Get all 8 Gretchen's Wheel releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of such open sky, Stuck On You, Moth to Lamplight: A Tribute to Nada Surf, Black Box Theory, awry, Sad Scientist, Behind the Curtain, and Fragile State.
1. |
Second to Last
03:47
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The numbers on the calendar don’t make any sense
Too much time under tension on this side of the fence
She’s been learning bitter lessons, trying to swallow the pill
Waiting for relief to come, but it never will
She was making plans that could never be and couldn’t take the truth
Should have known that love alone will never make the world move
She was reaching past the borders of a comfortable life
To something far beyond her that’s impossibly high, so high
Don’t worry, it was only a dream
Some days her heart still thinks it’s seventeen
Don’t worry, it was just a dream
She’s waking up now to a whole new scene
Combat boots and flannel shirts, "Sick of Myself"
Those years were bound to the sound and lost to anything else
But as a little fish adrift at sea in waters too deep
It was easy just to disappear, make acquaintance with grief
On fertile ground a seed was sown that blossomed so fast
Without a clue that all youth has just a second to last
So it faded from the pictures she had drawn in her mind
Revised all her intentions then left it behind
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2. |
Pretend
03:21
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I’m holding my breath
I hope you can’t feel my heart pounding
I just want to stay forever like this
But this embrace will end
I am your friend
Playing pretend
I’d like to think you’re blind
Playing pretend
You love me in my mind
If I can hold back tears
Then I can make this last
Won’t have to explain
Cause you’ll never ask
Why am I, why am I, why am I here
I am your friend
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3. |
One More Mile
03:31
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December’s icy rain is freezing on the road
Start the car in the dark
I just need to make it home
Keep it between the lines just for one more mile
But I am going the wrong way
Every night down this same street
To a place where I don’t belong
And no one waits for me
I know pride goes before a fall
I just watched a dream die
If it’s not too late to turn around
And if I can find the way, I might
If I can find the way, I might
Oh, I’m free as can be
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4. |
My Lullaby
03:00
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From the window I see a city full of people
Midnight but the lights are shining on
The only sound I can hear is the traffic down below
Close the curtain, turn off the phone
I don’t want to fall apart
But the seams are straining anyway
If I could fall into a dreamless sleep
Morning might come eventually
I never thought that I would still be holding on
To plans that have no place in my world
Of a fairy tale swan who finally spreads its wings
But some of us will never be swans
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5. |
Masquerade Waltz
03:07
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A trembling hand, a nervous glance
So indiscreet, though I try to be
How much do you know?
How much do you know?
I am the moth drawn to your flame
But how do I dare love you this way
The masquerade, it ends tonight
There’ll never be a perfect time
To let you know
I’m on the verge, on the verge of letting you know
That I am the moth drawn to your flame
I know I’ll be burned, but I’ll stay anyway
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6. |
The Fourth Wall
03:31
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Average, adequate
Falling short of standards, nursing regrets
Time is running out but the player hasn’t started yet
Meddling then settling
For a role where you don’t owe anything
To anyone and no one will see you fall
Don’t break the fourth wall
Never drop the mask
Keep your eyes downcast
“Come on and judge me”
Know you can’t fight it
Might as well invite it
Waiting for a hopeful sign
Though it never will be enough
When the high has passed, the low’s gonna be so low
What does it matter - you’re an amateur actor
And all the seats are empty now
So if it makes you happy, anything’s allowed
Breathing the air, taking up space
Giving them the right to put you in your place
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7. |
Let Me Believe
04:49
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Your eyes, infinite, deep and distant
Dark sea, filling my dreams on the shore
But I could drown, let me drown
I would drown forever in that sea
The night, within and without
In sky blue, reflected there
But I could fly, let me fly
I would fly forever in that sky
Just for tonight let me believe
Although it’s a lie I will believe
My hope will die unless I believe
Once in my life won’t you let me believe
You could be mine
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8. |
Why Try
03:32
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Every time you were here
I found some way to be near
You did just enough to keep me
From giving up completely, now I fear
I’m chasing smoke, feeling no heat from the fire
You’re moving slow and fading fast
So why do I try
It’s a means to what end
Do you want more than a friend
When it comes to you, I don’t know
What else can I do, I guess I’ll go again
Built my castle in the air
Even let down my hair
How much longer can I wait for you there
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9. |
No Difference
03:59
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These words were never said
but they played in my head
You don’t know me, but I’ve thought of hating you
I may regret I opened this door
but I can’t be silent anymore
No more
What I’ve heard for so long
is everything that’s wrong with your love,
whatever that means to you
You know I can’t understand why you never come around
I try to lift him up when you bring him down
There’s no need to lie
my misery I can’t deny
but everything I feel is growing dim
Though I came so near
you never had anything to fear
I made no difference to him
You don’t want my advice
but you need to open your eyes
and make the most of your precious time
I had a moment, then it was gone
Mine was make believe, yours is real and still alive
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10. |
Overcome
04:15
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There is a strange and new sensation
Something stirring, making waves under my surface
I started dreaming in the day
When I wake up
What was old is new again
What was dead has been reborn
My elements are melting with a fervent heat
And I am overcome
Living for moments that rarely come
So when they do, I take a chance
Then as you leave, I watch you go
Without a word
I’m missing cues and losing sleep
Breaking rules and feeling weak
And I’m searching for the signal and the certainty
And I am overcome
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11. |
Total Loss
03:54
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You say you’ve been in a fragile state of late
and sorry for making so many mistakes
You can’t see the ground distracted by your hope
Your eye on the sky through a telescope
All stars are surely dying
While time is flying
Some truth is terrifying
Your future’s fixed and past deciding
You don’t mind at all the work, the wait, the climb
It’s the falling down that hurts, never reaching the height
It’s not a total loss, you’re still alive
Crashed down to earth from blazing through the night
Just believe it’s a fleeting feeling
Tomorrow it will go away
Keep an analytical distance
for another day
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