Get all 4 Johnny Dango releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Dear Everybody, I Love You, Recluse In Plain Sight, Johnny Dango's (Sort of) Nice Dreams, and "Let's Go Pioneering!".
1. |
If I Had The Time
06:22
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I'd like to sing a song, I'd like you to sing along
Two is always stronger than one by itself
I'd like to shout the words, for those who haven't heard
Find a third and a fourth to go with you and myself
I'd like to hear a tune that didn't end too soon
But didn't go so long as to wear me out
I'd like to raise my voice and make a joyful noise
And everyone could join & dance & sing & shout
On & on it goes, our little movement grows
And flows like a river to the sea
With compassion for all God's creatures great and small
It all comes back to you and to me
I'd like to write a book that was worth a look
Even though it took away precious time
I'd like to fill each page with the wisdom of the age
And cosmic jokes and rage and lines that do not rhyme
And anyone could read and find their own small seed
To take away and plant and let grow
What a garden we could build if our minds and hearts were filled
With love and joy instead of hate and fear and woe
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2. |
Too Late
03:42
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Don't want anymore games, don't want anymore rules
That kind of thing is lame, it's elementary school
I ain't the head of the class, or the leader of a violent gang
I'm neither first nor last, neither going nor already came
A hustle here and a hustle there, pretty soon you'll be catching up
If you must dream then you must dare, or it's nightmares and you're throwing up
And your teeth crack
And your smile fades
And your hair falls
And you gain weight
And your soul cracks
And your light fades
And your friends call
Less often these days
I don't want anymore lies, and excuses always eat me up
Someday it'll be flies but for now I've got a full cup
Yes, today I've got a full cup but tomorrow it could all spill
That's pretty much the rub, so why you wanna stand still
And let your teeth crack
And your smile fade
And your hair fall
And gain weight
And let your soul crack
As your light fades
You hope your friends call
Before it's too late...
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3. |
Drive You
03:00
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I got time and I got wheels
And it feels like today may be OK after all
'Cuz you called and said come pick you up
I'll be there in an hour you can shower
And get yourself all fixed up
I got some green and it's as good as anything
I'm gonna put it in my pocket
And stock the cooler with ice cold beer
I hope the roads are clear and the skies are blue
Yes, It's true I've been waiting for a long time
Now I'm going driving with you.
The picnic's packed, we've got some tasty snacks
Sandwiches and even some cookies that I almost burned
I thought I'd learned to keep track of the time
But all the while the cookies were baking
I had something else shaking up my mind
I ain't blind but I may be a fool
I see people staring at me
but honestly I never feel very cool
I'm not cool, I'm not much of anything
Short on long term goals, right now
I just want to take you driving
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4. |
Strange To Change
06:31
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it’s strange to change and feel like the world is suddenly passing you by
it’s hard to face some faces when you know they won’t agree on anything
and you don’t know why
do your friends really understand?
do they lend a helping hand when you need it most?
i sure hope so
when you’re all alone with the voice inside your head
do you have a conversation is it heavier than lead?
do you pick apart your problems but find they just multiply?
do current events make you want to cry?
i’m so tired but nothing seems to work
sick of complaining i know i sound like a jerk
but its so sad when you feel old
and the best you ever had is gone
but you go on
you go on, yes you still go on
you aren’t stopping you aren’t quitting
you’re not scared & you’re not chicken
once you were so cool, you were hip, nobody’s fool
but now it seems so very long ago
My how fast the time flies, it catches you by surprise
even though you know it must be so
the old gang hardly ever comes around
lately you been thinking that you might check out of town
try something new, i think i might too.
at least for a little while
and try to smile
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5. |
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Something has happened, something has changed
Everything's different, everything's strange
So many places feel like far away shores
So many faces I don't see anymore
Time passes slowly until it goes fast
You don't miss the moment until it has passed
And then when it finally does
You have a lot of nerve to wonder what it was
There are so many people we'll never see again
Some have been lovers & some have been friends
All of them people you think you know well
Until you realize that you never can tell
It's just a life we're all passing thru
It's happening to me, & it's happening to you
There ain't nothing much new happening under the sun
It's just a life we live till we're done
Once upon a time i believed in fairy tales
but they never tell you what to do when belief fails
so many people tell you to make it on your own
you gotta eat the meat right off of the bone
they say you gotta get up if you want to get down
you gotta be still to see the world going round
lately i've been thinking that i need to choose
a better way to get by before i die in this noose
every day's another day closer to the end
feels safe to say time is no longer a friend
what in the world am i doing this for
i'm not solving world hunger i'm not stopping any war
it's no offensive, no retreat,
no victory and no defeat
it's one for all but it's all for naught
it's a big net of lies and we've all been caught
it's just a life, a song with no bridge
it's rotten food in a non-working/broken fridge
it's just a life, just playing a trick
it's just a life & it's making me sick
Wake up in the morning, go to bed at night
And in between we wage a bloody fight
Sometimes I feel like I'm on a sinking ship
I can't help but wonder if I really signed up for this trip
'Cause the waters are dark & murky & deep
And littered with icebergs that silently creep
Without any warning, without any sign
A hidden threat to any peace of mind
They tear you open, they take you down
A thousand screams is about the only sound
But most times your pleas seem to fall on deaf ears
Until you learn to silently/quietly pass the years
Yes, it's just a life, for better or worse
And you've got to live it, and that is your curse
No one's gonna ever explain why because
it's just a life and that's all it ever was
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6. |
Concrete To Grass
04:18
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They put up a tower where the kids used to groove
Full of apartments for the yuppies to move
Convenient pricing for the white collar crowd
They closed down the kitty 'cuz she purred too loud
Happens so fast, seems the paint never dries
Again and again before our very eyes
Happens so fast you get squashed like a bug
And swept away underneath the rug
Boom-a-chaka boom-a-chaka building and growing
Is it still growth when you're losing your soul?
Jiving and shucking always working and f*cking
Who said that new is always better than the old?
The market's ripe for selling out
Money's all you ever think about
Another parasite following the crowd
Enjoy another $7 stout
Nobody knows what anything is worth
Yes, I guess I'd like to rule the earth
Eating and sleeping, sowing and reaping
All you ever want to do is keep the beat straight
Walking or crawling, flying or falling
The hardest part of patience is learning to
Wait and wait and wait a little more
It may seem like such a dreadful bore
Give it time, it'll all come to pass
Dust to dust and concrete to grass
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7. |
New Modern Age
04:45
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Where's the kerosene, where's the morphine
Where is the ether, I just want to leave here
The whole thing's so rotten, we're caught in the flotsam and jetsam
of Something and Nothing's its name
I can't pull the trigger but I want to shoot up the town
Want to find a way to slow it all down
Find a way out, kill off the rage
Of being trapped in this place
In the new modern age
Where's the kerosene, where's the morphine
Where is the doctor, I'm locked in a personal hell I created
I don't get inebriated quite as often these days
I'm set in my ways
I've got a woman who thinks that I think too much
And another who says my ignorance is my crutch
I'm lame and lonely with no one around
I want to slip away, i won't make a sound
Except for the rattle of bones in the cage
Of the pen that passes for the new modern age
Where's the kerosene, where's the morphine
Where does the time go, it's twentysixteen
And the west has been settled for a long time
But now the 19th century is in style once again
When my rebellion has been pacified
Where's the morphine for my slow suicide
Where's the kerosene, I'm burning with rage
Let's burn it all down
This new modern age
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8. |
Case Of The Nerves
03:21
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Well, it's been too much fun, but now it's all done
And I'll be packing up my things and setting off with the sun
I've got a portrait of you, I'm gonna keep it with me
To remind me of the happy times before the misery.
Not being melodramatic...well, maybe just a little bit
It's a terrible habit but I'm trying to kick it.
The truth is I've been suffering under the pressure to do something
To make something out of myself other than a big mess.
Yes, life will kick you down and it'll push you around
Sometimes you just get so lost that's about all I've found
So I'll be on my way but I'll be ok
And maybe someday I'll be back this way again
O, can't you see how I've been suffering!
Under all this pressure to be something
I've laughed at all the jokes and met some pretty good folks
But the wheels are now in motion and you can watch the spokes
Like a child that learns that a fired burns
And seasons change, new gets old, it's just the way the world turns.
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9. |
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it’s strange to change and feel like the world is suddenly passing you by
it’s hard to face some faces when you know they won’t agree on anything
and you don’t know why
do your friends really understand?
do they lend a helping hand when you need it most?
i sure hope so
when you’re all alone with the voice inside your head
do you have a conversation is it heavier than lead?
do you pick apart your problems but find they just multiply?
do current events make you want to cry?
i’m so tired but nothing seems to work
sick of complaining i know i sound like a jerk
but its so sad when you feel old
and the best you ever had is gone
but you go on
you go on, yes you still go on
you aren’t stopping you aren’t quitting
you’re not scared & you’re not chicken
once you were so cool, you were hip, nobody’s fool
but now it seems so very long ago
My how fast the time flies, it catches you by surprise
even though you know it must be so
the old gang hardly ever comes around
lately you been thinking that you might check out of town
try something new, i think i might too.
at least for a little while
and try to smile
|
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Johnny Dango Austin, Texas
Johnny Dango is an Austin, TX-based musician. He's led his own bands, The Memphis Strange, and before that, The Stillwater Pioneers. He's also been a sideman for Brothers & Sisters and Stoney LaRue. It's been said he's from Stillwater, OK, but then it's also been said he's from outer space. Or worse. ... more
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