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Better Man or Ghost

by Logan Vath

supported by
William Schmausser
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William Schmausser Fantastic songwriting, thoroughly authentic vocals and an always present acoustic guitar foundation. Wonderful listening. Look forward to more. Favorite track: Still Be Me.
Reid Babbitt
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Reid Babbitt A natural songwriter with a kick ass voice to boot. The imagery of a leafless fall forest or a ghostly canoe drifting down an exhausted swamp augments the mood for a string of acoustic songs hand delivered with affection. Wander through the prose of Luxury Plot. Favorite track: Luxury Plot.
Philippe Tremblay
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Philippe Tremblay I love the intricate use of the acoustic guitar during the chorus on Luxury Plot, and basically throughout this great album. Favorite track: Better Man or Ghost.
Joe Roberts
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Joe Roberts A genuinely kind and absolutely talented artist. Beautiful album, excited for what's to come. Favorite track: This Far From Home.
Brittany Myers
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Brittany Myers Incredible! This style of music is what I aspire to write like someday. Don't ever stop making music :) Favorite track: This Far From Home.
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1.
Still Be Me 04:22
i don't mean to string you along no, i don't mean to do you wrong i don't mean to complain when you ain't done no harm i'm better off doing me alone and i know i say one thing but i don't do the same i'm like a garden left for change in rain. so i'll slow it down, pump my brakes, try and find myself some grace anything to ease your pain. i could right my wrongs, i could dot my i's, i'll even get up in the sky the simple things that say goodbye. i could hold your hand, i could change my plans, try and be a better man but i'll still just be me in the end. it's been a long time comin' to find ourselves here i've spent years trying to disappear. now things have slowed down and i got out of town i can't tell you i'll be back around. there's a bus stop, baby, at the edge of the road. and it'll push me off to gettin' older. and if you see me again don't stare in my eyes i have a feeling they'll be looking colder. i could right my wrongs, i could dot my i's, i'll even get up in the sky the simple things that say goodbye. i could hold your hand, i could change my plans, try and be a better man but i'll still just be me in the end. i don't mean to string you along no, i don't mean to do you wrong
2.
Luxury Plot 04:03
danger, danger, you don't know my name but i followed you here through heaven's gates, and I love the way you smile when you cause me pain. vulture, vulture, I can see you spy from your spot up above, you watch the withered die and I love the way you smile when you take to the sky. so when i die bury my body in a three-piece suit. so while i lie, I can cry and push up some class with my roots. pistol, pistol, calling out the land from the city streets to the desert sand and i love the way you bring power to a coward's hand. child, child, i can feel your pain as you wonder if they'll ever touch again and i love the way we'll both grow up the same. so when i die bury my body in a three-piece suit. so while i lie, I can cry and push up some class with my roots. hideaway. so when i die bury my body in a three-piece suit. so while i lie, I can cry and push up some class with my roots.
3.
Don't you combat your coast, it's already got you to be the better man or ghost, that you've always wanted to to be like the beeline to rise like the shore line Don't you curse your momma's name, She's already loved you more than you've ever loved the same, don't come knocking' at my door to hold you, console you to lie to you, and fight for you and there's a ringin' in my ear and there's a crawling on my skin and there's a bottle breaking in the old church tonight and it spreads like fire So it seems you've let me go, my drinkin' has moved you on down on further down the road, where my friend's don't treat you wrong and the weather, is better no mailbox for my letters And I still can follow you, if I decide I want to change to be a better man or ghost, it's all just further down range and the poison, it sinks in so I take to the seas again and there's a ringin' in my ear and there's a crawling on my skin and there's a bottle breaking in the old church tonight and it spreads like fire
4.
i'm forever your curse you're the heretic, I'm your bible verse and as you walk away the congregation will prey and then pull a new church from their purse you're keeping' me alive you're rain and I'm prairie on the rise and I know you won't stop till' I'm high in the sky tonight you know love is alright, don't fight and your'e keeping me sane. i'm chemically imbalanced,you're the pills to my brain and I take you twice a day. home is so far my porch is the ground and we're staring from stars but on three our race will start one, two, three, and our race did start don't stop now there's too much ground to cover your head as bombs are rainin' down the road is a house where we can sit for awhile and you love like a child. you know it's okay to smile.
5.
The Sidewalk 04:29
Let the time stop and set your clocks for a new way out of here. 'Cause the mountain's dancing, the trees are growing tall this time of year. And the rain don't fall on the sidewalk like it used to at all. And the ants don't crawl up the sidewalk like they once did before. So braid your hair tight, pull it back to disguise your way of life. Call your old friends, tell them that you're moving on again and again. And your bikes won't ride, up the sidewalk like they used to at night. And your sparklers won't light, up the sidewalk on the fourth of July. Our father's would be proud to see lights covering town on a blank night. But without a single cloud, who else can hear us shout from a dark sky? So without making a sound, show me that you're really loud. So without making a sound, show me that your'e really loud. This fall it's different; so let it go. I'm free from regret and chemicals. Shade the walk - the talk is on the back and forth and I'm free from regret and chemicals.
6.
Kentucky 02:34
let's get lost in Kentucky one-way bridge connects the river like a switch one that i could just flip and drain the whole thing down. you asleep in the passenger seat prettiest thing that i've ever seen it's just you and me and the cold tonight just you and me and the snow on the road alright. ain't it funny how this town's still tonight? like we're intruders and its got something to hide well it's okay, Kentucky, you've got nothing for me to take. we're just two lost explorers making light of the wait. so we'll wait it off in truck stop towns and we'll have a couple shots and sleep them off. so you must admit, traveling together we're the perfect compliment to one another; we saw both my mother and your brother rinse it off your father got to see his pretty daughters for awhile with four families where's the time for you and i? well it's all on the road, and in Kentucky i know you're the one.
7.
Top Shelf 04:16
Look in the air, it's a bird it's a plane it's my heart falling down like rain on a cold tin roof and I feel calm for the first time tonight. I'm thinking about missing another summer and the thunder that rolls while mind sails steady - lists and floats on the sea with the calm breeze accompanying me. Don't you ever think that I've forgotten cause' my care's still caught in everything you've got to give and all the things I haven't seen quite yet And I can hear my father say, "Gotta' prove em' wrong to win the game." So I'm taking some time for myself and drinking off the top shelf. A little reckless, but how else can I test this all out? And even the sharpest knife still bends, when it's pushed in from the edge. You can't abuse it, but ya' can't always use it as planned. And sometimes I find myself in binds. And I've gotta' use what I can find. I've got a sister I don't see so much of I see the sea so much, I can only think up the words best said to her in long letters. If we could sit down over a glass of wine I'd say, "it'll be fine, you've just gotta' wait your turn there's more beauty in your house than the pages of a magazine." Prayer, it ain't just for the faithful - it's for the broken down people that we see and be in the streets and all the times that are happening in between. But I can hear our mother say, "when you hit your knees - it'll come your way." So I'm taking some time for myself and drinking off the top shelf. A bit expensive, but how else can I test this all out? And even the sharpest knife still bends, when it's pushed in from the edge. You can't abuse it, but ya' can't always use it as planned.
8.
I left home - after obligation but I stayed gone for my imagination. and i'm dreaming big, but i'm drinking bigger and i wonder which will kill me quicker. oh lord, don't let me die this far from home. I never intended to stay this long. i miss the sea - with her rolling water but i turn my back to all it has to offer and i'm dreaming big - but i'm sailing deeper and i wonder which will pull me under oh lord, don't let me sink this far from home i never intended to stay this long. fly around in my head 'cause chasing the sky is the only thing that i'm good at. but it's a long shot i'll make it up. i'll never burn a bridge - that i'll be crossing later i can't swim through regretful waters and i'm dreaming big, but i'm yelling louder and i wonder which, has more power. oh lord, don't let me burn this far from home no i never intended to sing this song.

about

In early 2012 I inquired about a Craigslist ad selling recording gear. While emailing back and forth about the item, the owner decided to check out my Soundcloud page which was displayed in my email signature. Thats' the beginning.

I decide that while I'm this far from home, I should be playing music and start playing an open mic at a bar in Chesapeake. I hike my guitar up higher than most people - folks laugh at that. I meet Mark who tells me he's "not a great talker, but a good engineer." I listen to his work and call him. Still the beginning.

Fast forward a few months, it's now May of 2012 and spring both looks and smells mighty fine within the state of Virginia (it's no Nebraska but it will do). A local songwriter's gathering is in search of a final writer to complete their songwriter showcase; a small group putting on house shows. I am on a plane home from The Good Life when the owner of the recording gear I mentioned in the first paragraph tells me he dropped my name to the songwriter's group. I get invited to play. I accept. We're slowly transitioning out of the beginning.

At the show I meet such a concentration of talent that I think I may be in a dream world of sorts. I meet drummers, bassists, vocalists, and other songwriters. I had lived in Virginia for years and had never stumbled upon a group of writers so well-developed in their craft. I tell a few of them I'm trying to put out a record and they say they can help if I need it. I need it.

*skip*

Many of the people I met on that evening are on this album; they play drums, guitars, bass, and sing. They are wonderful people with more talent than I can comprehend most days. They made these songs sound how I always thought they could - more than just me and my guitar.

I know this seems like a long, drawn-out explanation of one small time in my life, but the random occurrences that came from one Craigslist ad still make me smile even now that I consider everyone mentioned in this section a good friend.

This album is every bit as much theirs as it is mine. It represents an incredible time of growth in my life and I cannot thank Virginia enough for the friends, the memories, and all the things I am still very much looking forward to accomplishing. Establishing a musical identity in this age is tough, but I do think that these people are helping me establish mine.

credits

released March 8, 2013

Mixed by Mark Padgett
Produced by Mark Padgett and Logan Vath

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Logan Vath Norfolk, Virginia

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