The Whole Bolivian Army: self-titled album

The Whole Bolivian Army (1997)

"Their lyrics -- sometimes mocking and shocking -- jump out from behind opera-trained singer Mary Beth Kite's vocals: 'What's so special about that ring in your ear?/ What's so special about that ring in your crotch?/ It's been done before, it'll happen again' from 'Born Naked'; and 'You better watch out/ Keep your head low/ You better look out/ She's going shopping' from the snarling, punkish 'Bitch in a Volvo.' Others are luscious memories or delectable love songs. Passion, catharsis, sarcasm, melody, and a few Latin beats; it's all there with a sweet vengeance."
— Jessica Anenberg, Seattle Weekly, Aug. 27, 1997

"This is a band that is going to force the world to take notice! The Bolivians have delivered the goods with this 13-cut masterpiece of catchy and quirky pop/rock that will have you humming these songs to work. This Seattle band features super songwriting and one of the better female singers in the Northwest, Mary Beth Kite. My favorite is 'Toaster' (also featured on the Blimp Kitty Records Compilation last year) but all the songs are first rate. The Bolivians produced this latest release at Hanzsek Studios in Seattle and the quality is A+! ( Scott Ross produced this excellent CD.)"
— Michael Green, Musicians Network, June 1997

"Not only have The Whole Bolivian Army won their fair share of 'Battle of the Band' competitions around town, but with song titles like 'Bitch in a Volvo' and lyrics asking, '...what's so special about that ring in your crotch?,' it's clear that they're no longer playing nice. The hooks on their self-titled full-length follow up to their EP Hazen are a bit more brash than before, but TWBA's wham-bam guitar rock spans the spectrum of rock sound. The folksy 'Follow Him Down' and 'Sunnyside' feature Mary Beth Kite's prominent vocals without sounding wimpy, and if it's guitar yer into, 'Born Naked' and 'Toaster' will have you sitting in your beanbag chair and wailing air ax late into the night. Let's get it straight, though. TWBA aren't trying to make your eardrums bleed. Instead, they write complex rock songs which make for pretty sweet listening. And there ain't nuthn' wrong with that!"
— David Musolf, Insite, May 1997

SOUND SAMPLES
You can listen to free clips of each song here.

VIDEO
"L.A.K." (Channel 29 Live, 1997)

TRACK LIST
1. Got Yer Ears On
2. Born Naked
3. Bitch in a Volvo
4. Toaster
5. L.A.K.
6. Follow Him Down
7. Sunnyside
8. No One's Father
9. Fear
10. Falling and Again
11. Arbor Man
12. Rock Anthem
13. The Dull Ache

CREDITS: MB, vocals, percussion; Matt Kite, guitar, vocals; Steve Miller, bass; Dave Warburton, drums, percussion. Guest musicians: Kurt Ambruster, tuba; Coral Marchant, cello; Peter Fitzgerald, organ; Rodney Sherwood, gang vocal; Ian K. Larson, percussion. Produced by Scott Ross. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Scott Ross at Hanzsek Audio (Seattle, WA). Music by TWBA. Lyrics by Matt Kite and MB. © 1997 Gargantuan Records/TWUBBA Music (ASCAP).

LYRICS: Below.

Got Yer Ears On

(instrumental)

Born Naked

tell me what's weird about long hair
tell me what's weird about bald heads
what's so special about that ring in your ear?
what's so special about that ring in your crotch?

it's been done before
it'll happen again
I was born naked
I'm more than what I wear
and I don't care about my hair
I was born naked

tell me what's weird about big boots
tell me what's weird about flannel and camouflage
what's so special about black?
what's so special about pale skin?

you've been done before
you'll happen again
you were born naked
you're more than what you wear
and I don't care about your hair
you were born naked

tell me what's weird about bouffant hairdos
tell me what's weird about bell bottoms and silk shirts
what's so special about powdered wigs and fake moles?
so special about sans-culottes, troubadour lycra
turkish top hats, freakish flop mats?

we've been done before...

Bitch in a Volvo

bitch in a Volvo
you better watch out
bitch in a Volvo
keep your head low
bitch in a Volvo
you better look out
bitch in a Volvo
she's going shopping

Toaster

I met a man who found God in a toaster
he said, "progress is the only sacrament worth dying for"
toaster
die for
die for toaster

didn't matter he didn't know
the sound of frogs doing
the Hallelujah Chorus
on a warm winter evening
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

I met a man who found God in a toaster
he said, "progress is the only sacrament worth dying for"
toaster
die for
die for toaster

didn't matter he didn't know
the smell of skunks mating
he had his fucking toaster

L.A.K.

well, I've never watched anyone die before
so forgive me if I do something wrong
I brought a book with me
and I could read from it, if you want me to

but I don't know where you're going
I don't know where you're going

I'll catch up with you someday

I wish you could tell me what you want
what's going on inside your head
let me rub your feet
it's all I can do

are you afraid?
do you want out of here?

I'll catch up with you someday

Follow Him Down

he used to cut logs from the hillsides
until his hands ached and he was covered with sweat
that's how he got such big arms

but the mill's as empty as me now
nothing but ghosts and broken track
and he lives on the other side of the country

and I'm gonna follow him down

his father used to fish in the river
until his hip-waders filled with water
he was always humming out of key

it's still got the power to heal
still as cold as the mountain that feeds it
but the river's not the same without him

I just came to say goodbye

and I'm gonna follow him down

his wife drove up the side of Shasta
long after he left her
the orange sky couldn't deliver her

I just came to say goodbye

and I'm gonna follow her down

I just came to say goodbye

Sunnyside

if I was an ant
I'd swallow this apricot
from the inside out
from the outside in

two weeks in August
spill out into forever
like a life I lived before
before I lived a life

I'm sorry, Sunnyside

found a dead June bug
hollow in the grass
I feel much safer now
it's safe to feel much

a crop duster dives
until the summer disappears
and I can feel the sun go down
and I go down with the sun

I'm sorry, Sunnyside

No One's Father

hero, you're my hero
hero, don't leave me here
someday, I'm coming for you

I know you did the best you could
but I can't stop from thinking
somebody stop this sinking
I can see you're human just like me
but I can't stop from dreaming
in league with the guillotine

father, you're no one's father
father, you killed her
someday, I'm coming for you

I know you did the best you could
but I can't stop from thinking
somebody stop this sinking
I can see you're human just like me
but I can't stop from dreaming
in league with the guillotine

Fear

I don't know why I'm so afraid
of getting in the water
and I don't know why I'm so afraid
of going out at night

I killed the Boy with the Golden Hair
I sold the Wild Man to the freak show

I don't know why I'm so afraid
of standing next to you
and I don't know why I'm so afraid
of everything

I killed the Boy with the Golden Hair
I sold the Wild Man to the freak show

I don't know why I'm so afraid
to drink my own darkness
to dream by myself
to submerge with the worst
to touch fear and let it run loose

Falling and Again

never so fast
too wild it was
where do we go when we die?
falling through cemeteries
I'm running to see
I know who it is who is there

I'm still here, left behind
I'm still here, left behind

falling through cemeteries
I'm running to see
I know who it is who is there
I can drift through darkness
falling and falling and again
I think I don't mind this at all

I'm still here, left behind
I'm still here, left behind

je ne sais quoi
I don't know what

Arbor Man

I can see you weeding in the garden
are we there yet?
you can smell me
(too many pot stickers)
is this love?

Arbor Man, you can save anything
Arbor Man, make this dead tree sing

we've got plenty -- plenty to wade through
do we have the patience?
that yellow ocean home with the wrap-around porch
can we build it?

Arbor Man, your thumb's turned all green
Arbor Man, you've come to rescue me

woolly thyme and lavender
I can see your secret garden now
will we live to see it bloom?
I've got this vision
and you've got your shovel
what are we waiting for?

Arbor Man, you can save anything
Arbor Man, make this dead tree sing
Arbor Man, you don't look so good
Arbor Man, we won't hurt you

I can see you kneeling in the garden
are we there yet?

Rock Anthem

your memory really sucks!
for you remember everything
and that's not fair to me
and everyone who never screwed you

I'm not sure if you know
but truth is, I forgot
so I guess it no longer matters
how much of anything stays

what is all this?
why don't we just take it off and run?

you pushed me down the well!
no bucket coming to rescue me
it's not your fault, though
that I don't remember a thing

seeing you through the hole in my head
I know your reason was good
who could have known I was ready?
you knew, and I'm done

what is all this?
why don't we just take it off and run?

what is all this?
why don't we just take it off and run?
one shot, and I'm done

The Dull Ache

happiness makes him so tired
happiness makes him so tired
he can't help it if misery makes him feel alive
if he loves the winter
the dull ache, dark skies

sitting by the window
staring outside
and wondering what it's like

I wonder what it's like
I wonder what it's like
I wonder what it's like
to be comfortable
to be a part of the race
to kill the curiosity
to forget the dead