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Grayscale // All Good Things are Wild and Free

by Echo

supported by
Dan ABH
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Dan ABH local NoVa artist of the year. echo has made a phenomenal release. dont sleep on this one.
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1.
Go Quietly 01:09
I prefer the beauty of the incomplete Every perfect imperfection Proud of every missing piece Mommy, look at me! No hands! Sorry if you disagree Swallowing the truth is always bittersweet Satisfaction never guaranteed Mental Penitentiaries Squash the filthy habit like a centipede Always dreaming till you fall asleep Product of the obsolete Seeking out the silence in a scream, like please We all struggle with sobriety Succumbing to the adolescent struggles of society The crushing weight of loneliness The crippling anxiety If it's my time to go then I'm refusing to go quietly I'm a dead man walking
2.
And when the sorrows come They come to chew the fat about the phony you’ve become As doubt begins to grow Tender as a mothers love and pure as driven snow - When it’s either hesitate or die You’ve got to learn to swallow fear or kiss your wildest dreams goodbye Arrogance becomes a product of your pride when you can’t afford to fail and you don’t care if it’s a lie Step into the light Navigate the landscape Something in the water’s perpetuating a trance state There’s nothing holy in the man-made When you get to heaven greet the devil with a handshake - Cue the existential crisis Pick your poison for that dilated iris Put you on the nice-list Isn’t the feeling priceless? Every cause – righteous Blinded by the brightness (Making the pagan pious) - Cause’ it’s enough to bring you to your knees (Take a trip to a Land Afar) Take a trip to a Land Afar Every sorry sight you’d never want to see (Take a trip to a Land After) Take a trip to a Land Afar Every place you thought you’d never want to go (Take a trip to a Land After) Take a trip to a Land Afar Each emotion that you’d never want to show (Take a trip to a Land After) Take a trip to a Land Afar - Alone like a loner Waiting in a line of broken-hearted organ donors And I try to keep composure As I move a little closer To the window with the light on and the number of my order And I say, “hello, I’m here to pay my dues” And the lady at the window looks at me a bit confused she says, “Who are you?” Like sorry you haven’t heard? I’m just a part within a whole; I’m just a letter in a word” - I thought I was depressed but it’s only the black mold Every thought that I repressed, I’m welcoming back home No there’s no hope living as a prisoner of circumstance Labors of the working man Plot it on a diagram - And when the albatross flatlines We’ll wash away the inhumanity of mankind And let our freak flags flutter As we’re all inherently a part of one another - You’ve never seen yourself, only images and reflections I wonder what about yourselves beyond your own detection - Cause’ it’s enough to bring you to your knees (Take a trip to a Land Afar) Take a trip to a Land Afar Every sorry sight you’d never want to see (Take a trip to a Land After) Take a trip to a Land Afar Every place you thought you’d never want to go (Take a trip to a Land After) Take a trip to a Land Afar Each emotion that you’d never want to show (Take a trip to a Land After) Take a trip to a Land Afar
3.
Hannah 02:55
We’re all obligated to the sunrise Drowning in the floodlights Waiting for a punch line Forever running from an apathetic mud slide Swallowing the medication; anything to unwind I can feel the limits of our bloodline What I wouldn’t give to overcome it even one time Some nights, I’m excited for the sunshine Other nights I’m counting paces for a gunfight - Dream to feel the privacy of darkness Listen to your conscious Seemingly it’s harmless Always falling for the beautiful and heartless Part happenstance Part emotional catharsis Difficult to think it wouldn't be regardless As if any artist Could even say what art is Enough to leave a constellation starless Wilt away The Harvest Topple your colossus - Shoulders growing tired always holding hope Lonely on the open road Better than a broken home Graduated from the bottom of the totem pole There’s nothing they can take from you, stop being so emotional Warm your hands above the fire in a stolen coat Try to blow your swollen nose Coughing with a frozen throat Never bothered reading any of his horoscope Figured it was blowing smoke Either way the omen shows
4.
Fools are always rushing in where angels fear to tread Like what did you expect from all the voices in your head Banish every demon to a hell they haven’t met Just to make a couple memories you know you won’t forget - Not yet, so take this opportunity to smile And maybe reconnect with your neglected inner-child - Disappear into the wild Burn the bridge behind you Persevere awhile and don’t let anybody find you - I know I can see the panorama with my Eyes closed I can thread the needle in a Blindfold The grandiose delusions of a psycho Maestro, everywhere the mic goes - Oh, true The congregations hungry for some Soul Food The carnivores want nothing of your Tofu Despite the cock and bull story they sold you “Whoa dude, I think we got to go soon” - Read between the lines to find a man in the machine Courage in the coward will make flesh out of a dream When stepping out your door, be careful you don’t lose your feet before the road decides to sweep you somewhere you don’t want to be - Who me? Sorry little Hobbit, get the facts straight Not even half a page and you’re already hitting backspace - Rodents in a rat-race Try to leave a mark When you’re hopelessly in last place Finished from the start - Don’t scream Silence is a virtue that I Won’t keep Swallow imperfection and its So sweet Involuntarily enduring no sleep Slowly, waiting till I’m home free - God damn Everything I own I built with My hands Everything I've been is not all I am I never fucking claimed to be a wise-man Nightstands, covered in my flight-plans
5.
Top five regrets of the dying Not a one is really that surprising Take their advice Whispered to a palliative nurse Who would take the time to listen and record their final words? Before we begin Regret is not important We just use it as a reference point to keep us moving forward Regret is not a sin Regret is not the master of your suffering Regret is just a puppet on a puppet string and you can make him dance You can make him bow and leave the stage Or you can boo him off into disgrace Your choice To live and die without a name and face Or become somebody no one could replace Your choice If you’d rather not become that which you hate No you can’t afford to hesitate Your choice To live and die without a name and face Or become somebody no one could replace - First Regret To live a life true to yourself And not by the expectations, like everybody else The most common regret, are dreams unfulfilled Don’t let a lack of courage leave you standing still - Second Regret I wish I hadn’t worked so hard Most common for the breadwinners who overdo their parts and miss out upon the youth of their children Miss out on the companionship their partners could have given - Third Regret To express my feelings Instead of suppressing what I am capable of being And deciding to settle upon a mediocre life Growing old and bitter with the times - Fourth Regret To stay in touch with my friends So caught up in your own life you can’t always track them down again Thinking I shouldn’t have ever given up trying Everyone misses their friends when they’re dying (We all miss our friends when we’re dying) - Fifth regret To let yourself be happier Surprising a common one despite the shit you might have heard It’s better just to be yourself; you don’t have to be afraid Stuck in your old ways? Don’t fear change - No Regrets How’s that for a cliché Growing harder to abide by these days No stranger to mistakes We’ve all made a few It isn’t what you’ve done but what you’re gonna do - Top Five Regrets of the Dying For when the morning sun is terrifying Smile! You’re Alive! - Top Five Regrets of the Dying Living life alone is death-defying Smile! You’re Alive! - Top Five Regrets of the Dying Anything is better than your whining Smile! You’re Alive! - Top Five Regrets of the Dying Any path you take is long and winding Smile! You’re Alive! - Top Five Regrets of the Dying So if you’re still alive then fucking smile!
6.
And I came to mid stride With a limp in my step and the sun in my eyes Withered and dry I collapse in the cold as I follow a trail of footprints in the snow They look like my own But I couldn’t know My memories blacker than ravens and crows So what do I do Alone and confused Walking a desert without any shoes Oh what I would do for some water and food Fan out my feathers and fly out this coup But I’ve nowhere to go so I follow this trail of footprints in the snow - Tripping on daylight But I walk the line I want to be where the sun doesn’t shine I don’t know the time The sky doesn’t move I’m chilled to the bone as I’m broken and blue Snow in a desert of questions and clues Follow the footsteps with nothing to lose With nothing to do I survey the sight Blank as a canvas Endless and white Empty as air There’s nothing in sight Except for my shadow, darker than night It never leaves The only thing here with me I can believe A silhouette silently following me Whispering nothing and sounding as sweet Giving directions and taking the lead Pointing his finger at somewhere to be, what? - Did I see what I see? I must delirious; it couldn’t be The shadow is stepping along with my feet but its moving its body and waving at me I can’t shake the breeze I can’t shake the feeling I’m being deceived Like this is a dream, and I’ve been asleep like a bird in a cage that fate never released But I see what I see The shadow is staining the snow at my feet Blacker than pitch, I’m almost relieved to discover the shadow can speak Says, “hi, I’ve been watching you It’s about high time for our rendezvous I’m overdue, for my big debut You look confused, but you’ll get it soon (I promise)” - (3:21) I have nowhere to go so I follow this trail of footprints in the snow I have nowhere to go so I follow this trail of footprints in the snow I have nowhere to go so I follow this trail of footprints in the snow I have nowhere to go so I follow this trail of footprints in the snow - What’s wrong, cat’s got your tongue? Jaw-dropped, awe-struck, blind, deaf, and dumb Like death stole air right out your lungs As you’re trying to disentangle the web we’ve spun Oh come now, I’m no ghost Won’t haunt the nightmare you self-impose Don’t want what’s right there beneath your nose? Only one that might care is me, your host I’m Shadow - (4:08) I am suffering a paranoid delusion You’re the pink elephant in the corner of my room I have fallen under guile of an incredible illusion And I’m falling shorter still of really what the fuck to do Ankle-deep in a flurry of white winter Frozen by the circumstance, staring at the snow My shadow mentions that we’re expecting a blizzard And I’ll surely meet the end if I get stuck out here alone - (5:05) I swallow my tongue And choke on the breath I gasp into my lungs Before I know it I’ve started to run And I’m running but what is it I’m running from? Hot damn, what a piece of work This no man’s land got your feelings hurt Don’t go berserk, just take it easy Let’s shoot the breeze, believe you need me Tell me what you are How do you know me and where did we start My memories fractured and fallen apart Though I’m curious don’t think I’m dropping my guard Oh don’t play coy with me Do this dance with death so lonesomely Show of hands! Who’s what their supposed to be? No one, like we all are supposedly (No one, there’s no one here do you fucking get it?) (Stop!) A zephyr swoops in from above An oracular Raven whose speaking in tongues He sunk his claws into my flesh As I’m bleeding he opens his mouth and he says: “We put faith in the fool For passion, not purpose Your body is only a tool So use it, and flourish” “Life is a generous critic Death is a witness, death is a witness” And the bird flew away Speaking a language that man couldn’t make Tearing the skin from my body and bone I succumb to a vision of fire and smoke Over the mountain, billowing black, higher than heaven Just follow the tracks Over the mountain, billowing black, higher than heaven Just follow the tracks - (6:45) It’s starting to snow Just like the shadow had mentioned before It’s cool, just ride the snake Two fools wide-eyed riding wide-awake A blizzard is coming and Mary be damned if I die in this desert alone Its two tickets to the magic show Death defying; redefining magical - The footsteps are fading away Not unlike a trail of tears in the rain Twist both those kaleidoscopes And fest your eyes on the mountainside! I am David and this is Goliath Welcome to the art of battling Giants I am David, the mountains Goliath This is the art of battling Giants And I have no experience battling Giants And I am unschooled in the art of battling Giants It aint the monster that you have to conquer For at the top of the mountain is the bottom of another And I climbed the summit with bare and calloused hands and feet and nothing else and stood atop the peak to find a fire so large it melts the snow The Great Raven is present and pecking the flesh it stole from my body between its talons It motions me over to the fire and beckons me to jump into the flame and be reborn or don’t and return to the footsteps leading down the other mountainside and into the cold So what do you think? Oh you want my opinion? Admittedly we’re pretty in sync Learn to trust your intuition I could still walk away And just where do you think you’ll go? Too comfortable to make a change And that’s why you follow a trail of footprints in the snow Throw yourself in the fire
7.
I’m addicted to anxiety Everything I do is an invasion of my privacy But I’m always running back To find a way to compensate for everything I lack And after you’ve been wired on the fear That everything you’re working for could up and disappear You start to keep it close and watch your back - But you’d never see me break a sweat Not if I could help it like I ever haven’t yet No one ever taught you how to spit You don’t plagiarize and you would never lie about it And everything you say you’re going to do Doesn’t ever lead you any closer to the truth Like maybe this was all to fool yourself - Like I would have a clue of what to do with my own time Every step I ever took, another step across the line It was only all for you Like there wasn’t nothing I could do Nothing I - O o o I know that you are gonna make so many friends They’ll take care of you And I know that you will take care of them But once you’ve had enough You can always come back home to us Home to us - I moved around a lot when I was young Like there wasn’t any place that I was really from The flowers in the garden of my life Withered up with every friend I had to leave behind And every time we’d start to settle down I would get the news we’re moving to some unfamiliar town And I would have to start again from scratch - But she said O o o I know that you are gonna make so many friends They’ll take care of you And I know that you will take care of them But once you’ve had enough Remember that Virginia Sends Her Love Sends Her Love
8.
How Am I? 04:23
How am I? Well I’m not convinced What you trying to hide? - Those lovely eyes Hold a lot of ugliness deep inside But yeah, I’m fine Cause’ livings more than just getting by - And I decide If I’m feeling low or I’m getting - High! So how are you? You know, besides predictably confused Your attitude Girl it changes often like sun and moon Oh what to do Well the doings done, and I’m leaving soon And it might be rude but I won’t be here when you get the news Like you - La da da - Step one Remember everything you’ve done Pay it your respects, and admit you’ve had your fun - Step two Try to make some room in your stomach from something other than butterflies and food - Step three Be what you want to be Realize you can make the decision to be happy - Step four When you’re walking out the door Never turn around and wonder what the fuck you’re walking for - I don’t know you very well Oh but already I think I can tell I don’t know you very well Oh but it’s not that difficult to tell I don’t know you were well - Julia, Julia Babe where have you gone Come mend my wounded heart and give me words to write a song As of late I’m feeling dumb I’m feeling deaf I’m feeling blind Can’t quite hit the melody to quell the beast inside - Julia, Julia Lord, where did you go? Cause’ I need grace as sweet as yours to save my wretched soul As of late I cannot speak I cannot see I cannot hear All I have for company are thoughts of you, my dear - Julia, Julia Julia, Julia Do do do
9.
Bring Me Out 02:34
We’re all obligated to the sunrise Drowning in the floodlights Waiting for a punch line Forever running from an apathetic mud slide Swallowing the medication; anything to unwind I can feel the limits of our bloodline What I wouldn’t give to overcome it even one time Some nights, I’m excited for the sunshine Other nights I’m counting paces for a gunfight With you Tonight - Dream to feel the privacy of darkness Listen to your conscious Seemingly it’s harmless Always falling for the beautiful and heartless Part happenstance Part emotional catharsis Difficult to think it wouldn't be regardless As if any artist Could even say what art is Enough to leave a constellation starless Wilt away The Harvest Topple your colossus Too soon What's a boy to do? - Shoulders growing tired always holding hope Lonely on the open road Better than a broken home Graduated from the bottom of the totem pole There’s nothing they can take from you, stop being so emotional Warm your hands above the fire in a stolen coat Try to blow your swollen nose Coughing with a frozen throat Never bothered reading any of his horoscope Figured it was blowing smoke Either way the omen shows That you Oh I swear it's true Despite all that I do You bring me out You bring me out You bring me out You bring me out
10.
Walden Pond 03:17
Every morning burns a little brighter As I’m rising with the sun And harmonizing with the choir I can feel the fire in my stomach And there isn't any sense in ever lying to myself or running from it I can hear the trumpets blaring in the afternoon Time to cut the puppet strings; I know what I have to do And move to build my castles in the sky Because I can forgive failing, but not never having tried (To do, what I've wanted to, do) - And I've never been to Walden Pond Taken by the spectacle and cradled in its arms To stare at starry nights still undisturbed by city lights While breathing in a wilderness beneath the many skies Where romantics capture lighting in their jars And hang them from the branches to illuminate the dark For until we truly learn to see ourselves We haven’t any business staring at somebody else (though sometimes it helps, so we sing) - Do do do do do do do do do, do do do do do do Do do do do do do do do do, do do do do do do She said I’ll scratch your head, because I know you like that, and I can’t for a while - Instrumental - Though perhaps I should admit that I've been wrong To fantasize about a place I think I might belong Instead of making something of the ground beneath my feet I've got my head inside the clouds and all my bags are packed to leave To make-believe we could return to where we started And plant the seeds of empathy inside our secret garden For there was a time when I can say you saved me from myself And I just want to thank you; you've done more than help - Oh, ya know, I'm glad that you found a home And even though I hope that you die alone I was never one to hold a grudge So enough is enough I've finally had enough
11.
The Chorus 03:28
I mean, you really have a decision to make You can either step into the chorus line Or you can leave - Eyes are growing wide Singing to the sun Laying in the grass Waiting till the day is done - Make a flower-bed Underneath the moon Falling into sleep Time to sing a different tune - Talking to yourself You can hear the call Heaven over Hell Hell if nothing else at all - You will come to know yourself as life will grab you by the shoulders, shake you tragically until you die - High So Alive Full of pride Passersby Wonder why Why you died - I know you And all the things you do Can you do them to me too? - Risen from the Ash Fan the inner-flame Cauterize the past It’ll never be the same - Washing in the water Walking through the rain Qualify the future Time has come to make a change - Standing on the Earth Reaching for the Sky There is only now It isn't something you decide - You will come to know yourself as life will grab you by the shoulders, shake you tragically until you die - High So Alive Full of pride Passersby Wonder why Why you died - I know you And all the things you do Can you do them to me too? - I know it isn't everything you had expected But really, what were you expecting?
12.
I now walk Into the Wild Say Goodbye society, you’ve lost another If I should return, it won’t be for a while If I do return it’d only be to see you smile - Cause I could never make you stay I could never make my way I could shut you out I could never shut my mouth - I don’t really know what to do Every time he steps closer to you Every time I can’t really speak Every time that we happen to meet - La da da - Cause I could never make you stay I could never make my way I could shut you out I could never shut my mouth - It’ll come and go again Self-esteem and confidence, my fairest weather friends Crack beneath the pressure of a truth you’d never know Worried half to death about the things you can’t control Everything you write begins to look and sound the same Never get to where you’re going, walking figure-eights Even though you try You’ve always been a shame Always been a lie Always been to blame, but! - We’re bursting into bloom Dancing for the coming rain and howling at the moon Stomping ‘round a fire pit in rhythm to the drums Smiling through our painted faces, waiting for the sun Fingers interlacing through another summers night Leave behind our bodies as we walk into the light Hold onto your breath Fall into the sky For everything that’s left It’s time to say goodbye Goodbye! - After all that’s come and gone We lay here sobered by the dawn of Sunday morning With our starry-eyes More than just alive together Living proof that good gets better Yes, I’m sure The only thing that I’ve left to decide is how I’m going to say Goodbye - Ya da die

credits

released September 17, 2014

Recorded and mixed at This Old Railroad

Artwork by Sophie McTear
sophiemctear.tumblr.com

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Echo

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