A Sun That Only Sets Once

by Ben Hughes

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1.	Hell 02:50	lyrics	buy track
land full of zombies and no one's fighting to get out of it is it because they can't or because they won't and no one's fighting to come back and tell the whole world what really happens... it was on the 29th that they poured me into the ground and I was crying and yelling to all of them as I grew up toward the sun, but no one could hear me. no, no one could hear me. and ever since that day, I've been fighting to reach the world cause I know what really happens when your candle burns out. they tried to bribe me with golden streets and pearly gates, when all I wanted was to have my family back. oh, hell is being without those that I love. it was on the 29th that they poured me into the ground and I was crying and yelling to all of them as I grew up toward the sun, but no one could hear me. no, no one could hear me. no, no one.
2.	I'm an Orange 02:09	lyrics	buy track
I'm an orange and you are a rose I won't let you peel me cause everyone knows you've got thorns that will ruin me. I'm alone and you are not near with this distance between us, I wish you were not so far. I can't let you see my insides, because the closer you get the more my seeds wish they weren't a part of me. I'm an orange, don't hurt me please now, you shouldn't wonder why your approach made me freeze. cause you've got thorns that will ruin me. peel me and let me snap your thorns off your stem we'll try and fail, and then try again we'll be ok just hold my arm.
3.	A Sun That Only Sets Once 02:20	lyrics	buy track
take a look around you what do you admire the most? what do you think about the sunset? or the woods around you so dense they're not as dense as they should be cause they ain't wearing any clothes. we can see straight through them they're not as tough as they think. & I think the sun tries to teach us a lesson everyday but it doesn't understand we're a sun that only sets once and then we don't know rise again or fall forever. so, the sun doesn't understand what it's like to be in our shoes it doesn't understand a thing. we can see straight through him he's not as he thinks.
4.	Sugar 03:15	lyrics	buy track
we work day and night with out knowing what the next day will bring blindfolded-days almost seem to just be wasting away but we're preparing, we won't be ambushed by anything and although we don't recognize anything right now, there will be sugar someday soon. the days still seem to fly by wasted, but we're taking baby steps. we're upstairs banging on our instruments, knowing they'll bring clarity sometime soon. you expect a lot out of life, and I love you for that but life falls short a lot, it's never really considerate but we're preparing, we won't be ambushed by anything and although we don't recognize anything right now, there will be sugar someday soon. we're upstairs banging on our instruments, knowing they'll bring clarity sometime soon.
5.	Waking Up 02:12	lyrics	buy track
burning them both scheduling a pathway to death stress, worry, it's all overwhelming. but I stick to my headphones I don't know anyone, but I'm waking up to conquer this day. dreaming was nice, but I'm waking up.
6.	Freeze Tag 02:58	lyrics	buy track
clouds drift in the sky, with out direction, and eventually fade away. we are not clouds, but we do the same thing. drift and then fade away. all I can hope, is that before I fade away I rain right down leaving something behind. death, you put a damper on life, falling short is painful but at least you know you tried, there was something you were shooting for. all I can hope, is that before I fade away I rain right down leaving something behind. oh, leaving puddles of joy passing on my memories to the coming generations. I didn't want to have to go but I just can't stay here no more no matter how hard I wish. freeze tag you're it, why can't time do that to me? oh, leaving puddles of joy passing on my memories to the coming generations. I didn't want to have to go but I just can't stay here no more no matter how hard I wish.
7.	Fence 02:15	lyrics	buy track
you see there's a fence that I'm always lying on that challenges my comfort. it's always ripping out my spine or breaking my arm to keep me on. chain-linked or white picket, I don't want anything to do with you yet I stay so faithful. you're always ripping out my spine or breaking my arm to keep me on. to keep me on. there's only so much you can do there's only so much I can take before I get so bent that I'm forced to break. before I get so bent that I'm forced to break.
8.	Dinosaurs 03:20	lyrics	buy track
wait for the sun to sleep and walk on this dirt path and talk to you trying to get your attention and try, trying to get on the same page three tractors tried to stop us, they were like dinosaurs. I looked up and told you to follow me up the evergreen to safety. I know this tree won't ever change on us it is green, green forever it won't tell on us or talk about what we do under the stars or try to interfere. those tractors tried to stop us, they were like dinosaurs. I looked up and told you to follow me up the evergreen to safety. try to believe me it's my evergreen.
9.	Island 02:39	lyrics	buy track
with my shovel in my hand I pick a place where I like to stand & dig down to the water all around me. I close my eyes and start to drift away into the clouds and deep blue at the same time. I'm drowning I'm flying I'm living I'm prying myself out of Love to be alone to be an island 'cause I can hurt alone.
10.	Stubbornness Turns To Stone 03:08	lyrics	buy track
lately it feels like my heart is made of stone and my eyes are nothing more than glass. so don't even bother trying to communicate I can't see you. I can't hear you, as if I was listening your water just rolls down and off my heart. father forgive me, mother forgive me I know exactly what I did. so, if I continue, just know it's nothing against you. it's nothing against you. I can't hear you, as if I was listening, your water just rolls down and off my heart. I need to change from a rock to a sponge.
11.	I've Got One Friend That is Gone 03:25	lyrics	buy track
destructive thoughts are destructing me now, I've got one friend that's gone he's leaving tomorrow, and I just sit here mourning in the morning. there's no way of telling what will happen there's no way to tell at least so far, I'm gonna miss you so bad my friend, and this wound you leave me with won't heal without a scar. he's living on the western coast I hope it doesn't end up being another lost friend that I pledged to stay in touch with. there's no way of knowing what will happen there's no way to tell at least so far, I'm gonna miss you so bad my friend, and this wound you leave me with won't heal without a scar.

about

This collection of songs is taken from the 16 solo albums that I recorded from 2007 & 2008. A good portion of the songs here were written after getting into the Bright Eyes' album Cassadaga and John Lennon's album Plastic Ono Band. Both of those albums inspired me, and reminded me that songs don't need to be complicated to be great.

At 20 years old, I took Philosophy & Ethics classes that broke down barriers in my mind and expanded my consciousness for good. I finally felt like I was ok being who and how I was. My beliefs and questions were valid and ok. I know that type of thinking doesn't always stay, but while it's around, it's a beautiful thing.

I was still trying to figure out who I was, and who my friends were. I was trying to find a way to balance my obsession with music and songwriting with my relationships and school. I was trying to figure out how to be more decisive & find a belief system I could live with.

Basically, I was 20.

These songs were written from that perspective.

There are songs about prying yourself out of love, the afterlife, pleas for forgiveness, friends moving away, interpreting dreams, waking up from metaphorical dreams & there's even a song (Sugar) I wrote to Ryan who has been with me as a friend and bandmate/producer ever since we were 14 and bonded over Weezer Blue.

I remember sneaking into the music room at college to record piano parts, getting locked in the piano room and climbing out the window, I remember, somehow, moving a Wurlitzer up in to my 10x10 bedroom that was already crowded with instruments. I remember turning my college bathroom into a makeshift studio with a makeshift drum set, I remember getting garage band and most likely going overboard with midi parts, I remember spending almost all of my time writing songs no matter where I was or what I was outwardly doing.

Listening to these old recordings brings me right back to the time I spent making them. I can remember the settings, the feelings, the people in my life at the time and the autumn walks outside that inspired these songs. It feels strange to release this now, to relive this now, but I'm glad that I am able to share A Sun That Only Sets Once.
__________________

Press on this album at WXPN's The Key:
thekey.xpn.org/2015/10/19/ben-hughes-a-sun-that-only-sets-once/

credits

released October 17, 2015

Produced, Engineered & Mixed by Ben Hughes.
Recorded in my bedroom / at my college dorm at Neumann College.
Mastered by Ryan Buzby.
All music performed by Ben Hughes.
All songs written by Ben Hughes (Benjamin Hughes ASCAP).

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Ben Hughes New Jersey

"...channels musicians like Elliott Smith, Bright Eyes, and Sufjan Stevens, as on Hughes’ previous releases. But this record immediately calls to mind Pedro the Lion’s Control, with its deep-voiced chords and melodies, lyrical themes of corporate hell, and Hughes’ slurring voice. It could stand as a complimentary album to Control just as well as it stands on its own."

-Nick Tate, WXPN ... more

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