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FRONT ROOM MUSIC CATALOG
HEARTWINGS

2015 Acoustic Rock

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SUNDAY SONG

MIGRATION video

PI IN THE SKY video

GIVE UP, GIVE IN

WORKING WITH THE WOOD duet version with Christine Albert video

LOVE IS HEARTWINGS

PEDERNALES

ISN'T IT A PITY with Margaret Elmore and Jo Bird from Two Star Symphony

CREDITS:
All songs written and arranged by Jim Stricklan, except:
Isn’t it a pity by George Harrison, used by permission

Pi in the Sky is a tribute to Cecil Douglas Hoard

Players:
Jim ~ vocals, acoustic and electric guitars
George Coyne ~ acoustic and electric guitars
Mike Roberts ~ bass
Kevin Hall ~ drums
Charles Ditto ~ piano, organ
Doug Taylor ~ bass on Give up, Give in
Greg Lowry ~ dobro on Working with the Wood, bass on Heartwings,
light percussion and tenor recorder (wood flute) on Migration

Margaret Elmore ~ cello on Isn’t it a Pity
Jo Bird ~ viola on Isn’t it a Pity
Leslie Stricklan ~ harmony vocals and percussion on Pedernales
Candyce Bellamy ~ harmony vocals on Pi and Isn’t it a Pity
Phil and Debi Witt Jones ~ harmony vocals on Pi in the Sky
Christine Albert ~ duet vocals on Working with the Wood,
appears courtesy of MoonHouse Records (photo right upper)

Recorded and mixed at Parrot Tracks Studio - Manchaca, TX
by George Coyne and Jim Stricklan (photo right upper)

Mastered by Jerry Tubb at Terra Nova Digital Audio – Austin, TX
(photo right lower)

Artwork design by Michelle Rahbar, Mothership Arts – Austin, TX

Released by Kokobilly Music, a subsidiary
of the publisher Front Room Music ®

Copyright 2015 Front Room Music. All rights reserved.











LINER NOTES:

SUNDAY SONG ~ originally recorded as a duet with Jean Kilborn in 1980, on my first album “Whereabouts Unknown.” Revisited here with a country-rock sensibility after 35 years on the shelf. I believe the message is timeless and a good way to kick off HW!

MIGRATION ~ a very personal song that expressed itself quite naturally over a three day period, but when I think about it, has been evolving for decades. I was lucky to capture the wild feeling on my guitar and to write down the words before they flew away.

Pi in the SKY ~ recalling the last remarkable day spent with my brother Cecil Douglas Hoard on March 14, 2014, at his west Texas home. Cancer robbed him of his life a month later. I played a tribute at the Heritage Museum of Big Spring. I miss you bro!

GIVE up, GIVE in ~ this continues my journey of swing that began twenty years ago with songs like Django and The Cure. It’s a bit more sophisticated in its simplicity, as my passion for playing and arranging jazz-flavored songs continues to grow. It’s really fun to perform!

WORKING with the WOOD ~ perhaps my “signature” song, or at least among my most requested tunes. I recorded it on Elysian Fields, my first Austin CD album in 1993. With the assistance of Christine Albert, I’ve managed to re-create it as a duet this time around.

LOVE is HEARWINGS ~ began as a poem written in 1973. Forty years later I found the poem and gave it musical wings. It started a confluence of feelings, memories, and muse inspirations that have transformed a minor recording project into a concept album.

PEDERNALES ~ those familiar with the Texas Hill Country will know the Pedernales as a 106-mile long river, before a decade of drought dried up many of its beautiful stretches. This song says goodbye with fervent hope that the Rio Pedernales with flow freely once again.

ISN’T it a PTY ~ from the spiritual catalogue of George Harrison. With the help of my cousin, cellist Margaret Elmore and her bandmate Jo Bird on viola, we gave this classic a different flavor.
(Photo below of Chuck Ditto, Jo, Jim, Margaret & George Coyne.)











































LYRICS:


SUNDAY SONG

You’ve been asking me questions I can’t give you answers to—
When you say you need someone to listen, are you listening too?
You have discovered you cannot trust your friends…
But can you trust yourself?
You still have your fresh new world, when the old one crumbles
and there’s nothing left.

Confusion has got you thinking you need to be on the road—
Lady I know your music will take you where you need to go,
and misery loves company, you don’t leave your troubles
behind you when you go;
Just try to follow your heart to the places,
where your love can grow.

It’s the things we don’t know that sometimes bring on the fears—
It’s the things we do know that sometimes bring on the tears,
Hey, it’s alright you know, it's been going on for several thousand years;
No need to get uptight, let’s have a good time while we’re here.

My Sunday song came calling me as I got out of bed—
like a bell in a church cathedral ringing high above my head,
as I walk down a lonesome city street, the snow beneath my feet,
I’ve been searching for so long…for my Sunday song.



MIGRATION

Got myself free back in ’73,
with a Martin guitar and a melody—
I drank from the crystal fountain;
High up there, where the air is thin,
you can lose control and you start to spin—
I fell right off the mountain.

And then I found my heartwings,
gently lifted by a friend—
I embraced the great migration,
feathers scattered in the wind.

Let your love shine like a Mercury dime,
it’s a mystery what your heart will find,
and no matter where you go—
Try to understand, all the tribes of man
are grains of sand in a wonderland…
like colors in a rainbow.

So, when you find your heartwings,
if you lose your way again—
It’s the nature of migration,
feathers scatter in the wind.

Yea, when I found my heartwings,
gently lifted by a friend—
I survived the great migration,
feathers scattered in the wind.



Pi in the Sky

3-14-14 - there was pie in the sky...
the last time I saw my brother smile;
the wind was calm, the clouds were high--
you could see Stonefeather for a country mile.

We sat around the porch as the sun slipped out of sight,
and laughed about the good times we’ve shared;
beans and barley soup, home-made rolls and wine--
just thankful for the gift of being there.

The birdman of Stonefeather's taken flight--
he got his new wings sometime in the night—
as we stood there at the gate, with the hour getting late,
I told him I would never say goodbye.

Cecil 'Don Quixote' was a peace-loving man,
who fought a lotta battles of his own;
grace and gravity and the love of family--
are the only things that kept him here this long.

The birdman of Stonefeather's taken flight--
he got his new wings sometime in the night—
as we stood there at the gate, with the hour getting late,
I told him I would never say goodbye.

3-14-14 - there was pie in the sky...
the last time I saw my brother smile.

Dedicated to Cecil Douglas Hoard [1954-2014]



GIVE UP, GIVE IN

You've got to give up—
you've got to give in my friend,
if you want to win in love.
Try a gentle touch--
careful not to say too much;
No such thing as an easy way into love.

When the words don't come, let the music flow...
look into her eyes and they'll tell you
everything you need to know--SO

Lose your stubborn pride--
show what's going on inside;
Listen Clyde, you cannot hide from love.

When the words don't come, let the music flow...
look into her eyes and they'll tell you
everything you need to know--SO

You've got to give up--
you've got to give in my friend,
if you want to win in love --
if you ever hope to win in love.



WORKING WITH THE WOOD

This old guitar, made of wood and steel—
is the mother of my music
and I love the way she feels;
anyone who knows me,
knows I like working with the wood.

We stretch the truth and polish up the rough—
as if these gifts we have aren’t somehow good enough;
when we’re getting down to cases,
I like working with the wood.

Despite my education, one thing I have learned:
too few give a damn, in no uncertain terms,
still I, have faith in them who do…
that’s why I’m working with the wood.

Ten thousand singers in a city of guitars,
one on every corner and playin’ all the bars;
I’m proud to be another brother out here
working with the wood.

From shore to shore, let freedom ring—
with the good vibrations of the hard wood
and the string;
I thank the Good Lord for the trees
and letting me work with the wood.

I play my banjo when I’m feeling really good;
wouldn’t be no rocket scientist even if I could,
I can’t outrun the human race, my saving grace
is working with the wood.



LOVE IS HEARTWINGS

Love is offering direction—
Love is treating someone kind;
Love is sharing your affection,
Love is seeing when you’re blind.

Love is heartwings meant for flying—
Love is always something new…
Love’s the only thing worth trying,
Love is me and love is you…
Love is me and love is you

Love is needing no excuses—
Love is something warm to hold;
Love is knowing what the truth is,
Love is speaking to your soul.

Love is heartwings meant for flying—
Love is always something new…
Love’s the only thing worth trying,
Love is me and love is you…
Love is me and love is you.



PEDERNALES

Pedernales River, we’ve come to say goodbye—
once your waters ran so swift, but now you’re almost dry;
looking down on hallowed ground from a cliff house in the sky,
Pedernales—
sparkling in the sun,
a river she must run back to the sea…
Pedernales—
someday we’ll be free!

Pedernales River, you taught us how to sing—
in a distant echo I hear Ira’s Gibson ring;
friends from town all gather round to celebrate the spring,
Pedernales—
sparkling in the sun,
a river she must run back to the sea…
Pedernales—
someday we’ll be free.

Pedernales—
someday we’ll be free!



PHOTOS ON THIS PAGE:
All photos by Leslie Stricklan except as noted.
1) Jim, Christine Albert and George Coyne at Parrot Tracks.
2) Jerry Tubb and Jim at Terra Nova.
3) Jim at Stonefeather outside of Big Spring.
4) Chuck Ditto, Jo Bird, Jim, Margaret Elmore, and George Coyne.
5) Church Bell Tower, St. Nicholas, Nowotaniec, Poland.
6) Jim in mountain stream near Aspen,1970's by V. Sarbell.
7) Cecil D. Hoard at Stonefeather, by Rick Stricklan.
8) Jim performing at Hills Cafe, Austin, by Rick Stricklan.
9) Jim with wind socks at Port Aransas.
10) Pedernales River by Don J. Schulte.

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