Get all 10 Phil Smith & Corsage releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Ancient Songs - EP 2 (2023), Ancient Songs - EP 1 (2023), It All Slips Away (The Remixes) (2016), A Procession of Dreams (2014), What The New World Teaches The Old (2002), western roll (1996), Primitive Road (1993), Big Night Out (1989), and 2 more.
1. |
working with steel
01:34
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2. |
western roll
05:25
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western roll
a long time ago, left alone…
a late night plan from a difficult girl
scared, attempting to go out in the world
make a path, make a plan, get away from her mother…
up in the sky, I feel, I feel western roll go by
planets over everything
I sit here and watch light come in
come a bit closer and take me away…
western roll
in days so long ago
western roll
now I know, I know, I know, I know
I haven’t been there
I never knew the western roll
I took the time to go away
I was in search of those western days…western roll
there never seems to be days like that anymore
I give it all I can but I always know what’s in store
yeah I know I know I know I know
every day that we concede them
holding onto the hills
run away tonight run away tonight
run away and find your thrills
western roll
in days so long ago
western roll
now I know, I know, I know, I know
seasons come and seasons go
they’re all the same
but every time she looks up at the hillside
she thinks of a better age
alone in the night
she told him what we wanted to know
but don’t believe a word that she said
she was going back to a better time
as soon as she was dead
see the stars that are out tonight oh
see the moon that is shining bright oh
up on the hills where no-one goes
there was a place that she wanted to know
she looked in her heart and set off to see them
baby, baby, baby, don’t you come back again..
western roll
in days so long ago
western roll
now I know, I know, I know, I know
I heard her talking
I heard her mentioned just the other day
I looked at her picture and I,
I didn’t know what to say
I looked at her
and I looked away
she looked passionate in that camp
she looked comfortable in that home…
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3. |
free the rings of saturn
03:26
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free the rings of saturn
she led me out of the darkness
with the fire in her eyes
I should have realized
I should have realized
she said she’d come to see me
position sanctified
I cried and I cried
I cried and I cried
so it doesn’t really matter
what falls down from the skies
I should have realized
I should have realized
and on through the years
ambition now dethroned
I guess I should have known
I guess I should have known
could it be the night
that causes me to rise
much to my surprise…
you see I asked her for forgiveness
she would only tell me no
it’s a never-ending show
it’s a never-ending show
so now it’s back to business
I’m hoping for the best
the hell with all the rest…
and I’ll
free the rings of saturn
free the rings of saturn
free the rings of saturn
yes I’ll
free the rings of saturn
free the rings of saturn
free the rings of saturn
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4. |
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a cab pulls up to trader vic’s
a cab pulls up to trader vic’s
midnight summer air
just after the nine o’clock gun
the air is moist now
just like ‘50’s air
groovin’
too perfect a night
the architecture smiles
wooden cross-beams
and high open spaces
like The Cave
stalagmites
and stagaglites
molded fibreglass caves
raise a drink held high, boys
tonight’s the night we fly
into the lost big city
wind it back
thirty years ago
and you get some idea
of what we had
and what we lost
oh well
fair game
fair gain
that innocence
won’t come again.
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5. |
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how could so right go so wrong
I heard you crying in the middle of the night
the rain runs down the window pane
and you ask me how the wind howls
and I silently explain…
It’s all so very strange
yeah, it’s so very strange
It’s all so very strange
yeah it’s so very strange
one thing I’ve wondered,
I’ve wondered all along
is how could so right go so wrong ?
yes, how could so right go so wrong ?
day turns into night and night turns into day
and I have to wonder will it always be this way?
I used to have the heart, yeah I managed to believe
but now these things have vanished
I think that I should leave
it's all so very strange
yeah, it’s so very strange
It’s all so very strange
yeah it’s so very strange
and I knew it in my heart, yes I knew it all along
but how could so right go so wrong ?
how could so right go so wrong ?
oh the days go on forever
it’s like forever now I know
but when you get rid
of the demons which rise
to the surface
there’s darker demons
below
It’s all so very strange
yeah, it’s so very strange
It’s all so very strange
yeah it’s so very strange
sometimes it takes a minute, sometimes it takes so long
I guess I always felt it but it never felt this strong
that’s why I have to sing it, I have to sing this song
that’s called how could so right go so wrong ?
yes, how could so right go so wrong ?
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6. |
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crashing down from heaven
she said those things, that she loved me
she said "my heart's within reach"
dragging me down, dragging me down
nothing but a god of deceit
she told me that I wasn't wanted
crashing down from heavenly lies
the devil made plans - said they were mine
you know I wasn't hanging around
crashing down from heaven
down from the skies
light up the night
light up the night
better start watching your eyes
you know I heard them talking
I heard the things that they made up and said
we're all watching the heavens
but that's not the way that we're made
I said black coat
and a black hat
and Shirley wanted to go
I checked my aim
I shot my load
I sent my party away
crashing down from heaven
down from the skies
light up the night
light up the night
better start watching your eyes
you know I'm not so happy
I'm not so happy at all
when my thoughts get like this
they're a secret crab that crawls
breakfast in the ruins
footlights on the cross
I shake my head
watch, it's dead
living in the light of the lost
living in the light of the lost
bringing me down
back to this earth
paradise once lost is found
but when I came
crashing down from heaven
I cut my knees on the ground
yeah, I cut my knees on the ground
a crack-up is the reason I'm calling
why does the rain fall at all?
oh look up there....
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7. |
kill the messenger
03:41
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kill the messenger
all around the cities
the lights are burning bright
everyone's out for the evening
trying to make it all right
but I know things ain't so lilywhite
no they're not so ivory-pure
but when the bad news finally comes
you kill the messenger
you kill the messenger
now there's a sunset off in the distance
laugh at the state of their minds
as they crumble to dust
all the lies that they trust
in the heat of the warpath behind
there is no way around it
things won't be what they were
but when the bad news finally comes
you kill the messenger
you kill the messenger
oh once in a while an oasis
heroes they come and they go
everyone wants to be loved and adored
but they're crushed when they see it ain't so
so when someone stops you
and says they've got the cure
you tell them when the bad news comes
you'll kill the messenger
you'll kill the messenger
now we will praise this year's martyr
they each get a wonderful cheer
cause they're one and the same
in our great hall of fame
and you can't help but grin ear to ear
but all the while you're laughing
something sleeping stirs
so when the bad news finally comes
kill the messenger
kill the messenger!
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8. |
stay with me
02:27
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stay with me
well I know a man who lives on a hill
I say that I won't but then I will
I go to see this man again and again
but every time I visit he a-giving me pain
he says
can't you see
that you're no longer free
you better stay with me
stay with me
can't you see
that we'll make history
if you just stay with me
stay with me
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9. |
why oh why
04:01
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why oh why
I ain't never going back again
I been through that scene - I can't call them friends
everyone know the reason why
it seems to me it's lie or die
oh I see the reason you're smiling
I see the reason you cry
yes, I can see them
guess I'll be leaving
I just have to ask myself
why oh why oh why oh why oh why
these are such hard times I know
all of our pleasures they come so slow
go on home do the best you can
make yourself a living, make yourself a plan
oh I see the reason you're smiling
I see the reason you cry
yes, I can see them
guess I'll be leaving
I just have to ask myself
why oh why oh why oh why oh why
across the river's where I want to go
off to a place where there's no-one I know
someday soon I'll cross these tracks
please believe me won't be coming back
oh I see the reason you're smiling
I see the reason you cry
yes, I can see them
guess I'll be leaving
I just have to ask myself
why oh why oh why oh why oh why
now I've made it across the river
I got the goods I must deliver
it seems to me the world's gonna end
but I'll still be travelling, travelling my friend
why oh why
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10. |
sure enough
05:36
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sure enough
I sing my heart out
I sing this simple song
out here on the west coast
I don't know what's going on
I don't feel so pretty, no
just lonely and holding on
sure enough
sure enough
I got more than I bargained for
sure enough
sure enough
I should have known what was in store
they make me cry
they make me cry for so long
now that they've got me
I sing this simple song
they know what I need
they know to deny
they know the reason why
God help me, godspeed
sure enough
sure enough
I got more than I bargained for
sure enough
sure enough
I should have known what was in store
light, oh light
light in my eyes
I can't see you
I can't feel you
how'd you get so wise?
it seems like I've been
a fall guy for you
crashing baby down below
a-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-high
oh genius works in strange ways
I think you know that by now
so get those lips ready to pucker-pucker
gonna kiss you off right now
sure enough
sure enough
I got more than I bargained for
sure enough
sure enough
I should have known what was in store
I'm making it and breaking it too
so get out of my way
I check my aim
I know what's in store
I go so crazy today
go crazy like I'm living in lie
I bought a postcard
I got robbed
strap me down while I'm still living baby
they push while you pull
sure enough
sure enough
I got more than I bargained for
sure enough
sure enough
I should have known what was in store
I had the bull by the horns
I had the world by its tail
but the tide has turned
I should have learned
now I just sit here and wail...
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11. |
death of the cool
00:29
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death of the cool
it's so dead
death of the cool
feelings now said
death of the cool
cool, man, cool
cruel, man, cruel
it's all over
death of the cool
thought I'd seen it
once before
but every time I closed one
an open door would follow
with a slight, bright light
seeping on through
but not anymore
cool, man, cool
cruel, man, cruel
it's all over
death of the cool
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Phil Smith & Corsage Vancouver, British Columbia
Emerging out of Vancouver during the post-punk era, the musical collective Corsage features the core group of Phil Smith (vocals), Bill Napier-Hemy (guitar), Ron Allan (bass) and John Cody (drums). Over 7 albums and numerous live performances and broadcasts, they have collaborated with some of Vancouver's finest musical and artistic talents on songs that run from trance to hard pop to techno-folk. ... more
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