All The Lies That I Have Told

Hold Tight Together

March 10, 2014
Grover Anderson

Reviews:
Independent Clauses: http://independentclauses.com/little-chief-grover-anderson/

The Optimist - 2014

http://groveranderson.com/frontman/
June 13, 2019

The Frontman

From A Golden State (Live At Tucson Folk Festival)

Track 3 from The Optimist
-----
Sleep is a luxury, til you’re next to me,
then I’d rather be your pillow.
Life used to be a bore, only hoping for
a sign that there is more than merely filling in the
days until we give it up, but I became unstuck
from that routine the day I met you. I’m
awake and living in the now, cause I’ve spent too much energy
worrying about the future.

Only heaven knows if I’ll be with you til the day I die,
but I’m gonna try.
There will be obstacles in the road,
I’ll go around them.
I’d like your permission to vow to never leave your side,
would you be satisfied?

It could feel right to marry you tonight,
but I know that you’d like to invite all our friends
and throw a big party and that’s
fine! Get your dress designed.
We can take our time,
cause it’s only a brand new life we’re starting.
Hope, innocent and plain, soon to be reclaimed,
I’ll hold you in my arms, I won’t forget this feeling that we
share. If it gets rough out there,
I’ll remember where my soul went flying
back when glances needed stealing.

Only heaven knows if I’ll be with you til the day I die,
but I’m gonna try.
There will be obstacles in the road,
I’ll go around them.
I’d like your permission to vow to always have your back,
could you go for that?

Every day I’ll look for a new reason to fall for you again.
Perfect is far out of my reach but I’ll always be your best friend.
We’ll start sharing our new life tomorrow, but tonight can I just have this dance?
Thank you for the chance…

Only heaven knows if I’ll be with you til the day I die,
but I’m gonna try.
There will be obstacles in the road,
we’ll go around them!
I’d like your permission to forever call you the one I love
…that would be enough

The Optimist

iTunes

Enough

Track 1 on Freight, Vol. 1
music & lyrics by Jimbo Scott & Grover Anderson
-----
He said, “Pick up your horn and you should blow it away, blow it away my friend!”

My daddy worked the factory seems the whole day long
He’d come home at suppertime, drink whiskey til it’s gone
And he never laid a finger on my mama or my kin
But Friday night on the banjo, his hands moved like the wind

Folks came from every direction just to hear
That banjo in the old mans arms
Between chasing girls and fighting with my friends
The old man asked me to join him and play him some guitar

Well my daddy’s mind’s still going, but his hands have lost their speed
He still loves that rocker and he sure as hell loves to sing
Even though this town it seems to change every day
The family still gets together, and we still love to play

Pick Up Your Horn

Track 5 on "The Optimist"
-----
I see the rain falling down through the haze 
I see the colors but I’m missing all the shapes 
I see the light but it won’t show me the way 
And I can’t see you

I see the future when I close my eyes 
I see your picture, but I think it’s a disguise
 My fingers run through your hair but no matter how I try 
I can’t see you

It’s like I’m telling myself something I don’t wanna hear
 They dismiss it as a dream, but it seems so clear 
I could testify, but it’s best if my eyes drift when you come near
 Cause they’re telling me something I don’t wanna hear

Even when I’m sleeping there’s a reason that I do the things I do
 And every changing of the season brings believing that dreams come true
 Give me just a little time, I’ll remind myself what you’ve been going through
When I can’t see you

Well I spend so much time thinking about what’s out of my hands 
I hear, I plan, I hope, then you command 
I wake up grasping at what my heart demands 
But it don’t matter what I do , no I can’t see you

Now I see the future when I close my eyes 
I’ve been staring at your picture, and I know it’s a disguise
 Don’t you know I did my best to love you but no matter how i try 
I can’t see you

It’s like I’m telling myself something I don’t wanna hear 
Y’all dismiss it as a dream, but it seems so clear
 You know I could testify, but it’s best if my eyes drift when you come near 
Cause they’re telling me something I don’t wanna hear

When You Come Near

Track 11 from "The Optimist"
-----
Hey pretty lady won’t you come my way
We got nothing going on today
I got two arms and you belong in the middle
I’ll be the big spoon if you’ll be the little

We could stay out until we see the stars
Or we could drink Blue Moon in a dive bar
If you wanna go shopping you could drag me around
I could check out the new record store downtown

You got the money, I got the time
You put me in the best frame of mind
Lately I’ve been telling anybody who’ll hear
That you’re the only song playing in my ears

Hey pretty lady won’t you come my way
We got nothing going on today
I got two arms and you belong in the middle
I’ll be the big spoon if you’ll be the little

I sold a record but I ain’t sold two
So I only got a little bit to spend on you
I’d sure like to buy you an ice cream cone
Pretend we don’t have to act like all grown

Up men and women worried bout the banks
The youth and the protests and the corporate ranks
The burden and afflictions and the stress are all gone
When I’m walking down the street with you on my arm

So hey pretty lady won’t you come my way
We got nothing going on today
You keep doing what it is you do
And I’m always gonna be a fool for you

You be the crazy and I’ll be the sane
I’ll keep up with you and I won’t complain

Oakland, Chicago, to NYC
I just wanna hold you next me

I’ll be the big spoon, you be the little
I got two arms…and you belong in the middle

Little Spoon

"My Problems Are Insignificant" (The Lampolier Intro)

Wasps (AdamBaum House Concert 9.5.2020)

"3am In Our Undies" (Wasps Intro)

Philip Marshall Cates (AdamBaum House Concert 9.5.2020)

Sick Of You (AdamBaum House Concert 9.5.2020)

Icarus (AdamBaum House Concert 9.5.2020)

"It's Not A Wonderful Day"

Little Spoon (AdamBaum House Concert 9.5.2020)

Blood Bank

from Grover Anderson, the Optimist (3/10/14)

There was a poor old Lampolier
Who’d corner any man drawn near
Solicit, grinning ear to ear, his time
“Dear Citizen, entrepreneur,
“Bourgeoisie or raconteur,
“Permit me the chance to fill your mind
“With my travelled, torrid tale
“No broken hearts or angels ailing
“In some foreign castle in decline.
“If you’ll sit a minute please
“I’ll tell you how your own two knees
“Can carry you to hold the brightest light
“Ever to shine.”

Now most men over five and twenty’d
Long since learned to make their money
Pouring iron or pressing fact’ry stamp.
But me, I’d gone by many names, 
I’d brought my parents ought but shame
Dishonorably they’d cast me out a tramp.
“Sit, I’ll tell you crystal clear,”
To me said the Lampolier,
Cold, glazed piercing eyes once red and damp
“Days a’walk from this cold city
“Hides a cave, old, dark, & gritty
“And inside’s the light that outshines anything
“I’ve ever burned within my lamp.”

The Lampolier
Tell my mother it was the Lampolier

“Three days out route 49
“You’ll find a town in deep decline
“Left abandoned by all but the fools.
“Then go up walking in the hills,
“Wander where the light it wills,
“But don’t you trouble rations, maps or tools.”
I had to stop the Lampolier,
“Mister you’ve not made it clear,
“Exactly the value of the light.”
“Young man,” said the old lampmaker,
“Love your God and don’t forsake Her,
“But this light’s the very holy source that gives
your soul its life.”

The Lampolier
Tell my mother it was the Lampolier
If you find my body here
Carry it into the sun

Well I obeyed the man’s directions
Brought no map but found the sections
Perfectly the Lampolier’d described
I crawled headfirst in that hole
Lost my grip and cracked my skull
And in the waning moment before I died
I recognized a well-dressed stranger
Eyes ablaze, I’d played his game to
Watch him stoke his cold and glorious fire
He held a shiny lamp towards me
And rather than my soul set free
Now I make his flame burn all the brighter

The Lampolier
Tell my mother it was the Lampolier
If you find my body here
Carry it into the sun

Children do not fear the dark
You’ve no idea who’s lit the spark
That you believes keeps demons far at bay
Late at night when lamps are burning
Next to you he could be lurking
The Lampolier could always use more prey.

(C) 2014 Grover Anderson
Music & Lyrics by Grover Anderson
Mixed by Michael Clebanoff
Mastered by Paul Stubblebine
Performed by Grover Anderson (vocals/rhythm guitar), Aaron Bishop (bass), Bob Matthews (drums), Rick Moore (organ), and Kiel Williams (lead guitar)

The Lampolier

Take the fastest route home, honey I’ll be here waiting up
The fire might be weak, but I’ll keep it going with a little luck
On a night so cold you can almost see your prayers
I spent ten nights without you, eleven’s one I can’t bear

Well the dog’s been running circles round the house each afternoon since you’ve been gone
Sometimes when I’m dreaming I pretend that I can feel you in my arms
But tonight I’ll hear the tumblers turn and thank the lord for answering my Prayers
If we never leave this bedroom, honey babe I don’t care

Hangin on to my phone like a puppy to her toy
When you’re gone there’s a blanket o’er the speakers playing my favorite song
My favorite song
My favorite song: My darlin’s coming home

So heater high and windows down, honey taste that cool night air
Crank up your speakers, let that country music drive you here
If you sing it out and mean it, it almost counts as prayer
When I hear the front door creakin’ I can wake up from this nightmare

Hangin on, to each record here reminding me of you
When you’re gone, there’s a blanket o’er the speakers playin my favorite song
My favorite song
My favorite song: my darlin’s coming home

Waking up I tell myself “Come on, you’re gonna make it”
Then I count the hours until you’re home
Something bout a bond this strong, it’s difficult to break it
Thought I’d done with going to bed alone

But I'm hangin on, to this pillow like a talisman of you
When you’re gone, there’s a blanket o’er the speakers playin my favorite song
My favorite song
My favorite song: my darlin’s coming home
Oh there’s a blanket o’er the speaker playin my favorite song
My darlin’s coming home

Blanket (Live @ Brice Station 8.27.22)

The Lampolier (Live @ Brice Station 8.27.22)

From a Golden State (Live at Brice Station 8/27/22)

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

I am the guy who brings the yo-yos to your elementary school
You sit cross legged in the gym
Me and my headset mic will wow your friends with ball bearings and string
And you can buy one on a whim
For only 16 of your parents’ hard earned dollars 
I will teach you how to walk the dog and sleep all on your own
Then at 3:15 I’ll pack the unsold Fireballs into my trunk 
And Breakaway to my next hotel home

I’ve loved fourteen third grade teachers in eleven different counties 
All along the I-5 corridor, and still
None of that compares to watching eyes fill up with wonder
Dreaming they can bend this plastic to their will
This can’t last forever, but it don’t get much better
Guess I have to hope that it will

When I was nineteen a recruiter showed up at my college 
After my last basketball game
She said “Congrats you’re done with Ju Co
"Hey I loved the way you positively motivate your team
“I bet in three months I can harness your dexterity 
And teach you all the fine points of our spiel.”
She was right and by the time that I turned twenty 
I spoke daily and expensed all of my meals

Now I’m 32 and I can sleepwalk through my speech
Even hungover I can hit all of my moves
But every parent hates me and nobody wants to date 
The Pied Piper of public elementary schools
This can’t last forever, but it don’t get much better
I don’t know what else I can do

Like a vampire, for the kids’ attention, thriving on their stupid questions
Roll your eyes—their love’s so fucking true
Could I live a life that’s stable? Punch the clock and rock the cradle?
Is this string around me like a noose?
This can’t last forever, but it don’t get much better
I don’t know what else I can do
I don’t know what else I can do

The Guy Who Brings the Yo-Yos To Your Elementary School

Pardon me I need to see the stage
Need a place to learn to act my age
Need space to pay for all the ways I’ve misbehaved
Need a place to pray

Oh, carry us please
Bear up our dreams
When they’ve got no where to go
We’re losing our gleam
But still we believe
Though the world says no

I’m here to live, not populate
Not fit to settle, lookin down on all we’ve made
I’m getting bored of finding peace in all I see
Everybody’s dying, hell
If we're gonna go out quietly

Oh, carry us please
Bear up our dreams
When they’ve got nowhere to go
We’re losing our gleam
But still we believe
Though the world says no

And iff we only break a little
If we accept that edges fray
If we’re free to reconsider every pattern that we’ve made
We can mend these threads together
Find a shine among our seams 
The light’s so goddamn bright that it can shine for you and me
And everyone who’s trying to claim their piece
Everybody’s gotta claim their piece
Everybody’s dying, hell if we’re gonna go out quietly

Oh, carry us please (Oh light, shine down on me)
Bear up our dreams (I believe in seizing)
When they’ve got nowhere to go (This golden jubilee)
We’re losing our gleam (Won't go out quietly)
But still we believe though the world says no

Gleam

Corey left town in December
He couldn’t move the grapes that he’d grown
I guess he held onto his land in the hope
That the county would let him build homes
Since he’s been gone there’s been rumbling
The neighborhood’s empty inside
No one will say it aloud, but we all have been
Wondering if the well’s gone dry

Buying this place felt like building
The backdrop for life’s in-between
We knew it wasn’t worth nothing
Four walls and a roof and a dream
But we’ve outgrown our young machinations
Three babies will open your eyes
What good’s a dream if you can’t get to sleep? Stay up
Wondering if the well’s gone dry

Now you don’t blame the others for leaving
It’s scarcer than ever for faith
If the fires don’t take us and the mortgage don’t break us
Lord knows we’ve learned how to wait     
But I never learned how to fail gracefully
And I don’t think I could if I tried
So we’ll give it our best as our spirits grow restless
Wondering if the well’s gone dry

It’s hard to value investments
In passion and patience and time
They’ve got their pressures that they gotta measure
And we sure as hell got yours and mine
The mouths that need feeding are hungry
So our dreams take their place on the side
But we don’t ignore them; so long we’ve lived for them
Wondering if the well’s gone dry

Now you don’t blame the others for leaving
It’s scarcer than ever for faith
If the fires don’t take us and the mortgage don’t break us
Lord knows we’ve learned how to wait     
But I never learned how to fail gracefully
And I don’t think I could if I tried
So we’ll give it our best as our spirits grow restless
Wondering if the well’s gone dry

You knew what you had signed up for
Fell for the fool that I am
Held back your blame, never asked me to change
Despite the load left in your hands
I aim to reward your virtue
Cause God knows that you’ve tried
I’ll do my best to make sure that you’re never left
Wondering if the well’s gone dry
What good’s a dream if you can’t get to sleep? Stay up
Wondering if the well’s gone dry

Well

Take the fastest route home, honey I’ll be here waiting up
The fire might be weak, but I’ll keep it going with a little luck
On a night so cold you can almost see your prayers
I spent ten nights without you, eleven’s one I can’t bear

The dog’s been running circles round the house each afternoon since you’ve been gone
Sometimes when I’m dreaming I pretend that I can feel you in my arms
But tonight I’ll hear the tumblers turn and thank the lord for answering my prayers
If we never leave this bedroom, honey babe I don’t care

Hangin on, to my phone, like a puppy to her toy
When you’re gone, there’s a blanket over the speakers playing my favorite song
My favorite song
My favorite song: My darlin’s coming home

So heater high and windows down, honey, taste that cool night air
Crank up your speakers, let that country music drive you here
If you sing it out and mean it, it almost counts as prayer
When I hear the front door creakin’ I can wake up from this nightmare

Hangin on, to each record here reminding me of you
When you’re gone, there’s a blanket over the speakers playin my favorite song
My favorite song
My favorite song: my darlin’s coming home

Waking up I tell myself “Come on, you’re gonna make it”
Then I count the hours until you’re home
Something 'bout a bond this strong, it’s difficult to break it
Thought I’d done with going to bed alone

Hangin on, to this pillow like a talisman of you
When you’re gone, there’s a blanket over the speakers playin my favorite song
My favorite song
My favorite song: my darlin’s coming home
Oh there’s a blanket over the speaker playin my favorite song
My darlin’s coming home

Blanket

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/7qfNce998B7kocG5AaHn3Q?si=jru4R3aRS8-jx0IRjnepHg
——
Daddy can you fix my heart?
It’s torn in two
Mommy just gave me this sticker and I messed it up
Can you fix my heart?
I made a mistake
I didn’t know how easy it was for things to get this rough

Sometimes it’s so simple
Get some tape, or maybe glue
And hold tight together, a few more seconds than you’d think
Sometimes it takes longer
Then it’s best to walk away
There’ll always be more strength there than it seems

Daddy can you fix my heart?
I’m only seventeen
How can I feel like my world’s about to end?
He tore me apart
I gave him everything
Need something besides his arms to put me back again

Sometimes it’s so simple
Get some tape, or maybe glue
And hold tight together, a few more seconds than you’d think
Sometimes it takes longer
Then it’s best to just walk away
There’ll always be more strength there than it seems

Daddy can you fix my heart?
Cause I can’t let go
Where am I supposed to turn when your time is through?
I learned it all by heart
Many years ago
But one more time I need to hear it from you

Sometimes it’s so simple
Get some tape, or maybe glue
And hold tight together, a few more seconds than you’d think
Sometimes it takes longer
Then it’s best to just walk away
There’ll always be more strength there than it seems

Daddy can you fix my heart?

Sticker

We were standing on the highway 
Cars raced by on either side
No one stopped or yelled it felt a little strange
In the heavy metal hurricane 
I took your hand in mine
Held you close, we watched the world change
To a desert, to an ocean, To a valley, still we knew
If we let go, we’d be struck there in the road
So when you pulled away and disappeared into the traffic
I was screaming out your name when I awoke

I don’t sleep, you give me bad dreams
And I’m losing track of what they mean 
I know a version of you with the keys
To my every insecurity
And you’ve no responsibility 

I was thrust upon the stage
But I’d forgotten every word
So I improvised and nobody could tell
And as I accepted praise
My stomach twisted and it churned
This pretender felt worse than if he’d failed

And I finally picked you out amongst the blurry-faced crowd
You smiled, but you wouldn’t say a thing
I begged you to be honest, You just cast your eyes down
It took me half the day to shake that sting
I don’t sleep, you give me bad dreams
And I’m losing track of what they mean 
I know a version of you with the keys
To my every insecurity
And you’ve no responsibility 

I don’t sleep, you give me bad dreams
And I’m losing track of what they mean 
I know a version of you with the keys
To my every insecurity
I don’t sleep, but can you blame me?
I can hold you in reality
There’s a version of you that believes
In me even when I don’t believe
That I’m worth the love you’ve given me 
Tell me who could ever fall asleep?

Stream

Dreams

I don't know if its fireflies or if my eyes are lying to me
But the lights that fill up my sky aren't shining as bright
I landed in Minnesota, it's colder, but I'm warm and I'm free
Until I'm alone, only memories to help me get through the night
And I got what I want now I just want more

When you leave Indiana, I'm gonna cover some ground
Do all that I couldn't get done without you around
I'm gonna cook you a dinner and burn it
I'll say you're perfect when you don't deserve it
I'm gonna love you til I'm sick of you
And hopefully you're gonna be
Sick of me too

We've dealt with this distance, lived through dissonance
The wild ups and downs
But I hear your voice through the wire and my heart floats away
Now you're heading home and we've gone on too long waiting 'round
Let's have some of that fun we've been hearing about
Forget all the future and live for today

When you leave Indiana I'm gonna cover some ground
Do all that I couldn't get done without you around
I'll change your flat tires, keep my facial hair groomed
Hold you in bed til the late afternoon
I'm gonna love you til I'm sick of you
And hopefully you're gonna be sick of me

We've got the rest of our lives to live
The rest of our lives
And try as we might, in time, some of the magic might die

But when we get together I'm gonna cover some ground
Right now we're young and we're dumb and we'll run this town
I'm gonna cherish each kiss like the first
I'll hold you in ways that they'd frown on in church
Then if I'm lucky to live til I'm eighty
I'll still be a fool for my little old lady
Tell everyone that I'm sick of you
And hopefully you're gonna be
Sick of me too

Oh, aren't you sick of me too?

Sick Of You (10 Year Anniversary)

Studio Version & Lyrics: https://groveranderson.com/well/

Well (Live at Val du Vino)

groveranderson.com
on itunes: https://itun.es/i6S82Tv
-----
Moonshine
Color me with moonshine
Making my eyes blind, Too blind to see
That I find, even in the daytime
You and your moonshine shine on me

You’re turning me into a night owl, I don’t know how
You overtook my consciousness and understood my loneliness
It’s misapprehension, often seen as condescension
But believe me when I say, I’m a fan of the direction
You’ve been taking your decisions, sparing me deserved derision,
Rebranded all my faults as “personality omissions”
You’ve eclipsed my inhibitions, pulled me out of darkly drifting
Never need to find another, cause I found someone to color me with Moonshine…

To me it’s enervating, what we’ve recreated
An acrylic piece over shadows painted
Watch the memories of gallows hanging
I can’t seem to fathom a day without your passion
Webbed in the dark, I feel it unraveling
I surf your bluesy waves and my soul goes traveling
I found a well of fishes that have granted me these wishes
In the darkest night you heal me with your Moonshine…

It’s almost painful how elegant you look smiling
I’m filing it away into the back of my mind
Your stylings are outdated but you’ve somehow recreated
A spark inside a part of me that’s long ago sedated
Take me back to seventeen, back to before
Your soul has lived a lifetime through peace and the war
Through perigees and blues you’ve held temerity and truth
I’m alone in the dark but I’m always with you, you’re my Moonshine…

Tourniquet

Moonshine (ft. Sami Freeman)

Studio Version https://soundcloud.com/grover-anderson/gleam?si=8b1d0b5b16594bc280f6ce655334cbb2&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Gleam (acoustic)

(c) 2025 Grover Anderson
music & lyrics by Grover Anderson
performed by Grover Anderson (vocals & guitar), Owen Ragland of Honey Run (fiddle & vocals),  Kat Baker of Honey Run (mandolin & vocals), Graham Richards (piano & vocals), and Dave Duggan (bass)
—————
Well every time I start my truck
I check my mirrors, keep my seatbelt buckled
But I ain't got no case on my phone
Oh you won't catch me riding over 65
I always use my blinkers, man I ride to arrive
But I ain't got no case on my phone

Gave up whiskey and I quit cocaine
This fella knows better than to harm his brain
But I ain't got no case on my phone
I know I might sound like I'm no fun
But I'm a rootin-tootin risk-taking son of a gun
Because I ain't got no case on my phone

Naked phone, Naked phone
I hold this puppy with my hands alone
Oh I ain't got no case on my phone

Now my mama tried to raise me up to be good
I wanna make her proud, Lord I wish I could
But I ain't got no case on my phone
I donate to charity, I don't tempt fate
But I worry Saint Peter's gonna frown at the gates
Cause I ain't got no case on my phone

Naked phone, Naked phone
I hold this puppy with my hands alone
No I ain't got no case on my phone

Oh some cynic told me they're designed to break
Right about the time that they release a new make
But I ain't got no case on my phone
I said "I like living on the hopeful side"
And she said "Yeah, that's how Steve Jobs died"
Ain't got no case on my phone

Naked phone, Naked phone
I hold this puppy with my hands alone
I ain't got no case on my phone

Now my sleep button's broken and my corners are scratched
And my finger's been shredded by slivers of glass
But I ain't got no case on my phone
My speaker don't speak, I can't be heard through the mic
But I'm a ************* rebel every ******* night
Cause I ain't got no case on my phone

Naked phone, Naked phone
Hold this puppy with my hands alone
Oh I ain't got no case
Ain't got no case, oh
I ain't got no case on my phone

Naked Phone (Clean Version)

(c) 2025 Grover Anderson
music & lyrics by Grover Anderson
performed by Grover Anderson (vocals & guitar), Owen Ragland of Honey Run (fiddle & vocals),  Kat Baker of Honey Run (mandolin & vocals), Graham Richards (piano & vocals), and Dave Duggan (bass)
—————
Well every time I start my truck
I check my mirrors, keep my seatbelt buckled
But I ain't got no case on my phone
Oh you won't catch me riding over 65
I always use my blinkers, man I ride to arrive
But I ain't got no case on my phone

Gave up whiskey and I quit cocaine
This fella knows better than to harm his brain
But I ain't got no case on my phone
I know I might sound like I'm no fun
But I'm a rootin-tootin risk-taking son of a gun
Because I ain't got no case on my phone

Naked phone, Naked phone
I hold this puppy with my hands alone
Oh I ain't got no case on my phone

Now my mama tried to raise me up to be good
I wanna make her proud, Lord I wish I could
But I ain't got no case on my phone
I donate to charity, I don't tempt fate
But I worry Saint Peter's gonna frown at the gates
Cause I ain't got no case on my phone

Naked phone, Naked phone
I hold this puppy with my hands alone
No I ain't got no case on my phone

Oh some cynic told me they're designed to break
Right about the time that they release a new make
But I ain't got no case on my phone
I said "I like living on the hopeful side"
And she said "Yeah, that's how Steve Jobs died"
Ain't got no case on my phone

Naked phone, Naked phone
I hold this puppy with my hands alone
I ain't got no case on my phone

Now my sleep button's broken and my corners are scratched
And my finger's been shredded by slivers of glass
But I ain't got no case on my phone
My speaker don't speak, I can't be heard through the mic
But I'm a motherfucking rebel every goddamn night
Cause I ain't got no case on my phone

Naked phone, Naked phone
Hold this puppy with my hands alone
Oh I ain't got no case
Ain't got no case, oh
I ain't got no case on my phone

Naked Phone

music & lyrics by Grover Anderson
upright bass by Dave Duggan
-----
Sounds like the coyotes took down another hart
From the yips and yelps out just beyond the garden
Their second one since June
Their cries are coming through
Closed windows and air conditioning

We tell the children it'll all be over soon
I double-check the gate and bring the dog in
When you and her and me
Caught one running up the street
I held you while the stars stood listening

Then we open up the windows, let the night in
Pray the hunt is finished for some time
Whatever's lurking just beyond the garden
Couldn't wrest your hopes from mine

Looks like the lightning just sparked another fire
So we gather all the things supposed to matter
By now we're well prepared
Photo albums, teddy bears

We tell the children to double-check their rooms
Say "Home is where the heart is"
It just makes them sadder

Then we cover up the windows through the crying
Pray the heat will hold out for the night
Whatever's lurking just beyond the garden
Couldn't wrest your hopes from mine
 
Whatever's lurking just beyond the garden
Couldn't wrest your hopes from mine

Sounds like the coyotes took down another hart

Hart (Just Beyond the Garden)

Feelings that I got ain’t complicated
Serve my time just scrolling through the fall
“If I can’t say it cleverly then I don’t wanna say it”
That’s how cowards start to say nothing at all

I ain’t opposed to Old Testament justice
When I’ve faith in He that’s meting out the doom
But these rich men ain’t who I’d put my trust in
The ones I would were all forced out the room

And I can pat myself upon the back
Cause I didn’t vote for this
Even though the price of eggs was high
Shake my fist and hug my kids and act like
My team wasn’t winning
When we offered up the tools of genocide

It’s mighty tough to keep track of offenses
Exhausting keeping tabs on every crime
And as they gather up I wonder how folks that I love
Can know it happens, and rest easy every night

These posters carving notes into their bullets
I hear it’s vital that we learn what each one reads?
And the rough part of our cities ain’t a warzone, 
It’s a coppice grown grom all your little redlined seeds

It’s a shame those brown folks
Weren’t bred to share our freedom
You can join em if you fail to comprehend
This land’s for The Good Ones
And White Christians that saved them
But ain’t it look good on the page to write “all men”?

I know some of y’all are cringing
(Trust me no one’s harder cringing)
As I look for strength in those that said it better
There’s more distance between us 
And our wealthy party leaders
Than distance between all us put together

And if it costs a friend or more
Gets awkward at the grocery store
If I lose my comfort for a song
Well damnit I make records
And I need it on the record
That I think all these fascist clowns are wrong
———
Music & Lyrics by Grover Anderson
groveranderson.com

On the Record

From the Pink Room (3/3/17)
itun.es/i67p5wb
open.spotify.com/album/02mTyfqCPBu8aj9nc50a13
•••••
She’s got you walking ‘round in circles
And breaking rules trying to catch her eye
But if you’d just listen to someone sensible
You know she’d only make you live another of her lies
Oh, another of her lies

Time will forgive her indiscretion
Eventually she’ll settle down
But you want to enter the battlefield with no protection
Before you know it you’ll be wishing she could just leave town

And I wonder what a girl like this would do to someone like you
I wonder what a girl like this would do to someone like you

No one’s disrespecting your sense of adventure
And there’s no evidence to flat-out prove you’re wrong
But when you’re crying all alone, drinking to forget her
Who will you turn to to help pull you along?
Oh, who’s gonna pull you along?

And I wonder what a girl like this would do to someone like you
I wonder what a girl like this would do to someone like you

She’s like an ember, she’s the queen of the dark
Never surrender, never giving up that spark
When the sun goes down safeguard your heart
She’ll be right the ready for the fire to start

From the Pink Room

Ember

From the Pink Room (3/3/17)
itun.es/i67p5wb
open.spotify.com/album/02mTyfqCPBu8aj9nc50a13
•••••
We were born of the ocean, though our blood has hardened since
From the carbon and the quartz we crossed as we moved to the east
As we hit upon the mountains, we planted in this town
The abundance of the earth was all we’d need
All our old songs seemed so foreign as we sang them in the square
But in time more far-flung families joined our own
Tales of Natives and the Northmen and the Kansans whence they came
Sang our quiet little town into a home

Singing,
Tie a ribbon round the old oak tree
Make me down a pallet somewhere in a field
Drop a line into the creek in moonlit darkness I believe
We could be cowboys if our mothers would yield
That country road’ll take us where we’d like to go
But this land was made to be our home

Now the snowfall can get heavy, and the summers hot and dry
But we celebrate the hearty ground in hand
Through the cattle and the vineyards where the hilltops meet the sky
You can hear us sing their praises once again

Singing,
Tie a ribbon round the old oak tree
Make me down a pallet somewhere in a field
Drop a line into the creek in moonlit darkness I believe
We could be cowboys if our mothers would yield
That country road’ll take us where we’d like to go
But this land was made to be our home

We carve our names in stone and we plant our roots in bone
When the flames have gone we come back strong

Singin
Tie a ribbon round the old oak tree
Make me down a pallet somewhere in a field
Drop a line into the creek in moonlit darkness I believe
We could be cowboys, of if Mama would yield
That country road’ll take us where we’d like to go
But this land was made to be our
this land was made to be our
this land was made to be our home

From The Pink Room

Old Songs

From the Pink Room (3/3/17)
itun.es/i67p5wb
open.spotify.com/album/02mTyfqCPBu8aj9nc50a13
•••••
Let’s do this one less time
I’d rather be there tonight
I’d rather be singing with you by my side
Let’s do this one less time

Feel free to cry for yourself
Or go cry for everyone else
But i’m smiling and laughing in memozries as well
So please save the tears for yourself

Let’s do this one less time
Cause this sad party surely ain’t mine
But if we must stay then I’ll be at your side, so
Let’s do this one less time

I got what I needed from here
I could have got more, but I loved hard and dear
My only regret is in leaving you here
But I got what I needed, don’t fear

Let’s do this one less time
I’d rather be there tonight
I never had the chance to get good at goodbyes
So let’s do this one less time

If I miss out on some things
Live them all double for me
Raise your voice twice as loud so they hear us both sing
If I miss out on some things

Let’s do this one last time
A memory can never can die
Every breath, every tear, every ray of sunshine
I’m reaching out one more time

For Goose

The Good

On Comfort

groveranderson.com

Amy never waits for me the way I’d like her to
She runs off in all directions, like I’d never think to do
Even when the pathway’s clear and compass pointing true
She runs off in all directions

In spite of my frustration, I keep running down the line
There are dreams we planned to summit and hope we swore to mine
Tired though I am of traveling this beaten path alone
There are places that I gotta go

And I’m sick like standing water, choked with insect eggs and mud
And my heart is like a desert, hard and dry until the flood
And the air is thick and heavy with a lonesome melody
Set to words she often put to me

Go, go
There’s nothing for you in this town
You’ve seen all there is to see
I want you to stay, stay
And you’d love to stick around
I can’t let you burn out here with me
I won’t let you burn out here with me

And I’m sick like standing water, capped with iridescent oil
And my instincts have gone barren, lost a Dust Bowl’s worth of soil
And the air is thick and heavy with a lonesome melody
Set to words she often put to me

Go, go
There’s nothing for you in this town
You’ve seen all there is to see
I want you to stay, stay
And you’d love to stick around
I can’t let you burn out here with me
And if you won’t come along
Then there’s nothing left to do
Someone else will have to write a song for you

I don’t mind the city, but I prefer the road
When I’m writing from my stomach
Instead of writing for my soul
And when I need a little respite
From this rank uncertainty
A vicious psalm is always chasing me

Go, go
There’s nothing for you in this town
You’ve seen all there is to see
I want you to stay, stay
And you’d love to settle down
I can’t let you burn out here with me
And if you won’t come along
Then there’s nothing left to do
Someone else will have to write a song for you
(And he’ll probably be a better singer too)
-----
Music & Lyrics: Grover Anderson
Acoustic Guitar & Vocals: Grover Anderson
Electric Guitar: Marshall Henry
Bass: Anthony Delaney
Drums: Josh Certo
Backing Vocals: Chelsea Sue (Reverb Hunter)
Mix: Michael Clebanoff

Standing Water

Parallel

groveranderson.com

I've crawled, hands and knees, through brush and brambles
I’ve scaled the rocks of the vast barren hills
The thorns of the desert, such a pain to handle
I’ve cut up the oaks that have lost their wills

Prospering fickly through insecure seasons
Running from strife when the skies are no good

But you, you’re evergreen, and standing right beside me
Through the good days and the cold, quiet night
Yeah you, you’re evergreen, til the mountain it crumbles you’ll be
You’ll be up there reaching for the light
But you’re already shining so bright

I've lost love to snakes and to lions and to other climbers
Sometimes the path went to places they won’t
Some I chased down the hill then I pushed on higher
Cause up past that tree line’s a loving home

With you, you’re evergreen, and standing right beside me
Through the, the good days and the cold quiet night
Yeah you, you’re evergreen, til the mountain it crumbles you’ll be
You’ll be up there reaching for the light
But you’re already shining so bright

I’ll sit in your shelter your arms are my eaves
I’ll nourish your body and play in your leaves
I can’t stop the fires but I’ll plant our seeds
And we’ll build our home in the shade of this tree

You’re evergreen, and standing right beside me
Through the good days and the cold, quiet night
Yeah you, you’re evergreen, til the mountain it crumbles
You’ll be, you’ll be up there reaching for the light
But you’re already shining so bright

You’re evergreen

Evergreen

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/1bYDHBl8cgNpXJMU7ZFPG7?si=2c2LIESRSFWB6_yfBGUV1Q&dl_branch=1
Apple: https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-gardener/1563227202?i=1563227203
http://groveranderson.com
music & lyrics by Kristian Saras Matsson
vocals & acoustic guitar — Grover Anderson
electric guitar — Marshall Henry
keyboards — Graham Richards
bass — Anthony Delaney
drums — Josh Certo
mixed by Michael Clebanoff
mastered by Richard Dodd

The Gardener

https://groveranderson.com
Single Release - May 7 2021
Album Release - July 30 2021
-----
I’m moving on, but I’ll still think about you
When I hear Willie Nelson sing of embers in the rain
And I was wrong, but what good are convictions when you’re
Grasping at the fire pretending you don’t feel the pain?
It’s such a shame, shame

I’ve got a cup. I fill it up with whiskey in the hopes of drowning out your memory
And oh it works, especially in the morning when the bright lights and the headaches and your face are all I see
I tell my friends, they oughta set me up, and when I stumble into church I lie, pretend I’m finding peace
I got a line. I practice it in private, so when people ask about me I’ll somehow make them believe

I’m moving on, but I’ll still think about you
When I hear Willie Nelson sing of embers in the rain
And I was wrong, but what good are convictions when you’re
Grasping at the fire pretending you don’t feel the pain?
It’s such a shame, shame

I take it slow, cause sympathy’s a virtue that I ain’t got the energy to fake
I know in time, I’ll feel awful stupid for this hopeless psyche I can’t seem to break
I tell my friends, that they should just be patient, let me get over my grief, I know my heart’ll heal this ache
I’ve heard your line, and I know that it’s bullshit, but I’m happy that you’re tryin’ cause Lord knows I can relate

I’m moving on, but I’ll still think about you
When I hear Willie Nelson sing of embers in the rain
And I was wrong, but what good are convictions when you’re
Grasping at the fire pretending you don’t feel the pain?
It’s such a shame, shame

I’ll hit rock bottom soon enough then come back better than before
And when I’m finally tired of being tough the next love will be so much more…but for now

I’m moving on, but I’ll still think about you
When I hear Willie Nelson sing of embers in the rain
And I was wrong, but what good are convictions when you’re
Grasping at the fire pretending you don’t feel the pain?
It’s such a shame, shame
-----
music & lyrics by Grover Anderson (ASCAP)

vocals & acoustic guitar - Grover Anderson
vocals - Kelly Jane
electric guitar - Marshall Henry
bass - Anthony Delaney
drums - Josh Certo

mixed by Michael Clebanoff
mastered by Richard Dodd

All the Lies That I Have Told

Willie Nelson (ft. Kelly Jane)

You won’t believe how they handle snow days in California 
These kids lose their shit over just an inch or two
Dad can roll his eyes and try to blame it on the transplants
But his eyes look like everybody’s do

Everybody asks me how you’re doing
So hard to picture you existing here
We can’t get the Times and it’s an hour to Trader Joe’s
And I can barely breathe two months a year

The river’s fine, but it’s overrated
Every teacher at my school looks just like me
All the locals are so jaded
Hating everyone who pays their salaries

But I’ll keep on pretending this is home 
Because I know that’s what you wanted me to do
You taught me how to live alone
But I need more than memories to pull me through
I bet I can love to suffer more than you

Grandma’s told me every story three times
There’s a hard drive full of prepubescent me
And when I hate my dad, and school, and poetry, and cancer
Sometimes I hate you the most for leaving

And I’ll keep on pretending that I’m fine
Because survivor’s guilt’s pathetically convenient
You were even beautiful in dying
And I’m too much like my father to relent
From the narcissistic self-flaggelence

I pretend I’m a spacewoman’s daughter
I project mission completion dates
I pretend I’m a spacewoman’s daughter
It’s all relative, so I’ll just wait, wait, wait
-----
music & lyrics by Grover Anderson (ASCAP)

produced by Kiel Williams
acoustic guitar, piano, & vocals by Grover Anderson
string arrangement, cello, pedal steel, electric guitar, & keys by Kiel Williams
violin by Austin Broder
drums by Josh Certo

mixed by Kiel Williams

https://groveranderson.com

From A Golden State

https://groveranderson.com
lyrics by Grover Anderson
music & lyrics by Grover Anderson & Marshall Henry
-----
I almost forgot about the time we saw Old Faithful
We laughed about the sign that showed a person burning up
What I’d give to take another drive across Montana
Sing my songs for real cowboys, selling CDs from the trunk

We’ve got fewer options now, there’s so much more to do
Back then all we needed was time enough to

Make a life worth living
Let distractions stay distractions
Temptation can be taxing
Don’t you give it all your time
Go swimming
In the lakes and in the rivers
With lovers, friends, and sinners
In sunlight and moonshine
Live in the city
You don’t have to stay forever
But you’ll learn and you’ll live better
Knowing how to share your space
And if nothing else will help
Walking in the woods goes a long way

Seven miles from town to home means seven miles for singing
That’s at least four songs if I can keep the truck in third
Listening to the chorus in the back seat gives me shivers
May our spirits stay freewheeling as our grasp upon the words

Make a life worth living
Let distractions stay distractions
Temptation can be taxing
Don’t you give it all your time
Go swimming
In the lakes and in the rivers
With lovers, friends, and sinners
In sunlight and moonshine
Live in the city
You don’t have to stay forever
But you’ll learn and you’ll live better
Knowing how to share your space
And if nothing else will help
Walking in the woods goes a long way

Try to keep your mistakes inconsequential 
Let your heart be broken once or twice
Don’t ignore your regrets but don’t weep at lost potential 
And if you let somebody share your life
Make a life worth living
Let distractions stay distractions
Temptation can be taxing
Don’t you give it all your time
Go swimming
In the lakes and in the rivers
With lovers, friends, and sinners
In sunlight and moonshine
Live in the city
You don’t have to stay forever
But you’ll learn and you’ll live better
Knowing how to share your space
And if nothing else will help
Walking in the woods goes a long way

And if nothing else will help
Walking in the woods goes a long way
A long way

Backseat Chorus

When he gets home he heats up dinner and he thinks about his son
Puts a dent into his novel, he really likes this one
After fumbling through the dishes he pours bitters in his rye
Passes out watching the Mavericks, then he’s up again at five
To the building outside Dallas sixteen football fields in size

When he leaves home it’s in his Camry ‘cause he traded in his Ford
God he loved that half ton pickup, but it was to much to insure
Pulls into Distribution, tips his cap to the sunrise
Grabs his scanner and assignment, and he pulls one box at a time

One box at a time, oh oh one box at a time
They’ll give you forty seconds, you’ll pull one box at a time

And on weekends he’s too sore to play the way he’s dreamt of playing
But the free Prime on the tablet keeps the kid occupied
He says it’s cool that Dad makes so many people happy
When he’s asked exactly what he does, he lies

Cause he pulls one box at a time, oh oh one box at a time
Pretend you’ll feed your family pulling one box at a time

When he hears rumors of a union, he’s too cynical to hope
He keeps drifting down that river, only stops to piss and smoke
Thanks God for his boy’s mama, though she’d never do the same
When he’s buried in these boxes at least one will know his name

Cause outside Dallas there’s a building sixteen football fields in size
And the Rate’s the only number you live by
He sees people on amphetamines but he’s too scared to try
His daddy taught him real men work or die

So he pulls one box at a time, oh one box at a time
Dreaming his boy will do better than one box at a time
Pretend you’ll feed your family pulling one box at a time
-----
music & lyrics by Grover Anderson (ASCAP)

vocals & acoustic guitar - Grover Anderson
electric guitar - Marshall Henry
bass - Anthony Delaney
drums - Josh Certo

mixed by Michael Clebanoff
mastered by Richard Dodd

https://groveranderson.com

Grover Anderson

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