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Bring Down Goliath (featuring Richard Youngs)

from Bring Down Goliath b​/​w A Simple Song by Simon Joyner

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Bring Down Goliath featuring Richard Youngs and A Simple Song featuring Megan Siebe. Limited edition lathe cut record, on square clear plastic, cut by Mike Dixon at Lathe Cuts in Tucson. Sleeves are still being constructed but will be signed and numbered. Limited to 100. I'm charging a premium for these because I'm trying to raise as much money as possible for Grassroots Law Project, Color of Change, the Union for Contemporary Art and Culxr House. 100% of the profits will be divided between these organizations. Thank you for your help contributing to these organizations doing important anti-racist work at a crucial time in our democracy.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Bring Down Goliath b/w A Simple Song via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 6 days
    edition of 100 
    Purchasable with gift card

      $15 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

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

I recorded a new version of Bring Down Goliath in solidarity with the protests happening around the country over the death of George Floyd and the demand for police reform to stop the violence against African American people in this country. The song was initially recorded just with my phone and acoustic guitar. Then I sent it to Richard Youngs who was kind enough to collaborate on very short notice. Thank you, Richard! He dumped my recording onto his reel-to-reel and added acoustic guitars in the left and right channels and some harmony vocals on the choruses, and the song feels new again.

It seemed like a good time to revisit this old song, for obvious reasons. All the profits from the 7" will go to organizations working hard to bring down the Goliaths in our current headlines, systemic racism and police brutality, and lift up our communities. I'll be dividing the profits between Grassroots Law Project, Color of Change, and two local Omaha organizations to be decided.

lyrics

Bring Down Goliath

There are hatchet homes for howling souls
where the gravel slides right off the roads
and the sun don’t shine, it only scolds
Electricity jumps from pole to pole

You wake up there and your heart’s a mess
You’ve got to get what’s eating you off your chest
For even a ghost could use some rest
from this never-ending terror

You’ve got skeletons spilling out of your drawers
and your tongue’s swollen from biting down so hard
You say it ain’t true but you know that you are
the one they’re all spilling for

So you run as if you could slice through the air
Then you turn to see the past is still right there
She’s running her fingers through the waves in your hair,
whispering, “Go ahead and try and escape me”

You’ve got to get wise to your size ‘cause you’re crawling
Can’t quite call them blue skies at all, my friend
and the sun will rise or set with your hope or regret

So, how come you whisper, why not let out a scream?
Why open the road when you can float on a stream?
You’ve gotta go down in the dirt if you want to come up clean
What happened to your confidence and charisma?

I can hear your voice now, floating in the sky,
talking about truth and the lies that it implies
Beauty is your umbrella and you always hold it high
to shield you from the shower of dissension

All the chaos-tongues and the rattling teeth
predict the future so, digest your grief
For, even a ghost could stand to lose some sleep
over never-ending terror

Now, there’s a statue in every square or park
for protesters to mutilate after dark
Saying, “This is that of which we want no part”
with piss and spit and spray-paint

You’ve got to aim high if you want to bring down Goliath
because it ain’t just a stone when it ain’t just one life
and the sun will rise or set with your hope or regret

credits

from Bring Down Goliath b​/​w A Simple Song, released June 5, 2020
Simon Joyner: Acoustic guitar, voice
Richard Youngs: Acoustic guitars, voice

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about

Simon Joyner Omaha, Nebraska

Simon Joyner is a singer-songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska. He's been flying under the radar since 1991, releasing music on various independent labels including: Team Love, Jagjaguwar, Sing Eunuchs!, Catsup Plate, One-Hour, Shrimper, Brinkman, Secretly Canadian, and Unread. He is also the co-founder of Grapefruit Records (grapefruitrecordclub.com) and an occasional producer of other people's albums. ... more

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