"What Am I Gonna Do?" is a single from my new record "Haunts & Wants," out on vinyl and streaming on Oct. 6th, 2023.
 www.josephhouckmusic.com

Music video here: https://youtu.be/ZLGJZfch2e8

Guitars, bass, keyboards, synths, vocals: Joseph Houck
Mix, Master, Additional percussion: Bryan Ciliberto
Backing vocals: Anna Houck


Lyrics
Raúl was drifting into space
When he turned off his little screen
Far off look upon his face
And one that I’ve so often seen

He said that’s how they say
That dreams go down
Get stripped away and come apart
But do they really matter
To me now?
Those cryptic matters of the heart

(Chorus) What am I gonna do
With my life?
What am I gonna do?

Janet wiped the tables down
Swept the dirty kitchen clean
And you could hardly hear a sound
Save for the hum of some machine

She comes across those crumbs called memories
Thinks how the days pass like the clouds
Says I can’t pretend those changes don’t change me
I’ll sing the quiet part out loud:

(Chorus) What am I gonna do
With my life?
What am I gonna do?

Graham grinds those days with grit and gratitude
The humdrum mind-numb of routine
But seldom speaks in more than platitudes
And returns scrolling on his screen

(Chorus)

What Am I Gonna Do?

Bryan Ciliberto: Drums
Ib Delight: Saxophone
Anna Houck: Backing Vocals
Joseph Houck: Vocals, piano, guitar, bass, synths

Mixed and Mastered by Bryan Ciliberto. 
New Album "Haunts & Wants" Out 10/6/23

My new single "I Will Never Forget" existed in its earliest form some fifteen years ago. While I've not changed some of those initial verses, I've written different versions of the song through the years. A few might remember an earlier incarnation I posted on SoundCloud about a decade ago. While the song has evolved, the central idea has never changed. It comes from the drive to cherish, extol the exploits of romantic love. 

 For the lyric video (below), I filmed short clips of scenes along the road where I live:
 https://youtu.be/TfXZTLraEVk?feature=shared

I Will Never Forget (2023 Version)

CLUB BABU TOUR 2024 🪩✨💙
tix: jaiwolf.co/tour 

6.23 - San Diego, CA - HORIZON MUSIC FESTIVAL 
6.28 - Brooklyn, NY (SOLD OUT)
6.29 - Washington, DC
7.4 - San Francisco, CA - Phoenix Hotel
7.5 - San Francisco, CA - 1015 Folsom

with @louisthechild
9.7 - Seattle, WA
9.20 - Salt Lake City, UT
9.21 - Red Rocks, CO
10.27 - Chandler, AZ

10.10-11 - Nashville, TN - BREAKAWAY MUSIC FESTIVAL

mixed and mastered by MYRNE

EXTENDED MIX DOWNLOAD

CHARLI XCX, YUNG LEAN, ROBYN - 360 (JAI WOLF CLUB BABU REMIX)

My take on the folk song “Arthur McBride”—likely of Irish origin. Paul Brady’s brilliant version was my guide.  Folk singer A.L. Lloyd called it “that most good-natured, mettlesome, and un-pacifistic of anti-militarist songs.”

Lyrics:
Oh, me and my cousin, one Arthur McBride
As we went a walking down by the seaside
Now, mark what followed and what did betide
For it being on Christmas morning
Out for recreation, we went on a tramp
And we met Sergeant Napper and Corporal Vamp
And a little wee drummer, intending to camp
For the day being pleasant and charming

"Good morning, good morning" the sergeant did cry
"And the same to you gentlemen" we did reply
Intending no harm but meant to pass by
For it being on Christmas morning
But says he, "My fine fеllows if you will enlist
It's ten guineas in gold I will slip in your fist
And a crown in thе bargain for to kick up the dust
And drink the King's health in the morning"

"For a soldier he leads a very fine life
And he always is blessed with a charming young wife
And he pays all his debts without sorrow or strife
And always lives pleasant and charming
And a soldier he always is decent and clean
In the finest of clothing he's constantly seen
While other poor fellows go dirty and mean
And sup on thin gruel in the morning"
But, says Arthur, "I wouldn't be proud of your clothes
For you've only the lend of them as I suppose
And you dare not change them one night, for you know
If you do you'll be flogged in the morning
And although that we are single and free
We take great delight in our own company
And we have no desire strange faces to see
Although that your offers are charming
And we have no desire to take your advance
All hazards and dangers we barter on chance
For you would have no scruples for to send us to France
Where we would get shot without warning "

"Oh now!" says the sergeant, I'll have no such chat
And I neither will take it from spalpeen or brat
For if you insult me with one other word
I'll cut off your heads in the morning"
And then Arthur and I we soon drew our hods
And we scarce gave them time for to draw their own blades
When a trusty shillelagh came over their heads
And bade them take that as fair warning

And their old rusty rapiers that hung by their side
We flung them as far as we could in the tide
"Now take them out, Devils", cried Arthur McBride
"And temper their edge in the morning"
And the little wee drummer we flattened his pow
And we made a football of his rowdey-dow-dow
Threw it in the tide for to rock and to row
And bade it a tedious returning
And we having no money, paid them off in cracks
And we paid no respect to their two bloody backs
For we lathered them there like a pair of wet sacks
And left them for dead in the morning

And so to conclude and to finish disputes
We obligingly asked if they wanted recruits
For we were the lads who would give them hard clouts
And bid them look sharp in the morning

Oh me and my cousin, one Arthur McBride
As we went a walkin' down by the seaside
Now mark what followed and what did betide
For it being on Christmas morning

Arthur McBride (arr. Brady)

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The Jungle Giants - Heavy Hearted (Jays Negri Remix) [FREE DOWNLOAD]

WHEN I LAY MY WORRIES DOWN

I will shed my old skin
See the world as new again
When I lay my worries down

I will go out on the rocks
And I will gaze upon the flocks
When I lay my worries down

And I will breathe a sigh of ease
Like the wind against the trees
When I lay my worries down

And I will drink the summer wine
But I’ll leave some on the vine
When I lay my worries down

And that looming sense of dread
When I lay down in my bed
When I lay my worries down

Shall be lifted like a stone
And I’ll leave well enough alone
When I lay my worries down

When I lay my worries down (demo)

According to Wikipedia, the Blue Ridge Mountains’ signature hues–visible from afar–come from trees, which emit the organic compound isoprene. My home region with its mystical haze has long been a source of awe, intrigue, and creative inspiration for many, including me. Today, I’m really excited to release a 5-song digital EP called “Blue Ridge Mountain Waterfalls,” available on Bandcamp. 

https://josephhouck.bandcamp.com/album/blue-ridge-mountain-waterfalls

Conveying stories and emotions through music and lyrics remains a great joy of mine. As is common in creative writing, the tales are a blend of real-life and fiction, some almost entirely the latter. The title song was inspired partly by my late grandmother, who passed away shortly before my son was born. I fondly remember her and her mountain living skills: country cooking, gardening, canning. The song is a reflection on some of life’s landmarks.

At first, I had plans to record these songs with other musicians, and perhaps alternate versions may yet come to fruition. But for this release, I pursued a humbler, more personal approach, starting each song with acoustic guitar/ vocals and overdubbing a couple of extras like mandolin and piano where necessary.

Though originally I didn’t conceive of a mini-album, it became clear, looking back from a distance, that these songs correlate to effect a grander vista. The story elements are suffused in that beguiling blue aura of home. 



BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAIN WATERFALLS

The woods and the streams have their secrets
They use time as a tool to conceal
And I watched her old hands in the kitchen
As they made one of our final meals

She was a blue ridge mountain waterfall
Slicker than the glassy rock
And grayer than an old stone building 
Oh, if only these hills could talk

I watched the steep drops of her fingers
Lifting the lid off the pot,
Soup streaming out of the ladle,
Rain steaming that dry garden plot

I recall the damp scent of the cellar,
Warm hum of the old kitchen light
Cascading curls of her temples,
Cataract mist in her eyes

She was a blue ridge mountain waterfall
Slicker than the glassy rock
And grayer than an old stone building 
Oh, if only these hills could talk

Now she’s there in your face from this angle
When you smile after making a joke
But you never met your great-grandma
She was gone when your mom’s water broke

Just like a blue ridge mountain waterfall
Slicker than the glassy rock
And grayer than an old stone building 
Oh, if only these hills could talk


Blue Ridge Mountain Waterfalls

Halloween Intro_V01

Opening track from my EP "Blue Ridge Mountain Waterfalls" https://josephhouck.bandcamp.com/album/blue-ridge-mountain-waterfalls

Lyrics
Rising up with the morning sun 
Looking back now his deeds are done 
And he's going 
 He's going back home

 Mouths the words they last heard him say: 
"Leaving now, coming back someday" 
And he's going  
Yes, he's going back home  

Where the green fields roll In the blood red soil 
By the river shoal 
And he's going back home
  
Greets the grove past the Wellmans' place 
Heaves a sigh as he dries his face 
Now he's going 
Yes, he's going back home  

Cobbler fresh that his mama made 
Evening calm in the cool of the glade 
Oh he's going 
Yes he's going back home  

Where the green fields roll 
Far from blood red soil 
Now he's paid his toll 
And he's going back home  

To that old abode 
Where he played and growed, 
To all the folks he knowed 
Yes, he's going back home

Credits 
Song written by Joseph Houck and Jeff Martin
Vocals and guitars by Joseph Houck


only victim

String Bean

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