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All Is Not Lost

by Matt Ellin

supported by
Smugo
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Smugo haven't even listened yet I can't wait to b alone
Nathan Jables Leek
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Nathan Jables Leek Tasty jams all around. We haven't had a Silver Jews album in 10 years but thats okay because Matt is here to take Berman's throne as king of experimental folk rock. Favorite track: The Dolt Examines Wonders of A Life.
dylangreenberg
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dylangreenberg Southern Hole is my favorite on this album, and the catchiest one is Friends which is sort of an anthem for people who are depressed and wish they are someone else and resonates strongly with me. My other favorites are Even The Idiot and Day I Suppose!
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1.
Intersection 02:46
Walking the streets on a Sunday 'cause it's better than lying in bed Should I make eye contact with that person or just stare straight ahead And to my dismay, there stands a siren on the corner of the edge of the path But I walk on And I laugh I guess it's just that time of year I will not live in fear Now I'm falling asleep, sick and somber in the chasm of a daylight's dream I assure you I am better adjusted than this, less indefatigable than I seem And when I awake, I'll surely say my final rough and tumble prayer to you Then I'll scoff I'm well off And though the anomie persists Some may doubt it exists Evening plans turn on a dime and this poet is past his prime I think I'll look at the sunset See if I can get inspired
2.
Raindrop on hussy day Sugar plum and shadow play We got drunk, stayed up late, it was nice to see ya Just the product of a new man Clenching a Strawberrita can 'Neath the vein of the crooked hand desperate to free ya And the stone from the sidewalk mercurially rocked and rose As we traced the moonlight of the comatose kite with our toes And we scarfed down fried chicken and pizza, got sauce on my nose No, I may not know much but still, even the idiot knows Still, many a youth subside In the scent of formaldehyde We got bored, went outside, spoke of Barcelona You know, it's tough titties quitting you And it's tougher outwitting you When you're gone, I'll try my very best not to phone ya And these highways, they're all interwoven, I don't know what they mean These inherent numerical values, I don't know what they mean And the touch of another human being, I don't know what that means I don't understand much but still, even the idiot dreams
3.
So the linguist from Boston, he called it a southern hole It got cold when disease had its way with the streams And the roots dead or else destroyed, he was first hesitant to take its polaroid But the hole loved the camera And the camera loved the hole The next morning, he went outside early to see it It had grown out significantly he could see The animals made a home of it, and their babies begot to the bone in it And the linguist took pictures, the linguist got mud on his khakis And he thought if earth's critters ascend into ether, will our stray dogs have decent places to drink? Will the warthogs and worms have adult movie theaters and time to stay home Time to think Still the stillborns persisted to sink So he dragged them up out of the dirt to break even To commemorate them more appropriately Plopped them into a plastic bag, and then smoothed out their wounds with a cleansing rag Popped them into his car's backseat, then drove gingerly into the sleet and machinery for miles in the town that he lived in In his excess, he swerved to the side of the street Another car hit him going past, then the breaks gave out, engine was revving fast And the linguist spun straight out of his lane and into a tree He just thought if earth's critters ascend into ether, will our stray dogs still have good places to drink? Will the warthogs and worms have adult movie theaters and time to stay home Time to think You know, I think Garden of Eden Of tandem or treason This world's not big enough for the both of us
4.
An angel A utility ploy Not here and nor there, quoth the hundredth homunculus boy In cities We stand guard the moon Kentucky fried and sleep deprived, we pace 'round the silver saloon The catholics They all look at us funny And they chisel their pecks, find strip suites to make love to their money Old Isaiah Pens magnificent shows Though the lot of us rot, his pitfalls he forgot, he plateaus I'm whistling on a hobgoblin moon I've got a six pack of beers I'm whistling on a hobgoblin moon
5.
So take care of yourself And watch the engine's rapport reprise If deconstructing me makes you feel happy, I'll derealize But then what of my health? When I've been turning counter-clockwise The protoplasm spay shavings turn a shade gray through these eyes And what then is a dream? You cast a light that's lean and narrow The sparks illuminate everything I hate to the marrow We came up short on stealth Since the anomalies of Britain Deemed it apropos, saccharine and slow, they came from great wealth So make plans for yourself Visit God's kingdom where it's written "It rains in Idaho when He has to go, can't hold it in" And well, make sure you're afraid Or else what else will make your mind made? It's better me than you, stuck inside a shoe, born to realize
6.
A good night is rife With a trace of the baritone kinder A couch or coat A twitch of the toe And though this I know It is harder to say that I'm happy When it's more like contentedness which anchors me And anything else seems sappy Now it's day I suppose And the birds form their fossilized fixture And I look at my phone And decide to be rid of your picture I don't know where it goes But I don't want to know And I don't want to know Where you are now either So a few months ago We had kind of a fight Looking back on it now Well I guess that you were probably right When you said that you used me Maybe subconsciously Still I'm grateful I guess That you got use out of me With the year winding down You might think I'd feel free But the pain's still around Just a little less prominently But the heart is with those drunken avenue lovers and the mind is with those drunken avenue lovers and the soul is with those drunken avenue lovers Not the kind of soul I'm thinking of
7.
Friends 02:36
I need all the friends I can get and I bet that you think I mean David or Michael or John I keep all my friends in a room and our love is in rooms but my head spins in circles a lot But I, no, I don't mind that, so long as my friends say "It's not so bad Everyone's living a lie and the first step is living with that" And you internalize that lie until it makes you sick inside And when you're through, it might as well be true I try to be friends with myself since it's good for my health, I try not to get stuck in my head And sometimes it's tough I suppose, I get caught in my clothes, I feel trapped in my body instead The plight of loving oneself is easier said when you're not yourself And when you get down to it, everyone wishes they were someone else If you had someone else's life, you'd be doomed to analyze The fact that you want someone else's still I talked to my friend on the phone, I was lonely and wanted to be in a hospital bed She said "I know you'll be okay, take a personal day" I said "Put me in a hospital bed" It's not always easy to make out the merit in being the people we are I hope that your lifetime is at the least somewhat subpar
8.
I remember at the house, you let me lay down with you You pressed your cheek up close to mine because that's what lovers do You put your tongue inside my mouth and you swirled it all around You told me that we didn't have chemistry, and the next day you left town And when you love someone who can't love themselves, it can be detrimental to your health And when you love someone who can't love you, there's very little you can do But wait And maintain "Don't be strange" Is what my grandfather's mother used to say Presumably when he was being strange But it doesn't matter anyway I'm trying not to hold other people accountable for my misery I've been in your position half a dozen times and I know that it's not easy I just wish I could get you to give me one more god forsaken chance I'm sorry that I get nervous every time we make plans And when I see my friends, I'm nervous too, there isn't much I wanna do And when they inquire "Well, what's the move?" I'm busy crying over you But hey, wait I'm still sane I complain But granted, things are looking up these days Yeah, I want you to know I'm doing pretty okay And even though admittedly a lot has changed I wrote you this song to let you know you're not strange And that somebody loved you once and does to this day I hope that you find someone who you can feel love for too I hope these songs I sing aren't unbecoming depictions of you I hope you know that what occurred, it didn't make me mad Or better yet, that love's a passing fad And yeah, I really hope that love's a passing fad
9.
Standing outside of the takeout waiting for his chili fries The dolt examines wonders of a life "How did I make it this far Without getting hit by a car And why is most of my alone time spent in groups of five? Yes, and why is all I do each day to die?" And he'll never know why Making out some weekends, smoking just because he can His company's in fairly high demand "How will I keep all my friends In the inevitable world's end? What if my toe cheese taints the heaven sand In Jesusland?" He'll never be as clever as he thinks And he'll gain less with each Miller Lite he drinks And he will try to make sense of the rain Folks who give their kids alliterative names But there is nothing to know, no, the rhetoric flails 'til it sinks His parents will pay for his drinks
10.
These Days 04:15
Oh, these days when I sing Well is there really an affinity, a yearning For much of anything But to hear the sound of my own voice? And these days I've been making excuses for you, you've been making excuses I hope for me too When you talk to your friends about me Well I hope they just think I'm pathetic Just another quiet person with a God complex and not one with a thirst for blood Though these days everything just reminds me of mud And these days when I go out My friends instill within me great doubt We have nothing to talk about And I hate the sound of my own voice But it isn't your fault that I'm not any fun Oh I'm lying, I'm lying, christ, what have you done to me? Just a query A test of my will If I was just born, and somebody asked What kind of person would I want to be? Well, let's see I think I'd like to be someone who's kind to the people in my life I'd like to be nice Still, not always believe everything that I'm told, yes I'd like to be selfless but still I'd be bold And I'd like to say grace to the kids in the cold for making me know I'm not really that old On the day that I met you, I would take it in stride, no, I don't think I'd think of you much No, not much A glass rabbit woman
11.
When I get back Well, everything had better be In the same place As I left it God spoke to me I was tripping in a basement He said "Hey Stop tripping in basements" I flinched, I think I tried to sleep I tore my hair out in a dream Now I'm complete While you're away Well, let's not forget anything Let's still eat at the same places And walk in the same parks Come dark, we'll park Horizontal on the futon We'll watch the sun ascend That's not to say That we aren't on our way To things that will be fun for us But you know me I just worry I have to do some important paperwork And take my pills before 2:10pm I'll try to page you in an hour If I can't, well you've been a good friend

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released September 1, 2017

Matt Ellin - Vox, guitars, bass
Daniel Neiman - Drums, piano, synths, guitars, percussion
Sam Mihavetz - Cello
Makai Guest - Trumpets
Clare Peyton - Vox

Music and lyrics by Matt Ellin, music by Daniel Neiman
Produced by Daniel Neiman and Matt Ellin
Engineered and mastered by Daniel Neiman
Art by Dylan Mars Greenberg

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Matt Ellin New York, New York

Singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, Theophobia member, performer

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