All The Air
Ben Reneer & Eric Michael Robertson
Release Date: January 26, 2024
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
It was backyards in the spring
Cold creek water, seventeen
All the wreckage of a dream
Without a way out
I was bound to make mistakes
If it’s more than you can take
I will reach through sheets of rain
Into the drought
All the air
In my lungs
Could never scream out loud enough
To ever wake you up
All the heat
In the sun
Could never burn out bright enough
To fix what I’ve done
In a heat-stroke city square
Incoherent, unaware
All the lilacs in your hair
Were dying
Did we kill the only one?
Put a shroud around the sun?
The rocks you used to toss
are crying
All the air
In my lungs
Could never scream out loud enough
To ever wake you up
All the heat
In the sun
Could never burn out bright enough
To fix what I’ve done
Hanging on that tree
Proved you wrong
Didn’t we?
All the air
In my lungs
Could never scream out loud enough
To ever wake you up
All the heat
In the sun
Could never burn out bright enough
To fix what I’ve done
Invisible Border
Ben Reneer & Eric Michael Robertson
Release Date: January 12, 2024
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
Walking through a Southern dream
Magnolias in the sun
A young 19
And how it comes undone
You dive in, open eyed
Scrape the bottom, bruise your pride
Keep drinking, watch the tide fall
The lake runs dry
When is it over?
I wanna go back
I wanna go back
Invisible border
I wanna go back
I wanna go back
Filing it with the dumb things we did when we were young
And you’re so stuck on it
Obsessing with
How we behave
The worst of sins
How close you shave
Trying hard to feel the rain
But you’re too numb
When is it over?
I wanna go back
I wanna go back
Invisible border
I wanna go back
I wanna go back
When is it over?
I wanna go back
I wanna go back
Invisible border
I wanna go back
I wanna go back
Summer in the South (feat. Emma Reneer)
Ben Reneer
Release Date: January 5, 2024
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
A year of summer in the south
But I was still in a desert drought
The days and weeks repeated
Your rain was what I needed
Sun is up and school is out
There wasn’t much to talk about
But how The Word was bleeding
The sidewalks overheating
Tell me now, what drew you in?
The absolution of your sin?
Or just to make your parents proud?
To preach the victim of the crowd
Wide awake and home again
The past is always changing
A year of summer in the south
But I was still in a desert drought
The days and weeks repeated
Your rain was what I needed
Hold Christmas - EP
Ben Reneer
Release Date: November 6, 2023, 2024
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
Hold Christmas
December 26th
I’m shoveling the walk
The tree is in the gutter
Lights are turning off
A couple months of snowfall
Before the sun comes out
We’re back to being hurried
Back to acting proud
I wish I could hold Christmas
And it would stick around
For days when we run empty
For days when we feel down
I wish I could hold Christmas
And even in the darkest cloud
The light would shine out
On the other side
We pass another year
It’s so strange to live
Without you standing here
Waiting for the fall
And skies to turn gray
Somehow in the shadow
A beacon shows the way
I wish I could hold Christmas
And it would stick around
For days when we run empty
For days when we feel down
I wish I could hold Christmas
And even in the darkest cloud
The light would shine out
I could wait another year
But soon enough I’m gonna pack my bags and get outta here
Make my way across the sky
To a home lit up with Christmas lights
I wish I could hold Christmas
And it would stick around
For days when we run empty
For days when we feel down
I wish I could hold Jesus
And even in the darkest cloud
His light would shine out
-
I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day
I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace of earth, good will to men.
I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along th'unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."
Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
-
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting light;
the hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.
For Christ is born of Mary;
and, gathered all above,
while mortals sleep, the angels keep
their watch of wond'ring love.
O morning stars, together
proclaim the holy birth,
and praises sing to God the King,
and peace to men on earth.
How silently, how silently,
the wondrous gift is giv'n!
So God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of His heav'n.
No ear may hear His coming,
but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive Him still,
the dear Christ enters in.
O holy Child of Bethlehem,
descend to us, we pray;
cast out our sin and enter in;
be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels,
the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
our Lord Emmanuel!
-
What Child Is This?
What Child is this, who, laid to rest,
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ, the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary!
Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear: for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.
This, this is Christ, the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary!
So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh,
Come, peasant, king to own Him.
The King of kings salvation brings;
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
This, this is Christ, the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary!
Give Me A Reason
Ben Reneer
Release Date: October 20, 2023
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
Things break but the pain’s delayed
All that I could say was what my name was
Angels came like rain comes down
To sleep the price is steep
Some things you keep, but me you throw out
With the doubt
Give me a reason
Not to go
Not to leave this town behind
Give me a reason
Not to go
We tossed, ocean’s to cross
But the greatest loss was the space between your hands
And the crossed out plans
Vacancy in the part of me people pay to see
The two become one in the neon sun
Give me a reason
Not to go
Not to leave this town behind
Give me a reason
Not to go
Not to leave this town behind
I wanted to live with the lies they were selling
I wanted to find out they were right
They were right
I was wrong
I wanted find in you all I was needing
I wanted to come home and see
You were there
You were there all along
You were there
I was gone
Give me a reason
Not to go
Not to leave this town behind
Give me a reason
Not to go
Not to leave this town behind
Give me a reason
Not to go
Not to leave this town behind
Give me a reason
Not to go
Blind
Cross
Ben Reneer
Release Date: September 22, 2023
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
Halfway across the Midwest
A fire in my chest
Her clouds were always threatening
Sleepless on a old couch
It washed my heart out
When she started raining
Moving through Missouri
Shrugging off the worry
I guess I should have seen it come
Stopping at gas-stations
Search for validation
I blew a fuse and she was done
Cross
Crossing out the plans that I had with her
Loss
Losing this game that I’d already lost
I don’t understand the reasons why she tossed it away
Staring at the summer
Man, it’s such a bummer
That she didn’t choose to stay
The body in a tomb
Another empty room
This is not a Good Friday
Cross
Crossing out the plans that I had with her
Loss
Losing this game that I’d already lost
I don’t understand the reasons why she tossed it away
I’m slowly driving home
Come Sunday could you roll this stone away?
Cross
Crossing out the plans that I had with her
Loss
Losing this game that I’d already lost
I don’t understand the reasons why she tossed it away
See You (feat. Sarah Jane)
Ben Reneer
Release Date: March 12, 2023
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
I wanna see you at your best
In the morning, first day of June
Sunlight falling into your room
I wanna see you while you rest
In the dim light of the evening news
Sidewalk passing under my shoes
I wanna see you
But you’re behind some fear right now
I can wait another year somehow
Somehow
I wanna see you taking flight
The world she opens up to you
Spread your wings, a wash of blue
I wanna see you every night
Till the end comes and the star burn out
And we know ourselves without a doubt
I wanna see you
But you’re behind some fear right now
I can wait another year somehow
Somehow
But you’re behind some fear right now
I can wait another year somehow
But you’re behind some fear right now
I can wait another year somehow
Somehow
My Hands Were Stuck In My Pockets
Ben Reneer
Release Date: September 2, 2022
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
Somewhere
Somewhere there’s a girl in a car
Driving so fast, feeling so far away
And I wish, I wish I was there by her side
Someday she’ll come around
But I could be gone and she might have changed her mind anyway
So how long until we’re both whole again?
-
Deep
Do you remember the night that we met
Under the glow of the street lamps?
Was trying to swim in your dark silhouette
My hands were stuck in my pockets
In my pockets
2 a.m. is too early to know
Which town the sun’s gonna shine on
And which way this road that we’re on is gonna go
And how to expose what we’re hiding
What we’re hiding
How did it get so deep?
I should be getting more sleep
How did it get so deep?
I should be getting more sleep
There was weight on both sides of the scale
The bad in the good and the heaven in hell
I guess we’re both in the middle of time
And I guess it takes one to know one
Takes one to know one
How did it get so deep?
I should be getting more sleep
How did it get so deep?
I should be getting more sleep
Most of me wants to be holding you
Part of you wants to be gone
If we stay here could we know the truth
And which part we got wrong
How did it get so deep?
I should be getting more sleep
How did it get so deep?
I should be getting more sleep
-
Wasted Space
Tell me when you’ll come
I’m starting fires
All your silent words
Are tripping wires
Sinking, we’ll find that
This ship won’t float
Thinking can’t bring you back
I try to loosen the hope
And back again
There’s so much wasted, so much wasted time
As we spin
So much wasted, so much wasted space
On my skin
Tie me to the tracks
I’ll wake up younger
And see things in binary
And soft as thunder
On the island in late July
I was willing to let you try
My trust on the water
I was stuck between out and in
On the edge of the truth, I am
Too much like my father
And back again
There’s so much wasted, so much wasted time
As we spin
So much wasted, so much wasted space
On my skin
You can’t fire me if I quit
But I won’t
Should I leave you alone?
We’ll be swimming with the dead again
And she’ll be living in my head again
Yeah we came a long way
Then we threw it away
And back again
There’s so much wasted, so much wasted time
As we spin
So much wasted, so much wasted space
On my skin
You can’t fire me if I quit
But I won’t
Should I leave you alone?
-
Comfortable Lies
You said you miss me
I miss me too
In moments when you kiss me I’m not there with you
We’re both distracted
we’re both flinching at pain
Affected by weather
I could do without this constant chance of rain
We can’t go back to the other side
Before the revelation
And live a life in these comfortable lies
Comfortable lies
Downtown we wander
Assumptions keep us warm
Now your words like thunder
I’m shaken I’m torn
Trying to stand and wipe the blood from my chin
Worried it’s over if I go down again
We can’t go back to the other side
Before the revelation
And live a life in these comfortable lies
Comfortable lies
These winter nights
In your frozen past
I don’t wanna know
But I gotta ask
We can’t go back to the other side
Before the revelation
And live a life in these comfortable lies
Comfortable lies
-
A Ghost In Someone’s Body
I was still alone
The moment that you held me
Cause I couldn’t let go
Of who I thought I was
I guess that’s how things go
It’s yours and then it’s history
When I was feeling ready
It ended just because
Am I a ghost in someone’s body?
Am I a voice inside your mind?
And if I’m haunting you, I’m sorry
I haunt myself sometimes
Unprepared
For the things you told me
I hope I didn’t scare you
Buried in my thoughts
I hope you know
How much I think I need you
So I write another poem
And hope that that’s enough
Am I a ghost in someone’s body?
Am I a voice inside your mind?
And if I’m haunting you, I’m sorry
I haunt myself sometimes
I haunt myself sometimes
If you keep dragging this on
Then I’ll keep dragging us on
Go find a way not to haunt someone
If I keep dragging this on
Then you’ll keep dragging us on
Go find a way not to haunt someone
Am I a ghost in someone’s body?
Am I a voice inside your mind?
And if I’m haunting you, I’m sorry
I haunt myself sometimes
-
Is It Over?
Why does it hurt so bad to love you?
To love you
We have so much to live up to
live up to
And this could be the dying flower
That I have cut too soon
In your room it gets you higher
Than I could get you
Hey, is it over?
Did we fall right in and turn to dust?
Hey, is it over?
Did the sun descend on both of us?
Now I wait with no conclusion
Conclusion
Thanks for clearing the confusion
Confusion
By the time this washes over
I could be moving on
Or haunted in the memory
Not knowing which way’s up
Hey, is it over?
Did we fall right in and turn to dust?
Hey, is it over?
Did the sun descend on both of us?
If it’s over, tell me it’s over
Did you forget I was waiting for you
If it’s over, tell me it’s over
I have so much work to do
Hey, is it over?
Did we fall right in and turn to dust?
Hey, is it over?
Did the sun descend on both of us?
Hey, is it over?
Did we fall right in and turn to dust?
Hey, is it over?
Did the sun descend on both of us?
-
Hold On To Me
I tread the sidewalk till it ends
She talks to Jesus
But there’s silence on the telephone
I guess it’s cool to just be friends
I’ll finish that movie on my own
On my own
So don’t hold on to me if you’re not gonna hold me
Let’s not talk if you’re not gonna talk
Don’t hold on to me if you’re not gonna hold me
Let’s not talk if you’re not gonna talk
The trouble is it’s hard to find
You see yourself in the tired eyes of someone
The trouble is she changed her mind
And what we had is now the last snow in the summer sun
So don’t hold on to me if you’re not gonna hold me
Let’s not talk if you’re not gonna talk
Don’t hold on to me if you’re not gonna hold me
Let’s not talk if you’re not gonna talk
I can’t make you let me into your head
And I can’t forget what you said
I can’t make you let me into your head
And I can’t forget
So don’t hold on to me if you’re not gonna hold me
Let’s not talk if you’re not gonna talk
Don’t hold on to me if you’re not gonna hold me
Let’s not talk if you’re not gonna talk
Don’t hold on to me if you’re not gonna hold me
Let’s not talk if you’re not gonna talk
-
Senseless
The sky is so pretty right now
I wonder if your pretty eyes see it
I need a good love
I wonder if you’re ever gonna be it
In a couple weeks I could drive away
And you could find another victim
It’s not your fault I feel this way
Senseless with no direction
This town is a lot of things
It gets you down
It lets you bleed
I need to get out
But I can’t find a ticket to leave
In a couple weeks you could drive away
And I could find another victim
It’s not your fault I feel this way
Senseless with no direction
In a couple years and a little more gray
We’ll stop dreaming about each other
It’s no one’s fault we’ll find a way
To get senseless for one another
Yeah we’ll get senseless for each other
Where do you go when the lights are turning off?
Where do you go when your hopes are falling from the windows?
Where do you go when it feels like you’ll never be enough?
In a couple weeks you could drive away
And I could find another victim
It’s not your fault I feel this way
Senseless with no direction
-
Thinking Of Me
Maybe I’ll come through your new town
Stand on a stage and wave my arms around, around
Round and round
Maybe I’ll show up on your screen
And remind you, you weren’t thinking of me, of me
Maybe I’ll show up on your screen
And remind you that you weren’t thinking of me
Maybe I’ll show up on your screen
And remind you that you weren’t thinking of me
DUI every time you said something I wanted to hear
And on the ground you said you found a reason to disappear
And reappear
Maybe I’ll show up on your screen
And remind you that you weren’t thinking of me
Maybe I’ll show up on your screen
And remind you that you weren’t thinking of me
Maybe I’ll show up on your screen
And remind you that you weren’t thinking of me
Maybe I’ll show up on your screen
And remind you that you weren’t thinking of me
-
Go.
If I tell you everything
You might run and hide
So I tell you everything
I can’t help it, I can’t stand to think I lied
If I tell you everything
You might leave for good
So I tell you everything
I can’t help it, I can’t help it
Did you think I could?
Did I dream this whole thing up?
These fake emotions kind of taste like blood
I’m liberated now but lost in the flood
Go.
Before I wake up
When you were my companion
The autumn nights we spent
Tossing round those ancient words
Like we knew what they meant
I’m careful with my words now
To keep them based in fact
I’m holy water frozen over
You slip and break your back
Did I dream this whole thing up?
These fake emotions kind of taste like blood
I’m liberated now but lost in the flood
Go.
Before I wake up
Go
Before I wake up
It's gonna take a lot of guts to stand my ground
To give you up
It's gonna take a lot from both of us
It's gonna take a lot of guts to stand my ground
To give you up
It's gonna take a lot from both of us
Did I dream this whole thing up?
These fake emotions kind of taste like blood
I’m liberated now but lost in the flood
Go.
Before I wake up
Go.
Before I wake up
Go.
Before I wake up
Go.
Before I wake up
Go.
Before I wake up
Samadhi
Ben Reneer/Rain No Rain
Release Date: March 9, 2022
Format: Digital Download
She Walked Off
Ben Reneer
Release Date: December 23, 2021
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
She walked off in a cloud of dust
Blinding all the rest of us
Oh my goodness, all my guts
Twist and turn till the sun comes up
Ahhh
Ahhh
Ahhh
Flowers for the swindled crowd
The box is full, but we’re emptied out
Trying to sleep when we don’t know how
No
We can’t hold it down
Ahhh
Ahhh
Ahhh
Wait a day and we’ll be upside down again
Out in space but somehow underground
I can’t figure it out
Ahhh
Ahhh
Ahhh
Lyrics
It’s a one way street
You can’t back up or you’ll pop the tires
So I got out of this town without a fight
And I move blindly
From shade to shadow
And if you think that I don’t know myself
You’re right
I wander out
To wind up lonely
I’d get more done if I could concentrate
And when we fell
Into the fog
The mountains melted into the Ocean State
Hold on
For just a couple hours
Night is over soon
Hold on
Your fists are full of flowers
That are bound to bloom
I might go park out in the Utah desert
And walk till I become the burning sun
If I was gonna
That’s how I’d do it
And skip the shatter of a hidden gun
Moving through these states alone
Moving through these streets of stone
The promised land, you’ll understand
Is far from home
Far from home
Hold on
For just a couple hours
Night is over soon
Hold on
Your fists are full of flowers
That are bound to bloom
Snow (feat. Kyson Kidd)
Ben Reneer
Release Date: March 26, 2021
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
I’ve been so hard on you
Trying to love with knuckles white
Just to grasp at words last night
Fearing a broken promise
Well, being honest where’s the proof
Fill my old skin with new truth
And snow will bury last night
I hope you’re doing alright
In snow that buries last night
I hope
Praying that you can manage
If I damage us again
Open eyes and say “amen”
I just want you back here
I’m a selfish kiss goodbye
And God is in the falling sky
And snow will bury last night
I hope you’re doing alright
In snow that buries last night
I hope
Now I’m back in the memory
Tearing at the seams
Wishing I could wear it
And let you be
And snow will bury last night
I hope you’re doing alright
In snow that buries last night
I hope
Swallow (feat. Tell the City)
Ben Reneer
Release Date: February 5, 2021
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
Can you hear me over the ocean?
A satellite said that you would
Can you save a ship from a sailor?
Tell me these words have been misunderstood
And I only want to be the one
To hold you
Again
And I swallow like an empty sun
Just pulling you in
Oh, 132 questions
Make their way down south main every night
Small town bars and highway connections
I try but I just can't board my last flight
And I only want to be the one
To hold you
Again
And I swallow like an empty sun
Just pulling you in
Have you sold your wisdom for glory?
Would you let me sell mine for youth?
Now you whisper "The journey is not over"
I rattle my cage on the edge of the truth
And I only want to be the one
To hold you
Again
And I swallow like an empty sun
Just pulling you in
Brooklyn Crucifixion
Ben Reneer
Release Date: September 25, 2020
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
That night he comes to me
The mythic ancestor in a dream
With raging eyes, I am unclean
But my hands are free
I woke in soaking sheets
White walls surround me
So I threw paint at everything
Till they found me
Till they found me
There she is again
Staring out the window in the dark
On the tired streets of Brooklyn
There she is again
Between the father and the son
Tied up in crucifixion
How do you paint the rain in someone’s eyes?
Above the clouds that cry, the sky is blue
But I wonder, late at night were you always you?
It doesn’t matter anymore
I should be going
But I can’t close very door
When the water’s still flowing
When the water’s still flowing
There she is again
Staring out the window in the dark
On the tired streets of Brooklyn
There she is again
Between the father and the son
Tied up in crucifixion
How do you paint the rain in someone’s eyes?
Don’t you dare think that what you’ve seen doesn’t matter
Cause when you see it you’ll feel everything
There she is again
Staring out the window in the dark
On the tired streets of Brooklyn
There she is again
Between the father and the son
Tied up in crucifixion
How do you paint the rain in someone’s eyes?
Orange Avenue (Live at BYU Radio, Provo, UT, 2019)
Ben Reneer
Release Date: July 31, 2020
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
I woke up cold and out of touch
The photos and the memories will never be enough
But if I could walk those streets today, would you still feel so far away?
Do you remember when I died?
Stepped on that airplane and let it take me from your side
On the last day of July
In a cloudy southern sky
Will the rain ever stop,
Will the rain ever stop,
Will the rain every stop reminding me of you
Orange Avenue?
There was nothing I could do,
but sit and watch the fire and rain of bullets fall on you
If God will send his angels down,
and wash the blood from your cold town.
I'm still drenched from the first time it rained on me
And now a constant downpour of tragedy
Will the rain ever stop,
Will the rain ever stop,
Will the rain every stop reminding me of you
Orange Avenue?
Between These Walls
Ben Reneer
Release Date: April 24, 2020
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
I Confess
Every night
You say it's the last time
But tonight
You can't make up your mind
If I could
Rescue you, you know I would
There may be
Others in line ahead of me
And I have given you my pride
Do what you'd like
I confess to everything
And you get less than you deserve
I confess to everything
Fallen prey
To dream of landing in your soul someday
Don't you dare
Let him drag you down
And I have given you my pride
Do what you'd like
I confess to everything
And you get less than you deserve
I confess to everything
And you get less than you deserve
Tied up in purgatory
In the heat of his arms
Break out and run towards me
Pull the fire alarm
And I have given you my pride
Do what you'd like
I confess to everything
And you get less than you deserve
I confess to everything
And you get less than you deserve
I...
-
Away From Us (Summer Downpour)
I left the crowd to join the circus
I wore the uniform and faced
My mind erased
Relentless warning
But still your children suffer
It's been four years
But I can taste it when I see those faces
A part of me
In the summer downpour
Pardon me for focusing on the things I can't ignore
And now I see you in the distant tail lights
Everything just moves away from us tonight
I left the town to join the army
I did my best to fall in line
To not waste time
Orlando calls me
But not for simple reasons
A part of me
In the summer downpour
Pardon me for focusing on the things I can't ignore
And now I see you in the distant tail lights
Everything just moves away from us
us...
I could write a book about it but it wouldn't bring you back
I could plead forever but that won't change the time or the place we're at
The place we're at
The place we're at
A part of me
In the summer downpour
Pardon me for focusing on the things I can't ignore
And now I see you in the distant tail lights
Everything just moves away from us
Yeah everything just moves away from us
Everything just moves away from us
Tonight
Tonight
Tonight
-
Downriver
Every time
I think that I found it
I go and drown it
In gasoline
Every time
I’m kicking the sidewalk
You’d think I’ve gone crazy
I’m just blowing off steam
And I woke up downriver
It feels like only yesterday
And I’m too cold to shiver
So I crawl back in the water
And drift away
These streets
They don’t have the answer
Trust me, I’ve been there
She’s a deadbolt door
Vague dreams
A shadow on her porch swing
Just another kid at bat in Burgess Park
What’s he swinging for?
What’s he swinging for?
And I woke up downriver
It feels like only yesterday
And I’m too cold to shiver
So I crawl back in the water
And drift away
Maybe I
Was in your dream then
But I was late
You found another
Found another
And I woke up downriver
It feels like only yesterday
And I’m too cold to shiver
So I crawl back in the water
And drift away
-
27 Years
Between these walls I can't tell
If I'm crushed or cradled
Between the bars in this hotel
I wish there was something you could hold
What's it gonna take?
Twenty-seven years on a rock in space
When's the fever gonna break?
Oh, what's it gonna take for this place to feel like home?
Tie me down to where I've been
I keep driving through the fences
We've been around one more spin
But I can't regain my senses
What's it gonna take?
Twenty-seven years on a rock in space
When's the fever gonna break?
Oh, what's it gonna take for this place to feel like home?
Oh, what's it gonna take for this place to feel like home?
I know it has to go
Does it have to go so quick?
It's like I'm still there
And it makes me sick
What's it gonna take?
Twenty-seven years on a rock in space
When's the fever gonna break?
Oh, what's it gonna take for this place to feel like home?
Yeah, what's it gonna take for this place to feel like home?
Oh, what's it gonna take for this place to feel like home?
-
Walls
When I think about you
I don't know where you are
A piece of this old car breaks
And I have gone too far
Yeah, I have gone too far
What good is the dogma
If we're still feeling scared?
What's the use in calling
If I'm still unprepared?
If I'm still unprepared?
I can't see through these walls today
They're killing my view
I can't see through these walls today
But you're asking me to
When do I get answers?
The staircase is on fire
And all I have are questions
And everyone's a liar
Yeah, everyone's a liar
I can't see through these walls today
They're killing my view
I can't see through these walls today
But you're asking me to
Is it the lidocaine
Or just the apathy?
Filling my restless brain
It takes control of me
Slow
Control
I'm not the same as I was
Before the war
I can't see through these walls today
They're killing my view
I can't see through these walls today
But you're asking me to
I can't see through these walls today
They're killing my view
I can't see through these walls today
But you're asking me to
Yeah, you're asking me to
Yeah, you're asking me to
-
When The Sun Goes Down
Buy a piece of land
You're gonna build a house on it
Gonna start a family and watch 'em grow
What if I won't settle down?
What if I keep drifting?
What if I never know?
Well, now we're lining up
To fill our homes with stuff
We'll be lined up in the dirt
When there's nothing left
And we're all out of breath
Yeah we're all out of words
Are we just here to spin in place?
They don't care in outer space
When the sun goes down
When the sun goes down
Well we're not talking
But I still wanna see you
Gotta find a way to tell you that
Well maybe that's stupid
Cause I haven't seen you
And I don't know where you're at
Are we just here to spin in place?
They don't care in outer space
When the sun goes down
When the sun goes down
And we'll go back out into the cosmos
And we'll know exactly where we're from
Are we just here to spin in place?
They don't care in outer space
When the sun goes down
When the sun goes down
Eyes Like June (feat. Emily Reneer)
Ben Reneer
Release Date: September 20, 2019
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
They say "someday you'll miss today"
I guess I already knew that
Candles burn out
Life's the same way
You don't have to prove that
Where's the kid you left behind?
With eyes like June and hair grown wild
I'm the first to know you have to go but don't leave
Don't leave
You'll move on son
Maybe dream with someone
I'll still wake up in this small town, small town
Buildings go up but the clouds fall down
And so do we, so do we
Where's the kid you left behind?
With eyes like June and hair grown wild
I'm the first to know you have to go but don't leave
Don't leave
Let go of the morning and the tossed and turning wind
Let go of the small hands that will never be small again
Again
Where's the kid you left behind?
With eyes like June and hair grown wild
I'm the first to know you have to go but don't leave
Don't leave
Where's the kid you left behind?
With eyes like June and hair grown wild
I'm the first to know you have to go but don't leave
Don't leave
Songbird (feat. Tell the City)
Ben Reneer
Release Date: July 19, 2019
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
That night I stepped into a dream
But now I barely want to sing
Well my voice feels fine, but there’s nothing left to say
I try searching for her face
But lately the clouds are in the way
And her phone works fine
I guess she’s got nothing to say
I’m just a songbird in a cage half screaming
And if she can’t see through the haze, what’s the point of songs again?
Not here is all she’ll ever be
One cold year now has turned to three
And it’s fine if it’s only ever me
Yeah it’s fine if I can never breathe
I’m just a songbird in a cage half screaming
And if she can’t see through the haze, what’s the point of songs again?
A songbird
A songbird
A songbird in a cage with his wings clipped and no way out
Blue skies show
And if she’ll untie me I might go or I might stay, and just keep circling
Yeah I might stay and just keep circling alone
And it’s fine if it’s only ever me
Yeah it’s fine if I can never breathe
I’m just a songbird in a cage, half screaming
And if she can’t see through the haze what’s the point of songs again?
A songbird
A songbird
A songbird in a cage with his wings clipped and no way out
Facets of This Faded Memory
Ben Reneer
Release Date: February 22, 2019
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
Arizona
I could barely feel it
It took some time to trickle in
A dream I can’t get up from
The voice of God in a siren
Now the kids are gone and you’d given in
Yeah, the kids are gone and you’d given in
Empty skies won’t wash away the blood
So we cry like Arizona never does
We were left to wonder what we did and why you died
Scarlet skies of thunder
Money’s loose and tongues are tied
And hollow words can’t heal our pride
No, hollow words can’t heal our pride
Empty skies won’t wash away the blood
So we cry like Arizona never does
Empty skies won’t wash away the blood
So we cry like Arizona never does
Now I’m standing here alone
Wondering what it’s like to lose me
Time is not something we own
Buy it back, we’re slipping slowly
And I think you may have thought:
If living’s hard then dying’s easy
Empty skies won’t wash away the blood
So we cry like Arizona never does
Empty skies won’t wash away the blood
So we cry like Arizona never does
-
I Should Have Been There
I drive slow over that bridge
Blasted by the sunlight
Burned back to just a kid
I stand by the old post office
Where I sent that letter
I’m sure she never read
The old Saint Joseph river flows into the harbor
The lake just up ahead
I should have been there when you died
I’m sorry
I should have been there by your side
This time of year the apple trees are heavy
But I’m just losing sleep I can’t hold down
I guess I’m still not ready
Stuck in 2011
Just to put my time in
So I can call it even
All these things I’ve done
I should have been there when you died
I’m sorry
I should have been there by your side
And I was close but far away
It was further than my mind could carry me to you
To relocate the facets of this faded memory
Pushing snow off of the driveway
And your face from my memory
I wipe the windshield clean
Longing for life among the redwoods
I’m stuck here with saplings
I am something in between
I should have been there when you died
I’m sorry
I should have been there by your side
I should have been there when you died
I’m sorry
I should have been there by your side
-
Off My Mind
Blue eyes open wide
Side to side, just trying to find it again
It’s about time forget about everything
Love is bound it isn’t blind
No
Don’t leave me drowning in the river
I don’t know if I can swim back
You left me here, head under water
I don’t want to live like that
And I’ll spend everyday struggling to find
A way to get to shore and to get you off my mind
Maybe I’m still afraid
Maybe I’ll just drive all night
Bright lights in my eyes
I’m losing sleep, I’m losing sight
Love is bound it isn’t blind
No
Don’t leave me drowning in the river
I don’t know if I can swim back
You left me here, head under water
I don’t want to live like that
And I’ll spend everyday struggling to find
A way to get to shore and to get you off my mind
I’m a stowaway in a ship I never chose
Locked up with the others who have fallen for your soul
Don’t leave me drowning in the river
I don’t know if I can swim back
You left me here, head under water
I don’t want to live like that
And I’ll spend everyday struggling to find
A way to get to shore and to get you off my mind
A way to get to shore and to get you off my mind
-
The Middle of the Story
ahh ahh, ahhh ahh
ahh ahhh, ahh ahh
ahh ahh, ahhh ahh
ahh ahh, ahh ahhh
-
Michigan
I need something to change
An extra dose of medicine in these veins
It’s been so long this way
My eyes fixed on the mirror and what I hate
If I go back to Michigan
Will I hear your voice again
If I go back to Michigan will I find you?
We cannot erase
The forest fire
I’ve fallen from your grace
And it leaves a bitter taste
It’s just me now, always the same face
If I go back to Michigan
Will I hear your voice again
If I go back to Michigan will I find you?
If I go back to Michigan
Will I hear your voice again
If I go back to Michigan will I find you?
Well we didn’t ask to be bleeding and wondering who left who
If you’re the sun I am the shadow
Well we didn’t ask to be breathing and taking in the view
Of the water and light it slowly swallows
Just a sunset on Lake Michigan
If I go back to Michigan
Will I hear your voice again
If I go back to Michigan will I find you?
If I go back to Michigan
Will I hear your voice again
If I go back to Michigan will I find you?
-
Is it Too Late?
Maybe I was pushing you away
Light another fire
I will come back to your flame
Maybe with my lungs about to break
I whisper your name
But now is it too late?
Now is it too late?
Thin Light
Ben Reneer
Release Date: June 15, 2018
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
Now I'm back on the sidewalk
I watch the sky burn through the rain
In the words when I don't talk
And empty eyes unload again
And I'm barely believing
That there's a house my hands can raise
So I open my eyes and look
Through the haze
Thin light
I was buried in my cells that night
And she can't hear me if I'm in my mind
And I can't see her if I'm blind
In the thin light
Now I'm back at the window
I lap the drops of summer rain
On the roads that I don't know
I drive around for days and days
So I open the blinds and look
Through the haze
Thin light
I was buried in my cells that night
And she can't hear me if I'm in my mind
And I can't see her if I'm blind
In the thin light
Thin light
I was buried in my cells that night
And she can't hear me if I'm in my mind
And I can't see her if I'm blind
In the thin light
Swallow Like an Empty Sun - EP
Ben Reneer
Release Date: February 9, 2018
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
Bike Ride
Staircase, pale face, play alone
Tough choice, your voice calls me home
Bike ride, rockslide, falling down
Warm cloth, blood loss, car ride now
And all the memories pile up
They snag and pull me back
Third grade, mistake, I don’t know
Cold days, hallways, walking home
I wrote down the way I felt
Kept it away from everyone else
And all the memories pile up
They snag and pull me back
Maybe we were meant to walk thru life with tired eyes
and maybe we were born to crawl thru hell and not know why
Fighting with my dreams, it seems that I cannot surrender
But if I lie here still
If I lie here still will I remember?
If I lie here still
If I lie here still will I remember
And all the memories pile up
They snag and pull me back
Bike ride, rockslide, falling down
Warm cloth, blood loss, car ride now
-
She Breathes
You hear your baby cry
Then the truth pours in – the crib is dry
Grass is blue in moonlight
You remember loss, remember life
It’s just a whisper from the other side
You slowly dry your face and send one more goodbye
And high above the clouds and autumn leaves
Despite the lack of oxygen, she breathes
The land takes more than it gives
If I had my way I’d have you live
I can’t step where you go
Now its me alone to watch these saplings grow
And now it’s just the land I plow and me
I’m digging through this dirt to try and set you free
And high above the clouds and autumn leaves
Despite the lack of oxygen, she breathes
You’re the lavender in this alfalfa town
Fighting off these storm clouds
You’re the lavender in this old valley town
I watch the water fill your house
Washed away now
And now its just the land I plow and me
I’m digging through this dirt to try and set you free
And high above the clouds and autumn leaves
Despite the lack of oxygen, she breathes
-
Swallow
Can you hear me over the ocean?
A satellite said that you would
Can you save a ship from a sailor?
Tell me these words have been misunderstood
And I only want to be the one
To hold you
Again
And I swallow like an empty sun
Just pulling you in
Oh, 132 questions
Make their way down south main every night
Small town bars and highway connections
I try but I just can't board my last flight
And I only want to be the one
To hold you
Again
And I swallow like an empty sun
Just pulling you in
Have you sold your wisdom for glory?
Would you let me sell mine for youth?
Now you whisper "The journey is not over"
I rattle my cage on the edge of the truth
And I only want to be the one
To hold you
Again
And I swallow like an empty sun
Just pulling you in
-
Last Spring
Life in this village moves fast and they pillage your heart
Life under fire, my only desire you discard
Mocked by these flowers, the day burns her hours into dark
Now I return to the sunset with you in Wadeview Park
Last spring the cobwebs broke and I lost you
Last spring I came apart
Last spring the cobwebs broke and I lost you
Last spring I came apart
Mocked by these flowers the day burns her hours into dark
Now I return to the sunset with you in Wadeview Park
Last spring the cobwebs broke and I lost you
Last spring I came apart
Last spring the cobwebs broke and I lost you
Last spring I came apart
I’m losing it
Like it’s tied to the sun and I’m spinning around
I’m losing it
Like it’s tied to the sun and I’m spinning around
Last spring, I came apart
Last spring, I came apart
Last spring, I came apart
-
Emma
You stand at the water's edge and somewhere in last night
There's a child, she laughs
There's a girl, she cries
And they are both inside your eyes
Yeah, they are both there in your eyes
I left town a couple years, when I came home
I was so amazed at how you had grown
But you had cages of your own
Yeah, you had cages of your own
I wish that I could find a way to keep you safe
I wish that I could heal you today
Emma
Only cracked and broken can I see you full of light
When the winter ends but you're still not right
Well we're all wounded from the fight
Yeah we're all victims of this life
I wish that I could find a way to keep you safe
I wish that I could heal you today
Emma
Emma
Please don't swallow the darkness
Please don't swallow the world
Girl, don't swallow the shadow
Don't let it swallow my girl
I wish that I could find a way to keep you safe
I wish that I could heal you today
Emma
I wish that I could find a way to keep you safe
I wish that I could heal you today
Emma
Emma
Emma
Hand (feat. Sarah Appel)
Ben Reneer
Release Date: October 16, 2017
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
Just a little silence
Just a little shame
Dip my finger in the well of ink
I’m writing down your name
In just a little water
You could watch me drown.
I’m affected by all kinds of weather
Whether or not it gets me down
I was living
Only to be on the run
Oh there’s nothing to fear in the future
The future’s already come and gone
So say goodbye to reason
You try to dodge the truth
Just a kid in an old man’s body
Trying to get back to youth
And when the world changed
We left ourselves behind
And when the world changed
I think we lost our minds
And I know you know everything about me
But I won’t show my hand
Why do you keep running?
You want to be alone
You’re a town with only one diner
A couple of days in a car from home
From the upstairs window
I can see the world
It tries to tell me that everything I want
Is wrapped up in a girl
And when the world changed
We left ourselves behind
And when the world changed
I think we lost our minds
And I know you know everything about me
But I won’t show my hand
And when the world changed
We left ourselves behind
And when the world changed
I think we lost our minds
And I know you know everything about me
But I won’t show my hand
Orange Avenue - EP
Ben Reneer
Release Date: June 7, 2017
Format: Digital Download
Lyrics
Orange Avenue
I woke up cold and out of touch
The photos and the memories will never be enough
But if I could walk those streets today, would you still feel so far away?
Do you remember when I died?
Stepped on that airplane and let it take me from your side
On the last day of July
In a cloudy southern sky
Will the rain ever stop,
Will the rain ever stop,
Will the rain every stop reminding me of you
Orange Avenue?
There was nothing I could do,
but sit and watch the fire and rain of bullets fall on you
If God will send his angels down,
and wash the blood from your cold town.
I'm still drenched from the first time it rained on me
And now a constant downpour of tragedy
Will the rain ever stop,
Will the rain ever stop,
Will the rain every stop reminding me of you
Orange Avenue?
-
Deep Divide
I spent years wondering if I’d ever have a hometown
And she spilled tears on the ground
I walk the halls where they screamed, and I cry: There’s no going back now
Walking away from each other
Both of you leave me here in your deep divide, divide
Praying for me and my brother
Praying we’re not gonna have to take a side, a side
I might be steady despite it all but still there are factures inside
And I might recognize angry eyes and icy hands
And I might run and hide
Walking away from each other
Both of you leave me here in your deep divide, divide
Praying for me and my brother
Praying we’re not gonna have to take a side, a side
And with the rain, a family washed away
And memories are all that I have now
Walking away from each other
Both of you leave me here in your deep divide, divide
Praying for me and my brother
Praying we’re not gonna have to take a side, a side
-
Her Lightning
As I watched you learn
Watched your eyes burn
With the fire, the light
That I can’t see here tonight.
All your downtown streets I knew.
Some things died and some things grew
And your red clouds waved goodbye as I left you for the empty sky.
I can still hear the sound of her lightning come down
And the rain fall as we climbed that hill
And our home was a ghost when I lived on the coast
And the memory of her haunts me still.
When I see you in my head you’re the only mouth I fed
And it kills me still to know that I let myself let you go
I can still hear the sound of her lightning come down
And the rain fall as we climbed that hill
And our home was a ghost when I lived on the coast
And the memory of her haunts me still.
Talk to me about everything that I left that you sent me to find (to find)
Cause here I am once again at your door but its just in my mind
My mind
I can still hear the sound of her lightning come down
And the rain fall as we climbed that hill
And our home was a ghost when I lived on the coast
And the memory of her haunts me still.