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Half Man Half Salt

by Harris Face

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1.
I watched Obama’s inauguration from a projector screen At the student village in Jerusalem, the university As far away from the action as I could imagine, so I cleaved To hope & change and the great man theory of history Someone’s saying something profound Won't someone turn up the sound Someone’s saying something profound Won't someone turn up the sound Had a standing room ticket to the second inaugural A clear day out on the mall From Seneca Falls to Selma, and a cheer when he threw in Stonewall I laughed a pro-life protestor who was heckling high in a tree A few more years I took his threat too seriously Someone’s saying something profound Won't someone turn up the sound Someone’s saying something profound Won't someone turn up the sound Not a clue, I must have blocked the memory out of 1/20/2017 The Women’s March the next day I remember more vividly I read George had leaned to Michelle, said “that was some weird shit” and I could agree I swore to Amalek im blotting out your memory Someone’s saying something profound Won't someone turn up the sound Someone’s saying something profound Won't someone turn up the sound Turn up the sound, turn up the sound Turn up the sound, turn up the sound I was serving on a jury and we reached a verdict and so I missed seeing Biden live The case concerned a personal injury, weren’t we all damaged and survived I watched the ceremony over lunch and I cried at the poetry reading No longer a spectator at inaugurations Someone’s saying something profound Won't someone turn up the sound Someone’s saying something profound Won't someone turn up the sound Turn up the sound, turn up the sound Turn up the sound, turn up the sound Turn up the sound, turn up the sound Turn up the sound, turn up the sound Turn up the sound, turn up the sound Turn up the sound
2.
Fry My Brain 03:13
I pick up my cell phone Every time I sit down Flipping, scrolling, clicking, and clocking out Upload my brain into the cloud Cause I'm a drone-sheep-zombie And if I dare turn off the noise I'll start to think, and my heart will start to race As I remember all I face I’m gonna fry my brain To keep me from my mind That god-awful place I stuff my ears with talkers To keep from thinking about myself The endless drone of the chatter-class Goes in one ear and out the back I feel the the flow of the river Clears out my painful thoughts My mood will never spiral down To the depths that I fell without a sound I’m gonna fry my brain To keep me from my mind That god-awful place I’m gonna fry my brain To keep me from my mind That god-awful place That god-awful place
3.
No Control 04:21
Now I've got my wish and life is dizzy Filled in all the gaps inside my skull I can barely see you, I’m too busy Bucked in all directions like a bull I do what I believe in Or just what saves me face Sick of making all these little choices So voices in my head can win some race No control, no control I’ve got no control Saving up my leisure like an investment Skimming through the things I used to read Make five more calls, they go to voicemail One more rock I cast into the feed I need more time to write it To build in room for grace To pour another round without a side quest Go out to a show, don't count days No control, no control I’ve got no control No control, no control I’ve got no control There's always a price Catch to the prize I guess I'll adjust But I'll hide out tonight, hide out tonight Doing great if anybody asks me All things said and done that’s probably true But so much much saying, so much doing How much say do I have in what I'm doing I do what I believe in And fuck what people say I'll keep on making all these little choices Wondering if it’s free will, doom, or fate No control, no control I’ve got no control No control, no control No control
4.
Hyponatremia 02:28
I feel week I feel destroyed Feel like my brain’s been toyed with I tried to speak in tongues But only gibberish came out They said the salt bled out my body And that my brain could explode Or was it my heart that could explode The doctor asked me just in case, who's the right to cut the cord They wheel you round and round You see your wife in the background All you want’s to lie back home with her And make a joke of it But right now nothing’s funny Another nurse and a doctor Hook you up to an EKG You know, that thing that does the thing you saw once on TV And you can barely stand up still If you let me come home god If you let me come home If you let me come home god If you let me come home I’ll drink a salt-shaker for breakfast Say thank you, lord for all the salt I’ll count each grain upon the beach Burn a sacrifice and eat them I’ll be a new half-man, half-salt I’ll be a new half-man, half-salt
5.
We agree we ain't ready to marry Things are swell and there's no rush at all Looks exhausting to plan We're good where we stand I'm a patient man But in my mind's eye lately The moon is a spotlight I'm down on one knee there just where you met me If we're already best friends and lovers We embrace until death do us part I take care of you, you take care of me What's marriage add? And I don't count my eggs I'm just counting on them I'm down on one knee there just where you met me I'm down on one knee there I'm down on one knee there I'm down on one knee there just where you met me I think we met at a friend's house in college And we danced on a table that spring And I probably saw you sophomore year cross the balcony But I prefer those long walks On the Washington mall where I'm down on one knee there just where you met me I ain't afraid of the awkward encounter If I stumble and stamp on my words I'll just keep on going No I don't mind showing My spin and my swerve If my imperfect speeching Makes you laugh more than cry, then I'm down on one knee there just where you met me I'm down on one knee there I'm down on one knee there I'm down on one knee there just where you met me I'm down on one knee there just where you met me
6.
Motorcycle 04:24
Gear up the van and roll closed the doors Key in the engine, what’s left here is yours You weigh what’s important, it’s family and friends Stocked enough food to last without stopping again I’m phoned in on FaceTime still on the ground Your phone’s on the dashboard, and the sun’s setting round you Convinced I can feel all the bumps in the road White lines of the street pass under-toe The desolation shows And the new ice age rules What the hell’s a motorcycle doing there Among the barstools Tee up the browser, paste in the link Allow access to camera, and open a drink Could you change up your background to something less drear Imagine your favorite bar where your cracking that beer The desolation shows And the new ice age rules What the hell’s a motorcycle doing there Among the barstools What’s up with your life trapped in your home Would it get too real if we mourned our new lonesome year With your face frozen your voice carries on Wonder if I missed a joke but the convo moves on Sneak out the back and steal through the streets Turn down fake-Broadway, abandoned and neat Down past the boarded up shop windows What’s going at the Stumbling Monk? The desolation shows And the new ice age rules What the hell’s a motorcycle doing there Among the barstools I press my face to the window I can’t even feign to guess What the hell’s a motorcycle doing there Among the barstools
7.
I don't have plans for Labor Day weekend Caught sipping wine on a beach I'm not pouring over my 401k And I don't see myself five years from now There's nothing I'm really excited about Nothing to share, I've got nothing to tout No dragons to slay, no big gigs on stage No status to share no promotion no raise I don't have plans for Labor Day weekend Caught sipping wine on a beach I'm not pouring over my 401k And I don't see myself five years from now I'm too big for small talk Too small for real talk Too much to take in Too much to make sense of How am I doing? Depends on the poll numbers You ask me questions that I still can't answer Why do I stay home when I fall behind Reading my Tolkien in Ancient rhyme What am I searching for when I hide and read What lies at the end of my news feed I'm too big for small talk Too small for real talk Too much to take in Too much to make sense of How am I doing? Depends on the poll numbers You ask me questions that I still can't answer You ask me questions that I still can't answer I don't have plans for Labor Day weekend Caught sipping wine on a beach I'm not pouring over my 401k And I don't see myself five years from now I don't have plans for Labor Day weekend Caught sipping wine on a beach I'm not pouring over my 401k And I don't see myself five years from now I don't have plans for Labor Day weekend Caught sipping wine on a beach I'm not pouring over my 401k And I don't see myself five years from now
8.
COVID Song 03:22
Strike the Broadway shows No more symphonies Count the empty seats And the empty rows Next the drink with friends Honeymoons and weddings Someone save the date Cause I’m drowning Shutter, turn out the lights Promise me you'll be back again See just how still the whole Goddamn world can stand How will we all eat Who will pay my rent Someone tell me when I can hold you close to me Show me what to do With all this empty space Tell me how to fill up the silence Shutter, turn out the lights Promise me you'll be back again See just how still the whole Goddamn world can stand Show me what to do With all this empty space Tell me how to fill up this silence Scourges of the past For the modern age Now we fight the plague With our loneliness Shutter, turn out the lights Promise me you'll be back again See just how still the whole Goddamn world can stand Shutter, turn out the lights Promise me you'll be back again See just how still the whole Goddamn world can stand
9.
Dear Paul Astrella in the cubicle in Richland Hope this reaches you okay And as you’re wondering if your boss will give you time Or if you’re chained to your desk late Read motivational late capitalist memes they’re filling up your inbox How does it help to know you’re special when your bill’s late And you missed your daughter’s play There’s been a terrible rift in the continuum If you love me this won’t shake me But if America sinks I’ll sink with you In love, retreat won’t do Dear Mrs. Alexandra Robinson from Tampa I am writing just to say I know when you get off your nursing shift at seven The applause no longer waits Worried they’ll follow you you’re dragging something nasty home your heart can’t handle The anti-maskers haunt the windows and your hand shakes As you turn on the debate There’s been a terrible rift in the continuum If you love me this won’t shake me But if America sinks I’ll sink with you In love, retreat won’t do Dear Brother Barr at the Islamic Center, Memphis You have every right to pray Even though almost all your neighbors are against you I won’t abandon you today And what the hell is this secession talk It’s not a sport, it’s real live fortunes All that I ask is that you read this, vote it forward And don’t throw it straight away There’s been a terrible rift in the continuum If you love me this won’t shake me And if America sinks I’ll sink with you In love, retreat won’t do I’ll never flee to Canada...
10.
Forward now and never back Is that how this will be? Change is good and never bad And change is always free Aliens landed Aliens landed between Aliens landed between you and me Darling, don’t be xenophobic These aliens seem nice They’re helping us by conquering They’re kinder and they’re wiser Aliens landed Aliens landed between Aliens landed between you and me I say we take up arms! Don’t let them in our heads We'll fight to the death but instead You go out to greet their landing They suck your brain inside You join the network’s great beyond Immortalized and divine Can you still think and feel Will you return my fire? The stars never set on galactic empire Now I’m progressive, open minded But I’d rather keep my brain The human god gave human rights Transcendence means you’re dead, honey Aliens landed Aliens landed between Aliens landed between you and me Invaders or refugees Colonists conquering Or Benevolent overlords and philosopher kings Aliens landed Aliens landed
11.
Don’t look down, don’t scream As you’re floating up to meet me Earth-colored ribbons, I’ll cut them away Life isn't fair but you lived your dream Don’t look down, don’t scream Don’t look down, don’t cry Everyone on the ground’s alright All your creations, I’m keeping them dry Your granddaughter downloads your jokes to her mind Don’t look down don’t cry Don’t look down in pain I’ve turned off all the nerves that kept you that way They know that you’ve struggled, they know that you've tried They all know you love them, may love never wane Don’t look down in pain It’s almost over It’s almost over The red leaf darkens Let the rain, let the rain fall down Raise your eyes it's time Your old Yiddish heart beats the tempo in mine A good life you led, and a mensch now in death I'll write you a legend, an epic rhyme Raise your eyes it's time It’s almost over It’s almost over The red leaf darkens Let the rain, let the rain fall down Let the rain, let the rain fall down Let the rain, let the rain fall down Let the rain, let the rain fall down
12.
I’ve been faking half this time All my confidence is just a lie I don’t know if anything that I do’s the right thing I woke up to the strangest dream My hand stuck to a microphone I ran around telling everyone that it’s on (oh!) Every thought I said out loud Was the reverse of how I meant it Would I still be singing the same song (oh!) When no ones watching I’m tired of dressing up Like a young professional If no one checked my clothes They’d be baggy jeans and band shirts Tired of wearing Seattle Nice We’re too polite for justice Too buttoned up for breaking off on our own Am I still a one-man band Do I beg for validation Do I genuinely love building my brand When no one’s watching She hates you half the time And still flies home when you are dying You spat and capped her knees And she’s giving you her kidney Is she doing it out of love? Or social obligation Does she sense that god is taking notes? I’m a social creature And a moral fabrication I find myself believing in myself and this big land No need to be thanking me There’s no true altruism Wonder if I’d still be shoring up this house of sand When no one’s watching When no one’s watching When no one’s watching When no one’s watching When no one’s watching
13.
What a lovely list you’ve made for me All my shortcomings You’re all about accountability But morale is low You can’t twist a knife then call me angry when I scream It’s a natural thing To say ouch to a sting I fantasize of shutting it all down No more work for free No more taking arrows for this town I didn’t ask for this You can’t punish me for things that strangers say on the street I didn’t die for their sins I used to think that we were a team back then Hold your fire, I don’t have to take this I’m not your punching bag no more You say I’m worthless, I say I’m not needed here And I'll show myself the door You told me everything I love is stained To throw it all away You told me to be grateful for the shame To thank you for the pain Now I’m pure as snow and clear as shattered glass on a pane How did you market cruelty Convince me that compassion was an evil thing Hold your fire, I don’t have to take this I’m not your punching bag no more You say I’m worthless, I say I’m not needed here And I'll show myself the door Would you rather be a fool Would you rather be a fool Would you rather be a fool And have some dignity left too You opened my eyes Then preyed on my sight Once broken, to ever be revived Hold your fire, I don’t have to take this I’m not your punching bag no more You say I’m worthless, I say I’m not needed here And I'll show myself the door Would you rather be a fool Would you rather be a fool Would you rather be a fool And have some dignity left too You opened my eyes Then preyed on my sight Once broken, to ever be revived Once broken, to ever be revived
14.
The Canopy 04:02
Before we made it under the canopy There came a night of restless storming things The endless the boomeranging entropy Of nervous thoughts in open arms Of all the things that could go wrong I trace my love for you in paces I trace my love for you in paces Before my poor heart ping ponged out of me I wrapped myself up with a tune and pressed sing I taught myself almost instantaneously To happy-cry in a room alone To appreciate this life I trace my love for you in paces I trace my love for you in paces You told me I made you believe I told you can’t write The saddest songs still carry me All the mornings can wait for tonight I traced my love for you in paces I traced my love for you in paces I traced my love for you in paces Too much to take in (ba ba ba)...

credits

released September 3, 2023

Half Man Half Salt (2023)
Produced, Mixed, and Engineered by Robert Wahl in Seattle, WA
Songs, instruments, and vocals by Harris Schwartzreich
Harmonies and backup vocals by Julia Jay
Mastered by Black Belt Mastering
Album design by Andrew Sawyer
Artwork by Janet Jay

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Harris Face Seattle, Washington

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