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COINTELPRO Nights, Vol. 1

by Saam & Dev

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1.
All night long All night long All night long From midnight on Went down to the depot Looked on the board If the train ain't there Some are on the road Some are on the road Some are on the road If the train ain't there Some are on the road If I'd a-listened What mama said I'd still be sleepin' In mama's bed All night long All night long All night long From midnight on
2.
Bereft 04:59
When you wake up in the morning all alone When you wake up in the morning all alone You feel cold and bereft 'cause a woman just left And she ain't even yours, you shoulda known When your bed has a hole in the frame When your bed has a hole in the frame You can put all your pain inside with no shame Then you cover that hole up again I got a helpin' of nothin' I saw a sign on a small empty road It said: "Look away if you know what to say but if not, boy don't stop, you're gonna come out on top someday." When times seem lonely and hard When times seem lonely and hard When the ringing is loud and the eagle proud To find a fool you don't need to look far I got a helpin' of nothin' I saw a sign on a small empty road It said: "Look away if you know what to say but if not, honey don't stop, you're gonna come out on top someday." When you wake up in the morning all alone When you wake up in the morning all alone Feel cold and bereft 'cause a woman just left you alone and it's time to move on
3.
You It's been a long time the years they have changed us and slightly deranged us You Whom I'm thinking of I place all my faith in I don't mind all the waiting I want you so bad Don't you hurt me, don't desert me You don't know what you had If you need me, don't you leave me We're starting at the finish, Like a horse out the old corral Me I made up my mind The first time I seen you The last time I came to Me I'm through hearing "no" I'm sure if you say "yes" We'll take care of all the rest No one needs us now It's a tossup, are we washed up? Mislaid anyhow Should we give up, don't we live up? Set out to graze Like a horse out the old corral Maybe you think I don't know what I'm doing But if it comes to this, well, I'm ruined I can't explain what's going on right here You Whom I can abide I gave up that old dream Busted the old seams Me Been ready too long Youth gone and dried up The words get all tied up I want you so bad Don't you hurt me, don't desert me You don't know what you had If you need me, don't you leave me We're starting at the finish, Like a horse out the old corral
4.
Are you going down on me this evening? Are you going down on me tonight? There is something I've been trying to tell you There is something that I can't get off my mind Thinkin' 'bout the way you last kissed me Nothing like the way we kissed before And the pain in my head began dissolving As we were laying upon the bedroom floor Ooh, I'm still sleeping Ooh, wake my dreaming I can't explain the way I'm feeling Will you stay with me until the morning? Will you always be there by my side? Can you try to understand my heavy sorrows? Will you believe me, if I tell you that I lied? Ooh, mercy mercy Ooh, I am deserving Of all misery and petty troubles Are you going down on me this evening? Are you going down on me tonight? There is something I've been trying to tell you There is something that could help me feel all right
5.
Thought I could do it Save you from the government So I knew I had to try Come and see you again Ten years back, I saw you first, floatin' down the concrete halls Ten years later, it's not the same, with the wires on the walls And now, living anew is so very hard to do, my baby Thought you could tell me The bad days are gonna end Seemed like it'd be better To try it out with a friend But every time I asked for a hand, they gave me that small change I tried to align these thoughts of mine, but their hearts seemed out of range And now, living anew is so very hard to do, my baby Cry for me one time 'Cause the tears dried up long ago Cry for me once more Why I weep you'll never know Thought I was ready To reckon with their ways Wading through the earthy muck For a few more days I keep trying to get to where I can start to walk the line And keep my rights, 'cause I don't like to waste my precious time And now, living anew is so very hard to do, my baby Cry for me again 'Cause the tears ran out long ago Cry for me some more Why I weep you'll never know
6.
Can’t get around in this crowd And the band is playing too loud They all came to see how I sound And you can’t believe what you’ve found Makin’ eyes Back when we started Makin’ eyes Now that we’re apart for awhile, don’t go too far Can’t stick around any more Gonna pick up some clothes that I wore Should I wake you before I turn and walk out that door? Makin’ eyes Back when we started Makin’ eyes Now that we’re apart For a while, did it go too far? Ooh, linger on, linger on The floor of this bar isn’t clean Why can’t you say what you mean? Figuring out who to be Is there something in me I don’t see? Makin’ eyes Back when we started Makin’ eyes Now that we’re apart for awhile, don’t go too far
7.
Eddie Floyd wrote this song And we’re gonna sing it for you now Baby don’t you worry about that man I’ll be coming home as soon as I can He’s got you in the palm of his hand Don’t give a damn about your wedding band You don’t know what you mean to me You don’t know what you mean to me You don’t know, no no no no, you don’t know I’ve got lovin’ him on my mind And I’m worried you’re gonna be home on time I just wanna do this for once in my life Even though you know I’m still your lovin’ wife You don’t know what you mean to me You don’t know what you mean to me You don’t know, no no no no, you don’t know Here I am, knocking on the door Here I am, crying on the floor When I see you reduced down to tears I keep thinking about all the years Gone by, but why do I have to lie Baby, should I stay, or should I go away? Maybe I’ve done wrong, but darling come what may Without you, our house is not a home I was blind, I guess I should have known You don’t know what you mean to me You don’t know what you mean to me You don’t know, no no no no, you don’t know Eddie Floyd wrote that song And we just sang it to you now
8.
My, My 02:53
My, my, nothing clean Must cut loose from this here scene My, my, nothing clean Easiest girl I ever seen, I ever seen Tonight Flat like I’s guilty of the first crime My, my, hurry fast Came in first and kicked out last My, my, hurry fast This one seemed too good to last, too good to last Tonight Flat like I’s guilty of the first crime Delicate flowers Growing on sandbars Wading through broken glass Profligate hours Whispers in cold cars Letting the moment pass My, my, thick and thin You don't know what's the shape I'm in My, my, where you been? You made all my troubles begin, my troubles begin Tonight Flat like I was guilty of my first crime
9.
New Position 02:36
10.
11.
Just a small portion of your love Winds me up like a tickety clock Just a small portion of your love Run like a river and I ain’t gonna stop Just a small portion of your love Curls my hair like a mousse in a jar Just a small portion of your love Lights me up like a Cuban cigar Ooh, gimme one more hit Goes a long long way-hey-hey Ooh, gimme just a little bit Each and every day, hey hey Just a small portion of your love Moves my troubles away today Just a small portion of your love I’m-a goin’ to work, I’m gonna take-a no pay Ooh, you know your love is the vibe Knows how to soothe my mi-i-nd Ooh, you know I got you babe It gives me peace of mind, my mind Ooh baby You don’t know what you do for me Ooh baby I don’t have no misery Just a small portion of your love Fills me up like a slider or two Just a small portion of your love Keeps me up when I’m thinkin’ I’m through Ooh, I take a little trip When I dangle in your arms Ooh, don’t-ya gimme no lip Ain’t gonna do you no harm, no harm Just a small portion of your love

about

"Nothing more than feelings," so the old song goes. We beg to differ: feelings are inherently radical, and thus deserve to be appreciated for that very fact, rather than as affective mechanisms of the culture industry. Hence, Saam & Dev combines personal, intimate songs with the imagery of past forms of radical political action and their apparently impersonal masks and uniforms. This dialectical juxtaposition is key to understanding what Saam & Dev is trying to accomplish.

However, Saam & Dev is not only about feelings. It is also about learning. Conceptualized as a "learning lab," Saam & Dev utilizes innovative learning methods* in order to provide a safe environment for the creation of meaningful music without the need for virtuosity or pompous instrumental display. Aesthetically compelling music need not be technically dazzling, or even blisteringly energetic. Instead, it must be soulful. Saam & Dev is soulful.

Soul is, of course, a loaded term, one familiarly associated with black R&B of the long 1960s. The inspiration for Saam & Dev are Stax's famous duo, Sam and Dave, whose hits like "Soul Man" and "Hold On, I'm Comin'" made them justifiably famous as representatives of a powerfully gospel-inflected form of African American popular music. In the intervening half-century since the emergence of this form of soul, blackness (particularly in the U.S.-American sense) has become both a profoundly lucrative commodity and an instrumentalized form of expression adoptable and adaptable by vast numbers of non-black musical performers. For musicians who feel they cannot claim an authentic relationship to black traditions, however, what is an honest way to engage with soul music, which was inseparable in the last instance from the Civil Rights and Black Liberation Movements? By way of a provisional solution, Saam & Dev draws on the sounds of whiteness—both in its southern/country/western/Appalachian variants and in its deracinated, post-European ones—and through such sounds pays homage to a music, a tradition, and a political past much in need of review and remembrance if our society is to move past the cultural stultification of the neoliberal era.**

Like all art, though, Saam & Dev cannot be reduced to logical argumentation, a syllogism in the form of song. Saam & Dev is also vulnerable, whimsical, angry, and, at times, even funny. Saam & Dev is a realm, to which you are invited. Saam & Dev is a method, which we hope you will adopt. Saam & Dev is a burrito.

* Cf. Garth Hudson's pedagogical materials
** Of course, many ostensibly "white" musics (including much US country music) also find their roots in or draw significantly upon the musical and sonic heritage of the African diaspora.

credits

released July 16, 2014

Saam & Dev is:
Saam (Emily Lechner), vocals, mandolin, glockenspiel
Dev (Sumanth Gopinath), vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboard, tambourine
Beth Hartman, bass
Derek Engelking, drums

Produced by Saam & Dev and Bryan Knisley

Recorded and Mixed by Bryan Knisley, North Orbit Studios, St. Paul, MN, September 2009

Mastered by Bruce Templeton, Magneto Mastering, March 2010

Photography by Mark Nye

Contact us at saamanddev@gmail.com

Copyright Saam & Dev 2014

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Saam & Dev Minneapolis, Minnesota

Saam & Dev is an acoustic country/folk/rock band dedicated to the radicalism of feelings. Its members are based in Minneapolis-St. Paul and Paris.

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