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1.
Better Ourselves 03:34
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They tell us they'll fix it They tell us that they will make it right Our saviors sit above us, their plans kept out of site We've seen it before This isn't new to anyone This is a system, their plans unravel until they all become undone They call it Free Trade They say it'll bring jobs to the poor Across the border they toil in sweatshops, across the street they've jobs no more While wealth knows no borders They pass it back and forth amongst themselves But if a poor man crosses over one, they'll take him off to jail They flooded the markets, the crops no longer sell Multinationals pushed their own crops and the prices fell Now given the choice to work in sweatshops or flee They set the plans to allow this, this is their policy And they meet in secret to set this up, their agendas are kept hidden We see the effects all over the world, but the people's voices are overridden...or so it seems All over the world people have stood up to the beast that feeds the wealthy off the rest of us and now they come to our own streets But there are visions of a new world still to come built in the ashes of the hell they've made from the hearts of everyone We've all been affected Our families, our neighbors, and our world We've trusted saviors far too long, we can do it better ourselves
2.
Between the Streetlights 02:54
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Somewhere in between the streetlights we got lost in the dark of night And the road we had been walking along was now nowhere in sight Every step we took was blind But that's alright though, the walk was worth it We didn't have a destination anyway And I hope we remember the good and we learn from the bad And we treasure the steps we took together along the way 'cause I was able to trust I traded my jealousy for love There was fun, there was sharing, there was so much more But there's never time enough So I'm not mad, though we both hurt We might both wish we'd found the light But darkness only lasts so long and though we're now apart and new starts are hard, but new starts are life And someday under different streetlights we will find the lamps above us shining bright And the roads we walk along, they may be different but I know New love and new light will fill our eyes under new streetlights
3.
Overcome (Rx Bandits cover) 03:02
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4.
The Ride 02:37
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Time melds together, shapes a rollercoaster Waves with peaks and valleys, repeating over and over Plateaus, I don't know what's coming next But it's part of my ride in time And I try different perspectives to change the lows to highs But change can seem so slow through those endless sleepless nights and exhausting uphill battles that I hope will soon lead back to a peak And through these ups and downs my ride will change me In this town and all the life that surrounds me Back and forth in this struggle for growth 'til what seems so far away is so close And it's continuous, I don't expect a destination 'til I'm off the ride, I'll value this combination of the bad, the good, my fears, and my excitement It's my fight, my life, my perspective 'til this ride ends
5.
Heading West 03:54
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Don't think about that river, love, it'll only bring you tears It'll be freezing up soon like a heart made hard by all its fears And I'll be on the road, far away from you and this place I can't stay here with these souvenirs of a chance we didn't take I'll be heading west to miss the winter, the first in all my life I'll keep my back turned to the cold and I'll try and catch a ride away from all the ice and snow, the blankets and the gloves My hearts to cold already, I've got to try and let it thaw But please don't write me, I don't want to read your words I'm not saying this just to make you hurt But it's all that I can do to pick this tune I play for you I'm not angry but I sure am feeling blue I'll meet new people, I'll see old faces I haven't seen in so long I'll make new stories, tell the old, someday they'll all have their songs And some songs shine with brightness, others try to dull the pain It's just another sedative coursing warm through my veins And I'll be back to Pittsburgh, I'm too rooted to stay away I can't say when it will happen, but I know I'll see you again one day and some things will be different, others will remain the same I can't predict the ways in which this current will change
6.
The Future's Open Space 02:34
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The weather's already changing, turning cold with thinning air Now I'm in a state of waiting 'til I get up out of here Three long months of purgatory, staring at the date Afraid to start anything new, I've got time but it's too late Nothing here seems possible with both ends burning fast The future is uncertainty, more hopeful than the past The present is a combination, blurred but well defined Shifting patterns only viewable once left behind Questions form, perspectives warp, the static isn't real Dynamics push and pull the vacuum, popping out the seal Making everything more complicated than it once had seemed Variables I'd glossed over before keep changing the meaning If I find something on the road, I wonder if I'll notice or save it for another time when I forget the context Changing what was present to another memory A non-existent story that I made from fantasy But how much does it matter if the pieces stay in tact or reshape through the future, fluid fictions of the past If I should leave this city and find solace on the way then I'll meet up with those stories in the future's open space
7.
A Note to Friends 03:50
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I can't promise you too much right now, I'm only good for rambling I gotta tell the truth, I'm mostly down inside myself I can't stay in one place right now so I'm just gonna move Don't count on me, I will not follow through It goes in waves, it oscillates, I don't always set the intervals I try to find the patterns in the fields But all too often I get stuck inside and can't get out Trapped in the cycle, limits set the route So I'm leaving here for some time, get the distance that I need Force the changes that I really need to see Don't think that I don't love you just because I had to leave Everywhere I go I'll carry what you've given me Expectations have left me hopeless while I deny they exist This brutal list of options that I didn't write is limited But I've yet to rip it up, throw it scattered in the wind Meaningless concessions appear and I just get drawn in So I'll change the setting, change the context, I'll burn the list I'll pack up my guitar and bounce around some for a bit I'm not expecting this to fix me, no, I'm not really broke I just need to confuse the patterns, I just need to confuse home
8.
The Explanation 03:28
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The present self says to the future, "This is what I've done, You'll find it all out anyway when your time has come I can't tell you the consequences, just the reason why But I trust you'll make the best of it, your currents, they spring from mine." Decisions step along my path where we must interact The choices change trajectory to future from the past Their insight's always incomplete, no matter what I ask The answers don't exist yet, they're created through the task Now the letters on my knuckles, etched there from another time represent new meanings, they refer to new lives Ideas that were concrete at one point have ground to sand They've eroded from rigidity, now they're sifting through my hands Perspectives doled out freely from the eye or from the heart Reactions vary, some I swallow, some I pick apart Prescriptions always polarize, I'm always drawn away But everything I've kept or tossed is still with me today So now I pick the door with only hints to where it leads The audience is screaming out their choices to me The host, he holds the cue-cards, he's convinced they hold the key I walk away, I just can't use their certainties No, I need to go and find out what I need
9.
Rake (Townes Van Zandt cover) 03:32
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credits

released November 1, 2010

Waves is Ryan Williams' fourth full-length album. Justin LeCuyer recorded it in early November, 2010.
It was mastered by drumsareus (www.soundcloud.com/drumsareus).
Justin LeCuyer plays violin on tracks 2 and 5, mandolin on track 7. All songs written by Ryan Williams except track 3 (written by Rx Bandits) and track 9 (written by Townes van Zandt).

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Ryan Lee Williams New Orleans, Louisiana

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