Up For Air

by John Egenes

Up For Air cover art
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1.
03:30
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2.
04:13
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3.
02:52
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4.
02:23
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5.
05:11
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6.
03:54
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7.
03:47
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8.
02:11
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9.
03:05
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10.
02:47
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11.
04:32
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12.
04:14
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credits

released 01 February 2009
Marcel Rodeka: drums
Mike Moroney: rhythm guitar, harmony vocals
Jane Clark: fiddle
Greg Waite: Irish pipes
Rob Burns: bass
John Dodd: bass
Anthony Lander: harmony vocals
The Sami Sisters (Madelaine, Anji, Priya): harmony vocals
Haunted Love (Geva Downey, Rainy McMaster): harmony vocals
Gunther Flutney: bass, drums
John Egenes: guitars, mandolin, banjo, dobro, Weissenborn lap guitar, accordion

tags

tags: americana country new folk acoustic americana banjo dobro dunedin flutney new zealand weissenborn Dunedin

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Track Name: Dark Side Of The Moon
I’m working up the nerve
To ask you out.
Me and you with nothin’ to do
It’s what I been dreaming about.

It’s the way you were at the start
It’s that thing you do.
Its’ the way you’ve stolen my heart.
I’ve got a crush on you

You and me, we’ll fool around
while away the afternoon.
We’ll count stars when the sun goes down
From the dark side of the moon
From the dark side of the moon.

If the wind were playing a song,
Would you take a chance?
Would you let me take your hand?
Could I have this dance?

And if I got lost in your charms
Could we be friends?
I’d see that you were safe in my arms,
And that the dance never ends.

You and me, we’ll fool around
while away the afternoon.
We’ll count the stars when the sun goes down
From the dark side of the moon
From the dark side of the moon.

The stars that shine above
They'll light our puppy love.

There’s a place where the universe ends
In my dreams somewhere.
with music like the soft summer winds
That blow through your hair.

You and me, we’ll fool around
while away the afternoon.
count the stars when the sun goes down
From the dark side of the moon
You and me, just foolin’ around
Making love in the afternoon.
We’ll take a trip when the sun goes down
To the side of the moon,
to the dark side of the moon
Track Name: Over The Line
I’m lying in a jungle, all alone, and so far from home
there’s a bullet where my heart used to be
oh, somebody help me, somebody help me
there’s something wrong, it just ain’t my time
but in one more minute I’ll be over the line.

Here’s to the soldier with a gun in his hand
just a boy forced to be a man
here’s to the mother, never see her son
killed in a battle, never could be won.

He’s out on the street, he’s got nowhere to go, and the nights are so cold
he smoked up his last cigarette
but it ain’t over yet, it ain’t over yet
he’s looking down at the water, trying to pick up a sign
in one more minute he’ll be over the line

Here’s to the man without a friend
trying to make it to the bitter end
here’s to the feelings of a favorite son
lost in a battle, never could be won

We’re all in our places, so settle down and look all around
you might see something moving somewhere
but it isn’t there, it isn’t there
we’re just a pebble in the sky, part of a great design
but in one more minute we’ll be over the line

Here’s to the window down into your soul
showing the way for the light to go
here’s to the memory of the songs we’ve sung
born of a battle, never could be won
Track Name: Up For Air
Now me, I’ve never been the one to keep up with the rest
a day late and a dollar short, though I’ve done my very best
I put the key in the mailbox, got my shirt on inside out
and I ain’t stayin’ ‘round to see what the shoutin’s about

Sinkin’ to the bottom seems to be my stock and trade
it’s just “one more year… one more year” and then I’ll have it made
so I think I’ll take it easy, try to catch my breath
there ain’t no need to work myself to death

It ain’t no use to paddle up the river
rowin’ against the current won’t get you anywhere
I can’t spend my life swimmin’ underwater
I’m comin’ up for air

I sit and watch my life go by from the bottom of a well
in the darkness there ain’t that much to see
I’m tired of chasin’ after livin’
I think I’ll stop awhile and let the livin’ come to me

‘cause it ain’t no use to paddle up the river
rowin’ against the current won’t get you anywhere
I can’t spend my life swimmin’ underwater
I’m comin’ up for air
I can’t spend my life at the bottom of the sea
I’m comin’ up for air
Track Name: Long Run
Got a daughter, got a son
makes no difference, either one
love them both when day is done and they’re lying in their beds
they got dreams to fill their heads

A man he knows the things they'll see
only is what he can be
loves his children equally, in hopes that they will bring
heart that touches everything

And wherever you go, and whatever you do
gotta be the thing that works for you
days go by with the passing sun
try to make a difference in the long run

Love your children, teach them things
you never know what tomorrow brings
let them be a bird that sings the song that’s in their heart
we all need a place to start

And wherever you go, and whatever you do
gotta be the thing that works for you
days go by with the passing sun
try to make a difference in the long run
gotta make a difference in the long run
Track Name: Lookin' For A Ride
in a train yard out of Memphis, snow blowin’ through the door
on a cold november evening, 1954
hole up in a boxcar, in a world outside my dreams
on the rails of the IC line, down to New Orleans

As I waited for the train to leave I tried to stay awake
the cold cut through my mackinaw and I began to shake
and the chill ran long and deep inside, ‘til I was almost froze
just a grim reminder of the livin’ that I chose.

then the boxcar door slid open and a figure crawled inside
just another isolated soul looking for a ride

with a longcoat tied around him, he pulled his suitcase in
that eight wheel driver hit a lick and the wheels began to spin
he turned to set his grip down, closed the door against the snow
He said, “thank you, friend, for lettin’ me in. I got nowhere else to go.”

Well I thought he might be crazy, maybe borderline insane
I’d seen his kind down every track, on every kind of train
But he handed me a bottle, and he rolled himself a smoke
I watched him as he settled in, and listened as he spoke.

he said, “it’s only you and me now, ain’t no one else outside.
“I guess the lord makes room for fools and thieves, looking for a ride.”

There was something in that boxcar I couldn’t comprehend
Though I’d traveled every mile of railroad track from end to end
That stranger looked right through me, he just stared out into space
and I could see that he was blind by the look upon his face

He said, “Boy, I can see the future. I can see the years ahead.
“I’ve seen the day when you were born, and the day when you’ll be dead.
“There ain’t no such thing as fortune, ain’t no such thing as grace.
“There ain’t no way to beat the odds, you’ll never win this race”

“But there’s room enough for foolishness, so just take it all in stride.
“Life’s an empty boxcar, and we’re all just looking for a ride”

I must have drifted off to sleep, when I woke up he was gone
The boxcar it was empty, and I sat there all alone
And in his place a half full whiskey bottle on the floor
and the sound of the big wheels singin’ down the rails outside the door

There’s ghosts who walk among us, things ain’t what they seem
I couldn’t tell if he’d been real, or if it was all a dream
But somewhere I crossed over, and I was feelin’ fine
About the time that freight train crossed the Louisiana line

And as I finished off the bottle, I was feeling warm inside
And I let it carry me away, ‘cause I was looking for a ride
Track Name: Southern Girl
You know the boys are watching you
but you don’t give a damn
you’re carryin’ their fortune on a string
your songs go down like whiskey
and the drunkards gather ‘round
don’t they love to hear you sing
don’t they love to hear you sing

A picture of a young girl
reminds you of the words
to an old song that your mother used to sing
and you cry sometimes when you hear it
when you try to sing along
it takes you right back to your sisters on the wing
right back to your sisters on the wing

Don’t do nothin you don’t want to
and don’t do nothin’ that I wouldn’t do
southern girl
you’re a southern girl

Empty rooms, empty halls
faded pictures on the walls
and you
you’re goin’ home

So you pack up all those sorrows
and you find a better way
and it’s a southern wind that carries you along
with a penny in your pocket
and a ticket in your hand
the price you paid is written in your song
the price you paid is written in your song

so don’t do nothin you don’t want to
and don’t do nothin’ that I wouldn’t do
southern girl
you’re a southern girl
yeah, southern girl
Track Name: One More Down
I live on a dead end street
this old car is my home
I sleep all day in the back seat
I use the front for my living room
I drink my whiskey and I smoke my weed
I get secondhand clothes for free
I got “LOVE” and “HATE” on the backs of my fingers
aint nobody messes with me

I served my country as a young man should
but it turned its back on me
I came back home with a pocketful of hate
in the place where my leg used to be
and now I aint much good for nothin’
I aint proud of what I am
there’s a song I should be singin’
but I just don’t give a damn

It’s one more down, another life to go
one more down, back on poverty row
cleanin’ up the mess that others made
has left me standin’ here with the
baldheaded end of the broom

They handed me a gun and they told me, “Son,
be all that you can be.”
and now I’m down in a hole, about to swallow my soul
gonna be the death of me

You can take your pity and your good intentions
and stick ‘em where the sun don’t shine
if I can get this old car to runnin’
it’ll roll me on down the line

with just one more down, another life to go
one more down, back on poverty row
cleanin’ up the mess that others made
has left me standin’ here with the
baldheaded end of the broom
cleanin’ up the mess that my country made
has left me here dancin’ with the
baldheaded end of the broom

It’s one more down, one more down….
Track Name: Ghost of Hollywood
no more conversations
we ain't got the time
ain’t no place for a face to face
we do our talking on the line

tv’s on, you’re too far gone
to tell the bad news from the good
the life you knew was stolen
by the ghost of hollywood

Look around you
and tell me what you see
the face in the mirror
it don’t look like you or me

stories spun to suit them,
to look the way they should
just digital connections
to the ghost of hollywood

Look around you
tell me what you see
the man in the mirror
he don’t look like you and me

distraction does the talking,
diversion spreads the news
entertainment does the walking,
when celebrities wear the shoes

walk around town always lookin’ down,
we wouldn’t look up if we could
‘cause we get our kicks and we get our fix
from the ghost of hollywood
yeah, we get our kicks and we get our fix
from the ghost of hollywood
Track Name: The Shore
when they were young I could share
the endless laughing days ahead
with love in such abundance there
like sand upon the shore

in vain to find what once was lost
I watch the setting of the sun
into the sea where love was tossed
and waits beyond the shore

Days of sunshine, stolen then
nowhere left to stand
love and memories slowly washed away
like footprints in the sand

the years have left me lost at sea
I steer a course, in hopes to find
on sailing ships that pass by me
a message from the shore

in silent dreams the memories stay
in picture frames on dusty walls
with golden wishes locked away
in shells beneath the shore

(The morning sun on sandy hills
sets the patterns of the day
in shifting tides where driftwood spills
left upon the shore)

Days of sunshine, stolen then
nowhere left to stand
love and memories slowly washed away
like footprints in the sand

a father’s love no longer there
a child’s empty hand to hold
and broken dreams beyond repair
like waves upon the shore
Track Name: Old Car
An abandoned car on the side of the highway
it came to rest not long ago
the windows have been broken, and the wheels are all gone
the seats disappeared along with the radio

He ran out of luck when he ran out of road
that old car just couldn’t carry the load
his heart has been broken, and his dreams are all gone
his plans disappeared along with the woman he loved

And every few miles there’s another old car
and for every one there’s a broken heart
like a beat-up Chevy, rusted out and lying by the side of the road
pushed along just a little too far

There’s a church bell calling people on a Sunday morning
there’s a man alone, standing out in the cold
the ties have been broken, and the people are all gone
his life ended up like a wreck on the side of the road

And every few miles there’s another old car
and for every one there’s a broken heart
like a beat-up Chevy, rusted out and lying by the side of the road
pushed along just a little too far
he’s been pushed along just a little too far
Track Name: Railroad's Callin' My Name
There’s a train pulling out of this lonely old trainyard
and the whistle is calling to me
as I toss my belongings up into the boxcar
I can feel the wheels breaking free
it’s just about midnight, and the big rolling headlight
burns a hole in the night with its flame
there ain’t no denying, I’ve given up trying
the railroad’s calling my name

I’ve been here a year come December
trying to make me a place in this town
it’s been a year with my nose to the grindstone
now it looks like I’ve let myself down
as the train pulls away I know I should stay
but my thoughts, they’re always the same
they keep turning to trainyards, and old dusty boxcars
and the big steel rails calling my name

As the train moves away from the city
I can see the lights down below
and behind every one, there’s a hard working man
with a wife and a family to show
but I’m just a man without any plan
like a picture without any frame
and as I leave one more place, there’s a tear on my face
‘cause this freight train was calling my name
as I leave one more place, there’s a tear on my face
‘cause the railroad’s calling my name
Track Name: Fly
Saw a bird outside my window yesterday, and
she was trying to help her baby on his way
there’s something in the way she pushed him out
that told me it’s the struggle that living’s all about

And he will fly, he will fly
he will find his own direction in the sky
he will sail upon the wind where no one’s ever been
he will fly

The price I’ve always paid for being free
is the loneliness that grows inside of me
there’s a long and desperate road that takes me home
and it’s the only way that gets me there from the places that I roam

And I will fly, I will fly
I will make my own direction in the sky
I will sail upon the wind where no one’s ever been
I will fly

There’s a younger generation on the way,
and they will change the rules before they start to play
how can you keep love and loneliness apart
when there’s a hundred million children knocking on the doorway to your heart?

And they will fly, they will fly
they will make their own direction in the sky
they will sail upon the wind where no one’s ever been
they will fly
we can fly…