Get all 14 Courtney Swain releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of notes to myself, For Once, Augustine, Silver Lining, RPM 2022 - One day EP!, All Around Me, Fountainhead, Three Piano Songs, and 6 more.
1. |
Good Will
04:41
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You broke the spell
While I chipped the same tooth
At least five times
Trying to cast the words
You didn’t even look me in the eye
You didn’t even flash a warning sign
I’m on the curve
With all your week’s refuse
The rotting stench
The ever-spreading bruise
The many walls we built around our shame
Swept away so maybe this is a sign
To live minimal, a straight line
Into the ocean where my ashes fly
Fighting with seagulls
As I wave goodbye, as I wave goodbye
You stuffed my voice
In an empty shoebox
One of these days
I’ll be the belle of Good Will
I woke up from a dream into a lie
I suppose that now’s as good as anytime
To live minimal, a straight line
Into the ocean where my ashes fly
Fighting with seagulls
As I wave goodbye, as I wave goodbye
Don’t look so sad, it’s just our time
To let go of the gifts we find
Somebody else will tend the fire
Keeping our dreams warm at night
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2. |
Raspberries
03:43
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Raspberries crushed on our cheeks
Laughing so hard that we can’t breathe
Cartwheeling through empty streets
Watching the sunrise cull the morning
I try to breathe one whole blink’s full of air
And I feel my body rev up into a bright flare
Racing my bicycle with a bird
Stopping at the scenic overlook
Standing at the start line of a track
Floating away into ocean blue
I try to hear one whole breath’s worth of sun
And I feel my body glorify the life that it’s spun
Tucking my kitten into bed
Taking a break to stand on my head
Smelling a fresh baked loaf of bread
Watching the sunset celebrate in red
I try to eat two dozen ears of corn
‘Cause who knows if I’ll still be here next time they come
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3. |
Sticks and Stones
04:33
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So little of your time took up all of mine
Funny looking back
I’m a lot of things but not typically the clown
But I’m quick to adapt
Did you ever find my words, and are you ever going to send them back?
A sign language I made up, a one-way radio, a secret map
So little of your ink bled on all my papers
On every word I wrote
Uncovering the stain, smaller on each page
But I keep flipping back
You pulled me out of my own wreck
I don’t expect you here to hold my hand
Some unknowns are better left alone
I let them waste away into a stone, into a stone
I’m on my own with your sticks and stones
I’m on my own
So little of your gaze could trap me in a daze
Daydreaming wove a web I’m still trying to shake
Entire days I’d waste, rooting for the cause
Did you ever find my words, and are you ever going to send them back?
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4. |
Phoenix
05:34
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When I was young I thought love was the only thing that could break my heart
How did you learn to sharpen your shoulders like that?
Your words still dribble out of my mouth
Still, I’m not worthy of your presence
Through all of this I realized
That my best bet is still to love you
My best bet is still to love you
My best bet
Every bird starts to look like a phoenix when you see it once
Resurrected from a mangled corpse
And the roadkill rewinds itself
Into a creature standing there
I’ll run myself off the road believing
My best bet is still to love you
My best bet is still to love you
My best bet
Driving too fast in the rain when I couldn’t see
Save for the stunned silence and the clarity
Each time I hurtle under an overpass
Carrying no relief for those passing over me
I keep fleeing from the truth that I’ve been meaning to see
How do I love you, when you won’t let me?
How do I love you, when you won’t let me?
When I was young I thought love was the only thing that could break my heart
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5. |
Contaminated World
02:35
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Stitched moonlight pools onto the floor
Cover the valleys of the night
Gulp your voice til I feel a brain freeze
Strip down to the time-passer’s shelter
A savana of LED’s
Shelves of senses drone through the gentle
Repetition, the most delicate
Dedication of mindless numbers
Crystal clear on the rough paper
Ticker-tape bound to the dog ears
Talking heads swallow the contaminated world
Debossed beneath the shattered lines
Absorb the circle of the rim
Swivel chair flapping in the laughter
Your spine is fragile by design
Wake up for the turning tide
Polygon lions roar under the water
Fluted lips crest a sharp precipice
Sucked into a nightmare mixtape
Crystal clear on the rough paper
Ticker-tape bound to the dog ears
Talking heads swallow the contaminated world
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Courtney Swain Providence, Rhode Island
“A gorgeous blend of overwhelming vocal talent, modern keyboard techniques, and contemporary sophistication.”
— New England Noise
Courtney Swain recommends:
Our First EP
by Courtney and Brad
My new J-pop/J-weirdo project with Bradford Krieger from Big Nice Studio
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Music from the dance film "Ripe" created in collaboration with musicians from the Northeast and dancers/cinematographers from Japan.
go to albumIf you like Courtney Swain, you may also like:
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supported by 17 fans who also own “Augustine”
An absolutely GORGEOUS record. Shades of Kate Bush with lovely vocals and unique arrangements. Quality pop music meant for sophisticated palates.
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Lustrous soundscapes with delicate melodies and poignant lyrics piercing through like sunbeams.
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Strange Range
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Like a funky distant relative of Belle and Sebastian, The City and Horses make curiously irresistible pop.
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