We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

The Trials Of Henry (fdm154)

by Chris Anderson

/
1.
The Shot Heard 'round The Block 06:25
lyrics
buy track
among the wilds and the winds i felt a shiver, like to never end she took me down, i was the light before the fire struck and knocked me out all right leave nothing but the wind leave nothing but the wind will you ever smile again, my friend don't let it tear you up don't let it get you down will you ever smile again, my friend before the curtain knocks you out another moment in this shade these caterwauls don't seem to fade away they keep on screaming at me now but still i hang onto this dream somehow leave nothing but the wind leave nothing but the wind will you ever smile again, my friend don't let it do you in don't let it do you wrong will you ever smile again, my friend before the curtain knocks you out i felt the shot heard 'round the block and stopped to think about the cold steel shock oh, tell me dear, how does it feel to know what lies beyond the edge of "real" leave nothing but the wind leave nothing but the wind will you ever smile again, my friend… -12/2/19
2.
Wild Henry 04:41
lyrics
buy track
you let me down again, my friend of all the ways to end up and it's back into the wind there it goes just like a cannon there's no time to rearrange the boundaries and erase the dotted lines just because there was nothing else to do just because i painted circles around you just because i was the first to catch the clue that's what it was "that's all she wrote", said the old man on the floor he sings another song about those lovers in the war behind his eyes, there's lies a canyon in the way somehow we always cross it every single fucking day just because that's how they said it had to be just because the fire's freezing over me just because i never thought too much to see just what it was and the ghost of wild henry's on the run wild like the sky over the sea wild like these thorns in front of me wild like the night, wild like the night it never ends, well, that's the way it always goes when something like a fire's burning underneath my nose i'll take my time, coz it's the only thing i've got that doesn't make me feel like something's tying me in knots just because, well, that's the way it's gotta go just because i'm stranded in the overflow just because they've gotta keep me on my toes just because and the ghost of wild henry's on the run wild like the sky over the sea wild like these thorns in front of me wild like the woods in the back of my mind wild like the holes shot in these signs wild like the one last chance to break wild like the messes we all make wild like the fool up around the bend who says it's gotta end and the ghost of wild henry's my best friend -12/3/19
3.
Crazy Eyed Jane 05:04
lyrics
buy track
crazy eyed jane took a shot at the rain she never thought losing it would mask all the pain those bubbles beyond what she thought was so real were just shadows, besides there's a thief at the wheel in the light flicker and fade like the night the quicker we say we're alright the sicker we are of this fight crazy eyed jane couldn't bear to be plain but the one thing she wanted she won't see again so she staggers into the last door in her mind and stays for a while, loses track of the time down below shattered beyond what she knows tattered and lonely, she goes scattered along with the flow crazy eyed jane sang a song with no name sometimes, she admits, they might sound all the same it's not how her visions go down, it's the thought and the wisdom she brings that can never be taught for all time bracing herself for the climb racing to beat the last chime 'fore her grace is pulled down by the grime we all get crazy sometimes -12/4/19
4.
Three Hooves Down 01:20
lyrics
buy track
take a breather, baby, out of the light in the cold crush, it ain't gonna do you right it ain't no lie three hooves down we gotta save it up for the show instead i'll wear this crown and scream "hello" one more time let's talk about the rain let's talk about the same thing let talk and talk forever we've got time - all the time to weave this mighty web just to tear it up and start again my friend the end. -12/4/19
5.
Fling 04:30
lyrics
buy track
three kings, a choir, and a ghost are all that's in the way these things should bring us high and hope we see another one today and our backs only hold enough to get us down the road i heard them say there's nothing but the wind, my love it's gonna blow us all away flip fast and cover up above the clouds and under the decay too tough to see it blow too fragile to believe we'll fade away and our eyes only see enough to rush to judgment and carry on there's nothing like the rain to wash us watch and maybe now we'll get along it's time now perhaps we'll solve the mystery now it's time now perhaps we'll step aside it's time now perhaps we'll run in circles til we drop slug lines and shallow hearts this circus comes to town most every day the tricks are all the same, i'm told the dance is something else, we're on our way and our minds only know enough to keep us on the brink of what we are there's nothing but the shadow of the fool he always goes too far it's time now perhaps we'll solve the mystery now it's time now perhaps we'll step aside it's time now perhaps we'll run in circles til we drop -12/5/19
6.
Different Shades 03:35
lyrics
buy track
walking through the mirror in the circus what's your name? i thought i saw a dozen sides of me i'd never see again sometimes i think about the way i pushed 'em all aside and then i cough and spit it out at least a couple of times oh my - define forever in your eyes too high - we're flying off the grid sometimes i need you now ring the bell and sound it out the pipers never cease to satisfy me when i think that i never can be pleased i fold my hands and wait it out the coming of the shade for a moment maybe you and i can think we've got it made oh why - does it remind me of the rain it's no lie - i lived to tell about it now i need you now steady for a moment til the smoke has cleared away what's left is a reminder of that never-ending day below my feet, the ground has several stories left to tell but still i can't shake off the way my spirit fell away - sometimes i need to hide away some day we'll laugh it off and move out of the way and play this silly game we all are prone to play what can ya say? it's all between the moments that i need you most of all -12/6/19
7.
Bonnie In Black 05:06
info
buy track
8.
Death Cherry 02:37
lyrics
buy track
i'm wide awake here in this dream between the cracks, I can hear her scream bloody mary, i can taste the cherry eye bloody mary, i can feel it it feels like death, i’m on the rise to catch my breath and blind my eyes bloody mary, i can taste the cherry eye bloody mary, i can feel it there’s so much more i haven’t said or thought about what’s in my head three candles burning just because i can’t remember what it was these footsteps, ancient under stone say more than “we are not alone” these photographs, here in my mind are movies of another kind bloody mary, i can taste the cherry eye bloody mary, i can feel it 12/7/19
9.
Good Foot 05:42
lyrics
buy track
keep your head down when you’re on the go even downtown no love is a lie just take it as it comes and let it fly nothing’s quite as easy as a shot in the eye put your good foot down and let the moment pass you by keep your head down when you’re on the go put your good foot down baby, on the flo’ 12/9/19
10.
Sand Castles In The Rain 04:27
lyrics
buy track
like a sand castle in the rain i'm gonna wash away again like a sand castle in the rain you never win i could stand to wash away like a sand castle in the rain 12/9/19

about

Chris Anderson's 97th full-length album release.


In October 2019 I took a two week voyage to Newfoundland, my adopted home. Most of my time was spent visiting with various friends, in various parts of the island, and writing many songs. On day five, I drove to St. John's to pick up Krissy from the airport. As I was getting ready to pick her up, I stopped for lunch and had a trip & fall accident, severely dislocating my shoulder, tearing three tendons and damaging other aspects of it as well. As such, it was inevitable that I was going to have to have surgery. That surgery was planned for December 10th and it was going to be a very long and very complicated recovery. The worst part is, I would not be able to play guitar for almost two months. I had to go out with a major bang.

Now, 2019 was a pretty rough year for me. I kicked off the year with the completely effortless composition of over thirty songs, which was recorded in four days, and made up the albums Shaker The Moon, Something Akin To A Healer, and Chasing Twilight. Unfortunately, I also sunk into one of the deepest and most dangerous depressions I have ever dealt with. While much of that was chemistry, there were other factors such as job woes, concern for the greater world, and what I felt to be a total lack of attention being paid to my music. It was dark and ugly and, while I maintained a steady stream of album and single releases, I was not entirely capable of playing music. Every so often I would try and pull myself out of the funk, only to dive back in deeper. The rotten cherry on top of the shit sundae that was 2019 was my accident, and all the shit I had to deal with, in its aftermath.

Even though I had just written and demoed a huge batch of songs - enough to fuel more than two albums (Mad Honey & Spaces Erases, both released in 2021) - I felt that perhaps I should make my last act, pre-surgery, another writing project. I can't remember how it came about - maybe it just happened and I ran with it. Whatever the case, I came up with ten new songs, and I recorded acoustic-based demos of all of those songs, in the days leading up to my surgery. Some of the songs were a bit dark, some were a bit sad, but all of them were, to some degree or another, hopeful.

When I was a child, my first stuffed animal was this dog named Henry. He went everywhere with me (and, in fact, still lives two feet away from my bed). Henry was my best friend and, in fact, he inspired my imaginary friend / alter ego, Uncle Henry. Uncle Henry would be the one who would criticize my mother's hair or her cooking or anything else that I did not want pinned on me ("I think your hair is pretty but Uncle Henry doesn't think so"). Yep, I learned how to pass the buck at a very young age. Basically, Henry and I were one. In a way, we still are.

Which is why this album is called The Trials Of Henry. My woes are Henry's woes and that's the way it must be. These songs are the songs of my soul and are some of the most important to me. Even throughout the 2020 Social Distance Tour, these songs were nowhere to be found, and were not intended to be shared until this album was completed. I am thrilled to finally be able to share these songs with you.

The beautiful irony, looking at these songs from almost one year out, is that while 2019 was a hard year for me, 2020 has been the opposite of that. While the rest of the world was falling apart, my productivity and outlook has been, for the most part, stronger than ever.

That said, these songs still ring true and I am very, very proud of this album.

-CA, 11/23/20


ADDENDUM:
See how long it finally took me to make this fucking album? I can't really say too much more about it but in the three years since the above note was written (and four years after the songs came into being) these songs continue to resonate throughout my soul and I am thrilled beyond belief that this album has finally come to fruition.

It is additionally fitting that this album is happening now, as its recording coincides with the lead-up to an identical surgery on the opposite shoulder and, with my 50th birthday coming up, it seemed like the best time to finally lay down these songs (after constantly putting it off for four years). I am still not convinced that this even holds a candle to the original demo version (known as "Shoulder Season"...get it?) but I quite like the result. And I hope you do too.

Fun Fact: this is the first album to feature the beautiful new Strat that was graciously modified and gifted to me by Paul Miller (thank you forever!), as well as the 15-string Ecuadorian "bandolin", which was purchased at a haggled price of $200, in the giant outdoor market in Otovalo. Ensuring that it made it home unscathed was an ongoing (but successful) concern, I love both of those axes.

Lastly, I want to give a HUGE shout out to the actual Henry, who appears on the album cover (and is currently three feet away from me). This dog was given to me on the day after I was born, by a friend of my folks', and he's been everywhere with me. He got pretty beat up along the way, but he survived several moves, several life changes, and even spent a considerable amount of time living in the back of my car. Dude's a trooper. Hats off to Henry!

-CA, 1/4/24

credits

released January 4, 2024

"produced" by Chris Anderson
Recorded and mixed in The Room, Oct-Dec 2023

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


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


Special thanks to all of the factors that led to the creation of this album.



(p)(c) Chris Anderson / Flying Dachshund Music. All rights reserved. Thieves will be flung.

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Chris Anderson image

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

chrisanderson-bg.bandcamp.com ... more

contact / help

Contact Chris Anderson

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Report this album or account

If you like Chris Anderson, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featuring Riley Pinkerton (aka The Rat Queen) from the theatrical NYC rockers, Castle Rat.
listen now