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Dug In

by Ben Balmer

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1.
Eulalie Echo 04:44
Stones all placed within a row, salt is poured to stop a flow, She must give up what she loved best, the time Is short, no time to rest, Is brow is furrowed, his breath is shallow, he's losing something his cheeks are sallow, Such unfair hardships, to the child it came, he'll never know his own mother's to blame. Eulalie Echo, you took the simple side of him, Eulalie Echo, you made a haunted man of him. Brush the keys won't you free his soul, there goes the ghost of jellyroll, jellyroll. Brush the keys you free his soul, there goes the ghost of Jellyroll, Jellyroll. That mojo hand is all he's got, next to the bottle and the bag of pot, When he plays his palm's do sweat, that icy air is breathing down his neck, He keeps a cat bone, a dashboard Jesus, a bag of salt and the cards of preachers, every night he kisses them all without fail every day he runs from rail to rail. Eulalie Echo, you took the simple side of him, Eulalie Echo, you made a haunted man of him. Brush the keys won't you free his soul, there goes the ghost of jellyroll, jellyroll. Brush the keys you free his soul, there goes the ghost of Jellyroll, Jellyroll.
2.
The Dancer 04:22
The life of a dancer sets too soon on all the rest, but they have the fun that they were trying to get. These skips and bounds we take, condensed by all the time we waste, just hold on to that Sunday afternoon. If I walked away right now, might find that it's alright, can I find the laugh that I had used before, My hands remember, the way she felt that night, and how I held her tight for so long. But I can hardly stay, cause I don't know the way, just let me count the days til I go. This China white I see it follows me around it seems to try and blind me from the things I love. It's just like the taste of her, the sweet it keeps me wanting more but my lips are getting tired from all the lure. Plies are getting old to me so while I take my rightful leave, a dip would do me good before I go, But Sundays always seem to ask about why I kept my bags unpacked, but I never told her that it was for her. But I can hardly stay, cause I don't know the way, just let me count the days til I go. I wish you wore your gloves before you touched me now I'm wanting more, just give me back my Sunday afternoon. I'm waiting please so save me now, I'll stay as long as you'll allow, just hold your word and I'll be good to you. The life of a dancer sets too soon on all the rest, but they have the fun that they were trying to get. These skips and bounds we take, condensed by all the time we waste, just hold on to that Sunday afternoon.
3.
Thinkin 02:51
I’ve been thinkin, thinkin’ about the space on my pillow I’ve been drinkin’, trying to wash these blues away It’s a shame when your lover leaves you for another But see loneliness has its own caress and sometimes that best For me, For me Yeah yeah yeah I’ve been dreamin, dreamin’ bout a time I forgot I’ve been schemin’, schemin up these evil plot Well this dream that I’ve been chasin’ With my liquor that does the erasin’ While this brew is true, I think “Shame on you” There's more fish in this blue For me, for me Yeah, yeah, yeah Seems there's no reason for this, or an awkward parting kiss Seems I’ve got the gist for this love that must be missed Just give me something better than this bourbon soaked letter Puts me on the brink, makes me drink this drink There’s no time to think, For me, for me For me, for me Well, for me, for me Yeah, yeah, yeah
4.
Guinevere 04:39
Guinevere easy to steer, no guiding hand needed we cast off the pier. Guinevere my heart of the sea, traversing these white caps, she holds on to me. There's a red moon tonight, oh my hearts delight. Feel the sea slowly move her chest, She's laying her head down to rest. Guinevere my cradle on foam, floating our way to a place to call home. All that's now left is a twinkle of lights, from the city we left in the dead of the night. There's a red moon tonight, oh my hearts delight. Feel the sea slowly move her chest, She's laying her head down to rest. Hoping the tide takes my troubles away, simple decision, get lost or just stay. While I've fastened the loves of my past round' my throat, the choice that I made was to flee on this boat. There's a red moon tonight, oh my hearts delight. Feel the sea slowly move her chest, she's laying her head down to rest. Chords that rang loud in my head, showing me, Notes that Danced round while they led, me to see, Quoting a voice that once said, won't you leave? Words that struck deep and I bled, saying please. Guinevere, holding me near, away from the place I hold everything dear. Guinevere just take me away, the woman I love doesn't want me to stay. There's a red moon tonight, oh my hearts delight. Feel the sea slowly move her chest, she's laying her head down to rest.
5.
Dug In 03:57
She’s mouthin’ words to the song through my shirt, Her head buried in my chest Well I can’t help but feel, these inklings are real But I’ll bury them in graves with the rest Just brew a little more, tip back your head and pour You pull my hair so tight, my vision sparks with light Tell me your heels are dug in against that cold hard floor Tell me your fingers are curled around that bedroom door Tell me your eyes found the hole where the curtains tore Tell me you, tell me you, tell me you, tell me you know She’s counting cracks on the wall by my head Pretending that she’s listening But saying it’s all been preplanned in gods hands Doesn’t make you a christian Just pray a little harder, just like singing underwater Your grip held me so hard, your fingers left a mark Chorus Well you think that I’d be sure, well just pull this arrow out and be cured And see better days She’s twirling a lock of her hair in hand, Pretending it was me But I’ve got my own in this feeling of home, to remind me of why I leave Just head in one direction, it’s good for your complexion Your silhouette, so small, i can barely see it at all Chorus
6.
I met you at the edge of town, you were fixin for a walk, You were always having trouble, always calling me to talk, Fragile words that nearly shattered when they passed your out-kissed lips. We started heading towards the trees, talkin’ bout all your past loves, You said I made you feel better, said i made you feel at home, So why, don’t you want, to feel home all the time? Chorus Because the nature of a friendship, endangered by a love Can’t be worth losing it all I’ll wipe my prints off of this crime, to love what can’t mine, Just settle down accept my weary fate. We kept on walking through the brush, of those old and sunlit woods, When you slipped you held my hand, so It’s not misunderstood, It went back into your pocket, when you got your balance back You just ran laughing down the path, unaware of what you did, Chipping pieces of my heart, that’s just the way you lived. Slowly breaking me down, til i could hardly speak. Chorus And as your knees lift off the dirt, pebbles sticking to your legs, I see them fall one by one, leaving imprints they have made, Little kisses from the earth, falling down, not knowing what they found. I helped you brush the dust and dirt, you had gathered as you toiled, I pulled the burrs from your hair, it smelled of sweat and soil, Never cared to tell you why it took me so long. Chorus
7.
You promised you would be there, but you were feeling too impared, Booze slips past your tongue, lets me know that you're done, Leaves me slouched, just waiting here. You crack your knuckles at least four times a day, Said it was bad, but you did it anyway, Cracking out of your hole, so you don’t lose control, of at least one, small part of your life. Chorus Don’t get upset over nothing, she said to me, as she finished her drink, Another glass of nothing. Her hands were built to give and take, not to tip back a glass and shake. As her whale-watching heart slowly crumbles apart, she rims her glass with the pieces that fell. Chorus Bridge From the start she thought that it made her well, Seemed to ring in her head like a bell, Rang so loud that she couldn’t of heard, The soft voices of loves that she hurt, So she clawed and scratched at the window, That her arms and her breasts were pinned to, Pushed hard enough for a breath, And said “help”. She tells her muscles to hold her head up high, They tend to listen most of the time, So she sits back and laughs, shivers from a cold draft, As it perspires, alone in her hand. Chorus
8.
Too many steps In one direction, makes you sink, slowly and deeper. She only wanted to avoid detection, so she stayed quiet, so you can't hear her. We sat on top of a jungle gym, just puff puff pass, it was three in the morning. She said that she was bound to disappear some time, said it strange, said it like a warning. I didn't waste my time on waiting, I wasted it on you. Every word I stuttered after that, were just conquered verbs I threw. We walked by a row of shotgun homes, our heels crunching, crawfish tails and chicken bones. Talked all about how you learned to love the quarter, said it loved, said it like a daughter. I didn't waste my time on waiting, I wasted it on you. Every word I stuttered after that, we're just conquered verbs I threw.
9.
Nobody 04:47
Newspaper clippings, appeared on the floor, telling me to go away. A stone’s throw from the front door, was Angie and the bills she had to pay. “A dirge” she said “is what this town needs, a heartfelt march into the ocean”. With a trumpet in her hand she made a stand, blew a note, and screamed out her devotion. Chorus Goodbye my love, for you well know, you were once my home and my applause, But it seems that this man with the pearl-covered hands, tried to stifle out your breath with unjust laws. Now you see this day it has only stayed long enough for it to gasp and groan, With the sinking tears and the broken piers only float long enough to join a moan. I”ll moan long and loud for you to hear, the city said as it took another breath, What’s not shown on your news and your TV’s will soon be screamed with all the breath from my chest. Chorus
10.
I came into a waking, where the ashes that their fathers swept were hid between the carpet mats and floorboards, I heard this from a girl. She said that she’s never sorry, but she walks along the angled paths with hopeless words that make her laugh, and keep her, guilty voice from any breaking. Won’t you whisper through the cracks, and tell me your story, I’ll lay down, i’ll relax, just blink of this pouring rain, And I will blink off you Won’t you listen to the sound, of the empire men running for a way to get out They’ll find it i’m sure today, This day And I will find it too. Won’t you watch the way, they put on their makeup, Careful paints of all grey, they’ll peel all it off before, Before I will peel off you. I came into a waking, where the ashes that their fathers swept were hid between the carpet mats and floorboards, I heard this from a girl. She said that she’s never sorry, but she walks along the angled paths with hopeless words that make her laugh, and keep her, guilty voice from any breaking. I can still taste the salt from your sweat, where it pooled in little puddles on the soft frame of your collar bone and neck, Your flesh was never part of my regret.
11.
Well you could paint across my face, we both know you got good taste. But leave my lips the way they are, at this point you know they're mostly scars. Well I might be misinformed, about this mask that you've adorned, but I seem to think despite your stare, and your words that seem to care, you just don't love me anymore. I guess you're waiting for the time, that you can cry alone at night, Babe you're getting what you asked for, what you getting so upset for, I'm just taking back my life. You told me I'm not very fair, at this point I don't really care. Step back so you don't burn me, chew me up and spit and churn me, I'm too easy to tear. No no I'm no good at Waiting You know the love we had was real, but now there's nothing left to feel. I'm gonna turn and walk away and I think you should do the

about

"Dug In" recorded at Rivertone Studios (Martindale TX). Mixed, mastered and recorded by Mark Jungers. Produced by Ben Balmer, Mark Jungers, and Josh Flowers.

credits

released October 19, 2012

Ben Balmer- Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica
Josh Flowers- Upright Bass, Harmony Vocals
Aaron Parks- Drums
Scotty McClure- Trombone
Owen Summers- Fender Rhodes
Brett Henry- Lead guitar on "No Good at Waiting"

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about

Ben Balmer Asheville, North Carolina

Born and raised near Ann Arbor, Ben Balmer is an Austin-based singer songwriter. Binding roots-y Americana with contemporary twists, Ben has been influenced by a wide range of musicians, including Tom Waits, Fiona Apple, Taj Mahal, and Paul Butterfield. He has released two full-length albums, multiple EP’s, and will release his newest album, Honky-Tonk Macbeth, in the Fall of 2021. ... more

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