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As if Words could Heal the Wounds

by Ben Grace

supported by
David Lerner
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Steve Bassett
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mattcurrey43
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Chris Breslin
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danulstewart
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jodymason
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Daniel Deitrich
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LAWRENCE J STEPHAN
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1.
A Thousand Times 04:56
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This is my part of the story And I’m sticking to this tune It may not seem to you like fact But for me it is the truth 'Cause I’ve wrestled long and hard With all the pieces and the parts And wound up with this bleeding broken heart And I wish that I had known this from the start Did you ever really give a damn Or do you even care Was there curiosity for all the burdens that I bear Do you ever stop to wonder Does it even cross your mind That I have done the best I could A thousand times This is my part in the damage Yes I’m owning all my shame The sticks and stones that broke my bones Had nothing on the names I’ve been called all kinds of things From the pulpit and my kin Til Somehow I believed I’d never win In this endless strife and struggle with my sin Did they ever really give a damn Or did they even care Too busy trying to save my soul with all their thoughts and prayers Did they ever stop to notice or did they walk on by And Leave me lying in that ditch A thousand times So I’m looking in the mirror Whats this face I see I hardly recognize myself This man I wanna be I’m tired of the masquerade And my part in the game Surely there must be a better way Learning to be naked and unafraid I’m trying not to give a damn Give in to the despair Starting to protect my heart and treat it with some care Why’d I ever listen to those broken hateful lies When love has whispered in my ear A thousand times
2.
Mama 04:26
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I looked into my heart and I saw a darkness A deep and ancient chill within my bones Ever since the envy that spilled a brothers blood Oh, We're all dyin' to throw stones From St. Louis springs a riot For all the kids not coming home I see a struggle that binds us all tonight That marches streets to atone Mama, I'm having those bad dreams again Where the wicked don't pay for what they done Mama, The evil that dwells in hearts of men No peace or justice under the sun On a cold November's afternoon in Cleveland A child and his cheap plastic gun Only half past three and they left him there to bleed Too young to learn he didn't have time to run Mama, I'm having those bad dreams again Where the wicked don't pay for what they done Mama, The evil that dwells in hearts of men No peace or justice under the sun Father of six in New York City Selling cigarettes out on the street Dyin' in daylight for all of us to see I can't breathe Mama, I'm having those bad dreams again Where the wicked don't pay for what they done Mama, The evil that dwells in hearts of men No peace or justice under the sun
3.
Preacher's Daughter 04:19
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You wrote a note and caught my eye It passed from hand to hand And worked its way on down the aisle Your mother dear, one step ahead, Intervened and tore those tender words to shreds And I wondered what the preacher's daughter said After the dance, your sweet sixteen You grab my hand and dragged me out behind the cemetery Your mouth was warm, your cheeks were red Then your daddy came a-roarin and we fled And I wondered what the preacher's daughter said Years roll by, I moved away I heard that you got married and took on another name You play the part in Sunday best All the while your thoughts and longings unexpressed I still wonder what the preacher's daughter said
4.
Come to Bed my Darlin 03:16
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Come to bed my darlin The night is much too loud The crickets croak and the owls hoot And the hungry cyotes howl Come to bed my darlin Our porch lights pierce the night Confuse the eyes built for darkness And disturb all the bats in flight Come to bed my darlin Embrace these tired bones I’d rather not drift off to deep sleep In these cold sheets alone Come to bed my darlin Hold your worries next to mine Let go your woes into the waves Of passion’s pulling tides
5.
Colorado 04:15
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Would you come with me to Colorado? Would you scale the Rocky Mountains high? Would you trust this restless desperado? Would you love me til the seas run dry? VERSE 1 Let’s get away from the city and the noise From the grinding pace, the pavement pounding people and their ploys Let’s get away, feel the freedom of the road We’ll see where the wind blows Would you come with me to El Dorado? Would you sail the stormy seven seas? ‘Cause you see through all of my bravado And yet you still keep choosing me Oh come away where the wildflowers grow Where the answer to the question we all ask is “I don’t know” Oh come away hear the secrets of the leaves Blowing in the soft spring breeze Come away with me Would you come with me to Colorado? Would you scale the Rocky Mountains high? Would you trust this restless desperado? Would you love me til the seas run dry?
6.
Countin 02:36
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And i'm counting all my battles on the way o'er to the bank Been slaving all the day under a man who couldn't thank And at night i take this little stage and beat up old guitar The only way that I get paid is "boy you'll go real far" And i'm counting all my failures as i stumble off to church All the shame and guilt I hold and all life's little hurts And the preacher says that freedom's found in 'fessin all our sins Oh boy the list is way too long and I don't know where to begin Oh for sure this life is thankless it is cruel A vapor in the wind and a game we'll never win So forgive me if I look the fool But I'll praise the Lord for what he gave and drink this cup half full And i'm counting all my blessings on the way up to the bar The good lord knows that these few mites won't go very far But i'm sure to find some beauty in the bottom of a beer Some days, hell I'll be honest, its the only joy round here Oh for sure this life is thankless it is cruel A vapor in the wind and a game we'll never win So forgive me if I look the fool But I'll praise the Lord for what he gave and drink this cup half full And i'm counting all my troubles on the way down to the grave I'm tryin to be thankful just like the scriptures say I'm praying at the end of all this struggle I will find A little hope, a dash of joy and, oh Lord, peace of mind
7.
An Eye for an Eye 04:39
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Oh the newsreels flow with the blood of all our young men The videos show black bodies falling again All the flags fly at half mast, the horrors are broadcast From Baghdad to Baton Rouge We struggle to weep 'cause we ain't even shocked by the news Beat our swords into ploughshares, melt down all the guns Disarm the whole world but until that day comes I'll keep on dreaming of a world without war 'Cause a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye Leaves the whole world blind, it's not worth fighting for We walk thru the streets like all of our grandmothers died As we type til we bleed in a digital war for our lives But the rhetoric resounds and the hatred abounds From both sides of the enemy lines They say "Guns don't kill people" but we see the videos live Beat our swords into ploughshares, melt down all the guns Disarm the whole world but until that day comes I'll keep on dreaming of a world without war 'Cause a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye Leaves the whole world blind, it's not worth fighting for So I hope and I pray in the face of all anger and hate That there will come a day when sorrow and tears wiped away No more mothers in mourning, a new day is dawning When peace will have the last say 'Cause true love is roaring and Abel's blood calls from the grave Beat our swords into ploughshares, melt down all the guns Disarm the whole world but until that day comes I'll keep on dreaming of a world without war 'Cause a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye Leaves the whole world blind, it's not worth fighting for
8.
Write the Fear a Lullaby 04:16
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Should you try to tell yourself I’m gonna leave you If the fear you carry’s Inclined to believe you When the ghosts of older stories Upend and deceive you Hold on When the miles are much too hard And roads are too long If my face in your mind Is an unfinished song And you’re sure that the right is all heading for wrong... Hold on Hold on Won’t you write the fear a lullaby Remind her it’s okay to cry And find me in the folds of your desire Tell the worries in your way To try again another day Shut up and love me til they all expire Coz I’m not done with you yet And this weight around my neck Is nothing but a make-believe goodbye So write the fear a lullaby Should the shadows in your memory undo you If the edges of the truth blur and elude you When the corners of the future try and tear a hole right through you Hold on Hold on Won’t you write the fear a lullaby Remind her it’s okay to cry And find me in the folds of your desire Tell the worries in your way To try again another day Shut up and love me til they all retire Coz I’m not done with you yet And this weight around my neck Is nothing but a make-believe goodbye So write the fear a lullaby. You tell her a story, I’ll sing her a tune As if words could heal the wounds I’ll tell her a story, you sing her a tune As if words could heal the wounds As if words could heal the wounds And we’ll write the fear a lullaby Remind her it’s okay to cry And find me in the folds of your desire Tell the worries in your way To try again another day Shut up and love me til they all get tired Coz I’m not done with you yet And this weight around my neck Is nothing but a make-believe goodbye So write the fear a lullaby
9.
New York Lullaby 03:04
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City that never sleeps Wall street excess and eighty hour weeks You bring the best of us to our knees City of blinding lights Rock bottom lows and dizzying highs You make it hard for us to call you home Brooklyn of broken dreams Inspiring my melodies You bring the best of us to our knees City that's terrifying And always gentrifying You make it hard for us to call you home City that never sleeps, Tell me when do you dream
10.
A Little Story 03:56
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We told a little story about your love With children's books about ol' Noah's ark and the flood We told a little story About the world that you created in only seven days We took it literally We told a little story We sang our little songs Belittled all your glory Saying that our tribe's the only one We told a little story A little story about your grace We neglected to include the entire human race We told a little story About your plan to save the chosen ones And sort the sheep out from the goats and right from wrong We wove a little fable We told a little lie We taught our little children That their little sins condemned them all to die But little did we know Little did we care Little did we grow Littler every year But I sense a bigger story A bigger story than before Every daughter, every son, every human one of yours I see the bigger glory A humbler, gentler, kinder love That's willing to stand with the hurt and broken, every one of us So I tell a bigger story I sing a bigger song You see that God’s not bigoted Not concerned in right or wrong And yes this love is bigger than Deeper, wider, higher than So big that all the universe belongs So big that all the universe belongs

about

“If there is an album to sum up the mood of 2020, it's this one.
A wonderful mix of love, lament, protest, and a much needed dash of hope for the future.”

SAN DIEGO, CA—Australian born singer-songwriter Ben Grace’s debut album “As If Words Could Heal the Wounds” is a hopeful cross-country Americana road trip for the end of a quarantined summer. Recorded in five different states, with production by Sheryl Crow guitarist Joshua Grange and cameos from drum legend Fred Eltringham and folk singer Molly Parden, it’s a profoundly intimate look at the wounds and systemic injustices that plague Americans, artfully woven through the perspective and personal religious deconstruction of a single immigrant man.

With streaming totals quickly approaching the 100k mark, the first full length album of Ben Grace’s two decade musical career is landing in an unprecedented time. 2020’s pandemic has been the catalyst for global self-reflection and reinvention, and Grace’s deftly written telling of his own trajectory through divorce, failure, and new love provides an essential soundtrack for our collective transformation.

In an era where anxiety, police brutality, and division populate our news feeds, “As If Words Could Heal the Wounds” comes with eyes wide open to our failings as part lament, part opus, and part hope for our rebuilding. It’s a preposterous idea, that the right words might heal the deep wounds around us. How lucky we are to have artists who continue to try.

For more information, promo requests, or to arrange an interview, contact Story & Tune at storyandtune@gmail.com, (408) 605-2262, or www.bengracemusic.com

credits

released September 4, 2020

All music credits on individual songs

Cover art: Logan Martin
Cover photo: Karyn Thurston

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Ben Grace New York

Australian singer-songwriter Ben Grace’s impeccably crafted songs hover in the space between lightness and the depths, wrestling their way through humor and melody to peel back the layers and reveal the naked truth of us. Through the specificity of his own deconstruction, Ben writes into our universal search for belonging, spiritual homecoming, and desire to live seen and unashamed. ... more

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