Get all 17 The Pleasures Pale releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of No, Joy (Not the Same Story), Twitch, Happy Love Ghosts (It Haunts Me Now), Lovely Lovely, How I Dreamt of You, Daily Living Is a Herculean Art, Champion My Cause, Happy Love Ghosts (2019 mix), and 9 more.
1. |
No, Joy
03:41
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It’s another allegory
But not the same story
And now you’re just another old friend
Oh, you had a trusting heart
You were a wholesome love
But I hear you were ripped apart
By the red glow of your hair
I said “yes” when you said “dare”
In a convertible car ridden with rust
And in that brick house by the river
Academia didn’t matter
But we did learn that life was for the living
No, Joy, no
Joy, it was fine while it lasted
No, Joy, no
Now I wish I could see you again
No satisfaction
Nor the thrill of reaction
Joy, you can’t deny the things we tried
No happiness inside
No agony of defeat
Just something I swallow bittersweet
No, Joy, no
Joy, it was fine while it lasted
No, Joy, no
Now I wish I could see you again
It’s another allegory
But never the same story
And now you’re just another old friend
Oh, you had a trusting heart
You were a wholesome love
Too bad we are miles apart
No, Joy, no
No, Joy, no
No, Joy, no
Now I wish I could see you again
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2. |
My Town Has No Cafés
03:25
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On that well loved street
In a place I’ll call nowhere
I was stricken, I was stricken
By a frontal assault and I suppose I’m at fault
For letting my thoughts run astray
My town has no cafés
No place for us to say,
“We’re tired, so tired of the same things”
My town has no cafés
No place for us to say,
“We’re tired, so tired of the same dead things”
So it WAS three in the morning
And I had been mourning for the past week
About my mental disease
Well, I thought life finally might turn my way
When you just walked on by
My town has no cafés
No place for us to say,
“We’re tired, so tired of the same things”
My town has no cafés
No place for us to say,
“We’re tired, so tired of the same dead things”
Down in my familiar gutter
Nothing left to utter
It’s late, it’s late
It’s late, late, Dayton...
So don’t just leave me here this way
No, don’t just leave me in this state
My town has no, no cafés
My town has no, no cafés
So don’t just leave me here this way
My town has no cafés
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3. |
In My Dandelion Field
03:46
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In my dandelion field
On this luscious spring day
We with heads full of spender lay
Twice as nice and not split in two
The world revolves around me and you
In my dandelion field
On this luscious spring day
We with heads full of splendor lay
Oh, with the sting of an early bee
My imagination gets the best of me
So there’s pain in the past, here’s a rule for today
There is nothing now I’m afraid to say
In my dandelion field the yellow is you
In my dandelion field the green is me
As I lie, in your eyes I see glorious days
And I am weary of ardent ways
With languorous look and lavish limb
It was you who fell the seraphim*
Still you hold my longing gaze
Will my thoughts never tire of their wishful ways?
Languorous look and lavish limb
Will my dreams not give in?
So there’s pain in the past, here’s a rule for today
There is nothing now I’m afraid to say
In my dandelion field the yellow is you
In my dandelion filed the green is me
Like a saint it was said
’Twas a momentary lapse when I fell into the lap
Of compromise and petty dread
And though the world may tower and the world may leer
The sun still shines between my ears
Oh, the world may tower and the world may leer
But the sun still shines between my ears
Oh, the green is me
And though the world may tower and the world may leer
The sun still shines between my ears
Oh, the world may tower, the world may leer
But the sun still shines between my ears
The sun still shines between my ears
*2nd verse adapted loosely from James Joyce
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4. |
Monday Mourn
02:46
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Up on a mountain full of mundane
Rocks another pointless Monday
Gone away is that thing
The delicate butterfly wing called hope
With a heavy sigh beside the sink
Your desolate eyes may never blink
It’s sad when your self feels more
Like a rope
Up and slam the toilet seat
Past is past, today I think
I’ll get rid of this thing, this god-awful thing
The very hair-in-the-mouth called doubt
Shoes and socks and brush my teeth
Attitudes defy gravity
And I say this world is mine
To own
I sing to myself, too proud to dial for help
Is this asinine, or what?
Misfit and misplaced, knock-kneed and lacking grace
Where to get this thing called strength?
Back on this mountain full of mundane
Rocks another pointless Monday
Gone away, gone away
Gone away is the thing called hope
Shoes and socks and brush my teeth
My hair defies gravity
And I say this world is mine
And I sing to myself, too proud to dial for help
Is this asinine, or what?
Misfit and misplaced, knock-kneed and lacking grace
Where to get this thing called strength?
I sing to myself with a juvenile dose of scorn
(Oh, my Monday mourn)
Misfit and misplaced, knock-kneed and lacking grace
Where to get this thing called strength?
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5. |
Love Bites Back Sorely
04:11
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Now I do recall the happiness of it all
Hours of shameless crime sprawled
Across the sheets of different times
You took my hand and said,
“Don’t look back to an instant death I call the past
What’s real is right now, let me reveal to you somehow
Your false steps”
No…
Troubled sleep, late hours to keep
All tongue tied and confused
The telephone tears, red, swollen ears
Silence is not a virtue
No, I don’t know
Whether it’s me or you
(Whether I win or lose)
No…
With the sun shining down through your leather gown
I see myself sprawled on the ground
And I picture this disgrace:
You spitting in my face, madly digging me a grave
Like a rain pouring pain, a guilt seeking blame
I need a sinless saint
And with my hat down over my head, I could be sad
But instead I just accept…
Love bites back sorely
Love bites back sorely
Love bites back sorely
Love, love…
Love bites back sorely
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6. |
Uneasy's Disease
03:22
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That incredible uncomfortable feeling
Hit me
Like never standing, forever kneeling
That incredible uncomfortable feeling
Too little too late
Too little too late
I should be grateful but I’m not
When I look into the eyes of the one I want
Nah, nah, nah, nah, no
You creep into my sleep and I can’t let you go
You no longer have a face or a name
You made an adolescent mess of the comic-boy’s death
Oh, SOMETHING happened in the fifth grade
Too little too late
Too little too late
I should be grateful but I’m not
When I look into the eyes of the one I want
Nah, nah, nah, nah, no
That incredible uncomfortable feeling
Loves me
It loves me not
That incredible uncomfortable feeling
Too little too late
Too little too late
I should be grateful but I’m not
When I look into the eyes of the one I want
Nah, nah, nah, nah, no
That incredible uncomfortable feeling
Loves me
It loves me not
That incredible uncomfortable feeling
Too little too late
Too little too late
I should be grateful but I’m not
When I look into the eyes of the one I want
Nah, nah, nah, nah, no
Nah, nah, nah, nah, no
Nah, nah, nah, nah, no
That incredible uncomfortable feeling
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah
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7. |
All About Men
04:02
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It makes me ill
Oh, it makes me mad
What some think is so good
To me appears so blatantly bad
No, I never get used to
This black and blue streak
That runs through America
— This is all about men
So, what is a sissy?
And who then is a coward?
When it takes more will, more living skill
To be fair and level-headed?
No, I never get used to
This black and blue streak
That runs through America
— This is all about men
This is all about men
And I know as I am one
I know as I am one
Oh, my, my, my, my, my
Look at me now
(Though I know it taxes your brain)
Don’t I look like the son of a world war won
Against the debacle of conformity that
Saps intelligence from the human race?
I’m black and I’m blue
And I’m through
I’m through
I’m through
This is all about men
This is all about men
This is all about men / It makes me ill
This is all about men / Oh, it makes me mad
This is all about men / What some think is so good
This is all about men / To me appears so bad
This is all about men / It makes me ill
This is all about men / Oh, it makes me mad
This is all about men / What some think is so good
This is all about men / To me appears so bad
This is all about men
This is all about men
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8. |
A Heavy Coat of Jokes
04:10
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If nature must have its way
Good things will never stay
Unlucky for me, now I am without
But the slyest of the pious must remain devout
It comes time, oh, it comes time
And I don this heavy coat of mine
When it comes time for intrepid weather
You and I will wear together
Dear old jeans, corduroy and leather
I am better off with you
I am better off with you
By the babbling brook I spoke
I spoke and you awoke
By the wrecking crane’s chain and hook
I joked and you mistook
It comes time, oh, it comes time
And I don this heavy coat of mine
When it comes time for intrepid weather
You and I will wear together
Dear old jeans, corduroy and leather
I am better off with you
I am better off with you
Better off than butter on bread
When some smart aleck said
I’d be better dead
Now in this heavy coat of jokes
I am alone
I am alone and I think of you
And I know you’ll never think of me
It comes time, oh, it comes time
And I don this heavy coat of mine
When it comes time for intrepid weather
You and I will wear together
Dear old jeans, corduroy and leather
I am better off with you
I am better off with you
I have this hat and these holey jeans
And a large overcoat I can hide beneath
Forget about me, oh forget about me
I want no cure for my disease
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9. |
But She Didn't
02:43
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A suburban sun shone on a hilltop high
A young man swallows his tongue
Afraid to sing the lullaby
And the guitar rang
And the guitar rang
Well, he might have died on two-dollar wine
As the neck was kissed
She might have tried not be vicious
But she didn’t
A suburban night on a rusted bike
A young man spits out his tongue-tied pain
To persuade the bells to ring good-bye
She might have listened
Oh, no, no, no,
But she didn’t
And he might have died on two-dollar wine
As the neck was kissed
She might have tried not be vicious
But she didn’t
No, no, no, no, but she didn’t
Oh, no, no, no, but she didn’t
And he might have died on two-dollar wine
As the neck was kissed
She might have tried not be vicious
No, no, no, no
But she didn’t
Then under a suburban moon she spook too soon
She yelled out his self-maligned name
But to no avail
As he rode away, the bicycle sang
No, no, no
But she didn’t
And he might have died on two-dollar wine
As the neck was kissed
Is love afraid to be made called self discipline?
No, no, no, I dunno
Oh, no, no, no, I dunno
And he might have died on two-dollar wine
As the neck was kissed
She might have tried not be vicious
But she didn’t
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10. |
Lovely Lovely
02:10
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Lovely lovely, to me you cling
Sometimes I’m dry and thrive on your sting
Lovely lovely, in love with my mind
Lovely lovely, this torture of mine
Do you know how to face the night
With memories beautiful in black and white?
I’ll hold back my cries from indecency
I’ll borrow a few smiles from hypocrisy
Lovely lovely, I crawl on your floor
With you above me insisting on more
Lovely lovely, love me no more
Lovely lovely, it’s YOU I deplore
Please tell me how to face the night
With memories beautiful in black and white
Dying in photographs, my strength decays
I’m sick and tired of memories and remains
Tell me now how to face the night
My memories come vivid in black and white
Should I get dressed, get out of this town?
I’m too mad and it’s too bad
“Now wait ’til you’re grown”
Lovely lovely lovely
Lovely lovely lovely
Lovely lovely lovely
Lovely lovely lovely
Lovely lovely lovely
Lovely lovely lovely
Lovely memories
My memories
Are my maladies
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11. |
Be What You Are
03:30
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Stymied on the back porch
With a screened-in view of ineptitude
I cannot wait another hour
You’re just another toothsome fool
Magazines say we’re young and lean
While the horde of plebes stares mockingly
My own biology tends to leave me pale and
My own psychology says I don’t care
Be what you are you live today
Be what you will as pleasures pale
A kiss on the shoulder
Now, you listen to me
Life is much, much older and
The stories being told only sometimes agree
Newspapers will show run-rampant grief
Corruption, abuse and back-alley thieves
This can tend to alarm the frail
This can tend to leave anyone pale
Be what you are you live today
Be what you will as pleasures pale
The myths you generate
(With your mouth in mind)
Seize me, tie me — you could be more kind
I can see a light at the end of the tunnel
But you’ll say it’s an oncoming train
This can tend to alarm the weak at heart
You know daily living is a Herculean art
Be what you are you live today
Be what you will as pleasures pale
Are you successful?
Or do you just make a lot of money?
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12. |
It Could Be Heaven
03:30
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The bathtub steams
On a cold, cold Dayton morning
In a darkened dream I live for such enjoyment
If you wish you can ignore me
You don’t ask and I don’t tell
This is my own road to hell
Save your opinions for the wishing well
It could be heaven just as well
Well, I once held a hand in a wedding gown
Yet the earth keeps spinning ’round and ’round
Restless, I guess
It might surprise you that I have had less
And I’ve still so much to do
I’d walk the streets in a house trailer town
(I should be gagged and bound)
But save your opinions for pennies
It could be heaven just as well
Yes, it could be heaven just as well
It could be heaven just as well
Because the earth keeps spinning
’Round and ’round and ’round and ’round
You don’t ask and I don’t tell
This is my own road to hell
Save your opinions for the wishing well
It could be heaven just as well
Yes, it could be heaven
(Oh, and it’s just as well)
Yes, it could be heaven
(Oh, and it’s just as well)
Yes, it could be heaven
(Oh, and it’s just as well)
Oh, it could be heaven
(Oh, and it’s just as well)
Oh, it could be heaven
(Oh, and it’s just as well)
Oh, it could be heaven
(Oh, and it’s just as well)
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The Pleasures Pale Dayton, Ohio
The Pleasures Pale was an influential indie quartet based in Dayton Ohio active from 1985 to 1987. Oft-compared to anglo groups such as The Smiths, TPP's influences can now be read as more diverse — taking cues from postpunk, rockabilly, swing, Motown and Dayton funk. A band for misfits, their extensive, lyric-driven output sought to light a way through the rust belt's post-industrial bleakness. ... more
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