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WPA 20 "Little Births"​/​The Dolorosa Demos (2014)

by Bill Mallonee

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1.
RIO GRANDE 04:20
RIO GRANDE words/music: bill mallonee well, this old moonlight has been my friend as long as i can remember when was either poverty or a drug lord's gun Mother Mary, watch o'er your son keep a book of my mother's favorite poems she wrote 'em out longhand as i was going and i'm not sure but i'm willing to bet she said a Rosary for my every step Now, i'm not one to boast. tequila make me...like a ghost so i might swim, so i might stand on the other side of the Rio Grande now, there's a border frozen in my mind i've visited there a million times dreams are devils or your best friends 100 roads north, but only one way in i once a had a dream of Liberty she stood in a harbor & beckoned me and the river's deep and wide they say only man's fear & greed get in the way
2.
SMILE BY NUMBERS words & music: bill mallonee the light it plays....and the shadow? it gets cast jump the next thing....that is going past you get use to the cold...and how the wind she cuts and the sound of every door...that keeps slamming shut chorus and the sunlight here paints her thin veneer of eternity...o'er everything So, i smile by numbers and slumber in my bed Tie a hangman's knot...inside my head it did not transpire...or happen over night sea changes rarely...occur in the light faith & trust was all ya' ever wanted Now, you're starting to wonder if the house ain't haunted the eyes say it all...so best to keep 'em shut words are just air...so don't say much jump the next thing...that's going past we're all moving through these rooms...way too fast
3.
TILL I KNEW IT ALL BY HEART words/music: bill mallonee it's too late to talk about it time to put that one to bed can't it wait a few hours for the clear light of day? chorus: i learned the night skies when i came here i pinned my hope on every star i was taught the geography of fear early on ...till i knew it all by heart 'cause the hangman? he's always ready to help you straighten up your tie tip your hat if you should meet him and by all means: spit in his eye some say Love's the final answer some say that jury still deliberates you navigate...by sextant & by compass by Courage & by Faith
4.
CITIES OF RUIN words & music by bill mallonee hit the highway at daybreak roll out early for to San Antone every thing is up for grabs and you're the last to know chorus #1 and the heart? she is a shooting star wanderin' on it's own drifting through those cities of ruin on your way back home call it a rite of passage call it something strong & true all those Appalachian deep sighs with the sunlight sifting through chorus #2 they say in Heaven you'll get your real name carved into a precious stone drifting through those cities of ruin on your way back home may your steps be full of wonder may the neon light your path may you have some tears to share when other's dreams collapse chorus #3: and the desert? she'll hold your secrets when your thoughts are all dust blown drifting through the cities of ruin on your way back home hit the highway at midnight another time zone to get through a song drifting o'er the canyon and the stars they hang like jewels chorus #4: and the heart is like shooting like a star always blazing through the cold burning through those cities of ruin on your way back home
5.
6.
DOLOROSA 05:27
DOLOROSA words/music: bill mallonee the sound of heartbreak....from an old jukebox hardly anything sadder that i know perfume collides...with a scratchy 45 out there on the dance floor there's a certain way....the light behaves on that 1st new day of Spring "Promise" is a seed...you plant with deeper needs and see what the harvest brings chorus: now, my journey was harsh & my path was stern with every song that i wrote, every word that i spoke color me invisible was it something you chose? I dunno, i suppose or was it something that chose ya'? Dolorosa i made me a world with wood and steel strings Oh, those many things you will learn! Hand to the plow & smile all the while even when their backs are turned you always my bright...travelin' light though that was never widely known you were kind enough, i think, to buy me a drink ...and wait for the oblivion oh, to hold forth...with a twinkle in the eye and shine like those stars out west oh, to play yer tunes...under mirror~ball moon oh, to sing till your last breath closing time's too soon...to chase away the blues & lovers want their story told their hearts made alive...by some scratchy 45s from a jukebox spinning gold
7.
8.

about

"Superb...beautiful...brilliant..." ~ Steve Ruff/DownTheLineZine

"Little Births"/The "Dolorosa" demos. Why? Because they sound 4 track great! Visceral & Immediate. Because there's often "magic" in the first few takes of new songs. (Sure, you can "gussy it up" with production later, but ask any writer: Sometimes the first few takes are a "never-to-be-recovered" variable.) Everything starts "small." I just went back and listened to these renderings, and the transparent quality is really nice. Passionate. Good takes. Grand moments.
So, we had 'em mastered by our friend, Bruce Neher at Disc & Dat.

Liner notes:
First thing I noticed was the "finish." It was worn clean off the neck, non-existent in most places. An indicator of a well-played & well-loved guitar. The wearing was even up and down the neck. Rhythm & more solo oriented gestures given equal weight. Again, a sign of a well-versed played. The fella who sold it to me said his father owned it and played the guitar quite well. Thus, an honor.
The year? 1947. A Gibson ES-125.
I used it all over Dolorosa.
I let the strings go dull and heavy.
The sound & feel tapped into, well...you'll see.


"They say in heaven you'll get your real name
carved into a precious stone
Drifting through all these cities of ruin
on your way back home..."
~ from "Cities of Ruin" by Bill Mallonee

credits

released January 24, 2014

all songs by: Bill Mallonee
Bill Mallonee: guitars, vocals, harps, bass
Mastering & Edits: Bruce Neher at "Disc & Dat"

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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.
... more

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