Get all 4 Carrie Elkin releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
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1. |
Obadiah
04:01
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Why would I want to go to heaven
The people here don’t think much of me now
And they’ll be up there one day
Just when I think I got it all figured out
And why would I want to be the ocean
Water can’t wash away these sins
Just now or ever
But I’m growing older
Got a small piece of land
And a cross too big to hold her
And a drought sneaking in
Did you feel the light move
Out from under me and into you
The moon opened it’s mouth up
Took the night before the night was through
Obadiah found me breaking free of chains
Chains you thought you knew
And I’m growing older
Got a small piece of land
And a cross too big to hold her
And a drought sneaking in
Grab on to the solace of her heart
Let her go let her go
Breznichar in bohemiah
She swears you’ll never know
Swears you’ll never know
She swears you’ll never know
She swears you’ll never
But I’m growing older
Got a small piece of land
And a cross too big to hold her
And a drought sneaking in.
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2. |
Roots & Wings
03:58
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She kept the cardboard pieces
In a box made of twine
It shriveled and died
I guess the love was a lie
You can go it alone
When the sky turns to stone
Hammer and tong
Boulder and bone
She’s got roots
She’s got wings
She can fly
When she’s not strapped
To the root of his pride
There is a line
No one can find
She’s got roots
She’s got wings
And she’s gonna fly
Where should he take her S
he’s so far away
The joker or the faker
And she’s in it to stay
His heart looks like an orange
When the blood leaves the day
Her bones are just tired
From the guilt
That she weighs
She’s got roots
She’s got wings
She can fly
When she’s not strapped
To the root of his pride
There is a line
No one can find
She’s got roots
She’s got wings
And she’s gonna fly
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3. |
Did She Do Her Best
03:46
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His heart is full
With steal wool
And the bottom of his feet
Have been put to rest
He can’t dig that deep no more
Cause the guilt she laid upon him
When she came undressed
Madness swirled around
It was unfolded unpressed
And all she wants to know is darlin’
Did she do her best?
She just started smoking again
She opened up her mouth
Let the sin back in
And it choked her
She can’t see in the dark no more
Cause he took away the space
She’d been saving it for denial
Madness twirled round in her heart
Like it hasn’t in a while
Did she do her best
To put her world at unrest
Did she do her best
To put her man at rest
He must have known the time
But the clock was like a brick on her chest
She wrote bout the jeopardy of circumstance
With the ground so soft
The trees are falling through the earth
And she’s just willing for one more chance
To burn it all down
And give back whatever it’s worth
Madness swirled round
And the whole damn thing was unearthed
Did she do her best
To put her life at unrest
Did she do her best
To put her man at rest
He must have known the time
But the clock was like a brick on her chest
And all she wants to know is darling
Did she do her best
And all she wants to know is darling
Did she do her best
And all she wants to know is darling.
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4. |
Ode To Ogallala
03:26
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It’s the end of the Texas trail
And it’s where I begin
A town too tough for Texans
Lord I think I’ll fit right in
Transcontinental railroad
Running by my door
Was headed east to the ocean
But I don’t belong there anymore
Ogallala I really want ya
Sweet Nebraska, I meant to ask ya
How long?
Must have fell off the wagon
The tinhorn gamblers
Were drawing me in
Then a dance with a cowboy
My feet were flyin’
My heart was sinned
The smell of smoke in the timbers
I coulda swore I saw a neon light
Shinin’ down on me whiskey
A hard days work means a drinking night
Ogallala I really want ya
Sweet Nebraska I meant to ask ya
How long?
Oh how long?
Smell of smoke in the timbers
I coulda swore I saw a neon light
Shinin’ down on me whiskey
A hard days work means a drinking night
Shinin’ down on me whiskey
A hard days work means a drinking night
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5. |
Questions About Angels
03:29
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He had questions about angels
And all them things were black and white to you
You can’t question and angel
When greeds got your tongue
The devil, god and greed become one
And on and on
Show me a sign
The heart is drunk
With whiskey and crime
He took to drinking
As to not lose the mind
And it went on and on and on and on
He sang on Sunday’s
Sacrificed his words to get to you
But sacrifice ain’t no good
Till you give god his due
Oh the money
It just won’t get him through
And on and on
Show me a sign
The heart is drunk
With whiskey and crime
He took to stealing
Tried to take back the time
But it went on and on and on and on
The god in him made him lie
While the devil in us rest beside his tomb
He’s got a funny way of seeing through the night
Now he lives in the darkest room
He’s found his `way home now
And mamma said he’s so far from blue
Cause when the inside becomes the outside
And the outside was all
What you get is a heart with a view
And on and on
Show me a sign
The heart is drunk
With whiskey and crime
You whittle down to nothing
Fore the heart can unwind
And it goes on and on and on and on
on and on and on and on . . .
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6. |
Year Before The War
03:42
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Somehow my Helen died
A year before the war
So I drank up
And I married Claire
But it don’t much matter anymore
Cause I can’t take a picture
These old eyes are worn
They’re worn
I’ve lied to myself before
And I guess that’s like lying to god
But I loved her before I loved you
And there’s something to be said
For the first wife that’s dead
And I can’t take a picture
These old eyes are worn
No I can’t take a picture these old eyes are worn
But on with this life
You can cut me
Where I used to shine
I look dull around the edges
But I’m doing fine
I’m going fine
I can’t take a picture
These old eyes are worn
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7. |
Shell Of A Man
02:38
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Don’t knock against me
You’ll find out I’m empty
You’ll find out I’m a shell of a man
Got nothing to lose but a broken heart
Feel free to take it with you
Cause it’s tearing me apart
Faith was never with me
I found it all out early
I found it in the palm of my hand
The old lady said I had a few years left But I just kept runnin’
Didn’t give the girls my best
Oh goodnight, goodnight
I might not wake tomorrow
I might not say good morning
But I’ll always say goodnight
Don’t knock against me
You’ll find out I’m empty
You’ll find out I’m a shell of a man
Got seven angels singin’ from a mountain on high
Hallelujah to the man with the short lifeline
Thought jesus never loved me
With a knife hangin’ bove me
I’m inclined to stand on bended knee
I got one hand in my pocket so the world won’t see
Where the old lady said they gonna bury me
Oh goodnight, goodnight
I might not wake tomorrow
I might not say good morning
But I’ll always say goodnight
Goodnight, goodnight
I might not wake tomorrow
I might not say good morning
But I’ll always say goodnight
Don’t knock against me
You’ll find out I’m empty
You’ll find out I’m a shell of a man
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8. |
Broke TV
03:13
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I got nothing in my heart
That you can’t have
I got nothing in my heart
That you can’t have
Cause it’s rainin’ I’m cold and lonely
And I’d swim to the bottom of the sea
To find you there just waiting to hold me
Who’d a known that the jokes on me
Oh there’s nothing in my heart
That you can’t have
Oh there’s nothing in my heart
That you can’t have
This tiny vessel does nothing to protect me
It barely beats and I barely breath
Still find a way to make it to your doorstep
You look through me like a broke tv
There’s nothing in my heart
You can’t have
Oh there’s nothing in my heart you can’t have
He took it all while I was walking backwards
And wouldn’t you know
it was impossible to see
He swung his arm round
And tore my heart out
And light flickered like a broke tv
But it’s okay cause he carved a space
For you and me to swim so low
The good thing is you can leave me down there
My heart don’t beat
So you’ll never know
You’ll never know
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9. |
Black Lung
02:36
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My daddy he worked in a coal mine
Twenty years nine to five
It was dark
And he died
Darker than the lung
Inside
Darker than his face
When he stepped out into the night
Wiped the dust from his eyes
They said I cried
But I don’t remember
The day that he died
I was nine
It was the day before his birthday
And the day after mine
Oh it was the day after mine
Just in between
Isn’t it funny how we like
To create this balance in life sometimes
With a six pack of beer
He was spittin’ in a tin
And kissing my mama goodnight
And she said to breathe
But his lungs were full
Of something instead of air
She watched him fall
It was sort of sweetly
Neath the firelight
Over the arm of his chair
And she said to breathe
But his lungs were full
Of something instead of air
It was sort of sweetly
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10. |
Gospel Song
03:43
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Did you hear me
Come down from that mountain today
Did you hear me
When I had nothing to say to you
I think you asked about the weather
So now, I’ll go no place with you
So now, will you go no place with me too
We’ll go no place together
I’d like to sit
On this old chair outside with you
Carved out of wood
We’ll pretend it was made just for me and you W
e’ll sing our gospel together
We’ll sing
Oh amen
We’ll sing
Oh, amen.
What’s real in this life
Is what I wanna know
What’s real
In all the noise and the lights
Of this one man show
So disconnected
They say that three’s a charm
But I don’t know
Two’s done so much harm
In this great big world
We’ll sing our gospel together
We’ll sing
Oh amen
We’ll sing
Oh amen
So why won’t you
Walk to the mountains with me
Why won’t you
See things the way that I see
Why won’t you
Share this here gospel with me
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Carrie Elkin Austin, Texas
Carrie Elkin is one of those rare artists with a tidal wave singing voice, and a stage whisper writing voice that brings you to the edge of your seat, emotionally. Like Patty Griffin or Brandi Carlile, she straddles the Americana, Folk, and Indie Rock worlds, where meaningful songs meet the fierce-yet- fragile voices of powerful women. ... more
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