Get all 9 Angela Easterling releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Witness, Party 'Round My Favorite Tree, Together Is Better (featuring Brandon Turner), Winter's Lie, Common Law Wife, Mon secret, Beguiler, BlackTop Road, and 1 more.
1. |
California
04:18
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CALIFORNIA
I left California on the loneliest night,
It was dark as the devil but for my headlights.
I cried until my tears all ran dry -
Bone dry, like the desert I was flying by.
I was leaving a man who I let stifle my voice,
Leaving a life where I felt trapped by my choice,
Leaving the glamour, the magic, and the song,
I was leaving the dream I had chased my life long.
I was young but felt so old,
Burdened with my sacrifice in vain.
Yet inside there was unfolding -
My future waiting all those miles away.
I just had to drive them.
But I still miss the freedom of that widescreen sky,
The fuel of hope that gets those dream-chasers by.
And I, I gave my youth for a chance to create
In The Soul and the Spirit of the Golden State.
Everything has changed
I've got a husband and a child
But sometimes I still dream,
I'm out in California running wild,
Still running wild.
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2. |
Home
03:24
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HOME
Stepping up to the front porch,
My fingers find the key,
All these roads I’ve traveled just to see…
The faces of family,
An old friend’s smile,
Yes, I know it’s been a while, since I was
Home.
Home.
CHORUS
It’s so simple, yet it’s so profound,
But when life tosses me around,
It’s the anchor of my heart,
It’s where my memories start,
Yeah, it made me who I am now.
Home.
Home.
Here’s where I had my first kiss,
There’s where I skinned my knee,
Felt my first heartache, and my first victory.
Here’s where I got the letter
That took me far away,
Still I knew I’d be back someday, ‘cause it’s
Home.
Home.
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3. |
Little Boy Blues
02:55
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LITTLE BOY BLUES
Little boy gonna grow up to a big boy,
Little boy gonna grow up to a big boy,
Little boy gonna grow up to a big boy,
Little boy gonna be a man.
My heart is growing weary,
I’m in this world of Man.
My memories still haunt me,
And now I don’t know where I stand.
Who will hold his little hand,
When I’ve gone to my rest?
Will he become an honest man,
Or just another woman’s test?
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4. |
Halfway Down
03:10
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HALFWAY DOWN
This morning's like a penny - all bright shiny and new
The mean old summer heat is gone, the fall air's kissed with dew
I hear my children laughing – no they ain’t seen the news
I breathe a prayer of thanks they’re safe at home right now
I drive the long road into town
And all the flags are halfway down
I try to make my peace with this strange ground
On the long road into town.
Another man, another gun, American as pie
And nothing ever changes and no one's asking why
We offer up our thoughts and prayers, we shake our fists and cry
Then go back to our own busy lives.
We drive the long road into town
See the flags are halfway down
We try to make our peace with this strange ground
On the long road into town.
And they'll raise them back up again, but then
in a week or maybe two you'll see....
That on the long road into town
The flags are back.... halfway down
And then we'll make our peace with that strange ground
On the long road into town.
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5. |
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KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN, JOHNNY
There ain’t no kindness in this life for a woman.
I know that God must be a man.
For all the fear and the pain and the sorrow
He laid it down in her hand.
Mama, she birthed 10 children. She buried five of them.
Before the last baby died, He took Mama’s breath, too.
Was His only mercy in the end.
CHORUS
Keep your head down, now Johnny!
Boy, don’t you look them in the eye.
For they’ll see that your cheek’s like the down of the rose,
And know that you’re telling a lie.
Daddy had no use for a grown daughter – just another mouth to feed.
He sent me yonder mountain with Ol’ John Blythe
The year I turned fifteen.
That man taught me the meaning of The Devil,
Bloody sheets, broken bones and shame.
I left him layin’ down in the dark holler,
Rode west with his suit and his name.
My name is John Blythe of Kansas.
I carry the mail ‘cross the plains
I stare at the ground when I ride into town,
And I whisper this sad refrain.
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6. |
Middle-Age Dream
03:21
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MIDDLE AGE DREAM
When I turned 40, I went back to college
With some kids who never heard of Kurt Cobain
Thought I could gain some useful knowledge,
Make a buck or two before it got too late.
Well, I’m afraid I didn’t last long -
The only thing I got out of it was more debt.
And a new appreciation for a life I can’t seem to let go of yet.
CHORUS
So I ain’t gonna shut my mouth now
The old stream keeps flowing, only way that she knows how
My bank account my suffer, my self-esteem gets busted in,
But my middle-age dream is strong as it’s ever been.
Sometimes the kids get up too early, after I’ve been out too late.
Their needs don’t quit, because their Mommy,
Was off singing in some barroom out of state.
Will they resent that? Or be proud of me?
Did I risk it all just to be free?
But people cried, and some folks danced.
I just couldn’t quit ‘em, so I took the chance.
My body changes, there’s aches and pains
Things I took for granted, nothing stays the same.
But I still want it, like when I was young,
And put my hope in every song I’ve ever sung.
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7. |
Witness
03:12
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WITNESS
I always thought I’d be the one to leave you
In the morning, without a word.
I never meant to disappoint or grieve you,
You’ve been gone for years. There’s not a day it don’t hurt.
CHORUS
I’ve learned your lessons well, got a tale to tell,
And I’ll be your witness, I’ll be your witness.
I’m doing fine, got a life that’s mine,
But I’m still your witness, I’m still your witness.
Hey, hey, hey.
Won’t take the simple road and say you never loved me,
‘Cause I think you tried. I think you tried.
But that moral that you put so far above me,
It was just a lie, your alibi.
I'm always gonna look for all the pieces of you that lie,
Deep in my bones.
And when you surface there, I’ll say I’m sorry,
I don’t have to be right, I don’t have to be strong.
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8. |
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9. |
Hero
03:13
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HERO
Waking up in the morning before the sun,
You know you’re tired, but there’s work to be done.
Hands to hold and mouths to feed,
You mend the heart, you plant the seed.
And you don’t ever ask for a thank you,
You just take on another load,
There’s no cape or mask to hide you,
We all know you’re flesh and blood.
CHORUS
You’re a hero to me,
You’re everything that I wish I could be
And I just want to tell you that I see you,
A hero to me
This world might never know your name,
Or sing your praise, or bring you fame,
But that ain’t what you’re workin’ for,
You know the truth, it’s so much more.
It’s the smile that shines through tears,
That you just wiped away
It’s every little moment, every single day.
Hero, that’s what you are, in my eyes, in my heart
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10. |
Have You Seen My Friend?
04:02
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HAVE YOU SEEN MY FRIEND?
Thought I could trust Her. I believed Her,
With a fervor like religion all these years.
Oh yes, I knew Her past was rocky,
But She’d sworn She’d moved beyond all her demons and her fears.
And I just wanted something to cling to –
Beyond geography and circumstance, a deeper meaning find.
Did she betray me? Or was I compliant?
Just another perfect mark her platitudes made blind?
CHORUS
Have you seen my friend? Have you seen my friend?
She’s real rough around the edges, she’s been banged up in the ditches,
But she’s my friend, my real good friend
These days it seems like I don’t know her,
Gotta find a way to show her, she’s my friend.
What do I tell my kids about her?
Oh, I wish that they could see her through my eyes.
How will they know her? Not like I did.
Clean and shining for the world, like a star up in the sky,
Or was she ever really like that?
Oh, did she even have me fooled back then?
Did I take her gifts for granted,
Turn my back and let her slip away too easy in the end?
There’s no denying she’s still beautiful,
Would-be lovers flock to her every day…
But she turns them all away.
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11. |
Baby Bird
04:05
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BABY BIRD
They build a nest outside our porch,
And come back once a year, or more.
Blue-speckled eggs they leave inside.
Sometimes, there are 3 or 4.
We watch them through the birdhouse door,
Until their mama teaches them to fly.
Fly on, Baby Bird.
There’s new land for you to see.
Your mama gave you all she could and then she set you free...
Fly high upon her love, Baby Bird.
I have my own 2 babies now,
They’re changing every day.
They learn and laugh and grow and run and play.
From the moment that they’re born,
Every step’s a step away.
I’ll hold them closely while I can,
Someday find the will to say -
Fly on, Baby Bird.
There’s new land for you to see.
I’ll give you every thing I can, and then I’ll set you free...
Fly high upon my love, Baby Bird.
This Spring, I peeked in at the eggs, there was just one,
The next day, I looked again, and it was gone,
It was gone.
I lost a baby bird before I ever saw her face,
Just a still and tiny image on a screen.
What a quiet little bird. She slipped away without a trace.
I could not give her what she’d need.
Fly on, Baby Bird.
I don’t know where you might be.
I never held you in my arms, but I still see you in my dreams...
Fly high upon my love, Baby Bird.
Fly high upon my love, Baby Bird.
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12. |
Grow Old
04:49
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GROW OLD
All of a sudden, it got quiet.
All of a sudden, time stood still.
But somewhere hidden in the silence,
A new perspective was revealed.
I watched my plans and expectations
Float away like lost balloons.
I mourned them just until the sunset
The wrote your name across the moon.
For truly nothing matters more to me,
I now know my most cherished dream.
CHORUS
I wanna be there for those first smile lines
To watch your hair turn gray.
Follow the map of scars and tattoos that marks your days.
All of your triumphs, your loves and losses, your big mistakes,
I wanna know how your life unfolds.
I wanna see you grow old.
I love to hold you in the morning,
We chase the monsters down the hall
Someday your troubles will outgrow me,
But I’ll still come running when you call.
I ain’t religious, but before each day is through,
I close my eyes and I say a prayer for you.
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Angela Easterling Greer, South Carolina
"Angela Easterling is a bright shining star on the horizon! Her gift is so special. Brought me back to the time the Byrds
recorded "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" - tradition meets youthful exuberance!" Roger McGuinn, The Byrds
Angela is a 4 time Kerrville New Folk Finalist,
2 time Wildflower Songwriting Finalist and a Telluride Troubadour.
... more
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