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The Old Sisters' Home

by Orpheum Bell

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  • Streaming + Download

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

      $10 USD

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    The physical CD, complete with art and packaging that elegantly compliments the music contained inside. Those purchasing the physical CD will also get a download of the album:

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Old Sisters' Home via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $15 USD

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 3 Orpheum Bell releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Old Sisters' Home, Pearls, and Pretty As You. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $19.50 USD or more (35% OFF)

     

1.
Poor Laetitia... Just a stem of a girl Just the stem off a flower Just a nail in the wall Just a head full of trouble Just a pond full of reeds Just a glass in a dry town Buried under the leaves Ashtabula... Coal town beauty long gone My, what a long ride With no one by your side Poor Laetitia... How come nothing's for sure How come everyone's staring By the light of the moon Counting the chimes as you sleep What lies in the tall grass All the boys want to know O Laetitia you show them But they learn much too slow Parley's lost In the Oil Sands she's gone Change the town where you born from Change your name when you run Counting the chimes as you sleep My luck's yours If you want it just say But Laetitia you know this If you want it just say My Laetitia... Just a stem of a girl Just the stem off a flower Just a nail in the wall Counting the chimes as you sleep
2.
Whatever shines so bright? Won't let you wake or slumber It's trouble's crown It's trouble's number You think you're done, its finally over But it's only just begun Gently he'll stroke your wicked fingers My, it's only just begun My city slipped into the sea It was so easy, for one so ready A wounded ship upon the sea I wished so hard I broke, I broke upon the rocks Until he came for me "Invite me in", he said, "and you will see" "What I... and you and I can do for thee" One tear from you, one from another Until his golden cup Is trembling with the salten water And all the money will be bad The air grows thin, as you get higher Then your heart begins to spin Too late to wonder why You ever let him in... One tear from you, one from another Until his golden cup Is trembling with the salten water
3.
4.
You lied about the river I lied about the sea Like a telegraph cutter that lies to the trees I didn't want your picture I just want the frame I don't need your worry I just want your name I walked and I dreamed an old dilettante's dream How to hold down your station, hide where you've been Lost in a wish that is ether and steam I forgot what I was and what it might mean So I ran from the dust and the terrible sky To the arms of a fool full of terrible lies Mild was the evening when we stole away Then you lost me on purposes and sky gave way Now the soldier brigades they in unison sing And the world will be lighter in the morning it seems Lost in a wish that is ether and steam I forgot what I was and what it might mean All my dreaming is done My last breath is drawn All my dreaming is done My last breath is drawn What have I needled here? I trembled over this part So red but it's not real It's just a chain-stitched heart What did I give away? A magnet for my mule No furrow will I plow God never loved his fool God never loved his fool God never loved his fool
5.
Silver flaking off the paper Hard and silent in the hall The house is cold and we are shivering As August crumbles into fall The family gathers in the parlor We're strangers now the years are gone There's nothing says that we are family Except the pictures on the wall They're hanging still the family pictures Our little tombstones on the wall The silver's flaking off the paper Better versions of us all Remember planting up the wind break? The kids all dug without a spade The skinny pines like crooked dancers Are giants now, gone stiff with age The way an old man sets to wonder The way a child forgets a harm Is nothing like the way we've settled We drift and smile and then we're gone The rye's not ready for the reaper The stars are begging off the dawn Branches try to reach and flee But the roots hold on
6.
Parade 03:46
7.
Why's Daddy crying, why is he this way? Why's Daddy crying, why is he this way? Hush little brother, hush go away Daddy's not crying, he's just full of rain You can't put a fire out, with water he'd say You just got to let it burn out by itself Till there's nothing but gray ashes, morning and dust Till there's nothing but gray ashes, morning and dust Why's Daddy crying, why is he this way? Why's Daddy crying, why is he this way? Hush little brother, hush go away Daddy's not crying, he's just full of rain
8.
Oh my wings! That you can see between Thinner for the winters That have screamed by underneath I'm down to black A fish hook in my back That I will twist and fashion into this A wedding garrote for your faithless hand, a wedding cilice you will not forget A wedding garrote for your faithless hand, a wedding cilice you will not forget Bone China white But cracked upon the rim I took you though and took you though the others looked away I spread my wings For you against the wind You spread your legs in anger, spread them wide A shame that burned and blistered, burned and lied You spread your legs in anger, spread them wide A shame the burned and blistered, burned and lied The hand that holds The hammer holds the throne My feathers all point backward But I know which way to go I'm down to black A fish hook in my back A sweetness offered you could not deny, but I will turn my ragged head and fly A sweetness offered you could not deny, but I did turn my ragged head and fly
9.
10.
Skinny Bird 04:00

about

Orpheum Bell's most ambitious CD to date, their eclectic style is demonstrated by genre-crossing selections including folk, country, Eastern, and even a hard-driving song sung in Russian – all filled with explosive, intense musicality and vocal hooks. As with their previous two CDs, the art and packaging of “The Old Sisters’ Home” is a quietly elegant compliment to the music contained inside.

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released December 10, 2011

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Orpheum Bell Ann Arbor, Michigan

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