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The Fret & The Fray

by Lila Nelson

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1.
Man invented corners Man invented corners Man invented corners God would have made a curve Man invented mercy Man made the Earth flat Man invented corners God would have made a curve Now there's something to get backed into Now there's somewhere to put the bed I read what the mystic said It's all a sleeper's dream We find a hole to fill We drill and we find a hole It's all a sleeper's dream A sleepers dream Man invented corners God invented curves You should see the view When I'm making love to you Now there's something to get backed into Now there's somewhere to put the bed I read what the mystic said It's all a sleeper's dream It's all a sleeper's-- God would have if he could have-- But it's all a sleeper's dream
2.
Who Is It? 03:23
I'm tender under When do you think we'll get there? Oh help me, help me Back to somewhere easy Born from seed, born from blood Born from a sad kind of look-away love Look, these flowers all lined up Don't you want this, what I got? I was formed into a fist I was ready for the blow You said, "How do you beg For mercy or for more?" How do you beg? For mercy or for more? Who is it? Who is it? What's with it? What's with it? I see now why your god, he trembles The weather all up to him Brim full of little girl's secrets He promised not to tell What color is your madness? A purple majesty? A red alert? A yellow hurt? Or a jaded jealousy? Who is it? Who is it? What's with it? What's with it? What color is your blue? A desperate dark night? Or a blue on which to watch your rocket take flight? Oh let them knock, it's not for nothing Oh let them, let them, let them in… Who is it? Who is it? I am a morsel Fallen to the ground Small and delicious And somehow wasted.
3.
Back To Bed 02:58
You had to come out of somewhere So you came out of there To a girl's chagrin you're trying to get back in You love to sit and stare On the morning of your birthday You woke up and said I can't believe that we were made From bouncing on a bed I can't believe that people carry Other people inside of them If not for having found my way out I'd be skeptical as sin We had to get back to something So we got back to god Some down on our knees Some with a knowing nod On the morning of your birthday You woke up and said Today is just like any day Will you love me when I'm dead? I can't believe we are as old As old as we've become I can't believe we've come this far And then you stuck out your opposable thumb We had to get somewhere And so we hitched a ride Downtown to kick the night around And find a place to hide In the morning it was your birthday You woke up and said I cannot stop the time But I can stay in bed Then we made love so sweet It put the birthday cake to shame I cried out happy birthday, baby You said God, I'm late for work again Oooh, ooooh, oooooh Oooh, ooooh, oooooh Oh we had to get back to something So we got back to bed One hundred degrees Me on my knees And thunder overhead
4.
Tomorrow 03:39
I already wish it was tomorrow I already wish it was tomorrow I kept the things you said to borrow The paper wings, the golden rings, the pretty things… We can't see the sky for the streetlight And we can't seem to try for fear that we might Make it just to break it Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow tomorrow Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow tomorrow I'm hawing and I'm hemming in The fray, the fret, the fear I think I'll stay another day Another day, another year We can't see today for tomorrow We can't seem to sit with our sorrow Whatever I have today, I promise I will give away Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow tomorrow Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow tomorrow I read the story as you told me I took your look to bed to hold me I sang along with suicides With cigarettes and unpaid debts and pony rides And the birds all flew off of their perches And the people all ran out of the churches In praise for the day, they were sure they'd scared away... Oh when are you ever going to learn? Oh when are you ever going to teach me? As long as you are reaching, you can reach me Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow tomorrow Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow tomorrow
5.
You smiled ear to ear But the easy chair was hard with fear I wanted to hold your hand, I wanted to But who can you trust, in a world filled with lust? There's really no surface that is clean Oh, what a brief dance with danger Oh, what a sure dance with death Life is a dance with a stranger The body holds hands with the breath Back on the operating table The nurses were fit, the doctors able I wanted to fall asleep, oh, I wanted to But the numbness wouldn't take And so I lay there awake Happy that the cut was clean Oh, what a brief dance with danger Oh, what a sure dance with death Life is a dance with a stranger The body holds hands with the breath A spider web has got a little give Give a little, that's a way to live But once you get caught Be prepared to give a lot What a weight off, now that your bones are clean Oh, what a brief dance with danger Oh, what a sure dance with death Life is a dance with a stranger Then the body parts hands with the breath
6.
A fruit fell from the tree last night Falling is a virtue of what's ripe He's leaving her Or she's leaving him Both of them thinking it's the best It could have been This is how we'll come to see each other We will be polite to one another If you ever need something from me That I can't give you Please, be kind to yourself And leave me alone I’m trying to learn how to sit still Empty without asking to be filled He's quitting drinking She's quitting crime Everyone's thinking it's about time We built it up so hell if we Won't knock it down We fall out of the sky And we end up on the ground If you ever need something from me That I can't give you Please, be kind to yourself Be kind to me And leave me alone Don't jump, heart Although the bell rings danger Up will soon be down There is no rearranger Like the ground
7.
Wolf 02:34
Romulus and Remus left the pack Twice left home, but founded Rome Father was a wolf, but he's long gone Nobody will pet him since the fairy tale went wrong And he is afraid to look you in the eye And not a day goes by, by and by, That I don't wonder You are wolf, but not the kind on the t-shirt You are a wolf in the open air You are a howl, but not the kind in the movies You are the song that raises my hair And I am afraid to think what I say And not a day goes by, by the way I don't wonder
8.
All Around (free) 05:28
Did he die with cash in his pocket? Did he lie when it all went down? Did he keep it to himself? Or did he run it all around? All around All around All around That's the thing about something for nothing There's nothing that you wouldn't give You live your life on the edge of a knife Like it's lucky that they let you live You used to call it love But love sounded funny Now you fly your paper money all around All around Baby, give away your purity But don't throw away your clarity Because nobody can see What you see And just because you wear my ring Don't get stuck inside the thing For the life that you are saving Is worth nothing when you go Oh, easy for you to say you are alive But what about the ghosts who survive? Only a lonely sound Just above the ground Swirling all around, all around, All around All around All around All Around Look, look hard, adjust your grip Bite, bite down the lower lip You are only trying to keep him From running all around From here to helpless is not so far I can feel you falling from right where you are Only a lonely sound just above the ground Writhing all around, all around... All Around All Around All Around God, I'd trade the blood and skin For one more night with him I am looking all around I am looking all around I am looking all around… They used to call it love Now they trade for guns and money And they spread their sticky honey all around All around All around All around All around
9.
The Rocking 02:05
I love the musician's hands I love the actor's face I love the painter's eye I love the dancer's feet When nobody is watching When nobody is there You are nothing but the rocking You are nothing but the chair I love the lover's arms I love the writer's tongue I love the singer's throat I love the charmer's charm When nobody is watching When nobody is there You are nothing but the rocking You are nothing but the chair When nobody is watching When nobody is watching When nobody is watching
10.
For something horrible, you got famous But you got famous just the same You'd never felt so small, turns out we're all alone You couldn't have learned it better Because you never would have learned It's time to go fishing to take Your sadness and sit it by the salt-lake To hook a tear for bait and cast it down Into the murky mystery And hope a fish will find it And drink the unknown out of you It's hard to show your face when you don't know your face Sometimes a fall from grace is an ace in the hole It's time to go fishing... It's time to go fishing to take Your sadness and sit it by the salt-lake To hook a tear for bait and cast it down Into the murky mystery And hope a fish will find it And drink the unknown out of you Swallow it down, make you understand Swallow it down, make you understand Swallow it down, make you understand

about

Lila Nelson Biography:

Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Lila Nelson began her lyrical life in the Santa Margarita River Valley of Southern California with stints in Washington State, Idaho, and Santa Cruz, California. Later she spent years in beautiful and remote Arcata, California where she honed her skills as a performer, earning a degree in theatre arts, and working between tour dates as a DJ on the independent radio station, KHUM. What began as knack for lyricism and harmony blossomed into full fledged crafts-womanship and stage savvy.

In 2005 she was featured on the front page of Neil Young's website with her song "Fresh Paint," which “hit home.” She was also named semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition for "Hold it in Your Hand" and she played with the celebrated Richie Havens. She has sung and acted with the internationally acclaimed Dell' Arte Players. 2008 found her in Santa Monica, CA working with Freddy Koella (Bob Dylan, k.d. lang, Carla Bruni) and touring with the late Kenny Edwards (Linda Ronstadt, Warren Zevon). "Letter Home" features Koella, Edwards, Don Heffington (Jayhawks) and Stewart Cole (Sara McLachlan, Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros). Upon moving to Oakland, CA in 2009 Nelson played with Ben Folds at the premiere Bay Area venue, The Fox Theater and toured overseas.

Nelson's sixth album "The Fret & The Fray" features guest appearances from notable Portland musicians Tony Furtado, Skip VonKuske and Matt Berger of The Portland Cello Project, Asher Fulero, John Nastos, members of Greylag (Andrew Stonestreet, Daniel Dixon, Mark Robertson), Come Gather Round Us (Sebastian Rogers and Catherine Feeny) and Great Wilderness (Emily Wilder and Laura Kucera). It was produced by Grammy nominated Sebastian Rogers in The Magic Closet in Portland, Oregon.

Nelson's cinematic song pictures, poignant ballads and witty turns of phrase have found their home on records ranging from folk to alt country to electronica. With Rogers she catapults her sound and arrangements into new territory. She says, "'The Fret and The Fray' has a kind of energy I've been wanting to record for a long time."

Currently Nelson is touring with her bay area outfit "Lila Nelson and The Job." The Job consists of Bay Area musicians Jimi Mitchell (keys), Otto Huber (drums) and Brandon Essex (bass).

credits

released February 13, 2013

All songs written and performed by Lila Nelson
Produced by Sebastian Rogers
Engineered by Ian Watts, assisted by Adam Caldwell
Mixed by Sebastian Rogers and Ian Watts
Recorded at The Magic Closet in Portland, OR

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Lila Nelson Oakland, California

“Did you grow up in a cult?” No, says singer and songwriter Lila Nelson who has toured internationally, playing with notable artists including Ben Folds and the late Richie Havens. But she describes an upbringing wherein a rigorous family art aesthetic forced her into her secret songwriting chamber to find her singular voice. No one sings like Lila Nelson. ... more

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