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Country Hymn

by The Gated Community

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1.
Betty on the road around her Was roamin’ from where she came She ran out from the smokehouse When Jimmy was burned by flame Betty had the world around her She took on a brand new name Cause she’s long, long way from home Betty on the road around her Leapt out in the pouring rain The sky a darkened coal mine And her withered, tear-eyes stained Betty had a look around her She was trying to just maintain It was a long, long way from home There was the high road and the low road She tried to step in between—just eighteen— And it was the last time she was ever seen Betty on the road around her Turned, steppin’ her way right back She gave up the fight against it Mascara’d her face to black Betty turned the backdoor handle And a body was sprawled there slack She was a long, long way from home
2.
9-9-1 hippopotamus Well, something ain't wrong, something ain't right You keep spilling juice on me every night When I get up, you pull me back down And then you say I'm talking like Bad News Brown
3.
Old Country 04:25
Getting too old for these times I could use another drink and much warmer climes Then pay for my crimes With pennies and dimes I used to go dance at the bar I'd get my mind off my honey, send my money too far She still drives my car And said “Au revoir” They’ll bury me alive in a reference Then count all the angels behind the green door But my spirit has left in its essence Oh mama, oh honey, I’m damaged for sure Don’t wanna see the old country no more I traveled thousands of miles I did see the world and basked in its smiles I partook in its wiles Took notes for my files But I, if I took a flight, Would it make it alright? Back at the home on the range Where the will is weak and the live-in estranged No furniture’s changed But it’s all rearranged
4.
I got nixed from my Buick six It’s going down, down, down I got tix for my latest picks They’re going down, down, down I get around I could never wade away I could never waste a day I could never stand to say It’s a brand new May, yeah It’s a brand new May, yeah It’s a fading It’s a fading It’s a fading It’s a fading flower I got wicks for my candlesticks They’re going down in flames I got tricks, doing teenage kicks While riding downtown trains Oh, yeah, I’m a piece of a work of art Oh, no, but, say, what’s the hardest part? It’s not staying smart. Can you restart the backbeat of my heart? Bring my chair, and when you stop and stare You better know your game Trip the stair, and when I start to swear You better feel no shame
5.
Are you coming back if you leave me? Are you coming back when you leave town? It was yesterday, your highs and lows that pulled me to the ground Are you coming back or staying around? Will you suffer ill if you are lonely? Will you suffer ill if you are down? It was yesterday, inside the throes that left me full unwound Are you coming back, or staying around? Oh, I don’t believe it Oh, don’t say a word or make a sound Is there something more you can tell me? Is there something lost that can be found? It was yesterday, when I arose, your words left to resound “Are you coming back, or staying around?”
6.
Take good care of my baby Listen well and be her light I will be there to love her But I can’t get right Can’t get right I can’t get right When I was a child, I was lonely But everyone saw me as polite I’d cry in my bed and ask Him questions Cause I can’t get right Can’t get right I can’t get right They have it all, they have the answers They go on living day after day With handsome giants and tiny dancers In the end, I’ll be sent so far away I want you to know there’s no reason That my head has sunk into night One day I’ll be back and come out standing But I can’t get right Can’t get right I can’t get right
7.
Say my name Play my game I tried to tell you That you’re up to no good So I lied to fell you Just like you knew I would I made you love me I was a part of your life You’d stand above me Behind the blade of a knife Return to sender That's what it says in the mail I’ll never end up Inside the county jail The look of crystal Still makes me blue I’ll load my pistol And keep my eye on you Not much for living But I’m pledging my time This gift of giving It perpetrated my crime Don’t have to like it So just stay out of my way Don’t try to fight it You know the words to say
8.
Billy 03:18
Billy, take me by the hand I’ll save you from your father And, take me as I am We waited for an hour And, try to understand It’s late in evening It’s early in the morning No time to sound a warning Anymore Billy, lead me far away Away from Lincoln County And, have you much to say Out from under that sombrero And, with the light of day Her son drains a couple His gun by your buckle And you won’t be fighting knuckle Anymore Billy, show me what’s your hand A modern family ruin And, lady left her man On a sunny afternoon We’ll wait on your command When sure of no danger To clear the house of strangers No dog in the manger Anymore
9.
Hey Girl 03:15
Hey girl, don’t you come ‘round here no more I been lyin’ to keep up all my promises Hey girl, quit your cryin’, actin’ sore I been tryin’ to keep you off of the premises But now I’m blue So blue For every thing I’ll never do or do for you You got to go but you keep lookin’ Oh can’t you see that you got took in It’s such a shame It’s such a shame And my momma said now Hey girl, don’t you come 'round here no more I been lyin’ to keep up all appearances Hey girl, quit your cryin’, actin’ sore I been tryin’ to tabulate my experiences And I know you must think me so unkind And I know there is nothing I can do now to change your mind I was cruel To a fool And I knew I knew But my momma said now Hey girl I been lyin’ to give up all apology Hey girl I been tryin’ to live up to your mythology I was cruel To a fool And I knew I knew But my momma said now Hey girl Hey girl
10.
I'm in Jail 04:12
If you see me on the corner sitting up with a bottle of gin You don’t need a doctor to find out what’s the shape I’m in No one cares about a wastrel, he’s a scoundrel in the dirt So they leave him to lay hurt beyond the pale You may think you know me but you haven’t got a clue If I ask for money it’s because I know you I am peering in between you, seeing through a tear-stained soul And a face blacked up with coal to mend the veil I’m in jail, I’m in jail (He's in jail, he's in jail) I’ll be hanging from the lamppost in the sky (Hallelujah, he's in jail!) I was born in Alabama, in Atlanta I’ll post bail And I’m proud to be a man ’til the day I die I will feed you tales of dragons, I will conjure them with speed I will pour you several flagons, give you everything you need I was once a Chinese tailor, soon I’ll be a shipping clerk Many hands can do this work and without fail He’s a poet, he’s an angel, and he’s innocent as hell But the burn mark on his shoulder has another truth to tell Of a night when he was branded, he cried “wolf” too many times Now they need something that rhymes with a pint of ale I’m in jail, I’m in jail I’ll be swinging from the rafters up on high I was brave in Madagascar, in Manassas I turned tail And I’m proud to be a man ’til the day I die Well I traveled to the coastline, crossed the border in a day Seeking out the velvet goldmine while machine-press-baling hay The police then came to get me, swept me up in a blanket raid Never to be paid a rusty nail Every child is born a sinner, every worker dies a saint Who has bought the family dinner on a used-up can of paint There’s a carcass out there rotting on the side of every road So I’ll pack my heavy load and then set sail I’m in jail, I’m in jail I’ll be scrounging for a cigarette to buy I was down in Matamoros when Virginia read my mail And I’m proud to be a man ’til the day I die
11.
Country Hymn 04:17
Well the devil can take And the devil can break I was once seventeen And lost and in-between, it seems Just sittin’ around With my feet off the ground How people can be So low and mean, cruel and green, in dreams I’ll fly away in the morning I’ll fly away overnight Wherever I seek All the pickings are bleak My stock is strong But I can’t keep hangin’ on, for long I found a savior, or I want to I’ll trust a neighbor as a friend, oh, they say that he Taketh his time And then, then does the crime What a fine kind of frame of mind
12.
Blockbuster! 03:21

credits

released September 17, 2016

Country Hymn (2016) is the band’s third and most cohesive album, complementing the stylistic variety of We Can Do Anything (2015) and the novelty humor of Power to My Friends (2010). It was recorded, mixed, and produced by John Miller (Secret Stash Records) and mastered by Bruce Templeton (Microphonic Mastering). The recording’s twelve tracks include the dark, old-timey opening ballad, “Betty on the Road” (track 1), the jaded academic’s honkytonk waltz “Old Country” (track 3), a Tom Petty-esque rocker about aging called “Fading Flower” (track 4), a touching country/folk number with a string arrangement, “Staying Around” (track 5), and the powerful Tom Waits-like title track that was composed in a dream (track 11). The album also includes two covers: Bob Dylan’s “Odds and Ends” (track 2), sacrilegiously including an original bridge (!), and a wild cowpunk rendition of the Sweet’s “Blockbuster!” (track 12) as a bonus track. Start the album at the beginning and play it straight through—you won’t regret it.

PRINTED ALBUM CREDITS:

The Gated Community is Sumanth Gopinath, Cody Johnson, Teresa Gowan, Paul Hatlelid, Rosie Harris, Johnny Becker, and Beth Hartman

with special guests Nate Knutson and Stephan Hubig

words by Sumanth Gopinath, music by The Gated Community, except "Odds and Ends" by Bob Dylan (Bob Dylan Music, on behalf of Dwarf Music) and "Blockbuster!" by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman (Universal Music)

produced by John Miller and The Gated Community
recorded and mixed by John Miller, Secret Stash Records
mastered by Bruce Templeton, Microphonic Mastering
manufactured by Copycats Hi-Fi Media
photography by Mark Nye

full album information available at thegatedcommunity.bandcamp.com
contact us at thegatedcommunity@gmail.com

thanks and love to our families, friends, and fans

ADDITIONAL ALBUM CREDITS:

art design by Anne Jenkins

Many thanks to Matthew McDonald, Ryan Stokes, Emily Lechner, and Andy Flory for feedback on earlier versions of the album.

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The Gated Community Minneapolis

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

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