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HERE IT OPENS WITH A PRAYER, BUT IT CLOSES WITH A SONG (2022)

by Bill Mallonee

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1.MUST HAVE BEEN THE FIRST THING COME INTO MY HEAD words & music: Bill Mallonee admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music c.2022 I don't know why I spoke so harshly i don't know why, I said what I said Every utterance has proved to be costly Must have been...Yeah, must have been must have been first thing in my head God knows the truth is not relative. Ask any drunkard in this bar They all wonder in here for different reasons But they all leave; they all leave, they all leave wishing upon a star Now I hear the stage coach was held up The bank vault? It's as empty as a tomb Darling, I don't wonder 'cause my heart is ever smitten And I will carry, Yes I will carry Your Love deep inside that room Baby, we could hitch our wagon to the nearest star Lose some of this baggage, who knows just how far? It's a long, long way to water At least that's what I've heard Let's travel on as one To where Love gets the last word Here it opens with a prayer... And it closes with a song And in between there are smiles to wake the dead Every utterance of turbulence is costly Must have been...Yeah, must have been Must have been first thing in my head
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CAVE IN (Faith Seeking Understanding, Or The Other Way Around) words & music bill mallonee admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time with Feeling" music c.2022 Hand me that dusty clipboard It's time to call the roll Just answer me by saying "present." Or let silence take it's toll Now, some of us have taken flight With our coal dust souls this day 'Cause the earth is filled w/ violence Just like the Bible says Let there be light no cities left in the dark But no seems to recognize deserted cities of the heart Words stretched out to the breaking point It's all wrecked up 3 miles down Faith seeking understanding or the other way around Give me that dusty clipboard On this the saddest of all days Just answer me by saying "present." Or let silence have her say chorus: Better tell it with tears Ya' better speak it with sighs Ya never know, ya' never know, ya' never know When you're saying goodbye Now the West wasn't won with liquor The West wasn't won with guns or gold No, no my friend, the West was won With our coal dust soul There's widows & more orphans On this the saddest of all days And the earth is filled with violence Just like the Bible says Better tell it with tears You better speak it with sighs You never know, you never know, you never know When you're saying goodbye
3.
MOTHER~LODE 03:54
MOTHER-LODE words & music: Bill Mallonee admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music c.2022 Now, I remember when we first saw it it was bigger than we'd heard I remember when we got close no one said a word 3 days beneath the earth like Jesus 'neath the stone just how we came to stumble on and behold mother lode We'd been running out of hope till running was all we did No one knows the secrets mother Earth chooses to keep hid 3 days beneath the earth who ever would have known how we came to stumble on and behold mother lode Sure, you could give it all to God You could drink the whole town dry You could bind up the wounds of the poor Give the rich man the evil eye 3 days beneath the earth like Jesus 'neath the stone just how we came to stumble on and behold mother lode
4.
ONE MOMENT STANDS OUT words & music: Bill Mallonee admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music c.2022 I remember it just like it was yesterday. One moment stands out above all the rest And everything bathed in candle-light adorning your face And that bourbon kiss, followed by embrace... chorus 1 Taste it's Hope. Tastes it's Joy the banishment of noise (alt: drown the static, kill switch the noise) that modernity's decades of devices has gainfully employed to shackle down your spirit & rain on the parade of that kid beneath your skin, rejoicing in the day... Now the messages got garbled But, I'm not one to boast You get good at chasing phantoms You get good at seeing ghosts I count myself an enemy See, I'm no good for my health Lord, I asked You for a heart of gold 'Cause i didn't have one myself Train-wrecks, wayward souls, gospel prodigals Puttin' the asphalt to the test When persuasion lives in your fingertips Piss & venom can do the rest Now, words can be like flowers And words can be like bombs Or they can truly be like falling, Falling into Your arms You can her freeze-framed forever smiling Her face turned upwards towards the sun She's a rock we all could be, a gift to each & everyone Now, the wind blows leaves of memory past We arrange these shards of our stained glass Some we hallow...some we crash God's forever settin' bones chorus 2 Taste the Hope. Taste the Joy Drown the static, Kill-switch the noise That modernity's decades of weaponry has gainfully employed to cauterize your spirit & rain on the parade of that kid beneath your skin, rejoicing in the day, of that kid beneath your skin, rejoicing in the day...
5.
TUMBLEWEED DREAMS words & music Bill Mallonee admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music c.2022 When I first met him, he was sitting on the fence we talked and then he stretched out his arm All the sweat & blood he'd spent & all the years had wrought working on a sharecropper's farm He said, "All I ever had are tumbleweed dreams and and strange enough, sometimes they will get cha through." Tumbleweed dreams, tumbleweed dreams Tumbleweed dreams blowing through..." Now, you know they speak in murmurs when ever you're around You learn to grab your dry goods & staples and get the hell outta town It all opens with a prayer here and it closes with a song All I ever had were these tumbleweed dreams and sometimes even those will see you through Tumbleweed dreams, tumbleweed dreams Tumbleweed dreams blowing through... Now, it'll wear some new disguises in each & every age but it always has that grabbing hand, of that make no mistake from their money in their banks, to their wielding of the sword My fathers worked their land and my sons fought their wars All I ever had were tumbleweed dreams and strange enough sometimes they'll see you through Tumbleweed dreams, tumbleweed dreams Tumbleweed dreams blowing through...
6.
PERFECT CRIME (Feeling Lucky This Time) Words & Music Bill Mallonee admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music c.2022 Oh, to steal your heart! Oh to make you mine! You know, I never learned the ropes; to the perfect crime Ah, but Baby, I'm feelin' lucky this time... I've got a little bit of lowdown, a dash of dirty & mean Just a wink away from nefarious The secret handshake, if you please I hear any door will open...with a skeleton key I had some friends at Soledad Big Mac guaranteed a lengthy stay but Folsom's where you wanna be Johnny Cash would come and play He said: "I love each & everyone of you," And then he bowed his head and prayed Now Philly's got the soul and Memphis has got the blues The French Quarter has the Zydeco, so I can fall in love with you I don't have much to offer but I'll sing you a song or two Oh, to steal your heart! Oh to make you mine! You know, I never learned the ropes; to the perfect crime Love is the game you gotta play Sometimes it'll rob you blind Ah, but Baby, I'm feelin' lucky this time... Baby, I'm feelin' lucky this time... and I hope you're feelin' lucky this time...
7.
IF MY HEART IS BROKEN (THEN MY SPIRIT'S NOT FAR BEHIND) Words & Music: Bill Mallonee admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music c.2022 Now, you ask me if I saw it coming. No, I'm not sure that I did All those voices at the table And all that stuff they try to keep hid Chorus: Baby, my heart is broken And it's just like the first time And if my heart is broken Well, you'd best believe my spirit's not far behind No, my spirit's not far behind I heard Billie Holiday singing on the radio Should you find yourself down, down on your luck "Baby, you can help yourself... But, please don't take too much..." Chorus Baby, my heart is broken and it's just like the first time And if my heart is broken Well, you'd best believe my spirit's not far behind No, my spirit's not far behind Now I work where the sun don't shine beneath some God-forsaken site Filling cars with anthracite Morning noon & night And those suits there at the table? Keeping there crimes well outta sight Baby, my heart is broken No, no, no it won't be the last time And if my heart is broken Well, you'd best believe my spirit's not far behind No, my spirit's not far behind
8.
BENEATH THOSE CAROLINA PINES words & music by: Bill Mallonee admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music It took a Georgia girl & a Virginia reel A little Kentucky bourbon to seal the deal And my mind...was doing time... Beneath those Carolina pines She said: "There'll be no sittin' on the fence..." I was under no illusion, this girl is gonna need some convincing A weddin' ring & 3 chords & the stars aligned Beneath those Carolina pines bridge: It was more like finding my long lost friend Some stumbles at the start but I love how it all ends Some speak the apocalypse Some preach Armageddon I say Love will get the last word lest we be forgetting And my mind was doing time Beneath those Carolina Beneath those Carolina Beneath those sweet Carolina Pines Beneath those Carolina Pines
9.
ROUGH PATCH 04:51
ROUGH PATCH words & music by Bill Mallonee admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music Here you go again you old truth dispatcher Rosary on the van's rear view and that frayed dream-catcher Could it be there's a big picture no one wants to see Prophets went blind from no vision and fewer epiphanies. when the vehicle hits the rough patch, i guess we'll wait & see It's more about pullin' on Love's muddy boots and rollin' up your sleeves Baby, it's all gone up to come tumblin' down to you & me... Now the Kings had no solutions; the Leaders mumbled incoherent Paupers grabbed the steering wheel and hoped the guard rail would bear it So is there a bigger picture no one wants to see? Prophets went blind from no vision and fewer epiphanies. when the vehicle hits the rough patch, i guess we'll wait & see It's more about pullin' on Love's muddy boots and rollin' up your sleeves Baby, it's all gone up to come tumblin' down to you & me... Baby, it's all gone up to come tumblin' down to you & me... Now the fire of the Refiner puts all of it to the test And the dross of our duplicity, will be made manifest Prophets were blinded by ambition seeing only what they wanna see Could it be there's a bigger picture that everyone should see? It's more about pullin' on Love's muddy boots & rollin' up Love's tattered sleeves Baby, it's all gone up to tumble down to you & me... Baby, it's all gone up to tumble down to you & me...
10.
TAKING US ALL FOR A RIDE words & music Bill Mallonee admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music c.2022 Well, I cover the waterfront mostly these days Between Paper Moon's & Tin Foil stars You know I use to be a lawyer but Justice wasn't served Last Time I saw her she was passed out at the bar. It's no use pretending; you cant keep it all hid It's all hangin' in the balance and it's all on the skids Well you might be pointing fingers and tempted to curse But by God you ought to check your own condition 1st... Now you're making me, now you're making me Now you're making me cry, cry, cry And you're taking me, you've been taking me, Taking us all for a ride, ride, ride... It's gotta stop I came home from the war just in the nick of time You know, I dodged all those bullets to go back to the grind Back to all those beer runs to Seven/Eleven Bread & circuses 24/7 Now you're making me, now you're making me Now you're making me cry, cry, cry And you're taking me, you've been taking me, taking us all for a ride, ride, ride... It's gotta stop I use to be prophet, but that all went South It gets hard to speak with all those embers in your mouth No, God's not in His heaven and it's not right with the world No, He's down here among us, every boy, every girl No, it's no use pretending; you cant keep it all hid It's all in the balance and it's all on the skids Now, you might be pointing fingers & tempted to curse But drop and see what condition your condition's in first Now you're making me, now you're making me Now you're making me cry, cry, cry And you're taking me, you've been taking me, Taking us all for a ride, ride, ride... Now you're shaking me Now you're breaking me Taking us all for a ride, ride, ride Taking us all..... It's makes me wonder when it's gonna stop
11.
HEARTS UP ON THE GALLOWS words & music bill mallonee BMI.c2021 published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" Music Perspectives are half the diagnosis to an answer we seem eager to evade And your heart? It's looking like more than just psychosis What you see in the clear light of day Chorus: There are crosses & there's nooses & electric chairs For the kind of tidings you seem apt (prone, poised) to bring But, as long as there are hearts up on the gallows? You still have a song or two to sing; You'll still have a song or two to sing No doubt the game was rigged & the deck was stacked Still, you carried on with a studied nonchalance You up and grabbed the take and beat it out the back Now, I call that a healthy response repeat chorus Exporting violence in one form or another Drawing lines between sisters & brothers Love's an idea still gone unaddressed If you live by the sword?... Ah, well, you know the rest repeat chorus Bill Mallonee: Vocals, electric & acoustic guitars, bass, drums, harmonica, harmony vocals Bill Pratt: pedal steel ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12.
'TIL YOUR HEART GOT IN THE WAY words & music: bill mallonee admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music c.2022 There's no secrets that will keep and yours? They drew me in to a circle way to deep I wonder sometimes if it's better to not look before you leap? I was wrecked up on the guardrail God knows i was stormed tossed how do galaxies collide? How do stars get all crossed I've proffered alibis ah, but none of them will wash Chorus: You said: "Baby, i was doing just fine; No really i was OK. I had my path to walk and I had my prayers to pray Till your heart got in the way...Till your heart got in the way..." I've was lost & I was lonely but still delivering of course with guitar & song with 6-string drag Sometimes a critics choice but every night I checked my heart I could barely feel a pulse Now loneliness & doubt can sometimes have a face to those who recognize it in each other's embrace and embrace a kind of song I knew each and every line by heart, but I sang my parts all wrong
13.
NOTHING LAST'S FOREVER words & music by bill mallonee admin BMI published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" music c.2022 Well there are no guarantees when you answer the call with a beat up guitar and a suitcase full of songs once every bend in the road held a new surprise every cloud broke thru to sunny skies tables they turn, times they change Darlin' just like the weather and nothing lasts forever... A six-string in the desert? Now, there's a drug that you can trust you drench of voice in whiskey and drown your soul on dust you never read the fine print, so you never caught the catch and even if you did, would have choose a different path Desperation is a kind of fuel when you're far from home in that borrowed threadbare suit and splash of cheap cologne and when it all went South you were the last to know there's no guard rail gonna hold a worried man's woes Empires they will crumble from sea-to-shinning-sea and tyrants the may hang from the highest tree They're out to steal your joy, but 1st they'll steal your horse but lovers they're the only ones who really know the score
14.
WHATEVER'S LEFT OF ME NOW words & music bill mallonee admin by BMI c. 2022 published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" Music Well, fill up the tanks & the memory banks Whatever's left of me now; whatever's left of me now Let loose with some "Thanks" But I must be frank: It's been "harder & how" With whatever's left of me now; whatever's left of me now Sold up the farm & I gave 'em the team Wiped away a tear. Handed them the key To the banker man I drove; Gave 'em my motherlode And I vowed all the rest in a promisory note Whatever's left of me now; whatever's left of me now... Here we go... Whatever's left of me now; Well who could say? When the Good Lord renders on Judgement Day Will these dry bones dance? Will my songs I still sing? Will the birds of the air pick these bones clean? Whatever's left of me now, whatever's lect of me now. Well, fill up the tanks & the memory banks Whatever's left of me now... Let loose with some "thanks;" Ah, but first share a kiss Honey, you've got my heart through all of this. Whatever's left of me now, whatever's left of me now... Now Joy, she called. She said she's running late But, She's bringin' Love, too So, for now....we wait. Whatever's left of me now, whatever's left of me now... (harp outro)

about

"Here It Opens With A Prayer, But It Closes With A Song" by Bill Mallonee
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LINER NOTES:
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First! A deep, heart-felt "Thank You" to the folks whose prayers, kindness & goodwill made all this possible via the Kickstarter campaign that gave this record it's birth! For many a record now you folks "behind the scenes" have supplanted a record company, glitzy management, and superficial PR to make what I do as an independent Americana artist come to life. I am a blessed man, one who is deeply grateful to you all!

2nd: There's lots of material here! The Rockies of northern New Mexico still inspire, harbor & nurture Muriah's and my spirits. It's a small, rural community of about 1,500 folks, many of them organic farmers. It's been a good place to "wait out" the pandemic, pray for peace in the world..and a wondrous place to make new songs; A small adobe studio about 170 years old (with 2ft thick walls!) creates an environment that invigorates me every time I enter it. I whittled about 30 new songs down to 14; At 70 minutes, "Here It Opens With A Prayer, But It Closes With A Song" is probably the longest single record I've released.

I make songs & records that endeavor to "take the listener somewhere." Always have. I try to "create worlds" when making a new set of songs for an album. My thoughts on albums lengths? We suspect we have all been "cursed" (due to the scatter-gun-rapid-fire-advertising-stimuli) with attention-deficit disorder. Our attention spans hit thresholds earlier.

My response? Make an allowance. This is art. I think good art is indispensable. It can be life-giving. Good art sneaks up on us, steals our heart for a spell, makes them clean & then gives them back to us in a new & fresh way. Good art makes us more human, more in touch with that image-of-God-ness resident within each of us. So, I have a simple request: If 70minues seems long, please, please, hang with it. Read the lyrics. Ponder the vocal & instrument maneuvers. Absorb the full-band chemistry here. I hope the great joy I had in making this record shines through and the "places it takes you to" resonate with your spirit. Good songs should help us blossom. You are welcomed to write me and ask me any questions about the songs themselves & what they seem to say. I'll answer.

3rd: "How DID They Do It?" While most of the instrumentation was delivered my myself, I had some great friends aiding & abetting these sessions. Bill Pratt (whose work graced previous records of mine "Permafrost" & "Beatitude") gave of his heart via his superb pedal steel work here. Vigilante of Love, Chris Bland, of "To The Roof of The Sky" & "Slow Dark Train" era, brought his excellent bass guitar work to a good number of tracks where noted in the song lyric & personnel notes. Mark Konzal, one of Atlanta's finest, played some excellent "call & response" sections in addition to offering excellent production suggestions. (Mark & I played in high-school bands together, so the re-connection here was incredibly joyful.)
Finally, the keeper of my heart's keys, Ms. Muriah Rose, stepped away from her own busy routines as wife, home-maker, dress-maker, song-writer, and gardener to lend "that voice of hers" to a few songs.

There are three other folks who gave of their time, talents & artistry in the making of this record.
Sonic guru & all-around superb engineer, Chris Bethea, mastered & sequenced the record. I've lost count on how many albums he's given selflessly to make my work shine in it's audio values. Thank You, Chris! (website here)

Jason Horst, of HorstArts Design Group, designed & tended to every detail of this record's packaging & visual appeal. (One of Jason's first project was the magnificent www.Parting-Shot.com VoL site. That site, replete with hundreds of my songs, what albums they appeared on & packed full of anecdotal details qualifies Mr. Horst as the band's official historian of the early years of Vigilantes of Love & well into my early solo career.) Thank You, my friend!

Cover photography: Ben Slaboda
High desert photography: Bill Mallonee
Sites for sore eyes:
www.BillMalloneeMusic.com
BillMalloneeMusic.bandcamp.com
Reach out to us at: www.facebook.com/BillMalloneeMusicFanPage
And at: info@billmalloneemusic.com

credits

released May 13, 2022

All songs by Bill Mallonee
admin by BMI c2022
Published by "Once More, This Time With Feeling" Music
Produced by Bill Mallonee
Mastered by Chris Bethea

Bill Mallonee: Electric & acoustic guitars, bass guitar, drums, lap steel, vocals, harmony vocals, resonator guitar, baritone guitar, harmonica, percussion
Muriah Rose: harmony vocals
Bill Pratt: lap steel where noted
Chris Bland: bass guitar where noted
Mark Konzal: electric guitar where noted

Cover Photography by: Ben Slaboda
Design & layout by: Jason Horst & Hortsarts

(Brief word up:There will be a forthcoming PDF file that will provide a wonderful cover to the download companion available here.)

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Bill Mallonee

Bill Mallonee is an Americana artist w/ 80 plus albums over a 30 year career. Voted by Paste Music Magazine #65 in their "Top 100 Living Songwriters" poll. He was the
founding member of Vigilantes of Love. He has worked with Mark Heard, Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris, & Peter Buck from REM.
His most recent work, "Lead On, Kindly Light" is a 23song double Cd released Feb 2020.
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