We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Parts and Labor

by Bob Gemmell

/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD  or more

     

1.
14 Cowboys 02:51
lyrics
buy track
You can drape this night in salvation mink you can lead a drunk to a bar, but you can’t make him think you can drape this night in jaguar skins and roll down the road like Cadillac fins you can dance on the deck of the Titanic ‘til it sinks 14 Cowboys stalled at the county line 14 cowboys claim that they’re friends of mine the big guns don’t blaze anymore now we drink like witless troubadours 14 cowboys stalled at the county line 14 cowboys living in a medicine chest 14 cowboys bitching ‘bout the state of the west I’d rather live in a bar, than die in a war now we dance like faceless paramours 14 cowboys living in a medicine chest
2.
Trouble on the Wind 05:11
lyrics
buy track
I live in the cool of the still night air I live in the hollow of a dead man's stare If you step outside on a night like this be careful where you roam There's trouble on the wind and ghosts on the road You're a long long way from home A sterno can by the campfire light A union song and a union fight the watchman's lamp swings to and fro In my rattlin' bones I know There's trouble on the wind and ghosts on the road You're a long long way from home The boss man's eye is on the door There's movement on the factory floor restless times breed restless men We'll march when the whistle blows There's trouble on the wind and ghosts on the road You're a long long way from home Work boots dangle from a flat bed truck A poet's soul And a dead man's luck This whole thing blows at half past 10 Do you know which side you’re on? There's trouble on the wind and ghosts on the road You're a long long way from home We live in the black of a moonless night We live in the struggle of the union fight We live where this life has a price That's paid with flesh and bone There's trouble on the wind and ghosts on the road You're a long long way from home
3.
Caravan 03:20
lyrics
buy track
The bell rings once for the weary traveler The road will rise up The bell rings twice the toll of the carpenter The road will rise to you You are so far from home Debes viajar con fe You are not alone Will you ever see The child that you left behind? The road will rise up Every step is harder than the one before The road will rise to you You are so far from home Debes viajar con fe You are not alone From San Pedro Sula To a place that you don’t know The road will rise up The bell rings now for the pilgrim on the freedom path the road will rise up The bell rings once for the weary traveler The road will rise to you
4.
Penelope 03:56
lyrics
buy track
Penelope plays hide and seek her eyes are closed but she might peek summer days that go on forever Fireworks and ferris wheels polka dots and circus bears skip along as light as a feather She’s rocking on the West Coast Sha-la-la-la Sha-la-la-la-la Penelope is dialed in laugh and sing and dance and spin she’s a superstar Penelope and Rex and Lulu underneath the stars dance away the night with each other In and out of Saturn’s rings supersonic trampoline painting with the colors of summer She’s rocking on the West Coast Sha-la-la-la Sha-la-la-la-la Penelope is dialed in laugh and sing and dance and spin she’s a superstar Lemon cakes and tangerines waterfalls and candy floss underneath a big red sombrero Penelope’s a bullet train slicing through the summer rain faster than a big blue Camaro She’s rocking on the West Coast Sha-la-la-la Sha-la-la-la-la Penelope is dialed in laugh and sing and dance and spin she’s a superstar
5.
Confessionary Tree 04:36
lyrics
buy track
There’s a signal on the wire but it’s buried in code from pole to pole it winds down the road there’s a ghost in the rhythm and a riddle in the key from the wall on a wire overhead down the street to a whisper underneath the confessionary tree Hey now will you finally see? when the river runs red and the poles unfreeze Hey now when you finally see whittle your name on the confessionary tree Truth breaks hard in a hurricane’s path increments of change that can be measured in a lab Chief Seattle sleeps there’s a stain on the sun his final act of conflict when the day was done was to lay a rose across the barrel of a gun Hey now will you finally see? when the river runs red and the poles unfreeze Hey now when you finally see carve your name in the confessionary tree From the basement of your soul to the hole in the sky now you’re in a voting booth and you don’t know why We all get lost and we all get found from the bars of the cradle to the hole in the ground to a tree on a hill at the edge of the town Hey now will you finally see? when the river runs red and the poles unfreeze Hey now when you finally see tie yourself to the confessionary tree
6.
Dashboard Radio 03:34
lyrics
buy track
I’m looking for a friend of mine he’ll pass this way from time to time a whisper on a dashboard radio Have you seen him? Was he here? a disturbance in the air a whisper on a dashboard radio You’d know him if you heard his song wailing ’til the break of dawn a whisper on a dashboard radio A voice from the southland fades ’til it’s gone a million miles from home the ghost of a Cadillac the bones of a song now we're peeling off the chrome A yodel in an alleyway a glimmer as night steals the day a whisper on a dashboard radio he used to keep us company heartbreak in the key of C a whisper on a dashboard radio A voice from the southland fades ’til it’s gone a million miles from home the ghost of a Cadillac the bones of a song now we're peeling off the chrome bonded whiskey on the seat forgotten lyrics at his feet a whisper on a dashboard radio You may see him in the night a shimmer in the evening light a whisper on a dashboard radio The flicker of a neon sign a motel where he spent the night a whisper on a dashboard radio A voice from the southland fades ’til it’s gone a million miles from home the ghost of a Cadillac the bones of a song now we're peeling off the chrome Angels sing and church bells ring he’s said goodbye to all these things a whisper from the dashboard radio
7.
Flowers 04:31
lyrics
buy track
The sun pulls up the morning dew flowers bend to you the sun rolls across the blue flowers bend to you Flowers bend to you trace your steps through fields of green and gold grass thanks you for the warmth of your feet Moonflowers bend to the moon I'll always bend toward you Bluebirds sing on telephone wires flowers bend to you Lavender and prairie fire flowers bend to you I'll marry you dance on clover fields all wet with rain the grass thanks you for the warmth of your feet Night lilies bend to the moon I'll always bend toward you Flowers bend to you trace your steps through fields of green and gold grass thanks you for the warmth of your feet Moonflowers bend to the moon I'll always bend toward you
8.
Architects 04:43
lyrics
buy track
Full moon on the water whisper the breeze Full moon ray of light dancing the leaves Out the window through the door over the sea go far but come back come back to me Anywhere you are tonight the moon looks the same it shines on you it shines on me Will you hear when it calls your name? I’ll hear when you call my name I will An old barn in a green field the fall birds have flown collapse in slow motion no one is home Anywhere you are tonight the moon looks the same it shines on you it shines on me Will you hear when it calls your name? I’ll hear when you call my name I will The architect who built the cages have all left town come home come home I’m still around
9.
Big Chrome Moon 05:46
lyrics
buy track
Measuring light to find a new shade of blue The welcome sign flickers through the window of an Edward Hopper room Measuring light to find a new shade of blue The operator wants to know if you'll be checking out of here before noon You used to think your car was fast enough To keep up with the setting sun But it always went away Measuring light to find a new shade of blue Johnny said the glow we saw was really a reflection of the Moon bringing the sun back into view Look for me on a Saturday in June Johnny said that if we really want to catch the train we should be leaving soon The big chrome moon is rising come on if you give just a little give just a little it'll shine on you The big chrome moon is rising baby if you live just a little live just a little, it'll shine on you shine on you shine on you Whatever fits in your suitcase and some tiny shampoo and a promise to write Are all that you can really take with you Measuring light to find a new shade of blue at the intersection of the road where who you are collides with something new You used to think your car was fast enough To lose the ghost of Monterey But it never went away Square dancing in a telephone booth And when you're tired of that there is a path down to the beach where you can Fall into the surf and float away Dance on the wire until you have to choose between the light that draws you closer and the ghost that you hope never ever calls on you The big chrome moon is rising, if you give just a little give just a little it'll shine on you The big chrome moon is rising, if you live just a little live just a little, it'll shine on you shine on you shine on you
10.
Parts and Labor 04:28
lyrics
buy track
Jimmy pulled his truck off the road and parked by a Texaco sign he’s paid by the parcel he’s paid by the piece he’s paid less every time he’s cursed by the calendar time’s not his friend and he’s got to make St. Paul tonight parts and labor are all that we have ’til our souls are released to the light Lula turns the bedsheet down considers the tip by the light she’s a teacher by day a maid after that tends bar until deep in the night she holds down three jobs so that she can get by the rent is never on time parts and labor are all that we have ’til our souls are released to the light Julio’s sweeping the factory floor there isn’t a soul in sight just robots and wires and the hum of a fan and endless blinking lights the board of directors have scented hand soap and in Washington a senator sighs now parts and labor are all that we have ’til our souls are released to the light If you’re looking for casualties of the class war you don’t have to look very far a yellow cab driver replaced by an Uber replaced by a driverless car The Replacement Blues float out of a jukebox in a joint out on Route 49 now parts and labor are all that we have ’til our souls are released to the light Buffalo nickels and Roosevelt dimes and a faded union card one day we’ll all have a house on the hill but we’ll all have to work very hard the Captains of Wall Street will pour us champagne and we’ll dance under chandelier light now parts and labor

about

A collection of tales from the whiskey and paisley highway with a few American protest songs woven into the fabric.

credits

released September 1, 2019

All songs written and performed by Bob Gemmell, with an assist from Jeffy, the Sonic Lord

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Bob Gemmell image

Bob Gemmell Sacramento, California

I've been on the planet for 21,182 days. I've seen some stuff. Fortunately, I take good notes - which have ended up in the verses of songs.

I spent along time as the singer and songwriter with the band Big Medicine Head. Check us out: bigmedicinehead.com.

So, welcome to my blanket fort. Towels are down the hall; please don't use my toothbrush. ... more

contact / help

Contact Bob Gemmell

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like Bob Gemmell, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featured guests are the golden-voiced Baby Rose and psyche soulsters Brainstory.
listen now