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Trouble Is

by Joseph Bradshaw

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    CREDITS
    Recorded and Mixed by TJ Elias at Big Trouble Studios
    Produced by Joseph Bradshaw & TJ Elias
    Mastered by Kim Rosen
    Artwork by Greg Perkins
    Photos by Eric Ryan Anderson

    Additional Recording by Kyle Ryan

    All songs written by Joseph Bradshaw with help from Kyle Ryan (tracks 4, 6, 7, 9, 10), Sandra McCracken (track 10), and Casey Chambers (track 9).

    Joseph Bradshaw: vocals, guitars
    Abraham Couch: bass
    Greg Perkins: guitars
    Andy Simonds: keys, vocals
    Dylon York: drums
    Kyle Ryan: acoustic guitar, vocals
    Casey Chambers: vocals

    Includes unlimited streaming of Trouble Is via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.     ... more
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1.
Is It the Winter 03:10
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Stuck behind the door Of a roll top box Didn’t call out for my dad I called out for the cops Hoped they’d bring a dog To get me out from Inside the box where I was shut up Was this a sin? I’ll never know what I never know Is it the winter if it never snows? He jumped out of a tree He jumped on my back He was wearing rollerblades I had my backpack I hit him in his nose I think I hit him hard He didn’t really bleed But I punched my card I was throwing rocks At the high school band A cop came up He grabbed my hand Said, “What kind of fool Doesn’t hide his tracks It doesn’t take a dog Gonna call your dad” “Or we could keep it cool Put your rocks away Just keep it to yourself And I’ll let you stay” They’ll never know what they’ll never know Is it the winter if it never snows? I thought he told my sister I thought he told my mom But the memory didn’t keep him The cop walked on I’m pretty sure the box And the rollerblades Are just figments of my memory There to keep me saved I’ll never know what I never know Is it the winter if it never snows? I’ll never know what I never know Is it the winter if it never snows?
2.
Living with a Broken Heart 03:17
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Living with a broken heart As if I thought I knew That I was broken from the start My days already through Just like a book without its cover Its spine with dried up glue I was built to fall apart And I try to see it through She was sitting on the window sill And I wondered how a dog might feel If she knew I was the one who had ruined all her fun ‘Cause I told her I don’t think it’s real She said, “Now why should you say that? If I wasn’t chasing shadows I’d be chasing cats Why should you have all the fun and take away the one thing Every dog knows they’re good at?” Living with a broken heart As if I thought I knew That I was broken from the start My days already through Just like a book without its cover Its spine with dried up glue I was built to fall apart And I try to see it through I get lost sometimes in my own mind Wander half my waking hours but I never find The tension on the rope between nothingness and hope So I cut the rope and then I climb It’s been said that dogs love chasing cats In the schoolyard, in the backyard, in the maintenance shack Is the saying always true, because what about the blue dogs Who never saw the point in that Living with a broken heart As if I thought I knew That I was broken from the start My days already through Just like a book without its cover Its spine with dried up glue I was built to fall apart And I try to see it through
3.
Behind Eyes 04:38
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Red mark, stone shoulder Calamity comes, picture bolder Story deep, paper older Icy water growing colder New ways come predictably late Flying ducks, arrow straight Each one our heroic fate Writers write our coming date Singing songs already sung Written down when you were young Every word plagiarized Planting stories behind eyes Robin’s nest on its perch Begins to sway, starts to lurch Steeple bends toward the church When it falls, guess we’ll search Hold your seat, don’t look away Robin’s eggs, the light of day Sun is hot but it won’t stay Story sealed, details fray Singing songs already sung Written down when you were young Every word plagiarized Planting stories behind eyes Rusty ink makes a steeper climb Set in fiber on a yellowed page Death comes sooner than we like to mind So watch your back—stay inside your cage There’s no escaping what you’ll never find But a robin’s eggs are never hard to hide Singing songs already sung Written down when you were young Every word plagiarized Planting stories behind eyes Singing songs already sung Written down when you were young Every word plagiarized Planting stories behind eyes
4.
Friends of Friends 04:07
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Room’s too hot, it smells like smoke Step into the evening cloak Front yard now a parking lot And anything we want, we’ve got The neighbors that you hardly knew They’ve got friends they’re bringing, too Charcuterie is getting thin Friends of friends drink all the gin It’s just so good to see you now To wear a smile and not a frown It’s just so good to see you now Sarah sings, a sideways glance The neighbors they all start to dance Sleeping in the other room A little one not more than two Look at her, she looks at me Is this how it’s supposed to be? The record spins, the music drowns We've found a love that’s not too loud It’s just so good to see you now To wear a smile and not a frown It’s just so good to see you now To wear a smile and not a frown It’s just so good to see you now The neighbors leave, their friend’s a mess Sleeping on my writing desk Chaos on the dining floor We’ll let it live a little more tonight It’s just so good to see you now To wear a smile and not a frown It’s just so good to see you now To wear a smile and not a frown It’s just so good to see you now
5.
Help Me Up 04:07
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Four in the morning Air starts to move Old leaves turn over Finding new grooves In old cracks on old streets It’s always the same You tell me the words You gave me my name These bricks need mending My grass goes untrimmed This shit’s so broken That I can’t even begin To tell her I love her Like you think that I do For you it’s so simple But her shit’s broken, too Why do you look down When you fill my cup? If you give me strength Then why can’t you help me up? I’ve found a new lover I’ve got a new friend This one is for real So you cannot pretend That it hasn’t been easy To get over you But with you I’m dead So what else could I do? Why do you look down When you fill my cup? If you give me strength Then why can’t you help me up? You like to hear praise Like to hear you are You’ve held me too close And I want to be far From the beating of drums There’s enough in my head Now I need to forget Every word that you said Why do you look down? Send out your light Send out your truth Lead me out of the night Why do you look down When you fill my cup? If you give me strength Then why can’t you help me up?
6.
Looking for Hell 03:16
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I was looking for hell Like I had something to sell I don’t know But then I fell in the lake And there was no one to take Me home I thought I’d take from the top Thought I could outrun the cops Guess we’ll see If I could knock over one I think that I could be done— I’d be free, partially I can’t run from Tennessee Let the law come after me I felt the heat of a gun I felt like I was a son Of a bitch Cruising fumes in my tank Headed straight for the bank Ended up in a ditch It’s enough to make me mad I know it’d make my mother sad I took it out on the night Tried to shoot out the lights Had a tail He cuffed my legs to my hands He said, “Do you understand Where this ship’s gonna sail?” I guess I’m running out of track Can see the start line coming back But nothing’s real if real is after all I took a look at the judge And then I spit in the mud I don’t care I told him, “Give me your worst” He said, “Before I do first: Run a comb through your hair.” I came to get what I deserve At least some time already served Cause nothing’s real if real is after all I was looking for hell Like I had something to sell I don’t know But then I fell in the lake And there was no one to take Me home
7.
Miranda 03:19
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No-ones line the bar, but Miranda Shiny little purse Beauty like a curse She wasn’t gonna drink, but he hands her Sichuan verbena Hopes no one has seen her The band strikes up a tune, but Miranda Isn’t here to dance
Or even for romance
She wasn’t gonna come, but they had her They played her favorite song And so she sang along On the cover of a book You get a second look But in the cover of a bar You’re just another card, oh Miranda No one knows her face but Miranda Without her lashes on
She might as well be gone
She wasn’t gonna stay, but she had to Infamous for pride She heads out to her car, just Miranda For all the cash she’s earned
Her engine still doesn’t turn
Now, no one lines the bar but Miranda Shiny little purse Beauty like a curse On the cover of a book You get a second look But in the cover of a bar You’re just another card, oh Miranda
8.
Roy Acuff in His Air Cooled Car 02:48
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Roy Acuff in his air cooled car A Franklin, so its told On Sand Hill Mount Roy would have found a sound as pure as gold Two voices and a mandolin That carried wide and far Through castle air this cursed pair Cruising through the dark Eight years in an Opry stint Three wives but not the last Three bottles in Roy Acuff’s gin When dear Faye’s patience passed She asked dear Ira to their room To speak more civilly He wrapped the phone round Faye’s neck bone No scream could set her free His pistol lay upon his bed A .22 in size Faye tried to run then grabbed his gun To Ira’s great surprise She shot him thrice into his back Three more to do him in “If that son of a bitch don’t die Then I will shoot him once again.” His brother called an ambulance But none would go that far Down Due West Road, dear Ira rode In Roy Acuff’s air cooled car Two voices and a mandolin That carried wide and far From Sand Hill Mount two cursed boys found Roy Acuffs air cooled car
9.
Do You 03:31
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If you let it go, can you pull it back in? At dawn’s red glow do you think of sin? Oh, to be alone—to get lost again At the day’s end glow do your wheels still spin? Do you talk about it anymore? Do you talk about me anymore? Do you talk about us anymore? Do you? Do you? When you tell a lie, is it just for me? Do you play both sides just to keep your conscience clean? When you see the sky, do you think of me? Or the starless night when you can finally leave? Do you talk about us anymore? Do you talk about me anymore? Do you talk about it anymore? Do you? Do you? Will you be alone when the fire dies? Will you talk about me anymore? Will you talk about us anymore? Do you talk about me anymore? Do you talk about us anymore? Do you talk about me anymore? Do you talk about us anymore? Do you? Do you?
10.
Build Me a Home 05:16
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You walked the quarter mile Riding’s not your style Stuck under electric sky Memory fades in your eyes I called for you to leave And then I grabbed your sleeve But you kept walking, walking by Memory lost in the night Pulled into the drive Just glad to be alive I guess am, but I don’t know There’s still a long way left to go Staggered down the block Long thrown out the clock Sidewalks, oaks, and picket fence I haven’t rested ever since Build me a home It feels like I’m alone I’ve wandered far, babe, you know me Build me a home Leave the back light on I’ve wandered far, but I’m not free Who could talk to you When you know how you do? I watched you at the screen door there I pulled off for who knows where A thousand empty miles A thousand empty trials I never won, then you were gone I was lost and wandered on Build me a home It feels like I’m alone I’ve wandered far, babe, you know me Build me a home Leave the back light on I’ve wandered far, but I’m not free Can kicked down the road I guess I should have known You wouldn’t hate to see my hate Burn off before it gets too late Build me a home It feels like I’m alone I’ve wandered far, babe, you know me Build me a home Leave the back light on I’ve wandered far, but I’m not free Build me a home Cause I’ve always been alone I’m in the woods, can’t see the trees Build me a home Leave the back light on I’m coming home, babe, you know me

about

I am writing this in a neighborhood bar somewhere east of Little Five. Atlanta. A few celebratory drinks before I walk back to my little apartment across from the Clermont Hotel. I rented the place for the week and was gonna stay an extra night but the rates double on Sunday, so I guess I won’t. I guess I’ll go home. It’s 10:30 now, but it’s still hot outside. It feels like the summer won’t ever end. And maybe it won’t. Maybe the end is near?

The band left this morning to go back home to Florida. Andy, Dylon, Abe, Greg: The Florida Four. But that’s not a real band name now is it? Early this morning, we printed the last rough mix for the songs we recorded here. For a while, we’ve been referring to the record as Jesus Christ, Mr. Bradshaw—which is a joke that came up out of nothing and then never went away. In the end, the record might have a different name. Who knows? There’s still a bunch of work to do.

Back in February, TJ invited us to record two songs at Big Trouble. That’s how it all started. Then, this week, we recorded eight more and fixed one of the tunes from the February set. For three days, I really put the band through the paces; fifteen hour days in which I forgot to call meal breaks. But they hung in there, didn’t seem to hate me too much, and they played their hearts out. When we came together, I had a lot of songs. Some worked, others didn’t. In the end, I don’t know if we picked the right ones or not, or if we arranged them in the right ways. I guess we just tried to follow where things led us. We recorded a lot in those three days. Too much maybe. But we played with spontaneity and urgency and it all felt good. Time is a player on this record too. If you can’t hear it, maybe you can feel it.

Driving around today, the songs sounded good in the car. Rough, but good. Each one means something to me. I don’t know what others will hear when they listen, but they all mean something to me. They are the songs I wanted to make. Songs that feel good to play. They all make me feel something. They're made up of feelings and ideas and discontents. To me, they’re mostly about the failures of modern righteousness. My own righteousness. The wall building, soul destroying affectations of good people brought up in a society that, above all, rewards success and scoffs at the kind of human connections that comes from collaborating without gain. They’re about how most things come back around in big and little ways. They’re songs about living and dying and some of the ways that we search for salvation. In the end, I guess it’s like this: life is filled with heartbreak and nothing lasts forever. And somehow that’s hopeful even when it’s sad.

When I step back and look at these ideas all at once–these songs that we made during a sticky August in Atlanta, Georgia–I can see things a bit clearer. The stories. The songs. The work. The people. All of it. In the end, I guess it’s like this: life is filled with heartbreak and nothing lasts forever. And somehow that’s hopeful even when it’s sad.
 
JGMB, August 2021

credits

released May 20, 2022

Produced by TJ Elias and Joseph Bradshaw
Recorded and mixed by TJ Elias
Mastered by Kim Rosen
Performed and arranged by Joseph Bradshaw & The Florida Four (Abe Couch, Greg Perkins, Andy Simonds, and Dylon York)
Album artwork by Greg Perkins
Photos by Eric Ryan Anderson

Additional recording and performing by Kyle Ryan, Casey Chambers, and Michael ten Pas

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Joseph Bradshaw Nashville, Tennessee

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