Get all 16 Cuchulain releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Minute To Win It, One Candy Bar, Antidepressants, New Year, New You, My Dog, That's Right, I'm Millennial!, Sing In The Shower, Overture (A Beginning Song), and 8 more.
1. |
Pal of Mine
04:19
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My hair is thinning out
My back it bends like a big old question mark
I got aches in places that I didn't know I had
So many faces are asking a medley of strange and different things of me
Never wanted peace and quiet oh so bad
But the doctors orders said
That I should take instead
A plane or train up the Shenandoah valley
A one way ticket to a soul on the mend
A token of time, some rhythm and rhyme,
A well known voice, a pal of mine
My friend
It's good to see you again
My lady says I been talking in my sleep
My momma says I should buy that girl a ring
My daddy asks how I plan to make my money
And I need an answer for everything
But an hour spent with you
Will help me push on through
Like a plane or train up the Shenandoah valley
A one way ticket to a soul on the mend
A token of time, some rhythm and rhyme,
A well known voice, a pal of mine
My friend
It's good to see you again
Think back
Do you remember us
In that dusty old pool hall
With nothing but time and pitcher of beer
You asked what would I do
With a million dollars
The answer then
Wasn't quite so clear
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2. |
Torn in Two
04:47
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I’m a freshly broken heart
A stolen piece of art
The veil above the ark
I’m torn in two
I’m a baby’s muffled plea
For Solomon’s mercy
Two mothers can’t agree
I’m torn in two
To
Be torn in two
Different directions you
Choose
What to lose
Mm, when you’re torn in two
I’m a world forced to see
A city on its knees
The bullets in the breeze
I’m torn in two
I’m a country just before
A violent civil war
I’ve been more
Torn in two
I’m a sinner and his cross
A lover long lost
You accidentally cross
Is torn in two
I’m forest full of trees
That stands in between
A man and his dreams
I’m torn in two
When politicians buy
The crowds with their lies
It comes as no surprise
We’re torn in two
They bark like auctioneers
Bring the land to tears
They’re only selling fear
We’re torn in two
My friends can’t you see
This time there’s urgency
We very well may be
Torn in two
Come and stand your ground
Life your voice’s sound
Otherwise be found
Torn in two
Are you
Torn in two
Different directions too?
Cause if you
Are torn in two
You know
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3. |
Liberated
04:42
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There's something about the way she flips her hair
It's as if she doesn't need a man to tell her what to do or when to be where
Her wit is sharp, her jeans, a little bit faded
Sheeeeeee's liberated
It drives me wild
When she smiles
In spite of the patriarchy holding her down
I go crazy
When she's lazy
There ain't no one gonna boss her around
She's a hottie
With a body
That won't be governed by the law of the land
She's a woman
Got me moving
She'll be choosing
Revolution
Ain't got time for parenthood that isn't planned
There's something about the way she writes her checks
It's as if she doesn't need wage discrimination, stacking her deck
The ceiling’s glass and the boys are overrated
She is liberated
Wait a minute!
You say she’s taking this way too far
You say she's “one step over the line”
Well maybe one step over the line
Is 7 cents on the dime
Is two steps further behind
Where she needs to be…
There's something about the way she sings in key
It's as if she hasn’t been oppressed for years and years by subtle misogyny
When she says that things are complicated
You can tell that
She is liberated
She’s liberated
She’s liberated
She’s liberated
She’s liberated
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4. |
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We hate this here small town
But we love it too
It don’t got what the city’s got
But it won’t make you so blue
There’re potholes in the streets
And sneakers on the lines
And if you come to the dollar show
I guess you can be mine
I don’t mind if you cry at the movies
I been getting a little teary-eyed myself
And I don’t mind if you dip your French fries in my smoothie
Why don’t you take that old dress of yours off the shelf?
We’ll sneak into the roller rink
And dance by ourselves
You’ve got your momma’s charm
And a bit of her neurosis
Let’s hope I get my daddy’s farm
And not his halitosis
He gave me his hairline
And punctuality
But if all that got me you
I guess that’s fine by me
Shadows growing long
Across vacant lots
Streetlamps start to flicker on
Over trucks on cinderblocks
Will you come to hate my flaws,
Will you find that I’m too vain?
I’m made of where I come from
That’s as clear as rain
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5. |
In My House
04:42
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I went to a preacher man, told him God was a lie
He said ain't you ever prayed and I said no, but I'll give it a try:
Father Father, leave me be, don't you proselytize
He said if you're gonna blaspheme, son, you better look me in the eye
And he said,
We don't talk like that in my house, no siree
We don't talk like that in my house, no siree
Say what you want on the street, but when you cross my door
We don't talk like that in my house, that's for sure
A fascist came to me and said Kookadooks you better run
The law is on my side and what's more, I've got a gun
I said put that think down, take a breath, cuz when all's said and done
History is watching and the truth cannot be outgunned
And I said
We don't talk like that in my house, no siree
We don't talk like that in my house, no siree
Say what you want on the street, but when you cross my door
We don't talk like that in my house, that's for sure
Donny said to Steve, buddy what do you see (what do you see Steve?!)
Steve said I see a land in danger and a country in misery
Law and order is what we need, we got bad hombres galore
But Donny couldn't hear because an angry crowd was breaking down his door
And they shouted
We don't talk like that in my house, no siree
We don't talk like that in my house, no siree
Say what you want on the street, but when you cross my door
We don't talk like that in my house, that's for sure
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6. |
Loveliest Girl
02:37
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Sometimes you fart
Sometimes you snore
Sometimes you get so drunk that you roll around the floor
Sometimes you trip
On your own shoelace
Sometimes you're right
And other times you make mistakes
But that's ok
You're just like me
And there's no other way I'd rather you be
So don't you change
A gosh darn thing
Cuz you're the loveliest girl I've ever seen
Sometimes you're hot
Sometimes you're cold
Sometimes you act just like you're eighty years old
Sometimes you dance
Like you just don't care
Sometimes I wish I didn't have to fold all your underwear
But I got you
And you got me
And there's no other way I'd rather you be
So don't you change
A gosh darn thing
Cuz you're the loveliest girl I've ever seen
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7. |
Pal of Mine (Reprise)
02:13
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There's a man on the TV screen says he's coming after me
He says up is down and freedom won't be free
Better get out now while you can, believe me
Cause when the boss hits town, nobody's gonna leave
Together we might find a little piece of mind
Like a plane or train up the Shenandoah valley
A one way ticket to a soul on the mend
A token of time, some rhythm and rhyme,
A well known voice, a pal of mine
My friend it's good to see you again
My friend it's good to see you again
My friend it's good to see you again
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8. |
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Don't threaten our bodies
Don't threaten our friends
When you threaten our bodies
We will fight 'til it ends
Don't threaten our bodies
Don't threaten our friends
When you threaten our bodies
We will fight 'til it ends
Set your dogs upon us
Set fire to our door
Set yourself for resistance
We'll be silent no more
RAFAEL:
Yeah see, not to rattle on but
It's funny to go watch one construct the worldview
That shows through all they conduct words and actions employed
To keep black death null and void
And it's got me so annoyed
So spare me the words and the pretense
Through your inference
On my defense to such offense
Nonsense
No I'm not tryna hear it
You're aiming at the body and you're talking in the spirit
So regardless of what was done was even what one meant to do
Thought of in advance or intended to
Whether liminal subliminal implicit or explicit literal
Experience is visceral and physical
Having me weighed down
Cause when I laid down the thought
It got brushed off and played down
Am I the threat, no I'm just threatened
Some see a black body and they see a weapon
Don't threaten our bodies
Don't threaten our friends
When you threaten our bodies
We will fight 'til it ends
Sow your seeds of hatred
Fear what you don't know
Hold your anger sacred
You're gonna reap what you sow
PARABELLUM RAPS:
Yeah, most times the needle on my 45 does help me to cope
Cuz 45's policies are soaked in the blood of my folks
Tightening the noose they wrapped around black America's throats
Praising police who aren't police for the victims they smoked
Naming our streets after African American leaders
Same targets you assassinated, their bodies revoked
I'm Ta-Nehisi Coates, Marvel's new Black Panther
They asking how sway, you ain't got all the answers
Plus no vibranium to shield you from the onslaught
Of the privileged alt rights-in-training who've been brainwashed
Racial systemic Republican epidemic supremacist white oppression
Enforcing you by a court of law
Threatening my physical existence is to threaten
My history and ancestral heritages that I'm reppin
So screw all of your weapons
You spat and verbalize rallying lies of prejudice so hate could normalize
My president was black, now replaced by a racist
I need a 44 on back of the jacket I race with
"Si vis pacem, para bellum" my name and movement
Fightin for freedom same way I fight for music on my body
Don't threaten our bodies
Don't threaten our friends
When you threaten our bodies
We will fight 'til it ends
Sow your seeds of hatred
Fear what you don't know
Hold your anger sacred
You're gonna reap what you sow
We'll sing songs of freedom (sing about Martin, sing about caring)
We'll sing songs of peace (sing about peace, all around the world)
We'll join arms against you (sing about Martin, sing about loving)
From the west to the east (sing about peace, all around the world)
Don't threaten our bodies
Don't threaten our friends
When you threaten our bodies
We will fight 'til it ends
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9. |
Bird Sings / Cut Stings
03:38
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I hope you're well
Can you still tell winners from losers
Can you still pick truth from lies
I'd be surprised
If that had changed
I hope you're still running
Like the world is coming to get you
It sure will keep you thin to
Never settle down
This is the sound of me digging up your memory
And it's the most peculiar thing
Cuz you can tell the time and weather
But you can't tell a bird not to sing
No you can't tell a bird not to sing
I hope you're still pretty
From what I see online
The slow parade of lines
Have yet to march across your face
I hope you stopped cutting
I hope you've stopped turning something to nothing
I still see your marks on the thighs
Of every woman
I've ever loved
This is the sound of me digging up your memory
And it's the most peculiar thing
Cuz you can tell the time and weather
But can't tell a cut not to sing
No can't tell a cut not to sing
This is the sound of me digging up your memory
And it's the most peculiar thing
Cuz you can tell the time and weather
But you can't tell a bird not to sing
And you can't tell a cut not to sting
No you can’t tell a cut not to sting
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10. |
Permanent
03:33
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Ain't it strange
How some things go and others stay
The sun gets taken out and put back every day
All your loved ones fade to grey
Wouldn't you say
How it’s strange
How all your friends change
I swear I’ve stayed exactly the same
I'm a butterfly pinned to the wall
One pull and my formaldehyde world begins to fall
All I’m looking for is
Something permanent
Goddamn give me just
One thing permanent
Well I'm shaken and I'm out of sorts
Sorting photographs and past lives
You didn't notice
I was getting brought down to size
I changed
You were changing too
Color me another kind of blue
All I’m looking for is
Something permanent
Goddamn give me just
One thing permanent
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11. |
Take It Slow, Lisa
04:07
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You know I've never been that good at crying
But then I've never been so wrong
I'm not saying that I'm giving up on trying
All I'm saying is I'm gonna need
A long long time
Sure I'm worried about the future of my country
And I'm worried about my mind
Those tremors mean that people are hungry
Those tremors mean we're gonna need a long long time
Take it slow, Lisa, take it slow
You don't have to know where to go
Find your place and take your time
Someday we'll be fine
Hold fast to your ever-loving dreams
Lift your voices loud in song
A day will come for truth and progress
Even if it takes us a long long time
Take it slow, Lisa, take it slow
You don't have to know where to go
Find your place and take your time
Someday we'll be fine
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12. |
Garden Song
04:32
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Tomatoes out front
Parsley in the back
Your hand in mine
Nothing I lack
Ain’t it something to watch
A garden and a love grow
Peaches in June
Apples in the fall
How long’s it been
Babe, I can’t recall
Ain’t it something to watch
A Garden and a love grow
Life has a way of pulling apart
I can never tell the ending from the start
When we’re far away and older, it’ll break my heart
So come on, plant this garden with me
The years are short
The days are long
I don't mind
How it's come along
Ain't it something to watch
A garden and a love grow
Wilted at times
Now in bloom
Come inside
I've made some room
Ain't it something to watch
A garden and a love grow
I wake up to watch the light come to your eyes
My life has never had such a lovely reprise
Seems like I don't even have to try
Come on over
Plant this garden with me
At the risk of sounding too trite
I have never been so sure in my life
So many people are just getting by
So come on over
Plant this garden with me
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Cuchulain Eugene, Oregon
Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist born in the Carolinas, based in Oregon. Described as "fresh and clean" by NPR Music. Sometimes compared to Randy Newman, John Prine, Johnny Cash. His visual album of 60-second songs Minute to Win It comes out 11/3. ... more
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