1. |
Alix
03:37
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I had the house to myself
so I watched a baseball game.
When it was over I was still alone
so I watched a couple movies.
Couldn't sleep, so I put on another movie.
Maybe this is what it's like to be old
and all of your loved ones died
and all your power's gone
and all your work is done.
Everybody fades away so what's the point?
You only need one person to love
even if that person's yourself.
You've got the power to beat loneliness
as long as you don't retreat into yourself.
It's so important to be generous.
Isn't that what our brothers taught us?
It's so important not to become numb
to feel the summer and laugh and have fun.
I think that you should stay open to love.
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2. |
Liv
02:56
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The other day I found a trove of unread messages.
One was from a stranger who'd tracked me down on the internet.
She had found a CD under the seat of a minivan she had bought
that contained the songs I wrote from the fall when you lived across the hall.
And death sparkled out the window on the meadow of our yard in Tivoli
and nested in the sheets I raged into that stifled all my screams.
You were only witness to me in my terrible sunken state
and when you rubbed my back you did a deed I hope I could repay.
But anyway, she liked my songs and said the music traveled further than I might've thought.
Well, that's as close as I'm likely to come to ever receiving fan-mail
but you had a million fans that adored you and your story
while most artists are working hard though destined for obscurity.
I'm sure that you appreciate that that's a total blessing
and hope that you look back on your success and not just the stain
and even if you're never in the limelight again I hope you play
to feel the things that must be felt and say the things that must be said.
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3. |
Riley
02:29
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Sunday alone on Chestnut St and all my house projects complete.
Wish there were people here with me making art and bustling.
That's when I know I've had success: when people are happily making.
And I'll finally get to my own art, soon as I'm done with the fixing.
Then I won't feel so much pressure when I sit down to write a song
and I won't have to trick myself into just putting down what I want
by telling myself there's no audience that ever would listen to me
or writing in ten minute increments till I notice and stop feeling free.
One day my dream is a house in the country
with a studio and time to make art.
Well, what does that say about me
when the dream could just be the art?
And I already could make the art.
I've been collecting stories before I start writing again
but I probly have things to say I won't know till I start writing them.
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4. |
Abby
03:28
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Love is affection that one brings
that warm, fuzzy feeling
Why do I get it from one friend
and not another when I think of them?
Maybe love is who's worth it
to say things that make them defensive
or put up with something that irks me
when I know that I could just leave.
It's a magical thing when two adore each other equally
but I suspect some on my list wouldn't put me on theirs
and I'm sorry for those who love me yet I cannot afford to use the word
love.
When I think of those I don't love
there's something stopping me from being free
I need to improvise around them
without their getting mad at me.
I love those who really see me
not just the me that I'm projecting
they've sensed implicit motivation
they can appreciate my essence.
Those who I cannot love have beautiful essences, too
there's just something holding them back from sharing that essence with you
the depths of love is not just feeling that warm, fuzzy way
I've viewed my enemies and love them all the same.
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5. |
Lisa
03:08
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Though I'm content on a Friday evening to sit at home and read
I've been trying to do the right thing and force myself to leave.
Cause all this time alone is selfish and all my little indulgences
won't add up to anything once I am dead.
But it's not in my nature to go out at night.
Without social pressure, it's not where my passion lies.
When we were teenagers I got bit with a bug
to elevate and be elevated by the people I love
but as I get older I retreat back into myself
I don't need to see or be seen; all I need is my health.
And I'd rather write letters to friends that I've loved
then make small talk with drunk people.
It's not where my passion lies.
And that seems to me a compass.
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6. |
Keep it Simple
03:40
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Chill out
don't work so damn hard all the time
take the day off, you deserve it
you've got to treat yourself right.
All that hustlin'
who ya kiddin'?
Don't make much a difference anyway.
What's it all about when you die?
Just try to enjoy yourself today.
Keep it simple
eat food
take care of your soul.
Take a break
your best work is yet to come
take a breath
Now, doesn't that taste good?
You rock. We love ya.
Look back on the ways you have won.
It's a good thing you were trying
but today let success come to us.
Keep it simple
break the rules
take care of your soul.
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7. |
Rufus
03:16
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Society's arms held me
I thought I was smart but I was only young
a weight in my heart now pulls me
since I laid down at the cemetery.
What if my house burns down
if I forget to turn the stove off?
I used to see it in parents, so stressed out.
I figured they'd never figured their shit out.
But now I see I hadn't dealt with anything.
I hadn't seen I'm by myself, a naked monkey.
There's nothing underneath that'll keep me from dying.
It only took 25 before I realized.
A testament to privilege that I've even survived
I hope that I can teach my kids at an earlier time.
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8. |
Sophie
02:51
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I once heard an asshole say
"Nobody ever did anything that was worth mentioning
by staying comfortable and safe."
Well, I hope I'm the opposite
I don't wanna be remembered for the things I did.
I wanna be remembered for the way I felt
while hanging out with my friends.
Cause when you die you are nothing
but a story for people to run with
and what you meant to those you had fun with.
I've seen lots of people make
the dead into gods to worship
or the inspiration for any motivation.
Well, that's not who one really is.
You live on in people you shared yourself with
and all the time that you've put in
to learning how to be generous.
All I want to do with my life
is to treat my friends the way that I'm trying
it's probably possible some of the time.
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Gabriel Adels
Gabriel Adels is a writer, musician, and builder from Philadelphia.
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