"Five Classic Lucinda Williams Tunes"
Sunday, March 27, 2016
On Lucinda Williams' latest release
"Five Classic Lucinda Williams Tunes"
Saturday, March 19, 2016
A Jack Hardy tribute release
Various Artists SFS60007
"Jack Hardy (1947-2011) founded Fast Folk in New York City in 1982. Appearing on its stages was a folksinger’s near-imperative. Today, a generation of singer/songwriters remember him with gratitude and fondness, and 24 of them lent their voices to this musical homage, each covering one of Hardy’s songs. Hardy himself appears on two tracks, interpreting his songs “Gossamer Thread” and “Ponderosa.” Produced by longtime Fast Folk recordist Mark Dann and balladeer David Massengill, the notes include Hardy’s Songwriter’s Manifesto, along with many photos, personal recollections, anecdotes, and essays by fellow singer/songwriters who knew and cherished the Fast Folk founder. 2 discs, 26 tracks, 105-pages of extensive notes, photos, and lyrics."
On Roseanne Cash's latest release
Stephen D. Winick on women artists at recent Folk Alliance
"Every year in February, I attend the annual conference of the Folk Alliance International and come back with great music to share. Folk Alliance 2016 brought me in contact with a whole world of musicians, and I’ll be presenting some of their recent CD releases to you over the coming weeks. I’ll begin by highlighting some of the English women who made a big impression at the conference!"
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
The wonderful Gretchen Peters
"Five Minutes" lyrics:
I've got five minutes to sneak a cigarette
Five minutes to myself
Back behind the screen door of Andy's luncheonette
And I ain't got time to worry 'bout my health
My boss Andy says I smoke myself to death
Andy he reminds me some of you
Back when you were Romeo and I was Juliet
West Texas Capulet and Montague
Now I don't think too much about you anymore
We weren't much more than kids
It was nearly twenty years ago I shut and locked that door
Now I've got five minutes
Not much time to reminisce
Most nights I come home from work and I pour a glass of wine
Sometimes it's three or four before I stop
And Jessie makes a sandwich if I sleep through suppertime
And she leaves me on the couch to sleep it off
Now Jessie just turned 17 and she's wild as she can be
And there ain't nothin' I can do
Last weekend she ran off to meet a boy in Tennessee
Just like I used to run to you
I gave her hell when she came home this afternoon
Mascara runnin' down her face
Seems like history repeats itself, and it ain't up to you
And in five minutes
Your whole life can change
Andy he's good to me, and I can see it in his eyes
He'd love to take your place
But somethin' deep inside me just withers up and dies
To make love to him and only see your face
Somehow I've let myself go gently down the stream
A fine example I have set
Between the working and the livin' and the ghosts that haunt my dreams
I've got five minutes and I'm gonna smoke this cigarette
Gretchen Peters - "The Matador"
Here's another beauty from Gretchen Peters.
"I threw a rose to the matador, not sure who I was cheering for
My aim was true, my heart was full, I loved the fighter and the bull
I loved like only a woman can, a very complicated man
I bound his wounds, I heard his cries, I gave him truth, I told him lies
His rage is made of many things: faithless women, wedding rings
Snakes and snails and alcohol, his daddy's fist thrown through the wall
Ah but he's beautiful when he's in the ring,
the devil howls, the angels sing
Sparks fly from his fingertips and words like birds fly from his lips
Some man is lyin' in the dirt
Some woman's crying that he's hurt
But he's not alive without the thrill
Without the dance, without the kill
The lights go down, the people roar
They're cheering on the matador
And this is how the story goes
I knew it when I threw the rose
I come to each and every show; the woman in the second row
I watch them in their ancient dance and I know I never stood a chance
'Cause while other demons prance and clown, it's vanity that takes you down
I thought that I could be the one, but I'm just another hanger-on
Some man is bleedin' in the dirt
Some woman's crying that she's hurt
But who are we without the thrill
Without the dance, without the kill
And he is bull and matador
And I'm the mother and the whore
And this is how the story goes
I knew it when I threw the rose
I threw a rose to the matador, not sure who I was cheering for
My aim was true, my heart was full; I loved the fighter and the bull"
"I threw a rose to the matador, not sure who I was cheering for
My aim was true, my heart was full, I loved the fighter and the bull
I loved like only a woman can, a very complicated man
I bound his wounds, I heard his cries, I gave him truth, I told him lies
His rage is made of many things: faithless women, wedding rings
Snakes and snails and alcohol, his daddy's fist thrown through the wall
Ah but he's beautiful when he's in the ring,
the devil howls, the angels sing
Sparks fly from his fingertips and words like birds fly from his lips
Some man is lyin' in the dirt
Some woman's crying that he's hurt
But he's not alive without the thrill
Without the dance, without the kill
The lights go down, the people roar
They're cheering on the matador
And this is how the story goes
I knew it when I threw the rose
I come to each and every show; the woman in the second row
I watch them in their ancient dance and I know I never stood a chance
'Cause while other demons prance and clown, it's vanity that takes you down
I thought that I could be the one, but I'm just another hanger-on
Some man is bleedin' in the dirt
Some woman's crying that she's hurt
But who are we without the thrill
Without the dance, without the kill
And he is bull and matador
And I'm the mother and the whore
And this is how the story goes
I knew it when I threw the rose
I threw a rose to the matador, not sure who I was cheering for
My aim was true, my heart was full; I loved the fighter and the bull"
Gretchen Peters - "Hello Cruel World"
Here's another gem:
"I haven’t done as well as I thought I would
I’m not dead but I’m damaged goods
And it’s gettin’ late
I’m a rusty hinge, a squeaky wheel
at the bad end of a shaky deal
cursed by the hand of fate
and ooooooh – I’m a very lucky girl
yeah ooooooh – hello cruel world
I’m a ticking clock, a losing bet
a girl without a safety net
I’m a cause for some concern
You don’t live this long without regrets
Telephone calls you don’t wanna get
Stones you’d rather leave unturned
but ooooooh – the grain of sand becomes the pearl
yeah ooooooh – hello cruel world
some folks go the easy route
numb the pain or put the lights out
either way they got to go
me I’m gonna stick around
in for a penny in for a pound
cause I hate to miss the show
and ooooooh – I’m a very stubborn girl
yeah ooooooh – hello cruel world
hello cruel world"
"I haven’t done as well as I thought I would
I’m not dead but I’m damaged goods
And it’s gettin’ late
I’m a rusty hinge, a squeaky wheel
at the bad end of a shaky deal
cursed by the hand of fate
and ooooooh – I’m a very lucky girl
yeah ooooooh – hello cruel world
I’m a ticking clock, a losing bet
a girl without a safety net
I’m a cause for some concern
You don’t live this long without regrets
Telephone calls you don’t wanna get
Stones you’d rather leave unturned
but ooooooh – the grain of sand becomes the pearl
yeah ooooooh – hello cruel world
some folks go the easy route
numb the pain or put the lights out
either way they got to go
me I’m gonna stick around
in for a penny in for a pound
cause I hate to miss the show
and ooooooh – I’m a very stubborn girl
yeah ooooooh – hello cruel world
hello cruel world"
"Guadalupe"
"Guadalupe" is a Tom Russell song, among his very best. Below are the lyrics as well as performances by Gretchen Peters, then Peters and Tom Russell and finally by Russell.
"There are ghosts out in the rain tonight
High up in those ancient trees
and I have given up without a fight
Another blind fool on his knees
And all the gods that I'd abandoned
Begin to speak in simple tongue
And suddenly I've come to know
There are no roads left to run
Now it's the hour of dogs a-barking
That's what the old ones used to say
It's first light or it's sundown
Before the children cease their play
When the mountains glow like mission wine
And turn grey like a Spanish roan
Ten thousand eyes will stop to worship
Then turn away and head for home
Chorus
She is reaching out her arms tonight
and, Lord, my poverty is real
I pray roses shall rain down again
from Guadalupe on her hill
And who am I to doubt these mysteries
Cured in centuries of blood and candle smoke
I am the least of all your children here
But I am most in need of hope
She appeared to Juan Diego
She left her image on his cape
Five hundred years of sorrow
Cannot destroy their deepest faith
So here am I your ragged disbeliever
Old doubting Thomas drowns in tears
As I watch your church sink through the earth
Like a heart worn down through fear
Chorus"
"There are ghosts out in the rain tonight
High up in those ancient trees
and I have given up without a fight
Another blind fool on his knees
And all the gods that I'd abandoned
Begin to speak in simple tongue
And suddenly I've come to know
There are no roads left to run
Now it's the hour of dogs a-barking
That's what the old ones used to say
It's first light or it's sundown
Before the children cease their play
When the mountains glow like mission wine
And turn grey like a Spanish roan
Ten thousand eyes will stop to worship
Then turn away and head for home
Chorus
She is reaching out her arms tonight
and, Lord, my poverty is real
I pray roses shall rain down again
from Guadalupe on her hill
And who am I to doubt these mysteries
Cured in centuries of blood and candle smoke
I am the least of all your children here
But I am most in need of hope
She appeared to Juan Diego
She left her image on his cape
Five hundred years of sorrow
Cannot destroy their deepest faith
So here am I your ragged disbeliever
Old doubting Thomas drowns in tears
As I watch your church sink through the earth
Like a heart worn down through fear
Chorus"
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