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Snake Oil & Hummingbirds

by Joanne Rand

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1.
Streets Today 04:31
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Streets Today - Joanne Rand 2008 (all true stories) Woman in a wheelchair going down a busy street,
 Wind blowing her white hair, and she’s carrying her Christmas tree.
 I see you 
believe in yourself; there's nothing more that you can do.

 Man on a street corner with an IPOD and a sign. My kid say's: Where'd you get the money for that, mister? You can't have mine. I see you 
believe in yourself; there's nothing more that you can do.

 IMAGES AND SNATCHES OF THE STREETS TODAY
 LEAVE ME LAUGHING AND CRYING CAN'T SOMEBODY FIND SOME WAY TO KEEP US TRYING? Man presses a newspaper flat against his face.
 He leans his head into it, snoring at the boring human race.
 He sits on the curb; we dare not disturb his peace.

 A guy in ragged clothes; he's emaciated; he's frail.
 He's tall and he stalks the streets, talking to his feet with his arms aflail.
 He walks alone, without a hearth or home.

 CHORUS
 Big, disheveled woman screaming at a man and his child: "Leave me alone, or I'll the cops and I might get wild!"
 Then I see her cardboard sign: 
"Woman looking for a home that I can call mine."
 That's something I can relate to: the need to belong And find my people.
 'Cause me, I've always felt that I was born of the wrong skin And a hundred years too late to fully breathe in. I yearn for my tribe
 Being of the earth and satisfied College campus students, so many different kinds and shapes and colors And the world is teaming with their bright young minds. Where will they go? Where will they go? CHORUS Believe in yourself. Believe in yourself.
2.
Maid of Constant Sorrow 03:59
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3.
Shady Grove 05:22
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4.
Open Door 05:21
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Open Door - Joanne Rand 2008 I'm walking through an open door. I cannot see what's out there. The remaining room in my life is not as big as it used to be, But it's still important to me. Sacred...space, That which is left of my life. Don't squander it. How will I paint the walls: Wild and wavy, playful, crazy... Or striped, confined by rules? Let's make it Mother-of-Pearl for the mother of all fools. Life is encompassed by a space and a hyphen and a space Sandwiched somewhere between Birth Date and Death Date. What are birth and death anyway? Certainly not who we are. I am a planet, I am a star; I am the sun, the moon; I am gravity. I am a candle blown out too soon. I am a firecracker with a short fuse And you cannot refuse me; you cannot use me, But you can love me if you choose. We're walking…(verse 1) We are candles; we are firecrackers; we are planets; we are stars; We are the sun, the moon; we are gravity and I will love you as you are. Walk with me through the open door. Walk and say "Goodbye" To where we've been before. I'm walking through an open door. I'm walking through an open door. All I really want to say is: "Won't you walk with me? Want to walk and find the way and wonder we will see? Walk with me through the open door. Walk and say "Goodbye" to where we've been before. Walk and say "Hello."
5.
Broken Open Hearts 06:14
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Broken Open Hearts - Joanne Rand 2007 ROLLING & ROLLING & FINDING OUR CENTER THE BROKEN OPEN HEARTS BROKEN OPEN, OPEN HEARTS Life it is an apple rolling on the ground Seeds in every part of it and magic to be found So rest your head upon my chest and marvel at the site Where good and bad both reside, dove and raven side by side And life is short...but wide...when it's broken open! CHORUS Life it is a dandelion plucked past its prime Seeds sail every-which-away and bring me peace of mind So rest your head upon my chest and marvel at the site Where birth and death both reside, dawn and darkness side by side And life is short...but wide...when it's broken open! Life it is an open sky with clouds that turn Colors changing endlessly beneath a sun that burns So rest your head upon my chest and marvel at the sight: Sun and Moon and Earth and Sky. Ours is not to question why Is life short...but wide...when it's broken…open, broken…open?
6.
Squaw Rock 04:05
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Squaw Rock - Joanne Rand 2007 Bump in the road at squaw rock where the rapids make us flutter What’s the road crew up to, messing with the water? Bump in the road at squaw rock and a detour up ahead It’s named for the Indian women who leaped to their death Bump in the road at squaw rock. Be prepared to stop My daughter asked me why they jumped from the top Bump in the road at squaw rock. We roll slowly by Cavalrymen chasing the women made them want to die Bump in the road at squaw rock and now we’re on our way A hundred women’s lives are just an echo in our day Bump in the road at squaw rock, I’ve seen it from in flight It’s a monumental tombstone. My god, what a sight! It’s as if the earth had gathered in a massive first held high A sacrificial altar, Mt. Sinai A finger pointing upwards to call attention to What these women chose to do It’s a testament to freedom and to the human soul And to those who’d rather die than be bought and sold. Me I’m sucked into the freeway, the free freeway I’m sucked into the grind of my day Sucked into the freeway, the free freeway And a hundred women’s lives, long ago, are just an echo in my day. But I keep on wondering If I were one of them, what would I do; would I give in? What will we do when we’re pushed to the edge? Will we survive or jump, instead? Are we survivors? Are we slaves? What is the future of our world today? We're sucked into the freeway - stoplight – cell phone - satellite – sit-com - uptight tunnel-vision grind of our day We're sucked into the IPOD – myspace – googleearth - arms race – shock-&-awe - shopping mall holographic grind of our day Get a retina scan. Get a chip implant. Clone your DNA, they can. Save the human race! Save the human race! Save the human race, while we can. Bump in the road at squaw rock Look! There’s a little flag on top.
7.
Shenandoah 04:49
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Shenandoah –Traditional. Arranged and amended with additional lyrics by Joanne Rand 2007 …and so the white man fled And his canoe was laden And he hung his head With his heart forsaken Because of a father’s pride The white man learned to hide his heart Because of a father’s greed The land began to bleed And the white mans race Grubbed for gold all over the place And he tore the land He did not understand that Power does not lie In the things that gold and silver can buy Power cannot be In the thin wires of electricity It’s in a river flowing free It’s in a river flowing free To the sea.
8.
Brother's Son 06:19
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Brother's Son - Joanne Rand 2009 He cannot come back again Until he’s learned the hard way Surely he’ll rise again, Once he’s seen it my way Oh, my brother’s son; oh, my young one Sink your teeth into the flesh; Dig your roots down deep, boy Only life you got; kiss the joy, boy Oh, my brother’s son; oh, my young one FIND YOUR TONGUE. SPEAK YOUR MIND. KNOW WHAT COUNTS. KNOW WHAT YOU CARE ABOUT.
9.
Into the Wild 06:21
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Into the Wild - Joanne Rand 2008 (for Chris McCandless) He's not unlike you and me What in our dreams we could be If we walked into the wild. He shed his family Because of bigamy He told the trucker how he takes The river to the sea And now he walks into the wild POOR BOY, HE'S JUST A "LEATHER TRAMP" SHEER JOY, HE SEEMS TO FEEL IT WHEN HE HITS THE ROAD Losing his load and his mind unfolds. Out in some desert he set fire to all his currency In ash and flame he changed his name He ran from his name Was this boy insane? Tell me, was this boy insane? He's not unlike you and me What in our dreams we could be If we walked, gently, into the wild He shed his family Because of lies told And now he takes The river to the sea And he walks into the wild. Following his consequences Following his bliss, he is Walking, gently into his "Wild Child" CHORUS Brave boy! He waved a cheerful "goodbye" And gratitude was in his eye And reverence for all that's wild And his wisdom gained is: "Happiness is shared "Happiness...only real when shared." This boy affected me This gentle Pilgrim he was lost And in so doing, found himself. He reached so many! More than he ever could if he'd Got some big job, been some big shot And he's still reaching, healing, teaching His life is a church. His death is a shrine! Poor boy! He was just a "leather tramp" Sheer joy, he seems to feel it now Brave boy! He waved a cheerful "goodbye" And ecstasy was in his eye Was this boy insane? "Happiness is shared" He's not unlike you and me What in our dreams we can be
10.
Ocean In Me 06:55
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Ocean in Me - Joanne Rand 2007 The Ocean's indifferent blanket of life Like a sheet shaken out in the wind One minute laughing the next a wild cry As the ages roll out and in And my girlie's a-play on the rocks And my gander's a-gathering mussel And the ominous sound of the pound of the waves As the ocean and earth tussle The Ocean's indifferent blanket of life Like a horse's wild mane on the run It's life and it's death and it's all in between In the wind and rain and sun SUN SHINES DOWN SOMEWHERE AT SEA SOMEWHERE I WOULD RATHER BE THERE'S AN OCEAN IN ME Verse 1 CHORUS The Ocean's indifferent blanket of life Like the down of a swan on the wing Like the foam that is left From the mermaids' breath Like the cry when the wild geese sing And it pulls my heartstrings When I hear the geese sing 'Cause I'm a wild thing I'm a wild thing There's an ocean in me And I love the sea!
11.
Prayer for the River 03:47
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Prayer for the River - Joanne Rand 2007 Sing a prayer for the river: May you run wild and free and long Sing a prayer for the river: May you run clear and cold and strong May your people do no wrong May your waters hold our song Sing a prayer for the river Sing a prayer for the salmon: Multiply, dive and leap in wild abandon Sing a prayer for the salmon: Circling, circling feel the impulse Feel the urge and lay your eggs Clear cold water rushing downstream Full grown salmon are returning Sing a prayer for the salmon Sing a prayer for the river Sing a prayer for each other.
12.
Song of Life 04:43
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Song of Life - Joanne Rand 2008 The song of life is a miracle and a strange thing, too Don’t let it go, now; don’t give it up, now Don’t let life get the best of you Remember dreamtime life is real You may only get one shot; could be all you got Just once around the wheel And the waterfall keeps falling and the years go by I can hear the music calling out my name, and I I am pouring like a river, sometimes underground I will not stop, now; I won’t give up, now I won’t sit down Hear the music calling out your name
13.
Tennessee Waltz 04:55
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Tennessee Waltz By Red Stewart & Pee Wee King. additional lyrics by Joanne Rand 2006 I’ve been waiting for my darling to come back to me And I’ll be waiting for all of my days I’ll be keeping that home fire burning Though I can’t see the smoke from the haze CHORUS I was waltzing; now I’m waiting And I’ll be waiting for the rest of my days ‘Cause I lost her to my best friend Now I can’t see the smoke from the haze I remember the night and what true love can be And I’m waiting now patiently There I lost my little darling as they were waltzing The beautiful Tennessee Waltz

credits

released August 29, 2009

Co-Produced by Joanne Rand and Stephen Hart
Recorded at:
Jane Clark Studio, Cotati, CA
BASS, San Rafael, CA
Myrtletown Records, Eureka, CA
Sebtone Studio, Sebastopol, CA
Mixed and Mastered by Stephen Hart

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Joanne Rand Arcata

“A fixture of the Northern California folk scene, Rand’s life, activism & art are woven seamlessly together. A celebrated musician, composer & teacher. From stripped-down folk songs to lush, textured rock arrangements, she makes consistently engaging, perceptive, universal music.”-SFStation.com 2012. Touring nationally for 30 years, Rand is currently releasing 15th CD of original songs. ... more

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