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Make it Make Sense (EP) coming out January 27  

‘Soft’ vinyl has finally arrived, get it here
Yellow Ostrich

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Like a Bird: An Alex Schaaf Anthology (2010-2021) coming out on March 26th.  

The Mistress Deluxe Edition out now, get the vinyl here



THE MISTRESS


release date: October 13, 2010
deluxe edition reissue date: February 12, 2021
as: Yellow Ostrich
on: Barsuk Records
format: digital, CD, vinyl

PURCHASE ALBUM




SONGS


I Think U Are Great
WHALE
Hate Me Soon
Hold On
Libraries
Hahahaohhoho
I’ll Run
Campaign
Mary
Slow Paddle

--bonus tracks--
Bread
Fog
Mary (alternate)
Sister Flower
I Think I Could Love You
Mary Ann
Little Johnny
WHALE (early alternate version)
Love More (Sharon Van Etten cover)
'81 (Joanna Newsom cover)
Androgynous (The Replacements cover)
Cannibal Resource (Dirty Projectors cover)
Don't Haunt This Place (The Rural Alberta Advantage cover)
Fake Empire (The National cover)
Zebra (Beach House cover)
King of Spain (The Tallest Man on Earth cover)
Tightrope (Yeasayer cover)
Strings that Tie to You (Jon Brion cover)


LYRICS


I Think U Are Great

I think you are great.
I think you are great!

WHALE

Whale, swim with me whale
We will go far into the sea
You will take me onto your back
Never look back, never look back

Whale, sing to me whale, sing me a song
Tell me that things will never go wrong
Hide me away, don’t let them stay
Don’t let them stay!

Whale, come with me whale
We will go far into the blue
I will take you
Listen to me, then you will see
Then you will see

Whale, don’t worry whale,
Just do as you please
I will accept if you’d rather leave
I’ll open my heart if you open your heart
Open your heart

I’ve been swimming for a thousand years and I’ve
Seen more than you can realize
But I accept that you will never understand
So I will gladly take your hand

Whale, come with me whale!
We will go far into the blue
You will take me
Onto your back
Never look back
Never look back
Never look back
Never look

WHALE! come with me whale
We will go far into the blue
I will take you
Listen to me, then you will see
Then you will see

Whale, don’t worry whale,
Just do as you please
I will accept if you’d rather leave
I’ll open my heart if you open your heart
Open your heart

Hate Me Soon

You’re gonna hate me soon if you don’t understand
That what we’re doing here has got no long term plan
You’re gonna hate me soon if you do not desist
From what I kindly term as your neverending kiss
You’re gonna hate me soon

I’m gonna love you soon if you do understand
And then you leave me for a better kind of man
I’ve gonna love you soon when you are out of reach
And when I see you ‘round, you never wanna speak
I’m gonna love you soon

So why don’t we just skip ahead and leave this behind
We can hate or we can love or we can let it unwind
Your father says that you are near
So let’s get together in a couple of years
You’re gonna hate me soon

Hold On

Now that we’ve started, it’s sad to see it end
But I’ll try to make it, as long as it’s all right for me to pretend
And I’ll hold on for you
And I’ll hold on for you

I will still love you, as long as we stay in this bed
Cause we’ve hit the trigger
There’s nothing left to do but wait for the end
Walls will be crumbling outside
So let’s stay forever inside

And I’ll hold on for you
I’ll hold on for you

(Please let me stay)

Libraries

Let me take your words from you today
Tell me what you’ve always yearned to say
Sing about the trials you have known
‘Cause there will be a fire here today
All you see will slowly fade away
Into ashes, shadows and the mist

Make it quick, don’t try to understand
Trucks and hoses soon will be at hand
Tell all that you know before you go
And I will write it down here in my book
I promise you that I will never look
Until the day has come when the fire starts

Libraries burn fast
When they’re in the past
Once you leave all your stories will be gone
Libraries burn fast
They weren’t built to last
Flames of memory burn brighter than the rest

Libraries are burning
Should we try to save them? What will we be missing?

Libraries burn fast
When they’re in the past
Once you leave all your stories will be gone
Libraries burn fast
They weren’t built to last
Flames of memory burn brighter than the rest

Hahahaohhoho

If you see a butterfly will we hear dramatic cries?
Or will you just laugh with the rest of us?
Can you let your bonnet down?
Will it hurt to see you frown?
Why have you decided to hide from us?

‘Cause I think we’ve got a chance
I think we’ve got a chance

Can you break your silent vow?
Send a bird, don’t wonder how
Things will find their way to me anyways
Spend a night with just your glass
Thinking of adventures past
While you slowly fall into deeper thoughts

I think we’ve got a chance
I think we’ve got a chance

I’ll Run

Sit alone now watching the streets
Sit alone now watching our feet
Soon we’ll go to the churchyard
Take a minute go for a walk
Take a minute go for a jog
Soon we’ll go to the churchyard

Tell your sisters they have been good
Tell your father to get us food
Soon we’ll get up and go far
It has been a wonderful ride
It has been a terrible drive
Soon we’ll get up and go far

And send a letter to replace the one that I sent
I am sorry for the way that I left

But if you think the day is done
My love, I’ve news for you
For I am not a hasty one, but when there’s things to do
I’ll run

Campaign

See things are going slowly
See things are going slowly
Take time, take time deliver it
Take time, take time deliver it

If you see a letter bearer
Tear off her mask and tell her
That “You can’t! You can’t deliver it!
You can’t! You can’t deliver it!”

Send all the swallows up to the moon
Semipalmated sandpipers, too
This is a campaign
Ready the ships for one more attack
Ration the bread and cover your tracks
This is a campaign

Mary

Mary says it’s okay
She can see the future
Everything turns around
Terrors may be coming
But they are only games
Everything turns around

Sirens may be sounding
Roads are closing down
But I am a true believer
So grab your pills and pillows
Take what you’ll remember
Everything turns around

Mary, you are doing drugs
Don’t you think we know?
You always seemed a little too happy, Mary

Slow Paddle

If you go we can stay outside
You can find a new place to hide
On the beaches of Italy
There is something you wanna see

I know you’re comfortable where you are
I know the hallway’s a bit too far
But if you trust me I’ll lead the way
You’ve never seen such a lovely day

So come out from where you are
Come out from where you are

Bread

To go away for quite a while
if that is what will make you smile
is something I will gladly do
because I am in love with you

To go without a piece of bread
because of something that I said
if that is what it’s going to take
then that is what it’s going to take

Brother, won’t you sing a song for me?
Sing it loud, get them to follow me
Take your chance to bring the news to me
Tell me how she’d look if I could see

Fog

If you get lost in the fog tonight, will you cry?
If you go out and you cannot see, will you die?
If you get swallowed by clouds tonight
Will you wake up in your own skin
or will you become someone else, maybe him? 

Mary (alternate)

Mary says it’s okay
She can see the future
Everything turns around
Terrors may be coming
But they are only games
Everything turns around

Sirens may be sounding
Roads are closing down
But I am a true believer
So grab your pills and pillows
Take what you’ll remember
Everything turns around

Mary, you are doing drugs
Don’t you think we know?
You always seemed a little too happy, Mary

Sister Flower

The flowers on the bed
they wait for me to call
They’ve seen this trip before
in the photos of their brothers
and the photos of their sisters
They’ve seen this trip before

You’ll see them again soon
as I lay you down
in the freshly cut grass
you’ll be right down the row
a couple of stones over
a couple of stones over

so fold your stems
don’t get in the way
fold your stems
don’t get in the way
fold your stems
don’t get in the way

The old familiar road
it always changes in the same way
around the first bend, you don’t know
But when you have reached the middle
where the exit sign’s green
you know you have seen this trip before

so fold your stems
don’t get in the way
fold your stems
don’t get in the way
fold your stems
don’t get in the way

these aren’t people
they’re in my head
these aren’t people
they’re in my head
these aren’t people
they’re in my head

I Think I Could Love You

I think I could love you 
if you leave me alone
I got no problems being on my own
so I could love you
if you leave me alone

I think I could marry you 
if you never were
We don’t talk for days
that only deepens my gaze
and I could marry you 
if you never were

so stay away

Mary Ann

Mary Ann can you go 
where the lights always show
tell them I wish them well
Tell them to ring the bell
Ring the bell, ring the bell
they will know who to tell
Mary Ann, Mary Ann,
See the sand, see the sand

Mary Ann, see the sand

I am leaving today
see the frogs, hear them say
seven weeks afterwards
I have heard, I have heard
Skipping through muddy streams
They will know what you mean
Mary Ann, Mary Ann, 
See the sand, see the sand

Mary Ann, take my hand

Tell the king not to cry
I will not say goodbye
I’ll be back, I’ll be back
if you don’t hold me back
Even birds missing wings
find a new way to sing
I am not handicapped
I’ll be back, I’ll be back

Mary Ann, see the sand
Mary Ann, see the sand
Mary Ann, take my hand

Little Johnny

Little Johnny sings a nursey rhyme
He sings it loud and he sings it fine
He knows, he knows, he knows, he knows, he knows
That the girls are looking now
the other boys they wonder how
He knows, he knows, he knows, he knows, he knows

Little Johnny is at the dance
he takes one by the hand
He knows, he knows, he knows, he knows, he knows
He says we are gonna be friends
I’ll be with you til the end
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know

Little Johnny where did you get your
courage and your name
You know you are just a boy
but to you we’re all the same
So let’s go back to second grade
see that girl you know her name
Be a nice boy and you will see
that sometimes it’s as easy as one two three

Little Johnny
be a nice boy
Little Johnny
be a nice boy
Little Johnny

CREDITS


Yellow Ostrich is:

Alex Schaaf
vocals, electric guitar, piano, floor tom, casiotone, bass
Michael Tapper
drums on 2-3, 5-6, and 8
Jon Natchez
bass, horns, and vocals on 11-13
Alex Bunke
drums on 2, 8, 15-17
Steve Peplin
guitar on 7 and 16
Harrison Dole
bass on 3
Andy Fitzpatrick
bass on 5
Eric Klosterman 
piano on 15

Recorded and mixed by Alex Schaaf
Mastered by Huntley Miller

Michael’s drum parts recorded by Justin Rice in kingston, ny
cover design by Sarah Mulligan

thanks to my family and friends,  great thanks to alex bunke for listening to hundreds of different mixes and giving me feedback
throughout the making of the album, thanks to steve peplin for musical inspiration and guitar playing, thanks to ryan matteson, jon natchez, trey many, beau sorenson, josh rosenfeld and everyone at barsuk, josh wachuta, justin rice, phil kronenberg, eric klosterman, tom williams, harrison dole, andy fitzpatrick, collin mccanna, ian anderson and everyone at afternoon records, colin stiemke, sarah mulligan, nikko benson, thomas wincek, phil stiemke, matt lenz, and anyone else i forgot

VIDEOS