Everybody's talkin' at me, I don't hear a word they're saying
Only the echoes of my mind
People stoppin' starin', but I don't see their faces
Only the shadows of their eyes
I'm goin' where the sun keeps shinin'
Through the pourin' rain
I'm goin' where the weather suits my clothes
Bankin' of the northeast wind
I'm sailin' on summer breeze
Skippin' over the ocean like a stone
I'm goin' where the sun keeps shinin'
Through the pourin' rain
I'm goin' where the weather suits my clothes
Bankin' of the northeast wind
I'm sailin' on summer breeze
Skippin' over the ocean like a stone
Everybody's talkin' at me, I don't hear a word they're saying
Only the echoes of my mind
And I won't let you leave my love behind
No, I won't let you leave...
Last Train Home
"One of the country's most formidable roots-rock bands."
That's the assessment of Nashville's Tennessean newspaper about Last Train Home. And while roots-rock is at the heart of LTH's sound, don't overlook the country, bluegrass, swing, blues, folk, pop, and Tin Pan Alley influences you'll find if you lend this band an ear. What began as a part-time band in Washington D.C. back in 1997 has evolved into an acclaimed full-time touring group based out of Nashville.
Over the years, Last Train Home has included many superb musicians, including:
Jim Gray: Bass
Kevin Cordt: Trumpet
Tom Mason: Electric guitar
Dave Van Allen: Pedal steel
Tim Carroll: Guitar
Paul Griffith: Drums
Eric Fritsch: Guitar, keyboards
Chris Watling: Saxophone, accordion
Pete Finney: Pedal steel
Martin Lynds: Drums
Steve Wedemeyer: Electric guitar
Jared Bartlett: Electric guitar
Scott McKnight: Electric guitar
Jen Gunderman: Keyboards, accordion
Bill Williams: Electric guitar
Alan Brace: Mandolin, harmonica
Doug Derryberry: Guitars, keyboards, mandolin
The band has played more than a thousand shows over the years, including tours of Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and the Virgin Islands. With its 11 releases, Last Train Home is a prolific band that gets better with each release, and continues to be one of the most interesting bands on the landscape of American music.
Last Train Home
Last Train Home's eponymous debut album resonates with love songs, more often than not the sad, haunting and unresolved kind. It's the stuff of great country music, of course, but [the band is] careful not to let unruly honky-tonk romps get in the way of tortured or torchy heartache.
-Washington Post
Recorded and engineered by Richard Krents, EOP Recording, Bethesda, MD, Aug-Oct. 1997
Mixed by Doug Derryberry at Bias, Springfield, VA
Mastered by Charlie Pilzer, Airshow, Springfield, VA
Cover illustration by Chris Sheban
CD design by Bill Thompson
Additional design by Jeff Nelson
All photography by Jim Saah
Loaner guitars from Steve Metz, SMT Guitars
I'd been listening to lots of Lyle Lovett and Hal Ketchum and such, and wanted to write a song with a loping vibe like Ketchum's version of "Past the Point of Rescue"... this is what popped out. I did actually see a "list" once that a woman had written... it was one of those pluses-and-minuses lists. This is a song about the minuses. Put me on your list of sorrows
Go on and write me down
I'm telling you I'm gone tomorrow
I'm leaving this southern town
We've been going on a year and I wonder
Night after night llying in bed
With your silence loud as thunder
Why won't you tell me what runs through your head
I used to think forever with you
Now a voice in my head says boy, you have to go
A voice in my heart says stay
Sometimes with you I can feel so alive
But it's killing me today
You push me and pull me and push me away
I don't know how much a man can take
Give me time, is that what you're trying to say
Well, I'll give you days and days and days
Now you've got all the time in the world
A voice in my head says boy, you have to go
A voice in my heart says stay
Sometimes with you I can feel so alive
But it's killing me today
Put me on your list of sorrows
Go on and write me down
I'm telling you I'm gone tomorrow
I'm leaving this southern town
Yeah, I'm leaving this town
One of those songs that comes more of less fully formed. I woke up and it was in my head. I'm pretty sure it's about a beautiful statue I know. You look so far away, across the room
I wish that I could tell you
What's been running through my head
Wish I could cross the floor
And hand you a ticket
To fly away with me
To fly away with me
Oh my angel, Angelina, hold my hand
With your alabaster fingers
I hope you'll understand
Oh my angel, Angelina, kiss me now
Put your cool lips on my brow
Would you fly across the sky with me
And sit by my side
Would you lean across the armrest
And whisper all your secrets
Every time I catch your eye
I wonder what's behind it
I don't know where happiness hides
But I'm game to try to find it
Oh my angel, Angelina, hold my hand
With your alabaster fingers
I hope you'll understand
Oh my angel, Angelina, kiss me now
Put your cool lips on my brow
Every time I catch your eye
I wonder what's behind it
I don't know where happiness hides
But I'm game to try to find it
Oh my angel, Angelina, hold my hand
With your alabaster fingers
I know, I know you'll understand
Oh my angel, Angelina, kiss me now
Put your cool lips on my brow
Your cool lips on my brow
Oh, Angelina, kiss me now
Not about Elvis. Just about your ego. My ego. Our egos. I went out walking, snow on the ground
I went out walking, still wearing that paper crown
Ice on the river went floating by
Crows turning circles in the sky
I didn't know where I was headed
Til I turned up at your door
I went through all the letters in your mailbox
Then I rang the bell a half a dozen times
I kept on walking to the railroad bridge
Saw you walking along the railroad bridge
We met in the middle, I could see your breath
I was hoping for a smile from you but I guess you had none left
You said did you walk all this way to say you're sorry
'Cause sorry, sorry's not the point
Your words of regret, they?re only words
But the barn door's open and the horses they're all gone
So I kept on walking across the railroad bridge
Tracks were shining like a fender on a brand new bike
I remembered that paper crown still on my head
I threw it in the river, now the king is dead
The king is dead, the king is dead
His kingdom for a horse
To saddle up, saddle up and ride
He'll catch her if he hurries
And if she'll let him
If she wants to have him riding by her side
(She's not gone too far...she?s not far)
This was written by Karl Straub, one of our favorite songwriters. He had the band The Graverobbers, which J. Carson, Martin and Scott have all played in. The Graverobbers recorded this song, but not as a shuffle. I thought it would work well with dotted 8th notes, and indeed.... One of the greatest, simplest songs ever written. Clouds across the sunset look like bloodshot eyes tonight
I wanna turn the porch light out and huddle with the shooting stars
I wanna wipe out all the pictures in my head tonight
Wish I could erase them by exposing them to light
I haven't had a drink since just a week ago tonight
I see your lips with lipstick on, you broke just like a doll
I'll clear away the bottles from this screened in porch tonight
I see a bunch of wet lawn chairs, and grass whose owner doesn?t care
The moon is out tonight, tonight
The stars are out tonight, tonight
Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight,
My love's gone south tonight
I see a woman walking slow out on the street tonight
Staring with those eyes you?d get before you'd slip away and cry
Rows of houses crying out to be burned down tonight
They sway like lovers in the air tonight and every other night
In a hotel room tonight
Unwrap the soap and wash
Unwrap the glass and drink
What I wouldn't give, what I wouldn't give
To fall asleep in your loving arms
To fall asleep in your arms
Too much distance between
Too much for a telephone line
Turn on the TV and watch the news
Turn it off and close my eyes
What I wouldn't give, what I wouldn't give
To fall asleep in your loving arms
To fall asleep in your arms
There's just one pillow
And that pillow is hard as a rock
The temptation to get up and go is strong
The temptation to get up and go is you
What I wouldn't give, what I wouldn't give
To fall asleep in your loving arms
To fall asleep in your arms
Michael Hampton grew up in Washington D.C., playing in punk bands when D.C. punk was just starting to make waves. He was in S.O.A. with Henry Rollins, as well as in Faith, Embrace, One Last Wish, and the Snakes. He's on all sorts of releases by Dischord records. In the late '80s, he had a band called Manifesto that was more of a sweeping BritPop band than harDCore punk. This song first appeared on the Manifesto CD, a UK-only release, I believe... It immediately caught my ears, and I always wanted to record it. Here 'tis. Michael lives in NYC now, where he scores documentaries and plays in the band Paco. You made your bed
So why don't you lie down
You felt the pressure of the moment
Your decisions are so corrupt
They cloud the mind with feigned mistrust
Still it's hard, it's hard to taste the sugar
Now that you've got what you wanted
Was it all
Now that you've got what you came for
Was it all that you were looking for
All that you were looking for in me
Resolution of things without
Of time and space, the girl's far out
Cloud the mind and makes you feel so heavy
Now the veil is pulled aside
Finish with the run and hide
Still it's hard, it's hard to taste the sugar
Now that you've got what you wanted
Was it all
Now that you've got what you came for
Was it all that you were looking for
All that you were looking for in me
There are lots of songs titled "Long Time Gone" but I definitely was listening to the Everly Bros. song of that title just before I started writing this. I wrote it originally in the key of B (rather than F) and wrote it from a woman's perspective, and hoped a woman would sing it in B... it may yet happen. I knew what everyone said
We married too young
But what did they know and what did we care
The light in your eyes was my lucky star
But that light doesn't shine on me anymore
When I leave I'll be a long time gone
We won't have the time to talk about it later on
When I leave I'll be a long time gone
Little lies accumlate they fill up space
Where my heart used to be
I remember promises of days to come
Now they're a faded memory
It wasn't all that long ago
That I believed in you
Now when I leave I'll be a long time gone
Funny how I used to think we'd always get along
When I leave I'll be a long time gone
There's a train every other hour
And busses all the time
By morning I could be 500 miles away
But that's just a distance of a different kind
So if something's on your mind, you'd better say it this time
Because when I leave I'll be a long time gone
We won't have the time to talk about it later on
When I leave I'll be a long time gone...
This one's by our long-time friend and guitarist Scott McKnight. It's our first waltz, and it captures Scott's ability to mix sharp lyrics with deep truths. I sang the words wrong when we recorded it, and the lyrics here are Scott's correct ones. I was standing just outside your door
When I heard you complain to the wall
And I recall thinkin'
You're wasting your breath
Because the wall it can't hear you
And I just don't care at all
And I was sitting with a pen in my hand
Trying to write down a song
And I recall thinkin'
What's the point
'Cause you can write all you like
But writing won't right any wrongs
All of this thinking's got me drunker than drinking
And I don't think I'll think anymore
I was thinking, and I don't mean to preach
And I bet you don't want my concern
But what you were doing
That's what did you two in
And while that's less than profound
It's a lesson that's true
And one that's too late to learn
One that's too late to learn
All of this thinking's got me drunker than drinking
And I don't think I'll think anymore
This one's written by LTH guitarist Bill Williams. I first heard this when Bill was playing in his band The Invoices in the late '80s. I decided it was ripe for slowing down a bit, and so we did. It's a great tune. All this sentimental value
That you've attached to me
For you this sentimental value
Is all that's left of me
When I think of life without you
It's not sad, just hard to picture
Because of all this sentimental value
I'm just a permanent fixture
Consider myself a part of the furniture
Some worn out old arm chair
You can't bear to part with
That's why the hold is
So hard to relinquish
Although any flame has long been extinguished
Don't spare me the pain
Believe me when I tell you
Don't do me any favors
All that's left is sentimental value
When love becomes a labor
It's time for a yard sale, spring cleaning
Throw out all these things that have lost all their meaning
You keep piling up all the things that you treasure
You hoard like a packrat, you guard your own pleasure
Don't spare me the pain
Believe me when I tell you
By now it makes no difference
All that's left is sentimental value
When love stops
When love stops paying
When love stops paying interest
I started writing this as a mid-tempo rocker, a sort of Tom Petty thing, but then at a rehearsal we played it as a country shuffle and we all thought it worked pretty well like that. It became much more rocking when we played it live, and someday it'll be on a live LTH recording. I hope you remember what we talked about
For hours and our on the wire
Your words had wings, they flew around my head
They flew around my heart
You told me that you meant
Every word you said
Page after page we wrote and sent
Opened up and read, and read and read again
Hard to believe how easily they fit
In a shoebox at the back
Of a closet
You told me that you meant
Every word you said
And if I believed
Every word you said
Who could blame me
Who would blame me
I heard your words as promises
Now they're yours to keep or break
I took a walk down to the well
I could have quenched my thirst
But I loved my suffering
I did everything I could to make it worse
I told you that I meant
Every word I said
And I hope you believed
Every word I said
You told me that you meant
Every word you said
And if I believed
Every word you said
Who could blame me
Who would blame me
Who could blame me
The first song I ever did research before. I wanted to know more about the phenomenon of "St. Elmo's Fire," wherein a mast of a sailing ship attracts a glowing fireball. Well documented in sailing annals of yore, it has to do with atmospheric conditions... a kind of low-in-the-air lightning (or something). But this non-damaging event has been long attributed to St. Elmo, the patron saint of fishermen. Well, it turns out he was stripped of that patron-saint-ness sometime in the .... well, let me go refresh my memory, before I start making inaccurate historical statements... Okay, so Elmo is also Erasmus, and he was a very, very devout fellow... constantly getting thrown in jail, in what is now Lebanon. Apparently he called for help one time when he was being beaten, and lightning struck all those around him, but not him. That's how lightning came to be associated with him, and so with St. Elmo's Fire. But a pope in the 13th century figured out that he was never even on a boat so took away his "patron saint-hood" to sailors and gave that job to St. Pedro of Portugal who was a mariner, it seems. But the sailors stuck with Elmo. St. Elmo's blue
He's lost his sailing shoes
He couldn't believe it when he heard the news
They took away his fire
Another saint's retired
He walked down to the water
And he stopped a passing sailor
He said, Please don't pray to Peter
You know they stole my fire
They said he was a sasint but he's a liar
He's a liar
He flew over the ocean
To see if it was true
He stopped at every fishing boat
And he tried to light the sail
To no avail
He turned around and he headed home
Still bleeding from his wounds
Wondering just how much does a saint have to prove
He said, What more can I do
What can I do
My first two-chord song. After listening to Lyle Lovett's song "L.A. County" about a thousand times (a two chord song, except for a one-time use of a third chord right near the end)I was reminded that less is more. Here's what came out. Tell me how many stories of heartache and deception
Are tying up the lines at suicide prevention
You know I had to laugh when I heard the news
Everyone I know has been in my shoes
So I made the usual calls and I wrote a heartache letter
I was waiting on a word saying everything was better
I followed you down, I took the train
Why do you run, Why am I chasing you again
I don't want to hurt you
I don't want to bring you down
Sitting by the window watching miles go by
Thinking now and then there's a fool such as I
And I wonder if we'll ever get it back
I lean back and listen to the rattling track
I don't want to hurt you
I don't want to bring you down
Tell me how many stories of heartache and deception
Are tying up the lines at suicide prevention
I bet you think you know how this one ends
But look over here, it's my train coming 'round the bend
I don't want to hurt you
I don't want to bring you down
"One of the country's most formidable roots-rock bands."
That's the assessment of Nashville's Tennessean newspaper about Last Train Home. And while roots-rock is at the heart of LTH's sound, don't overlook the country, bluegrass, swing, blues, folk, pop, and Tin Pan Alley influences you'll find if you lend this band an ear. What began as a part-time band in Washington D.C. back in 1997 has evolved into an acclaimed full-time touring group based out of Nashville.
Over the years, Last Train Home has included many superb musicians, including:
Jim Gray: Bass
Kevin Cordt: Trumpet
Tom Mason: Electric guitar
Dave Van Allen: Pedal steel
Tim Carroll: Guitar
Paul Griffith: Drums
Eric Fritsch: Guitar, keyboards
Chris Watling: Saxophone, accordion
Pete Finney: Pedal steel
Martin Lynds: Drums
Steve Wedemeyer: Electric guitar
Jared Bartlett: Electric guitar
Scott McKnight: Electric guitar
Jen Gunderman: Keyboards, accordion
Bill Williams: Electric guitar
Alan Brace: Mandolin, harmonica
Doug Derryberry: Guitars, keyboards, mandolin
The band has played more than a thousand shows over the years, including tours of Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and the Virgin Islands. With its 11 releases, Last Train Home is a prolific band that gets better with each release, and continues to be one of the most interesting bands on the landscape of American music.
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