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the session

by Josh Barkey

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1.
I wrote this song just as I was starting to come out of a fairly ugly bout of depression. I debated tacking a hopeful, positive end to the song, but that felt a little dishonest and not necessarily helpful. My hope would be that the song (as it is) would first of all help someone who's struggling with depression to feel understood, and second of all would help someone who does not struggle with depression to understand a little better what someone who does feels like, and needs most of all - which is to be loved, even if the depression never dissipates. lyrics LYRICS: I could change the world if I could just get out of bed. But I can’t shake these words runnin’ round here in my head. I could make you see if I could take you there. But I can’t make you be, the kinda lover who’d care. Somedays all that I can do is sleep and breathe. Hopin’ you might push on through and not give up on me. Will you still love me forever? Will you still love me if I never get better? Where do you find your hope? Can spare a little for me, please? I’m at the end of my rope. I’m fallin’ down on my knees. On the outside, I’m lookin great. But inside, I’m kinda broke. Crushed beneath all of this weight. Of all the words I never spoke. Somedays all that I can do is sleep and breathe. Hopin’ you might push on through and not give up on me. Will you still love me forever? Will you still love me if I never get better?
2.
They say that pessimists tend to have a more accurate perception of reality than optimists. They also say that optimists are more likely to find a way to change the world for the better. Does the world need both? No idea... but sometimes I try to float my way over the line into optimism, because accurate perception can be a cruel mistress. lyrics LYRICS: I’ve been searchin’ for hope in all the lonely places. I’ve been told it’s still there, behind the lonely faces. And I see traces everywhere. Floatin’ like dust motes in the air. Everywhere! Everywhere. Everywhere. If hope’s the thing with feathers, feels like it’s flyin away from me. But I hear those wings beatin, even when I cannot see. And I hear feathers everywhere. Tracin’ their patterns in the air. Everywhere! Everywhere. Everywhere.
3.
LYRICS: I wrote a love song for myself, when nobody else would. I got a feelin’ that I’m not the only one who could use a little love song, written just for you. So if you listen now, your song has just begun. I wrote you a love song. I swear to god that it’s true. It’s not a song for some-body else. This love song’s for you. I wrote a love song cuz I could, but maybe you’re afraid. You got a feelin’ that you don’t deserve a song But what you think and what you are are often not the same. You’re beautiful, and true, and kind, and strong. So I wrote you a love song. I swear to god that it’s true. It’s not a song for some-body else. This love song’s for you. This love song— I wrote you a love song. I swear to god that it’s true. It’s not a song for some-body else. This love song… is just for you.
4.
Perú song 03:44
LYRICS: I was raised in the Amazon, in the jungles of Perú. But that whole life has come and gone and left me here with you. Ay ai ai. Tan lejos de ti. Mi corazón llora si. Barefoot, runnin’ wild and free, in the jungles of Perú. Lookin’ back now, I can’t believe all the crazy things we’d do. Piraña fishin, moto tag – how I wish I could take you there. Mango trees and a jungle breeze, hibiscus in your hair. Ay ai ai. Tan lejos de ti. Mi corazón llora si. I wonder if you’ve lost someone, or something you held dear. A bitter pain that you carry now, an always falling tear. But what if tears are just a grateful heart that’s breaking through? A way to take a part of what you had along with you? Ay ai ai. Tan lejos de ti. Mi corazón llora si. Ay ai ai. So far from you. My heart cries out, “I love you.” So long gone but still I long for what I had with you. My childhood home, mi corazón – mi querido Perú. Ay ai ai. Tan lejos de ti. Mi corazón llora si. Ay ai ai. So far from you. My heart cries out, “Te amo, Perú.”
5.
LYRICS: I’m a little afraid of you (of you). More for the things you say than what you do (what you do). You were my friend. You could be one again. I don’t want this to end. I’m a little afraid of you (of you). And all the things you’ve come to believe to be true. You slowly changed. We lost our way. I felt my heart break. I can’t see a way out of this crazy mess Whether to run or stay, which is best (which is best). We fight to be heard. We just want the last word. It’s all so absurd. I need you to know I love you so I’m a little afraid of us (of us). How do we survive without trust—we must! We fight for scraps, and for bones. We echo lies we’ve been told. We’re too afraid to be bold - While they trade our love for gold.
6.
eloise 03:05
LYRICS: truckstop lover with a knife in her hand chasin' her man down the road runnin' him down just as fast as she can no kinda plan, truth be told CHORUS: and they called her "crazy eloise" and threw away the key but all i saw was a sad little girl, dyin' to be free she caught him by the exit sign cut him down in the grass stuck out her thumb and caught her a ride as i came drivin' past CHORUS we made it on down to L.A. town 'fore the feds caught Eloise and me i did a dime cuz they couldn't believe i was no accessory CHORUS

about

Went into my buddy Joe's studio (The Wave Lab, in Rock Hill, SC) one evening with a couple a' friends to live-record a few of my songs.

credits

released January 23, 2024

Josh Barkey: vocals, baritone uke
John Doll: guitar
Andrew Rogers: percussion

Joe Miller: audio engineering voodoo magic

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about

Josh Barkey Waxhaw, North Carolina

I grew up barefoot in the Amazon jungle, catching and eating piranhas before they could catch and eat me.

After hand planting around half a million baby trees in the wilds of Canada, I cut my creative teeth as a painter, poet, writer of fiction, sculptor, and filmmaker.

Now (on the eve of an apocalypse) seemed as good a time as any to add another art form to the mix.
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