Get all 15 Reece Sullivan releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Live in the City of Gold, Losing Ground, The World Is Cruel (Gethsemane Cut), Gethsemane, The Riverband (Dockside), Arkansas, Middle Sea, Lamentations, and 7 more.
1. |
You Found Me
05:08
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You found me; you found me alone in the dregs
I was drunken and laughing; I couldn’t stand on my legs
I heard you; I heard you a’ calling my name
I heard your voice ringin’ through the city streets, babe
I stumbled and tripped down the ol’ alleyway
But you found me; you found me and asked me to stay
I thought for so long that I’d gotten much right
But came to the truth unsuspecting one night
It pained me; it pained me to say it was so
But after some time I gave in to the flow
Yes, after some years I decided to grow
It took me a long time to square with it, though
You grounded me deep in traditional ways
Like I imagine our folks lived for many a’ days
We wandered for hours through heather and grove
We warmed up old coffee in a pot on the stove
And we swore that forever and wherever we roam
We’ll always return to this place we call home
I praised you; I praised you in song and in verse
In words in old notebooks; in lines unrehearsed
I spoke of and sang of a muse I had seen
And felt in my bones and known in my dreams
Then you walked through my doorway one night early spring
I praised you; I praised you; your song now I sing
I met you; I met you outside and alone
And felt that my jokes came off stiffer than stones
I wed you; I wed you with old secret rites
On the edge of New Jersey on a New England night
For more than a moment I was given a fright
You found me; you found me in the old city night
You found me; you found me; you found me, ol’ babe
And my words had foreshadowed the day
With hidden, deep meanings that came through spades
You grounded me deep in traditional ways
You inspired in me words ‘fore I yet knew your name
You grounded me deep in traditional ways
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2. |
Beautiful Day
03:07
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Oh, I woke up one morn
Wish I’d never been born
But it’s a beautiful day
Oh, some kids play with a ball
Red leaves out; it’s fall
Life goes on the same
Oh, just another quick song
It's two verses long
Because I want it that way
Oh, I've decided to stay
So very depressed
On a beautiful day
Oh, I been sober for days
I'm parched to the bone
God help me, I pray
And I'm been hungry in ways
For love and for things
Or a girl with a smile
Oh, I pushed on for miles
I’ve pushed on in vain
About broken my will
Oh, but I’m pushin’ on still
For what, I don’t know
For what, I can’t say
God, go pity yourself
You love no one else
Cause you want it that way
Yes, and I’ve decided to stay
So very depressed
On a beautiful day
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3. |
Black Mistress Mine
03:59
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It’s hard to go
When the path’s unknown
When the way is dark
When the scent is cold
Though the spirit moves
And the will is bold
It’s hard to go
When the road’s unknown
But I tell ya, though
What I want to find
Which is you to hold; young, black mistress mine
It’s hard to row
When the water’s strong
When the gales are high
When the signs are wrong
Though the sea may call
In a sailor’s song
It’s hard to row
When the current’s strong
And it’s hard to say
How far off course you’ve gone
To the leeward way; into a deep red dawn
It’s hard to grow
And not to die
When the wine is weak
When the cup is dry
Though the tongue may speak
Of thoughts so high
It’s hard to grow
And not to die
Oh, I want to sow
The ancient seed, divine
And I think of you, oh, young black mistress mine
It was off the trail
That he was conceived
Now I pray like hell
He survives the ween
If my blood line fails
If my family tree
Were somehow felled
If it ends with me
If I had to dwell
And bear this kind of scene
If my bloodline fails I will plant a seed in thee
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4. |
A Girl With Red Hair
05:09
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Your Irish soul
And Irish eyes
In ways untold
So deeply pleased
With action bold
Again I’d seize
Your Irish soul
And Irish eyes
A girl with red hair
Who was humble and cared
Is on my mind
A long time ago
She was fully mine, though
I crossed some lines
Now I can feel
A wound that won’t heal
And a pain inside
It stays on my heels
It’s here with me still
It walks by my side
My heart is in flames
For rapture I pray
Drunk on altar wine
A girl with red hair
Who was humble and cared
Is on my mind
Your Irish grace
I should’ve had distilled
With alchemical trace
To preserve your feel
So in drunken rage
I could drink at will
So in older age
I could taste you still
A girl with red hair
Who was simple and cared
Is on my mind
A long time ago
She was fully mine, though
I crossed some lines
Now I can feel
A wound that won’t heal
I'm pained inside
It stays on my heels
It’s here with me still
It walks by my side
My heart is enflamed
For rapture I pray
Drunk on altar wine
A girl with red hair
Who was humble and cared
Is on my mind
A girl with red hair
Who was pretty and fair
All the time
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5. |
Yonder, Stranger
04:57
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There are far off places that lay over the hills
Unknown for the most part, even still
If you have the time then I will cook you a meal
If I can help further, you know I will
Yonder, stranger’s
Where you should go
Though there are dangers
There is much less snow
Now the sky is dark and gray
Your heart’s heavy as a stone
And there are bandits who will prey
Upon those traveling alone
But there are good folk down the way
Who offer shelter when it’s cold
May good fortune find you, babe
A little further up the road
On the road to your fortune you got lost for a spell
And your true love abandoned you, as well
And you feared like others you would falter or fail
And collapse in the snow along the trail
Yonder, stranger’s
Where you oughta go
Though there are dangers
There is much less snow
Now the sky is dark and gray
Your heart’s heavy like a stone
And there are bandits who will prey
Upon those traveling alone
But there are good folk down the way
Who offer shelter when it’s cold
May good fortune find you, babe
A little further up the road
Alternative Verse:
There are infinite worries that’ll have you succumb
And question what in God’s name you’ve begun
There are fears you live with when you’re on the run
And you can fret too much o’er what’s to come
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6. |
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Oh, turn your head
I believe this man is dead
What a shame
What a fate
Call the meds
Or call the police, instead!
Another man
Found him sleeping
In his bed
As though he thought
That he could stand
In his sted
He drug him through the snow and stabbed him in the shed
Don’t allow the children near for we’ve found a man who’s dead
Oh, Slam the door
For this man is a sloth and a bore
I’m sure he's come
Without a doubt
To ask for more
His game we good folk deplore!
He wants you
To sing his praise
To write his lore
Of derring-do
Of ancient age
Or as of yore
I often fear he’s leaving something vile upon my floor
I’ve heard the lines he’s speaking; yes, I’ve seen his kind before
Tonight we speak in code and play the game
And keep it yet unknown but fan the flames
I’ll find the one those words were meant to shame
I’ll find the one these words are meant to claim
Oh, to her I’m sworn
Though most times admit that I feel torn
Call it off
Wave the flag
Blow the horn
The loss of my life, I mourn!
Many hours
Many years
I have born
Many trials
Many tears
Many storms
And when I think on my true love, my heart is so forlorn
In her panties and a T-Shirt on a cool september morn
Tonight we talk in code and play the game
And keep it yet unknown but fan the flames
I'll find the one those words were meant to shame
I’ll find the one these words are meant to claim
Oh!
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7. |
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I can hardly speak
I think my tongue is filled with lead
I look in the distance to the peak
I’m afraid that I should go to bed
No, those are words that I might tweak
I think it’s all just in my head
Or maybe my spirit’s sprung a leak
Or else my soul has not been fed
Oh, I’ve had an awful week
& I’m coming off my meds
Take a moment for reprieve
Take some time to just relax
There are points you should concede
Try to square off with the facts
Try to follow where they lead
Try to think before you act
Try to turn some words to deed
Try to reel in a little slack
Try to say just what you mean
But please use a little tact
& Don’t get stuck off in one scene
You gotta move and not look back
It’s happened all too quick
Something slipped, yet I’ve survived
But I feel beaten with a stick
Those ain’t words that I’ve contrived
At times I thought I could get sick
I just let out a little sigh
Oh, I thought it had me licked
But I'll probably make it if I try
Oh, I’ve tried to make it known
I’ve opened up the lid
You’ve seen what I have shown
I ain’t kept nothing hid
We feel the winds have blown
No more time to play or kid
We’re due up on the loan
And it doesn’t matter what we did
Though we ain’t nothing they can clone
Or upon which they might bid
Girl, I said I'd would drive this home
And that’s exactly what I did
Oh, I need a wealthy little girl
One with trimmings and with lace
Or else a higher standard whore
One with a pretty little face
I oughta get out in the world
Not be so caught up in this race
With these rat-like little squirrels
Trying to keep up with the pace
Who live and die by business morals
Who cannot see past what is base
Who with batons that twist and twirl
But unlikely ever leave a trace
That I can show off at the store
One I can take out on a date
Alternative stanzas:
Don’t turn back, babe, I’m comin’ around the bend
I’m gettin’ back on track, babe
Try not to condescend
They thought they had me sacked, babe
But I got up and went again
I’d been listenin’ to some quacks, friend
Those sorts that move in packs
But it’s time to start again
I’m coming around the bend
I was trying to make amends
Try not to condescend
Babe, I’m about to close the deal
And you think of me today
And now you know this shit’s for real
Not some act that I have feigned
Not something yet to be revealed
Though I admit a bit insane
Ain't like some show that I have billed
What this is is very plain
Neither hidden nor concealed
Aw, hear me out ol’ babe
& Don’t give me no flack until
What it is is very plain
What this is is very real
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8. |
The Knob On The Door
05:59
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On falsified charges they came after to me
I ran like a bandit from the plains to the sea
I hid out in alleyways and left ‘em no leads
I moved through the heartland, disguised, you see
We left Oklahoma, flat-stomach and lean
We squandered the fortune we were given in need
And blew through the South like young, tumbling weeds
Strung out and broke, just the usual things
But my travelin’ days were put to a very cruel end
When I married a girl who chained me to installments and rent
Now I sit on the coach and I drink and I try to pretend
That things turned out different and I was loose again
In the boredom of winter, in the sorrow of night
I dream of a highway that runs out of sight
Over the highlands under star-spangled skies
Down through the low-lands where the big trucks drive
Don’t give me no lip or no grief no more
Think twice ‘for you strike up that ol’ worn out score
I’ll tell you again like I’ve told you before
Keep your thoughts to yourself like a good little girl
I recall days when I shook to the depths of my core
Now I sit silent and gaze at that knob on the door
And I dream of the wheel and riding that ol’ asphalt shore
Further away than I e’er been before
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9. |
If You Travel Far Enough
04:50
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If you travel far enough
No one’ll understand
The language that you speak
Or where you’re coming from
And what you’re saying plain
They’ll say you spoke in tongues
And they’ll say your words are strange
And think you’ve maddened some
Plenty are the times
I’ve put on naive eyes
It’s hard to come across
With those who’ve never died
But since I call them friends,
Man, what can I say?
I’d rather not offend
And don’t want to cause them pain
When I went back home
They knew me not at all
But mistook me for someone
Who left there long ago
And so I go alone
It’s always best that way
I travel through the dark
And no one knows from where I came
Alternative Stanze:
And so I go alone
Unto the sand & sea
Where my words are understood
And where to speak is just to breath.
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Reece Sullivan Lafayette, Louisiana
Originally from Arkansas, and now in Lafayette, LA, I play the surrounding areas regularly. Over the course of the years, I've reinvented myself musically many times: piano to guitar, classical to art rock, art rock to folk, flat picking to finger-picking, solely songwriting to performing. My latest incarnation has me playing out often, sometimes touring, and writing and recording consistently. ... more
Reece Sullivan recommends:
Burning Midnight
by Michael O'Connor
I played with Michael at the 2022 Dripping Springs Songwriter Festival and he's one of the good ones . . . if you get the chance to hear him live, do.
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Queen City Blues
by Clay Parker
Excellent album!
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Excellent songwriter!
go to albumIf you like Reece Sullivan, you may also like:
Phototherapy EP
by Fahim Rahman
A collection of twinkling bedroom folk-pop demos from Fahim Rahman that arcs from hushed intimacy to sweeping cinematic emotionality.
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The Creature That I Call Myself
by Julie Arsenault
featured on Bandcamp Radio Apr 21, 2015
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Blood Moon
by Michot's Melody Makers
Fiddler Louis Michot of Lost Bayou Ramblers leads this electric string band through an exuberant take on traditional cajun music.
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