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Sam Misner & Megan Smith perform their song "Piccolo Pete" at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, CA. Recorded January, 31 2010 © Poor Player Records/Misner & Smith

lyrics

Piccolo Pete

The docks are in shadows, sun is lean as a bone,
He’s traded in his trumpet for a slide trombone.
Wailing on the corner is Piccolo Pete
Trying to sell his stories for a bite to eat.
Ninety-nine sailors all alone at sea, boys,
One swam back, that one was me.

Seabirds are nervous all along the coast,
There’s something in the air they could feel the ghosts.
Widow-walks are crowded but the graves are holes
With nothing now to put in them but names of souls.
Ninety-nine sailors lying in the sea, boys,
One still walks, one still breathes.

Half a cup of whiskey and I’ll spin you a tale
As honest as the truth on a three-beam scale.
Salivating businessmen shiver in the cold,
Sacrificing freedom for the taste of gold.
I used to chase the greenback but it ain’t for me, babe.
I once was blinded but now I see.

I used to know a banker but he sold his soul.
Gave up his sense of humor for a heart of coal.
His eyes are full of razors now, his head is full of greed,
He dreams at night of nursery rhymes and fires that bleed.
I used to feel the fever but it ain’t for me, babe.
I once was blinded but now I see.

The docks are in shadows, sun is lean as a bone,
He’s traded in his trumpet for a slide trombone.
Wailing on the corner is Piccolo Pete
Trying to sell his stories for a bite to eat.
Ninety-nine sailors all alone at sea, boys,
One swam back, that one was me.

credits

from Live at the Freight & Salvage, released October 10, 2010
Sam Misner - Vocals/Guitar Megan Smith- Vocals/Mandolin

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Misner & Smith California

(my-zner) & smith
Northern California-based unclassifiable duo Misner & Smith treasure the unpredictability of their band. Technically precise songwriting mirrored with an improvisatory spirit and soaring harmonies are the hallmark of their sound. On their new album, "All is Song", they turn in their finest work to date, an album of inspired declarations to the power of music and song. ... more

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