more from
Self Group Collective
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.

Ghost of the Beast

by Kelli Schaefer

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Immediate download of 11-track album in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire. The digital download also includes a bonus track (Condolences) not shown here.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Full-Length album (including bonus track, "Condolences") on CD in a digipak, with liner notes.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Ghost of the Beast via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 2 days

      $10 USD or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Includes a 12" vinyl record, artwork, and liner notes. Also includes immediate download of 11-track album in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire. The digital download also includes a bonus track (Condolences) not shown here.
    ships out within 2 days

      $15 USD or more 

     

1.
The Fury 04:50
There is a curtain hangs before me/ steadied by the sturdiest of steal/ I couldn’t cut it with the sharpest iron/ my own strength is useless to its strong intricate weave/ but I can hear the earth move with their dancing/ and I can hear the laughter on the other side/ and if time is all we need then who is sharpening the steal/ oh hell/ just give me a latter to climb But cheating only takes you to the fences/ to feed freedom through the chicken wire/ entertains your most gullible senses/ a game when played cannot fulfill the root of your desire/ so ill retrace my steps back to the river/ where I first learned to use my hands/ where I once lived with grace/ love and compassion for the world/ oh heaven/ give me a second chance God would you send me somebody who understands the fury/ who understands the fury well/ he’s gonna have to be a fighter/ gonna have to know the story/ strong enough to tell it to me when I’ve lost my head
2.
Mother, you taught me good/ you made me want to do the things that I should/ you told me Jesus ‘s gonna make me a saint/ gonna take my hand and make my life complete/but the narrow path is closing in/sometimes I think I’m too fat to fit on it/ when the curtains close because the clouds rolled in/its taking me right back down/ right back down, right back down to the same dungeon. When the cold heartedness of the ghost of the beast is beating on you like a state police/ and the only friends that you make are the ones that take take take and they take take take and they got big guns If I had a mind sharper than a needle/ I’d reinvent the wheel/ and take us all home/ where we would know that we’ve got windows to close when it gets cold but I ain’t got no But the narrow path is closing in/ sometimes I think I’m too fat to fit on it/ when the curtains close because the clouds rolled in/ its taking me right back down, right back down, right back down to the same dungeon
3.
Better Idea 03:37
Take my hand on the front line/ take my hand in the back row/ when I’m tired of repeating/ hold me close don’t let me go/ because I want to be louder/ and to stand up tall/ but I am loading all my cannons with cotton balls/ and its not working I’ve got the better idea/ they’ve all got leveler heads/ so we listen to their ideas instead/ still I’ve got the better idea Well I can’t treat my body like a temple when it is failing/ are you kidding/ was that your plan to keep my grounded? It’s not working/ and this seed that you have planted is needing things that I can’t give it How low does it go? How low can it get when you’re waiting? It cannot be done But I’m scared because I can’t stop trying
4.
Black Dog 04:25
I cant bury the black dog/ mortuary/ singing till the sun comes up/ you ain’t getting a hold of me/ bones bleeding (if bones can bleed)/ sore and seething all in harmony/ you ain’t getting a hold of me/ I cant believe your serious/ short tail/ long legs/ sharp teeth Coat tails dragging behind me/ torn sails/ whipping in the cold dark sea/ you ain’t getting a hold of me/ rapping on my bones/ beating on my bones/ keeping a beat/ I’m sending everything to sleep/ and you ain’t getting a good hold/ I will use the coal you gave me/ make a timeless masterpiece Oh no/ you ain’t getting a hold of me Dang dog/ claws in my side/ slowing me down and making strange noises/ creeping around and settling in slowly/ making the fire grow above and below me/ all I need to do now is to make my bed/ all I need to give now is to get some rest/ coming in and settling in slowly and making the fire grow above and below me/ I cant believe that you don’t hear me (but you will eventually)
5.
Gone in Love 03:45
I will wipe my brothers tears with the sleeve of my jacket/ and we will beat the nighttime bloody with this song/ joys strong mallet/ and the weight wont be weighty/ will never be overbearing/ when the burden is love/ it is the only weight that ever was worth carrying. I will hold my sister even though my arms are shaking/ we’ll demand that she be given back what has been taken/ when your gone in love there is no risk there is no prize/ just a table maybe a warm heart maybe a trusting pair of eyes I will sing my mother hymns of old when she is passing/ for every heartache I have caused/ oh my mother I am sorry/ but when you sang it broke my heart/ I fell in love with your trying/ and I want you to know that there is nothing you have done that has been wasted
6.
Sister K 04:41
Sometimes we must wait a long time/ to find out that something does not work right/ it might be a long road to healing/ if we wait/ and we expect the best to come from what is left/ sometimes the pain from the waiting/ eats away at everything we have been protecting After a good fight with illustrious intention/ after a good fight we barely broke the movement/ after a good hard fight with the purest of desire/ oh god I’m still on fire Come here tired thing/ I have two arms/ your staggering/ let me fold you in I still believe in who you are It might seem like we’ve no use for Nostalgia/ I think you’re right/ so we pull the anchor/ plot the course
7.
Home 03:03
Sometimes quiet and wrong for being so/ so quiet the lips grow shut/ while the floor boards of the stomach are growing dust/ I don’t want to talk/ sometimes I want to stop Somewhere pushing and pulling the air/ I’m struggling downhill like an angry bear/ to cancel the meeting/ because we already know what were doing/ I already know what I’m doing I don’t have a system for that/ could you be a little softer a little kinder/ maybe if I have a glass of water/ maybe if I spoke a little louder/ are you with me or are you sitting on your hands? I know you know, no need to be accessing the damage (Nobody knows how hard you are trying)
8.
City Morgue 04:03
Call it what you want, I call it a clean break/ parts of me dead gone, falling off and washing away/ so stop me when I start back up again. I could make you proud, make you clap your hands and stand/ if you let me stone this coward, before I’m down and I cant get back up again/ you gotta stop me when I start back up again. I will let you down Hold your temper under water/ hand your canvas to your brother Jericho just fell down, forget it like a corpse in the grave/ I know what its like to bury my heart in a dying idea/ you gotta stop me when I start I will let you down Seek and ye just might find nothing/ there’s nothing left/ no one is watching
9.
Take a slow deep breath my love/ there aint nothing to be ashamed of/ disapproval, failing health, the never ending absence of wealth/ I must admit I tug the rope And oh the static, constant sound/ the neon lights burning all the good out/ we move too slow we don’t fit in/but our makeshift gears grinding gracefully, don’t ever stop were stable and were steady and we fear, we’ll be martyred then/ for knowing that something is wrong, but we cant put our finger on it A heart of gold is so hard to manage. I watch it all unwind, to watch it wind back up again/ and I feel my body aching with the times like a shivering widow pulls the needle through, stitching up these old truths/ and I fear, we’ll be martyred then/ for knowing that something is wrong, but we cant put our finger on it A heart of gold is so hard to manage
10.
Trinkets 03:35
You’ve got nothing better to do with you time but collect these trinkets and coddle them/ someday you might see me running through fire going down/ you’ll be indifferent/ sitting on your cloud/ running your tired mouth/ while you make plans in your head ill be scream out loud/ finding dead end after dead end/and I’m ok with that/ you will be shooting the shit and flying kites/ I will be using and bruising my hands/ and the difference is I’ll be doing all that I can to make things better When the string holding your life is rubbing up against the knife/ busting threads left and right and all you’ve got is time/ I’ll be waiting for the day that you look up at me and say you’ve wasted most your life away just waiting for a sign/ waiting for a sign.

credits

released March 1, 2011

Band:
Kelli Schaefer, Drew Grow, Jeremiah Hayden, Kris Doty, Bryan Free, Nate Purscelley, Seth Schaper, The Bridge Family Choir

Mixed/Mastered/Additional Instrumentation by KIV Evan Hodge at Blackhorse Masters
Produced by Drew Grow & Kelli Schaefer
Recorded at Amigo/Amiga Homeland

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Kelli Schaefer Portland, Oregon

Mirroring the expansive noise and incisive shadow of PJ Harvey, with the fearless abandon of Nick Cave and vocal play of Bjork, Schaefer travels at light speed through the American landscape so many left and forgot to examine. It's art-pop with depth and vision, the product of an artist who not only carved out a space for herself but has grown into a voice with the potential to shape a landscape. ... more

contact / help

Contact Kelli Schaefer

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Kelli Schaefer, you may also like: