Description
It’s been on my heart for quite some time to record a more Folk oriented album. Few musical styles have the ability to reach into one’s soul, as Folk Music and its close cousins Blues and Classic Country. I suppose these styles are referred to as Roots Music for a reason, they speak to the core, the root, of the human experience. As a young man, coming of age in the 60’s and 70’s, I was witness to something amazing that happened to Rock and Roll. It grew up. It became protest music, Psychedelic music, music of conscience, music of substance. And when Folk and Country became Folk-Rock and Country-Rock, well, I was hooked and more than that, I was inspired. I wanted to do that, be a songwriter, create my own music.
When I wrote my song “Gentle Man” about my father shortly after he passed in August of 2019, I knew I wanted it to be on my next album, and I knew I wanted it to be surrounded by songs of deep meaning and significance, songs that spoke to what it means to be human, to live this life filled with ups and downs, trials and tribulations, self-doubt and self-reflection. I had written some more Folk oriented songs for previous projects but for this one I wanted them to all be more or less in that vein. In Conversations with my young cousin, Paul Demer, who produced this album, it became clear that this was the direction I wanted it to take.
This isn’t necessarily a thematic album, though all of these songs in one way or another speak to the human condition, sometimes good, sometimes not so good. And it’s true that we’re all in this thing together so, we need to figure out a way to get along with each other. None of us are perfect, we all have our own issues to work through so we need to learn how to treat ourselves and others with some kindness and some grace. I named this album after my Dad who was my hero and my best friend. In him I saw what it meant to be a good person, a kind and gentle Man who lived a life of fierce love and devotion to The Lord, to his family and a life filled with grace and respect for others. My Dad lived by the Golden Rule. He did unto others as he would have had them do unto him. It is my desire to honor his legacy by striving to grow and to become more like him. So, maybe in a way, this album is thematic. Let the listener decide.
Notes & Lyrics:
Don’t Have to Hide - (click for lyrics)
It’s not easy to admit
Even harder to ignore
It’s a hard life to live
When you don’t know what for
So you try to fit in
But you don’t know where you belong
This game you can’t win
Even so, you play on
There’s a hole in your heart
Where the light used to live
And it’s tearing you apart
From within, Within
I know you’ve been burned
And I know that it’s real
Your eyes speak the hurt
Of the pain you conceal
Cause, there’s a hole in your heart
Where the light used to live
And it’s tearing you apart
From within, Within
But I want you to know
You don’t have to hide
You’ve got to let go
Of the anger inside
I want you to know
You don’t have to hide
You’ve got to let go
Of the anger inside
There’s a hole in your heart
Where the light used to live
And it’s tearing you apart
From within, Within
Yeah, there’s a hole in your heart
Where the light used to live
And it’s tearing you apart
From within, Within
It’s time to admit
You just can’t ignore
It’s your life to live
Better find out what for
It’s your life to live
You’d better find out what for
I’m speaking to a dear friend who’s been so badly hurt and those wounds are so deep and so painful that they cannot trust anyone enough to open up and let them in. So, they’ve created this false persona, a mask, to hide behind in order to fit in. The “hole in your heart, where the light used to live” is the tension between the real self and this made-up self. Because of this they are slowly losing touch with who they really are and what their life is about. This song is calling out to them to let go of their anger and accept healing.
Gentle Man - (click for lyrics)
He was a gentle man
Kind, with an even hand
A truer soul never walked the land
Anyone who knew him well
Just ask them, they will tell you
He was a gentle man
With a heart full of grace
He lived a life of peace
He treated everyone the same
with truth and love, and dignity
He never wavered in his faith
His life an open book for all to see
He was a gentle man
Kind, with an even hand
A truer soul never walked the land
Anyone who knew him well
Just ask them, they will tell you
He was a gentle man
Nothing mattered more to him than family
His children and his wife
And with love and understanding
It was for them that he lived his life
Oh, and even at the ending of it all
He just couldn’t bear to say good-bye
Oh, if I could only be
Half the man he was to me
He was a gentle man
Kind, with an even hand
A truer soul never walked the land
Oh, anyone who knew him well
Just ask them, they will tell you
He was a gentle man
He was a gentle man
Oh, my Dad, you were a gentle man
I wrote this song for my Dad, soon after he passed away in August of 2019. He was my hero and my best friend. He was the voice of reason I would often seek out when I felt lost or needed guidance. He was dearly loved and greatly respected by anyone who knew him. I want to honor his life and his legacy which is why I wrote this song and named this album after him. I miss him so very much.
California Gold - (click for lyrics)
He went away in the Springtime
Said darlin I must go
But I’ll be home by winter
Before the first snow
For there’s gold in California
Just waitin to be found
And a man can find a fortune
Diggin in the ground
So, he loaded up his wagon
And left before sunrise
As she stood in the doorway
Tears in her eyes
He said darlin don’t you worry
Now dry your pretty eyes
We’ll be rich beyond measure
Ah, but she feard that was a lie
So she cried, oh how she cried
In the night, in the pale moonlight
She cried
Far away from home and family he felt so all alone
But when he reached California
The lust for gold beset his soul
So he set himself to minin’
And he found his precious gold
He said my troubled days are over
But that’s not how this story goes
He never made it home by winter
Before the snow was on the ground
No, he died in California
A greedy miner shot him down
And when word came to his sweetheart
She crumpled to the ground
Oh, her tears flowed like water
God! What do I do now?
And she cried, how she cried
In the night, in the pale moonlight
She cried
A good friend once told me that you’re not a real songwriter until you’ve written a good Murder Ballad. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but since then I’ve written two. I guess I just wanted to be doubly safe. I’ve always been fascinated with history, especially the old “wild west.” So, I decided to create a murder ballad around the theme of the California Gold Rush, circa 1848 – 1855. It’s a totally fictitious account, any resemblance to persons, places or events is purely a coincidence.
Carolina Calling - (click for lyrics)
Carolina calling me
She whispers in my ear
And when I hear her call
I sometimes shed a tear
All around this great big world
There’s no place I’d rather be
Carolina, what you mean to me
Smoky Mountains touch the sky
In sun-drenced magesty
Hear the waves crashing on the shore
In perfect synchrony
Waking down a country road
In misty morning dew
Carolina, oh how I miss you
It’s a long time gone
Since I moved away
But in my heart
You’ll always be my home
Carolina calling me
Still whispering in my ear
And when she calls to me
I sometimes shed a tear
But like a promise given
To a lifelong friend
Caroina, I’ll see you again
Carolina, I’ll see you aain
Caroina, I’ll see you again
Carolina, I’ll see you aain
Carolina
I was missing my home state of North Carolina one day and at the time had my guitar in my hands, noodling around and out popped this song. I’m a sucker for nostalgia and reminiscence, always have been. No matter where I roam or where I take up residence, The Old North State, North Cackalacky, will always be my home and the place where my heart resides.
What I Pretend - (click for lyrics)
I don’t know what’s happening to me
I don’t know if I still know what I believe
It used to be much easier to tell
Now I often wonder, am I doing well
Doing well, am I doing well
It’s so easy to pretend
Everything’s just fine
There’s nothing to hide
It’s so easy, easy to pretend
I still have these moments, now and then
When I think that I might be what I pretend
But it’s an illusion, it’s not real
And it’s getting harder, harder to reveal
To reveal, harder to reveal
It’s so easy to pretend
Everything’s just fine
There’s nothing to hide
It’s so easy, easy to pretend
It’s so easy to pretend
Everything’s just fine
There’s nothing to hide
It’s so easy to pretend
Everything’s just fine
There’s nothing to hide
It’s so easy, it’s so easy
It’s so easy, easy to pretend
When I wrote this song, I was going through a period of doubt and deep self-reflection. Somewhat of an internal battle was raging between beliefs and dogma I had always held to be true and the possibility that some of those beliefs were possibly not so true. I’ve come to reason out some of those questions but some remain to be answered. Am I doing well? Sometimes I can answer with a yes, but sometimes I cannot. I suppose that’s just life and living and sometimes it’s just too easy to pretend everything’s just fine.
Belly of The Beast - (click for lyrics)
Someone turn the light on
We’re sitting in the dark
Someone please turn the light on
We need a little Spark
No One saw it coming
No One knew the score
Too late with the warning
Ah, but we’ve seen it all before
The powers that be, deceiving us all
Hey don’t you see the writing on the wall
Some of us are dying
Everyone’s afraid
The children are crying
Please make it go away
Oh my, oh my, my
The devil is laughing while his demons cry
“Welcome to Hell, it’s my disease”
Crying “welcome to the belly of the beast”
There’s an enemy walking
Like a thief in the night
Yeah, there’s an enemy walking
And he’s looking for a fight
But some of us are running
Straight into the fire
Yeah, the brave are running
Straight into the fire
And I don’t need to tell you
This is war
No, I don’t need to tell you
What we’re fighting for
In the land of the free, the home of the brave
We don’t concede to being enslaved
Still, some of us are dying
Everyone’s afraid
Hear the children crying
Please! Please! Please! make it go away!
Oh my, oh my, my
The devil is laughing while his demons cry
“Welcome to Hell, it’s my disease”
Crying “welcome to the belly of the beast”
Oh my, oh my, my
The devil is laughing while the demons cry
“Welcome to Hell, you know it’s my disease”
Crying “welcome, welcome, to the belly of the beast”
Yeah, Some of us are dying
Everyone’s afraid
Ah, but the brave are running
Not walking, but running
Straight into the fire
Into the belly, the belly of the beast
Someone turn the light on
We’re sitting in the dark
Sittin’ here thinkin, what’s to come
I wrote this song in the early days of the COVID pandemic. In 2017, I retired from a 40 plus year career as a Respiratory Therapist to focus on the true love of my life, music and being a songwriter and performer. When COVID shut everything down, I came out of retirement to help. This song focuses on the pandemic from the viewpoint of the healthcare workers who gave their all, some of them quite literally, to take care of those who were sick and dying from the disease. It was a dark time.
Enemy - (click for lyrics)
You and I may disagree
See things differently
But that doesn’t have to mean
You should be my enemy, enemy
Do we really have to fight
Does somebody have to die
Do you ever wonder why
Ah, but there will always be
People who believe
Theirs is the only way to see
They choose to be my enemy, enemy
Do we really have to fight
Does somebody have to die
Do you ever wonder why We fight
It was written long ago
But those old words could heal the soul
That simple truth might make us whole
And set us free
But we’ve been blinded by our pride
Like a fallen house devided
God help us, you and I
Not to be enemies
You don’t have to be my enemy
Do we really have to fight
Does somebody have to die
Do you ever wonder why we fight
It’s not the end
This song is a rebuke of “Cancel Culture” and social media shaming because someone doesn’t like someone else’s beliefs or what they post on Twitter, Facebook, or wherever. They try to cancel them, label them as purveyors of “hate speech,” demonize them and make them a non-person just because they don’t like what they say. It’s a song about free speech, about the loss of civil discourse and spirited debate. I’m what one would call a classical or old school liberal who believes in those values. It’s time this stops.
Dear John - (click for lyrics)
You and I may disagree
See things differently
But that doesn’t have to mean
You should be my enemy, enemy
Do we really have to fight
Does somebody have to die
Do you ever wonder why
Ah, but there will always be
People who believe
Theirs is the only way to see
They choose to be my enemy, enemy
Do we really have to fight
Does somebody have to die
Do you ever wonder why We fight
It was written long ago
But those old words could heal the soul
That simple truth might make us whole
And set us free
But we’ve been blinded by our pride
Like a fallen house devided
God help us, you and I
Not to be enemies
You don’t have to be my enemy
Do we really have to fight
Does somebody have to die
Do you ever wonder why we fight
It’s not the end
I wrote this song the day after I learned of the death of one of my all-time songwriting heroes, John Prine. He absolutely is one of the reasons why I became a songwriter. His songs were never complicated and always spoke to the things of life and living it. He sang about love and loss, truth, social justice, and sometimes just to poke fun at people and things. I figured I could do the same, so I set out to learn to write a song or rather, a bunch of songs, haha!
Gentle Man Album Credits
Mitch Hayes: Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitars, Percussion, Banjo on track 8
Paul Demer: Acoustic Guitars, Electric Guitars, Percussion, Background Vocals
Erin Hayesoweth: Background Vocals, Flute, Distorted Flute on track 6
Logan Bowers: Drums, Percussion
Ben Grace: Organ
Nathan Shores: Cello
Aaron Fabbrini: Pedal Steel
Zach Light-Wells: Banjo on track 4
Tom Demer: Violin, Viola, Fiddle on track 4
Melanie Demer: Violin, Viola
Produced and Engineered by Paul Demer, Dallas, TX
Mixed and Mastered by Chris Bethea, Minneapolis, MN
All Songs Written by Mitch Hayes (BMI) except: Enemy and Dear John, written by Mitch Hayes (BMI) and Paul Demer (BMI)
Strings on Track 1 arranged by Paul Demer and Tom Demer
Song Lyrics: MitchHayesMusic.com
Contact/Booking: Mitch@MitchHayesMusic.com
