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The Alley Walker

by Dan Blakeslee

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    The LP version of The Alley Walker is a deluxe, double-vinyl album gatefold complete with lyrics, photographs, a digital download, and original artwork by Dan Blakeslee including a mermaid etching on the 4th side.

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1.
JOHNNY AND JUNE By Dan Blakeslee 03/10/15 A country King from Arkansas and a Queen from Maces Springs. The hummingbird and tulip courtin' in the Opry wings. In far off fields they sing aloud the hymns. One that brought them deep into the ring. Like illuminated prophets yielding honest rhyme and verse. Leadin' the downhearted on the road to lift the curse. In far off fields they sing aloud the hymns. One that brought them deep into the ring. Johnny and June you have taken us from the halls of sorrows darkest night. For every soul you touch their aching wounds would heal. The outcasts come in where they belong, at night the sky will fill up with your song. When life leaves you lonely out there driftin' on the plain. Your heart's an empty canyon no escaping from the pain. Suddenly a voice blows at your back, From a wildflower and a man in black. Johnny and June you have taken us from the halls of sorrows darkest night. For every soul you touch their aching wounds would heal. The outcasts come in where they belong, at night the sky will fill up with your song. Watch them rise together watch them rise, to the skies together watch them rise... Though their new life has begun, they will not leave anyone. Watch them rise together... Watch them rise... JOHNNY AND JUNE By Dan Blakeslee 03/10/15 A country King from Arkansas and a Queen from Maces Springs. The hummingbird and tulip courtin' in the Opry wings. In far off fields they sing aloud the hymns. One that brought them deep into the ring. Like illuminated prophets yielding honest rhyme and verse. Leadin' the downhearted on the road to lift the curse. In far off fields they sing aloud the hymns. One that brought them deep into the ring. Johnny and June you have taken us from the halls of sorrows darkest night. For every soul you touch their aching wounds would heal. The outcasts come in where they belong, at night the sky will fill up with your song. When life leaves you lonely out there driftin' on the plain. Your heart's an empty canyon no escaping from the pain. Suddenly a voice blows at your back, From a wildflower and a man in black. Johnny and June you have taken us from the halls of sorrows darkest night. For every soul you touch their aching wounds would heal. The outcasts come in where they belong, at night the sky will fill up with your song. Watch them rise together watch them rise, to the skies together watch them rise... Though their new life has begun, they will not leave anyone. Watch them rise together... Watch them rise...
2.
READY FOR THE CINEMA By Dan Blakeslee 01/01/13 I'm gonna take the finest thread, a tailor I will be. It's high time for mending so I'll be mending me. I've gotten good at acting my emotions well concealed. I'm ready for the cinema the plot to be revealed. I'm not a gamblin' man so how'd I lose this hand. I spent a long time a holdin'... she did the foldin'... We've both been so careless to the one we love. I'm hidin' like a turtle while she's flyin' like a dove. You ask me what I've got against the blowin' wind. It tries to hold me back but no I can't be pinned. I'm not a gamblin' man so how'd I lose this hand. I spent a long time a holdin'... she did the foldin'... Spring is soon approachin' with mother natures power. The fields again be fertile and fillin' up with flowers. I'm not a gamblin' man so how'd I lose this hand. I spent a long time a holdin'... she did the foldin'...
3.
PRIDE OF THE PISCATAQUA By Dan Blakeslee 02/08/12 I watched you from a distance so you and I could be alone. As the crowd it gathered to watch you get pulled from the throne. The moon it was a witness you had no intentions of leaving. Not just your ribbon that was cut, the sparks at your side say you’re bleeding. Pride of the Piscataqua! With the low hum of the diesel, in darkness four deep whistles call. A signal on the ocean, once you spanned now you will be hauled. To me you’ve always spoken, though they said you weren’t sound. But tonight I heard you yell, metallic, surreal and profound. Pride of the Piscataqua! Hollow is the harbor… Hollow is the harbor… Here’s to you my crumbling beauty, beneath your belly we did sail. You ain’t goin’ nowhere for deep in this heart you prevail! Pride of the Piscataqua!
4.
Lone Star 04:01
LONE STAR By Dan Blakeslee 03/17/14 written in New Orleans Stuck down here no fault but my own, Like a coyote on the prarie howlin' alone. My hearts still beating... pickin' up the pace. Haven't got a dollar to fix my heal, Ain't had no sleep I need a good meal. I'm a lone star in the state of Texas. Glad to be here, the honky ton the southern charm. Felt like I was sinkin' when you offered me your tattooed arms. My strings a twangin' full of faith and hope. Got a careful eye who's holdin' the rope. Watchin some get branded... me I don't like the heat! Tryin' for the radio but it's hard to get heard, Through the rodeo and stampede I can't get a word. Just a lone star in the state of Texas. Glad to be here, the honky ton the southern charm. Felt like I was sinkin' when you offered me your tattooed arms. Thanks to my beautiful friend for takin' me in. Before I run out of luck I'll run to see you again.
5.
SIRENS AND THE OXBOW By Dan Blakeslee 05/23/05 My name is Nathaniel Oxbow a young man of thirty three. Born in the eyes of the ocean, captain of “No Casualty”. With a crew of sixteen brave men leavin' Sunday morn we'll be. For extracts oils and potion and lemon for tea. Oh, sirens are a callin' thee Oh, sailor on the deep dark sea. Hoist those sails my seadogs danger I do not foresee. Wave on the shore to the maidens we'll be coming back for thee. By night whitecaps surround us tossing us windward and lee. Then a sound came shivering the timber that left the hull and all eerie. Oh, sirens are a callin' thee Oh, sailor on the deep dark sea. A great white nearly took two that would only leave fourteen. For Swagger Jim and Dark Jack, Davey Jones he let them be. All the Harpswell Sound Boys the Tatnic Five and Iron Lee. Then there's Teardrop Waldrop, Odd Lottie and Pingree... and me... Oh, sirens are a callin' thee Oh, sailor on the deep dark sea. Altough a mermaids call is stronger than a manitee. All men sing out fiercely “Oh - la - do – lay – dee”! Oh, sirens are a callin' thee Oh, sailor on the deep dark sea.
6.
LION ON THE ROAD By Dan Blakeslee 05/29/10 It's dark here in the cavern though I'm sheltered by the rain. The breeze I feel is the passin' of a train. The only thing that''s worn out is what I'm wearing I suppose. It's time for burning britches and buying brand new clothes. Lion on the road... I'm coming up from the cavern I'm skipping every other rung. There's something outside callin' I'm headed into the sun. The wind blew in a fortune which read “adventure is near”. So I'm opening the atlas and dreaming far from here. I'm gonna sell this lantern honey for a new light out there glows. The walls I hit were many and now it's time for me to try the road. Lion on the road...
7.
SABRE TOOTH TIGER By Dan Blakeslee 04/22/13 The devil walked into the sun. He thought to himself my work here is done With hate and greed erupted volcanoes corrupted. And the devil walked into the sun. There's one thing that he didn't get. A lone tree a rising straight from the pit. I guess he'd forgotten not all things are rotten So he sat there and pondered a bit. Even the sabre tooth tiger had a soft side. One day got tired of chewing hide. And freed his heart to roam the outside. You see the earth itself is a seed. Where the rock of love and the tree of life agree... So the devil upgraded and traded his spade for a plow! He now digs the earth... “I like this place”! He shouted from the mountain... With a changin' heart and sweat upon his brow. Even the sabre tooth tiger had a soft side. One day got tired of chewing hide. And freed his heart to roam the outside.
8.
THE SOMERVILLE LINE By Dan Blakeslee 05/13/10 You left me feeling the guilt of an arrested man. I was paralized and bleeding before I take the stand. It felt like an arrow through my hand. A thief has taken the wind upon the day that I set sail. I'm helpless on the harbor no compass, no pail. It felt like an arrow through my hand. So I'm looking on a hero to lead me from the jail. I'm being saved by the writer of “Jonah and the Whale”. And the blue eyed healer who saw the first sign. I was starvin' when he asked me to dine. I wouldn't let the Eifel Tower burn or leave it stranded without care. And the Mona Lisa you can ask the Louvre, The best things they sometimes need repair. You know where you can find me my dear these days I'm not hard to find. Write me a letter don't hand me a fine, While I'm livin' on the Somerville line.
9.
A GOLDEN TURN By Dan Blakeslee 05/24/12 Before this hair of mine turns from gold to silver, Lead me through the mines to the land of the fruited vines. Let me be lifted from my struggling. I don't wish to be where the “have it easy” meet. I just want to reach the middle road a while, So I can stretch these feet. The palms of my hands are worn from the battlefield. The mystic that I seek I hope she can navigate invisible lines. Let me be lifted from my struggling. I don't wish to be where the “have it easy” meet. I just want to reach the middle road a while, So I can stretch these feet. I can hear across the sea the sound of London calling me. Lord let me cross some borders instead of crossing wires and working in the mines. Now is my time to live a little. Now is my time for living right? Now is my time to live a little. Now is my time for living. Right!
10.
The Bandit 04:06
11.
NO SHAME IN WASTIN TIME By Dan Blakeslee 04/14/14 Let there be no shame in wastin' time. We've all got worries we could leave behind. Ride upon a train with no direction, Hop a cloud that's bound for driftin'. Let there be no shame in wastin' time. Let your toes count the grains of sand. A mermaid may just grab you by the hand. I'd lose my whip if I was a whippoorwill. Here's to the great procrastinators, Even alligators know it's not a croc. Everybody knows it's a rough life for a clock. How could you relax with all that nervous tick and talkin'? You spend your whole life waiting for a punch, And another when they get back from lunch. To nourish is to flourish them's the breaks. That stubborn bread in the oven risin' slow. The food of life is smarter than we know. Pie always takes it easy... Till a clown needs it in the face! Let there be no shame in wastin' pie. Let there be no shame in wastin' time. We've all got worries we can leave behind. In the afternoon a little do-si-do. Followed by a jelly roll. Let there be no shame in wastin' time.
12.
THE ALLEY WALKER By Dan Blakeslee 04/21/06 Guilty is what I'm feelin' lately for giving the slip. With the eyes of the creator gone he who holds the whip. Now I use cobblestones and pipes to camouflage my hide. For they're perched on the rooftops now they'll scan the city wide. I'm the one they call the alley walker. I am unseen within Penhallows wall. I'll leave no trace I'll vanish down the hall. Like a cat my whiskers they have grown a beard is full in bloom. I'll escape the barber of the town cast his razor in a tomb. Not even moonlight on the clearest June night will not find my lair. There'll be no leads from your coin tossed down the fountain in the square. I'm the one they call the alley walker. I am unseen within Penhallows wall. I'll leave no trace I'll vanish down the hall. Into the haberdasher I will have to find a very sly disguise. I will buy a hat be fitted with a cloak dark glasses for my eyes. I'll even take a dip in disappearing ink the magic parlor sells. By the lamplighter I was seen I will torch him if he tells. I'm the one they call the alley walker. I am unseen within Penhallows wall. I'll leave no trace I'll vanish down the hall. I will duck into the candlemaker for I need her advice. You see the main drag is where I wish to walk leave the garbage and the mice. Could you mold me a candle please with both ends I could light? Add some midnight oil to keep it burning slowly through the night...

credits

released August 18, 2017

Recorded at 1130ft Studio - Rollinsford, NH
Engineer - Chris Chase
Mastering - Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East / Cambridge, MA
All music lyrics and art by Dan Blakeslee copyright 2017

Dan Blakeslee and The Calabash Club are:

Dan Blakeslee - guitar, vocals
Mike Effenberger - piano, organ, accordion
Nick Phaneuf - bass, electric guitar, backing vocals
Jim Rudolf - drums, percussion

Additional Musicians:

Joseph Arnold - fiddle
Eric Royer - pedal steel
Jonah Tolchin - electric guitar, lap steel
Guy Capecelatro III - vibraphone
Amy Kucharik - backing vocals
Jenee Halstead - backing vocals
Mary Dellea - backing vocals

Gang Vocals on " Johnny And June":

Dan Blakeslee, Jonathan Blakeslee, Jenee Halstead, Nick Phaneuf, Jim Rudolf, Mary Dellea, Amy Kucharik, Stu Dias, Jon Nolan, Scott Chase and Jonah Tolchin.

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Dan Blakeslee Kennebunkport, Maine

With a suitcase of songs, Maine folk troubadour Dan Blakeslee ventured into the subways of Boston in 1995 to practice his craft. His songs of true life adventures combine the essence of early folk music with a dose of country grit. In 2015 his dream of playing Newport Folk Festival became a reality, where Bob Dylan went electric 50 years earlier. His band release "Christmasland Jubilee" on 12.1.20 ... more

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