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Pictures

by Slow Machines

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1.
We Were Angels 03:18
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climbing down from the ivory tower i built a bonfire, i burned it down i'm a sinner unholy soldier now i lay my rifle down and i waited for water but all the water is underground i tried saving your honor but all i did was drag us down we were angels, we were children we were lovers, god help us now we were built from broken pieces we were built on haunted ground and we waited for salvation but our salvation was gone too soon and i never knew love and i never knew peace i never knew home so how could i give one to you? and i'm still waiting for water but there is water right on the shelf i tried saving your honor but you gotta save it all by yourself...
2.
Cob and Pen 02:33
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what were you thinking when you kissed me at the cob and pen almost as if you knew right then i could be yours completely? and what were you feeling when you took me to your bed so soon and with your children sleeping in the next room made love to me so sweetly? and i whispered into the dark that you'd already stolen my heart but you were already sleeping... and what was i thinking when i let you in so easily you climbed right up my family tree without even trying and that night i told you i loved you you just shook your head in disbelief yeah and then you cried yourself to sleep man those red flags sure were flying and we could have lived that dream if you'd only had some self esteem but you were always hiding how? you only asked me "how?" you only asked me "how?" when i told you i loved you... and what were we thinking when we jumped headfirst into the pool without reading all the rules "please no running and no diving" and what were you thinking when you kissed me at the cob and pen even though your heart belonged to him and i'd just be left there, crying...
3.
Pictures 01:41
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we never took any pictures we only needed the moon play in the dark with me sister the walls will be closing in soon we never took any pictures time never touched us that way drinking each other like liquor naked and laughing in May while the last of the light slips away we never took any pictures why would we stop the parade? holding ourselves to no scriptures holding no debt to be paid loving the longing and leaving naked and laughing in June we never took any pictures we only needed the moon or a storm in the late afternoon but the walls will be closing in soon...
4.
Miracles - redux 04:29
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not quite sure what to think when faced with my own vanity guess i'll just try to go to sleep we never did believe in miracles i never did believe in anything so i protect myself with shallow mediocrity i've learned to make myself look clean just don't look underneath the rug my dear don't look too far beyond the cool veneer i'll disappear i can't hide, i can't fight and here we are you see we've learned to love our enemies we're just so fucking pure and clean we never learned to handle suffering we were never taught that we're worth anything and here in silence we will dance around this reckoning it's all good as long as we don't speak we never did believe in miracles you never did believe in anything in anything i can't hide, i can't fight here in these frozen halls the silences are deafening pray to god but god won't hear a thing you never did believe in miracles we never did believe in anything, in anything
5.
Brothers 02:22
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6.
It Was Hard 03:32
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it was hard getting out of modesto with the sheriff and his boys on my tail in that old car that i stole from the parking lot where i murdered my poor abigail it was cold, and the desert was sinister i couldn't feel my own toes no one knows and it was hard, when that lawman spotted me coming out of the seven eleven he was off guard, so he met a poor end at the end of my .357 and i try not to think of how i let that man die in the desert out there alone and scared in the dark it was hard when they caught up to me in reno put two rounds into my chest blew me apart but i took out two deputies before i drew my last breath and i know that the lord won't remember me he never did seem to agree with this boy with no love and no family and a hole where his soul's supposed to be i'd agree it's on me but it was hard...
7.
Con Tu Amor 01:53
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cuando me duele el corazon siempre tienes la razón cuando falta mi canto tu, mi amante, dame tiempo con tu amor como el cielo me recogiste del suelo no trataste de salvarme me ayudaste hacerlo solo mi bola de masa dulce mi pequeña mancha de verde tengo amor como nunca antes por favor no me descartes con tu amor como el cielo me recogiste del suelo no trataste de salvarme me ayudaste hacerlo solo
8.
Miami is on the Horizon, Shimmering 03:27
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late night next flight something calls me to the light and if i don't return know that i am finally home i am learning all the landmarks mapping out the territory soaking up the culture learning all her history certain parts are dangerous but i wanna know those, too it's easier for a man who's paid his dues deadlines, responsibilities i intend to tend to all of these but miami is on the horizon, shimmering and i know i'll get there if i take my time and that modest, decent life that should have been hers the whole time i think it's time she tried midnight next life things we couldn't quite get right pull the next book won't regret the chance we took well i intend to take my time but i won't let the time take me i'm getting old and i need something to believe could be my city or your mountains could be my leather or your lace it could be north or south or anywhere between hangups, insecurities i intend to put an end to all of these because miami is on the horizon, shimmering and i know i'm getting closer all the time and that modest, decent life that should be hers and could be mine well maybe it's time we tried...
9.
It's Not That I Miss You 03:46
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We both know you and I weren’t meant to be Heartache and loneliness were all that we could see So we both packed up our bags, shook hands and that was that But there was something that just didn’t sit right with me Of course you said that he was just a friend And all those harmless messages you’d send Guess all those late night talks Were enough for you to walk away And start yourself a brand new life with him It’s not that I miss you, it’s not that I’m lonely Already got me another girl to hold me It’s not that I gave you half my money It’s that you had another man lined up behind me I sure don’t miss your lazy attitude You’re crazy and you’re selfish and you’re rude I’d have to be hooked on crack before I ever took you back Because this knife stuck in my back belongs to you It’s not that I miss you, it’s not that I’m lonely Already got me a better girl to hold me It’s not that I gave you, all that money It’s that you had another man lined up behind me It’s real nice that you wanna be my friend Must be out of money to spend Stop sending me letters, I think I’d like it better If I never saw or heard from you again All those hours just laying around the house Playing video games and shooting off your mouth Your ridiculous opinions and all your online minions Well I’m grinning cause that’s all his problem now It’s not that I miss you, its not that I’m lonely Well there’s always another girl to hold me Its not that I gave you, all my money It’s that you had another man lined up behind me
10.
The Things I Tried to Carry 03:07
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the weight i tried to carry that was never mine it finally got too heavy and it broke my spine i gnashed my teeth and bit the hand that tried to feed i broke the backs of the saints who tried to carry me the things i tried to carry and the weight of lies that the ground's too hard to bury and the river too shallow to hide and every tale needs a villain fit for the silver screen and every tune needs a minor chord to set a somber scene the things i tried to carry oh, my wounded pride but the winds of january finally blew the leaves aside my broken back put me on the ground so i could see and find the jewel i lost when i was seventeen....
11.
Folks 00:32
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about

Attachment to perfection - especially to the idea of my own perfection and invincibility - has been my Achilles heel my whole life.

I'm working on it, you guys.

One night about five years ago, my friend Bill and I were sitting at the bar at Open Mike's. It was open mic night, and Bill was about to go up.
Bill carried around a three-ring binder full of songs he'd written. Some of them were brilliant .

Others were, by his own admission, stupid.

Those songs, he said, were just practice for writing the good ones. He just kept writing, unafraid of failure, vulnerability, imperfection...

He asked me why I never put out any original music. "Because I only seem to be able to write bad songs," I whined into my beer.

"Then just write bad songs," he scoffed.

So that's exactly what I did. I guess I just needed someone's permission.

I'm going to release my fourth album on my 49th birthday, October 29. It took just over a year to record and mix. It will have ten songs.

Some of them are, by my own admission, stupid.

Seventeen people will listen, and a few more kind souls will tell me they did. It doesn't matter. I'm not doing it for anyone else. It makes me happy - or, as close to happy as a guy like me can be - just to make music.

It is not a great album. But, it's better by far than the one I released three years ago. That one was better than the one before that, which was better than the last one.

That's what matters. Progress, not perfection.

Actually, now that I think of it, I'm not even sure progress matters all that much. Just do stuff you like, and as long as no one's getting hurt, don't worry about the outcome.

As you were.

credits

released October 19, 2023

Thank you:

Ramon Molledo - Drums
Bo Frazer - Pedal Steel Guitar
Richard Stephens - Banjo
Anthony Fata - Co-Producer, Engineer, and miscellaneous noises

Album Cover Photo - Melissa Benzel

Recorded at Garbage Farm Studios and Rocky Water Studios in Eau Gallie, Florida

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