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.

Jimmy & the Moon

by The Stephen Stanley Band

/
  • Streaming + Download

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

      $10 CAD  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Includes unlimited streaming of Jimmy & the Moon via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      $25 CAD or more 

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 6 The Stephen Stanley Band releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Before The Collapse Of The Hive, Here Comes That Rain, Live Static Roots Oberhausen, Germany, Jimmy & the Moon, Too Many Sisters • Non Barking Dog (2020 Extended Version), and That Thin, Wild Mercury. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $33.75 CAD or more (25% OFF)

     

1.
TALKIN’ BOUT IT They’ve whispered in the backroom Gonna make a saint out of a fool
 Hang his picture in the town square
 And ask you to forget that you were there I don’t want to talk about it, I don’t want to think about it now
 By any other name a liar just the same, the lowest of the brows A junk bond salesman on the backlot
 Pushing blame away for years since he’s been caught And you’re not asking the right questions
 The grand suggestion is he’s something that he’s not Now I don’t want to talk about it, I don’t want to think about it now The paint is barely dry, the whitewash on my eyes is the milk of sacred cows They’re gonna scrub and scour and rub and wipe that slate clean
 The city you love, when push comes to shove is just an accident scene
 Between fiction and fact the truth has been hacked, left skulking behind a screen Conjecture’s not absolute, we’ll pull it out by the root, and I don’t see what you mean... I don’t want to talk about it, I don’t want to think about it now
 I’ve been kicking the tires and watching the wires and bending the bough I’m gonna have to talk about it, I’m gonna have to think about it now
 I’ve been kicking the tires and watching the wires and breaking the bough
2.
THE TROUBADOUR’S SONG When I first heard Alun play the “Dust of Beijing,” we were at the Troubadour and you’d just walked in You wondered out loud how did my skin get so thin
 But there’s so much hidden in that song, and when a moment passes is it gone? But I thought this year we were going to win Now it seems so many things are coming to an end Don’t cry for me and don’t cry for my friends
 Let the last person who walks through that door whisper goodbye to the Troubadour The last time I stood next to her was up on these boards
 But I never really figured out what she was looking for
 Not a word was spoken and we both walked through that door
 And in a cloud of smoke we parted ways, now we don’t speak too much these days And I thought this year we were going to win Now it seems so many things are coming to an end Don’t cry for me and don’t cry for my friends
 Let the last person who walks through that door whisper goodbye to the Troubadour It took you by surprise, hold Kristi if she cries, I can see it in her eyes but the sun is going to rise, and we’ll drink to better days, so keep your glasses raised, keep your glasses raised... Michael O’Grady please pour another round And play the tin whistle because we need to hear that sound And let this be one night that our feet don’t touch the ground
 We’ll linger and hang on every word, later we’ll kick the daylight to the curb But I thought this year we were going to win Now it seems so many things are coming to an end Don’t cry for me and don’t cry for my friends
 Let the last person who walks through that door whisper goodbye to the Troubadour And I thought this year we were going to win One chapter close to let another one begin So let’s agree for now that this is not the end
 We’ll let the last person who walks through that door whisper goodbye to the Troubadour Let the last person who walks through that door whisper goodbye to the Troubadour
3.
JIMMY & THE MOON We are gathered here today to say goodbye
 I didn’t think this day would ever come so soon, goodnight moon And that fly up on the wall is just a fly
 Nothing happens here that anyone would ever want to talk about; tall tales, half-truths and lies Jimmy built this pool hall then silently he documents the rise and fall Of every boy who grew up way too soon
beneath the shadow of that moon
 But now the cranes are hanging high... Brick by brick they build it up, then all at once it’s blocking out the sky And you can call me many things, but I’m not a glass-half-empty sorta guy She whispers “you’ve been paralyzed,” but that’s not true, I just can’t move Fill my glass up one more time and say goodbye to Jimmy and the moon This past winter took a toll and there were nights I couldn’t make it down here from the second floor, my fire escape encased in ice And the day was coming soon, and so I cried and prayed and cursed and put my fist right Through the kitchen wall; wonder if anybody made it there tonight? But Jimmy kept the lights on still, if I could get there I would be there on that corner stool But conversation would be scarce; am I the only one who cares?
 They’re putting cranes up in the sky They dig a hole four stories deep and the cement trucks idle down Gerrard
 Call me a sentimental fool, but for sixty years I’ve called this corner my back yard
 And should I fight to keep things as they are, cuz my time is coming soon
 So fill my glass up one more time and say goodbye to Jimmy and the moon Jimmy and the moon, Jimmy and the moon... Take one last look up to the sky My glass half-empty, watch it die...
4.
UNDER THE MYNAH BIRD He wasn’t busy being born, but he didn’t want to stay at home Things were moving faster than the days were flying by
 And it seemed like a disaster, when the bank put you to pasture But you came up with a new plan in the blinking of an eye Took a job as a stock boy in a sporting goods store
 Because shutting it down wasn’t something you were made for You spent your last days under the Mynah Bird More than a memory fades under the Mynah Bird You spent your last days under the Mynah Bird And didn’t know the trail you blazed A naked singer sings a funeral song and the go-go dancers dance along A glass box gimmick hanging out over Yorkville’s avenues
 Neil Young and Rick James played there then they stole the name
 Long before the Super Freak and the Buffalo Springfield A scene was blowing up as you were breaking down I wonder if you ever stopped to listen to that sound You spent your last days under the Mynah Bird More than a memory fades under the Mynah Bird You spent your last days under the Mynah Bird And didn’t know the trail you blazed I hope you weren’t like Syl Apps and his truncheon army gas masks
 Filling wagons with the voices of a city being born
 And I’d like to think you heard something, even just the floor boards thumpin’ After-hours in the basement filling shelves down in the store A scene was blowing up as you were breaking down
 I gotta think you must have stopped to listen to that sound You spent your last days under the Mynah Bird More than a memory fades under the Mynah Bird You spent your last days under the Mynah Bird And didn’t know the trail you blazed
5.
40 Endings 04:13
FORTY ENDINGS I stayed up all night, determined to forget about you
 Thought every bottle I did drain would do the job and get me through
 But in the cold light of day your name took the place of my heart
 Now I don’t know where my resolve does end or where my indecision does start Bless all those people walking in the street holding hands
 And bless the thin-skinned desires that fold when I strike up the band
 You made me swear an oath to the church of my head in the sand
 But now I’m down on my knees again picking shards of you out of my hands The forty endings to this story were all the same You play the same cards every time
 Drain the blood after the big flood and drag my lifeless name through the mud Dark, dark windows, won’t you save me from myself tonight
 I’m just in here washing my hands, but these stains ain’t coming out tonight And IMHO, your hat was on a little too tight
 Should you come again to darken my door, I hope I’m running toward the light The forty endings to this story were all the same You play the same cards every time
 Drain the blood after the big flood and drag my lifeless name through the mud Hey fallen star, in a two-buck-a-beer local bar No that’s not who you once were, but now it is who you are I stayed up all night, determined to forget about you
 Thought every bottle I did drain would do the job and get me through
 But in the cold light of day your name took the place of my heart
 Now I don’t know where my resolve does end
 No I don’t know where my resolve does end
 No I don’t know where my resolve does end or where my stupid indecision does start
6.
THE THINGS I WISH I’D NEVER SEEN On this street there is a scene that we’ve been caught up in between And all the pictures of you that I wish I’d never seen
 Come flowing back into my brain every time you walk away And there’s this poison line that runs between us every time
 I don’t know if I want to hold you or charge you with a crime
 You had your hair pulled back again and I can’t get you off my mind You have changed and I have been moving slow but I love you just the same, just the same And every drink and every line, that voice that serves to undermine
 Today, if someone were to ask, she used to be a friend of mine
 But I’m still stuck on the tomorrows that we had; without a doubt they’ve fallen behind And now I curse the printed page, I curse the digital age
 And every picture of you that wanders past me unengaged
 There was a time not long ago that I never was afraid; now I fear every day If this seems strange
I’d eat these words and never mention it again But that really wouldn’t change a thing... And you may be gone, that’s the thing
 I don’t even know where you’ve been, or where you’re going to, or if we’ll ever talk again Behind your name there is a song that I’ll be singing all along
 And if my voice should start to crack, it doesn’t mean that I’m not strong
 It’s just the heartbeat in my temples went too long and all the blood rushed to my head I don’t expect it anymore, but if you did walk through that door
 I don’t know if my eyes would focus or if I’d turn them to the floor You always said it would get better, and I hope it has for you And every day I tell myself it’s okay, but it really hasn’t changed a thing...
7.
Melinda 04:31
MELINDA I’ve been holding my breath and I’ve been waitin’ so long This subtle pain in my head can’t find the words to a song And when the telephone rings, just let it ring till the end If I could get there by spring,
if I could just stand my friends And it frames the past, but I can’t tie it with a bow
 But it starts so fast and moves silent and slow See it through Melinda
 All we offer up to you Melinda
 To know you have a thousand shoulders to cry on And hands to help you from the bed that you lie on White noise dreams, white noise lies, white noise alibis And word travels fast, in this dog-tired town
 And those fingers that tap, the most unbearable sound
 Water still drips from the tap (A poison potion of sorts) Though it’s been idle for days (It drips with remorse) Track 4 of “Do the Collapse” (I lost my grip on hope) Has been on constant replay I found the sound of hell pushed from an angel’s lungs
 Savours the taste of blood on the back of your tongue See it through Melinda
 All we offer up to you Melinda
 To know you have a thousand shoulders to cry on And hands to help you from the bed that you lie on White noise dreams, white noise lies,
white noise alibis May sound funny but it’s the only way I get through every day and back to do it again
 It rained on Monday in a focus game, like I could write my name on the head of a pin On the head of a pin... See it through Melinda
 All we offer up to you Melinda
 To know you have a thousand shoulders to cry on And hands to help you from the bed that you lie on White noise dreams, white noise lies,
white noise alibis Don’t even let them see you cry Don’t even let them as you why Don’t even let them...No.
8.
Next to Me 03:28
NEXT TO ME Let’s stay together, let’s fall apart, I blame the weather, your jealous heart Choose to remember, I choose to forget, life and life only, I paid my debts Next to me, where you stand, take my blood, take my hand Rescue me from myself, to the past may it burn in hell Another fire, a false alarm, behind the curtains, and safe from harm They’ll drag the river, nothing to show, the saints, the sinners, you’ll never know Next to me, where you stand. take my blood, take my hand Quarter me with a smile
and denial, we both walked that mile Can’t you see, can’t you see, can’t you see, can’t you see A heavy heart still beating cancel all my plans goodbye my friends And if by chance we meet again
 May we both hold the ground where we stand Where we stand, where we stand, where you stand. where I stand Next to me, next to me, take my blood, take my hand Rescue me from myself, to the past, let it burn in hell
9.
BIRTHDAY CLOWN Don’t be surprised if they say to you You’ve got every single reason just to travel through the seasons in blue And don’t close your eyes and keep yourself at bay From distractions and the vices, the temptations and the prices you pay I realize I’m not the poster boy you need
 At least we’re together when we’re both down on our knees And when I get down could you hire me a birthday clown
 And he can dance and sing our favourite songs, and we’ll just smile as the world spins round If you’re my girl we can navigate this wretched world
 And keep it spinning like a tilt-a-whirl, and let the music just play on and on and on I’m like you at the best of times Choosing poison over powder and the noise is louder than the signs
 That’s just the symptoms of an overactive mind Missing subway stops and snowflakes just tryin’ to get to work on time Plain and simple, it ain’t that simple anymore Lower the lifeboats when you’re standing on the shore And when I get down could you hire me a birthday clown
 And he can dance and sing our favourite songs, and we’ll just smile as the world spins round If you’re my girl we can navigate this wretched world
 And keep it spinning like a tilt-a-whirl, and let the music just play on and on and on I know that clown, I know that clown, I know that clown, I know that clown He used to try to bring me down/He used to follow me around/I used to follow him around I won’t be surprised when I come to And the whitewash flows like honey in the streets that you and I once knew And when I get down could you hire me a birthday clown
 And he can dance and sing our favourite songs, and we’ll just smile as the world spins round If you’re my girl we can navigate this wretched world
 And keep it spinning like a tilt-a-whirl, and let the music just play on and on and on
10.
By Her Side 06:04
BY HER SIDE Has this been the longest goodbye of your life? Has this been the only way you survive? As it burns each night down in a silent rage And steals your words til you can’t engage But you know there is a morning you just can’t see Has this been the hottest year of your life? Did you wake up and nothing had changed overnight? Did the wind that blows away your doubts and pain Open up the sky for seven more long days of rain? And sweep you away even further, so you just couldn’t see? Has she been the only one on your mind? Is she moving forward while you stay behind? In a haze of alcohol and misgivings Is this what she meant when she said start living? And you know you can’t be anywhere but by her side Would you cross the city, just to hear her breathe? Is the night that much darker when she decides to leave? Do unfinished sentences and prevaricating eyes Fill you with questions, until you apologize cuz you know you can’t be anywhere but by her side And you know you can’t be anywhere but by her side
11.
California 06:39
CALIFORNIA You got all the way to California before you changed your mind
 If you could’ve found the way from California, would you have stayed behind And the priest and the poet both laid claim to your land, and told you look to the future Through the holes in your hands
 And you lie there beside her with one foot on the floor Because she fed you the Kool-Aid and then she showed you the door And I know, but won’t reveal, that you took both hands off the wheel And I saw through the guile hidden behind every smile
 When there was nothing, you had denial Like the speed of sound as it crosses water late at night You just turned around and set a new course overnight There was a fee for the finder, paid twice through the nose And a mournful reminder stained your skin and your clothes It wreaked of the havoc that no cards could predict
 When he said no you can’t have it, you’re a habit I’ve kicked And on this sacred ground no one moved when you fell down And it flowed from your eyes to this blood-red painted town the ones who remember... You were around in the days of the kings and the crowns I missed my only chance to say, hey, where you bound? You got all the way to California before you changed your mind
 If you could’ve found the way from California, would you have stayed behind

about

Roots-rock-pop singer-songwriter Stephen Stanley returns with a new record Jimmy & The Moon, joined by a fine new band duly committed to keeping the bar raised high, whether a song sets foot beneath a legendary defunct nightclub or a title track that zooms a crane up to the moon.

credits

released November 24, 2017

Recorded, engineered & produced by Hugh Christopher Brown
At The Post Office Studio – Wolfe Island, Ontario
Green Door Studio – Brooklyn, NY
& Broderick’s Recording Studio, Kilkenny, Ireland
Mastered by Michael Fossenkemper at TurtleTone Studio, NYC
Digital editing by Cohen Boo Sansom & Liam Fenlon

Stephen Stanley – Vocals, 6 & 12 String Electric & Acoustic Guitars
Chris Bennett – Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Coral Electric Sitar, Baritone Guitar, Vocals
Gregor Beresford – Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Chris Rellinger – Bass Guitar
Hugh Christopher Brown – Hammond B3, Piano, Keyboards, Sousaphone, Trombone, Vocals
Hadley McCall Thackston – Vocals
Kate Fenner – Vocals
David Corley – Vocals
Sarah McDermott – Vocals
Justin Bird – Vocals
Pete Bowers – Percussion
Burke Carroll – Pedal Steel
Jane Scarpantoni – Cello
Gerard Moloney – Accordion
Michael Martin – Low Flute, Uilleann Pipes
Tara Walker-Fischer - Timpanic Tomdrum

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

The Stephen Stanley Band Toronto, Ontario

The Stephen Stanley Band announce their new album, Before The Collapse Of The
Hive (Wolfe Island Records) will be released on November 10, 2023. It's an album
brimming with raw, unflinching urgency, steadfast observation and soul-searching storytelling
that highlights Stephen's immediate world: those he loves, and those he's lost.


Photos by Russell Styles
... more

shows

contact / help

Contact The Stephen Stanley Band

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like The Stephen Stanley Band, you may also like: