1. |
Riddle Song
03:37
|
|||
|
LYRICS:
Darling, tell me what to do
So that I might be with you.
She says, “Darling, if you’d be with me,
Then answer me these riddles three.”
She asks,
What makes a sound in silent halls?
What hangs upon your empty walls?
What fills the night when you’re alone?
What makes an empty house a home?
And he says,
Nothing sounds in silent halls
And nothing hangs on empty walls
And nothing fills my nights alone…
But you could make this house a home.
She asks,
What hides the truth that should be said?
What haunts the dark beside your bed?
And what keeps lovers far apart
Though both of them be true of heart?
He says,
Doubt hides the truth that should be said
Doubt haunts the dark beside my bed
Doubt keeps true lovers far apart…
But you need never doubt my heart.
What makes the snake to coil and hiss?
What pulls you back from the abyss?
What calls the goose to southward go,
Yet holds you close to what you know?
Fear makes the snake to coil and hiss
Fear pulls me back from the abyss.
Fear calls the goose to southward go…
But my love for you is all I know.
I’ve answered you your riddles three.
Now, darling, will you marry me?
And so, the wedding vows came though.
A riddle now, I ask of you:
If absence, doubt, and fear arise
To cloud one or the other’s eyes,
The two may smile, and say I do…
But will they stay and see it through?
|
||||
2. |
Speak Up
02:23
|
|||
|
LYRICS:
A bell rings, a bird sings,
You smile, but you are silent as a stone.
The wind sighs, the stars rise,
Your thoughts remain exclusively your own.
You see,
I’ve never been the kind
To hesitate to speak my mind;
On any matter, I will chatter
If you call -
And yet I get the feeling
If I made your heart take wing,
You wouldn’t tell me anything!
So how am I to know if you should fall?!
You’re lovely -
Do you love me?
Oh, darling won’t you please -
Im begging on my knees! -
If you love me,
Won’t you please speak up!
(Tap-style solo)
Guitar plays, the band sways,
Your eyes shine, but you never say a word.
A dog barks… The skylarks
Sing sweetly, but your feelings go unheard.
You know,
It doesn’t pay to sit resigned.
You know that I can’t read your mind!
If you don’t make a peep, I’ll never know!
And so, I’m saying that
It really would be such a shame
To never know you feel the same -
Can I be sure if you don’t tell me so?
You’re lovely -
Do you love me?
Oh, darling won’t you please -
Im begging on my knees! -
If you love me,
Won’t you please speak up!
|
||||
3. |
Obsolete
03:38
|
|||
|
LYRICS:
I am the old spare phone in your kitchen drawer
I am the broken lamp by your back door
I am the magazine from seven years ago
You never read
You should have thrown me out, should have let me go
If anyone asked, you’d say that you don’t know
Why you can’t make yourself
Throw anything away
And I would be happy to let you use me
Maybe someday
You’ll dust me off, baby
You keep me around
In case your new man lets you down
I’m obsolete
And you moved on without me now.
I’m in the photograph that you put away
I’m on the old cassette that you can’t play
I wrote the dusty old love letter lingering
Under your bed // Ever unread
It’s such a sad excuse for a love affair
‘Cause I’m not one you want, no I’m just a spare
And you only want me if I
Stay out of the way
And I would be happy to let you use me
Maybe someday
You’ll dust me off, baby
You keep me around
In case your new man lets you down
I’m obsolete
And you moved on without me now.
|
||||
4. |
||||
|
LYRICS:
It is not that often that a door swings open -
You see a new world on the other side.
When you get a chance, you take it, ‘cause you might not get another,
When you see your future open wide…
Im thinking above Manhattan, there’s a view of the horizon
I can see it when I close my eyes…
I’ll have sky for breakfast for the first time ever
With a hot cup of skyline on the side
I’ll take a hike. I’m overdue.
No one can blame me for taking a day or two.
So long - I’m gone
I’m gonna see what the world can show me
I’ll be - so free
I hope you can say it was nice to know me
I’ll have a bird’s eye view of midtown in a minute
It’s been a long time coming down the line
It’s the world’s best city, with the biggest dreams in it
I think it’s time I looked for some of mine.
I’ll take a break - a holiday.
No one can blame me for wanting to get away
So long - I’m gone
I’m gonna see what the world can show me
I’ll be - so free
I hope you can say it was nice to know me
While I’m away,
I hope you say
That it’s okay
I took my leave…
I just need time.
I’ll have a bird’s eye view of midtown in a minute
It’s been a long time coming down the line
It’s the world’s best city, with the biggest dreams in it
I think it’s time I looked for some of mine.
Im thinking above Manhattan, there’s a view of the horizon
I can see it when I close my eyes…
I’ll have sky for breakfast for the first time ever
With a hot cup of skyline on the side
So let me go! I’ll fly away.
Wave goodbye,
And I’m off to seize the day.
So long - I’m gone
I’m gonna see what the world can show me
I’ll be - so free
I hope you can say it was nice to know me
So long - I’m gone
I’m gonna see what the world can show me
I’ll be - so free
I hope you can say it was nice to know me
|
||||
5. |
When We're Old
02:52
|
|||
|
LYRICS:
She whispers in my ear, and says, “I’m proud you’ve come this far.
The world has done its damndest just to maim you.
You’ll never have to change for me. I’ll love you as you are.
The broken with the beautiful - I claim you.
And the moon is full of craters, and my heart is full of holes
There are dark sides that the light can never reach inside of both
But you can help me find my freedom in the cages
Write a love song in the margins of the pages
Tell our story as we choose to hear it told
Keep the promise that I’ll love you when we’re old.”
She whispers in my ear, and says, “I know the night is long
I know the years are heavy on your shoulders
I’ll carry them beside you, and together we’ll be strong
To stand beneath the weight as we grow older
And we will share the burden gladly, choose forgiveness over fault
She will reach for me in silence; I will answer when I’m called
And her touch will tame the doubt that tries to enter
Make a light within the darkness at the center
Find the warmth against the reaching winter cold
Keep the promise that I’ll love you when we’re old
|
||||
6. |
Settle Down
03:00
|
|||
|
LYRICS:
In your youth they called ye mighty
The River ran beside thee
With the morning Sun to guide ye
As you ran the county down
Now the evening sun reminds thee
Not all the years were kindly
Now your youth is far behind thee
As you set out homeward bound
Singing, hey! La-di-day! Trade your rivers in for highways!
Sing, oh! La-di-doh! Trade your wood lands in for towns.
Sing, hey! La-di-day! As your youth gives way to something more,
The sun sets on the skyline
Where you chose to settle down.
In your youth they called you lover -
One girl much like another.
Each morning to discover
How your heart had let you down.
Now you tell your wife you love her
As you slip beneath your covers
And your whole life long, no other
Held your heart as she does now
Singing, hey! La-di-day! Trade your rivers in for highways!
Sing, oh! La-di-doh! Trade your wood lands in for towns.
Sing, hey! La-di-day! As your youth gives way to something more,
The moon shines in the window
Where you chose to settle down.
In your youth, they called you rover
Your pack upon your shoulder
Through warmer days and colder
You would soldier on alone
Now your roving days are over
A friend’s hand on your shoulder
Your children growing older
In a house that feels like home
Singing, hey! La-di-day! Trade your rivers in for highways!
Sing, oh! La-di-doh! Trade your wood lands in for towns.
Sing, hey! La-di-day! As your youth gives way to something more,
The noon sky full of sunlight
Where you chose to settle down.
|
||||
7. |
35 Novels
03:17
|
|||
|
LYRICS:
I read 35 novels last year,
And not one had the answer.
I watched hours and hours of movies;
Not one gave a sign.
I took walks through our neighborhood,
Walks in the park;
I got up before sunrise,
Came home after dark,
And for all of that searching my soul,
I’m no closer to filling the hole
At the core of me.
Made more money last year
Than I ever had, and that didn’t matter.
Met professional goal after goal,
But it brought me no joy.
I hit peak productivity,
Promise unlocked,
Made my life a to-do list,
And checked all the boxes,
And all of the things I got done
I can’t shake the feeling not one
Of them fixed me.
I am working so hard
To feel less like I’m useless,
But mentioning that
Feels like making excuses…
Does effort excuse what I haven’t done?
Why does facing the fact of it
Still feel like running away?
I read 35 novels last year
And it taught me a lesson.
You can find a way out,
But you’ll pay for escape down the line.
In your quest for extraction,
You must count the cost:
Every moment spent running
Is one that you’ve lost.
And the only solution I see
Is admit that the problem is *me,*
And I’m fighting like hell not to be,
But it’s not going well…
Only next year will tell?
|
||||
8. |
Groundhogs Day
00:58
|
|||
|
From February second,
Six more weeks of winter brings us
To the sixteenth day of March -
Which, where I’m from,
*Is* early spring.
When your asking for a forecast
From a groundhog in a top hat,
You expect to get an answer that’s
Nonsensical.
Like a leprechaun, whose gold,
If you can find it, you can keep.
Or a bunny bringing baskets
Packed with eggs
And chocolate treats.
Sure, the premise may be goofy,
But it gets you through the season;
If it makes your life less crummy,
Do you need a better reason to believe?
So, kindly leave the flights of fancy
To the people who enjoy them.
Allow the small distractions
To the people who employ them.
And if February brings you
To the ending of your rope,
Think, “Just six more weeks of winter.”
And thank a groundhog for the hope.
|
||||
9. |
||||
|
LYRICS:
When a sailor’s life is in the rocks (Roll, Hudson, Roll!)
Trade the shipyard in for the yacht club docks (Roll, Hudson, Roll!)
Leave your workaday job on a sea bound boat (Roll, Hudson, Roll!)
For a pleasure cruise with a rich old goat (Roll, Hudson, Roll!)
Mighty Hudson, deep and wide!
Sing a song to the rising tide!
We’ll be shipping out for Kingston
In the morning.
And I thought I heard the old man say (Roll, Hudson, Roll!)
“Miss our dinner reservation, and I’ll dock your pay!” (Roll, Hudson, Roll!)
If the owner was bad, his wife was worse (Roll, Hudson, Roll!)
With her yappy little dog inside her purse (Roll, Hudson, Roll!)
Mighty Hudson, deep and wide!
Sing a song to the rising tide!
We’ll be shipping out for Kingston
In the morning.
See the deck is swabbed and the engines run (Roll, Hudson, Roll!)
While the Old Man gets his taxes done. (Roll, Hudson, Roll!)
See the course is set, and the charts are sure (Roll, Hudson, Roll!)
While the lady gets a manicure. (Roll, Hudson, Roll!)
Mighty Hudson, deep and wide!
Sing a song to the rising tide!
We’ll be shipping out for Kingston
In the morning.
Now, you’ll bleed and sweat to earn your pay (Roll, Hudson, Roll!)
While they sip margaritas in the shade all day. (Roll, Hudson, Roll!)
be glad for what you haven’t got! (Roll, Hudson, Roll!)
And cover not thy neighbor’s yacht! (Roll, Hudson, Roll!)
Mighty Hudson, deep and wide!
Sing a song to the rising tide!
We’ll be shipping out for Kingston
In the morning.
|
||||
Also In Blue Peekskill, New York
Also in Blue is the nom de guerre of an overeducated, under-stimulated songwriter without a serious direction, who writes at the expense of doing the dishes or getting reasonable amounts of sleep. His brand new YouTube channel (link below!) contains the greatest, most important work he’s ever done. He always says this about whatever his latest project is, in the hopes that it turns out to be true. ... more
If you like Also In Blue, you may also like:
Ruth's sophomore release explores sacred signs against a backdrop of folk melodies and acoustic guitar.
go to album
Meet Me at the River
by Dawn Landes
On “Meet Me By the River,” Dawn Landes’s self-described “Nashville record,” buoyant country melodies settle deep into lush instrumentation.
go to album
I Need to Start a Garden
by Haley Heynderickx
featured on Bandcamp Radio Apr 10, 2018
go to album
Gorgeous fingerstyle guitar playing from this Portland, Oregon musician that captures the spirit of American Primitive in dazzling detail.
go to album
A partnership between Yep Roc and The Southern Folklife Collection, the LP features a never-before-heard live performance by Doc Watson.
go to album
Great Loveday Wonder : The Collected Demo Recordings
by Billy Childish / William Loveday Intention
From the always-great label Tompkins Square comes two-dozen plus demos from alt legend Billy Childish.
go to album
Hazy guitars and upbeat drums merge together on this record from the Chicago music scene fixture.
go to album
