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BORN A GENIUS

by John Pippus

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Digi-pak CD with four-page colour insert. Cover photography by Graham Vickers.

    Also includes immediate download of 12-track album in your choice of 320k MP3 or other formats
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1.
Where I Come From 03:07
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Undecided, never sure of where you want to stay Never taking chances, you don’t know no other way Where I come from We believe in what we say Waiting for a signal that will tell you where to go What you got inside you it's all you need to know Where I come from We believe in what we say Make a move now let it take you You’ll never be the same World’s shining all around you Walk into the flame Where I come from We believe in what we say Undecided, never sure of where you want to stay Afraid of making choices, afraid you’ll have to pay Where I come from We believe in what we say
2.
Hey Now Hey 03:09
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Carefully we stare transfixed At technology’s coiled advance Held in awe by helicopters Moving into the sun Sometimes I get so bored by it all I need an angel to come out and play If I get lost in your love Can I convince you to stay? Hey now hey Hey now hey Hey now hey Will I find my way? I’ve been to the wall, I’ve come back disgraced I’ve seen too many things that my mind can’t erase This is me talking, I’m so incomplete How can a man feel and not lose any sleep? Well sometimes I get so used to it all I need an angel to show me the way If I give in to your love Can I convince you to stay? Hey now hey Hey now hey Hey now hey Will I find my way? I wanted just to love you And feel the touch of another hand I’m still waiting for the changes I’m still waiting here today Hey now hey…
3.
Let's Legalize It 04:06
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There’s a hole in my life a needle can’t fill The first cigarette and a blue and white pill My kids don’t know me I think it’s a shame But I’m back in the alley Doing it again Let’s legalize it all around the world No drug lord profits No overdose Armful of poison, for the price of a shot You don’t want it now That’s not going to stop I kicked it once I can kick it again I got nothing to live for but I remember when I had ambition A plan to survive I got nothing to live for But I don’t want to die Let’s legalize it… I went to a funeral for a kid named Ross He took too much, he paid the cost If he knew what he was doing He’d be here still He was a good kid But he got killed Let's legalize it... Let’s regulate it, FDA approved We can tax it, there's nothing to lose Armful of poison, for the price of a shot You don’t want it now That’s not going to stop Let’s undermine it Let's regulate it Let's talk about it Let's neutralize it Let’s legalize it © 2006 John Pippus / Pamela Searle
4.
Leaving On Your Mind 02:23
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Have you got evil on your mind You got me drinking all the time Please please tell me dear And say the words I want to hear You got one eye out the door Have you got evil on your mind Have you got leaving on your mind The way you treat me it's a crime Please please let me know If you don't love me anymore Is there something that you need Or have you got leaving on your mind
5.
Liberation Day 03:01
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The father lifts his boy up To get a better view At the generals and their armies Dancing two by two The Catholics aren’t laying trips On the guilty and the lame No one holds all the cards There’s no one to blame We all come out on Liberation Day Sexuality is not in question Desire is not a dirty word You can be who you want to As long as no one gets hurt The children sing, the grass is green Miles Davis is holding notes People party on the rooftops We all got the vote We all come out on Liberation Day High above the choir boys Write their names in snow-white ink But Adolf Hitler couldn’t make it He needed time to think We all come out on Liberation Day © 2010 John Pippus
6.
Born A Genius 03:46
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There’s something that I wanted to tell you Something I forgot to say I was born a genius I liked it better that way But too much wild living Wall to wall excess Ground me down even Left me in this mess Oh what a lonely sentence I remember when the deal went bad Holding court in a motel bar Hanging on a song When in walked a lady A lady of the night She said I can see that you want me I’ll take that as a sign We were meant to be together Til the end of time Oh what a lonely sentence I remember when the deal went south Interstate, got the pedal down Living life under the gun I’m busted and stranded And I’m on the run I was born for good loving Remorse is not my style I hate to say it But she was the one Oh what a lonely sentence Oh what a crazy time Oh what a sorry state I’m in I remember when the deal went down © 2007 John Pippus / Pamela Searle
7.
Shopping Cart Joe 04:01
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Leaning into an April wind Sifting through my past Funny how the time takes things away One wrong turn too many And I guess I lost the thread I didn’t plan to end up this way Shopping Cart Joe That’s what they call me That’s all they know Slamming doors and social workers The neighborhood disgrace I wish I never took it out on her Beer on tap and small cigars Are my only friends I got swallowed by my pride Shopping Cart Joe That’s what they call me That’s all they know If you only knew what I could do When I was on my game I bet you’d want to be my friend If you only knew what I was like When I was seventeen I want to go back there again Counting off the city blocks Adding up the dimes Trying to keep the angry voices low Pissing on a miracle Hoping for a change I’d just settle for piece of mind Shopping Cart Joe… © 2010 John Pippus
8.
Ancient Love 03:01
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Tell me darling where have I seen Have our paths crossed back in history Did I see you in some ancient market Felt your eyes burning into me I know your love, I know your body The way you move unconsciously I hear your voice teasing me softly Take me down, love me again Tell me darling where have I see you Are we from another century Did we slip away from time’s embrace Or are you just my fantasy I see you in my restless sleep The way you know me is a mystery I feel you here against my skin Love me once, it starts again I see you in my restless sleep The way you know me is a mystery I feel you here against my skin Love me one time, it starts again © 2010 John Pippus
9.
Jack Knives and Cannonballs 02:33
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Jack knives and cannonballs And days that never end Mothers call their children home But they’ll be back again Comic heroes drifting in the sky Playing hide and seek When you close your eyes at night Pray the Lord your soul to keep Chairs in rows, playing and guessing games Lions in a cage The shadows growing longer As we learn to act our age I’m sorry that I left you there Without a second glance Caught up in a cold world You didn’t stand a chance Maybe I’ll go back one day To the place where I was blessed And do a running header there It just might be my best Jack knives and cannonballs And days that never end © John Pippus 2010
10.
One Shot 02:53
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Have you ever felt the cold wind blowing Have you ever felt the rain on your skin Have you ever felt anything at all I hear you’re coming around again I don’t buy your pretty talk and your designer shoes You're reading all them magazines just to tell you what to do You better stop and think about your time on this earth We only get one shot I don’t see no sign of life You change your mind like you change your socks You change it all the time When are you gonna find something to believe in When will you draw that line Don't we have to answer for what we leave behind I ask myself these questions and search the corners of my mind You better stop and think about your time on this earth ‘Cause we only get one shot We gotta protect this precious life Fighting over oil, fighting over land Fighting over the air that we breath Help me understand When we gonna change When we gonna see the light Too many dying needlessly, something just ain’t right We better stop and think about our time on this earth We only get one shot Gotta respect this precious life You better stop and think about your time on this earth You only get one shot Got to protect this precious life © 2008 Karina Morin / John Pippus
11.
Your Mouth Is The Gun 03:38
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Your mouth is the gun Your words the ammunition You can take back what’s been said But I’ll still be shot full of lead Your eyes are the blades That slice through all the plans I’ve made You can blame it on a troubled life But a heart can’t forget the twisting of the knife If your argument is not with me Then why do I have to bleed If I’m the victim of your crime Why am I the one doing time You were the flame That once burned through my veins But now with nothing to lose You’re just a spark, I’m just a fuse If your argument is not with me Why do I have to bleed If I’m the victim of your crime Why am I the one doing time Caught out in the light I’ve earned my stripes I’ve had all I can take Gonna make my prison break I won’t be guilty of the same mistake If your argument is not with me Then why do I have to bleed If I’m the victim of your crime Why am I the one doing time © 2008 Aaron Joyce and John Pippus
12.
It's Just Music 05:10
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It’s just music... People singing / Moving to the wonder of it all / While up in the towers / Gold records line the walls / Deals are made, spirits broken / By the unit counts fall / While down on the street / Voices rise up and the rhythms rhyme with the beat / It’s a sound, make a sound now / Join in and sing / Make a sound / Open up your heart / Are you with me / And it’s only the sound of our voices / Keep the rhythm going / It can’t be wrong when you… It’s just music… - Ronii Wata solo - It’s just music…. I want a world where we can all be strong / I want a world where we can all belong / Children and the old ones too / Respecting all the voices too / Ronii Wata, Watasun and Saga, Kickstart and touch it / It’s here, it’s real / Can’t you feel / It’s just music It’s just music… - John’s solo - Eddie Tatoosh climbs a tree, gets to the top, looks around and he shakes. It’s just music © 2010 John Pippus and Adam Bailie

about

"It appears that he has exorcised a few of his demons after the lonely pre-dawn lament of his first album, and he’s got stuff to say." - Shelley Gummeson, Earshot Magazine, Sept. 17/10

"Sounds like: Gordon Lightfoot, Bruce Cockburn, Jack Johnson" - Alan Cross, ExploreMusic.com, Sept. 27/10

"Pippus's second CD can't be labelled blues or tagged folk but it is earthy without also being retro... As varied as it is, humour and energy might be the album's unifying factor." - Tom Harrison, Province Newspaper, Aug. 15/10



All profits from the sale of the CD go to KIVA.ORG. This organization facilitates "micro loans" to start up businesses in developing countries.

credits

released September 15, 2010

Produced and recorded by Adam Bailie

Tracks 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11 mixed by Michael Nowak

Tracks 3, 4, 5, 10 and 12 mixed by Adam Bailie

John’s lead vocals and rhythm guitar were recorded by Michael Nowak at Saga Recording, Vancouver, BC. except:
“Let’s Legalize It” and some lead vocal lines for “It’s Just Music”. Recorded by Adam Bailie.

Mastered by Brock McFarlane


Graham Vickers: Album Cover Photography and Concept
Anthony Joseph: Visual Retouching
Digital Media Alliance: Album Cover Design

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John Pippus Vancouver

"Reminiscent and harkening in spirit, in some ways, to Neil Young’s classic “Harvest,” Pippus and friends have made something much richer in tone and certainly more fitting for 2022.”

-Review of “Hermosa Star”, Great Dark Wonder ... more

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