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Ashes And Roses Track Listing |
Ashes And Roses Track-by-Track notesClick here |
Ashes And Roses Lyrics & CreditsClick here (right-click and “Save Link As”) to download the lyrics & credits |
Ashes And Roses Lyrics:1. Transcendental Reunion Drums Russ: Kunkel Bass: Glenn Worf Piano and B3: Matt Rollings Mandocello and Electric Guitar: Duke Levine Acoustic Guitar: Mary Chapin Carpenter Percussion: Eric Darken Background Vocals: Mac McAnally
From 20,000 feet I saw the lights below me twinkling just like Christmas we descended slowly and the curve of the world passed with all of that flying above the mighty ocean and now we all are arriving grab the carry on baggage join the herd for the mad run take a place in the long line where does every one come from? as we shuffle on forward as we wait for inspection don’t be holding that line up at the end lies redemption Oh Oh, Hey Hey, Ah Ah
Now I’m stamped and I’m waved through I take up my position at the mouth of the cannon saying prayers of contrition please deliver my suitcase from all mischief and peril now the sight of it circling is a hymn to the faithful Forgive me for my staring, for my unconcealed envy in the Hall of Arrivals where the great river empties it’s hand carts and porters all the people it carries to be greeted with flowers grandfathers and babies Oh Oh, Hey Hey, Ah Ah
There is no one to meet me yet I’m all but surrounded by the tears and embracing by the joy unbounded the friends and relations leaping over hemispheres transcendental reunion all borders vanish here We are travelers traveling we are gypsies together we’re philosophers gathering we are business or pleasure we are going or coming we’re just finding our way to the next destination and from night into day Oh Oh, Hey Hey, Ah Ah, Oh Oh, Hey Hey, Ah Ah
In a giant bird’s belly I flew over the ocean from 20,000 feet high how those lights were glowing
2. What to Keep and What to Throw Away Drums and Tambourine: Russ Kunkel Bass: Glenn Worf Piano and B3: Matt Rollings Electric Guitar: Duke Levine Acoustic Guitar: Mary Chapin Carpenter
These are your instructions should you choose to follow sit down with pen and paper begin with something hollow like the last words that he offered no kind of explanation they only take up space here you do not need to save them
open up the closet find his winter coat there check inside the pockets find a crumpled note there it says “milk and Sunday paper” and a heart smudged in blue ink fold it up and box it before you’ve time to think
Sundays are the hardest avoid familiar back roads erase the old phone numbers delete all the photos and those you haven’t heard from will come as no surprise they made their calculation when they chose a side
these are your instructions when you become reclusive when old friends say they miss you when sleep becomes elusive fill up every journal empty every shoebox burn the lists and letters sweep out all the old thoughts shake off all the covers throw every window open stand here in your bare feet welcome in the morning these are your instructions when grace has left you stranded when you are lost and wounded bleeding and abandoned
Use a tourniquet for pressure let time do it’s healing say prayers for good measure when you think you’ve lost all feeling Now walk into the guest room the last place he was sleeping see the outline on the pillow smooth it without weeping
one last final walk through now move the bags and boxes from front porch onto back seat haul away the losses these are your instructions if you choose to follow stop and take a big breath begin with something hollow….
3. The Swords We Carried Drums: Russ Kunkel Upright Bass: Glenn Worf Piano: Matt Rollings Resonator and Electric Guitars: Duke Levine Acoustic Guitar: Mary Chapin Carpenter Background Vocals: Mac McAnally
Back when I believed in luck and stones & crosses I’d put a coin found on the street towards cosmic losses and passing graveyards in a car tracing every falling star luck was never very far from childhood causes
And pennies kissed with wishes arced into the fountains And time was said to heal all pain and hope move mountains and all that could befall a heart or break this perfect life apart the swords we carried could not do a thing about them Away I am going, away I am gone
Ghosts and angels are but memories and visions and revenants are out there taking up positions but back when I believed in you You’d raise the sun and set the moon how could I help but love you holy as religion Away you are going, away you are gone
But back when I believed in luck and words as spoken I found a lie could break and split the world clean open and grief became my company pain so deep I could not breathe all betrayal is like dying in slow motion
Is it luck that makes us shout or makes us whisper Is it luck that makes us wise or turns us bitter with our maps that point true north with our vows we sally forth the swords we carried can’t protect us from eachother Away we are going Away we are gone Away we are going Away we are gone
4. Another Home Drums: Russ Kunkel Bass: Glenn Worf Piano and B-3: Matt Rollings Electric Guitar: Duke Levine Acoustic Guitar: Mary Chapin Carpenter Percussion: Eric Darken Background Vocals: Mac McAnally
There’s another home somewhere there’s another glimpse of sky there’s another place unlearned and a face not memorized there’s another quilt of green where the trees throw down their shade there’s another way to lean into the wind unafraid
There’s another life out there beyond your quiet room use dead reckoning the sky, the stars and the moon there’s another storm to chase there’s another bridge to burn there’s nothing perfect here another lesson to learn
There were days I gave into losing empty spaces of my own choosing there were nights I forgot to hold on so I let go, I had to let go
There’s another home somewhere that I close my eyes to see I will find you there You will know it’s me by my shield and sword by my soldier’s heart we made it through the war we made another start just beyond the trees not so far I swear there’s another turn that leads towards another home somewhere
5. Chasing What’s Already Gone Drums: Russ Kunkel Bass: Glenn Worf Piano and B-3: Matt Rollings Electric Guitar and Mandolin: Duke Levine Acoustic Guitar: Mary Chapin Carpenter Percussion and Cajon: Eric Darken Background Vocals: Mac McAnally and Kim Keys
There’s a big white house on a leafy street on a summer’s day in 1963 a station wagon’s parked in the drive with dents in the fender and wood on the side there’s kids and dogs in instamatic hues squinting hard in the sun not just yet but one day too they’ll be chasing what’s already gone
You grow up tall and you grow up tough try to never admit not feeling good enough they tell you find your passion then you’ll find your way I’m just trying to make it unscathed through every day and seems to happen nearly overnight life shows you who you’ve become when there’s no more mystery in the fading light you’re just chasing what’s already gone
Like the line that spells the far horizon moving with you as fast as you can run half your life you pay it no attention the rest you can’t stop wondering what you should have done instead of chasing what’s already gone
I saw my father in a dream last night he was smiling and saying you’re going to be alright and this morning I stared back at myself feeling as empty as I’ve ever felt but I keep on going and I hope I’ve learned more of what’s right than what’s wrong it’s ashes and roses and time that burns when you’re chasing what’s already gone
Ashes and roses and hearts that break I tried so hard to be strong It may be my worst but not my first mistake Chasing what’s already gone
6. Learning The World Foot and Shaker: Russ Kunkel Bass: Glenn Worf Piano: Matt Rollings Electric Guitar: Duke Levine Acoustic Guitar: Mary Chapin Carpenter Percussion: Eric Darkin
Grief rides quietly on the passenger side unwanted company on a long, long drive it turns down the quiet songs and turns up the din it goes where you go, it’s been where you’ve been
And pushing your empty cart mile after mile leaves you weeping in the wilderness of the supermarket aisle and in the late night kitchen light it sits in a chair watching you pretend that it’s not really there
But it is, so it is and you ask are you predator or friend the future or the past?
It hands you your overcoat and opens the door you are learning the world again just as before but the first time was childhood and now you are grown broken wide open, cut to the bone
And all that you used to know is of no use at all the same eyes you’ve always had have you walking into walls and the same heart can’t understand why it’s so hard to feel what used to be true what’s now so unreal but it is, so it is and you say I wish I were the wind so that I could blow away
Grief sits silently on the edge of your bed it’s closing your eyes, it’s stroking your head the dear old companion is taking up air watching you pretend that it’s not really there
7. I Tried Going West Drums and Percussion: Russ Kunkel Bass: Glenn Worf Piano, B3 and Accordion: Matt Rollings Electric Guitar and Mandolin: Duke Levine Acoustic Guitar: Mary Chapin Carpenter Shaker and Bass Drum: Eric Darken Background Vocals: Mac McAnnaly
I tried going west where the sky meets the sun Where the edge of the world’s always been As far from this place as a girl gets to run When her reasons to stay have worn thin
Out there the days were so bright and so blue Yet I missed all my thunder and rain The way a storm punctures a hot afternoon washing away every stain
When my maps pointed north they were calling for snow to cover all sound and all sight tell me where on this earth does all that noise go underneath all of that white
With thaws scarcely mentioned I dug out my truck by the time the storm cleared I was gone back on the road with the radio up singing at the top of my lungs
Driving and crying and driving some more oh the south is a good place to hide hot nights, cold beer and creaky screen doors and a motel’s vacancy sign
A letter a day I wrote back home to you but not one you ever received because I can’t stand a man who lies like you do and I can’t bear a woman who pleads
One day it dawned I had run out of road and out of reasons to run Like a horse to the barn I was hell bent to go as fast going back as I’d come
Home, home was the song that I sang as I pulled in just before dark there was only a hook where your coat used to hang that’s where I hung up my heart
I tried going west, where the sky meets the sun 8. Don’t Need Much To Be Happy Bass: Glenn Worf Piano: Matt Rollings Electric Guitar: Duke Levine Acoustic Guitar: Mary Chapin Carpenter Background Vocals: Mac McAnally
Don’t need much to be happy four walls and a roof overhead books and food in my belly cool sheets upon the bed
A fire that warms up December The sound of a thaw in the eaves sometimes it’s hard to remember how tough we are to please
All in good time somehow I find days that still shine with light all in good stead I’m safe and I’m fed with dreams in my head good night
The feel of my hand being taken driving at night all alone the breeze on a warm summer evening and coming home
All in good time somehow you find days that still shine with light all in good stead You’re safe and you’re fed with dreams in your head good night
Don’t need much to be happy a friend to soften a fall and something to show for my labors after all
I had to learn to be grateful I had to learn how to see mistakes that might have proved fatal are gifts I now receive 9. Soul Companion Drums and Percussion: Russ Kunkel Bass: Glenn Worf Piano and B3: Matt Rollings Electric Guitar: Duke Levine Acoustic Guitar: Mary Chapin Carpenter Acoustic Guitar: James Taylor Percussion: Eric Darken Duet Vocal and Harmonies: James Taylor
All of our dreams are laid out and measured arrows and pins and a rainbow of threads like hope on a string, sewn into the linings for the courage to face the unknown ahead My soul companion out in the world somewhere my soul companion I’ll meet you there
I’m packing my compass, trusted and tested my dog-eared maps to study and fold into a pocket, I’m traveling light now all that we have is all that we hold My soul companion in my heart you are my soul companion just like a star
There are no borders, there are no boundaries there are no fences up around me but I get quiet and I get lonely just like everyone
These are the old roads, these are the stations I look for my ride, you wait for your train these are the chances, a life’s incantations these are the places that don’t know our names My soul companion love finds its own way in my soul companion now let us begin my soul companion out in the world somewhere my soul companion I’ll meet you there
10. Old Love Drums and Percussion: Russ Kunkel Bass: Glenn Worf Piano and Harmonium: Matt Rollings National Resonator and Electric Guitars: Duke Levine Acoustic Guitar: Mary Chapin Carpenter Background Vocals: Mac McAnally
I want old love, the kind that takes years to turn to gold, love, burnished and seared on the high wire, by rain, wind and sun with the hard times forgiven and done
I want old love, the kind that seeps in it isn’t cold, love, it’s never brittle or thin it’s the long kiss, it’s the curl of a sigh down a hallway, in the middle of the night
I want old love, the kind that can see through the holes, love, that live underneath all our false cheer, bravado and pride through the old fears we carry inside
I want old love, the kind that can say what it knows, love, and what it learned on the way in that one voice, familiar and strange only old love remembers your name
I want old love, the kind that holds on when it’s told, love, that all hope is gone against all odds, wagers and prayers to the wall love, to the furthest somewhere
I want old love, the kind that takes years to turn to gold, love, burnished and seared on the high wire, by rain, wind and sun with the hard times forgiven and done
11. New Years Day Drums: Russ Kunkel Bass: Glenn Worf Piano: Matt Rollings Electric Guitar: Duke Levine Acoustic Guitar: Mary Chapin Carpenter Glockenspiel: Eric Darken
We are sitting at a table in a bar in Baltimore it’s the last night of December and the room is nearly full and the front door pulls a draft in every time it opens wide and you are telling me a story from another time and life
And the waitress brings our order and we’re tucked in mighty close and I feel like we belong among the living and these ghosts and I know that I am dreaming as I memorize each part in the telling lies a reverie in the details lie the heart like the scent upon my wrist like the way you played guitar like a boxer punches with his fist and taken or just lost to me it’s better now to say I dwell in possibility on New Year’s Day
There’s a jukebox or a bandstand and we’re on another round and the night’s just getting started or the night’s just winding down and your stories are not clouded yet by the ale or by the gin they just make me feel as if I’ve known you all my life again
Like the folds of summer dresses like the scent upon my wrist like the way you played guitar like a boxer punches with his fist and taken or just lost to me it’s better now to say I dwell in possibility on New Year’s Day
And this is what it looked like when we started walking home the night sky bleached to silver against the city’s bones in dreams or in our waking it’s just enough to say love and grace and endless flowers be ours on New Year’s Day
And the folds of summer dresses and the bangles on my wrist and the way you played guitar like a boxer punches with his fist and taken or just lost to us it’s better now to say we dwell in possibility on New Year’s Day
12. Fading Away Drums: Russ Kunkel Bass: Glenn Worf Piano and B3: Matt Rollings National Resonator and Electric Guitars: Duke Levine Acoustic Guitar: Mary Chapin Carpenter
You are fading away in pieces and parts like old china and glass, in fragments and shards moment by moment, a day at a time by the side of the road, in the dark of the night
You are leaving me here like the seasons will do leaving nothing behind but I know it was you that walked where I walk now, that stood where I stand some phantom performing a strange sleight of hand
And the places I see are returning once more to the places I knew them to be long before they merged with your laugh they locked with your eyes I have almost regained them, along with my stride
You are turning to nothing like ash off a fire as it rises and floats up higher and higher as the flame slowly dies and the fire turns cold like the color of sky the higher you go
And the world that I see is returning once more to the world that I knew it be long before it had merged with your laugh it had locked with your eyes I’ve been letting it go, with all my goodbyes
You are blurring like memory and falling like dust on old wedding bouquets, the roses and rust on the wheel, on the mantle, in the quiet of day you are vanishing slowly you are fading away
13. Jericho Piano: Matt Rollings
You can’t see me yet seeing takes a long, long time from the outside in measuring each shift and sigh but as you let your eyes adjust to the darkness deep within sifting throughthe ash and dust we are the places that we’ve been You can’t hear me yet listening takes a long, long time and I’ve so much to tell but words die on these lips of mine but in the stillness you may sense every thing I long to say unraveling like golden threads the walls will all come down this way You don’t know me yet knowing takes a long, long time and time is all we have never traveling in straight lines So memorize each turn and twist just be careful as you go for if love is a labyrinth then my heart is Jericho |
