Get all 8 Jacob Smigel releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Band Nerd Love, If I Were Me, The Carol Tapes, Hope This Passes The Secretary..., I Stayed Up All Night, New Mexico, Full Grown & Talking About Fountains, and Animal Diseases.
1. |
The Shadow
04:05
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Little bit of fluff, that creative stuff, brushed away to the edges
Of an examined life, kids and wife, hear me out I don’t regret it
Who would I be, if I were me? What would happen if I act fearlessly
I cleared the land, with my own spade, from such crooked timber not a straight thing was made
Your parent’s fears, mixed with your own, you made up a garden but nothing has grown!!
Yes. There was a drought, but the time in the desert helped me figure it out
With a serpent coiled around me, jealous though the lover be
Hissing and writhing, hurting me
Saying “let me help you manage your time”
Saying “let me help you manage your time”
The shadow’s arc, the shadows dark, bending down long and slender
The shadow-self, what’s on the shelf, to feel like a great pretender
Pay it well, give it your time, respect the thing don’t trivialize
You can have two lives, a double-feature, up all night coaxing truth from the ether!!
And yes. There was a drought, but the time in the desert helped me figure it out
Though other doors have opened, and I could’ve walked right through
If I weren’t such a work-a-holic
But now I’m blessed to be standing here singing my songs to you
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2. |
Band Nerd Love
04:30
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I’ve yet to meet a soul who doesn’t mind
The first big break up in their life
On a cassette tape lost long ago
Lives a person that some of us know… who said:
Your name is an indelible word written on a page
Your name is a word and it will never never never be erased
I was a small scared little man when I saw you on that stage
When I saw you up there girl, oh something changed
It was band nerd love…
It was band nerd love…
I clench my jaw it hurts me so
You know the scariest faces are always our own
And the enemy lives in the worst place… he’s within
And your name is an indelible word written on a page
Your name is a word that will never never (never never never) be erased
I was small scared little man when I saw you on that stage
When I saw you up there girl, oh something changed
It was band nerd love…
It was band nerd love…
Yes, it’s band nerd love…
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3. |
You Can Relate
03:09
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Should I have a coffee or should I have a beer? I’m unsatisfied
When it’s one or the other I just can’t decide
No matter the grip the pleasure’s gonna slip in time
Looking for a punctuation mark to put on mine
Are my senses lying to me about how good this next one’s gonna be?
I’m left regretful wanting more on my plate
If you’ve ever been drunk and hungover at once…. you can relate
When I reach the summit I’ll finally sit back and relax
Till then I’m checking my lists to make my plan of attack
Don’t need the space in the front the back burner’s for me
Got a couple a projects I’ve been working on indefinitely
Are my senses lying to me about how good this next thing’s gonna be?
I’m left regretful wanting more on my plate
If you’ve ever been stressed out and bored all at once…. you can relate
I’m a one trick pony and that’s where I’ve got you all fooled
Never needed Rolaids® till I got out of school
Now I’m working long hours like I’m supposed to do
Miss our babies growing but I’m still in love with you
Are my senses lying to me about how good this next year’s gonna be?
I’m left regretful wanting less on my plate
If you’ve ever been asleep and awake all at once…. you can relate
Should I have a coffee or should I have a beer? I’m unsatisfied
When it’s one or the other I just can’t decide
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4. |
It's Probably Nothing
03:32
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It’s probably nothing, that little twinge of chest pain
My dizzy spells, my hands they swell, my doc calls me the “worried well”
So, it’s probably nothing, I just slept on it wrong
My vision’s blurred, there’s a ringing sound, something must be going round…
Or maybe it’s something… when my heart skips a beat
My breath ain’t right— it’s worse at night— If I can slow it down I’ll be alright
And I feel hungover, but that can’t be right
I’m a hundred percent sure I didn’t drink last night!!
So, it’s probably nothing, that metallic taste
The pain I feel, I know it’s real, the sickness comes with every meal
But it’s probably nothing, chalk it up to my age
I feel like I’m gonna die, my blood pressure’s never been that high
Or maybe it’s something… when my heart skips a beat
My breath ain’t right— it’s worse at night— If I can slow it down I’ll be alright
If there was a blood test for what I’ve got, then I would be fine
And someone would be deserving of the Nobel Prize!!
So, it’s probably nothing, a bad sandwich I guess
Could be hormones or allergies, my family thinks that I’m a mess
But maybe it’s something, that little lump in my neck
I’m bruising now and I’m coughing still, let me google-it… just to check
It says it’s definitely something… when my heart skips a beat
My breath ain’t right— it’s worse at night— If I can slow it down I’ll be alright
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5. |
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The windshield’s dirty that I’m looking through, with bug guts stuck like super glue
And I can get ‘em off, if I try. Even the Hoover Dam, is still soft inside
The sun has riz and the sun has set, well here I am in Texas yet
Taking songs for a walk, that came from my mind, I guess I own them so… I shuffle behind
If we fly like crows, we could make that show, but we've gotta take the long way around
We’re coming in late, and we hope that you wait, it’s always better when we have a full crowd
I’m not a musician, I got something to say, I wanna ramble and get away,
On a musical-vacation for the working poor,
I wanna breath some air that ain’t been breathed before
I wanna breath some air that ain’t been breathed before
“Waste your life, be an artist” they used to say, I heard that one a lot back in the day
Acting like an artist is this thing outside, not another part of me in the same guise
The bathroom stalls have got no doors, I’ll use my mic I can’t use yours
It smells so bad… and I hate to say,
I guess we played some shows, should’a never been played
But I’m playing hard enough to break a sweat, I’m getting good, I ain’t got there yet
My voice is blown out from singing loud, because you never know who’s in that crowd
Well the bands I saw when I was young, they’d send you home feeling alive
You stay up late and you wanna create, I wanna play that role in your life
I’m kind-of-a-musician with something to say, I wanna ramble and get away,
On a musical-vacation for the working poor,
I wanna breath some air that ain’t been breathed before
I wanna breath some air that ain’t been breathed before
“Waste your life, be an artist” they used to say, I heard that one a lot back in the day
Acting like an artist is this thing outside, not another part of me in the same guise
“Waste your life, be an artist” they used to say, I heard that one a lot back in the day…
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6. |
This Town
03:00
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We built this town for dogs, people knit them little sweaters they wear
Groomed, shampooed, and perfumed, you know that’s the way
We built this town for dogs, people walking them here and there
Carrying baggies to clean up their uughh!! you know that’s the way
If the aliens were watching on high, what would they say?
“We know who’s in charge today… being waited on that way”
We built this town for cars, roads sprawling from place to place
Washing, detailing, rotate, and oil-changing away
We built this town for cars, take my photo on the hood they say
Daddy’s Ford doesn’t run, but it still made the will anyway
If the aliens were watching on high, what would they say?
“We know who’s in charge today… being cared for that way”
We built this town for phones, what pretty jewelry and sleeves they wear
Embraced with eyes locked on the face, you know that’s the way
We built this town for phones, what pushy notifications in there
It’s the posting and boasting that brings out the worst I swear
If the aliens were watching on high, what would they say?
“What are they looking at all day?”
“A shame to see them enslaved…”
“Will they every find their way?”
“I hope they break free some day…”
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7. |
The Library
03:45
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Put your scalpels down, take a look around
At the final expression on the face
Of every body in this place
The mind that endured all the suffering is gone
But something else lingers on that I know
Best lend your books out son while you’re around
They say when someone dies, that a library burns down
Call everyone who ever loved me
Bring every shaman to jiggle above me
Bring holy chrism to rub me
Bring everyone and they might see
That the mind that endured all the suffering is gone
But something else lingers on that I know!!
Best lend my books out son while I’m around
They say when someone dies, that a library burns down
Call everyone who ever loved me
Bring every shaman to jiggle above me
Bring holy chrism to rub me
Bring everyone and they might see
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8. |
Movie Montage
02:07
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There’s a movie montage happening right now
You can see it if you just close your eyes
We’re learning, improving, we’re figuring it out
And the passage of time is implied
Show me what you’re working on man
And I’ll shake my head “yes” or “no”
Show it to me once, come on, show it to me twice
And I’ll give you the “thumbs up” sign
Well you know that it only works in the movies
When their rushing towards the end
Our lives drag on, just waiting in lines
And we never call on our friends
But there’s a movie montage happening right now
You can see it if you just close your eyes
We’re learning, improving, we’re figuring it out
and the passage of time is implied
Show me what you’re working on man
And I’ll shake my head “yes” or “no”
Show it to me twice, hell, show it to me thrice
And I’ll give you the “thumbs up” sign
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9. |
Duncan
03:28
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(Words and music by Paul Simon):
Couple in the next room, bound to win a prize, they’ve been going at it all night long
Well I’m trying to get some sleep but these motel walls are cheap
Lincoln Duncan is my name and here’s my song… here’s my song
My father was a fisherman, my mama was a fisherman’s friend
And I was born in the boredom and the chowder
So when I reached my prime, I left my home in the maritimes
Headed down the turnpike for New England… sweet New England
Holes in my confidence, holes in the knees of my jeans
I was left without a penny in my pocket
Oh ooh ooh wee, I was about destituted as a kid could be
And I wished I wore a ring so I could hock it… I’d like to hock it
A young girl in a parking lot, was preaching to a crowd
Singing sacred songs and reading from the bible
Well I told her I was lost and she told me all about the Pentecost
And I seen that girl as the road to my survival
Just later on the very same night when I crept to her tent with a flashlight
And my long years of innocence ended
Well she took me to the woods, sayin’ “here comes something and it feels so good!”
And just like a dog I was befriended… I was befriended
Oh oh what a night, oh what a garden of delight
Even now that sweet memory lingers
I was playin’ my guitar, lying underneath the stars
Just thankin’ the lord for my fingers… for my fingers
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10. |
The Wrong Burner
03:15
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You left the original in the copy machine
And the door put up a fight
You should be pushing not pulling
This heavy guilt through your life
Just think “It’s not my fault”
“I can’t tell sugar from salt,
(My fault) when they clearly look the same,”
(My fault) you and I are not to blame
For things so poorly made
Cause everyone’s turned the wrong burner on once or twice
Despite the helpful symbols painted on the side of the stove
Well it’s not just the old you do it too
They say hot water is on the left
And that the cold is on the right (yeah right)
And that I type really slowly
That I’m the hunt-n-peck type!!
Then why are these light switches taped down?
And why is that thermostat encaged in plastic?
Are you getting annoyed?
Are you becoming enraged?
Then say with me!! “It's not my fault,
I can't tell sugar from salt,
(My fault) when they clearly look the same
(My fault) I'll just keep refreshing the page…
(My fault) I can't swap cell phone calls...
(My fault) or work the automatic bathroom...
(My fault) or program my sprinklers…"
(My fault) but you and I are not to blame
For things so poorly made
Because everyone's turned the wrong burner on once or twice
Despite the helpful symbols painted on the side of the stove
Well it's not just the old you do it too
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Jacob Smigel Austin, Texas
When the house plants are doing well... I think that says more about me.
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