THESE STREETS
1. I’ll Make My Way
2. These Streets
3. Circus
4. Rollercoaster
5. Train
6. Stoplights & Streets Signs
7. Story of Our Lives
8. It is Not Mine
9. Rearview
10. This Road, These Hands
11. 3 am
SYNOPSIS
This CD is a full length expression of the These Streets – EP previously released. It has taken so long to put this album together due to many life circumstances. I am proud of the songwriting and proud of the composition involved. More than anything this collection of songs is about finding your place in this world. I have always searched for a place to call home outside of the home I once knew. This collection is another expression of that longing.
I grew up in a small town, and the city is a very busy place with no room to breathe. I have spent many years in this environment and have yet to acclimate myself fully. I still feel the need to escape per say and return to where I was raised. Most of these songs elude to that longing.
SONG BY SONG
1. I’ll Make My Way | LYRICS
I was sick of a lot of things when I wrote this. It took 5 minutes to pen this one and will always be one of my favorites from this album. It is simply about deciding it is time to walk away and start something new. The ‘stepping out’ that must occur is scary but this type of decision is necessary in life.
My uncle passed away in the summer of 2009. I was working 3 jobs and missing out of valuable time with my family all for a few dollars. As i drove away from seeing him for the last time I made my decision, it was time to stop the busyness, time to focus, time to do the right thing, the hard thing, the scary thing, the only thing.
The end of the song says ‘if the son disappears I’ll make my way by night instead’ indicating that there are few things that can change the human spirit once it has made up its mind. Neither night or rain could stop what I was feeling on this day.
2. These Streets | LYRICS
This song was written to tell of places I have been and the reflections or impressions I walked away with. Often times writers will mention places in songs that they have never been. I have visited all these places and found different experiences on different streets. All the while searching for home.
3. Circus | LYRICS
Life is crazy sometimes and sometimes things go wrong. When they do it can feel like pure chaos, almost like a circus atmosphere inside our hearts. This song is about the build up, the let down, and the starting over that happens in our lives from day to day. This song is sad for me. It represents a particular relationship in my life that always seems to end and begin again. It is constantly going up and coming down, never stable, always frightening.
The excitement of the circus coming to town was the best metaphor I could accomplish to describe this relationship. It is exciting when it is building up, but how quickly it will be over is always in my mind.
4. Rollercoaster | LYRICS
This is a tough one for me. I have a long and complicated explanation for this song but it really breaks down to the basic need for healthy relationships. This song is ultimately about the slow process of climbing toward trust and respect between two people. It takes so very long to build trust and respect, and when things go bad they go bad very fast. It is much like a rollercoaster, a long ride to the top, a long wait in line, and a short ride down.
I guess I really felt like the idea of a rollercoaster made sense to me…everything that goes up must come down and most relationships experience a certain amount of the up and down.
One of the key points to this song is that it feels often times like we are trapped in relationships that are unhealthy or at least out of our control much like being on a rollercoaster. Regardless of the fear, excitement, or pain we might be in we are inevitably trapped at least for the moment until it slows enough to get off.
5. Train | LYRICS
I guess my fascination with trains, planes, and automobiles came out on this cd. I really like standing on train tracks and looking into the distance to where it disappears. It has always made me wonder what it would be like just to ride the rails and see where it takes me. This song is not at all deep or overly complex. It is really just about deciding to see things, go places, get out of the rut and leave it behind. Sometimes you just want to disappear…
6. Stoplights | LYRICS
I hate driving to work. bottom line…i can’t stand all the stopping and starting of the street lights. The flipside of this is driving on the level b backroads of southwest iowa.
7. Story of Our Lives | LYRICS
8. It is Not Mine | LYRICS
9. Rearview | LYRICS
10. This Road, These Hands | LYRICS
11. 3 am | LYRICS
I have been to Houston 4 times in the last year or so. There is something intriguing and mind-clearing about being in a new city. My first trip I stood looking out my 5th floor hotel window watching the city breathe and I wondered what the city was all about. I took off and went for a walk…it was late, or maybe it was early…it was 3 am
