I had the great pleasure of collaborating with Martin Hirsch.  Martin is a recording genius and I was along for the ride.  Thank you Martin!  I hope you enjoy our track.

@martin-hirsch-656665916

Take Me Back To St. Augustine w/Martin Hirsch

And So She Goes w/Rob Sproule

Right Around the Corner w/Rob Sproule

I was a scrawny ten-year old kid in the mid-1970s when I had the honor of meeting the great Chester Burnett, a/k/a Howlin’ Wolf.  His advice to me was to “keep playing.”  His life and advice are the inspiration for this song.

Mister Chester Burnett w/Rob Sproule

This song is dedicated to Joe Luby and all Vietnam veterans.  

Karl Paulsen - pedal steel guitar
Andrew Sharp - upright bass
Paul Stephanides - acoustic guitar and vocals

Paul Stephanides

Joe is Still in Vietnam (demo)

WHEN THEY THINK OF HOME 

When she thinks of home and him so far away
The miles she has roamed looking for a place to stay
When she thinks of him, a bug in their eye
There he stands alone against a red-filled sky
With bombs blasting, terror passing, refusing to give into fear
Times testing, nerves stretching, how could it happen here?

With babies in tow and him staying behind
With them she had to go, his face frozen in time
The land they are from, a many-tortured past
They can't let them come, and take it all back
With tanks rolling, children holding tight to their mothers’ hands
Hearts pounding, sirens sounding, it never was their plan

When they think of home and the wheat fields of gold
Their children may never know the beauty they did hold
When they think of home, the cherished hallowed ground
The words they never come, except a silent sound
With pain waiting, no debating to keep on the fight
Sky flashing, people packing all through the night
All through the night

When They Think of Home

Lyrics below.  Here is the story behind this song:  

http://dartmouthalumnimagazine.com/articles/tom-shakeshaft-after-el-chapo

SHAKESHAFT

What do we know, not too much
How the bottle became a crutch
He couldn't get past
He told stories in the neighborhood
About the times he did good
Taking on the wolf pack

He was shakeshaft
Shake, shake, shaft
He was shakeshaft
Shake, shake, shaft

He took them down in a court of law
Only to win, not to draw
He gave up on that path
He lived in town in a corner loft
The demons came and then they'd claw
Right up on his back 

He was shakeshaft
Shake, shake, shaft
He was shakeshaft
Shake, shake, shaft

When he was running, when he was holding
The wind would advance
It would blow in and take a hold in his mind and his hands
He tried to resist it, but he would miss it and everything would crash

What do we know, not too much
How the bottle became a drug
He couldn't walk back

He was shakeshaft
Shake, shake, shaft
He was shakeshaft
Shake, shake, shaft
He's at peace at last

Shakeshaft

A beautiful place in southern Minnesota.

Lyrics:

A breeze touches a Sunday afternoon, a freckled-face boy serves pie with a spoon
They’ll be closing up real soon at the Blue Earth River, flowing beneath my shoes
There’s a young girl playing on a swing, dad says stop as he pulls on the rings
She doesn’t want to leave, she cries and she chants, at the Blue Earth River, heaven’s here in the flesh

I don’t have a thought of any depth, I’m just thinking of one more step
To the Blue Earth River where my heart resurrects
 
There’s a jukebox with only old tunes, a piano in the corner, Buddy playing Blue Moon
His heart is here, not just passing through
At the Blue Earth River, I’m listening to the truth
I’m sitting in the grass, soaking the sun’s day glow
Letting the day pass, nothing I need to know
I watch our boy kick up sand
At the Blue Earth River, he’ll grow up to be a man
 
I worked in the city for wages unkept, I didn’t miss a thing when I left
to the Blue Earth River where my heart resurrects
 
I came here for the lost and found, Blue Earth River opened its mouth
It said here’s where you put your pin
At the Blue Earth River, a new life begins
At the Blue Earth River, a new life begins

Blue Earth River

Performed by my band, Nickel and Steel, off our debut album.  An additional track off the album can be found on our SoundCloud page:  https://soundcloud.com/nickelandsteel

Lyrics:

He would arrive at half past four
He took the garbage beside my door
He said I can’t talk of it anymore
In my mind, there is always war
 
Because Joe is still in Vietnam
Yes, he’s gone, he’s not coming back
Because Joe is still in Vietnam
 
He carried the bags in his hands
Filled with bodies from the jungle land
He called at night, said do you understand
What could I say to the burning lamb
 
Because Joe is still in Vietnam
Yes, he’s gone, he’s not coming back
Because Joe is still in Vietnam
 
He’s not going be on the next train
He’s not going to come in from the pouring rain
He’s not going to give his kind regards
It’s really, really too hard
 
He came home no one cared
He had a face crippled by wear
Memories of those lads placed on his back
All that weight too much to ask
 
Because Joe is still in Vietnam
Yes, he’s gone, he’s not coming back
Because Joe is still in Vietnam
Because Joe is still in Vietnam

Joe Is Still In Vietnam (Studio Version - Nickel and Steel)

GRIEVING HEART


Grieving heart – I took the part of a dog lost in the woods
Grieving heart – tethered to the bushes and crying out all I could
I shed the pain, sheltered the shame and moved from where I stoodTo where suffering is just a word, to fly is for the birds and what I understood
My grieving heart wasn’t doing me any good



Grieving heart – it’s time to start beating like you should
Grieving heart – pounded into submission by making it on foot
I took the blame, got rid of the chains that kept me from living right
I took stock of it all, stopped it from a fall and saw within my sight, my grieving heart said enough with this fight


Grieving heart, grieving heart, grieving heart, grieving heart


You’ve got a lot of nerve, to put me on that curve and take me so off course
Now I’m back with a plan, you’re not gonna stand in the way of my force
My grieving heart said to feel no remorse
Grieving heart, grieving heart, grieving heart, grieving heart

Grieving Heart

A soft little song composed and played in Cartago, Costa Rica by Paul Stephanides and Jose Miguel Ocampo. Recorded with an iPhone.

Measuring Cup (with Jose Miguel Ocampo)

Never Get Over This Hill

My Quiet Ballad

Back of the Yards

My band Nickel and Steel's debut album out now.  Preview a few tracks at Nickel and Steel's SoundCloud page:  https://soundcloud.com/nickelandsteel

Check the album out at the streaming services below:

Paul Stephanides

Pinned to spotlight

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