Bury the Ghost
album
Bury The Ghost
Elisabeth Cutler
1. Paper Scissors Stone
2. Black Diamonds
3. Where Have I Been
4. The Curse of Eve
5. Backfire
6. All I Need To Know
7. How Deep is the Well
8. Squam
9. Feeling Our Way (In the Dark)
10. Fight of Flight
11. I Wish
12. The Last Mile
The thing about some journeys is that you don’t know where you’re going until you get there. And sometimes, the experience of getting there is the key to the whole destination. The music of Elisabeth Cutler is like that; consider the 12 songs on her new album Bury The Ghost to be some unforgettable observations made along the way.
In music today, female singer/songwriters can invariably (and unfairly) be categorized as “folkies.” And while most will proudly admit to being creative descendants of Joni Mitchell, many are blazing singular paths that have not only left the term “folk” behind, but made the “female” label a secondary factor as well. Today, the genre supports and celebrates such powerful and diverse artists as Ani DeFranco, Sarah McLachlan or Tori Amos who explore the introspective balance between bitterness and beauty. And while Bury The Ghost places Elisabeth Cutler firmly in these ranks, her music continues to proudly defy any standard categorization. More than simply a new collection of Elisabeth’s songs, the album presents an intelligence and literacy that makes the music a searingly personal experience. And so the journey begins.
For Elisabeth, the getting there has provided its own uniquely diverse treasures. A native of Boston, she studied at the Berklee College of Music yet soon surrendered to the wanderlust unique to the souls of all artists. In what she’s jokingly described as a “hands-on approach to life,” her travels have led her to write, study, and experience across America, from restoration work of the City Hall in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to repairing tubas and flutes in Seattle, to activist work with the American Indian Movement throughout the Pacific Northwest, to a residency in the artist community of Santa Fe. It was in Santa Fe that Elisabeth fell in with the local R&B and Rock scene, where local players had their “folkie” perceptions kicked firmly in the ass by a woman who could rock the funk with intelligence, intensity and a uniquely stunning passion. Powerful performances, strong reviews, extensive local radio airplay and a burgeoning song catalog began to lead her in new directions, from festivals like Kerrville (where she was named a New Folk Finalist), to New York City’s legendary Bitter End and CBGB’s Gallery, to a stint playing guitar with Charles Neville of The Neville Brothers at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. In 1988, Elisabeth settled in the creative community of Nashville, an often surprisingly paradoxical town that supports both snicker-worthy Country-Pop as well as some of the most vital songwriters and players in music today. It is here that Cutler began the collaborative recording process that resulted in her 1993 self-titled debut album, which was acclaimed as the most haunting record we1ve heard in quite a while by CMJ. Following a national tour to promote the album, Elisabeth began a new chapter in her musical evolution, which has given life and sound in Bury The Ghost.
“It’s the unsaid things that interest me” says Elisabeth, “exploring the negative space. I’m interested in subtle complexity and diversions…within a format and with a hook.” The 12 songs on Bury The Ghost present unforgettable characters and unsaid emotions with scorching insight, wicked humor and yes, a plethora of killer hooks. The music itself explores unique harmonies, rhythms and instrumentation that give Elisabeth’s powerful lyrics an edge that can range from warmly comforting to urgently confrontational. “It’s about a balancing act between the cerebral and the letting go” she explains. “Making Bury The Ghost, I confronted and buried a number of old fears. But fear, like a ghost, can’t be buried – it will keep coming back to haunt you. It becomes a daily process of blazing and re-blazing trails through the obstacles, self created or otherwise.”
The artist is Elisabeth Cutler. The album is Bury The Ghost. The journey is now yours to take.
Band members:
Elisabeth Cutler
Larry Chaney
Don Kerce
Waldo LaTowsky
Jill Grossman
Johnny Pierce
Kristin Wilkinson
Alison Prestwood
Dave Hoffner
Howard Laravea
(c) & (p) 1996 Hole in the Donut Music (BMI)
(c) & (p) 1996 Cedar Song Publishing (BMI)
Paper Scissors Stone | Black Diamonds | Where Have I Been | The Curse of Eve | Backfire | All I Need To Know | How Deep is the Well | Squam | Feeling Our Way (In the Dark) | Fight of Flight | I Wish | The Last Mile
Paper Scissors Stone
A close call
Face to face
Anything could happen to me today
Catch my breath
Lost my job
I’m sittin’ on the trigger of a shooting star
I don’t know should I laugh or cry
Tell me a joke or a lie
It’s okay
Life’s a chance
I’m gonna push my luck
Out to the unknown
Chase the wind
Learn the dance
Try to win the rose
Paper scissors stone
Sour grapes
Chocolate hearts
I’m standing in the middle with a wild card
It’s okay
Life’s a chance
I’m gonna push my luck
Out to the unknown
Chase the wind
Learn the dance
Try to win the rose
Paper scissors stone
I don’t know should I laugh or cry
Take the bus or fly
It’s okay
Life’s a chance
I’m gonna push my luck
Out to the unknown
Chase the wind
Learn the dance
Try to win the rose
Paper scissors stone
Black Diamonds
Tracing the miles with a finger over the map
The rivers are blue, the roads never show where I’m at
There’s a promise in my hand
That pulls me over the land
That’s the price of black diamonds
Running up dark back streets, fighting for sleep
Whispering numbers and names, the twist in the sheet
There’s a reason why I run
Can’t tell if it’s to or from
That’s the price of black diamonds
That’s the dream of black diamonds
A voice on the line feeds your hunger
The taste of ambition is sweet
How far would you go for the glitter
The power and the greed
Sailing the empty blue water, searching the wild
Breathing in the rain and drinking the wind from the sky
It’s the roll of the waves
To a light that forever fades
That’s the price of black diamonds
That’s the dream of black diamonds
Where Have I Been
I listen to him speak to me
Seduce me tell me a story
I need to hear a voice so strong
I’m ready to believe anything
I can see the planets spin when he
Tells me all the things he’s seen
Behind these windows and walls
The rest of the world must be heaven
Where have I beenWhere am I going
It’s been so lonely with only me
Where have I been
He doesn’t care what I think of him
He speaks so free he’s crazy
If only I could believe in me
I’d understand what I’m feeling
Where have I been
Where am I going
It’s been so lonely with only me
Where have I been
I’m fighting gravity
And all this time’s right in front of me
Where have I been
Where am I going
It’s been so lonely with only me
Where have I been
Where have I been
The Curse of Eve
He looked so real walkin’ in the rain through town
He was so sorry sayin’ he’d broken down
She had a soft heart he got what he asked for
She learned the hard way to remember a face
And don’t trust anyone again
Don’t trying to save a drowning man
What makes a man lie for the devil
He knows a woman wants to be an angel
It’s her nature the joy of surrender
The mark of Cain sees the curse of Eve
She’ll trust someone again
The apple’s in the devil’s hand
She blames herself but she can’t help
Lovin’ the danger in a fallen angel
He gave his word he’d be back by morning
If I were her I’d still be waiting
Like a young bride believes the first lie
Love is stronger than all her anger
She’ll try to trust again
The face of another man
The curse of Eve is on her hands
He’ll come to her again
She wants to give a damn
The curse of Eve in every woman
Backfire
Built with tears of anger
Behind the walls we make
Everything so perfect
Sterilized and safe
The best laid plan, the sane go mad
It’s all gonna backfire
Criticize in secret
Sacrifice the heart
Calculate the future
Compromise the art
The solid deal, what seems real
It’s all gonna backfire
I see myself in your eyes
Reflections I don’t like
Controlling all emotion
Living for the fight
The endless hours, the taste for power
It’s all gonna backfire
Don’t look down, you can’t turn back
The water’s deep as the desert’s dry
No one needs you on your own
The river’s low as the price is high
I listen to myself
Sounding like your voice
I might be just like you
If I had the choice
So bury the ghost
Pray and roll the dice
Find yourself a savior
To bring you back to life
The open hand, the perfect end
It’s all gonna backfire
It’s all gonna backfire
All I Need to Know
A broken promise on the floor
No one cares anymore
How could love disappear
Did you ever really care
That’s all I need to know
I found beauty in your strength
From your arms I escaped
Tears of joy, tears of pain
Did you feel anything
That’s all I need to know
Don’t talk to me ‘bout what’s already been
I finally see I’ll never go back again
That’s all I need to know
Secrets run dark and deep
Down a river inside me
You walked out, I fell in
Will I ever love again
That’s all I need to know
Don’t talk to me ‘bout what’s already been
I finally see I’ll never go back again
That’s all I need to know
How Deep is the Well
Don’t look out, don’t talk back
You don’t need to know
All is safe, always do
What you’re told
Why should I prove to you
Leaving home sixteen years old
Breaking all the rules
On the edge out of range
A different view
I wanna see for myself
I gotta know how deep is the well
Don’t tell me there’s nothing left
No more sights unseen
Ancient veins in the earth
Run through me
I wanna see for myself
I gotta know how deep is the well
I’ll believe for myself
How deep is the well
Music swims in me
Changing key around me
I wanna see for myself
I gotta know how deep is the well
I have dreams I’ll never tell
No one knows how deep is the well
I’ll never know how deep is the well
How deep is the well
Squam
(instrumental)
Feeling Our Way in the Dark
Here I am without you
Fighting with myself
Is it me or you or just the wind
I can’t tell
You and I we know now
There’s no need to yell
We’ve never been this far before
We scare ourselves
Even after all this time
Love’s still blind
It’s a long slow road
So good and so far
We make it up as we go
Feeling our way
Feeling our way in the dark
Feeling our way in the dark
In the rain a lonely night
Whispers in the air
Even though I can’t see you
I know you’re there
Why would I want to change
The love we’ve made
It’s a long slow road
So good and so far
We make it up as we go
Feeling our way
Feeling our way in the dark
Feeling our way in the dark
Fight or Flight
Too much time taken up talking about yourself
Don’t you think it would be great to be someone else
What’s wrong with the world you wished for
Do you still want more
Money and power every desire born from fear
You fight for peace but you can’t feel when love is near
Your heart it’s all you got
Like a clock it could stop
Do you want to be a child again
Do you want to feel everything
The first breath to the last embrace
It’s worth the risk, how did it come to this
Fight or flight
Up the ladder the bigger the better that’s what they say
I am the fool in the moon come to carry you away
We’ll sing to the stars above
We’ll sing for love
Do you want to be a child again
Do you want to feel everything
The first breath to the last embrace
It’s worth the risk, how did it come to this
Fight or flight
We’ll sing to the stars above
We’ll sing for love
Do you want to be a child again
Do you want to feel everything
The first breath to the last embrace
It’s worth the risk, how did it come to this
Fight or flight
Fight or Flight
I Wish
I should say something speak up for myself
Tell you how I feel
I want to be sure our love’s still there
I guess I worry too much
Is it all in my mind
I’m afraid of what I might find
I wish I wish I didn’t care so much
Oh why am I so scared
Oh I wish I wish I didn’t need you so much
Oh why do I care
You walk away when I get close
Was it something I said
I see it all through a poet’s eyes
An’ taste the bittersweetness
Am I making this all up
I depend on your love
I wish I wish I didn’t care so much
Oh why am I so scared
Oh I wish I wish I didn’t need you so much
Oh why do I care
Should I just close my eyes
And pretend it’s alright
The Last Mile
My eyes are liquid blue
The sound of my voice bleeds through
The closer I get to the edge
Windows and signs
The never-ending last mile
Pearls that fall from my hand
I don’t know if I will know when it’s over
Or when to begin
Toss fear to the fire
The raveling of guilt unwinds
I’m not gonna worry anymore
Circles and lines
A river of dreams in my mind
Constantly pointing me home
I’m so close how will I know when it’s over
With so far to go
– Smart refined acoustic pop… the point of view is all her own. modern pop music… — The Nashville Scene
– Warmhearted vocals and well-constructed songs. — Dirty Linen
– She writes songs that offer intelligent, introspective peeks through a multi-colored musical glass… — Music Row Magazine