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What It Takes to be a Man

by Nora Petran

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1.
My baby is on a mission To find a companion who understands him And lately I filled that position He has bared witness to my neglected ambitions So how can I pretend Like it wasn’t meant to end? He has always wanted to raise children Wanted to make me happy as the head of my family But as of late my dreams are running astray My mind became an ocean and my body an island So how can I pretend Like I don’t prefer to swim?
2.
I want to be a good man I want to be a good man But if I won’t be confronted with anything I’ve done Now you must try and understand why a man might do you wrong I grew up I grew up I grew up with a father who told me what it takes to be a man Even when you feel like falling you must stand, son Because that is what it means to be a man I grew up I grew up I grew up with friends who would fight me and fight me until I fought them And everything in my life gives me a second chance Oh man, it’s so hard to be a man Oh man, it’s so hard to be a man I grew up I grew up I grew up in a body, but nobody will mistake that for who I am Born at the top of the ladder where I can fly when I feel like it But, what if I decide to question the truth? Maybe being a man doesn’t make me better than you I grew up I grew up I grew up with thoughts, because no one ever forced me to turn them off Every idea I’ve had gets to run its course Now here I am, No such thing as a good man
3.
Go ahead and hurt me Hurt me again Late at night when you pretend like it never happened In the shelter of the quiet his heart seems untouched by it Go ahead and take me Over and over again Late at night when I try living in the moment I’m reminded of our culture and my heart is broken for her They name their price and allow each other to blur the lines Our future estranged now that we’ve trained each other to feel his pain Aside from semantics, I thought it could be love instead of romantic Enraptured, enchanted, coerced by my baby, whom with I “miscommunicated”
4.
She has brown eyes and I do not She has short hair and I do not Cause aren’t you just a jacket to wear to work Removing the mask of who you thought you weren’t Giving in to time Claiming I’m alright You want me to validate your pride But you won’t acknowledge mine And if good men are few and far between Honey, what does love mean? What does love mean? He has brown eyes and I do too He has short hair just like I do But they see him stringing medals around his neck They see me fumbling with the clasp of a heavy necklace I’m not giving in this time I refuse to rethink what I wanted to do before the end of my life If disrespect was born to my name What is the context of a woman’s shame If you know your arrow like I know my rings How such a small bit of solder could continue that chain Giving in to time Claiming I’m alright You want me to validate your pride But you won’t acknowledge mine And if good men are few and far between Honey, what does love mean?
5.
Saliva 04:09
I feel the saliva dry up my throat Mind over matter Your lips taste as dead as a flower I can’t raise my baby here Such a shame his brain is a one-sided mirror I knew it, I know I should’ve seen it comin’ Spawning right within the focus of my vision Just ‘cause you were right, doesn’t prove me wrong You’re the one who’s been lying to yourself I’m the one who’s been trying to make it better Now I feel like your hand tightened the zip ties around my wrists One more step further brings another threat to pull me back under I can’t raise my baby here Such a shame my own brain is a one-sided mirror I knew it, I know I’ve lost my imagination Like an ember stuck in the fire of frustration Slippery tiles under the floorboards of my patience Just ‘cause you were right, doesn’t prove me wrong You’re the one who’s been lying to yourself You’re the one who’s been lying to yourself You’re the one who’s been lying to yourself
6.
No, I don't love you I don’t care I think you’re stupid And you won’t get anywhere No second chapter No second page It’s not like it should matter Anyways No I don’t love you! I don’t care! I think you’re stupid And you won’t get anywhere No second chapter! No second page! It’s not like it should matter Anyways I know you tried Or at least you wanted to We couldn’t have both been right Or at least I thought that was true No I don’t love you! I don’t care!
7.
Bad luck seems to follow me I’m told I should take it easy And so I take it easy When I’m struggling to hit my target I’m told not to give up on it And so I don’t give up on it Why, why, why, why me? Must his fresh red blood render me empty of My own natural resource? Good luck seems to avoid me I’m told what will be, will be What it will be When I’m struggling to know why it’s worth it I’m told to just roll with the punches And appreciate your options Why, why, why, why me? Must that crisp clear sweat make me so uncomfortable with My own natural resource? Time pushed me faster Just to rush past that grain of sand But I am much too impatient To wait Until I feel better My mistakes do not taste too bitter For me now And so I take it easy
8.
I can’t keep him off my mind An old key is working on a new lock This old door is recognizing your familiar knock And engaging the gears inside of my stopwatch Now I can’t keep him off my mind May I invite you in for a second try?
9.
Dream Again 03:44
It took a while to get here and I know it’s a bad idea To never question the feeling that life might not have any meaning If I could go back I would Think again Too many years believing we are all alone Is it that which defines me or could it be that that me is gone? If I could go back I would Change Even as a child I was drowning in contemplation Dreaming up a world where I could die and get away with it If I could go back I would Dream again It took awhile to get here And now I know it’s a bad idea
10.
Good Company 03:55
Life is not a book The more I look The more it looks like a conversation In searching for an answer One must concentrate on Asking the right questions Why am I who I am? What about you can make me different? When I’m closed off in my brain and cannot see My perspectives are changed through the eyes of good company Trying hard to change When the past has disappeared, revealing what remains Because water will drain through an open hand All that time reflecting instead of making plans Life is not a book The more I look The more it looks like a conversation In searching for an answer One must concentrate on Asking the right questions Why am I who I am? What about you can make me different? When I’m closed off in my brain and cannot see My perspectives are changed through the eyes of good company Can we ever really change? Or does the past just disappear, like it did in this case No more water in the way of a universal lens No longer distorting the future in our hands

about

Nora Petran’s striking debut album ‘What It Takes to be a Man’ is a delicate collection of songs burning with intensity. Despite being comprised of simple vocal, guitar, and viola arrangements, the music has a gravity all its own. She weaves her sounds into a vivid dreamscape reminiscent of Joanna Newsom, Jessica Pratt, and early Bright Eyes.

As one might expect from the title, Nora contemplates the societal impact of toxic masculinity and examines the roots of its entangled issues. She probes this inequity with memorable phrases like: “You want me to validate your pride / But you won’t acknowledge mine”, “Dreaming up a world where I could die and get away with it”, and, perhaps most notably, “No such thing as a good man.” Her lyrics are sharp and honest, unblinking.

Nora grew up in Iowa City, Iowa, recorded her album in Chicago, Illinois, and now lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. With such a deep connection to the midwest, it’s no surprise that a dark, empty feeling lurks behind much of her music. You can almost feel the harsh midwestern winters thawing with the warmth of her vocal delivery and lyrical clarity, lending hope in the midst of bleakness.

credits

released August 23, 2019

Lead vocals and guitar written and performed by: Nora Petran
Harmonies written and performed by: Sue Reon Kim and Audrey Steiner-Malumphy
Viola arranged and performed by: Whitney Johnson
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by: Brian Sulpizio
Special and many big thanks to: Rob Sevier
Album cover photographed by: Madeline Interdonato
Album cover edited by: Nick Faidley
Mostly recorded at Jamdek Studios in Chicago, IL

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Nora Petran Ann Arbor, Michigan

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with guitar

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