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Five Things

by Nicholas Rowe

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Simon Burrows
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1.
Promises I Couldn't Keep 05:18
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I saw you from across the room When I was 23. You were holding hands with someone else, But you were looking right at me. I didn't know how to love you But you had something that I need So I did what I do best, Make promises I couldn't keep I wrote them all into my love songs And I played them one by one. Every hopeful declaration Of a paperback book love, It was so genuine and real As it came pouring out of me. I didn't realize I was singing Promises I couldn't keep. Promises I couldn't keep Oh but I didn't really mean to lie. Promises I couldn't keep I swear I tried. I swear I tried. So these words kept swirling all around And getting stuck inside my head And I never thought about what they meant No I never questioned what I said. So when I finally got down on one knee And starting fumbling with a ring My mind was buzzing the sound Of promises I couldn't keep. When it all came crashing down Like it was always bound to do I was so sure that you'd skip town I wasn't gonna blame you. And when you found me on that pier Came to ask me what I need I was just drowning in the waves Of promises I couldn't keep.
2.
Lake Michigan 04:11
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The only thing that I truly own is this heart inside my chest And so I like to keep it locked and hidden underneath my vest 'Cause I been hurt before. Don't you leave me in Chicago. What did you come here for if you won't be here tomorrow? I know my voice is quiet baby but my heart is so loud. So many things that I want to say but you know they won't come out 'Cause I been hurt before. Don't you leave me in Chicago. Tell me what did you come here for if you won't be here tomorrow? I went down to the waterfront docks where we walked the night we met Went to our usual meeting spot and I found the note you left Then I watched the dark clouds roll in and swallow up Lake Michigan And I rode that storm back home. I'm gonna sit in my sorrow until I write a song or two. I'm gonna sit in silence until I can finally hear the truth. 'Cause I been hurt before. Why'd you leave me in Chicago? Baby what did you come here for if you won't be here tomorrow? I went down to the waterfront docks where we walked the night we met. A distant thunder from far off so I turned to face the wind Then I watched the dark clouds roll in and swallow up Lake Michigan And I rode that storm back home.
3.
I Have Five Things To Say 04:14
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I have five things to say - five fingers on my hand. Lord knows they can't do much but baby I do what I can. Before the day I met you this world did not exist Nor any other like it baby I am sure of this. And whatever I was searching for, it was always you. Now that I have found you let me tell you what I'll do. I have five things to say - five coins to give away. You know my money's counterfeit but accept it anyway. When everything I own gets burned away, goes up in smoke I can walk away and laugh about it, treat it like a joke. 'Cause if it's only just the two of us that's really all I need, Sometimes I can't remember why I learned to count to three. "Cause You are the sky that my spirit circles in - The love inside of love. And you are the soil where my life begins again - The love inside of love. I have five things to say - five songs that I can sing. I'm gonna sing them with my whole heart, really give it everything. I'm gonna open up this heart and put my soul out on display All the anger and frustration, all the sadness and the pain. But there is joy and there is happiness tucked up in there too And spilling out into this love song that I'm singing just for you.
4.
Ain't No Politician 03:51
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I ain't no politician. I ain't no politician's son. I ain't got no election campaign that I need to run. I ain't trying to hide no scandal I ain't got no smoking gun. I said I ain't no politician ain't no politician's son. I ain't no businessman. I ain't no businessman's son. I don't want to run the factory I'm just here to cut and run. And I don't care to make my fortune on the back's of anyone. I said I ain't no businessman I ain't no businessman's son. I am the son of Highway 61. My next of kin is the howlin' of the wind. I ain't no preacher man. I ain't no preacher man's son. I ain't here to judge nobody I'm just trying to have some fun. And you know promising salvation, it is easier said then done. I said I ain't no preacher man I ain't no preacher man's son.
5.
Settlers of the American Midwest 04:42
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I got this girl I've been seeing And last night she said to me I can see that you're out on the edge And you feel like you need to be free But if you don't plant yourself somewhere Then you never will grow I guess that I can see logic in that But really I just don't know. Sometimes I feel like I've gotten in So deep I'll never get out. I lay awake at night next to her Feeling this weight on me pushing me down And I've got this job that I hate But I know that I've got to stay. I'm being paid a minimum wage To slowly waste away. And these people don't know me. And this town has outgrown me But I don't know what to do. I'm empty and aching But I'm so tired of faking And I don't know what to do. Sometimes I think about Packing my bags and starting again Find myself a new job In some other town And make some new friends Find a new favorite bar Get myself a new love. Ah but come a year from now I'd find myself in the same old rut.
6.
Naked Trees Blowing Wind 06:06
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Naked trees and blowin' wind. A winter night has come again And I got this feeling deep inside all my mistakes have robbed me blind And everything I worked so hard to save It ain't worth a damn it ain't worth anything. A lonesome house on top a hill, I knew a beautiful girl that once lived there. I was hers and she was mine. Sunlight shining through her window blind In the bedroom where she would read Mark Twain. I never felt so far away. So far away. I try to shake these feelings. Shake this cold But her name is in the wind blowing bitter to my bones But I've got a warm coat with deep pockets. I tried to warm my hand and I found your locket. I've been running for so long. And I just want to come home. I've been running for so long yeah. I just want to come home. I'm thinking of the day we met. And that old Bob Dylan tape cassette. The Time's They Are A'Changin' we would sing Me banging on the piano and you on tambourine. You were so shy but I didn't mind a bit And there were girls before you but I've forgotten all of them But I'll never forget the first time that you told me that you loved me And I promised I would never ever ever ever ever leave. But I've been running for so long, And I just want to come home. I've been running for so long yeah, and I just want to come home. Now that I am here I can't even bare to knock. You might not recognize my face. Your love may have become as fickle as mine once was There may be another in my place. Now that I am here I can't even bare to knock. You might not want me anymore. Maybe I just had to see this place one last time then go And I put your locket round the knob of your front door I turn back around and I face the cold And I turn my collar against the snow Step back out into the night so dark and bleak But in the wind I swear I heard a screen door creak. A bright warm glow and your silhouette You were just standing there expressionless You said you knew in time this day'd eventually arrive And it looked to you like I could use a warm bed for the night And I said I've been running for so long. I just want to come home I've been running for so long yeah, I just to come home.
7.
Epilogue: I Swear I Tried 02:12
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I finally saw myself for who I was When I was 33 And I wanted so bad to be the man That I'd always promised I could me I guess I really thought I'd fooled them all Until one day I looked around to see I was the only one who fell for The promises I couldn't keep But there you were baby right beside me And you wouldn't let me stay feeling worthless You said that every day is another chance To try to make a little progress So I'm gonna stay right here beside you Just like you stood right by me And I'm gonna spend my time making good on The promises I couldn't keep. Promises I couldn't keep Oh but I didn't really mean to lie Promises I couldn't keep I swear i tried. I swear I tried.

credits

released May 22, 2020

All songs recorded, mixed, & mastered by Nicholas Rowe at National Audio Preservation Society except Naked Trees/Blowing Wind, which was only recently unearthed but is believed to be a basement demo recorded sometime in 2007 and somewhere in or around Mansfield, OH.

All songs were written by Nicholas Rowe.
Drums on Naked Trees/Blowing Wind by Jonathan Hape.
All other instrumentation by Nicholas Rowe.
Vocals by Nicholas Rowe.

Cover Photograph by Gena Rowe.


Copyright 2020. McKinley House Publishing/BMI.

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Nicholas Rowe Columbus, Ohio

"One of the most interesting in indie folk today… a singer to watch closely for years to come." - MEDIUM

"Fans of artists like Conor Oberst and Father John Misty will find a lot to love here, and the artist’s blend of personality and classic, folksy appeal breathes a tonne of life into the genre." - CLOUT

NICHOLAS ROWE is an indie alt-folk singer-songwriter with a brooding, folksy style. ... more

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