1. |
Hunting Doves
03:39
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Untie the knot and cast me off,
But leave me with a chart
A way, a way far from today
I cannot see the stars
A budding love once bloomed for us
But day broke and I rose
A lone, a lone - left overgrown
All thorny and exposed
Thorny and exposed
So I sift through the myth, the truth,
The pile of shirts you left
A last, a last sweep through our past
Then I'll be better yet
I'll be better
You seek lovers for a sport
And I can't make you yield
A loved, a loved one hunting doves
Above a baited field
I've seen trees that weep sweet sap
Would that my tears were sugar
A long, a long time dwelling on
This would not feel so bitter
Would not feel so damn bitter
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2. |
Unrecorded Night
05:07
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I have been fighting the good fight
But each unrecorded night
Still tangles up my mind
I’m haunted by these gaps of time
And the things that I forgot
Mornings I stumbled, spent
Collecting evidence
Braved through what I heard
Though all I have are strangers’ words
And some hazy scattered scenes
A play of half-forgotten dreams
And all of those friends
I thought I made
While I was unafraid
While I was unafraid
Were bolstered by the booze
A buddy only in the
Bruising black of night
By barroom candle light
Recalling all our sad luck blues
I had grown weary of the well
And the work it took to waste myself
Too numb to stir awake
Too weak to own my own mistakes
I could not break my graceless fall
By staying out after last call
And all of those friends
I thought I made
While we were unafraid
While we were unafraid
Were chasing down a muse
From spirits with a top-shelf view
In spite of nothing coming
To us but the worst
We tried to quench our thirst
For something that was new
I know I’m never far
From slipping back
Into my hole of hopeless habits
Time and time alone
Can ease desire
Into a soft and steady static
It’s only static
It’s only
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3. |
Easton
05:34
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We were straddling the line
Of spring and summertime
When Easton chose to bloom
Sparing our hearts the sting
Of a cold, empty room
Though your hand was in mine
I could feel your wandering mind–
Could you feel mine, too?
Wasn’t it last year
We walked through the pasture
With mud up to our knees?
You were knobby, and pale, and tall
Like one of those birch trees
And I had your love,
But for me, it wasn’t enough,
It wasn’t…
I won’t mind if I can’t quite recall
Our shadows swaying on your bedroom wall
I won’t mind if I could just forget
How slow it was watching that sun set
At Borderland, you held me tight
When you hold me now, it just ain’t right,
It just ain’t right
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4. |
If You Love Me
03:35
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The fluctuating worth
Of this very terminal earth
And the satellite that glow at night
Above me
Won’t bear upon my mind
But concerning human kind
I won’t care if you’re there
And if you love me
A seed must die, I know
Before a plant can grow
And so would I
Before I let you go
Again the sun may rise
And burn through yellow skies
But I’ll see it through your blue eyes
If you love me
I’ll see it in your eyes
If it’s true or if it lies
I’ll feel it if it’s real
If you love me
So let the cold wind blow
Let the seasons come and go
Let you come to my arms
If you love me
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5. |
Strangers Again
03:22
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Hello stranger, lover, friend
Hello angel on the mend
There’s a side of you
That I never knew
As you shed another skin
We are strangers again
Hello, trouble in my arms
There was another one with your charms
And he had your name
You are not the same boy
I knew back then
We are strangers again
Hello rain man in the mirror
Now I see you’ve noticed
All these tears
We can start anew
If you’re willing to
Smile and pretend
We are strangers again
If we met before
I am very sure
That I’d remember when
We are strangers again
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6. |
Colleen
06:29
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I tell it as I best know how,
And that's the way it was told to me:
Must have once been a thief or a whore,
Then surely was thrown overboard,
Where, they say,
I came their way from the deep blue sea.
It picked me up and tossed me round.
I lost my shoes and tore my gown.
Forgot my name,
And drowned.
Then woke up with the surf a-pounding;
It seemed I had been run aground.
Well they took me in and shod my feet
And taught me prayers for chastity
And said my name would be Colleen, and
I was blessed among all women,
To have forgotten everything.
And as the weeks and months ensued
I tried to make myself of use.
Tilled and planted, but could not produce —
not root, nor leaf, nor flower, nor bean; Lord!
It seemed I overwatered everything.
And I hate the sight of that empty air,
like stepping for a missing stair
and falling forth forever blindly:
cannot grab hold of anything! No,
Not I, most blessed among Colleens.
*
I dream some nights of a funny sea,
as soft as a newly born baby.
It cries for me so pitifully!
And I dive for my child with a wildness in me,
and am so sweetly there received.
But last night came a different dream;
a gray and sloping-shouldered thing
said "What's cinched 'round your waist, Colleen?
Is that my very own baleen?
No! Have you forgotten everything?"
This morning, 'round the cape at dawn,
some travelers sailed into town
with scraps for sale and the saddest songs
and a book of pictures, leather-bound, that
showed a whale with a tusk a meter long.
Well I asked the man who showed it me,
"What is the name of that strange beast?"
He said its name translated roughly to
He-Who-Easily-Can-Curve-Himself-Against-The-Sky.
And I am without words.
He said, "My lady looks perturbed.
(the light is in your eyes, Colleen)."
I said, "Whatever can you mean?"
He leaned in and said,
"You ain't forgotten everything."
*
"You dare to speak a lady's name?"
He says, "My lady is mistaken.
I would not speak your name in this place;
and if I were to try then the wind — I swear —
would rise, to tear you clean from me without a
trace."
"Have you come, then, to rescue me?"
He laughed and said, "from what, 'colleen'?"
You dried and dressed most willingly.
you corseted, and caught the dread disease
by which one comes to know such peace."
Well, it's true that I came to know such things as
the laws that govern property
and the herbs to feed the babes that wean,
and the welting weight for every season;
but still
I don't know any goddamned "Colleen."
*
Then dive down there with the lights to lead
that seem to shine from everything —
down to the bottom of the deep blue sea;
down where your heart beats so slow,
and you never in your life have felt so free.
Will you come down there with me?
Down where our bodies start to seem like
artifacts of some strange dream,
which afterwards you can't decipher,
and so, soon, have forgotten
Everything.
*
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7. |
Come Along, Rowan
02:25
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8. |
Homegrown Sorrow
05:56
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I heard you’re taking off again
Though I don’t know to where or when
I’m still getting used to hearing second hand
How you’ve been, my old friend
And maybe friend’s not the right word
But we aren’t strangers, we’re just hurt
I’m still holding hope that time will smoke you out
From the bitter hold where your heart’s housed
Oh, I don’t know where you’ll be tomorrow
But I hope we find
More yesterdays in time
And when the wheels lift from the ground
Before you clamber through the clouds
Do you scan the shoreline where we used to walk?
Or do you close your eyes when you take off?
I’d see our ghosts on subway lines
See us swaying while the breaks whined
And i’d change my state and city, but I settled for the route
Tell me, do our echoes haunt you when you go out?
Oh, I don’t know where you’ll be tomorrow
But I hope we find
More yesterdays in time
You feel your best when things are foreign
I’d bet that when you get to where you’re going
All that homegrown sorrow you and I had raised
Will wilt away in your suitcase
Go and take as many trips as you need
Find or lose yourself overseas
I have tried my best, but never in the least
Ran and found a single moment’s peace
Still, I’ll meet you there
If ever you need me
Some nights I see you in my dreams
Where all those hard words come with ease
You may not be ready, but in dreams you hear me through:
I should have been a better friend to you
Oh, I don’t know where we’ll be tomorrow
But I hope we find
More yesterdays in time
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9. |
The Arms of Your Mother
04:56
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The day you were born
Seemed like any other
No heralding horns
Just a ring from my brother
So I grabbed my keys
Burnt my legs on the seat
And drove the two hours
Just to meet ya
I gave them our name
At the visitor's desk
They pointed the way,
Pinned a tag on my chest
I wandered the ward
Till I found the right door
And through it I heard
Your mama singing
"My arms may grow weary
But I'll never tire
Of cradling you in my arms
I know it's possible
To love well beyond
The limits our
Imperfect bodies
Have placed on us
I'll hold you close
Each moment I can
The arms of your mother
Are always at hand"
I remember the nights
I'd come by for dinner
You were a sight
With your markers and glitter
It was hellos and hugs
Then I'd help you wash up
As she'd fill our plates
At the table
And when it got late
We'd take to the sofa
You'd start to fade
While your mama would hold ya
We'd switch to a whisper
For you, Dear Little Drifter
And softly your mama’d
Start singing
"My arms may grow weary
But I'll never tire
Of cradling you in my arms
I know it's possible
To love well beyond
The limits our
Imperfect bodies
Have placed on us
I'll hold you close
Each moment I can
The arms of your mother
Are always at hand"
And she was so grateful
When your car pulled in
She turned so frail
So fast
You held her at last
You held her last
And sang
"My arms may grow weary
But I'll never tire
Of cradling you in my arms
I know it's possible
To love well beyond
The limits our
Imperfect bodies
Have placed on us
I'll hold you close
Each moment I can
The arms of your daughter
Are always at hand"
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Rachel Sumner Boston, Massachusetts
Praised by audiences for her powerful, lonesome voice and haunting songs, Rachel Sumner carefully spins melodies that get caught in your head and delivers them “with an attitude and drive in her guitar playing...sure to strike a chord and dig deep into your heart. ” (Red Line Roots) ... more
Rachel Sumner recommends:
Quarter Life Crisis Haircut
by Brittany Ann Tranbaugh
I met Brittany thru the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and her songs just BLOW my mind! Perfect melodies and hilarious/heartbreaking lyrics!! We're going on tour with her in Jan 2023 - come see us!
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Younger at Most Everything
by Kyle Morgan
This album was a favorite of mine from 2022! Kyle's voice is haunting and his songs are so tender and warm. Catch us at Passim together Jan 22nd 2023!
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Bill can utterly devastate you and then revive you with laughter - sometimes in the same song. To me, this album feels like his own 'Astral Weeks' and I'm in love with it.
go to albumIf you like Rachel Sumner, you may also like:
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supported by 9 fans who also own “Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light”
The instrumentation and songwriting in this album is really top-tier. Aofie is one of my favorite folk/alt-country artists and she performs wonderfully, bringing her unique tone of voice to this project. This album was my first step into Aofie's artistry, and is firmly one of my favorite albums.
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Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater
by Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange)
supported by 8 fans who also own “Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light”
their songwriting and delivery is so authentic, it really makes me feel like I am there in a room with them maybe with a small group of people, that everything is going to be okay, we can share our hopes and our sorrows with each other. we will love again.
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Here in the Pitch
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On her fourth album, Jessica Pratt blends up 60s pop and bossa nova into a spooky mix of soft psychedelia.
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