Nature Songs - 2 New Demos

I've been working on both of these songs for awhile now and I've made some revisions. So, here are some rough recordings of what they've developed into.





White Pine

My brother told me all about the white pine blister rust
and he said the bark beetle's bite hurts like hell
Well, I'm just as tall and I'm just as rough
and any chance I stood sat down when he fell

So I count the witches brooms and the bloody needle tips
and the sum comes up at the end of each damn day
but my mama told me once with time between her lips
that everything is nothing but change

So, I will go...

I hate the sound of a slap laid down from the lightening on a mountain's face
but the scar speaks for the flash in a sacred moan
that there is beauty in what is brief and even more in what we waste
like the blue in a sea of black that lives alone

So when it's my time to fall, to bleed, and to break
I only ask you one simple thing:
don't say it was enough or that I've gone to a better place
just hold your head in your hands and let regret sing

Oh, let me go.
If I could I would stay right here.
Oh, let me go.

And though futile my fight might feel
I've still got to try while I've still got time
to make it all a little worth while.
_____

Evergreen Wolf Song

If you can feel my beat rock your ribs, my tongue and teeth comb your winter coat
then hold your head beneath and whisper with the earth stuck in your throat
into my withered ears the sound of your howlin' tears singin' softly
and I will call the moon to tug your tide and make you high when you think of me.

And I'm gone but you've still got me
as long as you think of me as home.

Out on the outskirts, while I feigned to follow father's verse, you waited for me
and now I wait for you up above in the seed at the edge of the limb of the evergreen
and when the forest burns the flames will cast a killing curse and we will finally fall
into the ash and dust 'til the spring reigns over us and we can let our roots crawl.

And I'm gone but you've still got me
as long as you think of me as home
and even though I'm feelin' the ache of change
I know that without it things would stay the same

And now I wait for you up above in the seed at the edge of the limb of the evergreen.

New Song - My Vow

Just completed the first draft of this one. It's for my lovely wife, Hailey.

I pressed the black ink down onto the page
Old words from a pen of such a young age
They were written for you on our wedding day
and spoken for all to hear

I stood before myself in a three-piece suit
trying to look like the guy who should be with you
but I ran into some problems, I found quite a few
I spent some time looking in the mirror

I know I'll never be the man you want
but I hope that you can love me while I try
'cause even though, no doubt, without me you'd be fine
If you didn't have ribs to hold your heart
I'd give you mine

The weather's been rough but the work's been good
There's been bad overlaid but we've understood
And I've done you wrong like you knew I would
You've shown your love the most

Do you remember that night when the storm came through?
It shook the house and shook me, too
I cannot believe I did that to you
I thought I'd lost us both

I know I'll never be the man you want
but I hope that you can love me while I try
'cause even though, no doubt, without me you'd be fine
If you didn't have eyes to see your worth
I'd give you mine

Say Hello to "Honey"

A couple posts previous to this, I showed you my new banjo. Well, here she is again after some customization. Gave her a tattoo and a homemade, braided hemp strap. I've decided to call her Honey. Ain't she a pretty skin-bellied lute?

 

 

New Song - Rough Draft 2

Alright. Here's a small update on the new song I'm working on: the second verse has been revised. I couldn't really get into the first draft of it, so I made some changes. The song still has no chorus or definite structure, but y'know, every bit of progress is neat to share. Let me know if you like it better. Thanks!

I Got a Banjo!

This past weekend my wife and I went to Portland to see the Avett Brothers at Edgefield Amphitheater--and I ended up getting a banjo at Trade Up Music! It's a basic entry-level, 5-string Fender--nothing fancy--but it was set up pretty well by the guys at the music shop, so it's pretty comfy and playable. It's just what I'll need for basic songwriting and recording. Can't wait to take it to the studio!

Photo by Hailey Roberts

New Song - Rough Draft

This is a rough draft of a brand new song. I've been tapping away at it for most of the summer, and it's just now getting to the point where I'm comfortable sharing it. It doesn't have lyrics for the chorus yet, so in this recording I just fill the space with vocalization. Let me know what you think. Thanks!
 

My brother told me all about the white pine blister rust
and he said the bark beetle's bite hurts like hell.
Well, I'm just as tall and I'm just as rough
and any chance I stood sat down when he fell.
So I count the witches brooms and the bloody needle tips
and the sum comes up at the end of each damn day,
but my mama told me once, with time between her lips,
that everything is nothing but change.

[chorus]

I don't like the way it sounds and I hate the way it tastes
but when the words roll off my tongue I know they're true:
"There is beauty in what is brief and even more in what we waste"
Why else would it hurt so bad to gain and lose?
When it's my time to fall, to bleed, and to break
I only ask of you this one simple thing:
don't say it was enough or that I've gone to a better place
just pour beauty from your eyes and let it sing.

[chorus]

Studio Results - Linguis Faveamus

Hello, all. I'm excited to share the partially-completed recording of Linguis Faveamus! I went into the studio a few days ago, sat down to record it, and realized that I was NOT impressed with the incompleteness of the middle portion. So, after a little bit of thought, I added some lyrics--and I'm pretty happy with the result. Additionally, I tried a new method while recording the guitar; the song starts out with one guitar and then splits into two as the song picks up pace. Basically, both guitar tracks are the same, but with very subtle variations between them. Nothing too obvious, just some added notes here and there to build a bit of complexity. (It's more noticeable with headphones.) More will be added later, but here's what I've got so far. Enjoy!



I wish that all this love could flow right out of me and gather in your eyes where you could cry it
and I'd hold onto you just like you'd hold on to me and it'd soak into my shirt and we'd get quiet.

A silence would fill the air and we would breathe it in and the two-tone perspective-ness would vanish
but as it is right now I don't think that will ever be, and the frustration is so I barely stand it.

So to reverse all the ruckus I sit here and I write, hoping all these sensations will soon fade
but the more I pen, the more I feel I've set it down in stone and the wish that I recite takes on a cold weight.

I wish that all this love could flow right out of me and gather in your eyes where you could cry it
and I'd hold on to you just like you'd hold on to me and it'd soak into my shirt and we'd get quiet.