We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

SPELLS

by The Light Switches

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD  or more

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 6 The Light Switches releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of No One is Forgiven, I'm a Jesus Stuntman Double, SKULLS, YOU CAN IF YOU WANT TO, THERE IS NO NEED TO NAME THE MOON, and SPELLS. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $21.45 USD or more (35% OFF)

     

1.
2.
One day this world ends You’ll need a girlfriend and then some children For with what little time you have to spend before this ship is wrecked to light candles on the deck for the starlight to reflect Echoes of loon cries Remind the sunrise Go climb the sky one final time Like a virtuoso's hand On a trembling baby grand That the mocking birds command to celebrate the summer's eve we wish we never had to leave at all Until we heard fall disguised as a passer by whispering a lullaby of snow and everyone knows the winter wind’s sad solemn hum is heartbroken as a railroad bum holding dried chrysanthemums like mice collecting cookie crumbs to taste the sweet like days of old when someone sang straight through the cold close your eyes my friend pretend this sweetness is the bitter end where winter winds shall cease to blow and sunshine shows the melting snow the birds that are not here to sing return again each passing spring and this is what they’ll sing: Since all you’re children have seen the splendor is never ending they will remember
3.
4.
The sun shines as houseboats cast black shadows and reflections of bicycles and heroine the window’s cracked to let the summer in I wonder what it’s like to winter here In hindsight I'd met a girl I'd like to winter with with blue eyes and carnival from Rio on a black shirt that contrasts her youthly figure like a flower that is blooming in a graveyard but tomorrow I'll be leaving on a train good-bye ms. Amsterdam I'll probably place your picture in some book with other photographs to remind me every time that I should look and maybe realizeall the precious times that I have left behind The bream swim in the sad valtava river the moon shines up above the mala strana stare mesto is a clock on grandma’s piano and I don’t know how I should know which way to go The ghost tour leads through the crooked corridors where I learn the twist of fate at every turn I wind up at a bar that’s called Marquis de Sade A stranger asks me if I believe in God Although tomorrow I'll be leaving on a train my love of course I do how else would we be able to explain tomorrow’s sunrise through the starry stain glassed splendor of your eyes that make me realize All the precious times that we all leave behind There’s witches in the pine forests of Austria the snow falls on the mountaintops of Switzerland the wind blows a whisper through a widow’s veil I’m dreaming an absent minded fairy tale There’s angels in the olive groves of Italy they won’t protect me from the English girl that’s eyeing me She led me to the colored boats beached by the sea we listened to a thief play gypsy melodies He said there’s a war in the east, there’s a war in the west there’s an orphan in an ally in a wedding dress where a junky sings into a megaphone the minarets tremble and the temples moan he said “love is an Indian death,” he said “love is a poor girls breast” he said “love ain’t no spoken word,” he said “love is a humming bird” but tomorrow I’ll be leaving on a train right out of Italy I have a friend who’s little brother lives in Spain in Barcelona but for now let’s keep our destinations in disguise so we don’t realize All the precious time that we all leave behind
5.
you can’t go to heaven on roller skates you’ll roll right by the pearly gates you can’t go to heaven in a rocking chair a rocking chair won’t get you there and you can’t get to heaven in a motorcar a motorcar won’t go that far you better not bother to call a limousine cause god don’t sell no gasoline So we don’t need to grieve no more, no more/ No we don’t need to grieve no more You can’t go to heaven in your girlfriend's note God’s not home that’s all she wrote And you can’t go to heaven with a holy ghost The holy ghost is on vacation in a cottage on the coast And you can’t get to heaven with a holy war God don’t like his picture in the liquor store And you can’t go to heaven with no guns that shoot Because god’s bullet proof and she's bullshit proof So we don’t need to grieve no more, no more/ No we don’t need to grieve no more No you can’t get to heaven with any kind of superstition God don’t mind a little magic man but come on use your intuition You’re not going to get to heaven with the catholic church God don’t want no money from the hands of those perverts And you’re not going to get to heaven if you’re a Zionist Jew God chose Moses but he didn’t choose you And you’re not going to get to heaven if you’re a Muslim man too Allah’s got a beard but he don’t like one on you And you’re not going to go to heaven if you believe in hell God don’t like no pissing in his wishing well And it doesn't really matter if you’re born again Because if you’re not dead then you can’t get in Know you can’t get to heaven if you’re waiting to go there If you were on your way then you’d already be there So if I get there before you do I'll dig a hole and pull you through And if you get there before I do You'd be with me if I were you So we don’t have to grieve no more, more No we won't have to grieve no more (repeat....)
6.
7.
In a grove in the woods she laid down, laid down In a grove in the woods she laid down Far from the whispers of the nearest small town In a grove in the woods she laid down She walked in the moonlight that glowed/ she glowed She walked in the moonlight that glowed as reflections on water of a ghost in the road She walked in the moonlight that glowed Doomed by her father, though she won't know his name She is doomed though she won't know his name who came to desire her exquisite young frame she is doomed though she won't know his name Banished by the laws of old men, she is banished by the laws of old men Never to be seen of or heard from again, she vanished from the laws of old men In a grove in the woods she laid down, laid down In a grove in the woods she laid down Far from the whispers of the nearest small town In a grove in the woods she laid down
8.
I can’t believe I’m seeing all of you Like garden full of dahlias I forgot about and called you/ but you told me I was drunk I can’t believe you crazy ladies go grazing down in Hades abandoning your babies/ for some perilous pirates bunk I can’t believe how many of the kids I used to know back home / stayed home and got addicted to that junk it’s all a peculiar dream/ what is happening to you/ is happening to me I can’t believe that we’re not sleeping with our secrets in safe keeping never whispering nor weeping saving suffering for art No one told those little soldiers if you were only any older you’d realize/ you broke your mamma’s heart it ain’t strange that this refrain keeps on refraining and repeating revisiting the place from where we start It's all a peculiar dream/ what's happening to you/ is happening to me I don’t know the way home/ through the whispering woods/ nor thickets of thieves moon, you’ve been hiding all day/ come glow show us the way/ we’re losing our way there’s a lonely old song/ I sing when wait hold on/ we’re on our way I can’t believe how far we’ve rambled through the thistles and the brambles/ while we’re gambling on the shambles of a star I can’t believe the sight I saw tonight while looking for a light/ from the ghost the likes to hide behind the bar I can’t believe we judge each other like we’re one another’s mother but my sister and my brother/ I've got something I've got to say to you It's all a peculiar dream/ what's happening to you/ is happening to me (6x)
9.
I have invented a love affair/ in which I was badly betrayed intimacy’s not my cup of tea/ but fantasy for me is like wine And I drink too much/ I get scattered like dust and I stagger through life all alone so board up the windows to the house of love and don’t knock cause there’s nobody home If you’d like to know/ how I grew so strange well the truth is I was raised up by wolves who taught me to howl, to scowl, and to growl but since then I haven’t much changed But outside the woods/ that don’t work out so good and you’re bound to wind up alone So board up the windows to the house of love and don’t knock cause there’s nobody home (INSTRUMENTAL VERSE AND CHORUS) All alone in the moonlight I will wander alone All alone in the moonlight I'm going to wander alone Once one leaves the pack there’s no turning back or they’ll just follow your tracks right back to the pack If you want to catch me come try but those fables don’t lie and I've got every single one of your lies on my side If you want to know the truth here’s some news you can use you’re never going to drive a stake through a stone So board up the windows to the house of love and don’t knock cause there’s nobody home you know that I told you don’t knock cause there’s nobody home don’t you ever forget it don’t knock cause there’s nobody home not even on Sundays don’t knock cause there’s nobody home home....home....home.....home.....
10.
The dictionary is the book of love My love, I’ve got some words for you I can’t spell nor know the meanings of My heart beats for you like Ringo’s/ Old lady’s playing bingo Waiting for pennies from heaven/ Like little Cinderella at a quarter til eleven Under the street lights/ And the star lights I wish I may, I wish I might/ The first star that I see tonight Is writing all these words I write/ To ghosts I see by candle light In shadows that hide out of sight Where I’m waiting for you/ To undo my meaningless love The moment that push comes to shove/ Beneath all the silence above My first love had more booty/ Than the king tut mausoleum More beauty than the/ King Louis the 14th art museum/ Holding on to me like misers on the money/ Pooh Bear on the honey When the morning sky is sunny/ As Richard Prior’s funny but she broke my heart into more pieces/ Than Woody Guthrie’s got nieces A sheep herder’s got fleeces/ Or Harvard’s got thesis I don’t give a damn about higher education/ Every day that I’ve lived is enough information/ I’m very very impatient It takes a long time to knit a warm sweater/ But only one second to unravel forever where I'm waiting for you/ to undo my meaningless love the moment that push comes to shove/ beneath all that silence above Si hola y hasta luego Seniorita/ Usted es Bonita como las estrellas En la noche, cada noche La noche es peligrosa/ Pero estoy duro como la roca No necisita la coca/ estoy loca Vaya a la playa conmigo/ Sin miedo/ Como se siente/ Estoy contente/ quando passaba las horas/ Sonando en la cama/ Non necisitimos/ pajamas Temprano/ Soprano/ Dormir a una nina cantando where I'm waiting for you/ to undo my meaningless love the moment that push comes to shove/ beneath all that silence above The dictionary is the book of love My love, I’ve got some words for you I can’t spell nor know the meanings of
11.
This song got swallowed by the fish/ Whose bellies are the black Space surrounding stars/ Shining distant dark Underneath and up above/ Creatures claws and human love Where the sun and moon make mirrors/ To reappear and disappear White. Black. Light. This place behind beauty beyond faith/ Cast sharp shadows on my face Dreams the colors lose their minds/ Reminds my mother of the time You were a vision she'd create/ You were a day she'd celebrate While I wondered if she know/ I was leaving her for you White. Black. Light. People gave their stories to a book/ That everyone got like it or not Owned and loaned/ til every one fought But the people will remember/ What the people once forgot... I'm sure! Egyptians bloodied doors/ First borns went to war Second ones were whores/ Third ones did the chores Raised a flag and built a fence/ Treated sister like a tent When it rained raised up the rent/ Wondered where that brother went When there's trouble in the hills/ Til it overflowed and spilled But everybody's thrilled/ Cause it paid the bills/ And it paid the bills And it paid the bills/ and it paid the bills For the temple of the trees/ Golden Buddha on his knees Is a wild wolf who runs/ From a child with a gun Is night owl on a post/ To a lover and her ghost Is the jasmine blossom's words/ To the passing humming birds A trillion years of fallen tears/ That the raindrops call careers Where the sun and moon make mirrors / To reappear and disappear White. Black. Light. This song got swallowed by the fish Whose bellies are the black Space surrounding stars Shining distant dark
12.
I have a violin with broken strings/ that doesn’t sing a goddamn thing she’s so beautiful/ and so meaningless/ I bow Sweet slow sorrowful symphonies/ blue skies/ ominous tympanis Sundays/ sung by the chimney sweeps/ Haunting frolicking city streets sunshine exiting secretly/ ghost girls dreaming on balconies hearing harmonies up on the roof Little one, believe me please while we’re still young don’t be afraid of the darkness/ silently shrouding your room dear, daylight will come again soon I can’t count on you my Gemini/ the stars up in the sky are uncountable/ they’re so numerous/ I bow Song birds imitate yesterdays/ love songs played on the radio time passed since it was yesterdays loves songs/ you’ve got a good memory tell me Do you remember when song birds/ could have been possibly singing a song that spoke clearly to you Little one, believe me please while we’re still young don’t be afraid of the darkness/ silently shrouding your room dear, daylight will come again soon I have a violin with broken strings/ that doesn’t sing a goddamn thing she’s so beautiful/ and so meaningless/ I bow
13.
When all of my dreams/ are erased and unwritten forgot and forgiven/ for breathing and living I will wake and dream a new day If the first of my ancestor's/ successful inventions spins out of control/ and beyond intervention by the whole population/ who's misled intentions ensnare and encircle/ a house of detention I will wake and dream a new day If enduring ideas/ are enshrined in museums so people believe/ we were once human beings (and beings can see what we saw as we're seeing) whether or not/ you believe our perceptions are perpetually pondered/ preconceived misconceptions one way, four directions/ four senses, five seasons one lightens, one darkens/ one's lost, or one reasons one's heavens, one's hells/one's fortune foretells a precious collection/ of beautiful bells that ring in the forest/ as the chorus frogs croon to the crow colored sky/ tattooed by the moon where I will wake and dream a new day
14.
As the evening sun goes down, goes down/ As the evening sun goes down Tomorrow turns to yesterday/ The way today will do tomorrow As the evening sun goes down Awake yourself try to remember/ When the tiny flicker of an ember Lifted shadows from the water/ To entertain the darling daughter Music trembled eerie antics/ Transformed all enchanted dancing Translucent, universal beings/ Living, breathing, hearing, seeing Forests filling up with creatures/ Reaching out and seeking teacher Birds with wings who sing for pleasure/ Careless kings who horde their treasures Howling beasts who haunt the self/ Who's sanctity resides in wealth Armies ordained in disguise/ Harming harmless fireflies Who's light is not in search of fame/ Who's fortune is not tied to pain Whose families are not estranged/ As strangers on the subway trains these masses fade all fat and lazy/ This entertainer's craft is crazy Go on sun get famous/ Entertain us... As the evening sun goes down, goes down/ As the evening sun goes down Tomorrow turns to yesterday/ The way today will do tomorrow As the evening sun goes down Before the halls were overcrowded/ The talent of the sun was doubted The critics called the act pretentious/ Predictable and uninventive But the sun still showed up anyway/ Every day, day after day No matter what the critics had to say Then one evening on the Oceanside/ The clouds dispersed across the sky Enlightened on the west horizon/ Opposite the new moon rising A sinking circle slowly growing/ Concentric, colored halos glowing A wayward music box unwinding/ A ghostly garden's vines entwining Doors to captive eyes unhinged/ Tattooed on the beauties skin Unfazed by the trigger's hammer/ Unchanged by the ghetto's glamour Regardless of one's recognition/ The sun is one with intuition Confiding calmly to the sea/ The secrets of eternities The miracle of life on earth/ Is neither dreamed, confessed, nor cursed Everyone on earth's related/ Our latest, greatest grandma dated Her songs are strung on violins/ That burned in Prague and east Berlin her crescent moon's a sailor's sword/ a junkie pawns in Baltimore As dinosaurs will dig the graves/ For fortune's fools and pharaoh's slaves As wild wolves have lost their homes/ To disgraced drones of telephones The race that once sought out salvation/ Now seeks to race the world's creation But the wilderness will take the finish/ The way that Gandhi beat the British We all must one day come to face/ The end of time and sense of place To go and find another place/ Like every star in outer space Is the light that shines/ Is the light that shines Is the light that shines/ Is the light that shines Is the light that shines/ Inside the light that shines As the evening sun goes down, goes down/ As the evening sun goes down Tomorrow turns to yesterday/ The way today will do tomorrow As the evening sun goes down
15.
Don't point your finger/ put down your guns I'm not going to fight you/ And I'm not going to run I can't tell you a secret/ You already know That I already know/ That we already know All intuition/ Is stars in the distance Is all of religion/ And all of forgiveness For we are alive/ And we are at home If you kill me don't fear me/ There'll be no resistance I'll embark on no mission/ I won't cancel Christmas There's no ghosts like in stories/ Who put on white blouses to howl in the hallways/ And haunt up the houses There's no ghosts who signed contracts/ To collect on their losses There's no ghosts of regret/ Who submit to their bosses There's no time to answer/ For the life that you stole There's no custody battle/ For unfortunate souls For we are alive/ And we are at home Bridge (instrumental) When all prophets are lost/ And all profits are losses And all battlefields covered/ With flowers and crosses When the saints' painted casket/ Is robbed of its jewels And the candles on alters/ Are extinguished by fools When ideals of beauty/ are besieged by old age Like a terrible tiger/ Who's resigned to its cage When all of the prayers/ That societies breed See we suffer and share / In the fate of the trees Then we are alive/ And we are at home
16.
17.
I know a woman/ who's never quite sure Whose never quite sure/ who's never quite sure she shines through my windows and rattles my doors I know a woman who's never quite sure And I have a child who stones me to death who stones me to death/ who stones me to death I gave her my heart in exchange for her breath and we still haven't traded back yet although it seems crazy/ to expect more than this from love I get so crazy/ whenever I'm in love INSTRUMENTAL BRIDGE Always asking/ where my mind is I'm reminded/ and reminded from the bottom/ up to the surface this whole world has just one purpose although it seems crazy/ to expect more than this from love I get so crazy/ whenever I'm in love
18.
1. Read the following incantation: As secrets dwell in every bone and pass through time as light intones the melodies of dreams in drones as crickets hum the hymns of home the echoes of the ancients stray a sojourn lost for time to play through dark of night and light of day I wish you well while on your way 2. Think of a dream you have for your life. If you could transform your existence for the better what would you change? What would you be doing for each hour of each day of your life if all things were ideal? And how would the realization of your dream affect the dreams of others? Breath deeply. Compassionately silence any doubts that may arise. Stubborn ones may be cast as stones into the sea. Momentarily enjoy the vision of a world where the unlimited potential of being is accessible. 3. Continue to breath deeply. Enjoy the sound and feeling of breath going in and coming out. 4. Explore your surroundings, locate a non-human living being with whom you have not been previously acquainted. Introduce yourself. Go on, don't be shy. Trees. Insects. Birds. Coyotes. They are a friendly sort contrary to what you read in the papers. 5. Dial 415 876 4648. You will hear the musical note F. Listen and try imitating the note. After the machine beeps, take a deep breath and sing the note through the phone, across time and space, and into the recording. Keep singing until you run out of breath. Hang up. 6. Go outside. Close your eyes. Remember your dream. Thank you!

credits

released March 18, 2011

co produced by: Michael Musika, Scott McDowell, and Chris Powers

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

The Light Switches San Francisco, California

1. Girl group for the living and the dead. 2. Characterized by layered imagery, and internal rhyme. 3. Your soundtrack to evade capture by the police.

contact / help

Contact The Light Switches

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

The Light Switches recommends:

If you like The Light Switches, you may also like: