Get all 10 Erik Ritland releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of 1747 York Avenue (Borges Labyrinth album), A Scientific Search, Promises/Help Me Tonight, Angel and the Badman (Borges Labirynth album), To St. Jude with Desperation: Best Acoustic Tracks, Well There's That: The Best of Erik Ritland, For An Empty Theater, Kid Winston, and 2 more.
1. |
Jerusalem
02:37
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You thought it was bad before
In the golden age
Now we’re stuck in this real down town
The band has left the stage
We’re restless
And bitter
And likely bored
We wish into existence what we want to see
And if there’s no success like failure then take a tip from me
I fear our end is come
Like the poet said
Go ask William Blake
Raise him from the dead
Like magic
He’d know us
Like Jerusalem
We wish into existence what we want to see
And if there’s no success like failure then take a tip from me
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2. |
Fade with Me
03:13
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I’m getting so high
But I’m lower than the angels
And that’s the thought I always regret
I confess what I don’t want to consider
But it’s best that I don’t forget
Fade with me
All I have is a lot of wasted time
Already spinning in my grave
I try to think big
And I know I am better
Than the sunk cost I can no longer save
Fade with me
What I think I can say no longer
As if I’ve ever had the nerve
Put me in chains so I know how it feels
To be shot down like I deserve
Fade with me
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3. |
Promises
03:40
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4. |
Long Gone Days
02:52
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Down the old highway
In a beat-up car
Just to find our way to where we are
And if I could
I would go back again
To long gone days
We thought would never end
We stayed up all night
Our hopes were high
There's been dark and light
But we got by
And if I could
I would go back again
To long gone days
We thought would never end
Time goes by too fast
But the good times last
Even when they're gone
Playing here with you is everything
It's all that's ever been
When I hear you sing
And if I could
I would go back again
To long gone days
We thought would never end
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5. |
Empty Bed
04:20
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I've changed your water into wine
So many times before
It don't excite you anymore
You sit and you don't even smile
You look in my direction and pretend that you don't see me
But you see me
You don't even want to try
But it won't be that bad
'Cuz neither do I
You're miles away and I don't know why
You used to love the things I do
But now when I do them you act like I've done something wrong
I haven't gotten any worse
Well maybe just a little
I was hoping you didn't notice
But you notice
You don't even want to try
But it won't be that bad
'Cuz neither do I
You're miles away and I don't know why
And when you wake up alone
In your empty bed
How can you face the day ahead?
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6. |
Rock n' Roll is Dead
03:16
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You can try to deny it
Or point to exceptions
But they only prove the rule
Most of the greats are dead
And so is the radio
All that's left is to sweep the ashes
Rock n' roll is dead
But don't be too upset
At least we lived to see it pass
There's so much going on
But nothing to latch onto
We barely see our neighborhood
"It's so superficial"
People always said
Now it's finally ringing true
Rock n' roll is dead
But don't be too upset
At least we lived to see it pass
You can have your fun
Waste your nights away
But it will always be a shadow
Where there was mystery
Is now so plain to me
What happened to all the eccentrics?
Rock n' roll is dead
But don't be too upset
At least we lived to see it pass
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7. |
Firelight
02:24
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When the levees broken
Best learn how to swim
If you wanna gamble
Better know you'll win
Eden burns
Through the night
I see past the firelight
In the air
Recognize
I see past the firelight
Withered scenes divided
Arguments unwon
Little things won't get you
Drop your heart and run
Eden burns
Through the night
I see past the firelight
In the air
Recognize
You can't stop the firelight
No one can stop the firelight
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8. |
First Things last
03:13
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9. |
Stay Inside
03:46
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Well if you're going nowhere
And you need to get there fast
I know a shortcut nobody's tried
And if you've run on empty
Since the day you left
Don't be afraid to give it all back
The new sun attacks
It's too nice to stay inside today
Won't you come in closer
So I can make you out
Don't hide in a corner where nobody sees
The rows and rows of houses
Mirror side by side
But nothing can warn them of days left to come
Beneath the new sun
It's too nice to stay inside today
Somewhere on the main line
The tracks were laid out wrong
The streets are filled with curses dressing as dreams
Sink into the sunset
Watch it all unfold
Hear all the engines rattle apart
And if you were smart
You wouldn't even start
It's too late to be outside
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10. |
Help Me Tonight
04:33
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I don't know why
We dive so deep
In ways we can't define
I'm a poor, poor stranger
In a dead end town
Where no one's on your side
How can I be sure I'm here
When everything is dust
It's a long, long way to higher ground
When you don't know who to truts
So help me tonight
I'm falling fast
Help me help myself
I'm here
I'm waiting
I can almost see the light.
So please help me tonight
I'll take the walk
But I won't run
The world will run for me
Dawn is coming but always fades
It's all I want to be
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11. |
Walls and Bridges
03:11
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You don't love what you won't fight for
You don't love what you won't defend
In the end it's all we have
There is room for walls and bridges
There is a bridge you wouldn't cross over
There is a bridge that you would burn down
And try not to make a sound as you run away
There is room for walls and bridges
There are so many walls
Between you and me
Why don't we tear them down?
Only then we'll see
Let's raise a toast to all of the good things
Then throw the glass against the wall
It's last call
There is room for walls and bridges
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12. |
Ordinary
03:17
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You cry all the time but it don't hurt me
I know that it should
But I just dry your eyes
I don't mean to be insensitive
But you break down so much
That it's become so ordinary
You know as well as I do
We've been treading water
Like we've done this whole time
I really wish that I could hold you
And feel that you were trying
I guess I'm just too ordinary
I've never been what you wanted
I've never been what you want
But I'm something
You deserve things I can't give you
But you dislike yourself so much
You'll never realize
You are worth the time and effort
But you never look inside yourself
And that's become so ordinary
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Erik Ritland Saint Paul
One of the last great American songwriters in the tradition of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, William James, G.K. Chesterton, and Jeff Tweedy.
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