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Escape From Nice Island

by Fletcher Coulee

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1.
The first thing she said was 'I can't feel my heartbeat,’ and all downhill from there I put my hand to her chest and lied that I could and double-checked with my ear She shook her head and turned over in bed I said, 'Can we get affectionate?' Not expecting sadness, much less tears What else, can you dig up, in a strangers dirt but the old, the lost, and the delicate? High Noon but who knew at Palmer's Bar we hung up her photos of low-lifes and graveyards The first shift alcoholics talked on the job, told us not move the pictures up on the wall 'Those were our friends who came here and died, how many last calls til we join them?' I swore I'd never drink again until tonight Cuz there's no such thing as no strings attached This big city's just a small town in drag Check out librarians between the stacks Neck surveillance cameras in a sleeping bag Behind locked doors on the 13th floor they keep the ancient swords that'll cut the crap Midnight arrives at the Liquor Lounge, it's the 1st of December in the year of the frown I paid 5 bux to watch her ex sing her a song, 5 times that to act like I don't give a fuck I got allies and old flames to tend, and a new gang of acquaintances I'll hide in their shadows til this dump closes up
2.
Not Precious 03:45
The way I see it every night’s a full moon, We don’t know what we’re getting into but I do How can it be in the stars if I’m drinking in this bar thinking of someone who ain’t you They oughta sell postcards at the exit off your bed For fuckers like me who live in their head For truckers to see whose number I gave them to call you and say what I shoulda said Stop seeing someone if you’re going blind Try looking elsewhere if you think I’m a find I ain’t a blood diamond but to mine me is reckless Dig me or don’t just know I’m not precious
3.
Your hair was blue when I first saw you You were on the go walking on your toes You turned around wearing a frown I turned away and unstrapped my bowling shoes You looked at me as I tied up my old boots Do I need another beer you ask gee how can you tell? It’s the least someone can do in this low key hell I know you’re gettin paid to wait but put my order through I don’t want nothin else tonight baby I want you Your hair was red I wished I was dead We had a fight, it took all night We both attacked, and took it back You thought I got myself a wandering eye Dontcha know without you I might die Do I need another smoke you ask gee how can you tell? It’s the least someone can do in this low key hell I know you’re gettin paid to wait but spare a little trust I ain’t trying to gamble baby, cuz it's you or bust It ain't all or nothing, it ain’t black and white, when it comes to loving, sometimes it’s better to be happy than right When your hair is gray don’t look away I’ll still be here sipping on a beer I hope you’ll laugh on our thin raft Cuz that’s all we’ll have as our world comes down We can’t waste a moment on our frowns Do I need another lifetime with ya gee how can you tell? It’s the least someone can do in this low key hell You ain't gettin paid to wait but listen to my truth I ain’t going nowhere baby, unless it’s with you
4.
I was still a country boy when I moved to this big city things were a lot nicer then by that I mean shitty a warehouse space and a basement show and a church we called The Church you could find a place to get weird with no Google search Then I guess some kid at the Shit Biscuit told his friends from Orono they all got jobs at US Bank and moms co-signed the loan the next thing you know, you can't find a home for under 200k they even got unreal estate on Chicago and Lake Had enough? Burn it down It can happen in your town the city council ain't got solutions in their steel and glass delusions besides Frey the market up and run us into the ground you can say that's how it goes, but I just wanna know who invited all them bros into those fuckin condos meanwhile down the road A hundred people are living in tents cuz they can't pay the fuckin rent So let's burn it down Let’s burn it down Let’s burn it down Burn it all night like the Hexagon, by dawn by God I’m moving on Burn it all right like the 3rd Precinct, the tear gas stared and we didn’t blink Burn it so bright that the world can see, what pain can do when it’s set free, Til they hear us, alll night longgg
5.
I don’t think we're getting back our damage deposit we're too broke to move out anyway They want a thousand bux a month for a glorified closet Got no job and no idea how we’d even pay Stayed up late again with my head upon the window listening to the wind from Manitoba blow looking at the swirling snow I sure as hell know Simply fogging up this single pane I’ll take it every day over the creeping quiet lockdown nights at the end of May with Proud Boys in the Ivy convoys in the street the same one I walked up and down for eternity whiskeydrunk in love with everyone but me bending over backwards for the music scene stumbling past a bank and school and the store I worked that day then the park where I would play pickup baseball on Sundays then up the stairs and hall maybe with some willing doll didn’t have much but had it all oh I know I had it all I don’t think we're getting back our damage deposit we're too broken now to wanna stay They just let it play when we begged them to pause it Minnesota Niced itself into decay And we won’t be surprised how this true crime drama ends when the murderer wears a badge the law don’t break it bends and the town will burn again unless 12 fine specimens have the guts to send away the backwards demon that denies the right to breathe There’s no crying in a system that denies the right to grieve all that’s left is rage to put you in a cage but how can you do justice for the dying of young age? how bout pay the living a living wage for fuck’s sake For a guy they call the Drifter, the irony ain’t lost All the rainy days I’ve saved for have ignored the cost still got choppers in the box fan and sirens in my ears A bug out bag ready for the 4 ams of fear Silent rubble where we made some noise and plenty of good friends but shitty bosses salt the wound and ruin remembrance And now pigs are in the park bulldozing the tents when I get home I feel lucky for the roof over my head crack a beer and feel guilty for not being dead Then I look down the hallway and I swear I see my friend oh poor Ben Yeah it’s time I got out of the Pirate Haus It’s no place to raise a family When it’s 10 below or pouring I’ll miss my room for smokes I should quit and make some kid inherit my in-jokes cuz my folks are getting old we all got our share of mold when I cough it’s just a cold I hope
6.
For Da Birds 02:17
7.
Trauma Tried 04:55
I’m trying to drink lots of water I’m trying to let my hair grow I’m trying to swallow my medicine I’m trying to go with the flow I'm trying to breathe through my triggers I'm trying to not be so sure I'm trying to check my privilege I'm trying not to mourn the end of old worlds I tried to think only nice things about me I tried to keep only good folks around me But trauma tried harder to fuck up the show And I thought I loved me But what did I know I’m trying to get up in the morning I’m trying to make lots of art I’m trying to tell buds they're not bad I’m trying to take care of my bipolar heart I'm trying to be a good partner I'm trying to be a sweet man I'm trying to buttress my boundaries I'm trying to be who my mom thinks I am I tried to think only good things about me I tried to keep only good folks around me But trauma tried harder to fuck up the show And I thought I loved me But what did I know Now a lot of white boys like to exercise their voice Can't say much for mine, but if nothing else I apologize, most folks don't have the choice to whine. I’m eating cold pizza for breakfast And putting out smokes on a plate I’m staying up late watching old Simpsons Or drinking with people that I kinda hate It don’t matter much what I’m trying to do I tried to get over but I'm still going through Cuz trauma tries harder to fuck up the show But I'll try to love me And we'll see how it goes
8.
Up for rent, our love was heaven-sent all of those words I meant with different meanings. And your room felt like a mother's womb, inside we sway and swoon like we are siblings When you see my call don't push that red button pick up and say something, anything at all, When you hear my voice all doubt will be banished, all guilt will have vanished, and you'll have no choice but to come to my door and I'll let you in and again we'll begin, and start where we left off before. I miss the way your feet wrinkled my dirty sheets, December snow on the streets, us under covers Maybe I drink too much, you recoiled at my touch, I knew that things were such it was over Oh when you arrive I'll be outside counting stars in the yard
9.
Done Again 06:02
It's hard to start a new day right with last night still in the walls This bed without ya is empty as a bottle, colder than twenty missed calls I’m doin my best through viral unrest but I know that you deserve more Oh anxiety, it's enough for me, to turn around and walk out the door We pinky swear that we will do better But the rest of our fingers are pointing out the blame Or flipping the bird when we've run out of words Baby it's a cryin-ass shame We're done again Done again Stick a fork in me and claim your victory They say two wrongs don't make a right but two rights can make a wrong You gotta right to say how you feel and I gotta write me a song Since I can’t put the right words in my mouth, some body out there will do Oh anxiety, it’s enough for me, to take what I'm saying as true Stick a fork in this and seal it with a kiss They say behind every great man is a great woman rolling her eyes And I say behind people like that are mean folks like you and I Trying to make themselves understood and translate the language of pain But you’ll find in the ears of silence and tears, ‘I’m sorry’ sounds just the same We pinky swear that we will do better And the rest of our fingers are folded in prayer When we laugh at God’s plans then it’s all in our hands Hold onto mine til we’re there As one again One again Stick a fork in fear and we'll make it through the years
10.
January Song 04:18
Work called to say come in early The boss had me stay past three My head gasket’s cracked, No brakes left in back I could drive myself into a tree I been here once, been here twice Been here ten thousand times Is it now? Is it then? Below zero again I wish I could thaw out my dang mind I wish I could take my life and hit rewind All my coulda-beens and used-ta-bes hitched a ride And they sure know how to change my tunes It was too loud to slow down when I saw you in South Walking your wiped-out bike on Portland Avenue Remember it snowed like this last year Or was that two thousand seven I screwed it up then and I’d screw it up again I wouldn’t be here now if I’d learned my lesson Remember it froze like this last year or was that twenty fourteen another old soldier that wouldn’t start for me another cold shoulder from Kansas City Got no one to ride shotgun now but I leave the heat on Just in case I'm dealt a better hand So my smokes and my in-jokes keep me company tonight I hope this year don’t suck as much as January has
11.
Do you believe in ghosts, I never thought I would But then again I didn't believe in love Something or one stands your hair on-end Just passing through until they've had enough Now here I am in this old basement, shaking a tune from this guitar heartbroken lonesome cold and wasted sending all my blues to where you are Sweep me up, Fletcher Coulee Sweep me up into the sky Or put me in the garbage can I just wanna die Cuz the red-brained woman of my dreams got me walking the floor So sweep me up ol Fletcher, just as long as I ain't here no more They say you swept the halls, a gray custodian, now you're pushing buttons like you pushed your broom What did those children do, or what'd you do them, to be circled in those yearbooks in your room Telling me secrets through the silence Sending me outside without boots Making my escape from nice island Maybe all of you were in cahoots I don't remember when I saw my spirit leave, out of all them sighs how could there be just one Did I meet your ghost or just my memories haunting me with how happy I was Don't we all hurt the ones who love us To see how far their hearts will go To beg the ones who leave us in dust To say something when they don't know?
12.
There a guy goes and there a guy is There a guy goes to take a whizz There a guy goes to take a shit There a guy’s got no place to sit There a guy goes and there a guy was There a guy hides to get a buzz There a guys gone and the other guy’s not There a guy's here and taking his spot There a guy goes and there a guy stays There a guy’s gotta take a load off hey There a guy shows and the other guy’s there There a guy says Hey that’s my chair.. shit ain't fair It’s not much to ask, when you find a place to put your ass If you return in good form, it should be to what you made warm There a guy goes and there a guy quacks There a guy knows a guy's coming back There a guy grins and the other guy’s mad There a guy spins and the other guy’s sad Everyone sees and everyone knows, but there a guy goes

about

Escape From Nice Island is the first solo album by longtime Minneapolis musician Luc Parker, formerly a member of bands Your Loving Tiger, The Goddamn Doo Wop Band, Chickadee Mountain Martyrs, Dentist, and Omega Defender.
This is what he's been up to for the last year.
He doesn't know how to say anything about these songs besides they helped keep his brain together when most everything around him was falling apart.
He is grateful for the privilege to breathe and speak about how all of what he experienced personally, and the city collectively, affected him and the people he cares about.
He hopes that whatever the listener feels from these songs reflects the connection to humanity he has attempted to make.
He wants you to remember you are loved no matter what, but fuck every aspect of this reality that convinces you otherwise - that brutalizes, murders, disregards, and silences the best parts of all of us. Fuck that shit.
Thanks for listening.
He misses you.

credits

released May 7, 2021

1. FIRST THINGS FIRST FFS
2. NOT PRECIOUS
3. (LOVE IN) LOW-KEY HELL
4. XMAS CARD FROM A BOOKER IN MPLS
5. NEW YEAR’S GRIEVE
6. FOR DA BIRDS
7. TRAUMA TRIED *
8. MR. BUTTERFLY **
10. JANUARY SONG *
11. SWEEP ME UP, FLETCHER
12. THERE A GUY GOES

PRODUCED, RECORDED, AND MIXED ON GARAGEBAND ‘11
BY LUCAS RAY PARKER IN HIS BEDROOM OF THE PIRATEHAUS MPLS,
APRIL 2020 - APRIL 2021
MASTERED BY ZACHARY HOLLANDER AT THE PEARL MPLS, APRIL 2021

ALL SONGS BY LUCAS RAY PARKER EXCEPT:
* WORDS BY LRP AND SAVANNAH REICH, MUSIC BY LRP
** WORDS AND MUSIC BY ANDERS PONDERS, ARRANGED BY LRP

MUCH OBLIGED TO AMANDA GOMAND, LEE AND KRIS PARKER, HHNE AND SEAU’S, AND YOU. I WOULDN’TVE MADE IT WITHOUT Y’ALL. FTP!

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Fletcher Coulee Minneapolis, Minnesota

Banished to the land of wind and ghosts, Fletcher Coulee spent 2020 holed up in the hull of a ship wrecked by stupidity and prejudice. Voices came from behind closed doors, even light had to knock. After a year, they emerged with long gray hair and a button on their face that said, "PLAY." Everybody had lost so much. No one asked them to, but Fletcher went looking anyway. ... more

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