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.

Every Time It Rains

by Mark Lenover

supported by
David Peters
David Peters thumbnail
David Peters Mark Lenover needs to be known by many, many more people. His music is powerfully beautiful, and potentially very motivating to those struggling with mental disorders and/or drug abuse. I will do what I can in my limited ability to spread his music, and you should too. Thanks for this music, Mark! Favorite track: Ride the River Blind.
/
1.
I had no reason to cry although I felt as though I might when a murder-blotted sky called a million crows to flight I was thrown from a pitching ship as an unnatural pillar spoke of an un-christened landing strip waiting just beyond the smoke When I remember birdland the sky comes crashing in again When I remember birdland the clouds come tumbling down again Shed your feathers and go Shed your feathers and go Count your counterweights stand them up stiff and straight Come together and go Come together and go This thick, cumbersome weight’s just a trick of the brain
2.
Annie thought her husband was a half-wit but she loved him and she’d wring her hands every time he left for work When the reds came through to form their union they’d recruit him Though he never said much he learned to stand his ground Bow your heads and put your shovels down The boss’s men have come to smoke the union out Fly by pistol, fly by dynamite and put your hands on what’s yours by right Raise your heads and join the blasting cloud The boss’s men have come to shut the union down Fly by pistol, fly by dynamite or put your hands on what’s yours by right They shot him down at the edge of town Oh yeah the boss-men shot your husband down Although we kept them fat for a thousand years it’s not enough that we matched the coal train mile for mile now we’re to point our carts toward the gates to Hell unless the grand industrial band, can lead us home again Home again Home again
3.
She Calls 03:51
First, she calls the squirrels in her head to serve the pricks and tails of the dogs, that she kicked as she crossed herself gladly on her knees at the place where her groveling, broken-down darlings would dream of their place in her bed or of the stalls, where they’d all scratched her name gently into the scum on the walls She calls… Oh, let’s make a name for her Let’s make a name for her… She slowly and carefully wraps herself round, then she crushes the life from us turning us over She coddles and condescends spinning end over end mouthing unspeakable self-exaltations Her sobbing was meaningless over the phone but it had devastating effect in person Such a startling reflex, such manicured claws She raised hell from a holiday just as she promised she would Oh, let’s make a name for her Let’s make a name for her…
4.
Every time it rains your skin gets thicker And when you shut your eyes the old spit turns The movement gets you high and your blood gets thicker Then you focus on the lights until the switch gets pulled Every time it rains your eyes get redder While you’re chomping at the bit the rocks get cold Every time you need your head gets lighter You lick the counter clean then you hit the bricks Your eyes are all awash in a blood-cloud flicker The clots are catching up and the coals get hid Every time it rains your blood runs colder You try to find a vein where the black fog sits They catch you up again just to kick you sober Every time it rains the clouds cave in
5.
I fell asleep and dreamed we all died in a fiery crash and we found that the afterlife was much like the life we’d left far behind in the smoke, where the cinders, they spoke in strange, lashing, crackling tongues at the greatest length all damn day All about the dreams they’d have of things they’d never see and how they’d be satisfied with a drink and a place to sleep They got quite a kick, out of taking their licks, for a song and a pint to keep their guts appeased just as they pleased Holiday on a breakaway plank Let your lips move to match with mine Don’t I know you? Then the boys and the voice that led them sang a hundred different songs at once They tipped a stack of barrels back and howled at the moon for months When a change in the light would catch the black in their eyes they’d kick back, laugh and ride the river blind All damn night Now the dream kept folding, spinning and it dropped us off beneath the soil where the sweat from our brows would bead and collect in a pool to boil Then they’d stir it all up, and mix it up in our guts, and send it spraying, steaming, streaming up the spout How they flushed it out Holiday on a breakaway plank Let your lips move to match with mine Don’t I know you? And the steam and the waves shoot up and rain down on the river below onto the rafts and tankers, getting at the gas-man’s place to grow Until the fire goes to ground, ‘till the smoke cleans us out, until we wake up, grin and beg another round Oh, tear down I awoke with a start and a feverish twitch about my face with all my years of living boiled down to a wicked disgrace Then I got to my knees and I begged and I pleaded for the Lord to put me in a righteous place Then I prayed for the Lord to cleanse the trouble from my mind Then I prayed that the Lord would have me walking at His side when the trumpeter’s song carries it’s children along and leaves the fool to ride the river blind
6.
First I’ll fight with my words First I’ll fight with my words But if I lose with my words I’ll come back with my fists And then I’ll fight with my fists Yeah, then I’ll fight with my fists And if I lose with my fists I’ll come back with my pipe And then I’ll fight with my pipe Yeah, then I’ll fight with my pipe And if I lose with my pipe I’ll come back with my knife And then I’ll fight with my knife Yeah, then I’ll fight with my knife And if I lose my knife I’ll come back with my gun Then I’ll fight with my gun Yeah, then I’ll fight with my gun And if I lose with my gun Oh, if I lose with my gun… Then he’ll be so safe and sound six feet underground because he fought men with guns

about

Immediately after "The Arsonists" was released in 2006, Mark Lenover began work on "Every Time It Rains", a transitional EP which helped to bridge the gap between the carnivalesque spectacle of his earliest work and the sleeker, bleaker psychological-horror-pop of "The Girl in the Window".

From the atmospheric abstraction of “I Remember Birdland” to the triumphantly apocalyptic “Men With Guns”, "Every Time It Rains" covers a broad range of topics in its relatively brief running time. Careening from savage romantic disillusionment (“She Calls”) and addiction (the title track), to the roots of unionization (“The Grand Industrial Band”) and the looming punishments of the world to come (“Ride The River Blind”).

Sonically, the album has more in common with 2006's "The Retributionists" than it does with Lenover's later material. "Every Time It Rains" blends rustically grand, predominately acoustic arrangements with rough production values.

"Every Time It Rains" was completed and released in a short run of CD-Rs in 2007. Some of the tracks later resurfaced on the iTunes release of "The Arsonists". It has been unavailable in its original incarnation until now.

credits

released January 27, 2016

Written, Performed and Recorded by Mark Lenover
Trombone on "I Remember Birdland" by Rob Porter
Remastered by David Disher

Cover art by Mark Lenover

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Mark Lenover

Through a distinctive fusion of folk, rock, theatre and electronica, Mark Lenover critically examines pop culture’s ubiquitous influence, its moral philosophy and the potentially devastating effects of drug abuse and mental illness. His recent work frequently challenges an increasingly pervasive culture of celebrity, self-indulgence, distraction and desire. ... more

contact / help

Contact Mark Lenover

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

Mark Lenover recommends:

If you like Mark Lenover, you may also like: