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Things Still Left Unsaid

by Society of Broken Souls

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Susan Bergquist
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Susan Bergquist The whole album is good. All the songs are really great! The instrumentation is very well done, what ca I say I love the album. Favorite track: Creakin' Boards.
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1.
I’m tired of toein’ that line I’m tired of toein’ that line I wake up every morning ‘fore the sun does shine And I’m tired of toein’ that line. When I do things the way you say I should When I do things the way you say I should Well at the end of the day, it don’t do me any good When I do things the way you say I should ‘Cause I ain’t got a nickel to my name No I ain’t got a nickel to my name You’re living on the hill with your riches and your fame But I ain’t got a nickel to my name I’m tired of toein’ that line I’m tired of toein’ that line I wake up every morning ‘fore the sun does shine And I’m tired of toein’ that line. Well a good girl, she’ll never rock the boat No a good girl, she’ll never rock the boat She’s gonna keep her head down just to keep herself afloat No a good girl, she’ll never rock the boat But a good girl, I’m never gonna be No a good girl, I’m never gonna be I’m gonna speak my truth, gonna tell you what I see No, a good girl I’m never gonna be I’m tired of toein’ that line I’m tired of toein’ that line I wake up every morning ‘fore the sun does shine And I’m tired of toein’ that line. Mister, when you gonna look me in the eye Mister, when you gonna look me in the eye You take me for a fool but I can see through all your lies Mister, when you gonna look me in the eye Well, you ain’t gonna trouble me no more No, you ain’t gonna trouble me no more I’m gonna turn this mess around, gonna even up the score Mister, you ain’t gonna trouble me no more ‘Cause I ain’t gonna toe your wicked line No, I ain’t gonna toe your wicked line I’m gonna wake up every morning, feel that sweet sunshine And I ain’t gonna toe your wicked line No, I ain’t gonna toe your wicked line I ain’t gonna toe your wicked line No I ain’t gonna toe your wicked line
2.
Well you walked away from the midnight parade You left all your friends for the night ‘Cause the whisky ran dry and the streetlights don’t ask why You made up your mind to start some kind of fight Fighting’s much better than nothing at all And nothing’s about all that you’ve had So you knocked on my door on a Saturday night Stood on my steps your heart drawn like a knife Well I came to the door, saw you standing there I tried to look past you but the moonlight caught your hair You said why’d you go and leave me all alone like this Don’t you ever want just one more kiss There was crying and yelling, there was the calling of names There were things we both said we didn’t know we could say When one of us ran, the other gave chase There was an awful lot that we both had to face Well the tears in your eyes left a taste in my mouth That I swear to this day is the sweetest in the south You made love that night like there was no love but yours But the light Sunday morning sent you out my front door You walked out on me while I lay asleep Tangled but forgiven there alone in the sheets You said I hate to go and leave you all alone like this But I told you i only wanted one more kiss Yes I told you I only wanted one more kiss
3.
Reaching way back just as far as he can Looking ‘cross the plains with cloudy eyes and shaky hands The wind is picking up and it’s bringing on a chill While the memories in his head break the dam and start to spill Dust out on the gravel road still lingers in the air From the live stock trailers rattling by, they don’t see him there An unknown foreign visitor from some other time Looking for to trespass or commit some kind of crime He wanders through the halls just outside the empty rooms Their windows shuttered tight against a cold November moon The shadows in the corners from all they left behind They bleed into the cracks of light that leave him nearly blind Stealing back to yesterday when no one sees him leave Slips the latch undone and closes the door so quietly Cuts through fallow fields until he comes upon the track He’s leaving it all behind him, he ain’t ever coming back And the ghosts in the backyard that you speak to late at night They’re the only ones who even bother to tell you you’re right But being right don’t mean a thing when you’re left alone To listen to the creakin’ boards of what was once your home A boxcar from a rusty freight cradles his achin’ bones Iron, wood, and steel taking him further on down the road But the road ain’t always kind when you’re looking to outrun The bullets and the blasts that you fired from your own gun ‘Cause the black powder stains and smells and gets inside your head Mixes blood with all the dreams that you left for dead And every passing mile you begin to long for sleep But there ain’t no place to lay your head ‘cept the planks beneath your feet And the ghosts that you talk to in the night outside the train They’re the only ones who are telling you to stay in out of the rain ‘Cause the rain can wash away every sin you’ve ever known Except for these old creakin’ boards that are taking you from your home Kneeling by the river’s edge, filling his old canteen The icy water rushing by is the only thing he sees Stands and takes a drink and hears the sound of his own breath Coming from some hollow place that’s deep inside his chest He turns to look and see if there’s anyone standing there Just some naked trees swaying in the autumn air Pulls his jacket tight and he steps off towards the sun Thinking to himself that it’s already come undone. And the ghosts that you talk to when you sleepwalk through the day They’re the only ones who can understand all the crazy things you say And them trees bending in that wind are yours and yours alone Just some more old creakin’ boards for you to build yourself a new home
4.
Shape I'm In 04:32
Please don’t leave me Here to drown in the dark Of this boundless blue sky Where I can’t find my heart And please don’t leave me ‘Cause I can’t catch my breath In this stifling clear mountain air That won’t let me rest And the sun, it burns my skin And it won’t let me hide the shape I’m in And it bleaches the bones of the skeletons who roam with me Everywhere that I’ve been And please don’t leave me Sitting too near the flame ‘Cause I need the snow and ice that I carry in my veins Helps me numb all the shame And the sun it burns my skin And it won’t let me hide the shape I’m in And it bleaches the bones of the skeletons who roam with me Everywhere that I’ve been And please don’t leave me By the rushing river’s edge ‘Cause the current’s just a siren with a sweet, seductive song But I got things still left unsaid And the sun it burns my skin And it won’t let me hide the shape I’m in And it bleaches the bones of the skeletons who roam with me Everywhere that I’ve been Yeah it bleaches the bones of the skeletons who roam with me Everywhere that I’ve been
5.
Here I Am 06:06
You stand there looking mean Staring me down again You’re hoping I’ll come clean ‘Cause you know where I’ve been Oh I ain’t got the nerve to say It wouldn’t matter if I did ‘Cause somethings never change Oh who am I to kid But don’t you turn and walk away from me Don’t you leave me where I stand ‘Cause after all it was you who brought me here And here I am You got something on your mind Something you need to say But you think it unkind That you feel this way Oh don’t you lie to me ‘Cause I deserve more than that I’ve come with you this far I’m gonna stay right where I am But don’t you turn and walk away from me Don’t you leave me where I stand ‘Cause after all it was you who brought me here And here I am You step out in the street With your pistol at your side And all eyes fall on me There’s no place left to hide Oh you and I both know Hiding’s no way to live If you’re looking to take aim Well, I got blood to give But don’t you turn and walk away from me Don’t you leave me where I stand ‘Cause after all it was you who brought me here And here I am
6.
There’s no one on this lonely road, just you and I Kaleidoscope of colors in a watermelon sky I got one hand on the steering wheel while you’re riding shotgun Are we chasing sunset rubies or are we just out on the run? There’s a sign up ahead By the side of the road Out here in the fading light Rough road, no shoulder The hours roll away my love, she’s a coy and slender moon Dancing through the shadow peaks to a rusted broke-down tune Static crackling on the AM radio, Crazy Woman Creek I can barely hear you breathing, you can barely hear me speak There’s a sign up ahead By the side of the road Out here in the fading light Rough road, no shoulder The high beams on this midnight road are our only light Can’t see what’s around the bend as the highway splits the night I don’t know how we found ourselves, out here all alone Drinking in the darkness, a restless need to roam There’s a sign up ahead By the side of the road Out here in the fading light Rough road, no shoulder
7.
Wyoming 04:25
Out here the sky runs on forever, clear to the shadow of the plains Where the painted sage, it gathers the snow from the Saratoga Range Clouds wander down Elk Mountain drift south in the November wind Like birds lost before winter lost just to be found again With purple rust and dusted rooftops, the truckers just roll on by They don't see her living or breathing, they don't see her smile She looks to me with open arms and I wonder where I've been Blankets me in all her charms and I’m free again Oh how she calls to me, this lover wild and new A daring untamed beauty, immortal in her youth All spread out wide before me Wyoming lies between me and you Up all night with her whispered words, secrets shared with no man So I show her my scars and tell her what hurts ‘til I'm lost drifting across her land Where the snow fences of Sweetwater County stand in cold salute Asking nothing of me they see everything but you Oh how she calls to me, this lover wild and new A daring untamed beauty, immortal in her youth Waking soft beside me Wyoming lies between me and you Ice melting slow on the shoulder, I see your eyes in the sun But come tonight it'll get much colder with this ride only half done I'll make Cheyenne by dark, gonna leave her a tender kiss Because she bares her naked heart pleading with my restlessness Oh how she calls to me, this lover wild and new A daring untamed beauty, immortal in her youth Promising the world to me but Wyoming lies between me and you Promising the world to me Wyoming lies between me and you
8.
I’m headed down that old highway just one more time I don’t think I’ll be back this way again Been thinking about my younger days when the world was mine But it’s too late to atone for all my sins Maybe the air’s a little cleaner On the other side Maybe I’ll find the peace I’ve been denied I started out an honest man, gonna live my life right I didn’t want to take any more than rightly was my share But this ain’t no place for an honest man to fight the good fight They’ll beat you and break you ’til there’s nothing left of you anywhere But maybe the sky’s a little bluer On the other side Maybe I’ll find the peace I’ve been denied Well, no one warned me ‘bout the road beyond my first burning sip But man the whisky sure eased this troubled mind And I’ve been told that that old corn liquor made me one mean son of a bitch Too blind to see the broken souls I left behind But maybe the rivers run freer On the other side Maybe I’ll find the peace I’ve been denied I’m headed down that old highway Just one more time I don’t think I’ll be back this way again
9.
Can you take me there ‘cause I don’t want to know a thing Only want to glide above it all and listen to you sing So paint for me a picture of a misty wooded land Set me on a grey paint mare with the reins in my hands And pour for me from a still through a winding copper line The voice of some old ghost who’s traveling through time Like a blood moon harvest of an angel’s wings Or a heartbeat promise of a midnight dream Oh can you take me there Walk me to the water, weightless on these bones Dare to take me farther, farther than I’ve ever gone Cut me right down to the quick until I recoil in bitter pain Spill me out in crimson red and do it all again Just wake me from this drunken slumber, sound and dull and deep Fill me up with wild-eyed wonder and never let me sleep ‘Cause it’s a mindless, timeless, tragic waste This wicked twisted game we play Oh can you take me there ‘Cause I don’t want to rattle from the wind and the rain But the hinges are broken and I’m feeling the pain Wrap me up in flannel and pull me to the fire When the flames die down the shadows grow higher Katy-lock the door and seal it up tight Put your arms around me and hold me through the night Wake up at dawn to see the break of day When the demons are gone there ain’t much to say Pull from me all the tears I didn’t know I had Like a tarnished antique mirror that’s cloudy, grey, and cracked Speak to me a vivid truth of all I hope to know Soothe these scars and petty wounds but heal my broken soul Bring back to me the years I spent fighting the ways of man Set me free on a winter’s day with my life back in my hands Just dance me around the joyful sound of that choir singing loud And lay me down in the hallow ground when my time runs out Can you take me there ‘cause I don’t want to know a thing Only want to glide above it all and listen to you sing
10.
Let’s get off of this interstate and take the two lane north Eighty miles an hour and we don’t even know what for And roll down your window, babe, ‘cause the day she’s looking fine Ever since we wondered ‘cross that Chase County Line A worn-down, beat-up cattle pen tries to kiss the ground The wind across these Kansas plains can take a good man down But today it’s just a gentle breeze flirting with my skin So unwrap that winter heart and let the warmth melt in You must have known when you took a gypsy bride I’d always find the blue highways But the road is so much sweeter when you’re along for the ride So let’s get lost one more day The tall grass prairie’s waving while she dances with the sky Shaking off her rusted coat to let the wildflowers glorify A little piece of heaven on a stretch of unplowed earth Mourning dove’s sweet elixir distilled from the roots of all this hurt You must have known when you took a gypsy bride I’d always find the blue highways But the road is so much sweeter when you’re along for the ride So let’s get lost one more day ’Cause I’ve seen the way the light’s been slipping from your eyes The toll you’re paying is too damn high But it ain’t too late to turn this rig around Let your song be unbound How far did we wander off the path we thought we’d take Let the wheels put miles behind all the wrong turns that we made All I need is an open road and a little room to roam And sometimes taking forgotten routes is the quickest way back home You must have known when you took a gypsy bride I’d always find the blue highways But the road is so much sweeter when you’re along for the ride So let’s get lost one more day Let’s get off of this interstate and take the two lane north

credits

released May 21, 2016

All songs written, produced, and performed by Dennis James (BMI) and Lauryn Shapter (BMI)

Recorded & mixed by Dennis James, Fairfield, IA
Mastered by Jim DeMain, Yes Master Studios, Nashville, TN

Dennis James: vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, drums, percussion, harmonica; songwriter, tracks 2, 3, 5, 7, and 9
Lauryn Shapter: vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, violin, viola; songwriter, tracks 1, 4, 6, 8, and 10
Special guest Troy Morgan: bass, tracks 1, 3, and 7

Photography by Liz Brown, Estorie Photography, Des Moines, IA
Layout and design by Caroline Foster, Annapolis, MD

This project is dedicated to all the broken souls out there, living and gone. You are not alone, you are not forgotten.

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Society of Broken Souls Fairfield, Iowa

Society of Broken Souls is the songwriting duo of multi-instrumentalists Dennis James and Lauryn Shapter. From stripped down, bare-bones acoustic arrangements to a denser and edgier electric sound, their songs confront our shared, raw humanity all while celebrating the beautiful mosaic of the human experience. ... more

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