Written for the upcoming Luke Wilson film, "Henry Poole Is Here."
Groovy film directo
Written for the upcoming Luke Wilson film, "Henry Poole Is Here."
Groovy film director Mark Pellington is holding a contest on Myspace to write a song for the film. *PLEASE CHECK www.myspace.com/henrypooleishere ON JULY 8, 2008 TO SEE IF I MADE THE TOP 5. If so, please VOTE FOR ME on that page. And if you can spare a minute and are so inclined, it would be great if you would befriend the Henry Poole page, and leave a comment mentioning this song. Who knows? It may help. Thank you!
Rules state that the song must be called "Henry Poole Is Here," and must contain those words.
The melody for the tune came right away, as did the chorus lyrics. In the verses, striking the balance of film-appropriate yet not overly film-specific was a challenge, but I enjoyed it.
I recorded this 3 hours before the deadline, and thus lacked the time to do a full production. However, my friend Vivek Maddala happened to call me just as I was thinking, hmmm....this would be nice with some piano. He told me he had about 15 minutes, so I emailed the file to him, and he emailed me back the lovely part you hear after the first chorus. Check out his incredible soundtrack work at www.tadcaster.com.
I like the melody, and with a lyric rewrite, I could use it even if it doesn't get chosen for the film. Let me know what you think.
HENRY POOLE IS HERE
Copyright 2008 Amy Raasch, Ain't Music
Come to the end of my rope
It's just like hope
To keep me hanging on a prayer
Looks like another dead end
Try to pretend
Someday I'm gonna get somewhere
But I can only run
'Til I come undone
I'm broken open
Don't know why I got this chance
But I'm not gonna blow it
Oh, I'm broken open
Just when all I wanted was to disappear
Henry Poole is here
They read the writing on the wall
'Cause that was all
You had to prove that you were there
With every stone that they threw
Somehow you knew
They'd come back again
Like a long-lost friend
I'm broken open
Don't know why I got this chance
But I'm not gonna blow it
Oh, I'm broken open
You've got to come in close to see it clear
Henry Poole is here
You smile but never let the sun in
Crying in the rain
So no one sees your pain
You never thought to stay
But love gives what it takes away
I'm broken open
Don't know why I got this chance
But I'm not gonna blow it
Oh, I'm broken open
Now the writing on the wall is finally clear:
Henry Poole is here
Henry Poole is here
Henry Poole is here
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Added: 3 weeks ago
Views: 347
WHAT INSPIRED THIS SONG & LYRICS: This is a first draft of a song I didn't mean to write.
WHAT INSPIRED THIS SONG & LYRICS: This is a first draft of a song I didn't mean to write. It just happened. Three things you should know:
1. My best friend, who is half Iraqi, half American, wrote a hit one-woman play, "Nine Parts of Desire" (which you should go see this week if you're in Chicago). One of the characters is a 13 year-old Iraqi girl who talks about how they used to sleep on their rooftop at night, to escape the heat. They can't do that anymore.
2. "Exposure," the New Yorker article about American soldier Sabrina Harman, "the woman behind the camera at Abu Ghraib." We were all horrified by those images, so I was struck by the article's account of her kindness to the Iraqi people at Al Hillah (before she was sent to Abu Ghraib) -- particularly the children. They would run to her and crawl on her lap, and she did everything she could to make them smile. The article described a kind of naivete that she maintained, which rides the line of insanity. (P.S. - She is not to be confused with Lynndie England. Google them both for more info.)
3. Homeless - I live in Venice, CA, and the homeless are part of my daily life. Unfathomable sadness, addiction, mental illness -- I often wonder what their stories are, why they ended up on the street. Many of them are veterans. I thought about my uncle, a Vietnam vet who to this day won't talk about it. Then I imagined someone like Sabrina Harman after the war, after prison, after all of the press, having to go back to "normal" life, and failing. Her shield of insidious naivete ultimately collapses in on itself.
THE ROOFTOPS OF BABYLON
Copyright 2008 Amy Raasch
Stand outside the old drugstore
In a tattered green coat
I kept from the war
Lean my bike against the glass
Forget why I came
There's no one to ask
They loved me at Al Hillah
Old men brought me tea
Kids gave the thumbs up
Told me how they used to sleep
On rooftops at night
To deal with the heat
Where do I belong?
Home seems strange and far
They told us to stay strong
So these kids could see the stars
Shining on the roofs of Babylon
You'd have thought the crumbling streets
To look at their smiles
Were miles of beach
Asked me, could they see my gun?
I snapped a quick picture
Someone called me "Mom"
Speakers blared the call to prayer
I rested my eyes
My mind white as air
Once we got to Abu Ghraib
It was mortar o'clock
While in mosques they were praying
Where do I belong?
This time it's gone too far
The nights are black and long
Explosions block the stars
From shining on the roofs of Babylon
Let me take your picture so I can recall
Your stories in the sky
We'll pretend it's safe to lie on our backs
Like Eden never died
Stand outside the old drugstore
The sign flips to "CLOSED"
The man locks the door
Someone whispers, "She's a freak.
It's people like her
Make our country weak."
Where do I belong?
My heart throbs like a scar
How could it go so wrong
We just tried to free the stars
To shine on
To shine on
To shine on the roofs of Babylon
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Added: 2 months ago
Views: 1,051
LYRICS & SONG INFO: This song is about the sacrifices we all make for love, told with the
LYRICS & SONG INFO: This song is about the sacrifices we all make for love, told with the story of an angel who abdicates heaven when she falls in love with a human. And as we all know, interspecies dating can be tough.
Far From Heaven
Copyright 2008 Amy Raasch
Far from heaven
Far from heaven
I watched you through the glass
Filled your skylight up with stars
To ease your loneliness
And traced you like a scar
This is how an angel starts to fall
St. Peter shook his head
He said, my child, you've come so far
But when you looked so sad
It pulled my wings apart
This is how you break an angel's heart
So tell me your story and I won't budge
And I'll say I'm sorry to God above
I can't see going back to heaven now
The sun may be setting on heaven's gate
But I see your lips move and I can't wait
I can't see going back to heaven now
Far from heaven
Somehow you knew me when
I showed up, my wings a mess
You gently took me in
And truly we were blessed
This is where an angel must confess
So lay down beside me and I won't budge
And I'll say I'm sorry to God above
I can't see going back to heaven now
Whisper good morning, the day is new
I found all the glory I need in you
I can't see going back to heaven now
Mean streets, bicycle seats
For two through the earth
I feel like time is chasing us
Let's love for all we're worth
The choirs are calling; my time is up
But eternal life just don't fill my cup
Like you do: there's no going back to heaven now
So stay here beside me like hand in glove
And we'll sing our praises to God above
I can't see going back
I can't see going back
I can't see going back to heaven now
So far from heaven
Not so far from heaven now
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Added: 3 months ago
Views: 831
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SONG INSPIRATION & LYRICS: Tea is never just tea - when two or more are gathered in tea's
SONG INSPIRATION & LYRICS: Tea is never just tea - when two or more are gathered in tea's name, that is. So at tea this week, my friend told me of a half-year liaison that changed her life.
Have you ever met someone and experienced an instantaneous sense of recognition? Finished each other's sentences? Felt convinced that you and that other person were so much alike that you were practically the same person? If so, please leave me a comment and tell me about it, and how this song hits you. Thanks for listening.
You just kinda wasted my time
You just kinda robbed me blind
But it's alright, you're not to blame
Whatever souls are made of, yours and mine are the same
I'm calling for you on the white cliffs of Dover
I'm calling for you through the windswept heather
The crickets tell the bees it's a shame
'Cause whatever souls are made of, yours and mine are the same
Now I'm tempted to get all romantic
And call your bluff when you say it's semantic
Funny how you call it lust and I call it a sign
Either way this thing is out of time
Maybe I knew you when you wore a bustle
I wore a top hat and showed you my muscle
To persuade you to take my name
Sayin', whatever souls are made of, yours and mine are the same
My heart ain't no dainty lace collar
More like a coyote's holler
When his red teeth are fresh full of game
Whatever souls are made of, yours and mine are the same
You shine like gold in the desert
After years on a cold ship diving for treasure
To lose you now is a perfect crime
That's what you get when a love...
Sucks you in like the long lost rib
You never thought you'd find
Take your shot at this heart in a cage
It's the sameness that makes you blind
Every time
Now I'm sitting here in my orchard
Making homemade pie and cider
Come on by and get in line
'Cause you pushed your luck
And you passed the buck
So just keep on truckin'
You're out of time
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Added: 3 months ago
Views: 799
LYRICS & SONG INFO: I wanted to give y'all some lovely desert spring to look at, and someh
LYRICS & SONG INFO: I wanted to give y'all some lovely desert spring to look at, and somehow got this crazy camera buzz. Perhaps I will re-track the audio, or maybe just do the whole thing over, but I wanted to get this up for now. Song 13: I'm one quarter of the way there!
There Will Never Be
Copyright 2008 Amy Raasch
The pavement's steaming hot
There's nowhere left to park on your street
This town is a mirage
You charm the snakes so they won't bite your feet
But I'd kick off my shoes and walk across coals
If you'd come with me
In Paris, it's already evening
Why do we stand off in the street
Like cowboys in a frontier town?
In Paris, they're already dancing
Let's just this once hold our fire
Throw our sins in the Seine to drown
There will never be a better time to choose to love
I flew to Mozambique
And watched a lion eat a zebra
Hunted in your eyes
But nothing black and white can live there, either
Hear your voice like a gold rush
I'm feeding the phone like a slot machine
In Paris, it's four in the morning
We're swaying like cats on a wire
Waiting for a bird to fall
In Paris, the cafes are waking
The poets smell bread from their graves
And rise through the cigarette dawn
There will never be a better time to choose to love
There will never be a better time to choose to love
Rest your head in the pillow of my neck
And breathe in the lavender sky
I'll sing you to sleep in a tongue you do not speak
A song that loses time
In Paris, it's finally dawning
The tumbleweeds I left behind
Roll right through your mind like a trail
In Paris, it's quietly raining
And I'm through explaining myself
My ship is setting sail
There will never be a better time to choose to love
There will never be a better time to choose to love
There will never be a better time to choose to love
There will never be a better time to choose to love
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Added: 2 months ago
Views: 575
WHAT INSPIRED THIS SONG: I started this song when someone very close to me was in the last
WHAT INSPIRED THIS SONG: I started this song when someone very close to me was in the last stages of alcoholism - we literally feared for her life. At that time, I was unable to get through the song. I decided to complete it as part of the 52, and I am beyond ecstatic to report that the young lady in question recently achieved six months of sobriety. A hilarious, talented, beautiful, smart and capable human, she has a profound gift and compassion for animals, and collects birdhouses. When Nelly Furtado's breakthrough hit happened, she went around singing, "I'm like a bird..." Her birthday is this month, and I'm here to thank God, the Universe, and everyone and everything else that I get to celebrate it. The song began in a dark place, which I know many people in this situation have seen. I hope it sheds a little light -- especially since the real life story has a happy ending. Miracles do happen. Thanks for listening.
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Added: 4 months ago
Views: 321
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SONG INSPIRATION: I've always been fascinated by outer space, heavenly bodies, and the bea
SONG INSPIRATION: I've always been fascinated by outer space, heavenly bodies, and the beautifully idiosyncratic behavior of our own blue marble. And if you've gone around the globe for love, wrestled with questions involving planes and whether to get on them - well, this song's for you.
P.S. - I'm not sure if I should call this song just "Equator Song" (the first thing that came to me) or "Follow the Equator." Tell me what you think.
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Added: 4 months ago
Views: 419
SONG INSPIRATION & LYRICS:
As night was falling, I was deep into writing a pretty, soot
SONG INSPIRATION & LYRICS:
As night was falling, I was deep into writing a pretty, soothing melody when I was jolted out of my skin by a neighbor lady boisterously yelling my next door neighbor's name as she trounced up the stairs. This wasn't the first time. She seems to seek out my next door neighbors as a kind of refuge. Yet even her normal conversations are yelled.
This has always struck me as inconsiderate. But that night, I noticed that she carried a plastic tumbler of wine, and realized that in fact, she ALWAYS carries a glass of wine. Certain pieces began to fall into place.
Her husband is constantly surly and mean, threatens to tow my car, and yells at their kids. The kids have taken to using my porch as a strategic high point for their plastic BB gun battles, scattering orange pellets everywhere like the stream of obscenities that fly from their mouths. Now I'm no Puritan, but these kids are like, 7 and 9, and it's pretty disturbing to hear them spouting profanity as easily as they would drink a glass of water.
I stopped feeling peeved at the racket and started to imagine what their lives might be like. They can't be easy. My soft melody was put aside for another day, and out came this song. It goes out to everyone who has ever felt trapped in their family life, and never quite safe.
SLEEPING WITH MONSTERS
Copyright 2008 Amy Raasch
Hey mama, mama, where're your babies?
You stumble over to the neighbors
Plastic glass in your hand
Hear all about their brand new playroom
You haven't brushed your hair in days
You feel your face turning red
Pray the Lord your soul to keep when
You awake to find your sleeping with monsters
Sleeping with monsters
Sleeping with monsters
Sleeping with monsters
Daydream about a boy you kissed
He comes through the door like the Exorcist
Another bad day at work
He says,
"These f#*kin' kids, they swear like sailors
They look at him like he invented jail
You picture him deep in the earth
Cabernet and vicodin
Cover up your sins
They're sleeping like monsters
Sleeping like monsters
Sleeping like monsters
Sleeping like monsters
Turn off the vacuum
Turn off the TV
Get in the car
And drive to the sea
And wash away your trail of tears
Burn all the sheets
And break all the china
Don't let the sun come up to find you're sleeping
Sleeping with monsters
No one to blame now for your choices
Slowly, you hear your inner voice say,
"Draw that line in the sand"
You've got the kids in a brand new school now
So maybe they don't get their own rooms
But nothing's under their beds
Life's the company you keep
You don't want to spend it
Sleeping with monsters
Sleeping with monsters
Sleeping with monsters
Sleeping with monsters
So turn off the vacuum
Turn off the TV
Get in the car
And drive to the sea
And wash away your trail of tears
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Added: 1 month ago
Views: 292
SONG INSPIRATION & LYRICS:
I recently re-read Stephen Chbosky's novel, "The Perks of B
SONG INSPIRATION & LYRICS:
I recently re-read Stephen Chbosky's novel, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." The wallflower in question, a high school freshman named Charlie, describes a moment driving with friends when he feels "infinite." All I can say is, if you haven't read this book, go -- go forth and read -- go now. And get back to me.
INFINITE
Copyright 2008 Amy Raasch
Must be something in the water
Something in me's led to slaughter
Day by day
Toss and turn and wake up sweating
In a panic I'm forgetting
What, I cannot say
It's the sun in your eyes
As you speed through the lights
It's the way, the way, the way
The way you turn to me and say
I feel infinite today
Old dead roads of what I thought
Untie the blows my head was caught in
Black and blue highways
Tear out of park, nothing to carry
But one ripped out dictionary
Page with the name
Of the song that you sing
When you can't put your finger
On the way, the way, the way
The way you start to sway and say
I feel infinite today
I feel alive...
If it were true the earth was flat
I'd drive with you over the edge
And shoot into space
I'd be planets, you'd be stars
Nobody needs to be in charge
It's our turn to give chase
To the howl in the wind
From our favorite sin
To the way, the way, the way
To the loneliest dance
In a 4 a.m. trance
To the way, the way, the way
Your fathomless eyes
Take the sword from my side
To the way, the way, the way
You know what it means to say
I feel infinite...
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Added: 1 day ago
Views: 54
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