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Common Wealth

by Diane Cluck

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1.
As I lay bathing in the blazing mountain heat No, there was nothing between the sun and me Except the shadow of an incidental bird Who kept on circling to ensure I wasn’t hurt It hung in the sky, and kept me in its shade So once I'd gone inside, on my skin I found its shape In pale relief now, I am believing In the power of allowing and receiving In the power of allowing and receiving Something came to carry off my grieving like it was nothing I am believing in the power of allowing and receiving Riches from the hands that long to share their gold If you’d just loosen up that old white-knuckle hold That binds your burdens closer than you might would guess Just set ‘em down now and dance around Sung out to the sky, a song from balled-up roots You’re bound to catch reply as sure as trees yield fruit Their leaves are shining I am believing in the power In the power of allowing and receiving Somehow it carries off my grieving like it was nothing I am believing in the power of allowing and receiving
2.
You draw me a bath You make me laugh Float a cuppa tea in the tub for me I miss your smile Stay awhile Float a cuppa tea in the tub for me Float a cuppa tea in the tub for me Float a cuppa tea in the tub for me When you're lukewarm You do no harm But you give no pleasure Oh! twist my arm Put the kettle on Boil till it's gone Steam up the window Blow me a kiss, go Draw me a bath You make me laugh…
3.
Jenny 02:08
Jenny, I got a thing to tell you It’s cool on the porch but it’s warm here inside Bring your sweet mug to the kettle as it’s boilin’ There’s cake on the table and nowhere to hide Keep it slow There’s a long way to go Move in quick Hey, my arms don’t want to wait Open that window Let’s feast our skin on sunlight Hungry birds’ll fight each other For the crumbs on this plate
4.
Spring leads me to the plough I love you so much I don’t even know how I love you so much I don’t even know how to love you this much Big field before me now I love you so much I don’t even know how I love you so much I don’t even know how to love you this much But I long to learn I long to learn so I keep in touch I keep in touch, touch I keep in touch A few steps into the field With blades so sharp but the ground won’t yield You’d think it cut deep but the ground won’t yield In the time it takes to wonder why There’s a flash and a crash and an opening sky Cryin’ down tears where it once was dry Little seeds sprout in me now How… Spring leads me to the plough I love you so much… Big field before me now I love you so much…
5.
Mama, Mom 01:34
Mama, Mama, Mom Mama, Mom, Mama, Mom, Mama We Love You We Love You Mama, Mama, Mom Mama, Mom, Mama, Mom, Mama We Love You We Love You Got a smile for ev’ry mornin’ A smile for ev’ry eye It’s not easy growing old Though we rarely see you cry We carry your love inside us No matter where we are The mother of our family You are our guiding star Mama, Mama, Mom Mama, Mom, Mama, Mom, Mama We Love You We Love You Mama, Mama, Mom Mama, Mom, Mama, Mom, Mama We Love You We Love You
6.
Grandma Say 02:26
I bake in haste Eggshell in ev’ry cake I make Now what would your Grandma say? If she saw you cookin’ that way? Turn the heat way down And open that door ‘fore the cakes go brown -eyed suzies nod and sway They see you cookin’ that way, hey What did you think it takes to do all this cookin’? Keep yourself and the house good-lookin’? Work to the bone till the bone’s gone bare Notin’ the growth of new grey hair Pullin’ strings on the purse for the things you bought End of the day it seems you oughta negotiate your pay Now what would your Grandma say, hey? She’d say, “Do the things you love, and do them well ‘Cause you can’t tell when things Will go from good to worse Don’t live life like it’s a curse. Include the ones you love-- tell them so, make sure they know. Try best to keep them in your song, ‘Cause no one’s here for long.” That laundry’s dried Pull the pins off and the line inside Mend the holes until they’re gone Now put those glad rags on If your heels dig in Shindig ‘em on out with your kith & kin “You’d best get out there and play”-- That’s what your Grandma’d say
7.
Red August 02:22
We pick and pack a knapsack Full of staghorn sumac Silver underbellies show As leaves in the wind blow So we make a little picnic stop In the red clover cover crop As sun beat our bones down Buzzard drones wing around Red August, it's hottest The pale blue chicory's all gone withery Red August, its hottest Came and blasted the grass That grew so fast How does she walk on the side of this road Where there's no shoulder there to hold her? It's so hot and dry on this road Find your water, zombie daughter Drivers flying blind on this road Head for the ditches, scare up some witches Green as it's gonna get Summer isn't over yet We make a little gang of three As she tumbles in our cuppa tea We leave behind the fallow field For berries that the brambles yield Middle summer in the south These berries ripen/ripe in ev'ry mouth So kissin' leaves a bloody stain Burnin' August in the brain Red August, it's hottest The pale blue chicory's all gone withery Red August, its hottest came And blasted the grass That grew so fast
8.
I went to the doctor And what did I say? "Pull out the bad bone But let my skeleton stay Pull out the bad bone I'll be on my way" I went to the doctor And what did she say? "Well, I'm sorry to tell you If it were alone I'd reach right inside you And pull out the bad bone But the evil is rampant From basement to eave Can't pull just one bone And then let you leave... "Oh, I'm just ribbin' you I'm just pullin’ your leg You're so full of goodness And it's goodness for goodness' sake I'm givin’ you the elbow I'm just flappin’ my jaw You're so full of everything Don't let it trip you up when you fall" I went to the doctor I went to the doctor I went to the doctor I went to the doctor And what did I say? "Pull out the bad bone Show it the light of day Pull out the bad bone I'll be on my way"
9.
The Smile 03:17
Whenever I feel the well’s gone dry The smile comes down from on high The smile comes down from on high To flow and fill me some In seein’ a pearly sky gone grey The smile comes to lift the day The smile comes to lift the day With a low ongoing hum Whatever may rend this life apart The smile comes to cheer the heart The smile comes to cheer the heart And to sound its gentle drum Whenever I feel the well’s gone dry The smile comes down from on high The smile comes down from on high To flow and fill me some
10.
Speak and speak, I start to choke Lungs exchanging air and smoke Oh, wisps and rings that divvy up the space A veil that falls away Around the freshness of your face You say, "Lie quiet with me, friend Words make shapes we don't intend Slow down--soul can't always find Its best expression through the mind Just being near you Is how I hear you No need fear you won't be heard Feel the love behind the word" I wouldn't deign to train the vine Shake down fruit and call it mine Still I'm at stake with root aglow Around which wildness can grow I'm spun along ecstatic length A spool summoning its strength-- Do you have any idea? You say, "Lie quiet with me, friend Words make shapes we don't intend Slow down--soul can't always find Its best expression through the mind Just being near you Is how I hear you No need fear you won't be heard Feel the love behind the word" Sun warming sleeping seed covered over Light will bleed through each cracked and wounded part Respect for every waking heart Lie quiet Words make shapes Slow down Just being near is how we hear Before you fear you won't be heard Feel the love
11.
All of the signs say Learn to lose Learn to lose Learn to lose Backwater brack flowin’ over my shoes Learn to lose Learn to lose Learn to lose Pickin’ through the ragpile– Whose is whose? Learn to lose What have you now? Whatever you choose Old ball wreckin’ me now Oh it’s long, I don’t know how Old ball reckonin’ me now Oh it’s long, I don’t know how All of the signs say Learn to lose Learn to lose Learn to lose Give a little blood to the bruise… Pickin’ through the ragpile– Whose is whose? Learn to lose What have you now? What have you now? What have you now? Whatever you choose
12.
Original by Weston Priory, Gregory Norbet. O.S.B. (Original): Peace I leave with you, my friend Peace the world cannot give Peace I leave with you, my friend So that your joy be ever full (Adaptation): If I seem peaceful, Really at my core I am simply exhausted From waging so much war I am being turned, slowly Becoming something more Of the peaceful sort you take me for (Original): Peace I leave with you, my friend Peace the world cannot give Peace I leave with you, my friend So that your joy be ever full Peace I leave with you, my friend So that your joy be ever full…

about

Produced by Colin Killalea & Diane Cluck

Tracks 1-6, 9,10,12
Engineered by Colin Killalea
& Track 11 by Alex DeJong
@ White Star Sound in Louisa, VA,
July-Aug. 2019

Track 7 home rec. by Diane Cluck, 2012

Track 8 engineered by Curtis Fye
@ White Star Sound, Dec. 2018

Mixed by Curtis Fye
Mastered by Jeff Stuart Saltzman

All songs/recordings:
© 2020 Diane Cluck (BMI)
℗ 2020 Bone & Bloom Publishing (BMI)
Except for *12. “Peace” (hymn adaptation)
Original by Weston Priory,
Gregory Norbet. O.S.B.
© 1971, from the song "Peace",
The Benedictine Foundation of the State of VT, Inc., Weston Priory, Weston, VT
Used with permission.

Album art/photos: Diane Cluck
Graphics assistance: Catelyn Kelsey

DC: vocals, guitar, piano, drums, percussion, vibraphone
Colin Killalea: guitar, bass, piano, drums
Isabel Castellvi: cello
John D'earth: trumpet & flugelhorn
Michelle Oliva: bass clarinet
Curtis Fye: bass
John Ashley Murphy: harmonica
Brian Caputo: drums

Refer to individual tracks for musician credits.

credits

released June 5, 2020

Thank you Colin Killalea for your skill and buoyancy in the studio, your love of music, and true friendship. Making this record with you was a joy; I looked forward to meeting you in the studio each day.

Thank you Curtis Fye for your dedication and care. Thank you John D’earth and Michelle Oliva for your gracious enthusiasm and musical flow. Thank you Isabel Castellvi for your uplifting friendship and musicianship. Thank you John Ashley Murphy for breezily gifting your harp skills. Thank you Chris Keup of White Star Sound for being an accommodating host. Thank you Brian Caputo for bringing your rhythm on short notice. Thank you Jeff Stuart Saltzman for your deft touch in mastering. Thank you Ash Devine for inspiring the piano solo on “To Love You This Much” with your ukelele improv on the home recording.

Love and thanks to my family for your ongoing support, and especially to my parents for taking my childhood requests for a piano and music lessons to heart.

Heartful appreciation for my local musician friends Wes Swing, David Wax & Suz Slezak, Daniel & Lauren Goans, Devon Sproule & Paul Curreri, and Brian Festa.

Thank you C’ville Dance Co-operative. We are beloved in moving each other.

Thank you to Ken Garson for co-creating and launching the Song-of-the-Week project with me that served as a sketchbook for many of these songs.

Thank you to the 600+ supporters who funded the making of this album--your willingness to create this with me has been a wonderful gift. Thank you to Brian Sosdian for lending a spark to this project. Special thanks to Nathan Aldrich for your generous support.

Thanks to my NYC friend-family for your endless and evolving inspiration.

Thank you God, best known to me through Nature and Music.

May these songs inspire you to live more freely in your own creativity.

Love.
Diane

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Diane Cluck

Singer-songwriter in Charlottesville, VA

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