Why Do We Sing

by Stephanie Croff

Why Do We Sing cover art
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about

Touting a minimalist lineup of delicate yet incisive piano playing, naked voice, and moody string arrangements, Stephanie Croff's release, Why Do We Sing, is a compelling chronicle of emotional descent, ascent, and the troubled waters between the two. Like the crisis-beset femmes of Tori Amos, Over the Rhine's Karen Bergquist, and Patty Griffith, Stephanie Croff courts chaos of the heart without careening into musical ire and gestures towards redemption without waxing saccharine.

credits

released 20 May 2008
Produced by Bear Erickson and Stephanie Croff except for “Why Do We Sing,” which was produced by Joby Baker, Bear Erickson, and Stephanie Croff.
Piano on 1, 3, and 9 recorded on Laurie Kingsley’s 1975 Steinway B in Solvang, California. All others recorded on a 1984 Yamaha U3 at Industrial Saw & Sound in Buellton, California.
Vocals on 1 recorded by Joby Baker at Baker Studios in Victoria, BC. All others recorded by Bear Erickson at World Tree Studios in Santa Ynez, California.
*Cello written/arranged/played/recorded by Kevin Fox at Sonus Productions in Toronto, Ontario.
Mixed/mastered by Joby Baker at Baker Studios LTD, in Victoria, BC.

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Track Name: Why Do We Sing
We are confused, we have been broken
We are abused, we have not spoken
So why do we sing tonight?

Can you tell me who we are supposed to be
‘Cause I can’t read, but you don’t speak
So why do we sing tonight?

Every once in a while I hear a whisper
Every once in a while I say a prayer
Every once in a while I hear an answer
And God knows where we have been hiding

We have been bought and sold and it’s with our own two hands
People are dying
People have lost their souls and it’s too late for them
So why do we sing tonight?

No I will not lift my voice in vain
These tears I will not dry
‘Till all our voices in chorus ring
“In love, we will abide”

So why do we sing our songs
Will our nation hear our cry?
‘Till all our voices in chorus ring
“In love, we will abide”
Track Name: Some Days
Some day I think I might go to Rome
Pompeii, New York, and the fjords back home
Some day I’ll float down the Nile, stare at the sun
But some days never come

Some day I’ll leave this job and take up art
Paint a self portrait and learn to play guitar
Some day I’ll be my own boss and work for fun
But some days never come

Some day I’ll build a house with these two hands
Plant a Ponderosa Pine and some lavender across the land
Some day I’ll fall in love when I understand
That some days never come
Track Name: The Curse
Have you ever felt the drop?
Heard the sound as it goes rushing by,
Anything you called your home is gone.

Have you ever known The Curse?
Gets in deep and it won’t stop until it hurts,
Everything you’ve ever loved is gone.

I want to breathe but the air won’t move
I want to see, but the sun won’t prove
Reach out my hand to you
Further and further away

Have you ever known for sure?
Want to keep it, but it’s beautiful and pure.
So it creeps in, the fear of the unknown.

I want to breathe but the air won’t move
I want to see but the sun won’t prove
Reach out my hand to you
Further and further away

I get so I can’t see it coming

I want to breathe but the air won’t move
I want to see but the sun won’t prove
Reach out my hand to you
Further and further away

I want to be what my heart holds true
I want to see what this life can do
Move past the fear that has held me
Further and further away

I get so I can’t see it coming
It’s a long way down when I can’t see
Track Name: Green
Every time I turn green I know it’s not flattering
And no woman wears that color well.

Take a breath, stop and think.
This isn’t what it seems, just go on smiling.

Battlefield, dressed to kill. This war is against my will
I know I’ve got to rise above it.

These heels – six feet tall, these skills – not meaningful
Although you’ve got a nice body.

Little thing, don’t tell me your story
Got a baleen smile and you used to be his shorty, well
I don’t want to play this game no more
I’m gonna take a look inside find my strength
There’s no need to hide behind anybody’s body.

I’m not gonna be green.
Track Name: Lessons in Flight
Look out the window as I fly away
Which way will I go? Question of the day.
Storm clouds on the horizon lie
Could be a cold one, not much warmth inside.

‘Cause I feel like breaking down
I’m breaking down

Walls so thick, I built them all myself.
Need protection from what hurts like hell
In the pit of my belly raw,
Losing sleep like loose change in store

‘Cause I feel like breaking down
I’m breaking down

Maybe I should pack my bags and take my troubles with me
I don’t want to fuck you up
Maybe all the things that break would mend much easier
But I don’t want to fuck this up

‘Cause I feel like breaking down
I’m breaking down

Look out the window as I fly away
Track Name: Retribution
Retribution in waves
Some he loses, some saves
Road to hell, will this pave?
More than words, we can’t say

Yellow golden sunlight
Frightens off the cold night
Cuts the line and makes right
More than words, we can’t fight

Retribution in waves
Not quite sure what to say
Should we go, should we stay?
More than words, let them pray
Track Name: The Sparrow's Call
The melody that I hear so constantly
Makes me deaf, it makes me weep
‘till my eyes run dry

The harmony in your hands, they comfort me
In your eyes, they help me see
What it means to love

And how to try
From a heart once closed inside
I hear a song rise and fall

Into the earth where it starts a second birth
On the breeze, it comes to me
Like the sparrow’s call
Track Name: Lullaby (for Bear)
Lazy afternoons in the summertime
With my coffee far from cold in the cup
Lacy underwear on my bottom
And my Saturday night is finally picking up

Well that was months ago, it’s cold, and I miss you so

Tonight I write a lullaby
To no one else but the heater and me
I’ve been workin’ hard from day to day to day and now the holidays
Are so close, with our gifts and the tree

But this is here and now, a year from now I can see
Track Name: Grindstone
We don’t go to work all day for nothin’
We don’t go to work all day for tears

We don’t go to work all day for no one
We don’t go to work all day for years

It doesn’t matter what time of day I wake up
Nine-to-five has always made my heart break
It doesn’t matter which road I take to get back
Home is where my heart is where my head lays
Track Name: Trap Door
Pen down, been down this road before
Hands down, this one is a keeper

Eyes closed, everybody knows
Found out my secret, oh no

The cat is out of the bag, I better run and hide
Well do I have no sense of pride when it comes to love?

Moon full, you’re beautiful
Orange glow, butterflies, by your side

Mind read, skies red, it’s warning time
Half-fed, my fear is growing

The trap door under my feet is only in my mind
So take it one day at a time when it comes to love.
Track Name: Stay With Me (song for Daniel)
So the wind began to sigh with songs of thousands,
“There’s no tomorrow, there’s only now.
Don’t be afraid to cry, the tears are only of joy, not sorrow.
Don’t hide your eyes.”
Stay with me

Late, the moon began to rise,
He called the ocean “His lovely lady,” still smiling wide
And wet with wonder. All who touch this woman
With her arms all around us, gaze at her shores.
Stay with me

Save your memories for a time with eyes wide open
We’re only vessels of flesh and bone
Trade your worries for a while, the golden ship has sailed on with morning
We’re finally home
Track Name: Prairie Rose (to Ward)
Prairie Rose
Five petals, soft and low
Curls of gold
Five fingers, who could know

Before you know it you’re gonna be all grown
Before you know it you’re gonna see all along

Overhead
Time bends violet to red
End to end
In the middle, all he said

Before you know it you’re gonna be out of sight
Before you know it I’m gonna be out of time

Laid to rest
Scarlet V pulled off my chest
Standing tall
All alone then one by one

Before I know it I’m gonna be out of time
Before I go