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Chemical City

by Sam Roberts Band

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as far as I'm concerned this is one of the greatest albums of all time. I remember when I came across it. I was browsing music at B&N. must have been right when it came out because they had a display. the album cover caught my eye. I never bought music from there because it was about double the price of everywhere else. After sampling I purchased it and never regretted it. every song is great. Musically, lyrically. For just over $5 American it's a steal. Favorite track: Bridge to Nowhere.
absinthefaery
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absinthefaery Canadian rock at its very best. Favorite track: Mystified, Heavy.
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1.
The Gate 05:58
Over land, I traveled time and space and quicksand And for sixty days I knew no other road And through the maelstrom, which turned in time with the kick drum I was swallowed and twisted and spit out on a coast And in this place there stands a gate that leads to the heart of the city And I've spent seven years and a sea of fears in this broken mirror of a city Listen to the streets there's a heartbeat missing in the city Sweet sunlight, I can see it in my mind's eye Yeah I remember feeling alright And I saw black clouds and Turin shrouds and it smelled of a faded empire It's all concrete and steel, we're asleep at the wheel, and the mayor's just a gun for hire Listen to the streets there's a heartbeat missing in the city Listen to the sound there's a time bomb ticking in the city I've heard the song the morning sings Outside the gate is everything Let in the light! Let in the light! Streetwalker said to me she has no need for history She has the key she has the key Sweet sunlight, I can see it in my mind's eye Let in the light! Let in the light! Waking up from a dream where I was the stone and you were the stream Chemical City isn't all that you need but it's all that you're getting and they've hidden the key Listen to the streets there's a heartbeat missing in the city Listen to the sound there's a time bomb ticking in the city Let in the light, let in the light I said this place is an unnatural disaster And I'm a visitor here so I asked her: Where are the trees, where are the trees? And she said free yourself from history That is the key! That is the key! Sweet sunlight, I can see it in my mind's eye I see the light! I see the light! The gate is gone now, you better run [x4] Can you feel it? There's a heartbeat missing in the city Yeah there's a heartbeat missing in the city Where all the fat-cats are hissing at your pity There's a heartbeat missing The gate is gone so you better run, You better run run run run... You better run run run run... You better run!
2.
Another day breaks and the last one's gone You dig deep just to carry on Your debt's paid off but it don't feel gone So you slip out the back and you're moving on I can never figure out how to make a case That this don't amount to a fall from grace She wants to know can I replace This tired wool with satin lace She says you're on a bridge to nowhere and you're gettin' there fast Put it in the past, put it in the past If this is a race then I hope you come last You're on a bridge to nowhere and you're gettin' there fast Pressure builds till it breaks the dome You can build a house you can't build a home And it's a fool who believes love is bred in the bone And there're no guarantees that you won't get stoned Yeah, I'm a fool who believed love is bred in the bone And there're no guarantees that I won't get stoned Says you're on a bridge to nowhere and you're gettin' there fast Put it in the past, put it in the past If this is a race then I hope you come last You're on a bridge to nowhere and you're gettin' there fast I don't know where it leads, oh no All I know is that I don't wanna breathe this chemical breeze no more So another day breaks and the last one's gone You dig deep just to carry on Your debt's paid off but it don't feel gone So you slip out the back and you're moving on Says you're on a bridge to nowhere and you're gettin' there fast Put it in the past, put it in the past If this is a race then I hope you come last You're on a bridge to nowhere and you're gettin' there fast
3.
Our love is dark thoughts as it is bright lights It's the sound of a teardrop falling down from a great height So don't let go, let waters flow And babe you have nothing to fear for This is as real as the rain My love for you is as deep as a coalmine You move like moonshine straight to my head This is a storyline we write from the same bed You had for sale a holy grail And babe you have nothing to fear for This is as real as the rain My love for you is as deep as a coalmine And our love is dark thoughts as it is bright lights And it's the sound of a teardrop falling down from a great height And babe you have nothing to fear for This is as real as the rain My love for you is as deep as a coalmine No, babe you have nothing to fear for This is as real as the rain My love for you is as deep as a coalmine If you were marked with a bullet I'd jump in front of it I'd rather die for love than die for the want of it Forever alive, forever forward I have no use at all for any more words I'll take on all of your sorrows for mine my dear, till the days run clear, until they start to shine, coming through your window, head on your pillow, the sight is honey for my mind girl and I've been digging, ever deeper, this love gets easier the more it's sung to, the more it rings true, the more I find the breath to help sing with these miner's lungs...
4.
Mind Flood 08:09
When it comes calling, will you heed the call? When it gets heavy now, will you let it fall? And as the loon cries it opens minds The stream reflects these Northern climes Through these days we walk the line Sixteen dollars and a couple of dimes There've been a number of times Took a step back, couldn't read the signs Cross the plains till they start to climb Down to the valley where the river winds Sing it for me, sing it for me When the water comes down, get yourself up high... Grey skies, the waters rise Mind flood's gonna break the bank Will it wash us away now? Will it wash us away now? Blue skies, the river dries A light goes out before your eyes Till the break of day now, till the break of day now Sing it for me, sing it for me When the water comes down, get yourself up high... Goin' down to the river now, mind flood's got my head in the gutter Will it wash us all away? You come to with a shiver now, Flash back eighth grade with a stutter Will it wash us all away? If love is a cult we are all believers Cruel, passionate underachievers Fools lashing out at the dreamers Kiss the enemy and kill the redeemer We are indeed a dying breed We are the people of the sky So when the river floods and you're made from mud Get yourself up high.... Sing it for me, sing it for me When the water comes down, get yourself up high... Goin' down to the river now, mind flood's got my head in the gutter Will it wash us all away? You come to with a shiver now, Flash back eighth grade with a stutter Will it wash it all away? Goin' down to the river now, mind flood's got my head in the gutter Will it wash us all away? Whoa, come and wash it all away, all away... Get yourself up high... The wolf's eyes have found their prize And you have found your place in it all....
5.
You feel the weight of the world on your shoulders As everyday gets shorter and colder And hand in hand we walk through a land of fire The mountains bleed red as the sun gets higher All the things that you want I'll provide 'Til your footprint is swept away by the tide I can wait for awhile I don't mind Yeah I can wait for awhile cuz I got time I wish it was less of the way it is I wish it were more of the way it could be And you could put your faith in me for a while In the end I hope you're free cuz I'll be out of style All the things that you want I'll provide 'Til your footprint is swept away by the tide And I can wait for awhile I don't mind Yeah I can wait for awhile I got time (I got time) Whoever said you can't be saved by a song Whoever said that is stringing you along We're all afraid to be dead and gone This will live on it will live on it will live on And all the things that you want I'll provide Til your footprint is swept away by the tide And I can wait for awhile I don't mind Yeah I can wait for awhile I got time And all the things you're looking for I hope you'll find Before your footprint is swept away by the tide And I can wait for awhile I don't mind Yeah I can wait for awhile I got time And I can wait for awhile I don't mind Yeah I can wait for awhile I got time (I got time)
6.
Ooh, it's got me mystified, heavy now Deep down to my soul You try to keep the wheel steady now Easy as she goes I can hear on the wind a tale that needs to be told again The horizon bends at either end and the sea can't tell a foe from a friend I know it was only a dream As delicate as a dragonfly wing I was never satisfied with any life 'til she called my name The air on the high ground was rarefied, every day the same And old fears were always near but when we set sail they disappeared There are those who fear the deep but the world don't wait when your faith won't leap And I know it was only a dream As delicate as a dragonfly wing Then we watched as the Southern Cross led the sailors home, constellation borne We set sail in a heavy gale and to the sea many of us thrown And there were times when my courage failed but I never bowed to the storm Whatever path you choose to walk, in the end, you walk alone Ooh, it's got me mystified heavy now Tongue-tied to the anchor chain You try to keep your hand steady now But it slips again And landfall surprised us all and she broke on the rocks like a china doll You can hear the siren call for the last dance at Poseidon's Ball I know it was only a dream As delicate a dragonfly wing I hope it was only a dream As delicate as a dragonfly wing
7.
He was born in a small town And he was given every reason to stay Hallelujah, Mississippi, postcard living no sign of decay Till Vietnam moved next door, then Hallelujah was off to war In the dream he couldn't finish the deed He didn't smoke any weed so why leave? Going where I can't be found And I won't be coming 'round His father Tom said you better sign on You'd better take up your gun and fight I got nothing against them Viet Cong What did they do wrong and why am I right? He's on his way to Thunder Bay Crossed the border late at night And it was high stakes until he saw the Great Lakes And he felt the cold wind bite Going where I can't be found And I won't be coming 'round No, I'm an American on the Canadian Shield And I'm putting down roots in your frozen fields It gets cold but you feel so good to be a stranger in a town and you're understood Missing his home, he would wake up in a cold sweat And pick up the phone and hope that Tom found a way to forget He's been teaching at the high school, learning the game In Thunder Bay we're all the same He's one of us, he has our trust But there's no going back once the line is crossed I'm an American on the Canadian Shield And I'm putting down roots in your frozen fields It gets cold but you feel so good to be a stranger in a town and you're understood You can't ask what you're asking me to do And I hope you understand when I refuse I'm going North with my point of view And I'm never gonna think the same as you And I'm where I can't be found And I won't be coming 'round No, I'm an American on the Canadian Shield And I'm putting down roots in your frozen fields It gets cold but you feel so good to be a stranger in a town and you're understood
8.
Come make your complaint to the Bootleg Saint He's been gone, keepin' on, keepin' on for your freedom Black boots, brown skin he has chemical roots He's taking back the city one sinner at a time He'll sacrifice if you pay the price He remembers a time when everything was alright We had water from wine, the streets were alive Then old Captain Industry who sold his soul at Wounded Knee Bought himself a little property The Saint had found his enemy He'll sacrifice if you pay the price The laws might sleep, but they never die Lions for sheep - an eye for an eye He wears a ring with the brand of a three-legged dog His rose-coloured glasses cut through the fog The laws might sleep but they never die Lions for sheep, an eye for an eye He came down on a storm cloud hard as the Amazon rain Took him on, took him on and on And you can pay your respects in the form of a cheque He's taking back the city one sinner at a time He'll sacrifice if you pay the price The laws might sleep but they never die Lions for sheep, an eye for an eye The Bootleg Saint, well he walks the line Between an everyman hero and a waste of time
9.
We are descendants of the free We are the soldiers of the Cause We shouted out the same decree To hold the truth above the law Those were the nights to remember Now they're the nights to forget We sang from May to September and we danced While the city slept I was born a restless soul I never did what I was told That old fire rages on I hope it burns after I'm gone I'm getting tired of the same old thing It only takes one soul to make a change It takes two young hearts to make it beat again Three long nights and you're on the mend Living, loving, swinging, ducking We might fail but we have to try I poked my finger in the public eye Those were the nights to remember Now they're the nights to forget We sang from May to September and we danced While the city slept We are the only chance This is our resistance And if we fail then we all know How it goes, it goes How it goes, it goes I navigate the mines we lay And I'm comin' home but not today I fought my way through the hungry mob The Mayor and his henchmen on the job We faced-off like it was High Noon, We both let fly and our aim was true Yeah! Those were the nights to remember Now they're the nights to forget We sang from May to September and we danced While the city slept Those were the nights to remember Now they're the nights to forget We sang from May to September and we danced While the city slept So even if you can't see it You can still believe in it It's easier if you lose all the things that prevent you from seeing it In the evening sun when the Earth and sky are one We all come undone and remember where we came from So even if you can't see it You can still believe in it It's easier if you lose all the things that prevent you from seeing it In the evening sun when the Earth and sky are one We all come undone and remember where we came from
10.
The cinematic after effects of alcohol Have led me to believe That there's nothing more beautiful Than a face as it starts to fade From your memory, what had once been clear as the day Obscured by the shade And I was always the thorn to your rose A long string of disappointing days Led me to concede that I'd been losing sleep And I'm tired and frayed at the seams And things are changing in me It's been two hard months since I could call you my own It cuts to the bone Is there anything that I can do when I've been turned into stone But I was always the thorn to your rose Some doors are better left closed You move like a rolling wave One that don't fade when it's gone Beyond a doubt it gets so hard that a stone would cry out I know there's a lesson in here But it's so hard to find I've been searching my mind A little pearl of wisdom for the later years When the thread of this life starts to unwind I never had to fight for my love But that's over I know It's just how it goes I never had to fight for my love But that's over I know It's just how it goes And you move like a rolling wave One that don't fade when it's gone Beyond a doubt it gets so hard, it gets so hard That a stone would cry out Some doors are better left closed Some say this place makes it hard to hold your head up Some days this face makes me feel like I've been set up

about

Chemical City is the second studio album by Canadian musician Sam Roberts, released in Canada on April 11, 2006, and in the United States on May 16, 2006. The album debuted at number three on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 10,000 units in its first week. The album was certified Platinum in Canada on May 17, 2018.

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released April 11, 2006

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Sam Roberts Band Montreal, Québec

Sam Roberts is one of the most distinguished & decorated Canadian artist. Regarded as an “uncompromising rock purist,” Roberts independently released his first EP The Inhuman Condition, which included the breakthrough hits “Brother Down” & “Don’t Walk Away Eileen”. His multi-award winning albums include: We Were Born In A Flame, Chemical City, Love At The End Of The World, Lo-Fantasy, & TerraForm. ... more

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