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1. |
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oh just to be, oh just to be
i wish that i’d forgotten me
i wish i was i wish i was
a little bit of what i‘m not
bridge:
that’s not how it’s supposed to be
chorus:
and we blindly run over the ledge
as the thickening fogs hide the edge
and we really don’t know where we go
it’s something that we might never know
oh just to be, oh just to be
a little bit inside of me
i wish i was i wish i was
a little bit of where I’m not
bridge
chorus
oh just to give, oh just to give
the life that I might never live
i wish i had i wish i had
a little bit of what makes me sad
bridge
chorus
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2. |
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in conversation with my demons and my ever bleeding heart
i quit my hunt for lasting memories and for neverending love
i dress graffiti and I sleep upside down
but i never get enough
of lonely hearts and strange encounters
they leave their traces one by one
chorus:
i wish that i could figure out
where i fail and where I drown
where i let myself down
my sad candles cry for me
they lay their ashes down
and the strange light they cast
will not fade until the dawn
nothing matters unless you make it
matter to you
a matter of trust
a matter of heart to heart
a matter of these two
lovers hold me and they lay me down
but i cannot see their face
covers blind me when they kiss me
they do not know my name
(chorus)
fill me up until i find you
fill me up with truth and lies
make me wish that i could hold you
make me wish that i could find
solace in your memories
in the stories that we write
solace in your mirror eyes
solace in our lives
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3. |
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in conversation with my demons and my ever bleeding heart
i quit my hunt for lasting memories and for neverending love
i dress graffiti and I sleep upside down
but i never get enough
of lonely hearts and strange encounters
they leave their traces one by one
chorus:
i wish that i could figure out
where i fail and where I drown
where i let myself down
my sad candles cry for me
they lay their ashes down
and the strange light they cast
will not fade until the dawn
nothing matters unless you make it
matter to you
a matter of trust
a matter of heart to heart
a matter of these two
lovers hold me and they lay me down
but i cannot see their face
covers blind me when they kiss me
they do not know my name
(chorus)
fill me up until i find you
fill me up with truth and lies
make me wish that i could hold you
make me wish that i could find
solace in your memories
in the stories that we write
solace in your mirror eyes
solace in our lives
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4. |
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1) Zhanaozen o Zhanaozen /
my thoughts they go out to Zhanaozen
they lie with the oil workers' struggle there /
and their families' troubling grief
2) They had been on strike for more than 8 months /
for decent conditions and higher pay
for trade union rights and nationalisation /
so they could control the wealth of their creation
3) The profit making sharks could not tolerate this /
nor could the president's powerful clique
scared they might lose and scared they might fall /
they were prepared to go to all lengths
4) A unions' rep and another one's daughter /
were ruthlessly murdered and others were tortured
union men had to leave their homes /
so they could be safe from the goverment's thugs
5) on the 16th of december a rally was held /
to underline the oil workers case
as the regime planned to celebrate /
20 years of their capitalist rule
6) the regime went on to demonstrate /
what they understood by freedom of speech
or what democracy means to them /
compared to the profits they're so eager to make
7) Nazarbayev's men went into the demonstration /
to provoke and to escalate tension
the riot police reacted with guns /
with hundreds wounded and dozens shot dead
8) The only thing made public bout the incident then /
was a statement by the Kazakh regime
saying 'what is the fuss, there's just 17 dead /
and then put the blame on the oil working men
9) They shot into an innocent crowd /
of those who survived many were charged
for alleged provocation /
of a massacre they hadn't caused
10) So I wonder what happened to those unaccounted for dead /
whose families still wait for them to come back
whose deaths had never been recognised /
and whose lives might never be mourned
11) Its only been lately that rumours grew loud /
of unnamed tombstones and graves in the yards
they grew by the numbers of quite a few /
i wonder if they'll ever be named
12) Another rigged election was held /
Nazarbayev's still head of the state
the oil workers still fighting for their rights /
and the system still out against them
13) A system thats rotten, a system thats cruel /
that calculates lives for the money of few
the regime must not get away with its lies /
and the system must be overcome
14) Zhanaozen oh Zhanaozen /
please shout out the story as loud as you can
the workers' names might soon be forgotten /
but we shall never forget
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5. |
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rain rain i can see
happyness is here to stay
rain rain come to me
my baby has gone away again
me i’m like the rain my friend
i’m running through your open hands
wash away your burning pain
sinking in under your skin
rain rain i can see
everything looks blue today
rain rain come to me
my baby has gone away again
it breaks my heart, it breaks my mind
it breaks everything inside
rain rain i can see
everything looks real to me
rain rain come to me
my baby has gone away again
dancing in the pouring rain
makes me feel alive again
rain rain i can see
everything looks blue today
rain rain come to me
my baby has gone away again
it breaks my heart, it breaks my mind
it breaks everything inside
rain rain i can see
everything looks real to me
rain rain come to me
my baby has gone away again
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6. |
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baby you're a long way down the road from where I am
and i will miss you everytime I sleep
i speak to you in songs
and say the words that i know best
i love you and the night is all i know
Chorus:
everytime you laugh it feels like yesterday
everytime you cry my heart will weep
everytime we write each others history
something falls apart and calls me nightside
solitude's an empty place
and songs will just repeat
i can still remember how you taste
the word goodbye is hard to say
and farewell's just the same
way to many years stand in the way
(chorus)
the words have not been spoken yet
and you shall never hear
they will only make you miss me more
they will remain unsaid
and live their lifetime in my mind
and baby you're a long way down the road
(chorus)
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7. |
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i got troubles in this town
i got troubles there all around
i got black clouds bove my head
and i can’t sleep at night in my bed
i got troubles all around
i got thoughts spinning in my mind
i got worries when people ain’t kind
i got too much going on
when all i want is to be strong
i got troubles all around
i got pain cutting into my heart
i got pain struck by a poison dart
i got so much love to give
not a soul to share it with
i got troubles all around
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8. |
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we’re naked on our pillows and the night is cut in half
when we invite our demons we do it as we laugh
and i love you with a blind, illfated rage that knows it’s gonna die
i lean my head against the wall to say oh fuck and cry
chorus:
there‘s clouds brewing over our heads and we will fight them like we always have
the war might be lost on our side but we will not step down tonight
the stretchmarks on my hips impossible to see
traces of a life that’s lost on you and me
you still come on to me in waves when on my own I lie
we’re balancing on borderlines unfortunate and blind
(chorus)
this love is one of fatal luck it’s not supposed tob e
we’re chained to our respective lives by this society
what will love be once chains are torn, the walls lit up in flames
we will not give a single thought bout what the people say
(chorus)
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9. |
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i remember when i felt small
and the world was a weight on my back
you said sometimes you can't do nothing bout the hard facts of life
you might struggle you might go crazy
but you can't fight the truth and you know
chorus:
but its so hard to accept that im small
and i still bang my head against walls
that i cant stop this pain of mine
cant stop this train of time
all i can do is just wait
and i wonder wonder where
where are you now
i remember when i was blue
and i wished i had wings to fly
you said sometimes
you feel like crying
and theres nothing wrong with that
you said sometimes life seems unfair
it might look like you cant change a thing
chorus
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10. |
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what is it that I long for something that is gone
something I’d forgotten, something long ago that i lost
i’m straining my mind
oh I must remember
chorus:
it’s just something that escaped my mind
it’s just something that i lost when i cried
where is that something that i hoped i’d find
autumn leaves with you in mind
i watch them falling
what is it that i long for some feeling that is gone
some feeling i’d forgotten, feeling long ago that i lost
i’m straining my mind
oh i must remember
just some feeling that escaped my mind
just some feeling that i lost when i cried
where is that feeling that i hoped i’d find
autumn leaves with you in mind
i feel it fading
what is it that I long for somebody that is gone
someone i’d forgotten, someone long ago that i lost
i’m straining my mind
oh i must remember
it’s just someone that escaped my mind
just somebody that i lost when i cried
where is that someone that i hoped i’d find
autumn leaves with you in mind
i watch them burning
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11. |
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i met him on the street someday
we were preachers then
we both liked the echo of our voices way back when
we filled the pages by the hour
the rhythm of the tides
what a way with words I thought
what a way to hide
i said i‘m just a little girl
pretending to be grown
there’ll never be a prince you know
but i can save my soul
he would look me in the eye
asking wasn’t he
you should take your own advice
he said and turned from me
the growing depth of beauty would now
lighten up his eye
i never felt that much ashamed
he caught me at a lie
the windows were wide open now
the wind blew in my face
that was when he disappeared
and did not leave a trace
the devil is a good guy cos
he always tells the truth
he holds a mirror to our face
but we refuse to look
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12. |
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i close my eyes because I can’t stop looking at you
and i cannot sleep
until the morning, the morning
and i’ll never go away from you
Bridge:
for love is all I can feel
when i look in your eyes I am stirred and shaken
my hands are tied
for the light in your eyes has caught me
and i cry at the sight of the world in a nutshell
the world in you
(Bridge)
why can’t cry for this life is the only one i got
And you shall fly mountainhigh
for the stars shall kiss you
and never go away again
(Bridge)
why can’t I cry for this life is the only one i got
and you shall fly mountainhigh
for the stars shall kiss you
and never go away again
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13. |
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the day the night left
i quit living with my eyes still closed
so i saw you far away and still i know you’re here
filling out my days
you change from day to day
the day the night left
the day the night left
i found that i dont have to be so strong
and that it’s weakness that is giving me the strength to carry on
and so i look behind
and see the things i lost
at my own cost
the day the night left
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The woman with the „incredibly warm voice“ (Freizeit-Kurier) is back: SingerSongwriter Laura Rafetseder has
already made herself a name with her band Laura & the Comrats and their debut „creating memories“, for which they got media praise by the local and national press in Austria and Germany as well as some radio airplay. With
„the minor key club“she is now confirming her status as one of the Austria‘s finest folk voices. Her solo debut concentrates on Rafetseder’s strengths – the complex lyrics, the haunting melodies and harmonies, as well as the intimacy and warmth of her voice. The album remains largely acoustic and features voice and guitar, as well as guest appearances by label mate Katrin Navessi (backing vocals on ‚oh just to be‘ and ‚rain rain‘), folk fiddler Stefan Steiner, Gernot Feldner (piano) and Marc Bruckner (percussion and harmonica).
Laura Rafetseder: „I had a few songs that don’t really work in the setting of a rock band, and I had been thinking about make a solo record for some time. I wanted the songs stripped down to raw basics. This is a risk, of course,
because the raw material has to be much better, since you cannot cover up for songs‘ weaknesses with a nice arrangement. It forces you to be uncompromising and confident. But this is how these songs were written, singing along to an accoustic guitar.“
Why the album title? "I’ve once done an evening of 60s covers in a-minor. It was fun as hell. Sad songs can be fun as hell. This is where the ‚club‘ in ‚the minor key club‘ comes from.“
This theme recurs in „rain rain“ – we feel alive when we dive into sadness and enjoy it for what it is. The songs
on „the minor key club“ are not all minor key, but the theme of sadness and happiness as one pervades. Popmusic draws from expressing what society is suppressing. We all know feelings of being torn and failing in the face of reality – but we do not have words to express them. This is what music can do. It has a healing effect because it reminds us that we are not alone.
„down tonight“ is a protest love song. We all want a good life, but in times of crisis this is more than the
present system has on offer. What would love look like in a society that goes beyond the limitations of capitalism? Free of economic and ideological boundaries that keep us chained?
„oh just to be“ is heading in a similar direction – the song is a commentary on what is happening in the world
at the present time. People are out on the streets, protesting, but without leadership. At the same time the supposed leaders have no idea how to deal with the crisis either: „We really don’t know where we go“
„a matter of these two“ is transferring this lack of awareness of what we are doing on to a personal level. We know how to trick ourselves, but we don’t know how we do it. We do things we know that are bad for us, because we do not know how to make it better.
„ballad of zhanaozen“ is a song based on the true story of a massacre of striking oil workers in zhanaozen by the kazakh regime. It is a song in the tradition of folk ballads that used to work as a medium to report about events that were not covered by the traditional media.
Laura: "My songs are not meant to be fashionable. They say what they mean and they mean what they say. They pick up issues that are uncomfortable because they adress the dark side of our existence as well as the light side. They demand listening. And that, i think, is a good thing."
released October 21, 2012
words & music: laura rafetseder
