We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

The Burden of Unshakeable Proof

by Vanessa Peters

supported by
/
  • Streaming + Download

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

      $5 USD  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Complete with liner notes and a full-color 11x11 insert printed on bright white heavyweight matte paper.

    Unfortunately, international shipping rates have gone through the roof. Feel free to email me directly at info@vanessapeters.com to reserve a copy and we'll discuss shipping options.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Burden of Unshakeable Proof via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 1 day
    edition of 500 

      $20 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    The CD comes in a lovely, full-color digipak, complete with liner notes & lyrics.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Burden of Unshakeable Proof via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 1 day
    edition of 800 

      $12 USD or more 

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 13 Vanessa Peters releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Flying on Instruments, Modern Age, Mixtape, Foxhole Prayers, Last Night Bus (single), The Burden of Unshakeable Proof, With The Sentimentals, The Burn The Truth The Lies, and 5 more. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $44.85 USD or more (35% OFF)

     

1.
hair so blonde it’s nearly white like the siding on the house that’s faded outside the room too full of morning light you can't crawl back in bed and cry, not ’til tonight the warm summer sky splitting open wide while all of the years got stuffed back inside in a drawer labeled "black hole" the evidence vanishes to where god knows and the papers were signed I’m sure that he was waving but I don’t have that scene available for playing and all of these years of feeling sorry for something but not sure what and some sort of half-buried truth the smell of fermentation and half-rotted fruit the heavy weight of expectation that fell on all of us the burden of unshakeable proof the papers were signed I’m sure that he was waving but I don’t have that scene available for playing and all these years of feeling sorry for something but not sure what all of these years I’m sorry but not sure why
2.
let’s do this pull off the screwed on top and watch the bubbles burst watch the liquid fizz and feel your heart immersed in all the crazy hiss of a thousand tiny words whispered in your ear by a thousand tiny birds who were flying oh so near but they came a little closer they lift up their tiny wings their humminghearts were whirring, you couldn't hear a thing let's do this, we can fix it, we’ve only got to twist it, bend it make it fit into the box we've made for it, we've got this and we gotta try, there's nothing left but do or die, we've got to pull this off, we’ve got to pull this off and don't even try to stop me cause I won't stand for it and I won't be slain, I am not a heart to be won, I'm not the sleeve you’re gonna wear it on, I’m not hiding out in dark caves on the outskirts of the city while it burns. I am not a script you're gonna study, I'm not a lesson to be learned. but they came a little closer, they were flying oh so near and you could hear a pin drop, and everything was clear let's do this, we can fix it, we’ve only got to twist it, bend it make it fit into the box we've made for it, we've got this and we gotta try, there's nothing left but do or die, we've got to pull this off, we’ve got to pull this off but oh what fun it was when days were long and full of sun when knees were scraped and friends were made and then friendships came undone…
3.
Delicate 03:21
delicate some of us are warriors and some are diplomats some of spend all our time trying to make everyone else laugh and some of us are unforgiving life has made us harsh, unyielding with sad faces twisted into wrath but we're all strangely delicate, fighting wars but crumbling underneath our guilt we're all strangely delicate, we have no weapons or defense against any of this and some of us got tired of trying easier to just start lying so we found ourselves alone, without our better halves and knees got skinned, we started crying started contemplating dying and stopped running, halfway down the path but we're all strangely delicate, breaking hearts and crumbling underneath the guilt we're all strangely delicate, punching walls and wondering how the hell we got into this and all the things you can't get done and all the things you can't undo cause you shame.... shame shame shame shame shame it's such a shame that we're always assigning blame when we're all… strangely delicate, fighting wars but crumbling underneath the guilt we're all strangely delicate, we have no weapons or defense against any of this
4.
206 Bones 02:59
206 bones pockets full of spare keys to houses I don't live in anymore they weigh me down completely but I cannot seem to let them take their leave of me and after so long of carrying sharp words on my tongue I've earned the right to be earnest when you pare it down to the last few things the last few things to get done are always the hardest two hundred and six bones only one heart and when the wood house it burns down all that's left are bolts and hinges, nails and screws we couldn't hold it all together when the flame, it lit the fuse two hundred and six bones only one heart and lately we work all the time to keep our hearts from getting broke afraid of missing out afraid of letting go two hundred and six bones but only one heart with thanks to anthony f. marra, whose novel “a constellation of vital phenomena,” inspired this song.
5.
change your disguise it’s a good thing to wear so many coats so many hats, so many gloves pull back the layers and change the scene when the going gets too tough and it’s a good thing to wear so many shoes in case you get caught stepping on the cracks throw the soles onto a pile and burn them on the tracks change your disguise don’t be afraid to cover up your eyes do what it takes and step into another lie and it’s a good thing you always travel light it makes it that much easier to slip away no one would recognize you now with your new face not even in the broad light of day so change your disguise don’t be afraid to open up your eyes do what it takes and step into another lie you were always such a pretty girl you always turned their heads you were always full color front page and now you’re classified instead and I know it’s hard to wrap yourself in black the living shouldn’t play the dead I know it’s hard to disappear into the crowd and still see the road ahead but change your disguise don’t be afraid to look them in the eye do what it takes and step into another lie
6.
paralysis bug I don't know what paralysis bug bit me under my skin, numbed it cold numbed my fingers and my toes and cast a frosty glow on my mind paralysis bug bit me deep inside no marks on the skin, it burrowed deep within tunneling left and right and up and down and freezing everything without making a sound and I couldn't get myself up out of this chair I couldn't even brush my hair I couldn't do anything but stare at the wall in front of me paralysis bug is swift and sharp drove its pointy teeth and claws right into my heart and though I took the pills at the start of every day like a good girl and I couldn't get myself up out of this chair I couldn't even brush my hair I couldn't do anything but stare at the wall in front of me and they haven't found a cure it's a puzzle they can't solve they figure that it must be me and it's a guilt they won't absolve and I couldn't get myself up out of this chair I couldn't make myself care I couldn't do anything but stare as the walls closed in on me and I couldn't get myself up out of this chair I couldn't even brush my hair I couldn't do anything but stare at the wall in front of me
7.
Cage 03:53
cage the sadness runs along underneath a million volt wire you're afraid to touch throbbing just below your chest bones you think the shock would kill you but it turns out it's just a buzz ‘cause the heart is just a muscle hurting ‘cause it's guarding something else that's buried deep inside and you cannot dig your way to it you can't tunnel that far you can't reach out to the other side but you come to visit me sometimes and you rattle at the gate and I throw rations across the lines and we sit around and wait for a jailer to set us free from a cage that we create and I see comments you left and you see the words I wrote and we pass the chalk back and forth and sometimes you leave a note and it's like we're in some strange suspense of past and present tense in an on-screen world surrounded by its electric fence but you come to visit me sometimes you rattle at the gate and I throw rations across the lines and we sit around and wait for a jailer to set us free from a cage that we create and I keep my eyes peeled for the glimpse of steel and the dagger in the woods and I watch my back ‘cause I know that you would stab it if you could but you come to visit me sometimes you wear your name tag boldly and I, I cover mine and we sit around and wait for a jailer to set us free from a cage that we create and you come to visit me sometimes and you rattle at the gate but I am safe here on the other side and we sit around and wait for a jailer to set us free from a cage that we create
8.
mending fences mending fences while throwing wrenches into well-oiled machines driving horses down well-traveled courses never gets you what need and I don't know when everything became impossible don't know when everything became an obstacle maybe I just ran out of steam maybe I just woke up from a long long dream and how can anyone not look about them and not feel the world come crashing down the strange sensation of shaking foundations is driving us underground and I don't know when everything became impossible don't know when everything became an obstacle maybe I just ran out of steam or maybe I just woke up from a long long dream we've come untethered we've come undone but still we march to battle flags held high we’re always fighting wars that can't be won but we've stopped asking why and I don't know when everything became impossible don't know when everything became an obstacle maybe I just ran out of steam maybe I just woke up from a long long dream or maybe I am trapped inside a long long dream
9.
maudlin laundry you are the queen of maudlin laundry you hang it on the line for everyone to see but it’s still dirty sometimes I ask myself why you are so honest it wouldn't hurt to hide a detail or two but you hardly ever tell the whole truth sometimes I ask myself if you are so honest ‘cause just once I'd like to find the smoking gun and just once I'd like to see you come undone you've got a badge of hurt at least a mile wide you've got a purple heart from wounded pride you've got an ugly scar that you don’t try to hide but just once I'd like to find the smoking gun and just once I'd like to see you come undone
10.
Atmosphere 03:59
atmosphere the sky is always looming ready to fall straight down there's so much of it all around me in this broken little town and the belts have come unfastened that used to strap us in we're falling through the black night they'll never hold us down again ‘cause we're soaring through the blue sky we’re streaking through the air we’re tearing through the atmosphere as though we didn't have a care and we always love the most in the hours before I’m gone the dark car ride to the airport just this side of dawn and the freshly painted lines down the newly paved road signal you which way to go but they never point you home and now we're soaring through the blue sky we’re streaking through the air we’re tearing through the atmosphere as though we didn't have a care and the constant parade of information marching across my screen makes every human interaction seem mechanical and mean but we're soaring through the blue sky we’re streaking through the air we’re tearing through the atmosphere as though we didn't have a care

credits

released March 1, 2016

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Vanessa Peters Austin, Texas

Indie singer/songwriter from Texas. Musician, Italophile, Virgo, coffee nerd, food lover, bossy-pants, big ol' softie.
I've released 10+ albums and played over 1000 shows in 11 countries. I'm not done yet.

contact / help

Contact Vanessa Peters

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Vanessa Peters, you may also like: