Get all 6 ACLU Benefit releases available on Bandcamp.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Suicide: The Best of, For True Fans Only, LOVE and FAME, Live with Amanda Palmer, ACLU Benefit Awkwardly Performs with his Ex-Girlfriends, Live, May, 2010, at Silent Barn, Ridgewood, NY, and ESKEMO.
1. |
Beer
04:08
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(power chords strummed once each)
G
I've got a friend and his name is beer.
Em
(BEEEEEER!)
G
He loves me cuz you're not here
Em
(BEEEEEER!)
D
but he doesn't keep me thin
C
and he doesn't give me hope
D
and he doesn't stroke my skin
C
or hold me tight, nope
G (up an octave)
but he'll never leave.
(power chords strummed rhythmically)
G
I've got a friend and his name is beer.
Em
(BEEEEEER!)
G
He loves me cuz you're not here,
Em
(BEEEEEER!)
D
but he doesn't cheat on me
C
and he doesn't tell me lies
D
and I don't care when I see
C
him out with other guys.
G (up an octave)
Why'd you have to leave?
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2. |
Riding
02:14
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(power chords, pick low note then two higher notes)
C
Who you gonna ride with
F
Now that I am gone?
(2)
G
I don't
A
want to know
(2)
C
Who you gonna sing with
F
Now that I am gone?
(2)
Chorus
C
Who you gonna dance with
F
Now that I am gone?
(2)
Chorus
C
Who you gonna lie with
F
Now that I am gone?
(2)
Chorus
C
Who you gonna ride with
F
Now that I am gone?
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3. |
3 Women
02:21
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1.
She's too young
lives far away
unreliable and calls me gay
but i love her (2)
we broke up and had to move on
we both agreed the sex should be gone
but i love her (2)
2.
She's totally hot and her life's a match
very smart
she's such a catch
but i don't love her (2)
we have great sex
walk around in the nude
we built a garden
she'll make me food
but i don't love her (2)
3.
She's beautiful and lots of fun
everyone tells me she's the one
but she don't love me (2)
she's my best friend and we talk a lot
a crush on her is all i've got
but she don't love me (2)
One day i'll find the one for me
until then i'll never be happy
i love them
in different ways
and sometimes
like today
think that
i could choose one
but then the feeling goes away
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4. |
||||
(capo 5)
(G-F-E power chords with open g string)
No one cares about your broken heart (2)
til you put it to a pretty melody
at least then your problems are catchy.
No one cares about your broken heart (2)
they don't come here to hear you complain
they come here to be entertained
they don't care that you stared in the mirror
for what felt like twenty years
but was only half an hour
or how you wish you had the power
to make her move back to NYC
cuz you loved someone but she got set free
no one cares about your broken heart (3)
C
or how you wanna kill yourself
D
(whistling solo)
G-F-E
no one cares about your broken heart (2)
except you and maybe one person
no trust me she doesn't care im certain
even if you believe that life is fair you're wrong i'm sorry so sing along
no one cares about your broken heart (3)
except you
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5. |
Love of My Life, Part 2
02:48
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(_tho you are gone i can love you til the end of my life which is now cuz you're gone)
A-A-A-D
We might leave slower than we've been known to leave
but alien angel, you were built to break me_
and your holy presence
is wholly present
when you ignore my calls
but we soared to the sky
now two lovers have to fall
You see my icy eyes glowing bright
_but all I see are daydreams of those nights
We are spread so terribly thin (2)
Your music is covering feelings rejected, shattering the gleam
now I see your tears pouring down your cheeks out to me.
We are spread so terribly thin.
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6. |
It was Perfect
01:24
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It was perfect
but it had to end
now I flirt with,
all of my friends
and they love it.
You made my heart bend
but it didn't totally break.
Sometimes I wish that
it did so I
could get over you
and finally cry
for my lover
-I forgot-
that died
and now, I just get laid.
I'm not complaining
that would be so lame
I'm just saying
that instead of these games
I'd rather hold you
while you scream my name
but I think
that's over for good.
If time travel
were a possibility
I'd move forward
to 2013
cuz then I'd either
finally be free
or we'd be together again.
I'm ready to move on (2)
I'd like to move on.
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7. |
||||
She's not yours anymore (over and over)
(start with single strums that ring, then get faster and faster until constant strumming, all on A. then start lyrics)
No
you're wrong
shut up
she'll come back
she's mine
you're lying
(B)
she has my heart and so i have to have hers too
(A)
don't lie
shut up
(B)
she's mine
(A)
even though i know
she's gone for now
(B)
she'll come back
(A)
she has to
just because
(B)
we broke up
(A)
doesn't mean she's gone from my heart
or i
(B)from hers
(A)
shut up!
you're lying
(B)
you're wrong!
(A) and i don't like it
so what if she has a new boyfriend
i've been with other women too
(B)what's wrong with you
(A)
shut up!
(B)
you're pissing me off
(A)
we'll be together again
(B)
we're such good friends
no it can't end!
(A)
shut up!
how can love die
(B)
for no good reason
(A)
let's make a deal
(B)
(A)
you shut up
we can just be friends
(B-A)
maybe make out sometimes
shut up! (3)
end on D
"i told you to fuck off" (3)
and it felt great (2)
i put up with this shit
for too long
now you get
an angry hate song
you've been a
terrible friend
yes you know
it's gonna end
chorus
im free now from your shit
im dealing with it
now i can finally grow
so i told you to go
chorus
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8. |
Just Like Elliott Smith
05:45
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G-C9
Someone take this poison out of my heart.
It's been so long when will the healing start?
I might look calm, but I'm falling apart
C-G-Em
and i can't cry yet. (2)
As I lay in bed, squeezing my pillow
I try not to pretend it's someone we all know
It's been so long but I can't let go
C-G-Em
cuz you won't call me back. (2)
When I think about all your bullshit,
and it's everyday that I'm reminded of it,
I want to stab myself in the stomach
C-G-Em
just like Elliott Smith (2)
C-Em-G
(whistle)
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9. |
I'm Not Thinking of You
03:54
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Pick E-D-A strings (slow and quietly and softly)
---------------
---------------
--------5----
-7--5--5--5---
-5--3--3--5----
-7--5-----3-------
(start a capella)
Well I worked all day
and I came home to play
(guitar starts)
guitar, and lay
in bed, I'm not thinking of you
No I'm not thinking of you (4)
Comin' through my door,
throwin' your clothes on my floor
No I'm not thinking of you (2)
When I kiss a hot chick,
that I picked up at the bar
No I'm not thinking of you (2)
Smiling, while you jack me off,
working hard at being soft
No I'm not thinking of you (2)
When I'm using my belt,
to whip a chair, or I text myself
No I'm not thinking of you (2)
lying naked, and tan,
holding hands with another man
(whistle solo)
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10. |
Be Honest
02:49
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(power chords low 4 strings)
G
they say
B
it only takes
C
half as long as it lasted
C
to get past it,
G
but then why
B
whenever I
D
think about Philadelphia,
C
do I wonder why you wouldn't let me visit ya?
Em
Why weren't you honest?
C-Am
I could've handled it
Em
Why weren't you honest?
C-Am
You destroyed all of my trust
G
in women.
Too busy
to talk to me,
but plenty
of time to watch TV.
Running
from arguments,
and lying that made no sense.
Why weren't you honest?
You owe me that much.
Why weren't you honest?
I worked so hard to keep us
open.
You don't know
why you had to go,
or maybe leaving
was due to cheating.
Whatever
the reason is,
just tell me or I'll never
move past this.
Please be honest.
I promise I won't cry.
Please be honest,
and give me back my life.
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11. |
||||
I am perfect,
la la la,
you are not,
hahaha,
when you talk:
Blah blah blah,
so shut up, shut up, shut up.
I know it all,
oh oh oh,
and you don't,
know, no, no.
If I see you?
Go go go,
and shut up, shut up, shut up.
I am brilliant.
You are dumb,
even if
you made me cum.
I could get that from anyone,
so shut up, shut up, shut up.
Every time
I went away,
you would always
make me stay.
Sometimes I wish
that I were gay.
You are dumped, dumped, dumped
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12. |
||||
(capo 3)
G-em
You can't touch me anymore.
G-C
I am walking out your door.
G-Am
It took awhile, but now I'm sure.
D
You can't touch me anymore.
You can't hold on to my hands.
I am no longer your man.
I hope you can understand:
From my life you're forever banned.
You don't get this body, it's gone,
and you have to stop loving me.
Don't be sad, just say "so long,"
and you'd better keep me out of your dreams.
(whistling solo)
You can't touch me anymore.
Even if I get lonely
as a leper on the shore,
I still wouldn't let you hold me.
G-em
You can't listen to me sing
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13. |
Love Your Family
02:35
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(capo 7th fret)
C-Am
(humming)
C F
How old do you have to get
before you're honest with your parents
and can tell them about the time Kate
broke your heart without getting embarrassed?
How old do you have to turn before you see you're no longer a teenager,
take your bullshit, burn it up, and leave those grudges forever?
C-Am
(humming)
C F
How old do you have to grow
before you see your mom's an old lady
who's probably all alone
and definitely misses her baby?
How old do you have to get
before both your parents die
and you're left saying
I wish, I wish, I wish, I...?
C-Am
(humming)
C F
How old do you have to get before you see yourself in your family
and start to love them for it
as your closest connection out of all humanity?
How long has to pass by
before you tell your dad and mom
"I'm sorry. I love you. Thanks for the things you did right.
You're forgiven for what you did wrong."
C-Am
(humming)
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14. |
Riding (with Eskimeaux)
03:45
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15. |
Love of My Life
03:25
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(power chords: G-C-Em [up an octave]-B)
(Love of my life, I'll never get over you)
When I get lonely, I call up my ex-girlfriend and say "I need to kiss someone named Kate Ferencz.
It matters who.
I know by now it needs to be you."
In the two things that I love,
there is power from your blood.
You're the prettiest girl in the world,
but you only date mice and worms.
I never wrote you a love song,
and I always stuck around for too long.
Can't make you love me,
and I'm sorry, so sorry
you'll never come back to me
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16. |
Literal Lullabye
03:36
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C-Am-G-F
You were a groupie and I was an asshole,
took you for granted and got comftorable.
You moved quickly and I changed so slow.
We enjoyed the attention and fed our egos,
but you were totally passive, hiding complaints
so 6 months later I was hiding my pain.
To you, love means just feeling really, really good,
to me, it's about always doing what you should,
commitment, honesty, reliability, and trust.
You don't know what you wanted but I guess it wasn't us.
Every man falls for you cuz you do what he wants,
then you lose interest. You only enjoy the hunt.
You held my hand but i didn't hold your heart.
When I gave you mine, you moved so far
away from me and my calls and my bed.
I waited here believing every word you'd said,
but you weren't serious it was all a game to you.
I'm an old man, I don't play like you do,
but I've learned my lesson: Never fall for the wind.
It's beautiful, carries you away, but it won't be back again.
When I let myself love you, I knew I'd get hurt.
So, looking back on all of this, I guess I got what I deserved.
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17. |
You're Missing
03:30
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18. |
Beer (again)
02:37
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19. |
Country Suicide
03:56
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(this song is in drop-d. pick 4th, 3rd and 2nd strings for verse)
(D-G/B-Asus)
Life sure had its moments, but now it's time to move on
and don't think of it as dying, think of it as graduation,
cuz after a certain age, you hope for a living wage, that's all,
and living without passion like I am's hardly living at all.
open 4th string
Low string: 5-7-12-10
So what's the difference if I go now or in 2020,
when I look back at the last ten years and don't see any reason to stay here?
(Low string: 3-0)
(D-G/B-Asus)
But before I go I'm gonna do some things,
and I don't mean like catching up on my reading,
cuz when you know you're about to die you can get away with anything.
There's so much you can do when you're not worried about losing,
like insult people a lot more or take things from the corner store,
or pee in my hallway, mostly being a jerk is what I have planned for my last days.
So maybe you won't mind as much when I go cuz I'll be such
a bastard that you won't miss me and then my plan will have worked perfectly.
(open 4th string
Low string: 5-7-12-10)
Cuz what's the difference
if I go
now or in 2020?
Or maybe
2012
cuz who knows what the world will be like, well
(open 4th string
Low string: 0-2-7-5)
I think I know
it'll be the same
but a little worse just like every day
and no
I don't think
I'm gonna miss anything but drinking.
(4th string:12-11-9-12-11-9-7-5-4-7-5-4-2
open 6th string)
(open 4th string
Low string: 5-7-12-10)
Cuz what's the difference
if I go
now or in 2020
when I look back at the last ten years and don't see any reason to stay here?
(Low string: 3-0)
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ACLU Benefit Boston, Massachusetts
Noah plays guitar and sings. Now known as Request Freebird.
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