Get all 19 Matt Epp releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of When The Day Is Done, Rolling Wave, Touch Yourself, Treehouse, Ring Them Bells, Made For Love, You Were Chosen To Be Here, Indian Song, and 11 more.
1. |
Metal Bird
02:34
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Little Timmy Metal Bird
Lives on a native reserve
They called him Metal Bird at birth
'Cause he was born above the earth
On a plane that brought supplies
Little Metal Bird opened his eyes
Around the time that Timmy turned five
He had decided he would learn to fly
Everybody, they laughed at him
Here's something you didn't know about Tim
He couldn't talk so he would sign
And young Metal Bird was colour-blind
These things they did not set him back
No, they rolled like raindrops off of his hat
Even pilots were once young brats
The eldest elder told him that
Now Timmy Metal Bird is twenty three
And though he thinks that the sky is green
He's way up high inside of the clouds
Far above the purple ground
He flies supplies up to the reserve
He uses his passion to fly, to serve
Those blue people who said he couldn't fly
Just 'cause Metal Bird was silent and colour-blind
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2. |
Put It Back
04:08
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We put the last things first
And the first things last
Soon someone’s gonna come
And put it back
If the Earth is a horse
We are the flies
A flick of the tail
And we burn in the sky
If we haven’t learned it yet
We won’t learn it now
We’re drinkin’ the milk
Without feeding the cow
We put the last things first
And the first things last
Soon someone’s gonna come
And put it back
He’ll put the last things last
And the first things first
When Jesus comes back
He’s gonna throw it in reverse
I’m the last songwriter
With a lifetime of songs
The last generation
To pass them along
God too is a songwriter
Earth is a song
Play it right
‘Cause we’re playing it wrong
After we’re gone
From the place that we’ve been
Animals are gonna raise
Our last children
They’ll be talkin’ to the animals
Talkin’ to the trees
Connected to the Earth
‘Cause they’re down on their knees
We are bad guests
Makin’ a mess
Spillin’ the wine
On the hostess’ dress
It don’t mean nothing
If you ain’t got love
What good is evolution
If we don’t evolve
Help a brother out
When he gets burned
When he comes back
Gonna be your turn
You got the right stuff
But the order’s all wrong
Put it back in order
Just the way it belongs
You don’t take the cubs
Away from the sow
Don’t make the ox
Follow the plow
You don’t get the pay
If you don’t do the job
And you don’t get a break
If you steal and you rob
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3. |
Promised Land
03:37
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Tell me again about the Promised Land
Do the animals speak in the Promised Land
Are the fields green, are the rivers blue
Who made the promise; promise to who
Or is it a dream, only a dream
When can we go to the Promised Land
Do you think it’s safe, will you hold my hand
Is the air still clean, is the water sweet
Can you tell me again about the Honey Bee
Or is it a dream, is it a dream
Is it a dream, only a dream
Who takes care of the Promised Land
Do they teach the children, so the children can
Do the rocks cry out, do the oceans bleed
Do the trees tell the people what they need
Or is it a dream, is it a dream
Is it a dream, is it only a dream
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4. |
Birch to Birch
02:36
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Left to his own device
Mankind will get lost
Best follow this advice
Than to find a coin to toss
A man lost will walk in circles
Only to find the place that he’s been
Listen to this old secret
To get us out of the jam we’re in
Birch to birch we’ll find our way
Birch to birch we’re going straight
Through the woods, under the moon
Out of the woods we will be soon
If it’s light or dark, the whiter bark
Is clear to see by the sun or moon
Line up one tree in sight of another
Find a line and you’ll be out soon
Oh but you gotta know which way out is
Just like you gotta know right from wrong
Pay attention to which way the light is
And if you’re lost just sing this song
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5. |
Night Before The War
05:15
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On the night before the war
Acid rain is falling
The death of an empire
We’re quietly witnessing
The president will speak
And no one will be listening
She will not mention defeat
There will be no recording
It’s as if it never happened
And now we settle our debt
Never again
Will there be natural death
And you can’t hire actors
If no one auditions
And you can’t trust the soldiers
Under any conditions
Count on your mother
To shatter your spirit
And say now that you’re humbled
You must aspire to greatness
On the night before the war
Birds in the morning
Celebrate light
But we are bound to the Earth
So we live in the night
Thank God for science
Of all He created
We are free to deny it
Just as free as He gave it
Gather the hunters
Teach them economy
Invite the money changers
And bring them to the party
Of a political nature
There are no innocent children
Roots are not always
Beneath the surface
Imagine you are the songwriter
And you’re permitted a song
And you’re driven to suicide
To say what you want
On the night before the war
Pity the children
Who look as we do
For as they look, so they see
The things that we do
This rape of genetics
It must be hate for our selves
In this heat we thirst
But cannot drink from the well
Tears flood the eyes
That are looking for justice
Obscuring the vision
That looks to the future
Unbutton your dress
Let it fall to the floor
Your heaving chest
Is it beating you sore
She knows when she’s with me
She knows she can breathe
She would be a fine actress
But it’s not what she needs
What she needs now is ready
The arrangements are made
Don’t say goodbye
When you get on the train
On the night before the war
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6. |
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You may want to fight for peace
You may find it in your grave
Once you’re in it with both feet
You may find that it’s too late
When you truly show
That you can turn your other cheek
Only then, only then, in your soul
There Shall Be Peace
In every truth is contradiction
The Prince of Peace comes with a sword
Every man rules good intention
Many strands make strong the cord
When you truly know
That the Beauty loves the Beast
Only then, only then, in your soul
There Shall Be Peace
The poet knows the Word is strong
He writes a verse to make it sweet
Though the ear will hear it wrong
The heart knows what it means
When the cock will crow
And he doesn’t get to three
Only then, only then, in your soul
There Shall Be Peace
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Matt Epp Ontario
Award-winning songwriter Matt Epp is the quintessential troubadour. Born in the Canadian prairies, he has won the admiration and hearts of an audience that spans the globe.
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