Get all 30 Crush Limbo releases available on Bandcamp and save 15%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Crush Limbo, Wot Fresh Hell, Wake Up!, Utility Drawer, Next Nice Day (single), Purveyors of Mayhem, Songs from the Sidelines, Songs from the Bench, and 22 more.
1. |
Once, When I Was Walking
04:04
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Once, when I was walking down the street,
I saw you there.
You were dressed rather discreetly,
all in black but you wore it with flair.
I asked if you were in mourning.
You smiled and said, “No. It’s late afternoon.”
I tried to say something charming
The words weren’t there and you left too soon.
Yes, you went your way, I went mine.
this tale might have ended right there.
But a terrible wind swept through the land
spreading sorrow and grief everywhere.
They asked that we stay inside—
self quarantine, shelter in place.
“For the sake of all—countrywide—
Please wash your hands; don’t touch your face!”
Time did pass, as did many a soul—
young and old; all colors and creeds.
We swallowed our fears
and we choked back tears
Singing hymns and fingering beads.
I tried to listen—to keep my distance.
I did my part and kept apart
from the outside world.
Even though I so wanted to meet you girl.
Soon, the grey clouds parted
Lockdown lifted, We left our homes
But we looked more like specters
then, as we crept from our catacombs
When I started walking down the street,
I saw you there.
You were dressed rather discreetly,
save for the dead flower in your hair.
I asked if you were in mourning.
You smiled and said, “No. It’s late afternoon.”
’twas then, with nary a warning,
I felt something bloom and a weary heart swoon.
Once when I was walking down the street
I saw you there.
You were dressed rather discreetly,
save for the dead flower in your hair.
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2. |
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I was drinking last night in a dream
by the light of a silvery beam.
I stopped tippling last year,
but my id still drinks beer,
and I don’t feel the need to intervene.
I was thinking things aren’t as they seem;
and that facts get distorted by memes.
Before truth gets its shoes on
a lie’s got 10 million views on
the box that glues eyes to its screen.
And hunches may be good things to go on
when you’re sure you can win, place or show on
that mudder in the seventh race
a day after rains.
But throwing good money after bad,
because you can’t admit you’ve been had,
on a bet you should never have placed —
Well, that’s just sad.
More than a little insane.
I was drinking last night in a dream;
my thoughts, merely droplets in a beam.
Though I suffered from thirst
I watched each bubble burst,
brewing notions without any theme.
And I’m thinking some ideas are like tumors,
feeding on slander and rumor.
Before truth gets its shoes on
Dad’s got the news on,
and the windbags are venting their spleen.
And hunches may be good things to go on
when you’re sure you can win, place or show on
that mudder in the seventh race
a day after rains.
But throwing good money after bad,
because you can’t admit you’ve been had,
on a bet you should never have placed —
Well, that’s just sad.
More than a little insane.
I was drinking last night in a dream
by the light of a silvery meme.
I stopped tippling last year
but my id still drinks beer
and I don’t feel the need to intervene.
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3. |
New Wave Hairdo
03:16
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Woke up
with a new wave
hair do
Contemplating
the ineffable
I used to glide
through life
unafraid--
believing all
was possible.
If I were dissuaded
I could side step
the naysayers,
rally the ne’er do ‘ells
on my way
to paradise.
Now I think
I might get stuck
a few stops short,
somewhere south
of Eden
where the air’s
not so nice.
Woke up
in the new caged
curfew —
isolated and unlovable.
I used to glide
through life
unafraid,
believing all
was possible.
Now I’m not so sure
a tainted heart can be pure
inoculate inure
until they find a cure.
Woke up
with a new wave hairdo
renovating the inevitable.
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4. |
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The sun is sinking
moon is rising
i should be deciding
whether to tell
her goodbye
i’d usually be drinking
but i told her
i was thinking …
i told her
i was thinking
of staying dry
I’m a libertine
destroyer of all
that she takes joy in
and yet I’m the doyen
in whom she believes
and we fall into a fantasy
that she bound
to rescue me
i was found and now im free
from the devil
and the deep blue sea
What lies in wait
in the brave new world/
when you go beyond the gates
of this sanctuary, girl?
There’s never any guarantee
all your oysters will have pearls
but it’s the chance you gotta take
gotta give it a whirl
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5. |
Dimocracy
03:11
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We’re wading through a swamp of toxicity
Sadly, it’s becoming apparent to me
the only ones who have the ability to change it
are too dumb to notice its their reality … TV
Let me state this unequivocally:
We perpetrate a false equivalency
when we give equal time
to con artists and crackpots —
when we refuse to call bullshit on their lies
They say that the State should stay out of their lives;
they won’t abide by mandates so the prone can survive.
An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind
Common sense on its death bed while ignorance thrives.
A gamble that’s endured two-hundred plus years
Preamble ignored through a trail of endless tears
Hope we might achieve a more perfect union
disappearing fast; no guarantee this thing will last.
It’s mourning in America; time to say good night.
Despite all those souls dying for our rights,
Democracy is dwindling, disappearing without a fight.
Will the last one left standing, please turn out the lights.
They say that the State should stay out of their lives;
they don’t want to end up at a gunfight with knives.
An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.
Common sense on its death bed while ignorance thrives
Living in dimocracy
the light so faint I cannot see
Living in dimocracy
it’s dwindling now. Can’t you see?
Living in dimocracy
Living in dimocracy.
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6. |
Liberated Man
05:12
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Liberated man
you can’t understand —
you’re just a pawn
in some other man’s game.
So, take your number,
you’ll die just the same.
You’re just a toy
a political ploy —
a sacrificial lamb
for the new Dark Age;
a weapon and tool
for the demagogue’s rage.
[chorus]
We’ve been down this road before;
(We’ve) seen profit seekers and carnivores
size us up like mince
for the grinding mill.
And we don’t always need to agree
but the numbers are plain to see
Ignoring the facts
is no brave act of free will.
Yes, the onerous task
of donning a mask
is a burden some patriots
just won’t bear.
They show who they are
and just how much they care.
But they’ve got to be free
They say, “Don’t tread on me.”
No way we’ll "baa!"
like the rest of you sheep.
But freedom is duty,
my friends—
it ain’t cheap!
[chorus]
We’ve been down this road before;
(We’ve) seen profit seekers and carnivores
size us up like mince
for the grinding mill.
And we don’t always need to agree
But the numbers are plain to see
Ignoring the facts
Is no act of free will.
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7. |
Resolute Desk
04:11
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Passing by a window
where we once dined;
seeing only my reflection
an ominous sign:
Chairs on the table
Where we once sat;
Not even any scraps
For a dirty street rat.
Passing grim milestones,
too many dead and counting.
Passing on the blame,
the new form of accounting.
The situation now
is getting grotesque.
Some might say
it’s rather Kafkaesque
[Chorus]
Courage? You won’t find it;
It’s best not to look
when the one who sits behind it
is a despot and a crook.
Might just be time
to put that fable to rest:
“The buck stops here
at the Resolute Desk!”
A plague was approaching
He said, “No big deal:
it’s a hoax, a plot—
it’s not even real!”
Bodies piled up
He said, “Do not fear;
one day soon
this will all disappear.”
[Chorus]
Courage? You won’t find it;
best not to look
when the one who sits behind it
is a despot; a crook.
Might just be time
to put that fable to rest:
“The buck stops here
at the Resolute Desk!”
[bridge]
140 thousand drops of water
in an ocean
The number seems small
When plopped into that quotient
But some of those drops
Were tears behind a glass
Because hugs and kisses
Weren’t let through to pass
They say that the eyes
are portals to the soul
Do yours empathize
or are they just black holes?
When you pass by a window,
tell me, what do you see?
Do you say to your reflection,
“That could have been me?”
Demands total authority,
takes no responsibility;
Wants fealty and puffery
Knows not duty nor humility.
The situation now
is beyond grotesque
You might say
It’s become Kafkaesque
[chorus 2x]
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8. |
Deep State
03:12
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Where are you now?
in the deep state.
Crisis actors
How they factor
in your fantasies.
Puppet masters,
false flag disasters
and conspiracies
Student victim,
you mocked and kicked him
in your twitter war.
You’re so sure
he’s 35 w/ a SAG card
and a headshot ...
and
a flesh wound
a flesh wound
Where are you now?
(in the deep state)
Where are you now?
(in a deep state of delusion
and confusion)
Are we pawns
moved by a hand
we cannot see ...
willing agents
in a shadowy bureaucracy?
Is a covert network
orchestrating our reality?
Take your guns away!
Look out!
They’ll take your guns away!
[bridge]
With your flak jackets
and your war game weekends --
faux persecution that never ends.
Follow me, if you will,
across the astral plain,
through the byzantine
byways of the shrinking brain.
I dream I'm in an altered state:
the break in at the Watergate
Where are you now?
When we seize power,
If it all goes sour,
we’ll need someone to blame
Someone to blame
Someone to blame
I’m fully loaded;
I’m wiretapped.
They’ve bugged my brain
and they’re going zap!
Where are you now?
(in the deep state)
Where are you now?
(in the deep state)
(in the deep state
of denial_
Freedom from want
(denial)
Freedom to go to Fuddruckers if you want
(denial)
(denial)
(denial)
Freedom to own two tigers if you want.
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9. |
But for Fortune or Fate
04:40
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Stinky old man
in the seedy bus depot,
heavy-lidded eyes
and head hanging low.
I ain’t tellin’ you nothin’
you don’t already know.
You, too, hold your nose
as you quickly come and go.
Yes, it’s easy for our eyes
to pass over this man.
He’s got nothing we want,
as he holds out his hand.
You might even say
he deserves what he got,
that the choices he’s made
are what determined his lot.
Before you pass him by
Before you turn a blind eye
Give him more than
just a head shake and sigh
But for fate or fortune
there we’d sit, you or I
Yes, you might even say
he deserves what he got
Which, when all is said and done,
ain’t a hell of a lot.
Would it surprise you to learn
some tough breaks factored in,
ones that caused him to turn
to the whiskey and gin?
Lost a job, then a house
he mostly saved for on his own.
Devil bargain with Faust
was that “low-interest” loan.
Ab Eb Bb
Before you pass him by
Don’t you turn a blind eye
Ab Eb Bb
Give him more than just
F Bb
a head shake and sigh
Ab Eb Bb
Ah, but for a turn of fortune
F
Or fate
C# Ab F
goes you and I
[Solo]
Gm F# Fmin Ebmaj7
Gm F# Fmin Ebmaj7 C
I told myself,
more than a quick toss of change,
I’d pause next time I saw him
just to ask him his name.
A week or so later
all but gone was the stench,
and gone, too, was the man
who lived on the bench.
Replaced by a kiosk
With brochures selling homes
Saying: “All this could be yours
with a low-interest loan.”
Before you pass him by
Don’t turn a blind eye
Give him more than
A head shake and sigh
Yes before you pass him by
Don’t you turn a blind eye
For there but for a turn
of fate or fortune
goes you and I.
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10. |
The Way We Live
03:53
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As it drifts into one long day
no more colors only shades of grey
you’re seeing things in a different way
While the plague hangs heavy in the air
all the masks that you will or won’t wear
are a measure of how much you care.
And It really didn’t take very long
to know that you were doing it wrong all along.
And you strain to recall what matters
as your belly just keeps getting fatter
and you’re staring at the lumps in the batter
For the pancakes you haven’t earned
the calories you’ve yet to burn.
and the bread you’re planning to bake
before you’ve even finished your cake.
maybe you’ve learned to give and not just take
And it really didn’t take so long
to understand you’ve been doing it all wrong
Now you’re running out of fucks to give
But honey, this is now the way we live!
You’re both running out of things to say
as it drifts into another day
And you worry that what truly matters
is getting lost in the endless natter
Dear Leader, well, he’s mad as a hatter
and your sanity is left in tatters
And she says It gonna take a bit longer
you know, but we’re comin’ out this thing wiser and stronger
But it really didn’t take so long
to realize you’ve been doing it all wrong
I know you’re running out of fucks to give
But honey, this is now the way you live!
This is now the way we live.
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11. |
Waiting in the Wings
04:26
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The slow motion marching
of an alabaster body
haloed by the dust-heavy
light of its leaving.
In the pauses of dissonant,
unearthly strings,
you hear Death breathing,
waiting in the wings
of a chrysalis butterfly.
You hear Death breathing,
waiting in the wings
tonight.
Vinyl-grooved zig zags.
Silver-streaked pants.
The sylphlike limbs
that preened and pranced.
Now coffined they rest.
They still wear them best.
You hear Death breathing,
waiting in the wings
of a chrysalis butterfly.
The universe is cleaving,
heaving a sigh
as it sings tonight.
The slow motion marching
of an alabaster body
haloed by the dust-heavy
light of its leaving.
In the pauses of dissonant,
unearthly strings,
you hear Death breathing,
waiting in the wings
of a chrysalis butterfly.
You can hear Death breathing,
waiting in the wings
tonight.
Yes, you hear Death breathing,
waiting in the wings
tonight.
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12. |
Time Passes
03:09
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Time passes
and the people
you love go, too.
Even those
you didn't know
so well
seem dear to you.
The timeless icons
of our youth
have all succumbed
to an awful truth:
One day we'll
all be gone;
that's something
we can't outrun.
Sometimes
the creaking pier
sounds a melody
and the voices
in the universe
call out to me:
Drop your plans
follow what you hear
sit on the dock
and have a beer.
one day you will
be gone;
that's one thing
you can't outrun.
So, what can you do,
but believe in your own myth
then find someone to
destroy it with?
Everyday things;
the worm-fresh feel of spring.
Roll your sleeves up and dig in.
Roll up your sleeves to begin.
Mend the diorama
river with a dab of glue
Fix the moment fast,
before it rushes
past your view.
The timeless icons
of your youth
have all succumbed
to an awful truth:
One day we will
all be gone;
that's one thing
we can't outrun.
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13. |
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Crush Limbo North Bergen, New Jersey
Crush Limbo is the stage name of NY-NJ-based musician Colm Clark.
It's bedroom pop
meets Tin Pan Alley -- a world where glam gets it on with André Popp, teasing midlife symphonies from tear-shaped guordalins.
And in the grand tradition of Sondheim, Wonder, Bowie, and the Beatles — melody is key, baby, and tunes are where it's at.
... more
Crush Limbo recommends:
Mark Lesseraux - Get Your Back Up Off The Wall
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Far from "by-the-numbers," Mark's covers are revelatory: they bring out aspects of the originals one didn't know existed. Highlights: Dancing in the Dark, Buick Mackane, You Dropped a Bomb on Me.
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Passing Place
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featured on Bandcamp Radio Jun 14, 2016
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Punchy pop-rock from Perth that balances gritty guitar work with wry hooks.
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boys b/w starving!
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A lo-fi single from the New York musician Sean Thornton threads a ghostly melodica over far-off vocals to absorbing effect.
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