Get all 10 Bryan Dunn releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Queen Anne's Lace, We Shall Be Monsters, Cancion, Swingers, Animal Skin, The XXXmas Song, Zapgun!, XMASEP, and 2 more.
1. |
Television Song
03:24
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Darling, if you have to cry
Just look into the camera eye
We don't want to miss it
Stay in focus, stay in frame
We'll make sure they know your name
But those people can be vicious
And it's all who you know
Just fall back onto the mat
We have people who do that
They've all signed a waiver
Such a body, such a face
You could be our saving grace
The commission, the retainer
And it's all who you know
Someday, baby, you'll break their hearts
But this is how everybody starts
For now, just play along
The singer, not the song
And we all know the television's wrong
Don't I know you?
What was that, Evangeline?
Why, whatever do you mean?
It's all taken care of
Just relax and have a drink
We're not paying you to think
And there's nothing to be scared of
'Cause it's all who you know
Someday, baby, you'll break their hearts
But this is how everybody starts
For now, just play along
The singer, not the song
And we all know the television's wrong
Don't I know you?
Don't I know you?
Darling, we need you to cry
Please don't think to question why
We're not trying to type you
We made you into what you are
A candy coated superstar
But there's a thousand others like you
And it's all who they know
Someday, baby, they'll break your heart
But this is how everybody starts
For now, just play along
The singer, not the song
And we all know the television's wrong
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2. |
Ordinary
03:34
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The only crime
That I call mine
Is punk rock played in 3/4 time
It's a vicious waltz that holds a candle to you
But it was fun
You and your gun
My golden throat and silver tongue
And the radio
Will never know
Another
It was wonderful
But you're so ordinary now
A subtle fraud
The wink and nod
You just want someone to applaud
And when you say love, you mean penetration
A little wine
And I was fine
But when I looked I lost your mind
Your sweet nothings and your idle threats of violence
They all sound the same
And you're so ordinary now
I could have sold you as a brand new Jesus Christ
Made a killing from the shoddy merchandise
I want a Jesus with a Kung Fu Grip
You've got it made
With me betrayed
But I'm still first in your parade
When I turned around, no one followed after
It's almost gone
The right and wrong
You sit and sing your murder songs
You kill what you love so you can sing about it
Do you love me now?
You're so ordinary now
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3. |
The Ballad of Emily Rose
03:17
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The neighborhood girls, they're young and they're pretty
In a little dive bar to the east of the city
And she whispers to me, "I think it's a pity
Sometimes
'Cause nothing rings true in the noise and the laughter
And those boys in the corner just reek of disaster"
She slips out the door and I follow after
To go
And I know someday soon
I'll find that tune
It comes and it goes
But she always knows
My Emily Rose
Now I've sung the songs of the saints and the sinners
And the losers who tell you that we are all winners
While scraping the bread off the floor for their dinners
Tonight
'Cause nobody's perfect and nobody's sane
They dream about money or power or fame
But I only smile when she whispers my name
In the morning
And she just shines so bright
In the cold, dead night
She practically glows
My love only grows
For Emily Rose
And I was in love once
I guess I was
I was a father, a brother
A husband, a lover
But when I'm with her it's just me
The way it should be
And I just wait so long
For that one good song
Speeds up and it slows
With its uneven prose
For Emily Rose
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4. |
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I came back to town for the wedding
The last of the Stephenson brides
The talk died down to a whisper when they let me inside
I saw you there at the table
You smiled and you waved your right hand
Then they called for a toast and they all raised their glasses again.
And there's a ten dollar ring on your finger
There's a five dollar ring in my hand
There's a ten dollar ring on your finger
And that five dollar ring went back in my pocket again.
I had to laugh when I saw you
In that suit that you borrowed from John
The pants are too short and the sleeves are a litte too long
I had to smile but I tell you
That I only wanted to cry
As I sat at that table with somebody else at my side
There's a ten dollar ring on my finger
'Cause you never asked for my hand
There's a ten dollar ring on my finger
'Cause I never thought that I'd ever see you again
No need to impress
Just a second hand dress
And something that's borrowed or blue
It'd be all right
If you didn't wear white
As long as I'm there next to you
I left right after the wedding
And I didn't say anything
Then I went to the river and I threw in that five dollar ring
I looked for you the whole damn evening
So much that I wanted to say
But whenever I need you, baby, you just run away
There's a ten dollar ring on my finger
And you didn't even shake my hand
There's a five dollar ring in the river
And believe me, my darling, you'll never see me again
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5. |
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Here's your uniform now, son
Here's your boots and here's your gun
Here's your bonus and the form for next of kin
Soldiers always pine
For the sweethearts left behind
Will I live to see my darling one again?
Aura Lee, my Aura Lee
She's seventeen years young
But the boys from Baltimore
Go off marching to the war
With the ghost of Abe Lincoln
From the shores of Tripoli
To Japan and Germany
Well, they send the faithful forward to the foe
Ours is not to question why
Ours is but to do and die
And to leave behind an American widow
Clementine, my Clementine
I'll be home before too long
We'll be waving old glory
While we're marching to the sea
With the ghost of Abe Lincoln
They steal and lie with a patriot's cry
My country, right or wrong
But the price of the truth
Is the flower of their youth
And they sing that drinking song
Well, they talk about the lord
And his terrible swift sword
All the boys are singing Glory Hallelu
And they watch the morning sun
Waiting for the hell to come
Before the battle I was thinking most of you
Mother dear, my mother dear
God knows and loves his sons
Will they say that we were brave
When we're lying in the grave
With the ghost of Abe Lincoln
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6. |
You, South Dakota
03:57
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It's 3 AM in southern California
And I don't think I'll get much sleep tonight
'Cause there's a girl in the corner there
With pink flowers in her hair
And she smiles at me as she turns out the light
Every time this happens I remember
The dress you wore, gossamer and white
And that timid smile for me
I put my hand there on your knee
And I laid you down on a warm September night
I stole all these memories
To turn them into art
I think of you, South Dakota
And the boy who broke your heart
I spent 4 long years in New York City
I told myself I had something to prove
But the way I left that town
Dead of night, the pedal down
Was I running from myself or just from you?
But I still keep a photograph
Hidden up my sleeve
A picture of you, South Dakota
And the boy I used to be
And everyone who knows me
Has never even met me
'Cause I never mention you
No, I never mention you
Amy
Now I'm somewhere on the road in Oklahoma
I think I'll be there in Norman soon
But every song tonight
And every song I write
They've always been my letters home to you
And maybe you will hear them
Someday on your radio
A song of you, South Dakota
And a boy you used to know
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7. |
Hollow
06:44
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You are in violet
You have been drinking in the noise
A little something for the boys
And I am silent
I do not stand out in a crowd
I could never be that loud
And I can't promise you tomorrow
But I can offer you tonight
So say hello
And then tell me something I don't know
It leaves us hollow
You move in closer
You come and whisper in my ear
It's not that far from here
And I am so sure
That this is now and nothing more
It's not what it was before
'Cause you can't give me my forgiveness
But you can give me something else
Tell me it's all right
Everything's all right
I swear I'll believe you now
I am leaving
Dressed for morning, dressed for night
No candied hearts, no candlelight
You are still sleeping
Near all those pictures in their frames
I will never know those names
And I can't say I didn't want this
I just needed something else
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8. |
Two Shots
03:08
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She's a bubble headed blonde with a beautiful body
And a knack for looking good on print
Sunglasses on and a pocket full of party
Takes direction, but never the hint
And this world revolves around her like some anorexic sun
But I'll make a million dollars
Two shots and I'm done
Bang bang, baby
Bang bang, baby, baby
Bang bang, baby
Bang
I've been watching her all evening from the end of the bar
I've seen her picture in a magazine
I'm not really certain but I think she's a star
And those look like expensive jeans
But, hey, she's only human and we all need someone
And that's what I'm going to tell her
Two shots and I'm done
Yes, I know you're pretty
And, yes, I know you're rich
But did the money change you
Or were you always such a bitch?
I'm the only one who loves her and who understands
The kind of burden that she has to bear
I thought that she would see me in the crowd of fans
Because of something in the way I stare
But she didn't seem to notice so I bought myself a gun
And soon we'll be together
Two shots and I'm done
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9. |
Silver Line
04:31
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I put you on a train
Silver line
12:05
I feel sick and dirty
I feel naked and alive
Stepping in and out of the light
In the eye of someone's satellite
But I will love you no matter where you sleep tonight
I am staring
At the TV
At the phone
You don't have to say anything
Just call me When you get home
Breathe in once and turn away
Cause I don't know what it is I could say
But I will love you no matter where you wake today
Baby, is there someone on your mind?
Baby, it could be different this time
And I will love you no matter if I call you mine
I stepped on a train
Silver line
12:05
I don't know how to find you
But I know I have to try
Stepping in and out of the light
In the eye of someone's satellite
But I will love you no matter where I sleep tonight
Baby, is there someone on your mind?
Baby, it could be different this time
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10. |
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I found a picture of your mother in a little Austin bar
I wonder if she'll mention me to you
Her favorite red sweater, and the shape of a heart
Everything she'll tell you is true
But I never told her goodbye
'Cause I always thought there'd be time
I can't make it right
So turn out the light
and Hailey, good night
I didn't leave a number, but I dropped her a line
I told her I'd be safe with a friend
I talked to her brother a couple of times
But I never heard from her again
But in my dreams I can trace
Every line I drew on her face
I can't make it right
So turn out the light
and Hailey, good night
And every time I see a rattle
Girly pink or baby blue
Well, I miss you
The little girl I never knew
I finally saw your picture from a mutual friend
You've got your mother's old smile
I was there at the beginning, now I've seen the end
Girl, you're a beautiful child
And as I walk down the line
You're never far from my mind
I can't make it right
So turn out the light
and Hailey, good night
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Bryan Dunn Brooklyn, New York
Bryan Dunn's irrepressible roots rock sounds like faded denim: love-worn & raw.
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