Information/Write-up
There’s something to be said for experience, for taking the time to grow into your own skin. All sturdy things need time to root firmly into the ground to find their strength.
Lynn Miles is one of Canada’s most accomplished singer/songwriters. With 14 albums to her credit, the winner of multiple Canadian Folk Music awards (2011 English Songwriter of the Year), and a 2003 Juno award for Roots and Traditional Solo Album of the Year, she has certainly found her strength over time.
Through a career that has seen her move from Ottawa to Los Angeles and back again, with stops in Nashville and Austin TX., and a healthy touring schedule that regularly takes her through the US, Europe and across Canada, she has always created and performed music with unbridled feeling and vulnerability. After a successful duo-stint with Lynne Hanson (as The Lynnes) Lynn Miles now returns to a solo career with what may well be her most achieved and most personal album yet.
1/ WE'LL LOOK FOR STARS
We will wax and wane just like the moon
in the end the end will come too soon
the stories we keep in our souls
are wild and brave and sad and gold
our songs will rise and fall and change their tunes
We will move just like the wind and tide
our little boat will rock from side to side
regrets will let their presence known
and make us feel so all alone
and leave us with no place to put our pride
So the only thing that I can do
is try not to fall apart on you
and hold on to your heart with all my might
we’ll stop before we go too far
and when it’s dark we’ll look for stars
to guide us home and get us through the night
What will be will be that’s all I know
we’re at the mercy of the undertow
time will leave a scar for sure
and love will fade, there is no cure
and every blue will change to indigo
we will win, then lose, then lose, then win
cover up, then slowly shed our skin
arm our hearts then drop our guard
all of this will be so hard
we think we’re make of steel, we’re made of tin
we’ll stop before we go too far
and when it’s dark we’ll look for stars
to guide us home and get us through the night
2/ THE SADDEST SONG I'VE EVER WRITTEN
Life’s a melancholy romance mystery history book
A cautionary fairy tale no matter where you look
a complicated conversation gloomy afternoon
a party everybody leaves way too soon
Tonight I’m gonna write
the saddest song I’ve ever wrote
finally get it right
every word and every note
tonight I’m gonna sing
like I never sang before
sing until the sun comes up
until there’s nothing more
to say, to bruise to change to lose
wild precious tenderness and darkness and light
twisting turning freezing burning kisses and fights
snow falling silver midnight movies on tv
darkness and the milky way as far as I can see
3/ A HEART CAN ONLY TAKE SO MUCH
It snowed all night
then it rained all day
then the sun came out
then it went away
its a lonely life
when the road’s been rough
And a heart can only take so much
changing the lie
doesn’t change the truth
I closed my eyes when I went
looking for proof
I’d say a prayer if I believed that stuff
cause a heart can only take so much
I can’t believe I stayed so long
does that mean I’m weak or does that mean I’m strong
I can’t believe I stayed so long till dawn
does that make you right does that make me wrong
It’s quiet now
that’s how I need it to be
so I can hear the rain
pour down on me
It’s a lonely life if the road’s been too rough
cause a heart can only take so much
I think I’ve finally had enough
cause a heart can only take so much
4/ MERLE
Silver wings and swinging doors
bright lights and bar room floors
there’s a hurt that can’t be healed
on the streets of Bakersfield
heartache voice and twinkling eye
there’s a new star in the sky
no more darkness no more pain
he’s riding on that freedom train
It’s too hard to say goodbye
the tears still haven't dried
all wishes were denied
the day Merle Haggard died
grown men sat and cried
gospel singers testified
and we all sang momma tried
on the day Merle Haggard died
The good times are really over
the bottle’s gonna let me down
he can’t sing me back home
from the lonely side of town
from where the lights are always low
to where the broken hearted go
who gonna sing their song
now that Merle’s gone
5/ RESTLESS
sleep won’t come and set me free
bitterness has it’s eye on me
every hill is a mountain that I can’t climb
birds have stopped singing and bells don’t chime
every thread I pull unravels in my hand
I’m living a life I don’t quite understand
stars don’t shine the way that they used to
Loneliness is wearing every shade of blue
And I’m restless with no place to go
every second lasts a minute every minute is an hour too slow
I’ve got a million questions with answers I’m never gonna know
I’m restless with no place to go
every word I say I’ve said before
I can’t make small talk or smile anymore
I’ve see all there is to see in this fairy tale town
pretty lights and parties just get me down
I went out to where the broken side walks end
over the train tracks around the bend
I was looking for someone I know I missed
looking for somewhere that doesn’t exist
I guess I should have run before the weather turned
I waited too long now the highway’s burned
There’s nothing quite as empty as a dreamless world
looking at the ashes as the last smoke curls
I used to try, I hard used to believe
that I’d win any war if I was willing to bleed
turns out it’s just another line that I read somewhere
life doesn’t make any sense and it sure ain’t fair
6/ OLD SOUL
from the day she was born she lived like she knew she’d be dying
she always knew there’d be days in a life when there’d be some crying
she knows how to spot trouble and heartache a mile away
she doesn’t ignore it, she goes and explores it
to see what it has to say
She’s an old soul
she’s got mud on her shoes
she knows about the messed up crying
broken hearted low down midnight blues
on every dark road
she’s paid the toll
she’s got your number for sure
don’t mess with her
she’s an old soul
she’s got a smile that never shows up too soon
but when it does it has the magical power to light up a room
and when she looks at you she looks straight down into your heart
she won’t remember your name but she’ll remember your pain
make you feel like a work of art
you think you know her but the truth is you never quite will
cause there’s a deep blue well when the water is so still
she doesn’t play games but she can roll the dice
if there’s a chance she’ll take it, a rule she’ll break it
she wouldn’t think twice
7/ THE WORLD IS SPINNING
I tried to save us but I waited too long
I won’t hold my breath cause your already gone
I tried to be kind then I tried to be tough
then I gave in but it wasn’t enough
so it’s anti depressants and pinot noir
the last of the leaves and the first of the stars
now it’s darker than dark and its colder than cold
and the world is spinning out of control
the first half of summer was forever and blue
I thought for sure all our dreams would come true
but it started pouring, then on labour day
all of our sunshine just floated away
midnight of the soul closing time at the bar
another day older, another new scar
it’s darker than dark and it’s colder than cold
the world is spinning out of control
I’ve seen you out on the town, you look good
I’d stop and talk to you if I could
but sometimes the best thing to do is let go
and anyway I think it’s starting to snow
so I’ll close all the windows and climb into bed
and try to shut out the storm in my head
cause it’s darker than dark and it’s colder than cold
and the world is spinning out of control
8/ SHE DRINKS
She said I bet everything on a beautiful horse
He went and lost the race of course
there was nobody with me at the finish line
so I closed my eyes and I learned to kill time
She said people let you down and you let yourself down to
you’re always the poorest when the bills are due
no use spilling tears on the ground
cause they’ll sink into the mud and they will never be found
So she drinks to remember, drinks to forget
drinks to forgive and she drinks to regret
she tears every piece of her world apart
trying to fill the hole in her heart trying to fill the hole in her heart
She gave up love and laughing out loud
she stopped going out she said I don’t like crowds
she said I got a longing for what doesn’t exist
I’m know I’m lost but I can’t resist
So sometimes she sits and stares all day
shouts at the crows to make em fly away
nights she can hardly make it through
she wishes she was a black bird too
She tries to fill it with darkness fill in with rain
fill it with rocks fill it with pain
fill it with strangers and words that hurt
fill in with sadness fill it with dirt
She moved across town to the darker side
didn’t even bother saying goodbye
closed up the shop and put up her guard
she said lies are exhausting and the truth is too hard
she said there’s patches of sky that won’t ever turn blue
parts of my dreams that will never come true
places in my heart I will never know
hurts from the past that will never let go
9/ MAIN STREET
This town used to have a sweet old soul
now every street has a new pot hole
there’s record breaking profits at the big box store
and main street ain’t main street anymore
over there’s where we used to spend our time
now it looks like the scene of a crime
that boarded up building was the mom and pop store
main street ain’t main street anymore
the future’s sewn up by sweat shop slaves
work their fingers to the bone their bodies to the grave
while the rich get richer cause their money’s off shore
main street ain’t main street anymore
rent a storage space for stuff you never use
your exercise bike and your twenty dollar shoes
while a homeless woman sleeps just out side the front door
main street ain’t main street anymore
there’s no free lunch and there’s no free trade
we’re getting to sleep on the beds that we made
there’s big money in sickness disaster and war
main street ain’t main street anymore
waste your time waste your life waste your money and your food
everybody’s in a hurry everybody’s in a mood
the ditch is getting deeper between the rich and the poor
main street ain’t main street anymore
winners keep winning, the losers just bleed
the glory days are over the bottom line is greed
you think it’s dark now, they’re drilling down to the core
main street ain’t main street anymore
10/ IN THE WILDERNESS
every game was truth or dare
whole wide world hung in the air
how long can you hold your breath
every kiss was life or death
we needed to be lost
it was love at any cost
there was no guarantee
back when we were free
In the wilderness: playing hand me down guitars
In the wilderness: closing time at all the bars
In the wilderness: we could see a million stars
In the wilderness
we weren't afraid to fly
crash and burn, live or die
always walking on a wire
over heartache and desire
every song was more than true
every sky bluer than blue
it was only you and me
back when we were free
In the wilderness: singing out our pain
In the wilderness: breaking in the rain
In the wilderness: we were a runaway train
In the wilderness
the world was new and gold, we believed the lies we told
pulling every string, feeling everything, every kiss and every sting
we jumped over every edge
lived inside the thunder head
built it up then burned it down
moved it to another town
always itching for a fight
ran like wolves in the night
it was only you and me
the flower and the bee
In the wilderness: we crossed every line
In the wilderness: tore down every single sign
In the wilderness: hopeless and sublime
In the wilderness
11/ BECAUSE WE LOVE
of course it hurts
tears us apart
it’s the price we pay
to have a heart
it’s a bitter pill
or the sweetest pain
or it cuts so deep
you can’t explain
we yearn because we love
crash and burn because we love
ache because we love
break because we love
we try because we love
cry because we love
breath because we love
grieve because we love
it’s so hard to find and so easy to lose
so quick to wound, so tough to hold on to
wayfaring and forever blue
real tenderness can ravage you
of course it hurts
it always will
even when it’s right
it’s still up hill
there’s always a chance
it’ll fly away
no matter how hard you try
no matter what you say
we yearn because we love
crash and burn because we love
ache because we love
break because we love
we try because we love
cry because we love
breath because we love
grieve because we love
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