Get all 5 David Lowery releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Vending Machine, Art Basel, Leaving Key Member Clause, In The Shadow of the Bull (Bonus Edition), and Conquistador.
1. |
Frozen Sea, 1963
04:59
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First thing I remember
I'm looking out at the snow
In some english seaside town
People out on their front steps
laugh smoke cigarettes
look out at the frozen sea
say it ain't happened here since '23
I go down into the kitchen
strange man in a uniform
holds my mother hand she kisses his cheek
my sisters all down at his legs
hug and call him pa
reaches down lifts me in his arms
puts a silk ball cap on my head Vietnam
we go down to see the frozen sea
my sister on her crutches father and me
the boats they lay upon their side at Margate harbor
at low tide
we look out at the frozen sea
braces and crutches
my sister climbs the ramp
into the c-130 cargo plane
two airmen get to their feet
lift my sister in the air
put her in the seat
between the two of them
my sister laughs my mother still looked grim
we flew out across the English sea
over southern France across the Pyrenees
To an airfield just outside Sevilla
La Guardia, they greeted us
My mother muttered fascist under her breath
50 years later again at Margate bay
In the JMW Turner Gallery
Someone lights a cigarette
"Mam you can't smoke that in here
it was the artist Tracy Emin in the flesh
In the main gallery her famous bed
We went out across the margate high street
Into the old market for cornish pasties
My sister bummed a cigarette
we went back out into the sleet
the sky was like a JMW Turner painting
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2. |
Plaza de Toros, 1967
04:19
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Plaza De Toros
6/8 Key of C
C C F C
Amin G F F
CC F C
Amin G F F
I remember [C]waking up
To the [F] bright [C} sunlight
[Am] Streaming [G] through the [F]blinds
From the [C] courtyard rose
[F] Sevillian[C]as
And [Am] American [G]Rock and [C]Roll
My father in his Sunday best
Played records for his friends
I tasted Sangria from a half full cup
And my sister slapped my hand
Then we followed on
The swelling crowd
To Plaza de Toros
CHORUS I
[F] Now come the [G] picadors
The [Amin] crowd gets to their [D]feet and roars
[F] Papa do they [G] really kill the bull?
[F] Then comes the [G]matador
Behind his [Amin] back a [D]gleaming sword
[F]Papa do they [G] really kill the [Amin]bull?
VERSE II
In the ancient streets
Of the old city
Comes a marching crowd
In unison
They chant and sing
Hold their placards in the air
The shopkeeper motions
Quick come inside
Then he rolls the shutters down
(And then) the shots ring out
The men run and shout
The old man gives me a coke
Chorus II
We emerged at dusk
And the water in the street was pink
Mama do they really kill the bull?
Then I thought I saw the matador
He held up high a gleaming sword
Papa do they really kill the bull?
VERSE III
Dug a Hole in the ground
as boys often do
And we found a bandolier
A German made
hand grenade
From the Spanish civil war
Older boys came along
Said go back into the wheat
Too much danger to be near
And the Romany men
Looked on holding piles of sheets
And my mother’s blue green blouse
Chorus 3
Then came the base MPs
The Romany slipped back into the wheat
Papa do they really kill the bull?
And always the Matador
Behind his back a gleaming sword
Papa do they really kill the bull?
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3. |
Superbloom, 1973
02:57
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Superbloom
The storm clouds came up from mexicali
Cast Shadows on the Salton Sea
Here with my fathers family has settled
from arkansas to the
coachella valley
like grapes of wrath in the 1970s
My grandfather packed dates
Near the polo grounds
He sometimes mowed people’s lawns
Grandma was a housekeeper
in palm springs
or the Bermuda Dunes
country club
One summer I went to stay with cousins in Indio
they were fleeing poverty in Arkansas
My uncle was a hellfire Baptist minister
My cousin Norma Jean that's her name she was sweet
But her twin brothers trouble for the law
The twins stole a car
And they took me to watch them
burn by the aqueduct
Then they robbed the neighbor’s house
I was frightened ran away.
Never told my grandfather what they doen
Dark-haired Mary in 8th grade
Her mother was from Mexico
Her father was a soldier
She asked me to the dance
Sat in the bleachers just held hands
One slow dance at the end
It rained and snowed a lot that winter
And in the spring came the Super Bloom
The desert was a sea of purple and orange flowers
From Cabazon on down to Mexico
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4. |
Disneyland Jail, 1977
03:29
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Never ride dirt bikes
tripping on mushrooms
through the Dangermond's orchards
in the middle of the night
Never climb the water tower
drunk as shit on vodka
you just might end up in the county morgue
We ate all the mushroom
in the Disneyland parking lot
Dale had a puffy coat
put the vodka up one sleeve
Looked like a body builder
but only on one side
so, we rolled up a t-shirt
put it up the other sleeve
Never take mushrooms
and ride on space mountain
you just might end up in Disneyland jail
Never drink vodka
pass out on the monorail
you just might end up in Disneyland jail
Solo
Then you get older
have some teenagers
you think “omg please don't do the shit that I did”
Stay in the chess club
Run for student council
Keep playing clarinet in the marching band
Never take mushrooms
and ride on space mountain
you just might end up in Disneyland jail
Never drink vodka
pass out on the monorail
you just might end up in Disneyland jail
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5. |
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Packed up my clothes my acoustic guitar
in the trunk of the Ford Galaxy
My father came out checked the oil and the air and said
son you can always come home
My mother made a
joke about being far away
like I was soldier
away at the war
Acted like I didn't notice
when she brushed away a
small tear
said son you'll be fine
Found the worlds tiniest beach bungalow
in the San Lorenzo tidal flats
The sea here is always so cold and so grey
The sun it doth rarely shines
I'll study hard
get a good job
come and meet my girl
she might make a good wife
and daughter in law
I'll study hard
get a good job
a technology company
out somewhere
near Moffett Field
When I went to go do my first job interviews
knew my suit it was cheap and out of style
And the man looked at me like I was
trailer trash and I considered proving him right
The sea here is always so cold and so grey
And the sun it doth rarely shines
Found a job working down
Watsonville way on a farm
packing produce in trucks
I met the boss
he was a geek
we got along
soon he had me writing
Dbase routines for the farm
I had a band
it was joke
then it was not
we got some real gigs
in San Francisco
Went next door to
the old grocery store
bought some refried bean
and fresh tortillas
Heated them up on the
flame of the stove
whispered “mom I'm living the life”
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6. |
Mexican Chickens, 1989
07:11
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Lyrics Mexican Chickens
C C C C
F F C C
Amin G F F
F F C C
Amin G F F
went out the door
Into the morning darkness
gravel underfoot
heard the screen door gently close
I Slid across the seat
the steering wheel was cold
tiny icicles on the glass
in the corner of the windows
The desert air was dry
they were melted in the instant
I pulled on to the highway
and I began to cry
I was leaving her behind
was really for the best
I had something deep inside
boundless anger without reason
CHORUS
[F] We all got someone we [C] left behind
cause we're [G] just weren’t right in our [Amin] hearts and our minds
yeah we [F] all got someone we were [C] lucky to find in the [G] first place [G]
We [F] all got someone we [C] never treated right
we were [G] selfish and the drinking staying [Amin] out all night
we [F] all got someone we were [C] lucky to find in the [G] first place [C] [C]
VERSE
When she [F] awakes
I hope she's not sad
loved her from the first time
laid my eyes upon her
got a little house
drove a truck played in a band
got some Mexican chickens
and we raised them on our land
Talked of having little girls
they’d have their mother's little curls
it was more than a dream
yeah one day they'd be real
I played out on the road
at first she came along
sang the harmonies mixed the sound
sold the albums and the singles
I hung out in the bar
drinking until the closing time
I was foolish I was selfish
I'd find her sleeping in the car
CHORUS
[F] We all got someone we [C] left behind
cause we're [G] just weren’t right in our [Amin] hearts and our minds
yeah we [F] all got someone we were [C] lucky to find in the [G] first place [G]
We [F] all got someone we [C] never treated right
we were [G] selfish and the drinking staying [Amin] out all night
we [F] all got someone we were [C] lucky to find in the [G] first place [C] [C]
VERSE
She went back to our house
to feed and raise the animals
we slowly grew apart
and I was growing meaner
I drank when I got up
cause motel room was hot
or something stupid I had done
I was lonely for my girl
there was always someone else
and then there was another
I could barely stand myself
I was stoned all the time
when I finally came back home
she said something changed inside you
I smashed a glass against the wall
went walking in the desert
When I come on back
she was sleeping peacefully
I knew that she was better
better off without me
The little girls were there
I saw their faces in her hair
but now it was clear
I would never be their father
I put on my coat and hat
slid the deadbolt in the hasp
took one last look back at her
stepped across the threshold.
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7. |
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Yonder Distant Shore
We live upon this island for a brief uncertain time
The sea may rise a storm may come
and drown us in the waves
I walked along the dock one night
my father he was frail
the ferryman said “father
I'd be glad to take you home”
Saw your brother who was murdered
twas not the devils trick I swear
he waits there with your mother
on yonder distant shore
I was away in the Spanishtown
when the ferryman returned
he took away my father
left my mother in the church
My mother she was lonely
she slowly slipped away
her memories fled across the sea to yonder distant shore
Then returned the ferryman
he promised her life returned
to take her to my father
in his army uniform
We live up this island for a brief uncertain time
the sea may rise a storm may come
and take us by and by
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8. |
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Everybody Get A Day Job
Key Amin
Tempo 160
<Riff>
[Amin] Everybody get a fucking day job
[F] None of you are better than the rest
[C] Everybody get a fucking day job
[E] Wait tables, Tend Bar
Push a broom, Wash a Car
Everybody get a job
Apple Store, Genius Bar
[Amin] Everybody get a fucking day job
[F] Sorry man no one gives a shit
[C] Everybody get a fucking day job
[E] Paint houses, Spread Tar
Web Design, Teach Guitar
Everybody get a job
Apple store, Genius Bar
<Riff>
[Amin] Everybody get a fucking day job
[F] In the universe you’re just a tiny speck
[C] Everybody get a fucking day job
[E] Wait tables, Tend bar
Push a broom, Wash a car
Everybody get a job
Apple store, Genius Bar
[Amin] everybody get a fucking day job
[F] You are not as good as you all been told
[C] Everybody get a fucking day job
[E] Paint houses, Spread tar
Web Design, Teach Guitar
Everybody get a job
Apple store, Genius Bar
<Riff>
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David Lowery Athens, Georgia
David Lowery is the lead singer and guitarist for the critically acclaimed groups Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker. He splits his time between Richmond VA and Athens GA.
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