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Galaxies

by Jenny Katz

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. Paying supporters also get unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app.

    Download of the album comes with bonus track 13, the love song "I Wanna Fall," recorded live at Pulaski Park in Northampton. Also includes a high-res PDF of cover art (front and back) to insert into a CD jewelbox.
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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Comes in an eco-friendly, Green Forestry Practices-certified board wallet (zero-plastic packaging and all vegetable inks), including photography by Machel Spence and Emerson Katz-Justice. Ships after 8/23.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Galaxies via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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1.
Egg 03:59
Safe man Looks a lot like a dead man Got a thirty-year plan that’ll see him to his grave He’s got a safe life Always has to measure twice Then he's gotta measure one more time He’s measuring the grave This is a song from the inside of the egg Can’t somebody somewhere come and help me break out Soon enough he’s gonna die Calendar is flipping by He lies there in the nighttime and wonders how to change Reaches out and wakes his wife Says, “Honey, I wanna live, I wanna try Let’s be brave and terrified instead of jumping in the grave” This is a song from the inside of the egg Can’t somebody somewhere come and help me break out Come on Pretty dark in here now Get me out of here now Nothin’ left to fear but fear I’m ready now It feels too small Beat my head on the wall Think I’m doing it right now Cause I see a little bit of light now Soon enough we’re gonna die Calendar is flipping by We lie there in the nighttime and wonder how to change So come and gaze into my eyes Tell me what you wanna try Let’s be brave and terrified in honor of the grave This is a song from the inside of the egg Can’t somebody somewhere come and help me break out Come on Pretty dark in here now Get me out of here now Nothin’ left to fear but fear I’m ready now It feels too small Beat my head on the wall Think I’m doing it right Cause I see a little bit of light This is a song from the inside of the egg Stand back This is a song from the inside of the egg Gonna crack This is a song from the inside of the egg
2.
Besotted 04:46
I’m besotted Cupid drew his bow and he shot it You’ve probably spotted the signs I’ve got designs upon you Besotted Cause Baby, you got it I’m not gonna leave this spot till you’re besotted too I’m besotted Though for a long time, I fought it I couldn’t stop the slide Everything mama taught me, I forgot it Cause I’m besotted And I’m gonna haunt this spot till you’re besotted too I’m besotted Like you were the flu and I caught it My fever’s running high I’ve got my eye upon you Besotted If you moved to the moon, I’d get astronauted And I’m gonna give you all that you ever wanted Get my thumb on your carotid Stop your pulse and get it restarted Till you’re besotted too
3.
Vanishing 03:30
I believed for many years that I would be well loved if I just did everything right like a baby on an airplane we call her good if she stays quiet What I did not realize was that I was slowly shrinking in size every time that I turned my eyes away instead of saying what I wanted to say and if I make myself small enough turn my face to the wall enough curl into a ball enough I will not bother you at all cause I’m vanishing like a top-hat magician I’m vanishing like the news they hide I’m vanishing like the oil we keep on drilling I am vanishing till I’m all gone even on the inside I can’t blame you, although I’d like to Like to name you as conspirator in my own silence but the truth is it’s me keeping my own mouth shut it’s me keeping it inside The question is one of worthiness the question is, where do you start I cannot embrace my fear with my fingers in my ears determined not to hear my own heart and if I make myself small enough if I turn my face to the wall enough curl into a ball enough I won’t bother anyone at all I’ll be vanishing like a top-hat magician I’m vanishing like the news they hide I’m vanishing like the oil we keep on drilling I am vanishing till I’m all gone yes I am vanishing like a top-hat magician I’m vanishing like the news they hide I’m vanishing like the conscience of our nation I am vanishing
4.
There’s a story down the midway strip Past the man with the animal balloons Past the psychic with the neon moon Set to the sound of a calliope tune Two tents, cheek to cheek The Fattest Man in the World! and the Primitive Fur-Covered Woman from Darkest Brazil! Pay a quarter and take a peek You catch ‘em back there in between shows snatching kisses and speaking low The bearded lady and the fat man they’ve been an item since the circus began Two tents with adjoining flaps  Past the tent where the Hottentots dance It’s a midway story, but a three-ring romance He runs his fingers through the hair on her back, he says, “You know, I’ve never been so happy— I’m gonna build you a cottage, I’m gonna grow you lilacs and lilies and columbines and morning glory vines.” You catch ‘em back there in between shows snatching kisses and speaking low The bearded lady and the fat man they’ve got each other and they’ve got a plan Two wrongs may not make a right, but two loving freaks make a very nice night So go and turn the gas lamps blue Baby let me be a freak with you “With you,” he said, “I could do the tightrope walk I could make the seals stand up and talk I could juggle a torch and a watermelon and an egg and a ringing alarm clock.” “With you,” she said, “I’m on the trapeze Like I’m up there swinging by my knees And when I let go and I’m flying through the air I know you’ll be my net down there  I don’t know what it is about you baby,” she said, “I know you make me feel safe Something real solid about you baby Something to pin me in place” She said, “I love you, you freak, I love you” You catch ‘em back there in between shows snatching kisses and speaking low The bearded lady and the fat man They know what love is, if anybody can Two wrongs may not make a right, but two loving freaks make a very nice night So come on, baby, hold me tight Two wrongs may not make a right, but two loving freaks make a very nice night So go and turn the gas lamps blue Baby let me be a freak with you
5.
Galaxies 02:20
What do you do when the world that seemed so clear to you is impossibly hidden How do you cope when you go home alone and the phone that you hear is your own ears ringing How does it feel when you’re lying in your room and you’re lying to yourself and aligned with nothing— the latest display in a human museum with a velvet rope saying please no touching People laugh when you say that you’ve never felt this way before But galaxies spin out where we’ve never been so why is it so crazy they should spin within How do you fire the wire of your frozen spine and get your nerve back How do you let yourself dare to walk a barefooted path over broken glass What do you do with your face in the mirror, your past in the future, your heart on the sleeve What do you do when you can’t stand leaving, you can’t stop looking, and you can’t breathe People laugh when you say that you’ve never felt this way before But galaxies spin out where we’ve never been, so why is it so crazy they should spin within
6.
Ernst 03:30
Mommy was a narcissist and daddy was a drunk Not that I believe it’s only parents who determine how the kids turn out But there are those who shouldn’t breed They didn’t pay attention and they didn’t seem to care Probably would have left him with a sitter, but the truth is they forgot that he was there Let me tell you, he remembered In later years, when the therapist would probe him for the root of all his anger, here’s what he would tell: “I only wanted to be held” The day that he turned nine, he got a kitten in a box Snowball was a stand-in for all the petting that he never ever got—Happy birthday, Darling Darling, I want to ride a missile to the moon Ten-second countdown No one left to stop it now Red reactor meltdown Well I pushed the override of everything inside Ready for attack If the world doesn’t love you back, stroke the white cat He took the Persian every-where, he smuggled it to school Till they wrote him up for an infraction of the rules and they took the cat away The camel’s back was broken The papers wrote in hushed and horror-stricken tones of the boy who sat among the monkey bars and bones with the kitten in his lap The schoolyard charred and smoking To get his pet back was his innocent intention World domination was the natural extension It all makes sense if you can feel what he felt The little boy who just wanted to be held I want to ride a missile to the moon Ten-second countdown No one left to stop it now Red reactor meltdown Well I pushed the override on everything inside Steady for attack If the world doesn’t love you back, stroke the white cat Ernst Blofeld only wanted to be held Ernst Blofeld only wanted to be held That’s all he ever wanted
7.
Rock 02:41
Is it one of those days with the past upon you like a blanket of lead and just getting out of bed is hard enough don’t ask for any more please I know that your heart isn’t fully free and you’re not fully sure of me I know that you’re out there, that you’re swimming hard— stretching out for a distant shore that you cannot see And if you’re looking for a rock You wanna catch your breath If you need a place where you can find some rest when you’re lost at sea you can just swim back to me Listen I want to say that I understand when you swim away I might be lonely, but I’m not afraid to sit and wait let the waves wash over me And if you’re looking for a rock You wanna catch your breath If you need a place where you can find some rest when you’re lost at sea Honey just swim back to me
8.
Phoenix 03:57
I am an eyeball I am nothing else at all I am a particle of God I do not worship what they taught me I chose to choose confusion over fraud Why is there so much beauty oh I want to taste it all Lead me to the apple I’m ready for the fall I am a window I am sunlight on the sill I am the photograph you took the day you kissed me I wonder if you miss me I wonder if you will I am a prism refracting you in every possibility Why is there so much beauty oh, I want to taste it all Lead me to the apple I’m ready for the fall I am a slave to the slant of light that falls upon your face at the restaurant If you tell me what you want I’ll give it if I can I am a phoenix Singed but rising in spite of everything why is there so much beauty and how can I ever taste it all lead me to the apple I’m ready for the fall Tell me why is it so beautiful it hurts me and how can I ever taste it all Lead me to the apple I’m ready for the fall
9.
I love to watch you play I love the way your fingers reach and stroke and strum and each note sweeter than the one before Sometimes I know the score and sometimes it’s a foreign tune you try I can’t deny how much I would love to be the strings that ring and tremble at your touch I love to hear you sing I love the things you do with rhythm with a mellow melody or something bubbly a word or phrase that stays in memory for days I wish that I could be the air you pull into your chest with every breath I’d like to be the words you say I’d like to be the song you play
10.
Moonlight through the branches I’m standing here alone Midnight’s just a memory I can’t find my way home I forgot the magic words and the crumbs have been eaten by the birds My mother knew the danger She tried to keep me in Said, Never talk to strangers— the wolf with a persuasive grin— But the minute she turned her back I lit out for the forest black The quest applies And it’s the same old story Same old thing Everybody thought I oughtta wed the king Tried to write another song to sing about Your breath in my brain The pain was unexpected Grew up sneaking pages Flashlight in the quilt Stories bound in leather and edged in guilt Then you fed me gingerbread and showed me what we could do instead I wore a peddler’s jacket I was surprised you couldn’t tell that you knew me from the palace I disguised myself too well And the minute I turned my back you left me in the forest black The smart survive And it’s the same old story Same old scene Everybody thinks she’d like to be the queen Tried to write another song to sing about Your breath in my ear It’s unclear you even noticed The youngest brother You were supposed to have a heart of gold The tales told that you were surely the one who would take me away But then the tale took a twitch Not surprising to the wicked witch Who told me from the start That every human heart Is only gilded at the rim She said, You’d better stay away from him Mistaken implication ‘bout the book and the cover A green-eyed invitation from another lover The hope of reconciliation brings me back to the forest black The heart contrives And it’s the same old story Same old game You found another princess and you crowned her with your name Don’t you care that I still feel the same about Your breath in my life My life in your hands Your hands on my heart My heart in my mouth on your mouth Oh
11.
Dog Day 04:49
Dog day summer heat as the sun goes down Ooh, it’s a dog day summer Sit on the deck with a glass in one hand and a letter in the other Bad news and heartache once again but I can’t seem to care It’s too damn hot to care You paid me a penny for my thoughts but it was too hot to explain lightning scrapes the orange sky but not a sign of rain And it’s too damn hot to fight Too damn hot to plan Sun is pressing down with a heavy heavy hand It’s too damn hot to love Too damn hot to move Too damn hot to do anything but clink the ice cubes in the dog day summer heat as the sun goes down… And it’s too damn hot to fight Too damn hot to plan Sun is pressing down with a heavy heavy hand It’s too damn hot to love Too damn hot to move Too damn hot to do anything but clink the ice cubes in the dog day summer heat as the sun goes down dog day summer heat as the sun goes down dog day summer heat as the sun goes down dog day summer heat as the sun goes down Sit on the deck with a glass in one hand and my past in the other
12.
Why do I love you so bad Why would I drive five hundred miles for the sight of the light in your eyes How do you reach me so deep Why can’t I sleep until I can breathe you How do you ease me so Why do I care this way I can’t seem to tear myself away What makes me hold you so hard Why does time stop in your arms Well there’s reasons and then there’s magic Words can’t explain what my heart does Each time you walk into view Words are nothing but shadows But they’re all that we’re given to use How do you touch me the best Why can’t I rest until I am with you What makes me miss you so Why do I care this way I can’t seem to tear myself away What makes me hold you so hard Why does my heart insist that I’ve got to be kissed And now kiss me again Cause there’s reasons and then there’s magic Yes there’s so much more than reasons

about

This album was partially funded by a Kickstarter campaign: 111 magnificent donors pledged and provided support, both financial and moral, to help defray the costs of recording and producing.

credits

released August 8, 2012

All songs by Jenny Katz, except "Princess, Incognito," by Jenny Katz and Robert Scafe.
Producer: Jenny Katz
Co-producer: Eric Brandoli
Guitar and vocals: Jenny Katz
Bass: Eric Brandoli
Keyboard: Michael Katz
Drums: Paul Brandoli
Additional keyboard on "Galaxies": Emerson Katz-Justice
Additional vocals on "Dog Day": Josh Katz
Electric guitar on "Vanishing": Eric Hooben
Electric guitar on "Ernst": Eric Brandoli
Engineered by Dave Chalfant at IMA in Goshen, MA; "Phoenix," "More Than Reasons," and "The Bearded Lady & the Fat Man" recorded at KFP Studios in New Haven, CT and Northampton, MA; "I Wanna Fall" recorded at Pulaski Park in Northampton, MA. With the exception of "Phoenix," which was mixed by Jenny Katz, all songs were mixed and mastered by Dave Chalfant. Egg photo by Machel Spence.
All songs copyright Jenny Katz 2012

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Jenny Katz Northampton, Massachusetts

Whatever happens, there will always be music.

Like interviews? Listen to the Composer Quest interview (Episode 34, "Physical Songwriting with Jenny Katz" or Tour 4, "Songwriting in New England") at www.charliemccarron.com/composer-quest/#episodes ... more

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