Get all 10 Jeff Elbel + Ping releases available on Bandcamp and save 65%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Threefinger Opera, No Outlet, Gallery, The Eleventh Hour Storybook, Engine of Destruction (live 2003), Loyal to You, The Eleventh Hour Songbook (instrumental sketch), Live at the Crooked Bar (plus), and 2 more.
1. |
Introduction
00:58
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2. |
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lying in the sand bed waiting
deeper than the Qattara Depression
to the north of the Great Sand Sea
Ezekiel did his best
describing wheels upon the sky
i struggle now to name that darkened ring on high
it's turning slowly ...
who am i to lay the blame
in their form would i not do the same?
kin of a feather
hang the inconvenience
still i've got the rhythm
... if an odd one
patience she is with 'em
time is on their side
and they're coming lower
chorus:
ring me 'round like satellites
encircle me, you pretty birds
tumbling airborne appetite
fall on me, such pretty birds
herald that eternal light
yeah...
frying in the sand bed fading
yet my vision is improving
i can see them clearly now
i could pluck a lucky feather
from the tail of the closest
- there; i got one
i could take that muff for my own bald neck
it's out of reach
but it's getting closer
repeat chorus
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3. |
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here comes the sunburn, Masey
red hot white man
cutting through the savage tan
here comes the sunburn, Masey
red light white heat
incinerating by degree
with the sun protection factor
running zero down on me ...
gonna wear the blackest shade of coal
that the world has ever seen
here comes the sunburn, Masey
deep sky wide sand
only creature in the land
here comes the sunburn, Masey
spare time, no plans
idle mind and busy hands
busy, busy
if absence makes the heart grow fonder
everybody's loving me ...
gonna build the biggest sand castle
that the world has ever seen
well, i can feel my body blister
as i cross this desert land
i'll expire here in style
in my palace in the sand
if i had my old umbrella
i'd be singing in the rays
no tea across the Great Sand Sea
no shelt'ring from the sky
and no shade
instrumental section
here comes the sunburn, Masey
all beach, no shore
crawling on the desert floor
little darlin'
here comes the sunburn, Masey
pale face blood red
peeling skin begin to shed
little darlin'
i feel my eyes are slowly melting
it's been so long since they've been clear
gonna leave a bleach-blonde skeleton
and i'm going to leave it here
well, i can feel my body blister
as i cross this desert land
i'll expire here in style
in my palace in the sand
if i had my old umbrella
i'd be singing in the rays
no tea across the Great Sand Sea
no shelt'ring from the sky
and no shade
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4. |
Going My Way (live)
04:25
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head says i wait for the buzzards
tail says i move along
the cycle keeps repeating
over and over again
too long without a direction
too soon i change my mind
my will is two-faced
like the coin that i'm throwing
over the dune and far behind
hey joe, hey joe
a shuffling dromedary line
are you goin'
oh...
chorus:
[bgv: goin' my way]
oh, take me, run to the water
hey, get me out of here
if you're going anywhere
you're going my way
this ain't no hitchhiking weather
worn legs are giving out
stagger until i stumble
over and over again
i know you soak up the water
you'll last for seven days
it wouldn't bust your hump
to give me a tow in
over the dune and far behind
hey joe, hey joe
a shuffling dromedary line
are you goin'
oh...
repeat chorus
bridge:
together we could clear the sand
together we'd survive the day
but Kipling says you got that hump
by blowing off the job
so 'scrutiating idle
how you got this far, i've got no clue
finally climb up the last dune
the first of ever more
no sign of transportation
looks like i've blown it again
sauntering after the nomad
such placid state of mind
your chance to save the day
and you'll never know it
over the dune and far behind ...
instrumental section
repeat chorus
one camel turns to the other
"hey, man, you got a light?"
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5. |
Just Add Water (live)
04:53
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well, how far to Farafra?
how long 'til i see Siwa?
way station in the wasteland
a balm for bleary eyes
buzzing head rings hollow
my mouth too dry to swallow
wander on through the wall-less maze
as i'm flipped by rolling floors
and this could be a lovely place, truly
skipping stones across the lake with you beside
fabled Atlantis pales before such liquid grace
... just add water
It's utter dehydration
No drop of perspiration
my brain begins to boil
like an egg inside the shell
On the verge of vision
a palm and cool reflection
Could this have once been Eden
here in this Godforsaken land
and this could be a lovely place, truly
gliding through canals past drawn Venetian blinds
racing the dolphin with his blissed and kindly face
instrumental section
... just add water
A diving swan, so sweetly see
the surface rush to greet me
The point of my entry
cast in ripples on the pool
the final sound that i hear
as the sand pours into my ears
is the laughter of the Northern wind
as it howls across the dunes
and this could be a lovely place, truly
shoot the curl all day and ride the perfect wave
off in a barrel down Niagara's raging face
hydroplane
hurricane
a geyser unrestrained
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6. |
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7. |
Bedouin Girl (live)
03:16
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right about the time
that i gave up hope
felt a weathered hand on my shoulder
when i thought there was nobody 'round
just about then
before it all went black
said, "i could swear that i'm floatin' through the air"
i was riding on a camel's back
life! (she's giving)
life! (she's giving)
life! (i'm living)
Bedouin girl
lying on the ground
in a handmade tent
soothing cool rag on my forehead
mercy angel by my side
i can't understand
a single word she says
but her eyes say "everything will be okay"
thank God for that Bedouin girl
life! (she's giving)
life! (she's giving)
life! (i'm living)
Bedouin girl
life! (she's giving)
life! (she's giving)
life! (i'm living)
Bedouin girl
she kept me alive
for one more night
one more night
of living
life! (she's giving) she kept me alive
life! (she's giving) for one more night
life! (i'm living) one more night - of living
Bedouin girl
her eyes say everything will be okay
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8. |
Tomorrow (live)
05:00
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always so dim and somber
ever the hollow man
i left my soul buried in the sand
it's a quiet existence
a dark and lonely view
the echoing of laughter
among these solemn hills
and now i realize how good it feels
just to open my eyes and
breathe and think it through
my life could go a million ways
it's ever new
why should i worry about tomorrow, before tomorrow?
i'll never hurry along tomorrow, before tomorrow
why should i worry about tomorrow
when today is not my due?
the morning arrives, i'm still alive
it's ever new
i saw the Khamsin blowing
it spoke a living word
it was the sweetest sound i ever heard
through the maelstrom raging
the word rang clear and true
"somewhere somebody loves you
your flesh was given spark
from the dust that fills your eyes
i made your heart
and i set it beating
let the rhythm follow through"
gotta make the most out of the time
that's given you
why should i worry about tomorrow, before tomorrow?
i'll never hurry along tomorrow, before tomorrow
why should i worry about tomorrow
or wonder if i'll find my way
there's more than enough to just getting by
day by day
grab today and hold it close
until it lives within my skin
the veil that held me blind is wearing thin
why should i worry about tomorrow, before tomorrow?
i'll never hurry along tomorrow, before tomorrow
why should i worry about tomorrow
when today is not my due?
the moment slides into another day
it's ever new
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9. |
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the sun shines down so hard it's beating me
shell so parched, it's cracked and bleeding
i'm praying ... for a miracle
watching ... for a miracle
waiting ... on the miracle rain
the rain falls scarce in the western desert
it might this year, and it might not ever
i'm hoping ... for a miracle
lost ... without a miracle
aching ... for the miracle rain
fall down, fall down come cover me
upon, around all over me
within, without, be part of me
it's been so long since i've tasted water
chased that dream, and i never caught her
i'm hoping ... for a miracle
begging ... for a miracle
longing ... for the miracle rain
the field, my soul, so dry and barren
i've laid down want, i've laid down care and
i'm praying ... for a miracle
gone ... without a miracle
dying ... for the miracle rain
fall down, fall down come cover me
upon, around all over me
within, without, be part of me
hope lay dead, but again it's stirring
revival as the horizon's blurring
i'm staring ... through a miracle
pelted ... by a miracle
soaking ... in the miracle
fall down, fall down come cover me
upon, around all over me
within, without, be part of me
drinking from the miracle rain
wonder at the miracle rain
laughing in the miracle rain
singing in the miracle rain
swimming in the miracle rain
revel in the miracle ...
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10. |
We the Living
04:08
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11. |
Hell Oh
02:41
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12. |
6MDM Loop
01:18
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13. |
The Crawl (sketch)
02:04
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14. |
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15. |
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16. |
Hell Oh (instrumental)
02:41
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Jeff Elbel + Ping Wheaton, Illinois
Thanks for visiting! We're proud to be your source for roots rock and roll storytelling with wit and heart. Remember our motto: "No band could love you half as much as Ping."
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