Get all 11 Jaspar Lepak releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of So Strong, P Is for Placenta, My Own Moves, I Am Human (Live), My Right To Choose, One Brave Life, Desert Ghosts, Close to Me, and 3 more.
1. |
I Am Human
03:22
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You don’t know me but I’m someone like you
I am a woman, I am human too
I am your mother, your daughter, your sister, your friend
I am a woman, I am human
You don’t know me but I dream just like you
I’ve got big plans, important things to do
I’ve got my liberty, I’ve got my happiness to pursue
You don’t know me, but I’m just like you
How can a person be expected to live
With no autonomy, with no choice in what they give?
Can’t you see me for all that I am?
I am a woman, I am human
You could be me, with one roll of the dice
You could lose everything, all of your power, your voice
When it was written, it was one vote for every white man
We will lose everything if we let this stand
How can a person be expected to die
No more than a vessel for a possible life?
Can’t you see me for all that I am?
I am a woman, I am a human
I’m not a sinner, I’m not yours to control
I’m not the cause of the fall of man
I am your mother, your daughter, your sister, your lover, your friend
You already know me, and you’ve got to trust me
You already know me and you’ve got to trust me
You already know me, I am human, I am human, I am human
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2. |
My Own Moves
03:45
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I stayed up late last night with a glass of wine
Turned the tv on just to pass the time
Two people fell in love right there on the screen
And I remembered how we used to be
When our blood was young, when our hearts were sure
When love was easy
It’s just the way we learned to dance
You take the lead, I’ll follow your steps
Now it’s my turn to trust my own moves
But it ain’t easy, no it ain't easy
Do you remember when we used to talk all night?
Hold each other close till the morning light?
There was no holding back, only letting go
An open road ahead, we couldn’t wait to travel
I felt so understood, the future shined so bight
When love was easy
It’s just the way we learned to dance
You take the lead, I’ll follow your steps
Now it’s my turn to trust my own moves
But it ain’t easy, no it ain't easy
They never tell you how time’s gonna wear you down
You’ll break your promises, give up without a sound
Two people build a wall that they can’t break through
Doing hurtful things they swore they'd never do
When their blood was young, when their hearts were sure
When love was easy
It’s just the way we learned to dance
You take the lead, I’ll follow your steps
Now it’s my turn to trust my own moves
But it ain’t easy, no it ain't easy
Now it’s my turn to trust my own damn moves
But it ain’t easy, no it ain't easy
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3. |
Mary
03:55
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Mother Mary, help me get through
I don’t know how to do it all, and I’m calling on you
God hasn’t walked a mile in a woman’s shoes
Mother Mary, help me get through
Mother Mary, was work ever done?
Did you doubt your own competence? Did you have any fun?
Was life just a backseat ride to raising God’s son?
Mother Mary, was work every done?
I, I am just one woman
Stretched like a sail on a boat that is too far from shore
And the waves they just keep rolling
Is it a sin if I want something more?
Mother Mary, did you ever disappear?
Did you ever skip town for awhile to get your head clear?
Did you ever learn to give it all while your light just fades?
Mother Mary, did you give yourself away?
I, I am just one woman
Stretched like a sail on a boat that is too far from shore
And the waves they just keep rolling
Is it a sin if I want something more?
And I, I remember your face
How it shined in that church, full of beauty and grace
You were the image of love, holy mother of God
Were you ever enough?
Mother Mary, how did you grieve?
The loss of your brightest self, the life that you dreamed
My child is the greatest gift I've ever received
But Mother Mary, how did you grieve?
I, I am just one woman
Stretched like a sail on a boat that is too far from shore
And the waves they just keep rolling
Tell me the truth, did you ever want more?
And is it a sin if I want something more?
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4. |
P Is for Placenta
02:06
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We all learned once upon a time that when an egg and sperm collide
That egg becomes fertilized and eventually a baby
But there’s an unsung hero here, an afterthought we should revere
Before that egg turns embryo, it first becomes a zygote
That zygote cell divides and splits, and soon becomes a blastocyst
And that blastocyst makes two things, not just one
A brand new organ built from scratch
That feeds that fetus till it’s hatched
Now, everybody, raise a glass, a toast to the placenta!
P is for placenta, not pizza, pint or please
It’s the motherboard of human life, it’s everything you need
The placenta is a masterpiece of intricate design
A maternal fetal interface connecting space and time
Both hospital and pharmacy, a restaurant and more
It acts as kidneys, heart, and lungs until that baby’s born!
P is for placenta, not pasta or poutine
It’s a big box store, a smorgasbord
It’s everything you need!
The placenta isn’t pretty, it looks like a piece of meat
It smells musky like a liver, but it’s still a wholesome treat
You can roast it in the oven, dehydrate it into pills,
You can drink placenta smoothie, it is sworn to heal your ills!
P is for placenta, not perfume or potpourri
Its abilities are amazing, we finally see your beauty!
P is for placenta, we will pass you by no more
We celebrate your gift to life….
And raise a glass once more—placenta!
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5. |
So Strong
03:16
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It strikes like lightening, shatters the sky
Rolls through you like thunder, cracks your world open wide
You ride the waves as you push through the pain
You have never felt so strong
It pulls like quicksand, swallows the ground
You’re caught in a riptide, you can’t swim your way out
You lean into the flow as you learn to let go
You have never felt so strong
But the world doesn’t want your strength
It expects you to find your way back
To your old shape, to your old shape
It moves like a river, sweeps you away
Say goodbye to your old self, you will never be the same
You are more than you were, you give more than you take
You have never felt so strong
But the world doesn’t want your strength
It expects you to find your way back
To your old shape, to your old shape
And then she’s with you, pressed to your skin
Her eyes wide open, just taking you in
You hold her gaze, so in love and so amazed
You have never felt so strong, you have never felt so strong
But the world doesn’t want your strength
It expects you to find your way back
To your old shape, to your old shape
To your old shape, and forget your strength
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6. |
Queens of the Desert Sun
05:16
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When time was our friend
We were children as wild as the weeds
We were fearless and bold strong queens
Of the desert sun and heat
Without a care in the world
We roamed through the streets
Your house was a few doors down
And you always welcomed me
I never had a friend like you
The kind that time throws your way
And I never knew how lucky I was
Until time tried to take you away
The games that we played
We were never afraid to dream
We were stronger than anyone knew
More powerful than we seemed
Adventure, it called
You answered and traveled the world
And now you're the mother of two
Brave, beautiful girls
I never had a friend like you
The kind that time throws your way
And I never knew how lucky I was
Until time tried to take you away
I still hear the birds singing at first light
I still hear the dogs barking late into the night
Home was a place I knew
Because I had a friend like you
The secrets we hold
Our bodies keep hidden inside
They betray all the plans we have made
They eat us alive
I wish I could know
That heaven was real
That we'll dream once again in that place
Where everything is healed
I never had a friend like you
The kind that time throws your way
And I never knew how lucky I was
Until time tried to take you away
Time tried to take you away
Time tried to take you
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7. |
Kind
04:04
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I haven't been kind lately
I've mostly been tired
At least that's my excuse lately
For harsh words and hard lines
I haven't been kind lately
Sometimes I'm even cruel
I just haven't had time lately
To do more than make it through
And I haven't been looking up at the big blue sky
And seeing sunshine after the rain
I've only seen clouds lately
I've only seen gray
I haven't been honest lately
It feels much easier to lie
I do my best to keep smiling for you
Pretend that everything is fine
I haven't been myself lately
I feel somewhere far away
Been living like a ghost or a shadow
Trying to hide from all this pain
And I haven't been looking up at the big blue sky
And seeing sunshine after the rain
I've only seen clouds lately
I've only seen gray
I used to think of myself as someone
Who always tried to find the light in the dark
But believe me this world's got me down
I'm falling apart
I haven't been kind lately
Some days I barely feel alive
Everything's just so heavy lately
All I do is survive
I haven't been kind lately
I've mostly been afraid
Afraid to face all my anger and longing
Afraid I don't know how to change
And I haven't been looking up at the big blue sky
And seeing sunshine after the rain
I've only seen clouds lately, I’ve mostly been tired lately
I haven't been kind lately, but I'm trying to be brave
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8. |
When I Was the Moon
03:10
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When I was the moon how I shined through the night
When I was the moon I was proud of my light
I wasn’t afraid of any kind of darkness
When I was the moon, when I was the moon
When I was the moon, I was never shy when I waxed or waned
I knew that time had its circles and its games
I wasn’t afraid to take some time away
I could disappear and be okay
No, I am not at my full glow tonight
Yes, I’m a sliver of ancient light
When I was the moon, I was never afraid to change
I knew my power at every phase
When I was the moon, I never cried for myself
My heart was big enough to see
The universe that holds you and me
The tides how they flood and the tides how they expose
When I was the moon, I knew what the ocean knows
That every part of life is a mystery to behold
When I was the moon, when I was the moon
I knew rhythms and circles and rhythms and circles
And I wasn’t afraid to change
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9. |
Stay True
03:30
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You are measuring success by the wrong things
It’s not in the money or in the praise you receive
It’s in the way you are faithful to your wildest dreams
You are measuring success by the wrong things
You are measuring your beauty by the wrong things
It’s not what you look like or what others might see
It’s in the way you love, it’s in the joy you bring
You are measuring your beauty by the wrong things
And baby I know how you wake up some days
You look at the world and you can’t see your place
When it feels like the whole world is measuring you
There’s only one thing you can do
Darling, stay true
You are measuring your worth by the wrong things
It’s not what you own or how high you can reach
It’s in the way you are kind, it’s in the song your heart sings
You are measuring your worth by the wrong things
Stay true, stay true, darling stay true
Stay true, stay true, to your own heart stay true
When it feels like the whole world is measuring you
There’s only one thing you can do
Yeah, when it feels like the whole world is measuring you
There’s only one thing you can do
Darling, stay true
Darling, stay true
Darling, stay true
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Jaspar Lepak Seattle, Washington
A child of the Sonoran Desert, Jaspar Lepak is a folk/Americana songwriter whose remarkable gift for melody is only surpassed by her poetry. Deeply influenced by the many places she has called home (Tucson, Minneapolis, Durban, and currently Seattle), she sweeps across landscapes with an emotional depth that is extraordinary, while her clear, pure voice touches the heart. ... more
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