The seeds of this song were sown years ago. If only those who left knew what they were headed for.
BACK TO SHORE
The sky was so high when you set out from shore
The sun at your back, you were longing for more
When it started to pour…
A few years back in a Portsmouth, NH bar, I saw a guy sitting across from a girl who was looking at him with such adoration and love - and I'm pretty sure the guy had no idea. This song's for you, young man. I hope you realized what you had…
There's a line in an Indigo Girls song that says, "If you need to know that you weathered the storm of cruel mortality, a hundred years later I'm sitting here living proof." For me, ever since hearing the words "cruel mortality," they have always…
Welcome to my RPM album. The line "You might not get what you want - You'll get what you deserve" came to me without me truly understanding it.
By the time I finished recording the album, it all made sense.
WHAT YOU DESERVE
Is this what…
O my brother
Where did you go?
Down to the river
To beg for your soul?
Did anyone see you?
Did you go there alone?
What did you offer
For one of their stones?
O my brother
Is there any way out?
Of the deal they offered?
Did they leave…
She stands alone in my mind
She'll make it home in her own time
I've always known that she's not mine
She gets closer to the line
Then turns and walks away
Breaks out the wine
Don't know how she survived another day
So you wanted your freedom
What from the past were you willing to take?
I'm sure you had your reasons
Too many promises you swore you'd never break
The world that you know is not coming back
Maybe it's time you start burning the tracks…
If I just slip the car in drive
I'll meet you on the other side
Or maybe I could turn back time
And we could both pretend to fly
Losing feeling inside out
No sense kneeling, no such doubt
Failed at saving, nothing lasts
Just repaving…
I know why you love The Starry Night
I know why you weren't all right
I know why you couldn't stay
I know why you're here today
I know why you couldn't see
I know why, 'cuz you were me
I know why you loved to paint in blue
I know why…
My Pepere was born before the great war
To God-fearing parents in Maine
Where the simplest of rules taught in Catholic schools
Was don't use the Lord's name in vain
Every day in that school, he'd adhere to that rule
But a loophole he often…
Walking in your footsteps
Can't see the world around me
Just a pace behind
I might as well be blind
Standing in the darkness
Nothing left to guide me
No footing I can find
The stairs, they start to wind
I might as well be blind
The…
O my brother
Where did you go?
Down to the river
To beg for your soul?
Did anyone see you?
Did you go there alone?
What did you offer
For one of their stones?
O my brother
Is there any way out?
Of the deal they offered?
Did they leave…
O my brother
Where did you go?
Down to the river
To beg for your soul?
Did anyone see you?
Did you go there alone?
What did you offer
For one of their stones?
O my brother
Is there any way out?
Of the deal they offered?
Did they leave…
I don't know
Where it comes from
Or where it goes
Just wait until it shows
You can't hold it
Too long
Then it's gone
The air off the water
The fire in your soul
A lucky man's daughter
Come in from the cold
I keep my heart open…
She stands alone in my mind
She'll make it home in her own time
I've always known that she's not mine
She gets closer to the line
Then turns and walks away
Breaks out the wine
Don't know how she survived another day
Put the phone down
Shut the cable and the lights
We're alone now
Step with me into the night
I found the candles
It really wasn't all that hard
Kick off your sandals
Tonight we dine under the stars
Don't let the moments slip away
They…
Maybe I shouldn't tell you what I was thinking
The first time I saw that sad smile in your eyes
I couldn't look away, and I don't recall blinking
It might've been better if we'd just said simple goodbyes
I've been down this road before once…
So you wanted your freedom
What from the past were you willing to take?
I'm sure you had your reasons
Too many promises you swore you'd never break
The world that you know is not coming back
Maybe it's time you start burning the tracks…
We're so quick to judge others. We really shouldn't.
This one follows the tone of It Mattered To No One Else. I actually had a lot more song ideas like these two that I thought would end up being the whole record. But it didn't happen that…
Similar to a couple of other tunes this year, the How Many More? chorus idea has been floating around my addled head for a few years, but again, it wouldn't come to shore. But in promising my ideas that I never give up on them, I tried it again…
The Again, Again, Again line and melody has been flowing through my brain since 2017 or so. But if we are merely vessels for songs that are waiting to come to our shores, I was a leaky boat for a very long time and couldn't make the journey without…
The Again, Again, Again line and melody has been flowing through my brain since 2017 or so. But if we are merely vessels for songs that are waiting to come to our shores, I was a leaky boat for a very long time and couldn't make the journey without…
Another one where the riff came first, on the last day of RPM 2020 actually. Before all the craziness struck. I thought to myself "Oh self! That's a good riff! I will need to revisit it next year for RPM 2021." So I did. It also has a call-back…
Never forget the simple pleasure of just listening to music. I wrote a whole album about it a few years ago called The Lost Art Of Listening. This one's about how a song can simultaneously take you away from the concerns of life, yet make you…
I can actually hear Daltrey sing this with Townsend providing harmonies. Dang, Gary. And the song just gets better and better as it progresses. Just, dang.
What else can be said of the last 12 months? Everybody wants a piece of my time. Get in line.
The riff came first and I walked around for days just banging it out non-stop. Hammer-ons for fun and pleasure...
Originally I had a Motown idea in mind, and I kept my stomping and clapping, but the song seemed to lend itself to a more spacey-synthey feel, so I ran with it. I also am hinting a tiny (very tiny) bit at Joe Jackson's band's backing vocal styles…
Written and recorded as part of our family RPM project this year. :-D
13 year old Jasmine on vocals and ukulele.
We wrote and recorded 10 songs under the name Cattica. It was just the best month of lockdown imaginable.
Written and recorded as part of our family RPM project this year. :-D
13 year old Jasmine on vocals and ukulele.
We wrote and recorded 10 songs under the name Cattica. It was just the best month of lockdown imaginable.
Comments on Keith Landry's stuff
Wow, you got Feb, Keith! Lyrics, melody, performance...Swoon!!!!!!!!
Beautiful, heartfelt song - and gorgeous vocal from Jessica.
Keith. Seriously. This is my favourite KL track of all time. Utterly moving...stunning...
<3 Wonderful ode to our beloved RPM Challenge and a cracking album opener to boot!
Keith this is cool
Oh Keith, this gave me chills. I’m in love with it.
What a great vocal! And the guitar work is haunting.
I LOVE THIS!
This is wonderful! And the meter change even better!
I love the drone notes...all of it actually.
I love this song.
Whoa, this guitar work sounds like a 12-string, but I think it's just the way you did the various parts. Awesome!
One man, one guitar. Nothing else is needed when your name is Keith Landry.
That mid-section! Awesome change!
Brilliant, Keith.
Great song, Keith. I really like the various parts overlaying each other. Killer performance...
I like how this has an almost bluesy feel to it, and how warm it sounds. Another great song, Keith.
Loving the left-right gtr work!
Great song, Keith. One man, one guitar...all that is needed.
Another great song with cool counterpoint and tonal colors. Killer, Keith, killer...
Comments made by Keith Landry
Yup. This is good. This is very, very good.
...but Pete Townsend definitely had final say.
It just hit me. This album is what would happen if The Who and Styx were put in a room and told, "Don't come out until you've made something amazing."
Favorited with the opening notes.
Yup. This is good. Damn, Gary, this is one hell of a cleanly produced album. Always amazed by what you do.
I can actually hear Daltrey sing this with Townsend providing harmonies. Dang, Gary. And the song just gets better and better as it progresses. Just, dang.
Righteous! Righteous!
First one in! Let's do this!!!
Yup. This is my favorite so far - but you likely knew I'd like this one best when you recorded it.
Just back to listen to the original. Damn, soooooooo good.
Just so spectacularly beautiful. Truly, one of my all-time favorite songs by any artist ever. Period.
My all-time favorite from you. Just spectacular.
This is such a classic.
Dang. Well, it appears that your family has hogged all the talent. Just SPECTACULAR.
Love it from the first note!
...and of course, it's BRILLIANT.
First one in! So good to see a new song up from you, my friend.
Loooooving this.
GREAT album! It just keeps getting stronger and stronger and closes with this outstanding track. Well done!!!
Nope. I lied. New favorite, this one.