VLowe barnacles of joy

barnacles of joy - 2002

the mighty prawn 00CM-722

words and music by vanessa lowe

produced and engineered

by kent sparling

recorded in the jicama laboratory

(which is our living room)

mixed at skywalker sound

mastered by myles boisen

at the headless buddha

executive producer: tim kerns

art direction: kent sparling

photography: carlo silvio, anne hammersky

graphic production: lisa ekstrom

hand lettering: chris rowley

mixed with oblique strategies

1: my venom lover

still got my ways

still got my looks

still got the love

but you closed me down

you closed me down

we still had the future

that we talked about

but you closed it down

you closed it down

and you my venom lover

will never undiscover me

the teeth are trapped beneath the skin

but i no longer haunt you

i don’t even want you

slick and shiny

jagged to the touch

paid off the loan

threw out your stuff

got out of town

when you closed it down

you closed it down

but i still got the scars

to prove you fucked it up

and they belong to me

now that you’re not around

and you my venom lover...

vl: guitars, vocals

ron crotty: acoustic bass

tobias hawkins: cardboard boxes, dumbek

mario desio: melody guitar

kent sparling: melodica, paper bag, djembe, backing vocals

2: cut me once

cut me once and you’re gonna be sorry

cut me twice and you’re gonna go down

show me cruel and you’re gonna fall hard

don't be fooled by the small size, cool gaze

i can take a man down

i can go downtown

you know i have my methods

and you can bet i know how to make the best of ‘em

cut me off now and you’re never gonna hear it

even if it’s the cure that’ll save your life

it’s your move whether not you wanna take it

don't be wooed by the sweet smile, pretty girl

i can take a man down...

cut the shit and let’s get down to bidness

where do i sign to make him gone

please be quick so i can end the pain

take you’re time, i changed my mind

cause i can take a man down...

yeah i can take a man down

i can go downtown

you know i have my methods

and you can bet i know how to make the best of ‘em

vl: guitars, vocal

tobias hawkins: frame and native drums, wood block

adrian west: violin

kent sparling: ukulele

3: i am

the candle was hot where i struck it

i was to learn what it is to be fire

the lava was cool where i touched it

i was to learn what it is to be water

the branches grew stark where i held them

i was to learn what it is to be winter

the words became me as i heard them

i was to learn what it is to be spoken

i'm never gonna cry again

i'm never gonna say

i want to be more than i am

the land was ablaze where i pointed

i was to learn what it is to be color

the sky turned to red when i passed it

i was to learn what it is to be morning

i'm never gonna cry again

i'm never gonna say

i want to be more than i am

then i am, i am, i am

vl: guitars, vocals

ron crotty: acoustic bass

tobias hawkins: djembe, dumbek, hi-hats

adrian west: violin

4: who do you believe

you said it once

you said it twice

you said it half a million times

i heard you then

and now again

like red hot pokers through my eyes

i don’t mean to be cruel

but you broke the first rule

and the fool i am is still asking,

who do you believe?

i’m still asking,

who do you believe?

i took a walk

along the pier

the light was fading thoughtfully

your voice said, wait

anticipate

you don't know who’s behind that tree

i know you try not to

but the fact remains true

no matter what i do

you can’t tell me

who do you believe?

and now it’s starting

catch your breath quick

cause the lights are dimming

isn’t it sick? no it just ain’t pretty

oh no oh

and look i’m falling

into the mud

and i hear you calling

watch out, well watch me cause

who do you believe?

vl: guitar, vocals

kent sparling: backing vocals

5: back from london

when i came back from london

you would not talk to me

When you came back from london

i kept my hands where you could see

i could say my love was hanging

underneath the light

got too close and singed in smoke

i’d say that you were right

wooden floors and taxi doors

sultry summer nights

we held our own though not quite grown

the city held us tight

i could say my love was hanging...

back from london

gone from london

home to new york

i’ll see you there

but you won’t see me

like you saw me before

i could say my love was hanging...

vl: guitar, cuatro, vocals

kent sparling: melodica

6: wait for me

you’ve got apples in your cheeks

and berries for your lips

and i want to bake you up

save you for a rainy day

you’ve got nimble hands and feet

and words you’d want to speak

but i want to keep you quiet

sleeping silent where you lay

don’t you want to come this way with me?

wait for me

don't you want to come this way with me?

i’ve got rain to argue with

and wind to chase and catch

but i feel the fire there

like a dare to heed it’s heat

oh yes i want to feel your breath

and hear your gentle voice

but i know of songs and sights

that might delay the time we meet

don’t you want to come this way with me?

wait for me

don't you want to come this way with me?

vl: guitar, vocal

kent sparling: melodica

7: 30 feet deep

look deeper

how deep?

30 feet deep

what will i find there?

precious things

thirty feet deep

precious things

thirty feet deep

thirty feet thirty feet thirty feet

thirty feet deep

yeah

be braver

how brave?

bore straight down

into the earth

dig for it

up to your elbows

and don't stop if you hit rock

precious things...

i'll get mine and you get yours

oh

go under

go down

don't surface

for days

hold your breath

follow the silence

and don't stop 'til you bottom out at

precious things...

yeah

vl: guitars, vocals

adrian west: violin

kent sparling: ukulele

8: but wait...

vl: guitar

9: morsel

i’ve got two in this drawer

i’ve got three hundred more

i’ve got five in this pocket

in this pocket i’ve got four

i’ve got a filet

i’ve got the bologna

i’ve got your sweet face

but it doesn’t own me

do you know where hunger ends?

i’m sorry i play these games

storing morsels of energy

i’m sorry it’s not to your taste

you can write it in my eulogy

you glide through the room

like fat on a spoon

enter the kitchen

what you see there makes you swoon

but you’re my coffee bean

you’re my cup of steam

you’re my hunk of veal

you’re what i want to be real

i’m sorry i play these games

storing morsels of energy

ahh ahh ahh...

i’ve got two in this drawer

i’ve got three hundred more

i’ve got five in this pocket

in this pocket i’ve got four

oh my god

my hands adore you

tender morsel that you are

ahh ahh ahh...

vl: guitars, vocals

ron crotty: acoustic bass

tobias hawkins: djembe, dumbek, tabla

adrian west: violin

kent sparling: backing vocals

10: for a while

i know more than the weather

i have more than the time

i’m good for more than directions

at the end of the line

i’ll be here for a while

but i won’t be here long

i’m just singing this song

for a while

i’ve been around one or two times

but i’ve never been here

i’ll hang around and enjoy it

and then i’ll disappear

i’ll be here for a while...

it might surprise you to know

that i have been looking for you

but i’ve got a really short attention span

so if i were you i’d make your move

you know i have those alone days

and then i feel black and blue

but it’s making me stronger

i’ll be ready for you

i’ll be here for a while...

vl: guitars, vocal

ron crotty: acoustic bass

tobias hawkins: sekou-sekou, typewriter case

kent sparling: tea tin, melodica, backing vocals

11: life is a party

weeds are growing on the wall

but i expect to make that call

any day now

you've always let me know

that i know where the flowers grow

life is a party

you said it yourself

you said it

in the shower through the haze

i have always been amazed

that the sleep unravels from my skin

as the water travels down my chin

life is a party...

and in the morning when i wake up

and the oven is cold

all the dreams are burnt embers

with their meanings untold

and if later i'm still lying there

in the pocket of warmth

i'm not lazy, i'm untangling

all the things that were folded away for the day

i am folded away for the day

i could always lift my head

from the pillow on my bed

but the sunlight is in the perfect place

to warm the shadows of my face

life is a party...

vl: guitar, vocal

12: the elven god

rustling in the woods

causing my heart to jump across the moon in fits and starts

i feel the weary fill me

i’ll lay my head here

something circles round dancing in a glow

i laugh because the warmth is nothing i have known

i feel your touch before i see your skin in the dark

and you take me there everywhere

everyday every time you climb through my window

and i knew you’d be how you were

when the signs came to me through the dew on the ferns

i trust you with my life and i need you

i’ll be there when you ask for any reason

call for me in silence or call me in song

the sky became a shadow and the wind died

something fell upon me and my heart cried

i knew that you were calling

but i was afraid

and down upon the mossy rocks a light began to shine

and overhead the shadows filtered out between the vines

and i was fine

and you take me there everywhere...

yes you take me there everywhere

everyday every time you climb through my window

and i knew you’d be how you were

when the signs came to me through the dew on the ferns

vl: guitar, vocals

13: the final word

i'm waiting for the final word

as though i could pick it up and stroke it

i'm looking for the last thing i heard

to be the thing i couldn't even hope for

so i'm waiting with baited breath

i want you to be my savior

just give me the balm i came for

don't say there is no answer

cause having no hope is murder

i'm pulling out all the guns

but i don't even know which part's the trigger

i know that's not how wars are won

but i don't want to be the loser

so i'm waiting...

and i'm asking for forgiveness

for what i must have done wrong

like shaking a stick

at a wily old snake

whose fangs are hanging on

been waiting for the final word

like there will never be another

as though once it is spoken and then heard

the waiting game's forever over

so i'm waiting...

vl: guitar, vocals

ron crotty: acoustic bass

tobias hawkins: dumbek, sekou-sekou

kent sparling: backing vocals

14: my momma told me

it’s a subtle affectation

it’s a fucking lie

i lost all my inspiration

when you said don’t try

to express that emotion

in a minor key

and you said i had the smile

of an angel girl

with lips as red as rosebuds

and i wanna hurl

nasty curses at your offending head

cause my mama told me

that you’d try to screw me

if i wasn’t just what you wanted me to be

vl: guitar, vocals