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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Fabulous 12 inch long-playing album version of Book of Life with Liner Notes, Song Notes, credits and mojo like you wouldn't believe.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Book of Life via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Full Digital Discography

    10
    releases

    Get all 10 The Innocent Bystanders releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of (What's So Funny) 'bout Peace, Love & Understanding - For Ukraine, Book of Life, Dawning of the Day, This Train, Sunshine Party, Call of the Wild, Rainy Sunday, No Place to Go, and 2 more. , and , .

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about

Steve S started writing this one when he was 22 on the piano in the lounge of his school dorm. He took the initial riff from a run of notes David Sancious played on a 1974 live performance of Springsteen’s New York City Serenade and built the song around it. The first couple of verses and the chorus were written at that time. Despite numerous tries over the years, the rest of the words never came until The Innocent Bystanders were working on the Book of Life album. Steve heard a song that referenced the land of the lost toys, and it gave him the idea of incorporating the long break in real time into the song. What if the relationship in the first verses ended but the singer never let it go, and years later decided to reach out to see if the old flame still burned? The lyrics came quickly and the song – decades in the making – was finally finished.

lyrics

I was born in a town where the sun set. On a land filled with rags and scars
It was a world I’d traded for a cigarette. And a sky that was filled with stars
In a field that was scorched by the rising sun. In her eyes I found my wild place
A reflection so clear that I never thought. To look in another face
Everyone’s scared of being left alone. Afraid to look deep in new eyes
Just give me a little more time, and I won’t watch this chance pass by
Every day I think of that carnival. And a roller coaster ride
And a day at the beach with a sea lion, dreaming about the inside
But then your door swung open, things moved fast until they were slow.
You only whispered, soft, but I heard it, “time is the best friend you will know.”
That moment lasts forever, replaying our last scene
I’m stacking my empty boxes and cashing in my old dreams
My days are endless sunset, waiting for life to interrupt
Spiraling toward that old place, where the lost things end up
I’m not afraid of being alone. Still afraid to try something new
The question doesn’t make sense anymore, until the answer is you
Something just takes over, some kind of basic reflex
Old moments rise out of nowhere, and you don’t know what to do next
There’s a light on a corner on a lonely night.
A darkness shines through the day
Believe me now my special one.
Help is on the way
Are you still you out there on your own. Are you ready to try something new?
Maybe it’s not too late for me to share what’s mine with you
It’s been so long since we had our run. Now, I’m typing and pushing send
“Will you take another walk in the sun? Can I touch your hand again?”
On a path of broken spirits, souls crisscross on borrowed time
It’s there you’ll find me with the lost things, and you on my mind

credits

from Book of Life, released December 7, 2021
Vocals: Ben Nieberg, Debbie Darroch
Drums: Steve Berenson
Acoustic Guitars: Ben Nieberg, Steve Semeraro
6 and 12 String Electric Guitars: Steve Semeraro
Bass Guitar: Donny Samporna
Saxophone: Jessica LaFave
Organ: Ben Moore
Piano: Noah Greene

Words & Music: Steve Semeraro
Recorded & Mixed by Ben Moore at Singing Serpent Studios
Mastered by John Golden
Produced by Ben Moore & The Innocent Bystanders

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The Innocent Bystanders San Diego, California

Jackie Wilson, the sax player from Buck-O-Nine, Wild-&-Innocent era Bruce Springsteen, and Grace Slick start a golf round as a foursome. At the turn, Phil Spector asks to play through and things get outta hand.

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