1. |
Speed Demons
04:55
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Speed Demons
The air is heavy ain’t no breeze tonight crowd o’ young boyz gathered by the street lamp light
in the atmosphere you could cut with a knife somebody gonna hear about the street lamp life
Everything’s quiet on the east side front ‘cept for Jacknife Lenny and his paradise punks
talkin bout skippin out them night school classes catch a cross town ride kick some rich boyz asses
Speed Demons on a one way street
Sucked in by the light burned up by the heat Where muscle and blood is all the promise you get Some make it through and some are caught in the net In the naked night in the final toll
You can give up the fight or you can give up your soul Swallowed up by the night
One child thinkin was i born to this? to survive among the dead end streets to never know the kiss of the well off widows of the debutantes growin fat and contented in their restaruants
Somewhere in the sidestep of a tire iron dance
Is this some kinda joke or this some kinda romance Hard lessons learned early never wanna die that a young man surely ain’t supposed to cry
The flower girls on the promenade
The shoe shine boys with their razor blades With every kind of dream that won’t be stilled tonight Risin from the ruins of another rigged fight Stormin the beaches of this conquered land
In every heart that’s diggin in to make a stand Swallowed up by the night
I know the lessons that they tell ya in the school make it make it sound so sweet
But the pavement never learned the golden rule you got to stay on your own feet or be
swallowed up by the night
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2. |
In Every Face You See
03:54
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Every Face You See
Everywhere you look you’ll see my face Everywhere you go i’ll be
You won’t have to search to find a trace You won’t have to look to see
When you’re out along the street chasin memories I’ll be in everyone you meet in every face you see
Every time you cry I’ll be the tears Every tear you shed is me
If you live another thousand years You will never get over me
When the nights are gettin long Reach out for me
I’ll be the voice in every song In every face you see
I want you to know How I need you so
When you’re weary feelin cold it ain’t no mystery I’ll be in everyone you hold in every face you see
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3. |
The Black Wall
06:41
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The Black Wall
I had a dream the other night and i can’t get it outta my mind
Its like something just ain’t quite right like something left behind I was standin in my childhood and my father held me in his arms It was the last time i remember feelin safe and warm
As i grew into a young man there were friends and loves by the score Some are gone and some remain some i’ll never see no more And the world was there for the takin i was sure to take it all
I spit and rubbed my hands together started climbin the black wall
There was a fire in my belly and a tremblin in my hand
Its the kind that only those who’ve climbed the black wall understand
The night was clear the stars were bright and the moon moved slowly ‘cross the sky I never dreamt that by the dawn’s first light part of this young man would die
Then my eyes my eyes were open and the dream had come to an end Standin round my bed my mother my father and all my friends Welcome home they said, welcome home as if i’d never left them at all And when i turned to look behind me in the distance was the black wall
Like the whisky in the water like the water in the wine
It seems there always is the balance of what’s to come and what’s behind So come on boys and lay your money on the table bet it well ‘Cause there ain’t no saints in heaven who’ve never walked through hell
I had a dream the other night and i can’t get it outta my mind
Its like something just ain’t quite right like something left behind I was standin in my childhood and my father held me in his arms It was the last time i remember feelin safe and warm
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4. |
Huntin' For A Heartache
03:53
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Huntin’ For A Heartache
I saw you walkin just the other day
You saw me too but you had nothin to say Wanted to stop you but it ain’t my way
I’d never let it show
But in the mornin when you’re not there The room seems twice as big and twice as bare I tried to buy it but it just ain’t fair
I got to let you know
I wasn’t huntin’ for a heartache
I wasn’t bettin on a bad break
You know I’ve taken all that I can take
I wasn’t huntin’ for a heartache heartache heartache
My my my my my my baby
I ain’t a wealthy man I ain’t a king
I ain’t the owner of anything
‘cept for this guitar and these songs I sing I don’t need nothin’ more
But you know I’d buy the moon for you Shine and shine the whole night thru Do anything you want me to
To see you face at my door
I wasn’t huntin’ for a heartache
I wasn’t bettin on a bad break
You know I’ve taken all that I can take
I wasn’t huntin’ for a heartache heartache heartache
My my my my my my baby
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5. |
Don't Take No
03:23
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Don’t Take No
In a factory town Weekend nights
The feel of somethin goin down
Rusty car doors slam Headlights on asphalt shinin Radios jam
Lookin for the light lookin for the why Feelin like a punchline to a lie That’s been whispered for too long
You don’t take no you don’t take no for an answer You don’t take no you don’t take no for an answer
All down the neighborhood Writins on the wall Frustration’s understood
Below a smokestack sky The sound of voices risin Sleepin dogs don’t lie
Somethin in your heart pushin through your veins Makes you make a start makes you throw the chains That have kept your dreams their prisoner
You don’t take no you don’t take no for an answer You don’t take no you don’t take no for an answer That ain’t no answer
Under your feet in these abandoned streets
These empty shells..... their silent bells....follow you down...
Tell me who are these ones
Who bled you white
Who now are safe in the sun
Who bought your father’s pain
His father’s toil and left you the rust and the rain
These streets can fight back from the grave Finished? Oh not quite...too much to save Before you give up the ghost and say No
You don’t take no you don’t take no for an answer You don’t take no you don’t take no for an answer
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6. |
No Promises
03:37
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No Promises
Hey hey come and sit at my table
I’ll let ya buy me a drink sit here right by my side Talk to me i’ll tell ya stories and fables
You can take all night if ya wanna decide
No promises no no promises
Once you get me goin i’m a hurricane blowin No promises no no promises
Take my word
Take my word
Trust me trust me trust me its as good as gold
Maybe we could get it together
If the night is right and you’re runnin high Baby run back to your mother Won’t get no love if ya never try
No promises no no promises
Once you get me goin i’m a hurricane blowin No promises no no promises
Take my word
Take my word
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7. |
Walkin' In Our Sleep
04:45
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Walkin’ In Our Sleep
I remember in the month of may how you took me home you had your way
It was rainin and the neon lights were flashin
We would listen to the radio in the dead of night in the room below
Never realized how the time was passin
Feel like just a minute
Like a dream we weren’t meant to keep Were we really in it
Were we just walkin in our sleep?
Everybody wanna be my friend they hold me up they all pretend
Try to make me believe this is temporary
They don’t know everything they do just keep me more away from you
Makin my confinement solitary
Musta got lazy
Then fell off countin the sheep All seems so hazy
Were we just walkin in our sleep?
Empty room at the top of the stair empty hallway empty chair
Empty place at the kitchen table
Took the phone out yesterday i never ever use it any... anyway
Wanted to call but i was unable
What coulda happened
To lose a love so deep?
Our eyes were open
Were we just walkin in our sleep?
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8. |
She's Alright
04:24
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She’s Alright
She got lots of charm she got lots of toys She don’t do no harm she tease the little boys She don’t spend no time on the telephone She don’t seem to mind she like to work alone She’s alright She’s alright
In her girls girls world she’ll be mine tonight Why not take it all babe, she’s alright
She still keep me guessin at her history
After all this time she’s still a mystery
She don’t pull no punches she don’t take no chance She don’t play no hunches when she make romance She’s alright She’s alright
In her girls girls world she’ll be mine tonight Why not take it all babe, she’s alright
She come lightly dancin she come all the way Hand upon her hip she knows just what to say Holds you in her arms yeah you know nothin’s wrong She just want to rock and roll you all night long She’s alright She’s alright
In her girls girls world she’ll be mine tonight Why not take it all babe, she’s alright
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9. |
Le' Mercenaire
03:34
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Le Mercenaire
I pitched my tent with Joshua’s army when the sun stood still I rode in with the chosen ones on the plain of Jezreel And the battle’s final noise was the dying drummer boys pounding the snare
Mercenaire Mercenaire Mercenaire Everywhere
Scorched the earth beneath the hooves of Sherman’s cavalry Spilled the blood of my own blood in a ride to the sea
I hunted long in the Black Hills for Geronimo
From Standing Rock to Wounded Knee down to Mexico
Then in one quick glimpse of hell you can see what i have to sell as the smoke clears the air
Mercenaire Mercenaire Mercenaire Everywhere
I rode in at Balaklava i lie in Flanders Field
I live by the clash of the armies and the cold blue steel From Wall Street to Lebanon i’m the face behind the bombs bursting in air
Mercenaire Mercenaire Mercenaire Everywhere
Mercenaire Mercenaire Mercenaire Everywhere
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10. |
Young Love
04:23
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11. |
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12. |
Just A Breath Away
04:08
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13. |
Night Time For Jacob
05:43
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Jim Ballard Akron, Ohio
Jim Ballard
A native of NE Ohio, Jim Ballard has been, for many years a part of the recording/performing
community. After touring and performing all over the country with artists from 10,000 Maniacs to Gordon Lightfoot,The Mekons to Pete Seeger, he moved into his studio, Skylyne. There, he has recorded and worked with artists from Michael Stanley to Don Dixon and Alex Bevan.
... more
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