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Songs About You

by Ari Jacobson

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  • Streaming + Download

    Immediate download of 10-track album in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.

    Album comes with High-Resolution, gorgeous front and back cover art by the fabulous Elke Reva Sudin, complete lyrics, and Ari's line-by-line commentary.
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  • The limited-edition CD, in snazzy recycled Digipak packaging, complete with gorgeous cover art by Brooklyn artist Elke Reva Sudin.

    For a signed copy, add a donation of no less than whatever-you-think-is-fair (all proceeds to benefit the self-and-generosity-financed-indie-musicians-food-and-shelter-foundation) and send an e-mail to pagerock@gmail.com with confirmation and any dedication request. Note: shrink wrap must be removed before signature.

    Also includes immediate download of 10-track album in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.

    Note: Currently only shipping inside the U. S.
    ships out within 3 days
    edition of 1000 
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  • Includes:

    1. The limited-edition CD, in snazzy recycled Digipak packaging, complete with gorgeous cover art by Brooklyn artist Elke Reva Sudin.

    2. Official, signed, limited edition 11x17 Songs About You Tour poster with full-size cover art.

    3. Official Cover art sticker.

    4. Immediate download of [numtracks]-track album in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.

    For a signed copy of the CD, add a donation of no less than whatever-you-think-is-fair (all proceeds to benefit the self-and-generosity-financed-indie-musicians-food-and-shelter-foundation) and send an e-mail to pagerock@gmail.com with confirmation and any dedication request. Note: shrink wrap must be removed before signature.

    Note: Currently only shipping inside the U. S.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Songs About You via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ... more
    ships out within 3 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $14.99 USD or more 

     

1.
I will save your life, even when you are a craven, Lying, heartless, scrounging bastard and you’re not worth saving, I will see right through you to the part that’s right, Yes I will, yes I will, yes I will save your life. You try to hide behind your talent, honey that won’t get you far. I’m here to tell you one thing that’s a fact: Boy I could keep your moral standards in a single mason jar With room left over for your good sense and your tact. You wonder why this history is never quite correct, You wonder why the world won’t treat you right. Well if I see You jump into the deep end with those weights around your neck, When I pull you from the water, baby don’t put up a fight. I saw you walk straight into traffic with your hands upon your head, You’re broken and you treat me like a shard… Remember when You kicked me in the face while we were lying in my bed (Goddamn it) Love should never have to be this hard. I’ll kiss the lip you busted in a barroom brawl, I’ll listen to your whiny little voice every time you call, And your total lack of faith may be a blessing after all, ‘Cause when you hit rock bottom, babe you won’t have far to fall. I see through your pathetic lies, I know that you’ve got nothing planned, You can’t avoid my eyes but baby don’t misunderstand.
2.
Not For You 03:57
What the world is, it’s nice guys finish last, It’s build each stepping stone from someone else’s dark unsavory past. And every present has a purpose, nothing’s given only paid in advance. And one by one we’re all conforming independently We learn that politics is poison, drinking pennyroyal tea Might make more sense than trying all our lives to add to what we see, But that ain’t how the world has to be. Not for you, and never for me. I’ll build my own world, this one forsakes me, Take me through, and help me believe They’ll just let us be. What you are is, you’re shining like the sun Lingering with lesser lights, I see you and I run. You energize me, just take my hand and I will finish everything I’ve begun. I dream about you daily, but by night you seem to(o) pale. Maybe I just convinced myself I found the holy grail, And yet I still perceive your halo, silhouetted in the hail These people fling upon us daily, oh my angel can’t you see That that ain’t how the world has to be? Chorus What I am is very lonely that’s the truth but independent Of this song, this trial wherein the world and I are co-defendant. If you need more testimony, that ain’t such a crime, But if you’re trying to tell me that I’m Not for you, and you’re not for me, Then why can’t you, why can’t you, why can’t you tell me, I’ll get through, and I’ll still believe, That that ain’t how the world has to be…
3.
What I’ll always remember, I’ll remember the bridge, On the city side a ripped up flag. The trees were too close and the branches would drag, And if this is a memory, I don’t know what love is. I remember a time when I was younger than this, The river was part of the air that day, And every single time we drove home that way, That faded old flag would blow me a kiss. And now they’re fixing up Percussion Bridge... Gonna make it a slick new ridge of Cubic Zirconia crossing the deep blue sea... And take it away from me. I suppose it was unsafe, I suppose it was frail, But it made me feel special that I gave it a name. And it was just a public structure, but it was mine all the same, And every other bridge seemed quiet and pale. That beat was so funky, like a diamond with soul, And all it took was a car to explode. My grown-up mind says it couldn’t handle the load, But the boy says “man, that bridge could sure rock n’ roll!” Why do we remember tiny little things? I was four...swinging on my mother’s bedroom door. Why do we remember tiny little things? I was three...learning how to tell a bush from a tree. But don’t we all remember all these little things? When I was two, and I wanted something higher than myself, I just closed my eyes, And I flew.
4.
Keep Diggin' 04:10
What happens when you’re in too deep, the ground is getting tough, And too much doesn’t feel like near enough. Highway doing 90 going faster all the time, You watch your exit dwindle there behind. The first lie was the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do, The second comes like water, not a single second’s thought. The ends might justify the means, but that means it’s all on you, So now you damn well better go and give it all you got. Take the sour with the sweet, you know that once you hit six feet You might as well just keep on digging. Every man is born complete, but brother once you hit six feet You might as well just keep on digging. I loved you once in silence, but then I gave it tongue. Now I can’t believe the thing I’ve done. Every day I beat my head against a brunette wall. Begin to lose my balance, start to crawl. Should I remove my forehead while I’ve still got head to move, Renounce the things I can’t have and accept the things I’m not? Or should I choose the sweetness of “I’ve got something to prove,” Take a running start and damn well give it all I’ve got? Sang a song about the war, to find out what we’re fighting for To my surprise, an answer came. Sang a song about my sin, to find out how I might begin again; The answer was the same. Sang a song about my death, wondered should I save my breath? But thank you lord, the answer still applies. I’ll sing a song for all of you, hope you get my message too; Now everybody look me in my eyes: The dirt begins to taste so sweet, you know that once you hit six feet, You might as well just keep on digging. The rain, the hail, the snow, the sleet, forget ‘em once you hit six feet; You might as well just keep on digging.
5.
I have got no caution, I have no restraint, inside my little broken heart. So if my voice is cracking, if I sound a little faint, it’s just my little broken heart. I’ve always found it funny, when love spits us out on shore, We all go running back into the sea. With everything that’s happened, and with all I’ve seen before, It’s hard to say for sure there’s someone there for me. So why do I keep swimming, through the waves that drag me down? There’s one thing that I’ve known from the start: Being alone hurts so much more than any little broken heart. Once upon a time, I was so love-drunk on your charms, Following just like a dog for you. Now I’m love-hungover in the absence of your arms, But all I want is one more hair to see me through. I’ve always found it funny, when we run into the wall, And lose our sense of purpose, self and sound. You can always catch us hoping, even halfway through the fall, Someone catches us before we hit the ground. So why do I keep running, with a blindfold on my face… You still catch me by surprise, sometimes when I close my eyes, I still see you with your hand out and a smile. I realize That I’m remembering a fire, not even embers, long gone cold. A whisper in my ear, I’m too damn young to feel this old. But still I have no caution, never had restraint, inside my little broken heart. So if my voice is cracking, if I sound a little faint, it’s just my little broken heart. So why do I keep going when my head is caving in…
6.
I looked away this evenin’ time, Looked toward a place that’s so sublime, I sighed my life away, I stared at shades of gray, ‘Til I looked away this evenin’ time. I wish I was a painter, ‘cuz my words don’t do you justice, But if a picture’s worth a thousand, then I’ve painted quite a few. I’ve written books about your beauty, but somehow within the stricture Of the weight of all those pages, I can’t find the truth of you. I looked away this evenin’ time. Looked toward a place that’s so sublime. I slept in my shyness, I led a life of dryness, ‘Til I danced in the rain this evenin’ time. And if I was a talker I would hear the words I’m thinking, I would see my love and sing it and the thought would be the same. I’d lick my lyrics from your lips, and feel my text upon your fingertips, And every other rose would smell exactly like your name. I looked away this evening time. Looked toward a place that’s so sublime. I heard you sing so sweetly, in the dark almost completely, ‘Til I opened my eyes this evenin’ time. I looked away this evenin’ time, Looked toward a place that’s so sublime, I sighed my life away, I stared at shades of gray, ‘Til I looked away this evenin’ time.
7.
If I Could 03:54
If I could… If I could put every love song in the world inside a pear, For you to shake up when you feel the tear, I would. Then I’d have… I’d have music inside me, and rhythm and juice, Beans for the shaking, and fruit for the taking, And everything open and groovy and loose, I would. If I could… If I could string all your blues up with amethyst pearl, Clasp you in gold, like a gardener’s girl, I would. I don’t believe… I don’t believe in my personal substance, to make it all happen for you. Sometimes I feel like I’m empty inside, But that gives me something to do. ‘Cause there’s a vacuum inside me for all of your pain, Flowers to soak up your tears like the rain, I could ruffle your hair with the wind from my low flying plane with paper wings, And if you’d take me for all that I am, I would give you these things If I could…
8.
Dorian Gray 04:41
I told you that I want to be a better man to please you, And you said I don’t have to work that hard. The best of love I’ve found is just to feel the way she sees you. And know that she will always pardon you. I used to kiss you with my eyes half closed, so I could see the way You see me with your eyes closed all the way. And when I close my eyes now, there’s a tiny slit left open, And I get a glimpse of what you see today: I see my shadow getting darker every day. You painted me a portrait; then you made me feel like Dorian Gray. You say that love’s denial, and I’ll pretend to agree. But love is like a mirror… and god you make me hate what I see. You told me in the morning, when you’d step into the sunlight, You’d close your eyes… and say my name. Holding you was one thing that I knew I’d always get right; Don’t see how I’ll ever feel the same. In your eyes, desert sun that never goes and hides behind the clouds anymore. And the shadows getting longer and the sun is getting higher And I’m crackling in this fire as the flames are getting stronger If I face it then I’ll burn but when turn around I see my shadow getting blacker everyday. You painted my portrait, then you made me feel like Dorian Gray, You say that love’s denial and I’ll pretend to agree, But love is like a mirror… and god you make me see my shadow.
9.
I hear what you’re saying, I know what I’ve done, I’ve turned this whole summer to rain. When it should have been breezy and warm in the sun, Just give me a chance to explain: And I’ll give you my reasons concisely and clear, And I know you’ve had too many seasons this year When you needed me badly, and I wasn’t here. I know, I know… But you said: Too little, too late to start over this time. Sure the hours were great but your years were unkind. I was blind for a while to you changing my fate, But you gave me too little, too late. Remember the winter when I kept you warm, The fever that I helped you cool. I should have stayed with you and held out the storm, And I know that that makes me a fool. But I’ll lay out my logical lapses, confess All the times I convinced you I needed you less Than I needed you, truly I’ll give you my best This time, this time, But you said: Too little, too late to start over this time. Sure the moments were great but your years were unkind. I might have forgiven you making me wait, But you gave me too little, too late. I’ll give you my reasons… I’ll list all my logical lapses… Too little, too late to start over this time. A few moments were great but your years were unkind. I don’t bear you ill will and you’re too hard to hate, You just gave me too little, too late. I might bear some ill will, but you’re too hard to hate, You just gave me too little, too late.
10.
Everyday I do my best, to go my way and never rest, ‘Cause when I do, I think of you, and what I’d do at your request. Baby are you satisfied, with those who hurt you, those who lied? Do you know just where you are, and will you ever find your star? Don’t have to look around, don’t you know where I’ll be found? Nowhere, if I’m not there, in you heart. I look around, I hope to see, something to take my thoughts off me, But hiding there on every shelf, it’s in myself, still I can’t agree. Baby can you find the time, to listen to my soul’s last rhyme? Everyday I do my best, oh please won’t you listen to a last request? Don’t spend your time looking everywhere, don’t you know that I’ll still care? I’m everywhere, I want to be there in your heart. I know I lost you once before, would everything be worth it for a whole lot more? Can we please just make that start, Can you find me in your heart?

about

Why "Songs About You"?

3 reasons:

First, there is a specific 'you' that many of the songs are (at least partly) about. She knows who she is.

Second, I noticed that I have a tendency to write in the second person, to address my lyrics to a "you." I have many of these silent conversations/arguments/screaming matches/sweet nothing sessions in my head, and I guess songwriting is my way of getting them into the real world.

The third reason is a bit of wishful thinking: one of the ways I judge a great song from a good one from a mediocre one is the degree to which I hear it and think, "My god... this song is about me." For all our differences, there's something true and connected about all of us, and when a work of art really catches a hint of reality, people recognize themselves. If I'm doing my job right then I hope, at least some of the time, that you'll listen to these songs when they're done, and realize that they're about you.

credits

released March 18, 2011

Music and Lyrics: Ari Jacobson

Ari Jacobson: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Mandolin
Jared Fiske: Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Mandolin, Keyboard, Doumbek
Amy Adams: Vocals, Tambourine
Seth Adams: Bass
Josh Kiggans: Drums, Percussion


Produced by Jared Fiske
Recorded at Foundation Studios, Sturbridge, MA

Mastered by Dana White at Specialized Mastering, Framingham, MA

Artwork by Elke Reva Sudin

Lyrics, Commentary, Contact info, and more at www.arijacobson.com

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