This song is about my experiences since moving to Portland, and the things I wish I'd known before I moved here. ****** Well I’m still here somehow I guess it’s pretty hard to die pretty hard to stay alive as well but i’m still gonna try I may not have a lot I may not have a home but at least I’ve got this music to keep me company while I roam and when the demons overtake my thoughts again I drown them out by thinking that I’ve still got my friends It’s not gonna be easy but what did I expect if you’ve got none to show me I’ve still got my self respect I came up here to look for a better, simpler life that isn’t what I’ve found, though just a different kind of strife but i’ve never been the kind to pack my things up and go back I guess that I’ll just learn to live without the things I lack and when the demons overtake my thoughts again I drown them out by thinking that I’ve still got my friends It’s not gonna be easy but what did I expect if you’ve got none to show me I’ve still got my self respect So if you move to Portland with a dream and a guitar I hope you realize my friend they won’t get you too far but we can play a show together or go busking on the street cuz the only joy I’ve found so far is through the people that I meet and when the demons overtake my thoughts again I drown them out by thinking that I’ve still got my friends It’s not gonna be easy but what did I expect if you’ve got none to show me I’ve still got my self respect

This song is about change, mortality, and discovering yourself. ****** Sitting in a cafe in Argyle Square Staring out the window, painfully aware of the very real possibility that I might fail End up sitting on the streets or end up sitting in a jail I can’t ignore the possibility that I might die At any given moment, but it just makes me try Harder and harder to make it on my own Cuz I know deep in my heart that I’m never going home Standing on a corner in the heart of downtown Singing for change as the sky crashes down And nobody seems to notice me but that’s really ok I have my guitar and my sad songs to play I often think of how I’d like to die on a stage singing songs or on a street at night running from your past as fast as you can can turn a broken kid into a broken man The city never sleeps and neither do I our hearts beat as one in the middle of the night The streets are my neurons the rivers my veins A piece of a puzzle just riding the train And I often wonder why my friends die Far too young far before their time The world may forget you but I never will Your memory sits upon my windowsill And I often think of how I’d like to die on a stage singing songs or on a street at night running from your past as fast as you can can turn a broken kid into a broken man running from your past as fast as you can can turn a broken kid into a broken man

This song is about the disturbing frequency with which police officers in America shoot unarmed black people. ****** I’d like to light a candle for the kids who don’t come home lives cut much too short just reaching for their phones I’d like to take a stand now for the people who have died the parents they have left behind the siblings that have cried And they’ll light up their crosses with the fires from the riots and go back to their day jobs still pretending to be pious But we all know the truth And we won’t let it go unsaid You’re the reason that these children are all dead Oh Yes You’re the reason that these children are all dead I’d like to light a candle for the kids who don’t come back The ones who fucked up all the time And the ones who were on track Because it doesn’t really matter The way they lived their lives Because not a god-damned one of them Has deserved to die And they’ll light up their crosses with the fires from the riots and go back to their day jobs still pretending to be pious But we all know the truth And we won’t let it go unsaid You’re the reason that these children are all dead Oh Yes You’re the reason that these children are all dead And we know You’re the reason that these children are all dead

This song is about realizing my own relative insignificance in the world, and how I escape the feeling of meaninglessness through books and movies. ****** If my life were a novel what cliched role would I play? A sensitive young poet reading in a loud cafe? Or would I be the singer singing silly saddened songs? Too personal for meaning or for you to sing along But life isn’t a novel or a movie or a play it’s a tenuous and fragile thing that’s destined to decay I think I’d like to escape become fiction for a day but the cold weight of reality it never goes away If my life were a movie what tired role would I play? The kid in a new city desperate to make their way? Or would I be the pessimist the one who always doubts? Who knows better than anyone There isn’t a way out But life isn’t a movie or a novel or a play it’s a tenuous and fragile thing that’s destined to decay I think I’d like to escape become fiction for a day but the cold weight of reality it never goes away But life isn’t a novel or a movie or a play it’s a tenuous and fragile thing that’s destined to decay I think I’d like to escape become fiction for a day but the cold weight of reality it never goes away

This song is about and dedicated to my friend Avery. I love you very much, my friend. ****** I’d known you less than two days the first time I made you cry and I’m sorry I didn’t mean to I didn’t have an answer to “why did he have to die?” and I’m sorry for what you’ve been through but something tells me you’ll pull through I think you have a good strong spirit and so i’m glad i sang those words loud enough for you to hear it The road calls out to heal your heart in the way only it can and I know I’m gonna miss you I’ll cherish the time we have left and the time when you return cuz I know it’s all I can do but something tells me you’ll come back just like the tide and rain do always Columbus sunshine on your face will get you through the long and hard days I’ll imagine you just smiling wide beneath Ohio summer skies and hope you think of me once in a while Cemented by our songs and tears and all our talks about the years where we were fish just caught on lines hoping heaven was above

My friend and bandmate Porch Cat (aka Chan or The Chan-saw) wrote this song, and we play it in our band The Ragshakers. This is my solo interpretation of it. ****** I’m so tired That I can’t sleep at night For fear that I just might Sleep forever So tell me That I am living art now I’ve got a broken heart now It’s a thing of beauty I’ve seen these walls and these floors I’ve been in this bathroom before Maybe it will pass with the moon And the ocean will come for me soon I’m so hungry But I’ve got no desire I’ll light myself on fire Just to see at night I’m taking All my coffee black My tongue’s starting to lack The means to taste the world I’ve seen these walls and these floors I’ve been in this bathroom before Maybe it will pass with the moon And the ocean will come for me soon Maybe it will pass with the moon Maybe it will pass with the moon Maybe it will pass with the moon And the ocean will come for me soon

This song is about battling internalized oppressions, and my internal monologue about gender identity. ****** There are so many things I need to unlearn About the way I thought the world worked I want to delete every piece of information I thought I knew I want to undo everything that hurts I wanna be happy for once I wanna be proud of myself I wanna happy for once Not worried about anybody else I want to be proud of who I am Not worried about what I’ll have to do And I need to teach myself I don’t need you I don’t need to be thin to be pretty and I don’t need to love a man to make myself a real grrl cuz that’s already what I am And feminine doesn’t mean small and weak it means beautiful and strong I guess if I think on it hard enough I knew that all along But I wanna be happy for once I wanna be proud of myself I wanna happy for once Not worried about anybody else I want to be proud of who I am Not worried about what I’ll have to do And I need to teach myself I don’t need you

This song is about letting go of people and things that need to move on, no matter how much you want them to stay. It is dedicated to Vaughn Wareham Edwards. ****** Don’t you hang on too long for me Don’t you hang on if it hurts too much If you can’t handle the pain If you feel like you’re too drained Don’t hang on too long for me If it hurts too much, then Don’t you make yourself cry for me Don’t you let it hurt you any more If you need to move on Cuz you’ve been hurting too long Don’t you make yourself cry for me If it hurts too much then Let go please Don’t stay if you can’t handle it It’s ok to leave If you know you’re out of time There’s so much you’ve done For everyone And often not yourself so If it hurts too much, let go please You know I’d hate to see you leave I think that my heart might even break But I can’t stand to see You hurting so deep So even though I’d hate to see you leave If it hurts too much then Don’t you hang on too long for me Don’t you hang on if it hurts too much If you can’t handle the pain If you feel like you’re too drained Don’t hang on too long for me If It hurts too much then Let go please Don’t stay if you can’t handle it It’s ok to leave If you know you’re out of time There’s so much you’ve done For everyone And often not yourself so If it hurts too much, let go please