APPETITE (1998)

Produced by Alan Williams

Kris Delmhorst’s debut CD was released in September 1998. Produced by Alan Williams (Knots & Crosses, Patty Larkin, Dar Williams), the cast of characters includes Patty Larkin, Jennifer Kimball, Catie Curtis, bassist Mike Rivard, Morphine drummer Billy Conway, Talking to Animals guitarist Thomas Juliano, Wooden Leg fiddler Joe Kessler, Dave Rizzuti, Jabe Beyer, and Kris’s Vinal Avenue String Band-mates Ry Cavanaugh and Sean Staples.

CREDITS

KD - vocals, acoustic guitar, cello, viola
Billy Conway - drums, percussion
Mike Rivard - electric and upright bass
Thomas Juliano - electric guitar
Ry Cavanaugh - harmonica, ukulele, vocals
Jennifer Kimball - vocals, acoustic guitar
Catie Curtis - vocals, acoustic guitar
Sean Staples - mandolin, acoustic guitar, vocals
Alan Williams - organ
David Rizzuti - pedal steel guitar
Jabe Beyer - harmonica, vocals
Joe Kessler - fiddle
Patty Larkin - bouzouki, acoustic guitar

Engineered and mixed by Alan Williams at Wellspring Sound, Acton, MA
Mastered by Henk Kooistra
Design by Jim Infantino

 

LYRICS

SLEEPING DOGS

I’m so tired of not moving, my skin is stiff and sore
And I’m so tired of not looking at that thing that we ignore
And I’m so nervous that you’ll see me seeing if you turn your face anymore
And I’m so careful to keep your secrets, what do I do this for

Wake up, it’s getting late and the sun is on the rise
And it’s time to open up those blinds and let it shine
On those sleeping dogs you let lie

I always wondered where you got the notion that your silence does not hurt
Cause I can see the truth when you lean over, it’s in the pocket of your shirt
And unspoken might feel like mercy but all it means is there’s things you’ve never said
It only means I have no way of knowing if it’s all in my head

Wake up, it’s getting late and the sun is in the sky
And it’s time to open up those blinds and let it shine
On those sleeping dogs you let lie
And you know why

And for a long time I don’t think you ever really knew about the state I was in
And I guess that would be my fault, cause all I ever showed you was skin
But now you got that x-ray close-up, you got that microscope to my gut
And that is not a one-way offer so I’ll tell you what

Wake up, it’s getting late and the sun is high in the sky
And I’m here to open up those blinds and let it shine
You may be sleeping soundly but I will not let you lie

WEATHERMAN

C G/B Am G/B
I make a really bad umbrella just like I said I would
C G/B Am Em
I’m full of holes and I do not stay put
C G/B Am G/B
So don’t think I’m keeping you dry it just is not raining yet
C G/B Am D/F#
When the clouds come to our sky we’ll both be soaking wet

C G/B Am G/B C G/B Am Em

I make a really bad clothesline so don’t pin your hopes on me
Do not try to tie me tree to tree (etcetera)
I make such a bad clothesline I would not pin nothing on me
ÎCause when you come back for it you might find it’s gone in the breeze

G D/F# Em C G D/F# C
And I don’t know I don’t know I don’t know what else you expected me to say
G D/F# Em C G D/F# C
Because I know you know I told you long ago that it would always be this way

I’m not a good lighthouse cause I don’t always shine
I make a safe shore so hard to find
I make a really bad anchor just like I told you so
Cause I tend to get dragged and then I tend to let go

Em C G D/F#
And I make a really good lover when there’s a clear path to the door
Em C D
Make a really good listener when I can’t talk no more
Em C G D/F#
I make a really good friend when there’s an end in sight
Em C C
I make a really good wrong to your right

You say I live like I’m on ice skates going down a frozen hill
I say baby it has always been like that maybe it always will
And when I said that to you I did not mean to cause you pain
But you can go ahead and blame me like you blame the weatherman for the rain

And I don’t know what else you expected me to say
Because I know you know I told you long ago that it would always be this way

I make a really bad umbrella just like I said I would
I’m full of holes and I do not stay put
So don’t think I’m keeping you dry it just is not raining yet
When the clouds come to our sky we’ll both be soaking wet

ARM'S LENGTH

I thought about you today
Didn’t mean to, it was uninvited
That’s what this band-aid is for
I just looked down, saw bloody onions

Now go, don’t stay no more
I don’t know what to do with my hands
And I’m lost in an arm’s length of space
And I can’t find a good place to stand

I talked about you today
Kind of funny, a total stranger
I didn’t mean what I said
But it surprised me, felt so clean

Now go, don’t stay no more
You’ll have to find your own way to the door
Cause I’m lost in an arm’s length of space
And I just can’t smile like this anymore

You know that windows are for seeing through
Forget that they can show things back to you

And I had it coming today
Said all the things I made myself swear I would not say
And what goes into your ears is there to stay
So I got to watch it, but I can’t hold this tongue

So go don’t stay
I’m not really sure this is my life
But I’m lost in an arm’s length
And I need something I can pull in tight
Need something I can pull in tight
Is there something I can pull in tight

GRAVITY

Gravity don’t work on me
The ground don’t pull me down
I can jump any thing I come to
I do not need to come down

Driving back from your house it’s first gear all the way home
I got my window wide wide open so I can feel the snow
Could get so stuck on you but I think I won’t
I could sink into this but I would rather just float

So I won’t stick to you like glue
I will drift by you just like smoke
I’ll leave you nothing but some dirty laundry
Nothing but a little catch in your throat

See the pretty rainbows in the oil slicks on the highway
Hear the lovely music of the sirens passing by
I could love every single person in this truck stop
I would not even have to try

So I won’t stick to you like glue
I will drift by you just like smoke
I’ll leave you nothing but some dirty laundry
Nothing but a little catch

And I throw it all away
Live on ice and wine
I’m made of skin and appetite
And I do not want to call you mine

So maybe last month’s paycheck is just a jingle in my pocket
Maybe last night’s love is all a pack of lies
Maybe last year’s questions still got no answers
But I still look down when I want to see the sky

And I won’t stick to you like glue
I will drift by you just like smoke
I’ll leave you nothing but some dirty laundry
Nothing but a little catch in your throat

Gravity don’t work on me

WORLD GIVES YOU WINGS

Would it make a difference if I spoke more quietly
Can you hear me if I barely breathe
Would it make it easier if I was not here at all
Would it help you make this feel small

You got the widest shoulders now, the cleanest hands
And the dryest eyes in town
I can make noise enough for two, I guess I’ll cry your share for you
Just for the sake of making sound

And now I am a stranger from a long way away
And if I spoke your language there would still be nothing to say
Cause we all know tomorrow I’ll be high over this place
And I can tell you one thing, if the world gives you wings, you open those
things and fly

It’s just another April snow
We’ve seen enough that we both know that this can never last
What sticks tonight will not hold up to daylight
When you wake up it’s already melting fast

And now I am a stranger from a long way away
And if I spoke your language there would still be nothing to say
Cause we all know tomorrow I’ll be high over this place
And I can tell you one thing, if the world gives you wings, you open those
things

And you fly
I can tell you one thing, if the world gives you wings, you open those things
And if your voice can still ring you got to stand up and sing
And if the world gives you wings you open those things and you fly

Would it make a difference if I spoke more quietly

NORTH DAKOTA
(In Bb – capo 6)

I love North Dakota cause you have never been there
and the days go on forever and the towns all look the same
and I can ride the back roads and I can walk the main streets
and show someone your picture but they would not know your name

Em C Dm C
This city is so gloomy I could stay in bed for hours
Em C Em C
maybe that’s why I’m still lying here asking you for more
Em C Em C
and this never would have happened if you hadn’t touched my elbow
Em C Em C
in that steamy crowded car heading down the western shore

And you take me to pieces your eye sees my favorite me
and I don’t know your word for it but you know what I mean
cause there’s nothing I like better than to watch you flirting with the waitress
Em C Em C – G/B –
that’s the most inspiring thing that I have ever seen 

Asus C Asus C Em – C – Em – C
And those times when you fight it it’s just the way I like it
Asus C Asus C Em – C – Em – C
And I wonder what I’m choosing I wonder what I’m losing

Cause at four o’clock this morning you told me the story
of a friend who couldn’t stomach all the love that came from you
and oh the straight up deep hurt of you
and I don’t think that I can handle anything so true
And that’s why I am leaving and that’s why I won’t call you
I am getting in the taxi and I’m heading for the plane
but I still can feel you breathing I still can hear your fingers play
and I still can see you standing in the window pane

Asus C Am C Em – C – Em – C
And I’m watching your goodbye and I’m trying to cry
Asus C Asus E(maj) – G – E – G – E – G – E – A – G
Guess I’m not built for this load guess it’s back to the road

E G E G
So now Delaware is tollbooths Virginia is twilight
E G E A – G
and Michigan’s beef jerky in a small boy’s hand
E G E G
and Arkansas’ a skinny cop Oregon is purple hands
E G E A – G
and Flagstaff Arizona is delirium at night

And I love North Dakota cause you have never been there
and the days go on for hours and the towns all look the same
and I can ride the back roads and I can walk the main streets
and I could show everyone your picture but they would not know your name
I love, I love, I love
North Dakota

SINK OR SWIM

It’s a thin thin sky, can’t always hold me down
And it’s a long long day by the time the night rolls around
Now it’s all hashed out and we’ve shaken on the deal
But if it all came down to yes or no I would tell them this was real
I would tell them

That it’s a crowded room, you can’t know everyone’s name
This is a big big world and I don’t think you can feel all its pain
That’s why we’re all spread out and we each face our chosen few
And if it all came down to fight or flight I would take it on for you
I would take it all on for you

But it never sounds true when I try to say
That I hope I find you at the end of my day

is a living thing, and each one leaves me changed
One by one they breathe into me, and is it any wonder I seem strange?
And now it’s all adrift
And we’re moving though we don’t know how
Because it all comes down to sink or swim and I am
Swimming for it now, I am
Swimming for it now, I am
Swimming for it now

MOSCOW SONG
(In A – capo 2)

G D/F# C D/F#
Came to a land where the morning don’t wait for the break of day
G D/F# C D/F#
And the nighttime comes as a surprise
G D/F# C D/F#
Picked myself up, took myself far far away
G D/F# C D/F#
Far away from a big hearted man who looks into my eyes and says

G D/F# C D/F#
Won’t you take this love from me
G D/F# C D/F#
Don’t you leave it here filling up my hands
G D/F#
Won’t you just take it along with you
C D/F#
Won’t you let it just remind you where you stand
G D/F#
Don’t you ever want to know just where you stand
C D/F#
Don’t you really want to know

But I got something in me that keeps me on the go
It keeps me going going, keeps me gone
And I got something in me that keeps me on an unfamiliar street
Running up to strangers, tugging at their coat and saying 

Won’t you break this heart for me
Don’t you leave it here smooth and shiny filling up my throat
Won’t you just make a little crack for me
So maybe something could get in
Or something could get out
If something could get in maybe something could get out

instrumental section:
Am – C – G – Em
Am – C – G – F- C – D

I guess we’re all the same, we walk our days looking for a little more fire
And we all sometimes have to sit on our hands
We try to hold ourselves together
We try to talk about the weather
When all we really want to do is take each other by the throat and say

Won’t you dream my dream with me
Don’t you leave it here drying on my pillow
Won’t you just soak a little up for me
Won’t you give it just a safe place to go
It just needs a little safe place to go

instrumental section:
Am – C – G – Em
Am – C – G – F – C – D

RED HERRING
(In A – capo 5)

E G A E
This thing is like the loch ness monster
A E
People say it’s somewhere down there
A E
And you’d like to believe it cause it’s such a good story
C A
But so far you have not seen hide nor hair

E G A C A E
You and I are like a red red herring baby, we go nowhere at all
G A C A E
You and I are like a ten pin bowling, ten pin bowling you just set us up watch us fall
E G A C A
You and I are like a weak cup of coffee, weak cup of coffee on a winter’s day
E G A C A
You and I are like a free lunch, there’s no such thing but we eat it up anyway

So I talked to my sister she said run some red lights
Cause I’ve been watching you sit here bargain with yourself all day
And I don’t know who you think you’re fooling cause you’ve never been the
type to do right
And you’ve always been a sucker for a moving train

You and I are like a red red herring baby, we go nowhere at all
You and I are like a weeble’s wobble, weebles wobble but they never fall
You and I are like a weak cup of coffee, weak cup of coffee on a winter’s day
You and I are like a free lunch, there’s no such thing but we eat it up anyway

So I guess you think you’re hot shit cause the way you made me shake and
shiver
But I could do that by myself going twenty in the breakdown lane
And I could take that back or I could take it to the river
But I’ll give it all to you cause I know that you’re just the same

You and I are like a red red herring baby, we go nowhere at all
You and I are like a weeble’s wobble, weebles wobble but they never fall
You and I are like a weak cup of coffee, weak cup of coffee on a winter’s day
You and I are like a free lunch, there’s no such thing but we eat it up anyway

OPEN ROAD
(capo 2)
G C Em D
You could make a happy ever after with all the love I’ve thrown away
G C Em D
You could make some golden tomorrow with everything I left today
G C Em D
You could make a mountain of excuses, find me any reason to stay
G C Em D
But it’s too late for making offers, too late for anything that anyone might say

G Em C D
Cause I got open road ahead of me
G Em C D C
And it goes as far as I can see

(same as verse 1)
Once you had everything to teach me, once I had everything to learn
Now you can stand beside me one more time and watch these pretty bridges burn
And then you can take the high road way up there where everything’s so clear
And I will keep wandering around these back alleyways
I will try to find my own way out of here, try to find that

G Em C D
Open road ahead of me
G Em C D
Cause it goes as far as I can see
F C G D
And if the truth be told I’d live my life that way
G Em Am D
With an open road, nothing to hold, and nothing standing in my way

G Em
And I will leave this sweet New England, I will leave these ghosts of you
C D
I will climb onto that train, find a seat that’s got no view
G Em
And I will take what I need with me, I will not take what I don’t
C D
And I will say that I’ll be back here but I’ll know that I won’t
G Em
And I will live with empty pockets, I will live with empty sleeves
C D
And I will know that there is nothing in this world I cannot leave
G Em
And I will tell my friends I love them, I will just hope that they know
C D
That I need nobody beside me on this open road

G . Em . C . D . etc . etc . etc .

You could make a happy ever after 

SUMMER BREEZE

Once you’ve been bitten
You get a little bit shy
Start looking round for anyplace that you can hide
Once you’ve been naked
You get a thick thick skin
Build it up layer by layer and you climb on in

And then you’re wrapped up oh so tightly
That I don’t think you feel a thing
No sting of snowflakes, no kiss of angel’s wings
And maybe you don’t need that skin anymore
Maybe if you took it off you would not have to breathe
Maybe air would just flow in and out of you as it pleased

Look at all the heaviness
And the weight in this world
Put and old lady backbone in a little baby girl
Left no room for no lover
Left no time for no friend
Just a little voice saying never never never again

But if there’s no such thing as safety
And if there ain’t no guarantee
Maybe the coast is just as clear as it is ever gonna be
And maybe you don’t need that skin anymore
Maybe if you took it off you would not even have to breathe
Maybe air would just flow in and out of you as it pleased

Like a summer breeze
Don’t you want to feel the breeze
Don’t you want to feel it now
Sweet summer breeze

All songs ©1998 Kris Delmhorst/Big Bean Music (ASCAP)