Albuquerque Up To Alaska

1 day ago by @lbrewington · @nancycunning

Liner Notes

The always delightful @nancycunning sent me some lyrics after listening to another of my tracks (Devil's Flame). It was perfect timing for me as I was needing a song to work on and had already spent half a fruitless day thinking about what to work on next.

The lyrics, to me at least, contained a sad story about a child and a mother fleeing their home for a distant land told from the viewpoint of the child, and the bridge in particular tied together a sense of this long migration being a metaphor for life and innocence lost.

She was very gracious in giving me permission to chop and screw as I saw fit, so I set about doing such and this is the final rough product. Most of all the lyrics are hers, I did add V3 and reworked the poignant bridge into the outro chorus which worked since each chorus had different lyrics. I can hear Nancy in the original lyrics she sent over quite well and the end product doesn't really reflect that, so that's on me. Hopefully she likes the final product as I enjoyed working on it, and love the theme of the piece.

#acoustic #collaboration

Took two and half hours from sitting down to final demo. A few lines where awkward in delivery. Also clocking in at almost five minutes is one of the longer songs I've worked on.

Lyrics

[v1]
Am - Em
bicentennial license plates
Red and white and blue
We're done with the land of enchantment
Am - EM - Am
No, New Mexico
Em -Am
No more New Mexico
Em - Am
Goodbye, we're through with you

[Chorus 2]
Dm - Am - E - Am
Albuquerque up to Alaska should be a sixty seven hour drive
Albuquerque up to Alaska it was nineteen seventy nine
Albuquerque up to Alaska I was only five
em -am
One way
To Stay
On the way to alaska, always

[v2]
Mom left my dad for good that time
we left both dogs behind
She let me ride in the front seat
But I was too young to drive
em
Way too young too drive
And way too old to cry

[Chorus 3]
Albuquerque up to Alaska, bumps on the road, eternal dips
Albuquerque up to Alaska, lasted a lifetime
Albuquerque up to Alaska a long game of pick up sticks
One way
To Stay
On the way to alaska, always

[v3]
somewhere about halfway there
the tears finally came
in the rearview my mom's mouth quivered
and a part of me died
am - em - am
a chiiiiiiiiild no more
em - am
a child no more

[c4]
Albuquerque up to Alaska, enough time to lose some pain
Albuquerque up to Alaska, what's left is who you are
Albuquerque up to Alaska, what's left outside that car
One way
To Stay
On the way to alaska, always

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