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Big Celebrity

by Sweet Soubrette

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1.
Ghost Ship 03:36
strange grief loss of what you never had great relief why you feeling so so sad catch release pick it up and put it back rest in peace why's it gotta hurt like that and the ghost ship of the life you didn't choose is the one you know will never carry you there are moments when you get a glimpse from the corner of your eye all you can do is watch it sail on by sail on by sail on by sail on by sail on by bright and brief everything that comes our way time's a thief how did it get so late wail and weep at all that you can't keep at bay get some sleep it's gonna be a long day and the ghost ship of the life you didn't choose is the one you know will never carry you there are moments when you get a glimpse from the corner of your eye all you can do is watch it sail on by sail on by sail on by sail on by sail on by strange grief rest in peace bright and brief everything that comes our way get some sleep it's gonna be a long day
2.
cha-cha heels, straight skirt to the knee cardigan sweater buttoned up the back heavy black eyeliner, Clearasil lips throw you on the ground and your hair would crack the celebrity room at the top of the stairs sits empty, a tacky star on the door if Liz Taylor isn’t sitting in there then what the hell did you break into it for stop fooling around and go for broke it’ll all happen to you eventually look in the mirror and see yourself you’re a big celebrity big celebrity big celebrity big celebrity take a walk down atrocity lane perpetual tourist, the best way to travel pay attention to your own back yard scandal is everywhere waiting to unravel it’s lonely at the bottom as well as the top so do what they tell you and don’t make a fuss you got two fish lines under the bridle one makes you talk, the other shuts you up stop fooling around and go for broke it’ll all happen to you eventually look in the mirror and see yourself you’re a big celebrity big celebrity big celebrity big celebrity you’d rather die famous than live unknown the National Enquirer calls you on the phone and you don’t need a reason not to smoke again if the golden age of trash is coming to an end the prettiest girls in thirteen countries with twenty-six bare shoulders covered in net hated the picture but loved the gimmick the world just might not be ready for it Natalie Wood’s footprints fill up with water as the janitor hoses down the cement you were watching the movie like a crime scene witness but you still don’t know what it meant stop fooling around and go for broke it’ll all happen to you eventually look in the mirror and see yourself you’re a big celebrity big celebrity big celebrity big celebrity
3.
Night Owls 04:38
night owls and moonflowers let’s stay up late the world goes to bed and we let it go quiet cool air is sweeter and midnight oil burns so much cleaner blow out the candle we see in the dark some of us call it the witching hour shadows with sharp edges come into focus the chattering mind grows so peaceful we're nocturnal creatures the sound of our heartbeat’s the tick of the clock till the glittering blueprint of stars starts to fade and morning is breaking the spell that we made we pretend we don’t hear what the birdsong is saying but along the horizon the sky’s going gray is it now the darkest hour blowing wind breaking bough we fly aloft our lunar thoughts as luminous as luna moths no liquor shots or knockout drops will keep us from keeping watch till dawn of day and our old age wide awake night owls and moonflowers let’s stay up late we’ll sleep when we’re dead but till then we’re immortal nothing is better than feeling like we’ve got forever the nights seem so long but they slip by so fast till the glittering blueprint of stars starts to fade and morning is breaking the spell that we made we pretend we don’t hear what the birdsong is saying but along the horizon the sky’s going gray
4.
Devil's Moon 04:43
light the candle, fill the cup, look out at the moon time is running out and there is nothing left to lose but just for now I know this much is true a smoke-filled room, a devil's moon and you love sneaks up before you know, there's nothing you can do you're swept away regardless once it gets its hands on you and once upon a time it was still new but time stands still for no one even you if I knew I’d tell you where it hurts every day it’s the end of the world thicker than clear water, can you feel its steady rise you’ll drown in it once it reaches the level of your eyes and if we knew the future we’d be doomed but there’s no future left for me and you if I knew I’d tell you where it hurts every day it’s the end of the world and when the world ends tell me where do we go carnivorous angels above or the oven below now that you’ve mastered the art of killing me slow love me forever or go on and cut my throat burn the candle, drain the cup, howl at the moon time is running out and there is nothing left to lose but just for now I know this much is true a smoke-filled room, a devil's moon and you a smoke-filled room, a devil's moon and you a smoke-filled room, a devil's moon and you a smoke-filled room, a devil's moon and you
5.
Oahu 04:03
in the dreamy little swindle where the strangler fig holds sway they made the queen a prisoner and they took her crown away oh oh oh ah Oahu oh oh oh oh ah Oahu she's locked inside her palace where she sits and sews all day in a skirt of downy feathers and a yellow colored lei now she plies her needle to embroider every bird on a quilt of silk and satin that will cover up the world you can gather up the idols you can put em in a fire you can burn em into cinders but the ancient gods don't die there will come a moment when a wave will wash away all the saints and all the strangers it might even be today when we meet we'll touch our noses and we'll breath each other in with the breezes full of flowers and the sunshine on our skin
6.
Wake Up When 04:16
I’ve been a dancer and I’ve been a waiter still looking for answers all these years later I’ve given the orders I’ve taken commands been stuck on the border of the promised land and I hope my eyes will open wake up when the spell is broken I’ve walked home with blisters I’ve ridden in taxis lean over I’ll whisper the names if you ask me I’ve practiced in secret I’ve taken the classes I’ve gone out to seek it in rose colored glasses is there hope my eyes will open wake up when the spell is broken I’ve guessed the question I’ve asked it so often I’ve learned my lesson and quickly forgotten I, I, I I, I, I I’ve played with matches and I’ve burned my bridges I’ve sifted the ashes in search of riches I’ve lost what I knew I’ve been reminded what will I do when I finally find it it’s my hope my eyes will open wake up when the spell is broken I, I, I I, I, I
7.
I was the coolest girl in school and you were my acolyte taught you to smoke your first cigarette to suppress your appetite got you pulled out of class with a fake ass pass from the principal sitting shotgun in my station wagon you were invincible now you’ve had some fucked up bad luck, it was inevitable we’ve both learned how to shut up and eat our vegetables and I’ve gotta pay down my debts but I’d settle for less yeah I’d settle for less have we settled for less I don’t know anyone the way I knew you then I would give anything to have you back again kept you out past your curfew so we could swim in the reservoir always did learn the hard way how to know when we’d swum out too far all that training in bravery, what the hell was it for these days I wade to my waist and I wave from the shore told you all of the secrets that I wrote down in my diary I forgot to remember better but something’s reminding me that I’ve gotta pay down my debts but I’d settle for less yeah I’d settle for less have we settled for less I don’t know anyone the way I knew you then I would give anything to have you back again I don’t know anyone the way I knew you then I would give anything to have you back again how long since we were friends? don’t have to pretend what you meant to me strange to be so estranged, now we haven’t spoken in centuries and I’ve gotta pay down my debts but I’d settle for less yeah I’d settle for less have we settled for less I don’t know anyone the way I knew you then I would give anything to have you back again I don’t know anyone the way I knew you then I would give anything to have you back again I would give anything
8.
Talk to Me 03:18
what do you wish for and what do you dream where do you go when you walk in your sleep you don’t talk to me you don’t talk to me you don’t talk to me you don’t talk to me are you keeping a secret, I don’t really know open your mouth just to wash it with soap you don’t talk to me you don’t talk to me you don’t talk to me you don’t talk to me if you make your confession then I’ll play the priest can’t you imagine that sense of relief you don’t talk to me you don’t talk to me you don’t talk to me you don’t talk to me easier to conceal wait for the big reveal learn how to read the signs it’s all just a pantomime so ask me no questions I’ll tell you no lies my own vow of silence my only reply you can take off the muzzle but my lips are sealed I wish I could tell you the way that I feel but I don’t talk to you I don’t talk to you I don’t talk to you I don’t talk to you and you don’t talk to me you don’t talk to me you don’t talk to me you don’t talk to me
9.
Take It Easy 03:51
blue sky poolside paradise, lover boy take my advice I used to think that it was nice to struggle but lying in the sun and shade and drinking rum and lemonade I tell you babe we were not made for trouble take it easy, you don't need to be so strong make it leisurely, save your energy so you can sing this song it’s all right to get it wrong there’s no remedy but life is long b-side seaside sleeper hit, patience is to wait for it you teach yourself to sit a little stiller idle hands or devil’s work, don't you forget what you have learned there's time to kill and darling you're the killer take it easy, you don't need to be so strong make it leisurely, save your energy so you can sing this song it’s all right to get it wrong there’s no remedy but life is long you can say it’s self defense, but even when you're on the fence you like to feel you’re up against a challenge ignorance is no excuse. so let it go cause what's the use you'll walk the line until you lose your balance take it easy, you don't need to be so strong make it leisurely, save your energy so you can sing this song it’s all right to get it wrong there’s no remedy but life is long
10.
little flower, bright coin, you’re a robber’s daughter every road I walk down seems to lead me to the water do I drink or do I swim do I slip and tumble in buttercup I wonder if I’ll get to meet you will you be my weakness, will you be my sweet tooth could I learn to be so little build a ship inside a bottle will you change me darling so completely a lucky charm to make me someone new what do I lose if you transform me and what do I transform into are you just a figment of my fancy the vision of a shadow that I threw or will you turn up unexpected turn out to be true will they say your mama couldn’t live without you don’t know if you’re real but I do dream about you if you make yourself at home we’ll make an empire of our own little flower, bright coin, you’re a robber’s daughter every road I walk down seems to lead me to the same old troubled water do I drink or do I swim do I slip and tumble in do I drink or do I swim do I slip and tumble in
11.

about

Sweet Soubrette's fourth full-length album, BIG CELEBRITY takes on existential questions, irrevocable decisions, fame, fortune, and staying up late.

Four tracks were inspired by books: "Ghost Ship" by Cheryl Strayed's TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS; "Big Celebrity" by filmmaker John Waters' CRACKPOT; "Devil's Moon" by Margaret Atwood's THE BLIND ASSASSIN; and "Oahu" by Sarah Vowell's UNFAMILIAR FISHES. "Robber's Daughter" is a reference to Astrid Lindgren's RONIA, THE ROBBER'S DAUGHTER.

credits

released November 22, 2016

Ellia Bisker: vocals/ukulele/piano*
Heather Cole: violin
Lyndol Descant: vocals/piano
Don Godwin: tenor horn/drums**
Erin Rogers: saxophone
Cecil Scheib: trombone
Bob Smith: bass
Darrell Smith: drums
John Waters: trumpet

*on "Robber's Daughter," "Oahu," "Devil's Moon"
**on "Oahu"

All songs written and composed by Ellia Bisker
Horn arrangements by Erin Rogers & Ellia Bisker

Engineered & mixed by Don Godwin at Airshow (Takoma Park, MD) and Phantom Center (Brooklyn, NY), with assistance from Mike Petillo ("Oahu")
"Wake Up When" and "Take It Easy" engineered & mixed by Casey Holford at Golden Rule Studio (Brooklyn, NY)
Produced by Ellia Bisker
"Oahu" produced by Ellia Bisker & Don Godwin
Mastered by Stefan Heger at FisheyeMusicMastering (Columbia, SC)
"Big Celebrity (Psy'Aviah remix)" was remixed by Yves Schelpe, mixed & mastered by Mitia Wexler.

Album cover photo by Naomi White: naomiwhitephoto.com
Graphic design by Jeff Morris
(c) Sweet Soubrette Songs (ASCAP) / (p) Ellia Bisker

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Sweet Soubrette Brooklyn, New York

Sweet Soubrette features the songwriting, vocals and ukulele of Ellia Bisker, whose dark, edgy "existential indie rock" has won fans' hearts and critical praise since the release of debut album Siren Song. She is joined by a talented backing band, often featuring as many as 8 musicians onstage. Sweet Soubrette's fourth album, Big Celebrity, was released in 2016. ... more

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