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These Good Days Last

by Aware of the Bear

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1.
Let it Grow 02:40
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Let it Grow Contentment settles like dust in the attic of my mind Comfort is a sickness that leads to pain Sleep is a coward state for one who can’t face life Green grass now works to keep me from my task Trees sing in low whispers so that I must raise my head I’m blinded by the Sun, who is my enemy He teases me with intermittent warmth and shade The birds are causing tricks with my ears Keep off the lawn There’s a sign that’s written wrong Let it grow is a better way to say That I have fear and Death is always near But standing still won’t make him go away How pretty are the vibrant colors of hanging baskets That choke my inspiration as I’m forced to gaze How precise and finely trimmed are the leaves That cut me as I watch their endless sway Trees sing in low whispers so that I must raise my head I’m blinded by the Sun, who is my enemy He teases me with intermittent warmth and shade The birds are causing tricks with my ears Keep off the lawn There’s a sign that’s written wrong Let it grow is a better way to say That I have fear and Death is always near But standing still won’t make him go away Keep off the lawn There’s a sign that’s written wrong Let it grow is a better way to say That I have fear and Death is always near But standing still won’t make him go away Let it grow
2.
Madly 03:22
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Madly When you asked me that question The one I couldn’t get to Well the truth is that I may just be passing through The pause that dropped Like a leaf in the fall A tangle of words Vines growing on the wall Of my mind I withdrew I went to the edge of the forest to dream Now I wondered, am I madly in love with you? In the forest I called My voice swallowed up by the leaves You came some way But just to the edge of the trees The path too dark Though many walk through this way You weren’t ready to follow Though you had something to say So you stopped and you called Though I was near, I was always too far And you wondered, am I madly in love with you? I watched you from afar And then I saw it all When the woods came alive With you close by And I knew, I’m madly in love with you Now I’ll ask you that question The one I couldn't get to What’s your truth? I know you’re not passing through Well, you may pause now But you have your roots in the ground Did you say those words? Was that the distant sound? I don’t mind, I always knew When I went to the edge of the forest to dream Now I know, I’m madly in love with you
3.
I Know a Forest 06:21
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I Know a Forest I know a forest where the burdock grows The ivy burns and the nettles sting But if you stay on the path you chose The downy taps, the bluejays sing All along the trail edge are winding thorns With drops of red and purple stain I put my arm in and my skin was torn But the taste was so worth the pain Hey, won’t you come along with me For a hike along the trail Hey, you’ll be shocked by what you see It’ll give you a sense of what is real It’ll give you a sense of what is real I know a forest where webs block all ways With strangling vine and twisted tree If you move down slow, lower your gaze You can walk the path on bended knee The guard of the garden in yellow and black Said it’s not worth it to go the hard way Take the worn path, the easy track In a showdown with nature, you’ll be here all day Hey, won’t you come along with me For a hike along the trail Hey, you’ll be shocked by what you see It’ll give you a sense of what is real It’ll give you a sense of what is real I know a forest where life's grown wild Coyotes track any wanton child But with some practice, a careful guide The journey’s safe, trails running wide But if you’re restless, daring one fall night To go in pathless woods, waning light There you will find me, hidden from the stars In the glow of a green moon, with Venus and Mars Hey, won’t you come along with me For a hike along the trail Hey, you’ll be shocked by what you see It’ll give you a sense of what is real It’ll give you a sense of what is real
4.
A Measured Life 04:21
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A Measured Life (The Ballad of Johnny Pine) Johnny got some bad news today Tests showed that something’s wrong He looked down, his hands were folded tight The doc said, “You won’t have long, You don’t look strong" He went back to work the next day At his lumberyard stronghold Working with the yellow pine wood cut In a shed out in the cold He felt old Facing his final project A measured life, pound by pound A measured life A past of rum and women, doing time For a debt he must atone In a prison cell of softwood, late night shift Beaten all alone Worn out bone Facing his final project A measured life, pound by pound A cutting sound A measured life, pound by pound A measured life Life shouldn’t be so hard now Everything has got to give Johnny didn’t think that he should live So alone A measured life, pound by pound A measured life A measured life Johnny got some bad news today Tests showed that something’s wrong He looked down, his wife just held him tight She said, “You won’t have long, But we’ll be strong" Facing his final project A measured life, pound by pound A measured life, pound by pound A measured life A measured life Johnny got some bad news today
5.
Transparency 02:24
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Transparency Well, I could have been much kinder to you You know that I've been rushed You should have been more patient with me I feel like I've been pushed I thought you knew me You see right through me But not what's in me Transparency Well, we're all colored in blue and black I ain't coming back for more Your're so uptight You think you're right And me, well I'm just sore I thought you knew me You see right through me But not what's in me Transparency Through all these things that we've said and done One thing still holds true Every time we have a fight I give in to you When you walked in the air turned cold And I was soaking wet I put up with your hold so long And now you're in my debt So if you know me Why can't you see me? Dark soul that's in me Transparency And now I know you I see right through you There's nothing in you Transparency Transparency Transparency
6.
Long Paths 03:04
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Long Paths Paths not meant to walk on Roads we could not drive down A straight lane is the safest way No danger and no shame Things and money drive us Trips to Vegas hold off The boredom of a life well spent With safety and good name Jobs gives us a purpose Rules work to serve us A closed mind keeps the truth away - That we are all in pain We move to keep breathing We look but were not seeing The common sense that holds our place In a shelter from cold rain An easy wind that sweeps down A promise to rely on A signal from the harness bells To move or drift asleep Jobs gives us a purpose Rules work to serve us A closed mind keeps the truth away - That we are all in pain The garden keeps us grounded Weeds have all surrounded They choke our dreams until they’re brown The last I give to you Life and death are pages Side by side, related One passage short, the next one long Turn and be surprised Jobs gives us a purpose Rules work to serve us A closed mind keeps the truth away - That we are all in pain The oak tree holds its leaves last Then comes a final windblast One by one they lightly fall Accept the season’s end Paths not meant to walk on Roads we could not drive down A straight lane was the safest way - No grief and no regrets
7.
Candle Stare 03:54
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Candle Stare Sitting in a crowded room The morning sun rises soon Listen to a mellow tune Dancing light of a drowning moon I couldn’t think of what to say It didn't matter anyway Candle Stare We are young and in tune Green smoke fills the room I breathe, but I don’t move The morning sun comes too soon “Becky, I’m lost and scared” I say this, but she’s not there The orange glows on her hair She’s deep in a thoughtful stare Candle Stare "Here comes the sun," I say And day put out the night It seemed so sad to me She just said, "It's alright" I blinked, I wasn’t sure It didn’t matter much to her I couldn’t think of what to say It didn't matter anyway Candle Stare I couldn’t think of what to say It doesn’t matter anyway
8.
Apple Red 03:55
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Apple Red We used to steal fruit from the neighbor I used to steal the apples from his farm I couldn’t resist bitter flavor I didn’t think he’d do us any harm He left his ladder unattended I’d climb to the top to see the clouds And when I jumped, I just pretended But to fly up high was not allowed A rumbling sound A blast of shame A spray of salt, then pain A frightening fall A strange disgrace I ran and hid my face And all that I could taste, was apple red I used to steal looks at his daughter She used to look at me with lustful charm I couldn’t resist once I caught her I didn’t think she’d do me any harm He left her open, unattended I’d hide behind the shade and watch the fire And then my dream sharply ended To fly up so high was not allowed A rumbling sound A blast of shame, A spray of salt, then pain A frightening fall A strange disgrace I ran and hid my face And all that I could taste, was apple red
9.
Alone Together 04:13
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Alone Together We all lie alone We find the truth in twos Black and white of life Where grey obscures our view Children sit alone With spaces in between Desks are all in rows Scribed with words obscene Government decrees Teachers recite lines Mikey’s mom agrees These are troubled times We're alone, together We're alone, together We're alone, together We're Alone Standards have been wrote Words are carved in smoke Life is not a joke We all had better vote For men who walk so blind Who speak of vital change Lead us to all sign Recant and rearrange We're alone, together We're alone, together We're alone, together We're Alone Overhead the sky Underfoot the soil An empty space around An empty place within We’re Alone We're Alone We all lie alone We find the truth in twos Black and white of life Where grey obscures our view We’re alone, together We’re alone, together We’re alone, together Alone
10.
Shining Star 05:09
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Shining Star (Song for Tristan) You are, shining star and you light the way Any life without you, makes no sense to me When I think about the end, it’s difficult to breathe We we’re made for each other, we get on famously When you shine directly at me, I reflect your steady beam When we met each other, arms we’re open wide I came upon a living sun, but froze up as I tried When I saw your eyes, the wonder of it all The importance of our sacred bond, made my fear appear so small You are, shining star and you light the way Never did I ever want to change things I never tried to make it right Never did I ever want to rearrange things ‘Cause right away I saw the light Right away I saw the light You are, shining star and you light the way We started on rocky ground, I didn’t know where to step You danced around the troubled sound of the world that we left I came from the eastern side, through night without rest You were born fully formed with the wisdom of the west On the day of creation we were put in place The orbit of two satellites only heaven can replace Come away you said, “to the waters and the wild” You took my hand, to understand, as if I were the child You are, shining star and you light the way
11.
Unified Theory 03:42
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Unified Theory Dying oak, coming down Hit by lightning to ground Ancient tree, rapid end A seed falls down to rise again Growing up, falling down A myth of the universe that’s going around Stars are born, novas burn Time moving wind as a falcon turns Hundred years, standing still Impossible with free will Search like Faust, Kerouac The beating of your heart that holds you back Moving right, moving wrong A trick of the universe that’s going around Speed of light, nothing moves God only knows we don’t get to choose We try hard, to understand We don’t have the tools, we don’t have a plan Gravity, electric force No Unified Theory to run on course Moving forward, moving back Discovering the universe with science and fact Distant stars, Hubble’s might Billions of galaxies are out of sight Out of reach, will is strong Burned out and long gone Here on earth, people are The planet still spins and we’re the stars Coming back, moving in Forget revelation or original sin We’re alive, we’re aware God only knows we’ve got this to share
12.
These Good Days 02:25
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These Good Days These good days may come to an end I shouldn't wait too long To capture them in a novel way A painting or a song The sky turns grey The children play Singing a nonsense song I could sit and watch the act Perform all summer long These good days just fade away With limited sunshine Fires die down, stars go dim It's close to bedtime Morning birds sing, church bells ring A sound where we belong I must stay and keep awake My dreams all summer long How can I avoid the gentle night, keep the troubled day? I've travelled along a straight dirt road, a twisted highway These good days last all summer long These good days will stop one day We probably won't know when How we'll leave we don't know yet We won't stop here again So leave your mark on the bark An etching in the wood A small carved heart, some simple words A gift of something good These good days last all summer long

about

all tracks written and produced by Aware of the Bear, 2014
recorded and mixed by Dave Fritz at Savile Row, Toronto, Canada
artwork by Agenda Digital Marketing

credits

released August 1, 2014

James Cain - vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards
Jeremy Knowles - drums

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all rights reserved

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Aware of the Bear image

Aware of the Bear Hamilton, Ontario

SoundClouder of the Day | Sept.4, 2013

"Aware of the Bear writes pop gems with melodies reminiscent of Wilco and Big Star - with maybe a little Badly Drawn Boy thrown in for good measure. The horn section driven Unified Theory is a great example of his retro-leaning production skills, intelligent lyrics, and vocal style." ... more

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