Get all 10 Pamela Means releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Pamela Means and The Reparations "Live at Northfire" [EXPLICIT], Pamela Means and The Reparations "Live at Northfire" [CLEAN], Impeachment Now!, Plainfield, Precedent, Pamela Means Jazz Project, Vol. I, Single Bullet Theory, Pearls, and 2 more.
1. |
Black Bear
04:04
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BLACK BEAR (BOOGIE ON)
by Pamela Means
dated me a black girl
had to hide my heart
pulchritudinous
but had me in disregard
wooed witty white women
wrested back control
twisting contortionism
took its toll
black bear, gone
black bear, boogie on
boogie on
dated many men
a long long time ago
all i say
ain't doin' that no more
my guitar
don't backtalk or lie
i'm a little player
and she's my guide
black bear, gone
black bear, boogie on
black bear, gone
black bear, boogie on
boogie on
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2. |
James Madison (explicit)
03:36
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JAMES MADISON
by Pamela Means
the chorus is a James Madison quote
(James Madison was the 4th President of the United States)
Founding fathers free spirit men
Some grew hemp on their plantations
All had slaves but they didn't free 'em
All had slaves and some fucked 'em
Jimmy James Madison
Didn't give two shits about anyone
Polk's "Manifest Destiny"
Didn't work out for the Cherokee
"The purpose of the government
is to protect the minority of the opulent
from the majority"
Two party system
Seems like one
Gold at the top
And the rest on the rickety rackety rungs
We got the money, we got the guns
We got greed and idiocy
An embarrassment to everyone
With any sense of decency
"The purpose of the government
is to protect the minority of the opulent
from the majority"
Prying perverts police populations
Prisons populate
Prophets/Profits, predictions
Politicians salivate
Ellsberg, Manning, Snowden, Davis
Heroes and dissidents
We all could use a daily dose
Of civil disobedience
We all could use a daily dose
Of civil disobedience
"The purpose of the government
is to protect the minority of the opulent
from the majority"
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3. |
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COLOR OF THE SKIN
by Pamela Means
My father was born in Jim Crow, Tennessee
A sharecropper's son, far from luxury
Moved up north in 1952
Ain't a damn thing changed from his point of view
His point of view
Now I been pulled over on a Shorewood shoulder
Asked where you goin' where you been
Ain't none of your, ain't none of your business
Don't I look like an American
But, you gon' think what you want now don't you
I didn't know the side of the road was a courtroom
Everything dark comes out in the light
We keep marching on but our souls/soles are tired
Here we are again, here we are again
A black man gone cuz of the color of his skin
I was grown and groomed in the Great Lakes Midwest
Where politeness covers up years of repressed
Tight lips, tight asses, too slow to grow
Hyper-segregated masses and I had to go
I had to go
Seen the Rodney King riots in 1992
Black president, I seen that too
Ain't a damn thing changed from my point of view
Ain't a damn thing changed from my point of view
My point of view
Everything dark comes out in the light
We keep marching on but our souls are tired
Here we are again, here we are again
A black child gone cuz of the color of her skin
Everything dark comes out in the light
We keep marching on but our souls are tired
Here we are again, here we are again
A black child gone cuz of the color of the skin
The color of the skin
The color of their skin
The color of the skin
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4. |
On My Own
03:46
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ON MY OWN
by Pamela Means
i live on a mountain all my stars at night
all the constellations i can name 'em left to right
got my winter wood and my firelight
on my own
hilltown roads winding western climb
laundry food takes me twenty miles
but i got sunsets off the balcony berkshire style
i laugh to myself but i hardly ever smile
on my own
on my own, on my own, on my own
on my own isn't this what i've always wanted?
pile of regret in the stainless sink
all there really is to do is sit and think
press rewind and reflect
on my foolishness and neglect
on my own
backroads and short cuts i love to find
like when i'd drive in brooklyn and you'd just roll your eyes
some lead to somewhere some dead ends
kinda like our love that turned into friends
kinda like our love that turned into friends
oh
on my own, on my own, on my own
on my own isn't this what i've always wanted?
i still love you
i still love you
i still love you
i still love you
hey! hey!
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5. |
Whenever We
03:39
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WHENEVER WE
by Pamela Means
a pirouette and a leap
lover lift me up a clean sweep
thought i was something to keep
now saboteur never sleeps while insomnia weeps
see, it does me no good
whenever we speak, whenever we speak, whenever we speak
whenever we speak, whenever we speak, whenever we speak
we pranced and we played
on our emptiness we preyed
now i'm paralyzed by the perfume that she made
it leads me to linger and long for embrace
see, it does me no good
whenever we meet, whenever we meet, whenever we meet
whenever we meet, whenever we meet, whenever we meet
floating from a faint shadow of shore
far flung figure in a fog with no oars
panic and whirlpools pulling me toward
paddle with palms i am my own reward
see, it'll do me no good.....to
go overboard, go overboard, go overboard
go overboard, go overboard, go overboard
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6. |
My Brother Was
05:13
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MY BROTHER WAS
by Pamela Means
My brother was a rock star
Loved to speed in fast cars
Spent a lotta time in a lotta bars
Now I play his old guitars
Now I play his old guitars
My brother was a loaded gun
Crowned the night and shot the sun
We all lost when he thought he'd won
My brother was a loaded gun
My brother was a loaded gun
Italian pine green convertible
Disappeared for days on end
Bad boy controvertible
I wanted to be like him
I wanted to be like him
My brother was a rock star
Not afraid to sin
Devilish disposition
I wanted to be like him
I wanted to be like him
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7. |
I Just Called Her Ma
02:33
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I JUST CALLED HER MA
by Pamela Means
She was a drunk from another era
Born in August nineteen twenty-seven
On the eve of the Great Depression
Married seven times and divorced every fella'
She was sorrowful and yearning
Bitterness burning
She gave me love and all things concerning
I just called her Ma
Phyllis Lorraine could not sustain
Relationships, health, sobriety
Worked her face red, poor she'd remain
Passed down traits of neurotic variety
She was sorrowful and yearning
Bitterness burning
She gave me love and all things concerning
I just called her Ma
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8. |
Cinnamon and Chocolate
04:15
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CINNAMON AND CHOCOLATE
by Pamela Means
late night ride late night high
dangerous drive in the rain
black curves tight guilty mind
blowing smoke rings at pain
she was chocolate and cinnamon
and a little green i wanna taste again
she was chocolate and cinnamon
and a little green i wanna taste again
best friend confidant
mistress maiden mother
steal my money break my heart
manipulating lover
she was cinnamon and chocolate
but we were dealing in counterfeit
she was cinnamon and chocolate
but we were dealing in counterfeit
cinnamon and chocolate
cinnamon and chocolate
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9. |
Castor and Pollux
02:28
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-Instrumental-
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10. |
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TUESDAY COME EARLY
by Pamela Means
something dying something dead
came back to life and peeked her head
coulda' been the stage coulda' been a brand new face
pair of browns behind straight black frames
or red hair long in green summer shades
something changed
mama said i could be anything
coulda' been a mermaid coulda' been a goddamn king
sit on a hill and do the same damn thing
i sit on a hill and do the same damn thing
it ain't over til it's over and it sure ain't over yet
the thing about love you have to let it
room to move and space to set
swing over the moon if you have the mettle
savor that swoon step off the pedal
savor that swoon step off the pedal
savor that swoon
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Pamela Means Boston, Massachusetts
"When PAMELA MEANS picks up her guitar and begins to sing, a listener doesn't forget her. She possesses musical attitude and purpose." - WSHU Connecticut Public Radio
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