You Don't Have To Like Them Both

(by Eric Brace) ---- Sometimes we head off into the unknown, looking for adventure, gold, solitude… Sometimes we get sent out there by someone else. That’s usually about the gold. Here's a song for searchers and mourners and soldiers. Oh, and banjo enthusiasts (thanks, Mr. O'Brien).

(by David Olney) ---- Olney wrote part of this song on a Spartanburg, SC porch, the same porch on which he pontificated about Shakespeare. “I’ve been reading Shakespeare all summer,” he said. “And… uh, I suck.” That’s the one time we can think of when David Olney was wrong. This song was inspired by twilight and memories and the poetry of Phil Rizzuto.

(by Kevin Gordon & Colin Linden ---- A red door on a green Cadillac. That’s the stuff right there, from our East Nashville neighbor Kevin Gordon. Such language calls for heavyweight backup, so we brought in Richard Bennett and Tim Carroll.

by Karl Straub ---- When songwriter Karl Straub thought about the notion that in the Land of the Blind the one-eyed man is king, he figured that was about the wrongest thing he’d ever heard. Karl figured that guy was doomed. Fans of Eric’s band Last Train Home know Karl’s songs. Everybody should.

(by Peter Cooper) ---- There is joy in derision? You’ve gotta be kidding. Peter was raised non-Catholic, so the recording studio will have to double as confessional.

(by Paul Kennerley) ---- The Everly Brothers recorded this, and then Emmylou sang it with John Starling. We figured it deserved a professional approach. Paul Kennerley is a favorite, as are Starling, Emmy and the Everly boys. We brought in another favorite, East Nashville’s Jon Byrd, to sing the third harmony part on this sad and lovely tune.

(by Jim Lauderdale) ---- We’ll meet you at some big hotel where weary hearts can rest. Thanks to Jim Lauderdale for making the poetic reservations.

(by Jim Lauderdale & Eric Brace & Peter Cooper) ---- The title came from a roadside sign, and we looked up the “206 bones” thing. Eric and Jim wrote the bulk of this late one night, somewhere in New Jersey. Peter’s two cents came later, sprightly and hangover free. Lucky bones, all of them.

Eric left a junk shop holding a leather-bound songbook full of 19th century sea shanties. Turns out there was some guy out there on the ocean, navigating through storms and tides and feeling just like us. Good thing we had folks like Lloyd Green, Jen Gunderman, and Tim O’Brien to call for help.

(by Kris Kristofferson) ---- Kris Kristofferson’s parents were disappointed when he decided to ditch his career as an educator and military man in favor of becoming a songwriting bum. They figured that with his intelligence and fortitude he should have at least been secretary of state or something. Turns out he was--and is--a whole lot better than that.

(by Todd Snider) ---- This one, from East Nashville’s Todd Snider, goes in the program under “Benediction.”