Irv Irving

by Irv Irving

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credits

released January 5, 2018

All Songs Written By Irv Irving

Irv Irving's sound is at once accessible to all and entirely his own. It spans a range of 20th Century American music including rock and roll, blues, folk, country, and more, yet it is greater than the sum of those parts. His lyrics, while seemingly familiar in form and topic, interweave a multitude of references to literature and history, at the same time remaining intensely personal. From jamming and hanging out with folk legends Pete Seeger and Ramblin' Jack Elliott while just a teenager to logging hours on the New York City scene, headlining shows with his band and opening for acts ranging from bluegrassers King Wilkie to indie rockers Stellastarr, Irving has seen a lot and is keeping his eyes wide open.

“Irv Irving is one of my favourite artists. His music stands alongside the best work of Dylan, Cohen, Joni, and Townes - like them, he pulls off a perfect hat trick of humor, pathos, and poetry in his songwriting (with brilliant production to boot). I’m a huge fan!”

- Samantha Parton (The Be Good Tanyas, Samantha Parton & Jolie Holland"

"I'm a fan of Irv Irving. His music is full of great lyrical wit and insightful storytelling, bringing qualities that define traditional American folk music to the modern era."

- Dave Tozer (John Mayer, John Legend, Jay-Z)

"The real deal. Rootsy tracks, beautifully delivered, with shoot-from-the-hip lyrics"

- Bob Power (A Tribe Called Quest, D'Angelo)

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Irv Irving New York, New York

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Track Name: Never Thought You'd Break My Heart (Like This)
We made a solemn promise
When we took that solemn vow
We had an understanding
But I can't understand it now

Loving you was never easy
I still feel its icy kiss
I always knew you'd break my heart
But I never thought you'd break my heart like this

Sometimes a broken heart feels good
It feels like I'm alive
But I'm not sure how helpful that really is
When you're just trying to survive

A love like yours is never simple
It's not so easy to dismiss
I always knew you'd break my heart
But I never thought you'd break my heart like this

Once we saw this play where the hero was killed
He was looking straight at us
Even when you're expecting something to happen
You're still surprised when it actually does

I can see it all laid out so clearly now
As I lie back and reminisce
I guess I always knew you'd break my heart
But I never thought you'd break my heart like this

I swam out to the middle of a great wide pond
My soul was calm as the water was clear
But I could only stand it for a minute
'Said to myself "I've got to get out of here"

Free of all artificial limitation
All I could summon up was a fantasy
All alone with my humiliation
You left me stranded on my knees

I could ride east up to St. Louis
Or down west to Santa Fe
But I know I won't be going
And that's what haunts me every day

Those dreams that drove me ever onward
They are something that I'll surely miss
I always knew you'd break my heart
I never thought you'd break my heart like this
Track Name: Heaven Can Wait
Heaven can wait
But I can't wait for you
Not for a lifetime
Not even a few
If you're willing to love me
Then let's make a date
And Heaven can wait

Heaven can wait
It waits for us all
The most I can do now
Is try and to stall
It might take me a long time
To find all my mistakes
'Til then Heaven can wait

In those high frozen meadows
Of cold aquamarine
Where nothing is heard of
And nothing is seen
It's easy to linger
Way up in the skies
And spend the years dreaming
With dust in your eyes

When our Heavenly brother
Was hung up in strife
They said he rose stronger
In death than in life
The last part of that story
Ain't one that I rate
Yeah, Heaven can wait

Heaven can wait
It's been waiting for years
If you need a witness
Well, I'm standing right here
I'm going on record
And I'm setting it straight
I say "Heaven can wait"

In a vast marble mansion
Alabaster and pearl
Lively legions of pilgrims
They waltz and they whirl
With all of the fortune
That promises hold
They wait there together
For a future foretold
Track Name: The Party's Over
Once I was a happy man
I lived my life in peace
In the apartment of an actress
In downtown Los Angeles
But one day she said that I must go
And follow my own star
Boys, that’s how I ended up here
Drinking in this bar

The party’s over
But I won’t turn out the lights
I’ll sit in this bar
For forty days and forty nights
I’m drinking black dog whiskey
And the band is playing dead
My heart is racing
Crazy thoughts of her still in my head

Don’t think because you’ve taken refuge
In a woman’s heart
That she won’t look and find you there
And then tear you apart
Tom Beckett’s sweetheart threw him out
And left him in the lurch
If ya ask me, he was murdered
'Fore he even reached the church

Go 'head and buy your gal a rose
Red as a Bloody Mary
I'll see you, brother, on the street
Or in the cemetery
Well, I can't say just what it is
That I came here to find
I've been struck dumb by the malice
Of that low-down woman's mind

The party’s over
But I won’t turn out the lights
I’ll sit in this bar
For forty days and forty nights
I’m drinking black dog whiskey
And the band is playing dead
My heart is racing
Crazy thoughts of her still in my head

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