more from
Fat Possum Records
We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Then I Try Some More

by Joanna Sternberg

/
  • Streaming + Download

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

      $10 USD  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Limited to 1,000 units worldwide, this edition of "Then I Try Some More" comes on clear vinyl. Artwork by Joanna Sternberg, includes full-color insert with drawings and lyrics.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Then I Try Some More via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 2 days
    edition of 1000  33 remaining
    Purchasable with gift card

      $25 USD or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    12" black vinyl with artwork by Joanna Sternberg, includes full-color insert with drawings and lyrics.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Then I Try Some More via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 2 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $23 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Compact disc with gatefold digipak. Artwork by Joanna Sternberg, includes full-color insert with drawings and lyrics.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Then I Try Some More via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 2 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $12 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Gatefold card case, full color, with lyrics booklet and all artwork by Joanna Sternberg.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Then I Try Some More via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out

  • Limited Edition 12" Vinyl
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    12" black vinyl with artwork by Joanna Sternberg, includes full-color insert with drawings and lyrics.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Then I Try Some More via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out

1.
THIS IS NOT WHO I WANT TO BE Rain pouring down my head pounds from the sound I'm stuck to the bed with brain zaps in my head I can't fall asleep I cannot stay awake I cry till I weep I shiver and I shake ​ I think of you I think of you I think of you it's all that I can do And lord knows I try I'm trying hard to change I wish I knew why I always stay the same ​ This is not who I want to be This is not who I want to be I am slowly killing me No, This is not who I want to be ​ I wish I was scared of poison pills and pain I wish I was scared of damage to my brain But finally I see I should be scared of me How'd I come to be my own worst enemy? ​ This is not who I want to be This is not who I want to be I am slowly killing me No, This is not who I want to be
2.
Step Away 02:49
STEP AWAY (CHORUS) Step away from me now I can't see you no more Cause there's not a thing that I can do I haven't done before Step away from me dear It's so easy to see Cause anyone who's watching knows You're too beautiful for me I got too close too fast Like I always do I could see it coming Yes I could couldn't you? I tried to kill it But got smacked in my face Now I'm trembling and trying To get out of this place CHORUS Step away from me now I can't see you no more Cause there's not a thing that I can do I haven't done before Step away from me dear It's so easy to see Cause anyone who's watching knows You're too beautiful for me I can't even look you In the eyes anymore Every day you look much better Than you once looked before I am out of control And you don't have a clue But at least I'll admit it Like I always do CHORUS Step away from me now I can't see you no more Cause there's not a thing that I can do I haven't done before Step away from me dear It's so easy to see Cause anyone who's watching knows You're too beautiful for me
3.
My Angel 02:24
MY ANGEL ​ Oh my angel Darling angel You're my angel Come back to my open arms ​ How I loved you Always loved you I still love you Come back to my open arms ​ I see your eyes shine Once they were mine So I'll cry and whine Come back to my open arms ​ You're still out there Out there somewhere I'll always care Come back to my open arms
4.
For You 02:07
For You ​by Joanna Sternberg (humming) With a smile like yours you could get away with murder So I will not trust you no I will not trust you With a face like yours you will know no suffering I can't connect with you I can't connect with you I can't connect although I'll try I'll try each time I won't know why You'll swat me away like a fly I can't connect with you (humming) With a voice like yours you could put the birds to shame But who are you to blame? No you can't be to blame With two eyes like yours you could melt the rising sun So I won't talk to you No I won't talk to you I will not talk I'll stare and gawk That is all that I can do (humming) You will always have anyone that you could want And you won't be alone You'll never be alone You'll never be at all like me You'll never be alone You will always have anything that you could want But what will that get you? Now what will that get you? It will get nothing I bet That's what it will get you.
5.
Pimba 02:55
PIMBA My name is Pimba I'm the littlest penguin I get so chilly in the freezing cold show Of all the penguins I am sometimes ignored But I know what I know what I know What I know I know what I know what I know I said I'm Pimba so I guess now you know me I'm from an iceberg at the edge of the sea I have 9 brothers and 19 sisters I am small but that don't mean a thing Not a thing! I am small but that don't mean a thing Hear my cry Hear my song I am pimba I am pimba Hear me sing And hear it ring I am Pimba penguin of the sea My name is Pimba I'm the littlest penguin I like to sing as I swim through the sea I like to skate on the slippery ice And I know what I know what I know And I know that it is time for me to go
6.
NOTHING MAKES MY HEART SING Something died in me years ago I've been trying to find it each place I go ​Never thought it could go away I cry tears of sorry for it night and day ​ For nothing makes my heart sing Not since long ago Something used to lift me up A dream I used to know ​ Now that dream has faded Tell me where'd it go How I long to sing and laugh and love Like many years ago ​ You lit light up inside my heart Many years ago 'Till we had to part ​ Trauma's filled up my body now I can't get it out 'Cause I don't know how ​ For nothing makes my heart sing Not since long ago Something used to lift me up A dream I used to know ​ Now that dream has faded Tell me where'd it go How I long to sing and laugh How I long to sing and laugh How I long to sing and laugh and love Like many years ago
7.
TRYING TO SAY NO I am never trysting anyone, that part of my heart is lost and gone Promises unkept depressed and under slept Always wondering why I never see it coming People sure are something I will never know just why I can't say no ​ Spending time with you was bad for me I let you in my life easily I saw warning signs but I didn't mind Cause I figured I'm a beggar not a chooser Even with abusers Never saying no I'll never say no ​ Everything that happens starts and ends the same I should know by now that I'm the one to blame Why do I Give my heart out just to know that one day I will cry and cry ​ I do not wish harm to anyone Sorry that it's time that you are gone I can't be your friend It will never end Friends don't put their friends in such traumatic danger Now you're just a stranger And so on I'll go Just trying to say no.
8.
Before it was hard to see how badly they were treating me They called me ugly and they made me feel so unworthy Unworthy of love Unworthy of love Unworthy of love ​ You have something special please don't throw it away They will try to hurt you with the words they say Words that string and words that slay Words that can turn pink to grey ​ You've been walking miles trying to find your way You've been singing sad songs every single day I've been singing sad songs too I've been hurting just like you ​ People that I loved and knew did not know me or love me I put them up in the sky they were so high above me They did not love me They did not love me They did not love me ​ You have something special please don't throw it away They will try to hurt you with the words they say Words that string and words that slay Words that can turn pink to grey ​ You've been walking miles trying to find your way You've been singing sad songs every single day I've been singing sad songs too I've been hurting just like you
9.
DON'T YOU EVER I always say I'm done with trying But then I try some more I don't feel right inside my body Never felt right before ​ Never felt that I was a lady Never felt like a man You're not the first to think I'm crazy How could you understand ​ But don't you ever feel like no one really knows you? Don't you ever feel like no one ever will? Don't you ever feel like no one will ever love you? Don't you dare feel that you are alone ​ All of my thoughts are too distracting Most of my dreams have died Lately I'm scared of interacting That's why I hide inside ​ I sleep and sleep all through the night I sleep all through the day I wish it didn't feel so right Sleeping my life away ​ But don't you ever feel like no one really knows you? Don't you ever feel like no one ever will? Don't you ever feel like no one will ever love you? Don't you dare feel that you are alone ​ Don't you dare feel that you are alone

about

Although I wrote each song on this album about specific things/a specific thing, I also feel  that songs are not officially "about" anything because it is ultimately up to the listener to decide what the song represents and means to them.  Thank You to whoever has given my songs a chance, and whoever continues to listen to them!  I will say what I wrote each song about, because I think it is interesting when songwriters explain what inspired them! (but once again, I understand if the song represents something else entirely to you! and either way, thank you so much for listening!)   Musically speaking, my main influence for this album was the music of Scott Joplin.  I wrote a lot of the songs as piano rags, and then I slightly changed some of the melodies and chords, added lyrics and slowed the tempos down so they could be sung as songs. 

1."This Is Not Who I Want To Be" is about my ongoing struggles with addiction and one of the first times I tried to get sober and went through drug and alcohol withdrawal.

2."Step Away" is about unrequited love for a close friend (or a "best friend" if you believe in that term.)

3."My Angel" is about the end of a romantic relationship and the death of a loved one.

4."For You" is about unrequited love and being jealous of the same person that you are in love with. (as experienced through me, when I was in high school!)

5."Pimba" is about an imaginary baby penguin!  I actually wrote this song to annoy my friend, and it worked!  (my friend was sitting next to while I was writing it!)  It is sort of a joke song, but I know that the emotions I try to convey in the song are real. (experiencing loneliness, feeling invisible, sadness and melancholy all while trying to stay positive!)

6."Nothing Makes My Heart Sing"  is about depression and hitting "rock bottom."  It is also about realizing that you have given up on all of your dreams.  I was trying to write a song about all of this, and then I read the poem "Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes.  After reading that poem, I was able to write the entire song immediately.  That poem became a muse for the song.  

7."Trying To Say No" is about self love deficit disorder and being a people pleaser.   It is about caring about other people's needs more than you care for your own.

8."You Have Something Special" is a song against bullying and in support of the victims of bullying.

9."Don't You Ever" is about not feeling comfortable in the body you were born with and the gender you were told that you "are."  It is about gender identity (or lack thereof!) and me finally accepting that I am gender neutral.  It is also about loneliness, depression and social anxiety and how I believe that we all experience the same set of emotions.

credits

released July 12, 2019

All songs written and performed (vocals and all instruments) by Joanna Sternberg © 2019

all album art by Joanna Sternberg
Produced by Joe Rogers & Joanna Sternberg
Engineered, Mixed & Mastered by Joe Rogers at Room 17, Brooklyn
Humming on "This Is Not Who I Want To Be" by Joe Rogers
Additional vocals on "My Angel" by Tory Giardina
Fat Possum Records

www.joannasternberg.com

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Joanna Sternberg New York, New York

Hi, my name is Joanna. I am a person who sings songs, writes songs, draws, plays different musical instruments, and watches what the majority of the world would consider "WAY TOO MUCH" TV. You do not have to buy my album but if you do, THANK YOU SO MUCH! And also thank you so much if you are reading this! I love you! ... more

shows

contact / help

Contact Joanna Sternberg

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Joanna Sternberg, you may also like: