Lyrics and Vocals by Dessa
Produced by Lazerbeak and Andy Thompson
Purchase: https://lnk.to/BuryTheLede

Vocals recorded at Instrument Landing and The Birdcage
Engineered by Andy Thompson and Dessa
Mixed by Joe Mabbott at The Hideaway 
Mastered by Bruce Templeton at Microphonic Mastering

Photography by Sam Gehrke
Layout and design by Andy McAlpine

Executive Producers: Dessa, Lazerbeak, and Andy Thompson
Management: Becky Hoffmann

dessawander.com
doomtree.net
©2023 Doomtree Records

Dessa - Bury the Lede (2023)

Lyrics and Vocals by Dessa
Produced by Lazerbeak, Andy Thompson, and Dessa

Preorder the album: https://lnk.to/BuryTheLede

LYRICS
Fill the kiddie pool 
up with Prosecco 
Get the LEDs on
need the spectacle 
Gotta beat the one last week 
let’s get a record
If you’re tryna be a go-getter
you gotta go and get it
Desperate times 
call for desperate pleasures 
Some legitimate headlines
mostly cries for attention
The camera speeds
copy ready to read
oughta be a good night 
We’re live in 3, 2—
fuck, man, busted on a hot mic 

Cuz it’s a hurricane 
a hurricane party
End days 
every other Wednesday 
Live girls dance 
dead men float
A hurricane party 
gold dust, sex, and Bacardi 
DJ says don’t hold back
because the water won’t

Looks like someone leaked the password
too much tea to clean earl grey disaster
Campaign manager come walks it backwards
but he’s the one who tipped TV—clever bastard 
Shots fired in the echo chamber  
rico-ricochet
The other side puts kids in danger 
don’t matter what their argument, that’s what they always say
Front of the parade girl spins a baton 
band leader conducts with a corn on the cob
The new sound gets everybody out on their lawn
composed for french horn, cash register, mob

Hook

Okay, who broke the chain letter 
too much bad luck to try to get away with it 
One more plague, nobody goes to recess 
Chatbots away take out your paper pieces 
longhand 
Gimme an essay on the living conditions in Oz written by the Strawman:
housing shot up, looking for a soft land
Dorothy comes to, couldn’t give a goddamn 
Looking for a few recruits 
to do what must be done 
So if you got the heart and a pair of good boots 
meet me at the food court by Forever 21 

Hook

Decoy

Not a sidepiece 
or a wifepiece
I’m a thinkpiece
If you’re done then 
take your dishes to 
the sink please 
Wash to the right
dry to the left 
mind is a kite 
and the fall is a mess 
Out of office
out of body
out of fucks to give 
sorry not sorry 
With a busted rib 
ain’t a thing to do about it 
just tape and time and then you take the turn again 
Lean in harder 
hope the road won’t burn 
so bad this time
you read your curve 
fast as fuck 
fit to swerve
put the money to the metal come and get your girl 
Til the lights blur
til the lines meet in the middle of the high beams
and the wipers 
keep time with the heartbeat
Til you hit a nerve 

I’m falling 
don’t catch me
don’t touch me 
don’t call me
Not much we 
let go 
even when we should and we know it
I walk the wall 
with both hands open 
I’d leave it all

Smokey eye because 
the mind’s on fire
Break glass and pass the axe skyward 
Stone the satellites
drones versus battle kites
Here goes 
the next past life
There’s a speaker 
in a decoy 
at the heart of the mine 
that rewinds
the same birdsong
Tell the back of the line  
that the digging is fine
let’s get the third shift on
They say that a rising tide
when it comes in
will lift every ship
But they skipped
the bit about wildfire
how it burns every bridge
Panic tryna find 
a little dry ground 
big back ups everybody outbound
Not me 
I’m like the good witch
bring the motherfucking house down

Looks like I hit a nerve
I hit a nerve

No patience I stay laced up and 
I’m running 
Learned a phrase in
every country 
I’ve lived and died, been revived like this

That game you taught me how to play 
I won it
Moved out East 
and I stayed hungry
And when the magic’s on me, I can’t miss

I can’t miss

Bury the Lede

Hurricane Party

Decoy
Lyrics and Vocals by Dessa
Produced by Lazerbeak and Andy Thompson


Not a sidepiece 
or a wifepiece
I’m a thinkpiece
If you’re done then 
take your dishes to 
the sink please 
Wash to the right
dry to the left 
mind is a kite 
and the fall is a mess 
Out of office
out of body
out of fucks to give 
sorry not sorry 
With a busted rib 
ain’t a thing to do about it 
just tape and time and then you take the turn again 
Lean in harder 
hope the road won’t burn 
so bad this time
you read your curve 
fast as fuck 
fit to swerve
put the money to the metal come and get your girl 
Til the lights blur
til the lines meet in the middle of the high beams
and the wipers 
keep time with the heartbeat
Til you hit a nerve 

I’m falling 
don’t catch me
don’t touch me 
don’t call me
Not much we 
let go 
even when we should and we know it
I walk the wall 
with both hands open 
I’d leave it all

Smokey eye because 
the mind’s on fire
Break glass and pass the axe skyward 
Stone the satellites
drones versus battle kites
Here goes 
the next past life
There’s a speaker 
in a decoy 
at the heart of the mine 
that rewinds
the same birdsong
Tell the back of the line  
that the digging is fine
let’s get the third shift on
They say that a rising tide
when it comes in
will lift every ship
But they skipped
the bit about wildfire
how it burns every bridge
Panic tryna find 
a little dry ground 
big back ups everybody outbound
Not me 
I’m like the good witch
bring the motherfucking house down

Looks like I hit a nerve
I hit a nerve

No patience I stay laced up and 
I’m running 
Learned a phrase in
every country 
I’ve lived and died, been revived like this

That game you taught me how to play 
I won it
Moved out East 
and I stayed hungry
And when the magic’s on me, I can’t miss

I can’t miss

Decoy

Lyrics and Vocals by Dessa
Produced by Lazerbeak and Andy Thompson
Bass by Ian Allison

Preorder 'Bury the Lede': https://lnk.to/BuryTheLede

LYRICS
When I’m good, I know it
When I’m bad I don’t know why
If you like it, you should show it
before we run right out of night 
Tired of the bar scene 
the stupid parties
getting makeup off my face
and glitter out the carpet    
Meet me in the elevator, let’s press all the buttons
we can say our goodbyes later
place is faded won’t remember nothing
 
Visine, cab fare, dry shampoo
I’ll take another like déjà—you
should let your guard down
I laid all my cards out 
Bells are ringing last round
but I’m not turning back now

This might be love
it’s still too close to call
But when the lights come up
don’t wanna be the flower on the wall 
Our nights are numbered 
you can count them as they fall 
But I like the thunder 
I’m here to feel it all

I know something’s missing 
I know something isn’t right
Seems like the good ones always hidden
somewhere just outta sight 
I think I’m ready, but I can’t say that I’m not afraid 
I got a sense of direction that gets in my own way 
I know at best it gets messy
nobody’s got an extra heart on hand to break

Dark eyes, allspice, hey look who
walked in shark fin headed for the pool table 
oooh maybe 
we could shoot a few later 
I got things to do but this game is better two-player
 
Hook

Chopper

Lyrics and Vocals by Dessa
Additional Vocals by Aviva Jaye
Produced by Lazerbeak and Andy Thompson

LYRICS
You keep in touch
but out of reach 
You know me
I always did like hide and seek 
This crush
I’m underneath 
it gets lonely
more hand to mouth than cheek to cheek

Tell me again and
this time try to mean it
Tell me again and
This time try to mean it
 
You call me up 
from far away 
though it’s so late 
you don’t seem to have much to say
I think you must 
have news to break 
I can take it 
I’d rather hear it from you, baby

Hook
 
If we’re just play fighting 
how come that blade’s shining 
how come my eyeliner’s running 
Then all of a sudden
you strike lightning
You turn me outside in
then I’m hit 
I’m in trouble
Now it’s
just a matter of time
 
It’s just a matter of time
It’s just a matter of time
 
I hope you love somebody
Even if that body isn’t mine
 
Even if that body isn’t mine
it isn’t
Even if that body isn’t
if that body isn’t
Even if that body isn’t
that body isn’t mine
 
Oh, just a little liquid courage and
Ooh, just a little powdered faith
I’ve been in and out of trouble  
while you have been walking away 
Oh, just a little liquid courage and
Ooh, just a little powdered faith
And oh, you’ve been running out of patience
And me, I’ve just been dancing in place

Tell Me Again

Lyrics and vocals by Dessa
Produced by Lazerbeak and Andy Thompson

LYRICS
Don’t be shy
I already like you
Don’t care what you drive
I’m attracted to the IQ
Not my style to make the first move
Haven’t felt this type of way since maybe high school
Sealed with a kiss
Signed with an Epipen
You gotta tolerate some risk
If you wanna make a margin, wanna make a friend 
We could live a little larger
Split the dividends
 
Wheels up
Let’s go
Already missed too much
To take this thing too slow
I already like you
There’s no sure bet
You just ride, ride, ride roulette
And I like you
I already like you
 
It feels right
Because it’s true
Don’t have to try when
I’m with you
You’re not the type to bend a rule
But I’m your bullet
And the proof
 
This city can feel like a little town
Think a marathon’s on, way they’re running all their mouths
But let em talk,
Let em wear their selves out
My book stays open
I know ‘cause I wrote it
Fucked up the trust fall
Caught a concussion
Run it off, that ain’t nothing
But the cost
The cost of doing business  
And I can take a hit with the big kids
Back up off me and count your own fingers
 
Wheels up
Let’s go
I could be your bullet and the proof
Bullet and the proof
I already
I already like you

I Already Like You

Lyrics and Vocals by Dessa
Additional vocals by Ben Burwell
Produced by ICETEP, Andy Thompson, and Lazerbeak
Bass by Ian Allison

LYRICS
Summer on the subway
whole city sweatin on the platform 
And the 4 would go to my place
but there’s bodies pressed against the train doors
I’ll wait til the next one comes—
been wearing that phrase out
It’s hard to meet someone
to unmeet the last one somehow
 
Oh, there’s your face in the crowd again
I see you all over town
It’s like there must be a dozen of you
But just one me and lately she’s breaking down 

Oreos and bourbon
I rent a movie and I watch it in bed 
That’s a B+ Thursday
and the past stays asleep in my head
But then the camera pulls back 
A sea of people out in the park 
I press pause, and I hear myself laugh
I lean in and I’m shot through the—
 
Hook

Oh, there’s your face in the crowd again
I see you all over town
It’s like there must be a dozen of you
Oh, I guess I’ll see you around 

I guess I’ll see you around

There’s your face in the crowd again
I see you all over town
It’s like there must be a dozen of you
but only one me and she’s freaking out

Hook

Twelve to One

Lyrics and Vocals by Dessa
Produced by Lazerbeak and Andy Thompson

LYRICS
You like it when I wear my hair down but
I say that way it just gets in my eyes
you say that’s exactly what you like so much
I think that sums us up
sometimes
I’ll be 
your favorite me
mostly carefree
laughs easily 
But what you can’t see
in my routine 
is how hard it gets to keep the heartbeat clean
I can see the problem clearly
I can see the simple fact is
that you like me in theory 
and I like you back in practice
 
I’m a moon for you 
give you just the good side
save you all the best lines 
Sometimes I wish that I was 
immune to you
could see you and go right by
pull myself away from your high tide 

I’ll be fine again by morning, right
I set a timer to remind myself
Nights are just sentimental for me, why
of all of the people on the planet
can’t think of anybody else
I know we’re sposed 
to keep it light, but 
no one can pick their appetites, so 
I think I’m done up on the tightrope  
I want a love that feels like more than just survival 

My beauty 
My anger
My sadness
all anchored
they’re fused to the bone
You can’t take some 
and leave some 
I’m this way for a reason
You gotta love it all whole
or let it all go
 
But there’s room for two
we could share a flashlight
you and me by a landslide every time
but if it’s true that you
don’t feel so satisfied by it 
I won’t wait around and wonder why

Hook

Blush

Lyrics and Vocals by Dessa
Produced by Dessa and Andy Thompson
Bass by Ian Allison

LYRICS
I came to crash your party 
Looks like your party crashed itself
Everyone left early 
there must be something good going somewhere else 
But I see you through the window 
you’re wearing the face you make when you’re alone
I knock and you let me though
you wanna know what I came for

And I accidentally tell the truth  

I don’t know what to do 
when I’m not here with you 
I’m lost
I’m running around 
I’m a creep
I’m a clown
I’m exhausted 

So I came to crash your party 
and yeah I know now it’s too late to talk
I just wanna help pick up all the pieces 
feel like it never even happened at all 
I came to crash your party
c’mon and say I can stay just to help
I know you could use somebody 
to get the glasses back up on the shelf 

I came to crash your party

Crash

Lyrics and Vocals by Dessa
Produced by Lazerbeak and Andy Thompson

LYRICS
I ran away young 
with a kite and a water gun 
looking for a fight
pretty quick to find some 
Hair tucked up in a Lakers cap
flip the lucky in a soft pack
smoked it last 
Walking down the yellow line
g’head write your traffic ticket
I thought I was hard as fuck  
I thought I was on a mission
Jump cut to the present day 
still got the same sharp tongue
same long face 

Pride 
is my problem
I know that’s right
but that don’t solve it

I don’t like favors
I don’t like debts I can’t repay
I don’t like making
anything less than my own way
What if I’m not ready

What if I’m not ready
for all that I’ve been waiting for
Hold it all against me 
push me through the only doorway
I’ve been here too long by now
and that’s how time runs out 

On the phone with a friend
says worry where you're going don’t worry where you’ve been
Sounds like he’s reaching out a hand 
are you reaching back to him
Maybe you’re too attached to your freedom
truth is you don’t let anybody in cuz you don’t like em leaving 

My pride 
is my problem
I know that’s right
but that don’t solve it

Hook

My battle cry 
just one last time
My signal fire 
this life of mine

My pride
is my problem
My battle cry
I don’t like favors 
I don’t like debts I can’t repay 
My signal fire
I don’t like making anything less than my own way
For all that I’ve been waiting for
What if I’m not ready

What If I'm Not Ready

Lyrics and Vocals by Dessa
Produced by Michael Piroli, Andy Thompson, and Lazerbeak
Pipa by Gao Hong

LYRICS
The razor’s free
but they get you on the blades it’s
basically 
on a know-to-need it basis 
Who’s gonna who’s gonna go and get it 
I’m on the road already 

Beijing 
to Bombay 
to Boise
Signal gets lost in the noise we
tune in but tap out before too long

Chatter on the intercom 
who’s gonna go and get it 
Someone else’s job
I’m on the road already 
But I keep the radio on 

The long wave
the last stations calling
The long wave
goes the way of all things 

Starve the guard dog and see what hunger does
it’s easy when we’re well fed to talk of love 
Panic bought a weighted blanket
now can’t get up to change the channels
lost cabin pressure in the living room 
What we wanted so bad, now we have it
still end up with parts not on the package 
just tryna put a new joint in solid bone 

Pull over 
read by 
the dome light
Shoulder 
to sleep on 
til sunrise 
But I listen in the whole night
scanning for a voice I know 

Rearview shows a cloud of dust 
a ghost arisen 
Windshield don’t show much
but I know something’s hidden 
so I spin the dial real slow 

On these straightaways
lonely steeplechase
only me to race home 
and I know it 
Day then night then day 
loop these interstates
More goodbyes than hellos 
I just go with   

Hook

Long Wave

Lyrics and Vocals by Dessa
Produced by Lazerbeak and Andy Thompson
Drum loop by JT Bates

LYRICS
You see shapes inside the paintings 
but all I see is black
at a chapel here in Houston 
where we’re standing back to back 
Questions here are useless
nothing answers back 
But I can’t stop my mind from trying 
all it wants to know is why 
 
Other people’s prayers
hanging in the air 
between you and me and everything 
we’ve kept unsaid so carefully
I don’t want to care so much
for someone I can barely see
But I can’t stop my body pining  
all it wants to do is try 
 
Me without a hill to die on 
You without a ring to kiss 
With nightfall comes that fool Orion
who never swings so can’t be missed
 
A machine with no sense is just a wheel to spin
For all we try to invent we wind up here again 

Me without a hill to die on 
guess I’ll have to heal from this 
Pool cue and a pair of pythons
make my own caduceus 
 
We seem to be ending 
before we begin 
It’s like losing the feeling 
in a phantom limb  




We choose which fools 
to suffer
And they choose 
to suffer us

We lose all use of  
color
Just water 
on the brush

But you and me 
we could be
cadmium 
cadmium red 
cadmium 
cadmium red