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The Rise and Fall of Maple Bar Mountain

by Larry Hirshberg

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1.
Happy Smoke 04:08
Paisley words from 40 years ago Speak from happy smoke today We can go there, maybe we can stay Spend some hours on some pillows on some floor That’s not workin’ anymore. Burying the bodies of the birds When their feathers start to fade We spoke of flying but in the end we walked Fists and yelling as she slammed the door Mad’s not workin’ anymore. In his slippers on the snowy walk Mailbox run for magazines In the house, he's back on the couch Now it’s mommy’s turn to fight the war ‘Cause Dad’s not working anymore. The good news never enough The bad news piling up Feel like I’ve tried Still want to fly. I try to smile when it all goes wrong When the fan is spinning brown But that won’t pay to fix what’s breaking now Attitude is everything for sure But that’s not workin’ anymore That’s not working That’s not working and my soul is poor That’s not workin’ anymore. That's not workin' and my heart is sore...
2.
Monitor’s tempting me All that fingertip poetry I’m sitting so comfortably And don’t forget the pornography I’m caught in the Web so deep Falling down a hill so steep Internet, I forget how to breathe… Downloading all the shows Knowing all that there is to know I’m ordering meals to go And I’m cleverly crafting posts Took my guitar away Didn’t take my walk today Internet, I forget how to play W W W Dot ... Turned it off for a week one time Stood up and I went outside Made love to my patient wife Lit my brain with some natural light But on the 7th day I had logged back on to stay Internet, since we met, I forget…
3.
If I Was July (free) 03:37
If I was July, I would ripple with light. Eat ice cream all day, while riding a bike Roll down a hill through a field of blue flowers Read a book on a porch while the afternoon showers. If I was July, I would ripple with light. Eat ice cream all day, while riding a bike If I were July I would wait until night Then hang up a sky like a heart full of lights Shimmering stars, so far and so mellow The world’s warmest moon, not silver but yellow. If I were July I would wait ‘til the night Then hang up a sky like a heart full of lights And the grass that you lie in No sign of Orion No need for a blanket Just lie there and thank it If I were tomorrow I’d sleep until ten Have coffee, fresh berries on a pancake and then Go sit by the river, no make that sit in it And dream about snow, but just for a minute If I were tomorrow I’d sleep until ten Have coffee, fresh berries on a pancake and then… If I was tonight, in July, in the pines I might get sleepy and drift somewhere fine. Like the moon in the sky, the way that it shines So full of this summer, so full of this life. If I was tonight, in July, in the pines I might get sleepy and drift somewhere fine. If I were July I would wait until night Then hang up a sky like a heart full of lights
4.
Sit still. Stop moving. I wanna put my hand on you. I’ve only known you for a second But nothing less than a touch will do. Listen to the river sliding Carrying the weight of summer. Listen to the red bird whistle Melodies behind the leaves. With his back against a red tree Drinking in the lazy world Everything would be so perfect Without Skeeter Johnson’s girls. Sit still. Stop moving. I wanna put my hand on you. I’ve only known you for a second But nothing less than a touch will do. She sticks her nose in everywhere, Sampling the blood of summer. Listen to her endless whining. There was peace now there’s a bummer. With his back against a red tree Drinking in the lazy world Everything would be so perfect Without Skeeter Johnson’s girls. When she flies out of the dusk And nibbles on my neck just so Her life means everything to me I want to take it don’t you know… Sit still. Stop moving. I wanna put my hand on you. I’ve only known you for a second But nothing less than a touch will do. I wanna put my hand on you…. Nothing less than a touch will do.
5.
When I could still see, the world was lovely When I could still hear, that song was so dear When I could still breathe, the air was so sweet When I could still sleep, my dream was so deep When I could still stand, I was a big man When I could still speak, my words were all meat When I could still write, my story took flight When I could still drive, the stars would fly by Chorus: There’s always been a lot of time But just a blink of it was mine Two hands a face NOW hard to find I could see but now I’m blind When there was still light, the dark was just night When colors still grew, you knew what I knew I was so high when I was alive Your eyes amazed me when I could still see.
6.
I’m packin’ for nowhere I got a suitcase filled with air I’m dyin’ to move out there So I’m packin’ for nowhere On my bed I’ve got it all laid out What I’ll need to get by there Straight face logical positive doubt Whatever it is I’ve left it out I’m packin’ for nowhere I got a suitcase filled with air I’m dyin’ to move out there So I’m packin’ for nowhere Takin’ a left at boredom and plain Sticking my thumb out waiting for no one Walking to the corner of broken and stained Checking out of somewhere again. By the back door the summer takes shape Someone’s pruning roses But this time I’m gonna make my escape 40 Years in the yard like Moses I’m packin’ for nowhere I got a suitcase filled with air I’m dyin’ to move out there So I’m packin’ for nowhere
7.
One. Picture a porch, a porch with a couch A place to be out without leaving the house A tree right beside, a box for some mail Three wooden steps and your feet on the rail. Two. A Polaroid sits on the rail in the snow Taken one summer some years ago. A shot from the porch, of the tree in its leaves An afternoon maple, gives voice to a breeze. Three. There’s night in the sky, now, and ice on the land You step through the door with your camera in hand You point at the Polaroid, the sidewalk behind And capture it all and head back inside.
8.
When you are a child Your Daddy might say no Well that’s the red light talkin’ He doesn’t want you to go Then you’re a little big girl And there’s a boy and his nice hands He wants to keep moving He’s the green light man You’re climbing up a stairway Not sure what’s up top You got your hand on a doorknob That you don't really wanna open up Comin’ in from a distance Could go either way You’re squinting past the wipers Speeding down the rain Someone whispers something Right next to your ear It’s the yellow light talkin’ And you’re trying not to hear, you don’t wanna hear… But before you start to stopping Or even slowing down Baby take a look at the rainbow There’s a lot of other colors around When you are a child Your Daddy might say no Well that’s the red light talkin’ He doesn’t want you to go
9.
Dupree's Diamond Blues (free) 04:07
10.
The Last Day 04:02
Smaller and smaller, everything's almost gone again Smaller and smaller, everything's almost gone again Loneliness and trouble, they are my old best friends. Disappointed and heartbroken, I sit with my guitar and I watch it all go Disappointed and heartbroken, I sit with my guitar and I watch it all go My engine of joy's still runnin', but it's running kind of slow. They say it's just a cycle - it's a big old wheel going round and round They say it's just a cycle - it's a big old wheel going round and round One day the wheel rolls up, the next day it rolls back down. I still have love, so maybe it'll be alright I still have love, so maybe it'll be alright (but I don't really think so) The last day of my trouble will be the day that I die.
11.
What's New 02:20
What’s new is how hard I’ve been working And the fact that the work is so good. What’s new are these leaves and this softness And this dry spot today in the woods. I’m tired, that’s old, but my anger is gone I’m broken, that’s old, but my patience is long. What’s new is the peace that’s wrinkled my face And the warmth of the laughter that’s filling my space. What’s new is the way that I’m here - I’m not dreaming, and how I can stay and not run away screaming. What’s new is who died in the meantime And the hole in the sky that she left. What’s new is the lazuli bunting Who flew down like the jewel of the west. I’m blue, that’s so old, but I’m strangely awake I cry all the time, that’s old, but now great. What’s new is the girl who ticks like a bomb And there’s so much about her that’s just like her mom. What’s new is this way that my fear is diminished, and the work it’s so good, and it’s never finished.

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When you download the entire album, you also get the entire cover, which includes the back, too. And the back is awesome! So get it.

credits

released August 1, 2011

Larry Hirshberg with Travis Yost and Brandon Zimmer. Mastered by Jason Hicks. Cover Art by Lillian Nelson.

Skeptical Records 007.

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Some rights reserved. Please refer to individual track pages for license info.

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Larry Hirshberg Missoula, montana

The years reveal what the moments are made to conceal.

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