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Album: Mississippi Angel (2008)

by Chuck LeMonds

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1.
Down In The Mud c Chuck LeMonds 2007 I ain’t seen you for weeks on end babe You don’t call me I don’t know how to reach you anymore I’m trying all I can If you get this telegram I send Do not hesitate Put on something that makes you feel good And meet me at the lake And we’ll go, Down in the mud Down in the mud This could be our last refuge Down in the mud Down in the mud No one can take the place of you. Now if you get this message You’ll know that I’ve been true I’ve got your picture on my wall at home And in my big Buick too I didn’t go to the graveyard Can’t believe half of what they say They must be jealous of what we have To say you’re laying in your grave I’m waiting for your call babe I’m waiting for some sign People nod and shake their heads As if I’d lost my mind My bags are packed and ready Took the money that we’d saved Polished up the Buick And soon we’ll be on our way.
2.
All The Reasons c Chuck LeMonds 2007 Pack up the boxes and a suitcase take the pictures from the wall quit collecting books a long time ago though I love them, I can’t carry them all. All the people I have known and loved and left somewhere standing in my wake this could have been my home forever had it not been for a twist of fate. Everybody’s got their reason why they do the things they do some are chasing illusions some go running to you. Someday, I’ll never say good-bye again and on that day, I won’t feel sad and blue I won’t have to wave from a distance my heart won’t break in two. Everybody’s got their reason why they do the things they do some are chasing illusions some go running to you
3.
Iowa 04:01
Iowa c Chuck LeMonds 2006 I’m a boy from Iowa, a long ways from home I got mixed up in a crazy world, like so many I know World of high finance, juggling resources can cost nerves Sometimes I wish I’d just stayed put like Denny, Greg and Bear did. Growing up on the river, is a world all it’s own A thousand years of grace at the first sight of the sun Birds flying south and butterfly’s too I watched you all those years and then I followed you. And it’s a long way to Iowa, It’s a long way, from over here It’s a long way to Iowa It’s a long way, after all these years. My daughters growing slowly, but the time is going fast And I don’t have dreams no more that keep me on one path It’s enough if I can pay the bills at the end of every month Sometimes it makes me wonder how people can afford so much stuff. Chorus I paint the town red, every now and again But the city takes no notice, because it’s just way to big I got a good feeling, that things will go my way I saw it in the cards and the coins I toss each day. Chorus
4.
Instrumental
5.
Drone of a Motor c Chuck LeMonds 2006 The drone of a motor Travelling across the Ionian Sea at night Like a chant from the bearded monks Wearing grey robes in the mid-day sun. It’s the heart of loneliness The heart of all hearts A call to remember the dead To remember what’s been lost. It’s my loneliness, which is sometimes lost In every day turning Just a man, listening to the wind The waves and a sound in the night. Mourning all that wasn’t done Mourning all that was But what will never be touched again Or smelled and tasted. All the monuments to mankind Can not stop the tears All the monuments to mankind Can not end the fear All the monuments to mankind Can not slow the years All the monuments to mankind Can not bring you here. To learn to love without fear Would be a feat worth pursuing Or to hear a voice in the night Calling, calling, calling A light house, foghorn Abandoned covered in dust bird shit, and spider webs A play ground for the mice Ships run aground And some are out to sea Still searching for Itaka, home home at last. Drifting farther from the one tone That holds all sense of meaning It’s so simple, and that’s why It’s been overlooked. A monument to all who have lived A temple built by the Greeks or the Aztecs All great cultures that have ruled Or been swept away with their greediness. Answers encoded in holy books passed on Chances to be saved For what I don’t know In case paradise will be waiting. But how can anything be More beautiful than you Sleeping in the bed right here by my side. It’s getting light out in Kefalonia The waves show me my loneliness Which no one can take from me And it’s good so, yeah it’s good so. If I just sing one more song I can hurt no one Just keep singing a melody Just keep singing in motion. Sing the grief, sing the loss Everybody’s....somebody has to Sing the joy hidden amongst The crumbling monuments to mankind.
6.
Side Of the Road c 2007 Chuck LeMonds Pick me up from where I lay I can’t seem to move my old body just won’t do what I tell it to I took a walk on this sunny day like I do most every day when a storm arose on the horizon and took my breath a way Everybody looks so troubled everybody looks so scared but I hear a bird on the fence post singing in my ear Young man, young man don’t worry as you lean into my face blowing air into my lungs offering up a saving grace By the side of the road, side of the road I took my last breath, by the side of the road. 2x Chorus Cars drive by and some do stop to see what’s going on and the rain clouds are moving in and the bird just sings his song You can see that I’m an old man and so today I will not cry as I took my last breath by this road and fell in the grass and died. Now I wish I’d picked wild flowers for my wife of 50 years and left them on the table in a glass to hold her tears tell her that I’ve gone to that place that we both know and I’ll wait under the Linden tree listening for the wind to blow.
7.
Looking East 03:50
Instrumental
8.
Save 04:25
What I’ve Done c Chuck LeMonds 2007 I’m standing on a corner Standing at the gate Facing what I’ve always seen Would be my fate. I can blame no one For what I have done I’ve broken all the rules Taken what’s not mine. I’m a petty small time thief Who’s done hard time I’ve stolen from my mother and all the neighbors down the line. It’s hard on the inside It’s hard getting out If there’s trouble in the neighborhood I’m a suspect without a doubt. But if it’s true that you save A soul who doesn’t care If it’s true that you save A man who’s taken every dare If it’s true that you save A drunkard who’s lost his faith If it’s true that you save Then save me from my self. I come from a good home with breakfast every morning chickens in the courtyard eggs we couldn’t use we gave away. But nothing seems to matter now I wake up with a cough I’ve lost all fear of the law They can never touch my heart.
9.
218 or 61 03:53
218 or 61 c Chuck LeMonds 2007 218 or 61 can take me home again if I just keep on doing right, I know I’ll get there when the trees are turning color and the air is cool at night & my sweet gal be waiting there to kiss and hold me tight. 218 or 61 can take me home again Mississippi angel flowing through the land 218 or 61 can take me home again passing through Dubuque be checking on a friend a penny for your thoughts a quarter for your soul. You people just don’t know it you just don’t have no clue down along the river there’s another law that rules you should be mindful of the business that you do cause who knows who is watching and who knows what they’ll do. Refrain The ghost of all the ancestors standing by the way They have seen you coming Since the early light of day Bow your head and pray Go down on your knees Show for once an ounce Of true humility.
10.
Must Have Said The Wrong Thing c Chuck LeMonds 2007 I try to do right every where I can Don’t want no trouble from any woman or man Just being honest or a slip of the tongue Can bring out the devil and get you stung. Must have said the wrong thing Must have said the wrong thing Must have said the wrong thing At the right time. We got married in a fit of passion Hotter than closing time on wall street Burned a lot of bridges to get to you Had to swim some muddy waters when it came unglued. Ain’t had no gigs since way back when Called all the clubs and my promoter friends They told me long stories about how hard it’s been And said call next year and we’ll try to fit you in. Hey, Mister LeMonds we’re gonna blacklist you Been talking bad about Bush and Mr. Cheney too Rumsfield is shaken by your revelations Better watch out for unforeseen complications. Things could have been worse Things could have been better I was just happy to be alive when I got the letter Tax man wants to know how I live on so little I said, ”That’s a secret man….that’s your riddle!”
11.
Instrumental

about

Chuck LeMonds, is an artist who has been living in Europe now for 28 years. He writes songs and performs them on acoustic guitar with his Austrian band and solo. In the USA, he is known to a circle of music lovers who have continually collected his recordings. „Mississippi Angel“ is his newest release (2008) and is his 7th.
“Mississippi Angel” is Chuck LeMonds’ first solo recording. It was recorded in an old castle built in the 1400’s, Schloss Freiberg”, near where Chuck now lives in Austria. He lived in this castle for more than 3 years back in the 90’s.
The recording gear was set up under the chandelier in the baroque concert hall at the center of the room. Chuck engineered the recording himself and spent 3 weeks working to find the heart of each song.
The finished recording was then sent to Eric Spitzer-Marlyn to be mixed and mastered. Eric teaches recording at the Film Academy in Vienna and works closely with filmmaker Werner Herzog among many others and records many of the best acoustic guitar albums in Austria.
The album “Mississippi Angel” is a collection of quiet contemplative songs which could be a sound track for a film or perhaps the music to sit by a river under a shade tree in the summer and watch the river flow and dream.
The story flows from moments of not wanting to let go of that which has already been lost: loss and love, to chasing after something that is just up ahead but out of sight hoping it’s better than where you came from: illusions, and to grief about that which will never be touched again or smelled and tasted.
Track number 6 “Side of the Road” is a song written after Chuck LeMonds found an old man lying on the side of the road and tried to keep him alive. It’s written from the perspective of the old man hovering above the scene watching with one foot in this world and one in the other.
“Must Have Said The Wrong Thing” is a humorous jab, highlighting what can happen when one says the wrong thing at the right time.
There are also three lovely instrumental pieces on this recording which show off Chuck LeMonds’ often understated musicianship and musicality.

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released September 25, 2008

Chuck LeMonds - acoustic guitar & vocals

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Chuck LeMonds Austria

Chuck LeMonds’ music is a kind of Country Soul gumbo of blues, folk, funk and country with poetic lyrics that call to be heard. In times like these, the music and songwriting of Chuck LeMonds has the effect of a soothing balsam for the soul, or that of a plow turning over fresh soil in a field waiting to be planted in spring. ... more

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