1. |
The Smallest of Spheres
03:07
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The Smallest of Spheres
Imagine yourself as a pile of bricks, not so much as a crystal vase
You’re trying for perfect, it’s making you sick, and you wear it all over your face
I know you’re infinitely capable, you know what you’re about
Still squarely a work in progress, but you’ll get it figured out
Whatever your shortcomings are, your flaws and anxieties
They’re part of your story now, you came by them honestly
You came by them honestly
Imagine yourself as unmolded clay, not so much as a precious jewel
You haven’t done anything worth writing home about yet,
No one cares who you knew back in school
And you’re king in the smallest of spheres,
but there’s so much more out there for you to explore
Earn your scars on the way, no one promised you anything, you’ve got to take it for yours
Whatever your shortcomings are, your flaws and anxieties
They’re part of your story now, you came by them honestly
Whatever you make of yourself, however you want to be seen
Maybe it’s useless to hear it from me now, but someday you’ll see what I mean
(mandolin, guitar)
Whatever your shortcomings are, your flaws and anxieties
They’re part of your story now, you came by them honestly
Whatever you make of yourself , however you want to be known
Maybe it’s worthless to hear it from me now, But I don’t think you’ll end up alone
Imagine yourself as a pile of bricks, not so much as a crystal glass
Built to stand in the strongest of winds and not merely reflect the pale light of the past
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2. |
Borrowed Time
03:28
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Borrowed Time
Here we are again, where have we all been?
Where the time has gone away and come back once more
No longer so naive, invincible and so damn wise,
and something stole the gleam inside our teenage eyes
And we look back…
Hours left until the dawn, lining up glasses like we were young
Laying our lives on the cutting room floor, staring in from different doors
A toast to who we were, and who we are
beginnings and ends, and here's to absent friends
and borrowed time…
And the music you grew up with
The friends you held so dear
the images across your spectral fires
they once again draw near
and we are here
Words begin to grow held up by what we think we know
as we look into the unknown, the unknown
Broken up by someone's laugh, memories of these same
Conversations, ten years past
and Borrowed time,
living on borrowed time…
And the music you grew up with
The friends you held so dear
the image is a cross, your spectral fires
they once again draw near
And the music you grew up with
The friends you held so dear
the images across, your spectral fires
they once again draw near
and we are here
and we are here
Morning shines all too soon, and we move on
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3. |
This Half
02:51
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This Half
Take this silver and stone, make it iron and steel
Make me sinew and bone, play me Up and Reveal
Make me patience and grace from this pressure and space
Just take me miles down that road, beat those rocks down to clay
Make these shoulders my own at the end of the day
Stir these embers from ash, help me stand up at last
And I will rise from this valley and open my eyes
Where the moon is aglow and the earth is a sight to see
In the strangest of dreams that began on the darkest of nights
Teach these lungs how to breathe, once again, some small measure of cure
Teach this heart to concede, once again to endure
Give me all self-control, take this half make me whole
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4. |
Little Violin
02:42
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Little Violin
I’ve got about four pretty good bars but I want to have a tune
It’s in pieces on a scratchpad, but someday pretty soon
I’m going to put them all together
You can help too, if you want to
You’re a little violin, a quarter sized here in our place
But soon you’ll be a cello, and then a double bass
Or trade your strings for stations, or a rocket off in space
If you want to
Your brother and your overalls
the turtle and your car
The princess and the underground
The flower and the star
The dragon’s spinning fire, kid, the bravest thing I’ve seen
Is you being Super Mario on your first Halloween
(lap steel, guitar, mandolin)
I’m about four pretty good bars but I want to be a tune
I’m in pieces on a scratch pad, but someday pretty soon
I’m gonna get myself together
You can help too, if you want to
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5. |
Surfing at Night
03:01
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Surfing at Night is all instrumental. Send me a message and I'll send you the chords.
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6. |
Last Perfect Day
03:42
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Last Perfect Day
The air is still in the evening
The lights fade out along the coast and they’re gone
The water rises and recedes and you’ve fallen to your knees
You could just stay there until the dawn
But all the world which seems to lie before us like a land of dreams
So how can you stare at these four walls when the sky above is blue and clear?
But you just hide your eyes, acting like you’re stuck inside
on the last perfect day of the year
You’ve got paper gods and plastic worlds to carry you away
See with bitter eyes when reality seems to much for you to stand
You’ve got medicines and pills, but you need your life distilled
Way out here where the ocean meets the moonlit sand
And all the world, which seems to lie before us like a land of dreams
So how can you stare at these four walls when the sky above is blue and clear?
But you just breathe a sigh, acting like you’re stuck inside
On the last perfect day of the year
Come to the window, sweet is the air
And all the world, it seems to lie before us like a land of dreams
You know you can’t stare at these four walls when the sky above is blue and clear
So open up your eyes, and take a step outside
It’s the last perfect day of the year
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7. |
Sliver Moon (1)
03:48
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Sliver Moon (1)
I was hoping I might find you here
So I came on the off chance of crossing your path
But you’re not here so my thoughts wander out all across this town
Can you feel them homing in, pulling into your head?
If the sound cut an arc through the sky would you hear my voice?
Magnified turning thoughts set aside if I had a choice?
Am I somewhere on the backs of your dreams in between the scenes?
Does this gravity work the same way both forwards and back?
For an answer, a touch, a frail axon spark I’d surrender all
If you’re gone and you’re safe won’t you lead me away from the start?
If the sound cut an arc through the sky would you hear my voice?
Magnified turning thoughts set aside if I had a choice?
Hold me up, and I’ll keep you up
If we stumble up or if we fall
And I’ll hold you up, and I’ll keep you up
It’s the last thing I do, not at all…
If I sang out to the moon and the stars
Would you hear my voice in your car or wherever you are?
Your car or wherever you are?
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8. |
Sliver Moon (2)
01:59
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Sliver Moon (2)
And I’ll hold you up, and I’ll keep you up
In pairs and families and threes, in pictures, places, secret things
And if I sang myself to sleep with only one light left to see by
Would your turning world pass me by?
Will I wake to anything familiar?
And I’ll hold you up, and I’ll keep you up
In pairs and families and threes, in pictures, places, secret things
And if I sang myself to sleep with only one light left to see by
Would your turning world pass me by? Will I wake to anything by your sliver moon?
by your sliver moon?
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Justin Karpinos Nashville, Tennessee
I'm a songwriter, singer, and instrumentalist in Nashville by way of North Carolina. I sing and play guitar, mandolin, and
lap steel with a few artists and bands as I can.
I'm a sucker for honesty, melody, and a last line that takes your breath away.
... more
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