Get all 5 The Real Shade releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of String of Lights, Horizon Diaries, One Last Show of Hearts, Highway, and Willing but Weak.
1. |
Highway
03:04
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You live right next to the highway,
beside those six flying lanes
three pointing north, three south, offering a way
to get out of the city, let it fall behind
end up somewhere pretty,
maybe just in time for spring
what's your next thing, are you ready?
Steady now she goes, almost every day
and you wouldn't trade it for any other way
but spring is coming ‘round,
and there's a feeling there
the greening of the ground,
the stirring of the air, time to escape
what's your next phase, are you ready?
Steady now she goes, almost every day
and you wouldn't trade it for any other way,
but you say
Doesn’t everybody, wanna run away
sometimes?
Are you ready?
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2. |
Los Angeles
04:21
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I dreamed I was flying in
over the buildings
Staring at blinking lights,
remembering other times
and how the feeling doesn't change
and how the seasons stay the same
I dreamed it was pulling me,
tugging so gently
Signaling silently,
and sending reminders
in phrases penned by wayward sons
and choruses of certain songs
Blue into golden, life overflowing
it has a way of sinking in, I can't get rid of it
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3. |
What I Mean
03:42
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You never think the word before you speak it
you just let it tumble out stark naked
I admit that maybe I admire
words that deliver heat and carry fire
But perhaps there’s something to be said for timing
for knowing where and when to chime in
instead of turning ground already fallow
letting fly lead balloons that you can’t swallow
I am trying to say what i mean
but it’s true that in the moment it’s almost impossible to resist doing
something, something you don’t mean
Then you realize that you just let it
fly out and now you regret it
and it’s lying there with your named carved into it
no long apology can undo it
I am trying to say what i mean
Silence is much more than golden
when a losing card is all you’re holding
Nothing left but tawdry invitations
to late night cheap hotels behind gas stations
but it’s true that in the moment it’s almost impossible to resist doing
something, something you don’t mean
and the trenches and the fields are filled with worn out old appeals
and arguments that didn’t solve a thing
and the high road’s getting choked with smog from armies in retreat
where once you could hear a robin sing, could hear a robin sing
I am trying to say what I mean
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4. |
Loneliness or Freedom
04:49
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I think of you when the sun goes down
(tired light falling)
would you say the same when it comes around
(winter sleep calling)
take away a word put another in
(hour hand crawling)
take the water off put it on again
(break of day stalling)
and it’s all I can do, all I can do to keep moving
all I can do, all I can do to keep moving
elevator fast, elevator slow
(heavy eyes folding)
did it cross your mind that I’d ever go?
(2 degrees and holding)
and it’s all I can do, all I can do to keep moving
all I can do, all I can do to keep moving
Silence creeps in around, batten all the hatches down
Is this loneliness or freedom, it’s so hard to tell between them.
and it’s all I can do, all I can do to keep moving
all I can do, all I can do to keep moving (x2)
Is this loneliness or freedom, it’s so hard to tell between them.
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5. |
Closer
03:39
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If I turned the key, put the car in drive
took off down the road,
ignoring all the signs that try to make me turn
left or maybe right
If I stayed on track, never lost my way
hands upon the wheel, for 3 or 4 days
sun rising behind, throwing shadows down
and setting in my eyes
With every field and every town I would draw closer
to so familiar sights and sounds I would draw closer
Making up the time in the prairie heat
flying by the stops where the truckers meet
back seat driving from the map upon the seat
With every field and every town I would draw closer
to so familiar sights and sounds I would draw closer
If I stayed on track, never lost my way
hands upon the wheel, for 3 or 4 days
sun rising behind, throwing shadows down
and setting in my eyes
With every field and every town I would draw closer
to so familiar sights and sounds I would draw closer
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6. |
All I Know
04:03
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All I know
nothing below, nothing above
All my life, all my love
On this rocky plain
of highway maps and dried-up rain
borrowed hearts and flames shine faintly.
On this rented plot
of memories and forget-me-nots
battles are fought and forgotten.
All I know
nothing below, nothing above
All my life all my love
On this rolling ground
of fallen kings and paperback crowns
dollar bills and pounds mean nothing.
On this puzzled land
of promises and bone china plans
open arms and hands sit waiting.
All my life all my love that's all this can ever be made of
All my life all my love that's all this can ever be......
All I know
nothing below, nothing above
All my life, all my love
On this rocky plain
of highway maps and dried-up rain
borrowed hearts and flames shine faintly.
On this rented plot
of memories and forget-me-nots
battles are fought and forgotten.
All I know
nothing below, nothing above
All my life all my love
On this rolling ground
of fallen kings and paperback crowns
dollar bills and pounds mean nothing.
On this puzzled land
of promises and bone china plans
open arms and hands sit waiting.
All my life all my love that's all this can ever be made of
All my life all my love that's all this can ever be
All I know
nothing below, nothing above
All my life all my love
all my love
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7. |
Middle of Nothing
03:29
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He took her hands and held them tight and looked into her eyes
He spoke in sighs and laughter, fly he told her fly.
fly away as far as you can and
don't you ever, promise, never look back
Don't ask what it's all about
what else would i ever say
Here all i can offer to you is the
middle of nothing
It's not that I don't love you, you know I do that's why I want you to
Run as fast as you can, keep on going, don't look back
Find your way out of here is
all I want you to do
just find your way out of here is
all I want you to do for me
Don't ask what it's all about
what else would i ever say
Here all i can offer to you is the
middle of nothing
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8. |
Teleporter
03:09
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Speak to me of tender loving ways
‘cause I don’t think I’m getting there today
one foot then the other so they say
Wrote a note on the train
something in my mind eating away
‘bout how the sun is a guide
and some people never really feel alive
Teleporter take me to the land of beauty and of truth
I promise that I’ll come right back and stand with both feet planted
Chalk it up to lessons learned, no cause for worry or concern
it’s just the little sister of abandon
Fifty thousand ways to leave behind
everything that’s counted up inside
super 8 and stacks of 45s
photographs from a day
one of top ten in my memory
when the sun was a guide
and we followed it along the mountainside
Teleporter take me to the land of beauty and of truth
I promise that I’ll come right back and stand with both feet planted
Chalk it up to lessons learned, no cause for worry or concern
it’s just the little sister of abandon
all our careless ways take their place in history
and i know some disasters were barely avoided
and all we threw away I fear has been gathered and saved by someone
sitting on the sidelines watching everything take place,
so speak to me of loving ways
like a soft breeze upon my face.
a mark that nothing can erase
‘cause it’s too late for show and tell
or throwing pennies down the wishing well
and the sun is a guide
ready with an undiscerning light
Teleporter take me to the land of beauty and of truth
I promise that I’ll come right back and stand with both feet planted
Chalk it up to lessons learned, no cause for worry or concern
it’s just the little sister of abandon
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9. |
Drive Backwards
03:09
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Once I get to the bottom of this constitution
once I close up the book and declare revolution
once I convince the jury of this point i'm proving
I will drive backwards for you
Once I find me a hobby or a new distraction
once I reload this pez dispenser i've been packing
once I rally the troops and call them all to action
I will drive backwards for you
'Cause everybody needs a chance for peace of mind
to feel upon the breeze a memory divine
but a pair of eyes they lock away
the fallout from a day that turned the tide
Once I finish the puzzle in the morning paper
once I solve all the mysteries and greatest capers
once I borrow a cup of sugar from my neighbour
I will drive backwards for you
'cause everybody needs a chance for peace of mind
to brush away the pleas that come in threes and fives
and the passenger door's riding hinges
barely hanging on to the side
I will drive backwards for you
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10. |
On and On
02:59
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How far have we come
look back, and it seems to go on, on and on
How far will it go
not ever yours nor mine to know
Like streets at night
some dark, some barely lit, some bright
Like a mountain stream
that slowly curves and carves its name
How far have we come
look back, and it seems to go on, on and on.
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The Real Shade Toronto, Ontario
The Real Shade is a Toronto-based indie-pop band.
It was formed in 2007 when long-time
side woman Jane Gowan (Spygirl, Neins Circa, Belinda Bruce) teamed up with bassist Mary Harmer.
What started as a lo-fi rock ’n roll outfit evolved into a project that explored other styles, most notably Americana and Indie Folk.
... more
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