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. |
Back into the Cage
03:56
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i tried to keep it
my dirty secret's out
i've been bluffing
i'm holding nothing
lurching from the
gurney to the floor
clear the aisle i'm flapping wildly
trying to hold it all down
see my bloody miracle and
try to force a smile
think my mind just might let go
this body for a while
worry that there's no one left
to meet that wide eyed gaze
and claw my way straight back into the cage
stitch the structure
repair the ruptured vein
silent outside
rumble in my brain
dripping from the mirror
ashen gray
bend the lines away from here and
shine them where they belong
watch that quaking captive soul
she's lost her angel smile
think my mind just might let go
this body for a while
flagging by the wayside with my
colors on display, i
claw my way straight back into the cage
every father does a little addition
counting twenty is a noble tradition
i can still remember when
she taught me how to smile
lean against ceramic cool
but only for a while
fling a motion heavenward
that all will be okay
and claw my way straight back into the cage
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2. |
Radio Flyer
04:37
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singing out your joie de vivre in such peculiar ways
whirling on your Sit 'n' Spin
won't stand up straight for days
lying down to hug the earth and feel how much it weighs
swing as high as you can
hold the sky in your hand
roll away in your little red wagon
nine months long, an inside joke
so few would understand
"if there were Justice in this world, i'd be a happy man"
bright eyed child, never fear
safe as long as i'm near
if you fall i will pick you up
in the glow of the sunshine (radio flyer, golden wire)
tell me how do the cherubim (swinging tire, riding higher)
navigate so low?
got a sprinkler in the yard, i've got some dimestore shades
on the porch with my guitar and let the angel play
laugh and watch that hair get soaked on such a perfect day
if you run with that ball
masterpiece on the wall
if you fall i will pick you up
in the glow of the sunshine (radio flyer, golden wire)
tell me how do the cherubim (swinging tire, riding higher)
navigate so low?
and when the morning comes
we'll call it a new beginning
and when the evening comes
kneel down while you come running
and when tomorrow comes
trust me 'cause i'll be leaning
i'll be leaning on the grace of God, i'll be by your ...
side by side, a giant slide, we tumble in the sand
roll into a grassy ball and take me by the hand
play as hard as you can
sing along with the band
roll away in your little red wagon
little wonder
in the glow of the sunshine (radio flyer, golden wire)
tell me how do the cherubim (swinging tire, riding higher)
navigate so low?
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3. |
Here Comes the Sunburn
06:05
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here comes, 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
then 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
no shade
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
no shade
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4. |
Going My Way
04:20
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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: go... in'... 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 forty 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...
chorus:
bgv: go... in'... my... way...
take me, run to the water
get me out of here
if you're going anywhere
you're going my way
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 ...
chorus:
bgv: go... in'... my... way...
take me, run to the water
get me away from here
if you're going anywhere
you're going my way
one camel turns to the other
"hey, man, you got a light?"
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5. |
The Crawl
01:57
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no lyrics
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6. |
Miracle Rain
03:39
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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
(still) 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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7. |
Bedouin Girl
03:11
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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
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
she kept me alive
for one more night
one more night
of living
Her eyes say everything will be okay
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8. |
Mary Across the Ocean
04:58
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i could lend you a lesson from a long-toothed life
leave you face down and snoring in your dinner
if you care for a wager on the last in line
here's your easy money on the winner
when i harken back to those illinois nights
when i would sing to the crickets 'bout the l.a. lights ...
well, it must be the promised land is further west
but i couldn't swim that far
mary across the ocean
loving you with deep devotion
i've made a task reduction
wanting you my only function
so, i set off searching for the golden fleece
a destiny i could visualize 'pon
trade the mundane here for the romantic there
waiting just to the south of the horizon
i drove all day for mexico
but i broke down in texas north of el paso
left my vision of sleeping on the foreign soil
'cause i couldn't walk that far
mary across the border
left me here in deep disorder
i've made a task reduction
finding you my only function
tried to catch that dream
we never will
'cause these legs weren't made for standing still
old sisyphus; he laid the rule
we claw and strive
but we never arrive
if we did, we'd keep on going by
i've spent half of my life just trying to turn your head
from high school on to pushing thirty
the music's fine, but as i sell myself
it only leaves me feeling dirty
the truth of the matter is life's not half bad
still, we dream of experiences we've never had
i'd run through the pasture rolling thick and green
if that fence didn't climb so high
mary across the border
left me here in deep disorder
i've made a task reduction
finding you my only function
mary across the ocean
loving you with deep devotion
i've made a task reduction
wanting you my only function
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9. |
Mouthful of Air
03:44
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Deeper and deeper I go
Your heart is drowning I know
All my intentions are clear
I need to rescue my dear
So I dive, don't despair
Coming down, with a mouthful of air
To share
To share
To swim with the shell fish
I wish
To suck with the sea queen
I wish
Mussels and coral are here
I need to rescue my dear
So I dive, don't despair
In the gloom, just assume that I care
Coming down, with a mouthful of air
To share
To share
I'll feed you much better
I'll feed you much better
Oh ...
Coming down
Ooh ...
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10. |
Songwork
03:36
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Am I learning
patience? Is my spirit restored?
Do I listen
to the beggar or the woman in the door?
Aces and eights
We cry at the gates
Remembering hate
The wild and the waiting child
Night of nights
Sight of sights
Among the hidden
The rhymes and the stories remain
Spending three years
Alternately blocked and drained
Workers in song
We noticed so long a-
go, Tarry on
The weary are strong
So strong
Light of lights
Fight of fights
Crime and pain,
love and liberty, wind, rain,
politics and greed, Her face
stained with sorrow
Songwork chase,
beg and borrow
Write something down
Write it down now
Dylan and Cohen
Van Zandt (Townes)
Cry baby cry
You know more than I
A wink and a sigh
A wink and a sigh
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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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