A live performance of the Lost in Williamsburg Christmas Special. Recorded December 15th at the Williamasburg Regional Library. Sorry the sound level is low. We didn’t get a great recording.

Lost In Williamsburg Christmas Special Live!

Originally aired in episode 10 of Lost in Williamsburg, October 5th, 2014. Song written by Phillip Merritt. Arranged, performed and produced by Mike Puccio at Serenity Sound. John Demarzo lead vocal.

I'm not someone who needs to bleed
I was happy counting hours watching flowers setting seed
then you walked down the colonnade
crashing a Tuesday morning meeting of the dispossessed brigade

sinking gardens, falling skies
brush her hair out of my eyes
afterwards we reached a draw
comparing notes on Derrida
 
she's the girl, the girl who messed me up
she's the girl, the girl who messed me up

sometimes a dream can get to you
once it gets stuck inside your head you know there's nothing you can do
down by the sea we built a home
from debris that we had gathered bits of shells and broken bones

stealing days, a pair of thieves
I want to stay, you always leave
the lines we draw, the words we say
everything gets washed away

she's the girl, the girl who messed me up
she's the girl, the girl who messed me up

you build me up, you wear me down, you turn me all around
you make me feel like  I'm to blame (always the same)
you say my name and I just run, I run like a fool
 but you don't mean a thing

in another universe
time and tides might be reversed
until then I'll set you free
all your secrets safe with me

she's the girl, the girl who messed me up
she's the girl, the girl who messed me up
she's the girl, the girl who messed me up
she's the girl, the girl who messed me up

©Phillip Merritt 2014

The Girl Who Messed Me Up

From episode 6. Song written by Phillip Merritt. Performed by Mark Kendrick, Kat Turk, and Phillip Merritt. 

we once shared
this empty room
now the ones who care
all pray for you

where's the sense?
I'm so confused
voices silenced
who changed the rules?
are we fools?

broken and battered and blue
everyone's looking for...

tossed by tides
we seek release
can a prayer divide
a darkened sea?

when I close my eyes
black is all I see
and I've lost my pride
brought to my knees
my beliefs

broken and battered and blue
everyone's waiting for...

I've never loved another friend like you
and I need to see your face
one more time
and I don't care how long I might have to wait
And though it's dangerous to think that time
will bring the resolution that we've been denied
it just feels to soon to cry
for you

broken and battered and blue
everyone's looking for you
broken and battered and blue

©Phillip Merritt 2014

Broken and Battered and Blue

When I left for college in old Williamsburg
my head was a'spinning with stories I'd heard
jejune as mulberries and dumb as an ass
pliant was I as a fresh blade of grass

I packed up my books with my head in the clouds
so my father did warn "Son, lest ye become proud,
forget not the the soil that you worked with the plow"
though most dear to my heart were the sheep and the cows

Ex voto
honor the green and gold
votum nostrum sacrum

As soon as my foot had stepped light through the gate,
accosted was I by my new chamber mates.
"We're sure you'll enjoy all the studies," they said 
"Though the quarters are cramped, we sleep four to a bed"

We practiced our latin, improving each week 
we perfected techniques handed down from the Greeks 
but still there remained one test yet to be passed
so professor suggested I stay after class 

He tutored me well in mellifluous tones 
from his fertile knowledge much seed had been sown 
and deep in the day when sun no longer shone 
he lit my candle with flame from his own 

Ex voto
honor the green and gold
votum nostrum sacrum

One celadon day searching for solitude
I skipped to the dell for to bathe in the nude
when my ears did detect the most delicate whoosh
and I turned to discover a quivering bush

Trembling with fear I called out "Who is there?"
to a myrtle whence crept out a maiden most fair
she slipped in the water with nary a care
so we tossed and we splashed till I came up for air

"Before we proceed” she said "please understand
I will not submit to nor heed your commands
For I am the equal of any young man"
hence I beat her severely in sharp reprimand

Ex voto
honor the green and gold
votum nostrum sacrum

My last night as a student I lept o'er the fence
of the grand palace garden, 'twas minor offense
but the moon did reveal the most troubling scenes
filled with wicked young maids and debauched libertines

The cresset flames lit up a twisted tableaux
bodies pressed thing to thing like a scene from Rousseau
They danced in silk boots on the backs of their slaves
Even for my taste 'twas rather depraved

A voice asked "Son why must you look so nonplussed?
So it shall be and it ever was thus
There's no need to protest, nothings left to discuss
You've done well my dear child, you're now one of us"

©Phillip Merritt

The Ballad Of William & Mary

Vocals by Erin Roberts.

Pon misty meade where 
callous fate conspireth
stand a maiden and a lad
who doth tenderly confess

"I'll love you always
till the moment of my death
I shall call with my last breath
sweet Isabelle"

he smileth gently
as they hear the thunder roar
sounding like a mighty canon
guarding o'er some distant shore

"My country needeth me
and though the wage is poor
I must do my sacred duty
to the king for I am sworn
I shall fight beside my brothers
in the high woods of the north
but I promise to return sweet Isabelle"

Sweet Isabelle is risen
like a vision wandering the garden
in the morning 
Sweet Isabelle don't worry
I'll be back before the summer's gone

Her love returneth
flesh unscarred yet somehow changed
all the joy hath fled his heart
and only discontent remains

"Although I love thee
I just can't give thee my name
you deserve a better man
I have suffered too much pain
I have forged through fields of sorrow
and endured the hardest rains
and always I'll protect mine Isabelle"

Sweet Isabelle is floating
like a vapour drifting through the garden
in the moonlight
Sweet Isabel stop crying
one day thou wilt find someone else to love

From episode 13 of Lost In Williamsburg ©2015 Phillip Merritt

Sweet Isabelle (featuring Erin Roberts)

Vocals by Nora Knight
From episode 15 of Lost in Williamsburg

Composer's Note: Toano is a quiet little village to the northwest of Williamsburg, Virginia. Its notable sights include the beautiful horse farms along Forge Road, and the Everything Vintage shop in the downtown area.

mama said girl you best dust off your bones
and lose the phone
don't let the summer pass you by

I had to make a plan so I could lose
those high school blues
and I'd had horses on my mind

all I wanted wast to ride
leave my home town so far behind
all I wanted wast to ride
wind at my back, clear open skies

and I sang
oh no Toano
I can't play your games no more
and soon I'm gonna leave
and like some broke down piano
a strange and bittersweet refrain
is all I take with me

I scanned a list of names as I stood before
the stable door
I was assigned Miss Adelaide

she looked at me with what? maybe charity?
noblesse oblige?
my lack of pedigree betrayed

still she took my breath away
there was a softness to her face
yeah she took my breath away
immaculate in silk and suede
couldn't find the words to say
how everything had changed that day
did it matter anyway?
could you ever feel the same?

and I sang
oh no Toano
I can't play your games no more
and soon I'm gonna leave
and like some broke down piano
a strange and bittersweet refrain																			
is all I take with me

we were runnin' so fast
that I lost the reins
to the chestnut mare between my legs
 and I hit the ground hard
under your spell
and the bruise on my heart left me feelin' like hell

But then maybe 
it was better for me 
that she finally made me see

oh no Toano
I can't play your games no more
and now it's time to leave
and like some broke down piano
a strange and bittersweet refrain																			
is all I take with me

I think I saw her once down on Cary Street
on Cary Street

©Phillip Merritt, 2015

Toano (featuring Nora Knight)

Lead Vocals: Nathaniel Clemens
Rap: Nora Knight
Backing Vocals: Julia Mosby, Nora Knight and Phillip Merritt

From episode 16 of Lost in Williamsburg

it's not a party until someone breaks your heart
it's not a party until all the drama starts
ooo, It might sound crazy but you better be on guard
when you set foot into a twisted house of cards
well, the fun won't start til things begin to fall apart uh huh
it's not a party until someone breaks your heart

if I was smarter I'd know something wasn't right
I woud have seen that you were itchin' for a fight
ooo, I would have known that this was how it all would end
a sneak attack to the applause of all your friends
oh, and it was almost like some weird performance art uh-huh
it's not a party until someone breaks your heart

what's a lonely boy to do?
I know like everbody's laughing and it's making me blue
I guess I gotta face the truth
it's so funny when it happens till it happens to you
ever since you left me everything’s out of tune
I'm king of the fools but I've got nothing to rule
maybe it would help to spread the pain around
give someone else a shot at the crown
I'll throw a party tonight
let's have a party tonight

Rap Interlude:
I gotta message for the freshmen that you better not ignore
you know a party's not a party until I hit the floor
you better keep music going, keep on givin me more
'cause when I'm bored I get an urge to spread a little discord
gonna shake this soiree up from the bottom to the top
with a blast of my melodiastic agitprop
gonna play my guitar until the girls start to pop
and use my skills on the mic to make all the jockeys drop
you might pretend to resist but you know I'm gonna win
I'll turn this sweet little burg into Weimar Berlin
and like a massive black hole suckin' everybody in
I'm leavin’ nothin’ behind 'cept some satisfied grins

do you ever wonder just how much a heart can take
when everybody's creepin', everybody's on the make?
well, get out your money, place your bets and say your prayers
it might be you that ends up cryin' on the stairs
ooo, my plan is working and tonight is off the charts 
yeah, the liquor's flowing and the lights are getting dark
oh, in this disaster everybody's plays a part
it's not a party until someone breaks your heart

© 2016 Phillip Merritt

It's Not a Party (Until Someone Breaks Your Heart)

Yes, it’s still Halloween night and yes, the seance is still going on. But before we hear how that turns out, why don’t we take a 250 year detour back to an earlier, chillier October evening in Williamsburg? Just for a bit though. Once the stars have aligned and all the owls have hooted their last hoots, it’s back to those crazy kids at the Equator. Will they finally make a supernatural connection with Aaron?

Over at the Williamsburg Police Station, Tracy Daggett’s exhausting all-nighter is coming to an eager end. But to her chagrin, just as she’s about to head out the door, she bumps elbows with an old Lafayette High classmate. Someone our long-time listeners might recognize. Oh, and this episode contains a special bonus—not one, but two mysterious bags!

This podcast contains swearing.

Frederick Corney as Professor Jobriath
Mark Hutchens as Thomas Jefferson
Cal Shuey as Richard Holcombe
Pete Lutz as Gideon Blackhard
Reid Perkins as Caleb Souter
Calvin Glaspie as Ted
Breanne Long as Bree
Claire Penix as Meghan Marshall
Colleen Kennedy as Hexabeth Blackhard
Jacob Wilson as Josh Ryder
Claudia Swain As Jordan Bales
Christa Mouser as Tracy Daggett
Debbi Burcham as Tanner
Dennis Leonituck Jr. as Perry
Michael Turner as Ed Jackson
And Timothy Costelloe as Francis Fauquier

Produced, directed, written and scored by Phillip Merritt
Thank you to Freesound.org for the use of their creative commons sound effects.
©Phillip Merritt, 2017

Episode 19 of Lost in Williamsburg: Up All Night

So this is it. The big super-sized finale that provides a closure of sorts to the Cats With Benefits/Old Country Road Killer storylines. Though Halloween night has ended (depending on how you define such things), there are still plenty of horrific things in store for the residents of Williamsburg. But what do a couple pieces of ugly old jewelry have to do with anything? I can’t tell you that, but I will say that not everyone makes it through alive to find out the answer!

This podcast contains swearing.

Robert Mosby as Roger P. Shiffle
Mike Turner as Ed Jackson
Jalen Mouser as Toby
Frank Battle as Mr. Toliver
Ed Champion as Dr. Blevin
Claudia Swain As Jordan Bales
Claire Penix as Meghan Marshall
Lynn Sikora as the nurse
Philip Burcher as John Dunhill
Linda Hertzler as Valerie Dunhill
Susan Branch Smith as the unnamed ghost
Jacob Wilson as Josh Ryder
Reid Perkins as Caleb Souter
Suzanne Douglas as Cynthia Souter
Louise Menges as Margaret Souter
Will Hausman as Dale Souter
Austin Beach as Mr. Guest
Sarah Golding as Mrs. Guest
Daniel Turner as Zeph Metcalf
Zoë Bowen Smith as Ally Burks
Colleen Kennedy as Hexabeth Blackhard

Produced, directed, written and scored by Phillip Merritt
Thank you to Freesound.org for the use of their creative commons sound effects.
©Phillip Merritt, 2018

Episode 20 of Lost in Williamsburg: A Little Bit Longer

Lost in Williamsburg is a multi-generational supernatural drama set in Williamsburg, Virginia. The story shifts between the 18th century and present day, and follows the lives of several local Williamsburgers and W&M College students as they navigate the strange and unexplained happenings that happen so frequently in our quaint little town. Sort of like Adventures in Odyssey crossed with the CBS Mystery Radio Theater. The complete series is available on iTunes.

Unless otherwise noted, all material is ©Phillip Merritt

Here's a bit of background about Williamsburg from Wikipedia:

Williamsburg was founded in 1632 as Middle Plantation as a fortified settlement on high ground between the James and York rivers. The city served as the capital of the Colony of Virginia from 1699 to 1780 and was the center of political events in Virginia leading to the American Revolution. The College of William & Mary, established in 1693, is the second-oldest institution of higher education in the United States; its alumni include three U.S. presidents as well as many other important figures in the nation's early history.

The city's tourism-based economy is driven by Colonial Williamsburg, the restored Historic Area of the city. Along with nearby Jamestown and Yorktown, Williamsburg forms part of the Historic Triangle, which attracts more than four million tourists each year. Modern Williamsburg is also a college town, inhabited in large part by William & Mary students and staff.

Lost In Williamsburg

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