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Back to the Flame

by Joe Larkin

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about

Second single from the album Helianthus

lyrics

Time moves slow alone
Coffee-only blues, aching bones
Sunburnt skin on Sunday shows
that Wednesday I’ll be dealt a blow
and by Friday I’ll be right back to the flame.

Weeks measured in bags and bottles,
leaving enough for tomorrow
Can’t hold a useful thought
without a breath of burnt remains
Hours more to go
Feel the need to bare my soul
But on these matters I’m silent
Cause it’s all the things I’ve earned
chasing the flame.

I blazed this trail myself
My legs feel heavy
I could use less gravity
It’s the only thing to lift
I lose my grip, soon I’ll need another
The moments that follow lead me back to the flame
I start to see

A cycle in the works
All-or-nothing tests of character, pass-fail scale of worth
Stacking up every little fuck up
I poorly over-explain
Misrepresented, self-defeated
I retreat, quell the rambling, fan the flame.

I am ashamed, and it’s fitting
Unprepared, as much unbalanced
The room’s spinning
So I’m sitting
Taking stock of life
Lists of excuses make up the bulk of it
That doesn’t sit right
It just might be

Too much
But then again, so what?
Just like my kin
No need to begin
Just get settled in.

Convinced that I can read between the lines
Sure that I can change somebody’s mind
Nothing worse than those that think they’re onto something
when you’re not asking
That might just be me, sometimes.

Gotta hear this
Try to play the real one
You won’t get none
It’s you they’re seeing through
Everyone is you and you’re just everybody else to anyone.

Don’t cut me off, make way, this ends today.
Only gravity to lift
Only, gravity can kill
The choice is mine—tomorrow’s a long time
Rise from the ashes
My back to the flame
It just might be
Enough.
But time moves slow alone

credits

released December 29, 2019
Joe Larkin -- vocals, guitars, synthesizer, cough
Stephen Pale -- bass guitar
Ryan Hernandez -- lead electric guitar
Joe Mccaffrey -- drums

Words and music by Joe Larkin
Produced by Joe Larkin and Austin Losada and Ed Broesler
Engineered by Ed Broesler and Joe Larkin
Additional engineering by Tyler Herrick and Cooper Davis
Mixed and mastered by Joe Larkin
Album artwork by Dan Gilmartin

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Joe Larkin East Brunswick, New Jersey

Singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer

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