B i o g r a p h y ( Official Label )
Prior to 2005, it had been nearly a decade since Liz Durrett had completed her last album. That work, which was shelved by Durrett for nine years as she took a self imposed musical exile, eventually saw the light of day in early 2005 when it was released on Athens, GA Warm Electronic Recordings. Originally recorded as a demo in an effort to obtain a record deal, the collection of songs entitled ‘Husk' proved to be strong enough in its own right and quickly obtained widespread critical acclaim for it's ‘stark loveliness' (Washington Post) and it's ‘threadbare sonic tapestry' (Splendid Magazine) as well as drawing complimentary comparisons to the works of Chan Marshall (Cat Power) and Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star). No doubt, Durrett's upbringing had an intense effect on her interest in music. Growing up in the sleepy southern town of Rome, GA, she's quick to credit much of her musical inspiration to the lifeline that her legendary uncle, Vic Chesnutt, threw her in the midst of a turbulent youth. It was Chesnutt, she says, who gave her a guitar at 16 and jokingly told her to “write mean songs about your parents”. Chesnutt's intuition was dead on, as soon after, not only was Durrett writing her own material, Chesnutt was also employing her to perform on his tours and several of his own recordings, from his 1992 epic album, ‘West of Rome' to his most recent release, “Ghetto Bells”. On January 24 of 2006, Liz Durrett's second album, “The Mezzanine” will be released by Warm Electronic Recordings. In contrast to her previous work, “The Mezzanine” is a surprisingly hi-fi affair. Gone are the hissing ghosts and unsure echoes that once haunted and obscured her recordings. And while producer and occasional performer Vic Chesnutt still adds his trademark, artfully ramshackle recording techniques and veteran engineer Andy Baker (Macha, Japancakes, Glands) attends to the more traditional sonic details, they wisely let Durrett steer the album this time around. It's her voice and guitar that are the focus here. And that's important, because Durrett performs with more energy, determination and flat out rawness than she ever has before. From the curiously up-tempo “Cup On The Counter” to the visceral lament of “Marlene”, Durrett covers a lot of ground within the album's eleven songs. So where has Liz Durrett been the last nine years of this musical exile? Perhaps the answer is in the music itself as she sings “I never understood before, I never wanted the floor, but now I'm in the throes of it”. ” Possessing the quiet vehemence of an approaching storm, “The Mezzanine” proves that Liz Durrett has a voice that will be heard for many years to come.
Vine Husk Ablaze Lull Captive BC Slip Net You There
Knives At The Wall All The Spokes Cup On The Counter The Mezzanine CreepyAsKudzu Marlene Silent Partner (Instrumental) Shivering Assembly Little Ascendant No Apology In The Throes
Far From Home How Can I Tell You In A Manner Of Speaking November Perfect Day Some say (i got devil) Somewhere The one I love They say it Try (Try To Fall In Love) Vw
*** Thanx a lot to http://www.lizdurrett.com/ who sent me the official lyrics ! Visit her site and support her !! ***
Husk
*** Thanx a lot to Meek for these lyrics ***
Vine
Navigate your life plan And radiate with all you have Lie down in your head Let loose your life thread Let it slip right out of hand Let it slip right Let it slip right out of hand Let it slip right And she knew her timeline And she tugged on her life vine And her soft mind spoke its prose And her words clench as she floats And she slipped right out of hand And she slipped right She slipped right out of hand She slipped right
Husk There's a gulf at the edge of the yard And the husk of a shed and a garden It's the virus that swells in the grass It's the ration that stays with the water There's a boy with his back to the porch There's a root in a jar on the floor It's the field that is tied to his ankle It's the fodder that sticks to the table There's the ghost of a beast in the woods And the trace of a shell in the dirt It's the path to the place where he lay It's the look of a crow on the grave
Ablaze
Not so long ago In a common hole Quick development Of a slow exchange And among this breed Rattled by the speed Came an out of place appeal God send me a blaze God send me a blaze God set me ablaze With the lines cut In a greedy way There's a low reply To a loud decay So the bug comes And it hollows all Til the light shifts And the room calls God send me a blaze God send me a blaze God set me ablaze
Lull I thought today was the end It felt like a drug I had to slam myself and stare Hypnotic one Why must it always be that one day can change the rest That stricken feeling is so short-lived And only the throb is left He sang “she's running out again” Thunder in the sun All at once it's on you and it's gone Virtual and done You never know what the power of a particle will cost I can see that the death of this is my most colossal loss Paralyzing as a vision ethereal All alone and awe-struck In the downpour and the lull It bore an accidental resemblance to my life It was celestial speech Promise prophesied
Captive I am a captive To myself to no one else We walk hand in hand Through dark hallways with no end I sit in his corner With my hands bound and my eyes closed His voice is just a whisper But it cuts deep into my soul No night could last this long No daylight could reach this song He cannot free me now He's not a man He's just a shadow I am a captive to no end
BC Jesus is coming and I'm in a crib Gainesville is ugly, the landscape is grim Everything I say won't leave my mouth Everything I say comes crawling out Jesus is coming and I'm in a pinch He takes the back road, the natives are thick Everything I do sits on my lap Every time I move I fall right back Jesus is coming and I'm under wraps Martyr for dinner, but I want a snack Everything I need is on my plate Everything I want is getting strange
Slip This breath that i've taken Is it yours, is it mine This life that i've given Is it yours, is it mine And as i slip so quickly I leave it all behind This growing desolation Fills me up inside It's not you, it's not me It's not me, no but it's not you This face that you're making Is it yours, is it mine This dream that i've broken Was it yours, it's not mine My voice calls for salvation Dying all the time You search but you can't find me I'm nowhere to find I'm not me, i'm not you I'm not you, no but i'm not me This death that i'm living Is it yours, is it mine This soul you weren't saving Was it yours, was it mine And now as i watch you From the other side Who is this life you're living Now that i've lost mine Is it you, it's not me Is it you, it's not me Is it you, it's not me
Net Catcher ways Backyard buzz You are drifting like i wish i was Hungry net One to be pinned That old deft hand Washboard skin You are under wood You are so not, so not what you should You are under wood So not, so not what you should Magic house Mystic closet She is lovely like the starlet Magnet girl Outward and in They all see her as more than them You are in a spin You are so not, so not what you've been You are in a spin So not, so not what you've been
You there You there You might be everything i need from there You there Your mouth said everything i needed to hear I planted my foot in the ditch when you looked I did what i could but not what it took You there I must look like everything i'm not from there You there I know it seems better the longer you stare You stand right here and i'll be back With just what you want and just what i lack You there You can do this better by yourself from there You there It just keeps getting farther from here to there You moved your head from your hand when i looked We did what we could but not what it took
The Mezzanine
Knives At The Wall You did it Finally They almost asked it of you Didn't they And they took it Finally Did you want them to Well their backs are on us now So let's throw all the knives at the wall When we throw all the knives at the wall There will be no stopping There will be no stopping
*** Thanx a lot to Jose & Meek for this one ***
All The Spokes All the spokes are bent We weren't even in the road I'll collect the evidence all the way home It's safe in here I know, I know, I know But this is not the only battlefield On the long way home On the long way home On the long way home We're alone All the spokes are bent We weren't even in the road I'll collect the evidence all the way home It's safe in here I know, I know, I know But this is not the only battlefield On the long way home On the long way home On the long way home We're alone
*** Thanx a lot to Jose for this one ***
Cup on the Counter The cup on the counter leaves a circular stain The rut from the tire is deep in the clay The flat of the grass where a body was laid The contents of pockets all strewn on a table Why try to lie to me I'm not a child I know what I've seen Why try to lie to me I'm not a child I know what I've seen The fray of the fabric, the edge of the chair The hard to reach places, the things you put there Ashes on cinders long after the flames The rain on the road leaves a beautiful haze Why try to lie to me I'm not a child I know what I've seen Why try to lie to me I'm not a child I know what I've seen
*** Thanx a lot to Meek for this one ***
The Mezzanine In the yard Small things beat you down Till you could not leave the house Take your leverage when you can Take the beast by the hand They will always be In the mezzanine In the mezzanine They will always be In the mezzanine In the mezzanine
Creepyaskudzu Creepy as kudzu Hides what it chokes Is it not beautiful Though morose You took a bed And then gutted your host But not hiding for long But not hiding for long But not hiding for long But not hiding For long Heavy as horseshoes* thrown on a lawn Muscle remembers them when they're gone Just as I can't let this one go And it won't be thrown, it won't be thrown (Horse shoes is a game where one tosses horse shoes at a stake in the ground.)
Marlene Just like we failed marlene Left her with arms gaping Like two wild birds Entangled in string Like we failed oh Marlene Like we failed oh Marlene Passed your brother on a street Gathering money from machines And there at his feet Lay every little reason He keeps going He keeps going Well, oh well.
Shivering Assembly This shivering assembly Barely hides our motives Underneath this pageantry It's only getting uglier Anybody can see
Little Ascendant Your birth was a mystery Your life was exposed They took it and twisted it And made it their own Now high on your history Now drunk on your lore They're armed and not listening And soon at your door And these words that crawled in their hearts would then rip us apart And for what? For what? we've been dying to know For what? we've been dying to know For what? we've been dying to know It's breaking my heart This plague on your minds It's breaking my heart This plague on your minds It's breaking my heart This plague on your minds It's breaking my heart This plague on your minds
No Apology I am standing right here by your baby We are breathing the same way I have taken a toll on your gracious Appetite for holding on And what, what can i say What can i offer you I'm not built that way I have no apology I am standing right here On a dock that you built I will try not to look at your face Cause all that is in you Radiates And it's more It is more than i'll take
In the Throes If i could take it all apart and hold it still enough Then we could see exactly what is keeping this aloft On spite of all of this incessant circling over us And even what we love the most calls our ship to the rocks The pretty way you mutilate the mystery And hang it up and let the light stab through the flimsy fabric I never understood before I never wanted the floor But now i'm in the throes Now i'm in the throes Now i'm in the throes of it
Outside Our Gates
*** Thanx a lot to Ben for this one ***
Wake to believe Round, round goes the clock My panic sounds like tick-tock Night, oh night, move on Your clutch is much too strong Go ten hungry hawks Around our heads just as my thoughts Dive down, down, down, down I call and call and call them off Then wake to believe They're all inside, inside of me Each beat of their wings Is all inside me Mind, mind let me go Your prison is all I'll know Shroud, oh shroud please fall Just cover and cloak it all Go ten hungry hawks Around our heads just as my thoughts Dive down, down, down, down I call and call and call them off Then wake to believe They're all inside, inside of me Each beat of their wings Is all inside me Round, round goes the clock Wild as them I looked for your bones in the woods I looked for your bones in the woods I looked for your bones or any sign of where you were I looked for your bones in the woods Listened for coyotes to stir Listened for coyotes to stir I listened for them To give up what they did Listened for coyotes to stir Daydreamed of myself a warrior Daydreamed of myself a warrior I daydreamed myself Wild as them, for your revenge Daydreamed myself a warrior I will look for you when I sleep I will look for you when I sleep Always look for you Always want you curled to me I will look for you when I sleep Always look for you Wanting you curled to me I will look for you when I sleep In the eaves How they try to, mothers don't forget All those words them daughters said No they thread, they thread, they thread Now they hang there, wait there in the eaves With a grip so tight it leaves With a grip so tight it leaves Blacker than the blackest blue these arms These arms have ever seen These arms have ever... Now resigned to, children don't regret All those things your words have said No they fed, they fed, they fed Now we stand on pillars made of these Though we sway impossibly Though we sway impossibly Catch them as catch can is all we do So don't fear our slightest move So don't fear our slightest.... We build bridges We build bridges Don't we Sometimes need a hand Despite our best laid plans Don't we Sometimes miss what we had And we struggle Don't we Sometimes lose the reasons But in the peaceful morning We can clearly see Where we've been Oh, and the tide pulls us out, alright Oh, and the tide pulls us out, alright Oh, when the tide brings us back How sweet it is Lost hiker I climbed the highest peak And watched the sky all swathed in pink You were there and not there too A canopy of night on you And thinking only of myself I turned to go, I turned and left If only to take it back If only to take it back If only to take you back, home All of them all Hold up your hands, you've got nothing to shield you This one took all that you had It's hard to say who's been wrestled Or willingly gave it all, gave it away And now we're left stumbling along We are looking for something or someone to pay And always assailants evade Never can turn searchlights their way But take small solace in this In everyone a summons awaits And for some of them briefly and some incompletely But all of them all of them all And for some of them briefly and some incompletely But all of them all of them all Believe me, time unwinds it Believe me, time unwinds it Solo charade, barely backlit by TV Hanging on tight by a thread Sailing along on a sea of prescripted solutions for what's ailing them Just like a black snake so low in the leaves only shows what it wants to be seen Just like a black snake so low in the leaves only shows what it wants to be seen Believe me, time unwinds it Believe me, time unwinds it Note for a girl A long time it's been and you waited here so strong Hang on my friend and we'll row out alone You know we don't owe them anything at all You know you had a lot go wrong Don't you give in, don't you give in I'll be here and I'm ready to drive When you need to clear out that shit they put inside You know we know how to fight back And you know they can't take down what we got We won't relent We won't relent You live alone You live alone, at night, it's all you can do Stop leaving, all the leaving's through Stop happening, not happening to you I know this part, I'll sing with you I live alone, at night, it's all I can do I dream alone right next to you Stop happening, won't happen to you I know this part, I'll sing with you I know this heart can be so hard With no one there to see it through I know this part can be so hard But i know this part, I'll sing with you We live alone, at night, it's all we can do We walk alone right next to you Stop happening, can't happen to you I know this part, I'll sing with you I know this heart can be so hard With no one there to see it through I know this part can be so hard But i know this part, I'll sing with you Always signs Tied it up, tried to keep it inside, pushed it down, but it wants to rise Tied it up, tried to keep it inside, pushed it down, but it wants to rise Want to know what a body feels, want to know, but we hate, we hate, we hate it Want to know what a body feels, want to know, but we hate, we hate, we hate it Now we want to make it stop, want to make it stop, want to make it stop cause we hate, we hate, we hate it Can't get a little reprieve, can't get just a little, a little reprieve Can't get a little reprieve, can't get, gonna make, gonna make, gonna make it Bottle it up, try to keep it inside, push it down, but it wants to rise Bottle it up, try to keep it inside, push it down, but it wants to rise There were always, there were always signs There were always, there were always, always signs Not running Birds lifted away all that we gave them Now summer's parade quietly fades on a reel I pulled down the lights from every last tiny limb Tucked away signs that we'd been here Though some may say, to live this way, is hiding Not hiding, we are unashamed Or running, not running, we are unafraid Letters await, reading them late in the day Eloquent phrase turns my heart in its cage How can I be so hopeless and then So full of hope, I might implode with it Though some may say, to live this way, is hiding Not hiding, we are unashamed Or running, not running, we are unafraid The sea a dream Tonight the moon is a fingernail Glowing for you, on a wire, as you set sail The sea a dream, laid out for you The sea a dream, laid out for you Tonight we'll meet on a silver beach Dancing we'll be, under the beam The sands a dream, laid out for you The sands a dream, laid out for you Tonight we'll leave on gilded wings Soaring we'll be o'er limbs and leaves The winds a dream, laid out for you The winds a dream, laid out for you
Non Albums Tracks
Far From Home
( Athfest 2007 CD )
Riding in a car without talking Swimming out much further than you should Saying words that had long been forgotten Packing it up when we're ready to Leaving now, with no place to be going Standing up when you didn't think you could Reading words from a page Hearing someone play something that makes your stomache ache I know everything I love, is gonna leave me I know everything I love is gonna leave I know everything I love, has got to leave me Still I want it, I want it, I want it Still I want it, I want it, I want it Still I want it, I want it, I want it Watching the city out over the water Holding some small part of history Walking alone, far from home Keeping some things for yourself Seeing what you know, change Talking on a porch til four a.m Taking a plane. Hearing someone say “It's so good to see you.” I know everything I love, is gonna leave me I know everything I love is gonna leave I know everything I love, has got to leave me Still I want it, I want it, I want it Still I want it, I want it, I want it Still I want it, I want it, I want it
*** Thanx a lot to Gathertherain for this one ***
How Can I Tell You
( Cat Stevens Cover )
How can I tell you That I love you, I love you But I can't think of right words to say I long to tell you that Im always thinking of you That I'm always thinking of you I'm always thinking of you But my words just blow away Just blow away It always ends up to one thing, honey And I can't think of right words to say Wherever I am, I'm always walking with you I'm always walking with you But I look and you're not there Whoever I'm with I'm always talking to you I'm always talking to you And I'm sad that you can't hear Sad that you can't hear It always ends up to one thing, honey When I look and you're not there I need to know you Need to feel my arms around you Feel my arms around you Like a sea around a shore And each night and day I pray In hope that I might find you In hope that I might find you Because hearts can do no more It always ends up to one thing honey Still I kneel upon the floor How can I tell you that I love you I love you but I can't think of right words to say I long to tell you that I'm always thinking of you I'm always thinking of you It always ends up to one thing honey And I can't think of right words to say
In A Manner Of Speaking
( Martin L. Gore Cover )
In a manner of speaking I just want to say That I could never forget the way You told me everything by saying nothing In a manner of speaking I don't understand How love in silence becomes reprimand The way I feel about you is beyond words Oh give me the words Give me the words That tell me nothing Oh give me the words Give me the words That tell me everything In a manner of speaking Semantics won't do In this life that we live We only make do And the way that we feel Might have to be sacrificed So in a manner of speaking I just want to say That like you I should find a way To tell you everything By saying nothing Oh give me the words Give me the words That tell me nothing Oh give me the words Give me the words That tell me everything Oh give me the words Give me the words Oh give me the words Give me the words
November (Tom Waits cover / Live) No shadow, no stars There's no moon and no cars November It only believes In a pile of dead leaves And a moon That's the color of bone No prayers for November To linger longer Stick your spoon in the wall We'll slaughter them all November Has tied me to an old dead tree Get word to April To rescue me November's cold chain Made of wet boots and rain And shiny black ravens On chimney smoke lanes November seems odd You're my firing squad November Tied to the branches Of a roebuck stag Left to wave in the timber Like a buck shot flag Go away, you rain snout Go away, blow your brains out November
Perfect Day (Lou Reed cover / Live) Just a perfect day Drink sangria in the park And then later, when it gets dark We go home Just a perfect day Feed animals in the zoo And then later, a movie, too And then home Oh, it's such a perfect day I'm glad I spent it with you Oh, such a perfect day You just keep me hanging on You just keep me hanging on Just a perfect day Problems all left alone Weekenders on our own It's such fun Just a perfect day You made me forget myself I thought I was someone else Someone good Oh, it's such a perfect day I'm glad I spent it with you Oh, such a perfect day You just keep me hanging on You just keep me hanging on You just keep me hanging on You're going to reap just what you sow You're going to reap just what you sow You're going to reap just what you sow
Some say (i got devil) ( live cover of melanie safka ) Some say i've got devil Some say i've got angel But i'm just a girl in trouble I don't think i'm in danger Don't think i'm in danger I know i'm not in danger But some have tried to sell me All kinds of things to save me from Hurting like a woman Crying like a baby Something like a woman Crying like a baby And all the things that i have seen While i fight me for a part in your dream While l fight me for this dream And though i'd like to tell them exactly how i'm feeling Somehow the music hides it and conceals it Hides it and conceals it And oh, the things that i have seen Can be hidden in the part of my dream Gonna hide it from my dream Some say i got devil Some say i've got angel But i am just this girl in trouble I don't think i'm in danger Don't think i'm in danger I know i'm not in danger
Somewhere (With Vic Chesnutt / From West Side Story) There's a place for us Somewhere a place for us Peace and quiet and open air Wait for us Somewhere There's a time for us Someday there'll time for us Time together and time to spare Time to learn, time to care Someday, somewhere We'll find a new way of living We'll find a way of forgiving Somewhere There's a place for us A time and place for us Hold my hand and we're half way there Hold my hand and I'll take you there Somehow, someday, somewhere
The one I love ( Finest Worksongs, Athens bands play the music of R.E.M ) This one goes out to the one I love This one goes out to the one I've left behind A simple prop to occupy my time This one goes out to the one I love Fire, fire This one goes out to the one I love This one goes out to the one I've left behind A simple prop to occupy my time This one goes out to the one I love Fire, fire This one goes out to the one I love This one goes out to the one I've left behind Another prop has occupied my time This one goes out to the one I love Fire, fire
They say it
( From the ‘cup on the counter' itunes single )
When they're in the backrooms (they say it they say it they say it) On the turnpike (they say it they say it they say it) In their sunday clothes (they say it they say it they say it) When the kids are grown (they say it they say it they say it) But they will never say it out loud, they will never say it out loud They will never say it out loud, they will never say it out loud When they see what they've become (they say it they say it they say it) As they bite their tongues (they say it they say it they say it) When they look at their sons (they say it they say it they say it) As they go under the knife (they say it they say it they say it) When they can no longer blame the wife In their minds at all times But they will never say it out loud, they will never say it out loud They will never say it out loud, they will never say it out loud At the convention (they say it they say it they say it) When the blinds are closed (they say it they say it they say it) When they send their young to fight (they say it they say it they say it) In how they draw the lines (they say it they say it they say it) But they will never say it out loud, they will never say it out loud They will never say it out loud, they will never say it out loud They will never say it out loud, they will never say it out loud
Try (Try To Fall In Love) (Rick Nelson cover / Easy To Be Free: The Songs Of Rick Nelson LP) Sometimes everything works out okay Sometimes it seems to go the other way But it really don't matter at all It depends upon how quickly you rise when you fall If you're sure, you don't stay down too long Sometimes the music don't come out too well Sometimes there really isn't much to tell Nothing's wrong, it's a song you feel And the moment you thought of it It must have been real Or you wouldn't even thought of it If you try, try Now it's the key to everything It's the calling of the wind It seems to you, it plays to you When you are down If you try, try to look above Up in the clouds and in the sky That is where the music lies You can have it When you fall You can have it
Vw
Her long limbs His monkey mind On the sidewalk staring up at a power line All the details crawl up her spine Like the spiders on the veil, on the vine He writes the impasse She writes the mend He writes the heart of it But she writes the end In her scratchy hand On the bottom of the riverbed As one long prelude For one cruel event Then she leaves it Her long fuse His oversight All the pauses shaping up to be his life She ain't easy He's not benign Every outlet calls her name all the time He writes the impasse She writes the mend He writes the heart of it But she writes the end In her scratchy hand On the bottom of the riverbed As one long prelude For one cruel event Then she leaves it