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Troposphere

by Eric Peter Schwartz

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1.
WHY ARE WE NOT BURNING? words & music by E.P. Schwartz Every day they give us some new gadget for us to play with it's a really funny way to rub our noses in the shit they get away with Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain there's an app for that I'm certain Why are we not burning? You can write this off as tinfoil hat crap if it makes you feel better but Eisenhower and Orwell got this right down to the letter They make us think that soul selling is the best thing we can do then they sell it back to us for new Why are we not burning? Jesus Christ and Ayn Rand are at odds but work together while Richard Dawkins and John Lennon can't even agree on the weather I just sit here in my electronic glow and I wonder if it's going to snow Why are we not burning? Why are we not burning and raging in the temple and flipping tables?! The only thing that keeps rich bones from snapping is gizmos, cute kittens and cable And don't think I'll be giving my goodies back I'm bought and fat and I know it, Jack Why are we not burning? It's not about rich or poor or "stuff" it's about power in the end we give them the ability to have control and be frictionless, my friend "Who cares if they spying on me, I'm not doing anything wrong." But that's what they've wanted you to feel all along! Why are they not burning? The pigs and the humans all dance and swirl together at the top And we're too happy watching Breaking Bad to make the bastards stop Deep down we all know they're shaking keys for the kids while every last one of us hits the skids Why are we not burning? When this song is over, listener, shut off the power go outside, ignore the screams, feel the sun, just for an hour Don't put faith in anything but family and friends they're the only ones who care about you in the end Why are we not burning?
2.
Softly Now 03:29
SOFTLY NOW (words and music by E.P. Schwartz) Softly now we move through the Troposphere undeniably a silent satellite tonight we wonder about the outer worlds and seek knowledge want to leave our sins and these scars behind We don't trust our leaders we don't trust our friends we don't trust the ones that gave us life I guess we just don't trust ourselves in the end loudly now we crack through the stratosphere undeniably a singing satellite tonight we move 'round the outer worlds seeking knowledge leave our sins and our scars behind We don't trust our leaders we don't trust our friends we don't trust the ones that gave us life I guess we just don't trust ourselves in the end
3.
MEET ME IN THE GARDEN words & music by E.P. Schwartz Me and you in the fighting time walked away with mouths full of ultimatums and lies like “I don’t care” “I don’t love you any more” and I don’t even remember what the fighting was for Have you ever heard the ice as it shrieks in the night a shooting gliss as it shapes and forms calling the approaching winter light that’s where I keep you frozen in my mind and I don’t even remember which one of us won the fight "You can call me I’ll be home around five" that’s if I make it out of these rusted hulls alive I want to kiss and keep you make your feelings not believe you This time So meet me in the garden if you can look me in the eyes A windswept graveyard brown with winter time searching for a grave that might as well have been mine that was our last day before we cut the line and I don’t even remember whose grave we tried to find You can call me I’ll be home around five that’s if I make it out of these rusted hulls alive I want to kiss and keep you make your feelings not believe you This time So meet me in the garden if you can look me in the eyes Me and you in the fighting time
4.
Tree 02:08
TREE words and music by E.P. Schwartz Chop me down and count my rings chill the clouds and give me wings make me a bird and I will sing I was hurt once and it still stings I'm a leaf on the air give me teeth I can bare give me clothes that I can wear give me clothes that I can share I'm a tree in the wind the cat vanished as he grinned tear me down limb from limb make a point that I sinned Chop me down and count my rings chill the clouds and give me wings make me a bird and I will sing I was hurt once and it still stings
5.
The Stone 02:40
THE STONE Words by M.John Vertenten and E.P. Schwartz Music by M.John Vertenten Don't wait in the shadows don't you wait in the dark don't leave all that pain buried in the center of your heart don't go away don't you leave me alone don't be afraid of being hurt don't be afraid to roll away the stone don't mind the lonliness it's only a matter of time don't mind I'm only trying maybe open up your eyes and see don't hold back forever don't hold on 'til the end don't think you're so clever to hide your feelings once again don't you know I've always seen don't you see I've always known everything you thought it would be stop waiting behind the stone
6.
STRANGE ELECTRIC TRAINS words & music by E.P. Schwartz Someone's trying to kill me with strange, electric trains but their far too small to hurt me so their efforts are in vain but they try and try to get under my skin no need for alibis they think my guilt is reason enough to haunt me until I die So, someone's trying to tempt me with a bottle of acrid wine I'll play their little game with them I'll let them waste my time I'm a million miles from nowhere That's a long, long way from home Because love is a wandering madman and hate? Hate is as hard as stone And if you think I walk funny you ought to see the way I dance I don't do the steps of normal men I never take the chance So, someone's trying to kill me with strange, electric trains but their far too small to hurt me so their efforts are in vain
7.
THE NIGHT BEAT THE HELL OUT OF ME (words and music by E.P. Schwartz) It's so nice to have you to run to when the night beat the hell out of me it's cold it's dark and I can't feel my heart 'cause the night beat the hell out of me Lay me down into shadows lay me down into dark between these sheets and this bed of ours can you? Can you feel my heart It's so hard to breathe in this canyon when the night weighs as much as my sins open arms at the end of my ride to hold me and help me catch my wind Lay me down into shadows lay me down into dark between these sheets and the soul deep inside can you? Can you feel my heart It's so nice to have you to run to when the night beat the hell out of me
8.
Sleep Tight 02:54
SLEEP TIGHT words and music by E.P. Schwartz Take me up where eagles dare I lost my heart on the way and I hope I find it there Too much fire too little heat I hope the flames align and come to kill the beast Come inside I want you here the blanket rocket ride and I hope my aim is clear Don't go out don't let it in don't even think to laugh don't be fooled by its grin And we'll all stay home tonight yes, we'll all stay in the light Got a feeling inside of me like two worlds collide and then crash into the sea tow the line or take a stand scrape away the dirt that fills up the man You should all stay home tonight you should all stay in the light you could all stand up and fight we'll all stay home tonight good night sleep tight

about

Until 1931 all human history took place within the troposphere, the lowest level of the Earth's atmosphere. As you read this, unless you are orbiting the Earth (and that would be cool!), your head is in the troposphere. It's our home. It's where all of our problems and all the solutions to our problems reside. With a few exceptions, this is where we make our stand... usually against ourselves (thank you Carl Sagan and the Tiny, Blue Dot). In this thin band of wind and cloud and rain we have to figure out how to make things work or disappear forever.

All these songs were written in the troposphere, someover twenty years ago ("Sleep Tight", "Tree", "The Stone", "Strange Electric Trains"). "Why Are We Not Burning" is the most recent, having only been written in the last few months. So the question is - why crank out another album so soon after TROUBADORK? That's easy. These songs were asking to get out. They were asking to hit the air... stop moving through my head and begin moving through the troposphere.

Another box of songs has been set free.

The cover photo was taken in several years ago at O'hare Airport in Chicago. It's the tunnel under the runway to another terminal.

Travelers through the troposphere.

credits

released December 23, 2013

All songs written by E.P. Schwartz
except "The Stone" written by M. John Vertenten and E. P. Schwartz
Recorded during December 2013

The cigar box guitar I used to record "The Night Beat The Hell Out of Me" was custom built for me by Eric Goetzinger at Goetzinger Guitars: www.facebook.com/goetzingerguitars

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Eric Peter Schwartz Aurora, Illinois

Acoustic rock and some instrumental rock. Where heart and quirk collide.

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