Get all 18 Nick Swan releases available on Bandcamp.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of 9 from the 90s, Square One: An Acoustic Tribute to Tom Petty, Road Songs, Classic Rock Jam Tracks, The Bottom EP, DIG, "Gypsy Blues" A Tribute to Rainer Ptacek and Chris Whitley, Bedside Blues, and 10 more.
Excludes subscriber-only releases.
1. |
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I'm gonna' go there, I'm gonna' climb
Now I don't know about no law, I don't see no crime
There ain't no reason. Can't be no arrest
I'm gonna' get down to the water and get undressed
I can't stand it
I cannot stand it
I can't wait to see them walls falling down
Tell me Jesus why do they run
Is it by the weight of the woman or weight of a gun
I got fifteen minutes, now I just don't care
I'm gonna' take this all for granted when I get there
I can't stand it
I cannot stand it
I can't wait to see them walls falling down
I can't stand it
I cannot stand it
I can't wait to see them walls falling down
Be no world tomorrow and someday rhyme
You know that all good things will come in their good time
I put the ball peen hammer right through that door
I don't pretend to understand no more
I cannot stand it
I cannot stand it
I can't wait to see them walls falling down
I can't stand it
I cannot stand it
I cannot wait to see them walls falling down
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2. |
The Farm (Rainer)
04:09
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Somebody I know taught me without really teaching
How this world now, it's not like it was then
It even rained more often
I remember the farm now
Momma's bright dress and the look on your face
When she left
How did we ever survive with so much missing?
Never came on back, it just stayed missing
I feel I'm growing radar receiving messages
From out in the plains of, the plains of Kansas
Someone, somewhere, some place, out there
In my arms now, I can feel my baby
And It's as good as I've felt lately
Oh Lily I love you, don't know how I ever
Ever got by without you
Someone, somewhere, some place, out there
Never going to leave here
You're not going to change that
No matter how many men try to lay me flat
Someone that I know taught me without really teaching
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3. |
Wild Country (Whitley)
03:06
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Breaking rocks all day on the avenue
its hard to unearth anything that's true
soon I'm gonna drop this jack and run
Returning to the wild where I'm from
There's miles of stone, jack hammer in my hand
There's compromises, I cant comprehend
soon I'm gonna lose these rags and run
Returning to the wild where I'm from
Returning to the wild where I'm from
Between the bricks you'll hear the children play
Their calluses get harder day by day
Between the cracks you'll notice where I've gone
Returning to the wild, where I belong
Soon I'm gonna lose these rags and run
Returning to the wild, where I'm from
Returning to the wild, where I'm from
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4. |
Oasis (Rainer)
04:15
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Somewhere a child, a child is born
Somewhere a mother, somewhere a mother
Somewhere a mother is torn
We can all return any time we please
To the oasis, to the oasis
To the oasis of our dreams
And in this moment at hand
We are bind in two
We try to make it, We try to make it
We try to make it through
And then forever return
Sometime ago
Went to Korea, Went to Korea
Went to Korea and home
And in this final draw
And in this last straw
We are all bettin, we are all bettin
We are all bettin wrong
And in the storms we see
And in the webs we weave
We try to wake up, Oh we wake up
When we wake up and dream
Somewhere a child, a child is born
Somewhere a mother, somewhere a mother
Somewhere a mother is torn
Somewhere a mother, somewhere a mother
Somewhere a mother is torn
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5. |
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When this is over, over and through
And all them changes have come and passed
I want to meet you in the big sky country
Just want to prove mama, love can last
Like hallelujah in the big sky country
Just like forever and ever is why
Be getting over in the big sky country
Be kissing time, kissing time goodbye
God knows it's all been done
Let me tell you why
'Cause you held my number, you held my name
You held my body through the thick and thin
On a bed of roses in the big sky country
Spread out to love you, love you in your second skin
Like hallelujah in the big sky country
Just like forever and ever is why
Be getting over in the big sky country
Be kissing time, kissing time goodbye
Hallelujah mama, razzle dazzle mama
Probably got lights on all over the place
Hallelujah, I mean glory hallelujah
If I could only come 'round once and see your face
So just watch them lovers out on parade
You watch them lovers while they slip and slide
They gonna prove it to the big sky country
Just gonna prove it while the whole world collides
Like hallelujah in the big sky country
Just like forever and ever is why
Be getting over in the big sky country
Be kissing time, kissing time goodbye
Meeting our maker in the big sky country
Be Just like lovers and love is wide
When we hold over to the big sky counry
Be kissing time, kissing time goodbye
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6. |
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Rudy with a flashlight
Playing out in the yard
Shining it straight up
Right at the stars
Right at the stars
Some things take time you know
Some things you never do
Some things you can't forget
They just become you
Some things we do well
Some things we just do well enough
Some times all we need
Is right in front of us
Right in front of us
Still I remember when
Playing out in the yard
Staying up all night
Just counting stars
Just counting stars
Me, I'm picking out melodies
Right out of the air
Something I've heard before
But I don't know when
I don't know when
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7. |
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Brother runnin' powder money
Daddy somewhere on a drunk
In the hours after washing
I do my dreaming with a gun
Well I come down from the country
Find a lesson in the draw
There ain't no secrets in the city
It's hard living with the law
They got machines mama I can't figure
They got a romance made for doing time
Send me out child, running outside
Out along a world of crime
Gonna swing my scythe, got a hand upon the handle
Gonna shade my children ways I understand
Milk the trigger, kill the hunger
Staring down this broken land
So fetch on up your greasy apron
Spread your lover in the straw
Hear me baby, I'm nearly crazy
It's hard living with the law
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8. |
Rude World (Rainer)
02:56
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You must be proud of yourself
Taking a stand against the world
Ruled by man
With your fist in the air
Metaphorically you take on the world
Girl you're like Muhammed Ali
I'm sorry about that
People they're moving around
They're driftin' and driftin'
Around this town
Forgetting their friends
Forgetting their names
Overlook me now, but you can't skip James
I'm sorry 'bout that
I don't mean this to be a shock
I'm telling you honey
'Cause you know it rocks
A smiling sniper taking aim
It gives him pleasure
To give Pain
In a rude world
It's a rude world
I'm sorry about that
Rude world babe
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9. |
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Wake up running on the sacred ground
Searching the scrapyard for my dirty crown
I been walking a very long time
Baby child up on your momma's knee
Thirty-five angels looking after me
They been watching with eyes so wide
In a sea of steel I seen a golden glow
Screaming the message anyone could know
Like a walking translation on a street of lies
Singing this scrapyard lullaby
I'm gonna' take my time for her riches
Wait for the diamonds to ripen in the ditches of love around here
Things are never as they appear
Got a natural pearl in my calloused hand
Saved for the girl who could really understand what it takes to see
The gold from the alchemy
From a rusted hood I seen the stars fall about
Screaming the message anyone could find out
Like a walking translation down a street of lies
Singing this scrapyard lullaby
Hush now baby dream sweet things
Mama gonna' bring your anvil some wings
She will let it go, you won't even know
Cause the chrome do rust and the dust do shine
Broken could be golden in it's very own time
You can be sure, you won't even know what for
Now I'm down in the junk on a darkened day
Searching through the prizes others throw away
Like a walking translation on a street of lies
Singing this scrapyard lullaby
Wake up running on the sacred ground
Thirty-five angels leading her around
Like a walking translation down a street of lies
Singing the scrapyard lullaby
Singing the scrapyard lullaby
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10. |
Cheer Down (Rainer)
02:48
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I can tell by your grin
That you're trembling within
It's all over town, cheer down
And the smile on your face
Is somehow out of place
Now don't frown, just cheer down
If your hair should fall
If your shares should crash
You'll get by even without getting a rash
No tears will be shed
Cause I'm gonna love you instead
The world loves a clown, so cheer down
When your teeth drop out
You'll get by even without taking a bite
Though your dog might be dead
I'm gonna love you instead
Don't frown, The world loves a clown, cheer down
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11. |
Alien (Whitley)
03:39
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Everybody knows
I can tell how you fill your clothes
I can see it at the edge of your smile
So strange about the dormant desire
But everybody knows the alien
I can tell how you try to pretend
You can see now, I got a foreign friend
Everybody knows the alien
Everybody knows
I can feel it as the tension grows
I can see it at the edge of your eyes
So strange how it lights up the sky
Everybody knows the alien
I can tell how you try to pretend
You can see now, I got a foreign friend
Everybody knows the alien
Everyone come out
Got shades for the shadows of doubt
Get blind, it's most too clear
Could get killed by beauty and fear
Porcelain face on a steel device
Mind of glass and a mask of ice
Someone is a million years from home
Someone is a stranger he's never alone
Because Everybody knows the alien
I can tell how you try to pretend
You can see now, I got a foreign friend
Everybody knows the alien
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12. |
Don't Know Why (Rainer)
04:20
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Tell me where did
All of those years go?
Tell me now where did all those times go?
They sure do take their toll
They sure do they take their toll
Don't know why I
Don't know why I love you so
Oh by now I know I should have a reason
Oh if I could give you a thousand I would give you one
But there's more to it than saying words
There's more to it than simply feelings
Don't know why I
Don't know why I love you so
Sleep is like a coma in black
Oh I'm slipping into the land of the black
Too far can feel it getting dark, dark and darker
And I just wanna put my arms around her
Don't know why I
Don't know why I love you so
Well I went out, went out to Bob's Highway
Yeah I caught some cold air blowin all in my face
Those cars they just keep goin by me
Oh they do pass at an incredible pace
Still I survive, still I survive
Repeat first verse
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13. |
Weightless (Whitley)
02:49
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The ground gives as you go
With all them secrets that you know
As if to give nothing away
Of the signals you obey
You're weightless as a child
Falling from above
Are helpless to your size
Lonelier than God
Footsteps, empty room
As if a temple or a tomb
The bed gives where you lay
As if a power you betray
You're weightless as a child
Falling from above
Are helpless to your size
Lonelier than God
Lonelier than God
Falling from above
You're weightless as a child
Are helpless to your love
No one can hold you now
No one [Incomprehensible]
When you was a child
Falling from above
Are helpless to your size
Lonelier than God
Lonelier than God
Falling from above
Weightless as a child
Are helpless to your love
Are helpless to your lover
Are helpless to your lover
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14. |
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Yeah it's a long, long way
To the top of the world
On a rough road that winds
Around and round
I was young fool filled with greed, I let ambition rule me
Like a hunger that gnawed at my soul
I found my fortune and fame but lost the heart of my darling
She got lonely and her love soon grew cold
But Its a long long way to the top of the world
On a rough road that winds round and round
Its a long long way to the top of the world
But its only a short fall back down
Now I'm a rich man with lots of money but in my heart I'm a pauper
Cause the love I once held now another man claims
I've reached the top of the world but my heart hit rock bottom
You can't make love to fortune and fame
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15. |
Firefighter (Whitley)
02:18
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Here she comes catching on fire again
Casting all restraints to the wind
Fanning out her flame to little men
Well, they never gonna take your heart away
Like a million to one, you're the one
I would side with you, you're the one
As Bright as you want to, you're the one
Tonight about to rise and run
But they never gonna let you get away
Well, the world will follow you always
Here she comes sending the faithless home
Tending these fuses alone
Offending the ice age, you're the one
I would side with you, you're the one
Bright as you want to, you're the one
I would side with you, you're the one
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16. |
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Well, hello there
My, it's been a long, long time
How am I doing?
Well I guess I have to say I'm doing just fine
It's been so long now
But it seems now, that it was only yesterday
Gee, ain't it funny, how time slips away
How's your new love?
I hope that he's doing fine
I heard that you told him
That you'd love him till the end of time
Now, that's the same thing that you told me
Seems like just the other day
Gee, ain't it funny, how time slips away
I gotta go now
I guess I'll be seein you around
Don't really know when though
Yeah I don't know when I'll be back in town
Just you remember,
In time you're bound to pay
Won't it be surprising when time slips away...
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17. |
Dirt Floor (Whitley)
02:01
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There's a dirt floor underneath here
To receive us when changes fail
May this shovel loose your trouble
Let them fall away
Well the mist shall be your blanket
While the moss shall ease your head
As the future is soon forgotten
As the dirt shall be your bed
There's a dirt floor underneath here
To receive us when changes fail
May this shovel loose your trouble
Let them fall away
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18. |
Life is Fine (Rainer)
03:23
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Yeah I went down to the river,
And I set down on the bank.
I thought about my baby
So I jumped in and sank.
Yeah I came up once and hollered!
I came up twice and I cried!
I'll be doggone
If you're ever gonna see me die for love
I took the elevator
Sixteen floors above the ground.
I thought about my baby
And thought I might jump down.
You may hear me holler
You may even see me cry
But I'll be doggone
If you're ever gonna see me die for love
Here I am baby
I'm still here keepin on
I could've died for love—
But for livin' I was born
You may hear me holler,
And you may see me cry—
I'll be doggone
If you're ever gonna see me die for love
Yeah cause Life is fine
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19. |
One Believer (Campbell)
04:35
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The winter trees stand naked. It's almost dark.
One man walks slowly, alone in the park.
His mind is full of visions only he can see,
And Lord, Lord, Lord, he sure looks a lot like me.
One Believer
That's all he's praying for.
One Believer
To open just one door.
He goes down by the lake. It's solid ice.
Pigeons gather round, he throws some rice.
He's got a picture running technicolor through his mind.
He sees his name in lights and damned if it ain't the same as mine.
One Believer
That's all he's praying for.
One Believer
To open just one door.
He goes back to his room and writes a bit.
He's sure as always, this one will be his hit.
He switches off the lamp so his loneliness won't show,
And that prayer inside his head, that's one I know.
One Believer
That's all he's praying for.
One Believer
To open just one door.
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20. |
National Steel (Swan)
03:50
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He was a long, long way from Texas
And Berlin too
Out in the middle of nowhere
He didn't know what else to do
Just lookin for some way
To speak his truth
A voice cryin in the desert
For the Delta blues
He played a National Steel
His soul was pure at heart
He sang with all of his will
He knew right from the start
That he was a long way
A long way from his home
So he started playin
And learned some tunes
It just kept on growin
Like strong roots often do
Til he grew into something
Greater than he knew
Til the last note that he played
Was still ringing true
Chorus
There's a dirt floor underneath here
Where his body still may lay
But nobody can ever wipe clear
The music that he made
Chorus
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Nick Swan Knoxville, Tennessee
Tennessee Troubadour. Playing a mix of America's best roots music, from blues & folk to classic rock & 90s grunge.
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