Recording and Mixing Dates: Recorded December 22 and 27, 2016. Mixed December 27, 2016.

 

Genesis: I wrote the music in November 2001 and was intrigued with the chord structure. I wrote the lyrics on November 16, 2001 and revised them on September 2, 2002.

This is a song about a lost soul, struggling to get back to the safety of some type of home. I was battling depression at the time and looking back I can see how bleak things looked for me. The imagery of a dried creek bed, a shipwreck, and dead broke rivers confirms this impression.However, things can get better. Hopefully, the lost soul will eventually find his way home.

I have recorded numerous versions of this song. I have gone back and forth between rock and folk arrangements. For this week, I settled on a hard rock version. If I were to record it next week, you would probably hear a banjo and a fiddle….

Production: Bass Guitar, Electric Guitars, Organ, Drums, and a Drum Loop.

Lyrics

Almost Made it Home Last Night

First a left turn

Then a right turn

Then a rough patch of corduroy road

Through the darkness

Past the creek bed

Where the waters of spring once had flowed

It was quiet

Oh so quiet

But the silence didn’t suit me right

I almost

I almost

I almost made it home last night

From a shipwreck

Into dry dock

Missing persons in the shipping news

All these arrivals

And departures

Wholesale feelings retail blues

Shadow memories

Shadow boxing

Split decisions in the candlelight

I almost

I almost

I almost made it home last night

Dead broke rivers

Bare-boned bridges

Blackened hills meet an oatmeal sky

Out of nowhere

Into nothing

What might have beens chasing alibis

On a long lane

That has no turning

I stumble in the failing light

I almost

I almost

I almost made it home last night.

Copyright 2016 Fred Grittner All Rights Reserved

Recording and Mixing Dates: Recorded December 16 and 18, 2016. Mixed December 18, 2016.

 

 

Genesis: On February 22, 2009, Theresa and I were enjoying a getaway to the North Shore of Lake Superior. I brought my laptop to check email and one message appeared that morning from Jan Hauenstein, my songwriting collaborator in Germany. He sent me a song fragment with each line beginning with “Ain’t no,” followed by noun, followed by the word “unless,” followed by a verb, and concluding with the word “it.” I sent him back a verse based on this structure. He in turn responded with more verses. Then I wrote two bridges to break up the monotony. In the course of four emails we wrote the lyrics to “Unless.” (I made a few changes before recording it.) I suggested Jan write some bouncy, ragtime music to fit the words and he came up with a cool set of chords.

There is nothing profound in the song but it was fun to write and now record.

Jan released his version on his 2009 CD, Late Bloomer. For my version I decided on a classic jazz piano quartet sound.

 Production: Acoustic Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Piano, and Brush Drums.

 Lyrics

Unless

Ain´t no beard unless you grow it

Ain´t no seed unless you sow it

Ain´t no lawn unless you mow it

Ain´t no row unless you hoe it

Ain´t no beauty ‘less you show it

 

Ain’t no snow unless you flake it

Ain’t no sin unless you snake it

Ain’t no stop unless you brake it

Ain’t no rouge unless you cake it

Ain´t no time unless you take it

 

With a stockpile of abuses

Hiding in your drawer

Not taking your excuses

You gotta check them at the door

 

Ain´t no boat unless you row it

Ain´t no nose unless you blow it

Ain´t no line unless you toe it

Ain´t no debt unless you owe it

Ain’t no truth unless you know it

 

Ain´t no bread unless you bake it

Ain´t no beast unless you wake it

Ain’t no dance unless you shake it

Ain´t no love unless you make it

Ain´t no time unless you take it

 

I came looking for some comfort

And the chance that I might find

Shelter from the winds of change

That strut and cut across my mind

 

Ain´t no knowledge ´less you stow it

Ain´t no boast ´less you crow it

Ain´t no earth unless you quake it

Ain´t no lie unless you fake it

Ain´t no song unless you make it

Copyright 2016 Jan Hauenstein and Fred Grittner All Rights Reserved

 

 

 

Recording and Mixing Dates: Recorded December 8 and 14, 2016. Mixed December 14, 2016.

 

 

Genesis: I wrote this song in early December of 2011. St. Paul, Minnesota was indeed brown—no snow. I had lost my father in March of that year and the family circle had contracted: parents gone and my sisters out of state. It was definitely a period of adjustment for me. Throw in the commercialization of Christmas and the song was written in about 30 minutes. I quickly recorded a vocal/guitar demo using one microphone and posted it on Facebook. Some listeners expressed concerns about my emotional state. I laughed them off, but in retrospect they were on the mark.

The family circle has since been enlarged with the presence of a granddaughter and grandson. And there is snow on the ground this year and subzero temperatures. The Christmas holiday is still a tricky emotional rollercoaster for many people and I have to admit that I still have my off days at that amusement park.

 Production: Bass Guitar, Acoustic Guitars, Resonator Guitar, Mandolin, and Drums.

 Lyrics

It Don’t Feel Much Like Christmas This Year

The trees are bare

The ground is brown

Ain’t no snow coming round

It don’t feel much like Christmas this year

The neighborhood is brightly wrapped

With front yards full of plastic crap

But it don’t feel much like Christmas this year

 

BRIDGE:

The family circle has shrunken down

Not much left in this northern town

Silent nights in front of me

I just might torch this Christmas tree

 

Where’s the joy

The peace the hope

The world keeps playing rope-a-dope

It don’t feel much like Christmas this year

BRIDGE

The baby savior

Has left his crib

To grab a Micky D’s McRib

It don’t feel much like Christmas this year

Living in this ho ho hell

Waiting for the last noel

It don’t feel much like Christmas this year

Copyright 2016 Fred Grittner All Rights Reserved

 

Recording and Mixing Dates: Recorded December 2 and 6, 2016. Mixed December 6, 2016.

 

Genesis: I came up with the song based on the title of a 1993 book written by Jane Tompkins. It examines the American West as portrayed in Western novels and films. I never read the book but loved the suggestiveness of the title. I use it as a metaphor of escape, a fantasy about leaving disappointing daily lives for a supposed better existence. In short, a rewrite of the bromide, “the grass is always greener on the other side.”

I wrote the song in 1993 and over the years I tried different arrangements. Most of them evoked Glen Frey ballads, such as the Eagles “Tequila Sunrise.” They never felt right. Last week I played around with the tune again and came up with the idea of changing the feel from straight time to swing time. Once I found that this worked, I develop an arrangement that reminds me of some the mellower tunes that Mark Knopfler has recorded over the years. While rehearsing the song I realized that some of the lyrics could stand editing or replacement.

Production: Acoustic Bass, Acoustic Guitars, Electric Guitar, and Brush Snare Drum.

Lyrics

WEST OF EVERYTHING

I see you’ve grown tired

From the daily wear and tear

I’ve got to admit I’m feeling just the same

We need to get out of here

Find some breathing room

The simple joys in life are there to reclaim

CHORUS:

West of Everything

West of the heartaches

Way past the morning blues

West of Everything

West of the bad luck

Far from these broken schemes

West of our foolish dreams

 

You’ve tried to be patient

While we worked to get ahead

The way things stand we’re only marking time

The look in your eyes tonight

Says things have got to change

We both know we’ve been waiting for this sign

CHORUS

 

We’ve come to a crossroads

I’m shifting my sights

Above the horizon

My heart is taking flight

CHORUS

Copyright 2016 Fred Grittner All Rights Reserved

Recording and Mixing Dates: Recorded November 26 and December 1, 2016. Mixed December 1, 2016.

 

 

Genesis: I wrote the music, in a strange guitar tuning, in the summer of 1979. I wrote the lyrics on New Year’s Day, 1980.   I liked the title line as the hook and built out the verses to support it. I gave a shout out to The Band and Tony Joe White in the opening lines. I dreamed of Levon Helm singing the song.

I am guessing that many of the promises given by the President-Elect during his campaign will be abandoned or will be impossible to keep. Some of his supporters may end up singing the chorus a few times….

Production: Bass Guitar, Electric Guitars, Organ, and Drums.

Lyrics

Saying Doesn’t Make it So

Took a load off Fanny

And Polk Salad Annie

I’m tired and I wanna go home

Always ready

Always rock steady

I’m tired and I wanna go home

One of these days

I’m gonna leave it all behind

It’s not a lack of resolve

But only a question of time

CHORUS:

Saying doesn’t make it

Saying doesn’t make it

Saying doesn’t make it so

Saying doesn’t make it

Saying doesn’t make it

Saying doesn’t make it so

 

A rumor just hit me

A second thought bit me

I’ve been in this storm too long

Nonsense impressions

Extracting concessions

The way shape and form are all wrong

Slumbering judgment

Has opened its eyes to see

A crazy old fool

Spouting some dirt about me

CHORUS

 

I’m no hero

At ground level zero

Love is such a killing thing

Degrees of honor

Man I’m a gonner

Living by dead reckoning

After careful contemplation

I’ve settled on this bottle of wine

It was put or shut up

As she told me for the very last time

CHORUS

Copyright 2016 Fred Grittner All Rights Reserved