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EVERYTHING

by Darden Smith

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1.
Blessings 03:39
Blessings, blessings Though life can get messy sometimes Lucky, we are lucky We can all see the sun shine Love and hope and faith might feel long gone forever When you think that you have lost your way Sister, please remember All the blessings in your day Do you worry, do you struggle Do you get knocked down and drown in your tears Just remember that you make a difference And the world is better off that you are here Love and hope and faith might feel long gone forever When you think that you have lost your way Brother, please remember All the blessings in your day Blessings, blessings Though love can get messy sometimes Remember all your blessings Cause I tell you true that you are one of mine All your blessings Cause I tell you true that you are one of mine
2.
Firefly 04:40
Well the morning came with the cloud and the rain I’m lying here calling your name again I always fall for the midnight call I know better than to ask you where you’ve been I just let you in Baby you’re my firefly How you light up the night sky I want to have you, I want to catch you And take you home Well the moon lied and the stars tried To tell me about your kind Come the sunrise You’ll be gone Shirt and shoes and the same old blues I play to win but I always lose to you I’ll be hanging around when the sun goes down Tell myself I got nothing better to do And you know it’s true Baby you’re my firefly How you light up the night sky I want to have you, I want to catch you And take you home Well the moon lied and the stars tried To tell me about your kind Come the sunrise You’ll be gone Well the moon lied and the stars tried To tell me all about your kind Come the sunrise You’ll be gone Baby you’re my firefly Baby you’re my firefly
3.
They mistake your individuality For a flaw in your personality And I think that they’ve lost their sanity Hey, hey, hey, hey You, you’re a beautiful reflection Of a light that shines in your direction There’s nothing about you that isn’t perfect in every way Hey, hey, hey, hey So just go, go just go against the grain You don’t have to be the same As everyone around you I know what you’re going through Follow the voice inside you And be brave And go, go, go against the grain Just because you are young in years Don’t mean that, mean that you can’t see clear All of those glitter kids don’t turn out to be gold No, no, no, no So go, go, go against the grain You don’t have to be the same As everyone around you I know what you’re going through Follow the voice inside you And be brave And go, go, just go against the grain Go, go against the grain No matter what you do Someone always thinks you ain’t cool I know what is true So go, go against the grain You, you don’t have don’t have to change Like everyone around you Stay brave And go against the grain Go, just go against the grain
4.
I lost an old friend yesterday She just up and flew away I never had a chance, a chance to say I love you, goodbye I love you, goodbye I think about my lover, I think about old friends I think about my mother, father, my children I just want to tell them every time I’m leaving I love you, goodbye I love you, goodbye I just want to be together But if we have to be apart Know that I carry you Forever in my heart And I can’t wait to see your face Another time in another place And remember as the days go by I love you, goodbye I love you, goodbye I love you, goodbye I love you, goodbye
5.
Everything 03:38
Well I have been to London, and I’ve been to New York I had some damn fine wine, good food upon my fork Still there is a hunger that won’t go away I long to feel the beauty in everyday Yeah I want it all, everything All the joy that life can bring When I’m gone here’s a song I hope to hear you sing He wanted it all Everything Hawk upon the wing, horses on the run A wave upon the ocean, my daughter and my son And when I’m still aching after all of this I want my love to take me with a kiss Yeah, I want it all, I want everything All the joy that love can bring When I’m gone here’s a song I hope to hear her sing He wanted it all Everything I don’t need to hold it That’s not the way to live I just want to have it all So I can give it all away Give it all away Yeah, I want it all, I want everything All the bounty this life can bring And when I’m gone here’s a song I hope the angels sing He wanted it all Everything Yeah, cause I want it all Everything
6.
Hate might win a battle Love will win the war Spend your life in the shadows Settling scores All you’re gonna get for you’re trouble Another mad man at the door Hate might win a battle, boys Love will win the war Fill your mouth with poison Bound to swallow some Build a wall long and tall You got no room to run Walk with the heart of a lion The jungle listens when you roar Hate might win a battle, boys Love will win the war Yeah now when we all meet on that distant shore All the reasons we fight Who’s wrong and who’s right Don’t matter anymore Cause hate might win a battle, boys Love will win the war If your days seem desperate Wolf is at the door Show some human kindness Forgive a little more Hold the hand of mercy Kneel down on the floor Hate might win a battle, boys Love will win the war Yeah now when we all meet on that distant shore All the reasons we fight Who’s wrong and who’s right Don’t matter anymore Cause hate might win a battle, boys Yeah hate might win a battle, boys Love will win the war Love will win the war Love will win the war Love will win the war
7.
Lately I have been soul searching Trying to find where I belong Everything that I believe I’m watching slip away from me I’ve been out here drifting all night long Soul searching with a song Love is all there is It pulls at us so strong You’re not a fool to think it’s cool Loving right will never steer you wrong Soul searching with a song Love is all there is And it pulls at us so strong You’re not a fool to think it’s cool Loving right has never steered me wrong My younger days were just rehearsing For what I’m living through right now Love and peace and joy no doubt Is what we’re supposed to be about It’s what I want to leave behind me when I’m gone That’s why I’m soul searching from now on Soul searching with a song
8.
Me Too 03:41
Three o’clock, coffee shop, called and said you need to talk Sounded like it might take some time Said you had a secret, trusted me to keep it Felt like you were losing your mind Story starts coming, how long you been running Afraid to let love get close We’ve all got ghosts And you’re not alone thinking that you’ll never win You should know that you’ve got a friend Yeah this thing that you’re thinking you’ll never get over Always be making you blue If you’re having that dream in the middle of the night That you’re never gonna get through Me too I’ve been the one hurting, on the floor cursing Feeling like it’s all too much Looking for a reason to just quit breathing Hungry for somebody’s touch Well it’s fear that we’re facing, light that we’re chasing It’s what we all want the most Hell, we’ve all got ghosts You’re not alone thinking that you’ll never win You should know that you’ve got a friend Now this thing that you’re thinking you’ll never get over Always be making you blue If you’re having that dream in the middle of the night That you’re never get through You’re not alone thinking that you’ll never win I want you to know that you’ve got a friend Yeah this thing you’re thinking you’ll never get over Always be making you blue If you’re having that dream in the middle of the night That you’re never get through Me too Me too I’ve been there too Me too
9.
Carousel 03:45
Riding on a carousel Watch the world go by Thinking about you and me Talking to the night How we’d just go round and round and round Nothing ever changed I think about the plans we made When I can’t stop my mind You know it hurts a little more I know how hard we tried Come a time the music stops, end of the ride We step off of the carousel Say good-bye Maybe we were never meant to be a whole life long Maybe just a star across the sky, here and gone The leaves are gonna fall I think I smell the rain Lover’s dreams they come and go Still we try again And the world goes round and round and round Such a crazy game But people love a carousel And no one is to blame The way we love a carousel No one is to blame
10.
Home 04:26
My god it’s good to see you I’ve been out here for so long Wandering around From town to town Trying to find my way back home I followed crazy directions I turned left, I turned right, I turned wrong Here I stand Another well traveled man Trying to find where I belong I know, I know there’s a place I know there’s a face for me But how far must I go Down a crooked road to be Home I’m haunted by my choices Voices telling me I was wrong Where some might put down roots Well I just put on my boots And when out looking for home I know, well I know there’s a place And I know there’s a face for me But how far must I go Down a crooked road to be Home What’s that, I couldn’t hear you Tell me once again, but say it slow You’re just like me You’ll always be Looking for home Well come on let’s walk together It don’t make no sense to be out alone I’ll look for you You can search for me too Together we’ll make it home Singing la, la, la, la….
11.
Forever 03:36
She walks down to the river Says Lord, help me out of this mess I got 750 dollars And it’s time for a new address Someplace a little safer Far from all his craziness Cause you know sometimes forever’s just a little too long I say it’s a little too long She says, eighteen when we married I meant every single word I said Forgive me Lord for leaving And taking that gun out from underneath our bed I’d throw it in the water But that man’s got the devil all up inside of his head And you know sometimes forever’s just a little too long I say it’s a little too long Don’t you know that sometimes forever’s just a little too long I say it’s a little too long Love ain’t supposed to hurt so much And the days aren’t meant to drag on and on And if I didn’t care about what tomorrow might bring Then I wouldn’t be gone I wouldn’t be gone But you know that sometimes forever’s just a little too long I say it’s a little too long She wades out in the water To wash away her sins She don’t care about tomorrow She just gone, she never coming back again
12.
Can you see the moon Shining down across your room Does that light Keep you up at night The way it used to do If you’re awake right now Can you see the moon If you made a wish On a moonlit night like this Would it be That you and me Could be together soon I’d love to know And can you see the moon I’ve been tossing, turning, thinking ‘bout you All night I’ve been burning wondering if you Feel like I do Can you see the moon Shining down to cover you Imagine this Is just a kiss To last the whole night through And dream baby dream Yes dream baby dream And tell me Can you see the moon Can you see the moon

about

Darden Smith on Everything...

Here’s the question: Why make a record?

After releasing Love Calling in 2013, my fourteenth album in thirty years, I went through a time when I wondered if I had anything new to say, if anyone was listening.

I got curious about creativity outside the traditional music business. Along with writing songs and playing shows, I helped build a nonprofit called SongwritingWith:Soldiers, wrote a book (as yet unpublished) on how artists look at work, and worked with individuals and companies to help them put their conflicts, their dreams, into songs. And I fell into a new love relationship. Through it all, the constant was the songs, the writing.

Which brings me to Everything, and the three things that came together in my life to make it possible.

The first is SongwritingWith:Soldiers, a program that brings professional songwriters together with wounded veterans to write songs about combat and the return home. This project has shown me the world from a different angle. To recognize all that I have to be grateful for and to know that others hurt in ways we can’t imagine. I’ve witnessed how songs can change a life, even save a life. Over the years, they’ve certainly saved mine.

Second, I’m done with cynicism. The collective yelling of politics, the news, social media – we’re stuck in a digital traffic jam where nothing changes and the volume just gets louder. Never has the need for human kindness, compassion for strangers, and speaking up for love been higher. The best tool I’ve got is music, it’s what I can do to reach out to others.

And the third? I crossed the mid-century mark several years ago. I don’t see things the way I did before. More than ever I believe in love, hope, faith and gratitude. It’s a view that only comes with time. The stakes are different now, more urgent.

Around February of 2016, these pieces began falling into place. I started digging through songs I’d written over the last five years, on my own and with people like Matraca Berg, Radney Foster, James House, Jay Clementi, and Bruce Robison. I kept writing. I reached out to Stewart Lerman, who co-produced six records with me, starting in 1996 with Deep Fantastic Blue. We started with thirty songs and narrowed it down to twelve. I put together a group of some of my favorite musicians and friends – Roscoe Beck (bass), Michael Ramos (keyboards), J.J. Johnson (drums), Charlie Sexton (guitar), and David Mansfield (mandolin, pedal steel and strings) – and we gathered in late August 2016 for three days of recording at Arlyn Studios in Austin, Texas. James House, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Bonnie Bishop, Kelly Willis, and Bruce Robison sang harmony.

My criteria for the songs on Everything? – they had to come from a true place, to say what I feel right now, and do it without cynicism. They had to carry a message that brings people together, that shares love in all different ways.

I’m not so naïve as to think that just putting out a song, an album, will change the world. But I do believe music can change someone’s day for the better. That’s where it all begins and all that I hope for.

Why make another album?
Because I have something to say, and somebody out there might need to hear it.

I carried this question around for a few years.
It took awhile, but I found the answer – Everything.

Austin, TX - December 2016

credits

released April 7, 2017

Roscoe Beck (bass), Michael Ramos (keyboards), J.J. Johnson (drums), Charlie Sexton (guitar), and David Mansfield (mandolin, pedal steel and strings), Stewart Lerman (producer)

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about

Darden Smith Austin, Texas

Darden Smith is a singer-songwriter, musician and educator. His 28-year career as a musician has led to fourteen critically acclaimed albums that weave together rock, pop, country, folk and Americana influences with the musical roots of his home state of Texas.

Smith’s latest album is Western Skies, releasing March 25, 2022.
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