1. |
We'll All Be Gone
04:10
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We’ll All Be Gone
(Words & Music by Bruce Madden)
You been hangin' 'round
With dysfunctional clowns
No wonder you been
Feelin' down
But you don't need
To live your live this way
There's only one thing for certain,
We'll all be gone some day
Well I've been good
And I've been bad
But the worst feeling
I know
Is when I've been had
But no one here needs
To understand these blues
There's only one thing for certain
We'll all be gone someday
Just live your life
The way you want to
Cause nobody here
Has to walk 'round in your shoes
But everybody here
Has to pay their own kind of blues
There's only one thing for certain
We'll all be gone someday
You look at me
And I look at you
You act like an angel
People say I'm the devil's fool
But what do they know
Living their life inside of a cage
There's only one thing for certain
We'll all be gone some day.
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2. |
Leave This Town
03:24
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Leave This Town
(Words & Music by Bruce Madden)
I'm ready
Said, I'm ready
Yes, I'm ready to leave this town
And nobody here can hold me down
I'm tired
Said, I'm tired
Yes, I'm tired of being your fool
Now, I'm gonna make my own rules
I'm shoutin'
Said, I'm shoutin'
Yes, I'm shoutin' I'm a free man
Gonna make you finally understand
I'm ready
Said, I'm ready
Yes, I'm ready to leave this town
And nobody here can hold me down
I'm drivin'
Said, I'm drivin'
Yes, I'm drivin' down this highway
Nobody here is gonna get in my way
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3. |
Zombie Without A Home
03:40
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Zombie Without A Home
(Words & Music by Bruce Madden)
I've spent my whole life
Or at least part of yesterday
Watching so many colorful people
Wondering what they all had to say
I ride the seahorse
Beneath the surface of all my pain
And I would reemerge hopeful
Before sinking below the waves again
You wore the jewelry and I,
I wore all of the blame
Part of you was an Aztec clone-
My heart beat in the palm of your hand
I stood there staring
Just like a zombie without a home
I stood there staring
Just like a zombie without a home
I'm not here looking
For some kind of emotional rosetta stone
Your truth is Pompeii-molded
My ashes scatter across the floor
You stand there staring
Just like a zombie without a home
You stand there staring
Just like a zombie without a home
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4. |
Drifter
02:29
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Drifter
(Words & Music by Bruce Madden)
Tell me your story
I'll tell you mine
You might have to save yours
For some other time
You see I'm a drifter
And that's all
I really wanna be
I've been around
A time or two
You hurt me
And I hurt you
'Cause I'm a drifter
And that's all
I really wanna do
Never built a pyramid
Or a house I owned
In the middle of a crowd
I feel all alone
'Cause I'm a drifter
And that's why
I'm bound to go
There's a lot of places
I still wanna see
The faces change
But not the personalities
Yeah, I'm a drifter
And that's all
I really wanna be
Pontius Pilate asked
What is truth?
I guess it all depends
On your point of view
Yeah, I'm a drifter
And that's all
I'm gonna do
Some folks say
The devil lives inside
But I've seen more hell
On the outside
Yeah I'm a drifter
And that's all
I will confide
If I stop here
Can you spare a dime
The world's my oyster
But I don't have much time
You see, I'm a drifter
And that's all
I really wanna be
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5. |
Sister Mary
04:34
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Sister Mary
© Words & Music by Bruce Madden
Tell me Sister Mary, tell me
Just don't read the cards too fast
Tell me everything you know
Just make my future last.........
I know you're a holy woman
But do you practice the voodoo too?
Look at my palm now
Tell me everywhere the lines will go
Will I be healthy happy and wise
Or does my excessive curiosity show?
Tell me everything you know
Just make the future last
I know you're a holy woman
But do you dabble in the voodoo too?
Can you see me at night in the city
Walkin' thru your back streets
Queens and queers and jungle teens
Red bricks, the steam and the heat
Release me from this nightmare
The one that won't let me sleep
Sometimes I hear the sound of spaceships
And vampires on a midnight creep
Tell me Sister Mary, tell me
Just don't read the cards too fast
Tell me everything you know
Just make my future last...
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6. |
Bisexing The Blues
03:54
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Bisexing The Blues
(Words & Music by Bruce Madden)
I know this woman who’s been hurt too many times
I could tell you stories about the woman hurt too many times
I want to comfort her and I know that I could
But in the end I might
In the end I‘m afraid I might
In the end I think I might, hurt her too
She says she loves me and I know that means a lot
This man wants another man
A complicated blues
But this is not a song
A mixed up life can go wrong
Well the man he doesn’t know
I’m afraid he just might not know
In the end will I let him know
Will it hurt him too?
I’ve lived in a prison all these years
with the only key
Couldn’t see the inside imprisoned
on the outside of me
A straight jacketed fool
But this is not a song
A mixed up life can go wrong
How do I slow these things down?
I’m over my head upside down
I can’t slow my heartbeat down
Am I a fool to you?
Who wrote the script we live by when we act out life?
There are no happy endings
When you live a lie
Yet who tells the truth?
But this is not a song
A mixed up life can go wrong
You could end up all alone
It’s a risk you have to take
Better real than a living fake
I just don’t know
I know this woman who’s been hurt too many times
I could tell you stories about the woman hurt
too many times
I want to comfort her
And I know that I could
But in the end I might
I’m afraid that I just might
In the end I think that I might
Hurt her too
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7. |
Devil Is A Man
04:38
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Devil Is A Man
(Words & Music by Bruce Madden)
The devil is a man
I've seen his face
The devil is a man
I've seen his face
Look in the mirror
You'll take his place
Caught in the moment
No thoughts at all
Caught in the moment
No thoughts at all
We ride the mystery
With no worries at all
And I said:
The devil is a man
Look in the mirror
You'll take my place
Yeah, you'll take my place
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8. |
Talking With The Angels
04:28
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Talking With The Angels
(Words & Music by Bruce Madden)
So you talk to the angels
And it's a mighty fine thing
But it's always the devil
Who get the last word in
Angels are timid and shy
Barely have a thing to say
But the devil shows movies
To complement word play
Up there in heaven's domain
Things remain pretty calm
But down here in hell
Bodies manage to stay warm
Hold on now
Which way is up?
Hold on now
Which way is down?
Somebody turn me around
I'm about shout aloud
Which way is up?
Which way is down?
If you could talk with the angels
Would you find the right words?
But why is it the tempting devil
Whose conversation makes you burn?
The angels blow a cool philosophy
Reading from their weighty tomes
But it's always those little devils
Acting out their vivid sex poems
You might carry me to heaven door
Push me through those pearly gates
But the devil is selling cheap seats
To the kind of show I crave
Hold on now
Which way is up?
Hold on now
Which way is down?
Somebody turn me around
I'm about shout aloud
Which way is up?
Which way is down?
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9. |
Razor's Edge
03:41
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Razor’s Edge
(Words & Music by Bruce Madden)
This old world is all screwed up
I’m sick and tired I’ve had enough
But what do you do when you’re sick of it
You know already you will never fit
Too many gods here
They get the blues
They keep you down
You act a fool
They don’t own heaven
They don’t own hell
Don’t be believin’
In what they sell
The razor’s edge I’m on the razor’s edge
I feel the razor’s edge in my head
The razor’s edge I’m on the razor’s edge
I feel the razor’s edge In my head
It’s in your head
It’s in your heart
Don’t let them kill ya
Don’t play their part
Don’t fight their battles
You’ll never win
They'll steal your heart
And call it sin
This dream is real
You hold the key
Don’t let them tell you
How you should feel
They don’t own heaven
They don’t own hell
Don’t be believing
In what they sell
The razor’s edge I’m on the razor’s edge
I feel the razor’s edge In my head
The razor’s edge this is the razor’s edge
I feel the razor’s edge In my head
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10. |
Drag
04:08
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Drag
(Words & Music by Bruce Madden)
It’s such a drag Everywhere I look
I see your face I can’t escape
You’re in the newspapers Or the tv news
I seen you online I can’t escape you
I’m wondering now What will you do?
When someone comes along
And takes it all away from you
I’m wondering how You’ll see it through
When the only image in view
Is the face that broke your heart in two
I’m on the ceiling You’re on the floor
I’m on the outside You close the door
The sound I hear is a dissonant roar
My heart is bleeding Yours is xxx hardcore
I’m wondering now What will you do?
When someone comes along
And takes it all away from you
I’m wondering how You’ll see it through
When the only image in view
Is the face that broke your heart in two
It’s such a drag
It’s such a drag When things go wrong
You feel justified And I write this song
You deserve war To save yourself
My heart is bleeding
Yours is xxx hardcore
I’m wondering now What will you do?
When someone comes along And takes it all away from you
I’m wondering how You’ll see it through
When the only image in view
Is the face that broke your heart in two
I’m on the ceiling You’re on the floor
I’m on the outside You close the door
The sound I hear Is this dissonant roar
My heart is bleeding Yours is xxx hardcore
I’m wondering now What will you do?
When someone comes along And takes it all away from you
I’m wondering how You’ll see it through
When the only image in view
Is the face that broke your heart in two
It’s such a drag
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11. |
Ain't Nothing But...
03:47
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Ain’t Nothing But...
(Words & Music by Bruce Madden)
You don’t need no high tone explanations
You don’t need no biblical revelations
To tell you why people do what they do
If you listen you’ll hear it all around you
It ain’t nothing but the blues
I said the blues
You don’t need no scholar’s dissertation
You don’t need no reverend’s lamentation
To tell you why people do what they do
If you listen you’ll hear it all around you
It ain’t nothing but the blues
I said the blues
You don’t need no to hear the devil’s desecration
You don’t need to hear any angelic explanations
To teach you why people do what they do
If you listen you’ll hear it all around you
It ain’t nothing but the blues
I said the blues
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12. |
Coffin Bone
04:12
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Coffin Bone
(Words & Music by Bruce Madden)
When I woke up this morning I was all alone
No one could hear me I felt like a coffin bone
Like a coffin bone
Everybody else is dead as far as I can know
This world is darkness I feel like a coffin bone
Like a coffin bone
The demons are not dreams to wake up from
The sun is gone down I feel like a coffin bone
Like a coffin bone
Too many times I wished for my dying day
When the images of evil would not go away
Now I'm living here in this blackness all alone
Each day I wake up I feel like a coffin bone
Like a coffin bone
How many people in the world feel like me
Watching inmates run the asylum of misery
Too many times I wished for my dying day
When the images of evil would not go away
Now I'm living here in darkness all alone
Each day I wake up I feel like a coffin bone
Like a coffin bone
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13. |
The House Is On Fire
02:27
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The House Is On Fire
(Words & Music by Bruce Madden)
The house is on fire
Everyone is runnin' 'round
I said the house is on fire
Everything is burnin' down
It's time for you and me
To sound a loud alarm
It's time for you and me
To ask what's goin' on?
The fire's so damn hot
There's ashes in the air
The fire's so damn hot
People burnin' over there
The house is on fire
Everyone is runnin' 'round
I said the house is on fire
Everything is burning down
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14. |
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Watching It All Passin’ By
(Words & Music by Bruce Madden)
Nature says you won't last
Everything must pass away
But it doesn't matter much to me
I'm gonna stand up anyway
And pull down a handful of stars
And get me an eyeful of sky
And watch it all passin' by
I've seen this mean old world
From the inside out
Watched as the angels burned
While the demons shout
Come with us just for awhile
You can win with our sin
And we can make you smile
Some times I just have to grin
Shake my head and laugh
Not at you but at me
Caught up in stupid anxieties
And all I have to do is breathe
And get an eyeful of sky
And watch it all passin' by
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15. |
Tell Me Now
04:40
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Tell Me Now
(Words & Music by Bruce Madden)
Okay my head is spinning
Wonderin’ about your state of mind
You sleep so peacefully
Some times I must be blind
Yeah I must be blind
I’ve seen all the sorrow
Floating in your eyes
But every time I see you cry
It takes me by surprise
Always by surprise
So we pull up a friendly cloud
We try to talk things out
Oh it’s just passin by
With memory on splash and flow
It’s a full splash and flow
Tell me now if you can
Where do we go?
Up here in the clouds
Rain on our feet below
Where do we go?
Up here in the clouds
With the rain on our feet below
And a head full of searing doubt
You smile a little
And say I think I know
Yeah I think I know
Maybe tomorrow it will be alright
Yeah tomorrow things will be alright
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16. |
Put The Gray Light Out
03:57
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Put The Gray Light Out
(Words & Music by Bruce Madden)
Put the gray light out
A yellow wave band shouts
It’s the purity of light
The stars shoot out the night
Hung up in this ancient dust
Hazy reminders of us
Struggling like the hungry ants
Reaching upward toward the light
I’m waiting for the great big bang
It’s an oxygen rush
A wonderous revelation
Of light and of sound
Still there’s a voice inside
Quit your hanging around
I think it’s time to push off now
Deep into mental space
Flying over reeds and grass
And rushing blue streams
My eyes are closed emitting light
Fingertips dipped in stars
An underwater dreaming state
No worries no pain
An endless rain of painted light
Warm and perfect to the touch
With you by my side tonight
Warm and perfect to the touch
You’ll be by my side tonight
Warm and perfect to the touch
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17. |
Changing Skins
04:34
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Changing Skins
(Words & Music by Bruce Madden)
I’m changing skins
No fool no giant
Changing skins
Into articulate whims
The blast furnaces of incognito
Rules these timid lizard features
I’m changing skins in the middle of it
Changing skins to win a moment’s freedom
The light is bad
I can’t see the changes
Changing skins in the thick of it
Oh I’m just changing my skin you know
Changing sins to sin
Like the church
I’m drunk like a mendicant buffoon
Howling at the moon
Low and full seductively teasing
Those swollen oceans
Changing skins on an endless summer run
I’m changing skins to touch the sun
and to come undone
Undone
Unglued
To bolt outside into the blue
Into the blue season
And to crack it open
Crack open the brittle toys of pleasure
Underneath the eyes of god
Who smiles and likes to watch
Changing skins
To wrestle naked on a beach
Changing skins
And just to stay out of reach
Of the perfect order of things
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Bruce Madden Grand Rapids, Michigan
My love of harmonica began as a child in the South. My love of guitar came about a little later--I use it to compose songs--
for example all the songs on the 2022 release, Trouble Times.
I was born in Arkansas and lived in Texas, Louisiana and Virginia. Eventually, I lived in France for three years before settling in Boston for a time.
I live in Michigan now.
... more
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