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Waltz in E Major

from Collection No. 1 by Dean Batten

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lyrics

"To be or not to be?"
You ask me as we stumble through the trees
Broken furniture and forgotten children's playthings
When the South shoves itself in my mouth

Then everything gets quiet, all the animals have turned
And all the map says is, "Flee from here and do not speak a word
To anyone, for anything, just hit the gas and run
Or you're done."

Meanwhile, in the hotels, all the larger men will laugh
And the smaller men will hide their eyes and hurry quickly past
The policeman is a bastard and his wife is never heard
So she sewed her lips together and sits
Watching the birds

"Hey, bartender, keep bartending.
It's too early to close."
The singer's set is ending with a bad "La Vie en Rose"
He's got to eat, his voice is shaking too much, like his hands
And where's the band?

Let me place these roses in a line along your spine
Before we have to split, let me kiss you one more time
I can only speak so truly in a clumsy form of rhyme
I am yours and you are mine

The progression was compelling, but it's too long in the verse
When the drunks shout with the chorus, oh, it only makes it worse
Right on all counts, Mr. Cohen, but I'll have to shut my eyes
At the bottom of the ninth, it is the singer who must die

But why am I alive and why do I sleep every night?
I could get up and take action but I just switch off the light
I'll drink away my body, I'll just write another song
Am I wrong?

It's OK, it's alright, you're just human
You don't have to fight
Unless you wanna, that's fine too
There is nothing you have to do
Go to sleep now and sleep tight
It's OK if you switch off the light
Because I love you, yes I do
We're just people who think, speak and choose

credits

from Collection No. 1, released March 22, 2015

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Dean Batten Daytona Beach, Florida

Often genre-bending, thought provoking and emotion stoking, Dean Batten's music is most concretely one thing: captivating.

Moving forward from his previous work, Dean has re-embraced the folk, early rock and country sounds of his childhood with 3 new albums: "Optimist Breakfast", an acoustic album; "Pessimist Lunch", a full band version with the same songs; and "Realist Supper", a live album. ... more

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