Get all 17 Mark Lint releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Mark Lint's Dry Folk, The Sinking and the Aftermath (Songs From the Year 2000), The Cheese Stands Alone, Songs from the Partially Examined Life, Madison Lint 2001-2004, Might Get It Right, Impossible Things, The Easy Thing, and 9 more.
1. |
Write Me Off
04:58
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Write me off ‘cause I’m just a wannabe
Just a jerk who doesn’t deserve to breathe
‘Cause we all know what we like already
And our plate of that is full
Well, I’m not a shill or a corporate tool
And I’m probably not what you mean by “cool”
As a piece of meat, I just can’t compete
Though I try like many others
No one’s gonna recommend me to you
And I’m not exactly what you’re used to
It would take some time to get past what you’d need to
To really get where I’m coming from
And you say probably no.
Probably no.
Probably no. Probably no.
Write me off to separate me from you
Write me off if you feel that’s what you must do
‘Cause the burden of living is heavy, my friend
And your interest is too dear for you to expend
Write me off as a possible source of what’s true
To go do the important things that you do
Though you might want to worry about losing a line
To what you’d possibly find to be part of you
I’m willing I’m willing I’ve undertaken
To master the styles that have molded your soul
I’ve tried and I’ve tried to subvert my contempt
For your deafness and blindness
And meaningless forms of amusement
As you watch the game with a beer
Write me off ‘cause I’m just a wanna be
Your taste may be cheap, but your choice is still free
It takes so much less effort to coast on through
Than to look out for something that’s uniquely you
Write me off ‘cause that’s what people always do
When confronted with something that’s the slightest bit new
And I don’t know why, I can’t change your mind
Though I try like many others
Now, will anything make you listen? Nah.
Can I get this out of my system? Yeah.
And I won’t complain about being a loser anymore
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2. |
Axiomatic
04:04
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Start now, cough me up
And brush me off and mean it
If it’s a new time, then treat it as such
It doesn’t matter that much if you believe it
And if misery is axiomatic for the likes of you and me
Decide it’s cool and call it fuel and employ it sparingly
Choose now, down or up
Just pick a ride and mean it
If it’s a nose dive, aim your luck
To brush the ground and clean it
And if misery stares like a tree lookin’ solid as can be
Let’s call that good, and work that wood to burn us sparingly
And I know that something’s happened to me
But I’m missing what I’ve become
But I know that if you hold on to me
Then we’ll have some place to fall from
And to come back to
Life now, sticking up
Grab it and massage it
Time is fucking up
Let’s you and me ménage it
And if misery is axiomatic for the likes of you and me
Let’s deem it fine, and seal that shrine to visit sparingly
And if misery is automatic for the likes of you and me
Decide it’s cool and call it fuel and use it fruitfully
And if misery is nonspecific in a way it should not be
Just grab me, dear, ‘cause I’ll be here to listen faithfully
And if it’s all just axiomatic
There’s still much to do
Axiomatic
Like my need for you
Axiomatic that we’ll sail on through
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3. |
Reasonably Lonely
03:13
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Another beautiful thing you’ll never have
Most likely dangerous, guess you should be glad
Themes of remorse tinged with a failure to be sad
Love finds you flavorless
But I guess that doesn’t have to be bad
Probably, yes, probably, all these things shall pass
Probably, yes, easily, things like this lose mass
And if you’ve stayed here long enough
You may have developed some class
And courage to be reasonably lonely
Give up most everything to keep your feelings pure
Eschew this everything: the scent and its allure
Probably, you’ve got to be somewhat approaching sure
Sure enough that you’ll be reasonably lonely
Certain of life’s choices will chain you to your chair
Shackles to remind you that life isn’t always fair
But I don’t think this is one of those cases
You don’t need to feed other faces
All regret entails a failure to prepare
Another beautiful thing you’ll never have
Go stretch this line of thought ‘till you’re approaching glad
Themes of remorse have gotten tired and old and sad
Love finds you flavorless, but it still might be the best you’ve had.
Probably, yes, probably, all these things shall pass
Probably, yes, easily, things like this lose mass
And if you’ve stayed here long enough
You may have developed some class
And courage to be reasonably
Probably, yes, probably, this wave will subside
As circumstances shift and purchase you some pride
Probably, yes, easily, you’ll lose the loss implied
By the courage to be reasonably lonely
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4. |
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Only once in a great while do I emit this kind of field
Only once in a great while are my motives so revealed
Only twice in a lifetime does one get this close to God
And I’m not being born now
Only once in a great while do I feel this kind of pain
Only once in a great while is my future laid out plain
Only once in a season do I feel such inspiration
And I’m not feeling bored now
And who’d ya think would drive you insane?
With your folks so far away from you now
And who would leave you runnin’ away
When your woman is secure with you
Who’s the focus now for your rage
When no one bullies you or sullies you
Or cheats or beats or screws or fails you?
And with half a mind in study and with half off in a fog
Do you expect to build an edifice while playing with the dog?
You can make your own decisions; you’ve more freedom than before
‘Cause you’ve almost charred the bridges
Built by ones you’ve made before
Only once in a great while do my far-off days seem near
Only once in a great while is my malady so clear
Only once every year or so do I drop my head and cry
But I’m not feeling long now
Only once in a great while do I spasm when I walk
Only once in a great while do I stutter when I talk
Only once every few days will I exaggerate the way I feel
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5. |
Goddammit
04:09
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I don’t need a target to be pissed off
I don’t need a self to hate it
I don’t feel the need to customize
Contempt to fit the situation
Filled to the brim with chemicals produced by only me
I don’t know what it’s worth to say so
I’m played out, and I’ve got to rest
For years if it proves necessary
Goddamn it
My only refrain
Gor no special reason
'Cause I’m tired of being alive today
For various reasons
And I thank you for the inspiration
And I’m grateful for your expectations
But none of it’s enoug
To make my fondest dreams come true
‘Cause I don’t want another revelation
And I can’t take divine illumination
My problems are a part of me
And I don’t want to talk about it
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6. |
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Some time after failure has hit you again
And you can’t keep on working for art or for pleasure
‘Cause indulging yourself just doesn’t hold your interest
And there’s not much to know that doesn’t keep fading
After your aims have been thoroughly trounced
And you don’t really think they were worthwhile anyway
You’ll be looking for something to fill up that hole
Something worth waking up for
Do what I do
Praise be to you
I live only for love enduring
There’s nothing in this world but you
Nothing in my world but you
I’m betting all my energy
That you won’t be wrong for me
There’s nothing in my world but you
Nothing left but me and you
Nothing left to motivate or even make me real
I don’t think you’ll go for posterity
It’s not worth it
I don’t think you’ll put all your stakes on your friends
Though that’s a little closer to the heart
I know you can’t stomach some Jesus or goddess,
And immersion in politics is like dining with idiots
Something that can’t be kept up long
I know you want money, but not that much
I know you can’t feel with a casual touch
You’ve got no addictions I know of
So, baby, please consider me
After the madness of now goes away
Whatever you do and whenever you pray
And even if you never feel as crummy as I often do
I live only for love endearing
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7. |
Not Too Late
03:21
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Predictions for your life made by you and many others
But mostly you just aren’t comin’ true
Too bad, so sad
You’ve got a few options now for who to punish
Will it be you alone or you and others?
Perhaps I shouldn’t speak to you
But to your various addictions
The failures your perceive are mostly in your mind
But they could come to pass
If you just set them as you seem to have to do
Get off your ass.
Though you seem to think you won’t
You know you’ll lose completely if you don’t
And you tell yourself, as you should:
It’s not too late you turn back now
Compulsions of a sort you understand
In that you might predict what they’ll do
Or what they’ll make you do
Or what you make them your excuse for
Who d’ya think convinced them
To appear and have them cultivated?
To rid your mind of strictures seemed a good idea
At the time
Alone now from the start it’s that way
Others do not share your problems
Nor should they, they’ve got enough to do
What with all you put them through
No one else lives beneath your skin.
No one else gets you in the state you’re in
It’s too late to tell them that you’re sorry
Too late to see you broken-hearted
Too late to fall down in despair
Too late to throw hands in the air
Too late to promise to be cute
Too late to call a prison moot
Too late to bend and bow and sway
Too late to just be blown away,
Too late to have a heart attack
Too late to get your money back
Too late to regress to a child
Too late to limit something wild
Too late to hypothermeate
Too late to let blood permeate
Your jealous rage for being you
Or be imbued with something new,
Too late to drive you to distraction
Too late for positive reaction
Whatever law you will allow
It’s not too late to turn back now
You betcha I will
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8. |
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On this night before the end
I’m feelin’ things that will not come again
I’m more than bold enough to bend
On this night before the end
I’m feeling something rather small
It may be nothing; I don’t feel at all
Not some dead mesmerizing call
I answered long ago but dropped the ball
On this night before the end
I’m feelin’ things that will not come again
Let all good willingness descend
To this night before the end
V4: I keep something in my sight
It may be nothing by my appetite
I’ve got no dignity to fight
It may be something, but it’s not alright
On this night before the end
I’m feelin’ things that will not come again
I’m more than old enough to fend
Through this night before the end
Another fifteen years or so
I suspected this was not a go
Kept getting tall but ceased to grow
Kept running out of things, but not too slow
On this night before the end
I’m feelin’ things that will not come again
Some letters I forgot to send
To this night before the end
Wait a minute
It may be nothing
I’m too young to die
Wait a minute
Make it longer
I’ve passed you out, goodbye
On this night before the end
I’m feelin’ things that will not come again
I’m mostly cold enough to mend
On this night before the end
On this night before the end
Feeling things that won’t come again
On this night before the end
I’m cold enough to end
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9. |
Sinking
03:17
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none
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10. |
I Recall
05:13
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I recall
Owning a lifetime in a rented hall
Always amazed at what went on in there
Left unimpressed by the increasing tear
I invest a lot in daily reflection
But what I forgot
Is ever mocking away at what I’ll never be
So do you see why I'm so stuck on me?
I believe
If you were leaving, you'd walk out on me
At least I would know
But with a piece of you
No one can tell what any change can do
Who am I?
That seems the question
But the facts belie
All other truths but what you used to fear
Idiot missing several fingers here
Some of us have long begun
Some of us are growing stronger
Some of us are getting older
Some of us are far from hopeless
Some of us are something else
Some of us are all together
I recall
Knowing somebody who I meant to call
I was erased and only sitting there
Half interchanged in suicidal hair
Action is not always wanting
And the fatal is not always near
It's an average time
Most days you're gonna be just fine
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11. |
Bedlam
03:19
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And we may all know bedlam
Just by peeling back the face we have achieved
And we may all find someone
Who’s been looking out from somewhere up our sleeve
And we may all be cried on
And frightened in a way we can’t ignore
‘Cause we may all be crazy
Though we might have never noticed it before
I’m gonna wake up tomorrow morning
And find myself in bed with someone else
And I’m a rotten man, a misbegotten man
Because I’ll see myself
And I know that you, you might have seen it too
Ah, help
And we may all know bedlam...
‘Cause we may all be someone
Whom we wouldn’t want to know we were for sure
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12. |
My Friends
03:16
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My friends, please don’t desert us
Though you may recall the many things that hurt us
Though you’ve forgotten what it means to wish for anything at all
And you’ve forgotten what it felt like to be subject to a call
That doesn’t tempt you from this armpit of a world.
My friends, please stay around, please
Please don’t levitate away, stay on the ground, please
Though you’ve forgotten how to care, if you’re young enough for air
There is still use for you
Don’t let us down please
My friends, please hold on tightly
When your life bucks you around it’s so unsightly
But if you’re smarter than a lox, your place is not yet in a box
So please beware your darkest edging
And the darkness that it mocks
My friends, please don’t desert me
Though your presence in this world may well subvert me
And if we try to shake you off, please don’t take personally the scoff
We’re just afraid of your demeanor, but your inside is still soft
Oh, please, my friends, don’t you get off here
There’s so many things to hold you though they’re not clear
Please hold on till you pull through, and I’ll do anything for you
There is still love for you
Somewhere around here
My friends, please don’t desert us
Though you may recall the many things that hurt us
If you could just, please, stick around
And just stay out of that dark ground
That would be nice
I promise
Very nice
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13. |
Persevere
02:26
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A light dry streak on your eyelids
A low, dull throb in your ears
Your breath scrapes cool through a nasal tube
It feels ready
You put your weight on your shoulders
Bracing your arms on a wall
Power beads up in your chest
You feel ready
If it’s the last damn thing that you ever do
Something is going to get done; believe!
The lucky ones are those who fight
The lucky ones are those who persevere
I can see, I can see in that dried up husk
A spirit yearning caked with rust
Start sounding out that aching void
Echoes come back overjoyed
Equipped with a feeling of nausea
And some amazing stunts with a rope
Your eyes betray what you’d like to say
And the weird-ass things you hope
Making the scene a commotion
Acting out changes inside
Shake the dust from your filthy heart and be ready
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Mark Lint Madison, Wisconsin
Catchy, homespun tunes ranging in style from power pop to folk ballads to alt country, laced with a sense of the absurd.
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