Get all 7 Rare Americans releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Hey Sunshine, Mama Bear, Baggage, Rare Americans 2, The Moneyz, Rare Americans, and Worm is Gonna Turn.
1. |
Brittle Bones Nicky
03:22
|
|
||
Wires got crossed when I was about 3
Dad had bloody heavy hands, used them on me
My mamma? Bless her heart, cuz she gave me a start
She got killed, bad man, dad stiffed in a scam
Grew up in the system, bounced, couple homes
This woman Mary, gifted me hand-me-down clothes
Shy at the start, till this guy named Shifty
Who had 100 pounds on me called me “Brittle Bones Nicky”
A target aimed straight at my face
Big house of kids, cred is cake
Rounded up a couple bucks, got it freshly baked
Sat down to dinner
Put it right in his face
Right in his fucking face (in his face)
You’re not gonna push me around
You can’t get me down, down, down (down!)
You’re not gonna push me around (nooo!)
You can’t get me down, down, down (down!)
Bounce ahead a couple years, king of my peers
We biked the block, cheersin’ pretty girls beers
Did alright for myself, petty thefts I pulled
I dropped outta school, built a circle of bulls
Needing more money, covered head to toe
Snuck up, sucker, took his stash, and drove
The cash stashed, it was pouring in
Bulk of it up my nose
How dumb I was, twenty-one
And way out of control
The cops kicked down the door
She did a line right off my (wow!)
Said “that’s one way to go down”
Knew I was hard as rock
Knew-I-was-hard-as-rock (hard as rock)
You’re not gonna push me around
You can’t get me down, down, down (down!)
You’re not gonna push me around (no!)
You can’t get me down, down, down (down!)
Bars, new world, who could I trust?
Killers were nice, smugglers were rough
Met a man named Ben, quite sharp & witty
Gave me books about money & cities
Taught me ropes, only years coulda gained
Looked out for each other, M.O’s the same
That night I heard Ben, turning 50 in May
Yellin’ so loud, two decades we aged
Found him cornered, pants down, shanked
Didn’t even think twice, man I barely blinked
(I barely blinked, I barely blinked)
If it cost me my life man id save my only friend
That’s something I could live with
I could take that till the end
x2
You’re not gonna push me around
You can’t get me down, down, down (down!)
You’re not gonna push me around (no!)
You can’t get me down, down, down (down!)
Now every morning, coffee, park
Walking around the city, deals light or dark
I’m straight edge as a punk, well mannered, and I feel free
Tried to do what I thought was best
And that’s coming to the grave with me
As I lay here in my final nights, I try to have a laugh
I didn’t win the game of life
But I’d give myself a pass
|
||||
2. |
Milk Man
03:00
|
|
||
Sometimes I drive and ignore the signs
Without a seconds thought
I’m not an asshole, but I don’t care about getting caught
My friend the lawyer pads his time
I think the man behind the man has got his hands
In both your pockets laughing
Grinding, like the milkman
Pull the strings, the people dance
On a leash like sheep herd, cash advance
Put enough in your pocket, your life’s a loan
Till you can’t get straight, deep red, full blown
You got no one to turn to
And people you owe
You’re a dope, head shakin’, battered, broke
Life is tough man
We go on with the show
This life is tough man
And everybody knows
I call it as I see it
I’m straight as shooters go
I might indulge a little
In this life you never know
I call it as I see it
I’m straight as shooters go
I might indulge a little
I said “fuck it” long ago
What is your play at the end of the day? (should I know?)
Will you stay down or will you find a way? (I’ll find a way)
What is your play at the end of the day? (I think I know)
Will you stay down or will you find a way?
I’ll find a way
I’ll find a way
I call it as I see it
I’m straight as shooters go
I might indulge a little
In this life you never know
I call it as I see it
I’m straight as shooters go
I might indulge a little
I said “fuck it” long ago
I said “fuck it” let it go
|
||||
3. |
Falling Down
03:08
|
|||
4. |
No Easy Roads
03:01
|
|||
5. |
Hullabaloo
03:17
|
|||
6. |
|
|||
7. |
Gas Mask
03:14
|
|||
8. |
Berlin
03:14
|
|||
9. |
Up, Up & Away
03:12
|
|||
10. |
9 Times Out Of 10
02:48
|
|||
11. |
Adults or Kids
02:27
|
|||
12. |
Without You Around
03:58
|
|||
13. |
Ryan & Dave
03:37
|
|
||
Ryan and Dave are rabble rousin', teenage cousins
Difference is Dave has an off switch, and Ryan doesn’t
Twenty years later now Dave behaves rank and file
And Ryan’s a burnt-out adult, last gasp, wild child
"How ya doing Dave?" Ryan sheepishly asks
“Your the last guy in the world I want to call up with this trash
But bro can I hit ya up for a little cash? Man I’m on one leg and it's the last
"Man I can help you Ryan if you go to detox
But I ain't spotting you shit for more pills or rocks
Jamie’s worried about you being round our kids
She don’t want it around, no and's, but's or if's"
"Ok ill do it
Ok ill do it
Ok ill do it do it do it
Ok ill do it"
It's time, it's time, it's time
It’s time, its time, it’s time
"Let me stay the night and I’ll go in the morning
It's not like I didn't have a fifteen-year warning
I’m thirty-five, I’m half alive, without a pot to piss in
I’m dead broke on worse than coke and homeless"
It's time, it's time, it's time
It’s time, its time, its time
It's time, it's time, it's time
It’s time, its time, it’s time
"Ok ill do it
Ok ill do it
Ok ill do it do it do it
Ok ill do it"
Six twenty-six in the morning didn't need an alarm
I couldn’t sleep a wink, I’m betting my whole farm
Left Dave's place at 8, just drove, didn't really talk
I shook his hand and popped the door to make the walk
Applied for admission at the detox shop
Got to the door it said open, 10 o'clock
It's freezing out, no way that I can make it to ten
Look back at my truck at my only real friend
It's time it's time its time
Its time its time its time
It's time it's time its time
It’s time its time its time
"Ok ill do it
Ok ill do it
Ok ill do it do it do it
Ok ill do it"
|
||||
14. |
Missing Targets
02:40
|
|||
15. |
Brittle Bones Nicky 2
03:43
|
|
||
Welcome friends! Hello foe’s
Thought my story was over, book closed?
Think again, we’re no where close
My eyes are open, cheers, we toast
I am mother fucking ghost (he’s a ghost!)
My heart beat blanked, through the ground I sank
I met a driver, his name was Hank
Told me we were on the way, when I asked to where
He said, “can’t say, he himself decides your fate, I’ll drop you off right in front of the gates”
A roller coaster kinda night
My whole life right in plain site
Saw my mom, held her hand
Couldn’t wait to hug her in the promised land
A rush of love, flight of doves
I must be trippin, what a drug
Am I going to Heaven or Hell?
A question I have always asked myself
Brittle Bones Nicky
You were crafty and tricky
It’s said that you were gold
It’s said that you were gold!
Welcome, welcome Nicky
Welcome to heaven!
Doors open up, I was usher’d in
Hank said “good luck to ya kid”
A sign on the door, it read “fate”
Two arrows pointed, to 2 gates
I’m a shoe in, I don’t hate
God laughed right in my fucking face
“No kid, you made many mistakes
Started with the pie to Shifty’s face
Go be with your mates, scoundrels, fakes
You pay for sins in my place”
Mom looked on, without a trace
I was cast away, thrown, hell’s gate
Said “this ain’t fare, you dealt those cards,
I made the most of a terrible start”
No voice came back, laughs from the pack
Spit on my shoes, & clawed at my back
I guess I belong in hell
Is god the devil himself?
Brittle Bones Nicky
You’re not crafty or tricky
You’re a son of a bitch, you’re alone
Welcome to your new home
It was a fucking zoo, rotting in spew
Caged, a bird, bruised black and blue
Cried “I gotta get out of this place”
I heard a voice “only 1 way”
It was Ben, it’d been years
Saved him from the “3 musketeers”
Man I was happy to see his face
“I owe you one, I’ll help you out of this maze,
“Approach the devil, with venomous grace
Tell him you’ll fuck with the human race
He may let you out, as a Ghost, a pawn
To scare the shit out of who he wants
if you serve time, do despicable crimes
The “devil” might let you into heaven in time
Lines right there for you to plead, say a prayer
get on your knees”
I gotta, get outta, this hell
Would you sell your sole to save yourself?
I’m not gonna, get pushed around
I’m not going down, down, down! (Down!)
I’m not going down!
“Come on in, take a seat”
He was turned around, only saw his feet
The voice I knew, I’d just heard
He turned around, it was God, he slurred
“Surprised? Most of em’ are
I’m Mufasa, and I’m Scar”
Lily white shit gets old and trite
Now tell me why you’re in my sight”
“I’ll make you a deal, if I can’t close
Banish me to the down below
I’m crafty and tricky
Millions of people dig me
Let me go back, make people crack
If I do you right, grant me a pass
To see my mom, and watch her back”
Brittle Bones Nicky
He was crafty and tricky
That son of a bitch was gold!
Ya that son of a bitch was gold!
So here I am, not quite a man
But I always got a game plan
I’ll ruffle feathers, fuck with folks
But you know me, I’m a good bloke
|
Rare Americans Vancouver, British Columbia
Not crooked in the sense we’re criminals, in fact we barely have a speeding ticket between us. Crooked in the sense that we see the world a little crooked, we tell stories with slants. We sing for characters who rarely take the straight path.
Streaming and Download help
If you like Rare Americans, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp