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The Pagan States

by Randal Prater

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1.
Skeleton 05:54
The absence of blood and skin Around bones that we try to fit in Listen less and you’ll hear much more A minimal dance in the score An aural thank you For letting us take you to The battlefield They will stand by you They will fall with you You always die alone The hollow is where we’ve been Without hope that the fire will give in Speaking less and saying much more A silly romance with the war And yet we thank you For leading us safely to Elysian fields They will stand by you They will fall with you Some will leave alone — Performers: Randal Prater - Voices, Bass, Keys Peter Sawtell - Guitar Gary Hunt - Drums
2.
Outside your house Quiet in the night I see you on a stream of bedroom light Your silhouette tells me all that’s left to say Now there’s nothing more to say Then there’s nothing more to touch Nothing more to kiss Nothing more I’ll miss I miss, I miss us yesterday Then there’s nothing more to hold Nothing to caress but this mess This mess we’ve made Thousands of reasons you fashion Come on, be serious Not so mysterious Give me one reason I’m a million Shades of curious Delirious I call you up My hand wavers in the breeze The phone rings and you just freeze I tell you what If there’s nothing more to say Then there’s nothing more to say I’m not afraid to call you up I’m not afraid to drink the wine I’m not afraid around you All in all, I’m still a bit insane So, hop aboard my train There’s nothing left but emptiness — Performers: Randal Prater - Voices, Guitar, Bass Peter Sawtell - Guitar Gary Hunt - Drums Daniel Keiran - Voices
3.
Pipe Dreams 04:16
The mystical percentage Of methodical advantage Is a solo rolo The method to this test Involves the leaving of the rest Outside the sodo mojo The closing of our eyes Is equal to the open mind Of a hobo in Soho So, crawl inside this pipe And dream of all things extra nice Inside the dojo where it’s slow One up, two down Three weeks Dreaming four ways Five years to drown Six of seven sundays One up, two down Three weeks Dreaming four ways Five years to drown Six of seven sunday sounds Pipe dreams They will take you away With a warm embrace And a florescent haze Pipe dreams Pipe dreams With a frosty gaze From a lovely face That has nothing to say Pipe dreams Pipe dreaming of nothing real Fly, pipe dreaming Come down No thank you, dear Seven sunday sounds You are a nice dream Pipe dream clouds You are a nice dream My dream Pipe dream clouds — Performers: Randal Prater - Voices, Bass, Keys Peter Sawtell - Guitar Gary Hunt - Drums
4.
Bellwether 06:07
Colorless splinters erupt With immediate reaction They dance and then collide To make something expedient Happen Sparks fly all over you Making you a bellwether too As fire rains down on you Follow, that’s what we’ll do Beware the friendly fire of promise Veiled with desire Now our waves can find the shore Less is much more We’re quizzical But, typical in score — Performers: Randal Prater - Voices, Guitar, Bass Peter Sawtell - Guitar, Keys Gary Hunt - Drums, Percussion
5.
Silly Season 06:56
Mists will fall And shadows rise A step beyond reason The seduction of seasons Time will find you Let it move you to action With the taste of fever And the chatter of wolves Dogs speak with frothing mouths Relationship with pain Eyes strained on overcast A lighter shade of grey Silly season Love in the sun Fun with no love Cuts with no blood Time will take you far less than holy Filthy shaking memory — Performers: Randal Prater - Voices, Bass Peter Sawtell - Guitar Gary Hunt - Drums Benjamin Thompson - Voices
6.
Wings Of Wax 05:46
Don’t fly too close to the sun Don’t glide too close to the sea These wings of wax may come undone With a little luck they might just make you free Today, fly away, don’t stay Far away is still too close for you So fly away, far away Don’t stay, don’t delay The time denies the light So fly You tried to dance with the sun You died too close to the sea These wings of wax they came undone Maybe now you won’t need wings to fly — Performers: Randal Prater - Voices, Bass, Ebow Peter Sawtell - Guitar Gary Hunt - Drums
7.
Harshmellow 03:45
What a drag to be let down When all I do is spin around you It’s time you realized My fire will devour you It’s clear there’s not enough As the future comes into view Each day you’re further away Is a beautiful day without you Excuse me, do you understand Your excuse for all your crimes Prayer can’t get you anywhere Living life on borrowed time No hope ’cause the days won’t last What was it we were thinking Can’t live life with a broken heart The sun is always sinking — Performers: Randal Prater - Voices, Bass Peter Sawtell - Guitar Gary Hunt - Drums Benjamin Thompson - Voices
8.
Fever burning, I’m so cold, take me home Seasons turning to orange and yellow Fireflies have long since said goodbye Honeysuckle, your buds forgot to bloom Snowflakes are coming soon enough Extended nights feel alright Bundle yourself and take good care The holidays can’t end too soon Hard, dark, glasslike… obsidian Rapid solidification… obsidian Lava without crystallization Obsidian… obsidian — Performers: Randal Prater - Voices, Bass Peter Sawtell - Guitar Gary Hunt - Drums
9.
Yeah, we’re clearing the decks Of all the problems at the door Yeah, it’s been a long time coming Now it’s time to soar We won’t be your dogs of war Your commercial score No, we can’t feed the fire with four Yeah, yeah Resisterville is harboring the lost and free But, we wish you the best Or maybe a little less We said we were sorry But, you didn’t want to know about democracy So goodbye, goodbye We tried but we couldn’t fake it We cried when you didn’t make it Again, goodbye, we’re so sorry Elysian Fields would just take three Goodbye, goodbye — Performers: Randal Prater - Voices, Bass Peter Sawtell - Guitar Gary Hunt - Drums

about

The Pagan States was a band I started that was meant to combine the best of my experiences with Creeping Myrtle (where I could write and sing and play a major role) and Verses On Venus, Graig Markel’s live back-up band (where I could just play bass and have fun). In the end, it became more like Myrtle where I wore too many hats and it was just another glorified solo project. It was fun while it lasted, but it was clear that it was time to finally go solo and put my own name on my recordings. We released one self-titled album that is available on CD and digital download.

credits

released June 6, 2006

All songs written by Prater-Sawtell-Hunt (BMI), except where otherwise noted. Recorded by Randal Prater. Mastered by Ray Muirwood. Published by Doldrum (BMI).

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Randal Prater Seattle, Washington

Singer-songwriter with four solo albums. Former frontman for Creeping Myrtle and The Pagan States.

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