1. |
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Bureaucrats and boondoggles
Throwing your money away
Politicians, slick talkers
With nothing to say
It feels like
The suns too tired
to get out of bed today
Cheap slogans and catch phrases
On every billboard in town
I've got a map but lets face it
I'll just keep driving around
It's alright
The sun is coming up
Over cemetery hill
Throwing stones in still water
Just to make a wave
I think I'd write a long letter
If I had something to say
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2. |
Donnelly
02:49
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I was born in September
the death of the fall
Around here the leaves change early
or they don't change at all
And nothing's colder than winter
But spring In Donnelly
Little grey houses
Mud on the floor
Live by the hour
And die by the sword
Morning to evening
Weathered and worn
A race against time
From the day I was born
And nothing blows hard as the wind
Through the door
In Donnelly
A highway is nowhere
And nothing to see
I wish I had somewhere
Or something to be
Now I'm as lonely as summer
In Donnelly
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3. |
Patchwork Heart
02:43
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Woke up this morning looking out the window at the hills
Rain was falling and a prayer was on my tongue
Wondering about the currents in the air
And barometric pressure, the rising and the setting of the sun
And memories were coming and going
The wind was blowing
Little grey birds to me
Eating the berries
In my garden and turning
A rose bush into an ash tree
Chorus:
Living with a patchwork heart
Seasons come and seasons go
The sun comes up and gardens grow
A thing can be too big to see
And maybe God is younger than me
Playing with the elements of matter the potter
Blessed is the man with his roots in the water
Our father in heaven hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven and it's hard
Saying those words when everything's falling apart
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4. |
Make Me Wonder
03:17
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Snow in October
unexpected trees with leaves
Still red and yellow
Underneath the streets
A beating heart is always
Wanting you to wonder
Chorus:
Take me home
Make me wonder
Where your glory is
Waiting, writing songs while
Winter grows outside my window
And I'm lonely
Words and music tied together
With the passing time
Oh if only!
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5. |
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The grass is always greener on the other side
September is my favorite month
The feeling of standing on the edge
The grass is always greener on the other side
He doesn't have a place on earth to lay his head
Even birds have nests and foxes have their dens-where is his home?
He doesn't have a place on earth to lay his head
Keeping my eyes on the setting sun
Keeping my eyes on the birds
It's all right there on the tip of my tongue
But I can't find the words
The grass is always greener on the other side
All these words and melodies
But something is always left unsaid
The grass is always greener on the other side
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6. |
Winter
02:13
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Winter comes
Around November
Twenty five below
Icy fingers
Drawing pictures on the
window
The frost reveals
A grand design
A crystalline
snowflake symmetry
Freshly fallen
From the heavens
Lying heavy on the trees
In the night
A patient silence
Longing to be heard
Whispering
in a language
without words
A thousand distant windows
Remind me
What a fire means
Everyone is far from home
But nothing's what it seems
Oh holy night
Heaven never felt so near
And things never seemed so clear
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7. |
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The smog in the city
Hangs close to the ground
And overcast eyes, souls
Longing to get out of town
The country at midnight
Knowing your name
This is how it feels to
See a star for the first time
Chorus:
You're seeing a star for the first time now
I went looking for
Trouble on my own
Deeper eyes, blind alleys
Leading me home
Drinking the daylight
And happy it came
This is how it feels
To see a star for the first time
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8. |
What I Left Behind
02:51
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God made a garden and God made a man
God drove the nails through his own hands
Rain falls and rivers run down to the sea
Days and nights remind me of gravity
Fire is friendly, a house is a home
But we stay in motion, afraid to be known
I'm still thinking about
What I left behind
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9. |
Don't Be Far Away
03:00
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It's raining in Vancouver
Some things just never seem to change
People counting up their quarters
Like life is an arcade game
I kinda feel claustrophobic
But I also feel all alone
This city's full of houses
And not one of them a home
Oh don't be far away
Don't be far away
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Chris Friesen Grande Prairie, Alberta
I am a songwriter/actor/poet. I record songs that combine a DIY aesthetic with lyrics that always somehow end up being
about God/Heaven (as seen through the tangled thicket of life). I embrace the organic, the atmospheric, the quirky, and the messy. My ultimate goal at the moment is to be a combination of "The White Stripes" and "Andrew Peterson."
... more
Chris Friesen recommends:
Through the Deep, Dark Valley
by The Oh Hellos
Somehow this album ends up feeling like wandering through a pine forest in winter. I love the dynamic range (from intimate to cacaphonic - introspective to jubilant). These songs get in your bones.
go to album
Love & War & The Sea In Between
by Josh Garrels
This album opened my ears to a larger musical world. I didn't realize before that an album could change how you think about God, but it did. A benchmark for those who sing about the mystery of God.
go to albumIf you like Chris Friesen, you may also like:
Here in the Pitch
by Jessica Pratt
On her fourth album, Jessica Pratt blends up 60s pop and bossa nova into a spooky mix of soft psychedelia.
go to album
Great Loveday Wonder : The Collected Demo Recordings
by Billy Childish / William Loveday Intention
From the always-great label Tompkins Square comes two-dozen plus demos from alt legend Billy Childish.
go to album
Dakota Blue Moon
by Jackson Harden
Gorgeous acoustic Americana from North Carolina, stripped-back and sublime.
go to album
The latest from the UK’s Chris Brain is a gorgeously wrought album of tender acoustic folk music.
go to album
