Get all 7 John Thomason releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Venetian Glass, Blanket, Heart of Dixie, Venetian Blinds (2020 Remix), Wake Up On Fire, Cosmic Cartoon, and Venetian Blinds.
1. |
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Drivin down old highway 82
And the moonlight is pourin through
The pine trees
Or were they magnolia leaves?
I remember that look in your eye
Like the last puff of a cigarette burning out against a summer sky
It's been eight years gone, do I remember it right?
In the Heart of Dixie
In the heart of the night
Now I know love gets battered down
It can be jilted, hung up, or forced to drown
But we tried and we danced for awhile
Yet I can't recall if you even smiled
When I said "Baby, I like the way you dress"
"Why don't you come over here, try just a little tenderness?"
Weren't those the words I said when we first met?
Now the clothes are at the foot of the bed
I sit down at the breakfast spread
The communion wine, the broken bread
What were the words I said?
My mouth is dry, my friends have fled
I clutch my stupid, aching head
What were the words I said?
I think this is what I said:
I said "Can I come home with you?"
"Can I come home with you?"
"We'll stay up all night and sleep in way past noon?"
"Can I come home with you?"
Now I'm just unstuck in time
Which face gave me that look?
Which hand gave me that sign?
Was it you pullin me up from the depths?
Or did you just send back down with all your echoing footsteps?
Staggerin drunk in the moonlight
In the Heart of Dixie
In the heart of the night
Last night I dreamed I saw General Lee
Gettin off his horse, comin up and thankin me
But that's just a drunk relivin of a childhood fantasy
Cause every rebel's buried and dead
Cleaned up the breakfast spread
No clothes at the foot of the bed
What were the words I said?
Stable's open, horses fled
I clutch my stupid, achin head
The blood of all my lovers shed
What were the words I said?
I said "Can I come home with you?"
"Can I come home with you?"
"We'll stay up all night and sleep in way past noon?"
"Can I come home with you?"
In the Heart of Dixie
In the heart of the night
In the Heart of Dixie
In the heart, in the heat of the night
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2. |
Dreams of Persephone
08:40
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I dreamed a dream of Persephone
She’s comin to me with no sandals on her feet
I dreamed a dream of Persephone
Lyin with her tangled in the sheets
And with my deed came a pomegranate seed
At that instant I awoke from my slumber
I dreamed a dream of Persephone
And I hope that my days are not numbered
I carried the shield of Apollo in the field
And readied his bow with rosin
I carried the shield of Apollo in the field
Riding his chariot throughout the heavens
But the sun came close and the reins they broke
And the shield proved insecure
I carried the shield of Apollo in the field
As long as my life did endure
I did commence with Zeus an audience
To achieve a new rank or station
I did commence with Zeus an audience
To rise above my place of creation
But my apotheosis became a trial of hubris
And I was cast down locked neath the ocean
I did commence with Zeus an audience
and I paid the price for my boastin
I did prowl for Diana’s fowl
In the grove that her nymphs were guardin
I did prowl for Diana’s fowl
And caused her heart to harden
The winds stood still as my daughter was killed
And the armies they itched for battle
I did prowl for Diana’s fowl
And was murdered in my home with my chattel
I dreamed a dream of Persephone
She’s comin to me with no sandals on her feet
I dreamed a dream of Persephone
Lyin with her tangled in the sheets
And with my deed came a pomegranate seed
At that instant I awoke from my slumber
I dreamed a dream of Persephone
And I hope that our days are without number
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3. |
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And I'm just tryin to find a girl
So that we can survive in a ruthless world
Gotta get permission from her pa
To get married to her under the law
Make enough money to pay the rent
And I hope I don't die in a work related accident
But I still gotta find that girl so that we can survive in a ruthless world
A young man's got nothing these days
Especially when he's drank up the last of his money
Walkin from Florence to Clarksdale
Searchin for some Hattiesburg honey
Who'll take him in with a pleasant grin
And won't leave him with a bill of sale
Who'll at least let him keep the clothes on his back
And won't put him down at the bottom of a well
They said follow your dreams you're gonna go far
Be president or a movie star
But there's no jobs, no homes, no hope
I'm clapsin at the frayed end of this rope
I looked for work from station to station
Money keeps gettin more worthless from all the inflation
You gotta spend each dollar as quick as you can
You gotta hold your gun and defend your land
Is this the future that waits for me?
Will I be better off than my parents thought that I'd be?
And I'm just tryin to find a girl
So that we can survive in a ruthless world
Get some work and farm the dirt
Have a couple of kids I hope they don't get too hurt
I wonder if we'll all be broke by then
Or if we'll finally be free from sin
When the last battle flag is unfurled
At the end of this ruthless world
The homeless still occupy the park
And the businessmen still walk up to their bank
Missiles still fly and people still die
And everyone's on the brink
The ships all have sailed and sank
But every boy in Aleppo knows more sorrow
Every rock and stone and pebble has cried
Everyone in Darfur wonders whether or not tomorrow
Will bring more murder and genocide
And I'm just trying to find a girl
So that we can survive in a ruthless world
Make enough money to pay off this debt
And try to hold on to the dreams that we have slept
If the oceans rise will I have to cover my eyes?
Will no one be there with me to sympathize
When all my evil deeds back at me are hurled
At the end of this ruthless world?
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4. |
Blakely
06:57
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In the haze of a southern sunset
Through the needles of loblolly pines
Purple and orange coalesce over cold hills
And the ruins of Confederate battle lines
Well we rode our bikes over the battlements
And said our prayers in St. Mary's church
Our kisses were gentle and smooth just like Venetian glass
Inside the shade of the birch
All the bars on Dauphin Street are closin down
And I'm glad that I've hit the road
The rum is still settlin in my stomach
And I can feel my nerves corrode
The rain, it just overflows
As I drive down Old Shell
I left Blakely Park a long time ago
And I wish I'd left your memory as well
Maybe we were both maimed and misguided
Runnin from the weight of existence
Along the cracked concrete made for our bare feet
And the hobos beggin for a pittance
Well I made the promenade my last breath
Then I burned my feet on the beach
As waves broke on the rocks we sat around and talked
About all the dreams that were out of our reach
You left me standin in the January rain
Like the last foot soldier wadin through the trenches
The fragile failure of our friendship
Well it gave me room for repentence
Although the glass maybe lost
Although there were other women I ran across
I could never scrape away the memories you gave
Or the love that you left embossed
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5. |
Blanket
03:52
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Well baby I been ramblin from town to town
I just been lookin for a place where I can lay my blanket down
And if you want me to I could lay cross your floor
But I'm not entirely sure what the hell I'm talkin to you for
But baby if you love me
If that's what you wanna believe
Maybe I'll pass back this way again
Maybe then I'll never leave
Now I been tryin to read these tarot cards but I can't gamble with them
Not that I'd want to anyway I just escaped from the halls of sin
But come on baby don't you lead me astray
If you do then you know for sure I'm gonna leave with the sun's first ray
So baby if you love me
If that's what you're tryin to achieve
Maybe I'll ramble back this way again
Maybe then I won't leave
And I know you're afraid to let someone in
Just cause he's a knockin on your door
You can't always be sure what's behind a grin
I know what in the world do you think I ramble for?
So baby my blanket's gettin heavy
And I can feel the comin dawn
Don't make me sleep in this broke down Chevy
At least let me lay my blanket on your lawn!
So baby if'n you love me
If that's what I truly do percieve
Then I'm gonna lay my blanket down
And then I'm never ever ever gonna leave!
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6. |
Venetian Blues
04:53
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Well you know I got them lowdown venetian blues
Ole Iago is tyin up my noose
Lanterns are blazin and they’re callin out for the doge
Looks like I’ve overstepped my tenure as a rogue
They’re breakin out the thumbscrews in the hidden fort
I’m on the bad side of every taxi driver in this port
I could’ve gone to Vienna I could’ve gone to Prague
But I’ve used up all the tricks that are in my catalogue
Some say I shot a woman and tried to get away on a plane
Others say I’m just a hungry kids who’s lookin to fashion fame
You can’t get rid of the blues on these isles
A gun or dagger is hidden behind every smile
Mosaics weren’t the only thing the took from the Byzantines
Betray your best friend to find out what I mean
I was a trickster of travesty a protégé of puck
Got taken in by a gypsy who offered me good luck
But then she called the cops and let the hammer fall
And now they’re crucifyin me inside St. Mark’s wall
They say I shot a woman and tried to get away on a plane
Or that I’m just a hungry kid who’s lookin to fashion fame
The judge is mighty he’s an angry arbiter
Wants to know why it all came down to murder
Maybe it was the liquor maybe it was the pills
Or maybe it was cause she was worth billions of dollar bills
Well you know I got them lowdown venetian blues
Ole Iago is tyin up my noose
They always say kid never lose hope
But they ain’t been in the air hangin from a rope
They say I shot a woman and tried to get away on a plane
I may’ve been a hungry kid but at least I got my fame
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7. |
Freedom for the Stallion
03:57
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Freedom for the stallion
Freedom for the mare and her colt
Freedom for the baby child
Who has not grown old enough to vote
Lord, have mercy, what you gonna do about the people who are praying to you?
They got men making laws that destroy other men,
They've made money "God"
It's a doggone sin,
Oh, Lord, you got to help us find the way
Big ship's a-sailing, slaves all chained and bound,
Heading for a brand new land that some cat said he upped and found
Lord, have mercy, what you gonna do about the people who are praying to you?
They got men making laws that destroy other men,
They've made money "God"
It's a doggone sin
Oh, Lord, you got to help us find the way
Some sing a sad song
Some got to moan the blues
Trying to make the best of a home
That the man didn't even get to choose
Lord, have mercy, how you gonna be with people like John and me
They've got men building fences to keep other men out
Ignore him if he whispers and kill him if he shouts
Oh, Lord, you got to help us find the way
Oh, Lord, you got to help them find the way
Oh, Lord, you got to help us find the way
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8. |
Franklin
06:03
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No more quiet calls of desperation
As we cross the franklin county line
All those profane manifestations
Are left to decay in their own time
Our lips scarcely brushed each other
On a breezy April day
And we climbed back into the car
Let the evening star guide our way
I ain’t really been to Kansas
Spent some time in Californ-i-a
Tryin to shake these tine sheets of memory
Walkin the streets of Monterey
I know you never loved me
Wish I could say the same about you
It would be a happy discovery
A kiss of early morning dew
The strangeness of our strained contact
Has poured across the years
With brief moments of revelation
Mixed with boredom blood and tears
You’ve always been pressin forward
I’ve done what I can to hold back
Thinkin’ every two faced January is gonna be my last
There was only one time I really wanted you to stay
It was only one time I truly tried to make you stay
I knew you never wanted to anyway
The morning sky is filled with the static
Of every sad song you ever played
And my memories are melted plastic
Discarded in time’s ever-flowing cascade
Night must end and dawn will begin
To wash out the waste
To scour the space of every mistake
You can’t recognize til you wake
Awake in the bright birth of a thousand caverned nights
Awake in the miasmic mutterings of lost time
Awake in the forgotten minutes of corrupted council fathers
Awake in the tumbled haystacks of frightened farmers daughters
Awake in the station by the hardened homeless freedman
Awake in the cold cloister under sinking Sistine ceilings
Awake by the muttering modem of the hypnotic jazz mystic
Awake by the prim panhandler pushing poisoned statistics
Awake where all men are extinguished by feeling
Awake where maps and districts are no longer concealing
Awake where the bleeding muse of Poe is resting
Awake where the ghosts of Allen and John are jesting
Awake while the sick skyscrapers clamber into the taxi junction
Awake while the dread deliverymen drift in and out of function
Awake while libertine lawyers legislate away all loyalty
Awake while rebels ransom the rancid ransacked royalty
Awake for the autogynephile who has no authority
Awake for the hobbled hobo covered with contusions
Awake for matins and general absolution
Awake for the widow wasting away by the window
Awake while snow falls in silent San Jacinto
Awake where love languishes in its lost labour
Awake as love waits for its promised saviour
Awake with the love in the dawn of the creator
Awake to the love and justice of the only mediator
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9. |
A Page Turned
07:31
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Each book has it's close and every road has it's end
Every story has it's villains
Every mind is filled with memories
And each one of them's vyin for attention
Some are loud and some are mute
Some are destitute
And some of them will leave you shakin in your boots
But the people we've met
The work that we've sweat
Will linger on so we cannot forget
Each lover's embrace held me transfixed
I could not escape or engage
Every touch on the brow of my face
Was like the turnin, the turnin of a page
But the book has been read
The mind has been fed
Although the body continues to cry out for more bread
As we lay cheek to cheek
Thinkin of whom else we might meet
We try to forget the weariness of our own feet
Every friendly handshake is firm
Each word weighs heavy on my bosom
As if spoken by each author that I had to learn
Although I often did not choose them
Now the key has locked the timeproof box
Shutting out the noise of the feelings that knock
So now we turn away from those for whom we yearn
Straight away from the passion that burns
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John Thomason Alabama
Singer-songwriter doing alternative americana and distorted synth rock
John Thomason recommends:
Ryan's a great songwriter and you can hear that on tracks like "Shine a Duck" and "Flower in a Drought".
go to album
Popular Fiction
by Gold Connections
The kind of album where you roll down your windows and turn it up while driving down the highway. Basically a perfect record.
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High Energy and Plain Dumb Fun
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Downey to Lubbock
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A musical and visual journey through Ocean City, New Jersey via gentle Americana and an illustrated poetry book.
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Echo Dancing
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The legendary Alejandro Escovedo returns with another country-rock scorcher.
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