Get all 4 Burke Ingraffia releases available on Bandcamp and save 45%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Cedar Mountain, Hey Colleen! (Headed to New Orleans), Waves, and Future Hits of the Early Years.
1. |
Waves
04:19
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We are all born innocent
Makes you wonder where it went
The dollars and the days you spend
Are handed back in change
Oh, the mystery is not a myth
You may catch a glimpse of it
How and when you can’t predict
It slips away again
It comes in waves
Ebb and flow, unexpected
The times you’re brave
And the ones you just let pass
It’s safe to say
The wind will change direction
Live like it’s your first day
and love like it’s your last
Songs will come in the pitch of night
I scramble for a pen to write
Then it’s up to me to get it right
Like any other dream
Surrending, bending words appear
Like leaves descending on the air
The branches become cold and bare
It's never evergreen
It comes in waves
Heaven knows it's unexpected
Sometimes you cave
Sometimes you’re bold as brass
It’s safe to say
The wind will change direction
Live like it’s your first day
and love like it’s your last
There is nothing wrong with me
When I long for community
There is no one without three
It’s as natural as can be
Love will come out of the blue
Without a warning or a clue
Then the rest is up to you
Like any other dream
It comes in waves
Ebb and flow, unexpected
Sometimes you save your soul
Sometimes you save your ass
It’s safe to say
The wind will change direction
Live like it’s your first day
and love like it’s your last
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2. |
Change of Heart
03:18
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Oh, the rain, it won’t stop
The sky is dark and gray
I could be sad at every drop
But instead I found a way
To clear and dissipate it
To make the rain clouds part
It’s not that complicated
It just takes a change of heart
Behind your eyes are sunny skies
Trying to peek through
You will find a light that shines
On a world renewed
The rain, it won’t stop
But I knew right from the start
I cannot change the weather
But I can have a change of heart
Between your ears
Your perspective clears
All the shades of gray
I heard a rumor that a little humor
Can scare the lightning away
Oh, why have you never seen this?
You’ve always been so smart
But it doesn’t take a genius
It just takes a change of heart
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3. |
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It takes a long, long, long time
A never-ending daily grind
You might not see it every day
But that’s the way mountains are made
I felt the pressure, I felt the heat
I felt the earth move beneath my feet
But I heard a voice say “Don’t be afraid.
That’s the way mountains are made.”
Sometimes it seems, seems so slow
But what’s buried down below
Starts to rise, elevate
That’s the way mountains are made
They come up jagged, those rocky peaks
Look a little ragged, but each one’s unique
Then the seasons soften them with age
That’s the way mountains are made
Too much on your plate,
Your world comes to a halt
And the good Lord exposes your faults
But He listens to the prayers you prayed
That’s the way mountains are made
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4. |
Business as Usual
04:35
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My name is Bernie Berman. I am a salesman, but please, please just think of me as your best friend. I work on commission. It’s a missionary position. I stay on top of what I’ve got to say to make you spend. I may be smooth and smarmy, I’ve got cool closing skills, but my company needs me to pay the bills.
It’s the artful con. It’s the bad kind of beautiful. Call it what you want — I call it business as usual.
The marketing department is polishing a turd. The most excellent of excrement, you have my word. It’s the truth, the half truth, and something but the truth. I’ve got a pair of three-legged pants for the price of two.
Well, I’m the friendly fraud, insincerely inscrutable. Call it what you want — I call it business as usual.
We’ve got customer service mopping up my messes ‘cause I make a lot of promises that are really only guesses. I got a guy who’s coming back for this at 5, so you gotta buy it now, or it’s him I’m gonna jive.
Well, I practice my smile just to keep it plausible. I’m the friendly fraud, insincerely inscrutable. It’s the artful con. It’s the bad kind of beautiful. Call it what you want — I call it business as usual.
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5. |
Above and Below
04:49
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Below the top of the river
Rushing by on three sides
Water above the weather
In the time of Pistol Pete
I was only knee-high
You go left or right,
you end up where you started
Walk around the globe
you walk around the globe
Maybe forgot why you parted
Forward and back, the same thing goes
But up and down are two directions
Reach up your hands
from the tips of your toes
And you’ll find on further inspection
Above and below
Purple, black, and gold, and green
The chemo and the ketamine
My father and my mother
They were stronger than the cancer
Back up off the street
the band is coming through
Watch your hand when you reach down
for that doubloon ...
In the Book of Genesis
The waters above and below were split But there’s a place God must have missed
No mistake, must have missed
The rising river and the falling rain
Evaporate into the air again ...
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6. |
Dusty Old Clock
04:13
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There's a dusty old clock
Its two hands are frozen
On a shelf in my closet
for who knows how long
I'm so glad that I found it
It's right twice a day
Even if the rest of the time it's wrong
I have two hands, I have a face
Stuck in time but still getting older
Funny, I still don't have a place
I’ve tried Uptown and Fairhope
and Tickfaw and Boulder
And if I don't take my time
Time will take me
To a place where I don't want to be
So I pray for patience
'Cause I know syncopation's
Not the same thing as missing a beat
I have been a have, I've been a have-not
I had all the answers, and then I forgot
So I'm not looking for answers,
but I do like the questions
If you’ve got any good ones
I'll take your suggestions
Well, I'd like to be able
not to worry about the future
Just like that old broken clock on the shelf
I've tried meditation, I have tried yoga
It's just people bending over
backwards for themselves
And if I don't give my time
Time will give me
A gift in a box that is empty
Living only for myself
is my own private hell
But resting my hands
Doesn't mean I'm being stingy
And if I don't take my time
Time will take me
To a place where I don't want to be
So I pray for patience
'Cause I know syncopation's
Not the same thing as missing a beat
Now is the time, here is the place
Some of it is mine,
but most of it is grace
That old dusty clock
Might have worked if I’d wound it
I think I'll leave it just as I found it
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7. |
One Body
05:05
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Let your feet do what your feet do
Up and off the ground
Let your feet do what your feet do
Let ‘em dance around
Let your toes do what your toes do
Let your heels do what your heels do
Let your feet do what your feet do
Let your hands do what your hands do
All the things they make
Let your hands do what your hands do
What you give and take
Let your thumb do what your thumb do
And your four fingers too
Let your hands do what your hands do
Let your eyes do what your eyes do
Let ‘em see the light
Let your eyes do what your eyes do
Even in the night
See the world around you
Let it look inside you too
Let your eyes do what your eyes do
Let your mouth do what your mouth do
Let it speak the truth
Let your mouth do what your mouth do
Each and every tooth
Let your lips do what your lips do
Let somebody kiss you
Let your mouth do what your mouth do
Let your ears do what your ears do
You know they’re always open
Let your ears do what your ears do
Are you sure they are not broken?
There are positive vibrations
And sensitive sensations
Let your ears do what your ears do
Let your legs do what your legs do
Take it all in stride
Let your legs do what your legs do
Take your spirit for a ride
I am blessed with two of them
Ankles, hips, and thighs, and shins
Let your legs do what your legs do
Let your skin do what your skin do
Let it do the feeling
Let your skin do what your skin do
The peeling and the healing
Between you and the weather
Holds the rest together
Let your skin do what your skin do
Let your head do what your head do
Let it run the show
Let your head do what your head do
All the things you know
Acting and reacting
Reflecting and perfecting
Let your head do what your head do
Everybody’s got a body
Made of different parts
And we all have the same blood Pumping through our hearts
There’s nobody with no body
There’s nobody with no soul
And we all make up one body
All of us make up one whole
Mmmm…all of us make up one body
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8. |
St. Andrew's Day
05:12
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Will you share this meal with me?
Somewhere between
Scotland and Sicily
A sip of wine, a simple spread
Filling the hole within
with broken bread
Perhaps it might be only me and you
Or we could ask all our loved ones
to come and join us too
And from across the table
you might hear me say
I will not forget St. Andrew’s Day
I remember late November
The air it had a chill
I saw you walking toward me
up on the hill
We spoke of books and art
and Saints, and givenness too
And that famous composer whom
neither of us knew
There’s a prayer in
all the things that we create
Chosen were the bread and wine,
not the wheat and grapes
Maybe it’s too soon to feel this way
But I will remember St. Andrew’s Day
Made in the image
of Someone hidden and obscure
I saw something shimmer
in your written words
They were strung together
with intention and mystery
Like the rosary beads, your gift to me
I know you need quiet when you write
I will give you the morning
if you give me the night
No, I will never get in the way
And I will not forget St. Andrew’s Day
May we come along Uncle Drew?
Please invite your brother Peter too
We’ll travel eastward
on the Silk Road with you
Following your sandals to someplace new
Or we can lead if you prefer
She will take care of God’s children
while I take care of her
And if even if she
decides to go her own way
I will still remember St. Andrew’s Day
Will you share this meal with me?
Somewhere between Scotland and Sicily
The bread of angels, the cup of today
I will not forget St. Andrew’s Day
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9. |
You Gotta Breathe
04:40
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The baby is crying
The bills are piling
The bank is calling on its loan
Your marriage is frozen
Your boss has just chosen
To chew you out on the phone
Your life is a mess
And on top of that stress
Your income taxes are due
I’ve been there my friend
And in the end
There’s just one thing left to do
You gotta breathe
As if your life depended on it
Air is free —
you’ll be spending nothing on it
Then release all the things
that don’t belong inside you
You gotta breathe
Your identity has been stolen
Your prostate is swollen
Your dog just killed your neighbor’s cat
The cops pulled you over
After drinking vodka sodas
How’re you supposed to get out of that?
You’ve run out of steam
And your old self esteem
Is knocked down a couple of rungs
But before you start climbing
I think it’s good timing
To fill up both of your lungs ...
Your doctor called you fatso
And even though that’s so
Insurance won’t pay for the claim
Your pants are getting tighter
You’re sure that it’s the dryer
That needs to take all of the blame
A hurricane is coming
Your roof has been leaking
You’re more than just bummin’
You’re totally freaking
And as you’re thinking
“How will I survive?”
There’s just one thing
that keeps you alive ...
There’s war and there’s fear
In the news that we hear
And train wrecks we just can’t control
Designer diseases
And it seems legal-eze is
The only dialect that we know
But I gave my heart
A brand new start
And you can do the same
Oxygen again and again
is also good for the brain ...
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10. |
Free Again
04:12
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Tom headed north towards the bear in the sky with everything he owned and his foot on the gas. He said, “I’ve got a rear view mirror so life won’t pass me by, but I’m looking toward the future not the past.”
We all make mistakes, but you can break
the chains somehow. It’s not too late to change your fate if you can hear me now.
You can be free again
You can be free again
You can be free again
You can be free again
Jenny had a job that she hated. The question to quit came up quite often. Everyday she felt so unappreciated, and her cubicle felt like a practice coffin.
But one day she said “I’m more than this, and now I understand. This job is only what I do, it isn’t who I am.” ...
I once knew a woman — she was a faithful wife. Then her husband found another half his age. She said “For years and years I felt I was a prisoner of my life, until I found forgiveness was the key to the cage.” ...
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Burke Ingraffia Richmond, Virginia
Burke Ingraffia is a singer/songwriter/guitarist whose multi-genre music fits pleasantly in the ears of both jazz and folk audiences alike. He was a finalist at the 2012 Kerrville New Folk competition.A native of New Orleans, Burke currently lives in the Richmond, VA area. ... more
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