Get all 8 Sarah Shay releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Poor Wayfaring Stranger (single), If You've Only Got a Moustache (single), Solitaire (A Demo), More Than What (A Demo), The Wedding Band and Other Stories: An Audio Fiction Collection, The Shay & Shay Radio Hour, You Have Queer Street Cred, and Zoe's Silver Spacesuit (feat. the Spiders From Gallifrey) (single).
Excludes subscriber-only releases.
1. |
Paper Towns
02:42
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I was a dreamer and you were a dream
You were a schemer and we were a team
You showed me the way to a dozen places new
Hidden from sight 'til I followed you
I want to build you a castle of stone and sand
No wishes or dreams, just these two hands
Let's go, we should have hit the road yesterday
Roll out the map, show me the way
And take me to a paper town
Hand in hand, we'll tear each building down
See what's hidden behind the lie
See what's real, see what's inside
I'll let you take the mask from off my face
You'll just see a star as it falls from grace
Only if you promise to let me in
And never ever to never never ever let me down again
I want something real, something I can touch
I've spent my whole life wanting it this much
Maybe I'm fool to still believe
That you're the hero I thought I'd need
To take me to a paper town
You and me, we're gonna burn it down
We're gonna set this whole town aglow
Should have set a match to this place long ago
Even if you never return my call
You'll always be the one who set me free
Please take my weight, don't let me fall
And take me to a paper town
Hand in hand, we'll tear each building down
See what's hidden behind the lie
See what's real, see what's inside
Take me to a paper town
You and me, we're gonna burn it down
We're gonna set this whole town aglow
Should have set a match to this place long ago
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2. |
Black Market Queen
02:00
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She was a sweet country girl with big blue eyes
and ringlets of gold in her hair
She had a daddy called her princess and always said
She'd never have a single worry or care
But that princess grew up and daddy skipped town
And she was stuck without a dime to her name
So she pulled up her boots and put on her crown
and said "I'll rule this county just the same!"
She was the belle of the ball
And the top of her class
And if you try to cheat her she'll cut you down fast
She's as cool as ice and as bold as brass
And she'll fill up Carolina's glass
She's the Black Market Queen of the Flask
Well by about the time she was twenty and five
she was bootlegging bourbon and selling off wine
Had an eye for a deal and could sniff out a lie
'Fore you knew it girl was selling across the state lines
There was a time or two she nearly got caught
and spent the rest of her life in shame
But a Carolina mama doesn't raise no fools
Hail to the queen, long may she reign!
She was the belle of the ball
And the top of her class
And if you try to cheat her she'll cut you down fast
She's as cool as ice and bold as brass
And she'll fill up Carolina's glass
She's the Black Market Queen of the Flask
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3. |
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If I said I loved you
Would you believe it
I've said it so many times
But I don't treat you right, it's true
And anyone can see it
Even though you complete my life
You've been living on that shitty
particleboard shelf from Ikea
for ten years or more
Except the fantasy and sci-fi
All crammed on a CD rack I
got for free when I worked at the record store
There's tacky romance stacked
on top of YA paperbacks
Empire Falls next to The Stars' Tennis Balls
Shakespeare props up Scott Pilgrim
My bookshelf's looking pretty grim
And I just don't know what to do at all
EPIC KAZOO SOLO
They say if you love something, set it free
But somehow I doubt all my books
would come back to me
Maybe it's time to grow a pair
Stop piling new books everywhere
I'm a grown up and I could
buy something really made of wood
My books bring me so much joy
It's time they got the real McCoy
Though I know it might cost a bit more
That's what God invented credit cards for
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4. |
My Honeybunch Lee
03:20
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I will wait for my Honeybunch Lee
'Til the rivers run dry
mountains crumble to the sea
I will sit here waiting
'til she knocks upon my door,
Tells me she don't want to wander anymore
Well my baby, she's traveled for a very long time
From Poughkeepsie to Nevada, from Spokane to Anaheim
She's been riding on that railway line
Since the Orpheum Circuit took away that love of mine
Playing two-show, three-show, four-show a day
With her dancing chinchillas and accordion to play
One day I know she'll get tired of that vaudeville life
And come running home to be my little wife
I will wait for my Honeybunch Lee
'Til the rivers run dry
mountains crumble to the sea
I will sit here waiting
'til she knocks upon my door,
Tells me she don't want to wander anymore
Well, it's been a few years since I heard from Honey Lee
Not a telegram from Paris or postcard from Albany
She's been playing and a-singing all over this land
And the missing her is just about as much as I can stand
Well maybe my baby has forgotten all 'bout me
Maybe I'm a fool for waiting when she's off in Tuscany
But a life without my Honeybunch I never want to see
So I'll just keep waiting here for Honey Lee
I will wait for my Honeybunch Lee
'Til the rivers run dry
mountains crumble to the sea
I will sit here waiting
'til she knocks upon my door,
Tells me she don't want to wander anymore
'Til her ship returns here to my lovin' shore
'Til the vaudeville life becomes an awful bore
'Til she comes home to be mine forevermore
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5. |
Fictional Love
04:13
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When I was a girl I wrote silly love songs
I now regret
That favorably compared me and the boys I liked
to Romeo and Juliet
But now I'm older and now I'm wiser
and now I recognize
What real, functional relationships look like
So it should come to no surprise
I want you to be the Harry to my Sally
Can you be the Zoe to my Wash
We could be like Han and Leia
'Cause "I know" you love me
Like Willow loved her Oz
(I will fight you.)
Be the Phroso to my Venus
Or the Westley to my Buttercup
We could spar like Benedick and Beatrice
You know we'd never get enough
If we had fictional love
Just pour me a gin and tonic
and I'll be the Nora to your Nick
You could be Scott Pilgrim to my Ramona Flowers
if I grew my hair "like this"
And if either of us had to die
Tragically or otherwise
I'd rather be your Hazel Grace
or your Angel Dumott Schunard
You could be the Zero Cool to my Acid Burn
Or the Ron to my Hermione
We could spar like Lizzie and Mr. Darcy
Oh, you know just how it would be
If we had fictional love
I don't want a fairy tale
or a tragic love that ends in tears
Don't lead me on like Aragorn
Just be my Faramir
We could ride your scooter through Monmartre
Like Nino and Amélie
Or dance across the rooftops
If you'd be the Bert to my Mary
You could be the Megan to my Fleinhart
Or the Hodgins to my Angela
We could spar like Gilbert and Anne Shirley
Oh, you know we'd never get enough
If we had fictional love
Or you could be the Jack to my Sally
or the Gomez to my Morticia
or the Morey to my Babette
or the Chase to my Gert
or the Ruby to my Sapphire
or the Booga to my Tank Girl
Or you could be my Little Prince
and I could be your rose
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6. |
Cabbage Rose
03:03
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I love the girl called Cabbage Rose
I'll never let her cry
And if I lose my Cabbage Rose
I think that I will die
Yes, I think that I will die
I've traveled all the land and sea
I've rambled here and there
I've climbed the mountain tops
And I have roamed without a care
But now I've found my hobo queen
And never will I stray
I will belong to Cabbage Rose
until my dying day
I'll shine the shoes upon your feet
I'll fix your leakin' sole
I'll sing a song or play a tune
To keep stew inside my bowl
Give me work and do be kind
or I'll have to move along
And I will lose the Cabbage Rose
for whom I wrote this song
Cabbage Rose is tall and fair
Her hair is black as night
Her cheeks are sweet and pink
Her eyes are like two pennies bright
Her voice is like a turtledove
a-callin' out my name
Now I have met my Cabbage Rose
I'll never be the same
I love the girl called Cabbage Rose
I'll never let her cry
And if I lose my Cabbage Rose
I think that I will die
Yes, I think that I will die
I think that I will die
Yes, I know that I will die
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7. |
The Hounds of God
03:09
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In the summer twilight
underneath the ghostly moon
The ivy-twined jungle
sings a solitary tune
Beneath an oak by lightning struck
there lies a grave forgot
Cracked and broken, water-stained
with decimated rot
Oh, stay away
Oh, boy you better stay away
Beware the headless angel
listen to her silent cries
Far from the sanctuary
where your old caretaker lies
He warned you of the danger
but you didn't heed his word
And when the ghouls have got you
will your cries for help be heard?
Oh, stay away
Oh, boy you better stay away
from the gates of Hell
Where day-folk fear and night-folk dwell
A road, and nothing but a road
that leads you far afield
Lightning strikes the dead red sky
in a place where bad things go to die
And when you think at last your soul is lost
The Hounds of God are there
Traveling their own road
going into Hell and out
They move like spirits in the night
unplagued by fear or doubt
The gift their maker gave them
lets them save you from yourself
Pursuing evildoers
past the tolling of the bell
Oh, stay away
Oh, boy you better stay away
from the gates of Hell
Where day-folk fear and night-folk dwell
A road, and nothing but a road
that leads you far afield
Lightning strikes the dead red sky
in a place where bad things go to die
And when you think at last your soul is lost
The Hounds of God are there
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8. |
Maybe It's You
02:30
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Maybe it's you
Maybe it's me
Maybe there's some unknown force of the universe
and we're on opposite sides of its sea
Maybe you're different
Maybe I'm not the same
But there's something changed in the two of us
And I'm too tired to play this game
We may never know
Did you stop or did I go
Whatever happened, it's happened now
and there's nothing we can do to change
That's the way it is
But it feels so strange
We used to be lovers
or we used to be friends
You used to be the one thing in this damn universe
that would always make sense at the end
But now you're a stranger
and I don't understand
Why you said those things and made those calls
that never seemed like they were part of the plan
We may never know
Now it seems so long ago
That we spoke the same mind and held the same heart
and none of that would ever change
But that's the way it is
Is that so strange?
'Cause there's you
and here's me
Well I guess there's nothing left for us to do
but shake our hands and go our separate ways
That's the way it is
Life is changes
So turn and face 'em
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9. |
Oh, Vincent
03:36
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Oh, Vincent
Your matriarchs didn't have luck at home
Your mother and hers raised their kids alone
They sent their shiftless men packing off
No wonder you wanted better odds
Oh, Vincent
You made all the girls at school swoon and sigh
The redhead they all wanted to be like
and to be near
Oh Vincent, you had it all
What else could you want
Burning your candle at both ends
You did it all
All the boys and the girls
around your little finger
With beauty and talent and wit
and luck at first
Beautiful, this day
Beautiful, this day
Beautiful, this day
No matter
Oh, Vincent
You traveled the world with your lovers
Left him at home writing letters, begging
You to return to your Steepletop
Wanting you near but you
just couldn't stop
Oh, Vincent
When you lost your world that night, didn't it sting
Couldn't find solace in anything
Your head full of what was gone up in flames
Even the morphine could only ease the pain
Oh Vincent, you had it all
What else could you want
Burning your candle at both ends
You did it all
All the boys and the girls
around your little finger
With beauty and talent and wit
and luck at first
Beautiful, this day
Beautiful, this day
Beautiful, this day
No matter who has died
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10. |
Computer, End Program
04:39
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In the 1980s when I was a little girl
I saw a show that showed me the
most magic future world
And when my folks were mean
I'd think about the world on my TV screen
I'd say these words and hope
that it would take me far away
Computer, end program
Take me away from here
Take me to the future where
life's easier to bear
Take me to a time
where they've abolished doubt and fear
Computer
Are you there?
I knew there must have been some reason
I'd been trapped in that dull life
Obviously my real folks were
a commander and his wife
She'd always understand
my thoughts and feelings, she'd just know
And one day they'll come and bring me back
to my starship home
Computer, end program
Take me away from here
Take me to the future where
life's easier to bear
Take me to a time
where they've abolished doubt and fear
Computer
Are you there?
Even though I'm grown up now
And know it's all a fantasy
There still are times when life gets to be
much too much to be believed
And when I feel defeated, brokedown and beaten
Like I just can't win
I find myself saying these words,
as if this time, maybe I'll get in
Computer, end program
Take me far away from here
Take me to that future where
Life's easier to bear
Take me to that time where
they've abolished doubt and fear
Computer
Are you there?
Computer, end program
Oh take me, take me so far away from here
Take me to that future where
Life's got to be a little easier to bear
Take me to that time where
they've abolished doubt and fear
Computer
Are you there?
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Sarah Shay Seattle, Washington
Seattle folk singer bringing you songs that are usually funny but sometimes sad.
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Inherit The Earth
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