Get all 10 Kimya Dawson releases available on Bandcamp and save 15%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Kimya Dawson: Live From Minecraft (two full sets!), Thunder Rolls, Thunder Thighs, Curb Appeal, Alphabutt, Remember That I Love You, Hidden Vagenda, Knock-Knock Who?, and 2 more.
1. |
Tire Swing
03:08
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Tire Swing
I took the Polaroid down in my room
I'm pretty sure you have a new girlfriend
It's not as if I don't like you
It just makes me sad whenever I see it
Cause I like to be gone most of the time
And you like to be home most of the time
If I stay in one place I lose my mind
I'm a pretty impossible lady to be with
Joey never met a bike that he didn't wanna ride
And I never met a Tob(e)y that I didn't like
Scotty liked all the books that I recommended
Even if he didn't I wouldn't be offended
I had a dream that I had to drive to Madison
To deliver a painting
For some silly reason
I took a wrong turn and ended up Michigan
Paul Baribeau took me to the giant tire swing
Gave me a push and he started singing
I sang along while I was swinging
The sound of our voices made us forget everything
That had ever hurt our feelings
Joey never met a bike that he didn't wanna ride
And I never met a Tob(e)y that I didn't like
Scotty liked all the books that I recommended
Even if he didn't I wouldn't be offended
Now I'm home for less than 24 hours
That's hardly time to take a shower,
Hug my family, and take your picture off the wall,
Check my email, write a song, and make a few phone calls
Before it's time to leave again
I've got one hand on the steering wheel one waving out the window
If I'm a spinster for the rest of my life
My yarns will keep me warm on cold and lonely nights
Joey never met a bike that he didn't wanna ride
And I never met a Tob(e)y that I didn't like
Scotty liked all the books that I recommended
Even if he didn't I wouldn't be offended
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2. |
My Mom
03:21
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My Mom
Have you ever had a dream that your favorite baby's drowning
And you grab him by his sweater sleeve, pull him up on to the ground
And you can hear the water slosh around inside his tiny gut
Push his belly up and down but he can't cough the water up
Suddenly a flood comes out his mouth till there is nothing left
Inside of him, he's empty now, there isn't even one small breath
And he goes limp in your arms
All the people's mouths are moving, all you hear are car alarms
And you wake up and start to cry
I will lose my shit if even one more person I know dies
So please don't die
My mom's sick she's in a hospital bed
I've got a word for all you ghosts in her head
And all you skeletons in her closet
Leave her alone, leave her alone, leave her alone, please
Because my mom needs you gone, my mom needs you gone
As long as she is haunted she'll never get strong
My mom needs you gone
You traded all your paperclips for a soap dish, that way
Your best friend's rubber ducky wouldn't slip and slide away
But he traded his rubber duck for a cigar box to place
Your paperclips in, Mr. Hooper came to say
Oh my dear friends Bert and Ernie
Here's a little something for each of you from me
Here are your paperclips and here's your rubber ducky
How could I ignore such selfless generosity?
The human body's made up of good and bad bacteria
But the antibiotics and the antibacterials are killing all the good ones
And the bad ones just get stronger and become super infections
It's harder to destroy them and it's harder to detect them
And there's something in her blood, and there's something in her leg,
And there's something in her brain
My mom's sick she's in a hospital bed
I've got a word for all you ghosts in her head
And all you skeletons in her closet
Leave her alone, leave her alone, leave her alone, leave her alone
Leave her alone, leave her alone, leave her alone please
Because my mom needs you gone, my mom needs you gone
As long as she is haunted she'll never get strong
My mom needs you gone
My mom needs you gone
My mom needs you gone
My mom needs you gone
My mom needs you gone
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3. |
Loose Lips
02:27
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Loose Lips
Loose lips might sink ships but loose gooses take trips
To San Francisco, double dutch disco,
Tech TV hottie, do it for Scotty
Do it for the living and do it for the dead
Do it for the monsters under your bed
Do it for the teenagers and do it for your mom
Broken hearts hurt but they make us strong and
We won't stop until somebody calls the cops
And even then we'll start again and just pretend that
Nothing ever happened
We won't stop until somebody calls the cops
And even then we'll start again and just pretend that
Nothing ever happened
We're just dancing, we're just hugging,
Singing, screaming, kissing, tugging
On the sleeve of how it used to be
How's it gonna be?
I'll drop kick Russell Stover, move into the starting over house
And know Matt Rouse and Jest are watching me achieve my dreams
And we'll pray, all damn day, every day,
That all this shit our president has got us in will go away
While we strive to figure out a way we can survive
These trying times without losing our minds
So if you wanna burn yourself remember that I LOVE YOU
And if you wanna cut yourself remember that I LOVE YOU
And if you wanna kill yourself remember that I LOVE YOU
Call me up before you're dead, we can make some plans instead
Send me an IM, I'll be your friend
Shysters live from scheme to scheme but my 4th quarter pipe dreams
Are seeming more and more worth fighting for
So I'll curate some situations, make my job a big vacation
And I'll say FUCK BUSH AND FUCK THIS WAR
My war paint is sharpie ink and I'll show you how much my shit stinks
And ask you what you think because your thoughts and words are powerful
They think we're disposable, well both my thumbs opposable
Spelled out on a double word and triple letter score
And we won't stop until somebody calls the cops
And even then we'll start again and just pretend that
Nothing ever happened
We won't stop until somebody calls the cops
And even then we'll start again and just pretend that
Nothing ever happened
We won't stop until somebody calls the cops
And even then we'll start again and just pretend that
Nothing ever happened
We won't stop until somebody calls the cops
And even then we'll start again and just pretend that
Nothing ever happened
We're just dancing, we're just hugging,
Singing, screaming, kissing, tugging
On the sleeve of how it used to be
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4. |
Caving In
03:04
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Caving In
Have you ever been swindled by a swindler who lies?
Cause he wants to see you smile, have a good time, be inspired
And he doesn't want for you to cry or know he cries inside
So he hides behind this great triumphant rock and roll disguise
You want things to be real but you really can't deny
You feel excited and on fire, is it wrong to lie and say he's fine?
When the reason he's not fine is the pressure of the power changing lives
In just one hour all these people will be better people
Take this job and shove it, adios, I'm a ghost
I am leaving for the coast and I'll never work for anyone again
I'm not your savior or your heavenly host
I'm just a piece of zweiback toast getting soggy in a baby's aching mouth
I'm going south, like the geese I just goosed you
And so maybe I seem loose to you but I don't even wanna spoon
I did once, but I don't now
Now that I see how you do things, the way you play and sing's amazing
But the way you play the game is crazy, you don't have to say you're sorry
You don't owe me anything, don't owe me anything
Sometimes it seems like I've got all the answers
But the answers aren't the same when the questions keep on changing
Like how will I react when I see my mother crying
Every single day cause she is afraid of dying?
And how will I contain my anger when Delilah
Plays Unchained Melody instead of Lost in Your Eyes?
And where will I go where I can feel safe
When my family sells this place and we all split up and move away?
I'm trying to be brave cause when I'm brave other people feel brave
But I feel like my heart is caving in
I'm trying to be brave cause when I'm brave other people feel brave
But I feel like my heart is caving in
I'm trying to be brave cause when I'm brave other people feel brave
But I feel like my heart is caving in
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5. |
Better Weather
01:48
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Better Weather
There are my specs, the ones I've been looking for
I threw them out my window ten years ago and now they're on my doorstep
So you put one and one together and there will be better weather
And you know that it's forever now that he has custody
With his son upon his shoulders they are a sight to behold
Cause the dad is twenty eight even though he looks seventeen
So you'll never guess the woes that they have known cause they don't show
And in a couple years they've grown into a perfect family
I'm so proud my brother did so good with his kid I just wished that I could
Live with the fishes I love in their anemone
But I'm a turtle, it won't work, I've got to stay out in the current
With my house upon my back so I can hide inside of me
All together in the tank you always dreamed about escaping
When you finally make a break for it you deserve to be free
To be free
To be free
To be free
There are my spectacles, the ones I've been looking for
I threw them out my window ten years ago and now they're on my doorstep
That's how it happened, the confusion at the store
The shark never knew his father and the baby never knew his Motherboard
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6. |
Underground
03:52
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Underground
My head is pounding, I can't stop the pounding
I think it is going to explode
And kill everybody who's in close proximity
To this place I call my home
And they'll make a moving made-for-teehee movie
For Lifetime all about my life
That ends with an epitaph, one that will make you laugh
That says "Great mom. Okay wife"
And it'll be funny to the people who know me
Who know if my body's not burned
My soul will spend an eternity in misery
Tethered and bound to this earth
So I'm not a dick or a stick in the mud
Always ruining things for my friends
I mustn't forget when I see the sun set
That tomorrow it will rise again
So I tattoo instructions on my ass
That say "Don't ever put this body in a casket.
Burn it and put the ashes in a basket.
And throw them in the Puget Sound"
I don't ever want to be underground
Oh no, oh no
I'm wearing size thirteen basketball shoes
And lavender fishnets, I'm freaked out and fucked up
And I'm standing alone in an alley with you
Wanting to show you a cure for your hiccups
But instead I close my eyes
The needles are numbered so I'm writing you letters
And I cannot disguise
The fact that I'm nervous when we are together
And so I fantasize
That the nights'll get shorter and the days will get better
I feel a kick inside and sigh
"If this is a girl, I'm naming her Heather.
She'll look just like you, but her hair will be feathered.
She'll say how you died before you ever met her."
Her hair will be feathered
My head is pounding, I can't stop the pounding
I think it is going to explode
There are plus and minuses to sinusitis
Like sometimes I get to go home
But mostly it hurts so bad I think I'm dying
I just blew my nose and now I feel like crying
And the dreams I have are all of my past lives
And the seizures would paralyze me in the night
And I'd wake up clutching my teddy bear tight
And drooling and trying to turn on the light
All I can do is hold fast and sit tight
But what if they forget? cause you know they just might
So I tattoo instructions on my ass
That say "Don't ever put this body in a casket.
Burn it and put the ashes in a basket.
And throw them in the Puget Sound."
I don't ever want to be underground
Oh no, oh no
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7. |
I Like Giants
02:38
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I Like Giants
When I go for a drive I like to pull off to the side
Of the road, turn out the lights, get out, and look up at the sky
And I do this to remind me that I'm really really tiny
In the grand scheme of things and sometimes this terrifies me
But it's only really scary 'cause it makes me feel serene
In a way I never thought I'd be because I've never been
So grounded and so humbled and so one with everything
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything
Rock and roll is fun but if you ever hear someone
Say you are huge look at the moon, look at the stars, look at the sun
Look at the ocean and the desert and the mountains and the sky
Say I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
When I saw Geneviève I really liked it when she said
What she said about the giant and the lemmings on the cliff
She said "i like giants- especially girl giants. 'cause all girls feel
Too big sometimes, regardless of their size"
When I go for a drive I like to pull off to the side
Of the road and run and jump into the ocean in my clothes
And I'm smaller than a poppyseed inside a great big bowl
And the ocean is a giant that can swallow me whole
So I swim for all salvation and I swim to save my soul
But my soul is just a whisper trapped inside a tornado
So I flip to my back and I float and I sing
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything
So I talked to Geneviève and almost cried when she said
That the giant on the cliff wished that she was dead
And the lemmings on the cliff wished that they were dead
So the giant told the lemmings why they ought to live instead
And when she thought up all those reasons that they ought to live instead
It made her reconsider all the sad thoughts in her head
So thank you Geneviève, 'cause you take what is in your head
And you make things that are so beautiful and share them with your friends
We all become important when we realize our goal
Should be to figure out our role within the context of the whole
And yeah, rock and roll is fun but if you ever hear someone
Say you are huge look at the moon, look at the stars, look at the sun
Look at the ocean and the desert and the mountains and the sky
And say I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
And I don't wanna make her cry
'cause I like giants.
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8. |
The Competition
02:50
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The Competition
I never wanted to be better than my friends
I just wanted to prove wrong the people in my head
The ones who told me I'd be better off dead
The ones who told me that I would never win
When I delivered newspapers they said I was too slow
When I was a barista they said I made lousy foam
When I worked in retail they said I was a slob
Much too dumb for school and much too lazy for a job
So I rode my bike like lightning
And I made cappucinos that would make the angels sing
Took two showers a day and I dressed up like a princess
Shook my fist in my own face and said "i'll show you who's the best"
I wrote the kinds of papers teachers hang up on their walls
I was employee of the month at seven different shopping malls
And one time, playing football, I pulled a tendon in my leg
To prove that I was tough I hopped on one foot
And finished up the game
I thought if I succeeded I'd be happy and they'd go away
But first thing every morning I'd still wake up and I'd hear them say
"you're fat, ugly, and stupid, you should really be ashamed
No one will ever like you, you're no good at anything"
And sometimes I'd rise to the challenge
But other times I'd feel so bad that I could not get out of bed
And on the days I stayed in bed I sang and sang and sang
About how crappy I felt, not realizing how many other people would relate
Now people send me emails that say thanks
For saying the things they didn't know how to say
And the people in my head still visit me sometimes
And they bring all of their friends, but I don't mind
I play my guitar like lightning
When I sing I like it when you sing too, loud and clear
Different voices, different tones, all saying "yeah, we're not alone"
I got good at feeling bad and that's why I'm still here
I got good at feeling bad and that's why I'm still here
I got good at feeling bad and that's why I'm still here
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9. |
France
03:34
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I said "David, put that seven inch on
The one about loving bad boys and then dance with me"
He said "silly ass bitch, that's my favorite song"
He put it on and we danced round like monkeys
Then when we couldn't move, we played Monkey Ball 2
It's a good thing to do when you're done touring
There's Mimi and Gon-Gon and platforms to land on
In the next room we heard Andre snoring
So we took the dog for a walk in the park
And we walked and we didn't say anything
At least that I can repeat, cause all we did was talk shit
About people that we think are boring
The phone rang, it was Neman, he was at the Pop In
He said "hurry up! hang out with me!"
And we did cause I like the Pop In open mic
And Neman, and David is the MC
And we sang songs all night long
And we danced
We sang songs all night long
And we danced, in France, I like France
Lolita and Clementine
Don't go to shows but they're hip to the scene
Jailbait, late for school again
Labolduc and El Boy Die
Duking it out for a piece of the pie
And I finally got mine
The lemon meringue kind
Me and my friend Lisa B
Girls being girls at the Monoprix
Again, shopping trip in Bourg-la-Reine
Shopping trip in Boug-la-Reine
Well they were lost in the mist and they didn't have time
To see what I could see and it hurt me
And they were driving around with the stereo on
And there was nothing on the air to relieve me
And you were sitting in the back, and in the mirror I could see
That you were pointing you guns towards me
And I knew from the start that your heart was mine,
But you were too sick a person to marry me
Sheer wonder, baby
Sheer wonder, baby
Sheer wonder, baby
Sheer wonder, baby
Sheer wonder, baby
Sheer wonder, baby
Sheer wonder, baby
Sheer wonder, baby
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10. |
I Miss You
00:37
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I Miss You
I was always strong as long as we were a team
I crawled into somebody's heart who meant the world to me
Love made me strong enough to be alone, it set me free
But with my friends friends to the end is where I want to be
With my friends friends to the end is where I want to be
I don't need to, but I want to sing with you, cause I miss you
I don't need to, but I want to sing with you, cause I miss you
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11. |
12/26
03:45
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One of her babies is rotting in the sun and the other one was found drowned in the ocean
Her mom and dad are in their van crushed and bloated and her husband was thrown from his fishing boat
So please give me a break from all your complaining about who was mean to you and how your stepdad is a pain
- I care, I swear, but I just can't take it, not today
All I can think about are tsunamis and earthquakes
Everything she's ever known is gone, gone, gone,
Everyone she's ever loved is gone, gone, gone,
The only reason she's alive is she grabbed a palm frond, and held on
And held on
You can call me crazy but it seems to me we could have sent more than we spend in one day killing Iraqis
To help the hundreds of thousands who are injured and diseased and hungry and homeless and without families
I'm appalled by our government's initial reaction and the fact that they asked for a verbal retraction
From the folks who called them stingy they're just covering their assets
Well they thank their greedy god for wiping out the lower class
Everything she's ever known is gone, gone, gone
Everyone she's ever loved is gone, gone, gone
The only reason she's alive is she grabbed a palm frond, and held on
And held on
One of her babies is rotting in the sun and the other one was found drowned in the ocean
Her mom and dad are in their van they are crushed and bloated and her husband was thrown from his fishing boat
We'd have 12/26 tattoed across our foreheads if something this atrocious happened on our coast instead
Well a tragedy's a tragedy no matter where it happens close your eyes really tight now and try to imagine
That everything you've ever known is gone and everything you've ever loved is gone
And the only reason you're alive is you were lucky and you were strong enough to hold on
While you watched your family die
While you watched your family die
While you watched your family die
While you watched your family die
Everything she's ever known is gone, gone, gone
Everyone she's ever loved is gone, gone, gone
The only reason she's alive is she grabbed a palm frond, and held on
And held on
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12. |
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My Rollercoaster
You were on my mind at least nine tenths of yesterday
It seemed as if perhaps I'd gone insane
What is it about you that has commandeered my brain?
Maybe it's your awesome songs or maybe it's the way
When I look at your face I can tell that you're not going to be stopping soon or even slowing down
And if we keep up this pace pretty soon we'll know the name of every kid and every grown up booking house shows in their town
And if home is really where the heart is
Then we're the smartest kids I know
Because wherever we are in this great big world
We'll never be more than a few hours from home...
And that's important because I need to travel
I've had this itchin in my shoes since I was just a little kid
And before I had a minivan I road the Greyhound Bus
My mom would say "I hope some day you get paid for being Kimya Dawson"
And now I do and it's not much
But it's enough
I've got my Scrabble game, food on my plate, good friends and family
And now there's you understanding why I do the things I do
Knowing that you do them too makes me really happy
I like going for hikes and riding bikes
Playing video games in the middle of the night
And I'll stay up late and I won't even care
That we're getting up early to go to the state fair
I'm gonna ride the biggest ride it'll be out of sight
Then I'll share an elephant ear with you if you'd like
Because we are alive so we've gotta live life
To the fullest you spin the bottle and I'll dim the lights
Four five six seven minutes in the closet
You were on my mind at least nine tenths of yesterday
It seemed as if perhaps I'd gone insane
What is it about you that has commandeered my brain?
Maybe it's your awesome songs or maybe it's the way
You go straight to the top you're not scared of getting squashed
You know just when to jump off
You're so brave
And then you run to the right it seems there's no hope in sight
Then you drop down to the tube that takes you right to level eight
Life is a highway and I'm gonna ride it
Every day's a winding road yeah
My rollercoaster's got the biggest ups and downs
As long as it keeps goin' round it's unbelievable
Life is a highway and I'm gonna ride it
Every day's a winding road yeah
My rollercoaster's got the biggest ups and downs
As long as it keeps goin' round it's unbelievable
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