Get all 4 Curtis McMurtry releases available on Bandcamp and save 15%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Pollen & The Rot, Toothless Messiah, The Hornet's Nest, and Respectable Enemy.
1. |
Hard Blue Stones
01:19
|
|||
you stand forever over me
without kindness or concern
I know I must look desperate here
with nothing left to burn
and still you stare me down
with eyes like hard blue stones
you always find me when I’m trying to be alone
so I welcome you inside with all my weaknesses revealed
you’ll notice I still wear the bandage even though the wound has healed
and I will always let you in as if I didn’t have a choice
even though I know you’re lying it’s still good to hear your voice
it’s so good to hear your voice
|
||||
2. |
Smooth As Thorns
03:26
|
|||
I wave my hands
and part the sea
while you look on
impressed but not amazed
will you be alright
if I’m never perfect
will you be alright
if I fall to pieces
will you be alright
if I don’t become the one you dream of
your words sink in
smooth as thorns
simple and precise
I bare my teeth
respond in kind
gentle as the ice
will I be alright
if you’re never perfect
will I be alright
if you fall to pieces
will I be alright
if you don’t become the one I dream of
but you can’t let me go
and I can’t let you go
|
||||
3. |
Loves Me More
02:53
|
|||
brother, don’t you get so sore
I never meant to start a war
It’s not my fault she loves me more than you
some would say I crossed a line
she put her lips up next mine
and right then I forgot you were my friend
I did it for myself you know
I never meant to hurt you so
but I can’t say I won’t do it again
brother, don’t you get so sore
I never meant to start a war
It’s not my fault she loves me more than you
It’s not a race unless I win
I know where her mouth has been
believe me when I tell you I don’t care
and anyway she came to me
I never made her do a thing
you’re a grown man now, it’s time you learned to share
I understand you’re angry
but I don’t want to fight you
you knew I was a snake
so of course I’m gonna bite you
there’s too many things to try
between the soil and the sky
no one could ever keep me in a cage
you’re not the only one I’ve wronged
I don’t know what side I’m on
but you should know by now that I won’t change
sister, don’t you get so sore
I never meant to start a war
it’s not my fault he loves me more than you
|
||||
4. |
Wrong Inflection
02:57
|
|
||
let me confess this
I’m sorry I don’t mean to be aggressive
but when you hold my hand you look so restless
I can feel it in your eyes
dear, it must be
all in your head because I’m hiding nothing
I tell you everything you still don’t trust me
am I so easy to despise?
sometimes you say the right words
with the wrong inflection
now I’m unimpressed
by yesterday’s perfection
It’s hard to love myself
with someone else around
so though you make me weak
I won’t let my defenses down
I stay on my guard
‘cause every time we fight you push me too far
stop insisting that I take things too hard
you know I bruise just like a peach
love this won’t do
don’t pretend to know the pain I’ve been through
when everything you have was handed to you
you never even had to reach
sometimes you say the right words
with the wrong inflection
now I’m unimpressed
by yesterday’s perfection
don’t sweep me off my feet
I like it on the ground
darling you talk so sweet
but I won’t let my defenses down
|
||||
5. |
Bayonet
03:59
|
|||
I’d lie down and die if I thought that you’d let me
somehow I know it’s no longer my choice
I walk the floors with my bayonet ready
searching for somewhere to hide from your voice
our love is gone, not a strand of it lingers
but we’re both too old now to learn how to leave
I’ll watch you fall and I won’t lift a finger
please don’t pretend you’d do better by me
I’ll work till I break though I’m already broken
and I don’t have the strength to fight back on my own
these days the edge off of any word spoken
is more than enough to cut me to the bone
you always run at the first sign of trouble
and I hold my ground as if chained to the earth
all that we built up has worn down to rubble
now all this rubble is all that we’re worth
|
||||
6. |
Rebecca
03:48
|
|||
Rebecca, I know
there’s nowhere to go
it all fell apart but it happened so slowly
I didn’t notice
that we were losing control
Rebecca, don’t cry
I told you no lies
I kissed you back but I still don’t know why
I don’t think I love you
but I sure can get lost in your eyes
we don’t belong to each other right now
don’t let me be the one keeping you down
who do you go to when I’m not around?
is it someone I know?
Rebecca, I see
we’ll never agree
and it’s hard to be callous to someone so sweet
I don’t want to hurt you
and I don’t want you to hurt me
Rebecca, it’s late
and I can’t let you stay
besides you still insist you don’t want me that way
we said we’d be careful
but lines in the sand blow away
please don’t pretend that you don’t understand
I can’t spend my life in the palm of your hand
and when I’m in your arms I forget who I am
so I think we should stop
Rebecca, I know
there’s nowhere to go
it all fell apart but it happened so slowly
I didn’t notice
that we were losing control
|
||||
7. |
Can't Be Better
02:11
|
|||
let’s celebrate desire and surrender to the flame
let’s let ourselves be selfish there’s no need to be ashamed
we were not made to let ourselves grow rotten on the vine
I know heaven can’t be better than your body next to mine
there’s nothing I prefer to being pressed against your skin
no one can convince me feeling this good is a sin
I will get down on my knees if you want for me to beg
with your fingers in my hair
my mouth between your legs
I think you are perfection, I think you are divine
I know heaven can’t be better than your…
there’s no need for hesitation, no cause for any doubt
you know I’ll love you even after every star burns out
I think you are perfection, I think you are divine
I know heaven can’t be better than your body next to mine
|
||||
8. |
Coward
01:43
|
|||
I’m still proud to be a coward
you’ll never make me choose a side
I will not come to your rescue
I’ll pretend my hands are tied
so leave me starving in the orchard
still I’ll refuse to join the pack
because if I killed your god
if I killed your god
it would only grow back
|
||||
9. |
If I Leave
02:45
|
|||
I said let me live the way I want to since I won’t live very long
but every time we fight I realize I’m in the wrong
you’re still hungry for the fire and proud of all your scars
strong as anyone will ever be
but if I lift you up so you can touch the stars
who’s gonna do the same for me
if I leave will you say you saw it coming
will you tell your friends you threw me out the door
will you say that I was never worth the trouble
will you pretend you never hoped for any more
we talk over and under each other these days
every time I try to help I realize I’m in the way
I’m too fearless to be careful, too fragile to be kind
too stubborn to admit when I agree
and even when I know you’re looking down on me with love
you looking down is all I see
if you leave will I say I saw it coming
will I tell my friends you beat me to the door
will I say that you were never worth the trouble
will I pretend I never hoped for any more
will I learn to hate the sound of my own heartbeat
will I pray it’s you whenever someone calls
I don’t want to be reduced to my possessions
this apartment won’t be home without your paintings on the walls
|
||||
10. |
Tracker
04:54
|
|||
I follow in your footsteps
a thousand miles behind
I’ve been chasing you for so long
I can’t remember why
but I grip your picture tightly
so I don’t get swept away
no star will ever shine as brightly
as you do every day
and I waded through the blood
for to find where you had gone
it was just as bad as Shiloh
as bad as Babylon
roll on, roll on
now in every bedroom window
I see your silhouette
and though the wind blows hard against me
it hasn’t slowed me yet
no matter how I limp along
I’ll still hold on to you
like a lie I’ve told so many times
I think it might be true
|
||||
11. |
Together For Now
02:05
|
|||
no matter how hard I try to be careful
I still end up in the fire somehow
your honey tongue dripping all over
and we’re still together for now
we let the sunset unravel around us
you hold me closer than I should allow
just for a moment I want you forever
but we’re just together for now
together forever for now
|
||||
12. |
Shot At The Title
03:34
|
|||
come on and see if you think you can be a contender
better give us your best because we won’t accept a surrender
if you’re convinced then put up your fists don’t be idle
let’s see what you got if you want a shot at the title
don’t wait for the world to fall in your hand
fight on your knees till you’re ready to stand
follow your pride but remember the tide
when you’re carving your name in the sand
fall through the cracks then claw your way back to the surface
sharp as a thorn and certain you’re born with a purpose
keep hold of the wheel, ‘cause you know even steel can shatter
don’t be surprised if what you feel inside doesn’t matter
don’t wait for the world to fall in your hand
fight on your knees if you’re too weak to stand
follow your pride but remember the tide
when you’re carving your name in the sand
struggle and strain until all that you gain turns rotten
you can go all the way and there’ll still come a day you’re forgotten
but if you’re not convinced, put up your fists don’t be idle
let’s see what you got if you want a shot at the title
|
||||
13. |
Silver World
03:05
|
|||
we tell ourselves we will be chosen
if we draw lines we never cross
a silver world where nothing touches
and nothing gets dirty or lost
but the lord is a wolf not a shepherd
there’s no rope for us to hold on
there is only one path we can follow
we don’t go anywhere when we’re gone
build your towers to the heavens
nothing made is here to stay
put up a stone to mark our bones
until the wind wears it away
when I’m gone give me no coffin
lay me naked on a hill
leave my body by its lonesome
let the vultures have their fill
the years will scrape away my voice
and everything I ever knew
the dead don’t care if they’re forgotten
but the old, they surely do
build your towers to the heavens
nothing made is here to stay
put up a stone to mark our bones
until the wind wears it away
|
Curtis McMurtry Austin, Texas
Curtis McMurtry writes apocalyptic indie folk about the selfish and the cowardly. Influenced by Fiona Apple and Tom Waits, Curtis' music combines sinister lyrics with sophisticated orchestrations. He specializes in sad songs and mean songs, and considers his catalogue to be “music for people that like to read.” ... more
Streaming and Download help
Curtis McMurtry recommends:
If you like Curtis McMurtry, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp