Get all 4 David Nagler releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Mortal Enemies, Songs of Advice and Adversity, The Appointees, Volumes 1 & 2, and Carl Sandburg's Chicago Poems.
1. |
Mortal Enemies
04:37
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Mortal enemies
Never recoil
Never swear off a habit
Mortal enemies
Never recoil
Once they're already at it
They just want to shine
In the eye of their beholder
Too busy drawing the line
And no more wise, just older
Oh, can they ever talk it out
Mortal enemies
Tattered and torn
And born under a bad sign
Mortal enemies
Tattered and torn
Can't even walk a straight line
Only wanting to know
How much damage they can do
Oh, can they ever talk it through
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2. |
Crazy
04:06
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3. |
Jimmy Darren
04:27
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Jimmy Darren
You're my finest vanity endeavor
Contrary to what
you may have heard from your mother
You've got my eyes
You've got my eyes
And you'll always have my eyes
Jimmy Darren
She wasn't always so insane
Every now and then
I'll even stroll down memory lane
You've got her smile
You've got her smile
And you'll always have her smile
And when you grow up
you won't be just another no one
You'll be strong as a wrestler
and tall as a mountain
Good friends, good times
and good fortune
Will shoot up towards you
just like a fountain
And you'll make me proud
You'll make me proud
Jimmy Darren
One day I'll take you to Europe
As soon as
You've got your boots in the stirrups
You've got my name
You've got my name
And you can always have my name
And when you grow up
You won't be just another no one
You'll be sharp as a switchblade
and cool as the ocean
And if you keep your head up
and always stay in motion
You'll make me proud
You'll make me proud
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4. |
Bobby's Insecurities
03:53
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If I had a knife
I could trim away all of Bobby's insecurities
The pain inside
that brings out all these drunken nights and felonies
He wouldn't enable me to fail
I wouldn't have to pay his bail
He once was such a showman
Now I feel like I don't know him anymore
If I had a knife
I would trim away all of Bobby's insecurities
I wouldn't have to hide
When they hound me with his constant infidelities
I wouldn't have to wear these sunglasses
I wouldn't be surrounded by these jackasses
It's all champagne and cocaine
and trying to explain why he's not here
If my mother was still alive
she's slap me upside the head
And I'd make a scene
as I often do
though I know it's true
I know it's true
If I had a knife
I could trim away all of Bobby's insecurities
He'd change his life
He would only be addicted to his family
He's past the point of no return
I don't think he'll ever learn
That I love him still
more than he ever will
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5. |
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I'm not one of the four people she loves
I'm not one of the four people she loves
I'm not one
of the four she turns to
when her world is turned around
and she can't sleep soundly
I'm not one of the four people she loves
I'm not one of the four people she loves
I'm not one
of the four she calls
when she's lost her job
and another lover has robbed her
I'm not one
The four people she loves are:
Her mother
Her aunt on her mother's side
Her first serious boyfriend
and the first professor who took her seriously
But not me
not no more
I'm not supposed to talk to her
and tell her I will go on living
unlike what I would often say
as the dawn was approaching
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6. |
The Weak in Rock
04:57
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Oh baby
this is not a busy night for me
I’m as useless
as an evangelist on Avenue B
Don’t ask me what the time is
my watch stopped hours ago
Don’t ask me what my sign is
I don’t even know
What’s the matter baby
What is it you don’t see
What’s the matter baby
Are your eyes not working properly
I am a creature of habit
a real-life recurring nightmare
So I keep on happening
when there’s no one left to scare
Do I love you?
Will I stand by you?
Probably not.
Get me out of here baby
I didn't save up all my cash for this
Get me out of here baby
I didn’t shave off my mustache for this
I’m full of common courtesy
and I'm full of common sense
but abstinence and temperance
just leave me on the fence
Do I love you?
Will I stand by you?
Probably not.
I didn't read the manual
until everything had broken down
and the manufacturer tried to explain that
There’s no silver ball and chain
and no one is listening
no one is listening
no one is
no one
no
We are among the weak in rock
We are among the weak in rock
And the child of the moon
is now the new kid on the block
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7. |
Crowded
03:53
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I'm in a situation
and all that can get me out of it
is one more drink
I need to sit in the park
watch the chess players stare at their pieces
and think
You say it's like pulling teeth
getting me to speak
a word that isn't shrouded
but you can't be my girl
or live in my world
it's too crowded
You say I'm wasting time
I can go back to school and I don't even have
to pay tuition
You've got all these big plans
that with timing and commitment will come
to fruition
I say it's like shoveling snow
Hearing you go
on and on about it
But you can't be my girl
or live in my world
it's too crowded
It's too crowded with ghosts of bedrooms future and past
It's too crowded to fill it with anything that might last
We need to get the check
say good night and walk to our
respective destinations
If we were wrong in retrospect
we'll just have to use our
vivid imaginations
You say I'm just letting go
and I've given you no reason to doubt it
that's why you can't be my girl
or live in my world
it's too crowded
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8. |
Meeting Eva
03:50
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Meeting Eva
for the first time since I was a boy
at her daughter's place
in Washington Heights
When my mother
was out selling real estate
Eva watched over me most days
and many nights
She said
Put your toys away
Listen to what I say
and always remember
you will forget me
someday
I would try to
make her feel unwelcome
and say things to her face
that would turn her pale
Eva was no genius
but she knew enough to know
that I was a fool
who was bound to fail
She said
Put your toys away
Listen to what I say
and always remember
you will forget me
someday
Meeting Eva
for the first time since I was a boy
when the word came down
that she was frail
I ring the doorbell
I practice saying hello
but there's no answer
so I go
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9. |
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Your flight touched down on Tuesday
at JFK
and I offered to come and collect you
in the usual way
With the shades on your head
that you borrowed years ago
I shouldn’t cry, because I know
You’ve always had her heart
I left you at her doorstep
like an abandoned child
Holding a fresh bouquet of lilacs
and with your eyes all tired and wild
With the news that she had waited
several lifetimes to hear
I shouldn’t cry, because it’s clear
You’ve always had her heart
You’ve always had her heart
and liked to flaunt it
You’ve always had her heart
but didn’t want it
And you hurt me more than you know
without any cruel intent
As vague as you had been before
I knew what you meant
When you said you were coming back
to seal your fate
I shouldn’t cry, ‘cause it’s too late
You’ve always had her heart
I shouldn’t cry, but I can’t wait
You’ve always had her heart
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10. |
Trying Too Hard
02:52
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I must be trying too hard
I must be trying too hard
I’ve gone back on my word more times than I can count
I must be trying too hard
I must be trying too hard
I must be trying too hard
My own dissatisfaction caught me off guard
now I’m trying too hard
I huffed and I puffed
but it was never enough
and I knew exactly what they’d all say:
You can come to the party but you can’t stay
I must be trying too hard
I must be trying too hard
I’ve gone back on myself more times than I can count
I must be trying too hard
I huffed and I puffed
but I was rebuffed
I said I was a lover and a fighter
but at every new knockout my heart grew tighter
I must be trying too hard
I must be trying too hard
Everyone is gone, so from now on
I’ll try not to try so hard
I’ll try not to try so hard
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David Nagler New York
David Nagler is a Brooklyn-based musician and songwriter. His groups include As For the Future, Tape Hiss, and Nova Social, and he is the musical director for Wesley Stace’s Cabinet of Wonders.
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