Moments before I sat down my last Jack Daniels & put out my last tailor made cigarette, I heard my mom screaming at the top of her lungs that her sister’s heart had exploded. Seems just as important to note that my nana took her loss with faith – assuring the family that it was in God’s hands.
When I was younger, I witnessed my mother and father incoherently stumbling around the house in the middle of the night. I was worried that they were overdosing so I called my nana and my dad dad to assist me with their wellbeing. They lived over an hour away & by time they arrived they were insisting that I trust in God & that my parents were okay. They told me it was unreasonable that my parents were on drugs, while they assisted my mother with sitting down knowing she could barely walk.
Shortly after my brother was born, I’m told that my mother faced time in prison. A lady followed my mother out of a bar, claiming that my mother was having an affair with her husband. She stabbed my mother in the back several times and turned to leave my mother bleeding out. To her surprise, my mother kept a gun in her truck that she was able to crawl to. Not really sure how my nana and dad dad responded to the event, but I imagine they used it as another instance to suggest faith in God. I can understand it being their go-to as it’s held them together through the tales I’ve heard of my nana’s suicide attempts to end the domestic abuse.
At the age of 16, my mother conceived her first child. Nana and Dad Dad insisted on a shotgun wedding shortly after asking her to pack her things and move out of their home because she chose a life of sin with premarital sex.
lyrics
Walk up:
F // F# // G
Verse / Chorus:
Ab // Db // Ab // Ab9 // Ab // Fm // Eb
Ab // Db // Ab // Ab9 // Fm // Eb
Bridge:
Db // Fm // Db // Eb
Ab // Db // Ab // Ab9 // Fm // Eb // Ab
Charlie, honey. Please calm your soul. She’s long gone & your sisters won’t be long. I know how it hurts but its in the good ole book. It's still a goodnight honey — Charlie, please sleep well.
Charlie, honey. Please find your seat. I dare not speak on all the wrong I’ve seen. I know you’ve grown tired, I hear it in this night. It's still a goodnight honey - Charlie, please sleep well.
Charlie, honey. Please don’t you want. You carved your own name in the woman's back that you shot. I know how you fear, I’ve had my blood in the sink. It's still a goodnight honey — Charlie, please sleep well.
Yea Charlie, honey. Please go & pack your bag. You’ve chosen to sin, sixteen years old, well you’ve got it bad. I know I’ve no help, for a soul down in hell. It's still a goodnight honey — Charlie, please sleep well.
credits
from Leaving Town,
released April 25, 2023
Recording/Mixing: Ryan Stanley & Lance Corbett of Choice Recordings - Gainesville, FL
Mastering: Dan Flanagan of Acoustic Fury Records - Jacksonville, FL
Artwork: Charlie Shuck (photographer & songwriter) - Jacksonville, FL
This is a collective that I associate with. Various artists take part in supporting one another as well as the impact their art has on others. Joshua Arthur Tison
The second EP from Northern Irish singer-songwriter Bea Stewart runs from gentle folk to pillowy pop ballads, all perfectly executed. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 15, 2024
Michelle Stodart’s folk music captures hope in melancholy, addressing the transformational aspects of the most challenging times. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 3, 2023
