1. |
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That's the Way Things Seem to Go
Slidin’ round from town to town
searching for the roads
That will deliver me from the doorstep of this house
Back to where I belong.
But along the way are flats, falls, slips and cracks
Some friends who really knew you pass on
So when we spend time out in the cold
Keep yourself steady standing up for your own
Hear yourself breathe
That’s the way things seem to go
Every other day, you just don’t know
It comes around the corner at the speed of sound
you’re flat on your back
you’ve lost your crown
That’s the way things seem to go
You’ve climbed beyond 30, gained your view
and changed a lot of clothes
But stayed true to how you must spend your time
to the gallery been exposed.
They’ll tell you hard work at what you should
will equal double in your mind what you could
So when those folks blow that insecure cold
keep yourself steady knowing right serves the bold
Feel yourself breathe
That’s the way things seem to go
Every other day you just don’t know
It comes around the corner at the speed of sound
You’re flat on your back
you’ve lost your crown
That’s the way things seem to go
Thanks to free will, you plot your next move
Stand yourself up the seat’s reserved for the fools
(don’t be a fool)
Staring at your feet
(don’t be a fool)
Though the wrong ones put you down
there’re some good people you need to meet
You gotta keep things close together
Like a driver go on and get in your car
A rockstar’s who you are!
Don’t need no one’s permission
To head your own club
Don’t wait for no one’s blessing
to chase the things you love
That’s the way things seem to go
Back when there’s a time when you just didn’t know
Now you come around the corner like the speed of sound
Kindly attack, spread your good all around
That’s the way things seem to go
Wake up, pick up what’s left
Will yourself to roll
Back to the grand coliseum that is life
to fight to save your soul.
words & music by Ben Musser © 2014 Mohinga Music / ASCAP
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2. |
Breadwinner
04:52
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BREADWINNER
You are no breadwinner
You will not wear a crown
Someday someone is going to own you
make you put your ego down
Maybe you’ll find it’s a woman
who laps you each other turn
or maybe it’s just a man who knows better
requires you to deal with the burn
So you’re a man, who wears it on his sleeve
trust me to believe, the scene unfolds
the room swallows it down
Maybe it’s just me and my sensitive way
like my mother feels the pain
so far away from where you think you stand
Bend down to me
and you will start to see how bright
the road ahead can gleam
bleak are the chapters
facing your ass as you walk straight by
one step ahead of your past
Go on out and kill your dinner
and feed from food till your right
But either way don’t you go and grow hungry
cause your pride can’t feed your belly
and your head each night.
Plagued by lack of ambition
and words that come from the bed
You sell yourself short to the lowball offer
then go home and play pretend
So you’re a man, who wears it on his sleeve
trust me to believe, the scene unfolds
the room swallows it down
Maybe it’s just me and my sensitive way
like my mother feels the pain so far away
from where you think you stand
Bend down to me
you might start to see how bright
the road ahead can gleam
Bleak are the chapters
facing your ass as you walk straight by
one step ahead of your past
two steps ahead of your past
It’s clear you long for what i’ve got
like the stubborn seed glares at the dirt all night
Just get in the garden
Leave unpardoned heartaches behind
Bend down to me
you will start to see how bright
the road ahead can gleam
there’s dirt on the windows
facing your ass as you walk straight by
one step ahead of your past
two steps ahead of your past.
words & music Ben Musser
© 2014 Mohinga Music / ASCAP
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3. |
Time's Not on Your Side
04:02
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TIME'S NOT ON YOUR SIDE
The blue of your eyes is
brighter than the sky, money
The few things you’ve seen
still blow your mind
As you experience things
that make you feel better
make sure they’re recurring
not just on your mind
Listen to me my son
Time’s not on your side
Someone may come along
and kill you just for pride
Though nimble moves may help
you keep that runnin time
it ain’t so cheap, but time, rolls on
Be careful of the man in the hat
with the fire on his back
Looking for somebody to burn
Excuse me did somebody steal your sleeves, my friend?
Son, you’re gonna have to stand up tall
for the right things
make sure they’re recurring
not just on your mind
Listen to me my son
time’s not on your side
someone may come along
and kill you just for pride
Your family’s devastation
will last through many years
of therapy
but that’s just life, and life rolls on
But now we are alive
and thank God for your smile
words & music by Ben Musser
© 2017 Mohinga Music ASCAP
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4. |
Nice n Steady
03:52
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NICE N STEADY
Sometimes in life
one must put their smile down
let fire fill the eyes
when your dignity’s challenged
Oh I, got a story for you
Today the sun came up
Caught the stench of an evil woman
whose been trying to take my place
trying to give it to my lover
when the lights go down
‘cause she shackled to her Lynchburg taste
she needs more than what she’s got
more than her cheap perfume
that insecure laugh stinks up the room
I told you once, told you twice
So now it shouldn’t be a surprise
When I give it to you
Nice n steady
Oh what I got to give to you
ain’t nothing you can use
when you slither into bed each night
as you close your eyes
not alone, so you fantasize
the moment you turn out the light
What you got comin’ more like the back of my hand
You’re the only female I’m wanna … like a man
I told you once, told you twice,
So now it shouldn’t be a surprise
When I give it to you
Nice and steady
I’m gonna give it to you steady
but not so nice
next time you think of sucking
you’d better think twice
about your reputation
and a parasite
Only one
gets to be with my girl
Fortunate for me I get to rock that world
But you, better back the front down
words & music by Ben Musser
© 2017 Mohinga Music
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5. |
Is It Worth It
02:34
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IS IT WORTH IT
Is it worth it
to say what they say you can’t say
Is it worth
to sing what they say you can’t sing
We all like to reminisce
about the time we used
to not have to pay a price
But life extends
to a place where one must stand
pick a side for your conscience
align it with a man’s
where passion and truth
can no longer be ignored.
So I push my hat towards
center of the ring
Entertainment’s what they say it’s to sing
but thousands of voices
start to cry
they want a tooth for a tooth
when your work get’s wild
i wish you wouldn’t
check your taste at the door
Is it worth it
say what they say you can’t say
Is it worth it
To sing what they say you can’t sing
Is it worth it
to play what they say you can’t play
Is it worth it, etc
To bring who they say you can’t bring
To do what they say you can’t do
To say what they say you can’t say
To draw what they say you can’t draw
To play what they say you can’t play
To be what they say you can’t be
words & music by Ben Musser
(c) 2017 Mohinga Music
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6. |
Pimp Wife
04:06
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PIMP WIFE
She’s a pimp wife
She’s a pimp wife, yea
Expecting the good life
cause she’s a pimp wife
Behind every good man is a woman
though admission for many defeat
Me I stopped counting so long ago
ego best serves marriage when petite
My baby don’t care bout her diamond rings
But the fortune of fame on her mind gets her to sing
She’s always getting on my case about the tasks at hand
Like a time square hooker
She tries to sell her man
Calling up her friends on Monday sayin’
Calling up her friends on Tuesday sayin’...
Everybody should know how this hard life goes
Beg a stranger for a place to sleep
That man still thinks I’m living the dream
While I try to slip these shoes from my feet
My baby insists that the desk’s a death
Conditional love’s gone like a breath
Says it’s who you are & what you’ll be
While I dream of the drip of the suit setting me free
she’s
calling up her friends on Wednesday sayin’
I got what you need
Calling up her friends on Thursday
She gimme that look, she don’t have to scream
She’s a pimp wife
She’s a pimp wife, yea
Expecting the good life
Cuz she’s a pimp wife
Tryin’ to make a deal on Friday sayin’
Oooo, I got what you need
Trying to make a deal on Saturday
And I’ll I can do…
it’s the weekend baby
Though evidence exists
occasional sweetness
She know’s better
comfort comes and washes it all away
A business woman
right to the bone
sometimes i feel so alone
when i wake up so far from home
But the streets and the shows are all I know
So if you ever knew a woman like this
you could get away to live a life like that
Though it’d never be the same sans smoke of fame
so keep those pimp arms on my back
Well my baby ain’t afraid to push the rules of love
but the fine line stumbles and she starts to shove
so keep on practicing your patience while I get some rest
till I’m back out on the street to show ‘em who’s the best
She’ll be
calling up her friends on Friday sayin’
Oooo, I got what you need
Calling up her friends on Saturday sayin’
Ooo, Benyaro’s got what you need
Calling up her friends on Sunday
She gimme that look she don’t have to scream
Chorus
Champagne, red carpets and planes
She don’t even know my name
Champaign red carpets and fame
I think I love her just the same
words & music by Ben Musser
© 2017 Mohinga Music ASCAP
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7. |
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8. |
Home Cookin'
01:39
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HOME COOKIN'
After a long day at the office
where I live the dream
Ain’t nothing beats the moment
when I flee the scene
limp back home
catch that scent
my juices start flowing
mouth pitches a tent
My baby’s home cookin
Smells like home cookin
Ev’rybody loves home cookin
My baby’s home cooking
Sunday fun-day, when the weather
cooperates like a studious babysitter
Outside’s like a beach
though it’s 5 below
Can’t never get enough of that sun & snow
I’m aware when it time to go jiggity jig
and get myself back home
to the butter and bread
provided by the sweet girl
when I cross door
my glass comes down and
my drink gets poured
My baby’s home cookin
Say what?
My baby’s home cookin
Smells like home cookin
Ev’rybody loves home cookin
My baby’s home cookin
I’m like grinnin lookin
At all those things she’s hookin
Ev’rybody loves home cookin’
My baby’s home cookin
words & music by Ben Musser
© 2017 Mohinga Music ASCAP
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9. |
New Moon
03:32
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NEW MOON
Every time I catch her smiling face
start feeling everything I want to
Only if it happened more each day
the world would be a better place
My lady twinkles like a star
each time her chance comes around
Noticed these smiles come to bear
The more & more I shut my big ol’...
I got to learn to curb
this mouth for a day
let the new moon
shows the stars
in the shadow it stays
Sit down, relax, young man
hand the woman the reigns
Let the new moon show the stars
never give em away
Woman’s got the taste of the Queen
the eye of a stock judge
but around me she can’t fit a word in
no ‘cause you haven’t met me
I can talk a deaf man out the room
as she whispers sweet everything
Wisin’ up to hear the tune she sings
for everyone to forget why they’re blue
Time to step back
Time to fade to black
Time to let the quiet light glow
Chorus
words & music by Ben Musser
© 2017 Mohinga Music ASCAP
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10. |
I Do
05:46
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I DO
When you’re alone do you plan to do drugs? I do.
When you get high, does your heart ever race with fear
Nobody’s near
When you go home back to where it all began
do the losses add up
When your shown love does your hair stand up
you give yourself raw
At the bottom of the glass, does your tongue outlast your brain
turns you blue
When you’re in your walls do the knives shine bright
longing for flesh
Because you feel the guilt, for the thanks you cannot repay
Anything, everything
Only to later have the audacity to flirt with the mirror
I’m not proud, but I do
So confiding in my instruments
The harmonic bubble bounces back
The din of the day
Lacking sounds this sea of music
My walking dead’s no disguise
like folks suffocating their passions
you can see it in their eyes
When you’re alone do you plan to do drugs? I do.
When you lay down at night do you dream tears for your father
yearning for more
When you wake up do you kill all your time on us? Cuz I do, I do
When you drive away, can you feel all the weight come down
Cuz I do
So confiding in my instruments
The major safe bubble bounces back
The din of the day
Lacking sounds this sea of music
my walking dead’s no disguise
Like folks suffocating their passions
you can see it in their eyes.
Look in their eyes do you plan to do drugs? I do, I do
When you get high, does the world get dark and real,
wondering who’s next
words & music by Ben Musser
© 2017 Mohinga Music ASCAP
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11. |
Penchant for the Blue
03:29
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PENCHANT FOR THE BLUE
I see sand there in your eyes, again
I don’t know why we have to waste our time
talking it over when
you know what I want and I know
what you think you need to
make it through the night
with me
You’ve been holding out on me
hoping I won’t lose
my penchant for the blue
Laugh when expected
(we’ll see)
Smile anytime you need
(how it goes now)
Your rules for affection
(we’ll see)
haven’t done a thing for me
(how it goes now)
And I’ve been holding out on you
hoping you’ll come through
your palate to the blue
And I’ve been through this before, with you
and I can’t hold your hair back anymore
words & music by Scott Claassen and Ben Musser
© 2017 Mohinga B Music / Dedales de Oro BMI
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12. |
Home
03:35
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HOME
You’ve made me rich
Let’s be up front
but to take you with no sugar would be alright
and more
It’d be the best
All that could permeate my stomach and my chest
where my heart is protected from everything
but you, ‘cause it let’s in what’s true
you lift me up so high
I can feel you for miles
and almost smell your rose
Alone sitting here
several states away from anyone who loves me
The light that shines near brings the tears
And I can’t wait to be home
For this time to end
when I feel so alone
It’s cold here sitting on this stone
But I could curl up and sleep for days
if I could wake up and just
be home
It is my job
to go away
At times it invigorates, flees boredom
and chores
Then comes the rush
up on my stage
skeptical crowd needs their medicine face to face
When it’s over and time for rest
there’s something conspicuously missing
as I turn the lonely page
You lift me up so high
I can feel you for miles
and almost smell your rose
Alone sitting here
several states away from anyone who loves me
The light that shines near brings the tears
Choruses
words & music by Ben Musser
© 2017 Mohinga Music ASCAP
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13. |
Hey, Camille
03:54
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HEY, CAMILLE
One fine day I dreamt I was a groom
I was handsome clean and shaved
For a fine man I must’ve stepped in something good that day
to call this sweet bride for my own
she floated to me with her father by her side
my friends helped me from the floor
As we traded close promises forever neath those yellow aspen trees
uncertainty plagued this man no more
Hey, Camille won’t you come inside
pay your mind to me
I’ve been waiting all my life for you to set me free
Eyes turned to rain as you dried up all my pain
our mouths trembled poetry from our hearts
Upon hearing chains hit the ground
our lips broke the silence
blue eyed preacher, declared a fresh start
then the waves rolled in, swept us off together
past the most beautiful souls in the hole
I have yet to wake up, though I gleem as that same current
carries us idyllically along
Chorus
From time to time
She goes away
But she’ll be back you’ll see
Hey, Camille won’t you come inside
lay your hands on me
From time to time
She goes away
But she’ll be back you’ll see
Hey, Camille won’t you come inside
put those hands on me
Come and set me free
From time to time you know
She goes away
But she’ll be back you’ll see
Hey, Camille won’t you come inside
lay those hands on me
Hey, Camille won’t you come inside, etc.
words & music by Ben Musser
© 2017 Mohinga Music ASCAP
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Benyaro Jackson, Wyoming
From the dank depths of the Brooklyn subways to the spiritually orgasmic heights of Jackson Hole WY, Ben Musser's indie roots project BENYARO carves a unique path w 1 rule: make great art. Honest, vulnerable shit. Neil Jenny once told Ben "In order to create something truly unique 1 must shut out the influence of others". If anything, here's a killer contemporary artists' advice applied to music. ... more
Benyaro recommends:
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