Get all 11 Bottle Of Sound releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Moon (Full Album2023), The Moon (single), Everybody Came Home - Mudfrog Version, POPPY, Cast Round, The Fire's Fine, Bottle Of Sound 2, Sodapopcookbook, and 3 more.
1. |
Big Ocean
02:03
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Big Ocean
©2008 Ken Bewick
I never took a thing from you
You never took a thing from me
We sat still for an afternoon
Sat while the big ocean breathed
Sat until the water changed
From lapping at our feet to at our knees
While six o’clock was ringing out the day
And all the while we whistled with the breeze
Round and round the story goes, slumber down my little one,
If you never make a sound who will dance for me?
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2. |
Off On Our Own
03:34
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Off On Our Own
©2008 Ken Bewick
She comes home while he’s making the brew
He’s tried and tiring and she’s been there too
Forget the time that you wasted with stone
And we’re off on our own
In this garden we grow
They’re hangin’ round doing the day after day
They’re talkin’ lots, but they’ve got nothin’ to say
Forget the doubt that you learned from stone
And we’re off on our own
In this garden we grow
I was scanning the room
Saw a girl on a freeway bridge
And the child she held suddenly was
The child that fell suddenly
In this garden we grow suddenly
And it’s not just the flowers we see
I was running when I let it go
It left me weightless and I floated away
Then I landed at the feet of the lord
And I want just to say he is not to be found in machines
Nor in the grey of our streets
And we’re off on on our own
In this garden we grow
I know about you things I cannot hide
When you are older you’ll be a little more wise
But we may not have the time to decide
And we’re off on a ride and it’s beautiful outside
But there’s turmoil inside
And that’s how the violence gets outside
And that’s why people leap through the sky
And we’re off on our own
In this garden we grow
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3. |
Wouldn't Let Ya Down
03:02
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I Wouldn’t Let You Down
©2008 Ken Bewick
First there was a big house, then there was a boulevard
Sat five in a row one day dreaming of parking cars
The mountains reached the sky-high moon and shot it down with wings
How can I look you in the eye when I haven’t yet learned to sing
Then there was a fire, next came a ramblin’ flood
Took the parked cars under the sea and then came a river of mud
Well the mountains scraped the heavens raw and lost their caps in spring
How can I look you in the eye when I haven’t even learned to sing
Will the mountains tell the story of my days
Let the moon sing a song of our troubles tonight
The freeways vibrate in delight
Us poor folks here all walking around
I’m still confused, I wouldn’t let you down
Please won’t you let me come over now, it’s hard to come alone
Sat five in a row my boys dreaming of a telephone
Well the mountains rained in winter snow and stifled all my dreams
How can I look you in the eye when you haven’t even heard me sing
Next came the medicine tray, a doctor in his gown
Made a mint on the money I’d spent then he went back underground
The mountains shook in my storybook and that screwed up everything
How can I look you in the eye when you haven’t even heard me sing
Will the mountains tell the story of my days
Let the moon sing her song of our troubles tonight
The freeways vibrate in delight
Us poor folks here all walking around
I’m so confused, I wouldn’t let you down
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4. |
Kick Out The Dust
04:56
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Kick Out The Dust
©2008 Ken Bewick
I’m not in love with the things you do
But I’m hopelessly in love with you
I’m not impressed with your claim to shame
But I’m helplessly engulfed in your flame
May the world inside put grace on you
Amplify the things you do
May you speak for something higher, too
Kick out the dust, shake off the dew
The night is full, there’s wolves about,
The moon is gone and your fire’s out
I am not moved by the prayers you read
But I’m captivated with what you said
I don’t believe in the chosen few
But I hope that they take pity on you
May the world inside put grace on you
Turn a blind eye to what you do
May you speak for something higher, too
Kick out the dust, shake off the dew
The night is full, the moon is out
Your fire’s gone and there’s wolves about
And I’m not scared of the stadium roar
The martyr locked in the lion’s jaw
I’m not impressed by the uniform
But the flesh and blood by whom it’s worn
May the world inside put love on you
And tie some beauty to what you do
May you speak for something higher, too
Kick out the dust, shake off the dew
The night is full, there’s wolves about
The moon is gone and your fire’s out
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5. |
Rose Of The Summer
05:29
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Rose Of The Summer
©2008 Ken Bewick
When I was a boy I didn’t know nothin’
I took love wherever I found it
In the fields of my county
I trespassed and tramped and came home when the dinnerbell sounded
As I got older and found myself growin’
I took care not to fall to the wrong side
But try as I did, ended up on the road
Spent five years taking a long ride
The Rose of the Summer is sweet and serene
More beautiful visions I never have seen
Through the highways and byways I rode to the end
The Rose of the Summer was my only friend
I went down the east coast, and into the south
I didn’t have nothin’, and I was proud of it
Was there I met Rose, but our friendship was doomed
‘Cause her father just wouldn’t allow it
My Rose was a you girl, just barely sixteen
And I was already past twenty
But our difference in years somehow faded away
With every long letter she sent me
( CHORUS )
Down by the river we swam in the pools
White in the water we floated
Like a beautiful blossom her skin shone like jewels
And her cheeks were the color of roses
We both knew that soon I would have to move on
And leave her at home with her family
She promised to write me when I’d settled down
Though I wandered the countryside sadly
( CHORUS )
So now I’m up north, I’ve been here awhile
I needed a job and I found it
My lost dreams of her as sharp as a thorn
But tempered by the roses around it
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6. |
Goin' Down To Hollywood
04:27
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Going Down To Hollywood
©2008 Ken Bewick
I’m going down to Hollywood to walk those faded stars
I’m going down to L.A town in my old country car
Saw an ad the other day of cold beers in the sun
I’m going down to Hollywood, yeah that’s where I belong
I’m going down to Hollywood and then I’ll hit the strand
Drive down Venice boulevard in my old country van
Stars are rising right and left, it only takes one song
I’m going down to Hollywood, yeah that’s where I belong
I’m gonna get my face put on a stamp before I’m dead
A legend beyond Elvis, and a dream in every head
Then I’ll become reclusive, a drunkard every night
I’m going down to Hollywood to see my name in lights
I’m going down to Hollywood, yeah I’ll blow this hippy tow
To breath the money-scented air and drag my name around
A butler for my afternoons, a maid from dusk ‘till dawn
I’m going down to Hollywood, yeah that’s where I belong
I’m going down to Hollywood, it’s shining in the sun
I’ll drive right into Hollywood on highway 101
I’ll by myself a new guitar, a car, and twenty blondes
I’m going down to Hollywood, yeah that’s where I belong
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7. |
Cap Came Home
03:36
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Cap Came Home
©2008 Ken Bewick
Cap came home after being gone in an old coat that he’d found
A chilly wind had shut the city down and we had nowhere left to stand
Well it’s quaint here,
I recognize it from the photographs
Say so long ‘cause he’ll be gone before the sweat has dried from our palms
Cap came home after being gone
Cap got out and shook my hand
Brought a chest the size of Buffalo
I thought that New York must be grand
Well it’s quiet now, leaves are blowin’ through the parking lot
Say so long ‘cause he’ll be gone before the sweat has dried from our palms
People like strangeness, and strangers love a train
All of this madness begets another day
But all of the people go away again
It’s always the desert in the end, my friend
Cap came home after being gone with flecks of palm tree in his beard
With purple epaulets and shoulder boards
And all the younger kids look scared
Well it’s great here, I only wish there was something happening
Say so long, ‘cause he’ll be gone before the sweat has dried from our palms.
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8. |
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Daddy Was A Racecar Driver
©2008 Ken Bewick
Daddy was a racecar driver mommy was a singing star. Left me frozen TV dinners and the keys to mommy’s car. They went off to Las Vegas town where they’d planned a show on ice. Then the H Bomb hit Las Vegas, and mom and dad were vaporized.
So I took the family Volvo, packed a cooler full of juice, flushed the goldfish down the toilet, turned the family dachshund loose. I drove out to Las Vegas town (which now was just a gaping hole). Found a piece of mommy’s finger, a bit of daddy’s middle toe.
I sold them to an antique dealer who recognized how old they were. With the money bought a sandwich, a bag of chips and a candy bar. Sat on top of the Hoover Dam out in the hot Nevada sun. Ate my lunch and thanked my folks for leaving me their toes and arms.
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9. |
Yesterday's King
02:14
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Yesterday’s King
©2008 Ken Bewick
Snow, bones, the desert rings
Into King’s Lounge drag your things
Circle ‘round the neon haze
And I’ll be remembered as yesterday’s king
Snow, bones, drag your wings
The rain won’t show you anything
The rails and wheels have cut your ties
And I’ll be remembered as yesterday’s king
Chief, have you heard of the great metal farms
They roll east from Los Angeles, west from New York
And tumbleweed Tucson is sleepy no more
Sun-colored mountains and valleys be warned
Snow, bones, we’re in between
In the King’s Lounge drink and sing
Feathered headdress and mountain maze
I’ll be remembered as yesterday’s King
And I wept for the raven behind the cross-wires
Whose sun-glinting eyes so fiercely would sing
Bridges are broken by tokens in trainloads
And I’ll be remembered as yesterday’s king
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10. |
Breathing Grass
02:08
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Breathing Grass
©2008 Ken Bewick
I saw you blow, breathing grass, saw in your shoulders a mountain pass. Your eye’s a bird’s and falling, falling. Still under skies and falling.
And had I disappeared that day, I’d still cherish. Still as the world in it’s sleep, strong in my own tears.
And had you arrived, disfigured by rain, I would have kissed the rain away and wept softly there, instead. Lady, the sun, the wind, the rain, the choking tears for you.
For release and for my hunger, a thousand times again, I wonder.
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11. |
Mary's Coming Back
03:26
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Mary’s Coming Back
©2008 Ken Bewick
In a foreign field ripe in columbine
In a shaded vale steeped in honeyed wine
She’s gone overgrown
She’s gone far away
Mary’s coming back someday
Winds that turned our mills, fields of green and brown
While the maidens wait to wear the May Queen’s crown
Where the wheels rolled tracks of mud remain
Bid a fond farewell
She’ll be back someday
She’s gone overgrown
She’s gone far away
Mary’s coming back someday
Some day the words will sing again
Sunshowers that left us dripping will end
Muted by hills of lavender, we hear her coming round every bend
In the foreign fields ripe with columbine
In a shady vale steeped in honeyed wine
Grasses turn to gold
Petals fall away
Bid a fond farewell
She’ll be back someday
She’s gone overgrown
She’s gone far away
Mary’s coming back someday
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12. |
Echo
04:24
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Echo
©2008 Ken Bewick
Up above a rocky view, across the chasms calling you
Climb upon the cauldron’s throat, granite calved and mountain goat
Once when all the world was water
I emerged a summer thorn…
Higher than you’ve been from home, walk the tree line stark and lone
Lunar blue and Martian red, swept the valleys out ahead
Springtime grew me like a flower
But you and I were ocean borne
Blow the vents, you’ve reached the end
Granite, quartz, obsidian
And though you’ve slipped, your fall is slow
The lake a thousand feet below
Springtime grew me like a flower
I emerged a summer thorn
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Bottle Of Sound Seattle, Washington
The lifelong project of Josh LaBelle and Ken Bewick, joined along the way by the great Johnny Bregar, the Incredible
Michael Enos, and other friends.
Bewick and LaBelle have been recording and playing together for nearly 40 years.
Experiments in folk, indie rock, and whatever sticks to the wall.
Bregar has glued it all together.
... more
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