Get all 5 Claudia Russell releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Lovers Tree, All Our Luck Is Changing, Live Band Tonight, Ready To Receive, and Song Food.
1. |
Lovers Tree
03:03
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What do you want from me
I sit here waiting, underneath the lovers tree
You carved our names where the world couldn’t see
But my heart is full of wonder
What do you want from me
What do you want from me
I swore my love for all eternity
The clock is ticking where my heart used to beat
And I can’t help but wonder…
What do you want from me.
Promises were made and broken
Tossed away like useless tokens
The smallest words were left unspoken
Still I sit here waiting, hoping
What did you want from me?
You stole my heart and left me here to grieve
My bones have turned to dust beneath this lovers tree
But I thought I heard you calling
The leaves have all fallen,
I thought I heard you calling…
What do you want from me
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2. |
Land of Plenty
04:15
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Scratchin real hard for an honest days work,
Scratchin real hard like a chicken in the dirt
23 years on the factory floor
We used to make things, but we don’t anymore
Too many ends, couldn’t make ‘em meet
Got the rug pulled out from under my feet
Fell behind, lost the house, the car
I didn’t see it coming and I fell too far
I used to live, a different life
I had my pride and a piece of the pie
When the factory closed, I was one of many
Who came up empty, in the land of plenty.
I’ve got no shame about any kind of work
Gets a man covered up with some dirt
I’ll work by the hour, the day or a week
I’m good with my hands and I’m quick on my feet
I wait on the corners with a dozen other men
Don’t speak the same languages,
But we all understand
We’ve got the same heart, same blood, same beat,
Just trying to earn enough to get something to eat.
Gas station bath with a sliver of soap
The waters cold and the mirror’s still broke
There’s a sermon and supper at the edge of town
May have got laid off, but I’ll never lay down
I’ve stood in the rain with a cardboard sign
Some give me a dollar some speed on by
I don’t know their story, and they don’t know mine
There by the grace of God go I
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3. |
Winter Garden
02:55
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Gonna plant my troubles in a winter garden
Have a little faith that even hardened earth
Will nurture all that’s buried way down deep inside
Cause in the colors of a brand new spring
We’ll find a happier song to sing
Grab your shovel and lets start gardening
Most folks love the springtime
When everything feels new
Shiny possibilities come pushing into view
Summer birds go flower shopping
Buttercup and Jasmine hopping
Strawberries always treat us nice
Especially when they come ‘round twice
Autumn leaves drift to the ground
We’ll pile ‘em up and then we’ll kick em’ around
Pumpkin vines grow loop de loop
The beans are dry, So let’s make some soup
Garlic, Onions, Leeks and Beets,
They’re hardy souls, dug in deep
Proof that things just keep on growing
Even when there’s only a little bit showing
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4. |
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Lately I’m thinking about everyone gone,
Mother, brother, old lovers and friends
How I’ll feel so alone when I pick up the phone
And there’s nobody there telling me to come home
Lately I’m thinking about everyone gone…
Lately I’m thinking ‘bout you.
You were the one who knew when to call
You were the light at the end of the hall
I’m here in the dark with all my old fears
And a worn out postcard sayin’ “Wish you were here”
Lately I’m thinking about everyone gone,
Lately I’m thinking about you.
Last walk, thru the rain
Last wave from the back of the train
Last time we said goodbye
Last time, we laughed till we cried
I still remember the words that we spat,
Brittle and angry - a full on attack
As the years ran away, we forgot what to say
And tonight it’s too late to take anything back
Lately I’m thinking of everyone gone
Lately I’m thinking ‘bout you.
Last dance, last call
Last stand before the fall,
Last slam of the bedroom door
Last truce, we called in this war
You’re a few short lines in the back of the Times
From newsprint to ashes, one day at a time
Strike a deal with the Devil, pray to God or connive
But nobody here ever gets out alive
Lately I’m thinking about everyone gone
Lately I’m thinking ‘bout you,
Last wish, last star,
Last kiss on the hood of the car,
Last song on your old guitar….
Lately I’m thinking about you…
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5. |
Those Memories of You
03:15
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Those memories of you,
Let’s just keep ‘em that way
We had some real good times
But lets let sleeping dogs lay
So don’t come sniffing around my door
I won’t call you up at midnight any more
Those Memories of you, Lets just keep ‘em that way)
I bet we’ve both got faded old Valentines
Momentos from a happier time
Stuck way back inside, some dusty dresser drawer
I’m going to stuff ‘em all in a big old box,
Throw ‘em off the bridge, weighed down with some rocks
Those memories of you, lets keep ‘em that way
Now I wonder how it all really began.
I swear, I can’t remember
Maybe it was when my mother came
and stayed from Easter thru the end of September?
Or when you remembered to forget,
It was my birthday - I’m not over that yet!
Those memories of you, let’s just keep ‘em that way.
Those memories of you,
Let’s just keep ‘em that way
We had some real good times
But lets let sleeping dogs lay
So don’t come sniffing around my door
I won’t call you up at midnight any more
Those Memories of you, Lets just keep ‘em that way)
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6. |
Hey Johnny
02:51
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Hey Johnny, Hey Johnny
I love that big box guitar
Boom chucka boom chuck boom chuckin’
Like a flat bed railroad car
Trading stories with the boys all night
Writing those songs till the early light,
Hey Johnny, Hey Johnny,
I love that big box guitar
Hey Johnny, Hey Johnny,
Oh how I cry, cry, cry
When I hear you sing about that Big River
And how you walked that line
You’re the man in black,
With your hair slicked back
Walking alone down that railroad track,
Hey Johnny, Hey Johnny
Oh how I cry, cry, cry.
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7. |
Lived In The Trees
05:14
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When I was young, I lived in the trees
I lived in the trees and I did as I pleased
Acorn dolls with birds nest hair,
I was queen, and I ruled fair
Please don’t make a sound
I’m not coming down
At 8 years old, my daddy died
I hugged those trees, Lord how I cried
Way up high in the quiet green
The mourning doves took care of me
Please don’t make a sound
I’m not coming down
My Mama would shout,
Get out of that tree
Come down to earth girl
And take care of me
And when I die, you’ll see a bird
Fly back to those trees, just mark my word
I’ll watch as far as the eye can see
Over the dreams of girls like me
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8. |
Lost
03:25
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I lost my way, and I won’t be back
I thought this train was bound for glory
Then it jumped the track
So I just stopped, and let it all rush past
I lost my way, and I won’t be back
I lost my heart, it ain’t coming back
Everything I thought I knew about love
Just laughs and laughs
Slips thru my fingers, like dime store glass
I lost my heart, it ain’t coming back
For all the world to see
I still look just like me
I’m smiling by the bolts are coming free
For all the world to see
I still look just like me
I’m laughing but those laughts don’t come so easy
I lost my soul, and I want it back
I hold a fragile prayer in my hands like a looking glass
But now I’m real, real careful for what I ask
I lost my soul, and I want it back
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9. |
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Do they think of me at home,
Do they ever think of me?
I who shared their every grief,
I who mingled with their glee
Have their hearts grown cold and strange,
To the one now doomed to roam?
I would give the world to know,
Do they think of me at home?
Do they think of me at night
Of the songs I used to sing?
Is the harp I struck untouched,
Does a stranger wake the strings?
Will no kind forgiving word,
Come across the raging foam
I would give the world to know,
Do they think of me at home?
Do they think of how I loved,
In my happy, early days?
Do they think of him who came,
But could never win their praise?
Now I am happy by his side,
And from mine he’ll never roam
But my heart will sadly ask,
Do they think of me at home?
I would give the world to know,
Do they think of me at home?
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10. |
Old Tejon
03:10
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Well, I’m the type that likes to drive
The open road unwinds my mind
Behind the wheel, I can leave my troubles far behind
So when I head south from the City by the Bay
There’s more than just a couple of ways
To get to my hometown in old LA
So I flipped a highway coin today.
The Big Sur coast is like a roller coaster
Route 99 is hotter than a toaster
So when I want to make good time
I take straight and straighter Highway 5
I’m coming home, thru the Old Tejon
The hills above Santa Clarita
Are covered with oak and sage and smooth moking a
Breath in that clean mountain air,
Cause in the San Fernando Valley, well there ain’t none there.
I’m coming home, thru the Old Tejon
The hills above Santa Clarita,
Sparkle like jewels on the dress of a young senorita
Laying there across her chest
Heaving up and down like the San Andreas
I’m coming home, through the Old Tejon
There’s trailer trucks and pickup trucks and mini trucks and cars
And if you make all the way down to Hollywood,
There’s a big bowl full of stars
That 50 mile mountain pass
Burns up trannys, brakes and gas
Trucks barrel down with wheels a moking’
Think that cherry top noticed that my taillights broken?
Hauling up the Grapevine, slipping in and outta gear
Uh oh, there she goes…I think I blew a hose!
I’m coming home, through the Old Tejon
The lights above Santa Clarita
Sparkle like salt on the rim of a cold margarita
One more hour and I’m almost home,
To El Coyote where the Songdog roams,
El Coyote where this Songdog’s coming home
Through the Old Tejon
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11. |
My Old Brooklyn Deli
02:38
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I’m stuck here in LA with the palm trees and the actors
My mind wanders east and I want to get back there
I think about where I grew up–my daddy and my mommy
And I get a bad craving – I want some hot pastrami
Take me back to my old Brooklyn deli
Where the bagels are hard and the gefilte fish is smelly
Take me back…to my old Brooklyn deli
Driving thru the desert where the tumbleweed meets the cacti
There’s a ramshackle stand selling fry bread and orange Nehi
I really shouldn’t complain – cause it all looks so delicious
But I miss my Brooklyn deli and those piping hot knishes
Take me back to my old Brooklyn deli
Where the pickles are sour and there’s chocolate covered jellies
Take me back…to my old Brooklyn deli
Give me some chopped liver and some rice pudding to go
Do you guys deliver? I really want to know!
Standing up on this here stage gives me one big appetite
I wonder where we can get something good to eat tonight
By the time we pack our stuff up and get back out on the road
All the kitchens will be shut down – all the restaurants will be closed
Take me back to me old Brooklyn Deli
where there’s breakfast all night
and there’s Dr Brown’s Black Cherry
Take me back…to my old Brooklyn deli
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12. |
Slow
02:39
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I like it when you go slow
When you don’t know what’s coming up ahead
All the best laid plans might fly away gain altitude but never land
Farther on around the bend
Could be the end of everything we know is true
I like it when we go slow
When we let go and follow the unknown
Time spools out like thread
To mend the broken hearts that might be waiting up ahead
Farther on around the bend
Could be the end of everything we know is true
But one thing I know for sure is
That I will always want to go with you
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13. |
New Orleans
04:28
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Corner dime store, Voodoo priestess
Plastic painted baby Jesus
Symbols, strengths, and power keepers
Couldn’t help us keep the faith
Rich, poor, we’re all stealing
Broken hearted souls sent reeling
Everyone’s got mouths to feed
The apocalypse is now
You knocked so loud, the wind it growled
You stormed right thru my door
New Orleans, don’t’ you love me anymore?
Promised help that came too late
For broken lives that didn’t’ rate
Standing on the rooftops,
Waving up at God
Dust Bowl days, turned upside down
All those lives lived out on the wrong side of town
Like trash and troubles, we’re all gonna drown
Hopes trampled thru the mud
You knocked so loud, the wind it growled
You stormed right thru my door
New Orleans, don’t’ you love me anymore?
Black cat caught in a tree too high,
Lone trombone on the second line
We’re all marching out of time
There’s nothin’ left for me
French quarter worn to one thin dime
Ten Thousand cars in a long slow line
Maybe it’ll all come back in time
But my heart can’t wait and see
You knocked so loud, the wind it growled
You stormed right thru my door
New Orleans, don’t’ you love me anymore?
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14. |
I Wish You Were With Me
03:19
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I’m singing in my room tonight
I wish you were with me
I’m hitting all the notes just right
I wish you could hear me
Northern Lights come shining down on you,
City lights block out my rising moon
Half a world away, I wish you were with me
I wish you were with me
I dreamed it snowed last night, back home
We built a fire
Made midnight angels in the snow
We sang in their choir
My stars lay on the sidewalk
Yours hang in that dark Montana sky
Half a world away, I wish I were with you,
I wish I were with you
I’m tired of searching for my rising star
maybe it’s shining where you are
Half a world away, I wish you were with me
I wish you were with me
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Claudia Russell San Francisco, California
Claudia Russell and Bruce Kaplan have been touring the USA and beyond since 2000, playing a particularly eclectic, enlightening and entertaining brand of folk music for audiences big and small. Claudia is a veteran of BMG recording artist Maggie's Farm as well as Folkways/Smithsonian artists the Life Is Grand Band. Bruce has played with with pop bands Annyland, the Tearjerkers and the Toasters. ... more
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