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What Plans?

by Anthony da Costa

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1.
Darkness 06:05
darkness came to my house quite recently pulled in to the drive and walked right up to my door i can’t quite call darkness a solicitor no, darkness has been over to my house before curtains drawn but windows still open on a lazy afternoon when lazy meant something else when everything was “better” in quotes, still hazy though I had a part-time job feeling sorry for myself i had friends, a complicated lover who could read me like no other and that sorta ruled her out who still has a sweater that i’d love to go and get ‘er but i am relatively sure it’s hers now oh but back to the darkness, the sick strange darkness i originally heard about from blink 182 amidst all the silly stuff, the warped tour and school is rough that they’ll still sing and write at blink age 82 i don’t really have a doorbell, are there still doorbells or are they gone to Argentina with calling cards and message machines I keep a handbell on the porch that I once got in Virginia It’s mostly a joke, but darkness picked it up and rang what to do? it was clear I was home my mom’s old Honda CRV parked outside, the music blaring through the window’s i’d left open i let slip my last hope and i invited darkness in for a coffee and a talk my house is your house my house is your house i pressed the french press, water still boiling as he caught me up on goings on in his dark world the usual violence, tornado sirens the deadly silence of a house divided used to it all, i said what else is new that’s when he put down his coffee and stared at the floor he told me a tale of a pestilence so prevalent, malevolent the likes of which we’d almost never seen before usually, i have something to say constantly talking out of my way but my words did fail me, no humor availed me had another sip of coffee as the room turned grey we were old friends, so he gave me a mask a geyser of sanitizer and a mostly full flask I would kiss you goodbye, he said, but i’m trying to keep my distance i asked him to stay, and despite my persistence he floated through the doorway without even touching it left a shadow on the floor, but it’ll clean out i sighed, closed the door, hung up my heart and i forgot what it was i was so sad about my house is your house my house is your house
2.
Lightning strikes Pole comes down It’s a summer kinda storm In the biggest small town In the season when it comes But you’re still off guard And you’re wondering why you ever left home And the woman i love is imaginary She comes to me in darkness And speaks to me in dreams There’s a cautionary tale On the stereo tonight But it sorta feels right I need to walk i need some air and a reason I need to find something new to care about I need to climb i need to start Get away from myself And away from my heart thunder crash and the call comes round did you hear it? now everybody duck and hit the ground there’s a window in the basement but it’s still the safest place when God decides to get angry again they built this town then they built it again i tore you apart just to draw up new plans you’re still standing there like a frame in the wind bricks scattered, we pass and we sigh I need a walk i need some air and a reason I need to find something new to care about I need to climb i need to start Get away from myself And away from my heart Won’t you go and run for cover? Won’t you go and run for cover? Won’t you go and run for cover, get underneath the covers Won’t you go and run for cover to another? Run for cover I need a walk i need a start, and a reason I need to find something new to care about I need to climb i need to start Get away from myself And away from my heart Get away from myself Get away from myself And away from my heart
3.
Plans 04:24
work on yourself for a while by the time you do it there’ll be no one left to show but at least you got through it if time was an illusion before all of this hit what’s it come to now? and should we still count? got a floor, got a mat got a web connection got into a staring contest with my modest reflection if living in the present is the ultimate goal does it mean we’re done? zen’d out everyone you say you’re planning a garden but i beg your pardon i don’t understand what plans what are days what are weeks what are you doin tomorrow do you have a little song that I could borrow time is clearly passing by the aging of spring are we still young? is anyone? think I'll walk across the room and look out the window think i’ll stay inside my head and listen to wind blow i tried keeping my distance but now you're too far away you're on your phone and you feel alone you say you’re planning a garden but i beg your pardon i don’t understand you and your plans i’d like to make one plans show you what i’ve done plans believe in what could be plans if only i could see you again i’d make some plans maybe days maybe weeks maybe tomorrow
4.
Parasite 03:27
Did you feel Something shift over night? the palm trees rise like fireworks inverted in a flaming sky The world is dying But I feel so alive Am i the parasite? Am I It was all so beautiful It hurt my eyes Heading home from los angeles A solitary morning flight I’ll see you on the other side I think I might The world is dying so why do I Feel so alive Am I the parasite? Am I? Easy go but they never come I feed off memories until I’m done I’m not afraid of the plans we’ve made I’m not afraid of the plans we’ve made unless you are i climbed up the hill where we would both get high sky was grey if i lost you once, you know it’s been a thousand times you said fuck off, and i obliged but i need you tonight am i the parasite? am i? do you need me like i need you, honey?
5.
slow motion panic it’s a subtle sort of freak out no one knows how it’s gonna shake out measuring privilege gotta make it a reminder kinder to myself in all my worry slow motion panic I just want to find a way out I can't swim but there's water rushing into my house nowhere to go to oh there's no escaping I'd be faking if I said I'm doing fine nothing but time in the world but there’s no more time in the world there's no more time in the world time in the world i need more time, i’m slow motion panicking been living on a prospect object comfort hasn’t called my number yet i heard the siren but did i really listen? Missing out as i shelter myself from the storm with nothing but time in the world but there’s no more time in the world nothing but time in the world time in the world i need more time cause i know you i know you feel it too it’s not right don’t you see? it’s too tight to breathe easy like we used to before this slow motion panic slow motion panic it's a subtle sort of freakout no one knows exactly how it's gonna shake out
6.
The town where i live Is crumbling quick Should we go somewhere? Make no mistake I’ve wanted to break out for a long time Habits die hard Old trees in the yard Branches bend and break in the storm Somebody’s gotta pick them up Somebody’s gotta pick them up Somebody’s gotta pick them up Maybe I should just pick them up The friends that I had Been missing them bad But not too bad If I were gone They would move on soon enough Give it some time Wait for a sign Signals smoke then fade in the night Somebody’s gotta light em up Somebody’s gotta light em up Somebody’s gotta light it up Maybe I, maybe I Needed everything I swore I’d never need Believed in every story they want you to believe I gave half my all I wanna take what’s left and fall But somebody’s gotta pick me up The look on your face Is so far away Let me come to you Let me come to you
7.
somewhere in the night i heard you crying it was all just a dream everybody knows the summer’s dying And you and i roll separately i don’t know where you’ll go i can only guess this is not my strongest suit maybe it’s a test do i want you? i don’t want to you were a pilgrim on a pathway me, a lover on the road i pulled into your driveway to see if you came home and there you were in your mother’s dress what are we waiting for? a tired dance we both know But are we keeping score? do i want you? i don’t want to i moved away, i missed the seasons i moved away, i missed the coast i moved away, i didn’t notice that i missed you the most there’s something soothing in the darkness there’s something funny in the light there’s something hiding in your heart, yes i wanna find you tonight
8.
if there’s one hope i have it’s to see you before our time runs i’m not out to make you sad but sometimes it’s the worst case where my head is at but if i go straight to hell i’m glad i knew you sort of well and if i can come back as a tree or whatever i hope we can grow together i saw you cut your hair it looks nice, i’d never cut my own days seem to blur sometimes it’s the little things, keep me honest let me rest assured but if i go straight to hell i’m glad i knew you sort of well and if i can come back as a tree or whatever i hope we can grow together as a tree or whatever i hope we can grow together together
9.
I don’t set an alarm anymore, Because there isn’t much to get up for in the morning. Nobodies bringing me breakfast in bed And tea for one doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. I don’t eat like I used to, Because everything in the fridge Seems to leave me before I’ve realised it needs my attention. Don’t fall in love with potential Fall in love patterns they say And If polka dots are promise I’m the paisley prince of poor choices, Brocade Basket weave Basket case. Checkered Chinoiserie Fleur-de-lee Ogee of potential and heartbreak Heaven sent to make the wrong choices at the right time. Self sabotaged myself into solitude To ponder my existence and what it means to love In the company of Pothos and Philodendron, Dracaena Trifasciata, Take my labored breath Sway under the current of the ceiling fan And cleanse the air live in I measure time in cigarettes now I measure happiness in pints I measure meaning in Marijuna. The next armchair philosopher The world does not need. I forgot the world was even out there, because I’m trying to find Bukowski at the bottom of this bottle And I have him in my sights. Everything has changed and nothing, You are still the light And I am still the tunnel. But there is no end, We both live forever. I still write songs about you even though you’re gone I still buy your favourite flowers so my house smells like a home. I still play your favourite records and I dance to them alone, I still write songs about you even though you’re gone.
10.
I’ve been saving messages I’ve been saving messages I don’t know when they’ll call again Taking mental images I’ve been saving messages I’ve been decking out my place Potted plants, bespoke bookcase Pages of the ages I’ll never be Painted a wall, oh did you see I’ve been decking out my place Close your eyes and dream a dream Where people never die Where people never die Does it change the meaning? I’ve been calling restaurants Just to see what specials they’ve got I don’t order anything It’s quite rude, and I should stop I’ve been calling restaurants I close my eyes and count to three Or ten, or sometimes more Tried sitting on the floor Saying the same thing over and over A phrase once gifted or possibly lifted From an Americana Dalai Lama If someone chants it too Does it change the meaning? Running out of memory Relying on summary Must conserve my energy What a lovely century The thought of you hit me again I’ve been saving messages
11.
send my regards to you send my regards to you it’s been too long and it had already been too long i’ve had the same song the very same song in my head since last we met you played it in the car on the way home from the bar we’d only had a couple you whispered in my ear as you left me here i had a feeling about you send my regards to you send my regards to you i know it well i know that look too well your eyes tell what language couldn’t tell where was i? where were you? when the heart chooses to fall there’s little you can do it’s only brought me trouble waiving now and then we’re strangers once again i had a feeling about you send my regards to you send my regards to you send my regards to you send my regards to you
12.
i got home i stayed home i stayed home i got down i looked down at my phone usually nothing gets any clearer but i saw my friends and felt a little nearer I got bored I went for a drive Pressed the gas down just to feel alive I don’t know where to go I’m just going There’s no plan There’s no way of knowing i can hardly explain it we can hardly explain why we feel so small i can hardly explain it we can hardly explain how to hold it all spending any given day in a ball, curled but could i see you sometime in the new world i made coffee just a tad too strong wracked my brain for reasons all day long read the news took my cues from disaster then i called my friend cause my heart was beating fast i can hardly explain it we can hardly explain why we feel so small i can hardly explain it we can hardly explain how to hold it all spending any given day in a ball, curled but could i see you sometime in the new world there’ll be magic in every conversation no more tragic emerged from our staycation got what you want, a renaissance a class of gardener/bakers well read and home fed philosophers and painters i can hardly explain it we can hardly explain it why we feel so small i can hardly explain it we can hardly explain how to hold it all i can hardly blame it the way i’m feeling on an empty wall spending any given day in a ball, curled but could i see you sometime in the new world
13.
Listening to the cars Whirring by my house Everyone’s going everywhere Well don’t they know Didn’t they hear Everything is canceled now Bars and parties, life itself Appointments and the best laid plans Keep it to yourself Keep to yourself save it for a rainy day But what if it rains all the time? Save it for a rainy day But what if it rains? But what if it rains? If i saved some money I Could probably just ride this out Learn to draw, do Krav Maga I got my doubts, I got my doubts My friend sent me a care package She sent it by the US Mail A ocean shell and half a brownie It’ll do the trick, though it’s a little stale, she said save it for a rainy day But what if it rains all the time? Save it for a rainy day But what if it rains? But what if it rains? I live alone, I’m always home Ive never been more easily reached It might be time for a landline Leave a message at the, who am i kidding, i wouldn’t even let it beep Have you had a lovely time Have you finished writing your script? Considering the circumstance It’s about right, us meeting like we did I still dream of meeting up Somewhere just about halfway Do they even have Four Seasons In Kansas anyway? We could waste it all on a curtain call Room service, drunk and naked we lay 9 Or just keep dreaming of make believing And save it for a rainy day

about

An album entirely written and recorded in quarantine, featuring over 25 guest artists and musicians...all recorded remotely. A love letter to one of the strangest moments in our history, and a lot of coming to grips with isolation and self-realization.

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More on "What Plans?"

Well, here it is. An album written and recorded entirely in quarantine. I started this album on a tiny portable recorder, and by the end of it, I had built a quirky but effective home studio around it. Like everyone else, I was stuck at home and didn’t know what to do. Writing felt not only natural, but pretty necessary. I had just moved into a small apartment in Madison, Tennessee, just up the road from Nashville. I’d just canceled my entire album release tour for a record I’d been building up to for two years. I am someone who typically thrives on and relies upon human contact, and here I was…alone. Luckily, my new place had internet, and I started sending these songs (TOO MANY songs) to friends. A lot of them liked, or even loved said songs, and some of them even wanted to PLAY on them. So I started collecting parts. This album proudly features over 25 guest musicians, artists, co-writers, collaborators. I feel like the bulk of this project was made at exactly the right time during a time of uncertainty…So many incredibly talented musicians were also sitting at home with nothing going on and no idea of when our lives would return to “normal” again. These songs were coming together and alive each and every day. I learned a lot as a home recordist and producer during this one. And I think I got better and more honest with myself as a writer. I hope this album reflects that improvement, and that honesty.

credits

released February 19, 2021

Produced by Anthony da Costa and Jay Foote
Mixed by Steve Vealy
Mastered by Warren Russell-Smith
Except “Send My Regards,” mixed and mastered by Dan Knobler.
Engineered by Anthony da Costa, Jay Foote, and the individual guest artists and musicians…remotely from their home studios.
Additional Engineering by Sam Howard (“Rainy Day,” “Darkness”) and Ethan Jodziewicz (“Branches”)
Artwork and Photography by Jacqueline Justice

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Anthony da Costa Nashville, Tennessee

Anthony da Costa is a singer/songwriter from New York, currently living in Nashville, TN.

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