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In a Whelming Tide

by John Davey

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1.
when he died they gave him a 21 gun salute seven rifles, seven faces, fourteen shining boots and the burning pavement burned their faces as each of them expended three blank cartridge cases and the woman dressed in black was looking very pale as she tried to hide her milky tears behind the darkened veil and the children left their inhibitions stranded in the car and they cried and wept and carried on til they couldn't cry no more well the consummate professional rarely has good friends and the man that's in the service hardly gets what he deserves until it ends and they ship him home in a white pine box with a piece of metal on his chest that doesn't cost a lot and the wives all dress in navy blue will point their withering glares at you 'cause the grief feels like a vacuum that wants to pull you in too but the children left their scruples stranded in the past and their lives are all just goin' downhill, goin' downhill fast but if there's good for me then there is good for you if there's good for me then there is hope for you if there's hope for me then there is good for you
2.
May 02:53
we speak of all the holy burning oils we speak just like the daughters of the soil who dress themselves in pretty queen anne's lace and smear all of the red dirt on their faces and we're wandering like all the souls at large reluctantly agreeing to take charge and stake our claim on tiny bits of land to hold the simple glory in our hands and all the bull finches and all the meadow thrushes shall spread their slender wings like the bristles of the brushes and the elevated symphony of all the insect choruses shall call out our names as they desperately implore us and our eyes see even through the gloom the rows and rows of shallow graves and tombs of all of the ancient and the old of all the saints who let their spirits go and we stand quiet above the braes and vales our eyes take in the morning in all her minor details oh! I want to walk with you!
3.
he sneaked up to his lover's window bade her go with him but she did so hesitantly for the moon that night was dim Said he "oh, my own true Emma! haste, do not delay and we will ramble through the hedges set our wedding day and we'll go..." (chorus) down, down, down, down by the willows down by the drooping willows but there amongst the violets he cursed her up and down and he told her of his jealousy and pushed her to the ground but she had loved no other and she begged him for her life but no amount of pleading could stop his steely knife (chorus) (bridge) down, down, down, down, down (down by the river) (down where the violets grow) (down by the willows, down, down) and the birds sang in the morning their awful, weary songs where the truest love of Edward had never done a wrong but now beneath the willows where the violets fade and bloom resides the ghost of Emma near her cold and silent tomb the willows (chorus)
4.
with a cold light transfixed upon us and fear up in arms against our sides the terror of perpetual motion the laughing of the never-ending tide so we yearned and ached for some movement and we all put our key players into play but we mustn't let them export or input all the livelong dying of their days and the disembodied head of Dr. Jones comes speaking at and to us from the grave but there's something deeper, something darker something colder and very old something much uglier than he so we converse in hushed tones between our rows of books scheme schemes, drink drinks and light cigars and we can do nothing but become who we are not and try to look into the future far but then all our progress, all of our progress our progress comes crashing, it all comes crashing yeah, all of our progress comes crashing down upon our heads
5.
Five Nights 03:25
well the brook that whispers quietly is the same that tells no lies but our secret's safe within these trees for few are the passers by and the man all dressed in white will give us back our honor 'cause he swears on his honor that he's not from our time but we gotta chase him quickly over roots and down the mossy path and out into the clearing or he'll just take, well he'll just take it back for five nights in a row our hearts continue to grow and then lay down like a child the nights of the extraordinary moon the next one waxing cannot come too soon well the fireflies are blinking like many tired eyes as we lay down breathless panting and look out towards the skies and as we exchange our glances all superstition fades the skies are all ablaze and we're welcoming the change but we've gotta do it quickly we gotta dream our dreams our bodies growing sickly we've got to find a way to ease the pain for five nights in a row our hearts continued to grow and then suddenly caught fire like a meteor shower blazing in the sky the next one burning opens up our eyes
6.
hear the heavy tread and the muffled, desperate groan of the thing that's locked inside and changing clothes and changing bones well I will never be the one to loathe to say my shoulders are broad enough to take the weight of this blame upon myself and a hundred chivalries cannot undo what that vile concoction you drank down made you it changed from red to green to orange to grey to black to yellow to blue and that evil creature you let out that wicked beast was you and our name shall be revenge so pick the lock or knock the door off its hinges and we shall find the answer to the mystery that's been plaguing us so long so long my old friend and our name shall be revenge so pick the lock or knock the door off its hinges and we shall find the body lying cold, a portmanteau intact with instructions on how to win you back but you're not coming back my old friend
7.
The Process 03:44
if I were a bird I would fly to the branch by your window and I'd watch as you slept and you breathed in and out so contented and slow and the night would go by and the sun it would rise and I'd be there to tell you hello and to sing you that love song that you have been waiting to hear that I wrote you last year and you'd pat my head and you'd get out of bed and you'd tell me you loved me the same and I'd hop through your window and revert to my shape and we would go on with our day then we'd go down to fifth street and buy us some coffee and talk about all sorts of things but the day would pass and I'd say "alas, I must return to my habitat" and with three final words I'd change back to the bird and we'd start the process again yes we'd start the process again
8.
into the goblet she fell from the rafters she was overcome, gave up shortly thereafter the queen drank her down with the rest of the wine the days turned to weeks and the months into nine lo, lo, lover! where'd you go? I've searched high and I've searched low I dare not put up a fight just sate my lovesick appetite just dash me to pieces and I'd be content if you'd only tell me where my lover went my royal clothes I could leave behind if I could only know that my lover's mine I approached on my steed a garden of maidens and she had the most beautiful of all the faces sure of foot and steady in speech she could not recall, but still I beseeched her lo, lo, lover! there you are! I've searched long and I've searched hard this sunny day could be the day if you would only come away just dash me to pieces and I'd be content if you'd only tell me where my lover went my royal clothes I could leave behind if I could only know that my lover's mine blow, blow, don't you go don't go where the wind goes blow, blow, don't you go come away with me with me just dash me to pieces and I'd be content if you'd only tell me where my lover went my royal clothes I could leave behind now that I know that my lover's mine
9.
Warm as June 03:30
it was memorial day we went marching in the old people's parade and we left our shoes on the courthouse lawn we threw candy to the kids and sang our songs and we bummed smokes off of ladies in casinos and watched the desperate play the slot machines and we burned a boat pushed it out onto the lake and the skeletal remains washed up next day so there we were we were bragging on our friends behind their backs and we were sure that the summer was coming fast around the tracks and our hearts were full as the moon and our hearts were warm as june
10.
are you like this every night? are you ever so polite? call it cold feet, call it fright just leave on the pilot light well I forget to send those postcards from Upstate New York so if you're disappointed seal it with a simple piece of cork and just cooperate and make all of your movements sound wear a somber face until I come around, come around well she moved back to town just as fast as she could and the devil was nipping at her heels and while she searched for something that she'd never find we held onto what we knew was real oddities and bootlegs and sundry items purchased from the grand emporium don't lose your head for sake of fear 'cause upwards is the only way to climb from all the way down here wonder what Virginia's like do you think it's very nice this time of year? 'cause I had a friend there who grew some vegetables in a compost patch ain't it weird how something good can come from something like that? well I forgot to bring those flowers up from down in Dixieland so if you're disappointed, look up, close your eyes and clasp your hands and just cooperate and make all of your, make your movements sound then redeem the time until our blessed savior comes around, comes around well she moved back to town 'cause things just weren't working out and the devil was always at her heels and while she searched for something that she just might find we groped around in the dark for years oddities and second-hands and antique items purchased from the grand emporium don't lose your way for sake of fear 'cause redemption is a shining light that glows from up there all the way down here

about

Produced by Jordan Banks & John Davey at Greyhouse Studios in West Lafayette, IN between May 2010 and June 2011
Engineered by Jordan Banks
Mixed by Dallas Johnson (except where noted)
Track 8 mixed by Steffen Yazvac
Track 10 mixed by Jordan Banks
Mastered by Benjamin Lau at Double Phelix in Kalamazoo, MI
Design & Layout by John Dvorchak

All music and lyrics by John Davey except additional arrangements (duly noted) and portions of "Down by the Willows" which was taken in part from variations of a traditional American Ballad.

credits

released June 22, 2012

THE PLAYERS:
John Davey – guitar, vocals, bass (track 7), keys (track 10)
PJ Pence – drums
Joe Brown – bass guitar
Jordan Banks – keys (tracks 8-10)
Dustin Sendejas – cornet, glockenspiel, rhodes piano
Jon Weiss – accordion, trumpet, french horn, trombone, euphonium
Jack Rogers – trombone
Tory Kirgiss – drums (track 3)
Craig Meinhart – bass guitar (tracks 2 & 5)
Jared Bartman – piano (track 3)
Lauren Joyce & Steffen Yazvac – additional vocals

Brass arrangements by: John Davey, Dustin Sendejas, Jon Weiss
Additional arrangements by: Jordan Banks, Jared Bartman, Craig Meinhart

Far too many people that I love and admire to thank individually. But for this project in particular, thanks especially Jordan Banks for sticking with and believing in it enough to see it through from start to finish. Also thanks to my tremendously supportive and gigantic family, my unusually talented, generous, clever and caring circle of friends, my dream team for playing on the album, Dallas Johnson for taking time out of his busy schedule to tackle this project, Nate Jones, Shane Evans, Hope Davey, and Evan Jackson (respectively) for their hard work and generous contributions, and all of my tour buddies ever. You make my dreams come true.

May life and joy and great delight come in a whelming tide.

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John Davey Marquette, Michigan

A songwriter and recording artist in Marquette, Michigan.
A tree transplanted; West Lafayette, Indiana / Nashville, Tennesee

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