, My Darling
Forgive me with a waltz, my darling
The tempo’s my apology
You take my lead, we’ll sway to the speed
Of one, two, three, one, two and three
All the vows that we made now are broken
But we’ll carry on, dear, somehow
The band’s playing slow
A tune sweet and low
O love, won’t you dance with me now?
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Li'l Andy Montréal, Québec
"This is roots-based Americana that actually deserves to be made."—The Village Voice
"Montreal's greatest country songwriter today."--Pop Montreal
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