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Hymns To The Night

by Balla Dear

supported by
Jonathan Waughtal
Jonathan Waughtal thumbnail
Jonathan Waughtal Went back and listened to Patrick Steele's first solo album. Still love listening to it. Favorite track: Foggy Mountain (Adelaide).
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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    MASTERED by Bruce Neher at Disc & Dat
    Included are rare photographs from the G.E.M. family archives.
    Bonus track by track artwork by P.B.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $8 USD  or more

     

1.
"Oh light of dead and of dying days Oh love in thy glory go In a rosy mist and a moony maze Over the pathless peaks of the snow" Moon, oh moon How you swoon over me Nightshade falling down, below your darkened nursery You know what every man does seek and can not find You are the picture of the meek, counting your time Oh moon, oh moon
2.
I lost my way into the fray When hope's blue flame went out into the day I thought that hope abandoned me Only because I couldn't see The path put on his coat of fog And dressed himself up for a ramble Twisted and turned me to my end And waltzed my heart into the bend Adelaide, Adelaide, Adelaide, I make my way up to your arms Adelaide, Adelaide, Adelaide, I make our home up in the stars Companions long since left my side Searching for "BIG MUSIC" has all but died I know the tales of travelers past Struggling to find their way at last My opposition remains unseen An apparition of a voice unclean Would have me fall into his pit So I must keep my footing lit
3.
We are spent but we are strong, a rolling stone ramblin' on We want out of the woods Tenderfoot and weary soul, wayfarers bear the toll We want out of the woods Path is ancient and old, harrowed narrow and cold We want out of the woods Tiaga dank with delitier, some afar and some near We want out of the woods These woods are not where we come from, but they are where we've been Dragoons for hope we're trudging on, our aim is set on the end We have paid so dearly, brother have you not heard? We want out of the woods Stakes are high the way is low, in the valley of shadows We want out of the woods Tramplin' daisies and bone, tread the moss and the stone We want out of the woods Following the MORNING STAR, so close and afar We want out of the woods These woods are not where we come from, but they are where we've been Dragoons for hope we're trudging on, our aim is set on the end
4.
Sunlight over me as I lay underneath the cherry tree Young boy beneath, and suddenly it all dawned on me Clouds cast across the light, my heart began to well up from the deep I am part of the whole, I'm planted like a rich, bustling seed And the fruit that's grown from my own Is not grown for me to partake And the boughs I stretch where children play, are raised for a glorious fate Old man gave to me as much of the fruit as I could eat Garden mystery, it haunted my young and faithful feet Brother lead the way up into the branches above Witching Warbler Song, reminds me of that great feral love And the fruit that's grown from my own Is not grown for me to partake And these boughs I stretch where my children play Are raised for a glorious fate And for me, to know the WAY OF OLD I'm bound to walk with light upon my feet Arise, shine, dawn on my soul, once and for all I am replete
5.
Oh grapevine, oh grapevine You give my life heart and soul Oh grapevine, oh grapevine Abiding in your very whole I'm watching our love grow, just like a grapevine creeping up a trellis Of hope Now it was wild and bound, and now it's fierce and free and found tied up to, your rope You know the way I see it, sometimes I can't believe that it's true You picked me from a crowd and now this scoundrel gets to be with you Look at the love you sow, I'm like a seed you buried in your garden to grow I was among the thorns, until you plucked me up and out of folly la-la-limbo You know the way I see it, sometimes I can't believe that it's true You picked me from a crowd and now this scoundrel gets to be with you Oh grapevine, oh grapevine You give my life heart and soul Oh grapevine, oh grapevine Abiding in your very whole
6.
"Are you with me in the night Whether fortune or the plight Are you with me on the road To the country on the shoals?" "Yes I'm with you in the dark With a blessing and a spark Growing fire in your heart Into an orchard, flaming soul" "Are you with me in the night Whether fortune or the plight Are you with me on the road To the country?"
7.
Heart of mine is adorned with garlands of grace hung above the door Rooms of splendid design for many sweet loves, many a kind You are central my Dear, you hold the key to enter in here Softly you tread on me, you are my ship, I am your sea Anchors away Heart of mine was once torn by cares of the earth, such thistles and thorns Ivy upon the door, 'twas rotted washed up, driftwood on the shore You were still just a dream, a hope and a wish I could not redeem Softly he bled on me, gave me his blood, laid down his body Anchors away Heart of ours is ablaze with holy fire, the purest arrays Halls decked out with words, life giving breath, two edged swords Let this love be a toast, to fruit of the Spirit, come Holy Ghost Sweetly we now agree, he is the ship, he is the sea Anchors away
8.
You gave all you had away to the day like a bellflower Your solstice grew long, and your song it was lost ne'er be found In the gloaming of your wretched old soul, forlorn from the cradle The empyrean within you sinks lower to the welkin below I want to be a LION HEART I want to be a BRAVE ON THE KNOLL I want to be a PART OF THE PART, WHICH AT FIRST EVER WAS, THE WHOLE I want to be a hero, but I'm barely a man Nothing but a doer of my work, a jewel within the cog Pulled up from the sand You fill your table with the fruits of your labor and see that it is good You know that your song, are the olive shoots springing up beside So don't wander inside your bewildered old mind, looking for some idyllic scene Your children are your gemstones, carved out of flesh and bone Forged in a Seraphim dream... Now you know the delight of being lowly I am what I am nothing more, use me up

about

Hymns To The Night began around 10 years ago, conceptually anyway, but none the less, it began.
I had read a book by the same name, written by 17th century German Romantic luminary, Freidrich Von Hardenburg, otherwise known as Novalis. To say that his work 'inspired' me would be a gross understatement.
The songs mostly came between '10-'12, after the dissolve of a previous band, and lit the torch for a new trodden path.
Soul searching, mind molding, and heart stretching. Trying to 'find' my sound as a songwriter. These qualities in this record are obvious to me, and I like the novice/roughly hewn fabric of it. I hope you will too.

credits

released August 1, 2012

MASTERED by Bruce Neher at Disc & Dat
All photographs courtesy of Christpher MacDonald, with kind permission.
Balla Dear is Patrick Steele.
He played a Guild GAD30 on this album.
He played a Djembe.
He played a C, B harmonica.
He did lots of hand claps, attempted some 4 part harmonies with himself, and tried to conjure up Brian Wilson, Neil Young, and the Zombies.
Thanks to Mike Scott for writing the "This Is The Sea" album, the "Pagan Place album, and for the song, "The Big Music".
Thanks to Chris Taylor and Bill Mallonee, your encouragement is dear to me.
Thank you to my wife Laura, toast.

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Balla Dear Texas

Songs born out of trial and triumph, Balla Dear explores the dichotomy of the human condition, the physical and the spiritual. From deep in the heart of central Arkansas, Balla Dear muses in the medium of Southern Folk, Country Gospel, and Folk Ballad. The themes are evident; peace and solace amidst one's own undoing. Sacrificial love is by far the greatest gift among men. ... more

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