1. |
First Mayor of Mars!
02:58
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In elementary school we would dream
And think of growing up—eyes bright like sunbeams
When nothing seemed, or even was impossible
There was nothing that we were unqualified for
Simpler times, simpler rules
Back when we all peaked in elementary school
“What are your plans for the future?”
“Tell me, what’s your dream job?”
Well, that’s certainly an interesting question,
I’d have to say the first Mayor of Mars!
And I’m not even done; that’s not yet it
Oh not at all
I’d also be Batman and a philanthropist
And I’d keep playing music for those that I love
And have a family with about a dozen kids
Some that I fathered, others adopted from the Martians
Oh what a life to live
Oh yes, what a life to live
The final frontier of ambition
A purpose I could believe in
So if NASA came to me tomorrow
And said “Mr. Ward, pack your bags and let’s go
You’ve been picked to help lead the Mars settlement
So say goodbye to this planet and all the people who live in
Because you’re never coming back
No you’re never coming back.”
The experiences I’ve not yet had
Family and friends, I’d miss them, but alas
I’d say “Okay. Let’s do it. I’m in.”
To be a part of something greater; help future generations
It’s an unlikely and lofty example, for sure
But it’s still hard to dream so big anymore
Of changing, not just this one, but a whole other world
Something we could only dream of back in elementary school
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2. |
Send Me Out
03:52
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To whom it may concern, you’ll find my resume attached
Bottom of the inning, it’s Natty at the bat
Swinging away like Pete Rose, just trying for a base hit
Feel like Danny Glover: “I’m too old for this shit!”
But honestly I’ve come a long way from where I started
All the while trying to stay openhearted
Done a hell of a lot of living in the past three years
All these credits in life, learned through the joy and the tears
And TA’d by all the people I’ve met
Some I love and some I’m chill with never seeing again
But here’s what’s up with this little thing called time:
It manages and creates us, every day of our lives
And when it may seem like forever in the moment it happens
It only ever feels like a second looking backwards
But now
Send me out
Rising up and counting down
Send me out
Never turning back around
Send me out
Yeah send it out, rise it up, and count it back down
‘Cause I don’t even need an abacus
To know the days are counting down to zero for the two of us
Turning down jobs, but don’t call me selfish
I just think I’m too young to already sell out
But whatever I do, gotta make that money
These unpaid internships—at least take me out before you fuck me
And if you don’t hear from me I’m busy trying to write
I hammer out a couple thousand words every night
And sometimes put them into songs if they’re something I like
Deep in my thoughts, late into the night
And people say “Natty Ward, you’re just wasting your time. I mean seriously man, your songs don’t really even follow an aurally pleasing and standard structure typical to music that elicits any kind of popular appeal.”
But honestly I just couldn’t care less
‘Cause there are only a few people out there I’m trying to impress
And if they never listen at all like I expect
Hey, it’s all good ‘cause I’m still coming correct
And I’ll keep floating by on all the love that I get
‘Cause if I move just one person then I have no regrets
So I’m not expecting you to go and send that letter
‘Cause you don’t even like my college a cappella
And I know that more production would make this better
But I like it so raw that it gives you salmonella
I say it’s all about the hustle and the struggle you lived
You can’t be seasoned in a night like some Netflix binge
‘Cause if there’s one thing I learned in calculus
It’s that the limit definitely exists for us
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3. |
Shitty Stand-up Bits
03:30
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We were just some kids
Coming up with really shitty stand-up bits
Just hoping for a hit
Just us kids
With our shitty stand-up bits
Goals back then they’ve come and gone
And people I no longer know
Where are they now?
Where do we go now?
On our final legs of this thing called youth
Just looking back at all the misuse
Where are we now?
Where do we go now?
We’re still young there’s time
But not for a while
If it doesn’t happen in the moment,
It usually never happens at all
If it never happens in the moment,
It usually never happens at all
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4. |
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“I’m still young, there’s time.” It’s the mantra of our youth. Too often when we’re young and just trying to figure out our lives and the directions they will ultimately follow, we use this phrase as a kind of rationalizing crutch.
I’m still young, there’s time to figure out my next step.
I’m still young, there’s time to pursue that special interest, pursue that one career prospect.
I’m still young, there’s time to have that experience, to travel to that one unique place.
I’m still young, there’s time to do anything and everything I want to do.
I’m still young, there’s time.
I’m still young, there’s time.
But unfortunately, time stops for no one and the more we keep saying “I’m still young, there’s time,” the more time actually passes and, eventually, we’re not so young anymore, and there’s no more time.
Now we can look at that as depressing, or upliftingly motivational.
To each his own, but I much prefer the latter. Because I’ve got no time to waste and as I navigate through the final legs of this thing called youth I don’t intend to squander it.
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5. |
Yo-yo
03:24
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Wind me up like a yo-yo, I was a big hit in the ‘90s
Little Palm Beach boy now getting kicked out of Cuban parties
And I nailed that lead in my first grade play
Been steady performing everything ever since that very day
But I’m not gonna say I peaked in elementary school
Ain’t on some Doogie Howser shit but I always stayed true
And that’s the essence – what everything comes down to
‘Cause even if we don’t win, we’ll never lose
But I can’t see into the future, I ain’t so Raven
To this day I’m still just nice little Nathan
And the goal is to just be able to get paid and
Do it all without even one smile faking
Sing out
I’m about to meet the world, call me Corey Matthews
And a real one at that, so air me on MTV2
And I’ll be hitting up the records like 1976 Bruce
And what’s the use, let’s just lay back and schmooze
And press snooze
Ain’t waking up because I’m out of school
Spent my time with the APES, like I got locked up at the zoo
And amuse the who’s whos, summer beach barbecues
Line up the interviews, ‘cause it’s my contest to lose
And leave me star-crossed: Juliet and Romeo it
Or I’ll head up to the ceiling and Michelangelo it
Because I can win or I can blow it
Either way I’ll wind myself back up: I’ll yo-yo it
Like this
Wind myself back up like a yo-yo
Through all the loop-de-loops and slow-mos
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6. |
The Graduate
02:50
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I finished—I finally did it
Off like Dustin Hoffman in “The Graduate”
Which I watched the other night coming off my acid trip
Looking at the similarities between me and him
My mind still filled with holes
I float
Under the plastic stars glued within my ceiling folds
Mythology wrote:
Zeus painted those heroes up in the sky
Immortalizing them long after they died
So even now we look up and remember their lives
Orion chilling up there with a belt the wrong size
But I digress...
Yeah there are some blatant differences between me
And the title graduate in that movie
See, I don’t have the luxury like he
Of not having to worry about the money
I can’t simply lounge around in the pool I don’t have
And maybe wait for some kind of connection from my dad
While I idly search to find myself—man I’d love that to death
But the gift of stagnancy isn’t one I can get
But that’s okay
My brain drifts along a nostalgia causeway
As the Simon & Garfunkel plays
Songs I used to teach myself guitar back in the day
I watched away
Related in other ways
Like following your gut—it don’t matter what
Knowing what you want, seeing it through, no other thoughts
Own separate path—believe what you think
Realize it’s time to rely on your own instincts
And I guess that’s the true meaning of adulthood:
Depending solely on your own judgment
Ask advice, for sure, to help reach a decision
But in the end know it’s always of your own volition
Be gone inhibition! Meditated absolutism
But the change of hit is rare, like Rhydon using fissure
And I’m not worried, or
At least that’s the guise I equip
Zeus stopped painting the skies once we quit
Caring about him
For now I’ll wait for the next word
Still graduated, like a cylinder
Play it by ear, see where I go
Today I’m here, tomorrow who knows
Tomorrow who knows
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7. |
Natty Ward, BA (Outro)
01:26
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Natty Ward, The Bachelor Artist
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Natty Ward New York, New York
Sounds like your summer camp counselor when he's off the clock
New music: feelloudly.bandcamp.com
Contact: nattywardmusic@gmail.com
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