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Silver Smoke of Dreams

by Victor Krummenacher

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Limited edition signed and numbered CD with a 20 page full color lyric book

    Includes unlimited streaming of Silver Smoke of Dreams via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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1.
CONFIRMATION BIAS Well Francis was a mystic I saw him walking in the fields He said he’d never felt as hopeless Never felt as lonesome, and never felt as free Once I was young and running wild But time has had its way with me Now I’m resolute and restless Scorned, forsaken, lonely Maledicted and released And in this shared hallucination The unproven is believed What’s the point in looking around How dare we call things into doubt If we know just what we think We know just what we think…? Well Francis said they’ll never stop Because you know they can’t believe That they’re only here this moment That they themselves are finite And they just refuse to see They’ll burn this world like it won’t run out Like its abundance will not cease Like it’ll fill a void so lonesome Fill a void so hopeless There’s no end to what they need And it’s our confirmation bias, friend We reinforce what we believe What’s the point in looking around If you dispel the truth with doubts And disavow the things you see You disavow the things you see? So smoke ‘em if you got ‘em Have another round or two You know this party’s going nowhere I said this party’s nowhere There’s nothing much to do Just rearrange my expectations Elevate me if you can From out of this swamp of complications Of nuanced situations Of this tedious last stand It’s our confirmation bias, friend It keeps us disarmed and well deceived All the world is upside down Or is it the other way around Do you know what you believe? Yeah, do you know what you believe?
2.
HEAD FOR THE HILLS Head for the hills Let’s hit the road Let’s pack it up Let’s close this show Let’s make a move Let’s split this town Let’s burn it down Let’s break up camp And douse the fire Call back the dogs And join the choir Set ‘em up Joe One for my baby And one for the road And now it all seems so far away Could there be better day For me and you? I don’t know why we waited I don’t know the road to take I just know it’s getting late For me and you Head for the hills It’s time to bounce Let’s bust a move And let’s bug out We’re giving in We’re jumping ship It’s time to split We’re making tracks We’re moving on Let’s pull a ghost Gone baby gone Farewell, goodbye Adios, adieu to you And now it all seems so far away Could there be better days For me and you? I don’t know why we waited I don’t know the road to take I just know it’s getting late For me and you And on the horizon There’s a mountain high It was made for you and I Of that I’m sure Let’s try to disappear Let’s find the road that’s clear Let’s find a way that we can get away from here Head for the hills Let’s go get stoned Let’s all get lost This place is toast Farewell, goodbye, adios, adieu Farewell, goodbye, adios, adieu To all of you
3.
THE SILK ROAD I wish I was a sailor Just sailing on the sea I wish I was a mystic Just walking through the trees But we’re marching down the silk road With no idea of what it means Lord we’re trouble bound By all the things we can’t see This road is still and empty I haven’t seen a face for miles The sun is hot The shade is cool What I’d give to see a smile And I wish I was a sailor Just riding on the sea But I’m just out here thinking What it was you meant to me Well they tell me that you’re waiting For the day that I return Emancipation or ruination You’re open to either one And I wish I was a mystic Walking through the trees But I’m just out here thinking ‘Bout what I said that I didn’t mean You’ve been staring at the walls Seeing things you’ve never seen You’ve been staring at the walls Thinking things you’d never think You said you’d never be a sailor But can’t stop dreaming of the sea And now you hate it when you dream You’d rather drown himself than think The road on into forever There’s something up over the hill It’s up there round the bend Just waiting for the kill And I wish I was a mystic With a clear and focused mind With talisman to cling to To see me to the other side Well once I had a teacher Oh how he’d make me think Put my tail between my legs With the wisdom that he’d speak I last saw him at the trailhead I waved as he walked away He said there’s life and death in a moment It’s not your choice either way I wish I was a sailor Just sailing on the sea I wish I was a mystic Walking through the trees But we’re marching down a silk road No idea what it means Lord we’re trouble bound By all the things we can’t see Lord we’re trouble bound We’re trouble bound by the things we can’t see
4.
STATE OF MY KINGDOM You and I in our tiny boats Little ghost ships barely staying afloat Leaky sieves with no quarter In violent seas, taking on water Take my hand and stare back at the golden shore We’re blown out to sea at the cusp of a war We hear the marching We hear the horses We hear the thunder And that’s the state of my kingdom State of my kingdom Check out the view at the edge of the world Under crystalline skies, no detail’s obscured The beauty shines in the face of its curse And you’re a clever boy now But you can’t find the words To describe all the horrors that tomorrow will bring The fire and smoke and the song the crow sings And battered hearts bleeding, all broken and free To act out the part of a lifetime And that’s the state of our kingdom The state of our kingdom When blues skies descend to smother our will We’ll fight back ashore and head for the hills With the last of our effort and the last of our steel And the song of the fates closing in for the kill Dame fortune has showed her face Soon we’ll be riding a cold rock Slowly rolling through space And the rose-lipt maidens and lightfooted lads Kiss once again to prove that they lived And that’s the state of our kingdom The state of our kingdom
5.
STILL I LIVE, STILL I DREAM I stood alone on an empty street My days are marked, and carved in stone So stop the clock now, send me home The breeze across my face blows warm I heard no gavel hammer down I saw no sign of my reprieve My hands were unbound at the gate But I only felt a mild relief But still I live and still I dream I hurl a bottle into the sea With very last of my belief I live, I live, I dream, I dream We walk the edge of flowered fields We listen for thunder in the hills And dance in streets turned deadly still I live, I live, I live I dream, I dream, I dream Turn your head when they walk me up Do not look from down below The time was short, we always knew That coward’s bargain through and through The promise was weak, it was always cruel It was a lie, we always knew There’s no reason now to mark the time The sun is shining in my eyes But still we live and still we dream I hurl a bottle in the sea With very last of my belief I live, I live, I dream, I dream We walk the edge of flowered fields We listen to the thunder in the hills And we dance in streets turned deadly still We live, we live, we live We dream, we dream, we dream
6.
I SAW YOU THROUGH BROKEN GLASS In the springtime, I smelled flowers Come the summer I heard the birds In the autumn I saw the moon In the winter I felt the snow In the solitude I found freedom In the quiet I found contentment In the darkness things were certain Unrelenting, vivid and cold I saw you through through a window I saw you through the broken glass I’m deluded, I’m enlightened I’m sustained by either state From morning to dusk I read wordless text At dawn I give in and I’m lost in thought The warblers whistle from windswept willows. And dogs bark to me from down the village I can’t describe these feelings in me How can I give you a heart so overwhelmed? I saw you through through a window I saw you through the broken glass Well now you are out there and I am somewhere And this is the future, and we are here No one’s walking hand in hand And we know nothing down to a man Who’s an optimist? Who’s a fool? Who’s a dreamer? Not a hope in the world, but remains a believer? We’re abused by the takers and ignored by redeemers We’re lost in the stars, they’re our last great deceiver I saw you through through a window I saw you through the broken glass Sitting on the steps your head in your hands Thinking of things you can’t understand Sitting on the steps your head in your hands It’s barely enough, it’s the best that you can Sitting on th red e steps staring at the sky Looking at the sun thinking of time Sitting on the steps staring into space Thinking to yourself get me out if this place Sitting on the steps your head in your hands Thinking of things you can’t understand Sitting on the steps your head in your hands It’s barely enough, it’s the best that you can Sitting on th red e steps staring at the sky Looking at the sun thinking of time Sitting on the steps staring into space Thinking to yourself get me out if this place Sitting on the steps your head in your hands Thinking of things you can’t understand Sitting on the steps your head in your hands It’s barely enough, it’s the best that you can Sitting on th red e steps staring at the sky Looking at the sun thinking of time Sitting on the steps staring into space Thinking to yourself get me out if this place
7.
WE WERE NOT THEY SAID Light was not they said Dark was not they said The sea was not they said The land was not not they said Rivers were not they said Mountains were not they said The fish was not they said The bear was not they said The cold was not they said The heat was not they said The rain was not they said The snow was not they said The clouds were not they said The sky was not they said The wind was not they said The air was not they said The moon was not they said The stars were not they said Space was not they said Time was not they said Black was not they said White was not they said Before was not they said All was not they said I was not they said You were not they said We were not they said They were not they said The heart was not they said Love was not they said It disappeared they said The world was not they said
8.
9.
ONE GRAIN OF SAND One grain of sand One grain of sand in all the world One grain of sand One little boy, one little girl One grain of sand One little star up in the sky One grain of sand One little you, one little I One grain of sand One drop of water in the sea One grain of sand One little you, one little me One grain of sand One leaf of grass--on a windy plain One grain of sand We come and go again and again, again One grain of sand One grain of sand on an endless shore One grain of sand One little life, who'd ask for more One grain of sand One grain of sand, one grain of sand One grain of sand One grain of sand, one grain of sand One grain of sand One little star up in the blue One grain of sand One little me, one little you
10.
DELTA WIND Delta wind blowing, up through the leaves Up from the levee, up through reeds Up past the oak, to the ponderosa tree From Rio Vista, all the way up past Alder Creek I walked that levee once you’re walking now Praying that the wind would cool me down  That breeze on the levee - the only cool around What the hell are doing in this sad old town? Summer heat bakes like only summer can do Everything has changed and nothing is new What in the world you ever gonna do Now that delta wind's blowing And you’re stuck with the truth? Delta wind blowing, it blows all the way Up into the hills from down the valley plane Past dying old farms, past suburban lanes Up into the forest that's been scarred deep by flame Where the fishermen settled, where the silt becomes dirt You were lighting a candle in a Portuguese church Old timer smoking just outside the door Knees too stiff to kneel, he’s seen it all before You sit in the pews and say a prayer for her We all gotta do what we all gotta to do Are you walking blind Or are you just stumbling through? Now that Delta wind's blowing, it’s blowing in cool Delta wind blowing up through the leaves Dog’s stretched out on the floor And you’re laying on top of the sheets Bird's fighting the wind to just find their way And the fruit on the vine's trying hard not to wither away Down in Delano, they’re out in the fields I thought that time was done, but they’re out there still In the haze of the dust, at the edge of twilight Your mama got away, and it was just in time Joan is driving 99 in that black Cadillac She hates being here, she hates looking back She can’t shake the feeling on a night so blue  As much as things have changed, she’s just stuck with the truth Delta wind blowing, against the summertime heat Thought I was holding it in, but now I’m down on my knees Dreaming of fog in December, so thick I can’t find my way Dreaming of the snow in the mountains Coming down hard on a winter’s day __ Well Johnny and me we’re heading out We’re taking the dogs and splitting town Ain’t got nothing left to tie us down We’re just ghosts in the wind We’re just sad old clowns I Got my old guitar, Johnny stole a banjo Wrote oblivion or bust on a sign by the road Said goodbye to our loves Goodbye to our homes Wished everyone good luck and struck out on our own Now we’re swimming in deep water Swimming in deep water  Waters way up over our heads  Look out mama, we’re good as dead! Swimming in deep water, we’re swimming in deep water  Swimming in deep water We’re swimming in deep water And we’re swimming in deep water Swimming in deep water We’re swimming in deep water Swimming in deep water Swimming in deep water And we’re swimming in deep water

credits

released October 15, 2021

Victor Krummenacher, Michael Jerome and Bruce Kaphan with Wilie Aron, Kelly Atkins, DJ Bonebrake, Loralee Christensen, Nathan Dale, Skip Edwards, David Immerglück, Greg Lisher, John Kruth and Paul Olguin. Strings by Maria Grigoryeva and Lyudmila Kadyrbaeva.

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Victor Krummenacher California

Victor Krummenacher is a founding member of Camper Van Beethoven and Monks of Doom. In addition to a solo career spanning 10 albums over 25 years, he is also a member of The Third Mind (with Dave Alvin), and has played bass for Eyelids, Cracker, M. Ward and Casey Neill among others. Victor's 10th solo album, Silver Smoke of Dreams was released in October of 2021. ... more

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