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Poor Player

by Misner & Smith

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1.
Poor Player 02:59
I am just a poor player waiting in the wings, Clutching to the curtains, watching all the others sing. Lift my inspiration from a scribble on the wall Perhaps someday I’ll leave a scratch, my signature I’ll scrawl. For now I’m but a poor player. Louie brews her moonshine with a burn that makes you cough, Slurs your speech and takes a week to finally sleep it off. Lately now I find myself knocking on her door First thing in the morning and by noon I’m back for more. Nothing but a poor player. Foggy days and matinees, fawning on a star Who doesn’t even care to learn your name or who you are. Understudy errands till you’ve proven you can stand. Even then it might depend on how you shake their hands. You know you’re just a poor player I wonder what you’d think to do if crowds no longer came, And all the scores that cheered before no longer call your name. Fretting your position standing naked center stage, Caught without your crutches on a foot-lit steel cage. Would you be a poor player? I am just a poor player waiting in the wings, Clutching to the curtains, watching all the others sing. Lift my inspiration from a scribble on the wall Perhaps someday I’ll leave a scratch, my signature I’ll scrawl. For now I’m but a poor player.
2.
LENGTH OF A SONG He’s here and he’s gone for the length a song Where he sets her upon a throne That can never be seen to be used by a queen So she sits in between all alone. Her king is consumed by the wars to be waged Killing for God and the truths of the age Leaving his queen condemned to a cage of gold. He crafts his songs well, so that no one can tell That the royalty’s been quite deceived. But the jester is keen and can read in between The lines that the troubadour weaves. When the queen falls asleep her thoughts tend to leap To a world where she’s just an unknown. In the troubadour’s dreams her majesty pleads And the guillotine looms in his bones. The court is so stale, each one of them pale As they stare down upon him like stones. Two hearts are alive, that secretly thrive On a love that is always postponed. ‘Round the campfire flames dice is his game, And the numbers proclaim him a king. But Fortune was cruel and she tipped like a stool And left him a fool who could sing. He sweeps up a handful of silver he’s won “Worthless”, he thinks since his heart’s been undone. Curses the stars and threatens the sun, he will fold. He’s here and he’s gone for the length of a song.
3.
Buckeye Tree 03:05
BUCKEYE TREE That’s my baby singing down to me Hidden in the branches of a Buckeye tree Sounds sweet, lord, it makes me cry Tossin’ her notes to the eastern sky Oh, how I wish she’d climb on down But she’s got no interest in a life on the ground. I’m down in the dirt she’s high in the air Tree trunk feels like a straight back chair I’ve tried and tried to bring her down with song Life is short but these moments are long She may not notice but I can’t leave Wearing my heart on the edge of my sleeve. She may come down soon one of these days Thinking I’ll miss her is what makes me stay I’ll still here steady through sleet and snow I’ll hold the tree if a hurricane blows Seasons pass right before my eyes As her voice paints pictures on the eastern sky. She dropped a necklace of white sea shells Could’ve been a sign but I can’t tell I love her now and I’ll love her when The seasons come around to meet me again She may not notice but I can’t leave My girl singing up in this Buckeye tree.
4.
WANDERIN' FOOL Put that needle back on that record babe, And let's go out in the rain. I'll put my suitcase back up on that shelf babe, And show you the reason that I came. I'm a wanderin' fool, Or didn't you know? I won't take nothin' for granted And I won't leave nothin' for show. Somehow the last time that I saw you, The inches and feet seemed to stretch. And all of my weight was a burden, And all of my words were a mess. I'm your wanderin' fool, Or didn't you know? I won't take nothin' for granted And I won't leave nothin' for show. Let me hear you sing, "ooh" Let me hear you sing, "ooh" One more time. I think you better uncork that bottle babe, And let this thing breathe for a while. And I'll do my best to sit pretty babe, And look like the sun on the Nile. 'Cause you're my wanderin' fool, Or didn't you know? Take whatever you're takin' for granted And I'll take what you leave for show. Let me hear you sing, "ooh" Let me hear you sing, "ooh" One more time.
5.
COLD RAIN FELL Cold rain fell, full up was the well But the water circled ‘round cabin doors Spirits raised as she played her fiddle And she played it till the middle of the morn Guitars strummed the bass it hummed Soon the sound of voices Songs that night were filled with light (And) drove off all of the darkness The last three days we fixed our gaze On the clouds, river and lightning Walls are strong but won’t last long If the noose of the water keeps tightening Papa soon picked up his spoons Mama frailed her banjo Songs were prayers like Heaven’s stairs Reaching high where winds blow Her fiddle’s strain broke the rain The flood fell away along the shore Seven days they stood and played Thunder always rapping at the door Hickory flames danced and sang Winds howled a warning But all were calm and sang along Deep into the hours of the morning
6.
Compose 03:04
COMPOSE Sewn in the lining of her coat Verses, sonnets and prose And she knows It’s all just ribbons and bows Some rhymes are harder and sometimes it shows I suppose Rain in the middle of the day Blue skies fading to gray Whisked away She sets off with words to explain All of the places her heart’s been since dawn Yesterday Calm, walking down the street she’s on Aimless, wandering and strong Life moves on One moment here and we’re gone Come ‘round to find out that it’s been a song All along Go to any other shore you know Send me what you compose Highs and lows Weather of sun or of snow Whether it wilts soon or whether it blooms Like a rose Sewn in the lining of her coat Verses, sonnets and prose And she knows It’s all just ribbons and bows Some rhymes are harder and sometimes it shows I suppose
7.
I WILL FIND MY VOICE AGAIN Though my skies are filled with rain My heart is broken, my spirit is lame I’ll sing in laughter, I’ll sing through pain I will find my voice again. Talking with a friend about hopes and dreams Fears and love and mountain streams Sittin’ in the sun in an old pair of jeans Sometimes it all falls apart at the seams. Walkin’ a mile up a mountain road Lost in thought, held by the cold Eagle up high cries praise to the day Snatched up my blues and he carries them away. Keep on walkin’ though my feet feel sore I cannot feel the fears anymore Catchin’ sixty winks on a Sunday drive Glad to be breathin’, glad to be alive. Top of the mountain sing a victory song All my friends sing right along Hold me up with joy and love Heaven, Heaven ringing above. Eyes wide open let the sunrise in Fill my heart up to the brim Keep on dancin’, never sit down I can feel vibrations coming up from the ground.
8.
GREYHOUND DAYS Greyhound starts crawling at quarter past nine, Leaving this county now, so say the signs. I look out my window but nothing I find Can change my direction or settle my mind. I’ve been wild and reckless and often been tame, I’ve been proud and honest and sometimes ashamed, Been clever and certain, free from all pain, Sometimes so lost all I knew was my name. The man sitting next to me chuckles and sighs, Leans back his head and he fixes his eyes. “Never trust comfort, it’s weak and it lies, Have faith in the struggle, don’t rest till you die.” The cross that he wears through a hole in his ear, He says killed a prophet who then reappeared. “Though I ain’t religious his message seems clear Each eye that we meet, son, is only a mirror.” Through Arizona the desert’s in bloom At night all these cities seem haunted as tombs Freight trains in Denver move down the line While ghosts of the hobos drink red boxcar wine. Depot to depot drifting along Looking for somewhere to be and belong Graced now and then with a phrase from a song St. Louis this morning, by midday we’re gone. The lands that I’ve traveled, the places I’ve been Know all my secrets, my pleasures, my sins. Weather vane forecasts lost in a spin When life’s accidental and random as wind.
9.
Polly 02:16
POLLY I am Polly, Pretty Polly was my name. I am not that devil's flame, turned your heart to cinders. Poor young Polly, Death is just another game. Fortune spins to suit my aim, madness with my sending. On that high hill up above the lights of home that night, Ragged with your raging heart. Prayers of mercy all were stuck up in my throat, And the night grew deaf to my cry. I am Polly, Polly with a blood-soaked mane, Battered to a faceless shame. In your endless nights you'll hear my screams. He tore at the walls with a keen desperation, Hands up and pleading for some kind of sweet salvation. But no peace, no saving light, for his soul's restless fight. She was Polly, Pretty Polly was her fame. Lovely with a hallowed name, and I so undeserving. My sweet Polly, Killed upon my foolish eye. Walk me to the scaffold high. No comfort in my ending ... No comfort in my ending.
10.
Rainday 02:27
RAINDAY (LYRICS BY LLOYD SMITH) Not like Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Or nothin' in between. Got no worries, got no hurry, It's kind of like a dream. It's washin' time clean the face Of stone and pine, give us grace. It's rainday, rainday. Top of rooftop splash and patter. It's comin' down flat rock splatter. Take it easy, have a walk. Not to run, hear it talk. It's rainday, rainday. Sun and sparkle rainbow shine. Pink and blue clouds are mine. It's rainday, rainday. It's rainday, my rainday.

about

Misner & Smith's second full length album, released in 2008. Recorded at Bad Habit Recordings in San Francisco, CA in 2008. ©&℗ 2008 Misner & Smith/Scribble On The Wall Music. All Rights Reserved.

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released January 1, 2008

Sam Misner - Vocals and Acoustic Guitar
Megan Smith - Vocals, Upright Bass, and Mandolin

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Misner & Smith California

(my-zner) & smith
Northern California-based unclassifiable duo Misner & Smith treasure the unpredictability of their band. Technically precise songwriting mirrored with an improvisatory spirit and soaring harmonies are the hallmark of their sound. On their new album, "All is Song", they turn in their finest work to date, an album of inspired declarations to the power of music and song. ... more

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