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More Songs About Birds and Trees

by Various Artists

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1.
The sun went silent today Closed doors and sealed lips Collar up looking like rain Working at the base of the monument Trying to read some sense into it Hands up flashlight blinded While I wait The sun went silent today Dark clouds flying Unfurled and frayed Run my fate up the flagpole Handcuffed to the ground in the cold Hammer on the gavel What’s my name? The sun went silent today freedom woke in darkness lost and afraid The moon walks Capitol Hill Outside the fence in a long black veil weeping on judgement day The sun went silent today Handcuffed and violent what’s my name? The sun went silent The sun went silent Today
2.
The snowmelt is commencing Earnestly today Witch hazel graced with songbirds Red buds bless the gray The road that you return on Is the one you drive away And I don’t know where you get to And I don’t know what to say You come back through the darkness You come back on borrowed wings You come back from where you’ve been to Followed by wild things The rain will wash the salt down The streams will overflow The deer gonna shed their antlers Southern wind will blow May those shoes that trace the ridgeline Be the shoes left by the door And I won’t ask you any questions I just don’t care to anymore CHORUS Meanwhile, in winter loam, crocuses unwind Bring back all you’re stubborn heart keeps begging you to find Meanwhile, the porch roof’s loose and lonely melting sound Is married to the silence of what’s stirring underground It’s four miles down the mountain It’s ten mile into town Between heaven and Big Indian Beyond the perfect sound Of a bobcat’s bleeding hunger Of worlds best left alone I don’t know where you get to Just let it lead you home CHORUS
3.
The smoke alarm was blinking all night long I never closed my eyes How can it be? This snuck up on me I thought that I was ready for the change But it feels so strange Along the way, all 6,000 days We knew this had to come Our work is through, there's our Little Boo Boxing up a life that's just begun So keen to run Almost gone, It's all flashing before me There's still so much I need to say But the words don't come today All I can see is the past playing on repeat But the future's in your eyes Here we are loading up the car Trying not to rain on your big day Bombs away Almost gone, your arm out the window A victory song in the air You've been ready so long I'm getting there
4.
Yesterday, an educator educated me A self-directed scholar of the Constitution, he Understood the founders almost telepathically They, of course, demanded liberty Freedom’s just another word for We will take a stand Anti-inconvenience Greater good be damned No one from the government can tell us what to do We are not afraid of their apocalyptic flu We may be, on the other hand, afraid of being told That we’ve become irrelevant and old Freedom’s just another word for Angry men demand Preferential treatment Greater good be damned Mainly, what we talk about throughout the commonwealth Is how we lived before we went to war with public health Even in the face of unambiguous research We will get together in a church Freedom’s just another word for I don’t understand Jesus’s religion Greater good be damned Lately, “we the people” are a god-forsaken mess Genuine Americans refuse to acquiesce Rather, we repudiate opposing points of view And I rejoice in terrorizing you Freedom’s just another word for Here’s a helping hand Sorry if it hurts you Greater good be damned
5.
She’s scattered in her sadness lately She moves a box of matches daily The lemon tree is turning lazy Some weights are hard to bear She keeps a jar of glycerin out back Chops the wood and kindling, hands chapped Whispers into daylight, I’m cracked  Some weights are hard to bear She washes all the linens Hangs them up in rows Tries to shake the image of when The garden sundial froze  It couldn’t be a year now, too long It was just a summer day gone wrong The musket is a long gun, so long Some weights are hard to bear She’s scattered in her sadness lately She moves a box of ashes daily The lemon fire is burning hazy Some weights are hard to bear
6.
The heirs of Shangri La Will not be checking in tonight The train was late, and on the platform all their bags lie scattered In the moonlight Somewhere between the station and the hotel gate They lost their way, so if you’re staying up it’s sure to be A long and lonely wait The heirs of Shangri La Will not be gazing out to sea From the crumbling marble folly where the poppy gardens Used to be Somewhere between the summer and the falling leaves They must have had a change of heart, and this is all we’re ever Likely to receive The heirs of Shangri La Are just an echo on the breeze That whispers through the tangled branches of the last remaining Olive trees Somewhere between the morning of the world and now They left their footprints in the sand for us to follow but we’ve Never quite learned how
7.
Started as a compliment Ended as a curse Useless as a bobby pin In the bottom of your purse My good intentions fall apart Before your x-ray vision heart All the wild ovations Of my younger days Standing invitations Piles of purple praise Echo in canyons faint and far apart Because of your x-ray vision heart It can’t be easy to see so clearly But somehow you love me anyway Living in a glass house A transparent metaphor Boy you gotta keep your laundry off the floor Turning a home into a breathing work of art Thanks to your x-ray vision heart
8.
Tempest, she’s a funny one She’s hellbent on destruction Tempest won’t always announce her plans to pass through. Tempest won’t let you forget her She’ll make damn-sure there’s proof that you met her Busted screens, broken glass and downed trees in the backyard will do Tempest, it seems, won’t ever be really over you. She’s lightning and thunder, she’ll have you running for cover unsure of what she’s got planned She’s less into taking and more about breaking off roots and foundations that stand. Tempest, it seems, like to believe you won’t weather the crash. Tempest, you think that you know her So you watch from the porch as she comes closer And blots out the blue sky and rattles the cross on the wall Tempest, it seems, only ever finds relief when rain starts to fall. She’s lightning and thunder, she’ll have you running for cover unsure of what she’s got planned She’s less into taking and more about breaking off roots and foundations that stand. Tempest, it seems, like to believe you won’t weather the crash. Tempest, it seems, can’t give up the dream that you’ll want her back.
9.
I am back in Paris, dear Marcel I’m sorry to inform you that your book’s not doing well I hope you know I’ve done all that I could Given the current crisis, the outlook isn’t good You will have to buy them back, they just don’t sell And I hope your health’s improving, dear Marcel Thank you for your letter, dear Gaston I threw it in the fire where at least it keeps me warm I am losing patience, losing sleep and losing time And my lungs are filled with suffocating slime, thanks for asking You can sell the books yourself and leave me here alone I’ll throw this in the fire too, Gaston If I don’t die this evening I’ll throw myself down at your feet And with nothing left to prove, we’ll go to the Louvre And I’ve always wanted to travel to India And I just might If I don’t die tonight  Did you get my letter, dear Marcel? I’m happy that I finally have good news to tell Marcel, you have won the Prix Goncourt And when the plague has ended, we will celebrate for sure For tonight, we’ll toast with our finest chablis To your speedy recovery, mon ami I’ve been thinking of you, dear Gaston Do you remember those cold nights in Orleans? I suppose it must have been quite difficult for some But all I recall’s your heartbeat, like a military drum And your uniform, your cape and your cigar I’m tired now, dear Gaston, au revoir If I don’t die this evening I’ll throw myself down at your feet And with nothing left to prove, we’ll go to the Louvre And I’ve always wanted to travel to India And I just might If I don’t die tonight
10.
Through the fall, rain and snow, we were headed for spring And when the trees were all fuzzy as the freeze  wore off, we realized the blow - We’re not high on love but rather  some electric fuzz of life  keeps us buzzing through the night and the sunlight brings us back And when the myth doesn't fit through the door the lock is engaged: we got no breadth anymore Realize: the wall’d grown thickened with vine And coffee and wine aren't enough Are we high on love or rather that electric fuzz of life Higher and higher climbs a trouble and strife “husband and wife” no longer  grows stronger~ And now this song of longing is  Breaking its belonging from my open door, through the broken lock of my heart We have the boy who brings us so much joy And his gifts flow in like a tide  Oh yes he grows to be taller than you  and -he goes into a cave, too Oh the broken door of my mythic fort Heaves and buckles to the ground And still the walls coming crumbling down And rubbles fill the fields  tho rainbows and the peels 
of laughter above looking down they laugh with love ~No one extends a hand to lift us up  And yet we rise Wahoooooe, whahooooee Yeah, we rise ~Rise through the rubble through an open door, past the broken-lock open-heart
11.
I’ve cried for Maggie all night, but I can’t feel a thing I turn over and turn out the light when I hear the bells ring My head’s worn a hole in the wall, it’s the least I could do But my heart’s grown too hollow to truly be swallowed in blue Even the arms of the earth appear weary and wan But with or without weeping, the reaping will go on and on I mumble a prayer and I cover a window in black Sometimes being gone means that you’ll never be coming back I’ve cried for Maggie all night, but it’s not like I mind My eyes needed something to do and it beats going blind If her picture falls off of the wall from the thunderstorm’s force It just means the sky’s been plugged in to the wrong power source Now the night and day meet to the second-line beat of my bones As they drum out the difference between lonely and being alone I can drown in a crowd and still feel like I’m on my own I can call her all night but no one’s gonna pick up the phone I’ve cried for Maggie all night, but I can’t feel a thing I turn over and turn out the light when I hear the bells ring
12.
Toby is a wonder dog / Smarter than the others You learn to use your noggin’ / When a sheepdog is your mother Nancy is his owner / A clever girl and bright Takes Toby to the pub / Where he tells fortunes every night Toby speaks no English / And very seldom barks His fortune telling method / Is a most peculiar art If you have a burning question / That you’re dying to find out You buy the dog 2 beers / A pint of ale, a pint of stout Toby, Toby, Yes or No Tell us what the future holds When Toby answers “Yes” / He very briskly wags his tail Then puts his paw upon the bar / To indicate the ale But if the answer’s “No” / beyond a shadow of a doubt His little tail droops / While pointing sadly to the stout Toby, Toby, Yes or No Tell us what the future holds Toby Toby, whatcha think? Perhaps you need another drink Will Joseph ever marry? / It’s anybody’s guess! A great hurrah erupts / As Toby quickly answers YES Will Nancy ever kiss me? / Asks Patrick with a grin Two paws on the bar / Ah that means NO and NO again Toby, Toby, Yes or No Tell us what the future holds If the answer isn’t clear Then buy the dog another beer It’s question after question / Until they all run out Then Nancy drinks the ale / while Toby slobbers down the stout Yes, Toby is a wonder dog / Drunker than the others You learn to wet your whistle / When a sheepdog is your mother
13.
Sunset like a bruise A quiet walk avoiding the news Water mirrors sky Clouds float by Clouds float by Meet me on the span A place without a need to plan Open-ended sky Clouds float by Clouds float by Startled by a greeting Reunited with the flock How long were we apart Ooh… Clouds float by Clouds float by and by

about

13 singer/songwriters plus one pandemic equals a lot of downtime. That's why the baker's dozen heard here started convening via Zoom once a week to share new songs with each other in the spring of 2020. Many were friends beforehand and some were strangers to each other. But gathering online each week, everyone became intimately acquainted pretty quickly, evolving into an extended musical family.

The results were an unprecedented productivity rate for pretty much everybody, thanks to the weekly deadline; a fertile artistic cross-pollination; and a boatload of new material. Hundreds of songs later, they decided to document the first year of the group's life with an album featuring a song from each member. There were only two rules: each track must be a solo performance and everyone must record a song that was presented to the group.

More Songs About Birds and Trees is as diverse as an album made under those circumstances could be. The contributors come from the East coast, West coast, and points in between. They sing about Marcel Proust, a fortune-telling dog, the attack on the Capitol, the story of a broken family, and more. Sometimes they growl, and sometimes they coo. Sometimes they break your heart, sometimes they bust your gut with laughter.

They are, in alphabetical order: Jim Allen, Wendy Beckerman, Hope Dunbar, Rachel Garlin, David Hamburger, Django Haskins, Bob Hillman, Byron Isaacs, Brian Joseph, Libby Kirkpatrick, Tim Robinson, Christopher Smith, and Louise Taylor. All of them are veteran songwriters with plenty of albums of their own. But in the midst of chaos, 13 very different artists found a way to grow together, and More Songs About Birds and Trees is the soundtrack to their first birthday party.

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released April 13, 2021

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More Songs About...

13 singer/songwriters plus one pandemic equals a lot of downtime. That's why the baker's dozen heard here started convening via Zoom once a week to share new songs with each other in the spring of 2020. Many were friends beforehand and some were strangers to each other. But gathering online each week, everyone became intimately acquainted pretty quickly, evolving into an extended musical family. ... more

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