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The Devil's Undertow

by Jackson Cavalier

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1.
Black tie hangin' round your neck, Black coffee in your hand and a pack of cigarettes. Weary as you go, but you're proud as you stumble. You're lookin' for what you don't know, You're lookin' for your right to pass. And I don't know where you're bound to roam. You're cluttered head is a nest for those, Who aim so meekly to destroy, You oughta' tell em', You oughta tell them boy; This too shall pass. And you speak like a king, but you preach like a pauper. The son of a son of a genius, with an ill tempered father. And how your mother tried boy, Didn't she? Poured whiskey down your throat, Prayed to the lord that you would see. On the 3rd day, of the 3rd month, on the 3rd from the sun. You came to be with the setting of the dusk, With a cry and a wail your breath it did prevail, And led you down a road Which now you hail, As an awful toll. Well, you better ring that bell. The signs of warning are close at your heel. And when the lights in the churches go out boy, Ya better kneel. They're ain't a prayer that could get you the hell out of here. And on the 7th month, on the 7th day, You bought yourself a guitar and you strummed, and screamed away. And you cried and you called up to heaven, hell, and back, Beggin' for some mercy, Beggin' for the soul you lacked. And you sold your soul at a crossroads to a she, Who promised you Eden with the inclusion of an Eve. But paradise wasn't ripe enough to eat, She bled you dry, And wore your heart on her sleeve. Displaying her kill. And she sang, “La-di-da-da, La-di-da-da, La-di-da-da, La-di-da-da” With guns and ammunitia, you ambushed that militia. And gave birth to new worlds risin' from the piper's penny whistle tune. And you prayed for the day you would see everything change But it never did, no, it never do
2.
Take this ball and chain away from me, Lord knows I can't take the weight no more. Break these shackles round my feet, I don't find this amusing anymore. Give me freedom, or give me death. I'm dying under you with each breath. I'm losing my sight, I'm losing my health. Inside of me inside of you this is hell. No god to give me strength nothing to hold. I'm sinking, I'm drowning, somebody save these bones. There's too much strength in the Devil's undertow. Let the Styx take my body But please, don't let it take my soul, my soul, my soul Fallin from the tallest peak, Into the water, dark, murky, meek. When push came to shove there was a rock and a very hard place. I decided the plunge may save a little face, to my disgrace a little face, to shame my name a little face. Oh, oh, oh oh oh No god to give me strength that I can hold. No holy spirits comin in groups of three or more. The styx is a river mighty, and its cold. and it may take my body but oh, It'll never take my soul , my soul , my soul No god to give me strength nothing to hold. I'm sinking, I'm drowning, somebody save these bones. There's too much strength in the Devil's undertow. Let the Styx take my body But please, don't let it take my soul And I pretend, and I pretend, and I pretend that this is not the end And I pretend, and I pretend, and I pretend, and I pretend that this is not the end And I pretend, I pretend, and I pretend, and I pretend that this is not the end This is the end.
3.
There's a ship at sea, and it's coming for me across the great divide And with time I know it will surely start to show the cracks along its spine And this ship it sails along side great blue whales who sing the whole night through And when I hear their call my pallbearers bear it all and bring me down to their lagoon And they'll bring me down to the shoreline And surely I'll be feeling fine They'll bring me down to that lake of fire To rest forever in a casket of white And the devil knows just where to go to tempt the honest man It's in his coat pocket right next to his heart with the three ticking hands And he'll reach right in with this thorny grin and surely he'll begin to shout “On the twenty-seventh day, contractually we have made, and now your time has all run out” And he'll bring me down to his shoreline And surely I'll be feeling fine He'll bring me down to his kingdom of fire To burn forever on a funeral pyre And they'll bring me down to the shoreline And surely I'll be feeling fine They'll bring me down to that lake of fire To sing forever in a demonic choir And now that you've heard the story of the fallen holy bird Please heed this message as a warning to the whole god forsaken world That there's a sea of tranquility on the moon And I'm bound to go there and it's bound to be soon A satellite to my delight for endless somber quiet nights I swear I'll find the other lost souls too
4.
God I have come to confess my sin There's blood on my hands and I can't seem to cleanse These velvet stains from these idle limbs And no work is the devil's work, ain't that what they said Cuz' I've cheated, I've gambled, I've stolen, and I've rambled I even tried to kill my own best friend With wicked desires I fueled those fires And let the flames grow taller than my head So take me to the river Lay me softly into sleep Baptize me in those cool waters And pray lord my sinner's soul to keep And I got two hands each with five fingers too And they're stupid like my will to survive But I know a man's got to do what he needs to do To mindlessly mind whats on his mind, with not such crooked things such as mine And there's five green walls in this little room And I'm feeling like I'm stranded once again Cuz' my heart beats broke cannot carry a tune And there's no savior in my sight So take me to the river Lay me softly into sleep Baptize me in those cool waters And pray lord my sinner's soul to keep
5.
I'm gonna climb the highest mountain in New York state Just to claim that I have found a brand new way To live my life so freely with transcriptions passed down from god And you will know my name a I'm gonna revelate and sing you his praise I'm gonna detail new commandments of the blessed source's way Of Jesus, and Mary, and Joseph, and that holy dove And I will save all ye sinners with my oh so faithful love I am the prophet Jackson I'm a servant of god Your loving protector your one way ticket to the kingdom above And don't believe me when I say I can give you all you want There's just a small price to get to them pearly gates above I was raised in the garden of Eden yes my will was bred so strong Resisted temptation that apple still hangs where it belongs And Eve, and Adam, and Joseph Smith, and Moses too Were my family and my family begat to you I am the prophet Jackson I'm a servant of god Your loving protector your one way ticket to the kingdom above And don't believe me when I say I can give you all you want There's just a small fee to get to them pearly gates above Believe in me yes repent for all your sins you wretched souls Give me your charity, donations, and penance, and all you owe I am righteous, I am godly, I'm the newfound savior of all And if you claim me false well I'll cast the very first stone I am the prophet Jackson I'm a lying crooked fraud Making a profit oh off your faith in the lord And believe me when I say I'm gonna take everything that I want It's just a small fee to get right into the pocket of the lord I am the prophet Jackson I'm a servant of god Your loving protector your one way ticket to the kingdom above And don't believe me when I say I can give you all you want There's just a small price to get to them pearly gates above Just a small fee to get to them pearly gates Just a small price to get to them pearly gates above (Alright!)

about

This EP is part two of a trilogy loosely inspired by Dante Alighieri's "Inferno", of his Divine Comedy. The idea's conveyed within are that of sin, retribution, and repentance. The music was written with the intention of weaving a tapestry of a quasi-mythological and pseudo-religious character, while making a connection to American folklore and many of the concepts involved in early blues, folk, country, and rock n' roll.

With this second edition of said trilogy we dive deeper into the themes established by Dante in the second third of his work. The tone becomes ever-darker with the introduction of the characters Dante encounters in hell. You shall meet the sinners of another time; a false prophet, a ghoulish ferryman, a suicidal politician, and a thousand other lost souls, all swept up and pulled down by the Devil's undertow.

credits

released April 14, 2016

Jackson Cavalier- Vocals, Resonator Guitar, Electric Guitar, Banjo, Harmonica, Foot Percussion

Reilly Taylor-Cook- Upright Bass, Backup Vocals

James Schrag- Violin, Mandolin

Caitlin Yarsky- Violin

Dave Chisholm- Trumpet

Doug Zogby- Production, Mixing, Electric Guitar, Backup Vocals

Recorded at GFI Studios
Mastered by Roger Lian
Artwork by Caitlin Yarsky

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Jackson Cavalier Rochester, New York

Indie Folk Rocker One Man Band

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