1. |
Stay For The Show
01:37
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"Ladies and Gentlemen, playing for your enjoyment:
The Golden Bubbles; presenting a tale of Woe and Redemption in the glow of the lonely retail chain just around the corner. So make yourself comfortable, and give your attention to a common sales clerk, my brother, Tommy Turnbolt"
I fooled everyone tonight
Except for you
on a solitary flight
and high above the stars
the world looks so bizarre
is this who we really are
I don't know
stay for the show
you're in the first row
"We find Tommy rising from his brother Brad's couch
heading to a job at the local consumer electronics store
somewhere in an American suburb"
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2. |
Tommy Turnbolt
03:28
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Tommy, oh Turnbolt
he's been working now for two years
at the local Big Buy
He's making minimum wage
He looks too old for his age
They don't hire winners at the A/V store
And every day he hates more than before
So he stands near the big TVs and whispers this prayer:
"God, my shift manager
Whoever's out there listening
If you could just please, please
come down and help me
I can't go on living this way"
That was a big mistake
He didn't even know
What he had set in place
And the company knows that it can trade your soul,
Yeah who needs a metaphysical realm
You're bussing your cheap ass downtown
Just to take the 117 out to your place
Tommy Turnbolt
Lives with his brother
In a duplex apartment
French fry carpet
Things are soon gonna change
Buckle up young man
Tommy Turnbolt
You could do wonders
But you're down in the basement
Work ethic face it
Like a 2 inch slug
It's time to rocketship bud
Tommy Turnbolt
Earth has been waiting
for a man of your greatness
to take us new places
not just sell us a phone
but to give us a home
Tommy Turnbolt
Ground floor associate
can you sense all the power,
rich regal honor,
you're a company man!
And you'll be richer than Pan
"As the store closed, all the blue shirts went home, except for Tommy, who fell asleep beneath a wide-screen Magnavox"
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3. |
Back Of Your Hand
04:02
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"That next morning, the sun shone, and the first shift had a quite a surprise when they found Turnbolt. Little did Tommy know, a mysterious woman, a consultant, was headed to the store, straight for our clerk."
I was working hourly
When you came in the door to me
I scanned all your merchandise
I could see you were unsatisfied
And you stood near the big TVs
A 10 in your mid-fifties
Or maybe you're old as time
Your skin tight as apple wine
5-year plan protection
No money down
I know what you want
Look at your reflection
That's not who you are
I know who you are
Treat me like the back of your hand
Pencil in a one night stand
I know I shouldn't say this
You're never going to guess who I am
I asked "Can I help you out"
You took a cover letter out and
asked for the manager
I said "I'm the manager"
You looked at me silver-eyed
And asked me to sign the line
You'd make me a bigger star
If I come to your seminar
At the breakout session
Will I sign my life away
Can there be exceptions
It's an indiscretion
A contract clause
to play Outlaw
Can I trust the Regency White?
On the corner near the Binson light?
Crunching all these numbers
sleeping in the office tonight
Treat me like the back of your hand
Pencil in a one night stand
I know I shouldn't say this
you're never gonna guess who I am
"But Tommy didn't want to be an ordinary Blue Shirt
And he didn't want to disappear like his dad, either.
So, for once in his life, Tommy Turnbolt took a chance."
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4. |
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Like never before
I will give to you
Break the chains
Show you light
Like never before
I'll give in to you
Make me paralyzed
Follow my voice
I'll appear to you
Echoes in the night
Drown out the noise
I will give you truth
Coming from all sides
When you're out on the floor
You can be somebody!
Someday you'll run your own store
Nights weekends and more
The neon sun is rising
Like a phoenix will soar
Love like never before
Fighting nobody's war
Get what you came here for
A deal you can't ignore
Til' you find what's in store
Close the deal
Over ice
Where your character lies
Welcome home
Ain't it nice
You ain't going home
Sold a camera
Sold a flatscreen
I'm getting good at doing what I was told
Sold the upgrade
Made the transfer
And I'm headed to the city of gold!
Love like never before
Fighting nobody's war
Get what you came here for
A deal you can't ignore
Til' you find what's in store
Love like never before
Close your eyes
touch my lips
I'm coming more undone
Turn around
Figure out
Why I'm not trying to run
Break the chains
Show me light
Running wild tonight
From the seminar
To the stars
We got each other and we're gonna hold tight
Love like never before
Fighting nobody's war
Get what you came here for
A deal you can't ignore
Til' you find what's in store
Love like never before
Fighting nobody's war
Get what you came here for
They're watching you at the door
From the back of the store
Like never before
So many people
standing in the same room
we got the same dream
Every corner of the world
here they come
to get their own store
Look at me, look at me!
gonna get your own store
Look at me, look at me!
Time to get your own store
Here we come Baton Rouge
Here we come Little Rock
We ain't never gonna stop!
Here we come, Here we come
"The Seminar was over. Outside the Regency White, Tommy stood in the parking lot, and there was Connie. Tommy knew what he had to do. Connie handed him a thousand year old receipt and a red ball point pen, and on the dotted line,Tommy signed away his soul."
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5. |
End Of The Night Shift
02:55
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"That night, Tommy parked a U-haul in the driveway, and told me he was leaving"
I didn't get nowhere
for going soft
Brother, I've been sleeping
on this couch for way too long
Brad, you say my boss is
just no good
She could be the devil
I'm still going on my way
So say goodnight
Say goodnight
to part-time living
Say goodnight
to losers winning
Say goodnight
to nights alone
My final shift is ending
Daddy set me down and told me, Son
You can be a star just like the satellites in space
They're flying off to where the people care
I don't want to leave you
But you're going to anyway
So say goodnight
Say goodnight
to just you and me
Say goodnight
to store 33
Say goodnight
to brothers come before the company
Say goodnight
to part time living
Say goodnight
to losers winning
Say goodnight
to nights alone
my final shift is ending, Brad
"So Tommy drove that rental van West, and said goodbye to Minnesota. Out in the desert, he'd be a new man, trading in that blue shirt, for a necktie. Next time, on Blue Shirts...."
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The Golden Bubbles Minneapolis, Minnesota
The Golden Bubbles are a Minnesota-based piano-rock band fronted by two brothers (Christopher and Leo Vondracek). Named for a locally famous dance hall in their hometown of Wells, MN, the band has released two full-length albums (2012's Seventy-Two and 2009's A Good Time Had By All) and in Nov. 2021 released the first of their Blue Shirts records, a 4-part concept album. ... more
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