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The Heart And The Compass

by Pete Sinjin

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1.
That's My Heart 03:22
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That’s My Heart Fearless Foolish Reckless Rootless Hopeless Homeless That’s My Heart All I’ve got is this battered suitcase Full of tears and scattered songs All I’ve got is this road I’m travelling I ain’t never had a home… Fearless… Wandering on a windswept morning Stumbling through a night forlorn All around this world I’m searching Trying to find my special one Fearless… Trying to read a broken compass On a night that holds no stars Crossing over pitch black waters Following my restless heart… Every heart is a lonely hunter Every one’s got a restless soul Makes no difference where you wander Nobody wants to be alone Fearless Foolish Reckless Rootless Hopeless Homeless That’s My Heart
2.
Radio Tears 04:17
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Radio Tears Midnight in the kitchen, the radio on She sit’s there and listens to an old country song While a scimitar moon like a sail passes through Out the window… She thinks of an old boy twelve years ago Who gave her a last kiss and put on his coat And he walked out the door And died in a war no one remembers Sometimes a life Is just a long line Of heart broken nights To last all your years Stars that don’t shine A sad moon to cry And radio songs To catch all your tears… She drums on the table to an old Kitty Wells A honky tonk angel and a faded red rose That he pinned to her dress with a promise A long time ago She thinks of the last time they danced to the song He was handsome and grinning in his new uniform And they salted ‘cross the floor as he sang every word In her ears… Sometimes a life… Someday my love, you’ll come back from that war Take me in your arms…like you used to before We’ll dance under the stars as the radio sings Come back to me love…and I’ll wear your ring… Midnight in the kitchen she turns out the light A last cigarette while the radio sighs For war’s that take lovers And leave nothing but tears in your eyes…
3.
Dirty Windshield 03:41
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Dirty Windshield Miles and miles down rutted roads Years behind the wheel all told Thought we’d find the rainbows end In blacktop oil Starry eyed we set out once The windows down and you were young The Rearview like a postcard Of the fading sun I never had direction All I believed You’d crack my dirty windshield So I could see You crack my dirty windshield So I can see Highway poems and lovers hearts Desert dreams and small town rust Said our prayers and wrote our vows In dashboard dust We watched the big sky turn at dusk Stars came out like foundry sparks Spent the night intwined In truck stop parking lots And when I woke each morning All I believed… Miles and miles all through a life The infinite horizon line The only map I’ll ever need’s My baby’s eyes Where the black top meets the sun When this engine’s tired and done I’ll lay down in the warm grass With you in my arms I’ll never need direction All I believe…
4.
Stolen Afternoon, 1951 05:06
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Stolen Afternoon, 1951 Walking slow Across the fields The sun hangs low It warms your skin Your long blond hair Tied in a scarf Your tired hands Your button blouse Your husband’s gone All Afternoon The washing’s done Kids are at school The curtains sway Caught in the breeze And there you lay Smiling up at me I don’t care what happens Outside of this room On a Stolen Afternoon The sun might race across the sky And steal you away too soon On a Stolen Afternoon I have never seen The ocean’s breeze But I see the waves When I hear you breath The salty air I taste on your skin In your eyes I see the blue Horizon Walking slow Leaving me behind Back to your world Where the years fly by You stop and turn At a quarter mile One last wave One last smile… I don’t care what happens Outside of this room On a Stolen Afternoon The sun might race across the sky And steal you away too soon On a Stolen Afternoon
5.
Breathing The Same Air 03:38
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Breathing The Same Air Skin to skin You to me Under a magnolia tree I held you in my arms For the first time Revelation of my life Forever onwards You’d be mine I still recall the wonder Of the first night… Underneath the moon and stars We’re Breathing the Same Air You were there… You were like a sparrows heart Delicate, a paper drum Eyes as bright as heaven’s constellations You woke me to a love so pure Sharing heartbeats Sharing blood Aching like an open wound That still bleeds… Underneath the moon and stars… We’re Breathing the Same Air You were there… Someday you’ll be on your way Half a million miles away Making sense of all my Sins and failures Maybe you’ll find words to say And I’ll be just a call away When you’re crying You’ve always got my shoulder… Underneath the moon and stars We’re Breathing the Same Air You were there… And I’ll be there…
6.
Can't Be So 03:56
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Can’t Be So I’ve got this bad habit Of not letting go I want to be your lover, baby Even though you say It Can’t Be So… You’ve got a new lover And he’s solid as stone And I just keep saying and saying and saying It Can’t Be So… You used to let me in Now you stop me at the door You say you’ve got a brand new friend You don’t want me hanging around no more You don’t answer my letters You don’t pick up the phone And that light in your window says You’re not alone So I walk these lonely streets Like a man without a home I used to hold the key to your heart, but… It Can’t Be So… You used to let me in Now you stop me at the door You say you’ve got a brand new friend You don’t want me hanging around no more You don’t answer my letters You don’t pick up the phone And that light in your window says You’re not alone I know you still love me But there’s nowhere left to go Like all of our promises It Can’t Be So…
7.
Goodbye Knoxville 02:06
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Goodbye Knoxville There’s a pretty girl walking up Summit Hill But she ain’t looking at me She looks like money but there’s rags on me Goodbye Knoxville, Tennessee I heard a voice say “Get outta there, son… This side of town’s no place to be You’re only looking for trouble round here…” Goodbye Knoxville, Tennessee So I might go to Nashville where the honky tonks swing Might go to Memphis ‘find a fallen King Might go to Bristol There’s a girl there waiting for me… Crooked man on a crooked porch Could be 1923 One blind eye, One eye dead on me Goodbye Knoxville, Tennessee So I might go to Nashville where the honky tonks swing Might go to Memphis ‘find a fallen King Might go to Bristol There’s a girl there waiting for me… Now there’s a Hillbilly poet Checked in for the night At a hotel on Gay Street He took his last breath Of his last night on earth Goodbye Knoxville, Tennessee So I might go to Nashville where the honky tonks swing Might go to Memphis ‘find a fallen King Might go to Bristol There’s a girl there waiting for me… Pretty girl walking up Summit Hill Yeah, she’s looking at me… I see your Daddy coming after me Goodbye Knoxville, Tennessee…
8.
Desperate Kind Of Love 03:50
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Desperate Kind of Love I don’t want to hold you Like I’m holding on for life And I don’t want to kiss your lips Like I’m scared that you might disappear From my sight I don’t want that kind of love That Desperate Kind of Love I don’t want to take your hand Like I’m scared of letting go And I don’t want to be that man Who wait’s round your door Every time you go I don’t want that kind of love That Desperate Kind of Love Because I’ve seen that kind before The kind that always wants for more The kind you always Have to reassure Yeah, I’ve see that kind a thousand times And I confess that sometimes I have fallen For that Desperate Kind of Love I won’t say I love you Just to here you say it back And I won’t say I need you Forever Just because I’m sad I don’t want that kind of love That Desperate Kind of Love
9.
Last Stand And Testament 03:34
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Last Stand and Testament This is my last testament Underneath this woeful firmament I’ve been a peaceful man all my life But, my God, that was then You pushed me to the wall You had to take it all… In my house, my children sleeping It breaks my heart to disturb their dreaming But the wolves are scratching at the door I never even held a gun before Till you pushed me to the wall You had to take it all… Mary, go back to our bed And hold our precious babies Sing to them A song of comforting And tell them that their Daddy loves them I’ll be outside facing East A blood red sky And the sound of rumbling I’m not afraid to die For what I love My rifle’s to my eye You pushed me to the wall You had to take it all…
10.
This Bed's Gonna Break Your Fall 03:56
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This Bed’s Going To Break Your Fall You can stay all night You can stay till the morning sun is high And stake your life On the promise that everything will be alright There’s no use stalling When nothing’s left When tears start falling This bed… Your mama’s gone She left the house one morning with the kettle on Your lover’s cruel Stole your favorite songs and the abandoned you And now you’re standing Out on the ledge Take one leap forward This bed… This Bed’s Going To Break Your Fall This Bed’s Going To Break Your Fall When tragedy befalls When no one’s left to call When no one’s round at all Time does not mend, it breaks Makes you relive your old mistakes Again Again Again This Bed’s Going To Break Your Fall This Bed’s Going To Break Your Fall You can stay all night Open up your wings like a butterfly’s And live your life In a bed that heals you with a thousand sighs More then a lover More then a friend Take one step forward This bed…
11.
The Night That I Saw God 03:32
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The Night That I Saw God What drew me out that night I guess I’ll never know The stillness in the air Or the night as black as coal Well, opaque would be the word ‘cause it blotted out the stars Suddenly the wind was wild The tree’s were leaning hard The Night That I Saw God The night I saw the Devil Rolling in the yard Raining a tornado The Night That I Saw God The night I saw the Devil Rolling in the yard Raining a tornado Well, I ran back in my house And I barely caught the door And I jumped under the couch And started praying on the floor Then the picture window shattered In a burst of driving rain And I heard a sound so deafening I thought it was a train… The Night That I Saw God… Well, I guess I prayed to Jesus And I pleaded for my life And I guess my prayers were answered Because everything went quiet And I guess that’s when I realized My whole life was gone And I guess I started crying The night The Night That I Saw God When I finally walked outside The damage to survey My house was leaning over And the roof had blown away And like a giant dragged a bowie knife Clear across the ground That twister sliced an evil path And it tore apart my town And they never found that trucker Tore right out of his cab And that farmer and his cattle Well, they’re never coming back I know the good Lord giveth But he takes back at his pleasure And I’ve learned to fear the Devil And my God in equal measure… The Night That I Saw God

about

"Combing through the lyrics of this album, the two words that stuck out were 'heart' and 'compass,'" states Pete Sinjin. "I realized that, for me, they're one in the same. My heart is my compass. I've been led around by my heart always, and it's taken me all over. It's delivered me to where I am now, which is a pretty nice place to be."

'The Heart and the Compass', Pete Sinjin's fourth album of original compositions, lives up to its title. Such lyrically vivid, melodically arresting originals as 'That's My Heart', 'Dirty Windshield' and 'The Night That I Saw God' resonate with insight and warmth, with spacious, organic grooves and melodic hooks that are every bit as expressive as his lyrics.

With hard-won experience and a novelist's precision, Sinjin paints rich, evocative portraits of fleeting moments, stolen glances and lives in transition, and drives his stories home with indelible melodies that reflect his affinity for such seminal troubadours as Rodney Crowell, John Prine and Townes Van Zandt, as well as his abiding love for such punk-era greats as the Jam, the Minutemen and Husker Du.

"This group of songs felt like they were bound together in some way; they all seemed to know each other," Sinjin says of 'The Heart and the Compass'. "I eventually figured out that they all were love songs in one way or another. Love in all its various incarnations: tender, lost, found, nostalgic, passionate, defiant, foolish, hopeless, awe-inducing, life-changing. It wasn't conscious, but they all fit together and that overriding theme emerged."

To record 'The Heart and the Compass', Sinjin called upon a talented group of like-minded New York-based compatriots. "This record is definitely the beneficiary of the do's and don'ts of my previous recording experiences," he explains, adding, "I had the sound of this record in my head, and I knew who to reach out to achieve it."

Towards that end, he hooked up with noted producer/engineer Bryce Goggin (Pavement, Luna), and assembled a simpatico studio ensemble that included guitarist/pedal steel player Rich Hinman (Sara Bareilles, Rosanne Cash), drummer Tony Leone (Levon Helm, Shooter Jennings) and bassist Jay Foote (Lera Lynn, The Lone Bellow), along with singer-songwriter Michaela Anne, who adds her distinctive voice on several tracks.

"Making this record was a total pleasure," Pete reports. "In the tradition of what I believe to be the best albums, I wanted to work fast and capture the essence and spontaneity of the songs, and avoid any pitfalls of procrastination or overthinking the objective. These guys were all so good, and the chemistry was so right, that after two rehearsals, I knew we were ready to just get into the studio and put it to tape. We had all the tracking done in two days."

credits

released June 25, 2016

The Heart and the Compass

Recorded and mixed by Bryce Goggin at Trout Studio’s Brooklyn, NY
Engineered by Adam Sachs
Mastering by Fred Kevorkian

Pete Sinjin
Vocals , Guitar, Harmonica,
Jay Foote
Electric & Upright Bass, backing vocals
Rich Hinman
Electric Guitar, Pedal Steel
Tony Leone
Drums
Dennis Lichtman
Violin, Mandolin
Michaela Anne
vocals on Desperate Kind of Love, Radio Tears,
and Stolen Afternoon, 1951
Jamey Hamm
Harmony vocals on That’s My Heart

All songs by Pete Sinjin Copyright 2014, BMI Hootenanny Arts

Special thanks
Jay, Rich, Tony, Dennis, Michaela, Jamey, Bryce,
Don Bajema,

This record (for it is indeed…) is dedicated to Kira, Zoe, and Tucker
My true Heart and Compass

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Pete Sinjin Brooklyn, New York

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