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Prayer Of The Woods

by Tony Dekker

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1.
Getting back to town, it isn't as easy as it seems When you've been up all night With bad dreams I dreamt that I was falling, in reverse in the air Flying alone Wasn’t malice, wasn’t fair The smell of gasoline, from the handle and the cap But I'm on my way back, I'm on my way back On my way back Maybe I'll just keep driving, when I get there Go up north and be in exile in the oaks Exile in the firs, Exile in the birch And stay until the winter won't let me go Her good arms around me, Her cold arms around me It's not as easy as it seems To drive away your dreams But I'm on my way back On my way back The smell of gasoline From the handle and the cap Not as easy as it seems To drive away your dreams
2.
Somewhere near Thunder Bay, living halfway While the rest slept in buckets and on benches in the back I almost flew into you on the highway We called close in the marble-lit milky way I was dreaming of you Way beyond any names Everything frozen and slow Somewhere near Thunder Bay And no blood escaped when the spell broke And nothing was turned into anything else Not any of the versions of yourself, or myself Bush to the painted line, and back again I was dreaming of you Way beyond any names Everything frozen and slow Somewhere near Thunder Bay And I lived in your skin and its tame light No names, but warm heat to your warm heat I took a branch from you, and you leaf through me Giving that new good life one more go-round I was dreaming of you Way beyond any names Everything frozen and slow Somewhere near Thunder Bay I was dreaming of you Way beyond any names Everything frozen and slow Somewhere near Thunder Bay
3.
Final Song 03:37
When my race, on this earth, is run When I take one final trip When I fly into the horizon When my body has lost its grip Won’t you think of me in a good light Won’t you think of me with a smile Won’t you think of me by the water Won’t you think of me once in a while When the spell is finally broken And the magic has long gone When I drift into the other side When I’ve sung my final song Won’t you think of me in a good light Won’t you think of me with a smile Won’t you think of me by the water Won’t you think of me once in a while When my head rejects my body When my arms don’t know my legs And my fingers aren’t doing any good no more And my mouth, spits only dregs Won’t you think of me in a good light Won’t you think of me with a smile Won’t you think of me by the water Won’t you think of me once in a while
4.
Empty Arms 03:20
A loner landed and made new land Empty arms, starting over again Held new words over old thundering ways Then clear ice: raw, lifeless, and numb No motors yet, a buried dream A deep exhaust, in empty arms With tired tracks, it’s coming back Pulled from pens, and out of boots February says: this is all you get Do something with it As February fails and it won’t last Do something with it No motors yet, a buried dream A deep exhaust, in empty arms With tired tracks, it’s coming back Pulled from pens, and out of boots And out of boots Pick another song, one that’s not so sad ‘Cause the night is long and the warnings ignored And you couldn’t be more you Singing over under the fingernail moon No motors yet, a buried dream A deep exhaust, in empty arms With tired tracks, it’s coming back Pulled from pens, and out of boots And out of boots
5.
I am the heat of your hearth On the cold winter nights The friendly shade screening you From the summer sun, as you journey on I am the beam that holds your house The board of your table The bed on which you lie And the timber that builds your boat Those who pass by Listen to my prayer: “Harm me not, harm me not” I am the handle of your hoe The door of your homestead The wood of your cradle And the shell of your coffin I am the bread of kindness And the flower of beauty Those who pass by Listen to my prayer: “Harm me not, harm me not” “Harm me not, harm me not” “Harm me not, harm me not” “Harm me not, harm me not”
6.
Out in the winter, when nature doesn’t care Staying up late enough, when the birds start to sing I can feel their spirit, and I can feel how they move They’ll tell you their secrets if you tell them yours too They’ll tell you all their secrets if you tell them yours too And they’ll fly through heaven when their bodies are through You tell me all your secrets and I tell you mine too And we’ll fly through heaven when our bodies are through Send me your wings now, it's almost morning The night had promise, but now it comes calling Can’t see the mirror, when it’s more like a window And before we’re shaken, I’ll dream enough for two Send me your wings now, it's almost morning The night had promise, but now it comes calling Send me your wings now, it's almost morning The night had promise, but now it comes calling Sometimes I wonder if I hear the right voices Catch the right signals, make the right choices And work to be something that you can see through The sky or a promise, from your point of view Now it's up to love to solve me some how Warm the winter morning and move in me, some how Now it's up to love to prove me, right now Warm the winter morning and move in me, some how
7.
Arms out of windows, the wind resists Open palms, and closed fists And we’re sailing like a river bird Sails, antennas, wings and keels A muted smile, a muted sunrise The only lick of life in a broken sky The only thing left, that you could let through And blew through you, and it shone through you You and me, like fresh graffiti And maybe that bit of insanity That ran those legs into extraordinary fields Growing away, the only weapon left Under a magician’s sky This is how I think of you Now, inhaling, locked in time Uh huh, this is how I think of you A broken oar, on the rocks overnight Under a magician’s sky Uh huh, this is how I think of you This is how I think of you Tell me all about it some time Tell me about it some time Tell me all about it some time Tell me about it some time
8.
Land of the glass pinecones They only grow for the full moon The farmers never gather them The magic cones are heaven sent Land of the glass pinecones The seeds are made of rhinestones The squirrels never scatter them They know rhinestone seeds portend Land of the glass pinecones They smash in the grass when the wind blows The splinters fly throughout the land And pierce the eye of every man Land of the glass pinecones The eye now sees what the tree knows The splinters burn but then we learn The way we spend we have to bend It’s all a part of nature’s plan All a part of nature’s plan Land of the glass pinecones Land of the glass pinecones Land of the glass pinecones They only grow for the full moon The farmers never gather them The magic cones are heaven sent Land of the glass pinecones The seeds are made of rhinestones The squirrels never scatter them They know rhinestone seeds portend Land of the glass pinecones They smash in the grass when the wind blows The splinters fly throughout the land And pierce the eye of every man Land of the glass pinecones The eye now sees what the tree knows The splinters burn but then we learn The way we spend we have to bend It’s all a part of nature’s plan All a part of nature’s plan Land of the glass pinecones Land of the glass pinecones Land of the glass pinecones Land of the glass pinecones My mind is golden inside, my mind is golden inside My mind is golden inside, my mind is golden inside
9.
I heard you talking in your sleep again last night Wayward waves from your tired mouth I heard you dreaming out loud again last night A sparrow stealing, and maneuvering Only ever moving Through that doorway unannounced Like before, but with wilder dogs Fumbling with long-distance short-wave radios An empty cup with a bear in tow A sign of the cross, a hunter’s bow And I’m the sharp feathered arrow You pull me close, and then let go And all of those organs play out One by one, ils disent, ‘bonne nuit’ Slight whispers in the giant bellows sighing ‘Uh-huh, I’m only a lung’ Some nights are better than others though And some nights you never know You really got me with that one though Your sleepy hinges swinging, a cat’s paw An empty cup with a bear in tow A sign of the cross, a hunter’s bow And I’m the sharp feathered arrow You pull me close, and then let go
10.
Picking up the pieces of my sweet shattered dream I wonder how the old folks are tonight Her name was Ann and I’ll be damned if I recall her face She left me know knowing what to do Carefree highway, let me slip away on you Carefree highway, you seen better days The morning after blues, from my head down to my shoes Carefree highway, let me slip away, slip away on you Turning back the pages to the times I love best I wonder if she’ll ever do the same Now the thing that I call living is just being satisfied With knowing I got no one left to blame Carefree highway, got to see you my old flame Carefree highway, you seen better days The morning after blues, from my head down to my shoes Carefree highway, let me slip away, slip away on you Searching through the fragments of my dream shattered sleep I wonder if the years have closed her mind I guess it must be wanderlust or trying to get free For the good old faithful feeling we once knew Carefree highway, let me slip away on you Carefree highway, you seen better days The morning after blues, from my head down to my shoes Carefree highway, let me slip away, slip away on you Let me slip away on you Carefree highway, got to see you my old flame Carefree highway, you seen better days The morning after blues, from my head down to my shoes Carefree highway, let me slip away, slip away on you

about

If Tony Dekker’s debut solo album, Prayer of the Woods, sounds like the kind of record that’s meant to be played in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, that’s by design. As much as the singer-guitarist appreciates being in big, crowded clubs with his full-time project, Great Lake Swimmers, he also loves getting away from the din of the modern world. That’s reflected in gorgeously hushed album offerings like “Land of the Glass Pinecones” and “Hearing Voices”, both of which seem designed to make you wonder why in the hell you ever decided to live in the city.

“I find that kind of experience really re-energizing—getting to places where there are long gaps between places that actually have names,” Dekker says, on the line from a Regina tour stop. “Also, I think it sort of awakens a healthy fear of the natural world. That’s an important response, because it nurtures a respect for wilderness and nature. All those things, I hope, sort of shine through on the album.”

Mission accomplished there, with Prayer of the Woods a great soundtrack for those whose idea of heaven is a remote lake near 100 Mile House and an iPod loaded with Neil Young, Iron & Wine, and Angel Olsen. The reflective voice-and-acoustic-guitar opener “On My Way Back” sets the tone for the record, kicking off with the line “Getting back to town isn’t as easy as it seems.” From there, Dekker keeps the mood mellow and warm, the title track all glowing-hearth guitars and rich church organs, and “Somewhere Near Thunder Bay” as golden as a fall day in the B.C. Interior.

If introspective is the overwhelming feel of the album, that’s not by accident, as evidenced by Dekker’s choosing to record the album in a small-town Ontario church.

“I really wanted to make a point of not overthinking things too much,” he notes. “I really concentrated on going for a feel and a vibe of the songs and the room and the performance aspect of leaving the songs a little bit raw.”

The goal was also to get back to the original sound of Great Lake Swimmers, a band that started out playing tiny clubs and house gigs and has since graduated to rooms that are far less intimate.

“I had songs that I was doing demos for, and it became pretty obvious early on that they really didn’t need much more than vocals and guitar,” Dekker says. “I was originally just going to do a Great Lake Swimmers solo tour, just me playing songs primarily from the first album, because it’s coming up on its 10-year anniversary. I don’t get the chance to play those quieter songs these days with the band. All of this lined up to where I was like, ‘I’ll just record these new songs on my own and keep them more pared back than Great Lake Swimmers stuff, and then I’ll take them on the road.’ ”

And if Dekker has a suggestion about where Prayer of the Woods might be best enjoyed, it’s actually somewhere a little less isolated than cabin country. You think that his choice to close the album with a plaintive voice-and-guitar take on Gordon Lightfoot’s “Carefree Highway” wasn’t carefully thought out?

“This record, to me, kind of feels like a driving record,” Dekker says. “Like it’s something that you would maybe listen to driving late at night or something.”

Preferably as far away from the city as possible.

From "Tony Dekker gets back to nature with Prayer of the Woods" in the Georgia Straight, by Mike Usinger, published Oct. 8, 2013.

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released October 8, 2013

Tony Dekker - vocals, guitars, autoharp, piano

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Great Lake Swimmers Toronto, Ontario

Tony Dekker’s music spans two decades as the lead singer and songwriter of Great Lake Swimmers. Over eight albums, multiple EPs, live shows and reissues, the Toronto-based group with a revolving cast of players has established itself as a beloved indie folk act in their native Canada and beyond. Great Lake Swimmers was shortlisted for the Polaris Prize and nominated twice for the Juno Awards. ... more

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