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.

The Songster Part 2, 4th ed.

by Brooks Long

/
  • Streaming + Download

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

      $7 USD  or more

     

1.
The Strut 05:43
They say it take hard work. I'm workin hard, baby. Give me a K of days, I'll be a star, baby. Yeah, I'm that swagger. I'm that shit. Too sexy to give up. Cool, mama. (Smooth, daddy) Nothin' but the strut Said I just wrote a brand new jam. They said "Uh-uh, baby "Should be tweeting up your brand." I said "Huh, baby?" "Yeah, it ain't no time for passion. Just go head and get yo' nut." Is that cool, Mama? (Ew, daddy) I'm nothin' but a strut It's Day 999 and something' wrong, baby They say "Do you want a gig?" I say "Naw, baby." What happened to the feelin' I was feelin' in my guts? Cool, mama? (Ooooh, daddy. What about yo' strut?)
2.
The Risks 03:42
And while your tracking down your bliss You’ve got to know about the risks The question old but yet so fresh What does the spirit do about the flesh? The soul is noble down the list, But the body’s not sure it exists So even when the spirit drops a clue The body’s not sure what to do And while your tracking down your bliss You’ve got to know about the risks The question fresh but yet so old What does the body do about the soul? The spirit lifts you and reveals you But it also doesn’t mind to kill you So in a bid for self-preservation The body sends its resignation Looking for the middle course To find a balance to the force The answer faint but yet so clear The music’s playing in your ear The groove it shoots down to your feet Your partner rises from her seat So while your tracking dow your bliss Make sure you know about a kiss
3.
The Dance 05:29
Invitations aren’t always sent by mail Some disappear leaving ghost trails Ah, but you’re too cool for it all Dressing for the ball Such silly customs you protest alone But even something inside says go You find a partner and tend to smile Frightened by your joy after while It defines what you want and more Reminds you what you want it for The dance Waltzing you into a trance The dance Making you feel defiantly real The dance Waltzing you into a trance The dance Making you feel undeniably real How come we don’t dance no more? How come we never danced before? Ordinary people reaching for the divine The beat of your heart syncopating with mine To reach the light we struggle and strain Strive, then struggle all over again Hamsters on a wheel never touch the ground When you’re in motion it’s hard to slow down It defines what you want and more Reminds you what you want it for The dance Waltzing you into a trance The dance Making you feel defiantly real The dance Waltzing you into a trance The dance Making you feel undeniably real And just as you feel the feeling starting to grow You may find yourself dancing alone Resist the urge to run from the floor We must dance more Creatures are glaring, they stare at us “So graceful, so violent all at once” And if you’re tired of cliche affair We can swing from the chandelier It defines what you want and more Reminds you what you want it for The dance Waltzing you into a trance The dance Making you feel defiantly real The dance Waltzing you into a trance The dance Making you feel undeniably real
4.
As you remember your name Can you forget it, too? Can you learn to move the way the spirit tells you to? As you began to sway Your body stretching loose Can you feel the Earth beneath you swaying too? Some people never make it out on the floor Some people never make it past the door You might think she don’t know how to dance Because she’s dancing free Some people never make it out on the floor Some people never make it past the door You might think she don’t know how to dance Because she’s dancing free As you recite your lines After you hear your queue Can you find yourself in the role you’re acting through? The spotlight points your way The stage shades to blue Sing your song, there’s nothing wrong If you’re singing true Some people never make it out on the stage Some people never read the second page You might think she don’t know how to act Because she’s acting free. Some people never make it out on the floor Some people never make it past the door You might think she don’t know how to dance Because she’s dancing free
5.
Cool Fire 04:20
I had never ever met a hat before But then I met a hat and a whole lot more I had never ever reached the stars before But then I reached the stars and I went back home It’s so strange It’s so hip She dreamed I gave the Freudian slip Bite my ear Bite my lip I guess she likes to ride on a trip Yes, I touched the wire The wire of electric desire I’m on fire, yet I’m cool I’m cool, yet she set me on fire Cool fire Dippin in the river of the galaxies Naked in the ocean of a thousand seas Ridin with my baby on an asteroid Posin for the pictures on a her Polaroid It’s so strange It’s so hip I’m happy when she does a good flip Ride a star, lick a blimp I guess I just admire her grip Yes, I touched the wire (touched the wire) The wire of electric desire I’m on fire, yet I’m cool (yet I’m cool) I’m cool, yet she set me on fire Cool fire Yes, I touched desire (touched the wire) desire of electrical wire Yeah I’m cool, yet on fire (yet I’m cool) I’m fire, yet she set me on cool Cool fire
6.
I seen a car smashed the other night Cut the applause and dim the light The girl in the front was bleedin, but was more or less okay But the boy in the back seat was in a bad, bad way I couldn’t move the door and your leg was stuck inside the door Your mama looked at you and started pleadin with the Lord You wasn’t moving and I begged you to stay They calmed her down and we both whispered for you to stay Please be okay, child, please be okay Please be okay, child, please be okay Please be okay, child, please be okay Please be okay, child, please be okay All the sudden you woke and started a-failin and a-cryin I was tryin to tell you not to move but there as no point in tryin Now I’ve heard children cryin a couple hundred thousand times before But the way you was cryin cut me deep down inside, my Lord The firefighters came and they used the jaws of life Then the ambulance came and they put you on the gurney You was mad because the strap was on your head And your head was pretty busted I asked could I peak inside the ambulance and the cops said “No" Last time I saw you you had a long way to go Neighbors was speculatin on whose fault it was I didn’t care whose fault it was Please be okay, child, please be okay Please be okay, child, please be okay Please be okay, child, please be okay Please be okay, child, please be okay The world can be a beautiful place I hope you see it Can make you feel a beautiful way I hope you feel it Be okay, child. Be okay, child. I kept looking in the papers, but there was nothin there But If you don’t die by the next day then they don’t really care I light a candle for you almost every day I hope some kinda somethin gets to you some kinda way Please be okay, child, please be okay Please be okay, child, please be okay Please be okay, child, please be okay Please be okay, child, please be okay

about

First released January 2018.

Hey Folks!

brookslong.bandcamp.com/subscribe

I'm re-releasing each edition of The Songster Part 2 in hopes that you might become a subscriber. I would be honored to have your help creating on a sustainable basis. You will have access to every old and new edition of The Songster Part 2, plus other perks. If you want to come visit my new music, that's where it is.

This fourth edition ends with a song called "Please Be Okay Child." I used to live around some dangerous intersections and saw some pretty bad accidents. Never seen one as bad as the one in that song and hope I never do again. I will always remember that family, especially that little boy. The song, more than anything else I've written, is a prayer. I'm not sure how much this or any other song of mine should mean to you, but it means a lot to me.

"The Strut" I had the basic riff and structure for around junior year of high school. Ditto for "The Risks." Sometimes you've got the body of a thing but you don't have the soul. "A house is not a home," right? "The Dance" is old too, but never worked live. To everything there is a season, and no matter how hard I tried over the years, they arrived in their own time, right on time. Doesn't mean the work wasn't worth it. As I write this, I am hoping we aren't in for another stretch of heartbreaking acceptance. But here, there, somewhere the work will continue. And we will have our season.

Until we do, rock & roll is here. It ain't gonna lie to you and tell you you're not hurt, but it will have the audacity to tell you to laugh and dance anyway. If you can't absorb that message, quoth the O'Jays, "I feel sorry for you."

credits

released November 1, 2020

"Cool Fire" produced by Shea Springer at Sweetfoot Studios
Drums - Jordan Stanley
Bass Guitar - Kentavius Jones

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Brooks Long Washington, D.C.

Brooks Long make the music.

contact / help

Contact Brooks Long

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

Brooks Long recommends:

If you like Brooks Long, you may also like: