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vanessa lowe      

57 suspect words - 2004

the mighty prawn 00CM-759


words and music by vanessa lowe

produced by kent sparling


engineered by myles boisen

at guerrilla recording

and kent sparling in his cave

mixed by kent sparling

at skywalker sound

with myles boisen on “your worried mind’,

“darwinian darts”, “thin window” and “ashes of...”

mastered by myles boisen

at the headless buddha

executive producer: austin willacy

design: lisa ekstrom

cover art: kathy greenstein

photography: hannah henry, tim kerns and vanessa lowe

1: sounds like - 2:28


sounds like sounds like

sounds like go go go go

but I’ve no breath

to breathe in out in out in out


it’s always

not always

but often

i wanna i wanna i want 


could a thin man

find a place to be right to be

if he could he might not

be so so so tired


down around the ankles of the trees

i’m holding on like a child

don’t want to drop down for fear of…


at the bottom of the down

down down down

i was listening so hard for

good good good

i can’t help it

you know what i mean, man

it’s a thin sound

i close in on



V Lowe: Resonator Guitars, Vocals

B Freelove: Bass

T Hawkins: Drum Kit

K Sparling: Melodica, Handclaps, Percussion

M Boisen: Electric Guitars




2: bubble - 3:28


like a rocket pushing through the layers, the land the air the sky the trust

i look out through plastic windows at lemonade and cake and cotton balls


i can see the earth is turning like a bubble on its side

up and over thorny roses floating high


my perspective, thread into a cloud, allows the air to be the ocean

happy to be underwater when visiting the sun the sun the sun


i can see…


it’s close enough to be my hand and far enough to show my weakness

i can see the pores in the skin of the tired land on the mountain ranges


raining down like rocks against the road, pushing out the end of the microscope

i’ve forgotten everything i saw, all the jagged cuts in the jigsaw


i can see…


V Lowe: Acoustic Guitar, Vocals

B Freelove: Bass

T Hawkins: Drum Kit

K Sparling: Keyboards, Percussion, Backing Vocals

M Boisen: Electric Guitars

G Madsen: Backing Vocals




3: bug - 3:45


so outdated this method of transportation

endless legwork moving one moving one moving one limb at a time

when with a wave of one hand i could cruise across the ocean

to the world to the world to the world i’m just a freeloading bug


when i creep out i’m not trying to creep you out

i’m traversing a distance as vast as time

so i climb up anything, anyone, any way i find


like a frozen lake or the skin of an orange

dimple like double your pleasure bursting with fragrant as hell

i can hold out for about a minute

‘til the dive ‘til the dive ‘til the dive ‘til the dive of my life


when i creep out…


oh sweet pungence scent of my rapunzel’s hair

i stow away like a tiny prince on the back of an elephant

cross the river, cross the bog down underneath the tree trunks

are my palaces no lath and plaster it’s just a vast earthly joy


when i creep out…


V Lowe: Acoustic Guitar, Vocals

B Freelove: Bass

T Hawkins: Altered Drum Kit

K Sparling: Dr.Cricket, Rhodes Piano, Keyboards, Beatbox, Serge Modules




4: vertigo - 4:23


one precious moment is all i can handle

i have my hands full with the joy i’ve got

and i lose my perspective in the midst of too much happiness

like a tightrope walker with vertigo, the ground below has got a hold on me


while fate’s last temptation is unlikely to be the end of me

i’m sometimes tempted to see the underside of the things that please

but if it’s all the same to you and godliness

i’ll take my chances on the happiness of this


i want to go outside where the cold wind howls and howl right along with it

i want to feel the ground how it used to hold me in my little red outfit

me and the other snow angels


one precious moment is more than i’d hoped for

the only surety is everything will pass

though i was taught to covet only what i don’t need

if i succeed i’ll want everything i have


i want to go outside…


V Lowe: Acoustic Guitar, Vocals

B Freelove: Bass

T Hawkins: Drum Kit

K Sparling: Rhodes Piano, Melodica, Harmonium, Percussion, Backing Vocals

M Boisen: Electric Guitar




5: happy for you - 3:55


you said i don’t want to be here

i asked why did you come then

you said i went for a walk and this is where i arrived


i wondered where you intended to be once you got there

you looked so sad when you answered anywhere but where i go


i tell you hush i know, i know

you ask can i stay a while

it looks so sweet when you step your feet in your shoes


you gotta know what’s the secret to all this sparkle glow

but i never really have seen it this thing that’s making you blind


i tell you hush…


and i’m so happy happy for you

just so happy happy for you

you wish for everything you love and make it come true


you said it’s time to be going i’m late for something big

i’ve got a lot to accomplish, i’ve got a lot to lose


‘cause there’s gold dust right up ahead there and i’m gonna make it mine

if you don’t rocket to it first and blow it all away


i tell you hush…


V Lowe: Acoustic Guitars, Vocals

B Freelove: Bass

T Hawkins: Drum Kit, Hand Drums

K Sparling: Serge Modules, Melodica, Rhodes Piano, Recorder, Song Flute, Percussion

M Boisen: Electric Guitar Objects




6: goodbye – 2:21


V Lowe: Spanish and Acoustic Guitars

B Freelove: Acoustic Bass

T Hawkins: Drum Kit

K Sparling: Rhodes Piano, Percussion, Atmospherics

M Boisen: Electric Guitar




7: dark room - 4:30


i’ve been sitting in a dark room listening to water dripping this tune


if you could take a taste anywhere anytime

would it be as good as craving it for days

i see the sunday light moving across your face

and i want to touch your skin and give you love my love

oh, to give or not to give of yourself


dancing alone can be quite a thrilling thing indeed

i say to each his own now say it back to me

it’s not that i recoil from the warmth of a lover’s arms

it’s just i’m loathe to soil the love you give my darling


oh, to give or not to give of yourself


thought you were awake or i’d have left a note

thought you were asleep or i’d have said i’m going out

to the store for awhile i’ll be back


now that i’m hungry for something i can finally have

you tempt me with its lack, feels kind of good to feel so bad

i’ll take what you can give or hold what you will lend

and then begin to see the light before the end


oh, to give or not to give of yourself


i’ve been sitting in a dark room listening to water dripping this tune


V Lowe: Acoustic Guitar, Vocals

B Freelove: Bass

T Hawkins: Drum Kit

K Sparling: Electric Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Backing Vocals




8: listen closely - 2:45


write me down on a piece of cloth, hold me up and let me slip away

the wind will take me home


push me up on a red see saw, raise me high

so high that i can see the tops of my fears


oh how i miss it, the place where i could see you all

and if i listen closely i never hear you call


set me down on a level plane pull the cord and watch me spin away

out of control


hold me closed with a piece of string make a knot and tie it with a bow

i’ll never come undone


oh how i miss it…


write me down on a piece of cloth, hold me up and let me slip away

the wind will take me home


V Lowe: Acoustic Guitar, Vocals

B Freelove: Bass

T Hawkins: Hand Drums

K Sparling: Atmospherics, Keyboard, Electric Guitar, Shakers




9: out in the longing - 3:29


out in the longing is a place that you know

out in the longing is a place you should go

deep in the fog is a thing that is hidden

don’t trust your eyes you’ll pass by and you’ll miss it


don’t you believe what you see, i said don’t you believe what you see


over the hill is a scent warm and sweet

makes you feel certain, so sure you could cry

the light holds a promise you feel you can keep

then the moment has passed it goes fast and you see


don’t you believe what you see, i said don’t you believe what you see


out in the longing is a place that you know

out in the longing is a place you must go

deep in the fog is a thing that is hidden

don’t trust your eyes go inside and you’ll find it


don’t you believe what you see, i said don’t you believe what you see

no no don’t you believe what you see, never just believe what you see


V Lowe: Acoustic Guitar, Vocal




10: drift - 4:06


you’re weaving like a wheel, you don’t roll real straight

but you don’t feel bent ‘cause you do roll


you’re happy then you’re sad, you twist like a sigh of relief gone bad

it could be the more you sleep the less you dream


you’re bobbing along on a blue green sea

you drift out so slowly

i called you i called you


you’re broken like a watch, you’ve run down real slow

but you don’t stop, and you confuse me


you’re coasting like a kite with no string attached

but you can’t find your way back to ground

down below the grey clouds


you’re bobbing along…


V Lowe: Acoustic Guitars, Vocals

B Freelove: Bass

T Hawkins: Drum Kit

K Sparling: Melodica, Keyboards, Percussion, Serge Modules, Atmospherics

M Boisen: Slide Guitar




11: black back - 4:19


i saw a black back under the flat matte grey under the richmond bridge

i felt the wind sprint over the steel glint, i saw it twist and bend


i could not hear it speak there was no sound to leak

like water burning into mist


they shot a story right to the core of me, it crawled in dark and deep

they have a life iced under the cruel dice of a war they keep


i could not hear it speak…

and though i sense it there, why would it ever dare to show itself to me


and i go diving very low for damaged tongues and withered hands

and they’ll never find the pearls they seek

they crush them all beneath their feet


i saw a black back under the flat matte grey under the richmond bridge

i think it heard me warning to hurry, before it was too late


i could not hear it speak…


V Lowe: Acoustic Guitar, Vocal

B Freelove: Bass

K Sparling: Brushes, Backing Vocals, Field Recordings




12: aven - 4:21


when your hands shook, the world burst open

in a treasure chest of fear and hope

but you’ve got it covered, you’ve got it covered

you do you do now


i heard you then in your tender pity

to be fully formed was your wish for winning

like a baby bird with wings of wood

you could burn with pain


but aven

but aven you know

you’ve got it covered


if you’re lowered down in solid form

and the puzzle pieces are set

where’s the game, the fun, the challenge

to never wonder wait or worry


what you wanted then was a fire dangling

but i tell you now there’s much more to have

you’ll have your fire and then you’ll desire something else

but i won’t tell you now


‘cause aven

aven you know

that you’ve got it covered

you do you do now


V Lowe: Acoustic Guitars, Vocals

B Freelove: Bass

T Hawkins: Drum Kit

K Sparling: Keyboards, Atmospherics




13: fuel - 2:39


howl like a hungry dog, say what you came to say take what you think is yours

i never needed it


sink like a heavy stone or levitate above, spin in your tantrum

but i never needed it


i could say that you’re a liar

i could call you a damn rascal

but i can see i fanned the fire

fed you coal and left a trail of fuel

to be your tool


so stay in this cluttered room, hide in the corners, sing in your gravel voice

show me the way to go, maybe you want to, i may have been wrong

that i never needed you


i could say that you’re a liar…


V Lowe: Resonator, Spanish and Acoustic Guitars, Vocals

B Freelove: Bass

K Sparling: Rhodes Piano, Backing Vocals


14: waterfall - 4:54


stuck like a log in a log jam, twisted about and bogged down

in the perilous curve of a swamp’s arm

the murderous coils of its snake-like tongue


and i can barely hear what the wind says

it’s muttering aloud in an accent

something like a tree from budapest tinged with a wing of spanish


and i couldn’t love myself from a distance

not without a telescope or some other assistance

i would never want to draw erroneous conclusions

a mediocre pen and ink is not a map for good decisions


oh shit i think i hear a waterfall

i’m feeling kind of brave but is that all i was meant to do in this lifetime?

i’ll hold my breath and pretend to fly


i couldn’t love myself…


V Lowe: Acoustic Guitars, Vocals

B Freelove: Bass

T Hawkins: Djembe

K Sparling: Percussion, Rhodes Piano, Celeste , Backing Vocals

M Boisen: Electric Guitar

Samba Partido de Um: Brazillian Percussion




© and p. 2008 the jicama salad company (bmi)