Get all 21 Jess Klein releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of L.O.V.E., Jess Klein & The Berlin Brothers Vol. 1, When We Rise, That Was My Family, Never Gonna Break Me, My Own Beating Heart (single) , Another Man Done Gone - 100% of proceeds to NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Back to My Green , and 13 more.
1. |
When the Time Comes
03:37
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I'm free
Nothing is expected of me
Nothing is expected of me
I'm free
Til now
Nothing really mattered somehow
Nothing really mattered somehow
Til now
And I wait
And I wait
And I wait
And I wait
And I pray
And I pray
And I pray
And I pray
I'll be ready when the time comes
I won't fail under the big guns
I won't shoot until I need to
I won't lose the part I bleed through
And the way I tell my story
Will resemble someone like me
Someone who rolled out the big guns
To be ready when the time comes
To be ready when the time comes
Like that
20 years of training gone past
20 years of training gone past
Like that
A child
Taking on the world with a smile
Taking on the world with a smile
A child
Chorus
What you want is up ahead
And what you had is all behind
All those voices in your head
Have finally left you piece of mind
And you walk like you're on water
Now you're following a sign
Chorus
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2. |
Don't Wanna Say It
03:41
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At the end of the day
Life's not really so unfair
If you let yourself believe
You can figure out your share
I have tried, oh I've tried
To let no one see my cryin'
But the world passes on
And I'm dyin'
Don't wanna say it
Don't wanna say it
Cause I don't want it to be true
Don't wanna say it
Don't wanna say it
But there's nothing I can do
I need you
For the first many rounds
I was proud like a lion
I took all to be mine
I strode, I wasn't tryin
And if I noticed you
I found ways to conceal
Til I turned around
Like all those crowned
I was too proud to reveal it
Chorus
Oh no, you don't know a thing
I'm like a hard line
I fall apart so easily
Chorus
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3. |
Bound to Love
03:32
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I don't need to be freed, babe
I'm free enough
I would rather be bound hey
Be bound to love
Like the way that old sun breaks
Though the night's been tough
I'm free
I'm bound to love
Seen the proof in the breeze blowin'
Through my window shade
Seen the proof in the sun glowin'
On the house I've made
Where my heart's growin'
Where I'm not afraid
I'm free
I'm bound to love
And you are always welcome here
You can sit in my old chair
You can stay until it's clear
I'm not going anywhere
My energy
Comes from giving to you
Even though I might waste some
On the things I do
You help me
Pull the right things through
I'm free
I"m bound to love
Chorus
I'm a wild child
And my head gets confused
And I'd rather do anything
Than what I gotta do
But if true love
Means a love that's true
I'm free
I'm bound to love
I'm free
I'm bound to love
I'm free
I'm bound to love
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4. |
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The camera loves you baby
But where are all your clothes
You're the best here maybe
But no one really knows
When the cameras all shut down
Was it just a day's work?
Or are you scrapin' round the dirt?
I just want to know your name
I just want to know your name
Want you to help me know the same
I just want to know your name
I'm not for smilin' for them
I'm staring at my shoes
I walk a mile for them
I sing another blues
But sometimes when there's nothing
Between me and brother Time
I know what's really on the line
Chorus
I remember when I said it to the world out loud
Take this as you see it
I will make a young girl proud
I will make a young girl
I know they're out there waiting
To see what we will do
Once we swing the gates in
On everything we knew
Counting on their watches like it's going out of style
But I could wait here for a while
Chorus
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5. |
Postcard
04:03
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In a little house on the cheaper side of town
With her own paintings hangin' all around
In the little house with the creaking sound
Peeling paper that is faded brown
In a little house on the cheaper side of town
From a cluttered desk she pulls out an old postcard
A brand new house pictured from the front yard
From a cluttered desk full of bills she owes
Heat and water and winter clothes
From a cluttered desk she pulls out an old postcard
What we want and what we need aren't so hard
To understand when we look at an old postcard
Sent to us by a long lost friend
Rediscovered to remind us that
What we want and what we need aren't so hard
The card was sent by a man she used to think of
A man who wanted to buy that house and fill it with his love
But their dreams could never line up just right
Between the shadows and harsh daylight
The card was sent by a man she used to think of
Chorus
She pulls the easel out on her own front lawn
And paints the colors she has seen, many dusks and dawns
Hangs it up in her bedroom
It makes her smile even through the gloom
She pulls the easel out on her own front lawn
Chorus
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6. |
Before I Go
03:47
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Before I Go (Written by John Hiatt)
I've been sleeping for some hours
Just woke up and you were there
Like the morning, like the flowers
Sunlight whispering in my ears
Red tail hawk shooting down the canyon
Put me on that wind he rides
I will be your true companion
When we reach the other side
I will try, I will stumble
But I will fly, he told me so
Proud and high or low and humble
Many miles before I go
Many miles before I go
Can't decide which way to travel
On the ground or in the sky
All my schemes have come unraveled
All that's left is you and I
And I will try, but I will stumble
And I will fly, he told me so
Proud and high or low and humble
Many miles before I go
Many miles before I go
Here I go
Ghosts on the trees, there's
Ghosts on the wires
Asking questions and showing signs
Shivering with truth, they're lighting fires
Lighting fires all down the line
And I will try, and I will stumble
But I will fly, he told me so
Proud and high or low and humble
Many miles before I go
Many miles before I go
Proud and high or low and humble
Many miles before I go
Many miles before I go
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7. |
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Fool (co-written with Abi Tapia)
Truck-stop off the north highway
Gas, whiskey and slot machines
I count back change all day
And watch the sorry fools
Betting they can win their dreams
I don't believe in luck
I only trust what's in my sights
But since you walked in, I'm struck
By how I'd risk it all
For the chance that love could make things right
Do I sound like a fool?
Am I a fool?
If I am a fool
You can bet it's all for you
Darlin' would you be true?
Would you be true?
If you would be true
We'd have a safe bet
I always loved to drive away
I placed my bets on the life I'd never seen
There were reasons to stay
But none of them were worth
Givin' up a rambler's dream
Chorus
I've been hiding my hope under the mattress
I've been rattling around like loose change
But now I see
For you
I could let
My heart be rearranged
Chorus
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8. |
Putty
03:55
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I'm too old to waste anyone's time pretending anymore
Much too bold to walk anyone's lines
The drama was a bore
So I'll tell you what crosses my mind
While your line crosses the floor
Yeah I'll tell you the question I ask
While your frame hangs in my door
Would I be putty in your hands
Putty in your hands
And buddy can you stand the love
If you don't wanna walk away
Use your hands to play
The clay that you been dreamin' of
First you're here then you're gone from my life
Did you think that I cared?
You don't know what kind of fun I have
When you're not even there
Maybe there's only one thing remiss
With this mental love affair
Maybe there's only one thing I miss
And it's the one thing we never share
Would I be putty in your hands
Putty in your hands
And buddy can you stand the love
If you don't wanna walk away
Use your hands to play
The clay that you been dreamin' of
Would I be putty in your hands
Putty in your hands
ANd buddy what will you do when
I've laid it all out on the floor
And I ain't got no more
Lazy days or time to spend
Yeah I"m asking you what I'm asking you
No I'm not gonna die if you just leave
But I'm so tired of tryin' I'm tasking you
With telling me just what I should believe
I could freeze like a statue right now
And not be mortal again
So you'd best get to tellin' me how
And what shape you'll have me in
Chorus
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9. |
It Will Come to Me
04:13
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Pushin' so hard
I nearly fell apart
With the slightest suggestion
I'd give a great start
Until I jumped on a westbound train
And through the drivin' rain
It brought me over the highland mountains
where I could breathe again
I'm goin' where it will come to me
A bigger ship on a broader sea
And it will come
ANd I'll jump on
I'm goin' where I will find a friend
For when the road makes a wild bend
ANd it will come
And we'll hold on
ANd it will come to me
It will come to me
Little orphan child
You're feelin' all alone
You've given everything you have
To make it all on your own
But you won't ever get too far
If you don't let the stars
Do their work and pull you out
Of that corner where you are
Chorus
All the life
All the luck
You never bothered to see
All it asks is that you look up
And set your poor heart free
Free
Chorus
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10. |
Travellin' Woman
04:30
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And what's a travelin' woman to do
I'm in Chicago it's a quarter to two
Can't go out walkin' on the streets alone
But there's nobody here to make me at home
And in the morning I'll be movin' along anyway
I got no money but I got no disease
I got a good heart and a body to please
I heard your story bout the Virgin Queen
But that ain't really quite the same as me
I need a lover to put my mind at ease
I need someone to take the weight off me
Show me someone who will bring me to his town
Take me out and twirl me all around
Tell me he's so glad for what he's found
But don't ever make me put my suitcase down
He said he loved me and I should be his kin
But that my travelin' would do him in
The next one told me I could travel a lot
But when I came back, another girl he'd got
They make me feel like I can't keep time
Or my timin's just too sublime
Then there was Jimmy with his black cross tattoos
But he was busy with his own set of blues
The way my heart felt between Joey and Mike
Is what the desert between oceans feels like
In certain ways I been around the world
In others I'm just a baby girl
So people tell me if I'm tellin' the truth
Talk to me clearly now and don't dilute
This ain't no suitcase full of trinkets and clothes
Or any other thing the world could impose
It's only full of what's pure as gold
To keep it safe from a world as cold
So when it opens it's sure as bold
Show me someone who will bring me to his town
Take me out and twirl me all around
Tell me he's so glad for what he's found
But don't ever make me put my suitcase down
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11. |
Rosalie
04:37
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Rosalie I let you down
Said the words so cold and mean
I'm leaving town
Off to find another dream
I want to believe you'll smile for me
But this time I'm runnin' clean
From your landscape so harsh
Even neighbors stand apart
Stuck inside their stony views
Of a broke down avenue
Along the fault line where two souls sometimes meet
I didn't mean to leave you
Oh Rosalie
Someday we will meet
In an old familiar place
Wings upon my feet
Sunlight on your face
I'll lift you up so high
You won't ever have to cry
Oh and neither will I
I don't know what I will find
Surely it won't have the weight
Of a love so divine
That it burned right into hate
I'll be speeding down some desert road
And I'll shake my head at our fate
How you led me to this town
Said they needed me around
Needed me to shake the trees
And whip up a careless breeze
Then you blame me when old leaves fall down
Well, winds blow where they'll please
Oh Rosalie
Someday we will meet
In an old familiar place
Wings upon my feet
Sunlight on your face
I'll lift you up so high
You won't ever have to cry
Oh and neither will I
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12. |
What For
04:15
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I lived my life safely
Makin' steps like a baby
Til I sat in an old car
Pushed the petal to the floor
I chased the hawks through the windshield
I knew my heart was well concealed
Til I came to an open stage
Where I'd open the cage
And soar
What for we open our minds
Let our strange obsessions in
What for we dare to be kind
Though they've beat us to our shins
What for we give them what for from our tough as tender cores
All the times I felt beat up
Or been I told I should I shut up
All the times I told someone
They could save me or enslave me
But your rare soul example
Gives a night flyer ample
Fuel for the burning
And the turning up
For more
Chorus
When you think
I'll be the beacon you could come to
On these waves we're tossed
But your struggle makes me humble
And when you feel blind
I will see where you could run to
Cause we are all in this together
And if you take my love
You'll never want for more
Chorus
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Jess Klein Hillsborough, North Carolina
Rochester, NY native Jess Klein is known for staking out brave lyrical and musical territory with such albums as Wishes Well Disguised (1998), Draw Them Near (2000), Strawberry Lover (2005), City Garden (2006), Bound to Love (2009), Behind A Veil (2012) and Learning Faith (2014) which Folk Radio UK calls “unquestionably the finest album of [her] impressive career.” ... more
Jess Klein recommends:
The Blurst of Mike June
by Mike June
In addition to his rock, country, jazz and blues roots, Mike has a singular ability to combine socially conscious lyrics with music that makes you want to dance. He's also my husband,
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The Promised Land: Songs of the Sacred South
by Lilli Lewis
Lilli's voice has a gorgeous, sweet operatic range and soulful resonance and her songs and performances are simply haunting.
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Pickup Takeout
by Jonathan Byrd
Jonathan Byrd is a songwriter's songwriter and has been for as long as I can remember. His lyrics weave together the beauty and pain of the American experience against a rich backdrop of roots music.
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Probably my favourite of all Sofia's many excellent release. I adore her voice, her songwriting and, well, everything about her really! Sofia Talvik is, quite simply, amazing!
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Ain't Through Honky Tonkin' Yet
by Brennen Leigh
supported by 5 fans who also own “Bound to Love ”
One of the best folk-country albums I’ve heard in years. Great singing & playing, and superb songwriting with clever turns of a lyric. Brennen just does everything really really well!
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The latest from the UK’s Chris Brain is a gorgeously wrought album of tender acoustic folk music.
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