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Bloodshot Vagabond

by Michael O'Connor

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    Devil Stole The Moon CD

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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Burning Midnight, Hurricane, Crescent City Angels, Gunnin', Truth, Loose Ends, Bloodshot Vagabond, Devil Stole The Moon, and 3 more. , and , .

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1.
Wilderness 04:47
WILDERNESS © Michael O’Connor Lost in the wilderness Too blind to see Lost in the wilderness Is where I will be Lost in the wilderness Stricken with fear Lost in the wilderness Is what’s brought me here Oh brother, can you hear me? Sister, send me your love  Oh mother, say a prayer for me Once you’ve learned what I have done Streets of the city Bars on the jail  Stumbled through the darkness In the belly of the whale Savior was a carpenter One kiss was for sale They killed him with a hammer, wood and nails Oh brother, can you send for me? Little sister, just save your love  Mother, shed a tear for me Once you’ve seen what I’ve become Lost in the wilderness Stricken with fear Lost in the wilderness Is what’s brought me here Lost in the wilderness Too blind to see Lost in the wilderness Is where I will be
2.
Rigged Game 03:19
RIGGED GAME © Michael O’Connor/Michael Waters/Adam Carroll Never found a reason to carry on Pallet on the floor my only home Tattoos on my arm are all I own But I get along, I get by What once was velvet has turned to stone It’s such a crime you’ll never be that someone But this wheel keeps driving me like a song I get along, I get by The wind is my captain, won’t you let it blow This itching in my heel says its time roll The loaded dice always bust the same It ain’t no thing, living in a rigged game The wind is my captain, won’t you let it blow This itching in my heel says its time roll The loaded dice always bust the same Well it ain’t no thing, living in a rigged game Said it ain’t no shame, living in a rigged game
3.
The Dark 03:14
THE DARK © Michael O’Connor/Michael Waters I’ve got a strict routine Of being damn mean I’m hard and heavy With no in between I’ve got a wealth of worries Get jammed up in a hurry I sit around on the hot spot And give it all that I’ve got You’re the spark that leaves me wanting more I’m the dark that you’ve been dying for I’m a neglected man I steal love where I can Just one second look And it could write the book Yeah it’s high times for a while Till you choke on denial Then it’s your final hit It happens just that quick You’re the spark that leaves me wanting more I’m the dark that you’ve been dying for Take your heart and scrape it off the floor I’m the dark that you’ve been dying for
4.
You'll Stay 03:54
YOU’LL STAY © Michael O’Connor/Jeff Plankenhorn I don’t want to hear about what he’s done for you I don’t want to know about it, all those things you do Do you remember when you was down and out? Who took you in and turned you around? I don’t want to know about the things that happen when I am away i just want to hear you say you’ll stay I don’t want to see the sparkle shining from your eyes Or face the changes with every new sunrise I don’t want to know about the things that happen when i am away i just want to hear you say you’ll stay It sure suits me better when you’re down out And I could live forever in the shadow of a doubt Whatever baby… I don’t need to go those places that you’ve never been They just leave me hanging round, might as well just chase the wind I don’t want to know about the things that happen when I am away i just want to hear you say you’ll stay Can’t we just slip away like we used to do Let the world pass us by like it’s just us two This town ain’t big enough for your big old plans ‘Cause you’re dreamer girl, makes me a losing man I don’t want to know about the things that happen when I am away I just want to hear you say you’ll stay You’ll stay Oh, whatever baby…
5.
Run Wild 04:43
RUN WILD © Michael O’Connor/Jeff Plankenhorn We used to run wild on the streets around here Never showed our face till the sun had disappeared Sipping Boone’s from a bag on the balcony above Living hand to mouth but we always had enough We used to run wild, yeah we use to run We used to run wild singing dog eat dog Walkin into walls with our heads in a fog Faces to the wind cocksure we’d never fall Lovin in the streets and shootin in the stall We used to run wild, yeah we used to run We used to run wild, we used to run Cuttin heads in this dive since you was a baby A beat up telecaster drove the old girls crazy Too many parking lot bumps, too many years of this old town You play the same old blues and it only brings me down We used to run wild, yeah, we used to run We used to run wild, yeah, we used to run There ain’t enough love in this world to satisfy The more I think bout it, the more I want to die Listening through the wall you can hear the radio Playing that song by Little Joe, the one that used to steal the show We used to run wild, yeah we used to run We used to run wild, we used to run wild
6.
One Step 04:17
ONE STEP © Michael O’Connor/Jeff Plankenhorn A Kentucky elevator The old woman asks If the the circus was in town Bloodshot and torn jeans You with your head of flame We had a laugh, oh we had to laugh You sang those songs about the neon lights It was my heels that you clung to through the streets at night And I didn’t mind My dearest one, my treasure born From these dusty streets, how could I’ve known? Every crooked path I’d stumble down Was one step closer to you A walk up on Seventeenth Blue Ribbons in the kitchen sink Hot plate for beans Chasing shots through the afternoon Slinging blues from ten till two Doing what we’d need to get us through Dropped our money in the slot machine Guessing we were too damn green to know we’d won We’d already won My dearest one, my treasure born From these dusty streets, how could I’ve known? Every crooked path I’d stumble down One step closer to you One step closer to you One step closer to you
7.
Bad Blood 03:10
BAD BLOOD © Michael O’Connor Blew out the windows Smashed up all the dishes Down the alley all the neighbors heard her bitchin “You never brought it in like your Pa was able. The old man always made enough to keep the booze on the table” Bad Blood, Bad Blood Twelve years old Slid the cutlass out the drive Never turned it over till the porch lights out of sight Flyin’ on the Crosstown, little sister thinks it’s scary But they was selling three-for-five down on Fourteenth and Mary Bad Blood, Bad Blood It’s Bad Blood She told her momma she was late That girl don’t mean for supper I’ve been out here thumpin bass on the road since late November Bets are coming in on who the daddy’s gonna be  But when it’s time to pay the bill, she’ll say it looks like me Bad Blood, Bad Blood It’s Bad Blood
8.
Summerville 03:49
SUMMERVILLE © Michael O’Connor I’ve worn my welcome out It’s plain to see You’ve been spreading it around Is the talk out on the street Sweet cantina lights Ragged guitar in your hand Songs of love but you’re carrying steel And running from man to man I don’t care ‘bout the world outside Close the door and draw the blinds I’m loner and a loser And I don’t care how it sounds Summerville ain’t that big of town Summerville ain’t that big of town I light the stove Try to heat this little room Seventeen dollars has to last three days When you’re down to pushing broom Lipstick, powder, paint Then you’ll disappear Well those downtown boys they’ve got all you need And they’re grinnin' from ear to ear I don’t care about the world outside Close the door and draw the blinds I’m loner and a loser And I know how bad it sounds Summerville ain’t that big of town Summerville ain’t that big of town My love’s just bitterness Her thirst is fathomless I’m loner and a loser And I know how sad it sounds Summerville ain’t that big of town Summerville ain’t that big of town
9.
SWITCHBLADE HEART © Michael O’Connor “Curly, slide that money underneath the door” Was all she said Fifteen in the clip, one in the chamber Curly don’t lose your head Angel’s got a switchblade heart Angel’s got a switchblade heart Angel’s got a switchblade heart Together we’re Aces no matter where we land We’re slippin through the side streets The world by the balls is a winnin’ hand When the blacktop burns your feet Angel’s got a switchblade heart Angel’s got a switchblade heart Angel’s got a switchblade heart Gonna shine, let it shine Shine, let it shine, it’s gonna shine Shine, let it shine, shine, let it shine Damned to make it mine Angel’s got a switchblade heart Angel’s got a switchblade heart She’s got a dog named Piranha A dog named Piranha, he’s a dog A dog named Piranha, a dog named Piranha My baby’s got a dog Angel’s got a switchblade heart Angel’s got a switchblade heart Angel’s got a switchblade heart
10.
OLD NEW YEARS EVE © Michael O’Connor The hawkers are on the street The tom-tom plays the beat The go-go dancer’s dead-eyed smile Everything’s a party, everything’s a drag Across her knuckles she tattooed “Tart” A rag doll all but torn apart Slip’s back in her houndstooth skirt Has a few and get her feelings hurt Nobody’s singing songs about trains Or girls with their hearts on their sleeves Who knows, maybe she’ll fall back for me Come this old New Years Eve Fremont lights left me blind Only her running through my mind And it’s snowing on the strip for the first time in years Hiding in the midnight from all their drunken cheers Nobody’s singing songs about trains Or boys with their hearts on their sleeves Who knows, maybe she’ll fall back for me Come this old New Years Eve My prayer is that somehow she’ll fall back for me Come this old New Years Eve
11.
Candy 02:55
Candy © Michael O’Connor/Adam Carroll Crescent City to the Sunset Strip South runaway from out in the sticks Candy Candy Hurricane in a dixie cup Spent the babysitting money on the Greyhound bus Candy Sweet little Candy You hit Dallas and you got around Turned sweet sixteen in the underground Six gun hips, five point stars Swinging from your chest at the Carousel Bar Candy Sweet little Candy Coca-Cola with a whiskey back You danced for Micky and you danced for Jack Candy Candy Painted angel dyed platinum blonde Busted with that reefer stashed in your bra Candy Candy Fifteen years with only three to show Left you turning heads at the rodeo Dirty little movies brought dirty little fame You changed your mind and you changed your name To Candy Candy You hit Dallas and you got around Turned sweet sixteen in the underground Dirty little movies, dirty little fame You changed your mind and you changed your name To Candy Sweet little Candy

about

"His new CD, “Bloodshot Vagabond,” his fourth as a leader, features songs including “Rigged Game,” “Run Wild,” “Bad Blood,” “Switchblade Heart," "Old New Year’s Eve” and “Candy” with protagonists who run the gamut from people who scratch for every little bit they own to a bad-ass girlfriend with an equally bad-ass dog to a legendary stripper.

He didn’t trample his Texas roots. “Bloodshot Vagabond” was recorded in Houston with producer/bassist Jack Saunders and drummer Rick Richards. The songs, most penned by O’Connor, some co-written with Adam Carroll and with fellow top-flight accompanist Jeff Plankenhorn, are gritty and greasy, so is the music; an amalgam of rock ‘n’ roll, blues and acoustic music with a drill-bit backbone."
~ Jim Beal Jr

credits

released June 16, 2015

Wilderness
Rigged Game+
The Dark***
You’ll Stay*
Run Wild*
One Step*
Bad Blood
Summerville
Switchblade Heart
Old New Years Eve
Candy**

All songs written by Michael S. O’Connor except
*Jeff Plankenhorn/O’Connor
**Adam Carroll/O’Connor
***Michael Waters/O’Connor
+Waters/Carroll/O’Connor

Michael S. O’Connor - Verda Mae Music (ASCAP) Admininstered by BMG Music
Jeff Plankenhorn - Spike Steel Music (SESAC)
Adam D. Carroll - Gypsy Shuffler Music (BMI)
Michael Waters - Michael Binion Waters (BMI)

The Musicians
Rick Richards – Drums and Percussion
Jack Saunders – Upright & Electric Bass
Michael O’Connor – All Guitars, Lap Steel, Mandolin, Banjo, Vocals

Produced and Engineered by Jack Saunders at White Cat Studio in Houston, Texas (jacksaunders.com whitecatproductions.com)

Mastered by Jerry Tubb at Terra Nova Digital Audio, Inc., Austin, Texas

Concept and Illustration by Photocoyote; CD Art Direction and Layout by Charlotte Niemann-Wattigny

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about

Michael O'Connor Washington

Michael O'Connor is a guitarist, singer, & songwriter living in Washington State. A lifetime of hard-won experience has allowed Michael a rare insight into the world of the rough, the faithless, the romantic, and the unlucky, all of whom find refuge in his songs. ... more

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