Get all 17 Sam Steffen releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Too Much of a Good Thing, Poor Thing, Maxims, Mantras & Moral Tales, Say When, Unravelled Tales - Volume 2, Unravelled Tales - Volume 1, Roubles and Kopecks, Nothin to Write Home About, and 9 more.
1. |
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I’m not lazy—I just like to rest
I’m not dirty—just not too clean, I guess
I’m not happy—but I’m doin my best
To play the hand that I been dealt
I ain’t quitting—I’m just on a break
I’m not guilty—I just made a small mistake
It’s not a setback, really—just a slight headache
It ain’t nothing that time won’t help
But you know I haven’t come to tell you
What by now you must already know
There’s so little that has any value—
There’s only a few ways it could possibly go—
I feel like my engine’s gone and lost a piston
Like I built a kingdom just to let it fall
You can’t resist once you’re inside the system—
And I’m just a little annoyed is all
I’m not a cheapskate—I’m just moneywise
I’m not dishonest—I just prefer my old disguise
I’m not startled–I’m just kind of surprised
I didn’t know you were that kind of girl—
I ain’t cryin—it’s just raining out
I’m not hopeless—I’m just full of doubt
I don’t need you—I’d just prefer not to be without
Lord, it is a lonely world!
but don’t let it go gettin your feathers ruffled
there’s really nothing else you could’ve done
the announcer’s voice coming through the mic was muffled
it could’ve happened to you, me or anyone—
I swear the lengths they’ve gone to to see I’d be deprived—
Would almost make you think that my life weren’t small
But no one makes it out of this world alive
And I’m just a little annoyed is all—
I’m not depressed—I just prefer the blues
I’m not indecisive—I just don’t wanna haveta choose
I’m not complaining—I’m just looking to improve
This antiquated old machine
I ain’t weak—I’m just not that strong
We’re not incompatible—we just don’t really get along
It ain’t alright—don’t you get me wrong
I ain’t sayin it’s peachy-keen
Sometimes I wish it would all go backwards
You’d begin at grief and move headlong into loss
You’d heal up as soon as you removed the daggers
you regain everything when you refund the cost—
But without an ending, there ain’t no story
No happily ever after after all
The case is closed with the hanging jury
And I’m just a little annoyed is all—
I’m not sick—I just don’t feel all that well
It’s not a secret—I just don’t really care to tell
I’m not withholdin—I just don’t have anything good to sell
or anything more to subtract—
I’m not crazy—I just haven’t found my groove
I’m not vindictive—I just don’t really like to lose
I’m not unjustified—I just don’t got no good excuse
Is there anything wrong with that?
Won’t somebody give me some instruction
On whatever a man’s supposed to do?
I can’t seem to make any logical deduction
I can’t have my cake and eat it, too
I feel like a powder keg what’s about to burst
Soon they’ll be scrapin me off the wall—
I’m surrounded by water and I’m dyin of thirst
And I’m just a little annoyed is all
I’m not a hard case—I’m just difficult
I don’t intend it—you know that much yourself
I’m not in trouble—I just need a little bit of help
At some point, hell, don’t we all?
I’m not wrongheaded—I’m just incorrect
I’m not crazy—I’m just a little out of step
I’m not angry—I’m not even that upset
I’m just a little annoyed is all
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2. |
Close To You
03:57
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I’d give up my ticket to travel first-class
Step out of my place in a long line, and be last
Tip my hat to the VIPs, and bid them aideu
As long as it meant that I could be—
Close to you
I’d compromise anything I claim to believe in
Religion, politics, humanity, even
I’d welcome the chance for a new point of view
As long as it meant that I could be—
Close to you
I’d cast to the wayside any superficial differences
travel extreme geographical distances
I’d forget about whatever I was planning to do
As long as it meant that I could be—
Close to you
If you were travelling upon one of the oceans
and you left me behind in some bedroom to stay
I’d sleep gainst the wall to which the sea was the closest
just to be that much less far away
I’d give up my dayjob tho it pays well and is easy
I’d come down off the mountain to live in the city
I’d share a crowded apartment on a loud avenue—
As long as it meant that I could be—
Close to you
I’d pass up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
disobey the wishes of my entire community
all kinds of trouble I’d get myself into
As long as it meant that I could be—
Close to you
If you were sick, I would risk the infection
If I knew you were wrong, I wouldn’t make no correction
I can’t think of one thing that I wouldn’t do
As long as it meant that I could be—
Close to you
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3. |
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'Corruption in the Whitehouse' the headline ran in ‘72
When Nixon’s men broke in to the DNC HQ
If Deepthroat hadn’t telephoned his buddies, Carl and Bob
Nixon probably never would have turned over his job—so
Blow the whistle!—whistleblower, blow!
Let’s see you got a conscience that you ain’t afraid to show!
Put your self-interest behind you, tell your bosses where to go!—
the people have got the right to know!
Chelsea Manning was a soldier sent to Iraq on intel
Where civilians and soldiers were bein indiscriminately killed
She had access to top secret files that were under lock-and-key
She put em on a website for all the world to see
chorus
Well, all our data’s now the property of the US government
the NSA’s been getting it for years without consent
A man named Edward Snowden said “I’ve had enough of this!”
Sent what he knew discreetly to the international press
chorus
Today we got old Donald Trump to keep us entertained
“Will you look into Joe Biden?” he asked the president of Ukraine
He would’ve been impeached when someone brought the news to light—
If a few Senate Republicans had the nerve to do what’s right!
chorus
Now some will say a whistleblower’s nothin but a liar
A stoolie turned a turncoat who knew he’d be getting fired
If you were in the same boat—tell me, what would you do?
And if you knew and kept it secret—well, what would that make you?
chorus
I thank you, Mr. Snowden for all the risk you took—
And you, Ms. Chelsea Manning, you’re no traitor in my book
You face the blacklist, exile, prison, and you were slandered in the news
But I thank you for the sacrifice you’ve made to tell the truth
chorus
technology today is more advanced than it’s alleged
but it’s a tool that can be weaponized, a blade that’s double edged
the government says they spy on us to keep us all Red, White and Blue
But if you’re gonna keep your eyes on us, we’ll keep our eyes on you!
chorus
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4. |
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Seasons change, climate, too
and people change—Lord knows I do
If impermanence is all that holds true
then what else can I hold onto?
I’m sometimes right; I’m often wrong
We’ll know better further along
Your love is mighty, but how strong
You say you love me—yes—but for how long?
Long as the seas meet land at shore
And earth pursues Her solar tour
long as this old heart endures—
That’s how long
That’s how long
That’s how long—I’m gonna love you for
When I’m tired; when I’m wakeful
tho unworthy, not ungrateful;
year after year, may through april
long as you’re willing, I will be able
long as there’s still room to grow
sky above and sea below
long as there’s time left to explore
that’s how long
that’s how long
that’s how long I’m gonna love you for
Pick a number any one
Better yet, make it the highest one
Multiply it by ten billion
Throw in a few more—and then some
As far as you can comprehend
And even further, after the end—
As long as there’s something still left in store
That’s how long
That’s how long
That’s how long I’m gonna love you for
The day may come, I’ll be leavin
A few who knew me might hang round grieving
There’s a time for laughter and a time for weeping
And long as I’m standing, Long as I’m breathing
As long as time withstands the clock
If it speeds up or if it stops—
Til kingdom’s come or come no more—
that’s how long I’m gonna love you for
pick your poison, choose your pleasure
step by step, measure for measure
life is short, love’s forever
long as you’ll have me, then we’ll be together
now and later, then, meanwhile
apart, together, single file
both and and and either or
that’s how long I’m gonna love you for
love prefers the present tense
it receives more, the more it sends
its road goes on, around both bend
a lifelong journey that never ends
(Repeat first chorus)
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5. |
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a gambler’s a man / who knows that a plan’s / just a story that’s spun out of dreams
it can act as a prop / to get you to stop / but temporary is all that it means
sooner than not / you’ll get what you’ve bought / whether you lose or you win
I’ve lost my share / but look, I’m still here / so, dealer, won’t you deal me again?
I seen all kinds / from the ones who read minds / to them who can’t spot a tell from a bluff
To the burn-outs, retired / hard-lucks, hardwired / who can’t say when they’ve had enough
I’ve heard the advice / of them who say to think twice / what do they know about where I been?
If you had these blues / I’ll wager you, too / ‘d be sayin: Dealer, deal me again
I had me a girl / she was out of this world / she was a once-in-a-lifetime affair
I asked her to stay / she told me o.k. / then she high-tailed it right out of there
I heard through the mill / she’s been up to it still / making fools out of dangerous men
Still causin a stir / Ain’t that good for her? / Dealer, won’t you deal me again?
Some play for the thrill / for the hunt or the kill / for the chance to be something they’re not
Some play cause they know / just how it will go / so long as they never get caught
Me, I’m the sort / who lives for the sport / I play for sheer love of the game
Don’t matter what / poker straight, draw or stud / Dealer, just deal me again
When it was you / I did what I could do / to let you know I was your friend
I held you aside / to defend you, I lied / and if I had to, I’d do it again
But now it’s reversed / and I come to you first / you act like you don’t know who I am—
If I’m still in the game / and the rules haven’t changed / well dealer, won’t you deal me again?
You tried to live straight / as something you hate / and you know that it won’t ever fit
It’s a gamble as soon / as you’re torn from the womb / til you finally cash in your chips
To live is to bet / in a game against Death / and you know the house wins in the end
But if it’s all gone to hell / spose I might as well… / Dealer, won’t you deal me again?
I’m friends with the bar / doorman’s got a car / there’d be more than enough to go round
a few guns, for show / and a place to lay low / where we could wait for the heat to die down
maybe it’s how you feel / or it’s there in the deal / or it’s some kind of wheel you just spin
you won’t know til it lands / or you’ve played out your hand / Dealer, won’t you deal me again?
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6. |
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The factory whistle sounded at dawn, so we all gathered out on the floor
Foreman says, “You’re all doin so well, we thought you could do a little bit more—
He gave us our orders, said “Now I don’t want to hear anybody complain—”
You’ll be workin harder and harder, but you’re getting paid the same”
The economy’s gone belly-up, business is following suit
Boss is keepin his salary, but he’s givin his workers the boot
Said, “Some’ll haveta be let go, for the rest of ya, all that’ll change
Is you’ll be working a little bit harder, but you’re gettin paid the same”
Work harder—get paid the same!
It’s the company slogan—the name of the game!
It’s better than nothin! Don’t whine and complain!
You work harder—and you get paid the same!
The cost of livin is on the rise and the landlord’s been raising the rent
Soon all the money you’ve set aside has gone the way the rest of it went
Tomorrow’s another workin day, a chance for to make and to gain
You’ll work a little bit harder, but you’ll be getting paid the same
Society says do your best and there’s nothin you can’t achieve
You want to get rich quick in these times of ours—all you’ve got to do is believe!
I waited in line, put in my time, kept my head down, stayed in my lane
I worked harder and harder, but I just got paid the same
Uncle Sam’s building an army, recruiting anyone he can find
He’ll tell you he’ll pay for your college if you just sign on the old dotted line
He’ll train you to hunt down and kill a man like he ain’t got a face or a name
You’ll work for him, harder and harder, and he’ll repay you just the same
When I’s up I counted my blessings, when I’s down I looked to the Lord
I followed the rules to the letter—and I still ain’t received no reward
I’m no saint, by no means, Lord, to be humble, I’ve never claimed
But I’m workin harder and harder—and I’m getting paid the same
History seems like a broken machine that spits out whatever’s put in
Despite how you’ve fought, your efforts have brought you to someplace you’ve already been
You can try a new course or keep beatin the dead horse as you pray for something to change
Feels like workin harder and harder just to keep getting paid the same
I tried to break free of the eternity of running around on my wheel
I bought a guitar and I got in my car and went out to find something more real
I followed along and practiced the songs and by now I’ve learned the refrain:
It’s: work harder and harder and get paid the same
Now the man upstairs is good and old, he’s been in charge for a while
To him it makes no difference if you owe him an inch or a mile
Whether your life’s been filled with privilege or if it’s been filled with pain
Righteous or wreckless, you get paid the same
When I’m called I’ll rise and go—I won’t make any to-do
I prayed for things I needed bad, but my prayers just never got through
Naked and crying I’ll leave the world as naked and crying I came
I kept workin harder and harder—and kept getting paid the same
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7. |
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The ferris-wheel’s been crammed with likely suspects
the boardwalk’s lit up like it’s Christmas in July
there comes a time when a man must stand and face his prospects
with a keen, discerning and judicious eye
I came prepared, my equipment all was with me
I knew the odds would be against me in advance
But by the time I even knew what had gone and hit me—
It was too late—I didn’t even stand a chance
I’ve tried to keep my eye out for any sign of danger
I didn’t want to be the victim of love’s charm
I’ve learned to be suspicious of every stranger
And I’ve been known to greet unexpected kindness with alarm
I hope that you don’t think I went and planned this
If there’s one thing I’d rather skip, well, it’s romance
But when I met you, I was already disadvantaged
It was too late—I didn’t even stand a chance—
I’m well-practiced in the art of getting nowhere
I’ve rehearsed this scene a hundred thousand times
I know just what to say if you decide to go there
You’ll be on your way, and I’ll keep on mine—
But it would seem that habit’s failed me in this instance
I heard the music and got caught up in the dance—
I intended to give nothing but resistance
But it was too late—I didn’t even stand a chance
You stood there looking far out at the ocean
Where the sky and water fused in a streak of blue
I’ve seen beauty that’s stirred my heart into commotion—
None of it could hold a candle up to you
I could feel the stealing-in of love’s intruders
My guard was let down, you had me drifting in a trance
Cupid must have raised an army of sharpshooters
outnumbered—I didn’t even stand a chance
this must be what the bards and poets tell of
when they retire to their rooms to play and sing
and write their ballads all about their true-loves
what good’s it all—when sorrow’s all it brings?
I tried to put the feeling into language
My “Love at first sight” she destroyed with just a glance
Now the rapture and the joy’s turned into anguish
I should’ve known—I didn’t even stand a chance
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8. |
Could've Sure Fooled Me
03:17
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Every place you go there’s folks there aiming to please—
The way you spend your money, it’s like it was growin on the trees
And even though you tell me that you didn’t come from royalty
Well, babe, you could’ve shore fooled me
I’m not one to fall for that old vanishing act
I know just when the magician’s pullin a rabbit from his hat
I can usually sense when someone’s got something up her sleeve
But babe, you could’ve shore fooled me
You got me where you want me, I’m too slow to dodge—
Just say the word and I’ll stay
I’m useful as a busted-up, broken down watch
Even a broken watch is still right—two times a day
I ain’t one to believe every single thing I see
I don’t believe a word of what they tell me on TV
I ain’t one who’s known for his gullibility
But babe you could’ve shore fooled me
They asked you for your effort, so you gave it your best try
When you folded from the pressure, they caught you in a lie
you couldn’t outfox the moral majority
But babe you could’ve shore fooled me
I ain’t the sharpest knife in the set—
Is that how the expression even goes?
Feel like I’m looking for something I ain’t found yet
But every time I’m near you feels like I’m getting close—
My mama warned me about women of your kind
She said don’t be chasing no one whose gonna make you wait your turn in line
Just goin by your looks, I could’ve swore you was heavenly
babe, you could’ve shore fooled me
You know I’m getting older, I got water on the knee
You know that my eyes ain’t what they used to be—
You think you’re nothing special for anyone to see—
Well, babe, you could’ve shore fooled me
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9. |
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They say by next year this land’ll be buried neath 35 feet of the sea
Those that can’t get out by liner or ferry will be sunk as sure as can be
Pharaoh traded his army for a fleet of sleek vessels, if the seas part he’ll just run aground
Tell Moses we’re sorry: salvation’s backordered—there just ain’t enough to go round
Ma quit her job the day she delivered tho she took all six weeks of her leave
The breadcrumb of income in the end hardly differed, daycare costs more than you’d believe
And dad’s been out lookin for a job that’ll get him off the trail of them debt-collector hounds
Wherever he goes the employers all tell em, there just ain’t enough to go round
Man on the sidewalk’s been asking for quarters from people who pretend he ain’t there
His cardboard sign reads: "I’ll Have What You’re Having—Anything That You Can Spare"
He says, “I been all through the towns of this country, small kindness is all that I’ve found
Love's all you need to get by in this life, and there just ain’t enough to go round
You’d better wear waders if you’re headed to Washington, I hear the bullshit there’s pretty deep
Power is one thing that people in power usually do their darndest to keep
They’re redrawing districts, makin maps into mazes so that when voting day rolls around
The hopes’ll wear thin til the votes are all in and there just ain’t enough to go round
The army recruiters are lookin for heroes to wave their American flag
They’ll send you abroad like they need you to be there til you get sent back home in a bag
A six-gun salute, an immaculate coffin, a white cross they’ll stake in the ground
The letter to mom says “your son was a patriot—wish there were more like him to go round.”
They ask for our patience in the questing for justice, that holy of holymost grails
They ask us to trust their defunct machinery that history shows usually fails
The judge in his throne hasn’t even been listening—you’ll know when the gavel comes down
They’re doling out justice like there’ll be no tomorrow—and there just ain’t enough to go round
We’ve dug ourselves into a fine mess of trouble spending money that we never had
To buy things that wore out and made us unhappy which they told us would make us more glad
The poor get some—yes, but the rich get a tax-cut: and do you know why it’s called ‘trickledown’?
a trickle’s what happens before it shuts off completely leaving what ain’t enough to go round
Time is a bastard and a thieving deceptor, a current you fight the whole way
Tomorrow eludes you while yesterday woos you meanwhile it’s always today
And life is a tale told by an idiot full up of fury and sound
You look for the meaning with the hourglass bleeding—there just ain’t enough to go round
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10. |
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Dear country, I’m writing to tell you I’m fighting to come up with some single thing
To ignite or inspire the old poet’s desire, in me, of thee, to sing—
But no praise can I utter with my pride in the gutter as the national anthem gets sung
To a flag that looks dignified that always has signified: liberty and justice for some
I’ve poured through the mystery of American history that was told from the conqueror’s view
That corrupted a heritage to respin a narrative about what white colonizers went through
Who committed genocide, vanquished a countryside, which through outrageous violence was won
Executing hypocrisy in the name of democracy, with liberty and justice for some
I’ve been stumbling and reeling as I grope for the feeling of freedom spelled out in the pomes
But what of the Apache, the Blackfoot, Comanche, the Africans, torn from their homes?
Your freedom’s to subjugate, enslave, kill, appropriate—when will we be free from
The powers that perpetrate, promote and perpetuate liberty and justice for some?
they say here you’re free to do whatever you want to do—it’s true, long as you got the means
without any middle, most have less than little, while a few hoard an amount that’s obscene
and I don’t see an end to it when sixty percent of it will remain in the hands of just one
a condition arisen from capitalism, which lends liberty and justice to some
At the borders they’ve ordered soldiers to bolster the walls they put up as defense
To stop immigration to an immigrant nation that’s composed of what it’s now against
Inventing solutions citing The Constitution to further qualify the word: “Everyone”
Giving no heeding to words or their meanings where there’s liberty and justice for some
I turn on the TV most evenings all I see are tragedies broadcast as news
A white officer shooting a black man refusing to admit to what he didn’t do
in the grief and excitement the cries for indictment to the highest authority’s brung
which forgives law enforcement and displays the endorsement that there’s liberty and justice for some
The acts of our president are now without precedent, he’s made crimes that the Senate won’t try—
Proving by the hour that for people in power the rules just don’t seem to apply
Acting outrageously, speaking insensibly in tired corruptible tongues
Outlawing innocence to celebrate ignorance, with liberty and justice for some
I stood in my vacuum at the back of the classroom, taking History over again
With the teacher insistin that everyone listen and kindly repeat after him:
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the U—” hang on a minute—how come?
One nation, miserable, neath God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for some—
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Sam Steffen Boise, Idaho
Sam Steffen is a Pennsylvania-bred, Boise-based singer-songwriter whose songs are the torch-wood for a new generation of folk music that has learned from the best stuff in the tradition and aims in spite of everything to keep the human spirit alive and kicking. A versatile musician and skilled finger-picker, Sam is at heart a story-teller, and a prolific one. ... more
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