Too Old to Be a Rock Star

by Joe Benoit

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180 gram pressing of the second and most recent solo album by Joe Benoit. Includes an insert with lyrics and liner notes.

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1.	Waiting for Revolution 04:27	lyrics	buy track
I hold on to the past too tight I just want to make it right But I lose sight of what’s to come I caught a fleeting glimpse of What I thought my life was And all my choices came undone Chorus: I’ve been hating And my conclusions Never seem to ever change I’ve been waiting For revolution As if things ever stay the same A path that branches With second chances But I can’t seem to pick a road I proceed with caution Collapse from exhaustion I have no guide So round and round I go Chorus / Solo / Chorus
2.	Paying the Toll 04:58	lyrics	buy track
Another year older Another year wiser you know A third of a century I got the white hairs to show Over the years I’ve tried to enlighten myself But it’s getting harder To pull one more book from the shelf How many lessons have I ignored? Missed the whole point because I was bored How many more times must I be told That just buying in doesn’t get you sold? Chorus:  We could be elevated If we’d just open our eyes We could be vindicated If we’d stop believing our lies There’s not much here that’s free And soon we’ll surely see That we’re paying the toll for a bridge That’s already been burned I met a prophet Who never would use the word hate She called it a cancer On which you cannot operate If love’s all we need Then why is the world such a mess? It’s like her disciples Neglected to tell us the rest How many lessons have we ignored? Missed the whole point because we were bored How many more times must we be told That just buying in doesn’t get you sold? Chorus A man sells a cigarette And he winds up dead on the street Churches and classrooms Are not safe places to meet Nazis are marching And ignorance sits on a throne It’s hard to imagine But this is the place we call home How many lessons have we ignored? It’s not like we haven’t seen this before Why do we act like it’s something new? We spread our agendas and kill the truth Chorus
3.	Easy to Seem 04:02	lyrics	buy track
I guess I’m burning out ‘cause I feel weary But what’s to show for my actions? My mind’s a slippery slope of contradictions I need some wheels with some traction My words resonate through the halls But that don’t matter if they don’t leave these walls What good are words that will never be shared? Chorus:  I recite all the lines but still remain blind to my part It’s all just a show And I don’t even know where to start It’s so easy to seem But I don’t want to be what I’m not If I had a reason to live I must have forgot I’ll admit that I’ve been blessed with fortune But I still have my afflictions Some people follow what their heart tells them I just followed prescriptions I’ve got no right to complain I’ve got a wife and a house to my name Still I feel like a fraud whose about to be found Chorus I’m okay I think I’m okay Am I okay? Solo / Chorus
4.	Disconnected 03:06	lyrics	buy track
I never felt as disconnected as I feel right now I never felt as discontented as I feel right now I don’t understand the young Don’t have patience for the old I’m trapped between two stations on the radio I never felt as uninspired as I feel right now I never felt so sad and tired like I feel right now I want to give a shit about this human race You say I’ll make a difference but I know my place And I never felt as unimportant as I feel right now My heart has been shattered But what does it matter If that’s how it stays I barely got the energy to think or choose It doesn’t make a difference Either way I lose And I never felt as unimportant as I feel right now I never felt as uninspired as I feel right now I never felt as disconnected as I feel right now
5.	Keep Me Satisfied 03:36	lyrics	buy track
If I was a multi-millionaire I’d tell you that I want a billion I’d like to think that I would share But I fear that I would be the villain Beggars cannot choose Yeah we got it all to lose And for every welcome gesture Another’s refused Chorus:  It takes a lot to keep you satisfied You better find some contentment Or you’re gonna regret it Life’s just moments passing all the time So make the most of your days here And keep the ones you love nearby I need to get a different point of view One that doesn’t put me in a tail spin I hope I find it pretty soon And I hope I’m not just what I have been The future’s looking bright I tell myself that every night But if I don’t make a change I’ll just keep grinding it out in this rut Break my fucking back for what? Chorus / Solo / Chorus
6.	Not Enough 04:06	lyrics	buy track
We don’t have that much money At least not when you look around It’s easy to be green with envy Until you realize They don’t have what we found Chorus:  It may not be enough But there is always love that I’ll give to you Even if we lose I will always choose to be with you We don’t have that much free time We spend most of the day apart It’s not a choice but it’s a living So we end the night together And that’s a start Chorus Some say there’s a wall around me Without a window for a view I just want to say I’m thankful You took the time to break on through Chorus
7.	Strip Mall Wasteland 04:00	lyrics	buy track
I got your number Put it in a safe place Hope I don’t lose it That’d be a sad day Until I see you You put a smile on my face I bought you flowers I hope you got them It doesn’t matter I’m at the bottom Why would you want me When you could have anyone? Chorus:  And I fear you’re falling For some guy who’s calling And it cuts me down to size And I’m sick of tasting All the years I’ve wasted Chasing someone else’s prize I feel the pressure Slowly increasing The gasket’s blowing No one’s releasing When will I find her?  The thought consumes my day I fake myself out I rave and I rant I step on land mines The ones that I plant When will I learn To just get out of my way?   Chorus I was a kid who Had it together Said it was easy But I knew better It was lonely At the top of the hill  Well it wasn’t easy But I made it out alive That strip mall wasteland Taught me to survive And if I was there now Would I make it out alive? Would that strip mall wasteland Still teach me to survive?
8.	Can You Hear the Song 05:07	lyrics	buy track
I wrap my hands around your neck But I feel sick thinking what I could wreck I’ll never be enough for you Cause I’m not tortured I guess I’m just bored If every sound I love is gone Then why go on? Chorus: Can you hear the songs I used to sing? Did they ever mean a thing? It’s over But is it really over? Maybe there’s a song that’s left to write I won’t go down without a fight I slide my hand across the top Twist the knob but something makes me stop What is there that’s left to say?  A tale of lost love?  A sign from high above?  I never had much impact there So why should I care? Chorus Some progressions will not ever go away Even if they’re swinging from the gallows Maybe there’s a land that’s not so far away Where those chords are dancing in the shadows
9.	Sing Along 02:18	lyrics	buy track
Skip a dozen generations They’re gonna unearth our creations All our milestones and so-called progress Will long be forgotten Put a vision in a capsule Then we hope it’s discovered half full For the sake of the world’s condition For the sake of peace  Only plastic left behind Hope the future doesn’t mind Centuries until they find out Resource tapped, we got our fill It seems we won’t stop until There’s nothing left to argue about Chorus:  Let’s make a promise That we take care of each other now No one’s at fault If we did the best we know how Someday we’ll all be gone Dust in the ground as time goes on So here’s to happiness And late night sing-alongs

about

The second full-length album by NYC singer/songwriter Joe Benoit. Includes the four tracks previously issued on the Greetings from Forest Hills, NY EP.

credits

released October 1, 2019

All music and lyrics written and arranged by Joe Benoit

Produced by Sam K. Shaw & Joe Benoit
Engineered and mixed by Sam K. Shaw
Recorded at The Buddy Project and at home in Queens, NY
Mastered by Dan Coutant at Sun Room Audio

Photography and cover design by Stephanie Moss

The Players:
Joe Benoit - all vocals, all guitars, keyboards, mandolin, ukulele, percussion, drums on "Disconnected" and “Strip Mall Wasteland”
Sam K. Shaw - bass
Kieran Kelly - drums
Clint Paul - bass on "Disconnected" and “Strip Mall Wasteland”

Dominic Carioti - saxophones on "Paying the Toll"
Kasperi Sarikoski - trombone on "Paying the Toll"
Keaon Brown - trumpet on "Paying the Toll”

All songs © 2018, 2019 Joe Benoit / Jo-Re-Mi Music (ASCAP)