Get all 10 Pete Mancini releases available on Bandcamp and save 15%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Cartwheel Avenue (ft. Iain Matthews), The Commonwealth Sessions: Vol. 1, Live on WDVX, Killing The Old Ways, Old Wooden Cross/Potter's Field, Millions More/Seven Generations, Flying First Class (Expanded Edition), Monument, and 2 more.
1. |
Standing In The Shadows
03:48
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Gridlock on the turnpike
Rays of bright sunshine
Serenity in the swamp land
I hadn't known for quite some time
Took a backslide on Broadway
On a quiet Nashville night
Standing in the Shadows
Of a different state of mind
Spent too much time on the darker side
The light I could not see
Passed through a town called paradox
Lost my mind out on the street
It seems the only friends I've got left
Are pictures and memories
Standing in the Shadows
of who I used to be
It’s a long way back from the bottom
When you feel like you've been forgotten
You neglect to reconnect and start again
You locked the door before you could walk in
Burned by my best thinking
And all my best laid plans
Gary Stewart kept on singing
When things got out of hand
I got lost on a whiskey trip
When I should have walked the line
Standing in the shadows
Of a long forgotten time
A long forgotten time
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2. |
Old Television
03:31
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Found an old television
Beat up and in need of repair
Tried to fix the television
Gave up now it’s sitting there
I thought about the days
I didn't have much
And that was all I’d ever need
Time moved slow
But I didn't understand
Time was sneaking out on me
Old theme songs and breaking news
Jingles and guarantees
packed into boxes
And left out on the curb
The past is a movie that I don't wanna see
I don't wanna see
I inherited a medal
My grandfather earned in the second world war
For bravery in air combat
A keep-safe in my bureau drawer
He didn’t say much
About those days
All the days that came before
He didn’t care much
For bringing up the past
But he damn sure knew what he was fighting for
Old theme songs and breaking news
Jingles and guarantees
packed into boxes
And left out on the curb
The past is a movie that I don't wanna see
The past is a movie that I don't wanna see
I don't wanna see
Found an old television
Beat up and in need of repair
Couldn’t fix the television
It’s back on the curb and I don’t care
Old theme songs and breaking news
Reruns of memories
packed into boxes
And left out on the curb
The past is a movie that I don't wanna see
Old theme songs and breaking news
Jingles and guarantees
packed into boxes
And left out on the curb
The past is a movie that I don't wanna see
The past is a movie that I don't wanna see
The past is a movie that I don't wanna see
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3. |
Patchwork
03:12
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Some days I’m the needle
Some days I’m the thread
Some days I feel I’d be better off
Stitching years together
It’s a patchwork I’m told
Keep trudging down the righteous path
Til the day I grow old
I dug out with quicksilver
turning up fools gold
Pressured for a diamond
Found a hardened heart of coal
I thought I held the hourglass
I'm just a grain of sand
Took strength from my brothers
Missed my father’s steady hands
Some days I’m the needle
Some days I’m the thread
Some days I feel I’d be better off
Stitching years together
It’s a patchwork I’m told
Keep trudging down the righteous path
Til the day I grow old
They’ll knock you down a thousand times
Time and time again
I’ve learned you gotta work and love
In the best way you can
Don’t buy the crooked politics
Of the devil and his activists
Bad actors on a power trip
Better angels looking down
Some days I’m the needle
Some days I’m the thread
Some days I feel I’d be better off
Stitching years together
It’s a patchwork I’m told
Keep trudging down the righteous path
Til the day I grow old
Some days I’m the needle
Some days I’m the thread
Some days I feel I’d be better off
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4. |
High Rise Serenade
04:26
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The names and the faces
You always got em wrong
When you lived above the levee
From that old familiar song
Playing your guitar
On your balcony
Floating on the avenue
careless and free
You always used to say
It's the world versus me
She tried her best to love you
But you were still too young to see
You played a phony country singer
Who's name you can't recall
There was laughter in the springtime
And pride before a fall
If I could be there tonight
I'd write a different song
But I guess I'll send this letter
And try to move along
I'm haunted by the pain I caused
In our high rise days
I'm begging for your pardon
With this sorry serenade
Skipped those evening classes
Just to hang around
In the end was it worth it
For the words you wrote down
Left to start a band
To play the songs you stole
Got busy digging ditches
Til you couldn't fill the holes
Did you ever stop to think
How she felt when you turned cold
The way that she trembled
Without a hand to hold
You wish that you could call her
But you can't pick up the phone
Counting all the ways that
you might spend your days alone
If I could be there tonight
I'd write a different song
But I guess I'll send this letter
And try to move along
I'm haunted by the pain I caused
In our high rise days
I'm begging for your pardon
With this sorry serenade
If I could be there tonight
I'd write a different song
But I guess I'll send this letter
And try to move along
I'm haunted by the pain I caused
In our high rise days
I'm begging for your pardon
With this sorry serenade
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5. |
Killing The Old Ways
03:07
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Footsteps in the hall
Say it all
You’ve got a heavy load today
Lights on in the kitchen
You slam the cupboard closed
And sigh away
You say
We’re killing the old ways
I’m working toward a better day
The hand that held the gun
Turned a shooting star
To a dying sun
Those hands built these walls
Now they’re raised in anger
The roof of darkness falls
You say
We’re killing the old ways
I’m working toward a better day
a better day
and I wont fade away
A disapproving stare
Used to scare me
But not today
I’ll keep the lights for now
I’ll keep watch on this house
And i won’t look away
You say
We’re killing the old ways
I’m working toward a better day
a better day
and I wont fade away
Footsteps in the hall
Say it all
You’ve got a heavy load today
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6. |
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Stuck in the news again
Feels like you can’t wake up
Pretty sure you’ve reached the end
A storm is raging in your cup
Drop a line, phone a friend
Hope to hear the things you want to hear
A new dead-end
Ain’t it funny how things go
Don’t ask if you don’t want to know
You tried your best but it goes to show
The river’s gonna overflow
So don’t ask if you don’t want to know
Got your resolutions made
the bills have gone unpaid
The checks were all in the mail
but peace of mind is not for sale
Take a trip to clear your head, yeah
Hope to see the things you want to see
In books you’ve read, well
Ain’t it funny how things go
Don’t ask if you don’t want to know
You tried your best but it goes to show
The river’s gonna overflow
So don’t ask if you don’t want to know
There’s too much darkness, babe
We can be lighthouses
Just keep on building 'til
You got hate surrounded
Stuck in the news again
Feels like you can't wake up
We never really reach the end
so have some faith and don’t give up
(the river's gonna overflow)
Have some faith and don't give up
(don't ask if you don't want to know)
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7. |
Madison Avenue Blues
03:03
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Gold watches and designer clothes
A syndicated TV show
Silver spoon and drink in hand
A rented room in the promised land
Fitted suits head home from work
Spend their weekends getting their money’s worth
Stranded out here on the avenue
What a drag it is to catch a glimpse of you
Idle hands, a broken heart
A breakdown, a brand new start
it’s the modern world
And there’s nothing you can do
You got the Madison Avenue Blues
Subway cars and Amtrak trains
Portfolios of growing pains
Diversified but still the same
Ain’t it funny how we never change
I was just a kid when the towers fell
Yeah, life goes on, it’s just as well
Every year they read the names
Then it’s back to work, there’s money to be made
Idle hands, a broken heart
A breakdown, a brand new start
it’s the modern world
And there’s nothing you can do
You got the Madison Avenue Blues
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8. |
Horse & Sparrow
04:05
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You say the country is strong
she reads the headlines every day
But her life hasn’t changed
she’s stretching out her two weeks pay
He worked the graveyard shift at the plant up the road
They fight with the bank to keep their home
You point your finger at the border
And you hope they look the other way
You say "the horses work hard
So they get put away fed"
We’ve been left for dead
What’s left you can spare us?
What’s left for the sparrows?
It's an election year
they watched the candidates debate
Then the world shut down
They just want to put food on their baby’s plate
You say the have-not's always take too much
But we never had the same head start
It seems your high rise mind
Could never fill the hole in your heart
You say "the horses work hard
So they get put away fed"
We’ve been left for dead
What’s left you can spare us?
What’s left for the sparrows?
I’ve been working real hard
Now I’m stuck in the red
We’ve been left for dead
What’s left you can spare us?
What’s left for the sparrows?
What's left?
You say the country is strong
I read the headlines every day
But my life hasn’t changed;
You keep selling our futures away
You say "the horses work hard
So they get put away fed"
We’ve been left for dead
What’s left you can spare us?
What’s left for the sparrows?
I’ve been working real hard
Now I’m stuck in the red
We’ve been left for dead
What’s left you can spare us?
What’s left for the sparrows?
What's left?
What's left?
What's left for the sparrows?
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9. |
Why The Building Falls
03:41
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Cover up the weathered beams
Fresh paint over the seams
This old house was built in 1925
In a simple, peaceful time
Comb your hair, cover up the grey
Try to smooth the lines of your face
Your eyes have seen their share of despair
Reflections of the sadness you wear
Ask not why the building falls
Walls will crumble and so do we all
Ask not what the wise men say
Find your truth and live for today
Before it gets away
Flags will burn and cities will rust
Stories told, recorded in dust
Lessons learned, the wisdom of age
Knock it down, tear a new page
Ask not why the building falls
Walls will crumble and so do we all
Ask not what the wise men say
Find your truth and live for today
Before it gets away
Ask not why the building falls
Walls will crumble and so do we all
Ask not what the wise men say
Find your truth and live for today
Before it gets away
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10. |
Flyover States
04:47
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Crashed in the backseat again
6 hours til load in
5 hours to spend
On the interstate cruise control on
With guitars and records
a dead cell phone
Find a cafe and recharge
News on the TV says
A killer’s at large
I’m wanted in different ways
I'm being chased by the homecoming pain
And I wonder are you staying out late?
As I drive through these flyover states
To a different stage in a different town
On free will and the corner of fate
Downbeat on the one and it’s on
The people are dancing, having their fun
For a moment I have it in sight
Singing my songs
Thank you, goodnight
It's enough to get to the next town
I know that you miss me when I'm not around
The same way you dance through my head
As I lie down in some strange bed
And I wonder are you staying out late?
As I drive through these flyover states
To a different stage in a different town
On free will and the corner of fate
Well I packed up and just kept on driving
In spite of the love that we knew
This road that I chose is winding
It's closer to me, farther from you
Woke up as the dew settled in
I've got steam for the coffee
And more roads to bend
On the interstate cruise control on
Comfort can wait 'til I'm home
And I wonder are you staying out late?
As I drive through these flyover states
To a different stage in a different town
On free will and the corner of fate
On the corner of fate
On the corner of fate
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Pete Mancini New York, New York
NYC Americana Power Pop
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