cursed diamond

Cursed Diamond has recently made it into my list of the top five tbc songs. Off Amorica, I actually heard it first on Lost Crowes and immediately fell in love. I think of Cursed Diamond as the "Chris song" for me...maybe because, I now admit, I have such a crush on him or maybe just because I can't imagine this song not being personal. I honestly don't have a lot to say about this song because that would just mar the perfect lyrics...I won't even pick out a few lyrics to highlight because the entire song is so perfect and the lyrics are so true

I lose myself
I forget myself
Sometimes I fault myself
I might fight myself
But then I make amends

I freeze myself
Rain on myself
Ok, so I stone myself
And I might even find myself
But then again what happens if I do

So unzip my pride
Open me up wide
So I can show this to you

I want to shine for you
I want to sparkle too
Just like a diamond cursed
Well you know it don't get worse
You know that I'll save you time
Your trouble now is mine

Hold me baby
Hold me girl
And I will laugh with you
If you want me to
Roll me in your splendor
I'll envy your surrender
And show you victory

I hate myself
Doesn't everybody hate themselves
So what, I scare myself
Then I tell myself that it's all in my mind
So I let the poison go
'Cause baby I always know
It will be there for me

movin' on down the line

Movin' on Down the Line is off tbc's latest album, Warpaint, and it's already been played 54 times live! . . .and likely growing every day. . . However, there's good reason for this song to played on virtually every live show since tbc has started touring for Warpaint. According to Crowesbase, and as Chris recently detailed, “This is the spot on the record and our career that has a piece of our whole story. Every sort of musical theme we've touched on rears its pretty little head in that song. That was the first song we recorded and it set the tempo for the whole session.”

Movin' on Down the Line does set the tone for Warpaint...it's a one song revolution. It's full of soulful singing, guitar riffs and it sends a good message..."It's all right, sisters / It's all right, brothers / We all get down sometimes." Thus, I can see why Chris would pinpoint this song for the new, better, hungrier version of tbc-- the one that recorded Warpaint . . . Movin' on Down the Line is the start of something crucial because it pays homage to the past but it's still about going forward. And not losing yourself in the process, because, it's really, truly going to be okay.

It's all right, sisters
It's all right, brother

The wheel within the wheel
The water below the well
Keep the curtains drawn
Leave the record on
And be careful what you say
Bring that bottle near
Make the real unreal
And let's go out and play

It's all right, sisters
It's all right, brothers
We all get down sometimes

Starting to show me
Starting to know me
Starting to feel the shine
Starting to let go
Now that we know
It's time to move it on down the line

The x that marks the hex
That moves from next to next
Keep your head on tight
To make it through the night
You've got to make a friend along the way
So cover up your tracks
And avoid attacks
And live to love another day

Cause it's all right, sisters
It's all right, brothers
We all get down sometimes

Starting to show me
Starting to know me
Starting to feel the shine
Starting to let go
Now that we know
It's time to move it on down the line

It's all right, sisters
It's all right, brothers
We all get down sometimes

Starting to show me
Starting to know me
Starting to feel the shine
Starting to let go
Now that we know
It's time to move it on down the line

girl from a pawnshop

Girl From a Pawnshop is one of those storytelling songs on which Chris' voice just works magic. From Crowesbase, "Originally titled "Girl From The Pawnshop", it was first recorded at Kingsway Studios in New Orleans on 10/11/92. The original Kingsway take and live versions of this song from The High As The Moon Tour have some different lyrics from the final version." Girl From a Pawnshop is off Three Snakes and One Charm, and it's been played 106 times live which makes it moderate by tbc standards.

As I intimated earlier, what I love about this song is its storytelling quality-- it's an entire novel in just over six minutes. And of course, the outro is just stilling, "I said P.S. all my love / P.S. all my love / P.S. all my love," and then a perfect guitar riff. I am more and more beginning to understand Chris' love affair with Three Snakes and One Charm.

With pawnshop eyes and a second hand frown
She sat silent at the table
Her boots were brown, well should she leave town
To play the role of lover expatriate
A nod to the waiter, always her flirty behavior
You know she always gets one on the house
She pulls out a letter
From a bag under her sweater
And before she reads she straightens her blouse

There's a passion in being alone
A grace in a loveless time
There's no new cross, there's no new sign
Only the sun and the changing tide

And out of respect, well really must confess
I never lost your number
I never lost your address
And if we remain friends at best
Sometime later no, no not yet
We'll smile and remember it like this

She put back the letter
One tear falls like a feather
And disappears on the bar room floor
The gratuity included
You know the letter concluded
P.S. with all my love

There's a passion in being alone
A grace in a loveless time
There's no new cross, there's no new sign
Only the sun and the changing tide

I said P.S. all my love
P.S. all my love
P.S. all my love