Get all 100 Bill Mallonee releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of TRAILWAYS, I CAN'T GET MY HEAD AROUND IT (a free download single), WHEN HE BROKE INTO THAT VAULT, HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS (a new single), GLIMMER Vol. II (Oct. 2024), KALEIDOSCOPE HOPE (August 2024), SOLAR SYSTEM (new studio recording of this classic from Audible Sigh), GLIMMER Vol. I (May 2024), and 92 more.
Excludes supporter-only releases.
1. |
AMBER WAVES (GOLDEN)
04:56
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AMBER WAVES (GOLDEN)
Lyrics/Music: Bill Mallonee
There's a highway washed in brightness with skies of indigo
The desert whispers what she knows
Neruda on the dashboard
The engine humming true
The rear-view held a harvest moon
Faith is the throw of dice and the sleeping heart gets stirred
After ragged sentences you'll get the last word
It may just be the most golden that we've heard
It may just be the most golden that we've heard
Amber waves and red wine with a nod to revelry
the stars came out for you and me
all that remains unanswered and all there's to forget
the best, it hasn't happened yet
Faith is the throw of dice and the sleeping heart gets stirred
After ragged sentences you'll get the last word
It may just be the most golden that we've heard
It may just be the most golden that we've heard
There are songs for the beginning and songs made for the end
Songs made for when you begin again
Grieving? she rolls in like waves and hardly ever stops
Until you learn her lines by heart
Faith is the throw of dice and the sleeping heart gets stirred
After ragged sentences you'll get the last word
It may just be the most golden that we've heard
It may just be the most golden that we've heard
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2. |
TO THE NINES
04:28
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TO THE NINES
Words/Music: Bill Mallonee
Now the rain and the wind
They are at it again
Quarreling lovers
Better run for cover
Yeah rivers will rise
No one's surprised
You're gonna get baptized one way or another
Honey you dress up to the nines
And we'll have us a look around
The moonlight'll take us to the farthest edge of town
You gotta trust somebody
It might as well be me
I surrendered my badge and guns
And the cards up my sleeve
Got a little too far ahead of myself
Way behind on dues
Yeah I ran outta stars to hitch my wagon to
Honey you dress up to the nines
And we'll have us a look around
And the moonlight'll take us
To the farthest edge of town
Try to make those puzzle pieces fit
Now you can taste the cup of bitterness
Drain the cup of grief
You can find that place where wonders never cease
There's gold in every story
The power and the glory
Last words to be employed
Honey you dress up to the nines
And we'll have a look around
And the moonlight'll take us
To the farthest edge
Honey you dress up to the nines
And we'll have a look around
And the moonlight'll take us
To the farthest edge of town
Bill Mallonee: vocals, electric & hi-string guitars, harp
Jake Bradley: bass, guitars
Kevin Heuer: drums
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3. |
ONE KISS AT A TIME
03:58
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ONE KISS AT A TIME
Words/Music by Bill Mallonee
Yeah most of my life
Was just turning the pages
I couldn't find myself
In the pictures of faces
But people wake from their dreams
But sometimes it is frightening
Sometimes it's with a whisper or a bolt of lighting
I gotta get to your heart
Wanna feel it shine
Yeah and I'm gonna get there
One kiss at at time
There's not much you can see
When your eyes are shut
Not much you can cling to
When your fists won't open up
Honey your heart was a treasure
Buried under the sea
And just for good measure
I asked you for the key
I gotta get to your heart
So I'm learning to fly
Yeah I'm gonna get there
One kiss at at time
So Baby you bring the paper
Yeah and I'll bring the the pen
Let's make a new story up
One with a happy ending
Yeah most of my life
Was just turning the pages
Now I'm getting all born again
In the finest of places
I gotta get to your heart
Wanna feel it shine
Yeah and I'm gonna get there
One kiss at at time
Gotta get to your heart
So I'm learning to fly
And I'm gonna get there
One kiss at at time
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4. |
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FAITH (COMES SOAKED IN GASOLINE)
Words/Music: Bill Mallonee
Don't know what you heard before you got here
Don't know what you thought you'd see
One thing about faith you can be sure of
Well it all comes soaked in gasoline
The foreman's car pulls into Hooverville
He's gotta a hundred jobs for a thousand men
And 'cause our kids look like skeletons
Well it won't cost him much of any thing
Gun toting deputy wears a shiny badge
But that kinda justice don't mean a thing
One thing about faith you can be sure of
Well it all comes soaked in gasoline
It all comes soaked in gasoline
They'll douse the camp at midnight
So you'd better be up and packed
One day something more than fire's gonna fall
When that fella strikes the match
They say the Savior had nowhere to lay His head
And pretty soon neither shall we
One thing about faith you can be sure of
Well it all comes soaked in gasoline
Don't know what you heard before you got here
Don't know what you thought you'd see
One thing about faith you can be sure of
Well it all comes soaked in gasoline
It all comes soaked in gasoline
It all comes soaked in gasoline
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5. |
LONG SINCE GONE
05:03
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LONG SINCE GONE
Words/Music: Bill Mallonee
Smoke driftin' from a wood fire
Way back in the pines of Carolina
Closing down store
One year more
Coming up short
Hung heads and heavy sighs
Winter comin' on
What little was left
Is long since gone
The fields they're all barren
Factory's up and moved it overseas
Boarded up town
And ghosts walkin' the streets
Hung heads and heavy sighs
Winter comin' on
What little was left
Is long since gone
They all say one thing
Back on the Hill
It ain't come back yet
Maybe it never will
Old ways
Old paths
All of 'em drowned in a sea of progress
History doubles back to shake hands with you
When you've got nothing to trade on
You've got nothing left to lose
Hung heads and heavy sighs
Winter comin' on
What little was left
Is long since gone
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6. |
PILLOW OF STARS
03:36
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PILLOW OF STARS
Words/Music: Bill Mallonee
Pass me paper and pen
And a shot to boot
Let a dreamer preach a sermon
And a fool speak half a heart full
Ah baby when you love
You find out who you are
Wherever you lay your head
May there be a pillow of stars
And though fate and sad reversals slow your journey home
I know you'll get there 'cause that deal was done a long long time ago
And what you said with your eyes
Was more than you wanted to speak
My my how we use our stammerin' tongues
To steady stumblin' feet
Baby when you love
Well you find out who you are
Wherever you lay your head
May there be a pillow of stars
And though fate and sad reversals slow your journey home
I know you'll get there 'cause that deal was done a long long time ago
Now I don't why I rock this way
Or why I roll with such an art
I dunno why I speak these words to break my own heart
Oh baby when you love
You find out who you are
Wherever you lay your head
May there be a pillow of stars
And though fate and sad reversals slow your journey home
I know you'll get there 'cause that deal was done a long long time ago
You'll get there 'cause that deal was done a long long time ago
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7. |
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IT WAS ALWAYS AUTUMN IN MY HEART
Words/Music: Bill Mallonee
A simple space that lies between
The thing you said and the thing you really mean
Was hoping maybe God would show His face
But I don't know what He would look like
Or would I recognize Her
There's so much we'd have to talk about
And would I find the words
It was summer for a spell till the whole thing went to hell
And why should anybody be surprised
It was always autumn in my heart but I could not tell you why
That book was heavy from the start
It was way more than I could hold
And me well
My eyes caught your heart and a glimpse into your soul
Oh to find the brush to render
What our tongues could barely speak
Oh to find some room to talk in
Where our eyes can truly meet
It was summer for a spell till the whole thing went to hell
And really why should anybody be surprised
It was always autumn in my heart but I could not tell you why
Got a six-string drag through an old tweed amp
Healing spirits and breaking camp
And the high desert kiss of my girl
And God's face is peeking 'round the door
In that high and lonesome tremolo
In Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World"
It was summer for a spell till the whole thing went to hell
And really why should anybody be surprised
It was always autumn in my heart
Always autumn in my heart
Always autumn in my heart
It was always autumn in my heart but I could not tell you why
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8. |
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ONCE YOU HEART GETS BROKEN (IT JUST KEEPS ON BREAKING)
Words/Music: Bill Mallonee
It came as a whisper
Yeah it came in the night
Just as you were driving past the neon lights
Yeah and it was last call
Surely that’s enough said
All that once was given turned from green to red
One thing they don’t tell you
But there is no mistakin’
Once your heart gets broken kid
It just keeps on breaking
Another one down
Third one this week
Reporters speculate about toxicity
And it was said that he trafficked with the magic potions
Aren't we filling our holes
Aren't we picking our poisons
One thing they don’t tell you
'Cause we're good at fakin'
Once your heart gets broken kid
Well it just keeps on breaking
It just keeps on breaking
And all the simple truths that take you by surprise
Come into sharp relief in a certain slant of light
It's time to drop you bags
Time to pick up your key
Don’t worry tipping the bellboy
You won’t need your things
One thing they don’t tell you
Till after you’re shaken
Once your heart gets broken kid
Well it just keeps on breaking
One thing they don’t tell you
Till after you’re shaken
Once your heart gets broken kid
Well it just keeps on breaking
It just keeps on breaking
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9. |
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YEAH, YEAH, YEAH (FAITH LIKE A BUTTERFLY'S WINGS)
Words/Music: Bill Mallonee
I can tell you're not sure if you wanna go
And really that's pretty much understandable
There's a whole lot involved in where you place your bet
And all these reports
They're a little suspect
Taking a stab at matters of the heart
Shooting in the proverbial dark
You gotta a prayer like the breath of a little baby
Yeah I wish I knew how you felt about me
Yeah yeah yeah
Not much I can bring
Yeah yeah yeah
I got faith like a butterfly's wings
Yeah yeah yeah
There's a world beneath your skin
For God's sake try to be your own best friend
Yeah yeah yeah
Well the autumn branches have been stripped bare
Your breath it freezes and hangs in the air
The wind it howls over bleak terrain
And if you make it back here kid
Well you're never the same
Yeah yeah yeah
Not much I can bring
Yeah yeah yeah
I got faith like a butterfly's wings
Yeah yeah yeah
There's a world beneath your skin
For God's sake try to be your own best friend
Yeah yeah yeah
Searching for a secret on this path
Always a little elusive and just outta grasp
But the stones on the way
They have been worn smooth
So maybe that'll be some comfort to you
Yeah yeah yeah
There's not much I can bring
Yeah yeah yeah
I got faith like a butterfly's wings
Yeah yeah yeah
There's a world beneath your skin
For God's sake try to be your own best friend
Yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah
There's not much I can bring
Yeah yeah yeah
I got faith like a butterfly's wings
Yeah yeah yeah
There's a world beneath your skin
For God's sake try to be your own best friend
Yeah yeah yeah
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10. |
BREAK IN THE CLOUDS
03:59
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BREAK IN THE CLOUDS
Words/Music: Bill Mallonee
For God's sakes man just look there as the city sleeps
She's all tangled up in those dirty dream sheets
And the storms
Well they're all spent now
There is a dusty pearl
She's such a lonely girl
Here is another world
And a break in the clouds
Couldn't find my name on your guest list once again
The doorman of my life just grins and lets me in
To a room where the tweed is sweet and loud
She is a shiny girl
Kind of a solid state girl
Here is another world
And a break in the clouds
Now what I found about the truth is she usually don't get heard
And what I think about Love is she always gets the last word
On the streets of this God forsaken town
That is a shiny pearl
She's such a pretty girl
Ah yeah in this God forsaken town
She's such a lonely girl
Kind of a dusty pearl
Here is your other world
And a break in the clouds
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11. |
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WHAT YOU TAKE (AND WHAT YOU LEAVE BEHIND)
Words/Music: Bill Mallonee
Between the clear as day and the wonderfully oblique
Between the dross in your veins
Yeah and the treasure you still seek
The span of years that reaches here to the skies
What you take and what you leave behind
Between what you've seen and what your lips can tell
Between the stuff of the holy and the hard sell
It occurs to you it was all gentle on your mind
What you take and what you leave behind
Between the counterfeit and the mother of all pearls
Just beneath the skin of this tired old weary world
Honey that kiss of yours it opened up my eyes
What you take and what you leave behind
What you take and what you leave behind
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12. |
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WALKING DISASTER (PALE LIGHT OF THE NEW DARK AGE)
Words/Music: Bill Mallonee
There's a sad song for every heart broken
There's a name for every fool in the book
There's a sermon for every occasion
There's a love song for every soul shook
On the fault line of walking disasters
There's a place where the angels still sigh
And the river of love
It still rolls on
Long time after the well has run dry
If you stand and then you make your confession
In a suit of old clothes that you stole
Offering your vain protestation
Doused heavily in cheap cologne
On the fault line of walking disasters
There's a place where the angels still sigh
And the river of love
She still rolls on
Long time after the well has run dry
When the poor that you'd hoped would keep silent
Show up on your front door stage
And the tent cities bathe in the halogen glow
Of the pale light of the new dark age
On the fault line of walking disasters
There's a place where the angels still sigh
And the river of love
She still rolls on
Long time after the well has run dry
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13. |
INTO GOD KNOWS WHAT
04:10
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INTO GOD KNOWS WHAT
Words/Music: Bill Mallonee
Take the edge off of the dark days
Blunt doubt's cruel knife blade
Steal the sting out of the grave
At that last shovelful of earth
Yeah I swear I've never heard a louder curse
Than when they put those digging those away
Let me go down easy
When the box gets shut
Let me go down easy
Into God knows what
Yeah you know I read the book
And I heard the angels sing
Heard a few sermons on the road from A to B
Ah you vanished into thin air
Swept out of this room
All the good ones leave the party way too soon
Let me go down easy
When the box gets shut
Let me go down easy
Into God knows what
Now I won't need the drink
And I won't miss the pills
If I could take your locket picture with me
There's a cure for what ills
So I'm heading for the neon
With this girl who caught my eye
Her smile means more at midnight
Though I could not tell you why
Let me go down easy
When the box gets shut
Let me go down easy
Into God knows what
Let me go down easy
When the box gets shut
Let me go down easy
Into God knows what
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14. |
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YEAH, YEAH, YEAH (FAITH LIKE A BUTTERFLY'S WINGS)
Words/Music: Bill Mallonee
I can tell you're not sure if you wanna go
And really that's pretty much understandable
There's a whole lot involved in where you place your bet
And all these reports
They're a little suspect
Taking a stab at matters of the heart
Shooting in the proverbial dark
You gotta a prayer like the breath of a little baby
Yeah I wish I knew how you felt about me
Yeah yeah yeah
Not much I can bring
Yeah yeah yeah
I got faith like a butterfly's wings
Yeah yeah yeah
There's a world beneath your skin
For God's sake try to be your own best friend
Yeah yeah yeah
Well the autumn branches have been stripped bare
Your breath it freezes and hangs in the air
The wind it howls over bleak terrain
And if you make it back here kid
Well you're never the same
Yeah yeah yeah
Not much I can bring
Yeah yeah yeah
I got faith like a butterfly's wings
Yeah yeah yeah
There's a world beneath your skin
For God's sake try to be your own best friend
Yeah yeah yeah
Searching for a secret on this path
Always a little elusive and just outta grasp
But the stones on the way
They have been worn smooth
So maybe that'll be some comfort to you
Yeah yeah yeah
There's not much I can bring
Yeah yeah yeah
I got faith like a butterfly's wings
Yeah yeah yeah
There's a world beneath your skin
For God's sake try to be your own best friend
Yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah
There's not much I can bring
Yeah yeah yeah
I got faith like a butterfly's wings
Yeah yeah yeah
There's a world beneath your skin
For God's sake try to be your own best friend
Yeah yeah yeah
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Bill Mallonee
Bill Mallonee is an Americana artist w/ 95 plus albums over a 33 year career.
Voted by Paste Music Magazine #65 in
their "Top 100 Living Songwriters" poll. Bill was the
founding member of Athens, Ga. Vigilantes of Love. He has worked with REM's Peter Buck, John Keane, Jim Scott, Mark Heard, Buddy & Julie Miller, & Emmylou Harris.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Hard copy LPs & Cd are at: www.BillMallonee.com
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