Get all 6 James Houlahan releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Beyond the Borders, Ordinary Eye, The Wheel Still In Spin, Multitudes, "misfit hymns", and Seven Years Now.
1. |
Far From Me
03:12
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all my castles have turned to rubble
all my armor has turned to rust
I’ve been hustled down a lonely road
of those gone too soon
but there’s a light
far from me
every day it seems I wonder
what my fate is dreaming next
I’ve been broken down and battered
this trip might never end
but there’s a light
far from me
far from me, far from me
far from me, far from me
far from me, far from me
there’s a light
I’ve been on top of the world
riding out beyond the border
dodging headlines on the way
forget the answer, live the question
I’ve nothing left to say
there’s a light
far from me
far from me, far from me
far from me, far from me
far from me, far from me
there’s a light
I’ve been on top of the world
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2. |
Back to the Start
04:10
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I need a reason
for the bad shape that I’m in
all of the music
it fades away in the din
what is beauty
with nothing left to lose?
a growing silence
another place to begin
sometimes there’s nothing left to say
in this fog of bad luck
I’ll take this battered heart
I’m going back to the start
It was a party
that turned into another riot
I’d start a podcast
but I just want to be quiet
take my smartphone
take it all away
I need some peace of mind
but I don’t think I can buy it
sometimes there’s nothing left to say
in this fog of bad luck
I’ll take this battered heart
I’m going back to the start
a silly anger
brought me down on my knees
in a forest
I couldn’t see for the trees
seeds of sorrow
are blowing in the wind
still the songs come
I lay them down with ease
sometimes there’s nothing left to say
in this fog of bad luck
I’ll take this battered heart
I’m going back to the start
what is beauty
with nothing left to lose?
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3. |
Lonesome Love
03:35
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I’ve been feeling so tired
but my head won’t let me sleep
I’ve been feeling so tired
but my head won’t let me sleep
your love has got me lonesome
got me down deep
walking through the desert
looking for a place to land
walking through the desert
looking for a place to land
your love has got me lonesome
through all the wind and the sand
I’ve been dreaming of a canyon
where the river runs like blood
I’ve been dreaming of a canyon
where the river runs like blood
your love has got me lonesome
face down in the mud
I’m gonna climb that mountain
while the sun is shining high
I’m gonna climb that mountain
while the sun is shining high
my mind is like a blue sky
when your love says goodbye
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4. |
Merge
05:38
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I was alone
with a heart that couldn’t feel
lulled to sleep for fear of pain
then you came and
you shattered that bleak world
a desert sky filled with rain
there’s a song we’re singing
like the river’s flowing
like the grass is growing
like the wind is blowing
on an island
way out in the sea
a volcano rains its fire
every step of this path
that we’re walking
a fertile plain of desire
there’s a song we’re singing
like the river’s flowing
like the grass is growing
like the wind is blowing
never thought
I’d see you in the light
of a warm and brilliant sun
in your arms is
the promise of music
a joyful dance just begun
there’s a song we’re singing
like the river’s flowing
like the grass is growing
like the wind is blowing
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5. |
Wave on Wave
03:49
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early morning ocean dreaming
a sea of glass tempting form
I walk alone through a low tide
in the calm before a storm
on the shoreline of this dark mood
I feel a pulsing of desire for
wave on wave
I get a funny kind of feeling
when the ocean starts to roar
like a lion in its cage
what calamity lies in store
and I can’t help it if I’m dreaming
of a place where we are safe from
wave on wave
in the deepest part of knowing
weathered clean of all regret
a subtle current speaks of sorrow
how to lose and then forget
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6. |
Through the Water
04:23
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walking through the water
headed for the shore
a family back together
with a love that wanted more
a father long departed
has come home now at last
trying hard to smile
away his secret past
but his children know the secret
in the shadows of his pride
alone inside a dark room
he hangs his head to cry
the daughter’s hearing voices
behind a papered wall
with a father who conspires
to put his art above it all
but the guilt he feels is burning
a hole down deep inside
as madness comes upon them all
like a cruel and rising tide
ravaging their beauty
left to wonder why
a family that’s been broken
gaping at the sky
the son confronts his father
in the fading of the light
with fears that echo sadness
swallowed in the night
but words of wisdom follow
from out his father’s mouth
a reprieve in every kind of love
when faith has run on out
a lonely runner fading
into the setting sun
a faith that lasts another day
a race that’s never run
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7. |
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I’m packing up my things
flying on jet wings
heading back out East
leave behind everything
and seeking out my fortune
to a simple rhythm
set in time
I’ll follow every whim
until it makes me tired
and on every street I walk
the women have me wired
for a bit of that simple
game of kiss and tell
people say “why,
why are you so lazy?”
I say no it ain’t me
it’s just the time
time gone crazy
everywhere I go
the people want to know
what they can’t deny
will it sneak up from behind
and set them on a path
right into a pit of fire?
I hesitate to say
but I’ll try it anyway
because truth is only music
to those who know how to play
a simple melody
just to pass the time
people say “why,
why are you so lazy?”
I say no it ain’t me
it’s just the time
time gone crazy
luckily for me
my credibility
seems to be at odds
with the way people want to see
so I’ll shove on off
for some other distant town
on this long and winding road
i often stop to rest
and lay my head down low
in the shade of some bough
belonging to a tall
and ancient tree
people say “why,
why are you so lazy?”
I say no it ain’t me
it’s just the time
time gone crazy
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8. |
The Deep End
02:32
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down down I go
swimming in the deep end
down down I go
swimming in the deep end
lifeguard lifeguard
throw me out a life line
lifeguard lifeguard
throw me out a life line
looks like I’m waving
when I’m really drowning
looks like I’m waving
when I’m really drowning
water water
everything around me
down down I go
swimming in the deep end
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9. |
Powderfinger
03:58
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10. |
O What Is That Sound
03:42
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O what is that sound which so thrills the ear
Down in the valley drumming, drumming?
Only the scarlet soldiers, dear,
The soldiers coming.
O what is that light I see flashing so clear
Over the distance brightly, brightly?
Only the sun on their weapons, dear,
As they step lightly.
O what are they doing with all that gear,
What are they doing this morning, this morning?
Only their usual maneuvers, dear.
Or perhaps a warning.
O why have they left the road down there,
Why are they suddenly wheeling, wheeling?
Perhaps a change in their orders, dear.
Why are you kneeling?
O haven't they stopped for the doctor's care,
Haven't they reined their horses, their horses?
Why, they are none of them wounded, dear.
None of these forces.
O is it the parson they want, with white hair,
Is it the parson, is it, is it?
No, they are passing his gateway, dear,
Without a visit.
O it must be the farmer who lives so near.
It must be the farmer so cunning, so cunning?
They have passed that farmyard, dear,
And now they are running.
O where are you going? Stay with me here!
Were the vows you swore deceiving, deceiving?
No, I promised to love you, dear,
But I must be leaving.
O it's broken the lock and splintered the door,
O it's the gate where they're turning, turning;
Their boots are heavy on the floor
And their eyes are burning.
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11. |
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in the middle of the Spring
on a Rocky Mountain trail
a white stallion walking
with his rider so pale
the clouds began to gather
and a storm was close at hand
as thunder boomed and rumbled
down upon the land
and instead of getting scared
and running for the hills
he swayed a little
and began to prance
and the rider he was stricken
by a lightning bolt of thought:
“I believe
this horse can dance
this horse can dance
this horse can dance
I believe
this horse can dance”
in the center of the town
on a hot August day
the bar was filled with people
and sounds of drink and play
the white stallion was tethered
to a hitching post outside
he pawed the ground nervously
and sniffed the sky
and in the corner of the bar
the rider he was selling
his steed to a man
that he’d met by chance
and the horse was then delivered
to a Wild West show
where every night
he was made to dance
he was made to dance
he was made to dance
where every night
he was made to dance
the trainer of the show t
aught that horse to hear
gun shots like thunder bolts
in a firefight of fear
and for many years he did perform
for crowds around the world
when the cowboys killed the Indians
and chaos around him swirled
but at last the horse got tired
no longer moved to dance
he was given to another
whose race was run
an old Lakota holy man
by the name of Sitting Bull
and away they rode
into the sun
into the sun
into the sun
and away they rode
into the sun
Sitting Bull retired
to his home in Standing Rock
back among his people
like a shepherd to his flock
but one cold December day
the white man hatched a plan
to stop the Ghost Dance movement
they’d arrest that man
but when they tried to take him
a crowd began to swell
so they shot him down
in a white man’s trance
and the horse was tied outside
a witness to the crime
and when he heard those guns
he began to dance
he began to dance
he began to dance
when he heard those guns
he began to dance
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12. |
Bloom
03:55
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go now ease your spirit
into that long dark void
may your truth and beauty
bloom from what’s destroyed
we are bound for travel
beyond this small blue world
a foreign kind of freedom
a place to come unfurled
go now ease your spirit
into that long dark void
may your truth and beauty
bloom from what’s destroyed
a body is a vessel
to sail and sink below
to rest at last in currents
the land-bound cannot know
go now ease your spirit
into that long dark void
may your truth and beauty
bloom from what’s destroyed
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13. |
You Are Free
04:12
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all this sunshine
beating on my head
all that down time
left behind in bed
all this sweet life
shaking off the dead
all these road signs
coming up ahead
saying you,
you are free
such a good day
I haven’t had in years
where a sun ray
suddenly appears
make the light stay
drying up my tears
there’s a new way
of getting past the fears
saying you,
you are free
with the right key
so much you can do
on a calm sea
currents passing through
like a rose tree
glistening with dew
what the heart sees
when the eye is new
saying you,
you are free
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James Houlahan Los Angeles, California
James Houlahan is a singer, songwriter, and guitar player based in Los Angeles, California. A founding member of Boston-area bands such as Dogs on Television and The Jody Grind, Houlahan has come to be known as a songsmith who channels both tradition and poetic innovation, rooted in dark folk sounds and eclectic Americana. ... more
James Houlahan recommends:
Incredible songs, beautiful voice, a master at work!
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