American Night, by Benchmarks

American Night

by Benchmarks

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J McKee Benchmarks are an incredibly talented band. Singer songwriters and superb musicians. I had to buy cds from the band for my friends because they loved this EP so much. Favorite track: Paper Napkins.

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American Night-inspired design on blue Gildan Ultra Cotton t-shirts. 100% cotton. Available in S, M, or L. XL and XXL are SOLD OUT! Comes with a free Benchmarks button!

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Physical copy of American Night on CD. Comes with a Benchmarks button.

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1.	Roman Candles 01:55	lyrics	buy track

2.	April Fire 04:09	lyrics	buy track

3.	American Night 03:36	lyrics	buy track

4.	Liner Notes 02:43	lyrics	buy track

5.	Just Fine 04:04	lyrics	buy track

6.	Paper Napkins 03:49	lyrics	buy track

credits

released June 23, 2015

T-Shirts/other albums available at www.sofaburn.com/store-cjg9

Todd Farrell Jr. - Vocals, Guitar
Eli Rhodes - Guitar
Matt "Goose" Rewinski - Bass
Jack Whitis - Drums, Percussion, Keys, Guitar

Kelly Smith (Glossary) - Vocals on "Roman Candles" and "April Fire"
Micah Schnabel (Two Cow Garage) - Vocals on "American Night"
Sean Bennett - Percussion on "Paper Napkins"

All lyrics written by Todd Farrell Jr.

All music written by Benchmarks

Recorded at Bedbug Studios in Kingston Springs, TN

Produced and engineered by Jack Whitis and Todd Farrell Jr.

Mixed by Ryan McFadden in Nashville, TN

Track 6 mixed by Eli Rhodes at The Roost in Nashville, TN

Mastered by Eli Rhodes at The Roost

Cover photo by Chad Cochran (Chad Cochran Photography)

Cover design by Melanie Hall and Jack Whitis

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about

Benchmarks Nashville, Tennessee

Benchmarks is an alternative rock band from Nashville, TN. The band released its debut full-length, Our Undivided Attention, on March 24, 2017 via SofaBurn Records.

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Track Name: Roman Candles: let's get out of here while we still can
let's get out of here while we're still alive
let's burn, burn, burn like Roman candles in the sky
into the American Night
Track Name: April Fire: sometimes wish I was my father
build a decent life with honor
instead of chasing my own tail

it's the panic of my generation
bills and wedding invitations
instead of records in the mail

I've spent my whole life
falling in love with girls that I just met
now the sweethearts are gone
and all the Ramones are dead

these are the same streets
I walked when I was eighteen
and didn't have a clue of what to do (with you)

these are the same lights
I passed on all those same nights
driving home with no place left to go (alone)

so I call on April Fire
to burn away my fears
and pull me out of bed
because the Summer's almost here

turn this night into a dream
and this dream into a day
and as I lay to rest
so will this when I awake

these are the same streets
I walked when I was eighteen
and didn't have a clue of what to do (with you)

these are the same lights
I passed on all those same nights
driving home with no place left to go (alone)

these are the same streets
I walked when I was eighteen
and I still don't have a clue of what to do

these are the same lights
I passed on all those same nights
as I drive home with no place left to go
Track Name: American Night: it was a Middle Tennessee Summer
it was 102 degrees
we had everywhere to go
and nowhere to be

and there's a million ways for people
to get to where they go
some like a ladder
we prefer a road

let's get out of here while we still can
let's get out of here while we're still alive
let's burn, burn, burn like Roman Candles in the sky
into the American Night

it was a Middle Tennessee Night
it was a quarter after two
I decided I just won't sleep
there's better things to do

the Earth was still and the Night was quiet
and I lay in the dew
but this can't last forever
because September will catch us soon

let's get out of here while we still can
let's get out of here while we're still alive
let's burn, burn, burn like Roman Candles in the sky
into the American Night

and I still remember the time we said
we could pack our things and head out West
sleep under the stars and change our names
like Wild Bill and Calamity Jane
dodging the law and robbing trains
and no two days could be the same
live like outlaws, never to be tames

let's get out of here while we still can
let's get out of here while we're still alive
let's burn, burn, burn like Roman Candles in the sky
into the American Night
Track Name: Liner Notes: sometimes I wait for you in places
where we might get to speak
and we can talk a while about the weather

and you probably don't notice
how I hang on every breath
and a prayer that I might just say something clever

because there's things I'd like to tell you
and there's things I'd like to know
but tonight, we'll have to settle for movies and records

because everything that I could say
has been said by better men before
and I can't bear the thought to give you lesser

but I don't need to find my place
in those songs they wrote
I just want to find my way into
your Liner Notes

so in a few clever lines
a repetition and a rhyme
alliteration and some subtle imagery

I see your face a thousand times
in every song that they could write
configuration of my heart on their sleeves

but I don't need to find my place
in those songs they wrote
I just want to find my way into
your Liner Notes

someday I'll bring poets and prophets
from their feet and to the ground
until then, I'll see you around

so when you think my feet are dragging
or I'm fumbling on my words
or my balance seems a little less than sturdy

please don't let it be off-putting
I'm just running through my head
for a few good words for you that could be worthy

but I don't need to find my place
in those songs they wrote
I just want to find my way into
your Liner Notes
Track Name: Just Fine: it was a restless Sunday evening in December
just like the kind I've feared for my whole life
I was stumbling home from some dingy tavern
about the time he asked for you to be his wife

and to be honest, I didn't think too much about it
and I knew this day would come, to be fair
but it struck me that it didn't strike me quite so hard
if I feel it, I don't know where

because nothing's really wrong
I've just never been alone for quite this long
I take it one day at a time
convincing myself that everything's just fine
I'm Just Fine

Well, Julie dyed her hair and went off the deep end
sometimes I think I see her around town
and Katie, she still lives down in Georgia
I still call her when there's no one around

and me, I play guitar in dingy taverns
just like I've always wanted my whole life
and I never feel alone on the Road
only when I come back home late at night

but nothing's really wrong
I've just never been alone for quite this long
I take it one day at a time
convincing myself that everything's just fine

days and weeks turn into years
but I don't spend my nights in tears
I just wake myself up Tomorrow
it's a big old world out there
don't want to miss it before I go

nothing's really wrong
I've just never been alone for quite this long
I take it one year at a time
convincing myself that everything's just fine

because nothing's really wrong
I've just never been alone for quite this long
I take it one day at a time
convincing myself that everything's just fine
convincing myself that everything's alright
convincing myself that everything's Just Fine
Track Name: Paper Napkins: well I'm in Chicago, and the Birds are in Cleveland
and I haven't seen a full game on TV all season
it's OK, because I get updates on my phone
the same ones I get from my friends so I feel less alone

well it's pack your bags
put your luggage in the car
and I'll call you when I get there
wherever we are

it's Highways in August, and it's Airports at Christmas
it's calling up friends who say, "sorry man, just missed us"
it's these places I go and the things I bring home
it's chasing these places and things that I'll never quite become

well it's empty your pockets
have your boarding pass in hand
and it's take off your belt and shoes
and it's rearrange your plans

it's words left unsaid, bills left unpaid
friends left for dead and beds left unmade
it's talks about money and discussing religion
it's disappointing my friends and my Seasonal Depression

it's the War on TV and the news as it happens
it's writing these songs on airport Paper Napkins
it's coming back home to unopened letters
it's Surviving the Winter if we Stick it Out Together

because there's grass to be grown and there's Baseball Weather
it's less than 100 days until pitchers and catchers
so let's raise one more glass to the Darkness and sing
one more tiny prayer that we make it until Spring

and it's trey tables up
put your seat backs upright
and it's buckle up your seatbelt
and it's "have a nice flight"

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