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WHERE THE LOVE LIGHT GLEAMS ~ 2015 (14 original songs about Advent, Christmas & the Coming of Jesus)

by Bill Mallonee

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1.
ON TO BETHLEHEM written by Bill Mallonee for CyBrenJoJosh (BMI) ©1998 So, i'm at this wheel it's three am waiting for the caffeine to come around and life rears it's ugly head again they say your radio's cool and retail's way down and i'd like to say i'm faithful to the task at hand speaking gospel to a handful and others with their list of demands it's cold this year and i'm late on my dues it's cold in here ah but that's nothing new my heart's electric with your love again so it's on to Bethlehem you might surmise that i ran there but i really only crept lead me to the place where love runs wild and then it dogs your every step you know how fickle my heart is prone to wonder my Lord yeah we talk but it's at arms length always got one eye on the door God wraps Himself up in human skin for those who want to touch and God let them drive the nails in for those of us who know way too much You come bearing all our burdens and take Your lovers for a ride but we stay holed up in our cages fashioned by our own design so tell me what is your secret what's on your blister soul what is that one little secret you know the one that has taken its toll 'cause daddy's banging on your gate again yeah he won't leave you alone got a whole lot of dry warm rooms and the finest of homes from Yonder Shines the Infant Light 2005​/​12 Advent & Christmas songs, released December 12, 2005 Bill Mallonee Acoustic guitar, vocals. Kenny Hutson: Pedal steel Chris Bland: Bass Scott Klopfenstein: Drums Tom Lewis: engineer
2.
THE KING WILL SEE YOU NOW words/music: bill mallonee I heard you all came from pretty far to grace our little old town heard you saw some new bright stars ah, the king will see you now the king was pacing in his chambers clearly a worried man seems like for every neck ya’ gotta wring, ah, ya’ get to wring two hands ok, let’s put our cards on the table let us be of the same mind if you’d relay my goodwill ah, if you’d be so kind I’d welcome him in person if I could but there’s this shakey lil' government later on, I’ll bring the love in a motorcade with all that pomp and circumstance Chorus: and the pattern, it repeats itself when power is asked to bow whenever truth gets ushered in ah, the king will see you now Oh, I’ll offer him my worship my best wishes and bright hope never mind the dagger underneath my cloak I hear new kings get born every day So me? I don’t sweat it all that hard Isn’t life just the funniest thing? With all this changing of the guard? Chorus They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings I’ve seen that with my own two eyes then I saw it in a dream Must be time to guard your turf must be time to guard your home whenever the truth shows up drunk with love and gets too close to the bone Chorus: and the pattern, it repeats itself when power is asked to bow whenever truth gets ushered in ah, the king will see you now there’s always a steel door to be slammed when she gets a little loud whenever truth gets outta hand ah, the kind will see you now credits from WONDERLAND (A Christmas Season album), track released December 16, 2011 Bill Mallonee: vocals, all guitars, bass, drums
3.
(LITTLE BABY) UNDER THE STAR words/music: Bill Mallonee 1. I hear there were some fuzzy-faced animals there when you showed up in the world and every friend you've ever chose since well, they've all been kicked to the curb and to all those poor in spirit? well, they ain't never seen anything like you... chorus: Under the star Baby, under the star Yeah, under the star Little baby under the star Under the star...you come as you are under the star......in your heart 2. you can look for him in hell ah, but I hear he's already been there & left you can look for him in heaven that was just a temporary forwarding address if you really wanna meet 'em. i hear he thinks the world of you 3. Now, kingdoms come & kingdoms go but, it's all mostly just a bore man's greed & man's killing well, that's what we're mostly known for what's all this about the faith of a child and this "you gotta come as you are?"
4.
Written by Bill Mallonee for CyBrenJoJosh (BMI) ©2005 EVERY FATHER KNOWS (WHERE HIS SONS & DAUGHTERS ARE) words & music by Bill Mallonee. c.2005 BMI well the angels sang the sweetest song echoing refrains the shepherds were up to something maybe drunk again no there probably wasn't any snow on the ground at the time though the greeting cards show that sort of thing with a warm and fuzzy rhyme and the stable is neat and tidy the hygiene is five stars and the planet it spins lonely as i step out of this bar now some are lost in shopping malls and some on battlefields and some are lost in suburbs and some on capitol hills some are lost on terminal wards or in a nursing home and some are equally as lost in between their headphones but whatever your coordinates on your map of shame rather close or far away we're all lost just the same the birth of births was like a death under that hallowed star still every father know and cares where his sons and daughters are so you may wake up a bit confused with the ache that's in your heart doesn't matter if you got there by choice or got there by default and every birth shall come with tears and with youth there is a cost Jesus what's it like to grow up in the shadow of a cross where You take on more than You could know more than i'd want to say i put you there a long time ago when i do it every day from Yonder Shines the Infant Light 2005​/​12 Advent & Christmas songs, released December 12, 2005 Bill Mallonee; acoustic & high-string guitars, vocals Muriah Rose: piano, vocals
5.
HOOVER~VILLE words/music: bill mallonee a statue in the harbor said: "I welcome you." when i saw that smile i took it at face value she said: "Give me your weary, your tired & your ill. i'll find 'em all a place...in Hoover~ville. I had a guitar full of stories & a head full of ghosts I would open the case and then I'd hold forth but, when the act of living is an act of the will you learn that kinda faith down in Hoover~ville you learn that kinda faith down in Hoover~ville every world made by man is bound to crash and the rich man loves what cannot love him back courage may be a small ember but, it's one you can't kill It's in no short supply in Hoover~ville It's in no short supply in Hoover~ville now, it's Christmas in New York & make no mistake life? she is brutish & the the devil he waits And the tears we cry for everyone's death Aren't they also the tears we cry for ourselves Give me your weary, you tired & your ill I'll gather 'em up in Hoover~ville Yes, I'll gather 'em up in Hoover~ville
6.
JULIAN (IT’S DECEMBER AND I’M LOST) words/music: bill mallonee I have come here to give voice to all of the impoverished and to all the ones were but mostly have n’er been I’ve come here to scream out loud and wipe some of the sweat off their brow even the ones just below my skin I’ve come here to shatter the grandest of illusions that you stand so tall and make it on your own I’ve come here to reveal that what you are is what you steal and what you steal you can never get y0u home chorus: It’s December and I’m lost between Advent and holocaust it’s all just static or the hard sell Ah, Blessed Julian! Would you pray for me...and whisper in my ear that all shall be most well? yeah, most well...most well I’ve come here to extend you the permission to throw on that last shovelful of earth I’ve here to despise the accuser’s long, loud lies i’ve come to stumble first and then walk off this curse credits from WONDERLAND (A Christmas Season album), track released December 17, 2012 Bill Mallonee: vocals, guitars
7.
WINTER LIGHT words/music by bill mallonee winter light, winter light have i given up the fight? men's hearts grow cold and the center will not hold winter light, winter light there is no...no wise man here let me make that...perfectly clear no one to be found, trust me, I've looked around high & low, all my life...'round this town faith is a flag of long ago faith is a flag...shot full of holes trigger happy and uptight; judge & jury with a gunsight oh, winter light; oh, winter light; oh, winter light bridge: I heard you said all the old empires, will fade away and the one with meek & lowly full of the stumbling but still hoping will remain...remain yeah, yeah, yeah... Now, all the stories...about your Birth where every soul will feel it's worth the devil banished...and the prisoners released King of Kings...Prince of Peace Father God...Mother Mary please, bring your gift...and do not tarry star shining bright or a candle in the moonlight oh, winter light...oh, winter light....oh, winter light
8.
STAR~LIGHT 03:29
STAR~LIGHT words & music: b. mallonee You know i wonder how you got there 'Cause it's more than a mystery For all those pages that we turned there's still so little that we see i tried to watch your every gesture to see if they'd reveal a plot I tried to see if that smile you smiled was the real one or not it's a world just like a house of cards and our fault lines are hard to detect in a world full of simple, wide-eyed souls there is so much to protect Chorus: They say starlight is the best of gifts let it shine all through the night for the storm-tossed who have no land in sight Do, if starlight is your special gift let it be special night for the drowning who have no land in sight
9.
10.
FOREVER FOR YOU words/music: bill mallonee stumblin' in out of the rain...stealing all of your kisses city blocks bathing in neon...thunder off in the distance storm's hanging on hey, there's a bar on the corner i know Clydesdale endlessly circle in a globe full of swirling snow shakin' off the drops of the night in a tucked vinyl booth a little gin please with a splash of vermouth Chorus: i came here for the skyline and maybe a song or two i maybe have come here for the skyline but i'll stay forever for you i was wondering...well just how brave was i? talking a game...and shivering on the inside taking off bandages....of recovery holding you close...like a discovery Chorus: i came here for the skyline when, now that's only partially true i came here for the skyline but i'll stay forever for you Stumbling out into the cold stealing all your kisses Salvation Army bells off in the distance I came here for the skyline and maybe a song or two I came here for the skyline but I'd stay forever for you yes, your eyes became that skyline and everything came true I came here for the skyline but I'll stay forever for you...
11.
Written a couple days after the shooting at Sandy Hook School in Newtown, CT. Grief is the order of the day. Perhaps, it is the order of the decade. May Grace & Compassion ring the lives of those who have lost loved ones to the madness. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ lyrics GATHER THE LITTLE LAMBS IN words/music: bill mallonee Gather the little lambs in Gather their joys & sighs Gather their mysteries & their unwritten histories may all of their tears be dried melt all the weapons of sadness melt all the weapons of hate close of the distance & our grim resistence maybe it’s never too late when it comes to us living by Spirit well, you were never holding your breath we’re so barely able to hear it so you showed up in the flesh bring in the lonely & confused bring in the orphans & freaks sister & brothers. All we have is each other and hearts with a similar beat bring in the drugged and bedraggled the homeless and well-castled kings bring the deficient and proud self-sufficient let us all find that song we can sing Gather the little lambs in Gather their joys & sighs Gather their mysteries & their unwritten histories may all of their tears be dried Afterword: We did not "get here" overnight. The "wake-up call" is past. Our children are not safe and have not been safe for years. I believe we live in a culture that embraces violence as an article of faith. Yes, there are "freak-shows," mentally disturbed and desperate people "out there." But even such sad souls are a symptom of the broken & depersonalized land we've created and live in. The price we are paying for cowing to gun enthusiasts and their lobbyists is appalling. I know this stance is "unpopular;" even considered "un-patriotic" by some. So be it. Sometimes one must stand up against the those who would pervert and mis-represent their so-called "2nd Amendment rights." They have become complicit & guilty in these murders. The Lord is the Lord of Life.... May God give us courage to envision something better & to show us all the better way.
12.
CHRISTMAS IN BABYLON (Bourbon On Breath) words/music: Bill Mallonee it's Christmas in Babylon and what have we here? a planet groaning & driven to tears we've been hedging our bets and draggin' our feet but tonight your heart is a train and it's gathering steam Chorus: all these clamoring voices about life & death we're all bell-ringers in parking lots w/ bourbon on breath now there's the strains of a hymn & a star in the sky and Love's showing up hard in a small Baby's cry even the animals smiled with delight at the child in the stable all ringed with light Mary & Joseph, they held Him close hope of the ages wrapped up in swaddling clothes now suffering & wonder maybe all that you get on this side of the veil...lest you forget life is drifting & falling...and drifting again maybe you're coming home...to someplace you've never been and there's a band of angels, they've tuned up and plugged in awaiting their cue. about to begin god sends us a gift this time every year Ah, it's Christmas in Babylon...and what have we here? credits from CRIER by Bill Mallonee & Muriah Rose (A Christmas EP 2012), released December 20, 2012 Bill Mallonee: guitars, vocals, drum programming all rights reserved
13.
SHEPHERD'S REMINISCE words & music: Bill Mallonee All my best friends are walking wounded All my friends? They are off-cast But they all have hearts deep as well and they now cry at the drop of a hat once all of them were shepherds now they have courage for a staff maybe those who've tasted much of grief can chart the better path CHORUS: now they said they heard an angel choir but i was staring at the embers and it happen all so long ago i really don't remember my companions disappeared that night following a star that burned and me? well, i stayed at my post and waited till they returned they came back drunk on something maybe joy is a libation they were all in one perfect accord 'bout this Light for all the nations Now, sometimes i feel a bit left out but see there was work to do maybe there's reward in heaven for those who simply follow through Now, my friends, they speak of priceless pearls and they speak of first and last All my best friends are walking wounded All my friends they are off-cast from CRIER (A Christmas EP) by Bill Mallonee & Muriah Rose, released December 20, 2012 Bill Mallonee: nylon sting guitars & vocals
14.
TO REACH OUT TO ME words/music: bill mallonee Mary had a baby boy so she sang a song of grace stars and angels started showing up all over the place it came with angel’s voices and with a star in the night it came with kings and politicians trying to crush out the light Joseph was dreamer sometimes he’d dream of God sometimes his dreams told him to stay sometimes they said: "get outta Dodge." chorus: now, I hear you’re in the business of making all things new that’s some crazy kinda enterprise just 'tween me & you now, I hear you loved the good earth I hear you loved the sea I know you crossed a few of them to reach out to me you opened up a clinic when you came of age healed the sick at no expense ah, you were all the rage you made the rounds at weddings and you always brought the wine you hung with the finest sinners they thought you were divine you took it to the highways you took it to the streets some called you a Savior some called you a master thief you came & sang a song of love you came & preached of peace you told the rich & powerful their wars would one day cease now, everybody lives in chains these days all sad & mean & bored living on a razor of despair and by the edge of the sword you saw where it was leading you never held your breath you delivered your own eulogy ah, but You never really left from CRIER (A Christmas EP) by Bill Mallonee & Muriah Rose, released December 20, 2012 Bill Mallonee: guitars, vocals, string & harp arrangement

about

May all the deepest blessings of this hallowed Christmas season be with you and your loved ones. And may the message of God's Grace
in Christ shine in you like that Bethlehem star.~ bill mallonee

Liner notes to "Where The Love Light Gleams."
What I Really Wanna Say Is...
c. 2015
by: bill mallonee

People ask me about Jesus sometimes: "How do you know? How do you know He's real? How do you know He's really there?"
Most of the answers we give people seem to border on something like an intellectual insult or some form of academic pontificating from some higher moral ground. I've learned to discount those responses, even when I find myself resorting to them...

"Well," I say, "you can talk to Him. Just like a Friend. Ask Him to "show" Himself to you. Ask Him: "Why is the world is such a broken place?" As Jesus things like: "Why are we so broken within ourselves?"
And, while you're at it, ask Him why everything & everyone hurts.
And then, of course, you have to learn to listen.
Listen for an answer.
But, it's "listening" in a different way.

Christmas. Most of mankind's grandest hopes are wrapped up in flesh & blood of Him who they call Jesus, the Savior of the world.He came at a time when the ancient world was starving for love. Caste systems were inviolable and military might "made right."
Into that world appears Christ. Unexpected. Breaking all the rules. Astonishing the "shakers & the movers" and those in positions of corrupting power; A Man of the most beautiful sayings the world has ever heard...with a Sermon on some Mountain guaranteed to blow your mind.

People tend to forget just how "disowned" he was. Right off the top. We forget that He was disowned by the authorities both political & religious. God "scandalizes" us by deciding to "appear" among the meek, the lowly, the poor, the marginalized. He "scandalizes" our sensibilities still to this day.

As a kid I knew at an early age all the joys and expectations of the Advent & Christmas narratives (whether they are history or memories nuanced with touches of zealous imagination); They somehow seeped into this small child's imagination and have been inspiring him ever since.

Jesus. The Mystery we are compelled to love.
It often happens that the people who are supposed to "represent" Him here do the worst and bloodiest damage throughout mankind's dismal history, I have all sympathy with those for feel they must "turn away" from such representations of Christ, the man of Peace.
Christ seems to "take us where we're at."

I'm convinced He's more concerned about each of us "learning His heart." And then trying to live it out, however stumbling we may be in our "first steps." We begin, by accepting our acceptance. We begin by recognizing our deep need and broken-ness. An empty cup he seems to be all-too-ready to fill.

But, yes: You learn to listen in a different sort of way. For I am convinced that He will speak.
Then it's those simple exchanges of just talking to Him daily & listening that become a way of transformation from within and into the world in which we live.
We may even get use to living in our own skin.

And then, by God's Grace, we learn to love the spirits of our fellow travelers. Our brothers & sisters.
Perhaps, even our enemies...
The world is starving for such manifestations of that Love.

That's some of what these songs are about...
Merry, Holy, Happy Christmas...and Joy & courage on your journey,
bill mallonee
Advent/Christmas 2015
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Album notes:
I have this very old nondescript nylon string Spanish guitar. It figured deeply and beautifully in the writing of these songs and in the making of "CRIER." (I paid maybe $60 at a pawn shop in Athens, Ga years ago.) It has a neck on it like a baseball bat. Meaning it's just so THICK and unwieldy to grasp that there are just some chords I can't play on it.
You have to wrestle the hell out of it to make music on it.
Call it a friendly "skirmish."
BUT, it is without a doubt, a oddly inspiring instrument. I have used it on numerous WPA recordings. The guitar possesses a wonderful," throaty" tone. Good guitars are mysterious and this one truly is. Not much on beauty, but it's character" bids a closer look.
It's natural 'voice," to my ears anyway, seems to have a sort of acoustic "wisdom" in it. Songwriters live for these sorts of "finds."
It sounds "authentic," worn and humble....
Like it came with the "stories" & songs waiting to be un-packed.

credits

released December 18, 2015

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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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