Roots Credits & Lyrics

CREDITS & LYRICS

PREORDER

Credits

Produced by Andy Hanson
Mixed and Master by Andy Hanson
Artwork by Andy Hanson
Recorded in Eau Claire, WI

Tracklisting

Foresight | lyrics
Rose Blossoms | lyrics
Bluff | lyrics
Takes One To Know One | lyrics
Roots | lyrics
Maybe | lyrics
No Man’s Land (The World You Want) | lyrics
Breath of Life | lyrics
Hard Truth | lyrics
All The Way | lyrics

Instrumentation

Andy Hanson – vocals, acoustic guitars, bass guitar, harmonica, keys, organ, assorted auxiliary percussion
Erin Aldridge – Violin on Breath of Life and Maybe
Dawson Redenius – Trumpet on Roots
Cameron Womack – Drums and auxiliary percussion on Roots

Lyrics

Foresight

Take your time before heading toward the exit sign and inviting God to the end of the world.
To finish off all that is here is strange for an appetite. Some say divine, but all I hear are profiteer

And the fear that nothing is as it seems.
Fear of what is and what is make believe.
I fear we will burn this down while we strive to be in the right.
I fear we have lost all foresight.

So sticks and stones have spoken, the street preacher says it’s time.
To pack our bags just to leave them all behind. And as we leave someone needs to turn off the light.
To hem and haw means you never had a place in line.

And the fear that nothing is as it seems.
Fear of what is and what is make believe.
I fear we will burn this down while we strive to be in the right.
I fear we have lost all foresight.

And the fear that nothing is as it seems.
Fear of what is and what is make believe.
I fear we will burn this down while we strive to be in the right.
I fear we will burn this down so we can dance in the holy light.
I fear we have lost all foresight.

Rose Blossoms

How many times have our heroes turned to ghosts? While our monsters were just broken down sedans
On the side of a city street, they only need gas and some hope. To get back on the road while the ghosts have all fled.

The rose blossoms have left my eyes.
Our icons have all gone and calcified.
You tried to eat me on primetime TV.
Truth be told, I’d be much sweeter if you weren’t so bitter,
bitter in my eyes.

How many times have we praised backstabbers in black tie? How many of our neighbors have been opened wide?
Cracked open to use all the treasure found inside. Splayed for the world at the hands of those we idolize.

The rose blossoms have left my eyes.
Our icons have all gone and calcified.
You tried to eat me on primetime TV.
Truth be told, I’d be much sweeter if you weren’t so bitter,
bitter in my eyes.

And I can’t seem to wash this bitter taste out my mouth. I might resort to cutting my own tongue out.
God forbid I find a sturdy rock to stand upon. To take the place of the flowers I used to dream of.

The rose blossoms have left my eyes.
Our icons have all gone and calcified.
You tried to eat me on primetime TV.
Truth be told, I’d be much sweeter if you weren’t so bitter,
bitter in my eyes.

Bluff

There’s a bluff inside my head. Is it pride or just the edge?
I’ll have to face before I take my next step.
I try to justify another way out.
Deep down I know there’s nothing left for me here.

You can try to take the broken pieces of my mind and try one, two, three, or many more times.
To fit them back in their shell, remember that I’m the only one who can tell.

I find there’s more to life than standing where I’ve lied.
Everlasting life can only heal so many wounds.
There’s neither doubt nor conviction in my mind’s eye.
Since I’m standing on a bluff I can see the valley clear.

You can try to take the broken pieces of my mind and try one, two, three, or many more times.
To fit them back in their shell, remember that I’m the only one who can tell.

You told me to look for a man. That would be my bridge. To the promised land.
And you handed me some wine then followed with a book.
Yet you tell me I’m already snared by the devil’s hook.
But I find I’m impatient in the realization.
That the only way to cross was to burn that bridge on down.

You can try to take the broken pieces of my mind and try one, two, three, or many more times.
To fit them back in their shell, remember that I’m the only one who can tell.

Takes One To Know One

It takes one to know one to learn in the first place. Another stave into the whiskey. Imparting notes of guilt and hearsay. The label says “the spirit has come.”
It takes just one to run a business for business’ sake. Apathy at the market rate. The bottom line is the reason for living, for breathing, and even to die.

You can take the truth from the shelf or just leave it to spoil out.
The stained glass basks this room in a smoky rose-colored hue.
It takes just one to know how it’s done.
And cigarettes burn better in the basement of a church,
where God can’t find you to judge your mortal soul.
But it takes one to know one oh, doesn’t it?
Takes one to know one.

It takes one to know one, but one just is not enough when you’re up against pride and liturgy. Buried beneath the rubble of history you’ll find love’s used circumstantially.

Roots

I want to kill the roots but climb the tree. To pick the fruit but leave the seed.
To lay down my bones and give life to the weeds. To at least find a home in a shallow grave.

To find a place to hide the conflict on my face.
To burn away the pride that keeps me far, far away.
From moving on from stepping into my own time and space.
I want to climb the tree but the roots won’t hold me.

It would be a shame to watch the falling leaves collect beneath and rot away.
And feed the flames licking through the veins, that stokes the smoke twisting ’round my neck

And I can’t deny. The pain I feel is just the space between you and I.
And I cannot take another chance on guessing why. I go down this road, up this tree ’cause the roots won’t hold me

Maybe

I returned to explore to find what I had left behind. The pieces I shed in this place long ago.
When I was a different person when my blood coursed through the veins of someone much more confident than I.

Maybe its to make memories I didn’t have.
Maybe it’s to dream of a world better than the one I lived.
Maybe it’s to ward off the demons that won’t go away.
That won’t leave my brain.
That won’t go die in a hole with all my mistakes; Maybe.

I returned to restore to build more better days. But the shadows of doubt have grown long on my face.
When my lungs breathed in, is it normal to choke on the smoke of the fires I set burning my old photographs.

My hopes my dreams the lungs I need to breathe the air
Born deep in the sea my fears are clearer than what I hold dear
My hopes my dreams the way I stare out into the dark
My heart, my mind changing with the tide
Maybe it’s my time maybe it’s my time

No-Man’s Land (The World You Want)

Was it worth it to be right? All those wins in all those fights.
Did it cost the right amount of money?

You take a seat and swear to me. You cross your heart to where you wanna be.
A needle in your eye says no there’s no apology. You take a chance on your own methodology.

In the middle of no-man’s land.
Did you find the world you want?
You take a shot with all you’ve got.
In the middle of no-man’s land.

Since the options are far too rare. The options here are none to spare.
You take advice that seems to say that everything’s okay.

With what you want and what you say. Who you love and who you hate.
Its a conflict of interest that both are the same. So who will you blame today.

In the middle of no-man’s land.
Did you find the world you want?
You take a shot with all you’ve got.
In the middle of no-man’s land.

And with your final breath will you open the door. Where harmony comes through without a war.
A chance to escape this inconvenient space, You built between the womb and your tomb.
I can’t imagine that world between me and you.

In the middle of no-man’s land.
Did you find the world you want?
You take a shot with all you’ve got.
In the middle of no-man’s land.

Breath of Life

The hardest part of living is the knowing. You’ll win some you’ll lose some but you’ll die just the same.
And while the world sleeps it keeps on turning. Yet the sum of our breathing somehow makes it all okay.

Like winter when the snow begins to fly.
You step outside to realize you are alive.
It’s frozen but the clouds from your lungs they satisfy.
You are here you are now you are a breath of life.

I’ve taken far more than I have given. If life were a piano each breath would play out of tune.
Surprised! I still find life in its worn down keys. The ones twenty cents sharp are now my favorite ones.
The ones still leading towards the dark are now my favorite ones.

Like winter when the snow begins to fly.
You step outside to realize you are alive.
It’s frozen but the clouds from your lungs they satisfy.
You are here you are now you are a breath of life.

You can do this. You can do it today.
You can do this. You can do it today.
There’s air in your lungs and blood in your veins. Your heart still beats while gravity is in your way.
There’s air in your lungs and blood in your veins. Your heart still beats while gravity is in your way.

Like winter when the snow begins to fly.
You step outside to realize you are alive.
It’s frozen but the clouds from your lungs they satisfy.
You are here you are now you are a breath of life.

Hard Truth

I built a fire to illuminate my face. To get a clearer image of the wrinkles set in place.
Nature’s static from my last golden age. A record of what time takes.

It’s a hard truth I can’t bring myself to look at.
A hard truth that I’ve dressed up as fact.
Beneath the tell-tale beating heart in my floorboards,
I hid parts of me I can’t look past.

Now all I see are smoke and broken mirrors. Constant dog and pony shows to bring back my sight.
My reflection refracts deep into my eyes. An impressionist’s impression of day’s gone by.

It’s a hard truth I can’t bring myself to look at.
A hard truth that I’ve dressed up as fact.
Beneath the tell-tale beating heart in my floorboards,
I hid parts of me I can’t look past.

I find my eyes glancing towards the sound, I pull the boards right up off the floor.
The beating that I find is not the beating of my heart, But a tired soldier fighting the same old wars.

It’s a hard truth I can’t bring myself to look at.
A hard truth that I’ve dressed up as fact.
Beneath the tell-tale beating heart in my floorboards,
I hid parts of me I can’t look past.

All The Way

I’m burning my candle at both ends day both and night nd the last time I checked I haven’t closed my eyes.
For three days straight I haven’t seen the sunshine. ‘Cause we’re all busy dying so I need to get this right.

Since my first breath on the day I was born. I spend my time retracing my steps on the floor.
The faster I am, the closer I get as the years pass before. So why walk through life indifferent all the way,
All the way back through the door.

So I’ve tried a million different times,
to find my way and not pay for my crimes.
Someone once said when you live by the sword;
So I’ll die by the pen I used to write these words on down,
All the way into the ground.

I was waiting for something enticing, all the while selling my love for half price.
While my spine bends with the wind, I’ve been learning, I’ve been learning, I’ve been learning, how to die.

I’ve been burning my candle at both ends both day and night.
Cause I’m busy dying so I need to get this right.
All the way into the ground.