We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

It's Only A Lie

by Manzanita Bones

/
  • Digital Album
    Streaming + Download

    Includes high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. Paying supporters also get unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app.
    Purchasable with gift card

      name your price

    You own this

     

1.
"Ollie Bronson" They said his name was Ollie Bronson, A hired hand for Orville Longman And that every day he drove past my house in his shitty Chevy His wife was gone, his parents dead, his favorite word was “groovy” I found boot-scuffs in the kitchen And bullet-holes and broken pictures And down the hall, outside my room, that's where I found him He was full of holes, mouth filled with nails, and his eyes were open More than scared, he just looked lonesome His open eyes frozen for someone Hauled him away, in a body bag, they said dead was heavy The detective shrugged, and the coroner laughed and said, “Now come and help me.” They said his name was Ollie Bronson I found his boot-scuffs in the kitchen More than scared, he just looked lonesome His open eyes frozen for someone
2.
"Won't You Be the Man" You know I’ve got a mean streak and my knuckles are dripping blood, I almost killed that boy I think I’d kill ‘em all for you, for love Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary. I had a dream that you were driving my dad’s car and you leaned to kiss me as you drove us through the park And I said, “Mary, please won’t you be the man” If they parole me, I’ll be out by May You come and find me; I’ll do anything you say And I’ll say, “Mary, please, won’t you be the man? Momma broke down when the cops came And my dad, he broke my nose I cried like a girl, ashamed Blood and water soaked my clothes Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary. If you love me, then come take me away We’ll get married when I get out in May And I’ll say, “Mary, please, won’t you be the man?”
3.
Anna Lee 04:32
"Anna Lee" I don’t need another night to think I’ve been blindsided, broken down and beat I twisted a nail into a ring Now the church bells are ringing but I can’t sing Mama always said I had a crooked heart But when you look at me, I fall apart I sold my favorite pony And I gave up the drink Because you drive me crazy, Anna Lee The fall of man don’t mean nothing to me I could never pick myself up off the street But on the west side of Texas I was redeemed By a daisy in the desert of Abilene Mama always said I had a crooked heart But when you look at me, I fall apart I sold my favorite pony And I gave up the drink Because you drive me crazy, Anna Lee
4.
"Her Smiles Were Lightning" I held on, real tight To your dress, all night And we danced, a two-step And when you left, I wept Fair is my love, and she’s as cruel as she is fair She ain’t been back to the barroom; I been looking for her there Her smiles were lightning, but her pride was despair She’s a sinner, a tormentor, an acolyte, a chalice bearer I searched, and you hid Then you lied; then I did And you hit me, with your good hand Then you kissed me, like a coke can Fair is my love, and she’s as cruel as she is fair She ain’t been back to the barroom; I been looking for her there Her smiles were lightning, but her pride was despair She’s a sinner, a tormentor, an acolyte, a chalice bearer [Sonnet from "Beauty, Time, and Love" by Samuel Daniel] "FAIR is my Love and cruel as she's fair; Her brow-shades frown, although her eyes are sunny. Her smiles are lightning, though her pride despair, And her disdains are gall, her favours honey: A modest maid, deck'd with a blush of honour, Whose feet do tread green paths of youth and love; The wonder of all eyes that look upon her, Sacred on earth, design'd a Saint above. Chastity and Beauty, which were deadly foes, Live reconcilèd friends within her brow; And had she Pity to conjoin with those, Then who had heard the plaints I utter now? For had she not been fair, and thus unkind, My Muse had slept, and none had known my mind." Then you came back, with your red dress And a new man, in a cutlass And you tangoed, on the dance floor And you watched me, like a trap door Fair is my love, and she’s as cruel as she is fair She’s a sinner, a tormentor, an acolyte, a chalice bearer
5.
"The Tide Had Come In" We waded out in the shallows; we walked in the sand Then lay beneath a willow. I had your hair in my hand We fell asleep to the whistle of a breeze through the leaves Far from your farm and your Henry Lee I awoke in a puddle. The tide had come in You had left me a-sleepin to return to your man I gazed up to heaven and it stared down on me And I cursed you and your Henry Lee On the last day of summer, you stayed the night in my bed I was sleepless from counting every hair on your head Fell asleep to the whistle of the wind through the screen Far from your farm and your Henry Lee I awoke in a puddle. The tide had come in I was soaked in your blood and face to face with your man I gazed out to heaven and it stared down on me From the rage-ridden eyes of Henry Lee We waded out in the shallows; we walked in the sand I kneeled beneath the willow. He had gun in his hand The night was a whistle of the breeze through the trees And I cursed you and your Henry Lee I awoke in a puddle. The tide had come in I was kickin and screamin. Gun pressed tight to my skin Held my face in the water. Had my hair in his hand
6.
Like A Coin 04:54
"Like A Coin" Stand before the wishing well Dream and pray for all you’ve wanted Light a match and cast the spell Rhyming in this world is slanted Dry your eyes It's only a lie Fall into the dark again One more time Drop a coin into the dark Listen to the water ripple Calm yourself and hold your mark Swallowing a poison apple Dry your eyes One more time Fall into the dark again It's only a lie Take your clothes off; don’t be shy Modesty’s the plague of sinners Hold your breath and close your eyes Now, like a coin, into the water Stand before the wishing well Living in this world is slanted
7.
"When Everything Was Dark" “It’s all darkness,” Jacob said. He swept his upturned palm around in a half-circle, his arm outstretched, as though he were gesturing at something obvious, the way the maestro draws applause for the orchestra he’s just conducted, the orchestra which, more likely than not, would not have missed a note if the man had dropped dead after the first movement. Such a gesture is always an admission. Its meaning always the same: Can’t you see? For all my pains at controlling this, it is, quite literally, beyond me. It is out of my hands. It belongs to you, to them, to the world. It is the world. It’s the gesture of a fallen god. The boy had asked him a childish question. “Why do the shadows get long when it’s almost night?” “Look around.” Jacob said. “You’re right, the shadows are getting longer, but, look at the light too. Look at what’s happening even to the light. Shadows are dark—always dark—even when they leak out across the grass into the street. But what’s happening to the light?” The boy paused and peered out into the distance. He squinted his eyes. Such conversation had become rather commonplace between father and son, and the boy had learned when to feign reflection. Finally he answered, “At lunchtime the light is brighter. The light gets dirtier closer to night.” Jacob seemed pleased with this. “Yes, yes, the darkness slowly joins itself to the light, so slowly, so calmly and patiently. It winds itself around the center of light, sullies it, soaks it, until it’s permeated the light completely. Until the light is gone. Until the light has become darkness.” Jacob stood without moving or talking for a long time, gazing into the changing sky. The boy watched, too, as night overcame day, just as his father had said. As he looked up at the man, he saw the sunlight die in the distance on the tree-line behind him. Darkness washed over Jacob’s crumpled pork pie hat, his hairy face, his worn, denim work shirt, and wrinkled black pants. He had become a silhouetted scarecrow or circus clown. Darkness seemed to have overtaken his father, along with the rest of it, almost. There was a brightness in the eyes that was not extinguished with the sun—a brightness that was, for the moment, lost somewhere in the sky in some star-lit reverie. Jacob’s eyes seemed to blink with the same faint sparkle of those stars. It occurred to the boy that he couldn’t quite decide whether his father had merely been describing the dreary play of darkness and light or if he had cast the darkness into the sky with his words. Then the man’s eyes shot down, their light trained on the boy. Jacob spoke, his tongue darting around, almost unable to keep up with the rambling words he spit into the air. His wide eyes never left the boy’s. “There was a time when everything was dark,” he said. “No sun. No stars, nothing. Just dark. Light has always been the exception, a luxury, a fake. Light and heat are accidents. People talk about balance and harmony—of darkness and light—as if they were equivalent, as if they weren’t out to devour one another. But darkness has its own harmony with cold, with stillness, with peace. Light is a mistake. Its very presence corrupts the dark and cold of space itself. Look up there. It’s darkness that overcomes all. There’s no balance. Our day is a delusion, a lie we tell ourselves ourselves, tell each other, because we fail to face the facts: that we are pathetic accidents of the light, that stupid life is part of what’s wrong with the universe. And worse than that—.” Then he seemed to remember himself and broke his gaze away from the boy’s, shaking himself as one shakes off the cold. “Never mind,” he said blankly. “Let’s head home.” Jacob took a few steps. The boy didn’t follow. When he noticed what looked like a tear shimmering down the boy’s nose, Jacob softened a little and gestured somewhat obscurely toward him, as if to say, come along or I don’t know or maybe even I’m sorry. But, whatever it was intended to convey, it was the maestro’s gesture. The sun had gone down now. It was night.
8.
"Another Mariachi" For every note she ever wrote And every sour song I sang For every string I ever rang And every sullen wave goodbye Every Bird is a scavenger Run when they come around Leave you here for another mariachi To come back and finish your song For every lie she ever tried And every yarn I spun And every eye she ever turned And every frozen one Every Bird is a scavenger Run when they come around Leave you here for another mariachi To come back and finish your song For every word she ever heard And every time I spoke For every curve and broken nerve And every cloud of smoke Every Bird is a scavenger Run when they come around Leave you here for another mariachi To come back and finish your song For every cloud she ever split And every frozen bough For every pit she fell in There was a cold blue wind
9.
“Dark of the Center Line” I was driving through Kentucky On that old, familiar line That marries Tennessee to Illinois Like they was ribs on a concrete spine. I was mirrored in the windows, So I was smeared on every tree. And across the sky and every billboard sign There was a faint, blurry picture of me. Can you tell me, and even tell a lie? It ain’t written in no book that I can find. Can you tell me, and can you tell me true? Does the dark of the center-line lead somewhere too? I headed west to see the mountains, To feel the desert baking dry, All the way to the Pacific coast To see the sun set on the other side. When I was staring into a canyon, The desert sands, or out to sea, All I could see was something wasn’t there, Like something missing inside of me. Can you tell me, and even tell a lie? It ain’t written in no book that I can find. Can you tell me, and can you tell me true? Does the dark of the center-line lead somewhere? Can you tell me, and even tell a lie? It ain’t written in no book that I can find. Can you tell me, and can you tell me true? Does the dark of the center-line lead somewhere too?
10.
"Far Side of the Mountain" He’s been staying the far side of the mountain They say that Lois left him, but no one’s seen her living The yard is full of cars and women’s clothes that he don’t own Heard they tried the phone, then they called the law, but he ain’t home Nothing in the daylight, a fence around the hillside, Jangling of wood chimes, noises in the nighttime The yard is full of cans with bullet holes from guns that he don’t own Heard they tapped his phone, when they called the law, and he ain’t alone A Pit Bull and a Mastiff tore into the sheriff Someone saw a smoke whiff rising in the sunset You can hear ‘em in the moonlight howlin like a dog fight High on meth and Bud Light, suckin on a glass pipe Heard a woman screeching, hollering, and screaming Ringing through a hard rain from the far side of the mountain Just shadows in a downpour leavin in a four-door Out along the lakeshore, packed in like a clown car Off onto the highway covered me in road-spray Someone jumped a freight train, vanished in the tall grain

credits

released March 18, 2014

All songs written, performed, & produced by
Manzanita Bones:
Schuy Weishaar: Vocals, Harmonica, Accordion, Percussion
Kyle Weishaar: Stringed Instruments, Organ, Percussion

with special guests:
Drums on Tracks 2, 4, 6, & 10 by Jamie Johnson
Violin on Tracks 5 & 9 by Ben Wheat

Track 4 contains a sonnet from
"Beauty, Time, and Love" by Samuel Daniel

Cover Photo by Jon Karr

Recorded & Mixed by Butch Vice at The Radon Basement
Mastered by Jason Hayes at WPCD Studios

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Manzanita Bones

Music. Melodies. Mystery. Mankind. Malice. Machines. Melancholia. Mothers. Martyrs. Malaise. Masks. Manifestoes. Moxie. Marriage. Malignancy. Maps. Manure. Manners. Mares. Manipulation. Mercenaries. Maniacs. Manacles. Mountains. Murder. Malady. Madness. ... more

contact / help

Contact Manzanita Bones

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account