The Feet Will Follow
After a 14-year hiatus, L. V. Cook returns with his third album "The Feet Will Follow". The vibe is Americana-tinged folk/rock/vintage ballad pop. Eleven songs feature eleven characters coming to hopeful terms with their personal challenge.
Credits:
released May 16, 2024
All songs written by L. V. Cook (a.k.a. Lecil Victor Cook Jr, Vic Cook) except "November Lullaby" (L. V. Cook and Mark Johnson) and "Morning Rise" (Michael S. Cook and L. V. Cook). (c) 2024 All rights reserved.
Many thanks to my guest musicians (in order of appearance):
Mark Johnson plays electric guitar embellishments and organ on "Hole in the Morning", and organ and piano on "November Lullaby".
Lavon Smith plays lead electric guitar and sings backup vocals for "Creatures of Comfort" and "The Chains Inside". Check out Lavon's self-titled album on Bandcamp!
Produced and engineered by L. V. Cook at "Soundproof Vanity" in Burke, Virginia USA.
This album is dedicated to the memory of my brother, Michael S. Cook (1960-2021), a great singer and songwriter who left us far too early.
© 2024 All rights reserved.
Track List:
- The Feet Will Follow (4:13)
- A Hole in the Morning (4:41)
- November Lullaby (3:45)
- Stuck in the Footsteps (3:30)
- Dance in the Shadows (4:06)
- A Little Space (4:15)
- Baby Steps (4:44)
- Creatures of Comfort (3:27)
- Missile Through the Moon (3:52)
- Morning Rise (4:07)
- The Chains Inside (4:21)
Track Notes and Lyrics:
1)“The Feet Will Follow” (the title track) is my opening salvo against my demons of lethargy. Dreams and imagination can point the direction, but they will not carry you there…at some point you got to get on your feet, literally or figuratively, to get the job, like this album, DONE. Marchy snares and a heartbeat kick summon my battle cry. You can almost hear the candy-apple-red lacquer peeling off that Peavey lap steel. My apologies to William Shakespeare for the preachy epilogue.
“Have you ever just sat there to watch the time fly?
Did you drown in your chair with the world spinning by?
I’m a seat cushion dreamer, I scheme and I talk
I’ve been sitting and squirming, now it’s time to walk
One foot’s on the sidewalk, one foot’s in the grass
One foot toward the future, one foot from the past
Dreaming dies sleeping, dead wood don’t grow
The feet have got to follow where the heart has got to go
I conjure big plans like they’re sculpture in clouds
Sometimes my faith dissipates into doubt
When I’m stuck in the moment, my legs do their best
To march to the drummer that beats in my chest
One foot’s on the brake, One foot’s on the gas
One foot toward the future, one foot from the past
I can’t see what’s coming but somehow I know
My feet have got to follow where my heart has got to go
Sometimes I stand up to stare at my boots
That first stride’s the toughest when I rip at my roots
But then I get rhythm, I pick up my pace
I start walking and dancing all over the place
One foot’s on the sidewalk, one foot’s in the grass
One foot toward the future, one foot from the past
I’ve made my decision, I know what I know
My feet have got to follow where my heart’s got to go
My feet will follow, follow… Feet, follow me home
When your inner voice whispers ‘it’s never too late’
Procrastinate not lest that chair claim your fate.”
2) “A Hole in the Morning” was inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic. More than a million Americans lost their lives to the virus, and millions of their loved ones were forced to come to terms with that loss. This song focuses on one man’s struggle to manage his grief for the ghost he loves. Mark Johnson played the Garth Hudson-style organ and the Stratocaster riffs and arpeggios on the left. The overall vibe of the song was so Dylanesque, I was inspired to play a harmonica solo to seal the deal.
“I wrestle with blankets, I kick at the sheets My eyes open easy as a long night retreats I catch myself staring and the ceiling stares back It’s my unfinished canvas, I’ve been drawing a blank I’ve been waking up naked, dawn falls like sunset on me Like a hole in the morning where your love used to be It’s a whole lot of coffee for a bottomless cup It’s hard to get over, I can’t give you up Two months since you left me from your hospital bed That tube that you’d breathe through still stuck in my head I keep waking up naked, sunrise keeps falling on me There’s a dent in the pillow where your love used to be I look deep in the mirror, I follow the cracks Some trails lead to sunshine, some dark roads go back I cling to the notion you’re my travelling ghost You drift ready beside me when I need you the most I keep waking up naked, dawn falls like sunset on me There’s a hole in the morning where your love used to be”
3) “November Lullaby” was a co-write with Mark based on one of his inspiring instrumental compositions. We wrote this October 2020, and as I recall, there were a few potential sources of stress at that time. When the going gets tough, the tough get going, and sometimes it helps to take a deep breath and sing a lullaby. Mark’s piano solo provides the spiritual lift.
“Trees got naked for a long nap Their clothes are scattered on the ground Nature’s following its road map And autumn falls without a sound Summer left us in a stormy mess The water rose, we could’ve drowned But we clung tighter than a life vest It’s time to turn this boat around I can hold you, I will console you Just pull your pillow close to mine I comprehend you, and I’ll try to mend you Every season, every time That’s enough to justify This calm November lullaby Our hands and words had started shaking The noise was rattling our bones The bitter turns this world’s been taking We’re face to face and all alone I think it’s time for us to settle down It’s time to strip our feelings bare We’re not sliding off the ice now, Our thanks and giving fill the air”
4) “Stuck in the Footsteps” follows the self-inflicted trials and tribulations of a wandering musician named “Jimmy” struggling with the expectations of his deceased father. I guess the conventional songwriter wisdom is to tell a story in first person, and that is the perspective I use for most songs, but I believe second and third person perspectives have their place as well. This song story reminded me of “Ben”, the main character in the song “Family Union” from my first album, so maybe this is the sequel.
“From the day he was born, Jimmy had shoes to fill His Papa had dibs on the rest of his life But Jimmy heard sirens, they sang from his rocks and dreams They never gave him his peace, he played guitar for release Until one day he woke running The faster he’d run, the steeper he’d crawl The higher he’d climb, the deeper he’d fall He was stuck in the footsteps Jimmy lived fast. He couldn’t keep his feet asleep He’d sing until sunrise. He loved playing the crowds He slept in tip jars in the hollows underneath the stars But guilt wouldn’t leave him alone, Papa died and he couldn’t go home Too far away to find a way The faster he’d run, the steeper he’d crawl The higher he’d climb, the deeper he’d fall He was stuck in the footsteps Walls rise up in a man, head deep in his line in the sand Fallen angels flap their crutches The faster you run, the steeper you crawl The higher you climb, the deeper you fall Your Papa sold you a big bag to haul When your Papa has dreams and they’re not yours at all Go fly from his footsteps…….Fly!”
5) “Dance in the Shadows” is the official non-requited love anthem for this album. My wife Carole and I met at a dance; yes, it was a waltz, which explains why so many of my songs are written in triple meter. That dance was at The Spanish Ballroom in Glen Echo Park outside of Washington, DC. With that as the setting for this song, I imagined the loneliness of staring out onto the dance floor from the dark perimeter of benches that envelop it.
“Back in the corner, close to the door I tap to the rhythm, I’ve been there before With couples in motion, the world spins around All heads in the heavens and feet off the ground I dance… in the shadows, I dance… just out of your view I dance… in the shadows, there’s not one thing I can do I still dream I’m dancing with you There’s a tall wall between us, I look for a crack You float just beyond me, you’re not coming back Everything changes, you changed your mind I hope as time passes, I can change mine I dance… in the shadows, I dance… just out of your view I dance… in the shadows, there’s not one thing I can do I still dream I’m dancing with you Regrets lead me nowhere but I’ll chase them again I wish I’d stop wishing for what might have been The music is fading, the light’s growing dim You seem so contented when you’re dancing with him How could our stars fall, Heaven to Hell? We’re different places, I’m wishing you well. I dance… in the shadows, I dance… just out of your view I dance… in the shadows, there’s not one thing I can do, I still dream I’m dancing with you.”
6) “A Little Space” investigates the mysterious “man box” phenomenon; that vacuous inner space where men go when they look like they are there in front of you, but not really. Whether I am conspiring with my muse to create music, attending a class somewhere in a parallel universe, pondering the nature of reality, or just taking a nap with my eyes open, I find myself trapped there sometimes. In Fall of 2025, Steve Pendlebury created a wonderful video for this song, complete with NASA astronaut clips and Hubble telescope magic.
“The passing lane’s a parking lot where the brake lights flash forever It makes me wonder where we are and where it was we had to go The evening sky has come to call me, the big horizon teases me To play among the stars above these frozen cars And high above my gravity Sometimes I’m flying with the astronauts From far away the earth’s a small blue dot Beam me up there, I’ll make my getaway When I need a little space, I’m a billion miles away What I didn’t choose to hear has come back again to haunt me The words go in and out my ears, sometimes I keep you at a distance You’re my center, you’re my universe, but I need a quiet place Where weightlessness can guide me, no pressure’s packed inside me Where I outrun the human race Sometimes I’m flying with the astronauts My rocket far beyond this small blue dot My broken orbit flies high above the fray When I need a little space, I’m a billion miles away.”
7) “Baby Steps” was initially inspired by a movie about an institutionalized man struggling with depression, but I soon realized it was more likely to be my late grandfather whisper singing into my ear. After my parents had passed years ago, I found a box of old letters and photos, some dating back to the 1940s. I was thrilled to have this treasure trove of family history. Then I read the letters my grandfather had written and, to my surprise, they were addressed from a mental institution. I have only a vague memory of my grandfather; he died when I was very young. What I remember from that time was a friendly ancient man who always had chocolate milk ready when my father and I would visit his small Alabama farmhouse. The letters my grandfather had written from a time before my birth were tragic and difficult to read...a brutal contradiction of my memory of him. The tone of his words, and his shaky oversized cursive handwriting, showed he was a tormented man who desperately wanted to return home. Knowing that electric shock therapy was not uncommon at that time, I can only imagine what his personal experience might have been. While I will never know the specific circumstances or reasons he was institutionalized, I find comfort in the fact he lived free and appeared to be content in the later years of his life. I am happy our paths had the opportunity to cross a long long time ago.
“My bed lies in that corner Our wedding picture guards that shelf [you guard that shelf] It's like an awkward spa vacation That’s the joke I tell myself [what I tell myself] They let me sit out in the shade But I can’t fly away I’d be Icarus ascending It’s too soon for sun today But I swear I’m making progress What’s a nervous soul to do? I take baby steps, I dream I’m coming home to you White coats bring their cup of pills They have come to fix my head [will they mend my head?] Like Icarus, I crash and burn I flap in my restless bed [in my restless bed] Everyday I’m falling down A well of hollow souls I try to tread the water Then I dig a deeper hole But they say I’m making progress What’s a nervous soul to do? I take baby steps, I hope I’m coming home to you Xray lightbulb voices spit their shadows on the wall But I keep looking out the window Because I believe, I believe I believe in you and me I believe we can find our way So I’ll keep walking on my knees Until my feet can find ground [our holy ground] We were born for new beginnings We don’t have to burn the whole thing down [don’t burn us down] I used to dream of sleeping Now my wings are wide awake Gravity can’t win today I fall but I can’t break I’m a hopeful work in progress what’s a nervous soul to do? I take baby steps, I pray I’m coming home to you”
8) “Creatures of Comfort” means different things to different listeners but, for me, it expresses my frustration with news as an entertainment commodity and how it can become the pathological clickbait of our nightmares. I had written the first version of this song back in the 1990s and rewrote this final version a few years ago. I have always thought about it as a topical song but it continues to be more relevant with every passing year. Simple message really…it is good to keep up with what’s going on, but it is also good to fact check, put it in perspective, and know when to take a break from the ongoing barrage. Lavon Smith plays a rare solo on electric guitar and sings the background vocals.
“Turn on the news, hold on to your chair It’s time once again for our thoughts and prayers The weatherman says we’re dying, fiction swears fact is lying Never mind the evidence, we’re creatures of comfort He said, she said, somebody, somewhere Found guilty as sin, got caught on the air What do I think I’m missing? What pulls me in and makes me listen? It doesn’t make a lot of sense with creatures of comfort Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray my dreams don’t cut too deep There’s peace in the shadows where I lie I plug my ears, shut my eyes, zip my mouth I’m monkey wise with the creatures of comfort I’m back on my feet and I’m backing away In up to my ears, no more headlines today Doesn’t matter how you spin it I know when I have had my limit Living in this present tense Straddling the wobbly fence I’m pleading my innocence with creatures of comfort”
9) “Missile Through the Moon” is about love lost in the distance of time. Many years ago, NASA conducted an experiment shooting a missile from a lunar orbiter into the surface of the moon. It struck me as an odd exercise, and I never understood the point, but I wrote the title for future reference on a 3x5 inch card. Many years and a few re-writes later, the Eagle finally landed on this album.
“There’s a chill in the night, it’s a shiver that fills me The sky isn’t right the way we left it Your eyes made their mark while the moon made a spotlight All lightning and sparks a long time ago But we left it there up in the air Where the spinning world threw us Like Venus and Mars in a flash fire of stars Gone ashes too soon Go shoot a missile through the moon We blew a hole through the moon…why, why, why? Twinkle twinkle my star, where have you drifted? I don’t know how you are. Have you found a home now? I remember that night, how the rockets were flying Nothing’s left of that time but the distance What happened then? What might have been? What vacuum blew through us? We flew too high, fell fast from the sky We burned up too soon Go shoot a missile through the moon We blew a hole through the moon…why, why, why?”
10) “Morning Rise” is the oldest song on this album. My brother, Mike, wrote the first version of this song in the late 1970s; he was probably in high school at the time. He had significant talent as a singer and writer, but he struggled with substance abuse. As he tried to break free from a self-destructive trajectory, he stopped writing and playing music; he said that music and addiction had become too intertwined in his life. I wanted to cover his song, and we discussed how we might refine a young man’s song to bring it more in line with our current rung on the ladder of life. A few minor tweaks later, I knew I had to include this on my upcoming album. Tragically, Mike passed away in 2021 and never had the opportunity to hear the final production. I had not anticipated the song would ultimately be about “looking back” for him.
“Morning rise, wake my eyes Looks like I’m looking back again I’m lost in dreams, re-living silent scenes Thinking of what might have been The world (earth) has turned a morning older I’ve been (I keep) feeling that way too Morning rise, wake up my eyes I’m still looking back at you (I keep looking back for you) Morning break, I’m wide awake Can’t stop leaving you behind I count the cost, years and minutes I have lost I pay the price for what I find If this world was getting younger Then maybe there’d be something I could do But morning breaks like (it’s) a bad mistake I keep looking back I don’t care about tomorrow Tomorrows always come and go away (Just) let me close my eyes and borrow My little piece of yesterday”
11) “The Chains Inside” is a conversation with, or perhaps a prayer to, the Muse of songwriting. I recall that I was initially trying to write something serious but, no matter how much I concentrated, the words just weren’t coming. I decided it might be therapeutic to channel my disappointment directly to Ms. Muse. Next thing you know, this fun rocking song was born; i.e., just what she intended. Lavon sings the layered backup vocal tracks, and he burns through a perfect electric guitar solo to carry the outro to its climactic finale.
“My second cup of coffee caught me talking with my Muse I said ‘Hey, Muse, I need a breakthrough, and there’s a few words I could use I’ve wandered every sidewalk, looked underneath the bed I peaked behind the curtain and I thought you were dead’ ‘No’ she said…’You’ve got to break the chains inside, you’ve got to break the chains inside It isn’t on the outside, it’s the shackles in your mind You‘ve got to break the chains that bind you on the inside.’ I said, ‘Hey, Muse, is that all you got? You’re being such a tease. Why don’t you help me fill this (nagging) emptiness disease? I mapped my destination, and all I found was noise instead. Am I driven to distraction? Is it all in my head?’ ‘Yes’ she said…’You’ve got to break the chains inside, you’ve got to break the chains inside You’ve been looking on the outside for every plan you’ve tried You’ve got to break the chains that bind you on the inside.’ I’m not much of one to listen when I’m talking to myself I don’t have much patience when my Muse won’t share her wealth But I can dig a little deeper in my holy water flow And keep the faith my Muse will lead me where I need to go. And I say…’I’m gonna break the chains inside, I’ve got to break the chains inside It isn’t on the outside, it’s the shackles in my mind I’m gonna break the chains that bind me on the inside.’”
Roads Water and Orange
There are places that scatter in dust and faint echoes of recollection. There are other places that loom large, visiting in a rain of dreams, where lighthouse flickers lead to new destinations and gifts. These are the paths that inhabit my new concept album "Roads, Water and Orange".
"Roads, Water and Orange" explores the journeys of life (the roads), their tribulations (the water), and the realization of love along the way (the orange). This album offers an unusual diversity of styles and sounds, from acoustic rock to bossa nova, songs that are both different and together, strung like diamonds along a live wire of ups, downs, and in-betweens. "Roads, Water and Orange" is a journey of souls searching for their Orangeland. I am sure we will meet again somewhere along the way...
Roads, Water and Orange
A Moment In Time- "Looking back I can’t believe all those pictures once were me, living in a horn of plenty, wondering if I’d get anything standing in the back of the line for a moment in time / I used to want a monster truck with an engine that could eat me up, a monument that I could ride, some substitute for naked pride. A big truck might have been fine for a moment in time / Old moments fade to echoes. Dreams move on from distant pictures. Where has that boy gone? / The brain gets full of fuzzy dreams where ends negotiate their means. Notions of what was invade me. Awkward moments that have made me echo in the back of my mind for a moment in time."
Water Out With Fire- "There’s a distance in that kiss, lips that ricochet, that glance and miss. Your sweet nothings drown my ears. Words get watered down and fall like tears. We’ve burned the bridge to our desire. We can’t put water out with fire. / When our eyes strike up a spark, it’s not quite enough to hide the dark. Love’s dim promise chills the flame. In our aftermath, we share the blame. Dirty laundry lines the wire. We can’t put water out with fire / There’s a gluttony in love, and sometimes little left to rise above. I’d hoped that Heaven would be higher. We can’t put water out with fire."
Ambush Avenue-
"We walk down, way downtown. We look for trouble up ahead. Things happen and no one is laughing. It might raise its monster head. Swelter sweating like our payment is coming due, the credit’s drying up down on Ambush Avenue. / We look back for that sneak attack that the vacant walls conceal. We’re awkward guests. We poke a hornets’ nest. Sometimes we lose our sense of feel. We’re second guessing where no one has a clue. Where’s the powder keg down on Ambush Avenue? / When the fight is over, when the day is done, when we’ve passed our test, we’ll be coming home. We will give you cover until the day we’ve won. We will count our blessings, lock and load our guns. / We lock down. Thoughts go underground down below the boiling air. Two worlds grind. Peace gets hard to find. Sometimes we’re sending up a prayer. No one can tell us when our job is through. Sometimes we’re shooting blanks down on Ambush Avenue."
Thinking About The Door- "Saturday stayed busy. She was born to clean, to sweep it all beneath the rug, to hide it all in the dust of dreams. She’d stare out through the curtains like she’d never been before, looking out the window, thinking about the door. / His scattered acts of kindness, his poison arrow cracks, spun her out of balance. She was frozen in her tracks. Smiling on the outside but shaken to the core, she was living through the window thinking about the door. / One day the seal was broken. Push had come to shove. She realized she’d had her fill of his empty selfish love. / The threshold didn’t hold her. She ran beyond the walk. She paid up every ancient debt well beyond the point of talk. A seed among the ashes, she dreamed there might be more. She shuttered up her windows walking out the door."
Easy Once Again-
"Words are written on the rooftops like SOSes to the sky. The clouds have cleared to leave the water. I see the silence drifting by. Wind swept in like a ton of bricks. Rain soaked our futures to the bone. They say some towns are only splintered sticks. We wait for help but we’re alone. / The streets are flooded where the tears fell. Our fortunes shifted with the wind. Levies may break but we’re not giving in. Big Easy will be easy once again. / Evacuees and politicians are all looking for their higher ground. We will be standing at attention when our Saints come marching back to town. / I will lean against my chimney. I will raise a hopeful prayer that all this heartache and its water evaporates into the air."
Mister Shoes- "Hey Mister Shoes, what’s your hurry? Won’t you hang around? What is waiting for you where you’re bound? What do you think you’ll find? Hey Mister Shoes, you shouldn’t have to run away. Your greener pastures have been growing gray. You run in circles in your mind. / You’ve been dancing up the perfect storm, so lock step restless that your soul gets worn. Where are you headed for today? / Mister Shoes, are you racing with the boy inside? Do you run with your heart strings untied? Are you stumbling for light? Hey Mister Shoes, are you lost inside the maze again, where every turn becomes a new dead end? Who are you turning to tonight? / A whirling dervish with a toll to pay, a spinning world that slings its love away, home couldn’t be that far away. / Hey Mister Shoes, those old rutted roads get awful long. You will find a place where you belong. Your home will come to you. Hey Mister Shoes..."
Lousy With Love-
"I will follow every bread crumb that you drop. To feel your footprints, I can never stop. Mine is a lost world. What else can I do? I’m lousy with love for you. / I will follow to the music that you make. I’ll dance your tango until the rhythm breaks. I’ll play this sinking ship until the show is through. I’m lousy with love for you. / You are the feast for all my senses. You are the spice that makes me kick. My pepper tears so sweetly salt my earth completely. Perhaps you pour it on too thick. / You can paint me in the corner where I stand. I’ll trap my instincts in any way I can. You tint everything a bitter brighter blue. I’m lousy with love for you."
In These Trees- "I have walked beyond the distance. I have run the human race. I have pondered my deliverance. I’ve looked for love to fall in place. The heart can be a wilderness that leaves you in its freeze, looking for the forest in these trees. / I have walked along the edges. I have seen the long way down. I have learned to look away to get my feet on solid ground. It’s such a strange existence being buried in the leaves, looking for the forest in these trees. / I’ve been out on this limb about as far as I can get. I listen for an answer but I haven’t heard a good one yet. / I have spun the wheels of running, ground my brains to make my bread. I have twisted every syllable of the busy thoughts that play my head. The loss that clouds the moment leaves me running on my knees, looking for the forest in these trees."
Everywhere I’ve Been-
"Wheels touch down. I’m back on the ground again and it looks much the same. Earth, grass and sky, the road rolling by, the eyes play their games. Is that you in my taxi cab mirror as I nod off to sleep? Little dreams pull me deep. / Everywhere I’ve been it’s the same place. Everywhere I’ve been I see your face. Everywhere I’ve been every road leads me home. / Where am I today? This room’s not familiar, but I can feel you from here. I’m wide awake waiting for sunrise where the clouds never clear. In three days, I will be flying, my loneliness cast to the wind. You’ll be real in my arms again."
I Swim To You-
"I can’t put the phone away. I keep calling you today (so distant). How are you? I’m just fine, though I glow gray in sunshine where the sand sinks deep and the water boils blue. I swim to you. / Sometimes I talk to my TV. It speaks back in Portuguese (so lonely). Rio has its pleasures for its lives of leisure but by myself I have no clue. I swim to you. / The waves keep clawing at the beach. My paradise lies just beyond my reach. This hotel room is my island. I can close my eyes and you come drifting into view. I swim to you. / I stand before the full buffet. My empty plate gets in my way (so empty). No matter where I may be, it isn’t what it could be. The distance rings a bit too true when I swim to you."
Sight For A Blind Heart-
"My left foot goes forward. Your right foot goes back. We waltz in a circle, train cars on a track. I once danced so silly my feet no clue until the night I found sight for a blind heart with you. / I once lurked in darkness, deep shadows of night. I stumbled to reach for your rhythm and light. Your steps left me lifted. That’s when I knew this night I’ll find sight for a blind heart with you. / We dance to the heartbeat. We lock to the groove. We fit well together. We’ve learned every move. Days without rhythm are gone from my memory. The music’s from Heaven tonight. / Mistakes are worth forgetting. We give our best. The long days are past us. We build on the rest. We’ll dance through the coda. We’re long overdue. I’m blessed to find sight for a blind heart with you."
Tie The Sail Down-
"On a barren blue desert of water and sky, I’ve tried to see straight with the wind in my eye. I’ve treaded water and I’ve gotten by. The waves licked their wet lips and I’d just reply. / Give me dry ground. Let’s tie the sail down. The sea never lets a man win (The sea isn’t much of a friend). Give me dry ground. Let’s tie the sail down. I’ve been there, I’ve done that and I won’t go again. / I’ve lived in the trade winds, a prison of sea, where the wave of your goodbye came crashing on me. I’d look for a beacon, your face in the foam. This hole in the water ain’t much of a home. / Swept in the current, I followed the stars. They took me the distance on maps of my scars. A new day is dawning. You wave from the shore. My ship won’t be drifting away anymore."
Orangeland-
"Wake us up. Wipe the evening from our eyes. Our sun is boiling up an orange colored sky. We are up. We have made this time to fly. The world’s alive at our command. We are the sunrise shining on our Orangeland. / Solar particles from the depths of space leave their mark of light and liven up the place. We are energy with hope upon our face. We live and love without demands. We are the sunrise shining on our Orangeland. / You and me, we could have lost our way. We chose to persevere, to burn the dark away. Here before our friends and families today, we’re kindred spirits. Here we stand. We are the sunrise shining on our Orangeland."
Another Moment In Time-
"The brain gets full of fuzzy dreams where ends negotiate their means. Notions of what was invade me. Awkward moments that have made me rattle in the back of my mind for a moment in time. / Old moments fade to echoes. Dreams move on from distant pictures. Where has that boy gone? (That’s all…)"
All songs (c) and (p) 2010 L. V. Cook. All rights are reserved.
Granite In The Mirror
MONUMENT- This is a song about facing your excesses. Lavon Smith, a great singer-songwriter, guitarist and friend in Athens, GA, plays the acoustic guitar solo to finish the song. I originally intended to fade his long solo, but I decided to keep all of it, including his sigh of relief at the end."One time too many I sipped from your cup, one time too many until it swallowed me up, one time too many I drew from that well, one time too many I slipped and I fell- one time too many I gambled it all, one time too many I stood up to fall, one time too many I pushed to the red, one time too many I danced until I bled- once is too many, twice is too few, it adds up to zero when I've counted on you, I hang my armor and I wear it alone, I'm granite in my mirror like a monument, like a stone."
FEATHER- This is the official love song for this project. After our parakeet, Betty, passed away, I decided to immortalize her by using a recording of her to introduce the song.
"Baby look into me, follow the wire to my soul, flip all my switches until you've taken control, I stand delivered, my heart on my sleeve, I'm reaching, I'm dreaming where beggars believe, we take our chances and we say our prayers- breath by breath you blow me down, I wander this moment forever, blow by blow you knock me down with a feather- Baby look into me right through my armor and lock, it's such a shock to see what I've let out of that box, pictures and places I've long left behind, the old bones and baggage, they crumble in time, we take our chances and we say our prayers- Baby let's take the sky, hop on, we've got to try, let's find our place with the birds, Baby, let's take the chance, let our feet learn to dance, let our wings carry our words- Baby look into me follow the wire to my soul, flip all my switches until you've taken control, let's light a candle and blow out the past, let's dance to that flicker and fly while it lasts, let's take our chances and let's say our prayers."
LOST LOVE- This song was written in the month following the 9/11 attack and is my contribution to the large body of works inspired by that devastating event. I used the perspective of a woman who has re-married but is looking back many years to the husband she lost.
"She opens up the velvet box to let the light climb out, a diamond ring's her call from days gone by, she slips it on her fingertip although it shouldn't fit, still there's something pushing her to try, is it letting go or maybe just pretending? is her love lost dead or never ending?- it's just lost love and it doesn't keep her prisoner, it's just lost love and it doesn't break a bone, it's harder than a diamond and it's crystal clear as day, she'll cuddle with that sparkle and put it back away- it was the perfect autumn day when everything came down and left a mangled ruin of her life, picking up the pieces that didn't seem to fit she wanted to be someone else's wife, then Jimmy came along and said "let's marry, I can ease that pain that you must carry"- Jimmy's been a solid man, he's helped her through the years, helped her put that nightmare back to sleep, still September lingers, it creeps into her bed like a haunting ghost she can't afford to keep, Jimmy's been her diamond in the rough, Jimmy's sparkle is more than just enough.
FAMILY REUNION- I never nailed a good melody for the verses for this song, so I finally quit trying and talked through them. Sometimes it is the limitations that make something work. Alex Mitchell provides fiddle and mandolin to give this song a Celtic feel. This novel song won the Gold Award in the 2004 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest Folk Category and was later featured on National Public Radio on-line..
"Ben packs his bags, his luggage lifts light, he slips down the walk under cover of night, his restlessness calls to the ticking of clocks, his sirens sing sweet from the rocks- Mother Earth says she's plenty to offer, Father Time says you go for it now, it's Earth, Time and Ben and they don't need a friend, his family's together again- Ben wants no nest in his cradle of sky, the earth can feel cold but he's not one to cry, walls make a cage, they can't hold him in, he's bound to be nowhere he's been- Ben calls it peace with pieces of pain as he reconciles big eyes and his brain, he howls at the moon but sometimes he prays he'll find a home on the way."
GIVEN ALL THE GIVING- Yeah, this is a song about moving on to better things...
"I was burning like a candle when you blew me off my seat, I was dancing in your shadow, I must have lost my feet, now I see right through you, right to your other side, I see I'm in for trouble, I got no place left to hide- you say love's a game of give and take, I can't take what you've taken away, I'd give a little more but you didn't leave a lot, I've given all the giving that I've got- I once had a lot to offer, you once had a lot to steal, the heart can take a beating, but that doesn't mean I will, I've heard the time bomb ticking, it's left me wide awake, I'm gonna leave it where I found it, there's a principle at stake- what it is that's missing's kind of hard to quantify, it's a suitcase full of empty on a lost road in the sky, it struck me kind of funny, right between my eyes, the love I thought forever only candy-coated lies- I'm blowing out the candle, I'm standing on my feet, I'm dancing in the daylight, I got a different drummer's beat, when you hear the time bomb ticking, and it's left you wide awake, you've got to leave it where you found it, there's a principle at stake."
A SOLDIER AND A SALESMAN- Although this song is not about anyone in particular, it was written in the mid-1990s when spousal abuse was a hot topic in the media. Alex Mitchell provides the fiddling.
"Bobby's charging up the walk, he's knocking on your door, telling you that things are not the way they were before, he's begging for forgiveness as he's selling you the change like some broken record, so familiar and so strange, he says he didn't mean it, he's really not that bad, just think of all the good times that you surely must have had, how can you resist him and his painful puppy stare, love was never meant to be that simple or that fair- he's an angel, he's a demon, he's a falcon, he's a helpless dove, he's a soldier, he's a salesman and he's swinging deals on the battlefields of love- he's kind of quick to anger and he didn't mean to yell, he's sorry that he hit you and you had to say you fell, it's like it never happened if you can believe a crying clown magician with a bouquet up his sleeve, Bobby's got a sales pitch, a foot inside the door, he seeks peace among the pieces that he's scattered on the floor, you can't make him happy, beware if he gets in, those boys that play with matches are bound to burn again."
SCENE OF THE CRIME- I originally wrote this as a country song in the 1980s. I tuned my Danelectro 12-string to open E; this George Thorogood-inspired version emerged.
"Your Honor, hear my case, I'm just a victim of a pretty face, it left a memory that I can't erase, Lord knows I've tried, Your Honor, I took a chance when I asked her if she'd like to dance, now I'm a victim of her circumstance and sometimes I find- I'm at the scene of the crime, I can still feel her fingerprints, Lord knows if I had more sense I'd steal the kisses and run, I'm at the scene of the crime, I can still smell those smoking guns, I've never had more fun, Your Honor, she's the one- Your Honor, hear my plea, my baby's guilty in the first degree, picked my lock and broke right into me, then she got away, Your Honor, there is evidence she stole my heart and all my common sense, maybe I'm just a little dense but sometimes I find I'm at the scene of the crime...if it would please the court I've got to testify, my baby's guilty, got no alibi, she torched my soul, she trespassed my mind, the way she loved me, she robbed me blind."
HEADLIGHTS- This is an older song as well. Lavon contributed the guitar solos.
"We're free spirits running, chasing a white-dotted line from here to forever, I can't complain, some say we're crazy, some say we're off the track, wherever we're going there's no turning back- we're headlights heading up the highway, looks like things are going our way, they say love is just a freeway, what else can we do? we're headlights making our direction down these freeways of affection, we're lost lights praying for connection, what else can we do?- we're reckless and running, chasing the lines of our lives, we're daredevil beggars but I can't complain, some say we're foolish lifting our wings to the wind, wherever we're going's got to beat where we've been."
WARM- a song about isolation and denial. Alex (not Nero) plays the fiddle.
"Joan's on an island, locked inside her home, likes to keep her distance, she likes to live alone, you can float your bottle, boys, your message and a kiss, hey guys, don't you be surprised, you'll more than likely miss- Joanie wants to see the walls without the windows, Joanie wants to see no roses in her thorns, Nero tunes his fiddle, no one's home to warn, Joanie's Rome is burning down and Joan just thinks she's warm- Joan's in a prison, locked inside her soul, rattling the emptiness she grips so hard to get a hold, you can see it in her, that burning in her eyes, she's swallowed by a tidal wave and belly up to dry-Joanie wants to see the missing and the empty, Joanie wants to see no rainbow in her storm, Nero tunes his fiddle, no one's home to warn, Joanie's Rome is burning down and she just thinks she's warm- Joan's on a river, floating off to sea, thinking of the way things are and how they ought to be, afraid of every open door, afraid of sinking down, matches made in heaven have burned her to the ground."
SO LITTLE SLEEP- A song about guilt. For this song, less production was more.
"Tuck in your shirt tail and push on your comb, tie on your sneakers and point them toward home, zip up your trousers and stiffen your lip, manhandle your conscience, boy get a grip- you're the wolf in the woolen disguise, the little boy with the sheets to his eyes, a little man with a big bag of lies, so many secrets to keep and so little sleep- turn down the thinking and turn up the charm, just maybe suspicion will melt in your arms, button your armor and dress up your wounds, that fool in the mirror, you'd better bury him soon- fire up the engine and press on the gas, you're pushing the red line and you pray it will pass, you're running from something your speed can't erase, the eyes of that liar at home in your face.'
SICK OF THE CURE- This bluegrassy version of the song was the keeper for this project.
"He walks the sidewalks and he walks the floor, he walks in circles where he's been before, he fights his battles like he's lost the war but finds no honor in defeat, he keeps her folded in his photo book, sometimes he's got to take another look, when he's fishing he's got to bite that hook, he's got to put that book away- they say time heals but it's a lonely pill, it breaks your fever with its bitter chill, he sips her echo and he gets his fill, it's bad medicine for sure, he's sick of the cure- clouds roll in and he wears his shades, no rosy tint's gonna foul this mess he's made, he'd call her bluff but his cards are played, there was nothing left to hold them- her picture buried in his bedroom drawer knocks in darkness as he paces the floor, this empty cup has got to fill him more, it's a bitter pill for sure, he's so sick of the cure- they say a man has got to hold his ground, he's got to swim or sink, if she looks back he's got to stare her down, he's got to pray for her to blink- a little voice tells him he must move on, for things like this you just got to get beyond, so he sits and prays it won't take long while he's counting every second."
CAESAR'S DEAD- I have never been that fond of being the center of attention. This song alludes to a time prior to my first solo performance at an open mike show. While I had left my guitar in the car trunk (i.e., the tastefully cowardly thing to do), another player signed up and bailed just prior to his turn. I decided that he and I deserved a song about stage fright. Matthew Michael plays the electric guitar.
"I was primed and ready, I tuned my six-string gun, I signed up for three songs like some kind of chosen one, but that spotlight faded into shadows of my doubt, I was naked, sweating crazy, looking for the fast way out- where's the door? I've got to get out of here, I lost my appetite when I fed my fear, I'm whipped and wilted, I'm running for my health, Caesar's dead and I don't feel so good myself- I came to conquer, I came to play, I came to stand and fight it, maybe blow that crowd away, I was kind of like a Caesar, so poised for my attack, my confidence behind me, I put my knife in my own back- where's the door? I'm making a run for it, all the sudden I can't find the fun in it, I'm beat and broken and I'm running for my health, Caesar's dead and I don't feel so good myself- I would have, I could have, I might have, I should have but I didn't- Maybe there's a moral here, some lesson to be learned about how to set the world ablaze and how to keep from feeling burned, perhaps if I'd just done it maybe I would have found why success can hang so heavy on the almost nearly glory bound."
All songs from Granite In The Mirror are written and produced by L. V. Cook © and (p) 2003. ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.