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The Great Escape

by Barbara Jean

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1.
The River 03:55
My life with you is over Only see you in my dreams It’s hard to know what matters When your heart’s ripped at the seams And the sky is turning From blue to black And the Road goes on without you I only see you when I look back Mysteries weave dark magic And hide the truth from our eyes I can’t see what’s coming On this raft with water open-wide And the sky is turning From blue to black And the Road goes on without you I only see you when I look back Heads or tails my friend? Let’s break it down until the bitter end Just play your hand It’s not like I can’t guess, which way you’ll go So come on and roll the dice Your game is up And the sky is turning From blue to black And the Road goes on without you I only see you when I look back Cypress tress grow tall here Arch angels of the shadowed lands Close my eyes and hear you whisper To reach out and take your hand And the sky is turning From blue to black And the Road goes on without you I only see you when I look back
2.
Joy 05:06
I see that look in your eyes Those gracious eyes that look beyond the times And when, when you laugh my day lights up And sun shines in my windowpanes And how have I come by it all, those things you do And when can I give you a call, for those things you do You fix me up when I’m down, with those things you do And oh-ooo-oh-oh ooo-oh-oh And I’ve been lost before In an open house with all closed doors And dark as it was I got out Yeah, I survived both rain and drought And how have I come by it all, those things you do And when can I give you a call, for those things you do You fix me up when I’m down, with those things you do And oh-ooo-oh-oh ooo-oh-oh Take me back to a time Where love moves in unbent rhymes And colors sing out like a song In world that’s pure with righted wrongs And how have I come by it all, those things you do And when can I give you a call, for those things you do You fix me up when I’m down, with those things you do And oh-ooo-oh-oh ooo-oh-oh Blue horizon, just beyond the fog. You’ll be singing and I know it won’t be long until time bends and we meet…. I see that look in your eyes Those gracious eyes that look beyond the times And when, when you laugh my day lights up And sun shines in my windowpanes And how have I come by it all, those things you do And when can I give you a call, for those things you do You fix me up when I’m down, with those things you do And oh-ooo-oh-oh ooo-oh-oh
3.
Sometimes gifts they come out in the night When home lies around you and your spirit takes flight All these words and a lonesome melody Hollow stones and miracles can be You’re a dark dark sider Only the moon has grown wiser And you carry me back to your room I will go where the wind blows Lost my footing on a back road Lay me down all flesh and bones In this big wild world I catch a cry That draws me in and pulls me to the light Though I try not to hear or see The pulse, the thread—won’t let me be (Its takes hold deep and won’t let me be) You’re a dark dark sider Only the moon has grown wiser And you carry me back to your room I will go where the wind blows Lost my footing on a back road Lay me down all flesh and bones When night ends and meets the day And the wounds of life fade and decay Take me out let me feel the sun’s fire Let me dance, moan and shake—take me higher And you’re a dark dark sider Only the moon has grown wiser And you carry me back to your room I will go where the wind blows Lost my footing on a back road Lay me down all flesh and bones Hollow minds and hollow hearts/Oh lay me down Hollow minds and hollow hearts/Oh lay me down Hollow minds and hollow hearts/Oh lay me down Hollow minds and hollow hearts/Oh lay me down
4.
Snowfalls 04:00
Snow falls like little white pearls That make a bed on the ground where my dreams unfurl You sleep so softly next to me With your eyes closed I wonder what you see And in this small little moment when all seems well My thoughts are fractured and my head, my head hurts like hell There’s another life in my mind Where the love of another is all that I can find How do I put out a fire that’s burning when it feels so good? I know I have to and I know I should…yeah I know I should I don’t know how to figure out How to be with you right with out a doubt I can only promise you an honest and real effort To make us both happy it’s going to take some real, some real hard work There’s a glint on the horizon when day meets night A moment full of hesitation that never feels quite right I think you worry I won’t come back to you I’ll leave you hanging and lost to the blues I went inside my darkest shadow to find a key To try and unlock the guarded secrets that lie inside of me And snow falls like little white pearls That make a bed on the ground where my dreams unfurl
5.
The moon is waning and the sun’s going down Gonna stay up late and go out on the town A force is rising out there in the night Come on real quietly then takes flight Let’s take it slowly honey, take your time Come to me gently in perfect rhyme The woodstove’s burning and the kettle’s on Let’s keep it rockin’ till the break of dawn A change is coming and it won’t be long Let’s meet it head on with a brand new song The birds are singing in the morning Come back for summer don’t it feel just right Pick your head up honey hold it high We can change things if we try
6.
I play this song to remind me Of all the years I’ve spent with you There was hurt and heartache But there was joy in there too And I don’t want to go too far alone Cause’ times are hard and the way is long With scattered pieces of the past around This little heart, it just might break It just might break A quiet path lies out before me A new road to take A touch of fear, hope and longing A chance to make my great escape And I don’t want to go too far alone Cause’ times are hard and the way is long With scattered pieces of the past around This little heart, it just might break It just might break Like fallen sand through my fingers The days go by and still The ones with you I remember Morning sun and the autumn dew And I don’t want to go too far alone Cause’ times are hard and the way is long With scattered pieces of the past around This little heart, it just might break It just might break Now all the birds are leaving Seeking sun on farther shores Nights bleed into daytime People shuttin’ their windows and closing doors And I don’t want to go too far alone Cause’ times are hard and the way is long With scattered pieces of the past around This little heart, it just might break It just might break
7.
The Fog 03:39
Well I should feel good because you gave me the love that I wanted But like an owl in the day, I’ve gone and lost my way And I wonder what I dreamed last night I wonder what I dreamed last night With the cover of darkness to hide me With all the stars in the sky and you by my side I wonder what I dreamed last night Buried deep down in the ground lie my thoughts, fears and feelings And I have to dig down in because this time it’s sink or swim And I wonder what I dreamed last night I wonder what I dreamed last night With the cover of darkness to hide me With all the stars in the sky and you by my side I wonder what I dreamed last night Does the answer lie in the night, when my demons are out there roaming? The goblins of my soul are taking their toll And I wonder what I dreamed last night I wonder what I dreamed last night With the cover of darkness to hide me With all the stars in the sky and you by my side I wonder what I dreamed last night Can you tell me the way to my heart, or am I the only one with that answer I’m standing in the dark, just missing the mark And I wonder what I dreamed last night I wonder what I dreamed last night With the cover of darkness to hide me With all the stars in the sky and you by my side I wonder what I dreamed last night There’ve been things; it’s been hard to figure out Like my life, my home and where my heart is Stumbling blind into your arms, seduced by all your charms I wonder what I dreamed last night Yeah I wonder what I dreamed last night With the cover of darkness to hide me With all the stars in the sky and you by my side I wonder what I dreamed last night
8.
Lost Heart 05:00
Can you tell me how it is? And how it’s going to be? Cause’ I can’t live like this Darling can’t you see Tell me how to go alone To face all things on my own Cause’ I can’t work it out Not without a doubt I took my heart down a path With an end I couldn’t see Promised to be yours Said I’d be what I couldn’t be Tell me how to go alone To face all things on my own Cause’ I can’t work it out Not without a doubt I’m my own worst enemy Hard on myself when I’m in need I can’t hold off and I can’t hold back Just can’t follow the narrow path Tell me how to go alone To face all things on my own Cause’ I can’t work it out Not without a doubt There’s still so much ahead Wide streams that I must cross Cause’ a heart without a home Is a heart that’s lost Tell me how to go alone Cause I can’t do this my own I can’t work it out Not without a doubt
9.
When I took your ring and said I do I promised to be yours I promised to be true Now I’m walking away and closing the gate Get out now darling before it’s too late I might be the girl that you wanted but I’m not what you thought My hearts down in the gutter with all the demons that I fought If I paint a pretty picture and tell a real good lie It’s so you’ll hold my in the morning and ease the sounds of my cries Time moves so fast when you’ve got somewhere to be But when you’re rolling on alone and on empty Things slow right down to leave you be With all your regrets and all your unmet needs I might be the girl that you wanted but I’m not what you thought My hearts down in the gutter with all the demons that I fought If I paint a pretty picture and tell a real good lie It’s so you’ll hold my in the morning and ease the sounds of my cries The older I get, the less I feel I know It’s hard on a women who wrestles with her soul I can’t accept who I am and where I’m supposed to go Heaven help me to lean when my cups half full I might be the girl that you wanted but I’m not what you thought My hearts down in the gutter with all the demons that I fought If I paint a pretty picture and tell a real good lie It’s so you’ll hold my in the morning and ease the sounds of my cries
10.
I’ve got a basket of flowers and a bucket of tears And not a single dollar to buy me a beer I wrote it down yesterday and said it all year I can’t get away from my fears Well an eagle flies high in the sky up above But he’s as out of reach as what I’ve been dreaming of Why won’t you give to me a little of your love I want to be the one you dream sweet things of My body is aching and my heart it feels the same And the saddest thing of all is that I’m the one to blame There’s nobody else, in no one else’s name I’m alone all alone in this way The moon hangs in the sky a crooked smile cocked to one side And as I travel the road ahead I leave the nasty things you said Because my heart is marked with an arrow and a dart And I’m doing all I can, not to fall apart

about

As stunning a recording debut as any Americana release in recent memory, "The Great Escape" is the fully-realized first album by captivating Grand Marais, MN multi-instrumentalist Barbara Jean. Featuring ten original compositions, Barbara Jean plays banjo, viola, and violin while singing her way through the center of heartache and change into the bright light of new beginnings. Produced by Bernie Larsen (El Rayo X, David Lindley) and recorded and engineered by Tom Fabjance (Low, Haley Bonar, Smashing Pumpkins) at the beautiful Sacred Heart Studios during a chilly Duluth winter, "The Great Escape" shines with all the softness, subtlety, and richness of a poignant songwriter at the outset of what promises to be a fabulous career.

Steeped in the waters of Lake Superior these songs deftly combine rich imagery from Barbara Jean’s rugged North Shore home with difficult choices poised in matters of the heart. From start to finish she delivers her narrative with skilled musicianship and a powerful yet vulnerable tone. From the title track ("The Great Escape") so full of longing, to songs of celebration and release ("Keep It Rockin", "Not What You Thought"), the record moves as a cohesive unit with honesty, compassion, and a burning desire to be understood. From dark, brooding contemplations like "Flesh and Bones" to the hopeful pop sensibility found in "Joy", the record brims with understated beauty and genuine song craft. Featuring stellar contributions from Larsen (guitars, bass, drums & backing vocals), Andy Dee (Blue Canvas Orchestra) on steel and slide guitar, David Huckfelt (The Pines) on finger-style guitar, and Boyd Blomberg (The Gooneybirds), "The Great Escape" lands somewhere between the early Appalachian roots of American country music and the best of the rising crop of indie-folk songwriters breathing new life into tradition.

credits

released October 23, 2012

Recorded at Sacred Heart Recording Studio and The Play Pen
Produced by Bernie Larsen
Engineered and mixed by Tom Fabjance
Mastered by HM Mastering
Artwork and layout by Noah Prinsen
Photo by Melissa Koch

All songs copyright Barbara Jean Music BMI
Lyrics, booking, contact info at:
barbarajeanmusic.com

Barbara Jean: vocals, banjo, fiddle, viola, handclaps
Bernie Larsen: drums, bass, backing vocals, wurlitzer, hammond organ, piano, percussion, acoustic guitar 1, 3, 4, 5-10
Andy Dee: pedal steel, ukulele, dobro, weissenborn
Boyd Blomberg: acoustic guitar 1-3, 6-8
David Huckfelt: fingerstyle guitar on Joy
Tom Fabjance: handclaps

Thank you to Tom Fabjance, Bernie Larsen, Andy Dee, Boyd Blomberg, David Huckfelt, Crystal Brinkman, Adam Hansen, Tim Nelson, Eric Swanson, Katy and Bob Meyers, Marinos and Sarah Glitsos, Stephan Hoglund Photography, Noah Prinsen, Noah Siegler, Sacred Heart Recording Studio, The Play Pen, Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, Spinout Records, Stagenorth, Melissa Koch, Kelly Schoenfelder, Rob and Mary Meyers, Anne and Scott Pollock, The Playlist, and The Park Point Carriage House. Barbara Jean is a fiscal year 2012 recipient of a Career Development grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, which is funded in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and The McKinght Foundation.

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Barbara Jean Grand Marais, Minnesota

Barbara Jean grew up immersed in a world of music and sound, honing her early gift for the violin, and a musical legacy passed from grandmother to mother to daughter, into a sharp eye for songwriting and a skilled hand as a multi-instrumentalist. An award-winning songwriter, she has shared bills with such notable acts as Trampled By Turtles, The Pines, Low, Jonathan Edwards, and Meg Hutchinson. ... more

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