1. |
Hittin' The Road
05:16
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Cooped up, wiggin’ out
‘Bout to go out of my head
Take care of this, get after that
The things I do to make my bread
The road is callin’, and I’m a-itchin’
To get right up on out of here
I need to run, and have some fun
I know I know which way to steer
You hit the point where you think you’re just about done
Nothin’ left to do but up and run
I’m hittin’ the road right now
Find the joy I’m lookin’ for
Don’t you throw up no obstacles
I’m makin’ my beeline for the door
Daily grind until quittin’ time
Gives a temporary reprieve
Head home to clear my head
But it’s not enough to fully relieve
The humdrum of the day to day
Makes cobwebs inside of my skull
Corporate rigmarole leaves ya drained
Can turn ya to a hollow hull
You hit the point where you think you’re just about done
Nothin’ left to do but up and run
I’m hittin’ the road right now
Find the joy I’m lookin’ for
Don’t you throw up no obstacles
I’m makin’ my beeline for the door
There is but one cure for this frustration
Gotta have a really long vacation!
<solo>
Making plans, I gotta split
Freedom’s close enough to taste
It’s never a mistake, to recreate
Don’t let your life go to waste
Late night, it’s alright
I think I’ll have a glass of wine
Before I fill out those online forms
I hope the boss OK’s my vacation time
You hit the point where you think you’re just about done
Nothin’ left to do but up and run
I’m hittin’ the road right now
Find the joy I’m lookin’ for
Don’t you throw up no obstacles
I’m makin’ my beeline for the door
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2. |
All About That Life
05:38
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Shot down - Knocked off balance
Something came from behind and kicked ya
Spun around then you hit the floor
Beat down - can’t catch a break
You’re feelin’ someone’s out to trip you up
The stress is reaching down right to the core
Oh yeah - fresh wounds
Old scabs it makes no difference
The pain is often difficult to bear
You bleed - inside
Though the people around don’t see it
Every waking moment you know it’s there
But there’s a light that shines within you
Nothing and nobody can put out
Look inside and tap it
The inexhaustible One will fill your tank so you can
Be all about that life
Get in the groove hoppin’ on the good foot like JB told ya
Nobody else but you gotta make your way you got to be
All about that life
Keep pushin’ on, a brighter day is comin’ for ya
Life and love and groove is here to stay
Get up - on your feet
Ignorance and hate won’t win the day
You’ve got something greater deep inside
Get down - get on the one
The funk and soul can motivate ya
Life force music powerin’ up this ride
Reach out - extend a hand
To your brothers and your sisters
You know it’s gonna come right back to you
Lift up - everyone
Love and light will make a difference
Shine just like a beacon of the truth
Cos’ there’s a light that shines within you
Nothing and nobody can put out
Look inside and tap it
The inexhaustible One will fill your tank so you can
Be all about that life
Get in the groove hoppin’ on the good foot like JB told ya
Nobody else but you gotta make your way you got to be
All about that life
Keep pushin’ on, a brighter day is comin’ for ya
Life and love and groove is here to stay
Rays of a new sunrise
See things with renewed eyes
Clouds parting, day is breaking
You’re free to grab that prize
<solo>
Shot down - but you get up
Turn around and face the music
Nothing gonna keep you down too long
Beat down - it’s never enough
For some of those who cannot see your path
They’ll never understand your song
Oh yeah - the path is clear
All you got to do is walk it
Love and light will always see you through
Stand tall - Towering high
Never let the bastards get you down
You know deep down just what to do
Cos’ there’s a light that shines within you
Nothing and nobody can put out
Look inside and tap it
The inexhaustible One will fill your tank so you can
Be all about that life
Get in the groove hoppin’ on the good foot like JB told ya
Nobody else but you gotta make your way you got to be
All about that life
Keep pushin’ on, a brighter day is comin’ for ya
Life and love and groove is here to stay
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3. |
Ensnared
04:32
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There goes
The clock
Again
It won’t let
Me catch
My breath
Weekend over
Week begins
Its passage
Forces my
Steps
Relentless
Deathless Pace
It rules
My waking
Hours
Caught in
Its web
It never
Rests
It’s here
It’s now
Can’t run
Can’t hide
Can’t get Away
Not enough
Hours in a day
I can’t break free
Out of my mind
Ensnared in the
Tentacles of time
Hours turn
To minutes
And yet
The minutes
Feel like
Days
Days are
A blur
I plod on
Through the
Work day haze
Tempus won’t
Stop fugiting
Except when
I’m on
The clock
The hands
Keep chasing
Me back
Into the
Temporal stocks
Can’t run
Can’t hide
Can’t get away
Not enough
Hours in a day
I can’t break free
Out of my mind
Ensnared in the
Tentacles of time
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4. |
Recombobulate Me
02:44
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I’m discombobulated
It’s grounds to be frustrated
I could be so elated
But I’m feeling really negated
Security xray scatter
Won’t tell you what’s the matter
I’m flippin’ like a hatter
Queues are bad for the bladder
I need you (to recombobulate me)
I want you (to recombobulate me)
I need you (to recombobulate me)
Won’t somebody recombobulate me
I needed a vacation
From my current situation
But first must make oblation
To electromagnetic sensation
I need you (to recombobulate me)
I want you (to recombobulate me)
I need you (to recombobulate me)
Won’t somebody recombobulate me
How can I be leaving Milwaukee
Saw a sign said welcome to Cleveland
Hoping for a relaxing weekend
Once I get strapped in the tube tin
Wheels up and we’ll be rockin’
Getting out of frozen Wisconsin
I need you (to recombobulate me)
I want you (to recombobulate me)
I need you (to recombobulate me)
Won’t somebody recombobulate me
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5. |
Instrument Of Control
04:54
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In the darkness of my living room
Sounds and images
Bearing passing resemblance to what used to be
Reality
Under the surface disquiet
You try to appease my unease
Just relax you tell me, it doesn’t mean
Anything
Art becomes an instrument of control
Art becomes an instrument of control
Memorex dreams suffuse my waking thoughts
Don’t even try to resist, it’s all for naught
Music becomes a utility
Who cares if it comes from machines
Siren songs to fuel the desired
Apathy
It’s what they need
Art becomes an instrument of control
Art becomes an instrument of control
Slowly resisting fitting into the mold
Last stand of an independent soul
<solo>
Art becomes an instrument of control
Art becomes an instrument of control
Art becomes an instrument of control
Art becomes an instrument of control
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6. |
Let's Go!
03:07
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Alarm clock tossed me out of bed
Shake the cobwebs from my head
Damn I gotta get some caffeine
Almost fell going down the stairs
Felt like I was trampled by a herd of bears
Just the usual routine
Got dressed shoes on my feet
Fixed myself up something to eat
Energy finally starting to build
Got another song to write
Shit keepin’ me up at night
Sometimes I just feel like grist for the mill
Sometimes you got to push
Yourself through all the BS
But it’s worth it in the end, lift your voice and scream…
Let’s Go!
Seize the day, carpe diem you know the way
This life ain’t gonna live itself
Let’s Go!
Chase your dreams, blaze that trail reach for the brass ring
Draw that water from that well…
Out the door and hit the road
Sunrise has a happy glow
Gonna see what lies in store
Got a fire down in my gut
Though I still feel like I’m in a rut
I know there’s gotta be something more
They say you can’t actually be what you really are
But I’m gonna try anyway…gleich geht’s los!
Let’s Go!
Seize the day, carpe diem it’s the only way
This life ain’t gonna live itself
Let’s Go!
Chase your dreams, forge your path, reach for the brass ring
Draw that water from that well…
(B-3 solo over verse)
You might say I’ve flipped my wig
But I’ve just booked another gig
Sometimes this life actually doesn’t suck
Tryin’ to be a responsible adult
With my soul in a catapult
Sometimes wants to hurl me into the muck
Sometimes life’s a pain in the ass
But I really can’t complain
At least I’m still here…let’s grab a beer!
Let’s Go!
Seize the day, carpe diem you know the way
This life ain’t gonna live itself
Let’s Go!
Chase your dreams, blaze your trail, reach for the brass ring
Draw that water from that well…
Let’s Go!
Seize the day, carpe diem it’s the only way
This life ain’t gonna live itself
Let’s Go!
Chase your dreams, forge your path, reach for the brass ring
Draw that water from that well…
Let’s Go!
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7. |
The Bridges You Burn
05:14
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Jenny works a bar in her one horse town
Tryin’ to get by on the wage she knocks down
For a while she was doing alright
But it all went south the other night
Boss started moving in
The tension chilled her skin
He ignored her rebuff
She’s finally had enough
And now it’s time to take her chances
To free herself from his advances
Even though you feel you might be jumping the gun
Sometimes it’s best to cut your losses and run
And may the glow from the bridges you burn
Light your way
Let it light your way
Robbie’s at the gas station just down the street
He’s workin’ the pumps despite the withering heat
Not many full service joints like this anymore
But he’s not real certain just what he stays here for
He’s in love with Jenny and he’d love to get out of this place
Afraid to make a change, to take a leap of faith
Don’t wanna be stuck here forever
He finally says it’s now or never
Even though you feel you might be jumping the gun
Sometimes it’s best to cut your losses and run
And may the glow from the bridges you burn
Light your way
Let it light your way
For Jenny and Robbie there was no other choice
They had to make their own way, find their own voice
They had to cut those ties, to really feel alive
Before despair became their eternal anthem
B-3 solo
Even though you feel you might be jumping the gun
Sometimes it’s best to cut your losses and run
And may the glow from the bridges you burn
Light your way
Let it light your way
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8. |
Firepit
02:43
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Weekend’s finally here
Time to let loose some cheer
Come everybody gather round
Wisconsin winter cold
It’s gettin’ kind of old
But the antidote’s right here on the ground
The firepit’s roaring and the moon is bright
Go and round up some more wood
I’ll bring the whiskey, you bring the beer
And let’s raise a glass to our good ol’ neighborhood
<solo>
Good neighbors all around
Stereo playin’ that happy sound
Crisp snow crunchin’ under our feet
Toss on another log
Cue up another song
Finally some respite from the week
The firepit’s roaring and the moon is bright
Go and round up some more wood
I’ll bring the whiskey, you bring the beer
And let’s raise a glass to our good ol’ neighborhood
The firepit’s roaring and the moon is bright
Go and round up some more wood
I’ll bring the whiskey, you bring the beer
And let’s raise a glass to our good ol’ neighborhood
Let’s raise a glass to our good ol’ neighborhood
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9. |
Shortwave
04:48
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Lying in my bed at night
The dial lights up my room
My thoughts and dreams are gettin’ carried away
On the waves of the smell of warm glowing tubes
Voices and music coming from afar
Paint a vision of far off lands
Surf the waves of magnetic destinations
With the tuning knob in my hand
Shortwave
A window to the world had opened
Shortwave
Turned on my grandpa’s radio and listened
To distant worlds and wondrous places
Happy songs from smiling faces
Shortwave carry me away
I heard pontiffs and teachers
Dispatches from the globe
A plethora of tongues and accents and secret code modulations
From places I could never go
Signals skippin’ ‘cross the ionosphere
Long wire aerial buzzin’ with the waves
The beautiful and the strange, and the sometimes amusing
And random hawkers of someone’s wacky craze
Shortwave
I heard the lightning crackle before the thunder
Shortwave
A window to a world of wonder
And tinfoil hats and snake oil sellers
Exotic music and crazy preachers
Shortwave carry me away
<Bridge/solo>
Shortwave
A portal to a world of magic
Shortwave
Received the glorious mundane and tragic
Well I was never gonna rattle the rafters
With the 4” speaker in my Hallicrafters but
Shortwave carried me away….
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10. |
Grifters On Parade
04:39
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You’re on every TV
Adorn every screen
From barbershop walls
To army canteens
It’s hard to escape your paternalistic gaze
Your followers - just like moths to the flame
We know that you’re lying
Day after day
You know it too, yet
You keep doin’ it anyway
The ratings are too good, the cash keeps flowing like
The deathless procession
Of grifters on parade
Grifters on parade
Breathtaking hubris
Endless stream of lies
Behind a “respectable” facade
Of suits and bowties
You’re “just asking questions”
Ya look puzzled like a dog
But all you’re generating is obfuscatory fog
Fear of the other
Fear of ourselves
It’s all part and parcel of
The bullshit you sell
You demonize anyone who isn’t like you
And your deathless procession
Of grifters on parade
Grifters on parade
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11. |
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From a fetid foreboding place
Dark waves of mystery - erasing history
Don’t want the truth to ever see the light of day
“Ignorance is strength - We’ll go to any length
You will only learn the things that we allow
You must fulfill your role - for our nation’s soul
Don’t question what we do, never ask why or how
We’re never letting go - we are in control”
Dark forces rule this world
But we must resist - for this earth where we dwell
Push all malevolence
Back to the parapets
To the parapets of Hell
Deluded man with power
His soldiers in the mud - spilling innocent blood
Sends waves of orcs to die
For his avarice - it’s a dementor’s kiss
He can not gain an inch
An errand of fools - destroying all his tools
And yet he does not flinch
He’ll take this to his grave - he’s too far gone to save
Dark forces rule this world
But we must resist - for this earth where we dwell
Push all malevolence
Back to the parapets
To the parapets of Hell
Cling to the faith that there’s still good
In this world of sadness
Unite as one, stand for what’s right
Negate the madness
Dark forces rule this world
But we must resist - for this earth where we dwell
Push all malevolence
Back to the parapets
To the parapets of Hell
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12. |
Pass This Way
06:26
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Wandering the streets at night
And through tunnels underground
Across wide open fields
Guided by a friendly light
Searching for new sounds
My heart is light with cheer
Will I ever pass this way again?
Will I ever pass this way again?
Stillness of a quiet lake
Majestic rocks on the hill
Autumn’s savor in the air
Find a different path to take
Wind through the trees brings a chill
Earth’s beauty is everywhere
Will I ever pass this way again?
Will I ever pass this way again?
<synth solo>
Will I ever pass this way again?
Will I ever pass this way again?
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Todd Phipps Mount Horeb, Wisconsin
I'm a Hammond organ player and multi-instrumentalist from Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. I play in multiple rock, blues, and funk projects in the Madison WI area and occasionally produce some of my own music, which you will find here. Enjoy and thank you for listening! ... more
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