Nobody's Man

from Nation of Heat by Joe Pug

/

  • Streaming + Download

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

      $1 USD  or more

     

  • Buy the Full Digital Album

lyrics

Beneath the trees of the casbah
Beneath the roots of those trees
On the casket floor, on the casket floor
The bottom of me feels so complete

And around my childhood museums
There stand Chinese guards
One of them has a bell, one of them has a bell
That he rings when I come to close or leave too far

You might say that it’s reckless
You might say that it’s wild
But I’d rather be nobody’s man than somebody’s child

Now there’s splinters in my fingers
And there’s Portland cement in my lungs
I got a hammer and a cough, I got a hammer and a cough
And all of my friends speak in foreign tongues

There’s an ugliness grown up inside me
From where it has come I don’t know
I left my sweetness beside, my sweetness beside
That girl I goodbye’d long ago

They might find my body at the bottom of the pile
But I’d rather be nobody’s man than somebody’s child

Such plans they have, such gods they have
Deep in this nation of heat
We’ve been outdone again, we’ve been outdone again
And all of my friends they walk on their feet

And a congress of jackals will put a tax on my smile
But I’d rather be nobody’s man than somebody’s child

I might move to Las Vegas live there for a while
But I’d rather be nobody’s man than somebody’s child

credits

from Nation of Heat, released February 14, 2008

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Joe Pug image

Joe Pug Maryland

A singer-songwriter known for his lyrical acumen and plaintive harmonica style. Paste Magazine wrote of his music: “Unless your surname is Dylan, Waits, Ritter or Prine, you could face-palm yourself to death trying to pen songs half as inspired”.

He has appeared at Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and The Newport Folk Festival.

Additionally, he is the creator and host of The Working Songwriter podcast. ... more

shows

contact / help

Contact Joe Pug

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this track or account

If you like Joe Pug, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featured guests are the golden-voiced Baby Rose and psyche soulsters Brainstory.
listen now