NEW RELEASE - GRADUATION DAY

This is my newest album, with some of my old favorite songs ("Graduation Day", "Her Boyfriend's Shirt", "Close My Eyes", "Reptile Love") & a few new ones ("Nothing Gonna Happen", "Caravans", "One Way or Another"). Sound features Alyson Fahl on piano and crack rhythm section. Styles cover range of singer-songwriter acoustic to old-style R&B. The page has information about the album, including lyrics, credits & stories about the songs.

You can order a physical CD here, at Bandcamp - Graduation Day (youtube.com)

or check out iTunes or these Links:

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3JDuHlrs4c...

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/album/0yXf7XIvVERryA6WUnBAyg

Pandora - David Fahl on Pandora | Radio, Songs & Lyrics

I’m a fan of old-style liner notes; the gnomic verses on Bob Dylan records, the scholarly essays on classical records, the historical notes on jazz albums, the PR flack on early rock records. Little room for these on stripped-down CD packaging, no room at all if you get your music through streaming. So, here’s everything that would go into Liner Notes:

Lyrics
Credits
Some notes About the Songs

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LYRICS

1. GRADUATION DAY

You been running so hard, you don't get anywhere.

You been learning so much you don't really care to know

You're looking through me now with that educated stare

I think it's time for graduation day.

Something 'bout us always seemed so temporary.

We been skimping on bread, splurging on cherries.

I got to admit something still seems so scary

About graduation day.

Nothing lasts forever, we knew it all along.

We're just checking out the damage now, it's time to move along

Don't want to make the next move, afraid we might get it wrong

Nobody planned it this way,

But you got to go somewhere on graduation day.

Nothing's the same after graduation day.

Taught you everything I knew, you learned something else

There's stories a hero lives, there's stories he tells

There's treasures he keeps, treasures he sells

To pay for the party on graduation day.

Who's teaching who, it's always in doubt.

There's answers we whisper, there's questions we shout

And you'll go on with me or you'll go on without,

But it won't be the same after graduation day.

Nothing lasts forever, that’s saying nothing new

We've got a whole lot to see now, a whole lot to do

And it's been happening to me just like it's been happening to you

Nobody planned it this way,

But you got to go somewhere on graduation day.

Nothing's the same after graduation day.

2. NOTHING’S GONNA HAPPEN

She was leaning in the doorway, delivered by a careless wind.

She had a bottle of tequila, she was thinking ‘bout coming on in.

My guitar was out of tune, I was singing ‘bout a fool I’ve been

Something made her laugh, her laughing let me think I might win.

Nothing’s gonna happen if you don’t make a move

Sometimes you stumble when you try to catch a groove.

You love to play, though sometimes you lose.

Nothing’s gonna happen, Nothing’s gonna happen,

if you don’t make a move.

He was casually dressed but he was wearing kinda formal hair

He had money in his pocket, he had bullets to spare.

He had a feather like a whip, he owned rides at the county fair

She was looking right through him, like he wasn’t really there.

Nothing’s gonna happen if you don’t make a move

Sometimes you stumble when you try to catch a groove.

You love to play, though sometimes you lose

Nothing’s gonna happen, Nothing’s gonna happen,

If you don’t make a move.

It was getting kinda dark I was thinking it was gonna rain

I was looking for my bottleneck, planned on playing “Love in Vain”

I'd been drinking her tequila I was thinking could find some pain

He pulled a pistol from his pocket it was pointing at my baby’s brain

Something’s gonna happen if I don’t make a move

Sometimes I stumble when I try to catch a groove.

I love to play, though sometimes I lose

Something’s gonna happen, Something’s gonna happen

If I don’t make a move.

I threw the bottle at him it exploded on his lit cigar

It burned his mustache and his eyebrows, knocked his wig ajar

He dropped his pistol to the floor he said he didn’t mean to let it go so far

She started digging through his pockets for the key to that shiny new car

Nothing’s gonna happen if you don’t make a move

Sometimes you stumble when you try to catch a groove.

You love to play, even when you lose

Nothing’s gonna happen, Nothing’s gonna happen,

If you don’t make a move.

Nothing’s gonna happen if you don’t make a move

Better make a move.

For crying out loud, do something!

3. ROAD SONG

She took her daddy's Buick. She heads for the desert

She figures under the stars, she gonna find her way

Directions are useless when you're running to run

Cruising's like talking with nothing to say

There's the desert you leave, the desert you find, the desert you carry with you.

You don't have to believe but I think you'll find, no desert on earth gonna save you

On the highway tomorrow, the man gonna find you.

He's been sent by his boss, but he's got his own game.

He's holding his ticket you can't turn him away.

He's taking his seat, he's gonna have his say.

There's the game you leave, the game you find, the game you carry with you.

You don't have to believe but I think you'll find, no game on earth gonna save you

Your compass is spinning your map's telling lies

There's an accident waiting there's a reason they say

There's the reason you leave, the reason you find, the reason you carry with you.

You don't have to believe but I think you'll find, no reason on earth gonna save you

There's a big cat walking. He's mean as the night

He knows where you stand and he knows what he needs.

He’s making your movie, you won't like the end.

You call your brother, he's got nothing to say

There's nothing you leave, nothing you find, nothing you carry with you.

You don't have to believe but I think you'll find nothing on earth gonna save you.

4.TOO MUCH PERFUME

Sometimes she wears a little too much perfume, but that’s all right with me.

Talking sweet with every man in the room, that’s just the way she’s got to be.

I don’t believe there’s a man in this town, want to turn her down.

I don’t believe there’s a man in this town hasn’t felt like her clown.

Some nights I’d be drinking late, we’d get to talking ‘bout things;

Bad love, good times, long lost friends, parties, and wedding rings.

I don’t believe there’s a joint in this town hasn’t heard our laughing.

I don’t believe there’s a joint in this town gonna grieve our passing.

A woman like that, is hard to ignore. She don’t know how to turn it down.

Every man in the place, trying to catch her eye, when his woman’s not around.

Every woman wondering when her man’s gonna fall, or if he’s already done the crime

If they loved her once, want to love her again, if she’d just give ‘em the time.

Some days when the sun’s too bright, she hides behind her shades.

She leaves ‘em on till the middle of the night, don’t wanna let ‘em get mislaid.

I don’t believe there’s a soul in this town knows a better way

I don’t believe there’s a soul in this town.

5. CLOSE MY EYES

She got clear blue eyes and a name she picked up from a book somewhere

She got long brown hair and a smile that says she knows a secret.

She learned the smile before she knew the secret.

She learned her lines before she knew the play.

She learned the game before she knew the prize.

She's a spider of a kind, he's standing in line to be her meal.

He knows how it goes, but he can't deny the way it feels.

He sees the smile, thinks he knows the secret.

He hears the lines, thinks he knows the play.

He plays the game, thinks he knows the prize.

Babe I wanna Babe I gotta Babe I need ta get a little

closer to the fire that I see burning when I look into your eyes.

Baby doya Baby canya Baby willya let me kissya

while I hold ya dancing to the music I hear when I close my eyes.

Please believe me I can helpya see if you just let me touchya

while I hold the secrets that I dream of when I when I close my eyes.

I've gotta close my eyes. I've gotta close my eyes.

She’s got clear blue eyes, they blind you when she moves into the light.

She whispers when she tells you you're the only one who ever gets it right.

She touches you lightly, you're glad to have her touching you at all

She waves you goodbye. You leave as if you've got somewhere to go.

You touched the smile, you may know the secret.

You said your lines, you know the end of the play.

You played the game, you don't need any prize.

Babe I wanna Babe I gotta Babe I need ta get a little

closer to the fire that I see burning when I look into your eyes.

Baby doya Baby canya Baby willya let me kissya

while I hold ya dancing to the music I hear when I close my eyes.

Please believe me I can helpya see if you just let me touchya

while I hold the secrets that I dream of when I when I close my eyes.

You’ve gotta close your eyes, close your eyes.

6. REPTILE LOVE

I was reading 'bout your brain in a science magazine.

It's a place where the path of evolution can be seen.

You've got your big old frontal lobes that make you human and unique,

That's where you get the stuff to watch TV and try to speak.

There's a cerebellum under like in every mammal's head

Runs your habits and your motions, chases down your daily bread.

And in common with the bottom of the vertebrate tree

Is your medulla oblongata that's a’fascinating me.

Come on baby, give me your reptile love.

I got no interest in any of the stuff above.

We can wiggle like the snake, wave our tail like the lizard do.

Meet me at the bottom of your brain, baby. I love you.

Your lizard brain remembers everything the dinosaurs did.

We're not talking superego here. We're barely talking id.

Chasing ancient memories, found with the filter gone,

We'll make a direct connection, then we'll put that other stuff on.

Find a love like hunger, buried treasure of an unknown kind,

Echoes of awareness forgotten to the waking mind.

I'm after something elemental here, I know that you'd agree

If you would be inclined to let your reptile mind set you free.

Come on baby, give me your reptile love.

I got no interest in any of the stuff above.

We can wiggle like the snake, wave our tail like the lizard do.

Meet me at the bottom of your brain, baby. I love you.

7. HER BOYFRIEND'S SHIRT

She's hurrying down to the grocery store, before they quit selling the wine.

Strutting all the way from her car to the door, you can tell she's feeling fine.

Got her hands in the pockets of her favorite jeans, walking with her shoulders back

She sees the old men all checking her out, she can even put up with that.

‘Cause she's wearing her boyfriend's shirt, she can feel him all around her.

She's wearing her boyfriend's shirt. Nothing's gonna bring her down.

She's wearing her boyfriend's shirt. Don't ask where he might be tonight.

She's wearing her boyfriend's shirt. She’s gonna be all right.

Watching TV movies in the black and white, lights in the living room off.

She quit smoking seven times this week. There's a lit one making her cough.

The wine in the bottle is already gone. It's too late to go get any more.

Commercial comes on with his favorite song, the tears begin to pour.

But she's wearing her boyfriend's shirt. She can feel him all around her.

She's wearing her boyfriend's shirt. Nothing's gonna bring her down.

She's wearing her boyfriend's shirt. Don't ask where he might be tonight.

She's wearing her boyfriend's shirt. She’s gonna be all right.

8. FEELS LIKE FLYING

Her main man’s got empty pockets. Her side man does, too.

One’s got a broken heart. One’s got the side man blues.

She’s out there chasing midnight, sure she’ll find a better time.

Until she hits the ground, falling feels like flying.

Young man sings a lonely song, old man sings of love.

They swear it’s different songs, but it sounds like the same one.

Calling on a miracle that never comes around.

Falling feels like flying, till you hit the ground.

I know I’m no angel, but sometimes

I feel like I’ve got wings.

I soar above the dreary day

Watch the people wearying by

Feel safe, up in my clear blue sky

From everything

She says she’s glad to see you, but she hides her face

Behind her long hair, she’s staring into space

She’s two steps ahead dancing all the way down

Falling feels like flying, till you hit the ground.

Until she hits the ground, falling feels like flying.

9. BLACKOUT HIGHWAY

I found myself behind the wheel of an old convertible, I’d never seen it before.

I was driving south from Denver towards the Raton Pass,

there was a locked steel briefcase on the passenger floor.

She was in the back seat with a gun at my head.

She said “Now it’s time to pull it over.”

Just another interruption in a long sweet dream out on the blackout highway.

‘Bout a hundred policemen, with bullhorns and lights, somebody shouting my name.

There was blood on my trousers and a song in my head,

a ballad about love’s sweet game.

Couldn’t really tell you just which exit we were at,

sometimes they all look the same.

Just another interruption in a long sweet dream out on the blackout highway.

Some folks’ll tell you that it don’t mean nothing, they say life is but a dream.

Everything’s illusion and everything passes, and nothing’s what it seems.

Don’t know where I come from, can't say where I'm going,

can’t explain what anything means

Got a little situation, requires my attention. 'scuse me while I scream.

There was a long white tunnel, echoing whispers, feeling lighter than air

Seventeen angels spinning like cyclones and blue sky everywhere

Then a hand on my neck trying to stop the bleeding and

I’m shivering in the cold dark air.

Just another interruption in a long sweet dream out on the blackout highway.

There was a clear night sky, miles from anywhere, filled with a million stars.

A woman I love sitting close beside me, we're keeping one another warm.

Thinking about a song from long ago, before I learned what living required.

Another interruption, in a long sweet dream.

10. BE THERE, TOO

I’ve never been in love in Arkansas, barely been there at all.

Drove through it a time or two, it’s gorgeous in the fall.

Hadn’t thought much about going back, never felt the call.

But if you want to be there, you know I want to be there, too.

There’s nothing in Arkansas gonna keep me away from you.

There’s a big old world out there, packed full of things to see.

I like this house we’re sitting in, can’t think why I’d leave.

You and my guitars are here, not much else I need.

But if you wanna be somewhere, you know I wanna be there, too.

There’s nothing in this little house gonna keep me away from you.

Never been around the world, never sailed the seven seas

Never seen the sun set green in a flash from the Florida Keys.

Never seen the moon rise full and bright from the Parthenon in Greece

But I’ve seen the love in your eyes

Reflecting the love they see in mine.

Never been in love in Italy, maybe someday I’ll be

If I take a little trip to Italy and you come along with me.

If we never get to Italy, it’ll be alright with me

I’ll be fine if wherever you are, I get to be there, too.

There’s nothing in this old world gonna keep me away from you

11. CARAVANS

I watched the daylight dying, feared the night’d be cruel and long.

I heard my baby crying “I need one more morning song.”

I thought about the darkness, I thought about the light.

She said “Baby stop your thinking. Sing it to me right.”

Picked up my best guitar to hear what it would say.

All the chords were minor in the dying of the day

I sang about a hero stepping through an endless night.

Empty miles of nothing, trembling in his fright.

Some who walk among us deny that we’re all kin.

They raise themselves above the sky, forget they’re mortal men.

They battle one another. We’re the ones who die,

Leaving hungry wives and children, for fairy tales and lies

‘Round the campfires of the caravans they pour the wine ‘til dawn.

Singers tell the stories. Dancers live the songs.

They know the world of moonlight like others know the day.

They whisper in the shadows, dream the day away.

This world is made for the rulers. It’s not made for me.

I am just a poor man in love with liberty.

There’s many kinds of slavery, chains of violence and deceit.

If you can’t see your prison walls, you never will be free.

They’ll try to sell you heaven, trade your time in this world

For promises as empty as a greedy preacher’s words

They’ll poison all your pleasures, turn your dance into a march.

They fear your vision. They fear your heart.

‘Round the campfires of the caravans they pour the wine ‘til dawn.

Singers tell the stories. Dancers live the songs.

They know the world of moonlight like others know the day.

They whisper in the shadows, dream the day away.

12.ONE WAY OR ANOTHER

Will says this world’s a jungle, you’ve got to fight for what you need.

Take what we can get, and leave the wounded to bleed.

Philip sees a world that needs a lot of love.

Wonders why we stay below what we can rise above.

Some say this world goes on the same no matter what we do,

Like we’re too weak, too wicked, to be making something new.

But we’re each changing something every time we breathe.

And the world that we come into’s not the same world that we leave.

We can tear it into pieces, or mend it where it’s torn.

We can try to hold what’s dying, or help what’s being born.

We can feed or turn our back on the hungry boys and girls,

But one way or another, we’re going to change the world.

We could bury it in poison, we could burn it in the fire,

Try to freeze it in a dream of some old mens’ desire.

Or practice ways of living with the love we want to know,

Leave it better than we found it when it’s time for us to go.

We can tear it into pieces, or mend it where it’s torn.

We can try to hold what’s dying, or help what’s being born.

We can feed or turn our back on all the hungry boys and girls,

But one way or another, we’re going to change the world.

One way or another, you’re going to change the world.

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CREDITS

All songs words and music by David Fahl

All Songs -

Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar & Harmonica – David Fahl

Piano & other Keyboards – Alyson Fahl

Bass – Stephen Shirk.

Other Credits:

1 Graduation Day

Drums – Kevin Crenshaw, Percussion – Jeff Hoofard, Pedal Steel – Jody Cameron, Background Vocals – Luke Wrebel, Brad Scarborough, Kristina Sullivan

2 Nothing Gonna Happen

Drums – Kevin Crenshaw, Percussion – Jeff Hoofard, Electric Lead Guitar – Chad Ware, Background Vocals – Luke Wrebel, Brad Scarborough

3 Road Song

Drums – Kevin Crenshaw, Percussion – Jeff Hoofard, Acoustic Lead Guitar – Brian Kalinec, Pedal Steel – Jody Cameron

4 Too Much Perfume

Drums – Kevin Crenshaw, Percussion – Jeff Hoofard, Acoustic Lead Guitar – Brian Kalinec, Pedal Steel – Jody Cameron, Background Vocals – Luke Wrebel, Brad Scarborough

5 Close My Eyes

Drums – Kevin Crenshaw, Percussion – Jeff Hoofard, Acoustic Lead Guitar – Brian Kalinec & David Fahl, Pedal Steel – Jody Cameron, Electric Lead Guitar – Chad Ware, Saxophone – Cloris Grimes, Background Vocals – Kristina Sullivan

6 Reptile Love

Drums – Kevin Crenshaw, Saxophone – Cloris Grimes, Background Vocals – Rebekah Dahl, Cay Taylor

7 Her Boyfriend’s Shirt

Drums – Alan Williams, Percussion – Jeff Hoofard, Saxophone – Cloris Grimes, Electric Lead Guitar – Chad Ware & David Fahl, 12-String Guitar – Chad Ware, Background Vocals – Kristina Sullivan

8 Feels Like Flying

Background Vocals – Kristina Sullivan

9 Blackout Highway

Drums – Kevin Crenshaw, Percussion – Jeff Hoofard, Pedal Steel – Jody Cameron, Acoustic Lead Guitar – Brian Kalinec, Background Vocals – Rebekah Dahl, Brad Scarborough, Kristina Sullivan, Luke Wrebel, Cay Taylor

10 Be There, Too

Drums – Kevin Crenshaw, Percussion – Jeff Hoofard, Acoustic Lead Guitar, Brian Kalinec & David Fahl

11 Caravans

Drums – Alan Williams, Cumbus Guitar – David Fahl

12 One Way or Another

Drums – Alan Williams, Percussion – Jeff Hoofard, Saxophone – Cloris Grimes, Background Vocals – Rebekah Dahl, Kristina Sullivan, Luke Wrebel, Brad Scarborough, Cay Taylor

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ABOUT THE SONGS

1. GRADUATION DAY,

Song: A multi-situation song. Was watching a couple of my friends going through a long breakup, realizing my own marriage (not my current one) was deeply troubled, and my daughter was finishing high school. All these situations contributed lines to the verses. The chorus is a bit of a warning, that things are definitely going to change.

Recording: I’d recorded a version of this song years ago on Life is Good, but redid it now because of what Alyson’s piano part has added. Jody Cameron’s pedal steel takes into another dimension.

2.NOTHING’S GONNA HAPPEN,

Song: This song grew from the tag line, “Nothing’s gonna happen if you don’t make a move”, and a simple riff reversing a very common guitar walkdown from C major to A minor. While I was playing with that I came up with the first line, ”She was leaning in the doorway, delivered by a careless wind.” Grew the rest of the story from that. Within 6 months after I wrote it and started singing it at shows, I’d made some moves that saved my life. Learning from my own song.

Recording: In the studio we were having some frustrations while recording basic tracks. Everything clicked when we got to this one, felt a solid groove. Chad came up with a hot guitar lick for the intro and added a great solo.

3. ROAD SONG

Song: Noodling around found the basic pattern and the first line. A young woman stealing daddy’s car and running to the desert, what could go wrong?

4.TOO MUCH PERFUME

Song: There is a common idea of the “femme fatale”, the woman who ignites desire in a way that causes trouble for those around her. Some of these women have been friends of mine. I wrote this in sympathy.

5. CLOSE MY EYES

Song: Another femme fatale song, this time from viewpoint of a men who desires one. This woman is a hustler, probably over her head, not necessarily understanding what she’s doing, “learned the game before she learned the prize”. The verses intended to be a cold-eyed look at the situation, the bridge a declaration of helpless desire. This is another song that I’ve rerecorded here because of what Alyson’s piano has added.

Recording: I’m proud of the way Alyson’s piano and the acoustic guitars build a space for all the lead instruments (pedal steel, saxophone, acoustic & electric guitars) to weave in and out without stepping on each other. The counter-melody Kristina came up with for the bridge adds another dimension to the story. Chad’s electric guitar in the middle of the instrumental section perfectly captures the feeling I intended for this song. With the licks that Jody, Cloris and Brian added, this is my favorite track on the album, though a little too long for radio.

6. REPTILE LOVE

Song: I really was “reading ‘bout your brain in a science magazine”, an article in Scientific American about the relation of human brain construction to evolution; your brain, my brain everybody’s brain, including the target of this silly seduction attempt, inspired my tribute to Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud, James Brown & Jim Morrison. Everybody in advertising understands the value of pitching to the basic drives of the medulla oblongata.

Recording: All about the sax, gives it an old-time R&B flavor.

7.HER BOYFRIEND'S SHIRT

Song: At a party, had gotten into a conversation about the way men’s and women’s clothes have buttons on opposite sides. Couple days later was making a late run to the grocery store, saw an attractive young woman walking from the parking lot. Ended up right behind her in the checkout line. Remembering the party conversation, I noted that she was in a man’s shirt and buying a bottle of wine at 11:45 pm, fifteen minutes before they can’t sell it In Texas. Wrote the first verse and the chorus in my head on the way home. Figured out the chords & the second verse the next day. May be the pop-iest thing I’ve ever written.

Recording: When guitarist Chad Ware heard this song, he thought it had a Tom Petty feel, so he brought in his 12 string. Fits perfect. When Alyson & I perform this one together, we’ve had a game where I try to provoke a laugh from her just before the end of the song. I had to include it here.

8. FEELS LIKE FLYING

Song: There’s an old joke about a guy falling out of a window on the 90th floor of a building; as he’s falling, “so far, so good.” That joke inspired the line “Falling feels like flying till you hit the ground.” Came up with the opening line “Her main man’s got empty pockets, her side man does, too”, and had 3 characters to work with. I know all three of them, I’m proud of how much story there is in 12 lines. The girl’s another difficult woman.

Recording: I think the bridge is coming from the woman in the song, Kristina does another great job with the background there. This is the only song on the album with no drums. Wanted at least one to have a folky feel.

9. BLACKOUT HIGHWAY

Song: Heard some hard-partying friends telling stories about situations they’d found themselves in; waking up (or “coming-to”) with no idea where they were, or how they got there. One of them made a crack about the “blackout highway”. I thought the phrase had a nice ring to it, thought it could make a funny song. Started thinking about extremely bad situations one could be in with this happening. Had been reading some noir fiction at the time, especially Jim Thompson, which affected my imagination. Originally only had 3 verses, but after performing it a few times I felt sorry for narrator, gave him a better ending. Not so funny after all.

Recording: I love the way this has turned into a piano song since I started playing it with Alyson.

10. BE THERE, TOO

Song: Alyson’s family was planning a re-do of a vacation trip they’d taken many years ago, and she asked me if I wanted to go with them; spend a week driving through Arkansas with my in-laws and their kids. Put that way, it didn’t sound too good, but I like them all and agreed to go. One of the nicest vacations I’ve ever had. Inspired one of the few happy love songs I’ve written (thank you, Alyson). It’s also about the sound of changes between C major and B minor guitar chords.

11. CARAVANS

Song: I’d been reading some very ancient stories, and some history about the Silk Road. Thinking about the fact that people have been banging on stringed instruments and telling stories for at least 6,000 years. Imagined the scene at one of the places where the trading caravans with their retinue were camped, vs the settlements through which they passed.

12.ONE WAY OR ANOTHER

Song: Very late one night two guys got into a very long argument about politics. Both had stock positions that were not going to be affected by anything the other said. The core of the argument seemed to be whether it was possible or desirable to change “the system”, use politics to make a society based on mutual care vs. pitting everyone in a contest for survival. They’d both been partying pretty hard by the time the conversation started. I crashed around 2, woke up about 7, and they were still going at it, repeating the same things they’d been saying 5 hours earlier, and I got the basic idea for the song.