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A Bigger Fire

by Joe Holt

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1.
No Mames 03:38
I'm 25 this fall Have I learned anything at all? I'm sweeping the floor Can't take it anymore Fidel's been here since five He hasn't had a day off since I've been alive He's sending money home I'm saving up for an iPhone What can I learn? Is it my turn? I live a life I didn't earn This world is unfair and I never cared but I've got some energy to burn and I can learn This city runs on sweat Eight million immigrants all paying their debt Through the end of every day Tired smiles on the subway What can I learn? Is it my turn? I live a life I didn't earn This world is unfair and I never cared but I've got some energy to burn and I can learn I'll learn to build a bigger fire I'll learn to reach a little higher I'll learn to work until I'm tired until I get what I desire until I find what I require until it's mine I'll learn to grind Until I die (fuck)
2.
The curtain blocks out the sun We bought the best Amazon could offer Bled our coffers dry The curtain billows at three You're fast asleep next to me. I ponder the shadows on your thigh Inches from my eye Miles from where I lie Try as I might, I can't sleep through the night til the morning gets bright, it's not the curtain that blocks the light We didn't talk much today I feel myself drifting away from someone Has the sun gone down? I get up and throw back the screen Stick out my shoulders and scream I'm sorry What the hell are we now? Show me something now I don't remember how We're wasting time just lying here Run me over or whisper in my ear Try as I might, I can't sleep through the night til the morning gets bright or I shake from the fright Am I gone from your sight, is it wrong, is it right? As my heart's getting tight, it's not the curtain that blocks the light
3.
The Only One 02:56
Lead the way Laugh and grin Take everything you wanna say Hold it in Brush and floss Save and spend and even when we know you're lost We'll all pretend You wanna be strong still you want us to care Keep it inside, this isn't something to share Hold it, hold on Do it all by yourself if you're the only one If it helps we'll hide or hang up the phone and even though we're by your side you can be alone You wanna be strong so you ask us to leave Say it again to force yourself to believe Hold it, hold on Do it all by yourself if you're the only one You wanna be strong but you already are You go it alone and never get very far Hold it, hold on Do it all by yourself if you're the only one You wanna be strong but you already are You go it alone and never get very far Hold it, hold on Do it all by yourself if you're the only one
4.
Don't talk about the president or world events Don't think about the time you spend Turn the TV on Don't imagine all that you could do, aspire to Don't admit there's something wrong with you Turn the TV on We waste so much time Don't talk about who you could be, the things you'd see, the things you'd overcome, the goals achieved Who'd believe you? Turn the TV on
5.
Heroes 02:52
We worship our heroes We worship ourselves We worship a busy day and trophies on the shelves Our hero's sick That's his whole shtick We swallow that pill and we follow him still It's always just news to click You love his work though I loved it too But where is the line between the art, the men, and what they do? The area's grey That's what you say He thought that as well, so he raped someone else and said "wait, it's okay, I'm gay" The press goes wild The man exiled We all congratulate ourselves But they'll release a new track or slip in through a crack and in a few years they'll have their lives and families back Our heroes stink Just what I think I'd rather go blind or out of my mind than click on another link
6.
Ten dollar shots and a gin martini Kim Kardashian in a bikini Cigarette smoke and a quarter pounder Another year down and a little rounder It's a constant attack of alternative facts It's a world we can never get back Netflix, Hulu, Facebook, memes Our generation's amphetamines We post online, artificial glory, We only leave the house for the Insta story It's a constant attack of alternative facts It's a world we can never get back Politics, terrorism, train delays Wanna pack up my things and hit the highway Kavanaugh, Spacey, Casey Affleck Justified with mental gymnastics Then there's the streetlight on your skin The bed we're in slows everything Drown out the noise for a while, everything's fine Group text the boys for a while, everything's fine Shit talk your job for a while, everything's fine The subway's a mob for a while, everything's fine My mood's on the edge of a knife, but everything's fine and you are the love of my life, everything's fine You are asleep next to me, and everything's fine and I"m right where I wanted to be, and everything's fine
7.
You called me up You said you've had enough You're leaving Worlds apart A shaky heart Keeps heaving How long could it be? If a couple years go by that's nothing to me How sad does it seem? Can't even find a way to say what I mean So I act like it's nothing to me So you enlist I clench my fists Keep breathing I miss my friend I still pretend Still grieving How long could it be? If a couple years go by that's nothing to me How sad does it seem? Can't even find a way to say what I mean So I act like it's nothing to me Too late, did I miss my shot to say it's not nothing to me? How long could it be? What if I find out you're only a dream Then there at the end I'll tell you my friend The rest was nothing to me
8.
Alright 02:56
I've had a few drinks and some heavier blinks, I've been slipping Try to walk but I'm tripping but it's alright I'm trying to think but there's plates in the sink I should clean Think I see something green but it's alright I feel alright There's things in the air I should probably share, but I don't want to This part of me haunts you Is that alright? It's flowers and doves and I'm lucky in love since I date you I occasionally hate you but it's alright I feel alright I don't wanna be just a wave in the sea any longer I wish I was stronger but it's alright I'll never admit that I'm sick of my shit, but I'll hint it and hope you don't print it but it's alright Things are alright I feel alright We'll be alright
9.
Serious Now 01:58
This is me being serious now This is me with a furrowed brow This is me with a song about right and wrong This is me being serious now This is life getting serious now This is love in a fearsome drought These are women in the streets, these are wolves at their feet This is life getting serious now How can we make a joke without amends? How can we do it all again? Just like we always do This is the end feeling serious now This is the curtain, the lights and the bow And as the audience stands they see the blood on their hands This is the end feeling serious now
10.
Doom and gloom, that's all you feel Try your best to make it real I guess it's just a part of getting older Like your hair relocating to your shoulders So you hit the booze What's left of the day you lose It's only yourself you bruise You crave attention every day Something real to take away As intimate as secondhand smoke or old friends with an inside joke But it leaves you cold Like seeing your house get sold Like watching your dad get old So you walk around with a cartoon frown Hide inside it like a dressing gown You're just naked underneath Don't want anyone to see So if asked, you're always okay Is that just a word you say Is that just the price you pay? Doing your best to be blue 'cause without it who are you It's all you ever do It's all you ever knew
11.
I'm living in a messed up world Full of male hostility and stressed out girls And a guy was murdered on my street last night Took me ten whole minutes til I felt alright I held onto your body by the siren light Nothing ever fills up, soothes or sates me Just how I've been feeling lately Scared to go outside in a world that hates me I'm living in a broken town Where we don't start dreaming when the sun goes down Where we don't start living at the break of day Where I'd owe you money just to get my way Where like a fly on honey I am here to stay Nothing ever fills up, soothes or sates me Just how I've been feeling lately Bottom of the list in a city that rates me Gonna fight until the fever breaks me I'm gonna fight until the fever breaks me I'm living in an empty shell Only dumb ideas and unpleasant smells And I treat it good and I treat it bad and I try to treat it gently when it's feeling sad But I still want it to have the things it never had Nothing ever fills up, soothes or sates me Just how I've been feeling lately Trapped in a body with a mind that hates me Gonna fight until the fever breaks me I'm gonna fight until the fever breaks me (I'll build a bigger fire) (Hold it, hold on) I'm gonna fight until the fever breaks me (I'll reach a little higher) (Hold it, hold on) I'm gonna fight until the fever breaks me (I'll work until I'm tired) (Hold it, hold on) I'm gonna fight until the fever breaks me (I'll get what I desire) (Hold it, hold on) I'm gonna fight until the fever breaks

about

This is my third full length album and sixth official release, recorded at The Hang Studios in Fort Worth, TX in October 2018.

credits

released June 14, 2019

Produced by Ben Barnett and Austin Blair Campbell
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Ben Barnett at The Hang Studios, Fort Worth, TX

All songs written and arranged by Joe Holt except tracks #4, 5, 7, and 8, which were cowritten with Austin, and #6, which was cowritten with Austin and Ben.

Track #9 was originally just a lyric sheet and could not have been musically completed without input from Austin, Ben, and Jared Biunno.

NO MAMES

Joe Holt - vocals, acoustic guitars
Ben Barnett - electric guitars, bass
Austin Blair Campbell - vocals, FUCK
Caleb Barnett - drums
Austin Lege - screams

BLOCKS THE LIGHT

Joe - vocals, acoustic guitars
Austin - vocals
Ben - electric guitars
Brian Rockwell - bass
Caleb - drums, vocals
The Sixcounts - group vox

THE ONLY ONE

Joe - vocals, acoustic guitars, electric guitars
Austin - vocals
Ben - electric guitars, bass, percussion
Caleb - drums
The Sixcounts - group vox

DON’T (TURN THE TV ON)

Joe - vocals, guitar
Austin - vocals, moving the capo around while I hold one chord
Caleb - ball bearing

HEROES

Joe - vocals, acoustic guitars
Austin - vocals
Ben - electric guitars, bass
Caleb - drums
The Sixcounts - group vox

TOSSING/TURNING

Joe - vocals, acoustic guitar
Austin - vocals
Ben - electric guitars, bass
Caleb - drums, percussion
System of a Down - what the hell are you guys doing on this album

NOTHING TO ME

Joe - vocals, acoustic guitars, electric guitar
Austin - vocals
Ben - electric guitar
Brian - bass

ALRIGHT

Joe - vocals, acoustic guitars
Austin - vocals
Ben - electric guitars, bass, synth
Caleb - drums
The Sixcounts - group vox

SERIOUS NOW

Joe - vocals, guitars
Austin - vocals
Ben - keys

DOOM & GLOOM

Joe - vocals, electric guitar
Austin - vocals
Ben - electric guitar, bass
Caleb - drums, 30 seconds to Mars vocals, no one else could sing that high

UNTIL THE FEVER BREAKS ME

Joe - vocals, acoustic guitars
Austin - vocals
Ben - electric guitars, bass
Caleb - drumsets (all 4 of them)
The Sixcounts - group vox

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about

Joe Holt New York, New York

Joe is a folk singer/songwriter originally from England, whose music was praised by Obscure Sound as "stirring, eloquent songwriting," and by Ear to the Ground as "the real deal when it comes to folk songwriting." His music has been featured twice on NPR. He lives in New York City. ... more

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