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Soft Times

by Matt Duncan

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Derek Beyer
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Derek Beyer Things haven't been going my way lately, and this album has been really resonating with me. There are tinges of anxiety, doubt, struggle, failure, but all in placid tones. On some level, you realize that yelling and crying aren't the right response. You're just going to wake up tomorrow, do your best, and maybe things will change soon. In the mean time, you just feel some mixture of morose-content. It's a really good album though, so I'm sure I'll keep listening even once things go my way again. Favorite track: The Keys.
Juan Doe
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Juan Doe If I didn't know any better, I would swear this album was recorded in the 70s. The arrangements are inspired. From the variety of well placed horns, the perfect harmonies, the bright piano melodies and Matt Duncan's soulful Billy Joel-esq vocals. I will be listening to this for a long time. Favorite track: The Keys.
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1.
The Keys 03:37
Everybody's leaving soon I can hear that rambling tune From the pool hall or any shopping mall We're going crazy as a loon Tell me where we're gonna go Where there's no sorrow, there's no snow Pack your suitcase light, we're gonna leave tonight 'Cause I think I might just know Oh if I lose it I'm gonna move it Down to the Keys Maybe Idaho's not for me Don't need no jacket If you can't hack it You better come with me Down to the Keys There's a place down by the beach Where you can buy a peach Hear any Buffet tune if it's after noon And you promise not to preach There's a bar down by the pier Where I like to drink my beer And I can pay my tab with the gift of gab While the tourists shuffle through Oh if I lose it I'm gonna move it Down to the Keys Maybe Idaho's not for me Don't need no jacket If you can't hack it You better come with me Down to the Keys Mr. Gore don't lie, when the tide is high And we're swallowed by the sea Gonna float on down to the promised land Where the healthcare will be free
2.
Rube Intro 00:30
3.
We're growing less and less alike You in the suit, you on the bike Are your intentions pure or sundry? Did you find the fountain, are you still hungry? Me, I got a light I like to shine When certain happenings are mine But it's hard to keep a steady rhyme On a busking beggar's drink and dime We're turning corners, we're turning mean We're busy working on Rube Goldberg machines Ain't nothing perfect, we do alright We pick a road and take it home at night The church bell doesn't miss a chime Your mortal feet must keep the time So it's hard to keep an open mind To all the things you left behind
4.
Soft Times 03:37
I haven't been through much worth mentioning I haven't had my share of anything but time Still comes cheap, though I feel strangely poor in it For someone who might see so much more of it Soft times ahead Just another slow cooker pushing lead Just another slow cooker pushing lead Tell me it's alright Half the time it really wasn't worth the fight Half the time it really wasn't worth the fight I was born at the end of the century I don't remember much, but I'm sure it was a breeze It felt good, gold-tinged like a melody Every day of fine print, gotta take it like a man Soft times ahead Just another thousand deaths before I'm dead Just another thousand deaths before I'm dead Tell me it's alright Half the time it really wasn't worth the fight Half the time it really wasn't worth the fight Oh, Django, oh, Django Take me away with melodies light and free Whatever will be will be Oh, Django, oh, Django
5.
It was blowing on the shore The waves were keeping time The comely trees were whistling too This time I'll get what is mine It's part of his holy design for this world When I die you'll take my place in line For the horn of plenty It's been the ruin of many Those that answered the call Or never heard it at all Praise the horn of plenty Then you're walking down the street The world looks good enough to eat And who's stopping you, boy? You know you're a prince of a man Such a feast there in the palm of your hand But you still shove your gilded fist down the bell Of the horn of plenty It's been the ruin of many Those that answered the call Or never heard it at all It's been so long since the fall Praise the horn of plenty So plant a seed and let it grow Not too high just so they know What it is that they're missing
6.
Saturday there's a parade for the forgotten names And there's no telling when it's going to stop Spent a number of years talking shit, drinking beer Now the flag's looking me over like a cop You always sparkle and fall, you ain't so pretty And I ain't climbing at all in Emerald City There's something wrong with it all, it's such a pity There's something wrong with it all Every day is a parade of I forgot their names We were friends, we shared a lot of loose talk Forgot the ghosts on the roads, still headed for the coast To carve their name into a piece of rock You always sparkle and fall You ain't so pretty And I ain't climbing at all in Emerald City There's something wrong with it all, it's such a pity There's something wrong with it all Saturday there's a parade for the forgotten names And there's no telling when it's going to stop
7.
Summer Song 03:34
Literati want a riddle Party people want a jam I don't want to write no memoirs but I I get hung up on who I am Illuminati got a choke hold On the ups and on the downs Guess I'd like to be your one night stand Tell me again, how does that sound Could be your summer song Could be your summer song When the days are long You need a summer song Back when I was still in high school Hopping clouds, not coming down Melodies were rolling down my windows The beats were driving me around Used to be I had a heart so big There was room for anything I found I'd like to think that I'm not full up just yet I'd like to lift back off the ground Could use a summer song Could use a summer song When the days are long You need a summer song I surely know it's been so long, long, long But I don't believe it could be gone, gone, gone It gets so dark, but then it's dawn, dawn, dawn, dawn, dawn
8.
I Don't Know 02:33
It's a pretty funny time to be a rebel The beast went underground, most of the scores were never settled And I know, think I read it in a book But I was held up at the library by a sympathetic look I don't know It takes diligence and luck to keep your money from the devil It's a business of its own just to keep marching on the level Had I known I was born into a maze Would I have sidestepped creature comforts, kept my head above the haze? I don't know, I don't know If there's a martyr I can follow If there's an alarm that I can raise I don't know, I don't know How you pick a righteous path Among the hungry glory days I don't know The world has had its hard knocks, it's diabolical and clever It spits poison and good sense into the hand that pulls the lever On the way, while I'm flailing in the dark I might find a bit of kindling and a mind to catch a spark
9.
Idle Hands 03:53
Pride is cold comfort to the lonely man But I'm not alone, I do the best I can To hold onto my ego It's tenuous in the best of times And I got lost down 25 I just want to arrive A head in the clouds can take its toll on a man The thinning air, the beauty all around Not close enough to touch It might be too much For heart as faint as mine Give me a sign What do I know? The path just goes where it wants to go And who can I see About these idle hands at the heart of me? What do I know? In God we trust you just get one time around What kind of fool who hadn't hit the ground Would lie down and surrender? I think I'd find some comfort there But damn torpedoes, I don't care All is fair What do I know? The path just goes where it wants to go And who can I see About these idle hands at the heart of me? What do I know? Wealth is wasted on the wicked and wise Save the consolation prize Don't want to work on my disguise Thinly veiled pain, a funeral smile
10.
Lone Ranger 03:04
Home's been stranger since you've been gone Hey, lone ranger, didn't think you'd be gone so long Some of us, it's nothing new Got one or working on two Just waiting for the other shoe Tell me friend, how do you do? All these faces, they've faded to gray Some jokers, some aces, but they're already played But I hear that the world is wide How are things on the other side? No, it's never too late to ride Or find out that you'll be alright Feels like a small town Like I know every inch of ground For such a small town I couldn't say where its heart is found It's just so strange how I'm moving up while I'm coming down It's just so strange now You look back and then you look around It's just so
11.
See the life I'm living It's checkers to the chess some folks are given Why do I feel like Atlas wondering lost Through golden fields when all it takes is just one toss? But I'm working for a solitary heart Working for a solitary heart Can't say when it ends or where it starts Working for a solitary heart Labyrinths I've traveled Every turn I took I just came more unraveled And then I find the minotaur was me Dressed up for Halloween Why, why, why? But I'm working for a solitary heart Working for a solitary heart Can't say when it ends or where it starts Working for a solitary heart It's just the world I have to lose If I'm not strong enough to choose Which way to go Which way to go
12.
Lost Boys 03:32
Forever in black jeans Bet you're the king of the scene It gets so hard to be free No one's gonna clip your wings No Guess I'll call the lost boys Call the lost boys Call the lost boys To my aid Tonight I won't be afraid No more children crying No, they never shed a tear And now they're singing in such sweet harmony I think you must be near I can hear you laughing Guess I'll call the lost boys Call the lost boys Call the lost boys To my aid Tonight I won't be afraid Tonight I won't be afraid You did it quick but you did it right You're coming home when we sleep tonight

credits

released January 15, 2013

All songs written and recorded by Matt Duncan. All music performed by Matt Duncan, except where noted. Mastered by S. Husky Hoskulds. Artwork and layout by Robert Beatty.

THE KEYS
Anna Hess: Violin

RUBE GOLDBERG MACHINE
John Buckman: Drums, Percussion
Trevor Tremaine: Guitar, Bass
Evan Belt: Trumpet
Ryan Moore: Trombone

SOFT TIMES
Ryan Moore: Trombone, Euphonium
Evan Belt: Trumpet, Flugelhorn

THE HORN OF PLENTY
Andrew English: Backing Vocals

SPARKLE AND FALL
Chris Dennison: Backing Vocals
Clifton Keller: Lead Guitar
Evan Belt: Trumpet
Ryan Moore: Trombone, Bass Trombone
John Buckman: Drums

SUMMER SONG
Ryan Moore: Euphonium
Evan Belt: Trumpet
Andrew English: Lead Guitar

IDLE HANDS
Anna Hess: Violin
Evan Belt: Flugelhorn

LONE RANGER
Ryan Moore: Euphonium, Trombone

SOLITARY HEART
Trevor Tremaine: Bass, Guitar
Ryan Moore: Trombone, Bass Trombone

LOST BOYS
Clifton Keller: Lead Guitar

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