Get all 13 Dusty Stray releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Fire Place, Happiness Strikes, Special, Lists, Estranged, You Couldn't Wait To See Me Cry, Through The Atmosphere, USA, and 5 more.
1. |
Winter's Day
02:29
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I set out one winter’s day
Through the woods but lost my way
Darkness fell and froze me so
I lay down on a patch of snow
Tangled branches reached for me
My heart pounded rapidly
Icicles formed from the tears on my face
I felt myself pass away
Woodland creatures came to see
They all took a bite of me
Scavengers came swooping down
And bits of me were passed around
Mama came to look for me
With the village search party
My remains were plainly seen
Her boy’s bones there picked so clean
Mama don’t you cry my dear
I am safe forever here
Though my life was short and sweet
I gave of myself to eat
Woodland creatures came to see
They all took a bite of me
Scavengers came swooping down
And bits of me were passed around
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2. |
Hard Times
03:50
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Heard about her
Dirty and dirt poor
Drowned her children
Six, five and four
She took them by their little fingers
To the place where darkness lingers
Pushed them under till she couldn’t
Hear their screams no more
Lord please make them welcome there
Here for them I couldn’t care
Hard times – can’t make a dime
What else could I do
You gave them to me and now I give them back to you
Heard about him
Married very young
Had some jobs but
Couldn’t keep down one
His only daughter suddenly died
His wife wandered through the dark side
He decided on some poison
So she wouldn’t feel a thing
Lord please make her welcome there
Here with me it wasn’t fair
Hard times – can’t make a dime
What else could I do
Now she’s with our baby and I’m comin’ too
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3. |
Other Way
02:41
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You mouth “hello”
And “I missed you”
Through the baggage claim window
You put on a show
When you came through
Your new suitcase and a smile
Yeah – it’s been a while
But that’s your style
And you wouldn’t want it any other way
Then in the morning
After lovin’ you
Throughout the whole evening
You were off again
Sayin’ “I would love to
Stay with you but then
We’re so different
That’s not what I meant
Don’t take what I say in some other way”
Have fun
Take care
See you
Somewhere
Have fun
Take care
See you
Somewhere
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4. |
Brother
03:56
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My life was boring, uneventful
Until the day my brother lay dead
We were out hunting duck and pheasant
My brother shot himself right in the head
I thought at first he had not meant to
But later on I thought otherwise
He’d held his rifle to his temple
I heard the shot then followed his cries
I found my brother’s eyes wide open
His golden hair now turning dark red
He weakly whispered out my name then
And I can still hear the words that he said
These words he said
Hold my hand
Try to understand
In this world I couldn’t be happy
I just had to set myself free
I called for help but it was pouring
The ground around us turned into mud
I sat beside my brother’s body
Till it was stiff and bathing in blood
When help arrived I told my story
But I was handcuffed and carted away
Awaiting trial for 13 years now
I often wonder what my brother would say
What would he say?
Hold my hand
Try to understand
In this world I couldn’t be happy
I just had to set myself free
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5. |
The Girl
03:25
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I was taking a nap on the floor
I awoke to a tap on the door
A girl with tears in her eyes there
I thought I knew her from somewhere
“Come in and sit by the fire
Tell me what is wrong”
“Kind sir, I see you are wealthy
I’m hungry, poor and unhealthy
My mother, brothers and sisters
Caught fire – they’re covered in blisters
I’m told that you are my father
Help me sir, I pray.”
“I’ve slept with so many witches
Only after my riches
Getting my money was easy
But first they all had to please me
So leave your clothes on the chair there
And lie here by the fire”
He smiled as I reached out and grabbed him
My knife repeatedly stabbed him
His eyes shining bright red
I wiped off my forehead
He fell down by the fire
Laughing all the while
I ran – I ran all around there
Helped myself to what I found there
She rolled me into the glow
Through the flames I saw her go
I lay there on the fire He lay there on the fire
Then I slipped away Then I slipped away
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6. |
Sad Song
03:07
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She’s caught right up in the middle of a sad, sad song
She’s caught right up in the middle of a sad, sad song
She’s got her personal radio
And when she’s down she wants something slow
So she can smile while letting go
Then don’t you know
She’s caught right up in the middle of a sad, sad song
She’s caught right up in the middle of a sad, sad song
She tunes into stations specialized
In those songs that long to make you cry
And gets so lost that she don’t even try
To dry her eye
She’s caught right up in the middle of a sad, sad song
She’s caught right up in the middle of a sad, sad song
She fills the bath and gets her radio
She places it upon a bar of soap
Turns it on and lets the music flow
Takes off her robe
Gets in the water
Puts her head under
And she can smile again
Then her radio slips in
And as her body jumps about
Her sad song is fading out
She’s caught right up in the middle of a sad, sad song
She’s caught right up in the middle of a sad, sad song
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7. |
Cindy In The Well
02:17
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Cindy was our youngest daughter
Innocent and sweet
She went out to fetch some water
In pajamas and bare feet
When the bucket came up empty
She looked down into the well
Leaned a little too far over
Then into the well she fell
No one heard her screams of bloody murder
The radio was on
We went out, forgot about her
Till the new day’s dawn
Sparky barked and led us to her
There she was alive but frail
Cindy sat down on the bucket
And we pulled her from that well
Then we had a big ol’ breakfast
Our Cindy lost and found
Cornbread, ham and eggs, and pancakes
Passed it all around
We were pleased but still a shakin’
For we had us such a scare
All held hands around the table
For our daughter we said a prayer
Thank you Lord for our dear Cindy
Amen
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8. |
In My Memory
03:41
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In my memory
She caused such misery
Kept it all from me and smiled all the while
Once she went away
Friendly little holiday
With a group to play survivor in the wild
Some thing crawled into her tent
Some big beast, he came and went
Yet she let him in
In my memory
We tried so desperately
To start a family but it just didn’t work
Results came back to me
Proving my sterility
We thought it would be the end of everything
No more real communication
Then she somehow became pregnant
And then things got strange
In my memory
That child never looked like me
I began to see exactly what was happening
After years of lies
It came as no surprise
I came to despise her body and her soul
But your honor I would never
Try to harm her with a mirror
Or a razorblade
In my memory
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9. |
Wendy And The Creature
03:32
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Little Wendy wandered
Through the forest near her school
She found her favorite place there
Beside a quiet pool
Tossed pebbles in the water
Watched the tiny splashes and rings
Then she saw something
He couldn’t have been dead very long
His body soft and warm
Wendy cried to heaven
As she held the furry form
“Please Jesus work a miracle
For my poor innocent friend
Give him life again”
All at once the creature he shook
His tiny nostrils flared
His beady eyes began to open up
Sharp yellow teeth he bared
And sank them into poor Wendy’s chest
Clenched his claws and scratched up her legs
Then he crept away
Little Wendy lay there
In the forest near her school
Only her remains there
Beside the quiet pool
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10. |
Down Below
03:44
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There were stars draped over me
On a blue bright and clean
And they all gathered there
My love said a prayer for me
Nowhere to be seen
Every evening
I see her leaving
Wildflowers on my stone
Up here floating
Out of body
Never been so alone
How can I stay so far away
When the one I love is below
I want to go
Down below
So I watch as she goes in her new black clothes
Hurriedly I can see her move through the hills
When she reaches my grave, my love bold and brave
Empties a bottle of pills
Her vision blackens
Body weakens
She falls upon my stone
As she enters
Sleep eternal
I can hear my love moan,
“How can I stay so far away
When the one I love is below
I want to go
Down below”
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11. |
Little Birdie
03:10
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Hey little birdie up in that tree
Why are you lookin’ at me?
You can see the tear in my eye
Though I’d like to I can’t cry
Leaves are fallin’ it’s colder each day
Why don’t you fly south and stay
Most of your family surely have flown
What makes you stay here alone
Fly here closer
Let me see you better
Something so familiar in your eyes
Some killer’s knife took Carrie’s life
She was soon to be my wife
I came out here ready to die
Then you happened to fly by
All of my sadness faded away
When you came to me today
I look at you but it’s her that I see
She has come to comfort me
Fly here closer
Let me see you better
Something so familiar in your eyes
Stay right here little birdie
Sing to me, sing to me
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12. |
When I Scared You
03:14
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From my balcony up on the top floor
Where thousands of windows were glowing below
I watched you through my telescope
I feel I know you now better than most
As though I’ve been courting you much like a ghost
And I yearned to be closer
I found your apartment so effortlessly
Followed you everywhere for a few weeks
Yet you never saw me
Until the night I was right by your door
You caught my eye though the lighting was poor
And I could see you were frightened
When I scared you
I really scared you
And when I scared you
You were mine
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Dusty Stray Amsterdam, Netherlands
DUSTY STRAY features the alt-folk repertoire of Texan expat Jonathan Brown. He delves into universal themes of heartbreak,
loneliness and death with a twisted sense of humor and a soothing touch.
New album FIRE PLACE out now!
... more
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