1. music
  2. community

Of Human Bondage

by Eliot Wilder

/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. Paying supporters also get unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app.
    Purchasable with gift card
    Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.

      name your price

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    188
    releases

    Get all 188 Eliot Wilder releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Diary of a Plague Year, Wolves, Woebegone, The Far Country, Undiscovered Country, Sleep TIght, Stories to Tell, Skin, and 180 more. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $307.50 USD or more (50% OFF)

     

1.
Of Human Bondage 04:39
lyrics
buy track
One day all my dreams got squashed By the madness of this world I sit before you now a human wreck A yarn of glide and purl I got more stories than I can count They swirl about me like a symphony It’s at this point I’d like to interject As humble as I can be I’d like to make the smallest request Won’t you hear my plea Please set me free The air down don’t it smell so good Like the devil’s cooking up rotten eggs People try to get on down, get on down But they stand on wobbly legs No one seems to know how they got here But it feels like an eternity It’s at this point I’d like to interject As humble as I can be I’d like to make the smallest request Won’t you hear my plea Please set me free You know you hold the key Won’t you hear my plea Won’t you please set me free Sometimes I think I died years ago In that crash on Route 46 It’s like an episode of the Twilight Zone Where suddenly I didn’t exist There was the before and there is the now And there’s no shared history It’s at this point I’d like to interject As humble as I can be I’d like to make the smallest request Won’t you hear my plea Please set me free
2.
Two Different Devils 05:04
lyrics
buy track
We came from the same place But wound up at different destinations We both picked our poisons We had our opposite aspirations You had a head for business I was an artsy type guy Sometimes I think you're jealous of me But I can't understand the reason why You went this way, I went that way We could never get ourselves aligned You had savvy, you had courage I never knew what I was hoping to find Two different devils Two different devils Chasing us down, down, down You do your skiing in Aspen While I trudge through the Boston snow Your daughter went to NYU But where my kid will go I don't know Why have you forsaken me When you're the one with all the luck Doubt you'd want to swap places With a guy who can't seem to make a buck You are a smart guy, you are a sharp guy You never seem to get it wrong You got the brass ring You got the golden fleece And all I got is this crummy song
3.
Million Pieces 05:07
lyrics
buy track
Part of me is here Part of me is there That’s me all over Here, there and everywhere I try to hold together But I always fall apart This puzzle that is me Looks like abstract art I’m in a million pieces And none of them quite fit I’m in a million pieces They all seem counterfeit When will I find salvation When will I find my joy I been out here in this desert Ever since I was a boy I’m in a million pieces I’m in a million pieces All these errant feelings I want to hold them in But they keep popping up Much to my chagrin Never had much protection No one to go out on a limb It’s always just me all alone Lonesome Joe my pseudonym I been out here in this desert I have a mighty thirst I beseech you for a drink You said first things first You said it’s not the water Not the water that I need You offered me your hand And I take your lead
4.
Your Ride's Here 04:51
lyrics
buy track
You did all you could Gave all you had to give Until you just plumb ran out of time You lost heart You lost your reason for being Got all the way down to your very last dime Don't you waste another day Don't you let time slip away You may find you're at the thin end of the wedge Prepare for the worst Jump in headfirst Take a stand and make a pledge Get ready to go, no don't you be slow The horn is honking, your ride's here Pack up your stuff Make sure you have enough Run out to the curb, your ride's here You did all you could Gave all you had to give You dug your heels Into the bottomless deep Why should you care You had nothing to gain While the world around you Has fallen asleep Hop aboard, hop aboard, hop aboard Get on, get on, get on We're pulling out of here right as we speak Are you going to be with us Are you going to stand there and dawdle Are going to jump right in And rule with the rest of the meek
5.
Winter Will Come 03:08
lyrics
buy track
When you come back It will be cold 'round here The leaves will have blown away With a change in the atmosphere There'll be a nor'easter And a bottle of rum Pile on the blankets Winter will come I will have missed you To say the least My lips will be chapped All life will have ceased I'll slip on black ice And break my leg I'll hang all my coats Up on a peg I'll light a candle And I'll watch it burn I'll hold out hope That you will return
6.
The Water Is Rising 04:01
lyrics
buy track
There's danger here And there's danger there Sparks are flying everywhere Anger on the left, anger on the right There can be no peace There is only fight, fight, fight You wanna fight, you wanna fight But who can tell you what is right The water rising, going over the top The water is rising It don't ever stop, no, no It is flooding your basement Gonna wash you away You can't stop it Here comes judgment day There's hatred here And there's hatred there People are hatin' everywhere Fighting on the left, fighting on the right And the ones that win are the ones with might You gotta have might, have might But who in the end is upright, forthright There are righteous here And there are righteous there Everyone's righteous everywhere Slogans on the left, slogans on the right It's us against them Black versus white, black, white Dynamite, it’s dynamite And who ever sees the warning light Goodnight
7.
Girl From New York City 04:15
lyrics
buy track
Must be nice to be young and pretty To be the girl from New York City Must be nice to be young and pretty To be the girl from New York City Well all the boys they want to hold your hand And say you're their special one And all the boys they want to kiss your lips And caress you like a gun But you don't want none of that, you say You want to do just as you please You just as soon be all alone Than to be someone who will appease Go on and get away Go on and get away from me I don't want to be with any of you I'm the girl from NYC Well all of the boys they got a thing for you A big ol thing that goes down to their loins And all of the boys they all dream of you As being better than a girl from Des Moines But you don't want to be a part of it You just want what you want And what you want is piece of mind Not to be a phony debutante
8.
Time Immemorial 04:40
lyrics
buy track
You have got a hand in everything You say it's fall And when it is spring You decide how men should wear their hair Your influence is everywhere You have reigned Since time immemorial You have had your fun You have reigned Since time immemorial And now your time is done You strut around like you're king of the world Maybe that's because you are You see the peasants starving in the streets From the back of a chauffeur-driven car All bad things they must come to an end Time to collect the crown jewels Find another country to take you in Another country of willing fools Your bags are pack and you are set to go Kiss the help goodbye "I will miss you each and every one But now it's time for me to fly"
9.
Runaway Days 05:37
lyrics
buy track
Gotta run, run, run Gotta run, run, run Gotta run, runaway days Never going back to where I been Never going back to way back when Gotta run, run, run, runaway days Gotta run, run, run, runaway days Somebody tells ya they can sell ya the key The key to the land of free Better beware and be ready to go Ready to go Look out below Somebody tells ya they can show ya the way They way to a brighter day Better beware of and be ready to rock Be ready to rock Before the chime of the clock
10.
Gone From Here 04:44
lyrics
buy track
Wish I had the time to say goodbye But I gotta be moving right along I’ve packed my stuff Ain’t that much Just some socks, some shirts And this here song Don’t know where I’m going But this much is clear Gotta get going out of here I am gone, gone from here And I won’t be coming back I am gone, gone from here Out of the blue into the black Gone from here I am sorry if I brought you down You should know I had good intentions Yeah I get it It don’t make no sense My disbelief and its suspensions What do you care, I’m out of your hair And I am out the door Just like that I will disappear Just like that I'm gone from here Don’t know where I’m going And I don’t care Don’t got no forwarding address You can have my stuff For what it’s worth So sorry about the mess When I get there, I’ll drop you a line Farewell to you my porcupine
11.
No Going Back 05:15
lyrics
buy track
Those were the days Those happy days Those days of joy Those days of fun I had the time Time of my life But now those days they are done There's no going back No going back Now I have lost Lost my way Can't see the sky For the sun I had the world Square in my hands But now that world it's all gone It's all a dream A dream so strange It is a fading memory I can't explain A goddamn thing It's a million miles Away from me I had it all All I could want Then I pissed it all away And now I cling for my dear life Among the ruins and decay
12.
It's Yesterday Today 05:12
lyrics
buy track
Had time to think about the world at large Had time to think but I didn't take charge I have some regret but what can you do Go back in time and live it anew And it's yesterday It's yesterday today It would be nice if we could change the past It would be nice if the die weren't cast I would be humble, maybe not so cavalier I'd give all away A life of good cheer Time is a-wasting Time's flying by Time is as finite as a summer sky The clock is a-ticking Can't turn back the hands We think we know it all but who understands

about

“There's always one who loves and one who lets himself be loved.”
―W. Somerset Maugham

credits

released November 8, 2025

Cover "Of Human Bondage" by Eliot Wilder

Songs written and performed by Eliot Wilder

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Eliot Wilder image

Eliot Wilder Boston, Massachusetts

“Keep ravens and they will tear your eyes out.”

contact / help

Contact Eliot Wilder

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like Eliot Wilder, you may also like: