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about
This is another song written in Choteau, MT, in Beth’s grandparents’ house. I distinctly recall working against a wonderful song by Gillan Welch (“Orphan Girl”) and thinking about domestic violence against women (and Beth and I had been watching the TV series Big Little Lies, which treats that subject in quite graphic and disturbing ways). It’s in some ways one of the songs I’m proudest of having written: it is a story song that narrates a romance that develops into a family and, ultimately, the death of one partner at the hands of the other. When we competed in the Parkway Theater’s bluegrass competition in May 2019, we gave an early rendition of this song (possibly its premiere), and the audience gave us a standing ovation, which was so moving! Rosie sings it amazingly. The string arrangement was created by Teresa and me and played by Adrienne Miller.
lyrics
Well you never even came from Kansas
Everything you ever said was lies
You would loiter by the dorms on campus
You could barely pass as one of the guys
But your jacket stank of beer and leather
You were a type that I’d seen before
But there was something just a little less or just a little more
Well your hat was at a rakish angle
And you talked a more convincing game
Though you didn’t have a dream to dangle
Or a dollar to your made-up name
But it was funny when you jacked a blue Honda
And you asked if I would step inside
Or you said, “C’mon baby, we’re goin’ for a little ride.”
Guess you’re a cruiser
And a loser
But what you told her
Had consoled her
With your toys out
And your poise
You took the life out from my eyes
With a book for every empty pocket
You feigned that you were just as smart
And while straddling a navy crotch rocket
You were riding on the state of the art
How you talked about the past and the future
How the world was always falling down
And I was wavering from side to side as we would head into town
Everybody’s got a big idea
And yours was that nobody cares
For every Jason there is a Medea
Just a place where everybody stares
Every wrong you ever felt was hopeless
In every quarrel more’n two’s a crowd
So you said if nothing ever matters, everything’s allowed
You’re a refuser
And you amuse her
What you told her
Had consoled her
With your coy mouth
Fit to destroy
You took the life out from my eyes
Even though you were another old lecher
With a love on every wind
It was better than a medical stretcher
Or a wall to which I wouldn’t be pinned
No, the darkness wouldn’t ever leave me
But your expression of it wasn’t a thrill
So would I swallow my inflated pride or just a bitter pill?
No, we didn’t even get to marriage
’Cause he avoided every court of law
There was justice only in miscarriage
And we were waiting for the heat to thaw
You could’ve sold me the Eiffel Tower
I would have bought it with some pennies and dimes
And I’d still have been a guilty party to your petty crimes
’Cause you’re a user
And boozer
But what you told her
Had consoled her
With the joy out
And a ploy
You took the life out from my eyes
But this story has a happy ending
Another fable of a death foretold
No fences that need more mending
No worries that I’m gettin’ old
Yeah, we settled in a cheap apartment
Had some babies to thicken the plot
And made sure that I was giving back everything I got
So you’re a bruiser
Who’ll abuse her
But what you told her
Had consoled her
With the boys out
And the noise
You took the life out from my eyes
credits
from The Honor and Glory of The Gated Community,
released February 3, 2023
Rosie Harris: lead vocals, cellos
Beth Hartman: backing vocals, egg shaker
Sumanth Gopinath: backing vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, Hammond organ
Nathan Knutson: backing vocals, acoustic guitar
Teresa Gowan: fiddle
Cody Johnson: bass guitar
Paul Hatlelid: drums
Adrienne Miller: violins (in string arrangement)
string arrangement by Sumanth Gopinath and Teresa Gowan
written December 2018–June 2019, recorded fall 2019, spring 2022
The Gated Community is a country/bluegrass/Americana band with rock influences based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in
Minnesota and has been in existence since early 2006.
Bandmembers: Sumanth Gopinath
Rosie Harris
Beth Hartman
Paul Hatlelid
Cody Johnson
Nate Knutson...more
This is a side project closely related to The Gated Community—it includes two current members and one former member. The style is folk-rock, and the concept is partly theatrical in nature. The Gated Community
Our late friend and bandmate Johnny Becker passed away on March 18, 2017. He was a prodigiously talented musician whose many albums are excellent and worth exploring. The Gated Community
Fireking is a terrific rock power trio, fronted by our friend and sometime bandmate Anthony Kaczynski, who is a brilliant musician and wonderful person. Check them out! The Gated Community
The latest from Jim Lauderdale is exclusive to Bandcamp, its songs drawing on bluegrass, country, and classic American music. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 28, 2020
Hailing from Houston, Alien Eyelid make Grateful Dead-ish psychedelic alt-country with a distinctly twangy Southern rock tinge. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 13, 2023
