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TRAVELIN' LIGHT (Online Community Exclusive! New 7 song EP)

by Bill Mallonee

Community exclusive
1.
Hand me down that old guitar You know the one with all the stories Those tales from by-gone days the scandals & the glories the tired & weary hoping for just a little place in the sun yeah, it worked for some, but not for everyone yeah, it worked for some, but not for everyone hand me down that old guitar full of the dusty paths they trod the one full of tender prayers that cast upon their God Treaties broken and strange fruit hangin' in the sun It all worked for some, but not for everyone maybe Life & Love & Liberty are always on the run It all works for some, but not for everyone It all works for some, but not for everyone
2.
Steering Wheel words & music: bill malloee admin BMI c. 2018 The 4 Corners play of light upon the earth and the sky is new & clear just like a birth You circle back to try and get your feel ...and the world is as big & round as a steering wheel Coulda been a call you answered one fateful day? or maybe not, but somehow you showed up here anyway You got to the table just in time to deal ...and the world is as big & round as a steering wheel It was a game with rules pretty hard to understand And ain't it just like God to disguise His Lovin' hand But every face but His seemed made of steel ...and the world is as big & round as a steering wheel Well, out hearts were like e two-snake eyes when they're cast Upon a table where every flag flies at half-mast You're a treasure one i could only hope to steal ...and the world is as big & round as a steering wheel The 4 Corners play of light upon your face You're a heart of wonder, darlin', all wrapped up in lace You can navigate the darkness just by feel ...and the world is as big & round as a steering wheel
3.
Sunset on the Pontchartrain boats are tying up at the docks life can be brutish & mean but at least you get to call the shots These little spits of land Well, they are all I've ever seen these little spits of sand they are living beneath my skin beneath my skin I started out small and my dreams were little, too there's libations for tribulations they help drive away these blues I never cease to be amazed At the price a man will pay with soul on the trade with his soul as the trade These little spits of land it's all except these little spits of land you can hold 'em in your hand these little spits of sand they are living beneath my skin beneath my skin Sunset. Sunset on the Pontchartrain
4.
I SUSPECT YOU WON"T FEEL A THING words & music: bill mallonee admin BMI c. 2019 Well, what's it gonna take to set the record straight when the place is long since run out of answers? Are you happy with your bread? Did ja get a good seat at the circus? and Truth? Well, she's become a shadow dancer There was a small booth off the midway and a man speaking with some passion using words that had long since fallen out of fashion and there were those who bought the tickets and those who crashed the gate i remember all the those blue lights flashing Why does he sing? Whatever does he mean? Pascal stitchin' words in his over coat dreams When it all goes up in smoke when it flat-lines on the screen I suspect you won't feel a thing... Now why all this sadness in each & everyone? At least we've our drugs. At least we've got our guns. Yeah, what's it gonna take to set the record straight when truth is a shadow dancer and when the place has long since run out of answers Why does he sing? Whatever does he mean? Pascal stitchin' words in his over coat dreams When it all goes up in smoke when it flat-lines on the screen I suspect you won't feel a thing... And yes the world is brutish and the worlg is mean but I suspect you won't feel a thing...
5.
I HEAR YOUR A FRIEND OF THE WESTERN WIND words & music: Bill Mallonee Admin BMI c. 2018 Well there's got to be some comfort left in this old left-you-out-world There's gotta be a place for a gem like you on the string of pearls It'll make you wear your thickest skin just trying to keep the bullets at bay But underneath you've got a heart that's "oh-so-gold" aching to shine like a new day Chorus: Well, i hear you're a friend of the western wind blowing all thru the hole in your soul you don't know where she's been Ah, but then again she'll be taking you where you wanna go taking you to where you wanna go... Well, I wrote this here dusty song on an old guitar under the influence of a million stars I was praying in the Spirit. I was doing my level best. In a rhinestone jacket over a suede vest (Chorus) Autumn has her way of scattering the leaves of your life all around Clearin' the tree. Gatherin' her clouds. She's such a stormy girl! there's gotta be a place for a gem like you on the string of pearls Chorus: Well, i hear you're a friend of the western wind blowing through that great big hole in your soul you don't know where she's been Ah, but then again she'll be taking you where you wanna go taking you to where you wanna go... (Hey, where you wanna go?)
6.
7.
I found a message in a bottle washed up upon the shore so bottles bathed in neon are what i drifted towards Everyman will make a choice about what poison he will crave in an effort to drown out the crashing of the waves Now, I played guitar in all those bars but there was this one elusive sound I couldn't conjure from my rig that place where you can fall an drown there were spirits for the asking various powders and those potions claiming they would take you to the edge of every ocean Everyman will pinch himself when he's caught up in Love's grip just to see if it's all real or if it's counterfeit There were worlds inside your eyes, my love and stars all tangled in your hair we played the last song on the juke box we danced alone together there i have a tendency to drown in seas by not doing what I oughta Jesus came right up to me He was walking on the water Everyman will pinch himself when he's caught up in Love's grip just to see if it's all real or if it's counterfeit Now, I never did reveal just what that message said But i planted those seeds inside my heart It brought me back up from the dead and if the world goes dark? Let Love's lighthouse blaze and just remember to not forget there are no cast-aways Everyman will pinch himself when he's caught up in Love's grip just to see if it's all real or if it's counterfeit...

about

TRAVELIN' LIGHT some liners
Things happen when you pick up an instrument.
Good things, beautiful things, healing things.

I've been transparent about this from day one.
Some little passing thing will surface on guitar and inspire me;
and then it's off to the races.

Many of you know, that I feel like the last 15 years have been the most creative of my life. Also the time with the fewest resources.
But there are pluses and minuses that that math. There was and is no label on the planet that would have given me permission to write, record & release 50 songs and 2 or 3 albums worth of material a year...and then market it.

So yes, A time of growth. On every level.
Growth spiritually. Growth musically.
(Sometimes I feel they are one & the same.)
Well, it's all fits and starts, failures & apologies;
Perpetually ramping up again...
But there have been places where the sheer desperate nature of what I do and how I try to make a living by it has literally "driven me to my knees."
And that's never a bad place to be.
Since any "growth" is all of Grace, there is never any doubt about Who is behind the scenes (or living deep within you) bringing the impossible to pass.

A faith? A grace to write about, wrestle with and take baby-steps in.
When times are darkest, one reaches for the psalms or makes up his own. I wrestle with things like death, obscurity & oblivion.
You know...the usual haunting suspects.
On the days when you can believe, smile, feel joy and hold fast...
Well, you win.
There's been more winning as of late. I'm grateful for that.
Mostly? One learns to be merciful to oneself.

Let's get to the music.
But the growth musically (which is why I am assuming you're here) has been of a appreciable order; a tall stature, I believe.

When there is no band to rely on (And let's face it: Even though everyone has their favorite line-up, VoL was always too broke to afford mainstay players & thus it was generally a cobbled together item at best. I would suggest that there was an incredible amount of heroism from EVERY band member who passed thru it's ranks. I am surely blessed to have been able to play with such talented folks and good souls);

As I said: When there is no band, one does for oneself...and that has been the best "teacher" I have ever had; just the daily exploring of guitar, it's possibilities and it's beauty, the structure of s song, it's arrangement aspect and (most important!) it's lyrical content has been a journey of blood sweat tears and joy...mostly joy.

And Joy is what Life probably ought to be what Life is all about.
The taking & the giving...of Joy.

I have never come up betrayed of empty handed when it has come to shaking hands with Music.
In fact? my soul has been filled to overflowing...

And that's really what a lot of what Travelin' Light is about.
It's all acoustic. Most of it was written and recorded on a 1947 Gibson ES 125. Unplugged. The guitar once belonged to Van Shepherd's father of Chick Music fame, Athens, Ga.
Every time I play it I feel I am "standing on the shoulders of giants."
It is a humbling experience, the playing and the writing of songs on it; One I try and treat with reverence.

Making this EP was (in the light of the soon to be released "Lead On, Kindly Light) a cleansing of the palate of sorts.
"Lead On, Kindly Light," as you'll hear, is deep, dark & rich. It is a dense album, deeply orchestrated and quite nuanced with many, many guitars.

This one, "Travelin' Light?"
A different animal altogether.
It's acoustic qualities made it much easier to augment and nurture;
It was a "just push RECORD and there ya' have it" venture...
Very invigorating...and very welcomed.

I said things happen when you pick up an instrument.
They did on this collection.
5 brand new songs immediately surfaced (they are less than 3 days old as we speak) in the recording of TL. They edged out about 4 others, but they said they wait their turn...
Those 5 new songs were chased, written and recorded here.
(They are tracks 1,3, 4, 5 & 6)

I hope you'll enjoy the new offerings.
They were certainly a joy to write and record.
Grace & Peace,
Bill Mallonee
Summer 2019

credits

released June 29, 2019

Bill Mallonee: songs, guitars, vocals, harmonies, harmonica, drums &baritone guitar

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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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