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Dust & Wind: Flatland Murder Ballads And High Plains Hymns

by Charlie Stout

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1.
I See Stars 02:35
Five hundred golden pieces and a shoulder full of lead A worn out horse between my feet, a pounding in my head Gotta make it to the border, Lord this ain’t no place to die On the river’s northern shore, underneath a Texas sky I see stars I see ocotillo blowing in the wind Feel the breathing of my pony, I know we’ve reached the end Hear the hoofbeats in the distance and the shouts of angry men The rangers may surround me but they’ll never take me in My shoulder burns like hell fire, this horse too tired to ride I kick and curse and dig the spurs up hard against his side He’s screaming like a banshee, running fast as he can go From the posse trying to catch me to the land of Mexico I see stars I see ocotillo blowing in the wind Feel the breathing of my pony, I know we’ve reached the end Hear the hoofbeats in the distance and the shouts of angry men The rangers may surround me but they’ll never take me in My horse he gives up running, we fall hard upon the dirt The rangers aim their shotguns at the pocket on my shirt I reach slow for my revolver, the captain tips his hat I kiss the sacred cylinder, I draw the hammer back I see stars I see ocotillo blowing in the wind Feel the breathing of my pony, I know we’ve reached the end Hear the hoofbeats in the distance and the shouts of angry men The rangers may surround me but they’ll never take me in The rangers may surround me but they’ll never take me in The angels, they surround me Mother Mary, take me in
2.
I’m the innocent glance, I’m the ghost of a chance I’m the wink and the smile when you asked her to dance I’m the heat in the touch when your fingertips brush From her back to her waist, I’m the look on her face I’m the desperate estrangement of woman and man I’m the twisted arrangment of flowers and plans She catches you looking her square in the eye I’m the days and the months and the years that go by I’m interpretation, the grand rationale I’m the great complication you conjure somehow I’m the dark distant dream in the back of your head I’m the vision of freedom you see in her bed I’m the boots on your feet in the heat of the fire I’m the truth you repeat to feel less like a liar She catches you looking her square in the eye I’m the days and the months and the years that go by I’m the shadows thrown long by the light of the moon I’m the monster that haunts her cold side of the room I’m the nothing response that you swear every time When what thousand yard stare betrays me on your mind I’m the last to lie down and the first to awake I’m the sights and the sounds and the curse you can’t shake She catches you looking her square in the eye I’m the days and the months and the years that go by
3.
The Hanging 02:29
Heaven wasn't meant for men like me Heaven wasn't meant for men like me You can follow in my footsteps, you won't find no golden streets Heaven wasn't meant for men like me I'm thirty two years old and bound to die I'm thirty two years old and bound to die There's thirteen coils around the loop through which my neck is tied I'm thirty two years old and bound to die There's teardrops falling on the witness stand There's teardrops falling ont he witness stand And a widowed bride recalling how I shot her loving man There's teardrops falling ont he witness stand Cause I shot a man to take for me his wife I shot a man to take for me his wife He was coughing blood and praying God above to save his life I shot a man to take for me his wife I heard the people cheering when I fell I heard the people cheering when I fell I screamed and kicked my feet against the burning flames of hell I heard the people cheering when I fell Cause Heaven wasn't meant for men like me No, Heaven wasn't meant for men like me You can follow in my footsteps, you won't find no golden streets Heaven wasn't meant for men like me
4.
Some nights I can't remember Some nights I can't forget There is nothing to defend here Only bitterness, betrayal and regret I hope to keep believing I hope to keep the faith I hope I will see you again Come resurrection day That's an awful lot of blood up there For just one man to lose And a whole wide world of sins to bear Between the heathens and the gentiles and the jews Now the sun is darkened by the moon I can feel the whole earth shake And the dead are rising from the tomb Proclaiming resurrection day Some nights I can't remember Some nights I can't forget There is nothing to defend here Only bitterness, betrayal and regret I hope you keep believing I hope you keep the faith I hope I will see you again Come resurrection day Come resurrection day
5.
Say Goodbye 02:27
Say goodbye to the oceans Say goodbye to the seas Say goodbye to the stars up in the sky Now close your eyes and say goodbye to your dreams Say goodbye to your family Say goodbye to your friends Say goodbye to the road you thought rolled on forever It stops- the party ends Say goodbye to life Say goodbye to liberty Say goodbye to the endless quest for happiness You tried your best now say goodbye to me Say goodbye to heaven Say goodbye to God above Say goodbye to every threat you though you recognized Now close your eyes and say goodbye to love Say goodbye to every prophet you had crucified Now close your eyes and say goodbye to love
6.
Heard you praying for forgiveness on my way outta town Smoke was getting thicker, you were hanging upside down From the seatbelt, dealing, trying to spare your skin Get me out of this I swear I'll never do it again I offered my assistance, you were slow to oblige So I’m not the Holy Spirit but I got here in time You don’t gotta sell to me, just don’t give it to Him You nodded in agreement so I jumped right in Tore the door off the hinges and I set you free The fire in the engine touched the gasoline I pointed to the wreckage burning out of control Whispered, set your eyes on things below Set your eyes on things below We were wandering the desert when we met the first time Wild animals and angels, forty days and forty nights He was high up on a tower, I said, throw yourself down If you’ve really got the power then you’ll never touch the ground Make food out of these stones, have a little bread to eat Hell, I’ll give you everything I own if you just bow your head to me He called me by my first name, He ordered me away Said, I’ll catch up with you and Judas, we’ll do this another day He was hanging from a cross when I saw Him again Said, it’s really such a loss man, we could have been friends You drew a decent crowd and you put on a solid show Now set your eyes on things below Set your eyes on things below You can call it temptation, you can call it a sin Took a chance to take my place among the heavens again If I can’t have that, I’ll have the next best thing Make you set your eyes on things below
7.
There's a man on the corner, cellphone in hand Building his house in the stock market sand And the end of the evening he lays down to rest Dissatisfied though he gave it his best There's a girl on the corner in leather and heels I ain't far removed from the way she feels She leans in the windows of slow moving cars We lead different lives, we wear the same scars And the rains they fall on the good and the bad And the things we obtain make us wish that we had What remains to be taken, do we not know That we're bought with a price far greater than gold There's a man on the corner, bible in hand He's screaming at demons, he's promising land And there's something about him I just can't ignore Are you born, do you live, do you die, is there anything more And the rains they fall on the good and the bad And the things we obtain make us wish that we had What remains to be taken, do we not know That we're bought with a price far greater than gold
8.
Jesus Christ, I lost my way again I'm out of whiskey, cigarettes and friends I used to be an island, now I'm drowning in my sin Jesus Christ, I lost my way again Jesus Christ, I lost the one I love I never knew the pain could hurt this much If You don't plan to heal me, would you come and be my crutch Jesus Christ, I lost the one I love Jesus Christ, I lost my will to fight I pray the lord my soul to take tonight If I should die before i wake, would You please turn out the light Jesus Christ, I lost my will to fight Jesus Christ, I lost my way again I'm stranded and a storm is closing in It's growing dark around me and it's growing dark within Jesus Christ, I lost my way again Jesus Christ, I lost my way again Jesus Christ, I lost Your way again

about

On the afternoon of July 15, 2015 I drove from Lubbock, Texas to the abandoned First Presbyterian Church of Taiban with an 8-track recorder and a handful of songs. Hear the ambience of the desert, highway, and railway on this self-produced solo acoustic record of flatland murder ballads and high plains hymns.

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released July 4, 2016

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Charlie Stout Lubbock, Texas

A native of West Virginia, now a resident of West Texas, Charlie Stout draws on experience as a photographer and filmmaker to write cinematic lyrics of life and death on the New American Frontier.

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