Get all 77 Casey Stratton releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Lost and Found: Chicago Demos 2001-2002, The Turbulent Sea, The Collective Sigh (Deluxe Edition), The Collective Sigh, L'amour infini - a holiday album, Paper Ships, Paper Ships (Deluxe Version), Open Energy - Single Mix, and 69 more.
1. |
Longing
06:14
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Longing
Soldiers passed, but the distant sound of the battle cries fills my head
I can’t separate from the endings
My anger lasts, and I find myself needing somewhere to put all the rage
It cannot remain in its cage
This longing connects me to you
I am open, I sing through my muse
From my fortress I defend what is true
And I cast out the lies that come through
Candles burn, and the fire wraps me in armor
I don’t owe any debt attached to a falsehood
I push on through, and the memories guide me to see what really took place
I will not take on this disgrace
This longing connects me to you
I am open, I sing through my muse
From my fortress I defend what is true
And I cast out the lies that come through
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2. |
Doubt
05:00
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Doubt
Trouble made its home where I wouldn’t play
I could sense its form, still I made the mistake
The elements merged and soon I wasn’t safe
So in a great purge I chose another way
In shadow it’s born, this crippling doubt
Its presence informs this urge to get out
Can I ever trust myself again?
I know that I must but I don’t know that I can
Freezing winds tell lies I grow to believe
I struggle to know why and I cling to the grief
At least this is all mine and harbors no haze
All of this takes time and it isn’t a race
The elements changed, a strange alchemy gave me strength
And out of the maze I can put things where they’re placed
In shadow it’s born, this crippling doubt
Its presence informs this urge to get out
Can I ever trust myself again?
I know that I must but I don’t know that I can
Make believe and truth dance together
Shake me out of the fog
Clouded seas of failures can sever
Any chances at all
In shadow it’s born, this crippling doubt
Its presence informs this urge to get out
Can I ever trust myself again?
I know that I must but I don’t know that I can
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3. |
Exposed
05:28
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Exposed
I suppose it was only a matter of time
I suppose it was just a stone’s throw away
And as much as I tried, I couldn’t escape
From the feelings inside that were here to stay
So I opened it
One door, then another
I suffered it
For much longer than hoped for
I suffocate on the errors that I have made
Dedicate myself to the task of defining
What it is that has made
Me lose sight of my will to change
When I opened my heart I found I was exposed
All the wind had eroded my trust and my hope
I could never believe any words that were said
Realized I had damaged some vital threads
So I opened it
One door, then another
I suffered it
For much longer than hoped for
I suffocate on the errors that I have made
Dedicate myself to the task of defining
What it is that has made
Me lose sight of my will to change
Now it’s time to unravel
All that I’ve twisted up inside
So I opened it
One door, then another
I suffered it
For much longer than hoped for
I suffocate on the errors that I have made
Dedicate myself to the task of defining
What it is that has made
Me lose sight of my will to change
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4. |
Understanding
05:04
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Understanding
Underneath the placid surface
An undertow ravages the peace I’ve found inside
I cannot hide from it any longer
It will swallow me whole
So I must drag it out of the darkness
And into the light
I know better than to think this is right
To let this torture me where it lies
Understanding what this is
I must open the gate
I must give it a name
I must look at its face
And accept the truth
I am not yet ok
Lived too long with this rain
And only me to blame
Many times I thought I’d faced it
But the damage was vast
Moving aside is not past
I must go through the center of this
Looking back, I only got out
I never confronted the way I sabotaged myself
It’s easy to focus on salvation, not much else
Understanding what this is
I must open the gate
I must give it a name
I must look at its face
And accept the truth
I am not yet ok
Lived too long with this rain
And only me to blame
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5. |
Primal
03:58
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Primal
Stop right there
I will not allow you one more step
I have let you too far in as is
Open season ended years ago
My hard-earned autonomy stays
It stays
Years ago I participated in letting you know
There would not be any real need to act
I would come back every time
Guilt, in fact, easily can play me
A primal scream
You watched it coming out of me
But still you didn’t change one thing
So I retreated steadily
Till one day I was gone
You might see only what you want to see
Fine by me, I am not responsible for how you feel
Where were all your cares for how it felt for me
Buried under so much weight?
A primal scream
You watched it coming out of me
But still you didn’t change one thing
So I retreated steadily
Till one day I was gone
I was leaving
One day at a time
I was leaving
A primal scream
You watched it coming out of me
But still you didn’t change one thing
So I retreated steadily
Till one day I was gone
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6. |
Wounds
05:22
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Wounds
I had lost my way through the garden
All those painful thorns
They cut my skin
They cut my soul
And the wounds are so deep
I can’t change the outcome of anything from before
I can’t change what you wouldn’t give me
But I can give myself more
I can give myself a chance
I can give myself that
All my trust is buried under my wounds
I can’t access what I need
To make any sense out of all I see
And the fire is raging
Under grief, it was burning all the time
All the flames from being denied
They were tempered by my suffering
They were taken out of the story
For far too long
Somewhere it must be hidden
The key to healing this?
So I must give myself more
I must give myself a chance
I must give myself that
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7. |
Vespers
02:21
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8. |
Rain
04:32
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Rain
Gone are the days when I had thought
That maybe there could be a chance to remain
Broken bonds while only I fought
To make any progress through the pain
So leave me in the rain
I won’t forgive you
Don’t please for me to stay
You must know by now I am long gone
When you saw me turned to stone
It wasn’t enough for you to play your part
So I was left destroyed and alone
In this, I stayed too long from the start
So leave me in the rain
I won’t forgive you
Don’t please for me to stay
You must know by now I am long gone
I’ve changed - I won’t be where there’s nothing
But the strangling vines of shame
And I will not take the blame
I tried even when you wouldn’t try
Even when unanswered cries
Weren’t enough for you to find me
So leave me in the rain
I won’t forgive you
Don’t please for me to stay
You must know by now I am long gone
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9. |
Balance
04:46
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Balance
The universe wants to take as much as it gives, it seems
I try to find joy and truly live
I follow my dreams and I try to give
But then the hand falls and brings the weight
I get lost in the shock and endless pain
I can’t think of you leaving
As far back as I can remember I wanted to be like you
I wanted to fill my days with song
I wanted to learn to play along
Wanted to make you proud and make my own sound
I went out in the world and I gained ground
I was always leaving
We didn’t talk as much for years
Then the walls began to come down, clearly as day
I hear you say “I always just wanted you to be happy”
I’m caught between the balance
I’m caught in different worlds
I can’t imagine your day will come
But I hear the warning strum
So it’s time to step up and switch our roles
It’s time to finally grow up
I’ve always been exactly who I was
But I’ll always be my father’s son
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10. |
Chapters
04:49
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Chapters
In the darkness I could sense it
Something shifting, and I transmitted the call
Find me where I fall
And it changed me, I could open
Like an orchid, and accept the frequency’s change
But our past is mine to claim
I opened my eyes again
And carved out a new world
You couldn’t come with me there
That chapter had closed
The story’s not finished yet
But your part is over
You gave it your all back then
But you couldn’t stay
In this new world I am stronger
For the lessons your endings made me learn
Each in your turn
Forever doesn’t live here
It is somewhere that I never needed to name
But I know it just the same
I opened my eyes again
And carved out a new world
You couldn’t come with me there
That chapter had closed
The story’s not finished yet
But your part is over
You gave it your all back then
But you couldn’t stay
When the shadow had lifted the light would frame
Every moment of joy with your sacred names
There again I can find you in ether and
Hear your sound in the music of spheres and then
I am filled with the peace I have grown to know
Hearing you in those lines makes its presence known
You are never too far to be felt in light
For our journey was destined in this short life
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11. |
Surrender
07:42
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Surrender
Lightning in the distance gives me pause
Could it be I’m not here at all?
Am I still lost in my dream?
I can feel it, this is something that is meant to be
I brought my power back to me
Maybe I’m in a waking dream
I lost but I never gave up all of me
Threw the white flag up when it came to be
Too much to reconcile inside
So what? No one ever gets out easily
If you want to live you must set things free
And surrender what you must
It happens to all of us
Sunlight reminds me that there’s always warmth
Even when the bitter cold
Seems all you’ve ever known
People say that faith should be an easy thing
But it feels so hard sometimes for me
To believe it will all be all right
I lost but I never gave up all of me
Threw the white flag up when it came to be
Too much to reconcile inside
So what? No one ever gets out easily
If you want to live you must set things free
And surrender what you must
It happens to all of us
It had never felt much colder
Than it did when they began
To fall, one then another
With a twisted, fated hand
I dissolved inside a fortress
That I took so long to build
And alone I had to dig out
And face a darkened world
But then, I saved myself
I lost but I never gave up all of me
Threw the white flag up when it came to be
Too much to reconcile inside
So what? No one ever gets out easily
If you want to live you must set things free
And surrender what you must
It happens to all of us
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12. |
Atlas
06:30
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Atlas
Who am I now?
I’m not who I was then
Thought I had figured it out
But there were more surprises ahead
So I must focus my eyes
On this sunset of my past
And go gently into night
Without looking back
There will not be a map
I must continue on my own path
No atlas shows the way
The journey may not be safe
But taking it is how we’re saved
Contentment is mostly
What finds me these days
But sometimes anxiety
Will wrap me in chains
There will not be a map
I must continue on my own path
No atlas shows the way
The journey may not be safe
But taking it is how we’re saved
Look up, the moon is bright
Kisses are sent tonight
I know you watch over the way
I feel you every day
So I move on and find such joy
Alone but I’m not destroyed
I picked up the pieces and lived
For that I am grateful for this
There will not be a map
I must continue on my own path
No atlas shows the way
The journey may not be safe
But taking it is how we’re saved
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Casey Stratton Grand Rapids
Formerly signed to Sony Classical, Casey Stratton has experienced the corporate side of music in full force. His 2004 album "Standing at the Edge" received high critical praise from the likes of Billboard, People and USA Today. His song "House of Jupiter" reached #1 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Chart. Now independent, Casey has released 28 albums and much, much more. ... more
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