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Western Empress

from Empire Electric by No-No Boy

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Full length CD, liner notes insert, wallet style digipak. All US orders will be shipped USPS media mail.

    Includes unlimited streaming of 'Empire Electric' via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Empire Electric via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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    Purchasable with gift card

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Standard weight and standard color vinyl LP.

    Includes unlimited streaming of 'Empire Electric' via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Empire Electric via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 10 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $20.98 USD or more 

     

about

Julian Saporiti: lead vocal, instruments, programming
Emilia Halvorsen Saporiti: harmony vocal

lyrics

Oregon Nikkei
First of the forest
Steam-powered sawmill town
Patience and patience now

Samurai plowshare
Old Nagasaki
The Scotsman makes funny sounds
Turning the language round
Learning enough for asking her out

Rafts made of hardwood
Wide as the river
Orient girls confound
Like Monarchs on frozen ground

Miyo buried Andrew’s body
Gresham Pioneer
Tama and the Kyoto salesman
Married earlier last year

Pose for a photo
Oh, how the years go
Flanked by two grandsons proud
Jewels and a modest gown

Long for the islands
Welcome the workers
Burnish a simple crown
Patience and patience now
Patience and patience now

Hakujin lover, baby, let’s go, oh,
Trail blazed and timbers down
Fifty years before the expo
Western empress brought ‘em underground
Miyo said I crossed a goddamn ocean for you, fool,
I ain’t leaving now
Bury me, Japanese cedar tree
Bury me, Japanese cedar tree

credits

from Empire Electric, released September 29, 2023

license

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about

No-No Boy Portland, Oregon

Nashville-born, Oregon musician & scholar. New album "Empire Electric out on Smithsonian Folkways fall 2023.

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