Abigail Maynard

My sisters and I wanted to give YOU a Christmas present.

They say breathe in and out, it’s just that simple.
What about those, who find this hard to come by?
Obviously, we don’t have any of our own devises.

They say go where you want, there’s nothing stopping you son.
But I feel like you’re not telling me something.
I hear the weight of the wars on my shoulders, and part of it’s yours.

I want to be free.
I want to be loved.
I want to be seen for where I am.

You’re not a broken man, because you’re wounded.
You’re not sick, because you don’t feel well.
You’re not unloved despite your efforts.
You are not far from my hand.

I know, you can’t walk this thing alone.
I know, you will want me when.

I want to be free.
You want to be loved.
We want to be seen for where we are.

We’re kindred souls, not walking alone.

I want to be free.
You want to be loved.
We want to be seen for where we are.

If you want a song, that you can be proud of,
Tell all the boys, “she wrote this for me”,
You’ve gotta give me more than this run down bar,
For now that’s all I can see.

I walked in the room, expecting you’d be there,
But I didn’t forsee the third degree.
Well you hammered your head, and I thought I was dead
When you smiled and waved casually at me.

Did you know who I was?
Did you know where we’d been?
And did you know what happened since then?

As I drive down 35 wonderin’ why you’re still on my mind,
It wasn’t candy hearts come back to life,
It was are you satisfied with where you are tonight?

Well I’ve never seen a man, supposedly so happy, last till his carton was gone.
I’ll never forget the look on your face, when you knew for sure it was me.
You looked down at your list, to check it real quick,
Made sure none of the lines mentioned my name.

Shame or shock, caused you to call for that shot named the red headed slut.
And if you didn’t like the first round, babe I guarantee, the next one will set you ablaze.
So saddle up cowboy, you wont like what’s next.
You can’t run when I’ve got the stage.

Did you know who I was?
Did you know where we’d been?
And did you know what happened since then?

As I drive down 35 wonderin’ why you’re still on my mind,
It wasn’t candy hearts come back to life,
It was are you satisfied with where you are tonight?
Where you are tonight….

listen to my new song & let me know what you think!
lyrics by nathan johnson & yours truly.

hurts on the loose & i’m the biggest cause,
shield yourself from all that i’m giving.
hurts on the loose & i’m the biggest cause,
protect yourself from all that i’m taking.

cause i put that scar on your arm,
that swing in your step,
the only thing to lose is all we’ve got.

hopes on the loose & you’re the biggest cause,
i’ll protect myself from all that you’ve given.
hopes on the loose & you’re the biggest cause,
i’ll save myself from all that you’ve taken.

cause i put that scar on your arm,
that swing in your step,
the only thing to lose is all we’ve got.

i wanna dance in your arms,
swing with your step,
i’m giving all i am because i can.

now i’m on the loose & you’re the biggest cause,
i’ll struggle just to stay as i am.

love me with that song down in your heart by coveredinred

collaboration is defined as united labor. it can be a pleasant process, but it can also be pain staking. last week at the glen, our song writing class was split into groups of 4 & we were told to come back to class in 48 hours with a completed song. for a group who spent less than 5 hours together hashing out lyrics & melodies, i’d say our song came out very well. i threw out a line i heard someone say earlier in the week, “she’s been singing blue grass since before they put air conditioning in buses”, & we ran with it.

everyone decided my voice “comes alive” with bluegrass, so i sang lead. it was an extremely enjoyable process. i’m hoping in the future i will get the chance to collaborate more & figure how to write some bluegrass songs of my own. keep in mind, the above recording is live, not to mention, it was only the 5th time for us to sing the song as a group.

our workshop at the glen was led by “over the rhine”, who is currently celebrating their 20 year anniversary as a band. with at least 15 records under their belt, they set all aside to come impart some of their musical genius to us in santa fe. i came away from the week with new inspiration, motivation, & confidence.

surreal moment # 27 at the glen:
hearing karin bergquist say that she would be looking for me out there on the road, not the least bit surprised when she found me because i have a voice that would “take me anywhere”.

surreal moment moment # 30:
hearing “over the rhine” live & realizing that i had just sung for them, (with confidence) twice.

there is something to be said for the things that take place when artists are around other artists. it doesn’t matter whether it’s other musicians, painters, writers, or graphic artists, it’s so refreshing to be reminded that other right brained people are out there waring with the same kind of things. this week i am at workshop called “the glen”, in santa fe, new mexico. writers, musicians, sculptures, and even just lovers of the arts are here to spend the week collaborating and learning from each other.

by the end of the week i’m sure i will have lots of stories and maybe even a few new songs, but for now i will just leave you with a picture of the beautiful santa fe landscape that surrounds me.

saturday night i played a show in beaumont, texas. beaumont is home of the cute & eclectic barking dog. the barking dog started off as a coffee shop, but lucky for my audience, it has added alcohol to the menu. it was the second time for me to play at this great little venue with an intimate & welcoming atmosphere.

the audience included lots of family, friends, & locals. my younger sister, kate, sang with me, & i was honored to have some of my extremely talented friends join me on a few different songs.

here is josh bolwerk & i singing “in your atmosphere”.

samuel adams accompanied me on the guitar for “stay” by lisa loeb. we definitely brought back the 90’s.

adam david, an incredible local musician, played the second half of the evening. we all enjoyed his harmonica skills, pressing lyrics, & smooth guitar melodies. he is currently working on an album to be released later in the year. check him out on his myspace.

even if you have never watched american idol, you have probably heard about it. who doesn’t enjoy a reality tv show where a supposed nobody is discovered & becomes famous in a matter of months. well try outs happen once a year, & if i had a penny for every time someone said to me “hey, you should try out for american idol. i’d vote for you”, i’d have at least an extra bejamin.

so this year, i decided i’d go ahead & check it off of my to do list. if for no other reason but to say i at least attempted, i went to dallas a few weeks ago to try out for american idol…. along with 10,000 other people. the try-outs were held at the new dallas cowboys stadium & i have never seen so many people who thought they could sing. every hallway was filled with people practicing & showing off their vocal stylings. idol is infamous for having people do crazy things in hopes of getting on tv. i tried out along side a bumble bee, a chicken, and a drag queen. i’m not sure that any of them made it past the first round, but you can’t say they didn’t try.

going into this, i had no idea how the process worked. was it a one day autition? would i meet paula, simon, & randy? well let me tell you, it wasn’t anything i expected. it was a lot of lines, getting up at 3 am, and hours upon hours of waiting for twenty seconds in the spot light. we arrived at the stadium at 5 am & i tried out about 12:30 pm.

for my audition song i chose “crazy for you” by adele. it showed off my vocal range & my voice control. i made it through the first few verses before i was “politely” cut off. i did not receive a golden ticket on to the next round, but it wasn’t due to a poor performance on my part. apparently i just wouldn’t make good tv. this judge doesn’t know my family, obviously. this video is a full recording of the song “crazy for you”, performed at the barking dog.

it took me several months, but with tomorrow afternoon comes the promise of a new town, a fresh start, & a place to start growing some roots. as much as I detest transporting all of my odds & ends, treasures, & trinkets, I am really looking forward to the move.

fort worth texas has been beckoning me for a while now & it’s about time that I replaced my nomadic ways with some more consistent ones. it will be the first time in my brief little life that I will have a place of my own, but I have a feeling my four walls will be filled with enough instruments to keep me company.

I’ll be spending the majority of my twenty-third year in this new place gardening, taking lots of lessons to expand my musical abilities, & paying my dues at any bar, coffee shop, or artsy venue that will let me. oh yea, & I’ll be getting some sort of part time job, but let’s not concern ourselves with the boring details.

i’m also crossing my fingers in hopes that this move will also lead to a great dane. i know it seems like a bit of a stretch, but let’s be honest, who doesn’t want a dog the size of a horse? they’re also on the list of top ten dogs for apartment living, & while half of a cute old duplex is much more fitting for me then an apartment, it’s probably not loads bigger.

off I go to pack more boxes… having a room solely dedicated to my music will be worth it all, right?