"The Great Understanding"

-1 Chaos

-2 The Order

-3 There is no The

-4 Agápē

-5 The Return

Been Long Gone Lyrics

Pen & Paper pt. 1

Hates her world of drunken angels descension.

Crazy at heart; psychotic premonitions.
Sad lunatic, 

With a teardrop in the palm of your hand.

Let your life slip away with each falling grain of sand 

Let your love fall down;
Let your pen hit the paper

Lay Your Trouble Down

I know you've got a busy mind,

And I've got a buzz

And I know sometimes that just ain't right

But you're always cool, 

No matter how I was

You know I ain't never been the smartest man,

And I ain't the easiest sight to see

But there's one thing on which you can depend-

You can settle down and lay your worries on me

You can settle down and lay your trouble on me

Lay them down on me

Lay them down on me

Lay your troubles down on me...

Lord knows I'm a peaceful man,

Even when we disagree

And my favorite sound is listening-

So I'll shut my mouth, 

Now lay your trouble down on me...

I'll quiet down, 

Now lay your trouble down on me...

I ain't got no crystal ball;

Advice is few and far between.

And if you've got questions I've got no answers for,

I'll quiet down.

Now lay your trouble down on me...

I’ll Take the Blame

I’ll take the blame- honey, your man won’t put you out.

I’ll take the blame- if he starts to shout.

If you want; if he calls, I’ll pick up the telephone.

I’ll take the blame, if your man comes home.

It seemed like such a good idea when you were sitting at the bar.

You just looked so pretty, like an angel or a star…

I worked up the nerve to swerve your way and say hello.

That’s when I knew you were an angel bound to drag me down below.

Now that ring that’s on your finger don’t mean a thing or you’d be home.

But I ain’t one to judge you, as a man who tends to roam.

Girl, don’t waste this moment, it would be a crying shame.

Let’s take it back to your house, Mama.

Honey, I’ll take the blame.

I’ll take the blame- your man won’t put you out.

I’ll take the blame- if he starts to shout.

If you want, if he calls, I’ll pick up the telephone.

I’ll take the blame if your man comes home.

Headlights through the window,

Engine moaning low,

Pardon me for being rude,

But honey I’ve gotta go!

But I’ll take the blame if your man wants to put you out,

I’ll take the blame if he starts to shout,

If you want, you can call; I’ll pick up the telephone.

I’ll take the blame until your man comes home.

Good Outlaws Wife

It’s a rare sight to see when she looks down at me like a stranger.

She’ll let you speak; just sit there and think 

But in the end you know you can’t change her.

Under the table or under the ground,

That woman will drink you right out of town.

She’s just what I need;

She’d make a good outlaws wife.

I sing all my songs- sing them all to her.

But she’s too busy talking and she always misses (mishears?)

the words.

She’s wooden; she’s metal- she frets when she cheats…

She cuts through the bone and chews through the meat.

She’s just what I need; 

She’d make a good outlaws wife.

When a cowboy is down,

Sometimes his gal is his only bullet to bite,

And her man can go crazy,

When he’s left alone; forced to get through the night.

She’s just what I need- a good outlaws wife.

Mighty River

Wrap your skin around my bones in a grip that won’t let go,
Take me over to the waters edge.
I try to dip, instead I plunge; sucked me down like a moving sponge.

Leave me wedged in the sand of the rivers bed.

I’ve spent 10 years to the day; still living the same way.
Of those 10 there’s 4 that really count.
When you live your life in sin, soon it’s bound to do you in.
And you’ll find out what that flood was all about.

Somebody dam this mighty river from rolling over my bones.
Ease the flood around me, miss weeping Mary Jones
Clinched and bony fingers have seized my destiny
Somebody dam this mighty river from rolling over me.

Well I like to take bad news, with a spoonful of the blues.
Winter days need a jazz guitar.
Shorter trips with longer rides, will the music man survive,
Long enough to see his name up in lights?

Somebody dam this mighty river from rolling over my bones.
Ease the flood around me, ease this weeping Mary Jones
Clinched and bony fingers have seized my destiny,
Somebody dam this mighty river from rolling over me. 

Pretty Girl

Angel, you’re a pretty girl now

Angel, you’re a pretty girl now

Silver hair hanging down-

Angel, you’re a pretty girl now

Hi-tone and full of style

Hi-tone and full of style

You thought you lost me- I was with you all the while

High, toned and full of style

I know you’ve got your man

I know you’ve got your man

Honest girl, I just wanna be your friend

I know you’ve got your man

Keep it on up the road

Darling your kindness is trouble to my soul.

A forty-four won’t do you no harm

A forty-four won’t do you no harm

A hole through a heart that’s been long gone

A forty-four won’t do you no harm

Pretty Girl you’re an angel now

Pretty Girl you’re an angel now

Pretty little angels, falling all around

Pretty Girl you’re an angel now…

Friends

You said you can’t love me- like I want to be loved…

You said you can’t push me- like I need to be shoved…

You said you’ll be there for me, with that far away look in your eyes..

If you say you just wanna be my friend one more time,

The least you could do is try…

It’s a shame to me, that’s how you treat your friends.

That’s no way to be,

But that’s how you treat your friends…

I used to call you on your birthday,

I used to call you on the best day of my life…

But now I celebrate a memory and a heartbreak I somehow survived.

If you knew the space you left me,

I’d like to think you’d fill in the hole…

But these walls are closing in around me; time is running out

And I’ve got no place to go.

I’d hate to be your enemy, If that’s how you treat your friends…

It’s no way to be- it’s no way to treat your friends

Traveling Bag of Bones 

I wanna love but I don’t even know your name.

I love your faces, they’re all the same.

I need a horse to carry me thru your town…

I knock on doors I’m not sure you own;

Hoping maybe you might be home.

The thought of you keeps me running round.

I need a horse to carry me thru your town…

A thoroughbred that doesn’t rock,

Just to get me around the block-

Up ’til now my world’s swayed back and forth.

I need a ride to get me headed North.

A dirty trail of reap and sow,

Drawing lines wherever you go-

You lay your claim by leaps and bounds

I’m a fool to sit and watch you claim the common ground.

I can’t take the highway when it’s rolling over me.

We’re gonna do things my way and that’s how it’s gonna be.

I don’t like your back talking; 

Don’t you make those eyes at me.

You can take your high horse, woman-

It’s the last you’ll see of me…

I need a horse to carry me thru your town…

Pen & Paper pt. 2

Mad memories of the graveyard- keep up the pace!

Love lost downtown- Tell me, who gave up the race?

And with that knife in your back, do you see the thorn in my side?

And does your anger let you miss me on those lonely summer nights?

Let your love fall down

Let your pen hit the paper 

CD is out, website is up and vinyl is on the way!

Well- it's been a while since I posted here, but it's been a busy year! I wanted to update the blog and talk a little bit about what's been going on- just in case anyone is still interested...
    The CD is out and the vinyl is in production! I was told it would be finished on Dec. 7, so the anticipation is beginning to build. The next and perhaps biggest step is to try and get it distributed.
   Overall, I estimate the project cost  around $18,000. I was blessed to get close to $4000 from the crowd-funding project and the rest came from Visa and MasterCard- with a little help from Discover... Needless to say, I need to find a way to sell these album! So, to hopefully assist in these efforts, I have launched a new website. I needed a place where I could post upcoming show info, links to music, links to a store, links to past press appearances and a few other hidden things... So without further ado, I present www.mattreynoldsmusic.com... Just to keep things a little weird, I'll throw a link to this blog on there somewhere and update it with lyrics or poems or who knows what... maybe nothing at all... In any event, thanks for staying tuned and I hope to see ya around!

Are we there yet?!?

  So much to say! A lot of developments to report! We got tons of great trumpet parts from Mr. Craig Sorrells! We also covered plenty of pedal steel parts with the help of Jon Graboff and Jesse Aycock. Jesse is in the band Hard Working Americans with drummer, Duane Truck. Jon Graboff came to my attention through his work with Ryan Adams and the Cardinals and he certainly brought his talent to these songs along with Jesse! I decided to add Rhodes piano to a few tunes and recorded some new vocal tracks for possible inclusion. 

    Most recently, I sent an email, requesting some assistance from Mickey Raphael. If you have listened to any of Willie Nelson’s albums from the 70’s all the way up to last Tuesday, you will have heard Mickey playing harmonica. On a side note, he can also be heard on the Motley Crüe version of “Smoking in the Boys Room”… Turns out he’s a super nice guy and played some great harmonica tracks on the album as well! 

    The last addition that I am happy to announce is Jimmy Herring! Jimmy is a good friend and offered to come play on as many songs as I needed, but really I knew from the beginning there was one tune in particular for Jimmy! You’ll find him closing out the album in a way that only he can do… 

    The only thing left to do is to add some percussion and finish up the editing before this baby gets sent off to be mastered… Thank you all for your patience. It’s been a great ride!

UPDATE!!

Wow- I've been slack on updating the blog and I apologize for that. The good news is the album coming along nicely! I've added the vocals of Durga McBroom and her sister Lorelei McBroom. Both have previously toured as vocalists for Pink Floyd and Durga will be featured on the upcoming Pink Floyd album "The Endless River".  Lorelei currently sings with the Australian Pink Floyd and has previously toured with the Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart.
     In addition, we've added the talented guitar playing of Cody Kilby. Cody is the lead guitar player for Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder.
     I have scheduled studio time this week to record some trumpet parts for a couple tunes, with Spartanburg, South Carolina native Craig Sorrells on the horn.
     I still need to add a few final touches but we are close to the finish line and looking toward a 2015 release date. Thanks for your patience- I'm really excited about where we are headed!

Organ & keys!

    At last! I’m home from tour and have the chance to catch up on the album-update-information-relay! Last time I checked in, we had just recorded the fiddle parts. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to listen back and decide where certain things need to be edited- which was pretty tough considering Nicky is such a great player. I was also lucky to get most of the keyboard and all of the organ tracks recorded with Rob Barraco. My next goal is more editing and then working on some lead guitar parts, as well as mandolin, more keys and pedal steel. At that point, I should be close to working on the vocals and then finally the finishing touches!

12-String and fiddle tracks=DONE!

   I spent this past weekend in Thornville, OH at a festival called the Dark Star Jubilee. This is a festival built around the band I work for as tour manager (Dark Star Orchestra); several other bands are also included to fill out the performance schedule. Working for a band that throws it’s own festival came in very handy this weekend when it came to setting up and recording tracks for the new album. It also helps that the guitar player in said band is also a master when it comes to recording and engineering. On Friday, Rob Eaton changed hats from guitar player to engineer when he set up some recording gear in the backstage production office to help make additions to the album. Basically it amounted to recording inside a wooden and cinder block barn with a metal roof- but it seemed like it would be a good place to record some 12 string guitar parts and perhaps some fiddle parts on Saturday.

   The music emanating from the stage outside didn’t start until 5 pm on Friday, which gave us most of the day to record without much bleed from the outside noise. This would all change by noon Saturday and we found a change of location would be necessary in order to get some solid useable recordings. Luckily, there was an RV a little further from the stage which offered a much more soundproof environment, when it came time for the fiddle tracks. Unfortunately, my fiddle player (Nicky Sanders) had to run a few errands and wasn’t able to make it back in time to record his tracks on Saturday- but he assured me Sunday would dedicated to the album.

    Originally, I had hoped to be able to add Jerry Douglas playing dobro on a few tracks, however our schedules weren’t able to line up on Saturday either and soon he had to leave; the idea of having his legendary sound on my album disappeared in dust behind the bus. Basically, Saturday was a let-down day. Rob Eaton spent most of the afternoon ironing out the electronic recording bugs and glitches between computers, hard drives and interfaces, only to get things working and find out there was no one to record. But I knew there would be days like this when I started. Nevertheless, this left one day to get the tracks needed for the album.

    Sunday was much more promising. By 3 pm we had set up in the RV and were laying down tracks; by 6:30 PM we had fiddle tracks for 8 songs and one step closer to finishing the album!

    The only other major goal I have for the next 2 weeks is to add organ and keyboards. After that I can spend my break time at home tying up the other loose ends. For now, things are looking good!