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A Bee In Her Mouth

by Steve Gates

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    Comes in a high quality Digi-pack from Precision Disk with original artwork by Seth Smith of YoRodeo. Graphic Design by Mat Dunlap. Lyric book included.

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1.
Proud Convey It I’ve got a story and I’m proud to tell you it I’ve got a bong and I proud display it I’ve got a pride and I proud convey it I’ve got a knife in a pocket and I’m gonna take it out Cause you put me in the corner with the magazines Put me in the corner like a bag of beans Put me in the corner and I know what it means You put me in the corner with a hat An’ I’m gonna take it off; I’m gonna take it off But the truth is you’re a tourist and you’ll never know Collect things on your visit to tell your friends about An’ you shiver while you live here but you’ll never really know The feeling of having healing in your hands and then it lets you go…
2.
Godforsaken 03:57
Godforsaken Whiskey runs around this town Like a fire burning underground But there is no amount of water An’ there is no amount from man Godforsake the man Godforsake the man Pine trees twisted but proud Parting for the highway and the summer crowds But there is no amount of money And there is no amount of land Godforsake the man Godforsake the man Who built these bridges here Oh godforsake the man Godforsake the man Godforsake the man Who built these bridges an’ tears them down Who gives them money and tears them down A museum of wilderness confines Memories trapped in smaller tongues to resign But there is no amount of money And there is no amount from man
3.
Bright Blue Candy Suns It’s a long Long walk you say To the store today Coffee and newspapers So far away It makes me run Run off at the mouth You’ve got me singing you south I’ve given up My excuses runnin’ out With your Bright blue candy suns Got my heart on the run And I’m feelin’ like I’m under Your bright blue candy stars Got me drivin’ so far And I’m wearin’ My heart and my feelings Like a mirror on the ceiling You reflect all my feelings With your Bright blue candy suns
4.
Lost Balloons I found her note of interest Underneath this old balloon Lost here in a hurricane On this island here marooned Note said I’m the one you’re searching for I am the diamond for which men die I’m the queen of Quinpool Rd. Where the ocean meets the sky So I rowed all evening Rowed on into the night I held the balloon close As the land crept out of sight I found her home by starlight A tiny dory lost at sea She was lying on her back An’ she smiled up at me Well I found a home beside her There in the comforts of her eyes Now I feel like drinking less and I feel like dancing more An’ I feel like drinking less and dancing more I was like a sleeping nation Peaceful with not a watchful eye She took out her swinging sabers An’ covered me in powder rings So I went back to the island An’ destroyed all the lost balloons But I cannot keep them off An’ they’ll be here again soon So one day she came to see me Said she was in need of something new Said kiss me and I’ll go I said maybe you don’t have to go I found an inch of truth Running loose in our old room But there was always mile of mystery in the halls Miles of mystery in the halls Well I found a home beside her There in the comforts of her eyes Now I feel like drinking less and I feel like dancing more
5.
Five White Tigers She was 8 years old But her eyes were so much older Her unwashed face Red hair down to her shoulders She never held her tongue in public places She had no need to hide her thoughts At Christmas all that she wanted was Five white tigers The year she fell ill They put her in a room with one tv With lots of cards With lots of flowers and lots of cards An’ when I found out I was in a working camp Up in northern ontario An’ as the flies bit in I dreamt of five white tigers She was 8 years old But her eyes were so much older Her unwashed face Red hair down to her shoulders As years went by There were parts of her that never recovered But at Christmas all that she asked for was Five white tigers
6.
Keepin’ People Out When I was young I hated the union (Keepin’ people out by keeping people in) See ‘em on the street say what are you doin’? (Keepin’ people out by keeping people in) The NDP says they got my back but they all live in the city and drive a Cadillac Now I’m old and safe and I’m part of the problem Keepin’ people out by keeping people in Now I went down to the united nations (keepin’ people out by keeping people in) They was tryin’ to decide what to do with the Hatians (keepin’ people out by keeping people in) Drop cherry blossoms from planes in the sky An’ we’ll starve ‘em all to death with apple pie Then we’ll privatize the mail, hospital and jail ‘Cause we’re keepin’ people out by keeping people in Back when I was young on the schoolyard playin’ (Keepin’ people out by keeping people in) I was in peter’s little gang when a bully came chasin’ (Keepin’ people out by keeping people in) The bully went down when peter stepped in He looked me in the eyes and said, “you’re lucky you’re in.” Not a truer sentence ever been heard by my big ears Keepin’ people out by keeping people in When I went to heaven I met saint peter Said if I had your job you wouldn’t get in neither I could run this place more better than you I’d send’em all south in a big canoe But when I got to heaven they wouldn’t take me neither ‘Cause they was keepin’ people out by keeping people in When I got to heaven they wouldn’t take me neither ‘Cause I was keepin’ people out by keeping people in
7.
Hello Jesus 02:26
Hello Jesus Hello jesus what’s the lesson? I’m in the bathroom I’m confessin’ To a toilet half my age Down the drain with all my secrets Set them free into the ocean Found by some Sailboat driving business man They were shaggin’ in the public gardens The rented cops were watchin’ tv They were swimming with ducks and geese They were naked underneath They were touchin’ cause they like to Swimming in the night to They are friends of mine Come on in and come on back now Stories end they seem to go by Stories end before you know b’y I am going back again To the chorus the refrain To the well loved and the lonely The pretty and the homely To the city by the sea
8.
A Bee in her Mouth I got a 55 oldsmobile Jes’ like the song sings Got a miracle baby on the way Spent the nights getting colder Mall parking lot Twenty weeks away and twenty to go We’ll smoke it wet Just one more time I’ve got her problem and she has mine With a bee in her mouth and bird in her womb Know it really changed her Just growing up this way Always making shift a manger from cars and clay Got a miracle baby Or so this song sings Jes’ caught a bird in a teapot with golden wings Can it make you whole? Can a baby make you whole?
9.
Something New Leave it on your mind Leave it on the sunshine right behind you and wait for a while Just leave it for a day leave it on the sea Just leave it here with me, the birds take off their gowns and Forget about it Just stumble here with me Stumble here with me Do you feel it something new Starts to remind you of all the things you used to do The things you used to do The things you used to do I was feeling young As nervous as a tongue on candied skin on the way to LA You’d fallen on my lap and everything You were looking bold Still on fire but a little older Than you were when you last looked my way I’d fallen on your lap and everything
10.
Darlin 02:50
Darlin’ Darlin’, you showed up again With a tear in your eye and All those years on your skin You were always innocent of this but guilty of that It was all that I could do to help you now Darlin’ I was at fault But there are things we done That mean we can never be friends We were always innocent of this, but guilty of that
11.
Tonight 03:16
Tonight Tonight just let it go Burden in my head Let me sleep now Burden in my dream Let me be Remember won’t you say what you mean An’ tonight just let it go Worry in my help Scare my company Worry in my gall And my seed Remember won’t you say what you mean An’ tonight just let it go We’re growing up too late We’re growing up We’re growing up enough enough Tonight just let it go
12.
Down to the River Down to the river of his arms she went Carrying the weight away There’s a feeling in my heart And it feels nice and cold Reminds me of a joke That a little boy has told And we all know it well We’ve all been there before An’ you can bring it to my house But you can leave it at the door Down to the river of his arms she went Carrying the weight away There’s somethin’ in my heart And it feels nice and warm It is heavy like a book, but it reads like a poem You can sing it like a seed Sew it in your mind Plant it in your morning And grow it in your mind Down to the river of his arms she went Carrying the weight away Carrying the weight away

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released February 28, 2012

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Steve Gates Halifax, Nova Scotia

Recorded in a makeshift studio in a Halifax apartment and produced by John Critchley (Dan Mangan, Elliott Brood), “A Bee In Her Mouth” is Steve Gates’ debut full-length record. Recording started the day after a public talk given by Daniel Lanois during which he inspired his listeners to be reckless and trust themselves in the studio. The result is a record that is ragged and beautiful. ... more

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