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Stars in Winter
2002
Unstoppable Records.
Recorded and Mixed 1/2001 - 9/2001
at low self noise, Wollaston, MA
Mastered by Jeff Lipton at Peerless Mastering
CD design by Mike Langlie
Inside Photograph by Robert Kelley
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Credits and Lyrics
The End
Words and Music by Paul Coleman
P. Coleman - Synthesizers, Basses, Drum Machine through pitch shifter
Trudging through the winter snow,
The howling wind, it seems to know.
Every turn I try to make, it blows right in my face.
And when the winter ends.
It's just around the corner, friend.
Crawling through the dark, cold cave.
I cannot see where evil lays.
And I'll trust my scabbard's glow and hope that I will make it whole.
And when the tunnels end,
There will be some light at the end.
Guide me down the river straight,
And though I'd rather wait.
Everything is telling me my fate lies with the sea.
Oh no, I still have to go
Around another bend.
Will it ever end?
Oh no.
As Nevada Burns
Words and Music by P. Coleman
P. Coleman - Guitars
Jen Godfrey - Bass, B. vox
Jef Czekaj - Drums, B. Vox
As Nevada burns, I grasp tighter to the handle of the slot machine.
Just one more quarter and it will be mine all mine.
And I've wasted all my time and money.
In the desert sky, it goes up like a pillar of fire.
Leading Moses to the promised land.
Cal-I-for-ni-A, here I come!
As my stomach turns, I've given all of my money
To this goddamn town and just one more quarter
So I can call my friends 'cuz I
Wasted all my time and need a ride.
In the desert sky, it went up like a pillar of fire.
Leading Moses to the promised land.
Cal-I-for-ni-A, here I come!
20 Paces
Words by J. Godfrey
Music by P. Coleman, J. Godfrey, J. Czekaj
J. Godfrey - Banjo, Vox
J. Czekaj - Electro Drum, Zither Banging, Chorus Guitar, Magnus Organ, B. Vox
P. Coleman - Autoharp, B. Vox
In the far away place I cannot stay
She only sleeps at night
When darkness is most bright
Buried under mountains of snow
They're the coldest cold folks I know
Walk up the mountain, touch the sun.
Ride to the valley and I'm done.
Shining, sunny faces run for 20 paces.
Under boarded sign.
Eat grapes from the vine.
Where only hemlock can grow.
Back to the mountain I go.
Keep on going towards the light.
Beyond the summit, sky turns white.
Keep on going towards the light.
Beyond the summit, sky turns white.
Going where the dying only go.
They're the oldest old folks I know.
Stars in Winter
Words and Music by P. Coleman
P. Coleman - Guitar, Vox
J. Godfrey - Bass, Vox
J. Czekaj - Drums
I wasted my chances.
To waste is human nature.
Life and death around the corner,
Your very last breath.
I didn't stop there,
I didn't want to.
And you know what's killing me
Is what killed you.
The stars are brighter in the wintertime
In the coldest hours beyond midnight.
One time long ago, I saw everything I needed to know.
The stars are brighter in the wintertime
You slipped through my fingers like snow falls through the branches.
And the winter days come so fast.
And yes I know the pain that it caused you.
But the strength of your heart and soul can never be stolen.
The stars are brighter in the wintertime
In the coldest hours beyond midnight.
One time long ago, I saw everything I needed to know.
The stars are brighter in the wintertime.
Down to Dollars
Words and Music by P. Coleman
P. Coleman - Acoustic Guitar, Vox
Emily Arkin - Violins, Vox
Chris Braiotta - Accordian, Banjo
The elevator spills it's contents.
They come out speaking nonsense
From the penthouse suite.
The twisting of words and the shuffling of feet.
It all comes down to dollars and you're just a cash poor scholar.
Your ideas are too extreme to fit into our schemes
You're far too late, the lock is on the gate.
At their $40 lunches
They work so hard to show each other up.
Big new cars and diamond rings
None of them really give a fuck.
It all comes down to nothing.
Their lives are so damn bare.
Their goals get in the way of human contact.
It's not to be.
The lock, it has no key.
They'll always pass you by
While staring at the smog filled sky.
As they pass, you smile.
Their dreams are made of snares and lies.
(All in all, it's a perfect disguise)
Dusk
Words and Music by Genesis
P. Coleman - Guitar, Vox, Chatter, Toy Piano
J. Godfrey - Bass, B. Vox, Flute, Chatter
J. Czekaj - Drums, 2nd bass, Chatter
C. Braiotta - skronk guitar
E. Arkin - Violins
See my hand is moving
Touching all that's real.
Once it stroked love's body,
Now it claws the past.
The scent of a flower,
The colours of the morning.
Friends to believe in.
Tears soon forgotten.
See how the rain drives away another day.
If a leaf has fallen, does the tree lie broken?
And if we draw some water, does the well run dry?
The sigh of a mother,
The screaming of lovers.
Like two angry tigers, they tear at each other.
See how for him, lifetime's fears disappear.
Once a Jesus suffered.
Heaven could not see him.
Now my ship is sinking.
The captain stands alone.
A pawn on the chessboard,
A false move by God could destroy me.
But wait, on the horizon
A new dawn seems to be rising.
Never to recall this passerby.
Born to die.
Ode to a Grifter
Words and Music by P. Coleman
P. Coleman - Banjo, Magnus Organ, Drum Machine, Vocals, Toy Saxaphone
And you're standing there
Taking stock of the situation
Where will you go when the time has come?
When everything all around you has come undone.
Will you walk into the fire?
Or are you just a liar?
You take my hand and then my wallet.
What exactly do you call that?
You stole from me with charm
You took away my confidence using confidence.
Using your special gift,
I think you call it grift.
Taking me for everything I've got.
And I admit that's not a lot.
You took my hand and then my wallet.
What exactly do you call that?
Goosemayer
Words by Maria Johnson's train of thought
Music by P. Coleman
Inspiration by Goosemayer
M. Johnson - Vocals
P. Coleman - Guitar, B. Vocals
Goosemayer was a bird,
He had 2 wings
He flew through the sky and he was the thing.
(Thing that flew through the sky was Goosemayer, Goo-se-my)
Flew so high the people said
"Oh my God it's Goosemayer"
One day he flew too high,
The tree landed in his little eye.
He flew down and he crashed on the ground.
(Goosemayer, Goo-se-my)
So the little lady said,
"Come with me, I'll fluff your feathers.
We'll go sing a song."
Rubber Legs
Words and Music by Ian Anderson, Paul Coleman
P. Coleman - Guitar, Vox
J. Godfrey - Bass, Vox
J. Czekaj - Drums, Vox
When you walk by,
You know that I
Get rubber legs.
Maybe it's just eyestrain.
Pins and needles causing me pain.
When you look at me,
I climb a tree
But I can't with my rubber legs.
My rubber legs.
My eyes scurried like frightened mice
All around my face.
I'd ride my bike if you like,
But I can't with my rubber legs.
My rubber legs.
Last Dance
Words and Music by Paul Coleman
P. Coleman - Cheap Guitar, Vox, Percussion, Xylophone, Clapter
J. Godfrey - Bass, Vox, Rice in a Can., Clapter
J. Czekaj - Drums, Clapter
C. Braiotta - Accordian, Percussion, Clapter
E. Arkin - Rice in a can, Clapter
Sitting on a subway car
Going to my job
I feel like I'm half asleep
Up the stairs and to the street
I work my way through the crowd
There's a man he starts to shout.
"This is the end of the world."
So my darling, if this is our last dance
We should make it last.
On this dying ember where we stand
All the glass is turning back to sand.
I could walk a little more
Around the corner through the door.
I feel like I'm half alive.
Through the window the sun's too bright.
The paper's stacked up on my desk.
I have no time left to rest.
So my darling, if this is our last round
We should go to town.
On this dying ember where we stand
All the glass is turning back to sand.
So my darling, if this is our last dance
We should make it grand.
On this dying ember where we stand
All the glass is turning back to sand.
Precious Lies
Words and Music by Paul Coleman
P. Coleman - Banjo, Guitar, Vox
The last time you had given in,
You finally realized that your life's a compromise.
Still you sit paralyzed by nothing in particular.
Giving in to those precious lies.
Stand up straight and tall
It's not wrong to fall now and then
The bitter man never tried and had to live with his lies
The bitter man gave up without a fight.
The Lighted Way
Words and Music by Paul Coleman
P. Coleman - Guitar, Casio
Kathleen Coleman - Drums
Out on the lighted way,
Every hour, every day.
The people drift past slowly without sound.
As the sun begins to fade,
Shadows melt into the shade
Silent soldiers marching until dawn.
You've got the hardest part,
And I need a harder heart.
But it grows, it grows quite soft.
When you poke, you poke and prod.
Brightest Minute in the Darkest Hour
Words and Music by Paul Coleman
P. Coleman - Guitars, Casio SK-1
Famous Drummer - Looped
Talking back at everyone through a cardboard box.
I never got to say the things
Never mind I'm not going to.
And in my darkest hour
You still light up the room.
Back inside my head.
It looms out in the dark.
There is no time for pity here.
There's nothing here left to fear.
And in my darkest hour
You still light up the room.
Fill it with your sunshine,
I hope to see you soon.
Nevada Goes on Forever
Words and Music by Paul Coleman
P. Coleman - Guitars, Banjo, Casio SK-1 parts, Drum Machine, Drums
The signal's fading in and out
As I drive from town to town
If you've got something to say
Spit it out!
My eyes drop deeper into night
Where at least the stars are bright
A rock falls through the atmosphere.
No one hears.
Maybe I'm not someone that just fades away.
I could stay forever in the dust and haze.
It stings my eyes, but that's all right, that's ok.
I live to stand with you another day.
Signal's gone and static's heard.
I start to drift to the curb.
Just to see a blinking light,
Stay awake. I have no fight.
Nevada goes on forever,
The opposite of heaven.
There's no answer when I speak.
No one talks back to me.
Maybe I'm not someone that just fades away.
I could stay forever in the dust and haze.
It stings my eyes, but that's all right, that's ok.
I live to stand with you another day.
The Brightest Things
Words and Music by Paul Coleman
P. Coleman - Banjo, Baritone Guitar, Casio SK-1 parts, Drums, Electronic Drums
As the lights go floating by.
Some of them will lose their light.
Yours and mine, they shine on through.
The brightest things are always true.
You're so far away.
I can't wait another day.
I'm all alone.
You're almost home.
And the stars up in the sky
That you can see with the naked eye.
Yours and mine, they burn bright blue.
The brightest things are always true.
You're so far away.
I can't wait another day.
Even though I'm all alone.
You're almost home.
Stars in Winter (Reprise)
Words and Music by P. Coleman
P. Coleman - Vocal
Elze Coleman - Vocal
E. Arkin - Violin
C. Braiotta - Accordian
J. Czekaj - Violin
I sit by the window.
Staring at the nighttime sky.
Searching for a glimpse of you in the starlight.
And everything makes me think
that you're still here with us.
Maybe it's just that I think about you all the time.
The stars are brighter in the wintertime,
In the coldest hours beyond midnight.
And as the sky grows dim
The light gets stronger from deeper within.
The stars are brighter in the wintertime.
A year to the day
I dreamed you were standing with us.
Reassuring, though didn't speak.
You weren't much for words.
I guess I'm not that different.
I wish the silence that we shared could last forever and ever.
The stars are brighter in the wintertime,
In the coldest hours beyond midnight.
And as the sky grows dark
The strength it grows, it grows in your heart.
The stars are brighter in the wintertime.
untitled
You've got so many problems Lippy.
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