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Song A Week - Summer 2016

by Ben Below

/
1.
Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there; I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning's hush I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft star that shines at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there; I did not die.
2.
When we first met, I was just five Sat on the playground with tears in my eyes He sat by my side, and gave me advice Wrinkles surrounding his shining blue eyes "I'm not going to say that it gets better. But I will say this: You only get one, one chance to be you So don't let the bullies tell you what to do" CHORUS If you could meet yourself, see you coming What advice would you give Out of time, out of order How's the life that you'd live? I was sixteen, him twenty-one Whispers and hints of things to come Sometimes it's years, sometimes it's days Often I don't have much to say But always at least a nod and a smile. -CHORUS- -CHORUS- Last time we met, he was just five Sat in a playground with tears in his eyes I sat by his side, and gave my advice Now that I'd seen from the other side "I'm not going to say that it gets better"
3.
Conga Jam 02:43
4.
City Of Rats 03:26
Under the city in darkness they lurk They live in the dark and the damp and the murk For so long they've sat back, been baited and trapped Once roamed the surface and they want it back Rats! They're under your floorboards Rats! They live in your street Rats! Whether paupers or lords Rats! Right under your feet One at a time and they're harmless enough When they come in packs then it starts to get tough But when all move as one they can tear flesh from bone The threat rose and drove people out of their homes And so they came, and we left - like rats fleeing a sinking ship, or so the saying goes. But in this case, the rats were definitely not the ones doing the fleeing. The disease, the violence, it all became too much, as family after family fled for safer pastures. The most stubborn tried to stay of course, but none lasted. Every nook, every cranny, every shop, every building - all overrun. And so became the city of the rats.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Desert Heat Just Highway Keep it cool Let's drive Visor down Full throttle Buckle up Let's burn Fire the thrusters, time to trust us Small adjustments as we're rocketing forwards Feel the wind blow, watch the day go Follow the faint glow, the horizon calls --- Hit a town Saloon's calling Grab a drink Let's rest When the night comes, grab your light gun Set it to stun as you sneak out of the guest room Fry the cameras, swipe the bank vaults Fill the tank and leave before the dawn
9.
What is this? We're stopping Not a town For miles Safety checks done, thruster pads on Feet are down and keys are in the ignition Tank is full, so given the clues There's one conclusion: Sabotage! --- Nice to finally meet you, Bonnie, D3 Though I can tell from your looks that you've not heard of me I'm the head of this posse, the Swiftrider Gang And I'll give you one chance to give up while you can See we're better, stronger, we've got you outnumbered We're meaner, hit harder, wherever we plunder Our bikes are much faster than your out of date car So crawl back to your home, cause these streets are now ours! --- Well I do hate to leave in too much of a rush But there's banks, shops and homes to rob, plus dreams to crush While we leave you here stranded, one piece of advice You get more from your marks if you don't leave them alive See we're better, stronger, we've got you outnumbered We're meaner, hit harder, wherever we plunder Our bikes are much faster than your out of date car So you can walk back home, cause the streets are now ours!
10.
11.
Summer breeze blows through the treetops The skyline morphs from grey to blue A hundred thousand tiny insects fly from bush to tree to flower There's no better view Foliage rustles in the distance Constant trickle of the stream Hear the mating calls of bird and beast from nightingale to robin It's like a dream
12.
Empty Moon 03:44
A long time ago, before life formed on Earth A giant named Theia crashed into the globe And the impact gave cause to celestial birth As the empty moon was born As the empty moon was born As humans evolved, she was worshiped and feared Tales spread that her phases turned men into beasts Gave way to the months as her sister did years As the empty moon changed shape As the empty moon changed shape Greek Anaxagoras deduced her a sphere With glowing reflections of those of the sun Aristarchus computed the distance from here As the empty moon was measured As the empty moon was measured Gallileo drew her with mountains and craters Michale Florent van Langren drew her first map Riccioli and Grimaldi were prominent namers As the empty moon was charted As the empty moon was charted Then the space race began, US USSR A Soviet probe was the first to arrive Not to be outdone, JFK wanted more As the empty moon called out to men And we built Apollos one through ten Then in 1969 We sent up man for the first time Armstrong, Aldrin walked her face While Michael Collins stayed in space Further missions followed People walked the dusty floor And the empty moon's not empty any more A long time passed, life goes on on Earth After three short years we stopped our lunar escapes The powers that be have questioned its worth And the empty moon stays empty And the empty moon stays lonely
13.
The merchant pedals to town where he peddles his wares A suite of sweet food next to things you can wear Clothes old and new, then a woman he knew Comes to buy pairs of pears, and two tu-tus too. Under a knot in a bough a man issues a bow Says "wise baron, this field is barren now I know not how" With a wry groan, "Why's no rye grown? Can't make flour when nothing will flower" CHORUS We're sentenced to these sentences But there there, they're their own reward, he said You can hear them here, or join in instead And as the words whirred through your head You've mined your mind for others you've heard read But you see red Sir you must air a complaint ere you err by your heir He bored hunting boar, rode out bareback and brough a pet bear back Now we pray it won't choose us for prey As it chews bones of eight men it ate yesterday The coward cowered, then was threw through a bayside window A spectator sees the seas seize him They've seen the scene lapse: As the sea laps He sinks like lead, led down the world whirled up over his head -CHORUS- On the English language, here's my two cents The sentence that will follow this has no right to make sense: Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo (x8) *That's Buffalo, the city in New York , buffalo, the animal otherwise known as a bison, and buffalo, the little used verb meaning to outwit, intimidate, or baffle. And for those of you thinking I should have stopped after eight buffalo, no! Any number of times you repeat the word buffalo in a row, the sentence still bloody makes sense - look it up! /Sigh. Alright, one more chorus and then we're done* -CHORUS-

about

This album contains my first 13 submissions for the song a week challenge - each song was written and recorded within a week (often less!), and all adhere to a theme chosen weekly by the moderators here: www.reddit.com/r/songaweek

If you want to follow my submissions weekly rather than quarterly, I upload them all to my soundcloud here: soundcloud.com/ben-below

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released August 27, 2016

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Ben Below London, UK

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