Get all 28 Jonathan Mann releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Incoming Chairman Bernie Sanders, Raccoons Are Trying To Steal The Election, Baby Yoda, Baby Baby Yoda feat. Brittain Ashford (2020 remix), Let The Old People Die, Let The Old People Die, The Mystery Bard's Lullaby Jingles: Vol. 2, Jewish Family Christmas Tree!, I Used To Love My Body, and 20 more.
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1. |
Fold Into Yourself
01:51
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one thing sometimes seems like another
upon close inspection
a curse is a blessing
so you fold into yourself
sometimes you just got no idea
the meaning seems hidden
but really it isn't
so you fold into yourself
you search in the faces of the people you know
you feel like Magellan
but their faces aren't telling
so you fold into yourself
you think maybe you'll find it some place exotic
in an old elevator
or in a dinosaur crater
so you fold into yourself
you start to get worried, you start to panic
you let out your breath
and use what's left
to fold into yourself
but you wake from a dream all groggy confused
and the hand that you're holding
means you are unfolding
you found it in yourself
it was small and insecure
but it begins to grow
and the doubts get fewer and fewer
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2. |
Are You A Real Peson?
02:47
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1s and 0s burned and broken
do you or do you not exist
i will accept you with arms wide open
but if you're fake I will feel foolish
you're friends with my friends
but that is not conclusive
i try to verify you but you are elusive
little bit arranged in rows and rows just so
now i am obsessed and i simply must know
ohhh ohhh are you a real person?
flesh and bone is less deceiving
i don't need a turing test
if can touch you and feel you breathing
hear your heart beating in your chest
i don't know what your motivation might be
when you look my way and you decide to friend me
far be it from me to disrupt the status quo
now i am obsessed and i simply must know
ohhhh ohhh are you a real person?
if you're real just say so
if we knew each other long ago
if you're someone that i really know
if you're real, well then hello!
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3. |
Sweaty Girlfriend
02:13
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we ride our ride our bikes down summer streets
the world is sun and the world is heat
when we get home we are covered in sweat
but i don't want to shower just yet
sweaty girlfriend, sweaty girlfriend
i am attracted to your scent
no, not yet don't take a shower
i'm drawn into your body's power
she comes home in her yoga pants
when she walks by i'm in a yoga trance
she's heading for the shower now
i jump up and tackle her to the ground
CHORUS
SOLO
Now we're in New York paying subway fares
And walking up 10 flights of stairs
The city heat makes you collapse
Let's find a bed and take New York naps
VERSE
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4. |
Three Day Reign
03:33
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First, I was supposed to be king
Then, I was the last of my kind
Now I'm not anything
Just another soul with with nowhere to go and too much time
I was gonna be king, maybe praised and applauded
I was gonna be king and love who I wanted
She was everything but I was denied
And so they had to die
Vaguely aware of the rules they set
I was so used to getting my way
Some ancestor was full of regret
A forgotten father turning his grave
And so they took her away and told me to forget her
And they brought me another as if that would make it better
They couldn't be reasoned lord knows I tried
And so they had to die
And so one evening at dinner
I excused myself
We had company over
Cousins and uncles and everyone else
I went up to my room grabbed my m16 then when dinner was done n
I walked calmly back downstairs and I killed everyone
I was supposed to be king
And I was for three whole days
Now I'm not anything
A brief, forgotten king turning in his grave
The shots rang out and the bodies fell and I wanted to be sure
That everyone knew that I was doing it for her
It was clear to me by the look in their eyes
And so they had to die
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5. |
I Hate Being Alone
03:36
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Everybody dies alone
from the still born baby to the man full grown
and I hate being alone
it drives me totally nuts
i hate it down to my bones
I hate it down in my guts
I hate being alone
I used to make my mom call my friends on the telephone
But sometimes no one was free
And then it would be me me me me
Everybody dies alone
but the consequences of this may be slightly
over blown
modern science doesn't know
and religion just forget it
no one knows where you go
when you breathe your final breath it means
no one knows where you go
could be a big empty room or a loud crowded rock show
you die alone, oh yes
but a second after that is anyone's guess
some people are comfortable seeing movies by themselves
or going to a restaurant table for one they don't need anyone else
they're fine just watching TV or drinking a beer at home
but not me, i'm terrified, man i hate being alone
what's so bad about me?
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6. |
Heart of An Autoharp
03:42
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7. |
Mix Scalp Genius
02:45
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i got a poison swirling mind that sings
a hundred sweet evil melodies when the hour bell rings
you're always wrong except when you're not
you write a song and you're stirring the pot
i got a whirlpool brain draggin' me down
a million 5 ton memories makin' sure that i drown
you're always wrong and then you're always surprised
when reality comes and you realize
that it's something wrong in the way you think
in the wires crossed and burned
and you're laying there always on the brink
of a brain that's overturned
don't just lead yourself
into a state of doubt
don't believe yourself
when you're not telling the truth
i got some good ideas that turn to salt
when i confront what's real the mad gestalt
you're getting crazier with each pasting thought
don't try to hide it when you're stirring the pot
i got a bed that swallows me at night
and then i'm almost the same but not quite
you're always taking the long way around
you're always making the same damn sounds
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8. |
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to all the organisms that reproduce asexually
this ones for you
you don't have a mother
you don't have a father
you are a clone it's like you are your own brother
it's father's day
but i'd like to say
happy asexual reproduction day
maybe you're some bacteria living in the bottom of a lake
with all your friends
you eat stuff down there
and decompose it for us
you've got close relatives up shore in the forest
it's father's day
but i'd like to say
happy asexual reproduction day
or you're Kentucky bluegrass
growing in lawns across america
doing your apomixis
lots of blackberries
the yummy fruity treat
you've got no parents and you're so fun to eat
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9. |
A Mighty Fine Price
05:53
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could i interest you in a hand made watch marked 1864?
it belonged to a boy who was drowned in a river in the middle of a civil war
they say it brings beauty to the bearer
because of all the mud in the river
and i'll sell it to you for a mighty fine price a mighty fine price indeed
i've got this gold grandfather clock from the 16th century
it keeps the time with the rhythm in your mind comes with a guarantee:
if you're not completely satisfied
you can bring it back when your first born dies
and i'll sell it to you for a mighty fine price a mighty fine price indeed
maybe you'd like this burnt up kite it belonged to benjamin frank
it was given to me by a horny old man who worked for the World Bank
it attracts good luck at the slightest touch
but is dangerous when it's used too much
and i'll sell it to you for a mighty fine price, a mighty fine price indeed
how about this printing press that can only print one thing
a manifesto of simpler times of man and god and king
the writer had 40 wives 20 sons and a burning need
and i'll sell it to you for a mighty fine price, a mighty fine price indeed
oh i see you've found the bicycle that Che Guevara rode
dust it off, take her out and the tires will explode
they contain the memories
of every road that they ever have seen
and i'll sell it to you for a mighty fine price, a mighty fine price indeed
here's a necklace that belonged to Catherine The Great
I found it on the 7th floor of the empire state
they say it talks to you at night in a voice like a warbling reed
and i'll sell it to you for a mighty fine price, a mighty fine price indeed
have you SEEN this pistol that ONly shoots green ARrows tipped with blood
the ARrows make the STRUCK mistake their WOUNDed pride with love
love in it's purest form
that keeps the wounded safe and warm
and i'll sell it to you for a mighty fine price, a mighty fine price indeed
have a look through this magnifying glass and you will see
everything that ever was and all that's yet to be
you'd be a fool to refuse this tool
stare INto the eyes of the minuscule
and i'll sell it to you for a mighty fine price, a mighty fine price indeed
do you have any kids cause if you did i've got rows and rows of toys
melancholy soldier men and race cars for the boys
your girls will enjoy my flavored marble covered seeds
and i'll sell it to you for a mighty fine price, a mighty fine price indeed
this mystery box contains a taste of something so unique
if you Open it before it's due you won't see or hear or speak
you won't know if it's good or hurts
you'll be in another universe
and i'll sell it to you for a mighty fine price, a mighty fine price indeed
what about this realistic golden goose that flies?
with WINGS that flap and gem diamond ruby opal eyes
the eggs it lays are edible but of the normal size
and i'll sell it to you for a mighty fine price, a mighty fine price indeed
before you leave, one final thing, i save the last for best
i can tell you're not impressed by trinkets or the rest
a human soul wrapped in a jacket polyester tweed
and i'll sell it to you for a mighty fine price, a mighty fine price indeed
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10. |
Broken Brown Elderberry
01:49
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if the earth were to open up
and swallow me whole
then spit me out onto the ice
down on the north pole
i'd pitch a tent and strike a match
and burn my way through the ice
a body's mostly water
and snow is frozen h20
and i'd melt into a puddle then drift back home as smoke
home is where the heart is
and the heart is a powerful device
but you can never go home again
no matter where your heart has been
you can never go home again
much to my chagrin
you can never go home again
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11. |
Smoke Signals
04:59
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you build a house brick by brick
then you knock it down
you drain the lake drop by drop
so that you won't drown
if you're overwhelmed, then you're paying attention
but if you're concerned with higher ascension
then you'll miss your stop on the last train out
the temperature drop when winter comes
the fire followed by angry shouts
the smoke signals and distant drums
the end, the end, the end
has come
when you set out you dream of land
for gin and distant and totally new
two weeks in and you wish you had
a place of your own made just for you
when the sails are furled and you step ashore
you won't hear the waves at night anymore
and you'll miss the sound of metal on madst
the kiss of the stars when the morning comes
the speed with which the days fly past
the smoke signals and the distant drums
the end
you dig a hole earth by earth
then you fill it in
you did it for yourself whatever that's worth
and you'd do it again
you'd dig all the way to the moon and back
you'd dig right through a heart attack
and you'll keep digging till the shovel gives way
back to the beginning with the whispered hums
you'd put yourself up on display
with the smoke signals and the distant drums
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Jonathan Mann Jersey City, New Jersey
I'm a songwriter best known for writing a song a day. I've been at it for 10 years.
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