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Against My Better Judgement

MAY 30, 2024

Against My Better Judgement

Let's just end it now
Let's end it tonight before I start a fight
I'll ruin what I want
I'll burn down this town if you can't see me now

Against my better judgement
I shouldn't have said all I just said
Against my better judgement
I should have just left left it alone

Don't you dare tell me
Just how I should feel cause it just feels too real
How dare you make me
Feel like a fool I wouldn't do it to you

Against my better judgement
I shouldn't have said all I just said
Against my better judgement
I should have just left left it alone

Against my better judgement
I shouldn't have said all I just said
Against my better judgement
I should have just left left you alone

Personnel

Stephen Salvatore: Vox, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Steve Aliperta: Drums, organ, electric guitar, bass

Produced, recorded, and mixed by Steve Aliperta at Kennedy Studios in Burlington, MA.
Mastered by Rachel Field at Resonant Mastering in Seattle, WA.


Written by: Stephen Salvatore

A Different Kind Of Love / Hate You

DECEMBER 29, 2023

A Different Kind Of Love

Parliaments on your back steps
Talking till there's nothing left
I knew that we would fall apart
Right from the very start

Notes on your apartment door
As I leave to go to work
Trains that always get delayed
When all I want to do is stay
With you, with you

We grew up on drugs and alcohol
We grew up on a different kind of love
We were made to always feel afraid
We were made to always run away

Sometimes love it returns again
Sometimes love it just has to end
I know which one you are to me
But somedays I find it too hard to believe

We grew up on drugs and alcohol
We grew up on a different kind of love
We were made to always feel afraid
We were made to always run
Always run, always run away

Hate You

We're 4000 miles from home
And you feel so alone
And all I find it means nothing at all

Everything I do for you
Much more than what I couldn't do
You yell, "get away from me, get away from me
Get away from me"

You scream, "I hate you and I blame you"

I go where they know my name
The weather up here's still the same
Another day, I'll just wait it out

But nothing's good enough for you
This view it just doesn't do
I walk away from here, walk away from here
Walk away from here

You scream, "I hate you and I blame you for this"

Personnel

Stephen Salvatore: Vox, drums, electric guitar
Steve Aliperta: Piano, strings, synth, electric guitar, bass

Produced, recorded, and mixed by Steve Aliperta at Kennedy Studios in Burlington, MA.
Mastered by Rachel Field at Resonant Mastering in Seattle, WA.


Written by: Stephen Salvatore

Here's To You / Not Today

DECEMBER 5, 2023

Here's To You

There's someone here alone
Battling your demons
Tearing up your picture

Here going through your hallways
Casting a shadow
Ripping down your brilliance

Here, here's to you holding on
All alone in the dark
Here's to you, here's to you
Here, here's to you holding on
All alone in the dark
Here's to you, here's to you

There's someone all along
Fighting off your demons
Holding up your brilliance

Here I'm calling from the attic
I'm dusting off the cobwebs
Rising from the ashes

Here, here's to you holding on
All alone in the dark
Here's to you, here's to you
Here, here's to you holding on
All alone in the dark
Here's to you, here's to you

Hold on, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on

Here, here's to you holding on
All alone in the dark
Here's to you, here's to you
My dear, here's to you holding on
All alone in the dark
Here's to you, here's to you
Here's to you

Not Today

The day has come
And you knew it would
Always on your mind

It came too soon
But they always do
Took you by surprise

No longer death
No longer mourning
No crying or pain

These things have passed, have passed away
Gone away for good
But not today

Personnel

Stephen Salvatore: Vox, drums, acoustic guitar
Steve Aliperta: Piano, strings, synth, bass

Produced, recorded, and mixed by Steve Aliperta at Kennedy Studios in Burlington, MA.
Mastered by Rachel Field at Resonant Mastering in Seattle, WA.


Written by: Stephen Salvatore

Lyrics

I saw you there in your bridal gown
Sitting there thinking I'm not around
I try to smile but it's bringing me
Down, down, down

It started with a photograph
Then in a bar, then at your place undressed
Oh well, baby, I just had to laugh

Cause you are, you are different to me
And when I call your name
You don't act the same, Eleanor

So I tried to go and twist your heart
But life and love, well, they're so far apart
And no one is who they say they are

And nothing ever comes easy
And, no, nothing ever comes for free
In the back of my mind I said to myself

Cause you are, you are different to me
And when I call your name
You don't act the same, Eleanor
I am, I am different to you
And when you call my name
You don't want to stay here anymore

Eleanor, you are my only friend
Don't turn your back upon me
Don't you walk away

I sat alone with your photograph
Fixed a drink, then I went back to bed
And dreamed of all the things we ever said

Cause you are, you are different to me
And when I call your name
You don't act the same
Eleanor, Eleanor
I am, I am different to you
And when you call my name
Won't you hear me say?
I love you, I love you, I love you
Eleanor

Eleanor who?
Eleanor who?
Eleanor who?
Eleanor who?

Personnel

Stephen Salvatore: Vox, drums, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Steve Aliperta: Backing vox, piano, omnichord, electric guitar, bass

Produced, recorded, and mixed by Steve Aliperta at Kennedy Studios in Burlington, MA.
Mastered by Rachel Field at Resonant Mastering in Seattle, WA.


Album art: Stephen Salvatore with title and name by Kathleen Burgess
Shot on a Nikon N8008 with Kodak Portra 400

Written by: Stephen Salvatore

What We're Waiting For

DECEMBER 2, 2022

Lyrics

I drew a line in the sand
Where the tide would come in and try and touch my hand
You threw yourself to the sea
Saying this is where our soul and spirits meet

So we took off all our clothes
As we ran to the ocean and forgot everything we've known
You drew yourself near to me
As we both disappeared underneath the sea

Then I thought, maybe you thought too
If I fell in love with you
That I could become a part of you

I never want to be like this
I never want to be like this
I never want to be like this, without you
I never want to be like this
I never want to be like this
I never want to be like this, without you
Just tell me what we're waiting for

So, I looked up at the stars
As you showed me how they make us who we are
You read the palm of my hand
And you told me all the things that they had planned

Then you smiled because you knew
That I fell in love with you
And I would become a part of you

I never want to be like this
I never want to be like this
I never want to be like this, without you
I never want to be like this
Girl, I never want to be like this
I never want to be like this, without you
Just tell me what we're waiting for

Just tell me what we're waiting for
Just tell me what we're waiting for
Just tell me what we're waiting for
Just tell me what we're waiting for
Just tell me what we're waiting for
Just tell me what we're waiting for
Just tell me what we're waiting for
Just tell me what we're waiting for
Just tell me what we're waiting for

And on and on and on
(I'll throw myself to the sea)

Personnel

Drums, acoustic guitars: Stephen Salvatore
Bass, piano, synth, strings: Steve Aliperta

Recorded and mixed at Kennedy Studios in Burlington, MA by Steve Aliperta
Mastered by Rachel Field at Resonant Mastering in Seattle, WA.


Written by: Stephen Salvatore

Let It Go

NOVEMBER 2, 2018

Lyrics

Say you'll, say you'll let it go
Say you'll move on for me
Say everything you felt before
Doesn't matter anymore, no

Say you'll see me
Believe me
When I say to you from here

Say, say you'll step into the night
Say you know it's time to say goodbye
Say you, say you knew it all along
Though it feels so wrong sometimes

Say you'll hear me
Stay near me
When I say to you from here

Say, say you'll be fine
‘Till it is the truth
Even if it is a lie
Say, say that you'll try
Do it for yourself
Do it for the daylight coming soon

Say, say you're running out of time
The sun is just another star against the sky
Say, say your love is not a crime
Your heart is where your mind wanders

When you need me
Please believe me
When I say to you from here
When I say to you from here

Personnel

Piano/mellotron: Michelle Widrick
Stings and percussion/drum programming: Joe Merrick
Acoustic and electric guitar: Stephen Salvatore

Vocals: Caitlin Carey

Recorded at Joe Merrick's Guilty Dog Studio in Marshfield, MA and at home
Produced, mixed, and mastered by Joe Merrick

My Charon Shine

JANUARY 10, 2017

Lyrics

In the middle of a talk
In the middle of your full-sized bed
Before you're getting dressed
You start to cry

As you tell me what you were
I tell you those are things I'd never be
As soon as we're getting deep
We rush to leave, we rush to leave

Now everyone that I have known
And everyone that I have ever seen
Is asking me
If I'm okay, I'm not okay

Well, maybe, baby in a different time
Or maybe in a different place
You say, "it's up to fate"
I plead, "I fear in fate - its taken you away from me"
Please just stay

Cause sometimes in Love we deny that we fall
For the one we want
And sometimes in Love we risk all we've got
For somebody's heart
And the things I do, I risk them for you
Till I've got nothing at all
I said nothing, I said nothing
I said nothing, nothing, oh
Nothing, nothing, nothing
Nothing, nothing, nothing
Not a thing, not a thing, not a thing
Not a thing at all
I miss you, I miss you
Just don't leave

Just don't leave

Personnel

Acoustic guitars, drums, vocals: Stephen Salvatore
Strings written by: Michelle Widrick
Piano, backing vocals: Michelle Widrick
Bass, electric guitar: Matthew LaPierre

Strings performed by: Marissa Licata
Recorded, engineered, and mixed by: Alex Allinson at The Bridge Sound and Stage in Cambridge, MA
Mastered by: Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East Mastering in Cambridge, MA

Album art by: Brian Thomas

To Be Loved

DECEMBER 18, 2015

Lyrics

I want to know what it's like
To be loved by someone else
To not hide from myself
Anymore

You seem to know what it's like
To be loved by someone else
To have your heart protected
And adored

But all I've loved to this point I've loved alone
And all I fear is all I felt, or all I've known

But if you could love me
Oh, if you could really love me
It would be so unspeakable
If you could love me
Oh, if you could really love me
You'd find something no one has found
If you could love me
I could hit the bottom of the sea
And still be so unsinkable
If you could love me
Oh, if you could really love me
We might make something beautiful

I make me wanna believe
That there's nobody else
If living was so easy
I'd want more

So do you want to believe
That you're my someone else?
Who'll pick up all my pieces
At the door

But just be warned, all I've loved I've loved alone
And all I fear, is all I felt, but you should know
And you should know that

It's not natural, darling
To live this life all alone
You'll find now

But if you could love me
Oh, if you could really love me
It would be so unspeakable
If you could love me
Oh, if you could really love me
You'd find something no one has found
If you could love me
I could hit the bottom of the sea
And still be so unsinkable
If you could love me
Oh, if you could really love me
We might make something beautiful

Something beautiful

Personnel

Recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered by Jason Dunn at Mad Science Audio Lab in Allston, MA.

Drums, acoustic guitar, vocals: Stephen Salvatore
Electric guitar, piano, bass, backing vocals: Jason Dunn
Additional backing vocals: Mallory Piggott

Album photo: Ioana Bentum Photography

Angel For Hire

DECEMBER 1, 2013

Lyrics

In the autumn when she was twenty-four
With a rose in her hair and looking for more
Out of nowhere came, like some movie scene
A man in red getting ready to leave

A note in his hand to a lover torn
Broken hearted couldn't take anymore
And she didn't laugh, didn't even speak
She just took his hand, and she kissed his cheek

She was an angel for hire
Set this earth on fire
Working on the streets
Down on Harbor Beach
Trying to make ends meet
To break from this scene
That they put her in
Since she's been eighteen

She said, "You might drown, love is just a war
One worth fighting trying to reach for the shore
And some people tire, and some retreat
But everyone looks for someone they need"

She was an angel for hire
Set this earth on fire
Working on the streets
Down on Harbor Beach
Trying to make ends meet
To break from this scene
That they put her in
Since she's been eighteen

Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh

I laid my money down, said, "I couldn't stay"
She said, "Honey, we all work to get paid"
Lit her cigarette, told me not to speak
If it made it easier on me

She was an angel for hire
Set this earth on fire
Working on the streets
Down on Harbor Beach
Trying to make ends meet
To break from this scene
That they put her in
Since she's been eighteen

Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on

Hold on

Personnel

Written by: Stephen Salvatore

Guitar and vocals: Stephen Salvatore
Piano and strings: Jason Dunn

Produced, mixed, and mastered by Jason Dunn at Mad Science Studios in Allston, MA.