Description
Tracking and mastering by Chris Jackson with mixing and additional engineering by Taylor Bess, Blue Sprocket Sound, Harrisonburg, Virginia. “Crossing the Bar” verses text by Alfred Lord Tennyson. Album artwork by Bonita Stutzman, used with permission.
Thanks to Jim Cole for counsel and support!
Lyrics
Stare
© 2019 by Christopher and Maria Clymer Kurtz
Sometimes you’ve got to stare the devil in the face
Sometimes you’ve got to stare the devil in the face
Sometimes you’ve got to face your devils
Stare them straight in the face
Sometimes you’ve got to look your maker in the face
Sometimes you’ve got to look your maker in the face
Sometimes you’ve got to face your maker
Look him right in the face
You’ve got to roam in the valley
It’s a lonely valley
Narrow and winding
Steep and dark
Sometimes you’ve got to stare yourself in the face
Sometimes you’ve got to stare yourself in the face
Sometimes you’ve got to face yourself
Stare yourself in the face
I’m just a squatter on this acre and three quarters of land
I’m just a rider on this afternoon one-way train
I’ve got a nickel and a hand out
My hand’s out for a friend
Little Boy Gone
© 2015 by Christopher Clymer Kurtz
Where’re you going, little boy, where’re you going
Where’re you going, little boy, gone
Rain keeps falling, little boy
Pathway’s muddy, little boy
Puddles splashing, little boy
Sun keeps shining, little boy
Bells need ringing, little boy
Songs need singing, little boy
Hills need climbing, little boy
Sun keeps shining, little boy
Here’s your bag, your shoes
While your skies are blue
Sunshine, higher ground
Call the thunder down
There you go, little boy, there you go
There you go, little boy, gone
Crossing the Bar
© 2015 by Christopher Clymer Kurtz (“Crossing the Bar” by Alfred Lord Tennyson)
Write on the wall something beautiful
Write something big when you feel small
Write on the wall something beautiful
To help you stand strong
“Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.”
“Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.”
Write on the wall, you are beautiful
You are weak, you are beautiful
You are strong, you are beautiful
Write on the wall, “I am beautiful”
What Do You Get
© 2001 by Christopher Kurtz
I’ve got a ton of steel on my mind today
A feeling deep in my soul
But the beams of steel would melt away
If I only knew what I know
What do you get when you know what’s best
You better make up your mind, son
Better make up your mind
A mesh of wire and razors and bars
My time has come to cry
If my arms could take strength from my mind
I’d hardly have to try
What do you get when you have to try
What happens when you try, son
What happens when you try
A faded photograph of love
A picture from outside
And for your only company
The souls of those that died
What do you get when your friends are gone
What happens when they’re gone, son
What happens when they’re gone
What do you get when your friends are gone
What happens when they’re gone, son
What do you get when they’re gone
Simple Things
© 2017 by Christopher Clymer Kurtz
Whispering pine trees, chuckling cool streams
Harmonies
Little melodies to catch
From the front porch in the breeze
Simple things, simple pleasures
Too complex to measure
Smooth out those ruffled feathers
Run so fast, when you fall, you fly
Straight home to a lullaby
Bread in the toaster, tea on a coaster
Like it black, no cream
Music in the air you breathe
The mystery of steam
And morning comes, you fly away
It’s what you live for ‘til the end of every day
Shenandoah
Arrangement © 2019 by Clymer & Kurtz
Oh Shenandoah, I long to see you
Away, you rolling river
Oh Shenandoah, I long to see you
Away, I’m bound away
Across the wide Missouri
Oh Shenandoah, I love your daughter
Away, you rolling river
For her I’d cross your roaming waters
Away, I’m bound away
Across the wide Missouri
Oh Shenandoah, I’m bound to leave you
Away, you rolling river
Oh Shenandoah, I’m bound to leave you
Away, I’m bound away
Across the wide Missouri
Oh Shenandoah, I long to hear you
Away, you rolling river
Oh Shenandoah, just to be near you
Away, I’m bound away
Across the wide Missouri
