The Lay Awakes

I love that the guest blogger of the week is THE LAY AWAKES!   They are "an acoustic pop duo based in Brooklyn, NY, with roots in the Canadian prairies and small town Ontario.

ANNA PADDOCK (piano, vocals) grew up in various states and provinces, but her family ties reach back to rural Manitoba.  Her musical roots trace back to classical piano studies and the inspiration of dance and theatre, which led her to study music at Trinity Western University and composition at New York University. During this time, Anna began writing songs, released her first solo album in 2013, toured in Canada and the US, and most notably opened for Paul Simon at New York’s Beacon Theater.

PATRICK ANDERSON (guitar, vocals) was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and grew up in Fergus, Ontario. His music lineage goes back to the family campfire and songbook. He studied music at Vancouver Community College and at Hunter College in Manhattan. Patrick spent many years representing Canada in wheelchair basketball and is a three-time Paralympic gold medalist. 

Anna and Patrick formed The Lay Awakes in the fall of 2014, and immediately began working on an EP with producer Jeremy McDonald (Kevin Garrett). The independent self-titled debut was released in July, 2015."    

I posted "Hush" by Anna Paddock on this blog almost 2 years ago and today I'm posting Hush Revisited because I still love it, perhaps even more as performed by The Lay Awakes.   So without further ado...

HUSH

(Anna Paddock)

Hush, I've heard enough

You're like a disease and I don't need this

Hush, say no more

You come like a thief and I don't need you

People say we'll fix your head

Just swallow this pill

It'll get easier

I tell myself, get out of bed

You cannot be ill

But all I hear is

Voices, voices

I hear voices, voices, voices

Closing me in

Hush, don't rear your head

You're like a disease beginning to spread

Hush, you've made your point

You come like a thief to kill and destroy

And people say we'll fix your head

Just swallow this pill

Statistics say, you're one in ten

But all I hear is

Voices, voices

Voices, voices, voices

Closing me in

God I can't think when I hear

Voices, voices, voices

Closing me in

Hush, it's time you go

You're like a disease killing my soul

Hush, you've said too much

You come like a thief and you've taken enough

DEBUT EP AVAILABLE NOW

 

Anna Paddock and Paul Simon

Tomorrow I have the wonderful privilege of performing one of my songs as an opening act for PAUL SIMON at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. 

Here are the lyrics for the song I will sing:

To listen to a demo of the song, click on this link or copy and paste it into your browser:

http://www.annapaddock.com/music.html

HOME AWAY FROM HOME  © 2013 – Anna Paddock

I could feel the wind change direction when you'd walk through the door

And I had my first taste of perfection when we kissed on your bedroom floor

I'll admit that I fell a little harder than I should have

But I don't regret any of it, I'd do it again if I could, 'cause you were my

Home away from home

Just knowing that you were alive made me less alone, 'cause you were my

Home away from home

I could feel your heart change direction on that cold November day

And I had my first taste of rejection when I couldn't make you stay

I'll admit that I fell a little harder than I should have

But do you regret any of it, would you do it again if you could? 'Cause you were my

Home away from home

Just knowing that you were alive made me less alone

Now it's been a hundred days and a thousand miles

And I'm still driving away from my home away from...

Home away from home, you were my

Home away from home

Knowing that you were alive made me less alone, 'cause you were my

Home away from home

I could feel the wind change direction when you'd walk through the door

Can't Pay the Rent - Anna Paddock © 2012

Today's entry is a lyric called "Can't Pay The Rent".  This is a 98% true story.  When times are tough in the city, I really do recommending living in a convent!

Can't Pay the Rent - Anna Paddock © 2012

Here's the situation, I was walking through Hell's Kitchen

I didn't have a cent, I couldn't pay my rent

So I was praying and thinking of where I could live

When I spotted a convent, and I thought

Maybe the sisters will let me in

Breakfast is at seven, wasting food's a sin

Curfew's at eleven, Sister Hilda lets you in

Bedroom's got a window, but keep those curtains closed

Workers 'cross the street shouldn't see you changing clothes

Well this will suit me perfectly, where's the dotted line

I'll try to follow all your rules, just show me where to sign

No, I wasn't raised Catholic, but I'll say the rosary

Long as I don't gotta take a vow of celibacy

But I can't pay the rent, so I moved to the convent!

Bike goes in the courtyard, keep your music down

Alcohol's forbidden, no cigarettes allowed

No one in your bedroom, always lock your door

Stay on floors 1 thru 3, don't ever wander up to 4

I wasn't used to all the rules, I needed an escape

Found a piano in the basement, a Steinway

I'd practice every morning, but the sisters like TV

Fuzzy soap operas compete with the piano and me

But I can't pay the rent, so I chose to stay in the convent!

But you see I've got a problem, cause I really love this guy

He lives just down 10^th avenue, I bike there every night

Curfews are a nuisance, he quickly takes the hint

Buys a diamond ring and asks me to marry him

Still don't have a cent, but I got someone to pay the rent, so I moved out of the convent

But if you don't have a cent, you're a city girl with a gent, and you can't pay the rent

Go on and move to the convent!!!

The link to this recording can be found here:

https://soundcloud.com/anna-paddock/cant-pay-the-rent-1

Like me on Facebook or for real here:

https://www.facebook.com/annapaddockmusic

Other updates:

www.annapaddock.com

Hush by Anna Paddock © 2013

Thank you again Katie for giving me an opportunity to share on your blog.  Earlier in the fall (in my first post), I had expressed my desire to be able to write this fall.  It certainly has been a writing season for me, and I now anticipate the winter and the time to edit and arrange the songs from the past 8 weeks.  I decided to share a lyric for one of my recent songs I wrote this fall.  There is no proper recording of it available as of yet, but if you'd like to hear my initial demo – you can email annapaddockmusic@gmail.com, and I will make it available for you to listen – either by email or a website link.  

HUSH – Anna Paddock © 2013

Hush, you've said enough

You're like a disease, and I don't need this

Hush, say no more

You come like a thief, and I don't need you

People say “we'll fix your head”

Just swallow this pill, it'll get easier

I tell myself, 'get out of bed'

You can not be ill, it'll get easier, but all I hear is

Voices, voices, voices

God I can't think when I hear

Voices, voices, voices

They're growing in number, they're closing in

Hush, don't rear your head

You're like a disease beginning to spread

Hush, you've made your point

You come like a thief to kill and destroy

People say “we'll fix your brain

Just swallow this pill, it'll get easier”

Statistics say “you're one in ten

Maybe you're ill, it'll get easier”, but all I hear is

Voices, voices, voices

God I can't think when I hear

Voices, voices, voices

They're growing in number, they're closing in

God I cant think when I hear

Voices, voices, voices,

They're growing in number, they're closing in

Hush, it's time you go

You're like a disease killing my soul

Hush, you've said too much

You come like a thief, and you've taken enough

If you are interested in purchasing my recent album, Feel Better, it is available on iTunes (search Anna Paddock and/or Feel Better).  It is also available on cdbaby.com

For more information or to stay connected, visit:

www.annapaddock.com

www.facebook.com/annapaddockmusic for more information.

Autumn by Anna Paddock

My incredibly gifted friend Anna Paddock is the first ever guest blogger on this site.  I am so excited and honored to house her work here today.  

"The fall equinox is only a few days away.  Autumn is usually a sad season for me.  I get anxious to jump from summer to winter in one big crash - to ignore the fact that change is often slow - I try to create my own solstice where all at once, I'm different.  But it has struck me the past few days that I should let autumn rest in my bones and in my spirit.  Fall holds both the final secrets of summer and the doors to the winter.  It's almost hot, and then almost cold.  It's the last taste of life and the first bite of death.  It is a season of change, and I want to be seasoned and changed by it this time 'round...

As a songwriter, I feel this fall will be a time to form new ideas, new projects, and to write.  But then I ask myself: "What if I'm not inspired?  What if I let winter creep in, and I miss all the colors?  What if I just watch my leaves fade, then fall?  What if I don't find anything to write about?  In my opinion, my best songs are those that are sparked with inspiration and finished with process.  Inspiration and Process. Meat and Bones.  I need both: if I try to write a song that is 100% inspired, then it lacks precision, form, structure, and clarity.  If I try to write a song that is solely from process, it can only ever be a representation of the real thing - a skeleton - no meat!  This is why I am keen for inspiration this fall.  I want to gather and reap and store away, so that in the winter months, I will have meat saved - I will have substance to put on the carefully crafted skeletons.  

I had a summer filled with music, performances, friends, family, and travel.  It was a time to be in bloom, to show off, to be brave, bold, rich, and colorful.  I released my first solo album in June, and I spent July and August performing the songs off of that album and many new songs.  I formed a band, and we rehearsed, wrote, explored, collaborated, disagreed, recorded, and lived together.  It was fruitful. 

Now that season has ended.  Now, I need to harvest the memories and ideas created in summer.  Now, I need to witness the beautiful changes around me and within me.  Now, I need to be willing to fall and to die, to loosen my grasp.  I sometimes try to squeeze a moment or a day or a person for all their worth - in attempts to get 'the most out of them' - but in so doing, I risk strangling the moment, the day, or the person.  Now, I need to prepare, watch, listen, wait, save, write, store-away.  Now, I need to change. 

The fall equinox is 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night.  This is a day and a season of 'in between'.  I want to learn how to work, create, and live in the 'in between' this autumn."

Anna

*Thank you to Kate for asking me to be a guest writer on your blog!

If you are interested in purchasing my recent album, Feel Better, it is available on iTunes (search Anna Paddock and/or Feel Better).  It is also available on cdbaby.com

For more information or to stay connected, visit:

www.annapaddock.com

www.facebook.com/annapaddockmusic for more information.