Get all 6 Ryan Simpson releases available on Bandcamp and save 40%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Catch Me In The Catacombs (LP; 2020), Breaking Delicate Things (LP; 2018), If I'm Dreaming (EP; 2016), Love & Light Limited (single; 2014), Closing Doors (LP; 2014), and Free of Shackles (LP; 2012).
1. |
Outset
08:49
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"Set out, boy"
They said
"Make this thing happen"
"Get that prize"
"Make it yours"
"Set out, girl"
They said
"Squash those petty voices"
'Get that star"
"Make it yours"
Lusting after acclamation
The burning need for affirmation
The wrecking ball of adulation
The crushing weight of adoration
Tread lightly...
Remember to breathe (in and out)
Step carefully (don't look down)
If you join the fray (don't burn out)
Shine and light the way
Holding on with desperation
There's beauty and pain in dedication
But beware of deviation
From the path to your destination
Tread lightly...
Remember to breathe (in and out)
Step carefully (don't look down)
If you join the fray (don't burn out)
Shine and light the way
Set out, boy
Right now
But keep your eyes open
Get that prize
But always be wise
Set out, girl
Right now
But keep your wits about you
Get that star
But don't lose sight of who you are
Don't lose sight of who you are.
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2. |
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Fell out of the sky for the tenth time today
Cover my head and pray for a reason
Some way to leave this behind
Honestly, I knew my wings would burn
I never learn; I just keep flying higher
Damn my desire to find:
The greatest of teachers
The rarest of creatures
Looking for a diamond in an ocean of sand
You can catch me in the catacombs
Hoping for an ending right where I began
Along this path I've traced through the air
I find it hard to care when I tumble
And find myself under it all
Navigating this labyrinth of mine
I feel just fine as I chase through the corridors
Wanting more, the farther I fall
The greatest of teachers
The rarest of creatures
Looking for a diamond in an ocean of sand
You can catch me in the catacombs
Hoping for an ending right where I began
Fighting my way through the caverns below
Somehow I know I will soon reach the surface
Some sense of purpose and right
Ready my wings, just the same as before
Prepared for war, I am sure I'll return here
No fear in darkness or light
The greatest of teachers
The rarest of creatures
Looking for a diamond in an ocean of sand
You can catch me in the catacombs
Hoping for an ending right where I began
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3. |
Apate (The Deceiver)
04:54
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I am the deceiver
Sour to my core
I'll tell you what you want to hear
And leave you wanting more
I have no use for sincerity
Or loyalty, it's true
I'll get my way however I can
Discard you when I'm through
I am the one who crosses the line
Never early or late; I'm always right on time
Right on time
Right on time
Right on time...
Some may say they know me
And call me friend (or foe)
All that matters to me, in the end
Is that it gets me where I want to go
I am the one who crosses the line
Never early or late; I'm always right on time
I won't wait up if you fall behind
If it gets me ahead, I'll cast you aside
Cast you aside
Cast you aside
Cast you aside...
They should have warned you about me...
I'm not what I appear to be.
Prittle-prattle, prittle-prattle
Go and fight your little battles
Like a vulture, I'll be there
To pick your bones until they're bare
If you're of use
I'll call a truce
Then I'll abuse
Once I am done
I will be gone
And so will you
I am the one who crosses the line
Never early or late; I'm always right on time
I won't wait up if you fall behind
If it gets me ahead, I'll cast you aside
Cast you aside
Cast you aside
Cast you aside...
I am the deceiver
Sour to my core
I'll tell you what you want to hear.
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4. |
Far And Away
04:46
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When the sleep doesn't come
And the demons still hound me
Surround me 'til dawn
When my mind's overrun
And all hope is gone
I will try, still, to carry on
Darling, I know it's late
This can't wait until morning
All this darkness and dread
In my head, it's still pouring
I try every day
To do what's right
Far and away
A prize every time
Every time
With the walls closing in
And the din of the wolves howling
Growling at the door
Everything that I've done
Each mistake I've made
Is swept away and washes up on your shore
Darling, I know it's late
This can't wait 'til tomorrow
All this anger and pain
What's to gain, but more sorrow?
I try every day
To do what's right
Far and away
A prize every time
Every time
I try every day
To do what's right
Far and away
A prize every time
Every time
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5. |
Sisyphus (Rebirth)
03:36
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I open my heavy eyes
I look above me
The mountainside is looming o'er me now
I've been cursed with this stone
A task I must face alone
I wipe the sweat off of my weary brow
My body's worn
But I'll brave the storm
(Will I reach the end?
Will I be born again?)
A climb so long
But I'm holding strong
(Almost to the end
And I must start again)
I fall to my helpless knees
And pray to the sun
I beg for deliverance to release me now
The interminable dance
A struggle to reach the expanse
Struck down from the summit and I don't know why or how.
My body's worn
But I'll brave the storm
(Will I reach the end?
Will I be born again?)
A climb so long
But I'm holding strong
(Almost to the end
And I must start again)
My body's worn
But I'll brave the storm
(Will I reach the end?
Will I be born again?)
A climb so long
But I'm holding strong
(Almost to the end
And I must start again)
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6. |
Titanomachy
07:10
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(instrumental)
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7. |
Flame
04:29
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Long before the world turned upside down
I knew why you had to leave this town
There was simply nothing for you here
You waved goodbye and then you disappeared
You had to stake your claim
You had to take back your name
I was the dry earth, my dear
And you were the flame
And I don't know how
To put the fire out
Maybe I should just let it
Burn me to the ground
Embers drift beneath the burning sky
Ashes from the years we set alight
Inhaling only smoke and charred debris
Still I know that this is what must be
You had to stake your claim
You had to take back your name
I was the dry earth, my dear
And you were the flame
And I don't know how
To put the fire out
Maybe I should just let it
Burn me to the ground
You had to stake your claim
You had to take back your name
I was the dry earth
And you were the flame
And I don't know how
To put the fire out
Maybe I should just let it
Burn me to the ground
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8. |
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These walls are ghosts
And they won't leave me be
No matter where I turn
There's a ghoul or a memory
These walls are ghosts
And they keep closing in
They're full and empty, just the same
Of what was and might have been
Might have been...
I don't dare to sleep
My dreams are haunted too
Just as they convince me you're here
I wake up without you
These phantoms permeate
Their way throughout my mind
Even when my eyes are closed
I see you everywhere, all the time
All the time...
Time...
I've been more than a gracious host
But I just want to be rid of your ghosts.
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9. |
Tenuous
07:43
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I saw your face in a dream I had
Clear as day
You were home and I was glad
And you told me you would stay
When I awoke, I was all alone
As I've been, now, for two years
I told myself that I should have known
You've no reason to come back here
To come back here...
To where we stood
You disappeared
You're gone for good.
It seems so frivolous
To revisit this part of us
Ashes and smoke and dust
All that's left of the story now
A life so pendulous
A darkness inside all of us
Ashes and smoke and dust
A fitting end, somehow.
Stability is a fragile thing
Tenuous, at best
Foundation at the end of a string
Color me unimpressed
"Nothing is ever guaranteed"
Isn't that what they always say?
It doesn't matter what you want or need
We're only dust, anyway
Anyway...
You can be sure
Each wasted day
Of what we were.
It's all so strenuous
This little game embodies us
Ashes and smoke and dust
Between desire and truth
It's all so tenuous
Treading water, so perilous
Ashes and smoke and dust
Through the haze, there's only you.
You...
You...
(Beijos; te amo; tchau)
I saw your face in a dream I had
Clear as day
You were home and I was glad
And you told me you would stay
It's all so strenuous
This little game embodies us
Ashes and smoke and dust
Between desire and truth
It's all so tenuous
Treading water, so perilous
Ashes and smoke and dust
Through the haze, there's only you.
"Nothing is ever guaranteed"
Isn't that what they always say?
It doesn't matter what you want or need
We're only dust anyway.
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10. |
Catacombs Epilogue
01:52
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The greatest of teachers
The rarest of creatures
You are a diamond in an ocean of sand
You pulled me safely from the catacombs
With the promise of an ending right where we began.
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Ryan Simpson Cincinnati, Ohio
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