Get all 7 Kristina Stykos releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of River of Light, Horse Thief, Wyoming Territory, Beautiful Blood, The Lost Tapes: 1982-1992, Raven, and In the Earth's Fading Light.
1. |
State Line Diner
03:50
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1. State Line Diner
It seemed so cruel, just one headlight
I can’t see half of what I should tonight
You said: she won’t pass inspection, that piece of junk
So you took the Chevy and I got drunk
But she ain’t a clunker, not yet - knock on wood
She’s still got some gas there, under the hood
I really didn’t mean to run her into the ground
But reckless love can take you, take you down
State Line Diner coming up fast
We could park it for the night
I could put on a dress
Take our coins from the kitty
On the juke box dime
You could hold me like you mean it
One more time
So I shined her up, and I hid the rust
And I painted on a sky of blue, and I washed off the dust
But she still lost fluid, her spark wouldn’t fire
So you parked her out behind the barn and took off her tires
Well, the day I surrender and lay my chassis down
And empty my compartments and crumble to the ground
I’ll still be full of livin’ ‘cuz I ain’t done yet
And that highway of love, you give it what you get
State Line Diner coming up fast
We could park it for the night
I could put on a dress
Take our coins from the kitty
On the juke box dime
And you could hold me like you mean it
One more time
That State Line Diner - coffee that lasts
You got breakfast for dinner
And the pool hall in back
Mufflers in the parking lot
All in a row
And there’s nothing to lose
When you got no where to go
That State Line Diner, where the toothpicks are free
And mother lovin’ truckers
Far as you can see
Take our coins from the kitty
On the juke box dime
And you can hold me like you mean it
One more time
Go ahead, hold me like you mean it
One more time
Just hold me like you mean it
One more time
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2. |
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2. I Like a Hard Hearted Man
I like a hard-hearted man
One with a smooth undertow
He’s got his finger on your redemption
Looks like he knows what he don’t know
He’ll crash your little party
He’ll sink you like a stone
He’s a man hell bent on destruction
But knows he can’t do it alone
He leans on lady luck
Like he don’t got no legs
Of his own
I like a dastardly man
One who’s good at keeping score
Good at keeping secrets
Who comes shameless to your door
Who needs someone to confess to
To keep his conscience clean
He’s gonna turn the tables on you
Just ‘cuz he’s feeling mean
Got no mercy
Lord it hurts me
What I seen
I like an ambitious man
One got a fast track in his soul
Got a method and a madness
As he rakes you over the coals
Who tells you that he’s harmless
Way down deep inside
A mystery like the ocean
Just thumbing for a ride
As for lady luck
She’ll pick him up
Every time
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3. |
Walking These Ridges
03:28
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3. Walking These Ridges
Guess I’ll walk
‘til I run out of sun
I guess my plans
Just won’t get done
And I been thinking,
That now I don’t cry, yeah
And I never show need
And I take no comforts
From a world of greed
Now I’m sitting in the snow up at tree line
Sipping on a flask of juniper wine
Puzzled by the notion that I never said “no”
Never understood why I couldn’t let go
He took me to the drink, I tumbled through the ice
I gave it all to him ‘cuz he treated me nice
He loved me good like a liar should
Who feels nothing
So now I don’t cry
And I never show need
And I take no comfort
From this world of greed
I don’t need no one calling my name
I don’t need any more walks of shame
I don’t need to trust you or give you my skin
So don’t ask me
It’s all just a cheat, it’s all gonna go
It’s all gonna pass and we’re never gonna know
All of that gold just lying in the ground
And I get what I can
Walking these ridges
I’m not looking for a man
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4. |
Since You Asked
04:07
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4. Since You Asked
The leaves are soft beneath my feet
Water’s churned up, there’s mud in the creek
The winter ice is melting
It’s hard packed sorrow
The raw blood of the trees & the shifting clouds
And the tender light & the bud red boughs
May the gentle offer of love run sweet
Tomorrow
The clearing where a hundred trees came down
Is filling up with twilight and the sound
Of the silent heavens rolling
And the rain’s silver tears
And so I’ve dropped my body to the ground
And I closed my eyes as the coyotes come ‘round
And prayed the dark would keep me from
My fears
I guess I’ve got a reason
A need - for what it’s worth
Just to walk alone
On the stubble of this earth
Yes, I’ve got a reason and it’s
Always been this way
Cannot bend my wheel
Cannot fake my laugh
Cannot stuff my words away
- Since you asked
The house has just been sittin’ since I don’t know when
This end of the hard road ain’t gonna get fixed again
All them empty windows and a pretty light
No one can see
But I got my job as a woods ramblin’ child at play, out where there’s
No one using me or trying to
Push me away
Where I can sing, and I can love and I can look
Clear down at my life
Not shackled by the issues or the rulebooks of men
Or undone by the shaming of fools or what’s been
The places still hidden have nothin’
To reveal
But by grace and by wing and by plow and by fire
The honest upheaval of truth will require
The plain speaking voice of compassion to
Honor what’s real
I guess I got a reason
A need - for what it’s worth
Just to walk alone
On the stubble of this earth
Yeah, I’ve got a reason and it’s
Always been that way
Cannot bend my wheel
Cannot fake my laugh
Cannot stuff my words away
- Since you asked
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5. |
At the Edge
03:54
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5. At the Edge
We’re at the edge, standing in the glitter glow
The ripples of the river-light slide on by
Let’s get ready, speaking not duplicity
Dodging no reality and put things right
‘Cuz the man is at the door
Ready to make his play
Who’s gonna be his whore
As he talks the truth away
Can’t even face the past
Or reckon with it honestly
The things that they put last
Are the things that they can’t see
We’re all refugees walking in a heavy rain
Struggling to find what’s left in the heart
But we’re ready, ready for a steady wheel
We got to finally heal what drove us apart
‘Cuz the man is at the door
Ready to make his play
Who’s gonna be his whore
As he talks the truth away
Can’t even face the past
Or reckon with it honestly
The things that they put last
Are the things that they can’t see
They can’t see
We’re at the edge, standing in the glitter glow
The ripples of the river-light slide on by
But we’re ready, a revolutionary sky of blue
Overthrowing what we knew, for what we’ll be
‘Cuz the man is at the door
Ready to make his play
Who’s gonna be his whore
As he talks the truth away
Can’t even face the past
Or reckon with it honestly
The things that they put last
Are the things that they can’t see
Yeah
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6. |
In the Cleansing Rain
03:01
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6. In the Cleansing Rain
I want to rest in the play of the shadows
I want to lie in the cool of the water
I want to touch you
I want to go where there is no reception
Only tall meadow grass and the sky’s reflection
I want to reach for you
I want to wash you in the light
In the sunset, in the night
I want to sleep in the cleansing rain
I want to let it all go down
Like hidden rivers in the ground
I want to fall with you
I want to toughen up my wiles
I want to cover every mile
Of back wood scrub with you
I want to race you
And then embrace you
I want to sleep in the cleansing rain
I want to sit in the shade of an apple
Watch the clouds and the shifting blues
I want to trust you
I want to trip like a lark on the breezes
Take you up in my heart and release you
I want to free you
I want to wash you in the light
Of the sunset, of the night
I want to sleep in the cleansing rain
Oh, wash you in the light
Of the cleansing rain
Rain, yeah
Yeah
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7. |
Caught by the Heart
04:25
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7. Caught by the Heart
Rome was filled with alleyways & flower boxes
I never will forget
Behind the nested doors, a tryst
Of laughter & her winged lover
I remember waiting for your step
Saturated with confusion
And wanting what was leaving us
Disbelieving our division
How I cried then
[Taste the salt of your mother]
Taught to see myself as nothing but a thing
To disregard and push below the surface
Of the rain, the path of dirt
That led me home
To mount the aching steps of pasture
Washed in light
And comfort the children, for they can’t run
Bless the cold firelight they sleep in
Pray for deliverance from what’s been done
Guard what’s left of their future
And don’t hit me [hide them]
Don’t hit me again [from your weeping]
And don’t hit me [tried to hide, tried to hide]
Don’t lay down … your light
This is crazy
Inside ecstasy, the seeds of hatred
Inside tenderness, a desperation
Hiding rage and violence, our infatuation and some kind of love
Now embracing annihilation
And in its place a total stranger
Bent on self-destruction
Caught by the heart - of cupid’s dart
You turned away
But still you felt you owned me
Turned away
But let no other fire warm me
Held me not – apathetic, pathetic
This sliding, sleeping, walking into murky
No man’s land, going deeper
Waiting for your touch, to make peace with you
And comfort the children, for they can’t run
Bless the cold firelight they sleep in
Pray for deliverance from what’s been done
Guard what’s left of their innocence
And don’t hit me [hide them from your weeping]
Don’t hit me again [hide them from your weeping]
[tried to hide, tried to hide…]
Don’t lay down … your light
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8. |
River of Light
04:26
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8. River of Light
Traveling on one headlight
Sometimes you’ve got to fly
You pray & you sing
The sun rises within you
Your heart’s on its edge
Its worn out of tread
Some fool dream in your head
But the land rolls with you
The wind will push you on
It knows where you belong
It’s what you’ve been given
That makes you so driven
The road is your bed
You won’t see them again
They can’t change what you did
And the days go missing
There’s a pain in my heart
I’m about to lose my mind
I’m drowning in my longing for a clue
The river was wide; I could see the other side
But I kept breaking through
I kept breaking through
It doesn’t matter now
When I hit the ground or how
The skin of the land is as soft as a hand
On this highway of snow
I’ll know where to go
We’ll meet there tonight
And cross the river of light
There’s a pain in my heart
I’m about to lose my mind
I’m drowning in my longing for a clue
The river was wide, I could see the other side
But I kept breaking through
There’s a pain in my heart
I’m about to lose my mind
I’m drowning in my longing to stay true
The river was wide, I could see the other side
But I kept breaking through
Oh I… I kept breaking through
Oh I … I kept breaking through
Oh I
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9. |
Breaking Trail
03:45
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9. Breaking Trail
I thought I saw a wayward glance
It followed me to Washakie
And that first snow on the pass
I drove with it to Ten Sleep
Through that one horse trailer town
With a silent declaration
As the aching sun came down
I’m nowhere bound
But I ain’t turning around
Sure, it was simple,
Dressed up in the liquor’s light
My empty heart prayed for me
As I played on into the night
I swear I felt some comfort
Residing in his gaze
So I gave myself permission
What a fool I was to listen to those lies
But now I’m counting on lies
Well, the wire was down, so I jumped the fence
All of these boundaries, they don’t make sense
I bless myself like a pilgrim
And I think about my dogs & my children
And walk up on the ridge, up there on the spine
Because it suits me - to climb
I’m breaking trail, deep in mind
Like the roan who taught me flight
The rogue taught me to run
We flew across the Bitterroots
Not touching anyone
My hands reach out for water
I’d drink the stunning blue
If only it could fill me
With what I thought was true
And I’d drink it again - if only it was you
Well, the wire was down, so I jumped the fence
All of these boundaries, they don’t make sense
I bless myself like a pilgrim
I think about my dogs & my children
Walk up on the ridge, way up on the spine
Because I’m suits me
I’m breaking trail
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10. |
Climb This Ground
04:13
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10. Climb This Ground
Don’t laugh, don’t cry
Consider this my friend, tonight
I’m by your side
As you lay alone in fright
Come to me, now it’s time
To climb this ground
Relieve your mind and place
Your burdens down
You have been true
When I could hardly see the way
Your door swings wide
To help me see the day
Lost in the grace of your garden
Angelica, and rue and thyme
Your secrets live like blossoms
As deeply held as mine
Dream with me now
And lift this veil away
Trust in your soul
And every single day
This is our ground
Sacred the dirt and the tears
Bend with me now
Touch with your hands the roots of fear
Now as the ridgeline falls to shadow
I feel your strength in mine
Now as the cabin door flies open
On this threshold of time
Dream with me now
And lift this veil away
Trust in your soul
And every single day
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11. |
Waging Peace
05:04
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11. Waging Peace
Something’s right with this day
There’s a truce on the sky
No more anger, only light
A few survivors on their way
No more danger, no more flight
No temptations to go wrong
Now the tender words, they ignite
Burning out across the dawn
Free at last from the rifle’s decisions
Free to ask to be shown
Safe at last with our feet in the river
Waging peace with the stones
Send my heart with the falcon
Let’s fly beyond where we can see
And like two feathers or the clouds
We can travel the same breeze
Here the sweet grass, here the sage
Here the land that purifies
Here the bitter roots of all our days
Here the refuge, close your eyes
Free at last from the rifle’s decisions
Free to ask to be shown
Safe at last with our feet in the river
Waging peace with the stones
Farewell to this, the twisted tale of night
Where people sleep as wars unwind
We’ll take our children and honor life
And bless the path of humankind
And throw off our sorrows and the curse
Of our weapons and our blame
No more anger, just a fire
Holding vigil with its flame
Free at last from the rifle’s decisions
Free to ask to be shown
Safe at last with our feet in the river
Waging peace with the stones
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12. |
Blessed Light
03:40
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12. Blessed Light
Blessed light
Compass of the blind
You sail the darkness
Of these troubled times
O blade of the sun
Turn our cries to rain
Tether us to the muscle
Of our collective pain
For you have watched us run
You have watched us run
O riderless horse
Please don’t back away
The dirt river is billowing dust
And we can’t stay
O flicker of hope
Take us through this night
Bring us back to our senses
And back into the light
They have watched us run
They have watched us run
Our hands don’t reach the sky
But I can touch you - if I try
Your dreams are like mine
Made of blessed light
O silent flame
Guided by stars
Your love is the honey
That sweetens ours
You have watched me run
You have watched me run
Put your heart in mine
When courage fails us – we’ll be fine
Bring me to the one
Made of blessed light
Blessed light
Blessed light
Blessed light
Bless the light
Blessed light
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13. |
Godspeed
04:01
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Kristina Stykos Chelsea, Vermont
Kristina is a music producer, recording engineer, songwriter, performer, podcaster and landscape gardener based in Vermont. Her recording studio, Pepperbox Studio, is solar, wind and generator powered. She has engineered & produced over 25 albums for herself and clients. Her songwriting and composing have been supported by the Ucross Foundation and Brush Creek Artist Residency in Wyoming. ... more
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