Mean Times

by The Argyles

/
00:00
00:00

  • Digital Album

    Immediate download of 12-track album in your choice of high-quality MP3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.

    Buy Now  name your price

1.
03:30
lyrics
2.
04:13
lyrics
3.
03:54
lyrics
4.
03:01
lyrics
5.
04:05
lyrics
6.
03:39
lyrics
7.
02:04
lyrics
8.
04:01
lyrics
9.
03:28
lyrics
10.
04:34
lyrics
11.
03:06
lyrics
12.
04:10
lyrics

about

Greg now makes music under his own name, over at gregmcleod.bandcamp.com

credits

released 26 June 2012
Greg McLeod - Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Drums, Violin, Keyboards, Toy Piano, Autoharp, Trombone, Percussion
Matt Dowling - Vocals on tracks 5 and 7
Andrew Miller - Guitar on tracks 1-4, 12
Ryan MacKellar - Sax on tracks 2 and 5

All songs written by Greg McLeod except tracks 5, 7 and 12 written by Matt Dowling and track 4 written by Greg McLeod and Andrew Miller

Engineered, Mixed, and Mastered by Greg McLeod in his bedroom in Montreal, Canada from January to May 2012

Package design by Danielle Holmes
Photography by Lesya Nakoneczny and Lana McCrea

Thanks to Justin Wong, Martin Bradstreet, Alex Horky, Jenna Gogan, Arthur Cormon, Matthew Kassel, Jack Galloway

tags

tags: 90s acoustic rock alternative folk punk indie rock rock Montréal

license

all rights reserved

feeds

feeds for this album, this artist

about

The Argyles are an energetic rock band from Montreal raging at the hazards of life and love as thoughtful and polite young men.

contact / help

For help with downloads, click here.

For all other inquiries, click here.

Redeem download codes here.

Track Name: One Down
Stop me stumbling, I get knocked over
If I get knocked over anymore I'll know the score
Stop me wondering, I get fucked over
If I get fucked over anymore I'll know the score

Take another one down, better make it this one
Loving gets passed around, I get passed over again
I don't know why I can't ever be decisive, ever make a change

Start me stuttering, it t-t-t-takes me over
Have me over where you live, I've love to give
Start me wondering, I think it's over
I feel left over and there's more I've got in store

Take another one down, better make it this one
Loving gets passed around, I get passed over again
I don't know why I can't ever be decisive, ever make a change

But take me by the hand, make me understand
Make me love again, pull me back and in
Take me by the hand, make me understand

Take another one down, better make it this one
Loving gets passed around, I get passed over again
I don't know why I can't ever be decisive
Ever be the same again, same again, same again

Take another one down, better make it this one
Loving gets passed around, I get passed over again
I don't know why I can't ever be decisive, ever make a change
Track Name: I'll Take It
Breaking hearts just a recent trend
Hence the letters from former friends who got out
Only to want back in again

Though they stray miles away
You keep their hearts, put them on display
Would you like mine too?

Being lonely is no excuse, between
Love and affection you get confused and I get stuck
My time gets taken up

I'll take it, I'll take it in stride
I'd do anything if it would only get me off the schneid
I have my, I halve my pride
I was a fool to think that I could ever turn this tide

I saw you kiss him but you weren't there
Hands and lips and a vacant stare and a smile
I couldn't sleep for a while

You said it's nothing, you shouldn't lie
I'd call your bluffing but think there's something in my eye
I can't take it tonight

If I'm a project and you have a few
You may not love me but you will never cut me loose
I'll make it easier for you

I'll take it, I'll take it in stride
I was a fool to think that that would ever get me off the schneid
I have my, I halve my pride
I was a fool to think that I could ever turn this tide

Now you're calling me up,
I'm not acting the same
And I'm falling over myself trying to forget your name
I don't think that you're sorry
But you're making me guess
If I can't make it better I want to feel it less
If I can't make it better I want to feel it less
If I can't make it better I'd like to feel it less
If I can't make it better I want to feel it less
If I can't make it better I want to feel it
Less
Track Name: Beta Male
This is your life as a beta male
If this were the wild, you wouldn't get laid
Rational men can't go chasing tail
When it's attached to just another ape

Wish you could ape what they've got on sale
Guys that look good when they're at the gate
But you're looking starved and a little pale
Cause they keep taking food you put on your plate
Cause they wait for your mistakes, whoa

This is your life as a beta male
And you've been flirting with an alpha mate
Holding it down like you never fail
But then she's gone cause she has a date

She can't be late cause he's out on bail
And he's no good so he must be great
You're looking hard but you just can't tell
What you don't have that he's got in spades
And he'll wait for your mistakes

But you can be funny, you can be clever
And you can talk about more than the weather
You can be charming, you can be sweet
Even if you can't talk without staring at your feet
And don't worry what they think because they can't – oh

This is your life as a beta male
It's how you're born and it's how you'll stay
Is it the same, just on a smaller scale?
Doesn't it feel like an awful fate?

But you'll be cured when they're getting stale
Watch you take off while they watch their weight
While they're getting hammered, you'll get to nail
Cause you learned to think when they learned to drink
As you wait for their mistakes

But you can be funny, you can be clever
And you can talk about more than the weather
You can be charming, you can be sweet
Even if you can't talk without staring at your feet
And don't worry what they think because they can't – oh

But you can be funny, you can be clever
And you can talk about more than the weather
You can be charming, you can be sweet
Even if you can't talk without staring at your feet
And don't worry what they think, don't worry what they think
Don't worry what they think because they can't
Track Name: Across The Street
Mont Royal 927
Address like it's going out
But it's not even 11
They'll still be glued to the couch
Buzzer's broken missed the click
Somebody's smoking round back, quick
Too slow where did they go
Get in with the window trick

Dinner interrupts a card game
Winner cleaning up the hard way
Parley that into a part-time job
Making sandwiches just for Mott
Summer's getting wetter better bring a sweater
Drinking in the park
Bottles clinking in the dark
I'm apart

But I'm getting to know you
You know exactly what I mean
If you ever need me
You know exactly where I'll be
Across the street

Mont Royal 914
The 5 years in between
Knowing nothing, knowing everything
If I learned, I learned to pretend
This room feels like a cave
Clouds and TV snow the same
Crowd round there's a movie on
The couch is full, I love this song

But I think I've seen this one before
Take the door to the porch, Jubal gave me the tour
More stairs to the ladder, ladder to the roof
Shotgun to the brain 200 proof
Hoping I can get back down
Kinda nervous, til I look around
See the city in the night, looking at the light
From the other apartment

I'm getting to know you
You know exactly what I mean
If you ever need me
You know exactly where I'll be
Across the street
Track Name: Take the 40
Take the 20 out to St-Anne for the good view
Or take the 40 up to the cottage
Go west a handful of hours and you'll be home
Just walk a couple minutes and I’ll meet you downtown

City of Mary, there's a magnet in your mountain
There's light on the cross
Any season around, we’ll dance in the fountain
First we get pulled and then we get lost

Oh, it gets kinda dull
You look and talk and sound so professional now
But its no fun arguing moderation with a bunch of young liberals
No it gets kinda dull, we best get to the beer

Take the 20 west to the bright, bright lights
Take the 40 north to the quarry
Take the interstate south to Amherst or Nassau – it’ll lift you up
Just hurry; you bring the rage, I'll leave the fury, hurry

City of Mary, there's a magnet in your mountain
There's light on the cross
Any season around, we’ll dance in the fountain
Oh we get pulled and then we get lost
Track Name: Blackjacks to Blackout
Sometimes we go to this bar
None of us have a car so we bike
It's not downtown, it's a bit of a hike
Always empty and the price is right

And they have pitchers up to here
It's not good beer, it's not even close
But it's still great for making toasts
Did I mention I love you all the most

Little love of mine, I'm starting to hate this city
Little love of mine, it's no good for me, whoa-oh
Little love of mine, I'm starting to hate this city
Little love of mine, it's no good for me
So I'm Blackjacks to blackout again

And every morning is the worst

It kinda comes and goes
I wake up in my clothes on a couch
Dizzy head and a taste in my mouth
Can you tell me the way to my house

But even whispering's too loud
I'm not proud of myself, I'm depressed
But can I help it, I'm a little impressed
I evaded another early death

Little love of mine, I'm starting to hate this city
Little love of mine, it's no good for me, whoa-oh
Little love of mine, I'm starting to hate this city
Little love of mine, it can't be worse
So I'm Blackjacks to blackout again

And every morning is the worst
And I'm cursed, with this thirst that grows as I diminish
Last to start but first to finish, last to start but first to finish
Thirst that grows as I diminish, last to start but first to finish
Last to start but first to finish, last to start and...

Just when I thought I was done
Another night of fun is the pits
And I hate everyone that I'm with
And there's an awful pain in my wrist
But I just don't know what I did
Did I father a kid, d'I get sick
Can I make this lesson stick this time?
Cause I've learned it a hundred times

Little love of mine, I'm starting to hate this city
Little love of mine, it's no good for me, whoa-oh
Little love of mine, I'm starting to hate this city
Little love of mine, it can't be worse
So I'm Blackjacks to blackout again

Blackjacks!
Blackout!
And every morning is the worst
Track Name: Stupid Little Things
I got drunk enough at the campsite
To play the coward
I walked you home
And left you at the door
Stupid little things that I’ve done

High school dance request list
I picked your favourite song
Disguised my handwriting
And forgot to brush my teeth at the end of the night
Stupid little things that I’ve done

You’ll learn this the hard way
So say what you oughta say
Bundle it up today
Pray for a quiet way
To say it again

I thought it might hurt
To stick around
Got caught up in the details and lost a bit
Left you out of the loop when I took off for the summer
Stupid little things that I’ve done

I didn’t speak my piece
So that you could hold your peace
We all know how that turns out
Recited this list and called it confession
Stupid little things that I’ve done

You’ll learn this the hard way
So say what you oughta say
Bundle it up today
Pray for a quiet way
To say it again
Track Name: My Bad Instincts
Another morning and my dried-out mouth
Makes the shapes and the words come tumbling out
It's so boring playing these songs to myself
Not getting any closer to what they were about

Another morning of waking up strangers
And for that reason I am less a friend
When you live like you're alone every evening
You'll still feel alone at night

And we sleep through most of these days
So there's little time left to think:
"I want to learn from these fucks"
Before they scare me away from my instincts
My bad instincts

Another morning and the swelling in my head
Makes my thoughts hard to think
A one night stand that reoccurs without warning
Every time you and I drink

Another morning and I'm snoring so you tell me
So I roll back on my side
And by the way I think you know it's ending
Cause we stopped saying sorry, and started saying goodbye

And we drink so often these days
That there's little time left to think:
"I want to learn from these drugs"
Before they scare me away from my instincts
My bad instincts

Have never taught me anything
No, they just make me miserable
And it happened again, I'm so unoriginal
I think that I'm hurting myself out of guilt that no one else could

And then one morning it seemed better to be going
Just when I thought I'd got the hang
We're not poets and this is not the world we're ending
So let's not whimper

Let's just bang
Track Name: Get To You
A pocketful of transfers, I'm searching for answers
God I hope it isn't true
But this line has got me reeling, staring at the ceiling
Waiting for the bus to move

And the toothbrush in my bag rubs up on a letter that I wrote
I was staying for the weekend or coming home this evening
Depending on the one that I chose

A mile and a half, then, Belle and Sebastian
"The boy with the Arab strap"
Looking for distractions, doubting my reactions
Holding tight the bag in my lap

All the time since we've met, you've only been to my place once
Am I making too much fuss for all the time spent on the bus when it has
Only been a couple of months?

This and more I thought, and I don't know what to do
'Cause it takes me way too long to get to you

Scratching her elbow, she looks out the window
God I hope he doesn't come
Poking at my feelings, searching them for meaning
Shouldn't we be having fun?

And the thought of what she's done has been scaring her all week
"If I can't be what he wanted then why's he so undaunted?
I just can't face another critique"

What you doin' uptown, Velvet Underground
"I'm waiting for my man"
So much hesitation, but stuck in the station
Knitting and unknitting her hands

And she knows what must be done but it's making her feel weak:
"So quick to make a theory but he never seems to hear me
No matter how plainly I speak"

This and more you thought, but you can't make me see
'Cause it takes you way too long to get to me
Track Name: Ring, Tired Bells
Ring, tired bells
Out

With a love that won't ever falter
I'll follow you to the altar
Ring, tired bells, don't ever falter
Don't give me reason to doubt her

O shameful love that makes me wonder
Shouldn't I be torn asunder
If she should die, or even wander
Don't feed my fear or make me blunder
Could you make me blunter?

Anchor, tether, latch yourself to me
Anchor, tether, latch or set me free
Anchor, tether, latch yourself to me
Anchor, tether, latch or set me free

My foolish mind that never rests
Can't even sleep at your behest
But shallow eyes will let me rest
You bare your soul, n'I'll bare your breasts
You iron bells, you'll never tire
Nor would you melt were this my pyre
Ring, tired bells, 'til I expire
You never will make me a liar
Could you make me lighter?

Anchor, tether, latch yourself to me
Anchor, tether, latch or set me free
Anchor, tether, latch yourself to me
Anchor, tether, latch or set me free

Don't I know by now that you've been here before
But the hand you forsook wasn't mine
Don't I know by now that you've been here before
But I just can't help wasting my time
Don't I know by now that you've been here before
But the hand that you take could still be mine
Don't I know by now that you've been here before
But I just can't help wasting my time
Track Name: Low Point
It's been a while since my latest injury
Getting better, soon I'll practice with the team
And when you talk to me I almost forget
That I haven't been cleared for contact yet

My numbers are a little down this year
The crowd's so loud but it's not for me they cheer
I do the right things and I almost forget
It means nothing if it won't go in the net

This is a low point, we'll get back to winning
It's just a game even if it's your living
But this is a low point that's not about winning
Go play your game then get back to living

Verse:
I'm getting tired of sleeping in hotels
It's more lonely now the team's not doing well
On the the bus home I can almost forget
The kind of welcome we are gonna get

I don't know what happened to my confidence
I'm second guessing every second guess
And I can try but now I find I can't forget
That this season's been a really awful mess

This is a low point, we'll get back to winning
It's just a game even if it's your living
But this is a low point that's not about winning
Go play your game then get back to living

It's been a while since my latest injury
Scars they heal and then they fade back into me
And when you talk to me I almost forget
That this low point isn't over yet
Track Name: Lights
There were enough bottles to drown a room
There were enough friends to go make war
A couple nasty secrets got spun off the loom
At least we know she ain't a bore

It was the start of a couple months' lessons
Thoughts of fidelity and discretion
One got lost in the lights
The other got lost on an old friend's plight

Doors opened and closed all through the house
They locked people in and brought 'em out
Keeping different parts of the party apart
Well the lights they'll run you down, the lights they'll run you down

Day breaks like it always do
Ca va, par boulevard ou rue
That five-second glance how it turns to hours
No freedom, no flight, I'll just cower

And let it all go on the walking light
And let it all hang on the red light
I stepped off again, no change for today
Just a couple second chances and a couple second days

Doors opened and closed all through the house
They locked people in and brought 'em out
Keeping different parts of the party apart
Well the lights'll run you down, the lights they'll run you down

Doors opened and closed all through the house
They locked people in, brought 'em out
Keeping different parts of the party apart
Well the lights'll run you down, the lights they'll run you down