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.

Head Above Tide

by Jason Vitelli

/
  • Streaming + Download

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

    Full quality AIFF files available for download at 96kHz / 24bit resolution.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $7 USD  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    A wonderfully pressed advance copy of the album, with a CD signed by me!

    Includes unlimited streaming of Head Above Tide via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    edition of 400 

      $10 USD or more 

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 7 Jason Vitelli releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of 1. Ambient Corridors, Exit Love Story, The Veil, Night Falls, Snazzy Cats, Head Above Tide, and No Photographs. , and , .

    Excludes subscriber-only releases.

    Purchasable with gift card

      $11.70 USD or more (35% OFF)

     

1.
Hit and Run 03:49
Swept upon my doorstep Shadows falling at my feet Oh my He asks me for my money Then throws me toward the street I’m slipping through his fingers Slipping through his arms The car swerves through my gait Collapsing on my knees Clawing at the fender Nails are bleeding What can you say when such trouble finds your way Do you kneel and then pray? The pauper steals his medicine yet reviles his fall from grace Does he kneel and then prey? Pulled into an alley He picks my pockets clean Trembling, red vision Anger rising I grip him by the neck And squeeze his windpipe free You'll die, you'll die You'll die but not I! The hit and run cannot be undone the moment's gone too soon You stick and you move And don't you mix up all the facts for the policeman calls for you You stick and you move Patch me up; stitches hold Reset the broken bones; make me whole again Call up my folks; tell them I will be home at ten Tell them I will be home again Lyrics © 2017 Jason Vitelli
2.
Fault Lines 03:50
Toss me out the door For heaven sake I won't be here anymore I’m winking into your voice Inside a blink of an eye I thought I stood away From the fault lines below Shaking my frame ‘Till I save every little parcel of shame A ticking time bomb explodes And there is no visibility of which to speak As we're spinning into the deep Don't lose yourself to the trauma unfolding Don't lose yourself to me Facades fall down Uncover cracks that have been forgotten ‘till now A sacred ground will not rescue you If you’re still holding on To that last fragment It's just too hard to grasp Toss it into the sea For it's the only way to finally move on Lyrics © 2017 Jason Vitelli
3.
Have we the courage to carry this load? Its weight carries our joys Forty reasons to give up this cause When struggle is all you find Rations run thin We shrink into skin and bones Yet I will give the deepest thanks to those who will despise us Building courage to proudly wear this badge Its coat of arms carry our pain Countless reasons to behold these truths When salvation is what we've found We have known this for so long, you know The trouble we have caused Rations run thin They shrink but still we will gloat And I’ll be sure to tip my hat to those who will despise us Our case is made And the gavel has landed It won't be supplanted This moment lifts all of our doubts as your hand touches mine The night sky clears up And the museum is still open Exhibits smear our sights As we embrace in its backlight The tunnels, the endless tunnels echo so right Recover, restart As our lies tear apart into dust And I'll be sure to tip my hat to those who will despise us Lyrics © 2017 Jason Vitelli
4.
(descension) 01:04
5.
Labyrinthine 03:36
The heroine’s done for the night Labored in her breathing Icy wooden floors Resonate and splinter Into a labyrinthine construct Her boots muddy from the high tide Turning the lights out, turning the lights out Turning them out she makes it clear It’s not going to be a new day For her to sense the depth of the seas No auspices, just fitful sleep Enough to make her disappear Her head still filled with the noise From the fiery tempest Red surrounds the haze From the moment she was cast down Alas, she crawls through the blackest fields Crumbling walls of the gravest courtyard Brought with her a scattergun Will blow their brains to kingdom come There will be no surrender The bloodiest crypt of a thousand leads to the underground Signs, they just meet her Or else she just knows to take a turn Too wise to let the seconds be owned Sells herself as more and more ticks break Ticks break, taking her away from escape This cloister held in the depths of hell Beneath the dirt it lurks Forever in the terror Her mind’s a curdled maze Envisage a head case Blowing apart the pirouettes Their endless streams of swirling hatred Turning the lights out, turning the lights out Turning them out, she makes it clear It’s not going to be a new day Lyrics © 2017 Jason Vitelli
6.
Living Proof 03:21
Here I lie, forsaken and living on borrowed time Have I known you or just forgotten me? Echoing accomplishments Fade through each passing chime The dusty floors embellish the library hall Full of volumes underlined by my out of mind I've torn out the pages Now all the living proof is gone Whose children will know my story? The history of my travels will be discarded As I return to earth In the womb a life emerges, a cry Teeming with such pride Feels daylight yet shivering From a never ending chill The moments flutter beyond the grave Beholding a new name Lyrics © 2017 Jason Vitelli
7.
D-Day 03:24
Pushing our way toward the droves of lurid life forms In sarcophagi floating in a foreign sea Suddenly we have reached the shore Flag warning do not enter Yet we will break right past this caution tape To find where had it all gone wrong And though the enemy fires at our fleet Will we be led to safety? Often I ache fiercely for a new horizon From whence the great cliffs serenade Perhaps off the beaten path We'll find a new dance Casting a stone eroding illusion to the winds And unfurl the colors bleeding through the mist And see if we should take up arms To lead the world to safety Rat droppings now cover the floor of which we can't scotch-guard As we've ingested our own poison Vertigo sows confusion A virulent minefield Is laying waste prisoners to certain fate Who cry, "Where had it all gone wrong?" And I lie upon this ravaged beach Wave to all that are striving to keep Their head above tide Au Revoir! Lyrics © 2017 Jason Vitelli
8.
Welcome to my life, healing Those words you said Hit me over the head Just like a touch of your cool lips Often I can feel unrest but I will say That I am no longer alight With the fire and the brimstone Those days are long gone Can’t even remember the last time that we fought Picture a picture so perfect Just like in the magazines: The American Dream It’s a moment, it’s a moment to last But I’m not really quite ready, oh no I’m not really quite ready for it to pass We go… Up the spire and over the wire Higher and higher As we climb past the clouds of our discontent To a place we can call our own Welcome to my life, healing Those words you said Hit me over the head Just like a touch of your cool lips upon mine Often I can feel unrest but I will say again That I am no longer alight With the fire and the brimstone Those days are long gone Can’t even remember the last time that we fought! Welcome to my life, healing… Lyrics © 2017 Jason Vitelli
9.
(ascension) 01:22
10.
Trees 04:42
Killing off the future where no sun rays go And it may be a mistake But I write this note to say goodbye Now I run up Breakneck Ridge to the heights where I can wean Off this modern strife Into the loam enriched with the nutrients And set my roots Sharp the pine needles They hurt They push me over into a free fall Down I go I awake tied up in limbs Vision spinning through the leaves And what a surprise, I'm alive Forgotten what I do for a living And only know of the path in front of my eyes As the incline spans open wide The crickets chirp so sweet And I feel complete When I can’t recall any wish to be known at all The clouds in the sky Shimmering upon my fronds Lift me beyond the ledges where I can dream Of the trees, oh! A mirage of your face shimmers in the lake My memory cannot see its name But that smile is the blossom For whom I search the water’s edge A suicide attempt brings upon this new domicile I transform in the brush Finding faith in the birds and learning How to plant myself To sail into the pistil where I will be reborn Lyrics © 2017 Jason Vitelli
11.
Pinwheel 04:32
Steering myself with both hands For I forgot to heed The traffic that's crowding ‘round my head Can't take back what I’ve seen I am just kidding… No doubt My wheels are just spinning Around and around I can't take it anymore My car tires are squealing off course Yet I marvel at the terrible price this may cost This may cost too much Can a neutral gear break us through Past the blind spots of our view? For the car horns beep too loud If they can't give up any ground Around and around we go Painting water color lines Toward the threshold of the next stop sign I turn the corner, didn't notice you Made the “right” signal before I moved Slow down, slow down at the flickering light Slow down! I’m treading… You tread across the pavement As I open my door to peer Standing between both fenders Don't see any damage here That was a close one… No doubt I should have been tossed Around and around I can't take it anymore Swapping numbers we collectively sigh For this was nothing but a moment gone awry Let it go Lyrics © 2017 Jason Vitelli
12.
Autumn Hymn 03:23
Off to the parade Singing songs older than you and I That speak to our fathers To the little boy blue Floating memories That touch our tired feet to the paving stones Taking all the time that we will need To cross the streets below Dancing high in the sky The wind it catches our sighs, oh my Holding hands and walking Holding hands and talking closely Leaves are turning As we will turn to the clearest blue sky Reviving old glory Soaring beyond the miles Been ‘round and ‘round Now can't find my way back home This veil's been torn So could I pass through with you Through these well worn corridors Hearing those storied melodies Echo through the halls Streamers and banners Finally settle upon our old oak tree Rippling chimes Sound so wild in the eventide Lyrics © 2017 Jason Vitelli
13.
Propagate 03:35
I pay for my bliss In self loathing emptiness In alienation, in loneliness I pay in bewildered stares In lovers without a care I pay in credit charges and straight cash I pay in a loss of intimacy Lost in expectations I pay in endless explanations And reasons to speak out for myself For myself ‘Cause the world doesn’t understand That no one will take my hand And I pay for my dearest wishes With the next tidal hit Swelling from my trail of tears I’m pulled by an undertow So fierce with ire That it leaves me threadbare, shirtless and tired And although those ships sail on Those that are not inspired Their insipid surf extinguishes my hell Hellfire ‘Cause the world doesn’t understand That no one will take my hand And I pay for my dearest wishes With the next spiteful slap Shaking my bowing knee caps We pay for our bliss In the hot nights and anxious cold sweats In the times I need an unconditional kiss From you But you want me to be prejudiced To love you more than I love myself To covet your kisses and spend all my wishes At the jeweler for your diamond necklace Until I turn out a bullied old man Spending all his change on the little grandchildren Who follow in the footsteps of my forgone freedom “Was it worth it, was it worth it?” I ask my flaccid libido “Did I propagate the race, propagate the family name?” Lyrics © 2017 Jason Vitelli
14.
Vacant 04:20
I'm waiting for me to live Life like an eagle soars But I'm chained upon a load That threatens to bring us to harm Am I too vacant to recognize what I ought to conceal As their hateful eyes are glowing in hordes surrounding? This moment will pass me by As these drugs will get me high But down in the doldrums The devil speaks a vicious tune singing: "Bring Hell to all cause the Lord ain't there for you" Is that true? Or am I too vacant to understand what I ought to ignore As their merciless havoc breathes its fire toward my door? It’s been so long Can't see what's in front of me This holding cell won't release my sanity No it won’t What is home anymore when I can't breathe Through the smoke so thick and so wild Consuming me? I’m waiting upon this ledge Just hoping you'll see me score Take a jump shot into the cloud rim of heaven above To be kissed by all net Her lips tainted with blood, with my blood Am I too vacant to reconcile who's attacking me? While every side is drawing the same lines on concrete All are aware that he took his final leap I took my final leap Drowning down into the gutter but hope to one day float upstream Lyrics © 2017 Jason Vitelli
15.
Sever me from the ties that bind ever so tight For this is my time to roam They curse and they say I won't be OK But I don't mind to burn all the bridges down Jumping off toward solid ground Picking up pieces of these lives In this empty wasteland I'm poking at the traps like when the trainers tamed me I jump through their flaming hoops and tremble at their cries All hope denied They won't allow me to roam The crowd gathers at my feet They won't allow me to roam Circling back toward the meet They won't allow me to go, to go home With my pride and my cubs And the endless breeze in my mane Sever my strings and cut the wires off my arms So I can finally see how it feels to walk To step is too much at first glance So I'll just stand up real tall I will touch my toes today if you teach me how to pray Oh lord Swatting those flies off my brow Taking an endless walk Across the vast lands they shoot me in plain sight And I scramble up a tree They won't allow me to roam Vultures circling overhead They won't allow me to roam Parched bellies are distended We belong to no one Refugees sing those elegies of their softly spoken deaths Creeping around their sunken eye sockets Sever me from their trials Their pricking and prodding I'm stuck inside these four white walls Singing a melody of my lost youth But no one hears what my kind has bequeathed With their lab coats their needles and their rules Hands on my feet no longer walk They curse and they say I won't be OK But I don't mind to burn all the bridges down Jumping off toward solid ground Lyrics © 2017 Jason Vitelli
16.
A Mutiny 05:29
So long my friends Tonight will be our last A mutiny is surrounding My every act was for naught Sea walls are caving in, what is happening? I can’t see ten steps in front of me My hands they are a-shake as I walk this plank It’s a reason to maroon So take me away to another place I’ll be alone on my lifeboat, barely alive But still breathing A mutiny is surrounding My thoughts driving me out of my mind Shackles ‘round my feet Their troubled gazes meet, summoning the ammunition Please no, please no, please no No one told me why everyone must die I pull his blindfold off “It will be over soon. Stay alert, it’s all you can do.” Said my sister as she pulls the cannonball Tied to that noose around my neck Those blood ties we share Don’t break our fall from grace Suddenly the deck transforms Into a glittering ballroom floor And the seasick sailors Lock step into a psychopathic tango And they swing and they dance ‘Till the dusk turns into dawn I crumble to the disco floor Upon an inauspicious moon Asking why can’t I cut this rope in two Find justice through this impending doom So long my friends This will be our last goodbye Goodbye! My every act was for naught My hands they are a-shake as I walk this plank It’s a reason to jump… But I’m alone on my lifeboat, barely alive But I’m still breathing I’m still breathing. Lyrics © 2017 Jason Vitelli

about

All Compositions and Artwork
© and ℗ 2017 Jason Vitelli / © 2017 Maquiladora Music (ASCAP)

credits

released January 17, 2018

PERSONNEL:

Jason Vitelli - vocals, keyboards, rhythm/lead guitars, alto sax, bass guitar (4 & 12), programming, recording, mixing, arrangements and production

Michael O'Brien - bass guitar

Yorgos Maniatis - drums, shaker and pandeiro

Max Castro - congas

Lisa Trenary - backup vocals

Cherette White - backup vocals

Dave Ramsay - lead guitar (3 & 10)

Richard Padrón - lead guitar (15)

Art Halperin - recording and mixing

Barry Diament - mixing and mastering

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Jason Vitelli New York, New York

Cinematic rock music with a vision; this is Jason's sound in a nutshell. His songs are vignettes, narratives, painting a picture with intertwining lyrics and melody. Much of his writing is influenced by the experimental rock of the late 1970’s, marrying folk sentiment with the avant-garde crosscurrent of Berlin era Bowie, Kate Bush, Olivier Messiaen, James Joyce and Eric Dolphy. ... more

contact / help

Contact Jason Vitelli

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

Jason Vitelli recommends:

If you like Jason Vitelli, you may also like: