Acoustic Demos 2020-2022

I spent too much time hiding from this fear
trying to fake contentment underneath a cracked veneer
Putting on a face to hide the lies I aimed to sell
spinning in the dark aboard a one-horse carousel

Inside a rusty cage all tangled up in doubt
Plotting my escape from all the blame I disavowed
As the devil on my shoulder told me what I didn't need
I let the angel on the other side pack her things and leave

Chorus
But Baby that was then, baby this is now
And I'm not gonna rest until I prove it to you somehow
That man is but a ghost, someone I used to be
The one I sent away when you rescued  me

Bridge
I know I gave you every reason
to question everything I say
But should forgiveness ever come back into season
I hope you'll let it blow my way

Chorus
'Cause Baby that was then, baby this is now
And I'm not gonna rest until I prove it to you somehow
That man is but a ghost, someone I used to be
The one I sent away, when you rescued me
The one I sent away, when you rescued me

When You Rescued Me - Demo

She stared down at the letter as it lay upon the table
and conjured up a vision of him, pen in hand
She picked up the paper, held it close against her face
And tried to breathe in every last scent of the man
who'd been gone so long that she could not recall
the tender of his touch against her skin
though the war raged on, she didn't understand at all
the odds that he would not return again

He said, Dear Lydia, it's Monday as I write to you, it's raining
Smoke is rising from the ashes as the waters kiss this fire 
that's been burning now for days it seems that I cannot remember
the last time that I gazed upon a clear blue sky
But through the muddy haze, my love will never fade
It's as mighty as the moment that I fell
I still keep your picture in a pocket near my heart
thoughts of you are all that keeps me well

She looked beyond the window, out where the fields lie fallow
So many times she stood and watched him work the plow
In his gentle voice, she heard the words that he had written
echoing like ghosts throughout the empty house
where she had kept a lantern burning on a nail outside the door
a beacon there to guide his safe return
It was a constant fear not knowing if the wait would ever end
should the flame within the lantern cease to burn

He said, Dear Lydia, they're talking reinforcements coming in 
God knows we can all use some relief
But, the air smells just like death, will there be any left
pure enough that we could even breathe
A cold wind whistles through the trees, black and charred with this disease
It's hard to manage shelter from the storm
As night falls I will dream of your sweet memory
And wear it like a coat to keep me warm

Dear Lydia, in closing, may this letter find you well
(a distant thud of hooves upon the clay)
never doubt my true devotion and the love I hold for thee
(startled by a nicker at the gate)
The place he'd signed his name, bled like whitewash in the rain
as she let the pages float down to the floor
as the latch began to turn, outside the lantern that still burned
cast light upon the man inside the door

copyright 2020 Joe Middleton (Mr. Saturday Music, BMI)

Dear Lydia - Demo

Me and Sam hangin out back on log down by the railroad track
laying low on a Sunday afternoon
Just kicking it dot to dot, I 'd take out my music box
cause we've been known to sing a tune

A couple of wannabe troubadours, I'd strum some cowboy chords to some old classic country thing
When Sam would finally lift his head it was loud enough to wake the dead
that old boy sure did love to sing

Move it on over
there's a big dog moving in
nothing could be finer than making music with my friend
We'd do never was a horse like the Tennessee stud, and oh black Betty bam a lam
sitting on a log by the railroad track
all was right with me and Sam

Some days we'd sit on the porch and watch the squirrels run back and forth and listen to the hoot owl's monologue 
Sammy didn't say too much but when he got riled he'd start to cuss, and pick a fight with the neighbor's noisy dog

I could always reel him in with the right kind of medicine
a note or two to bring him back around
It wasn't perfect harmony but it was good enough for Sam and me
good enough for me and Sammy Brown

Move it on over
there's a hot dog moving in
nothing could be finer than making music with my friend
We'd do never was a horse like the Tennessee stud, and oh black Betty bam a lam
Lord, I miss those lazy days
when all was right with me and Sam

copyright 2022 Joe Middleton (Mr. Saturday Music, BMI)

Me N Sam (Demo)

This sad old news will be the death of me
if don't quit this damn TV, mm hmm
They're talking 'bout things that I can't change
Pointing fingers and placing the blame, mm hmm

What we need is a brand new song
One that everybody can sing along to, mm hmm
One about looking at the world through the eyes of a child
And think about something that makes you smile

I see blue daffodils growing outside my window
I got blue daffodils right outside my door
My grandmother told me once
whenever you see those daffodils of blue
think of how much I love them, son
but never as much as I love you

We're living in a time when a stroke of a key
from a man in the dark can make you weak, mm hmm
and as quick as you let your reason lapse
you're headed down the same dark crooked path, mm hmm

A battle with a brother is a useless fight
but, a turn of kindness is a ray of light
the strike of a match and a spark of a flame
is a hand in a hand and a ease to the pain

I see blue daffodils growing outside my window
I got blue daffodils right outside my door
My grandmother told me once
whenever you see those daffodils of blue
think of how much I love them, son
but never as much as I love you

copyright 2020 Joe Middleton (Mr Saturday Music, BMI)

Blue Daffodils (Demo)

The one time I saw her was on a hot august night
It was right after a gig at The Flaming Mug
I was out front smoking a cigarette
Had on that "holy" Steve Earle T-shirt from the Jerusalem tour
I coulda swore she was checking me out.
She said, "a man that'll wear a shirt like that must be some kinda Badass."
I said. "well I don't know about the bad part."
She just smiled and cut me with her eyes.

Her chestnut hair fell on the shoulders of a 5' 2" frame
She was wearing one of those thin linen dresses
all the girls were wearing that summer.
It was white with a flower print, like wildflowers
there was a gold cross around her neck
Some drunk kid walking by said, "you look hot tonight."
She said, "well, yeah it's like a hundred degrees."
"and funny too."
but damn, those brown eyes.

I stood there for an awkward minute that felt more like an eternity
she looked down at her phone
I fumbled for another cigarette
As the lightning bugs danced around the vapor light casting silhouettes on the parking lot
she broke the silence again
"You know, I caught your set tonight. I like that Outlaw folk thing you're going for."
I said, Yeah, all of the cool images were taken.
She just rolled her big brown eyes

She told me her name was Anna, short for Annabelle
I guess you already know mine
she pointed up at the marque.
As if she sensed the question coming, she said, "I'm just waiting for my ride,
I guess he had to work late again."
"Boyfriend?", I asked. "It's complicated", she replied.
I said, "Complicated can be dangerous"
That's when I saw something change in those eyes

Was it regret or was it sadness, that was the question
It was probably none of my business
But it still nagged at my conscience
When I finally found the guts to ask, I heard the sound of a ticking car engine
the headlights blinded me to the face behind the wheel
As she opened the passenger door, I said, "take care, you hear?'
When she turned around, I found the answer I'd been looking for
When I saw the fear in her eyes

I still have that gig, I play it every Friday
Every Friday I scan the crowd
Looking for a face
that missing person flyer I found tacked up at the corner
Is taped in the lid of my guitar case
I put it there for a girl named Anna
so every time I look inside
I see those brown eyes

copyright 2020, Joe Middleton (Mr Saturday Music, BMI)

Anna (Brown Eyes) Demo

It was the 8th of August, ‘73
The day that Richard Nixon resigned on live TV,
And I was at my station when the boss man came around, 
He shook his head and shook my hand and laid that paper down


Had the world upon my shoulders and questions in my head, 
How am I gonna make the rent this month and keep my family fed
But it struck me as funny as I choked that bitter pill,
And walked out in the parking lot into the wrong end of the deal, 
I bet ol’ tricky Dick don’t have a Bonneville 

Now, the man ain’t got no sympathy when all the moneys gone, 
They came like hungry vultures and forced us from our home
Cynthia was crying cause she didn’t understand 
the total lack of empathy, That they didn’t give a damn

So, we packed up our belongings, all we had left to our name, 
Left the key inside the mailbox and stepped out in the rain
Cynthia was laughing by the time we left Mobile,
Put her head down on the dashboard as I shook against the wheel, 
I bet that banker man don’t have a  Bonneville 

As long as the sun shows its face
And the man in the moon’s looking down from outer space 
Then let it reveal whatever what will
We will embrace in this Bonneville 

By Gulfport Mississippi, the past was out of sight
The babies softly dreaming as we drove into the night, 
I spent my last $10 just north of New Orleans
at a diner in Gentilly called “The Crazy Cajun Queen”


It was midnight when she coasted underneath an overpass
30 miles this side of Beaumont with no money & no gas
I heard the shipyard's hiring maybe I can work the mill
but tonight I’ll thank the good Lord for this fortress made of steel
Me and Cynthia here in this Bonneville
Me and Cindy and our little baby boy, safe in this Bonneville

As long as the sun shows its face
And the man in the moon’s looking down from outer space 
Then let it reveal whatever what will
We will embrace in this Bonneville 

copyright 2020 Joe Middleton (Mr Saturday Music, BMI)

Bonneville - Demo

On the TV hung over the jukebox
was the face of the great talking head
I could tell he was pissed about something
Cause his face just turned 3 shades of red
While preparing to do the next number
made some joke about the man who was hissing
And the drunk in the corner says shut up and sing
I said why don't you sit down and listen

I didn't come here to lecture I didn't come here to preach
I won't stand up on this soapbox and make some political speech
But I might play a song about justice
and the struggle against the machine
If I can't change your mind At least I took the time
To make sure that my conscience is clean

The college girls parked at a table
down front, all looked up from their screens
and nodded their heads with a hipster who said
Brother, I know what you mean
Now the drunk is harassing the waiter
who refuses to bring him a drink
He yelled, whatever man, I just turned to the band
And called out Pink Houses in G

I did not come here to argue I did not come here to preach
I won't stand up here and ramble while you drink your sex on the beach
But, I might sing something by Woody  
you know the one that I'm talking about
This land was made for you and for me
And I won't leave no verses out

Yes, I might play a song about justice
and the struggle against the machine
If I can't change your mind
At least I took the time
To make sure that my conscience is clean
If I can't change your mind At least I took the time
To make sure that my conscience is clean

On the TV hung over the jukebox
was the face of the great talking head

copyright 2020 Joe Middleton (Mr Saturday Music, BMI)

The Folk Singer vs The Great Talking Head - Demo

If lonely had a face, I’d be the spittin image
if broken was a man everyone would know my name
if I could win the race on empty, I’d be standing at the finish 
With your number pinned across my chest, and not a thing to kill the pain

So why did you go and start a fire, if you couldn’t stand the heat
left me standing on the wire with me no path of retreat
You broke down my defenses just to pull back on the reins
Is this just a game you’re playing or just your fear of sharing  the chains

If your memory was a dream, I would close my eyes forever 
and paint a pretty picture in my head then I would hang it on the wall
but I don’t sleep too much these days and the color’s started fading 
so why am I still hanging around here waiting for your call

So why did you go and start a fire, if you couldn’t stand the heat
left me standing on the wire with me no path of retreat
You broke down my defenses just to pull back on the reins
Is this just a game you’re playing or just your fear of sharing  the chains

copyright 2021 Joe Middleton (Mr Saturday Music, BMI)

The Chains - Demo

Yesterd'y evenin after supper
I took a notion to discover
them conspiracy shows I heard about on the youtube
Well before I too long I was deep inside
a long dark tunnel to the other side
of some parallel universe designed for the hoo-doo'd 
They call it a rabbit hole, no rabbits, but there musta been bats

Some toothless chick by the name of Donna
says the anti-Christ is Barrack Obama
saw it on info wars it's the goddamn truth
Made a whistling sound as she started to blather
on about how he could change the change the weather,
look it up, by God, it was all over fox news

Don't get me started on global warming
That's a liberal Chinese hoax according
to what I heard said on Rush Limbaugh's show 
Just check out that fellow, Q'anon
that pizza place and the goings-on
They was slinging more down there than pizza dough
You know what Soros spells backwards? That's right!
Got the rabbit hole blues

Pastor Vince from Malta said
the dinosaurs helped build the pyramids
wonder how they moved big rocks with those tiny hands
The Mafia murdered JFK 
With assistance from the CIA
Who buried the evidence beneath the Meadowlands

I never knew that the earth was hollow
with a hole in the top and one in the bottom
and there's a whole lotta real cool shit as your passing through
At the Garden of Eden, there's a flying saucer
run by a Viking by the name of Chaucer
And a couple of vanquished Germans from World War 2
The flat earthers are gonna be pissed but it's good news for Santa Clause, got the rabbit hole blues

O' Bill Gates is hanging with Madona 
Beyonce', Ga-Ga and Rhianna
plotting a course to carry out their plan
And Jay Z is known for slinging rhymes,
turns out he's a vampire traveling time
with a one-eyed Siamese cat named one-eyed sam

He drives a flying Mazarati,
the official car of the Illuminati
he parks it under a runway at DIA
Where once a year the New World Order
meets inside South of the Border
The Mexican joint just down from B98
Which is kinda like the place Harry Potter catches the train, it's invisible to muggles
got the rabbit hole blues

When I looked up it was 3 AM
thought I'd better go out the way I come in
before I reached the point of no return
Friends, it's dark down there, I can't conceive
of the crazy shit, some folks believe
I ain't put a dent in what I learned

like Hillary Clinton's really dead
that's a robot living inside her head
I guess that's where that kooky laugh comes from
Alex Jones is a standup guy
See, I gotcha there, cause that's a lie
But he is the indisputable King of Dumb
Elvis is still the King,  alive and well living Branson
got the rabbit hole blues

copyright 2020 Joe Middleton (Mr Saturday Music, BMI)

The Talking Rabbit Hole Blues (Explicit Content)

He stood there on the platform with his suitcase
anxiously he waited for the train
a 14 year old boy was bound for Dixie
to leave behind the cold Chicago rain

600 miles on The City of New Orleans
On The Illinois Central Railroad line
When he stepped into the sticky heat of August
He left his mama's voice a world behind

The workers in the fields tending the cotton
looked like speckles on a mighty sea of white
And he could see it written clear upon their faces
You have to know your place and accept it to survive

Along the mighty Tallahatchie
the water seemed to beckon to a claim
as it rolled on to wherever it was headed
He thought he heard that river call his name

Look away, old days are not forgotten 
Look away, from eyes that fail to see
Listen to the ghosts of Mississippi
That hang like Spanish moss beneath the trees

It was evening when the car rolled into Money
The delta sun was low across the sky
Old crow looked down from a magnolia
And sang a long and mournful warning cry

Unschooled to their ways, he never faltered 
but what he said for sure we'll never know
It's a high price when you bend the laws of Dixie
When you're a colored boy and she is white as snow


Look away, old days are not forgotten 
Look away, from eyes that fail to see
Listen to the ghosts of Mississippi
That hang like Spanish moss beneath the trees

And the debt collectors came without a warning
the smell of hate and whisky filled the room
they'd come to take the boy who did the talking
and drove away beneath a liar's moon

Out along the Tallahatchie 
the rolling water echoing his name
as it rolled on to wherever it was headed
the mighty river settled on a claim

Look away, old days are not forgotten 
Look away, from eyes that fail to see
Listen to the ghosts of Mississippi
That hang like Spanish moss beneath the trees

copyright 2018 Joe Middleton (Mr Saturday Music BMI)

Ghosts of Mississippi (For Emmett)

Gypsy dancer
with a calculated answer
Twirling to the radio playing in her head

Behind the vail 
Her eyes relate a tale
With a look that tells you everything 
Without a notion said

And she moves like the queen of independence
And she shines like a pawn shop diamond ring

And I love the way she sways
To the music that she makes 
from the rhythm of her tambourine

A captivating jangle
like castanets and bangles
rings in perfect timing, one and two and three and four

You better bet
If she falls out of step
It’ll look just like she planned
to keep you coming back for more

And she moves like the queen of independence
And she shines like a pawn shop diamond ring

And I love the way she sways
To the music that she makes 
from the rhythm of her tambourine

And she moves like the queen of independence
And she shines like a pawn shop diamond ring

And I love to watch her sway
To the music that she makes           
From the rhythm of her tambourine.

copyright 2022 Joe Middleton (Mr Saturday Music BMI)

Tambourine

Mama and Daddy were standing by the door
underneath the front porch light
on that cold December evening I left home
He didn't say nothing but I read it in his eyes
when Mama held me tight
and whispered son, we'll always leave it on

Well, I know what but I was looking for something
I guess that's what a boy'll do
when he hears the siren's call 
And it's a long way down to take a shot in the dark
at a room with a better view
And it's an even longer way to fall

Goodbye, Carolina, farewell, my old friend
may my heart be with you always no matter how the road should bend
Saint Christopher, protect me from this weight inside my shoes
But don't let me shake these Camden County Blues

And I don't know where I'm going but I sure know who I am
You can take the boy from home but not the home out of the man
I'm just listening to the song that plays between those 2 white lines
And if  I wind up right back where I started then I'll take that as a sign 

Mama and Daddy were waiting by the door
in a dream I had last night
like a picture on the wall shaded in sepia tones
They didn't say a thing but the look on their faces made everything all right
Underneath the welcome light of home

Goodbye, Carolina, farewell, my old friend
may my heart be with you always no matter how the road should bend
Saint Christopher, protect me from this weight inside my shoes
But don’t let me shake these Camden County Blues

copyright 2022 Joe Middleton (Mr Saturday Music, BMI)

Camden County Blues

It's been over 20 years now
and he still feels the loss
he just sits at home and shakes his head
in disbelief at the cost
So he'll try to drown the memory again
it's all he's ever known to do
But drinking never solved any problems
damn sure created a few

Now, the one thing he ain't sure of
is when he first lost track
How he lost the only woman he ever loved 
and how he wants her back
But the damage has been done
and he can't find a way to make amends
He's standing in a tunnel and he can't see a light at the end

He can't see the forest for the trees
It's hard to get up when you're down on your knees
So he closes his eyes and thinks of all those wasted years
blinded by whiskey and tears

Now, what's he more afraid of
the future or the past
and does it really matter
that's the question that he asks
when the ones who really love him
don't say the things he wants to hear
it's back to the bottle
it's easier to forget.

He can't see the forest for the trees
It's hard to get up when you're down on your knees
So he closes his eyes and thinks of all those wasted years
blinded by whiskey and tears

copyright 2022 Joe Middleton (Mr Saturday Music, BMI)

Whiskey and Tears (Demo)

Jerry Lee played piano
like a madman hurricane
that's how he got the name
When the killer eased up behind the microphone
it was something
Was a whole lotta shaking going on

Elvis Presley wore black leather
in living color on the television screen
he wore it like a king
and the women couldn't seem to get enough 
and it was something
Was a hunk-a hunk-a burning love

But the DJs wouldn't play no Little Richard
and settled for the song without the soul
They erased the pretty black man from the picture
but Tutti Fruitti ain't vanilla, man
Hell no, that ain't rock and roll

Buddy Holly strapped on a Stratocaster 
plugged it up and turned it all the way to 10
and hit that chord again
with a little bit of rhythm and the kids began to sway
And it was something
A love for real not fade away

Johnny sang I hear that train a coming 
slid a single in between his guitar strings
like a snare drum swings
it was Memphis on a late hot July day
and it was something
that would blow your blues away

But the DJs wouldn't play no Little Richard
so they sacrificed the song without the soul
they erased the pretty black man from the picture
but Tutti Fruitti ain't vanilla, man
Hell no, that ain't rock and roll

copyright 2022 Joe Middleton (Mr Saturday Music, BMI)

Vanilla - Demo

There's an anger in this house
I wish I knew what it's about
But you can't seen to find a way to tell it
Except to scream at me the blame
but honey, I don't own this rain
still I'm left out in the storm with no umbrella

I'm right there when you fall into the darkness
I only wish you would help me understand
I'm the lifeline looking down 
scared to death you're gonna drown
But I can't help if you refuse to take my hand

If vengeance is a virtue
Then goddamn the ones that hurt you
let the guilty beg your mercy for their sins
to them I shake my fist
so baby, scratch me from this list
and pencil me in bold to your defense

I'm right there when you fall into the darkness
I only wish you would help me understand
I'm the lifeline looking down 
scared to death you're gonna drown
But I can't help if you refuse to take my hand

There's blood beneath my feet  
from the cuts that run so deep
as I walk these darkened halls on broken glass
But I'll stand guard outside your door
Til you can't take it anymore
and hold you til the ugliness has passed

I'm right there when you fall into the darkness
I only wish you would help me understand
I'm the lifeline looking down 
scared to death you're gonna drown
But I can't help if you refuse to take my hand

copyright 2022 Joe Middleton (Mr Saturday Music, BMI)

Plea

Singer-songwriter Joe Middleton released his first CD, Highway Tremolo, on November 3, 2019 to a packed house at The Evening Muse in Charlotte. Its nine songs were recorded and produced by Eric Lovell at Charlotte’s Blu Bubble Studio. 

 Although rock music was his mainstay for years, he has always identified as a folk singer—a teller of tales through song. Whether you call his music Americana, folk-rock, alt-country, or something else, for Middleton, these are stories that need to be told.

 Middleton continues to hone his ability to tell a better story through words and music. He draws from influences ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Steve Earle to create what he considers to be short-form musical plays. His songs are heavily inspired by the current social climate and a need to remember the bad as well as the good.

Acoustic Demos 2020-2022

Joe Middleton Music