1. |
The American
03:50
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I am the American
Trying to find my place in this world
I'm gonna buy me a nice foreign car
I'm gonna meet me a nice foreign girl
I'm gonna take up reading for once
Was gonna travel but I ran out of funds
I am the American
Traveling down the Autoban
I close my eyes and drive as fast as I want
No more sirens calling me to shore
I ain't gonna lay with this demons anymore
I'm gonna take up living for a change
I tried dying but it just felt the same
I am the American
And I'm searching for something
That I don't think I'm ever gonna get to find
Searching for the man that I left behind
And I'm searching for something
That I don't think I'm ever gonna get to see
Searching for the man that I used to be
I am the American
Trying to find my place in this world
I'm gonna buy me a magazine
Gaze upon things that I've never really seen
I'm gonna take up living for a change
I tried dying but it just felt the same
I am the American
I am the American
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2. |
This Town
04:10
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What am I gonna do
If I ever make it outta this town
Will you turn me loose on this world
Watch me burn it to the ground
What am I gonna do
If I'm ever out there on my own
Will I make my way
Today or tomorrow
Some people will just made to ramble
Some of us were made to run
You can steal and you can gamble
Like a slave to the smoking gun
Buck for buck and punch for punch
I've been bruising like a dusty old peach
Show me wisdom, show me truth
Show me things that this life won't teach
'Cause I've been wondering since the day I was born
If I could make it through this life on my own
Black leather, keep me safe from the pavement
Dark glasses from the light that's shown
I wanna make my mark on the highway
So you'll remember me when I'm not around
From California to San Antone
If I ever make it outta this town
What am I gonna do
If I ever make it outta this town
Will you turn me loose on this world
Watch me burn it to the ground
What am I gonna do
If I'm ever out there on my own
Will I make my way
Today or tomorrow
Angels above, follow me on my path
And lift, from my shoulders, the weight of this world
'Cause I have felt sorrow, loneliness and pain
But tomorrow I'll wake in the morning again
Some people were just made to ramble
Baby, I was born to fly
I'm gonna run 'til my legs give out
And I'll be running on the day that I die
Ain't nobody gonna hold me up
Ain't nobody gonna slow me down
I'm a man on a mission, a man possessed
If I ever make it outta this town
What am I gonna do
If I ever make it outta this town
Will you turn me loose on this world
Watch me burn it to the ground
What am I gonna do
If I'm ever out there on my own
Will I make my way
Today or tomorrow
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3. |
Flower Girl
05:15
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Wake up, princess
It's time to drive
To Washington County
Where they're shoveling coal
Mississippi never
Seemed so wide
'Til you try to go there
With a sorrowful soul
I never meant to put it on you
You were the one thing that held us together
I know we lied to the whole entire world
But you're always gonna be my flower girl
So I drop you off
At the office where she works
She took the day shift
So she could meet us here
I'm not so bitter
As I used to be
But I get a little sour
Whenever she's near
I never meant to put it on you
You were the one thing that held us together
Out in the sea there's some beautiful pearls
But you're always gonna be my flower girl
After the fall
My heart wasn't as bad as it felt
I'm never in love
With the aces I always get dealt
From what I recall
The start was as bad as the end
The start was as bad as the end
So I got the pictures
From your graduation
I waited by the mailbox
For hours on end
I've never felt
So sunken with tears
'Cause it's still the same
After all of these years
I never meant to put it on you
You were the one thing that held us together
Out in the sea there's some beautiful pearls
But you're always gonna be my flower girl
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4. |
Acceptance Blues
04:43
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Living here isn't easy
With the shadows on the wall
I wonder if there's a pain
You'll never know
Take me up to heaven
Take me to the park
I'd follow you
Wherever you may go
You always tried to reach me
But I never let you reach that far
Yeah, you always loved me
Just the way I am
So why can't I take you
The way you are
I really wanted to know you
I really wanted to try
But whenever I dug down deep
I found only fear
I really wanted to know you
I called out your name
But whenever I found my voice
You were nowhere near
I really wanted to know you
As you were walking to your car
Yeah, you always loved me
Just the way I am
So why can't I take you
The way you are
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5. |
Love No More
03:55
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Slow as the dawn comes from the night
Our two hearts will fight
'Til one gives way
And quick as that last breath left my lungs
The very song you sung
Took the next one away
Oh, and you
If you teach me how to love you right
Then I'll love you tonight for sure
But, if you never tell me
Then it's love no more
Strange as this whole wide world may seem
It means the world to me
That you'd never fall
And dumb, dumb as my luck may get
I'm still lucky I met
You at all
Oh, and you
If you really wanna show me how
Then I'll love you now you know
But, if you never tell me
Then it's love let go
Let it go...
Oh, and you
If you really wanna show me how
Then I'll love you now you know
But, if you never tell me
Then it's love let go
Oh, and you
If you teach me how to love you right
Then I'll love you tonight for sure
But, if you never tell me
Then it's love no more
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6. |
Feels Like Love
03:23
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It hurts when you leave
But I know that you'll return
To teach me one more lesson
That I'm never gonna learn
On this holy roller coaster
Painted white just like a dove
It hurts but still it feels like love
It hurts when we fight
And I bring tears unto your eyes
Trying so hard to win
That old imaginary prize
Oh, I wish I had a dollar
For every time I wore the gloves
It hurts but still it feels like love
Well, you can curse my name
And cast me down to the shadows of your heart
But you'll always be a slave
To my pride
And when I climb back up
Battered and broken just like at the start
You're still the one that I
Just can't deny
It hurts when I feel
This crazy fear inside my heart
I thought it held together
What it always tears apart
Sometimes you make me feel
Just like a dog with boiling blood
It hurts but still it feels like love
Oh, I wish that it was easy
But easy ain't enough
It hurts but still it feels like love
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7. |
Don't Leave Me Standing
05:31
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Standing out on the backstreets
Waiting for the midnight to end
Take me however you want me
As a lover or only a friend
I've been waiting on a sunny day
I got stuck in a moment and I can't get away
I gave my heart and my soul to you, honey
So don't leave me standing
Out on my own
Don't leave me waiting
By the tel-la-la-phone
You're all that I want
And you're all that I've known to be true
I give myself to you
Standing out on the backstreets
Waiting for the daylight to come
Take me wherever you want to
'Cause I don't what I've been running from
I've been waiting for a guiding light
I ain't got no money and I ain't got no fight
I gave my heart and soul to you, honey
So don't leave me standing
Out on my own
Don't leave me waiting
By the tel-la-la-phone
You're all that I want
And you're all that I've known to be true
I've been waiting for a guiding light
Ain't got no money and I ain't got no fight
I gave my heart and my soul to you, honey
You took my heart, my soul and my money
I gave my heart and my soul to you, honey
So don't leave me standing
Out on my own
Don't leave me waiting
By the tel-la-la-phone
You're all that I want
And you're all that I've known to be true
I give myself to you
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8. |
Cigarette Blvd.
04:20
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I won't joke about the gray in my hair
I used to look so good in the family pictures
The days went by like grains of sand
Running through the crosshairs in the sifter
Well, New York's cold this time of year
So is my heart
And L.A.'s not that far away
Compared to where we are
We're just a couple of lovers in the back of the avenue
Playing cards
We're just a couple of kids trying to keep it clean
On the Cigarette Boulevard
Cigarette Boulevard
Oh, I won't yield to the fake romance
That the wine gets better as the calendars dance
I'm running through the empty streets again
Lord, won't you punch the ticket and just let me on in
Won't you keep me in your heart
'Cause that's right where I'm gonna stay
I can feel the cold surround me
As the colors fade away
We're just a couple of lovers in the back of the avenue
Playing cards
We're just a couple of kids trying to keep it clean
On the Cigarette Boulevard
Cigarette Boulevard
Now I wanna tell you just one more thing
Before the breath slips out of my throat
You saved me then and you're saving me now
So don't try and pull me when I'm slippin' on down the slope
Let me tell you that I love you
Though I'm sure you already knew
And let me kiss you one more time
Before my last amens are through
We're just a couple of lovers in the back of the avenue
Playing cards
We're just a couple of kids trying to keep it clean
On the Cigarette Boulevard
Cigarette Boulevard
Cigarette Boulevard
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9. |
One Last Ride
04:38
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Sometimes it feels like I'm sinking
To the bottom of the ocean
With the devil's very claws in my back
I never tried a drink of whiskey
And as this water surrounds me
I think, "Maybe it's whiskey that I lack"
Well, I've been fighting for so long
For something that's so wrong
Yeah, I've been wounded by my pride
So, Lord, could you please afford me one last ride
I'm walking through the streets of town
Like the crazy king of nothing that I am
When there's no one else around
And I'm begging on my bruised-up knees
Is there a way for me to get back where I was
Before these demons dragged me
Well, I started at the bottom
And I conquered the summit
But, now I'm just choking on the tide
So, Lord, could you please afford me one last ride
Well, I've begged, borrowed and burned
Every single, stupid lesson that I
Never really took the time to learn
And now I'm sleeping with my ball and chain
Wishing I could find a better way
For me to take away my pain
Well, if you're born to your mother
And you die in the gutter
Then who really knows how hard you tried
So, Lord, could you please afford me
Yes, Lord, could you please afford me
Oh, my Lord, could you please afford me
One last ride
To my high school, to my hometown
To say, "I'm sorry," to remember
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10. |
Last Prayer
04:46
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All my life I have been running
Held down at the hands of fear
Sometimes I feel so foolish in the way
I wasted all those precious years
Ever since the moment I first met you
I've been trying to find the words
To tell the tale, how you pulled me from the rails
And set me free with life anew
And if I die on a Monday
May I die working
If I die on a Sunday
May I die praying
And if I die on a Saturday
With a guitar in my hands
May I use my last breath
To sing for you
I'm gonna find a way to haunt your hallway
To bring you comfort in your time of pain
'Cause you're my angel, my truest friend
My closest companion, through and through
So if I die on a Monday
May I die working
If I die on a Sunday
May I die praying
And if I die on a Saturday
With a guitar in my hands
May I use my last breath
To sing for you
And if I die on a Saturday
With a guitar in my hands
May I use my last breath
To sing for you
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James Coates Sumner, Washington
James Coates is a songwriter who has used well-crafted, heartfelt songs to connect with audiences for 15
years.
He combines folk, soul, country and R&B to create a signature blend of “Soulful Americana,” a sonic tapestry that feels modern and timeless.
Coates has toured nationally, opening for Sheryl Crow, headlining Nashville’s famous Bluebird Cafe and been featured on KEXP and Seattle Weekly.
... more
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