Release Date: May 10, 2024
Lyrics
Lumens
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So I am waiting for the morning sun
And I am waiting for my time to come
I'm waiting for that starting gun
For the sound, like a thunderclap
Stops my heart, and starts again
Infinite lines on the road map
Take a running leapAnd, go – Bounding out in the velvet indigo
And, go – Finding out in the velvet indigoAnd I can see it in your eyes you've waited too
And I have heard the voices that are calling you
And I have witnessed miracles out of the blue
In the night, when the fire is out
With the cold creeping in
Cast aside your coat of crippling doubtJust let it go – Wrap yourself in the velvet indigo
And, go – Release yourself in the velvet indigo'Til the night, comes to take you in
When the darkness starts to fall
Catch the light that you're breathing inAnd, go – Diving down in the velvet indigo
And, go – Lighting out in the velvet indigo
And, go – Dissolving into the velvet indigo
And, go – Exalt yourself in the velvet indigoGo
Alan Williams © 2010 Under a Metal Sky Music (BMI)
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I can't help myself, from falling down
Can't help myself, when you're not around
Can't help myself, I know it's true
Can't help myself, but what can I do?Can't help myself, my weakness is strong
I've paid any price to sell myself short, for so very long
Can't help myself, I know that it's wrong
Drawn to the light, can't stay away, I'm hopelessly goneI can't help myself, I'm upside down
Can't help myself, I'm all turned around
Can't help myself, I'm inside out
Can't help myself, absolutely in doubtCan't help myself, I'm trouble bound
I laugh 'til I cry, feel so uptight, I'm coming unwoundI can't help myself, from falling down
Can't help myself, when you are around
Can't help myself, too much, too soon
Can't help myself, I'm over the moonI can't help myself, it's sad but true
I can't help myself, and I don't want to!Alan Williams © 2010 Under a Metal Sky Music (BMI)
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Maria sends a telegram
To let me know that nothing lasts
Open windows, closing doors
And all that was, is no more
And never willMaria, I don't understand
Your words refuse an open hand
“Give me a chance," I will implore
Like every man who came before
And ever willLight out for the heartland
Far as eyes can see
There's no place for meMaria loved the sound of trains
The smell of grass in summer rains
Washing away the dirt and dust
The dream of spring we come to trust
'Til winter comesMaria, I was halfway there
Turning down the road we shared
Everything, or none at all
You had a choice and made the call
Thy will be doneAnd all the things you left behind
The remnants of a troubled time
Photographs of fishing boats
With empty nets and unread notes
That said it allLight out for the heartland
Yearning to be free
It's too late for meLight out for the heartland
Skies are growing dark
It's too late to startAlan Williams © 2010 Under a Metal Sky Music (BMI)
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Sorry we can't offer the lyrics.
Christine McVie © 1979 Universal Music Careers (BMI)
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Lightning strikes, cold winds blow
Water will rise above the seeds we sow
The evil we see, the evil we are
The soul a massive black hole, swallowing starsInnocence lost, the pure defiled
Every monster once some mother's child
Release the soul, let it take flight
So in the darkest heart, let there be light
Let there be light!Down in the hole, the plots and schemes
The acid tongue, the mad corrosive dreams
Thick is the air, and filled with dread
From all the tortured logic in your head
A terrible fate, the nightmare plan
The itchy trigger finger, murderous hands
But locked away, hidden from sight
In the darkest heart, there must be lightThere must be light
Lightning strikes, cold winds blow
Water will rise above the seeds we sow
Beware the fear, its grip is tight
Beware the hearts of darkness, follow the light
Follow the light, let there be lightAmidst the cries, the endless grief
Clinging to one last faltering belief
Whisper a prayer, deep in the night
Someday the darkest heart will find its lightAlan Williams © 2010 Under a Metal Sky Music (BMI)
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Worlds are blooming, just outside your window
A menagerie of petalled rainbows
Like little prizes under the skies of blue
A garden full of morning gloriesBut you won't see them, inside the shades are drawn
Another shadowed gray day is dawning
Tears are flowing from your eyes of blue
There's nothing you can do about themRain clouds are forming, and pouring
Nothing left to do, but let them
Cool the tired earth below
Where birds will sing of flowers growingAnd life continues, in the sleepy village
Days will pass into the evening stillness
A fond adieu to the sinking skies of blue
The moon has come to tell you storiesDream worlds will hold you, enfold you
Let the midnight hour awake you
Tumbling from your slumbers
Where the comfort of my arms awaits youAnd in the dawning, when the sun is rising
There's a brand new light, on your horizon
Wondrous surprises, open your eyes of blue
“Good morning, little morning glory"Alan Williams © 2010 Under a Metal Sky Music (BMI)
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Catch me, I'm falling, falling for you
Catch me, I'm falling, falling for you
So many years apart, together, so few
So catch me, I'm falling, falling for youAnd I'm over my head, over my head
Over my head in love with youI made resolutions, more than a few
I made resolutions and broke them in two
They're so overused these words, so tried and true
But catch me, I'm falling in love with youYes, I'm over my head, I'm over my head
Overly overwhelmed and overjoyed
By youSo tell me you're falling, tell me it's true
Tell me you're falling, I know what to do
Now, don't keep me waiting, it's long overdue
Just tell me you're falling
And I'll follow youAlan Williams © 2010 Under a Metal Sky Music (BMI)
Credits
Alan Williams: lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonium, percussion, string arrangements
Darleen Wilson: acoustic and electric guitar, harmony vocals
Greg Porter: bass, harmony vocals
Ben Wittman: drums, percussion
David Gutierrez: orchestral drums on "Light"
Kevin Barry: lapsteel on "Velvet Indigo" and "Heartland"
Marissa Licata: first violin
Stephanie Skor: second violin
Helen Sherrah-Davies: five-string violin
Catherine Bent: cello
Produced by Alan Williams
Bass and drums (Ben Wittman) recorded by Roy Hendrickson, assisted by Aki Nishimura, at Avatar Studios in New York City.
Strings recorded by Antonio Oliart at Fraser Performance Studio, WGBH in Boston.
Fabio, Jerry, and Anne Elise recorded in their homes by Alan Williams with the Backpack Mobile system.
All other performances recorded by Alan Williams at The Aviary (Mach 1 and 2).
Mastered by Mark Donahue at Soundmirror in Jamaica Plain, MA.
Photography by Julia Margaret Cameron
About The Music
Lumens
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This song is about the difficulty of writing this song. When we recorded most of the drum tracks in one two day session, a number of songs existed as barely more than fragments. This was one of them. I had no idea what the song was about, no words other than "go." We spent no more than 15 minutes recording the basic track, since it was unclear whether there was a song here at all. But Ben Wittman's drumming really brought the track to life, and it felt too good to drop.
Still, I couldn't for the life of me come up with the words. The more I tried, the harder it got, until the song so intimidated me that the very thought of it brought me to catatonia. Then one day, "Eureka!" I realized that the song is about this very condition. What have you got to lose, just finish the damned thing. Very post-modern, etc. So emerged a hymn to self-empowerment, written under intense deadline, and sung just days before mastering the last record. Take a running leap...
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Another fragment recorded in a single take with Ben. Can't help it, I love pop music. Catchy, sing-along choruses, nifty hooks, shiny surfaces and pulsing grooves. Not that I write those, but I do love 'em.
This song always envisioned the string quartet as the driving force, so it took a little encouragement to convince the rest of the group – "this will work, trust me. Once the string part is there, then it'll be clear." Not sure I won that argument, but I still get a rush out of the string part. Hey, at least it's not another song about dying.
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During the first year of Birdsong, I booked some solo shows out in the Midwest, spreading the gospel, so to speak. Visions of wheat fields for days, the train station in Days of Heaven, Dorothy's no-place-like-home-Kansas – it all screamed "America."
Almost a foreign country to me. What if someone ventured there and never came back? Whenever you go, something or someone is always left behind.
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An overlooked gem from Fleetwood Mac's Tusk, a double album from 1979 that has persistently insinuated itself into my stereo system. So unhip, but a touchstone nonetheless.
(Hey Matthew Sweet has championed it, and Camper Van Beethoven recorded a cover version of the whole album, so...) I love the ambivalence of the title phrase. Defiant, delusional, accepting.
You decide.
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When I was in graduate school, I played in a Middle -Eastern music ensemble, and became enthralled with Arabic pop music, especially the monumental, but incredibly nimble orchestral parts. Once this song came to me on guitar, the unison string counterpoint rang loudly in my head.
This one took everyone in the band, and the string players too, by surprise. But it was too much fun not to go with it. Conceived as an ode to Dick Cheney (echoing Neil Young's, "Even Richard Nixon's got soul"), the sentiment sadly remains relevant. Put down the gun, there's room at the table.
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A lullaby to fresh starts. Nearly left off the album because I was unhappy with the mix and my vocal performance. Re-recorded the vocal and remixed the night before the mastering session.
Thank God we don't work in studios, or many of these songs would never see the light of day.
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This song had been part of our live shows since shortly after the release of Bound. After all the morose navel gazing, it was a relief to have something upbeat to go out with. But by this time we had sketched out the rough outline of the remaining CDs, and knew the last one would be lighter in tone. So we held it back, even as people kept responding favorably to it in concert.
Somewhat written for that purpose, the not very deep lyric acknowledges the cliché of the easy, "I'm falling in love with you." But what if you are? Just because it's a cliché, it doesn't mean it can't be real. For such a romantic band, it's kind of impossible to sidestep love.