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Highways and Backroads

by Brandon Grafius

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    The download also comes with a PDF version of the album booklet, which includes lyrics and photographs from the locations which inspired each of these songs.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $8 USD

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Beautiful gatefold cd of Highways and Backroads, featuring 12-page lyric and photo booklet.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Highways and Backroads via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $13 USD

     

1.
Roll Away 04:01
If I were a better man I'd let the river wash me away Wash me away, lift me up And I'd roll away If I had the fear of God i wouldn't need to keep so much Keep so much that holds me down You know I'd roll away Roll away, roll away If my soul gets right then I could leave today Blessed river, hear what I say Help me roll away If I could touch your face once more I could breathe the breath I need The breath I need to move along And I'd roll away Roll away, roll away If my soul gets right then I could leave today Blessed river, hear what I say Help me roll away
2.
It goes on forever, so many shades of blue It can hold you close, the way a lover might do Or give you space to run through the clouds of gray Then call you back home, when you've been too long away The midwestern sky, so deep and wide You can lose yourself, you can forget your pride She said it was time for her to say goodbye But what does she know about the midwestern sky That sky seems to know everywhere you've been It keeps stretching out, doesn't close you in Once I've picked myself up, once I've dried my eyes I'll find someone who knows the midwestern sky The midwestern sky, so deep and wide You can lose yourself, you can forget your pride She said it was time for her to say goodbye But what does she know about the midwestern sky
3.
We're up in Traverse City, summer's falling from the trees The waves crawl 'cross the harbor from a crisp southwestern breeze Walking by the boat docks, I take your hand in mine And start to realize some wounds only need some time And you're here, you're here The worries that once killed me, don't matter much these days I've let go of all the things I can't hold onto anyway I used to wake in cold sweats, now I'm sleeping through the night When things get right, It's all right It seems like such a short time for us to've come so far A Belgian at the Rare Bird, some wine in Leelenau As I get near the intersections traffic lights turn green I'm in love with a black cat, bad luck can't follow me And you're here, you're here The worries that once killed me, don't matter much these days I've let go of all the things I can't hold onto anyway I used to wake in cold sweats, now I'm sleeping through the night When things get right, It's all right The weekend winding down, I had to say goodbye to you I'm heading back to Lansing, driving south on 22 The road stretched out before me, the sun splits through the trees I know it won't be long before you're once again with me And I'll be here, right here The worries that once killed me, don't matter much these days I've let go of all the things I can't hold onto anyway I used to wake in cold sweats, now I'm sleeping through the night When things get right, It's all right
4.
My father and his father spent a summer Building a boat with their hands Moving along with the grain Yielding to the wood's demands They soaked the plywood to bend it Around the hull's oaken ribs Guiding the form out of the pieces With time and tools, and all they had to give And it carried them over the waves That roll on the face of Lake Michigan Carried them through wind and rain And brought them home again The only work I can build Is these songs that my fingers shape Bending 'round the neck of my guitar Moving along it's face My father's father died forty years ago And that boat rode the waves for its last time But I'm searching for a craft that's as sturdy With chords of oak and plywood rhymes To carry you over the waves That roll on the face of Lake Michigan Carry you through wind and rain And bring you home again
5.
Pick up your hammer, and swing it on down You're working for the company that owns this town At the end of the week, they tally what you've worked for Then pay you in scrip at the company store Shelves may be stocked, but prices are high You've barely got enough to get your family by A bitter wind don't stop at your front door Your life won't get no better than the company store Our transactions are so one-sided There's no satisfaction in a house divided However much I get, I always pay more Loving you is like buying from the company store Coal in your lungs, a wrench in your back Cough into your handkerchief and watch it turn black This whole town is rotten to the core But you're given your life to the company store Our transactions are so one-sided There's no satisfaction in a house divided However much I get, I always pay more Loving you is like buying from the company store
6.
A talent that gets buried At the roots of a mighty tree Never sees the morning We'll never know what it might be We keep our gifts inside us Afraid to let them show Buried in the soil Where no one else can go Help us live, help us grow Help us learn when to let go Help us look past the parts to see the whole Help us be good stewards of our souls We are given So many blessings every day Sometimes it's hope we squander Sometimes it's love we throw away So in this time we have together Guide us toward what we can become Help us pull our talents From the soil to see the sun Help us live, help us grow Help us learn when to let go Help us look past the parts to see the whole Help us be good stewards of our souls
7.
Sacramento 04:52
I came to this town with my suitcase in hand, A pen and a notebook of songs Leaving behind the midwestern sky I'd slept beneath for so long I knew every star in that Michigan night Somehow, it seems it's all changed Walking around the streets of this town Without a soul breathing my name So thank you for all that you've given me, The poems, the friends, and the wine I've been thinking awhile about leaving I'm thinking 'bout now that it's time I've lived with my lover and I've lived alone I guess that I've always known Sacramento, Sacramento - Sacramento, you're still not my home Plains lay flat by the highway Grass is parched all summer long I miss the September thunder Leaves curling golden and brown I can't find my way through the rhythms People all wandering by I guess that I'm just a midwestern boy I guess I'll be 'til I die So thank you for all that you've given me, The poems, the friends, and the wine I've been thinking awhile about leaving I'm thinking 'bout now that it's time I've lived with my lover and I've lived alone I guess that I've always known Sacramento, Sacramento - Sacramento, you're still not my home
8.
I've got two hundred miles to drive tonight Ain't nothing but dark and road in front of me And these dog-eared memories of you are all I have To keep me company Be with me through the night Be my companion be my light And I'll carry you with me all the while Through every one of these two hundred miles I've got two hundred miles to drive tonight Seems like such a long, long way But this highway I'm on is going to take me home I can be there before the break of day Be with me where e'er I go Through this dark and through this cold And these heavy thoughts might glimmer towards a smile With every one of these two hundred miles And my stereo is busted, it just spits my cds out I can't find nothing but static on the radio I put my ear to all your whispers, 'til each one seemed like a shout Reminding me of just how far I have to go So far to go I've got two hundred miles 'til I get home And I pray that you'll be waiting So I'll keep holding on to the memory of your smile Just to stop my world from breaking Be with me through the night Be my companion be my light And I'll carry you with me all the while Through every one of these two hundred miles
9.
May this song lead you safely home May it remind you that you are not alone May it comfort you when hope Seems distant and unknown May this song lead you safely home May the road always know your name May you always hold your head up without shame And when someone shows you kindness May you wish on them the same May the road always know your name May your burden never be too much to bear May you always have a coin to pay your fare When you meet someone who's needy May you have enough to share May your burden never be too much to bear May this song lead you safely home May it remind you that you are not alone May it comfort you when hope Seems distant and unknown May this song lead you safely home
10.
Cars rolling in the ditch outside, along I-96 The warmth from our fireplace keeps getting dimmer Then a flash of bright red streaks across the barren white There's a cardinal in winter There's a cardinal in winter We're wrapped up in our blankets, huddled on the couch Even in the cold your arms feel tender And looking out the window, through drifting swirls of snow There's a cardinal in winter We see a cardinal in winter Seems like all the world is barren white and still The hope of sunshine's warmth is just a glimmer But landing on the frozen branches, beneath the windowsill There's a cardinal in winter There's a cardinal in winter Cold creeps in through the windowpanes, the fire's down to embers Your soul feels like it's frosting at the center When it seems the sun will never come, try hard to remember There's a cardinal in winter There's always a cardinal in winter In these days of whipping winds I try to do the best I can I try to be more saint than rambling sinner I still need reminders that spring is coming on You're my cardinal in winter You know that you're my cardinal in winter Seems like all the world is barren white and still The hope of sunshine's warmth is just a glimmer But landing on the frozen branches, beneath the windowsill There's a cardinal in winter There's a cardinal in winter There's always a cardinal in winter

about

A Lost Mitten Records release

Recorded at Troubadour Recording Studios, Lansing MI
Donny Brown's drums recorded at Hess Street Studios, Grand Ledge MI
Matt Hubbard's harmonica recorded at Casa de Matt, Austin TX

Produced by Brandon Grafius
Recorded and mixed by Jon Herrmann
Mastered by Andy Reed

credits

released May 11, 2018

The band:
Donny Brown: drums
Brandon Grafius: guitar, banjo, vocals
Patrick Hudson: bass
Monte Pride: acoustic and electric guitars
Tom Ryberg: piano

Guest artists:
David Cooper: french horn
Jon Herrmann: backing vocals
Matt Hubbard: harmonica
Julie Waterbury: vocals
Jessica Yen: cello
Erin Zindle (the Ragbirds): violin

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all rights reserved

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about

Brandon Grafius Delhi Charter Township, Michigan

Brandon Grafius has spent most of his life in Michigan, and has been performing in the Lansing area for almost 20 years. When he's not playing guitar, he teaches Old Testament and Hebrew at Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit.

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