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The Chaser

by Secret Emchy Society

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1.
From SeaTac to Oakland with bad airport wine Well Fran is in the fire but she’s texting that she’s fine We’re all getting out but there’s no where to go Running out of water our reserves are getting low CHORUS But the lonely hits your stomach like it’s cheap rotgut wine Making raingels in the puddles as if everything was fine the lonely hits your stomach like it’s cheap rotgut wine Making raingels in the gutters as if everything was fine The ash of the trees it coats my hair in tears Halfway through oregon we met a fatal dear Fire keeps on coming it’s a thousand mile fog I hit the road but it hit back the roadkill of us all CHORUS Flat tire in redding and it could’ve been worse The car just keeps on running it’s a blessing it’s a curse Traffic rushing by me on that old I-5 Still gotta text carolyn about today’s high CHORUS California cotton fields are running on my right The air’s still dust and fire and we’re fighting the good fight Tonight we play north hollywood the barflies all in black We’re making sense of something on the wrong side of the tracks CHORUS
2.
3.
Hell is a hard place to take a man Just to prove a point You’re sitting there with my dreams in your hands Our two fates are joined CHORUS But we roam together And we roar together But we wake up alone Everyone has a story That feels more real My own words betray me My lips should stay sealed Born next to the solstice The holidays near All that birthin and dyin At the end of a year CHORUS Why can’t it be simple Why can’t it be clean Cigarettes in the rain again It’s the same old scene I know you once loved me Now i’m tired and cold I know you still love me But i’ve sold my own soul
4.
The Good Dog 03:36
I heard and held your cries at night Under a full moon Sleepy-eyed and sad You threw your heart around Pushing for more time Pushing with all you had CHORUS Your heart is a butterfly beating to lose its wings It’s time to shed the pain and Sleep again, sleep again, sleep again Yelling at children and dogs alike Your sweet smile was a thief in the night Now I’m crying in the bathroom I’m crying on the train Feels like all I’ll ever be Is crying again CHORUS I didn’t know you were leaving I couldn’t read the signs I only knew I loved you I only know we tried You met all the rockstars Shared all their beds Stole their food Their hearts Swimming in whiskey And running on sand My sweet sweet love Just rest near my hand CHORUS
5.
CHORUS Whiskey fightin Terri and Terri’s fighting Jim It’s a sweet kind word and he’s on the ground again When whiskey’s fighting Terri everybody wins If they’re drinking whiskey too at the Sunny Days Inn Singin like an angel with the devil inside Hits that bullfiddle sweet to make you cry With a knowing little wink she can light up a room But never in her life did she forget that tune CHORUS She’s ready to go and she’s right on time Down for it all with a look that’s sly When the whiskey comes out it’s a given sin Trouble is comin with a lopsided grin CHORUS So keep on goin cuz we’re all gonna die Handles of bourbon while the storm rolls by From the bottom of the hill to the old WISE hall If you’re pairing up with upton then you’ll see it all CHORUS
6.
The Chaser 04:38
We were dancin slow and sexy at the old cowboy bar You’re eyes went right through me said I know who you are I stopped moving caught my breath time’s a slap to my face The sins of my past cannot be erased CHORUS I’ve always been a chaser no matter where I go I’ve always been a chaser your second drink that starts the show Yes I’ve always been a chaser you gotta go for your dreams I’ve always been a chaser that’s why you still love me Now I’m walking out in Brooklyn with an old glass of wine It’s three in the morning but I always got time When I find you and we’re waltzing under old neon signs Intoxicated by the glint in our eyes I’ve always been a chaser no matter where I go I’ve always been a chaser your second drink that starts the show Yes I’ve always been a chaser you gotta go for your dreams I’ve always been a chaser that’s why you still love me Yes I’ve always been a chaser you gotta go for your dreams I’ve always been a chaser that’s why you still love me
7.
When you sleep ten minutes And four coffees ain’t enough Ears still ringing all night From the show with billy gruff The ferry’s got life stories and lessons to tell We’re leaving powell river and we’re driving straight to hell CHORUS Leaving Powell river there’s water all around Leaving powell river but our wheels don’t hit the ground Leaving powell river it’s such a sight to see Leaving powell river just like you’re leaving me Yesterday was raining and tomorrow’ll be the same Will it take three thousand miles for you to miss me again You always find your truth in the people that you love It’s a hug or a handshake, even a nasty shove CHORUS Took ten years to find you another five to know your name In all these different cities well you’re always the same Crying in the morning but it’s a party every night Old hands pull back the curtain and they let in the light CHORUS
8.
Git 'Er Done 04:08
First night back in bed Clean sheets and no chores I’m hearing your voice In the dogs snore We almost blew up the kitchen and we raided the cheese Lousy with whiskey and we’re smelling like gasoline CHORUS It always seems over before it’s begun Home wants the road and the road steals all the fun It always seems over before it’s begun But how we laugh the way we love we always get er done get er done get er done get er done I see myself back in your eyes such a vision such a prize The reasons don’t matter and the stragglers don’t care Three days later and there’s still smoke in my hair CHORUS Runnin on empty and drinking free wine it’s better after the first one It’s a communion of time I’ll buy the dinner while you welcome me home Laughing through the traffic while our hearts are so undone CHORUS
9.
I Get Drunk 02:40
CHORUS I get drunk on irish whiskey And i get drunk on seeing you I get drunk on tennessee bourbon That don’t stop me loving you For when we go we go together Our love has stood the test of time And when we go we go for broke now And a bottle or three of wine CHORUS Sometimes we hit the town Bathing in big city lights Arm in arm our eyes are flashing There’s never been a better night FINAL CHORUS I get drunk on irish whiskey And i get drunk on seeing you I get drunk on tennessee bourbon That don’t stop me loving you That don’t stop me loving you That don’t stop me loving you
10.
Grackle 04:21
Once I had a boy with fire in his heart Once i had a boy whose life just couldn’t start I took his heart, held it in my hand And tried to give it back cuz I couldn’t love no man CHORUS who are you now Who was i then Two hearts asunder again We tore a road of fire Straight across the sky Miles of broken hearteds were always asking why One day our charcoal paintings burned us both black I left us at old folsom lake and i could not look back CHORUS I heard she hit you I heard you hit her back I heard that you kept drinkin I never meant for that CHORUS Climbing railroad trestles and shooting off our stars Sometimes the kindest gestures leave the hardest scars I may never lay eyes on you again No matter how much time goes by i’m still your friend CHORUS
11.
8am at the Buck Inn Heck is pouring bloodys and I’m on irish coffee number two Old jackyboy the dog is up on the bar asking for drinks and love like us all CHORUS And we dance like the world is ending Dance like we’re never alone Dance like the world is ending in a song And we dance like the world is ending Dance like we’re never alone Dance like the world is ending in a song I’ve got a poet on my mind and someone else’s words in my heart Tom waits buck owens and nick cave sing the drunks to sleep CHORUS I carve my name in the ceiling in tar while we’re all drinking booze Telling stories of guns and lakes and bad ideas CHORUS

about

It’s the voice that hits you first. It’s big, a bit boisterous. It’s a voice that makes you grin, but it’s also sad and wise, and very observant. It’s a voice that stands you to a shot and a beer, kicks you out onto the dance floor despite your silly misgivings. It’s Cindy Emch’s voice--in every meaning of that word--that comes through on the pioneering queer-country singer and songwriter’s new album The Chaser.


Recorded with her long-running band, The Secret Emchy Society, The Chaser gives Cindy’s funny, deep songs an equally big voice. It’s a record of exact portraiture, country style. Cindy Emch knows how human beings behave when they’re in bars, when they’re lonely, and when they’re in love. And when they’re out of love. The Chaser is the work of an original who looks beyond Saturday night, toward an eternal present.

credits

released May 15, 2020

All songs written by Cindy M. Emch


Cindy M. Emch - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Tolan McNeil - Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar
Mya Byrne - Slide Guitar, Mandolin
Michele Kappel - Drums
Hans Winold - Upright Bass, Harmonica
Carolyn Mark - Backing Vocals

Produced, Engineered, Mixed & Mastered by Tolan McNeil
Recorded at The Queer Country Cave in Oakland, CA
All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2020

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Secret Emchy Society Oakland, California

"One could describe Emch as if Nick Cave had grown up in Bakersfield with a dynamic swagger that could part the Red Sea." - NoDepression

The Secret Emchy Society plays foot stompin' heart breakin' California country tunes for gay cowboys, queer witches, and all kinds of cowfolks.
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