Theater for the Weary
by Scott Pryor
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Digital Album
Immediate download of 12-track album in your choice of MP3 320, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.Buy Now $10 USD or more
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Caroline
02:48
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2. |
First Light
04:57
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3. |
Hard Luck Days
03:58
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4. |
The Summer Trade
03:32
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5. |
Theater for the Weary
03:16
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Thirsting's Cure
03:21
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7. |
Luna
03:40
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8. |
Hard Work of the Bees
02:32
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10. |
Boy With A Song
04:09
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11. |
The Faintest Light
04:22
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12. |
Aida
06:04
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about
Produced by Devin Greenwood, recorded by Bill Moriarty, and featuring musicians that Pryor hand-picked from his favorite local bands (including Amos Lee, Buried Beds, Hoots & Hellmouth, and Birdie Busch), "Theater for the Weary" reflects Pryor’s growth as a songwriter and collaborator, and his expanding artistic vision. From the rolling and lilting title track, to the crisp and pure heartpouring of “Aida” and “The Faintest Light”, Pryor is a wordsmith in the finest sense. Start with “Thirsting’s Cure,” and come away parched for more of Pryor’s fine craft.
Pryor hails from the woods of North Carolina and Virginia, but now calls Philadelphia home. He calls his music an “invitation to pay attention” -- for both himself and his audience. Drawing on heritage that spans the urban and the rural, Pryor’s songs revel in the grit, bone and redemptive seeds to be found in each. From swimming holes to skyscrapers, from plows to asphalt playgrounds, Pryor stitches together the strange and mundane bits of a weathered and heroic Americana. Filled with wonder and longing, "Theater for the Weary" is ultimately defined by the triumph of earnest joy in spite of the facts — supported by the delight-filled clatter and swoon of new-found musical friends and collaborators.
Pryor hails from the woods of North Carolina and Virginia, but now calls Philadelphia home. He calls his music an “invitation to pay attention” -- for both himself and his audience. Drawing on heritage that spans the urban and the rural, Pryor’s songs revel in the grit, bone and redemptive seeds to be found in each. From swimming holes to skyscrapers, from plows to asphalt playgrounds, Pryor stitches together the strange and mundane bits of a weathered and heroic Americana. Filled with wonder and longing, "Theater for the Weary" is ultimately defined by the triumph of earnest joy in spite of the facts — supported by the delight-filled clatter and swoon of new-found musical friends and collaborators.
credits
released 19 June 2009
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Jun 2011 -
Jun 2009
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- Track Name: Caroline
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How I thought the sea was my home
The salt on my skin
And the water in my bones
But fine, fine, fine Caroline
Your memory floods my thought
And now all I know is a boat that slows
With the weight of a leaking heart
So if I be mad, let me be mad for you
If I be lost at sea, let me be lost for you
If I find my way, let me find my way to you
I’m a mad, mad man
With a mad, mad hope
In a mad, endless blue - Track Name: First Light
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America set beyond the mountain range
My exiled woman on the wings of a crane
As I watched her go I washed my clothes
Unsteady now in the dying light of day
So now I wait for dawn to take all of my regards
To the one who sings where night begins
And comforts all the lost
Comforts all who’ve lost
There’s a town in Spain where a tree grows plain
In sight for all the world to feel
Here the lovers congregate in the shadows of a great mistake
And one by one their kisses rise and peal
Up to a place where dawn’s embrace
Will quiet us to hear
The whispered songs of children gone
When bombs burst in the air
When bombs burst in the air
You’ll find along the river in Kentucky to the west
A man whose heart is bound up with the land
His love cuts deep like a river coursing through his breast
And there’s a monument every place he laid his hands
And I know one day he’ll call to say:
“Son, my angel band is waiting for me now
But before I go there’s one thing you must know
I saw a woman in the river all alone
She was just afloat clinging to a stone
And the waters they are rising with the moon
Son, I think that it’s time to bring her home”
So now I pray for dawn to make us into something new
If we be bold forgiveness holds and to her I will be true
Yes to her I can be true
And to me she can too - Track Name: Hard Luck Days
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Hard luck days when she’s on my mind
Hard luck days when she’s on my mind
Hard luck days been coming all the time
But I know a street where the light’s just so
In autumn the sun sets gold and slow
The sidewalk’s paved with picture shows
I watch them come and go
CHORUS
Hard luck days are at my door
Hard luck days please come again no more
Hard luck days when she’s on my mind
Hard luck days when she’s on my mind
Hard luck days been coming all the time
But I know a house where the door’s unlocked
And my friends keep the teakettle whistling hot
I’m making peace with who I’m not
And keeping good company
Hard luck days are at my door
Hard luck days please come again no more
Na, na, na, na…etc.
Hard luck days when she’s on my mind
Hard luck days when she’s on my mind
Hard luck days gonna leave them all behind
‘Cause I know a ship that’s in disrepair
The wind blew wild and tore the sails
I know the same wind’s gonna carry me away from here
Hard luck days are at my door
Hard luck days please come again no more
Na, na, na, na…, etc
Hard luck days be gone - Track Name: The Summer Trade
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Summer sweetly sings her soft adieu
Daughters rise! Wake up now to hum the tune:
Would he care to meet me by the wood?
Where his trembling leaves fill my aching need
Sons will meet their fathers in the field
Pigs are feeding now for Christmas kill
The harvest feast is set for some, not all
We are folding up to sleep in winter’s palm
Around the sun again we toss and turn
Wedding vows, grieving gowns, the nagging itch to roam
The endless search for faith and God be known
Raise an eye up to the sky and feel the earth it pulls from down below
Reaching for the apple in the tree
Trading summer in for the naked eyes to see
That winter’s come to call against all odds of green
The business of trading never made much sense to me
Around the sun again we toss and turn
Grudging ways, birthing days, and lessons yet to learn
We gather fuel in arms that ache and yearn
Stoke the fire consume the things we gain and then we burn to gain our warmth - Track Name: Theater for the Weary
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When the earth falls away from beneath my feet
Will I be lifted up on a sigh of relief?
Floating toward heaven on a waterless sea
Great black deep, gonna rest my knees
Great black deep, gonna rest my knees
How I love you when I’m gone
After the curtain falls
I can hardly hear, I can hardly speak
My bones they are brittle and my breath it is weak
But I am like Orion when I can feel you move
A hunter in the night for your secret don’ts and do’s
A hunter in the night by the light of your moon
How I love you when I’m here
Stage lights disappear
Always the wars have been our confessions
Always the story our greatest possession
So open your mouth and let me climb in
I will strum your vocal chords, and listen
You can put your ear up, up to my navel
We’ll navigate our way to love
And start from Cain and Abel
From the grave to the rocking cradle
When the earth falls away from beneath our feet
Will we be lifted up on a sigh of relief?
Floating toward heaven on a waterless sea
Great black deep, gonna rest our knees
Great black deep, let’s rest our knees - Track Name: Thirsting's Cure
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Before my grandmother was born
When truth had shorter tails
Before her mother’s mother’s father
Was born with a wink and a yell
In some far off away land
Men with many guns
Robbed a girl of all of her stars
But failed to steal her only son
He laid his head in the field
His feet he cooled in the stream
His eyes he laid ‘neath his lids
So he could see his dreams
He dreamed a sky so black
No stars that he could see
A sadness filled his heart
And emptied all of the streams
And there was no water to drink
The wells had all run dry
People were caked in dirt and fear
The sprinklers had all been retired
And the dishes piled in the sink
The whispers grew to a roar:
“O God of love, send down your dove!
We thirst for thirsting’s cure” - Track Name: Luna
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She comes to light the regal moth
Her wings of velvet cool my thoughts
I hear children in the street
Engines roar and sirens weep
My lady beckons through the deep
Comes disturb me from my sleep
She press her wing against my gut
I feel a fine and fragile dust
Make its way through skin and vein
And lodge itself inside my brain
And coat the lining of my throat
Where it forms a simple note
She launches rockets to my moon
Speeding harbingers of quiet truths
My walking shoes, been left unused
for a time
She fires the engine and takes the wheel
And fills the cabin with her tale:
“The faintest light inside the dark
I will flutter toward its mark
I will find you in your cave
And bring you toward the light of day
I will wake you
I will wake you
I will wake you
Yes, I will wake you
I will wake you
To feel the sun upon your face
To hear the grand orchestras play
To taste the salt at ocean’s edge
To jump the rail and head out west
To brush your hand across her breast
To know a little and seek the rest”
To seek the rest, the rest, the rest
To seek the rest, the rest, the rest
To seek the rest, the rest, the rest
To seek the rest, the rest, the rest
She launches rockets ‘cross my screen
Wonders burning red and gold and green
And brightest blue
She pulls me through
She does - Track Name: Hard Work of the Bees
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Rose wakes up and points a camera to the moon
Gordon hums to Jennifer a silly little tune
I will wait for the King Fisher to bring me a piece of bread
Please come ‘round my sweet my love and ease my aching head
Ease my aching head
Ease my head
Regina’s drinking vinegar her life is not a lie
And Earl’s not gray as he used to be since he caught La Doña’s eye
I may not be a man of God but I say my daily prayers
When the salesman comes a knockin’ I always buy his wares
I always buy his wares, I always buy his wares
So I’ve got a lot of wares, I got lots of wares
The Bandit’s always scheming how to sneak a bottle through
While the wine is aging peacefully without the faintest clue
And when we crack it open oh how sweet that day will be
We’ll stain our lips and tongue and eyes with the hard work of the bees
The hard work of the bees - Track Name: Love Song for the Morning
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Please wait, my dear
A song to hear
To make your day the brightest
With your lips you broke
Through my nighttime cloak
As you brushed ‘cross my cheek the slightest
All the world
Conspires in pearls
And bottle cap hymns of desire
When night comes cool
I am no fool
Around me I pull you the tightest
‘Cause the sound is sweet
of your breathing deep
and it seems all the weight has lifted
I am not waiting for no one to call
I am not waiting, no eye on the door
For no one I wait, for no one at all
With you in my arms, my arms aren’t so sore
All the world
Conspires in pearls
And bottle cap hymns of desire
Please wait my dear
A song to hear
To make your day the brightest - Track Name: Boy With A Song
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She’s been up since long before
The sun made me an upright boy
Walking through the hills
Walking through the hills
She’s a pilgrim bound for the flour mill
To mill her wheat and tend her still
To make the stuff of life
All the barley bows as she walks by
And I wonder, will she break bread?
I wonder, will she ease my head?
I wonder where her feet have stepped
What mossy banks her hands caressed
What roots she used to hoist herself above
The tree line
Where birds soar high and wheel around
And gods dip low to make a sound
Whispers in the sky
Say “Boy, you better try”
She’s been up since long before
The sun climbed high like a mighty sword
To fall across my eyes
And peel away the darkest night
Now behold her resting in her chair
I wonder if lilac, cinnamon and pears
Would seem forever bland
Should I lay a kiss upon her hand
And her name is on my tongue
So tied, so dry, so young
I wonder what was on her mind
What track she took to lose the time
What cloth she used to wipe the sweat away
The sun beat down
What water quenched her thirsty lips
What history she carried on her hips
I wonder the whole day long
Long after she is gone
At least she left a song - Track Name: The Faintest Light
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It’s a long ride, and a steep climb to make it home
The long ride, will throw your mind when you go it alone
‘Cause there are sneaking thoughts, the fear of loss that eats away
There are tired tunes and the same old news that can fill your day
But there are faint lights, in the darkest nights that find your eyes
There are good friends, in distant lands, who see the same sky
And if we rest here a while in the shadow
Learn, learn, learn to tell what matters
While burn, burn, burning the tallow down
To the faintest light
There are small words, small words to lift you up
And cool streams, waking dreams to fill your cup
But there are hungry dogs, packs of dogs that’ll sell your bones
There are talk show hosts, priests in cloaks who claim to know
So if we put our shoulder to the plow
And dig our boots into the ground
And hold, hold, hold onto the ones we love
It’s a hard road, a hard road to make it home
It’s a hard road, a hard road when you go it alone
If we stop here and bathe in the river
Clowns, saints, daughters, sons and sinners/ thieves and common sinners
The current wash away and deliver us
To make it home - Track Name: Aida
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Put down your gun, Aida my love
This song ain’t worth singing alone
You say you gave your best and failed the simple tests
And there’s nothing left inside for you to show
Well there are a few things I will give you as true
How buildings are knives that pierce through the blue
And how rain pours through holes down into our souls
And the way we turn the truth into a lie
But Aida our love is just learning to fly
There are a few things I will take to the grave
But I pray most everything I know is the same as what I say
There’s a war in each direction and you are weak with thirst
Sometimes it seems the best we do is barely avoid the worst
Put down your gun, Aida my love
This song ain’t worth singing alone
I know it’s hard to rest when the world seems to suggest
We’d be better off without you in the show
There are a few things that will make the devil sing
Like demons that dance, how they dance ‘round your ribs
I’ve loved you this long your eyes must recover
From years spent rolled up in your head
Aida please, Aida please, look outside and see:
The sunshine is gleaming the children are streaming
Out from their school to the parks
And the drummers are banging out heartbeats a urging
For something to light you a’ spark
So put down your gun, Aida my love
This song ain’t worth singing alone
There’s a bird on the porch building a nest
And a world everyday is newly born
There’s a bird on the porch with a heart in its chest
And a world everyday is newly born
