Get all 11 Migrant Birds releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of My Honest Face — Deluxe Edition, Eveline, Stonewall // Asherah, The Debt, Winters Like These, Feel It All, Lay It Down, Shade Grown, and 3 more.
1. |
Dumpsters Only
04:28
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Well my heels they kick up the dust
But it’s better than sitting collecting rust
I’d stay, but I go where I must
Yeah, my heels they just kick up the dust
And there ain’t no way to see which way I’ve come
Just like there ain’t no way to see the things I’ve done
And the dust it clogs my brain till I can’t tell 10 from 1
And there ain’t no way to see the things I’ve done
Just like there ain’t no way to see which way I’ve come
Well I set out so humble and lowly
And I see what the world wants to show me
Well they see me and they pity me, so lowly
Yeah a friend to drifters, chumps, and dumpsters only
Well I walk until I, I can’t feel my feet no more
And I like to see what falls when I slam the door
I see my feet so worn there, while my boots lie on the floor
And there ain’t any home anymore
Yeah no place feels like home much anymore
Well I’m just a chameleon and liar
A quick pickpocket and a counterfeit buyer
But if I got the chance to walk that road I’d try her
Till these dreams are eaten up by moth and fire
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2. |
Eveline
04:58
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Were you lonesome, Eveline?
Was the dark just as dark as it had seemed?
As you lay beneath the leaves, oh, Eveline
And were you angry, Eveline?
Did you weep for all the things that could've been?
For the past and loves unseen
Oh, Eveline, I weep for thee
For the trail was a chameleon and it hid itself from thee
Doomed to wander in the wild, there among the bird and beast
Fate is but a fickle judge and chance a cruel jury
A sentence handed down that left you buried among the weeds
And was it hopeless, Eveline?
As you stretched your arm as high as you could reach
But your calls never received and the world bereaved
And did you rage among the trees?
That forest cage you could not break, you could not breach
That bound you to the deep, that forest deep
And did you wander, Eveline?
Among the stones, among the towering cedars green
Or did you wait, e'er listening?
That saving call never to ring
And did you wonder, Eveline?
Did you rack your brains for answers, for a key?
Or did you surrender, Eveline?
To the monsters of the fates that you had seen
No rescue, no relief
Oh, Eveline, I weep for thee
Were you lonesome?
Are you out there?
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3. |
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Where was I? Where was I?
When the streets of Barcelona cried?
They didn’t need my gun that day
Yeah, the unions sent ‘em packing anyway
I was down in Tarragona
But I should’ve been in Barcelona
My mother cried as I packed my bags
With García Lorca and a few old rags
We were heading down to the front
Oh what more could a poor boy want?
I took the train from Catalonia
Just to defend my Barcelona
Well Franco couldn’t match our grit
I slept in my fair share of pits
But I wore my colors with honor and pride
In Aragon on the people’s side
I am a man of Catalonia
But I should’ve been in Barcelona
May Days came with great disgust
Yeah the summer brought the worst of us
As we lost sight of our enemies
My city, man, it needed me
I was on the front in Zaragoza
When I should’ve been in Barcelona
With my mother
And my brothers
Taking rest not taking cover
What good is shooting at each other?
What good is hating one another?
The arc of history, it may be long
Plagued by war and death and wrong
But I believe that it will bend towards right
And even if I don’t last the night
I’ll be glad that I had shown up
Just to defend my Barcelona
But I should’ve been in Barcelona
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4. |
Stonewall // Asherah
03:37
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Daddy is a’gone to Lexington
to kiss the ground where Jackson’s laid
Crawling on his hands and his knees,
His head bowed with a holy weight
Daddy is a’gone to Chancellorsville
To pray where Jackson fell
The stones built a monument
his glory to retell
We beat the horse til it was gone
Then set it all in glass
John Brown is mouldering in the grave
Enwreathed in golden grass
Daddy is a’gone to Appomattox
To mourn the rebel flag
And cry for the Carolina boys
He’ll be right there ‘til Lee’s return
His heels dug in ‘til Lee’s return
Stonewall
We beat the horse til it was gone
Then set it all in glass
John Brown is mouldering in the grave
Enwreathed in golden grass
We beat the horse til it was gone
Then set it all in glass
Is this all my inheritance,
To stand and wave the flag?
Asherah, Asherah
We tear our fathers idols down
Asherah, Asherah
Their mouths of stone made not a sound
Gideon, come wring out the fleece
And streams of something living find.
Tear the idols from the shelves
Their smoke and flame to light the night
Asherah, Asherah
We tear our fathers idols down
Asherah, Asherah
Their mouths of stone made not a sound
All leveled at the threshing ground
We tear our fathers idols down
Asherah, Asherah
Asherah, Asherah, we tear them down
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5. |
The Debt
03:27
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Moonlight cobble stones,
used to wander alone
down the old forgotten road
to give back what I owed.
A bag of shiny stones,
and a not-yet-wilted rose,
a stack of books tied with a bow
I laid above your bones.
Widow-maker fist,
we used to live in bliss,
but swing like iron and cut like bricks
death’s sweet bare knuckle kiss
Next come: forty years in stripes
the price paid for a life
to an orphan boy with big bright eyes
that cut me like a knife.
Now death whispers sweet,
“Come, boy, rest your feet.
and have yourself a bite to eat,
these errors ne'er to repeat."
Oh, lift me from this skin!
The life I languish in,
oh, God, let me begin again
I swear not to offend
But now my temper’s chilled,
my penitence fulfilled,
searching here at the grave of the man I killed
for the courage to rebuild
Down the moonlight cobblestones
where we used to wander alone
down the old forgotten road
to give back what I owed
Yeah, down the old forgotten road
I gave back what I owed
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6. |
My Evil Is at an End
03:43
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I lay by the river
No way to hide what I had done
I lay by the river
My hatred all undone
Yeah my hatred all undone
The work of my hands
Is a bitter crime
The work of my hands
Will catch up to me in time
Will catch up to me in time
I have laid in wait for my enemies
Like a fox waits for a hen
But I am laying down all the hate in me
Cause my evil’s at an end
Yeah my evil’s at an end
I let go of my gun
And I watched it sink into the sand
I let go of my gun
Cause at last I understand
Yeah at last I understand
That death brings no justice
Yeah hate is its own reward
And so there by the banks of the Ebro
I beat a plowshare from my sword
Beat a plowshare from my sword
I have laid in wait for my enemies
Like a fox waits for a hen
But I know not what for
I’ll make war now more
For my evil’s at an end
Yeah my evil’s at an end
Oh, my evil’s at an end
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7. |
Ghostwriter
03:55
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I have written for prophets and I have written for kings
I have written of battles and marvels and every monotonous thing
I have written for despots and I have written for thieves
But when my day comes, who will speak for me?
Yeah when my day comes, who will speak for me?
I have chronicled daydreams and I have chronicled seeds
And I have written ten thousand books that no one ever reads
I have chronicled man and his countless evil deeds
But when my day comes, who will speak for me?
Yeah when my number’s called, who will speak for me?
My name is no one and I’ll write your woe
Or your joy or your triumph or the evil of your foe
And you can write your name on the cover but still I know
That one day soon I will reap just what I sow
When the ink dries, I will reap just what I sow
But when my day comes, who will speak for me?
Yeah when my day comes, who will speak for me?
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8. |
Winter Wither
04:26
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The years have been rolling
Past my window in the night
With the whistle of the train running by.
The dogs have been howling
At your ghost upon the door.
Ain’t no whiskey in my cabinets anymore.
Ain’t no whiskey in my cabinets anymore.
Long years I’ve been waiting.
All my hair has turned to gray.
All the colors in my life fade away.
Now you come to find me.
What is it you’re looking for?
Ain’t no whiskey in my cabinets anymore.
Ain’t no whiskey in my cabinets anymore.
So if you’re searching, keep on looking
Shadows wane but I’m still here
The years have eaten to my marrow
Silence swept away my fear
Silence swept away
Silence swept away my fear.
The snow has been falling.
And the world is getting cold.
In every corner, I’m confronted by a ghost.
I’d give you this sorrow
Could you take anything more?
Ain’t no whiskey in my cabinets anymore
Ain’t no whiskey in my cabinets anymore
I took your old shotgun
And I hung it on the wall.
These days I ain’t scared of nothing much at all.
I took your old shovel
And put it to the forest floor.
Ain’t no whiskey in my cabinets anymore.
Ain’t no whiskey in my cabinets anymore.
So if you’re searching, keep on looking.
Shadows wane but I’m still here.
The years have eaten to my marrow.
Silence swept away my fear.
Silence swept away
Silence swept away my fear.
Your shovel dug a pit,
Six inches at a time
While I burned a flame to thaw the frozen mire.
Your shotgun was silent
Staring out the open door
When I laid your memory in the forest floor.
Ain’t no whiskey in my cabinets
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9. |
Susie in Uniform
04:06
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Susie in uniform
from her shift down by the pier
now allows her feet to steer
Susie in uniform
steps up on the metal rail
the river makes a crooked trail
Susie in uniform
she would do Ophelia proud
nothing big and nothing loud
covered by the lingering shroud
one less face among the crowd down below
Susie, since she was born
with the monster in the mirror
haunts her steps down by the pier
Susie, oh so forlorn
red upon the shower floor
still the monster wanting more
Woozy and weary worn
by the pieces in the bag
makes it so hard not to drag
Susie in uniform
feels the tug of gravity
not the weight of tragedy
Bluesy and bitter born
It’s been a year since she could sleep
counting days not counting sheep
now the smiles don’t come so cheap
crooked river, not as deep as it would seem
Susie, step on down, step on down, step on down
Susie, step on down, step on down, step on down
Step on down, step on down, step on down
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10. |
Bullet in a Chamber
05:03
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I never dreamt of being more than a carnival jester
So it was such a simple gesture when I beckoned you in
You were lost upon my stoop and you took me for some simple dupe,
baited for a con that you had waiting up your sleeve
But I was not too dim to see your lack of common courtesy,
of scruples, and of honesty, and a fitting better half
And what a perfect pair we made picking pockets and hopping trains,
Yeah we loaded dice and stacked the deck from here to Santa Fe
Your sticky hands, my honest face got the better of the human race,
yeah we rode our haul from place to place like a broken Cadillac
And to think that all that robbing fuss, well it wasn't what caught up to us,
but the silent alarm within my chest that tripped each time we touched
Yeah whatever Bonnie saw in Clyde I hoped that you would feel inside
to be my lovely, thieving bride on one never-ending con
But mixing pleasure, crime, and a knife was not how you foresaw your life,
yeah you'd rather be alone than wife to me or any man
So I did not put up a fight when you stole a way one quiet night,
but you left my wallet in plain sight, well I'd almost call that love
And as I hitched my way across the plain, well the thought of you, it still remained,
like a bullet in a chamber that never got to fire
So now I wait back at home for you to knock or write or phone,
and I watch the news each night alone, but I've never seen you caught
And if one day you face the chair, just know that I'll be waiting there
to hold your hand and stroke your hair till the last beat of your heart
I never dreamt of being more than a carnival jester,
but as the memories fade and fester, I know I have been in the lion's den,
I've been buried whole and dug up again, I've been a partner and a lover and a friend
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11. |
Anticipation
01:35
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I can’t wait for that, wait for that
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12. |
Sweet Peas
03:12
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Twenty-five years I’ve spent in waiting
Slow and patient making roots
For a day when light comes breaking
Life’s sweet roses come to bloom
And I while the time down in my garden
Pulling weeds and trimming vines
Scraping deep to turn the soil
Hum a tune to pass the time like
Da dee di dum da dee di da dum dee di da dum dee di dum
Da dee di da dum dee di da dee di da dum dee di dum
Your morning came to thaw the soil
blossoms turning to the light
Golden sunshine in your eyes
I feel my heartbeat come to life
So I cast the seeds into the furrows
Wait to hear the kettle sing
Sweep the porch and smell the rain
Hear the crickets fiddling like
Now the sweet peas are climbing shoulder high
We’ll lose the time your hand in mine
This house was gray till I learned to see
You painted it so warm and green
Now it’s green in summer, gold in fall,
White in winter, pink in spring
And all the colors of the garden
Echo on the song we sing
Da dee di dum da dee di da dum dee di da dum dee di dum
Da dee di da dum dee di da dee di da dum dee di dum
Dee di da dum dee di dum
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13. |
The Family's Man
03:49
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I am a mountain
And I’ll plant an orchard at my feet
At our feet
Drink from the fountain
And there’ll be no thing that you could need
Oh you’ll see
Watch me build it, watch me plant this seed
Mmm
I’ll build this nursery
And it will sustain you every day in every way
And one day you’ll tend it
And you’ll turn the soil with your hand
As the family man
Come and feel the roots become your feet
Mmm
The dynasty, the dynasty
Make the crown of the dynasty
The dynasty, the dynasty
Wear the crown of the dynasty
I am a dreamer
The city glitters in my mind
But it’s left behind
For this soil raised me
So I will bury memories of my ivories
I’ll pay my debt and now I’ll turn the dirt
To prove my worth
The dynasty, the dynasty
Take the crown of the dynasty, the dynasty
The ache, the crown of the dynasty
The dynasty, the dynasty
Fake the crown of the dynasty
I am the only son
And I’ll count the seconds as they fly
Or trickle by
And I am the lonely one
And this dirt has cracked and withered dry
And so have I
I’ve lost a half a decade to this dirt,
Oh I’ve poured all of my joy onto this dirt,
Oh I’ve given up my family to this dirt,
But I’ll break the curse
The dynasty, the dynasty,
Take the crown of the dynasty, the dynasty
The ache, the weight of the dynasty,
The dynasty, shake the chain of the dynasty
The dynasty, the dynasty
Shake the crown of the dynasty
The dynasty, break the crown of the dynasty
The dynasty, shake the chain of the dynasty
The dynasty, break the crown of the dynasty
The dynasty, break down the dynasty
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14. |
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Susie in uniform
from her shift down by the pier
now allows her feet to steer
Susie in uniform
steps up on the metal rail
the river makes a crooked trail
Susie in uniform
she would do Ophelia proud
nothing big and nothing loud
covered by the lingering shroud
one less face among the crowd down below
Susie, since she was born
with the monster in the mirror
haunts her steps down by the pier
Susie, oh so forlorn
red upon the shower floor
still the monster wanting more
Woozy and weary worn
by the pieces in the bag
makes it so hard not to drag
Susie in uniform
feels the tug of gravity
not the weight of tragedy
Bluesy and bitter born
It’s been a year since she could sleep
counting days not counting sheep
now the smiles don’t come so cheap
crooked river, not as deep as it would seem
Susie, step on down, step on down, step on down
Susie, step on down, step on down, step on down
Step on down, step on down, step on down
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15. |
The Mountains of Spain
02:39
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If I could swim the channel and pass through the hills
I’d become a soldier and fight the world’s ills
I’d raise up my rifle and I’d fire o’er the plain
And I’d beat back the beast from the mountains of Spain
I’d lift my hand to rid the world of tyranny and pain
Or I’d die and leave my body in the mountains of Spain
I’d brandish my weapon and I’d fly the colors high
And I’d lead on my brothers with a great battle cry
And I’d rescue the workers and the farmers of the grain
From the tip of Gibraltar to the mountains of Spain
I’d lift my hand to rid the world of tyranny and pain
Or I’d die and leave my body in the mountains of Spain
In the end when all had faded and the world had been won
And the beast would lie defeated in the bright morning sun
I’d tear off a lock from the beast’s wilted mane
And I’d carry it with me from the mountains of Spain
I’d lift my hand to rid the world of tyranny and pain
Or I’d die and leave my body in the mountains of Spain
And the air would breathe easy for all who remain
And the flowers would grow sweet o’er me in the mountains of Spain
Yes the flowers would grow sweeter in the mountains of Spain
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Migrant Birds Winston Salem, North Carolina
Migrant Birds is an indie folk band from Winston-Salem, NC. Their debut album My Honest Face was released on September 29.
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