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.

Spanish Island (2013​-​2016)

by Eric & The Wabe

/
  • Streaming + Download

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

    As a bonus,you can also download a pdf of the CD booklet, which includes the album artwork, liner notes and song lyrics.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD  or more

     

1.
We're gonna get a sunny hideaway Down on Spanish Island Me and the missus gonna make our play Down on Spanish Island No one likes you No one cares what you say There's just something unattractive Old age as affliction So cliché On the highway No one stays in their lane Unsafe random fluctuations Insane, so I Dig on the mango and the sweet plantain Down on Spanish Island Groovy hacienda in the Port of Spain Down on Spanish Island On the fairway Everyone looks the same There's just a quiet desperation, a cost This seclusion for the lost Drinks at six Get a load of the time Better hit the bricks We stumble down the avenue Fading away within our gated Xanadu Our bodies creak and all our dreams have come unglued Without a clue Always me and you Skinny dipping Baby's still got an ass Sit tight till we're sure the moment is right I miss our steamy rendezvous Where is that dashing don that fresh-faced ingénue For now an island in the sun will have to do Some greens and blues Holding on to you We're gonna get a sunny hideaway Down on Spanish Island Me and the missus gonna make our play Down on Spanish Island
2.
I always said she was a talented girl Head on straight Solid state She had a helluva tan Pretty condo down on Malibu Bay Pretty car Cruising down the highway With her medicine man Yeah she's ahead of the plan Annie never needs a reason Never takes it slow Yeah you know Maybe it's not your season Maybe not your show Let it go I like to think that I'm a tolerant guy Cool refined Not inclined To shove a fist in your eye Mellow attitude Disarming and chill Up until Catch you with your fingers In the money supply You have a tell when you lie I saw you Annie better find her reason Better fast than slow Yeah you know Maybe it's the end of her season When I close the show Down she goes Is there something you want to tell me? (Cool your jets son) Maybe something you need to tell me? (Pain and strife) Is there something you’re trying to say dear? (Order duty) Cause there's something wrong with your play dear Annie's gone away for the season Leased her bungalow Had to blow Maybe money wasn't the reason Maybe just for show No one knows
3.
Rainbow Jane 04:58
She wore a sky blue mini and a leather vest Her legs were bare and brown She always looked her best She was a vision of spring Raven hair tied with a silken thread Her eyes were green and gold Her lips were ruby red I gave her everything Dropped acid on the cross-town bus Went to another world Just for the two of us It was amazing Rainbow Jane A girl of many colors Rainbow Jane So beautiful and kind Rainbow Jane As much a savior as a lover There could never be another She is my water and wine We spent that endless summer in a lover’s haze We didn’t need a thing Those were the golden days I thought they never would end Every day another sweet awakening Making love as dawn was breaking With my lover and friend But then I lost my way And then I couldn’t find her Colors fade and eyes grow blinder She had come and gone Rainbow Jane A girl of many colors Rainbow Jane So beautiful and kind Rainbow Jane As much a savior as a lover There could never be another She is my water and wine She wore a cameo against her throat Purple cape canary coat Jade and jasmine peach and cream Rainbow vision waking dream Summer flowers in her hair She was heaven’s angel hell's despair But I can’t find her anywhere - Repeat Chorus -
4.
Sofía stands at the mirror Coming hither Camera clinging as she stretches Her top is elastic See through plastic Pleasing Internet city Internet city Well you could tell right away She’d mastered every pose Hoopey loopey earrings And a stud in her nose Such a naughty mami I’m not the kind of guy Who hangs his luck on a line So I paid for her time Her smile was lazy It drove me crazy Man she was felony fine Internet city Internet city Shagari's trolling and reeling Dirty dealing Cyber grifter Spanish prisoner Hums “MagaDonPay” Sips Nescafé Typing Here in the third world You gotta do what you can Conning Disneyland Their cash is waiting There for the taking It's just supply and demand Internet city Internet city When the world is one Will we want to be? When the wires come Will they set us free? Packets streaming endlessly Internet city Internet city Here at the NSA Got tons of data to mine Sometimes we cross the line Cyber spying Overflying Just a sign of the times Here in Internet city Internet city Internet city Internet city
5.
You just sit there like Doing nothing and I’m just lying here Doing everything All this digital Interference is Breaking up our communication You push my buttons Like you’re waiting for Love’s intervention Through the bedroom door Clicking fingers at a hyper pace Eyes distant gazing into outer space Because you’re eight miles high (I’m falling ooh) While you’re eight miles high (I’m going down) While you’re eight miles high (Here on my own) While you’re eight miles high You say you’re here but your Head is elsewhere, and Plastic fantastic has Got your attention Low power indicates Imminent shut down Your high is fading You crash to the ground (Repeat Chorus) Icons flashing past Your eyes reflecting Wireless pronunciations Invisible chains to your plastic brain Disconnecting Memory full, threads are bare Rhythmic tapping Folks are elsewhere Listen to your fingers telling the story Telling the story Telling the story You push my buttons While you’re waiting Clicking fingers, distant gazing Because you’re eight miles high
6.
In Your Car 07:19
When I ride in your car I feel safe as a child So eternally blessed So caressingly mild Till somebody offends you It won’t matter why When we veer and careen Down the highway Sitting here by myself Many lifetimes away Wondering still At this sad disarray Would I find understanding If my hands were clutching at that wheel? What will I know when I feel? We arrive at the park Now the game has begun Reenacting the rites Linking father to son Like some odd syncopation Our rhythms collide And we crash on our island of misery When you lean down to speak I lurch up to engage Smacking your nose Lke some slapstick charade It’s a panic reaction you evoke A memory of pain Fear I can never explain A set for a movie looks real on one side An effect for the camera like filters and lights I forget all my lines when the rage in your eyes Has me falling, falling No awards to be won in my role as a son And I’m falling, falling Walking the dog And she strains to get free There’s a world of sensation To smell and to see So she fails to obey When you jerk on her line You react like she’s done you an injury So you lift her aloft Now she’s choking for breath Leaving me helplessly Watching her death Then you cast her before me with scorn At her cowering disgrace Shame that I feel in her place A soldier in battle must rise to the fight Rage at the foe as they try to survive When you target civilians the fear that I feel Sends me falling, falling There’s no war to be won Still you’re gripping a gun And I’m falling, falling You’re a great one for laughter For smiling with ease But it’s just imitation Acquired expertise There’s a curious absence of feeling inside Simulation, a counterfeit comedy There’s a strange disconnect Between signal and sense Faking a laugh is my only defense It’s a cynical game that you play To bend others to your will Part of the joy that you kill A set for a movie looks real on one side An effect for the camera like filters and lights When I look in your eyes There is nothing to see And I’m falling, falling Just a cipher awakened A soul absentee And I’m falling, falling It’s a character role That’s been poorly conceived When you rage and you hurt And you hunt and you feed On the young and the helpless You find in your path Like some predator form of paternity If my life has a purpose if anything’s clear Here’s where it ends all the pain and the fear To forgive without knowing Atoning for sins I don’t intend Will I find peace in the end? A set for a movie looks real on one side An effect for the camera like filters and lights Now the scenes are all done No more father and son And I’m falling It’s the end of the play And I’ve been cast away And I’m falling, falling Falling, falling Falling, falling
7.
The Monk 06:18
Dig it The Monk is tight Slick as a shadow Slipping through the night His ways are sacred His word is scripture But cross him once He’ll rip you from the picture Sophisticated His style’s a classic Moe Howard haircut Custom-tailored cassock No malefactor Repeat offender Can bear his splendor Equal measures of Cool breeze and dynamite Post-modern man When he can Deconstructing the frame Yeah, he’s outside the show Comes and goes Like Godot Meanwhile in Jenny’s chamber She begs The Monk Defend her from the danger Race to the harbor The scurvy sailor Who meant to nail her Tries to shank The Monk He’s got a Luger in his pocket Poison pill in a locket Flying fists make him drop it Till his henchmen come And now they’ve got the Monk surrounded Tables turned they’re astounded When he strikes they get pounded Like a kettle drum Craven sailor Begs the Monk for favor Gives the goods up How all the smuggling is directed How the mob is connected How the contraband comes The whole conspiracy a criminal enterprise Songbird singing See the fear in his eyes Victory Monk wins the day Virtue restored Benigno numine The rags are raving The lives he’s saving As Jenny prays he comes She’s speaking in tongues Holy ecstasy All through the town Staff and gown He’s the essence of cool With his life on the line Keeping time Looking fine
8.
Monkey Mind 04:37
You've gotta shake it here You've gotta move it there Fake it till you make it Like a millionaire You gotta chase the cheese You gotta take a chance Mesmerize the yokels With your belly dance I wanna dance But I can't So I won't Baby I wanna fly But I can't So I don't I wanna steal the show I wanna primp and prance Slip them some Sinatra In my underpants I wanna Be the top banana In the ruling class Bop like a bonobo With my boarding pass I wanna dance But I can't So I won't Honey I wanna fly But I can't So I don't Sitting here in my easy chair Watching my mind being self-aware I love you I hate you even more Thoughts racing by like a bullet train Bouncing around in my monkey brain I hate you I love you HEY HEY I'M A MONKEY! He's got a monkey A monkey mind Yeah yeah He's got a monkey mind He's got a monkey In his cranium He's got a monkey mind Sinking into my easy chair I'm watching my thoughts as they flit and flare Illusion it's always been that way I can see this could be quite a long campaign Monkey and me on this ball and chain I love you I hate you HEY HEY I'M A MONKEY! He's got a monkey A monkey mind Yeah yeah He's got a monkey mind He's got a monkey In his cranium He's got a monkey mind
9.
Just past the corner Just off the page Standing alone Out of sight and unknown Is a girl on a stage Ready and waiting No one calls her name She's the girl you can't see Cause she's standing outside of the frame Heart on my sleeve Can I make you believe In the spark burning deep inside of me? Beaming and shining Ready to fly Stake my claim to the sky When I'm done everyone admiring me Rising and climbing I reach for the sun Burning desire Inside aglow Never impressing So unprepossessing You never would know There in the shadows Hope a dying flame Is the girl you can't see Cause she's standing outside of the frame When will you see Who I'm longing to be Shooting star with the spotlight warming me Dreaming and pining Ready to soar But I need something more In your touch - in your smile - in your eyes Soul set in motion my journey begins When will you see Who I'm longing to be? Shooting star with the spotlight warming me Dreaming and pining Where do I start? Find a place in your heart? In your touch - in your smile - in your eyes Soul set in motion my journey begins Just past the corner Just off the page Standing alone out of sight and unknown Is a girl on a stage Yearning to show you Hope a dying flame She's the girl you can't see Cause she's standing outside of the frame There's a girl you can't see Cause she's standing outside of the frame I'm the girl you can't see Cause I'm standing outside of the frame

about

Greetings Invisible Listener!

It’s a funny thing, writing “album” notes in an era when no one listens to albums anymore for a collection of songs that very few people are likely to hear. Still, I grew up at a time when people still cared about such things, so, here it is, the introduction to my album, Spanish Island.

I am indebted to the musicians I met online who kindly provided me with tracks and encouragement. Chief among them is Amos Clarke, a talented singer-songwriter-producer and engineer, who I’ve never met in person because he made the odd choice of hailing from New Zealand instead of settling sensibly in Arizona, where I live nowadays.

Amos is featured on many of my tracks. Thanks Amos! Special thanks too to his lovely wife Nikki, who sang lead and background vocals on several of my tunes.

Although I was a decent acoustic guitar player back in the day, I always felt hampered in my songwriting by my limitations as a musician. That changed when I returned to music and bought Cubase. Suddenly, I could write anything I could imagine using midi and virtual instruments! I no longer had to think about chord progressions. Instead, I could simply write melodies and counter-melodies and see where they led me.

Most of my recent music is written that way, starting with a vocal line, then bass, drums, keyboards, and guitars. Through trial and error, I build up each arrangement note-by-note until the song is complete. Many of my earlier recordings were created without anyone actually playing anything!

I was often pleased with the results, but the songs sometimes felt a little “stiff” and metronomic, so, about four years ago, I began inviting real musicians I met online to play the parts I had programmed. That not only made the recordings feel more natural and organic, it also dramatically increased the fun factor.

This album, and everything else of value in my life, is dedicated to my
iLovely wife Ilisa, who has been my steadfast partner and friend for more than three decades. Without her, none of this would have been possible.

And now, all aboard for Spanish Island!

credits

released February 17, 2017

All songs on this CD except Textual Frustration were written, arranged and produced by Eric Block. Wabe Publishing ©2017 all rights reserved.

Textual Frustration, music by Eric Block & Amos Clarke, lyrics by Amos Clarke, produced and arranged by Amos Clarke for ShowPony Productions
©2014 all rights reserved.

Booklet Design & Layout by Eric Block,
Wabe Publishing ©2017.
All rights reserved.
Mastered by John Tabacco at Suburban Hermit Studios

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Eric & The Wabe Phoenix, Arizona

I started writing songs in 1969 and continued until 1987, when I got married and had kids. In 2008 I returned to music and started writing songs and collaborating with musicians across the Web, most notably Amos Clarke, Alex Klidaras, and John Tabacco. I owe a debt of gratitude to them and to the many other musicians who have kindly provided me with tracks and encouragement since then. ... more

contact / help

Contact Eric & The Wabe

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Eric & The Wabe, you may also like: