DREAMS CAME...

ALEX BEVAN

There will be a day when you will want someone to sing for you… to sing without the artifice and glitter of a prime time television talent contest…. to sing as honestly and simply as you might remember someone in your past singing… a friend sitting across a table… with a candle lit against the darkness… a cup of tea beside a yellow tablet filled with words… near a worn pencil for scribbling possibilities… and choosing hope and companionship over loneliness and despair… and on that day… i hope you will find all the magic that dwells in songs…

DREAMS CAME...

1

1

Here is the third recording of an unlikely trilogy that Holly Gleason and I imag-ined some few years back. She always felt there would be three recordings in this cycle of songs... I had to find them along the way. “Dreams Came” cross-references other lyrics and melodies concocted through the years and in my mind is the most intimate of the three collections (Fly Away and “I Have No Wings” being the other two). In it’s own way, it’s highly polished…. and in a similar way… very spontaneous in it’s reach.

I recorded it all at home... a bold move for me... but I wanted the intimacy of my little studio and the freedom to build the performances into tracks according to the flow of my daily emotions. I hope I succeed in my desire to touch you across all these constraints of time and media platforms. In my heart I wish I was playing these for you live.

2

One last stand garage sale on some familiar roadI saw the sign and pulled on in.. why? I do not knowThere upon a table where other hands played cardsI saw that old time RCA just sittin’ in the yardThe wood was stained with water, the numbers all showed fadeThe speaker cone was torn and worn where once the music playedThe power cord was tangled, the insulation thinA sticker said “five dollars” … I asked to plug it in

Dreams came from that radioThe station’s gone the way of tubes and old guitarsThe little knobs that fit your handCould dial in some country bandThat broadcast through the static to the stars…..

The set began to warm up, I heard a gentle humThen felt the catch inside my throat from where the memories comeA little burst and crackle, the tuner turned to findA vision made from long ago across my life and timeAnd oh, the music filled my heart and in that song….I saw myself again a child with friends who now are gone….

The moment passed, I felt more than aliveTurned the volume to the left and gave the man a fiveWith no negotiation … i did not offer threeSometimes it’s best to pay the price for what your dreams might be…Dreams came from that radioThe station’s gone the way of tubes and old guitarsThe little knobs that fit your handCould dial in some country bandThat broadcast through the static to the stars…..

DREAMS CAME...(SONG FOR TAMMY)

TRACK 1

3

My long time friend, best critic and producer of the previous two recordings pointed me to a BBC documentary about Tammy Wynette a while ago. While I had been a fan of her voice and songs for a while I did not know much about her beyond the mask of her media face. Partway through the show she returned to her childhood home. In one segment after entering the old family living room Tammy approached an old radio sitting on a table. Ever so gently she reached out her hand and placed it on top of the set. In what appeared to be an unscripted moment she bowed her head and paused a moment outside the confines of time and film..... connecting with some-thing unseen and holy....

It was a powerful moment for me... I remembered my grandfather’s radio by his reading chair... the magic eye near the dial... my wife and I at a yard sale in North Caro-lina.... a little transistor unit the size of a cigarette pack with a cream colored ear plug... all that and more...

This song is for Tammy Wynette... she inspired it and coaxed the muses to help me write it down.

4

Singin’ trouble and heartache…. When the skies won’t clearDrink the infinite raindrops… Shed immaculate tearsWhen the blues go walking… You’re always up for a strollIf your heart beats the rhythm … You should let it roll… let it roll

It ain’t no crime if you feel that wayJust double on down… it’s safe to sayPlace your bets on a better day…What can I say? …. let it roll!

It’s a forgone conclusion A natural factIn a world of confusion Some folks like it like thatA little flavor of kindness In a random actDon’t cook the books, babe.. Or think the cards are stackedLet it roll…. let it roll….

Just take a little breath and set it freeClick your heels and count to threeJust let love be what it wants to beBaby, let it roll….. let it roll…..

Have a little faith,,,Have a little faith … Have a little faith in me……Have a little faith… Have a little faith… just wait and see!

Romeo and Juliette Oh, you know that taleYou might feel like Jonah In the belly of the whaleYou can know the whole story And still draw a blankWe’re all bound for glory With a maker to thankLet it roll…. let it roll….

LET IT ROLL(WITH A NOD TO STEVE MANN))

TRACK 2

5

The fat lady’s singing… it ain’t for youThe pendulum’s swingin’ just push on throughThere’s a billboard in Memphis they put up for youHeed the words… dig the view

Let it roll…. let it roll…. Let it roll…. let it roll….Let it roll….

Have a little faith,,,Have a little faith … Have a little faith in me……Have a little faith… Have a little faith… just wait and see!

6

You could say that once upon a timeYour hand would fit inside of mineWhere our souls beat stronger… Wild wings on the wind…Like tundra swans flying north again…

See how they go… See how they shine…Tracing a smooth and flowing line… it’s a thing of wonder… a whisper of divine…When the simplest emotions combine….

Look up to the open sky Count your blessings.. don’t ask why Use your fingers, feet, your nose, your thumbs With a rising song or a lullaby Don’t let the best things pass you by Remember to let love touch you when it comes….

There are broken hearts who bled like you..Doubtful days andBad dreams coming true… and the cold, deep waters... that take your breath away…And no light to help you find the day

Look up to the open sky Count your blessings.. don’t ask why Use your fingers, feet, your nose, your thumbs With a rising song or a lullaby Don’t let the best things pass you by Remember to let love touch you when it comes….

WHEN IT COMES

TRACK 3

7

Oh… oh… don’t let go… keep on holding tight…Oh… oh … I don’t know… I think it’s gonna be alright….

I know you’ve heard that one before…Like a welcome mat Outside an open door… with a muddy pair of shoes.. no telling where they’ve been…Waiting for permission to come in…

Look up to the open sky Count your blessings.. don’t ask why Use your fingers, feet, your nose, your thumbs With a rising song or a lullaby Don’t let the best things pass you by Remember to let love touch you when it comes….

8

He came here from nowherePut on a shabby showThen he went right on back thereHe had nowhere left to goWhen all the smoke had clearedAnd every mirror brokenHe took the bad luck with himWhen every word was spokenNo one called him devilNo one called him saviorS’ just a mystery that smacks to me of

Misfit behavior

She always danced in sunlightShe liked her shadow longHer parted lips and swaying hipsWere like an endless Cajun song Sweat rolled between her breastsTo the delta of her thighsCrystal raindrops in the forestWhen morning fog would riseShe was poetry in motionSomething to savor…Her essence was of innocence andMisfit Behavior…

So now, I’m asking you, you you….Why do we do the things we do?I’m asking you, you you….Why do we do the things we do?

MISFIT BEHAVIOR

TRACK 4

9

I don’t care who you’re kissingBut I do care how you feelThe world is not some stencilWith a black and white revealConsider how the lowly pencilHelps shades of gray combineSome strokes thick and boldSome lines quite refinedOne end gets the pointThe other the eraser …

It helps you read between the lines of Misfit behavior.

So now, I’m asking you, you you….Why do we do the things we do?I’m asking you, you you….Why do we do the things we do?

10

Look at you hereWhere have you been?What brought you to me now?We were so youngPlaying with fireI’m tasting ashes now…I look at your face and the stories you hideYou probably see just the sameAnd finding you now with that look in your eyesStill - I am glad that you came….

What can I say?All my words fail…My words have failed me beforeYou said I liedAnd wearing your tearsYou simply walked out the door…Holding your pain in a curious wayWrapped all in gray like a cloudWhen hope is goneThere’s no reason to stayWhere no silver linings are found…

I thought I saw you once on the avenue…moving the way that you doJust a blink from the corner.. I couldn’t be sure…When the light changed you fled from my view.

You altered my lifeAnd after this timeLet me repay you a smileRelationships change

LOOK AT YOU HERE

TRACK 5

11

Love still remansThough somewhat altered in styleMeeting you here and feeling so strangeTangled in what might have beenA delicate balance… nothing to loseAnd only a friendship to win

Look at you hereWhere have you been?What brought you to me now?

12

You once saved me… saved me from fallingWith a song… that shook me to my coreThis fragile ledge … where you are standing…We’ve met upon this place before…You taste the bitter… tea leaves of autumnYou’re seeking shelter from the windWhat you need now is not forgottenEverything comes round again….Running solo… where wolves won’t followHunted, hungry… with no homeSkirting the highway… seeking the hollowKeeping your secrets all alone…..

You follow pennies… after you’ve thrown themYou’re casting wishes0 to the wellLike better days… yes, you have known someAnd some have their stories to tellI’m like you… I’ve been there tooCaught in the spiral and spellYou can roll the dice…but take my adviceThere’s a space for your love to dwell

Forgive yourself… forgive yourself….

And when you’ve chosen to be unfrozenJust move your toes and step back..andI’m supposin’ you’ll give up the notionThere’s something in your heart that you lack...This transformation does not become youThough there are reasons you might nameSo much of life is finding a way throughNot so much finding who to blame

FORGIVE YOURSELF

TRACK 6

13

Is it so different from when we were kidsIn a world that promised something else?Something new… with every changing view I’ll stay by your side if it helps…..

Forgive yourself

You got the dial tone- so use your smart phoneYou got a finger for the appThis self distraction’s a call to actionWhat if you step out of the trap?…...You drank the kool-aid…. You took the big loan…You paid back more than was lostI’m pretty sure that gravity won’t fail soonPlease climb down off of that cross…There are no genies hiding in bottles..No leprechauns, unicorns or elvesThe second chance that’s on the horizonOnly waits till you ask for it’s help….

Forgive yourselfForgive yourselfForgive yourself

14

I wish I had an appleJust a hangin’ on a treeand every time my Cindy passedShe’d take a bite of me...

I wish I had a needleAs fine as I could sewI’d sew her to my bootheelsAnd down the road I’d go...Down the road I’d go.....

CINDY, CINDY

TRACK 7

15

Can’t you see the leaves of greenSwaying in the windIn Tuscany they say…they move that wayA kind of beckoning…These clouds have come from somewhere elseThey carry shapes and facesSailing blue… just out of reachThey steam to distant places

She had the gift of wondrous song… her voice so high and clearWith echoes that have come and gone but never disappearSome say she went to Knoxville townSome know…. not that farWe only know we miss you nowHope you’re happy where you are

He looked for her all winterHe’d lost her in the fallBy spring… his dream was to thin to defendA heart that strong and kindHolds love that’s more than blindHe went running to that summer town again….He went running to that summer town again….

Some where off the interstate’sThere’s a town that used to beWhere Rockwell met Picasso onceTo sketch out mysteriesA lonely boy stands on the squareAbout to make his stand

SUMMERTOWN AGAIN

TRACK 8

16

Searching for the better halfOf love to fit his hand….

The only tools he carriesAre a fiddle and a bowStanding by the tip jarPlaying long and deep and slowIt’s like water from the mountainsFor every aching thirstAll the time he’s searching forThe one… who… touched him first…..

He looked for her all winterHe’d lost her in the fallBy spring his dream Was to thin to defendA heart that strong and kindHolds love that’s more than blindHe went running to that summer town again….

He looked for her all winterHe’d lost her in the fallBy spring his dream Was to thin to defendA heart that strong and kindHolds love that’s more than blindHe went running to that summer town again….

17

There’s a green eyed black catJust glaring at youYou just crossed it’s pathAin’t a thing it can do….Cause you feel lucky … Lucky, that’s you …And when you feel this lucky… you got to make a move…

A little puff of lightning… a little snort of thunderA ticket on the fast train… how you get there ain’t no wonder…Cause you’re lucky … nobody’s lucky as you…And when you feel this lucky… you got to make a move…

Somewhere in Afghanistan or down in MexicoYour brother’s got a place.. a littlewplace for you to goA cozy little hideaway… so dreamlike and secludedFor a lifetime on vacation.. with everything included….

Well, Ain’t you lucky?

You can lockstep with the dubstepOr play your trumpet and be coolWhen Gabriel asks… you blow like MilesEven angels love the blues…And… you’re lucky... so down inside your grooveWhen you feel that lucky… You just got to make your move

Everybody’s sayin’ “Mr. Lucky’s come to townAll the wimmin they are sighin’ .. all the men want him aroundThey want to get a little lucky.. and they know with all their heartIt’s always better to be lucky than it is to be smart……

LUCKY

TRACK 9

18

And ain’t you lucky?

There’s a green eyed black catJust glaring at youYou just crossed it’s pathAin’t a thing it can do….Cause you’re lucky … Mr. Lucky... wha-hooAnd when you feel this lucky… you got to make a move…

19

Ripstop backstop to the wind A little copse of treesShattered landscapes beginWooden husks and burned debrisThe Acropolis of Detroit Glitters above the ruinI walk this world of silenceIn the footsteps of the moon…..

The light that swallows colorThe gas flare burning paleThe wealth that comes when worlds collideThe depth of fracking shaleProsperity smells like thisMore is coming soonI walk this world of silenceIn the footsteps of the moon….

Singing… I ain’t got no roofI ain’t got no wallsI ain’t got no home at all … at all…. at allSinging… I ain’t got no roofI ain’t got no wallsI ain’t got no home at all …

Out on the reservationWhat’s not seen.. is just forgottenThose abandoned lean to shacksKnow the dustbowl they got lost inLook away from DixielandTo where hopeless hearts are strewnAnd walk this world of silence

FOOTSTEPS OF THE MOON

TRACK 10

20

In the footsteps of the moon

Singing… I ain’t got no roofI ain’t got no wallsI ain’t got no home at all … at all…. at allSinging… I ain’t got no roofI ain’t got no wallsI ain’t got no home at all …

Is that the Christmas star Or some helicopter lights?Heaven’s where the angels areWe’ve not risen to those heightsTo the suffering we shareSome hearts are not immuneAs we walk this world of silenceIn the footsteps of the moon….

Singing… I ain’t got no roofI ain’t got no wallsI ain’t got no home at all … at all…. at allSinging… I ain’t got no roofI ain’t got no wallsI ain’t got no home at all …

21

Shading his brow with a half saluteIn Navy fatigues, well worn flight deck truthsHis radar repairs give the pilots their eyesShould they venture through less than the friendlier skiesThe catapult hisses, another bird upBurners full throttle to get him on topLike the Star Spangled Banner … It gives you a thrillBut when there’s only a dot and the air gets stillHe takes a deep breath and hums and old poem“On a wing and a prayer”… Lord, let him come home.

After his watch he climbs down belowTo showers... and heads to where all sailors goEnlisted man’s mess the chow line paradeThen maybe a movie or cards to be playedOut on a mission he can’t use the phoneIt’s most time in groups and little aloneHe’s not one for reading and never did smokePlays some guitar... but can’t sell a jokeAnd just before sleep he let’s his thoughts roamTo familiar shores... and postcards from home

POSTCARDS FROM HOME

TRACK 11

22

One by one these American beautiesCascade in a line past his call to dutyNew York, New Orleans, The Grand Canyon RiftShorelines and tan lines.. Hello from Ol’ Miss.High staggered mountains... an old Texas TownWhitewater rafting... Blue Ridge look downsThe writing on back might be sparse but it’s plainThey all say, "I love you" and all speak his nameDrifting off slowly….the visions grow smallTill the moment of sleep... and he’s off of the wall

A moment to dream though his oath’s not repealedHis own time to fly... his own time to healTo soon those eight bells take him topside againBack on the line where they’re bringin’ ‘em inAll arrows gathered, all wheels on the deckIt’s the outcome to work for, the hope you’d expectThere’s no voyage home... still a lot to be doneA full salute … now... the mail plane has comeWith three by five truths that are simple and knownHe’s waiting in line for postcards from home....

23

Waiting in line for postcards from home....

I remember my friend Jim Ballard talking about his Viet Nam years and life aboard an aircraft carrier.  That is where this song started.  Jim’s spirit was partly forged in those fires lit back in a time which now seems long ago but still is part of our country’s collective soul.  To all those who have served, are serving or will serve... this song is dedicated.  It also should be a heartfelt reminder to any and every politician who beats a war drum or reduces the cost of conflict into a sound bite or talking point that the goal is always peace…  and the price is paid more by some than all.

24

Standing at the crossroads... much to my surprise Up come a stranger... with strangely vacant eyesSayin’, “you can take the long way”But I surmise….this is way you might considerThe way the shortcut lies…

The short cut lies, the short cut lies… This is the way the short cut lies….The short cut lies, the short cut lies… This is the way the short cut lies….

His gaze turned with a nodThere he let it lingerExtending out his armPointing a bony fingerHe said it one more timeAs if in dark repriseThis is the way.. this is the wayThe way the short cut lies

The short cut lies, the short cut lies… This is the way the short cut lies….The short cut lies, the short cut lies… This is the way the short cut lies….

Just then a soft wind sent a breaththat rippled through the grassAnd down the hard and narrow roadI thought I saw a flash

I remembered where I was goingI thought I saw your eyes

SHORT CUT LIES

TRACK 9

25

And I thought I heard your sweet voice sayYou know the short cut liesDangerous diversions… can find you day to dayIf love tells you for certain… let your heart lead the way

The short cut lies, the short cut lies… This is the way the short cut lies….The short cut lies, the short cut lies… This is the way the short cut lies….

Politely deal with strangersBut walk the road aloneThe effort of the journeyIs truth that gets you homeSo if you’re standing at the crossroadskeep hold of your persistence Take every step with loveAnd you will go the distance

The short cut lies, the short cut lies… This is the way the short cut lies….The short cut lies, the short cut lies… This is the way the short cut lies….

26

So much love gets spilled or caughtIn webs that stretch betweenA hearts desire and some small plotThat never fits the screen

All this love is not forgottenAfter all we’ve seenFind me in these sheets of cottonClose your eyes and dream

Tired hands… a weary soulA day that’s tried it’s bestLet clouds pass byLet rivers runLet your brave heart rest…And dream… and dream….And dream… and dream….And dream…

Kiss you gently… draw you close nowHold you through the nightLeave the past with all it’s ghostsSee how they slip from sight

Soft and clear… this poor boy’s songWill seek where troubles go

To find that place… and just eraseThe stain that sorrows know

What will be… will be, my dearIt’s anybody’s guess

...AND DREAM...

TRACK 12

27

Until the new day finds us hereLet your brave heart rest…..And dream… and dream….And dream… and dream….And dream…

28

The sun sets every evening... it is the sharing of the colors... and the communal sigh as the day slips away... that finds us breathless in wonder and swimming in

twilight... waiting for good dreams to visit our slumbers....

29

All songs written by Alex Bevan / Fiddler’s Wynde Music BMI except “Cindy, Cindy” which is traditional,

arranged and adapted by Alex Bevan / Fiddler’sWynde Music BMI. © 2015 - all rights reserved.

www.alexbevan.com

Recorded at Elm Street Sound.Engineer/Producer - Alex Bevan.

Mastered by Paul Hamann at Suma Recording.

Graphics by Andrew ShivePhotos by Deidre Bevan and Arthur J. Bevan.Jr.

Thanks to Holly Gleason, Tom Daly, Jerry Short (at Crooked Cove), Pat Podpadec

and especially Deidre Bevan

email to: audio@alexbevan.com