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Wood Burning Stove EP

by Joe Vickers

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1.
At my window, skies turn grey The northern winds blows right through this old frame The garden has died, soon the snow is going to fly As I wait by I get the notes I wrote for the woodburning stove I sit at the mirror of the underwood Confronting my fears, I finally faced them for good Now the damper is set for these letters to be sent And while the kindling is wet I’ll use the notes I wrote for the woodburning stove Why don’t you come around anymore? It’s day like these I need you the most. I keep myself warm in a love that growing cold by burning the notes I wrote for the woodburning stove All the unfinished poems are the scattered ashes Of an empty home I must abandon It’s clear that I have to set a good match to All the things I’m attached to In these notes I wrote for the woodburning stove I know why you don’t come around anymore. I’ve been in denial and that’s forsure The reason I have such a hard time letting go of all the notes that I wrote for the woodburning stove.
2.
Bible Belt 03:47
Crying into your hands, you were sitting On the curb outside of St. Anthony’s Your white dress was fitting Tighter than the Father gripped the rosary I gave you a thrift store ring It had to be a shotgun; no other way We bit our lips and they clipped our wings What’s the use of flying when living in this cage? Oh, we weep when the river plays Folding the cards that we were dealt Seventeen years old and showing beat by the buckle of the bible belt The emptiness of these eyes Reflects the space within my chest While the smiles of a thin disguise Are put on to match our Sunday Best At night we dream in separate rooms Then awake to the scripture of Joshua - To serve Him in the home is not a chore It’s my cross-stitched duty hanging on the wall Oh I am struck by the guilt and shame Longing for a love I’ve never felt In silence I endure the pain Beat by the buckle of the Bible Belt All my life I was a failure Mother said to act more lady-like The small town gossip whispered “That’s John and Mary’s girl, I hear she is a dike” They saw my necktie and my crewcut But could not see that identities differ And this tough skin of mine had enough I came out and changed my name to mister Oh, my assignment betrayed me I fled to where the redwoods dwell A man born into this body Free from the buckle of the bible belt We were the whipping boys, we were beaten People like us did not live in Eden Their wrath covered us in welts Beat by the buckle of the bible belt
3.
Seemed kind of special seeing you in Wayne Your ages shows a little but to me you look the same As that innocent dropout in Feburary of ‘05 You turned twenty-eight last week but you’re celebrating tonight Showing me things we could have shared Oh why the need to even go there? Showing me things we could have shared Kid's got your green eyes and dark hair Last time I seen him he was at the Legion Hall His arm in a sling, his fist no match for the brick wall Said his old lady just left him, she couldn’t keep up to his pace She moved on pretty quick, there’s a new truck parked outside her place And he’s paying off the fines while working on a second DUI Oh he’s still paying off the fines and it’s only the patch that’s running dry The highway west of town is a son of a bitch It’s a painful reminder - three white crosses in the ditch That rock and roll lifestyle was a youthful attraction To live fast and die young was fine until it finally happened Now my eyes can’t even look at the endpoint of that joyride they took My eyes can’t even look at their final words in the yearbook And I hear Not many showed up for the Ten Year But they racked up a big tab Left unpaid with a dine and dash After the cops crashed the party And hauled Holmen to the tank He got in a fight again Seems little has changed
4.
I turn the faucet on. I lock the bathroom door. The mirror turns to fog as my clothes fall to the floor. The water on my skin gives the warmth my body is missing. The faithful fan spins and spins loud enough he can’t listen to the sound of me crying on the shower floor. I know there’s no denying I've been here before. I felt the distance in his touch and witness denial in the time elapsing. I learnt love alone is not enough to keep this tired heart from collapsing. Within him, she is no longer hidden. I see it now in the entries written upon the surface of the mirror pane. The fog lifts to show her standing in my place. In the wake of me crying on the shower floor. I know there’s no denying I will spend more time counting seconds between each breath I take. The steam in my lungs give reason to escape. When I no longer need to rest my head on my knees, I will turn the faucet off. I will leave.
5.
Ephemeral 02:57
I caught myself looking at pictures of you again I am bent like the trees on the coast, forged by the winds And stunned by the view from the top of the bluff A photograph never does justice but this is good enough What am I doing here? I hesitate though my gut insists Love has no explanation, it simply exists I caught myself reading the letters I wrote The ones I planned on planting in the pockets of your winter coat I cautioned if the trail had an easy escape If we were past the point of getting out unscathed Because when you live in the north You’re bound to get snow in your shoes And when you kiss a songwriter There’s going to be a song about you And if you listen carefully While treading across the first freeze You’ll hear the crackle of the wood stove Burning your memory

credits

released April 30, 2017

Recorded at Fluff & Gravy Studios in Portland, OR in February 2017.

Engineered by John Shepski and Eli Savage
Mixed by John Shepski, Juniana Lanning & Joe Vickers
Mastered by Brock McFarlane

Acoustic guitar, lyrics, vocals and piano by Joe Vickers
Collobaration with Andrea McBeth on Track 4

Additional players:

Anna Tivel (fiddle & vocals) on Track 1
Paul Brainard (pedal steel guitar) on Track 1 and 2

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Joe Vickers Drumheller, Alberta

Farmer by day, troubadour by night, Joe Vickers has logged countless miles on both his combine and tour van. His music explores the human spirit singing of the triumphs and tragedies of everyday life on the prairies.

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