Get all 14 Bitter Ruin releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Arches & Enemies, Chronology, Brother, Blood Blue, Rubble, Caution To The Wind, We're Not Dancing, Hung, Drawn & Quartered, and 6 more.
1. |
Wish Me Away
04:18
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Wish me away and I’ll be drowned
Wish me to play behold sound
Wish me to hide and I’ll dissolve
Wish me back to life from the ground
Wish me to cry and you’ll see these holes
Turn from a pit to a well
But wish for too much and for too many riches
And you might regret making all of these wishes
Wish me to sing, I’ll wail for you
Wish me to turn it up loud
Wish me to whisper as soft as a feather
And hear how the volume drops right down
I gave you three you got high on the greed and you
You had chance after chance
Do as you wish, and if you wish to cheat then do
But I won’t be yours to command
Wish One you wanted a golden girl
Perfect I was the definition
In height and in size, in the colour of my eyes
You found flaws in my structure and I faced demolition
Wish Two you needed support
And I architected a frame
I gilded a throne, I cushioned the blow but when
You got too comfortable I was to blame
Wish Three you wanted some satisfaction
Wish Four you wanted some more
Wish Five you wish for some extra wishes
And with eight other girls well you got twenty four
I gave you three you got high on the greed and you
You had chance after chance
Do as you wish, and if you wish to cheat then do
But I won’t be yours
One thing that you didn’t wish for though
And the one thing I needed you to
Was my release
Only by speaking yourself the words
Loosen the grip and remove the curse
Will I be freed
I gave you three you got high on the greed and you
You had chance after chance
Do as you wish, and if you wish to cheat then do
But I won’t be yours
I gave you three you got high on the greed and you
You had chance after chance
Do as you wish, and if you wish to cheat then do
But I won’t be yours
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2. |
Criticise
03:41
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Oh, oh
Oh, oh
I’ll sleep in the morning, in the morning if I need to
Red sky is a warning, it’s a warning to you
I don’t need to rest my body
Might be, won’t say I’m sorry
I’m not gonna wake up with the feeling that there’s something going wrong.
And I won’t criticise
The way you live your life
Cause it’s only yours to live
But I don’t recognise
The way you love me and I’ve
Given all that I can give
Give, give
Oh, oh
Blood spills on the speaker, on the speakers that beat above my head
Bricks build on the borders, you’re barking orders to ones that make your bread
I don’t need to test my limits
I’ll give up when I’m finished
I’m not gonna bed up with the enemy I’d never beat the shame
And I won’t criticise
The way you live your life
Cause it’s only yours to live
But I don’t recognise
The way you love me and I’ve
Given all that I can give
There’s two sides (what’s on your side)
And two minds (what’s on your mind)
What makes you so sure
My silence ain’t acceptance oh no
I’m tryna use my sense oh
I’m tryna save breath I got no more time to criticise
And I won’t criticise
The way you live your life
Cause it’s only yours to live
But I don’t recognise
The way you love me and I’ve
Given all that I can give
Give, give
Oh, oh
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3. |
Through the Bricks
03:53
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I fell apart today
Ash on a cigarette
I crumbled away
We played a jigsaw for a million years
Got to the end
To find a piece disappeared
And now we don’t wanna play
Trying to run through the bricks was a stupid idea
Perfectly good ways of escaping
Were right in front of me
What am I trying to fix? Cause I’m not going clear
And it’s clearer than ice
That you wouldn't fight
That's me and you both
And this hope is killing me
I sent a siren home
Swam to the rock that marks
The danger zone
I’m glowing phosphorescently so no boats sail over here
Black water tales
Warn sailors from coming near
So I drift alone
Trying to run through the bricks was a stupid idea
Perfectly good ways of escaping
Were right in front of me
And what am I trying to fix? Cause I’m not going clear
And it’s clearer than ice
That you wouldn't fight
That's me and you both
And this hope is killing me
And I write down all the letters
And I write down but the words disappear
Trying to deny what exists cos I hate the idea
Of starting from scratch when I am exhausted
You’re my identity
I’m clawing at straws and ignoring the knowledge
That never did they hold the weight
Of all of the flaws and all the mistakes
You saw instead of me
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4. |
Shivers
04:13
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Lay lay lay low while they they dig the land
Keep your head down
Lie on the floor if they take out the torch
Keep your head down
And the taste of wine from the warm afternoon
Will grace your lip and for one moment you
Are cool shivers when you met her by the wheat
Oh no
Oooh better now your sweat is on the sheet
Oh no
Run run my man if they break off the leash
Keep on moving
Lash out your legs let the rock cut your feet
Keep on moving
And the scent of rose that she left on your face
Will give the animals something to chase
Cool shivers when you met her by the wheat
Oh no
Oooh better now your sweat is on the sheet
Oh no
And you feel the snap of the cold and the bite
old steel on the nape of your neck
Close your eyes revisit the warmth of last night
And smile at your death as you cannot regret
Cool shivers when you met her by the wheat
Oh no
Oooh better now your sweat is on the sheet
Oh no
Cool shivers when you met her by the wheat
Oh no
Oooh better now your sweat is on the sheet
Oh no
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5. |
A Man Like Him
03:45
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Let’s try again
Maybe this time it’ll work
Maybe this time will be worth it
Maybe he’ll learn to be a man
You’re just a friend
Talk of the way you’ll be walking
But it’s not that simple a thing
I need an army not a hand
To leave a man
When you need a man like him
Is easier said
Than done with a man like him
It cuts him up
Threats and that’s just what they are
Guess I’da left if I meant it
I’ve got the keys to the car
I know the brakes are cut
I wouldn’t stop
I’d take it too far
To leave a man
When you need a man like him
Is easier said
Than done with a man like him
To leave a man
Wouldn’t please a man like
If he’s seeing red
You’re dead with a man like him
Shout, I’m crying out for help but quietly oh
Crash, I’m banging on the bars but gently so
So I won’t ruin his day, no
To leave a man
Would destroy a man like him
And so for what it’s worth
You can’t hurt a man like him
To leave a man
When you need a man like him
Is easier said
Than done with a man like him
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6. |
You Called Me Out
03:48
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I didn’t wanna break the news this way
It's you who called me out
I didn’t wanna pull the rug away
It's you who called me out
I didn’t wanna be the one to fall on the truth, oh the truth
But you called me out
I didn’t wanna be the one that stole all your youth, all your youth
But you called me out
I didn’t wanna push the knife back in
It's you who called me out
I didn’t wanna peel away the skin
It's you who called me out
I didn’t wanna be the one to turn on the light, oh the light
But you called me out
I didn’t wanna be the one that started the fight, all the fights
But you called me out
I didn’t wanna stoke those flames again
It's you who called me out
I didn’t wanna interfere, but then
It's you who called me out
I didn’t wanna be the one to turn on the light, oh the light
But you called me out
I didn’t wanna be the one that started the fight, all the fights
But you called me out
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7. |
Smoking Gun
03:52
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You need
To tell me
Every stitch of detail in your head
I am
As lonely
As the bed, the room, the house you vacated
You’re so close that I can feel the sheets of heat you’re breathing out
(You’re so close that I can feel the sheets of heat you’re breathing out)
But when I look a little closer I can tell you’re somewhere else
(But when I look a little closer I can tell you’re somewhere else)
An open ocean seems to be dividing us
I swim but you get swept away
There’s tension in your neck and it’s deciding what
Happens in the next part of the game
Tell me is there someone else
Shoot the gun
That bell of the empty shell
We’re dying with anticipation
It hits like a tonne of bricks
Oh and what is done is done
Tell me is there someone else
And when you tell me you can smell the smoking gun
That door
How I hate it
It could let your leave the callous thing
It let you in, it hinges on a word
I can see you look into my eyes pretending that they’re hers
(I can see you look into my eyes pretending that they’re his)
You can keep pretending, I’ll pretend it doesn’t hurt
(You can keep pretending, I’ll pretend it doesn’t hurt)
Shifting plates are separating, splintering
I’m reaching out, you’re leaning back
I’ll go all in, I'll risk as far as I can lean
I’ll tilt until I tumble down the gap
Tell me is there someone else
Shoot the gun
That bell of the empty shell
We’re dying with anticipation
It hits like a tonne of bricks
Oh and what is done is done
Tell me is there someone else
And when you tell me you can smell the smoking
Gunpowder in the word
(I should have questioned)
There’s a conversation in the cannon
(All your answers)
I can see it coming like a tide
(I should have questioned)
And I can see it silhouetting in the sun
(All you said)
I take off my shoes
I take off my armour
Oh I’m naked in the field exposed to all
And I will absorb
And come out of hiding
As my camouflage washes away with the tears that fall
Tell me is there someone else
Shoot the gun
That bell of the empty shell
I’m dying with anticipation
It hits like a tonne of bricks
Oh and what is done is done
Tell me is there someone else
And when you tell me you can smell the smoking gun
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8. |
Stay Alive
03:12
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It’s as if they want me
To pay a price for
For every crime I
I won’t commit
It’s as if they taunt me
To get a rise from
A darker side of me
That don’t exist
It’s so cruel to create you
Then to take you away
Thought you’d be the one to change my mind
I thought you’d be the one to show some fight
Taken too soon with a lost goodbye
Thought you’d be the one to stay alive
It’s as if I held you
In a dream once
One I can quite
Bring to view
It’s as if I breathed you
It’s as if I need you
You are nowhere
And nothing new
It’s so cruel to create you
Then to take you away
Thought you’d be the one to change my mind
I thought you’d be the one to show some fight
Taken too soon with a lost goodbye
Thought you’d be the one to stay alive
It’s so cruel to create you
Then to take you away
I thought you’d be the one to change my mind
I thought you’d be the one to show some fight
Taken too soon with a lost goodbye
Thought you’d be the one to stay alive
Thought you’d be the one to stay alive
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9. |
Every Time
03:42
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Now that you’re
Now that you’re
Now that you’re gone
Our rapport
Our rapport
Built on this strong
Strong, hold strong
Wrong told, told wrong
That you’d be the same every time I think of you
That you’d be the same every time I think of you
That you’d be the only you I knew
Do you have to change every time I think of you
Can’t you be
Can’t you be
Straight with me now
Won’t you stay
Just the way
We figured out
Lay down this law
(I don’t want to be the one breaking the law)
It’s meant to sound this sure
(I don’t want to be the one to sound so unsure)
Could you be the same every time I think of you
Could you be the same every time I think of you
Could you be the only you I knew
Do you gotsta change every time I think of you
Now that you’re gone
I just wanna remember you
You know, the you
Before our song was sung
And I’m full up with dark
And I’m full of the words
That I don’t wanna hear
When they say your name
Why can't you stay the same
I can't remember your face
Could you be the same every time I think of you
Could you be the same every time I think of you
Could you be the only you I knew
Do you have to change every time I think of you
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10. |
Pain On Me
05:04
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You dim the light
Like you like
A lesser life
And you sink down
Wanna drag me down with you
So I scream
and I kick
And I run cause you’re
Out your mind
Wanna drag me
(Wanna drag me)
down
No way home when the wolves are on you
And you got a scent they know
(You got a scent they know)
Tell them what you wanna tell
No way home when they strike the dynamite
Dynamite
You let your fire burn a forest to ashes and fly away
(Ash to the wind)
Ash to the wind
You let your fire burn a forest to ashes and fly away
(Ash to the wind)
Ash to the wind
You put your pain on me
And I’ve been running with your weight heavy
And I’ve been struggling to fight lately
And I’ve been sinking with the chains on
Don’t put your pain on me
And I’ve been selling what the man don’t want
And I’ve been paying for the time that’s gone
And I’ve been taking all you’re blame on
Don’t put your pain on me
You hate the show
But you glow
When you get your round
Of applause from
From the ones you don’t care for
And I’m sick
Of the lists
In the ways of which I fall
Fall short
(Fall short)
of it
No relief if the pain feeds on you
Your honey blood just reeks
(Your honey blood just reeks)
You tell them what you wanna tell
No way back if you burn the path you walk on
Walk on me
You let your fire burn a forest to ashes and fly away
(Ash to the wind)
Ash to the wind
You let your fire burn a forest to ashes and fly away
(Ash to the wind)
Ash to the wind
You put your pain on me
And I’ve been running with your weight heavy
And I’ve been struggling to fight lately
And I’ve been sinking with the chains on
Don’t put your pain on me
And I’ve been selling what the man don’t want
And I’ve been paying for the time that’s gone
And I’ve been taking all you’re blame on
Don’t put your pain on me
Don’t put your pain on me
Don’t put your pain on
You let your fire burn a forest to ashes and fly away
(Ash to the wind)
Ash to the wind
You let your fire burn a forest to ashes and fly away
(Ash to the wind)
Ash to the wind
You let your fire burn a forest to ashes and fly away
(Ash to the wind)
Ash to the wind
You let your fire burn a forest to ashes and fly away
(Ash to the wind)
Ash to the wind
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Bitter Ruin UK
Formed in Brighton in 2007, Bitter Ruin built a cult following with their raw, genre-jumping sound and bold vocal work. With
roots in folk-noir and alt-rock, their music is theatrical, emotional, and fiercely powerful, blending nostalgia with a fearless push into the unknown.
After a decade-long hiatus, the duo returns with Arches & Enemies—out 15 May 2025.
... more
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