Nothing Is Ruined

by Aaron J. Shay

Nothing Is Ruined cover art
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1.
03:07
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2.
02:29
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3.
02:53
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4.
02:32
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5.
02:56
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about

I'm giving thanks where it's due:

Sarah Shay, John Renfrow, and Kat Stromberger for some very valuable feedback and advice;

My artistic collaborators, who brought so much energy and creativity to the recording process, it convinced me that, YES, these songs must be good;

Erica Mercker, for giving me just the right amount of encouragement.

This album was recorded with relatively affordable equipment that could fit in a hiking backpack, an occurrence which happened several times.

credits

released 22 August 2011
All songs except for track 1 written by Aaron J. Shay

See track info for credits.

tags

tags: acoustic folk rock singer-songwriter ukulele Seattle

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about

Mr. Shay is a songwriter from the Pacific Northwest whose songs range from wrathful blues to whimsical sing-alongs to epic ballads. He writes about love, death, science and absurdity. He'd love to meet you someday.

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Track Name: O, Death!
O, Death!
O, Death!
Won't you spare me over 'til another year?

Well what is this that I can't see,
With ice cold hands taking hold of me?
Well I am death none can excel!
I'll open the door to heaven or hell.

O, Death! Somebody might pray-
Please come and take me another day.
The children sang the preacher preached-
Time and mercy is out of your reach.

I'll fix your feet 'til you can't walk,
I'll lock your jaw 'til you can't talk,
I'll close your eyes so you can't see,
This very hour come and go with me.

O, Death!
O, Death!
Won't you spare me over 'til another year?

My mother came to my bed,
She placed a cold towel upon my head.
My head is warm my feet are cold,
Death, you're moving upon my soul!

O, Death, how you're treating me!
You close my eyes so I can't see!
Well you're hurting my body you make me cold,
You run my life right out of my soul!

O, Death, please consider my age!
Please don't take me at this stage.
All my wealth is at your command
If you'll remove your burning hands!

O, the young the rich or poor,
You're all the same to me, you know!
All your wealth, your silver, your gold,
Nothing satisfies me but your soul.

O, Death!
O, Death!
Won't you spare me over 'til another year?
Won't you spare me over 'til another year?
Won't you spare me over 'til another year?
Track Name: I Cannot Live With Your Ghost
I can not live with your ghost in this house,
So don't go dying on me!
Don't go skipping to the next world, my friend,
It won't come easily.
I can not live with your ghost in this town, the empty place on our stage,
The harmony you used to sing in our song,
The paragraph you wrote on my page.
Don't go dying on me.

I can not live with your ghost in my kitchen,
Telling stories I'll never hear.
The goddess calling you has turned into my devil,
Sharpening her tongue into a spear.
She wears the costume of a lord and savior,
But look what she holds in her teeth!
A dagger painted red just like a rose,
And what a heart she carries underneath!
Look what's underneath.

I can not live with your ghost in this house,
So don't go dying on me.
The next world won't unfold like a flower,
There will be years of misery!
You strike a match and you strike up a song,
Burning the bridges I build!
I can not live with your ghost in this house,
'Cause it's me you have killed.
And I won't be the last that you kill.
Track Name: Nothing Is Ruined
We've got no magic blueprint
But we've got our share of idle hands
With a bit of sweat, we're gonna build
Some kind of monument that stands
And we'll have a better year.
The storm has blown the bricks away
But they're not hard to find
We'll bring them all to us
And keep us true to what we have designed.

We're just shoring up the old levy
We're just building better walls
We are sharpening our eyes
We're gonna make a few more calls.
Nothing is ruined.
It just needs a bit more time.
Nothing is ruined.
We're just gonna take our time.

We'll keep our knives in cupboards
And paper all the walls with a song
We'll build ourselves into the framework
So the beams know right from wrong
And we'll have a better year.
My fingers in the windowpane,
Your feet planted deep underground
We'll build a home from our bodies
Inch by inch and pound by pound.

We're just shoring up the old levy
We're just building better walls
We are sharpening our eyes
We're gonna make a few more calls.
Nothing is ruined.
It just needs a bit more time.
Nothing is ruined.
We're just gonna take our time.
Track Name: Ragnarök Song
There are no love songs on the radio,
But there's music in the street;
There's so much more to know
And nothing is complete.
There's no heads or tails,
We're all just somewhere in between;
All of the stars are visible,
And all of the world is green.

And on Friday night, the library
Stays open until dawn,
Serving drinks in silence
'Til the whiskey has all gone.
Is this the end or the beginning?
Nobody's keeping track.
This is my kind of Ragnarok,
Where the tail fights back.

Betelgeuse's supernova
Has turned night into day,
But nobody is freaking out
They've all come out to play.
'Cause everybody understands
Basic astrophysics,
And the incongruities
In Apocalypse logistics.

And on Friday night, the library
Stays open until dawn,
Serving drinks in silence
'Til the Kafka has all gone.
Is this the end or the beginning?
Well, nobody's really keeping track,
And on Saturday night, the library
Stays open until dawn,
Serving drinks in silence
'Til the Bronte has all gone-
On Sunday night, the library
Stays open until dawn,
Serving drinks in silence
'Til the Gaiman has all gone.
Is this the end or the beginning?
Well, nobody's really keeping track-
This is my kind of Ragnarok
Where the tail fights back.

And nobody has really found
What they're looking for,
But we're on the road to get there
So nobody is keeping score.
So raise your glasses high
While we ring in this new age,
Maybe this time all of us
Will earn a living wage!
Track Name: When You Wake Up
There'll be a choir of birds in the trees
There'll be an aching joy in your knees
When you wake up, when you wake up
There'll be a heart of gold on your sleeve
And not a single reason to grieve
When you wake up, when you wake up

Oh, the wind will blow
Your hair will grow
And the water knows
That you'll never say "no"
To me

Oh, your bed is soft but it's cold
And the promises that you've been told
Will not appear, will not appear.
No, your eyes will see what your heart wants to see
And your body won't know, no, your body won't know
That it's free, you've been set free.

And the street lights' glow
Is the only halo
That we will ever know
That we will ever know

And the clouds will rain on the hill
Where your body no longer feels
When you wake up, when you wake up
Oh, we look out over the skyline
And we leave our stones
Yeah we leave our stones behind
For when you wake up.

Wake up!