Where I live, really crazy homeless people roam the streets. It's gotten way worse since the recent events. I think because there's no one to donate money. Also they must feel way more isolated. There is always someone screaming loudly, unaware of their surroundings. There are people dancing madly. Without the usual flurry of activity around them, it is really scary. Like a post-apocalyptic movie. You have to wonder with all of our technology and science why we couldn't solve some of these problems. The protagonist of this song is attempting. He is running a ," Home for the Hopeless." There are so many traumatized on so many different levels it is overwhelming. It's like, if everyone whose psyche was damaged could go to a hospital at once, it would look like total pandemonium.
So the question of the song is really what causes all this dissonance. Is it nature just working in ways we can't understand or have we doomed ourselves with our own technological advances. "Our Little Place" may not have any answers but it does offer the chirping sounds of crickets as a nice opiate. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOgJYAeJ7Ek
Here 's some video fun stuff from Smar. A never-heard-before Abraham Cloud song, "Leaving The City." Not sure of the year but check out the pop perfection of Rory' Stalwick's production. This is just the two of them in some bizarre little studio in the middle of nowhere but check it out. There's some Psychedelic Furs, a little Huey Lewis and maybe even some Boz Scaggs all done with an Eighties Sensibility. The Horns are amazing and the video is hilarious. Good Fun For All. This may even be out on CD sometime soon on the rumored , "Freshly Broken Glass" album.
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ygp8u3wSrU
Multicolored Psychedielicly Colored Mechanical AI head predicts the future.
It's quick its deep and it will stay with you a lifetime. (Clip from "Suddenly Everything by Abraham Cloud)
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6eCNuVed1Y
What's under the moving beach towel ? The new slacker's anthem is here to let you know. Watch closely as the towel moves and comes to life. Shot on location in Slacker Paradise Hawaii, Abraham Cloud asks the ultimate slacker question, "Why Try ?" Guaranteed to put a smile on your face the band pumps out the coolest punk-a-billy knee-slapper ever. These lyrics will allow you to finally, totally and completely relax. Way better than a spa or a massage ,Cloud reveals. And remember this is not the "why try" by Ariana Grande, Abraham Cloud's "Why Try" came out ages ago and is more way more rock-a-billy than Grande.
"I've been thinkin' 'bout ambition,
and I've been wishin' that I had some.
I've been watchin' the convertibles,
looks like fun, if you have one.
WHY TRY ?
COME ON PRETTY BABY, WHY TRY ?
went to an auction, over my head,
old lady died, fifty bucks to get in.
she had some fine stuff, went for millions,
she didn't get a dime, neither did I,
when you're standin' in the parking lot,
and you're thinkin' hard 'bout what you haven't got,
all those minutes spent in misery,
why not think of nothing,
live in ecstasy,
why try?
You got your health,
You got it all,
You got some good friends,
Go have a ball.
WHY TRY ?
(Rory Anton guitar, Lee Walters drums , Johnny G bass and production)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aoivyEJumE
You're only one step away from a new direction. SO Simple. So True. So impossible to ever really do. Well , not impossible, but it is REALLY hard to totally change direction. We seem to be oriented towards habitiual movement and find it nearly impossible to simply veer off course to start a new life. I was always blown away by BF Skinner and how he destroyed the idea of free will. Skinner had so many good points about the conditioning that went into every decision we make. His opinion was really that there were no decisions. All of our lives were predetermined.
How could one truly have any freedom of choice when so much positive and negative conditioning had gone into creating the mental mess we've all become. Perhaps the only way to escape the fate we have laid out for ourselves is to act beyond spontaneously.....randomly. For instance , what if you flipped a coin every time you reached a stoplight and used the result to determine your direction. In this way couldn't we surpass our internal programming and actually arrive at a novel destination. Possibly, but I bet we would still buy the food we love at the nearest restaurant. So we would have to start flipping again. Eventually , yielding to random commands may be the only way to find unique experiences. Could this be the reason for drugs ?
ONE STEP AWAY
This is for you, where ever you are
Standing in long lines or sleeping in cars
"Cause you have the answer I'm waiting for
You have the new life, that's what I live for
Been driving forever to get where you are
There is no street sign to take me that far
So I'll stand here singing and hope that you hear
A piece of my heart or one special word
and I know just how you feel
wanting only love that's real
Talking to mirrors
One Step Away
Imprisoned by fears
One Step Away
One Step Away From A New Direction
Here in the night life, here by myself
I should be happy, I know better than that
'Cause these desperate people who lurk in the dark
Can't even remember that innocent spark
and I know just how you feel
wanting only love that's real
and you can't take anything less
Talking to mirrors
One Step Of The Way
Imprisoned by fears
One Step Of The Way
One Step Away From A New Direction.
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1gKxScMhNY
Thank God someone finally made a video for this one. Sounds like a madman who has been locked in a dingy bedroom studio for too long. Screaming at the top of his lungs , I have the answer. Crazy story about aging , or dying or maybe just tripping out, "The Wind Is Falling In Love," should be the theme for a trendy new shampoo. This would brighten the days of many suicidal X-gens and provide for a luxurious retirement for the Abraham Cloud people as well. The Cloud seems to view love as a pretty viscous storm and something to be avoided at all cost.
You never really got what you wanted
did you ever know what that was
you're planted in the back, by the white picket fence something's commin' up around you
and the wind is falling in love with you
and the trees all whisper your name its true
every little dream that refused to come true
is standing next to you
you'd given up on love, then sex but not food
you took to wearing a hat
you felt like so many that it was time to give up
let the parade roll over you
and the wind is falling in love with you
and the trees all whisper your name its true
every little dream that refused to come true
is standing next to you
its growing around you
and the wind is falling in love with you
and the trees all whisper your name its true
every little dream that refused to come true
is standing next to you
its growing around you
it wants you, if you want it too
you still got the charm but the sparkle is gone
rejection took affection from you
an audible sigh, burns you inside
object of desire walks by
you don't stand a chance so you don't even try
living in a sad luliby
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQo7Di_bD3U
This is Abraham Cloud's first version of "Another Train" called at the time "Its all the same" . Performed on solo acoustic at the Break-a-way (legendary LA club that burnt to the ground) in fact its rumored both Lucinda Williams and Tom Waits may have attended this show
A mother tries to tell her son,
where she's been and what she's done,
She never can reveal a thing
and hates herself for makin' such a scene.
The wild enchanted world awaits,
he's itching so, to crash the gate,
Through all the long and sleepless nights,
she pictures him in senseless bloody fights.
IF ITS ALL THE SAME TO YOU
I?LL JUST TAKE ANOTHER TRAIN
His father who's been far away,
shows up inside his head one day,
His questions pierce her very soul,
truth is one thing no one can control.
She makes him toast and irons his clothes,
he learns there's things he'll never know,
[Lyrics from: https:/lyrics.az/abraham-cloud/the-children-of-the-milkman/another-train.html]
He goes to bed with doubts so deep,
dreams of vengeance, one day they'll all see.
IF ITS ALL THE SAME TO YOU
I?LL JUST TAKE ANOTHER TRAIN
years fall down like dying leaves,
they never fill a hole this deep,
the need for someone never seen ,
consumes his heart and burns relentlessly...
Bar to bar and bed to bed,
a child is born the dream is dead,
He never can reveal a thing
and hates himself for creating such a scene.
IF ITS ALL THE SAME TO YOU
I?LL JUST TAKE ANOTHER TRAIN
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acjcdFDPTQ8
Did you ever have that experience where you are thinking of someone intensely and then they call. This happens a lot and I think it's an innate human ability we've been taught to ignore and forget about. This intuition is really the foundation to a great life and a natural warning system.
This song is about life, romance and intuition. Three things that have seemed to have been left in the dust but maybe some of the most improtant things we have .
When I'm alone
I pick up the phone
to call you up
before I dial
you're on the line
and I'm all mixed up
you tell me it's just a coincidence
but how long can coincidence
defy the laws of chance
I've been thinking
about you all the time
and you've been
reading my mind
Missing pieces are always
Hard to find
You've been reading my
Mind.
Went to the bar
To find someone
who might have a car
Out of the blue
I'm staring at you
And your new dog "Star"
you tell me you just
went walking around
But I know you live
On the other side of town
you tell me it's just a coincidence
but how long can coincidence
defy the laws of chance
I've been thinking
about you all the time
and you've been
reading my mind
Missing pieces are always
Hard to find
You've been reading my
Mind.
The Bells are ringing
the streets are singing
I'm seeing all the signs
of good times coming
I've been thinking
about you all the time
and you've been
reading my mind
Missing pieces are always
Hard to find
You've been reading my
Mind.
You tell me you lost
Your shoes on the bus
And you need a shower
And someone you can really trust
I've been thinking
about you all the time
and you've been
reading my mind
Missing pieces are always
Hard to find
You've been reading my
Mind.
Reading My Mind
by Abraham Cloud
appears on the album "Additional Fish"
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm9m74a1y2Y
Could that be the Ghost of Dead Rock Stars
Walking on the Railroad
or maybe its just Billy Bob and Sally Joe
walking their way to Idaho
Hell I don't know
But I know I'm only
One Step Away
from a new direction .
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6biNxGafic
Always thought this song should be softer. As much as I loved our live version of the song it was a real pleasure to re-do it as a soft ballad.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FiadNjlAIc