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The Gravity Tree (fdm124)

by Chris Anderson

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1.
The Gravity Tree (part one) 01:27
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THE GRAVITY TREE we're all hanging from the gravity tree like a monkey in a mirror or a ghost on tv they had a good time telling you what to see when you're hanging on the gravity tree we're throwin' stones from the gravity tree we got a million and a half or at least two or three it's been a long time since you made a mess out of me on the branches of the gravity tree skylight, a bright night to see hide and think about about the way it used to be slummin' in the gravity tree -7/13/06
2.
Reinvent The Lie 03:42
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REINVENT THE LIE just like the dove we're hanging on to love to watch it grow and flutter through the snow into a soapy stain when the idols take the reins and blow by blow they cover up the blood and go to see the future on the inside of their minds wasting time scraping off the residue of bygone crimes and the mystery of the rain won't wash away these sunken eyes take a moment out to reinvent the lie just like the sun we're barely holding on to seek the twilight in the darkest hour of night to feel the dirty wheel pressed against this heart of steel sometimes the only way to know is just to go capping off the years when solace wiped away the tears and dried the rain when the only steps led down the spiral drain waiting for the morning when we'd do it all again with variations celebrate the sky and reinvent the lie just like the fog we react like rabid dogs poison flesh to flesh it's only just a test to be the wader now to release the inner growl on the first that makes a break or hesitates to reenact the moment when we fell flat on our face in front of grace she had no hold on us, she's really kind of cold and sometimes she comes screaming down the wire just in time to rearrange the fire and reinvent the lie -7/18/06
3.
Scream 04:19
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SCREAM we're a million miles from everywhere and the shops are all closed no liquor in the cabinets no rings around your toes and i say, hey you do you know just what to do when the sky is pitching one way and the ground's in front of you it's a scream these days, it's all a dream the ballerina shakes her head and disappears behind the screen it's a scream these days, it's all a dream the saddest bastard violates the earnest of his hands he sings a song of quitting full of words and ampersands and i say, hey you you got the light in front of you and you better grab ahold before it dims into the blue it's a scream these days, it's all a dream the fireman wrings out his hands and disappears behind the screen it's a scream these days, it's all a dream reenact the days of summer with the toys in the front yard rearrange your lovers and the scenes in which they starred and i say, hey you you got the world in front of you for a moment, til it's washed out with the water and the news -7/10/06
4.
Sentimental Cinnamon 07:25
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SENTIMENTAL CINNAMON i can see the coming of the new day wet and bright cover over my soul i can see them running through the alleys and the lights we shot them out on that night what a sight we took them for a ride sentimental cinnamon she's gonna take it off sometime sentimental cinnamon she's gonna break your heart sometime sentimental cinnamon she's got her ways, she fakes it well sentimental cinnamon she's sinking back into her shell i can see the shadows of her hair flow long and bright and flutter in the moonlight i can feel the wisdom of the music of the night delivering to my soul taking hold flaunt the tune aplenty sentimental cinnamon she's gonna bring you down sometime sentimental cinnamon she's gonna cut you out sometime sentimental cinnamon lost in a maze, she makes it well sentimental cinnamon she's dancing on the shadows of her shell i can see the clouds form round her head so soft and white no stormy seas or seasons i can hear the distance of the wreckage fading like some deep rooted recession stones and sights a ragged last impression smoke and smite depress the inner light sentimental cinnamon she's gonna waste it all sometime sentimental cinnamon she's gonna taste your heart sometime sentimental cinnamon counts all her days, she scrapes it well sentimental cinnamon she's clutching at the ridges of her shell -7/18/06
5.
Confess 05:06
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CONFESS you confessed to the killing you confessed to the crime you looked her up and down like you were both doing time you had your head in the stones and your heart in the dirt you took a second out to think about what it was all worth to you now it'll make you crazy anyhow you confessed to the lying you confessed to the rain your boots were too big to stop the cryin' train she's possessed by the motion of her tears on your cheek her heart's a wide ocean but her will is a creek or canal it'll make you crazy anyhow and all this talk about winding down and winding up on the wrong side of town it's the people in the magazines that i just don't like all this talk about waking up and shaking up and breaking up it's a new thing chaining our woes to the weary spike you confessed to the laughter you confessed to the joke but you still hide behind all the mirrors and smoke you got a partial redemption and a stash in your seat for every time that they mention all the chaff in your wheat take a bow it'll make you crazy anyhow and all this talk about mending up or sending up or just ending up it's the face behind the face that i just can't see and all this talk about making love or making noise or just making sense we gotta tear down the fence but keep a little bit of levity you confessed to the warning you confessed to the light but you can't tell the morning from a hole in the night your pockets are filled with all the gravel and gold that you stole from the purses of everyone they told you about it'll make you crazy anyhow you confessed to the preacher you confessed to the pope you confessed to the jury at the end of your rope you confessed to your mother you confessed to your saint you confessed to the mirror you can see that it ain't heavy now it'll make you crazy anyhow and all this talk about shaping up and shaking off it just ain't enough we gotta sing to the poision in print that we all deny and all this talk about wanting bleeding, longing, loving believing or needing it's times like these when we just can't escape the high you confessed to the modern you confessed to the past you confessed to the ones who said it wouldn't last you confessed to the wisdom and the signs of the times you confessed to the dogs and the rats, and those pulling the plow it'll make you crazy anyhow -9/11/06
6.
Hijack 04:20
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HIJACK ...and i thought i saw it all a thousand faded photos fall from broken frames on dirty walls and somewhere there's a memory 'bout to fade a moment captured long ago and barely given time to walk away don't walk away today and i thought i knew it all a million years have come and gone since we left our mark upon the wall and something sly is closing both my eyes and leaving me with dust and dreams and splitting, necessary seams no way, don't walk away today and i thought i had it all a wealth of righted wrongs and a millionaire of hearts and songs so long, it's not a price i wanna pay such a lame hijack though splits and cracks and fabrications, white and black, no grey don't walk away today -7/17/06
7.
Taking Notes By The Riverside 04:06
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TAKING NOTES BY THE RIVERSIDE send me down to the riverside, baby gonna sit and think about the times and all the loss and confusion in this tired mind we gotta blow this mansion down we gotta throw expansion out we gotta sit and just forget just forget what it's all about and i wanna waste my time taking notes by the riverside i'm gonna waste my time taking notes by the riverside i'm gonna sit and think about it all alone send me down to the riverside, baby gonna wait til it all comes crashing down skippin' stones and burying the memory of the wolves, the storms, and crowns we gotta make good what's not right and sympathize with empty nights and just forget everything that kept it out of the spotlight and i wanna waste my time taking notes by the riverside i'm gonna waste my time taking notes by the riverside i'm gonna sit and think about it all alone send me down to the riverside, baby gonna close my eyes, daydream a while of all the playgrounds, friday nights and easy smiles we gotta push and push ahead clear out the cobwebs from my head and realize that nothing changes but the words they never said and i wanna waste my time taking notes by the riverside i'm gonna waste my time taking notes by the riverside i'm gonna sit and think about it all alone -7/17/06
8.
Promenade 03:17
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PROMENADE he sees the coming of the day he writes in letters some have come from far away rolling on to the beat of old work songs sing along if you know how it goes she holds the key to every door some she knows and some, she don't know what they're for rolling on to the footsteps in the barn come along if you know where to go we're playing in the yard and the eagle sleeps beneath this promenade we send our shots around the sun we barely graze it but they're not the only ones rolling on through the riches and the scorn break it down only if you want to go we're playing in the yard and the eagle sleeps beneath this promenade they cross for certain in the rain they slip and slide and hide beneath the dull terrain rolling on when the highway cries it's song sing along if you know how it goes -7/13/06
9.
Little Shadow 03:22
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LITTLE SHADOW take me home, little shadow i've seen you kicking underneath my feet i've seen you on the sidewalks and the street my friend and i hope i get to see you again sing a song, little shadow i heard you in the corner with your tunes i heard you in the alleys, bars, and rooms my friend and i hope i get to see you again bring it on, my little shadow you gave me everything i'd ever need i never thought i'd have to see you go my friend and i hope i get to see you again -7/10/06
10.
Over The Hill 04:31
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OVER THE HILL over the hill - it seems like eternity pushing and shoving the fan threw the shit at the wall and left it screaming right now over the hill, dragging through infinity pressing and driving these nerves to the brink of it all and left us screaming right now breaking off we've had enough waking up staring tough shattering the mirrors in our eyes breaking down the barrier surprised at what we'd find but we've seen it all over the hill - push the love velocity begging or pleading these demons, we're on our knees screaming at the memories over the hill - missing all the tiniest moments of solace and grace for a momentary setback screaming at it breaking off we've had enough waking up staring tough shattering the mirrors in our eyes breaking down the barrier surprised at what we'd find but we've seen it all -7/17/06
11.
Sacred Sand 05:15
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SACRED SAND she stops at nothing sits down for a spell she's got the gospel she's got a map of hell it's with her nimble fingers on the edges of her hands they're twisted like the ringer's and blistered like cheyenne's he takes a photograph and sinks into the night of bargain bins and alleyways and the desparate parasites she'd like to form a union a host of snakes and spies before they lead her to the dungeon and relieve her of her eyes she walks on pins and needles every moment, every day if only she remembered but she looks the other way he's got a cast of thousands sitting patiently in queue some are silent, some are older and some of them look just like you they skin their knees parading every notion they can find some are dull and some, charades and some just smoke until they're blind she's got a scant revival brewing in her store-bought mind it's not if she survives or if she's wasted enough time she's knows they're waiting for the tuck-in-tail retreat well, she could maybe fool them if she could only find her feet in the sand.... -7/18/06
12.
Lonely Bird 02:00
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LONELY BIRD, SITTIN' IN A TREE i can see the rooftops glitter in the haze of the early morning mist of a new dawned day and the only sound cutting the softening breeze is a lonely bird, sitting in a tree nothing is revealed but nothing's hidden from view i think of all the moments i have spent with you and i feel it in my solace and i feel it it my knees just a lonely bird, sitting in a tree this heart's wide open and my soul is never closed to the sediment of hope that wiggles inbetween my toes and i'm whistling a mantra to the one in front of me just a lonely bird, sitting in a tree wading through the moments through the fog and through the rain waiting for the sun to shine on all of us again it's the tiny things that make it worth the effort just to see that lonely bird, sitting in a tree -7/13/06
13.
What If You Want The Rain? 04:18
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WHAT IF YOU WANT THE RAIN sing to the sky to the woods and wanders-by to the crush of the atmosphere or the tears that well your eyes it's a lonely song that sounds the same everytime you sing about the rain sing to the trees to the scabs that dot your knees to the long-lost lovers in the breeze i only hear the pleasure of your pain everytime you sing about the rain sing to the times to the ones who are still in line for the last call or for the sun to shine it might seem silly when you wander down the drain everytime you sing about the rain sing to the losers to the boozers or to the king sing to the outlaw who gave back everything it's strange how we keep each other sane everytime we sing about the rain -7/13/06
14.
The Gravity Tree (part two) 00:48
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THE GRAVITY TREE (part two) now we're choppin' down the gravity tree got no use for the anchor got no use for the speed if you look around you'll find everything you need in the ashes of the gravity tree -7/13/06

about

Chris Anderson's 82nd full-length album release.

In the summer of 2006, inspired by recent events in my personal life, I found myself making a new album. I was still working on the albums that became Static Blue and Illumination, but this was something totally different. I recorded the album, as well as at least a dozen extra songs, during a session called "Scenic Dust And Sterile Ground". Then I sat on it for a while until late winter 2007 when I recorded the album again, from scratch. That version of the album became the definitive and was an instant favorite. However, there were no online distribution channels like there are today so the album sat in the can, exiting as my own (frequently-hyped) secret.

The cover photo was taken at Acadia National Park, in Maine, shortly before I began writing the songs that ended up on the album. When I saw the tree, and its defiant angle of growth, I named it "The Gravity Tree", took some photos, and moved on, knowing at the time that it would inspire the next album.

In 2014, I found myself in Acadia once again, and went in search of The Gravity Tree. I was thrilled to see it still standing, still thriving, if a bit aged. Photos happened, of course, and it was then that I floated the idea of re-recording the album. Aside from "Reinvent The Lie" and "Confess" none of the songs had been re-recorded in the modern era so it seemed like a fun idea. It took six years to finally pull the trigger on it but, alas, here we are.

Coming at a time when there was an insane amount of recording going on, this album was tracked, from start to finish, in about a week. While the earlier take of "Confess" was only remixed, "Reinvent The Lie" was re-recorded from scratch (that session was one of the most enjoyable sessions I've ever had).

While I might still point to the 2007 version of the album as the "Definitive" version, this new take brings the songs up to the standard of my other recordings, and was a fun journey down memory lane. Recent years have featured a great deal of re-recording old songs but this is the only instance (thus far) where I re-recorded a full album, with no significant changes.

One day I will return to Acadia and revisit The Gravity Tree and maybe then be inspired to take another pass at the album, perhaps in a real studio with a real band. Until then, we have this, and I could not be more thrilled with the result. I hope you like this as much as I do.

-CA, 11/18/20



p/s....for those curious about the original Gravity Tree, you can head here chrisanderson-earlyfdm.bandcamp.com/album/the-gravity-tree-fdm048 to hear both original versions of the album as well as a ton of bonus tracks.

credits

released January 4, 2021

"produced" by Chris Anderson
Recorded and mixed in The Room, November 2020


CA: acoustic & electric guitars, bass, acoustic & electric mandolin, banjo, drum programming, percussion, vocals, other shit.


All songs written by Chris Anderson in 2006
(c) CA / Flying Dachshund Music (BMI)


Special thanks to Krissy and the National Parks system.




(p)2020 (c)2021 Chris Anderson / Flying Dachshund Music. All rights reserved. Thieves will be strung up in the gravity tree.

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Chris Anderson Alexandria, Virginia

Chris is a wildly prolific songwriter who has hovered among the outskirts of the music world for over 30 years. On his own label, Flying Dachshund Music, Chris has released 154 CDs, 96 of them being full-length albums. That's just the tip of the iceberg and there are no signs of stopping. Ever.

chrisanderson-earlyfdm.bandcamp.com/music

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