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The Keys

by Unwoman

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    Crystal USB with red LED and 8GB capacity. Shiny clear acrylic & brushed steel, laser-etched with Unwoman logos. Contains 24+ hours of Unwoman's music including Desire Paths, Uncovered thru Volume 7, Selected Songpoems, both regular & instrumental versions of four original albums, several other original and covers albums & EPs including Everything Is Awesome and Snuggle, the dark-ambient EP IDTWS, and bonus tracks not available anywhere else. Does not contain the newest subscription-only songs or anything that was up temporarily on bandcamp.

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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Music to Pine for Your Old Lady to, The Lemon Blossom, Desire Paths, Instrumentals: Of My Own Space and Time I Am Queen, Wallflower, Everything Is Awesome, Music to Snuggle Your Old Lady to, Uncovered Volume 7, and 27 more. , and , .

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1.
Habit (free) 03:41
I've got that teenage feeling A whole lot of good it does me Part of the allure was I didn't know What I was getting into But I can't break the habit of you Though I say I want to Oh I need one more rendezvous -- then I'll quit This nasty habit of you You still haunt my mind with everything you said All the things you liked about me went to my head As we walked down the street eating ice cream With every bite it got harder to stop Oh, now I can't stop, I can't stop And now I can't break the habit of you I need one more rendezvous Then I'll quit this habit of you I still need something to sink my teeth into I can't break the habit of you Oh I might say how much I want to
2.
The Keys 03:32
With a promise to set me free From the cage I'd locked myself into He appeared with many keys How could I refuse? These golden bars they hold perfection But were chosen by mistake (mistake) Comfort would be my tomb I had to run away (he led me away) Waking in the morning, my head upon his chest The paradox abundantly clear This love attacked so fierce: it will decay like all the rest There is nothing to be gained here As lust turns to need all the promise is destroyed Need turns to possession Each little victory only noise So I have returned to my cage But now I hold the keys And I will use them Anytime I please
3.
You don't ask what happened His history is a private matter You wouldn't like what you find Just pray to never ask for The violence he keeps confined Oh all the women before you he never deserved them they were cruel Oh you dear you are different, you are so innocent He watches you like a hawk And your body given to him, he owns it In daily life he is solicitous Wants to know your desires so he can fill them You tell him omitting only one thing: Your curiosity But with your subtle charms you have seduced the guard Now he walks beside you with a ring of keys you do not see the sadistic gleam in his eyes as he opens the forbidden chamber he will enjoy murder vicariously Your false step unleashes the fury Belied by your prince's calm demeanor Oh what is behind that door? In bluebeard's castle What is behind that door?
4.
Satin 04:24
I am satin, fretted and frayed By life's jagged edges When I let myself out to play Despite consequences I take the dress down from the attic I slip her on and tie her lace Tonight she might be stained and battered In your dangerous embrace (chorus 2x) Intensity is muted by pretending It’s not in reverence for your spark Just for severance of strings That bound me, kept me from my heart Yet all the things I make and do In this labyrinth of doubt Are misguided lovesongs to you Wouldn't mean anything without (oh let it out let it out!) (chorus) I take the dress down from the attic I slip her on and lace her ties In our dance she’ll be torn and tattered Just because we are alive
5.
Bruises (free) 04:01
I learned to love from songs I know I do it wrong I fall fast and not very well Try to dissemble, but you can tell I can't play by the rules Too impatient to be pursued But you got under my skin Your skin under my nails Your smell on my hair Your marks on my arms If we can choose our bruises I've made my choice Now I sing my own song in my own voice Though my tongue may still be tied In the end I will be undenied Oh, I learned to love from songs I know I do it wrong If I could have what I wanted You would be part of it To grasp me firmly's not an option But I want you Even now I've had you, still -- I want you Tempted to give all this a name As our dance is moving always one step out of frame chorus
6.
7.
Trouble 04:25
I wasn't looking for -- Trouble found me It rests with eyes and words, for now my treachery Does the young planet know the force with which she pulls Who can blame two bodies for obeying gravity? Yes there are things that can't be undone But neither can they be unsaid; you can't be unwanted Knowing well that this could be the crisis Despite admonishments I remain undaunted Now I'm poised to fall the final distance into your arms The path of least resistance and the most harm I always get what I ask for But never know what I want So when I asked for it Trouble found me It lives in flesh and bone, our treachery I won't ask the lioness to change her nature However merciless, however bloody This is not the first secret, it won't be the last I see all the future tears as if they've already passed As if it's already known For now, we keep it close I ask again, my friend -- Trouble find me Remind me how it feels, my treacher
8.
I only wanted to make something better than myself I never resisted being criticized No I listened to everything anyone has said But some things are not meant to be analyzed Chorus: It's all over now I've grown so tired of listening to all the doubt The fear so consuming I will never get out I still have the choice To ignore that voice inside my head that says Whatever I do, it's not success -- I've had enough of this! With every glance new cracks, new flaws are exposed We all carry a thousand mistakes But you know someday this pandora's box will be closed Until then, I'll do whatever it takes I look to the past and the future to come Relying on daydreams that I might have won One day... (chorus) I'm too soft, I'm too hard I'm too brave, I'm too scared I'm trivial, I'm serious Is anyone even hearing this? I hear the absence of your cheers Loud and clear, loud and clear...
9.
Wicked Game 04:51
10.
11.
12.
Cruelty 03:00
Each girl thinks she will be the one To love you despite all you do wrong Each time you make the same mistakes But so does she You think that to be a good person Means merely causing no one harm But since we're all responsible for ourselves It's impossible to fail My heart is wide open and I'll never give up hoping Not for your love, just for you to just grow up Now there's one more thing you need to know It is cruel to look into a girl's eyes that way you looked in mine Unless you want her to fall in love with you. It is cruel to want her to fall in love If you can't love her too (I know you can't love me too) Each girl I've told has been unsurprised They learned as I to avoid those eyes Now only knowing I can never win Would I fall in them again It is cruel to look into a girl's eyes that way you looked in mine Unless you want her to fall in love with you. It is cruel to want her to fall in love If you can't love her too (I know you can't love any of us too)
13.
Fugue Fugue 04:46
With an empty heart and all my hope wrapped tight around me Fled into lonely night, I'm still here you never found me Running past fantasies (in anonymity) of your Utopian daylight Pretend I'm someone else (one of many) memories don't seem to fit right Those bells I thought would never toll for me When they did, hollow the sound, hollow the meaning But recall all the time (now far behind me) spent in a warm embrace And why I exited (please don't remind me) knowing it couldn't be replaced Love, once I thought you were (it's so easy to fall) the cure for everything that ailed me After I tried so hard (or did I try at all) was it that you simply failed me? Those bells I thought would never toll for me When they did, hollow the sound, hollow the meaning Love, when I see your face I see you as smoke and mirrors Naked, I face myself when your illusion disappears
14.
Hurt 06:16
15.
He rushed us straight on, sweep feet out under Me, melt for blush, now felt naked say “ah” So simply be loved and Only error still frees us Happy error here frees up Speak still sweet the more he saw Sell the leave more where he’s too fond you see He'd have helped the veiled ones Tell someday why Harsh, the end of near-strength Sundial, snatch more we are Here as we sat on that shelf easily In love with us he ropes sad animals So wracked, know when is ended Hopes I don't know exit warrior: Her song lapses, deserts, see the path? So all is neat, sin's ceremonial, for hope it's only a hand (in love with us) There's no more need in real Assumption on that stops Says certainly lose it; a young girl would There's no need left, yes no need being left in our loop And now these methods need forensics He’s the very gear but Hopes it all pushed me -- let go! So be soothed you so often, one in/out my eyes He rushed this enamored enough, so still it’s early In love with us Hope the curtains are up

about

Released October 22, 2009. Previews & outtakes for upcoming CD release, Casualties, which came out in Spring 2010, and some covers. Rough or alternate versions.

credits

released October 22, 2009

Everything by Unwoman (Erica Mulkey) except as noted on tracks. Photo by Neil Girling, theblight.net

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Some rights reserved. Please refer to individual track pages for license info.

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about

Unwoman San Francisco

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Unwoman is a self-produced cellist-singer-songwriter. Layered with skillful cello, rich vocals, and electronically arranged beats, her solo music is a futuristic homage to her classical training. Unwoman has been featured at steampunk, goth, and sci-fi-related events all over North America and has collaborated with many notable acts. ... more

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