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Back On Track

by The Unknown String Band

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1.
I figured out my plans from end to beginning I wrote them all out and you're not in them Here I am, looking at #1 Instead of a bullet, it's marked with a box It mocks me until it gets crossed off All of my lists start the same with "turn and run" I gotta' get on board that unmarked train To see where it leaves me again The moving boxes will never be packed You won't know what to say when the neighbors ask Honey, I sure am sorry about that I had to get back I had to get back I had to get back on track Now I'm off and running. I can hear god laughing The wheels roll a rhythm, now moving faster I recite what, back when, I said to you How can I explain it? Honestly I meant it It wasn't a lie at the time that I said it Now there's only one thing left to do I gotta' get on board that unmarked train To see where it leaves me again The moving boxes will never be packed You won't know what to say when the neighbors ask Honey, I sure am sorry about that I had to get back I had to get back I had to get back on track
2.
You can just tap your toe Or you can stomp down with your whole leg Anytime, anywhere, don't you feel the need to refrain While everybody's standing in line for the keg Don't you worry little momma, you can dance the night away Dance through life, all night and day You dance through life, your work becomes play Dance through life, dance it your way You don't even have to do a certain kind of dance You do what comes naturally Just move your body to the rhythm. You don't even have to sing in key Dance through life, all night and day You dance through life, your work becomes play Dance through life, dance it your way They say dance like you dance when nobody's looking at you I say dance like you're being followed by a camera crew Make every move your best move. No need to practice, Nobody else perfected you like you Dance through life, all night and day You dance through life, your work becomes play Dance through life, dance it your way
3.
Sit your butt down by the furnace I pray my banjo neck won't bend It's twenty degrees by the rim, but up the strings It's ten by the end If I could get my fingers moving, I'd play you a song so sweet Rest your head on my shoulder, Sing one song with me Kick the coal off the back of that train We'll hike up and pick it up again Carry it on down the hill We'll have one more warm morning Cousin John will get on board By that old Latrobe stop Don't show yourself on the track 'Til the trains pass at six o'clock We'll hike up, pick it up, fill our pockets up, And walk with fists full We'll sing our song and warm our toes Until the little ones go to school Kick the coal off the back of that train We'll hike up and pick it up again Carry it on down the hill We'll have one more warm morning Who cares if we didn't pay? We needed it to survive We ain't got nothing to burn but time
4.
Your love changed the life of every person you met God gave you beauty to cast a wide net Yours brought us in before your sun set To show us just how good life could get Friends, if you ever know loss like the loss that I know Its sorrow will follow wherever you go Look to the light that shines bright in the sky Let it dry the tears from your eyes All the beauty that's been made will one day be claimed One million lakes will one day be drained Until that day comes, I'll keep singing your names I'll go on living, though life's not the same Friends, if you ever know loss like the loss that I know Its sorrow will follow wherever you go Look to the light that shines bright in the sky Let it dry the tears from your eyes When I go up to be with them then I hope they'll make room and let my light shine in Until that day comes, let them know they are missed Their names were in bold at the top of god's list Friends, if you ever know loss like the loss that I know Its sorrow will follow wherever you go Look to the light that shines bright in the sky Let it dry the tears from your eyes
5.
Brother, I can feel your blues Everybody's just passing through The town that god forgot There used to be a mine here There used to be a textile mill Take some time to talk to the folks Who, jobless, live here still There ain't no paycheck in the pipeline Ain't no government bailout Subsidies go to other counties We're so far off the trail now Brother, I can feel your blues Everybody's just passing through The town that god forgot Talked to a fella With one horse in his front yard Said he may have to sell her Things are getting too hard Lost his job now he can't even sleep Doesn't know where his supper will come from He's got hungry mouths to feed Folds his hands and he looks above Brother, I can feel your blues Everybody's just passing through The town that god forgot It used to be a main stop But the railroad took its tracks for scrap This old city's dried up It's gone and it ain't coming back It doesn't come on like a wrecking ball It takes a while to bring it down This place is well on its way To becoming a ghost town Brother, I can feel your blues Everybody's just passing through The town that god forgot
6.
Turn Around 03:35
Well the truth has a way of making itself known I watch you looking at yourself in the mirror I wonder what you'll think when I tell you I'm going to go No degree of focus will make it clearer Will you step aside and open the door Will you turn and wave 'til you can't see me Walking away no more 'Cause you know I'll turn around and head back home Yeah I'll turn around and head back home Well the truth has a way of getting swept under the rug It's so easy to forget when you want to When you have it you don't know what it's like to be without love So you run and run 'til everyone runs from you Will you go ahead and light up the road So I can find my way back when I've run far enough to know That it's time to turn around and head back home Time to turn around and head back home Well the truth has a way of getting in the way Once it's out there, it ain't going nowhere So do we dance around it for the rest of our days Wondering if we should ever go there If you'll stay by my side even when I roam It's time to turn around and head back home Time to turn around and head back home
7.
Everything that I learned about this city Tells me what I already know It's a scary place when you're lonely The weeds are overgrown Concrete cracks a sign of weakness As the green grass plots a coup Just like it I'm under lots of pressure But I'm trying to push up through Come spend some time with me Living under this city I'll play another song for a dollar So I can get back on my feet I met a girl who I truly adore But she found out that I'm a troubadour She says her love is to be Accompanied by money I said, she's not the one for me 'Cause I've got a bike and a guitar Chances are I won't get too far But if I've got notes to play and sing I'm okay with everything If I've got notes to play and sing I'm okay with everything Come spend some time with me Living under this city I'll play another song for a dollar So I can get back on my feet
8.
Tear It Down 03:17
I thought we'd be stable by now but we shake I thought that nothing would destroy what, together, we would make But we built it all on a foundation of sand Just the wind shifting the waves left us with nowhere to stand Let's tear it down Tear it down and start again Let's tear it down Tear it down and start again Let's tear it down Tear it down and start again as friends What I had to put in was less than what I took Looking back now, it only worked because of what I overlooked Like building a home, and forgetting the roof We said everything we wanted to hear but the truth Let's tear it down Tear it down and start again Let's tear it down Tear it down and start again Let's tear it down Tear it down and start again as friends
9.
I think I'm in love with leaving I'm head over heels for driving away And I think that I'm going to do it again today I can't seem to keep off my feet Ain't nothing got me grounded these days I know that it may seem sad or absurd But it is my way I felt so boxed in In my last apartment It took getting myself out on the open road To get over it I think I'm in love with leaving Head over heels for driving away And I think that I'm going to do it again today It's not that I don't miss you And think of the folks back home But I had to get out and figure out how to Come into my own Now that I'm on my way I know it's not where to but where from The soul of it is as long as I'm not back there and a new love affair has begun I think I'm in love with leaving Head over heels for driving away And I think that I'm going to do it again today
10.
When I first head out, rolling down these roads I feel so free like I may never go back home But when the days add up to weeks I start to think about heading back east To that old white river That flows down the mountain Rolls through the hills and Bubbles up in the fountain In the town where I was raised Where I adopted my father's ways When I was a child, I never stopped to think I assumed all places had some redeeming beauty But I've been around and I know How lucky I was to call my own That old white river That flows down the mountain Rolls through the hills and Bubbles up in the fountain In the town where I was raised Where I adopted my father's ways

credits

released May 25, 2015

Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Aaron Work

Aaron Work: mandolin, banjo, upright bass, percussion, vocals
Eli Maciak: guitar, percussion, harmony vocals

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The Unknown String Band Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Unknown String Band pulls together influences from traditional American folk songs to create original music. The band focuses on live performances and can be found playing throughout the Pittsburgh area.

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