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In Transit

by George Zhen

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    George Zhen's third album, "In Transit" on Compact Disc. Packaging includes a 4-panel full color insert with linear notes. Includes free digital download collection (including three bonus tracks) with purchase.

    Includes unlimited streaming of In Transit via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Digital Album
    Streaming + Download

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

    Get all 4 George Zhen releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of A Chronicle of Midnights, In Transit, Dust of the American Pixel, and George Zhen. , and , .

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1.
In Transit 04:01
Here take a look at this hologram See how it flickers from years of replay It reminds me of Rotterdam Oh, what a scam... Terminals, jetways and turnstiles Waking up wicked and mad at the day Remember how I mad you smile For a little while But sleep don’t come easy When you’re stuck on a seat in the aisle And the neighboring shoulder is colder than stone So you remember that day from hell We were stuck in Atlanta for most of the day And that’s when I made you laugh At that photograph Crying comes easy When your baggage won’t fit overhead And the queue at the counter stretches til dawn We were born in transit Shooting checkerboard landings We were born in transit Not stopping for anything We were born in transit Shooting checkerboard landings We were born in transit Not stopping for anything We’re not landing for anything Not living for anything
2.
On the train to Amsterdam she turned and looked me in the eye Blue and fluid - moving to and fro She said sh had to make a stop Said she had to make a buy Just for a moment A little taste for home Put the package in a box Put the box inside my bag No one will notice - no one will ever know Took the wrong-way taxi cab out to Schiphol just in time For the boarding of a triple-seven home I really can’t explain ‘Cause I don’t understand I got on board that plane With the contraband I must have been insane Oh I’m freakin’ out She bends my brain like a Uri Geller spoon She falls into another nap Magazine upon her lap How can she do this knowing what she knows? My heart is beating in my chest Now I’m hoping for the best “No I’m not nervous. I’m laughing at the show” I really need a drink “Miss, can you bring me one?” I’m clarely on the brink “Yeah, a Coke and rum” I’m daring not to think Yeah, I’m freaking out She bends my brain like a Uri Geller spoon And she melts my heart like a Dali clock at noon She bends my brain like a Uri Geller spoon And she bends me... And upends me... And offends me... Touched the ground at MIA Now I’m wishing it away Confess to nothing - blame it on the girl They find the box inside a bag She turns a wink, a smile, a shag Before you know it we’re on a shuttle bus to Alton Road “I nearly lost my life” “Yeah, I’m crazy like that” “All that pain and strife” “But it’s over now” “Would you be my wife?” “Oh, don’t be absurd...” She bends my brain like a Uri Geller spoon And she melts my heart like a Dali clock at noon She bends my brain And melts my heart She bends my brain like a Uri Geller spoon
3.
Sweet Citabria (free) 04:29
“Hello” she said to me “I guess” On a forgotten Sunday I’d never seen her in a dress I must admit that caught my eye She’s been riding in the rain on a motorcycle How she managed that remains a mystery (Ha, figure it out) Maybe once ro maybe twice I’d seen her truly happy Usually that coincides with me face-down in the mud She’d pull me up, hose me off While she’s smiling at me With a kiss she whispers “How pathetic..” She’s so very smart But doesn’t have a clue That she’s so fucking beautiful There’s nothing I can do When she’s breaking my limbs every time I let her know That she’s so very beautiful I’d like to spend all of my time basking in her summer sunshine So in love with sweet Citabria We were riding in a plane on our way to Ashville The turbulence was so insane I though the wings would rip right off Saring straight ahead she says “I could never love you. Nothing personal. You see, I’m broken.” She’s so very smart But doesn’t have a clue That she’s so fucking beautiful There’s nothing I can do When she’s breaking my limbs every time I let her know That she’s so very beautiful I’d like to spend all of my days dancing in her autumn haze So afraid of sweet Citabria Beneath the power lines of Paris Between the moonlight and the breeze Silhouetted on a terrace All the beauty and the graceful symmetry But you see, she just won’t... She just won’t believe
4.
Babylon Line 05:51
Suffered fools create the din Trippin’ over a lunchbox tin Mother’s voice gently sings Of mockingbirds and diamond tings I find myself there all alone Surrounded by suburban drones Drained by caffeine and regret And racing against the sunset As the day begins to fade Into a velvet cloak of marmalade So hideous and bright And every light is advertising A universe Divine As I’m riding on the Babylon Line The ambassador of seven nations Climbs aboard to Jamaica Station Fins himself standing in the aisle And somehow manages a smile While raindrops on a window race Like crystals grown in outer space they trace the patterns of our sins Pushed and scattered by the wind That cries out your name I awake to find myself on a train Across the great divide From all those cars on sunrise highway You’re always on my mind When I’m riding on the Babylon Line Baby baby maybe you’re the one who’s sane But that’s no excuse for your bad behavior across the great divide And there’s all those trucks stuck on the highway You’re always on my mind As I’m riding on the Babylon Line.... (Hush now baby don’t say a word Mother’s gonna buy you a mockingbird And if that bird refuses to sing Then Mother’s gonna buy you a diamond ring And if that diamond rings don’t shine Then Mother’s gonna buy you your own private island Where we can spend the rest of our lives Dancing. Dancing in the sunshine...)
5.
You obfuscate the details And put the words in my mouth And sell it all at retail... Scared into never having quite enough I’m thinking backwards about that kind of stuff But I’m thinking... Let’s put them in the gallery For all the bastards and rogues Who command outrageous salaries And pin it on the blessed and the damned The ones who’ll pay for this mission with no plan If you see me on the street Please don’t turn away ‘Cause if by chance our eyes should meet I may even smile It’s the cure for the disease called a dumb democracy You must have me confused with some other American You must have me confused with some other American Reach in, dig deep, pull out your love Your forever after... So let’s make a promise One we know we can keep Never let them harm us Turn a fist into a helping hand Tear all the fences down Maybe then they’ll understand We’re thinking If you see me on the street Please don’t turn away ‘Cause if by chance our eyes should meet I may even smile It’s the cure for the disease called a dumb democracy You must have me confused with some other American You must have me confused with some other American You must have me confused with some other American
6.
He was a brilliant social hacker born with the acumen of a demon He could split the mathematics of a tree He put a hundred million dollars stolen from an internet casino into twenty bank accounts he's set up overseas Now he's passing parallels of latitude with frequency and amplitude Here, there, everywhere... Born upon the sound of some 500 angry horses The underworld enforcer, he's arrived He failed to recognize the kid disguised as your typical underachiever who'd grown up to become the most wanted man alive Now he's passing parallels of latitude with frequency and amplitude Here, there, everywhere... Never mean but sometimes rude with latency of gratitude Here, there, everywhere... Socrates rode the bed of nails they call The Eagle out of Dallas Across the open desert to L.A. Became a lab rat at the crack of dawn by having all of his fingerprints redrawn Then they dermal-patched his dirty DNA Now he's passing parallels of latitude with frequency and amplitude Here, there, everywhere... Never mean but sometimes rude Well I saw it on the news Here, there, everywhere...
7.
Cover me - with your raincoat Protect me from the stars that are gonna fall You say you love me - I suppose It's only fair that you're warned From the day I was born I've been holding on to a rope that's torn Building all my castles in the quicksand And fighting off a bullet with a rubber band All my mistakes are kept on file At the local bureau of denial Put on display on the 17th floor For the brave and the utterly bored You tell me - You're not frightened I might believe you for a day Then you'll wonder how this happened Why did I turn out this way From the time I was 15 I've been hypnotized by a headlight beam Building all my castles in the quicksand And fighting off a bullet with a rubber band All of my failures are carefully set Up at the local gallery of regret Something to cherish and be freely ignored By the brave and the utterly bored Surprise me - With an answer To the question of your sanity Insulate me - With your trenchcoat I don't know how this can be From the night I turned 25 I've been the luckiest asshole alive Building all those castles in the quicksand And fighting off a bullet with a rubber band All of my dreams are featured every day At the local cinema matinee With showings at 12 o'clock, 2:30 and four For the brave and the utterly bored Cover me - with your raincoat. Protect me from the stars that are gonna fall
8.
Well goodbye You really need to say goodbye 'Cause your're so mad at everything And you know what the anger brings So you lie Girl, you really need ot learn to drive Because you're swerving all over this road And I don't know but I've been told That the buses are running late today You wonder why I hate? Sometimes I wish I had a gun like Napoleon Solo Don't ask me: "What does it mean?" Yeah, I wish I had a gun like Napoleon Solo It's a utopian dream thing Sometimes the bull is gonna rise when you think it's 'bout to fall And that utopian kommisar has got a line on me I'll be staring down at my feet again So much of everything is all about diverting Attention K-Mart shoppers, the little blue light is on The moment you came I felt the weight Of every little thing I hate And I'll be staring down at my feet again
9.
The afterimage in my mind Plays 'til the end and then rewinds I know each and every frame Beginning with you standing there Open mind and teased up hair And ending with you on a plane And now - knowing your brutal history Some fool will try and solve your mystery You've got to be the brightest thing To come My way I'll never breathe again And now it is you're telling me You've left and gone away To spend six months in Ohio Sometimes it hurts so I pretend That you and I are only friends And time never really heals me It started as a sordid tale About the ghosts of Lauderdale Light never will reveal me And when you come back here you'll probably find That afterimage playing in your mind You've got to be the brightest thing To come My way I'll never breathe again And now it is you're telling me You've left and gone away To spend six months in Ohio It'll look good on your bio To spend maybe a year in Ohio You know I'm not really afraid of the dark 'Cause baby I know you and I could never really be that far apart I'm reaching out across the thousand or so miles inbetween us Hoping that I'll find your hand waiting there.... You've got to be the brightest thing To come My way I'll never breathe again And now it is you're telling me You've left and gone away To spend six months in Ohio It'll look good on your bio To spend a year in Ohio You'll reach tenure in Ohio (Or was that Manhattan, Kansas?)
10.
We're dumber than diesel Trying to appease you Trying to make it right In spite of the weather A supersonic tether Is pulling us outside We have nowhere to go Nothing to see Nothing to hope for A subatomic law Can't erase the things that we saw While we were driving with the lights off Speeding down a blacktop four-lane With nothing but a arm full of promises Reaching in through the sadness Pulling out the madness Letting it be our guide So charming and clever Supporting our endeavor With digital oxide We've got nowhere to go Nothing to see We've got nothing to reach for Because nothing ever dies And no one's gonna stop us tonight While we're driving with the lights off Speeding down a blacktop four-lane With nothing but this fist full of promises We'll be done before dawn And we'll be sleeping with the lights on Hell, there'll be nothing left to explain We don't care what your mother says Now we've got somewhere to go Someplace to see Something to hope for 'Cause nothing ever dies Even when galaxies collide A part of us is always alive While we're driving with our lights off Speeding down a blacktop four-lane With nothing but a world full of promises We'll be done before dawn And we'll be sleeping with the lights on Hell, there'll be nothing left to explain We don't really care what your mother says Care what your mother says
11.
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about

Multi-instrumentalist George Zhen's third album, "In Transit", is a collection of straight-forward indie pop songs spinning tales of hackers, smugglers and other saints.

credits

released November 11, 2011

George Zhen plays everything on this album, from drums to guitars to pianos and vocals, except the following:

Jeremy Zhen playing trombone on track 2
Steven Carroll nailing the guitar solo on track 3
Shira Ridley belting the backing vocals on track 6
David Thompson grooving the bass on track 6
Sam Weitzner and his mean harmonica on track 7
Jake Oliver hitting a chair on track 8

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George Zhen Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Multi-instrumentalist George Zhen weaves melody and songcraft into a sound that is uniquely his own. Piano, guitars, various programming and studio skills on bass and drums have melded into something that is very, very Zhen. You know it when you hear it.

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