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BloodMoon

by Scott Gagner

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1.
Rise 03:31
Met a man, looking dead on his feet / Said there’ll soon come a day / When the water rises up in the street / And washes us all away / He said the water is cool / He said the water is clear / But he could tell from the look in my eyes / That I wasn’t ready to hear / Will the water rise / Fast enough to put out the flames / He said the water is deep / He said the water is pure / Don’t you go move your family away / Until you’re nice and sure
2.
A mid-century house / A 2-car garage / 3 floors / 4 bedrooms / A half acre of land / A tree-lined street / In the northern hemisphere / 4 distinct seasons / Fresh water sources / And clean, breathable air / Up to our eyeballs / And down to the wire / A little more on-brand / A little less on fire / Progressive neighbors / Good public schools / Low crime / And fine dining for special occasions / A manageable commute / To a fulfilling job / In an urban center / With a thriving artistic community
3.
I used to stay up and boogie down / Red was the color I painted the town / But times have changed, and I’ve changed too/ Those neon lights have turned blue / All of my good friends have moved away / My old bandmates won’t come over to play / I’ve started talking back to the creaky floor / I don’t get out much anymore / I study the sunlight as it climbs the wall / Across the portrait that captures it all / I’d like to walk down to the store / But I don’t get out much anymore / Come happy hour, I could pour myself a drink / But I always end up feeling the same / The wind upon the windowpane / Still whispering your name / I’d take a nap, but I just woke up / Ceiling fan spinning in my coffee cup / So until I hear her knock upon the door / I don’t get out much anymore
4.
My Shadow 03:46
My shadow might’ve had a few / And everyone’s aware / Follows me down the avenue / He follows me everywhere / My shadow orders another round / Pretends to take a call / He looks so comfortable stretched out on the ground / Where there isn’t as far to fall / I’m turning the lights off on you, shadow / I’m dragging the sun down from the sky / I’m pulling the blinds down on you, shadow / I’m even telling the moon, “Don’t shine so bright” / My shadow sleeps in late again / Silences the phone / Cancels plans with my best friend / He likes it best when we’re alone
5.
On the Moon 04:29
Bounce up / Float down / And leave a footprint on the ground / No weeping willow / No poison oak / No choking on wildfire smoke / On the Moon / No fear / No pain / Up here, the Earth seems so far away
6.
Orion 07:08
Orion / Can you hear me tonight / 800 light years away / And stronger than the sun / They lie & endanger / Drink money from a puddle / The blood of the youth / Straight down the drain / We’ve lost our muscle / Weak from the struggle / Tidal wave after tidal wave / Please come down and save us / Orion / Hunter, supernatural / Draw your sword / Off with their heads / Yes, off with their heads / For the anxious and depressed / For the man who gave his best / For the girl without a choice / For the ones without a voice / For the care we can’t afford / For the indifference of the lord / For the family torn apart / For trying to make a new start / For the one who’s been abused / For those wrongfully accused / For the old man serving time / For what is no longer a crime / For when they knock, knock at your door / For the teenager at war / For the ones engulfed in flames / For the forgetting of their names / For the father shot and killed / For the color of his skin / For the ones who die alone / For knowing that we’re on our own / On our own
7.
I wrote the Book of Love / Before I knew what it was / Anything I wanted / Was mine for the taking / I knew where I was going / Had an answer for everything / Turns out all I was / Was a fool in the making / Now I got a chance to do it all again / I only wish I knew now what I knew then / Five’ll getcha ten / If you’d ‘a known me before / You wouldn’t know me now / I couldn’t find the wind in a storm
8.
Come January: I’m bathed in fog / Come February: how could I ever doubt you / Come March: marine layer of denial / Come April: another early bloom / Come December: remind me to remember / Though the new year starts with a spark / It ends with an ember / Come May: did I miss the showers / Come June: another orange moon / Come July: it’s 105 / Come August: leaves falling much too soon / Come December: remind me to remember / Though the new year starts with a spark / It ends with an ember / Come September: we’re bracing ourselves / Come October: ash covers the cars / Come November: what did you expect
9.
Don’t be afraid to stand out / Because there’s no need to hide / Don’t be afraid to open up / And take a look inside / Don’t be afraid to speak up / And say it nice and loud / Don’t be afraid to spend your days / With your head up in the clouds / Don’t be afraid of the low lows / Don’t be afraid of heights / Don’t be afraid to feast your way / Through the garden of earthly delights / Don’t be afraid of falling down / Don’t be afraid to bleed / Don’t be afraid to ask for help / If help is what you need / Don’t be afraid of your mother / Don’t be afraid of your dad / They did the very best they could / With the information that they had / Don’t be afraid to live your life / And don’t be afraid to die / The ending comes eventually / No matter how hard you fight / Don’t be afraid of true love / It will set you free / Don’t be afraid to be afraid / If fear is what you need
10.
1977 03:09
In 1977 Elvis left the building / While a brand new Elvis began to sing / And I’ve spent my whole life since considering this coincidence / But it don’t mean much anymore / 1977’s just the year my baby was born / In 1977 X-Wings crashed the silver screen / Carrie Fisher at age 19, living out her teenage dream / And I’ve spent my whole life since obsessing about such things / But they don’t mean much anymore / 1977’s just the year my baby was born
11.
[Instrumental]
12.
My father’s brother saved my life when I was two / When he dove in and scooped me up off the bottom of the pool / It was 1977 / He followed his heart out west / Settling on Telegraph Hill where the views are the best / Tales of the City and of Hollywood too / There was nothing that my father’s brother didn’t do / From Elizabeth Taylor to Roddy McDowall / He was universally adored / Sharing a Lucky Strike with Harrison Ford / “The Power of Myth” / Poppers & Benzedrine / Being outed in the pages of Newsweek magazine / My father’s brother’s father called him out of the blue / Said, “If you were here right now, I’d probably kill you / I’m going to hang up now, so don’t you get upset / Before I say something I’ll live to regret” / It was 1999 / When my father got a call / Said, “You better hurry up / Your brother’s not responding at all” / Redeye to Tucson / Nothing much was said / When we arrived my father’s brother had a tube running out of his head / 200mg of Morphine to try to keep things short / And still he fought for 14 hours without life support / Now, I know as well as the next guy that you can’t bring back the dead / But his flatline jumped when I kissed my father’s brother on the forehead / In the recurring dream I’m always diving off a cliff / Into the lake where I know my father’s brother lives / We circle over each other like we did way back when / Happy to be united once again / But I know eventually I will leave you there / Because sooner or later I have to go up for air / Now I am a father’s brother living out on the coast / And it isn’t lost on me that I followed a ghost / It took 20 years for this song to be sung / And I am old enough now to know you died too young / So now whenever I swim / If the sun is just right / I can see my father’s brother swim into the light
13.
Things were looking up / Before it all came crashing down / There was coffee in my cup / Until it shattered on the ground / Now there’s vultures in the valley / There are ravens on the wire / There’s a pervert in the alley / And his eyes are filled with fire / But the dust will always settle / And the first shall be the last / Yeah, this too shall pass / There are bees inside the cupboard / There’s a drunkard on the floor / There’s a blood moon coming / And a black dog at the door / There’s a world covered in people / Making people every day / There’s a lifetime of tomorrows / But there’s only one today / But nothing lasts forever / And the first shall be the last / Yeah, this too shall pass / There are snakes inside the sewer / There’s a hearse stuck in the mud / There’s a child in the driver’s seat / And a virus in the blood / And the spiral has no center / And it seems to have no end / And you don’t know how much longer / You can even pretend / So when it feels hopeless / You can’t take it any more / Remember that your ancestors / Have been through this before / So take your hands up off the wheel / Take your foot up off the gas / Because this too shall pass

about

“Whoever said ‘You can never go home again’ was wrong.” In June of 2021, Scott Gagner and his family moved from their long-time home of Northern California back to his native Minnesota. “Life had become unreasonable. I found myself acting on primal, caveman-like instincts I’d never had access to before. Basically, fire = bad. Get wife and children away from fire.” Throw in a global pandemic and a major health scare, and the songs of BloodMoon “just poured out.” What’s remarkable is that the songs — though born out of crisis and desperation — ultimately attain a sense of triumph and peace of mind.

To achieve this, Gagner combined soaring string arrangements and growling synths, driving powerpop and zero gravity ambience, 1970’s piano balladry and 3-part prog rock epics. The result is his most ambitious, lush, melodic, experimental, soulful, and deeply personal statement to date.

For the second album in a row — including 2019’s “Best of the Year” Hummingbird Heart (Power Pop News) — Gagner played most of the instruments, layering surprising combinations of nylon string guitar, vintage Roland synths, piano, 12-string guitar, and African Tongue Drum. The tracks were then further augmented by long-time collaborators Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello, Elliott Smith, Ron Sexsmith), Jesse Chandler (Midlake, Mercury Rev, John Grant) and newcomer Steve Berlin (Los Lobos, The Replacements) on Baritone Saxophone. Gagner took full advantage of the “silver lining of the COVID-19 lockdown,” pioneering new avenues of remote collaboration with musicians based in Austin, Chicago, Seattle, Minneapolis, Little Rock, Vancouver, and France.

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released November 2, 2021

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Scott Gagner Minneapolis, Minnesota

Scott Gagner is a Minnesota-based songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He has collaborated with members of Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Big Star, The Posies, R.E.M., Los Lobos, and Midlake. His 2019 album "Hummingbird Heart" was voted "Best of the Year" by Power Pop News. His songs have been featured nationally on such platforms as USA Today. Reverse is his sixth album. ... more

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