Up Records: Ten Years of Fabulous Independent Music
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 Up Discography
01. All The Same [mp3]
02. The Golden Egg
03. The Skeleton
04. The Star You Left Behind
05. Empty Words
06. Birds
07. A Fable With No Moral
08. Under A Cloud
09. Me & My Head
10. Two By Two
11. It Don't Mean Nothing
12. Bon Voyage
13. Smile
14. Let's Just Go
[Order CD] [Order LP]
UP #072
Quasi
Field Studies
CD/2xLP
1999 Up Records
All instruments by Sam Coomes & Janet Weiss except:
bass on 1, 5 & 8 by Elliott Smith
Strings on 1 & 13 by Brent Arnold (cello),
Jen Charowhas (violin), Frances Woods (viola)
String arrangements by Sam Coomes and Brent Arnold
Produced by Larry Crane & Quasi at Jackpot!, Portland OR
except 1 & 13 produced by Phil Ek & Quasi, assisted by
Chip Butters, at Robert Lang, Seattle
12 recorded at the Old Church in Portland by
Larry and Joanna Bolme
Mastered by Tony Lash
All songs by Sam Coomes, ©1999 CAREERS-BMG MUSIC
PUBLISHING, INC. (BMI), FILTHY GONDOLA MUSIC (BMI) AND M3,
except 10, by Janet Weiss ©Quasi
All The Same - I'm not going to give it up for free anymore & I don't really care if you label me a whore. Frayed at the edges, busted at the seams, I can walk with a song & sleep with my dreams. You can cover up your chains & call yourself free; It doesn't really matter - it's all the same to me. You're the new newest thing; we've seen it all before. In fact I've seen it many times & I'll see it many more. You know it won't last; you know it never does - But better be a has been than to be a never was. You can get out quick & clean or prolong the agony: Whichever you prefer - it's all the same to me. You worship the future like it's some kind of saint, But it's just like the past with a new coat of paint. You try to save a world that doesn't wait to be save & you scold it like a child when you think it's misbehaved. You can say what you want, or say what you see, Or you could say nothing - it's all the same to me.

The Golden Egg - Shoot yourself in the leg & the goose lays the golden egg. I had that golden egg before, but it disappeared as I limped out the door. Never reveal that you know that the whole thing is just for show: a cardboard world with painted skies, because we all must agree to believe in the lies. Bring yourself down to your knees & they'll give you the golden keys. The keys will open any lock to an empty room or a Chinese box. I can forget how I feel & pretend that it's all for real. The pot won't call the kettle black & I don't even feel the knife in my back. & when we go off to our bed, after struggling for our bred, a pleasant dream may stand instead of the clamor & noise that goes on in your head. So carry on like before & don't listen to me any more. Don't believe a word I sing because it's only a song & it don't mean a thing.

The Skeleton - When the dream comes to an end & I wake up once again, it's no surprise anymore when the knock comes on my door. & I go from place to place & always see your face; but you're not there anymore when the knock comes on my door. So I stayed awake all night, trying to think things right, & I'm down on the floor when the knock comes on my door.

The Star You Left Behind - Now you are more free than you really want to be. No one holds you in place, & you're drifting off in space. & the stars are all you see- far away as they can be. & the star you left behind gets dimmer all the time. & the problems that you made eventually will fade. & the work that you have done seems better when you're gone. Far away from everything, far away from everywhere; no one hears you sing, no one knows you care.

Empty Words - The sun still rises, the moon still shines; I've seen it over ten-thousand times. But this may be the year I will disappear. Come through my window, not through my door; leave me a number I can ignore. Then go tell everyone what we might have done. & don't mind what you've heard - It's just an empty word.

Birds - Birds fighting in mid-air - & all the sky is theirs. Theirs: all of the sky - yet they peck another's eye. Free as a bird... or is that just a word? Oh, to be free - to free myself from me.

A Fable With No Moral - I went & sold my soul to I could pay my rent. I waited by the mail, but the check was never sent. So I called the Devil up, but I just got his machine. I left an angry message, said I gotta have the green! I didn't give up then, but I made another plan: If Satan didn't want my soul I'd sell it to the man. I tried to find the number, but it wasn't in the book. I'd get the money anyhow, no matter what it took - No matter what it took... No paragon of virtue, at least I'm not a thief - It's so easily justified but always leads to grief. So I got a piece of cardboard & I made myself a sign. To sell my soul below the market rate was my design. I went down on the street & I tried to make the deal. A Land Rover drove right by with Satan at the wheel. He saw what I was doing & said "That's not yours to sell! You'll get your check tomorrow & I'll see your ass in Hell - So you'd better spend it well..."

Under a Cloud - The summer sun stood up in the sky & looked back down like it's some kind of eye. "I've nothing to hide," I said out loud, but I feel much better when I'm under a cloud. So I climbed up the hill of all I've destroyed, & looked out into the gaping void. But all I could do was stand & stare, Though just one more step could have taken me there. Oh, someday we'll meet beyond the moon - Someday soon.

Me & My Head - I never thought I'd say the things I said. I never thought I'd let them out of my head. I dream of you, but don't know what to do - time is standing still again. How can I sleep on a frozen lake, trying to decide upon the smaller big mistake? I don't know what's real, except how I feel - time is standing still again. How many hours can a minute hold? It's no wonder I'm a thousand years old. Me & my head - alone in my bed.

Two by Two - You've left at least, I knew you could, leaving nothing to remember you by except how to be happy & how not to care anymore. Two by two - these things weren't meant for you. Your call never came, I wish that it would, so I could have something to remember you by besides the way we fell to pieces & how not to feel anything. Two by two - these things weren't meant for you. It rains today, or are those tears? Falling from the moon above that bell in my head It'll ring 'til I'm dead.

It Don't Mean Nothing

Bon Voyage - Same town, same streets: different worlds. Same bed, same sheets: different worlds. Same cloudy sky over you & I - same tears; different eyes... Bon voyage to you, bon voyage to me. You go by land; I will go by sea. You can put down roots; I'll drift aimlessly. Bon voyage to you & me.

Common as the cold - up for sale, never sold. Getting older & it shows; your disappointment only grows. & no one seems to care that you never got your share - who said life was fair? So smile - it's not so bad. You lost your health - never had no wealth; so tighten up your belt as you gather dust upon some shelf. You lost by just a nose but there's no prize for place or show. Now, at least, you know. So smile - it's not so bad. Tired out & broken down, you've played the field & made the rounds. Now you're stuck in this one-horse town - your only solace is the sound of melody & verse. Though your bag's about to burst; others have it worse. So smile - it's not so bad.

Let's Just Go - Paralyzed - every path seems so unwise. Might as well just close your eyes, flip a coin - Let's just go. The more that you see, the less you seem to be free. Is that how to be? If I'm not around, you know where I'll be found: I live underground on the dark side of town.

 
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