I’m very excited to announce the release of the third in an ongoing series of singles, following last year’s The Good and On Comfort. The latest is called Standing Water, and it’s out everywhere January 25th. It’s about being pushed in the right direction by someone who cares about you. I wrote it last spring while walking along a forest service road, on which I kept fixating on divots in the dirt, full with murky, thick water from the last week’s rain. As my thoughts vacillated from loving my home in the woods to suspecting that it’s the wrong place to be pursuing a songwriting career, I wrote this song.
I don’t mind the city
But I prefer the road
Where I’m writing from my stomach
Instead of writing for my soul
It’s premiering on For the Love of Bands, for which I’m extremely grateful. Go check it out on their site, or stream it at any of the links below. It features backing vocals from the wonderful Chelsea Sue, and my awesome band The Lampoliers. Our guitarist Marshall Henry plays those leads and the organ, while Anthony Delaney and Josh Certo fill out the rhythm section. Michael Clebanoff put the finishing touches on the mix, and my lovely wife Katie took the photo that makes up the artwork.
Spotify • Apple Music • Google Play • Amazon • Soundcloud • YouTube
Lyrics
Amy never waits for me the way I’d like her to
She runs off in all directions, like I’d never think to do
Even when the pathway’s clear and compass pointing true
She runs off in all directions
In spite of my frustration, I keep running down the line
There are dreams we planned to summit and hope we swore to mine
Tired though I am of traveling this beaten path alone
There are places that I gotta go
And I’m sick like standing water, choked with insect eggs and mud
And my heart is like a desert, hard and dry until the flood
And the air is thick and heavy with a lonesome melody
Set to words she often put to me
Go, go
There’s nothing for you in this town
You’ve seen all there is to see
I want you to stay, stay
And you’d love to stick around
I can’t let you burn out here with me
I won’t let you burn out here with me
And I’m sick like standing water, capped with iridescent oil
And my instincts have gone barren, lost a Dust Bowl’s worth of soil
And the air is thick and heavy with a lonesome melody
Set to words she often put to me
Go, go
There’s nothing for you in this town
You’ve seen all there is to see
I want you to stay, stay
And you’d love to stick around
I can’t let you burn out here with me
And if you won’t come along
Then there’s nothing left to do
Someone else will have to write a song for you
I don’t mind the city, but I prefer the road
When I’m writing from my stomach
Instead of writing for my soul
And when I need a little respite
From this rank uncertainty
A vicious psalm is always chasing me
Go, go
There’s nothing for you in this town
You’ve seen all there is to see
I want you to stay, stay
And you’d love to settle down
I can’t let you burn out here with me
And if you won’t come along
Then there’s nothing left to do
Someone else will have to write a song for you
(And he’ll probably be a better singer too)
Copyright 2019 Grover Anderson