Credits and Gratitude

Portitor Consectetur Lorem ipsum dolor sit

Credits

!

Produced by Paul Mahern Engineered by Dan Figurelli Recorded at White Arc Studios, Bloomington, IN and Primary Sounds Studio, Bloomington, IN Mixed at White Arc Studios, Bloomington, IN Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York, NY Art Direction and design by Hugh Syme Photography by Jim Krause Web design by Aaron Cooper Booking - Mike Green & Associates Management and legal representation - Robert Meitus, (removed the extra Meitus) Meitus Gelbert Rose LLP Carrie Newcomer is a Taylor Guitars artist

!

Musicians Carrie Newcomer - lead and harmony vocals, acoustic guitar(remove s) Jim Brock - drums, percussion Heidi Gluck - bass, slide guitar, accordion, harmony vocals Shannon Hayden - cello, bouzouki Lily and Madeleine Jurkiewicz - harmony vocals (track 2) Paul Mahern - extra drums, percussion (track 1) Matt Toby - acoustic, classical and electric guitar, ukulele Chris Wagoner - violin Gary Walters - piano, Wurlitzer, organ, accordion, vibraphone

! ! ! !

! !

All songs by Carrie Newcomer, ©2014 (no space between © and year) Carrie Newcomer Music (BMI), Administered by BMG Chrysalis, except "Abide" by Carrie Newcomer and Parker J. Palmer, ©2014 Carrie Newcomer Music (BMI), Administered by BMG Chrysalis

!

For full lyrics visit www.carrienewcomer.com

!

!

! In Gratitude !

!

This album is dedicated to the "Takes a Community" family!

My most sincere thank you to everyone who supported this recording through "Takes a Community." Your heartfelt encouragement, energy and excitement for these songs, as well as your financial support allowed this recording to become a reality. Your generosity has moved me more than words could ever say, so the best I can do, is present to you these recordings, humbly, gratefully and with great delight in what we have all created together. You have given these songs wings!

!

A Very Special “Takes a Community” thank you to Ben & Karen Yoder, Bill & Julia Johnson, Cari Dillig, Nancy Swigonski, Jill Weaver, Leigh Powell & Janet Spitzer and Lynn Lefevre. Your special contributions have made all the difference, my humble and most heartfelt gratitude.

! More Gratitude !

Thank you to Robert, for being my most faithful supporter and dearest friend. Without your help, insight and energy this album would not have been possible.

!

My great appreciation to Paul Mahern who listened to these songs with his heart and created a vision and beautiful container to carry them.

!

Deepest gratitude to Gary and Jim for understanding the blessed unrest of creating music of the heart and soul, and for traveling this wide world with me. A grateful bow of the head to Heidi, Matt, Shannon, Chris, Hugh, Aaron, Lily and Madeleine, Greg, Dan and Jim for adding your insights, energy and formidable talents to this project.

!

Much love to Parker and Sharon for many conversations at the kitchen table, exploring the nature of living, art and the next big, unponderable thing. Thank you for your keen sense of language, nuance and insight into the permeable life.

!

Thank you to Jill, Scott, Sandy and all my creative partners in crime. Thank you for beautiful ideas found floating on the water and inspiration found in the ache and awe of the natural world.

!

Thank you to Kappy, Ericka, Tim, Mike, Lorel, Jaimé, Kelly, Missi and everyone who helps me navigate the spiritual and practical.

!

Blessings and appreciation to my beloved dad & stepmom, Jim and Norma, also to my dear Amelia, Faith, Krista, Michelle, Melissa, Marcia and all my friends and family who have walked with me on the winding journey of this collection of songs. Thank you for pointing at the moon, and for saying, "This is what I heard," and "This is what I saw," and "Yes, love is like that, isn't it."

!

A Permeable Life

! ! ! I want to leave enough room in my heart ! For the unexpected, ! For the mistake that becomes knowing, ! For knowing that becomes wonder, ! For wonder that makes everything porous, ! Allowing in and out ! All available light. ! An impermeable life is full to the edges, ! But only to the edges. ! It is a limited thing. ! Like the pause at the center of the breath, ! Neither releasing or inviting, ! With no hollow spaces ! For longing and possibility. ! I would rather live unlocked, ! And more often than not astonished, ! Which is possible ! If I am willing to surrender ! What I already think I know. !

! ! ! ! So I will stay open ! And companionably friendly, ! With all that presses out from the heart ! And comes in at a slant ! And shimmers just below ! The surface of things. ! ! !Excerpt From: “A Permeable Life: Poems and Essays."

! A Permeable Life !

1. Every Little Bit of It (4:35) 2. The Ten O’clock Line Featuring Lily & Madeleine (4:54) 3. Writing You a Letter (3:51) 4. A Light in the Window (3:38) 5. The Work of Our Hands (4:06) 6. Abide (4:00) 7. Room at the Table (3:45) 8. Thank You Good Night (4:05) 9. Forever Ray (4:00) 10. An Empty Chair (3:24) 11. Visitation (3:52) 12. (removed the words “bonus Track” ) Please Don't Put Me on Hold (3:10)

!

! Produced by Paul Mahern ! ! !

℗ & © 2014 Available Light Records All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws. Made in the U.S.A.

Lyrics

Every Little Bit of It Just beyond my sight, Something that I cannot see, I've been circling around a thought, That’s been circling round me. Like the vapor of a song, That is just out of earshot, And I thought I knew the question, But I guess not.

!

Chorus: There it is just below the surface of things, In a flash of blue, and the turning of wings. Drain the glass, drink it down, every moment of this, Every little bit of it, every little bit.

!

I swam against the tide, I tripped on my own pride, So I'll try again today, To get out of my own way. The face was always in the stone, Said Michelangelo, We just have to chip and clear, To see what is already there There it is in the apple of every new notion, There it is in the scar healed over what was broken, In the branches, in the whispering, in the silence and the sighs, And the curious promise of limited time.

!

It's true although it’s hard, A shadow glides over the ridge. And one fast beating heart,

Tries with its might to live. We sense but can’t describe, From the corner of our eye Something nameless and abiding, And so we keep transcribing.

! Words and Music By Carrie Newcomer ! The Ten O’Clock Line

The Ten O’Clock Line refers to a treaty made with the native peoples of Indiana, based on where a shadow fell at Ten O’clock in September. The story has haunted me for years and became the central image for this song.

Gone with the grace of a black-winged crow With all the tact of an exit poll I banked the curve of the last back road While you washed your hands in a silver bowl I didn’t want to know That’s the way it goes

!

Pretty words traced in the dirt, A whisper without weight or worth Nonsense symbols written on the wall Read by the light of a mirror ball A final flat line scrawl That was all.

!

Chorus There’s a hole in the world I saw it coming for some time This is how it always ends On the Ten O' Clock Line There’s a hole in the world Maybe it's only a space

For something that's been waiting Until I turned my face

!

The leaves recount with a rasping sound A shadow cast on the autumn ground It’s a lovely wish, it’s a tender sight A promise made on shifting light Bad news from the start But yet I gave it my heart,

! Chorus !

I always thought I would start again, But I was so much younger then Perhaps no more of just the same But a deeper song with a different name The last one had its time Up on the Ten O' Clock Line

!

Chorus There’s a hole in the world I saw it coming for some time This is how it always ends On the Ten O' Clock Line

!

There’s a hole in the world I saw it coming for some time This is how it always ends On the Ten O' Clock Line

!

There’s a hole in the world Maybe it's only a space For something that's been waiting Until I turned my face

!

Words and Music By Carrie Newcomer

Writing You a Letter This song started as a poem I wrote while visiting Dharmasala India.

I'm writing you a letter On hotel letterhead A record of my restlessness Before I go to bed. On the other side of midnight On backside of the world, Sending out an signal And hoping that you heard.

!

Chorus I’m a stranger here I'm only passing through But everyplace I go leaves it's own tattoo. That’s how it is laying stone on stone, Building little altars by the side of the road.

!

!

I’m a stranger here I'm only passing through But everyplace I go leaves it's own tattoo. That’s how it is laying stone on stone, Building little altars by the side of the road.

!

I’m a stranger here I'm only passing through But everyplace I go I know how it is, that’s how it goes Building little altars by the side of the road. I know how it is, I know how it is, I know how it is, I know how Know how it is.

!

Words and Music By Carrie Newcomer

A Light in the Window

I'm drawing hearts and symbols On the center of my palm Little circles and symbols For everyday I’ve been gone It's miracles and magic It’s as simple as that Pulling fishes and loaves And songs like rabbits from a hat

There is always a light shining in the darkness. .

The blessed and righteous The bewildered and confused The lost and the lonely Are all leaning into you All leaning into something They cannot even name No gets out of here alive Without forever being changed

!

! Chorus !

!

Looking out at the night Beyond the driver’s wheel, Curving hips made of snow In the winter fields. There’s a house set way back Where a lamplight glows, Like star out in the cold, Filled with people I'll never know, Who left a light, Left a light in the window. What would I change if The choice were mine? I was doing the best I knew at the time. And every door that opened And door that closed,

All the things that made me grow, Sent me off down another road, Off to search for a light, For a light in the window.

!

Now what's old has already passed away But the new is too new to be born today. So I'm throwing out seeds On the winter snow, As a sharp wind begins to blow, Standing here on a new threshold, I can see a light, There's a light in the window..

!

The world is made of stone, And the world is made of glass. The world is made of light, And its moving very fast.

!

We pass from mystery to mystery So I won't lie I don't what happens When people die. But I hope I see you walking slow, Smiling wide as sunrise grows, I drop my map with a thousand folds, In the distance I see it glow, I can see a light, There’s a light in the window.

!

Words and Music By Carrie Newcomer

The Work of Our Hands I did some canning this year.. and yes we still can in the Midwest.

!

Today while it rained, I washed the jars, Then I lit a flame, Set the water to start. At the end of the day Lined up to cool and seal, Twelve pints of spiced peach jam, Twenty jars of dill beans canned, From an old recipe, That my mother gave to me, Because it good to put a little bit by, For when the late snows flies, All that love so neatly canned, By the work of our hands.

!

They lay hands on boards and bricks, And loud machines, With shovels and rakes, And buckets of soap they clean. And I believe that we should bless, Every shirt ironed and pressed, Salute the crews out on road, Those who stock shelves and carry loads, Whisper thanks to brooms and saws, Dirty boots and coveralls, Bow my head to the waitress and nurse, Tip my hat to farmer and clerk, All those saints with skillets and pans, And the work of of their hands.

!

Laid out on the counter, Pulled up out of hot water, So everyday, so faithful and true.

! !

I make something barely there, Music is little more than air, So now every year, I’ll put by tomatoes and pears. Boil the lids and wipe the lip, With a callused fingertip, And I swear by the winter ground, We'll open one and pass the thing around, Let the light catch the jar, Amber gold as a falling star. Its humble and physical, It’s only love made visible, Yes now I understand, This is the work of our hands.

! Words and Music By Carrie Newcomer ! Abide

Sometimes the finest gift we can give one another is true presence.

!

I will bring a cup of water, Here’s the best that I can offer, In the dusk of coming night, There is evidence of the light, With the pattering of rain, Let us bow as if in grace, Consider all the ways we heal, And how a heart can break.

!

Chorus: Oh Abide with me, Where it's breathless and its empty. Yes abide with me, And we'll pass the evening gently. Stay awake with me,

And we’ll listen more intently, To something wordless and remaining, Sure and ever changing, In the quietness of now.

! Chorus: !

Let us ponder the unknown, What is hidden, what is whole, And finally learn to travel, At the speed of our own souls. There is living water, A spirit cutting through, Always changing, always making, All things new.

! Chorus !

There are things I cannot prove, And still some how I know, It’s like a message in a bottle, that some unseen hand has thrown. You don't have to be afraid, You don't have to walk alone, I don't know but I suspect, That it will feel like home.

! Chorus !

Music Carrie Newcomer Lyrics Parker J. Palmer and Carrie Newcomer

Room At the Table Because…there is. Let our hearts not be hardened To those living in the margins, There is room at the table for everyone. This is where it all begins, This is how we gather in, There is room at the table for everyone.

!

Too long we've have wandered Burdened and undone. But there is room at the table for everyone. Let us sing the new world in, This is how is all begins, There is room at the table for everyone.

!

Chorus: There is room for us all, And no gift is too small, There is room at the table for everyone. There's enough if we share, Come on pull up a chair, There room at the table for everyone.

!

No matter who you are, No matter where you're from, There is room at the table for everyone. Here and now we can be, The beloved community, There is room at the table for everyone.

!

Chorus: There is room for us all, And no gift is too small, There is room at the table for everyone. There's enough if we share, Come on pull up a chair, There room at the table for everyone.

!

Let our hearts not be harden, To those living in the margins, There is room at the table for everyone. This is how we gather in, There is room at the table for everyone. Room at the table for everyone. Room at the table for everyone. Room at the table for everyone.

But the more I live its seems the less I know for sure. But before I close these day worn eyes, I bow my head and breathe a sigh. Thank you, goodnight.

! ! !

!

Like a long exhale Like a vapor trail A wisp of a thing That changes everything

are, no u o y o h tter w m, “No ma here you’re fro matter w table e h t t a s room There i everyone. “ for

!

!

!

!

!

Thank You, Good Night Before I go to sleep at night I say out loud three things I’m grateful for. It is a simple practice, but I find I sleep better. This song is a reflection on how my prayer have changed over the course of time. Side note- this story is told in reverse.

!

This place was once an ocean, a shallow sea . We are the rightful heirs of an old story. We are made of stardust fire and ice, We are made of dreams, shadow and light. Thank you, Goodnight.

!

In the glowing blue hour the edges blur.

All the things that have been done Have been done. All the things that have not been done, Have not been done. And all the things that I'm sad And I'm glad I know, I’ll breathe it out and I’ll let it go. Thank you, Good night

!

Now I lay me down to sleep into your care. Into my small hands, I’d clasp a prayer God bless my mom and God bless my dad God bless the best dog I ever had Thank you, goodnight.

!

And all the things I'm sad And I'm glad I know, I”ll breathe it out and I’ll let it go. Thank you, Good night Goodnight. Goodnight.

!

Words and Music by Carrie Newcomer

Forever Ray A song to celebrate true love and lawn ornaments.

!

One weekend Ray was a bit at loose ends Getting under foot in Ella's kitchen again. She shooed him out, said “Its such a nice day, Perhaps there's some yard work you might do today.”

!

So he drove where they sold statuettes by the pound, Saying, “If you want real art you gotta go to Waynetown" He bought a smart cement rabbit standing on hind legs, In a waiter's waistcoat and flourishing a tray.

Chorus: Now every morning she places a note on the tray, But without the small stone letting blow a way, Down the street, on the air, to land where they may, Saying, “Ill be your sweetheart, forever Ray.” Forever Ray

! Words and Music by Carrie Newcomer !

!

Chorus: And every morning she'd find On that small rabbit tray, Secured with a stone So it would not blow away. A note that said "To my sweetheart" Or "happy birthday" "Here's looking at you kid - Forever, Ray” Pleased with his plan, his idea grew wings, Every weekend he'd add another marvelous thing, A sweet life sized angel, a Madonna and dog, Andy Griffith and Jesus, Big Foot and ground hog. Chorus: Like autumn to winter, age shuffles in, And they hired a boy from next to rake and trim, Every statue a touchstone a memory to recall, In the center the rabbit that started it all.

!

Like a watch that’s been turned too often and long, Ella and Ray began to wind down. The springs and small gears had not lost their shine, But simply could no longer hold on to time.

Here’s lookin g at you k id -Fore ver Ra y

An Empty Chair This song was written after visiting the Oklahoma City Memorial.

!

I don’t like the people staring at me Like I’m a roadside wreck. I don’t wanna have to explain, To the ones who rubber-neck. I don’t like that the mail with his name, Is still delivered here. I don’t like that where he used to be Is now an empty chair.

!

My boy said, “I don’t wanna sit down to dinner It just makes my stomach ache, I don't like he don’t tuck me in, I don't want a birthday cake. And when we both sit down to dinner, The ache is everywhere. I don't like that where he used to be Is now an empty chair.

!

Chorus Oh and I close my eyes But it still hurts the same. When you least expect Everything can change, Everything can change.

!

I don't want to keep my chin up And keep wondering what if. There are things you cannot get over, You just learn to carry it. I don’t wanna have to pack up. All his things that still are here. I just want where he used to be, To not be an empty chair.

Chorus

!

There’s an empty chair in the kitchen, There’s a quiet in the house. People say that time will heal, but I have my doubts. There's cold side to the bed, and so I sleep downstairs. I don't want this empty chair.

!

I don't want see the TV Cover one more tragedy, This is not another hard luck story It happened to me.

!People sit around lie to themselves, Until the tale becomes threadbare, The truth sounds like a gunshot, And it looks like an empty chair.

!

Oh and I close my eyes but it still hurts the same. In a flash of light everything can change. Everything can change. Everything can change

!Words and Music by Carrie Newcomer ! Visitation

Memories do not always happen in a linear logical fashion. They wash over us throughout the day, leaving us with a feeling of visitation.

!

It’s hard letting go, More than I thought. And if the truth be told, I am a pillar of salt. I'm a pillar of salt,

For every time that it took. Another fleeting glance, Another long last look.

!Chorus: How can the mind transcend, How can the heart describe. We light a candle everyday. I ask the question, Even when the why seems hollow, And breathe the silence in, That usually follows.

!I am the cup,

Mended and washed. I am the true container, For all that I've lost. And all that I've lost, Or gathered again, Is only what hangs in the air When the music ends. Chorus

!And now and then are visitations, To have and hold, for hard but true. How many times I've had to ask, The thing that I already knew.

!

He said “my horizon, Is getting closer to me. I need for you to look beyond And tell me what you see.” “Here’s what I see, but I need what you know.” And out on the curve of the earth, Is a hope that won't let go.

!Chorus !

Words and Music by Carrie Newcomer

Don’t  Put  Me  On  Hold   Written after being caught in a technology loop.

!

Thank  you  for  calling  the  lines  are  all  busy, ‘Cause  there  are  too  many  people  like  you, Calling  for  answers  and  wanting  them  quickly, Press  0  for  the  main  menu. For  English  press  1,  for  Spanish  press  2, You're  eleventh  in  line  ‘til  we  can  get  to  you. I'm  trying  to  be  nice,  not  pushy  or  bold, Just  please  don't  put  me  on  hold.

!

We’re  here  awake  in  china  and  Bangalore, In  Hong  Kong,  Chicago  and  Ecuador. If  we  can't  help  you  then  don't  blame  us, We’re  recording  this  call  so  you  won't  cuss. I'm  trying  to  be  nice.  This  is  getting  old. Please  don't  put  me  on  hold.

!

It’s  the  wrong  department.  I'm  transferred  on. The  voice  mail  says  that  employee  is  gone. Gone  on  vacation  and  the  line  clicks  over, I'm  losing  composure. What’s  your  account  your  4-­‐digit  pin, I  didn't  hear  you  so  try  it  again. I'm  searching  through  my  wallet  and  I’m  tearing  it  apart. Please  don't  make  me  restart.

!

I'm  hearing  Musak  versions  of  hard  rock  classics. “Smells  Like  Teen  Spirit”  done  with  clarinets  and  strings.     What  could  be  up,  what  is  taking  so  slow. I’ve  started  humming  and  tapping  my  toe  to   “Born  To  Be  Wild”  sung  in  a  sweet  bouncy  way.    

!

Am  I  still  connected,  cause  I  can't  tell. I'm  afraid  I'm  caught  up  in  a  ring  hell.

It's  a  plot,  it’s  a  plan,  it's  a  scam,  it's  a  clue. I  just  wanna  talk  to  someone  who  can   Tell  me  how  to  Wix,  correct  the  mistake,         The  meaning  of  life,  tell  me  it's  not  too  late   I'm  trying  to  kind,  but  the  truth  be  told, Please  don't  put  me  on  hold  

!

Finally  a  real  person  says,  "Can  I  help  you  out.”   I  say,    “If  you  were  in  the  room  I  would  kiss  you  on  the   mouth.” You  cough  and  say  “This  is  customer  service.” I  back  pedal  and  try  state  my  purpose. I’m  just  trying  to  be  nice,  I'm  not  creepy  or  old. Just  please  don't  put  me  on  hold, Please  don't  put  me  on  hold  , Please.

!

Words and Music by Carrie Newcomer