Get all 10 Charles Ellsworth releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Wild Coyote Sessions Part 1, Chuck Goes Acoustic Vol. 1, Honeysuckle Summer, Laundromat, Max & Geraldine, Paranoia (A Nü Start), Cesaréa, Wildcat Chuck Charles, and 2 more.
1. |
A Packed Suitcase
03:55
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I cross the willamette on a starless winter night
Portland fades as she’s dancing across my mind
When she’d hold the bottle close, and i’d wish that it were me.
She’d say “the liquor works much quicker” than i’ll my whispering.
And I feel so far away
from the love that her and I once made.
But I learned to shoulder all my burdens
and Hide those crosses that I bear.
Her figure dancing in the moonlight,
with those flowers in her hair.
When the first morning light falls
on the windswept carolinas
under an old oak tree with a tire swing
is where I go to find her.
When I feel so far away
from the love that her and I once made.
So I buried my heart on the interstate
fueled by the fire our love once made.
My soul free of the tug-of-war
and I’m stuck wondering what was it all for
when I feel, so far away.
Oh I feel so far away.
I watch the earth pass my foot heavy on the gas.
She learned all about love from a T.V. screen
all those rock and roll songs and shattered dreams.
Her hearts been broken so many times
it keeps healing itself, a little less right.
She’s got a chip on her shoulder and ace up her sleeve
everything she needed to destroy me.
Never needed more than those emerald eyes,
a packed suitcase, and the words “good” “bye.”
So watch me bury my heart on the interstate
fueled by the fire our love once made.
My soul free of the tug-of-war
and I’m stuck wondering what was it all for
when I feel, so far away.
Oh I feel so far away.
I watch the earth pass my foot heavy on the gas.
Under the shadow of the mountains that we fell in love
over the river and the walls my hearts put up
dancing in the breeze, beckoning spring,
no one there to witness just her and me
I feel so far away
Oh a feel so far away.
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2. |
Could Have Done Better
04:32
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I heard the fountain of youth
was buried deep in her eyes
so I kept them for myself
swallowed them with my pride
buried them deep and out
her soul came
she was wagging her finger
saying “shame, shame, shame”
I know who you are and I know who you’ve been
you ain’t no better than the worst type of man
get what you want and get the hell out
is there anything left of you?
One day i’ll grow wings and i’ll fly back home
where they serve whiskey in the jar
and the buffalo roam.
For now i’m just off trying to settle the score,
watching my brother go to prison,
dodging a holy war.
Well If i’m wrong I guess that they’re right,
coming for me and i’ll be leaving in the night.
With a notch on my pistol and a man in his grave,
I guess i’ll live to fight one more day.
She was the apple of my eye
in the eye of the storm
and all I could think about was just keeping her warm
deep in the night by the light of her eyes.
Oh I should have tried to forget her,
could have done better by my fellow man
but you never can
go back and change the past
just like you always wanted to.
So you roll up your sleeves and get on with your life,
don’t you look back keep swallowing that pride
tell yourself there’s nothing left for you.
There’s a bad luck wind and it’s been blowing up my way
says it’s here to stay.
She says it’s here to stay.
She’s the devil’s right hand and she’s wrapped around my heart
been there from the start oh she’s been there from the start.
One day i’ll grow wings and i’ll fly back home
where they serve whiskey in the jar
and the buffalo roam.
For now i’m just off trying to settle the score,
watching my brother go to prison,
dodging a holy war.
Well If i’m wrong I guess that they’re right,
coming for me and i’ll be leaving in the night.
With a notch on my pistol and a man in his grave,
I guess i’ll live to fight one more day.
She was the apple of my eye
in the eye of the storm
and all I could think about was just keeping her warm
deep in the night by the light of her eyes.
Oh I should have tried to forget her,
could have done better by my fellow man
but you never can
go back and change the past
just like you always wanted to.
So you roll up your sleeves and get on with your life,
don’t you look back keep swallowing that pride
tell yourself there’s nothing left for you.
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3. |
Arizona Pines
03:57
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I heard a man say
That life is just pain
so i pulled back the hammer
and I blew him away
I left the room ‘fore the rattle was heard
couldn’t help think that he got what he deserved
Another man said
that Jesus is the light
but he’ll only help you out
if you’re straight and you’re white
you can be your own God
just act like you are
because actions they speak
louder than words
I slit his throat before his last word fell
blood on my boots
I ran like hell
There’s an evil that lives in the heart of all men
if you’ll do it once then you’ll do it again
and you’ll live long enough, to know you’re not right
but whatever helps you fall asleep at night
Now his kids are cracking whips
over backs that brought the fall
and as history repeats all we know
is we don’t know nothing at all
I broke a girls heart and lord I felt bad
but I wasn’t ready for the life she had planned
I buried her down ‘neath those Arizona Pines
where paradise creek meets the great divide
There’s an evil that lives inside this heart of mine
I did it again though, God I tried
and I’ve lived long enough to know I’m not right
and now I can hardly close my eyes.
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4. |
Grandfather Pine
05:46
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Grandfather Pine are you still spending all your nights,
drinking in the darkness down below.
Is it, still bittersweet with all those women that you meet?
You get what you want and get the hell out?
Do they cry, when your gone?
Do they cry, when your gone?
Are they crying now? No, it won’t be long.
Father of time are you still wasting all your life,
doing all the things that you taught me not to do?
I never learned from your words and just the people that you hurt.
Now i’m terrified that i’m just like you.
We cried, for what you’d done.
We all cried, for what you’d done.
We’re crying now. Now it won’t be long.
I heard you whisper about love,
Like it’s something that you ever found.
These walls are made of more than blood,
and I don’t think that you can knock them down.
Until you go and pick them up,
all the folks that you let down.
Don’t you ever try and give it up,
I won’t ever let you live it down.
He man of the law are you still fighting for a cause,
or just that kingdom in the future you’ve been sold?
Can you still see them at all, beyond your rich suburban sprawl?
Does that mirror reflect something other than yourself?
They won’t cry, when your gone.
No they won’t cry, when your gone.
They’re crying now.
And in the darkest of nights do you still see the light?
Did you ever see the break of dawn?
Do the stars at night shine of their own free device?
Or that darkness that shrouds us all?
Oh that darkness now, no it won’t be long.
I thought I saw you preaching truth,
something to which we’re all bound.
A promised land we’re drifting to,
but you ran us all into the ground.
Until you go and pick them up,
all the folks that you let down
Don’t you ever try and give it up,
Because I won’t ever let you live it down.
Mother of mine are you still saying that your fine,
Like an actress who never learned a word.
Are they sucking you dry?
Are they making you cry?
Are you dying in spite of yourself?
They’ll all cry for what they’ve done.
They’re crying now. No it won’t be long.
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Charles Ellsworth Brooklyn, New York
Born and raised in the White Mountains of Arizona, Charles Ellsworth first gained an appreciation for a simple, not so distant past. His vivid lyrics and near-familiar melodies weave to tell stories of heartbreak and loneliness while shining a light on the perseverance of the human spirit. ... more
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