Lyrics    Credits

Parker (3:55)

When you come around, you'll find that this is home
As sure as the grass is brown, and today is all alone
And once you're here to stay, I hope you'll realize
I've fallen in love again, with your ocean eyes
When we know the truth, the angels will rejoice
The day we start to hear, the perfect still small voice
And when our dreams arrive, we'll take them by the hand
And walk until we've gone, just as far as we can
And one day we will know, that what we've done is right
The tears will fade away, just like they did tonight

Notes: Inspired by our move to the Denver area, and the birth of our son Ty. A sort of a “new beginnings” tune that went through a few lyrical themes before settling on the final one. Was hoping to have some lyrics for the intro and outro music so that progression could become a verse, but couldn’t make anything work.

Westwood (4:53)

Westwood is a heartache, to search for sometimes
When the storm is looming, when you thought all was just fine
This time is yours and it's mine
You'll know it when you see it in front of your eyes
The pain hides in a corner your heart can do nothing but smile
It may only last for a while
Chorus
So Lord won't You break me down
Lord won't You take this crown of pride and
Swing me around just like a child
Westwood is elusive, it comes from behind
And before you know it, you notice that it's saying goodbye
It's useless to stop and ask why
The sky is all around you, the clouds are alive
The season smiles sweetly, it's leaving though it just arrived
Living a memory lie...
Chorus
So Lord won't You break me down
Lord won't You take this crown of pride and
Swing me around just like a child
Westwood is a fable, a heart in the hands
Of someone that is able to make you cry on command
I didn't think that they'd understand
Chorus
So Lord won't You break me down
Lord won't You take this crown of pride and
Swing me around just like a child
Because it's so hard to be so fragile and yet so free
You never gave up on me, please don't tonight...

Notes: A reset of a song I wrote and recorded for my first CD. Took out a really long and unnecessary bridge and modified the tempo a bit. Ended up really happy with how the gradual crescendo occurs throughout the song. Also liked how all the instruments really come together to set up the mood, particularly during the much shorter bridge.

Sparrow Out of Season (3:56)

One cold December, we were latched together, we were
Walking on the boardwalk, watching waves go back and forth and we'd say
You were going stay when we, swore that we would leave Virginia
The lone remaining avenue, we would both remember you
And what are you feeling now, I'm standing on our frozen streets
Without you, you've been gone since September
What you want is what you need, what did you think that I couldn't call you?
Couldn't call you?
When we met yesterday
You said the things you had to say
And it helped you to feel better
If I could do as well you'd stay, in your apartment by the bay
But it's been frozen in time
Sparrow out of season
Come without a reason
Grasping onto trees
And all I want is to forget
You

Notes: A cover of an all-time favorite song of mine. Thankfully I was able to find one of the chief songwriters and get his permission to record the song. This one turned out better than I had hoped, even though the three-part harmonies at the end turned out a bit clunky. The chorus lyrics were originally “Sparrow out of season, a crime without a reason, a captain hung for treason, all I want is to forget”, but I’ve always interpreted with the lyrics that were recorded.

Main Street (3:48)

I'm thinking of Main Street, I'm wondering how to bring this up
And is it even worth asking from way up here
I wonder how the lights look downtown, and if you're there among the crowd
Just have a smile on me, and don't let it disappear
At least after all these years
I'm thinking of August, and wondering why it left so soon
At least it walked away with a smile
And I'd ask you if you feel the same, but somehow it left just as it came
And I may not get to see it for quite a while
Lord, here I sit and wait, and wonder if all the times I've prayed
Could hold back the Autumn haze, but somehow You've always stayed with me
And I forget that You made these shadows and the breeze, and all of these coming days
And October never seems to care, and I try to break the stare
From eyes that never seem to notice I'm trying to change
I'm thinking of my hometown, and wondering what it's like these days
And I'm wondering somehow if you stayed around
I know enough not to sit here yet, and waste away in these regrets
As our tiny feet shuffle along the ground
Lord, here I sit and wait, and wonder if all the times I've prayed
Could hold back the Autumn haze, but somehow You've always stayed with me
And I forget that You made the shadows and the breeze, and all of these coming days

Notes: A sort of look back on chances not taken growing up, and how autumn seems to consistently conjure up those images. Wrote the lyrics while flying out to visit a friend in Idaho just after “Something Blue” was recorded. One of the songs that turned out better than I thought it would. The working title for the entire album was the last line of this song, (“all of these coming days”), but I never really felt like it brought these songs together. Lori suggested what ended up becoming the album title, which better fit many of the recurring themes.

Green and White (3:46)

Tonight reminds me of the days, they were not so long ago
When all I could do was wait, for what no one could know
But the time wasn't right, could anybody see it
Underneath the sky
And I'd go into town, there, was an intersection that
Some said could be the source, for their salvation, with
So many around, but did anybody know where
The answer was
Chorus
And so tonight, I know You're right
Her silhouette embraces every twilight
I can't deny, we've said goodbye
But I'm holding on to Green and White
And with the season's change, something seems to fade away
An innocence I must have had, until it was called Today
But You've told me not to try, and understand her ways
Because I can't stay
Instead I kick and scream, like I did so long ago
Not wanting just to wait, for what I could never know
Or be content that no one else will ever see
Through these eyes
Chorus
And so tonight, I know You're right
Her silhouette embraces every twilight
I can't deny, we've said goodbye
But I'm holding on to Green and White
I wish that you were here, if only just to hold my hand
Frozen and insecure, tiny and dying and
Longing to find that day, when we get to walk along
The shore again
And so tonight, I know You're right
Her silhouette embraces twilight
I can't deny, we've said goodbye


Notes: Very uncharacteristically distorted drum loop, which started out as a drum track for an acoustic song until I whimsically hit the distortion pedal. The music was written and recorded pretty quickly after that, although the lyrics took a bit longer. Pietr’s bass-line and Justin’s tremmed didgeridoo both add colors that I never could have achieved in this song, and they make it one of my favorites. The lyrics “I’d go into town…with so many around” were originally written for another song back in college; they just happened to work here.

Alone (3:10)

As I stare outside, with April's lack of light
I see a man walking
And he's cold, and his heart is in someone else's hands
And he's alone, and he's there
He finds all this dew, a gift from this gray sky
And there's no one else around
And it's cold, and my simple heart doesn't understand
And it sinks alone, to some where
This shower of the Truth, some see as a lie
But His strength gives me a reason
And He's cold, but His heart is in His Father's hands
He hangs alone, and He's there

Notes: Written while I was in college and never really seemed to work whenever I tried to record it before. Glad it finally got out. One of a few songs that turned out better than it sounded in my head. Just ignore the off-key bass-line in the bridge.

Silent Shadows (3:46)

Let's get in the car, the freeway calls us on
But so early in the morning; all signs of life are gone
It's a cold and lonely breeze; so let's just listen to the trees
That dim light over there,
I'll tell you what it means
But let's get on our way, there's no more time for dreams
The sun will come around, stumbling as it roam
Lord, show us we're not dead; or silent shadows instead
Now that we're almost there, it's getting time to go
It may not feel right, but I hope that you know
That dim light that we saw, someday will disappear
Just like you and I, with a reason why it's here
This ache won't go away, so let's hold on for one more day
Promise me you'll stay, I can't afford for you to fade

Notes: This song was written in about 30 minutes after one listen to Sarah Jaffe’s “Stay with Me”, although I can’t make any comparison to her great guitar work. The guitar and vocals for this song were each recorded in one take. Normally I feel the need to analyze lyrics and re-write them a few times before putting to print, but this was an exception. Although it did take quite a few “drives on the freeway when all signs of life were gone” for the thoughts in this song to really make sense.

Noise (4:31)

Her mother was born, years ago
She didn't have a clue, she may never know
Of prayers and chances, that had taken place
But the ones not taken, she decided to leave there in case
The love she's waiting for
Would break through her heart's aching door
And Who can hear through all this noise?
His father was a poor man, years ago
He doesn't have the answers, but has a fading soul
While hiding in corners, a lifetime's worth
He's tried to teach all his children, to start dying straight from their birth
But I know how to fail, But mercy shines through all these nails
And can You hear through all this noise?
So stumble in circles, and try to find out why
With history and heartaches, and a silent sigh
Maybe tomorrow, to start the show
Take all these past days, and try to let them go

Notes: More or less a thought process on all of the different noise that we can experience on a daily basis, and the desire to let go of it all and simply live. Contains a reference to a song my friend Bradley wrote that discusses “starting the show”, which can be interpreted a few different ways. If you listen closely in the beginning, you can hear our dog contributing to the song by shaking his collar during a drum beat.

Giant (4:30)

Day breaks, You smile again and it seems You didn't go away
You pick me up, into Your grasp and we go out into the gray
You've taken days and placed them in time so their mercies could be made new
And from the Word, those mercies come, but I don't understand why they do
So time comes and waves goodbye, because You've told it to be on its way
But when the sun comes back around, I find that it's still called Today
Chorus
And when, I'm curled up inside Your hand
So soft and giant and
It's so much more of a home than I could have
And in this grave that I know so well
There's no wisdom that I can find
But Your love has never failed
So can I finally leave this grave behind?
Chorus
Because when, I'm curled up inside Your hand
So soft and giant and
It's so much more of a home than I could have
And there, there is where I want to stay
When I stop walking away

Notes: Any time I’ve ever tried to sit down and write a worship song, it ends up coming out all wrong. This ended up as close as I could come to making one work. Was originally going to be just a very simple piano line and one lead vocal track, but that seemed ultra boring, particularly on an album that already had four songs without drums.

Learn to Paint (2:26)

I wish that you would stay, I'd learn to paint as quickly as I could, to preserve only this moment
Glimpses of September, running by, no more silent sigh, it's audible this time
Did you notice where you are? Because I swear I just saw a shooting star, a speeding firefly
Maybe it isn't right, but all I'm asking God tonight, is to be able to sleep

Notes: Written during a beautiful sunset in Chicago-land just after “Something Blue” was recorded. This song ended up being partially a plea for that sunset to stick around, and partially a note to my wife whom I hadn’t met yet. Some serious Common Children influence musically in this short song, especially from their song “Reprise”.

Lightning Rod (4:47)

This storm is on the way, and you slowly step outside
Not paralyzed just yet, but too scared to run and hide
And I swear that if you wanted me to follow, you know that I would
But you walk away alone, and it looks like it's for good
Chorus
Where did you go? In the midst of these suburban evening lights
Too far from home, there's nothing between you and these lightning strikes
Anymore
Now twilight's come and gone, and the colors have faded away
Now it won't be too long, midnight begins the day
And I swear that I'll just sit here and wait until you change your mind
Because you've embraced all the things I fear, and left me far behind
Chorus
Where did you go? In the midst of these suburban evening lights
Too far from home, there's nothing between you and these lightning strikes
But there's only one way to find you, through one open door
To slowly come out right behind, like you did once before
This coat's not warm enough, not on this April night
And what's way up in the air, somehow doesn't feel right
And I swear that you're out there in the distance, with silhouettes in tow
If you can see me now, I just want you to know
That I'm going back inside, the only place that knows who I could be
But when you died, I don't think that's what you wanted to see
Anymore

Notes: Written during one of Denver’s awesome spring electrical storms, I tried to make this one more of a third-person reflection than anything. Purposely tried to walk a fine line between writing a story song and expressing some deeper thoughts. Was originally supposed to have a lot more acoustic guitar, but it just didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the song.

Nostalgic Dreams (1:31)

Picture a wind void as
A white summer language is
Behind languid diamonds
Though flooded fiddles
Lick a lazy gorgeous spring
Moment
Recall the rain through crushed mist
As petals say please
You and I could watch
The sun ache
The storm drive
His garden above
And all of our chains are gone


Notes: Lyrics came from a “poem” that I wrote in college on a friend’s set of refrigerator magnets, (one of those where each little magnet has one word on it). Thankfully they were saved, given a name and sent to me not long after. But it took many years to come up with music that sounded at all decent to go with, and finally get recorded.

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Thanks

To Mom, Dad, Tasha, Donnie and Erin, Momma Pat, The Captain, Lori and Pietr, Justin, Gretta and Ava: every single one of you means more to me than I could ever express.

To my one true love: I am yours only.

To Ty: you are loved more than you know; thanks for helping Mom to inspire "Parker".

For those that continue to ask: thanks for listening.

For all friends that have encouraged me to this point; thank you for never giving up on me.

Thanks to Brent for letting me record a version of one of my all-time favorite songs.

Thanks to: Marc Byrd, Yoshi's vet, the inventor of the Charango, Isopod Doritos, the very extensive Seavey family, Koreana, Tom Izzo, every Jeep Wrangler owner that has ever lived,
Al Cutworth, Matt Kimsal, all the burros in Petra, any Chick-Fil-A, Mark Dacascos, Create TV, Riobamba, Glenview Metra Station, anyone who eats food, Hugo Hurley, Brody Complex,
North Olmsted, the packaging engineer behind DiGiorno Garlic Bread Pizza, Skellig Michael,
all managers of Stinker gas stations, Top Pot Doughnuts, JJ and Jamie and Samantha Jennings, Lake Wakatipu, Scienturfic Sod and of course, UHF.

Credits

All songs written and arranged by EJF, except "Sparrow Out of Season": written by Brent Finnegan, Josh Henderson, Jeremy Forehand, Chris Waters and Dan Hagen. Additional lyrics and arrangement by EJF.

All vocals by EJF. All instruments and mixing by EJF except the following: Bass Guitar on "Westwood" and "Green and White" by Pietr Buttelmann. Didgeridoo on "Green and White" by Justin Chappelle.

Design by: Lori Buttelmann

Photography by: Rachel Frederickson, Tobias Helbig, Forest Woodward, Charles Uibel, Steven Hayes, Nikada, S. Greg Panosian, and Tom Grundy.

 

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