Poor Man's Dreams by Bill Mallonee (2023)

1.

Yeah old soul... I didn't know you were back in town, God it's been years since I've seen you and of course we'll just talk, talk where it hurts, yeah just talk around us, let it. to the ghosts And all the blood you shed on the pages of your songs and your life... Wasn't that just... writer... some kind of writer's trick? Of course we'll talk, we'll talk, where it hurts the most, yes we'll talk, we'll talk, we'll leave it to the ghosts.

2.

I decided that pride... is always on my sleeve. I have decided that the heart wants... above all that it does not need. You know what I mean; What if I lose you but clean? Baby, I'm afraid there'll never be another, no, there'll never be another like you, baby, I'm afraid there'll never be another, no, there'll never be another like you, I've decided. that we all fear... like the lost child and most of what we say is true... it's all false, baby. I'm so afraid that there will never be another, no, there will never be another like you.

3.

Heard it's called a walking sore, ah, if words did what they were supposed to, nomenclature is looting treasure, darling, aren't we all damaged goods? With souls as big as the western sky like a field that stretches but lies fallow all the fruit is dead before it comes, grows in your own shadow. If I could only hear you whisper, my name flutters through the dead air of the universe, he whispered as if you really meant it before I vanished into thin air. Here is your ghost and each of your poor... exchange wedding rings. Can you imagine a memory of some laughs it seems everything once fell free where the hourglass finally ended? the one under your feet?

4.

Mother, I remember you surrounded by roses and laurels, thank you for teaching me these words, but I couldn't save you from pain, please close your eyes... and wait for you to start or you will wake up... brand new skin Show me another way... of slip away tomorrow if it fades like a mist...your old life just borrowed oh close your eyes...and wait till you start, you'll wake up...in your brand new skin now, what falls and what is dross, what fills the grave... and what's lost, if I hold them all up to the light and they're all broken and scarred All this chrome and touch? Well, it won't take long, close your eyes... and wait for you to start, you'll wake up... with your new skin

5.

How will you get in the door? How will you pay for... more than you bargained for? How will you live your past? How do you define your current irregular behind? yes, this is going to be one of those "baby-pease-on tight" songs This is going to be one of those "baby-please-all night" songs: What do you see...when you look in the mirror ? Wow, you need to make it a little clearer. Do you know the ruins? "Before you fall On the other side... On the other side On the other side of the wrecking ball? Sorry for the pain... Sorry for the embarrassment Sorry for the context... I had to rearrange everything bought and sold." ..yes glitter and gold being bought and sold this is going to be one of those nursery rhymes-hold on tight please-all-night-songs: what do you see when you look in the mirror? Gee, you need to explain this a bit, did you know about the ruins? "Before I start to fall On the other side... On the other side, on the other side of the wrecking ball? I hate myself... Well, she's a bad lover, son, spilling all the details all over the place." love of the bull". You won't kiss a mere fool and I'll buy you another round... and your new album too, yeah (repeat chorus)

6.

(HOW ELSE) WILL YOU BE AROUND? by bill malloneena outside the motel room, meeting at dawn, throwing our gear in the cold van, the boredom of the days and the number of empty rooms and stadiums, how long will the first aid bartender take? The trails recede and the clocks tick. Down, how long you gonna keep rolling? It was all a bit hard. The joke line is slowly developing in the wrong direction here. Putting your best foot forward leads you to this place. A little numb. All the pieces are falling and filling this hole. the wall a box of your regrets a wristwatch and other personal belongings photos and notebooks with pages full of the two children and some friends long roads with many dead ends sweep them away and give what is left to God

7.

FUCK PA Music/Lyrics: Bill Mallone launched it with a street buzz, wrote it on worn, yellowed pages, sang guitars for the One audience and bled it, sped it up to the sound of 1K spikes, loved for the second inhale by hand spoils of war... measured in ounces at night no medals are awarded for surviving the descent... it's just one foot in front of the other and I swear... I won't ask why if I get out... .Get out of here. ..live...long live of acute spirits and terrible fear false thanks. the doorman gives you a smaller portion too big to swallow...killing the years getting nothing but this weed in your heart too much "well it didn't work boy" too much benefit of the doubt too many phone calls never returned too many bridges to burn, always cheap for half an acre of hell, the locals wave and say, "So long!" it's for the PA shit and you're bleeding it for the PA credits Malonee: 12-string acoustic guitar, vocalsRose: vocals

~PAUPER DEAMS~ (formerly "Last Shows")
Why is this album important?

Engraving on 1 and 4 track machines. I think the 'vibe' is direct and compelling.

This was the FIRST series of pre-WPA demos I did after the VoL collapse.
Very happy with the tracks. Mainly short songs, they capture the garage spontaneity I was looking for in my work at the time...
In some ways, "Talk Around" and "Never Be Another Like You" are as good as any garage record. Anyway, that's what I like about indie garage bands. Instant, passionate... and with some magic.

"With Souls As Big As Western Skies" is one of the creepiest sets of lyrics I've ever written. I still love They struggle with failure, real and imagined, and they struggle with a God who seems absent, distant.
"Brand New Skin" is a good one for my mother Mary Alice, who recently passed away in the Lord. I have built an otherworldly quality into it. Lose, imprecise in a very studious way, I think a lot of it was inspired by Big Star's third album. (Big Star 3)

What you hear on this "Pauper Dreams" are the first seeds of a new way of working, delivered in a new format that I have come to love for its immediacy and honesty. I think these trips have made me a better songwriter, a better guitarist and a better writer... and it all started here.
Room,
Bill
-Footnote of 2 bonus tracks-
Those last two songs, "Shit P.A." & "How much longer are you going to stay?" they are 1-track analog recordings from a DAT player. "Living" in a messy room. Primitive. The first installment of the sound (pre-WPA) that was beginning to stand out as a soloist. You write, you learn, you breathe and you DON'T THINK about recording a track and a take.

Muriah and I recorded it shortly after we got married. We lived in a small house in Athens, Georgia, rented by friends from church. The house was close to a large park where we walked every day. I think we have discovered that Nature has an elusive power over our spirits. Whenever we feel discouraged from pursuing a life as a writer, I remind myself that there are no guarantees. Poverty (and her sister "Oblivion") are friends I know by her name. Some days I count it as joy and other days I don't even think about it.

Sober denial can be a studied belief, all about yourself.

Anyway, those 2 songs came out, were hunted down, written and recorded pretty quickly. Muriah does very well with the harmonies, considering we practiced them maybe twice before recording what I thought was a good take.
Enjoy,
Bill