Get all 26 John Alan Kennedy releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Future Never Happens, Fugue in Pi, Hexahexagram, When the Sky Lays Down, no coast, Amontillado, There Are Roots in Every Cellar, the darling parts of May, and 18 more.
1. |
Belly Up
05:09
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i found a bottle in the corner of your closet
it was empty but it surely wasn’t broken
i filled it up with some beleaguered shade of bourbon
i placed a feather on the seal that you had broken
belly up, belly up, belly up
she’ll take you home but it’s a favor for your girlfriend
cuz she’ll feel better if she thinks you’re built the same
she’ll spin the bottle every time you run an errand
she’ll spin a story every time you look away
belly up, belly up, belly up
(this ain’t speakeasy, no no speakeasy)
it’s gettin’ mighty late
you should make a real decision
if you believe that bottle’s never used for heavy drinkin’
you can look away look away look away
but if her kiss tastes like another shade of bourbon
you should run away run away run away
if you believe that beetle’s on his back just for singalong
i’ve got a bottle of some bourbon, you should try it
and you can swing your legs until you’re done forgettin’
and you can spin the bottle til the bugs are dead and gone
belly up, belly up, belly up
it’s gettin’ mighty late
you should make a real decision
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2. |
50 Tons of Rose
03:16
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There they go
fifty tons of rose
into your stove
a kiss-off in smoke
all fifty rows
that my grandmother sowed.
maybe i was too much?
i know i’m more than most
or maybe i was never even close
am i deaf?
am i dumb?
am i way too slow?
i tried to watch your show
the hours flowing
like tears they’d roll
i guess that’s how it goes
i know, i know, i know, i know
who has time for this?
i know, i know, i know, i know
it’s so so phony
there i go
fifty pounds of way too slow
i guess i’ll never grow
i know, i know, i know, i know
i’m so so phony
i know, i know, i know, i know
so so phony
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3. |
Lions Will Eat
04:02
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on the sharp side of town
there’s a hole with a fence
but nothing gets through
and nothing makes sense.
that’s the place where i fell
there was blood on my knee
the glass cut clean through
and looked into me.
let it all in
prove you’re alive
then let it all go
at the end of the night
there’s a hole in my brain
it’s deeper than deep
and nothing escapes.
that’s the place where i fly
there are birds at my feet
giraffes stumble through
and the lions will eat.
let it all in
prove you’re alive
then let it all go
where the whiskey’s too sweet
and the people too loud
we never quite meet
we’re all just too proud.
there are things never said
cuz nothing gets through
it doesn’t make sense
but that’s what we do.
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4. |
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5. |
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you can relax in the valley of your hope
you can dance at the funeral of dreams that are no more
you can watch the roll of the credits that are your life
and you can watch while the mouth of the world takes you whole
to an empty whore of a town
you can cry til your eyeballs ache
you can cling to your lover but you can’t escape
you can cry bloody murder for the things you made
but you’ll never leave this town
you haven’t tried yet
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6. |
Can You See Me?
02:29
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7. |
Cold Side of the Avenue
02:26
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you always walked on the cold side of the avenue
you always hid down deep in your coat
you always took steps so quiet and well-measured
i never thought that one day you’d keep going
quick down the avenue, past the alleyway and bodega,
softly through shadows as dark as your hair
you reached the corner, i watched you turn your head
you blew me a kiss, and then you let go
slower than slow
undeterred by the engines
egged on by indifference or maybe your tears
crushed in the intersect of horror and fear
i never thought that one day you’d keep going
i never thought that one day you’d be gone
i never thought that one day you’d stop trying
i never thought that one day you’d be gone
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8. |
That's Curiosity
03:03
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Is it the moon or is it something with a dark side?
Is it the sun or is it something you’d rather not shine on you?
Is it your life or somebody’s plan for you?
Is it your time or everyone else’s time too?
Is it your blood in your veins or is it your father’s blood?
Is it your father’s blood or the apes and the stars?
Do you desire to reach destiny or does it feel much too far?
That’s the charm
That’s the choice
That’s no crime
That’s curiosity
Is it love or just an excuse to hurt half the time?
Is it to fuck or is it to share every inch every time?
Is it a tragedy or is it something that happened to somebody else?
Is it your first or your very very last time?
Is it heaven or just hell for devils?
Is it to die or to see the light for the first time?
Is it heaven? Or just hell for devils?
That’s the charm
That’s the choice
That’s no crime
That’s curiosity
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John Alan Kennedy Houston, Texas
Brains like music. Take advantage while you can.
John Alan Kennedy is "a Houston musician fluent in a vast swath of innovative and progressive music." Andrew Dansby, Houston Chronicle
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