Get all 6 Die Like Gentlemen releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Hard Truths, Stories, Distinguished Company, The Quickening Light, Five Easy Lies, and Romantic Delusions of Hell.
1. |
Blind in One Eye
01:42
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BLIND IN ONE EYE
came out of the blue
hit before I had time to move
let's pull over, babe
are you okay?
I'm shaking enough for two
I will make this up to you
hey, no need to be so cruel
you know I'm blind in one eye
it could just as well have been you
asking me to let you slide
wait… weren't you steering too?
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2. |
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THE HEAD OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
what Sunday school image was ever more vivid than the decollation of John?
his head on a platter, serene and unsplattered
incestuous Romans look on
of course, crucifixion is quite the affliction: to suffer in stages for days
but no fate's so wild, no, none is so vile
as losing your head to the blade
did Salome dance?
did Herod steal more than a glance at his daughter and niece?
did Herodias task her own daughter to ask for
the head of the baptist released?
or was it more trivial, cold and political?
history shifting the blame
from one ruthless man to one or two women
seductresses, foolish and vain
bring me the head of the baptist
I want the head of the baptist
seems it's found just to be lost again
this relic of martyrs and men
the skull of a soul in distress
crying in the wilderness
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3. |
Empty Kettle
04:45
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EMPTY KETTLE
the wife of the tin man brushes tears from her eyes
she cries for her rose bushes as they wither and die
her husband the tin man looks on in dismay
"like all things not metal," he says, "these roses decay"
he offers to chop them all down and so set them free
from pain and disease, from heartache and grief
why would anyone want muscle and skin over spindles and pins?
why would anyone not wish to be tin?
with sadness he can't understand his wife has agreed
she savors the last of their bloom and the tin man proceeds
to prune and dismember, destroy and uproot
a half-dozen rose bushes fall 'neath his axe and his boot
but the last one is wilder, a jungle of vines
that fights to defend and stave off the end
why would anyone want pain and disease over sprockets and grease?
why would anyone be willing to bleed?
the tin man discovers this last bush was much more
a spine made of iron and nails in its thorns
hour after hour he hacks and he heaves
"perhaps," says his weeping wife, "you should let this one be"
but the tin man's determined to rid this thing free
of flower and leaf, of sunshine and seed
why would anyone want pain and disease over sprockets and grease?
why would anyone want muscle and skin over spindles and pins?
why would anyone not wish to be tin?
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4. |
After We're Dead
04:53
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AFTER WE'RE DEAD
if you don't mind and have time to spare
lend me just a moment before we're thin air
between now and then: a brief interruption of nothing
we were just here a moment ago
I lost track for just a moment and found myself all alone
I left you some songs, some rights and wrongs
some trivial words, some pain and some joy
some blame and some praise, the sum of my days
all these stories, they must end after our storytellers are dead
and the songs we have sung lose their tune
share my stories, joke with friends, talk about me long after I'm dead
and I promise the same thing for you
just like the first time I told you I loved you
high on cocaine and all my thoughts of you
these hidden gems: a brief celebration of nothing
we were just there a moment ago
we lost track for only a moment and found ourselves hand in hand
we wrote some words that cry to be heard
that want to endure, that want to spill blood
that want to breathe life, that want to be loved
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5. |
Drought
07:36
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DROUGHT
we watched your shores recede, your wells dry up, your rivers turn to sand
we kissed your desiccated lips and felt the coarseness of your hands
your fields were withering, your fruits had lost the sweetness they once had
starved of your nourishment we questioned what we'd done to be so damned
back and forth until the rain clouds come
despite the glare of your unsympathetic sun we fought to see
the shifting contours of the dunes that gave your shape a poetry
long after sunset we lay freezing and abandoned on the plains
we dreamed of luscious foreign lands and drank imaginary rains
back and forth until the rain clouds come
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6. |
Harbinger of Joy
04:47
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HARBINGER OF JOY
I am thirsty for your company
all day longing for you next to me
burning, soothing, ancient melody
complex, primal, distilled memory
pour your soul over my stones
mixing your blood with my own
have you always been a part of me?
who cares? just don't ever part from me
one man's poison (lies and sophistry)
better living through your chemistry
while I still function at all
whether I run or I crawl
my friend Jack drinks like a Cadillac
smokes like a chimney stack
always reaching for more
nurse that pain • nipping away disdain
all disappointment drained by a healthier pour
won't you drink in paradise with me?
won't you suffer for eternity?
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7. |
Dead Skin Mask
04:26
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8. |
Come Closer
06:20
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COME CLOSER
come closer, little bird
I'll lie and say you're fine
that wing won't set itself
I just want to help you fly
but so long as you're here
how 'bout I put you in this cage
that I just happen to have near
stay with me tonight • sing with me tonight
come closer, pussycat
had you a fight again?
they smell the fear on you
and pounce on you, my friend
you're fretting territory
when you could curl up in my lap
I'll feed and pet you every day
stay with me tonight • lay with me tonight
if you want trust, then trust in me
if you want love, then set me free
I am struggling to breath
absence makes the heart grow fond
but I can only miss you when you're gone
I am longing to be free
if you want faith, have faith in me
if you want warmth, leave some for me
I am freezing alive
absence makes the heart grow fond
but I could only miss you while I was gone
I am coming inside
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Die Like Gentlemen Portland, Oregon
From classic metal riffing to chunking sludge to dark acoustic ballads, Die Like Gentlemen is continually exploring new ground and new sounds.
Die Like Gentlemen recommends:
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Godzilla film music by sludge/jazz septet
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A mind-bending psychedelic rock opera with the songs to match, “Xafyre Dynasty” has its controls set for the heart of the sun.
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