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Standing Stones

by Marian Call

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Kamani
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Kamani Standing Stones is one of the best albums I have ever listened to. Every song on it is excellent, and some are just some of the best songs I’ve heard. I can’t even pick a favorite song between Bones, Independence, Hope, Vespers... really all of them. Just listen to it.
Thank you for releasing this incredible album.
Sarah Troedson
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Sarah Troedson Art is meant to make us feel. My favorite kind of art is transporting and transforming. It makes me feel like I'm part of something bigger, and that I matter, and that I can do great things. This album does all that and more for me. I love it. I've lost count of how many times I've played it. Favorite track: The Devil.
Kat S
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Kat S This is almost more of a song cycle than an album. While every song is beautiful, the whole is greater. It's beautiful, thoughtful, spiritual. Favorite track: Hope.
more... more...
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    The compact disc of 'Standing Stones' starts shipping May 16th, 2017. If you have ordered already your copy will be arriving soon!

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  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 21 Marian Call releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Glitter, Dammit, Swears!, Cuss!, Music from the Play 'Franklin' by Samantha Noble, Patreon Content! Patreontent., Standing Stones, Pure Imagination, Come On and Take Your Sweetie to the Stars, and 13 more. , and , .

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1.
Bones 04:04
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ LYRICS: My first language was rhythm a heartbeat not mine And my first meal was shared Blood and body bread and wine Lord, but we never saw No we never saw My first quest To leave home Bright and cold And my first test was to cry, was to cry And my bones and my And at the bones of it at the bones of it... (Spare me just a second to be sincere, for old time's sake; it seems the stakes are high, and I know we all brought somethin' to burn) (Spare me just a second to be sincere, for old time's sake; it seems the stakes are high) (Pray if you could spare us just a second to make things clear, we found these bones bewildered by the fire –) And the first law I learned was my own geography what is out what is in where you end I begin And my first waking words were to make a map of me eyes and ears, hands and toes hair in rows and the bones the bones the bones Oh, the bones I did not ask to bind, still soft, already strong And braced to stitch a story on (Braced to stitch a story on) And at the bones of it at the bones of it In the stones around the fire – (Oh I swear if you could spare us just a second to be right here, for pity's sake, we were not warned –) So Imagination took the hand Of Memory and chose a strand To sew/sow the Twelve Ages of Man In us again the something-billionth time A calendar along the spine A heart-clock pounding time A primer 'cross my palms and standing soldiers for my skin Physics at my fingertips, a fortress in my hips And feast days on the tongue And feast days on the tongue All fiery gifts for waking songs Fiery gifts and waking songs and oh (Start at the beginning and start sincere, for glory's sake, it seems the stakes are high, and I've got to choose which bridges to burn) (Pray if we could start at the beginning and wind up here (and who knows how) with kindling in our hands, and dawning causes for concern –) And at the bones of it at the bones of it In the stones around the fire And at the bones of it at the bones of it In the stones around the pyre the pyre We start and finish lonely The mo/urning moves in one direction only And my first quest Was to find out how it felt And my first test Was to speak For myself.
2.
No Paper 03:09
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ LYRICS: There is no paper big enough for what I'm going to draw today There are no letters tall enough for what I've got to got to say The margins are not mine, I run outside the lines I run Outside the lines I Run outside ​ Ba da da.... ​There is no paper big enough for what I'm going to draw today. ​Grass stains on your knees that's good that's good ​Dirt under your nails that's good that's good ​Paint all on my jeans all right all right ​Fall out of some trees you're all right all right all right I used to want a trademarked toy Now I only want more space​ I want a room with empty walls I want more bricks and paper please​ Look how tall I wrote my name how tall I wrote my Name how tall I wrote my name how Tall I wrote my Ba da da.... Oh ​I want a word that says it all I want I want more paper please Let's write ourselves a story 'cause the writers make the rules ​We'll need a starship and a cutlass and a key ​And I'll make a treasure map all codes and signs Twenty paces dotted lines And when all these paints are shaken up we'll make a new color And name it after us Oh there is no paper big enough for what I'm going to draw today Oh and there is no shouting loud enough To tell you what I've got to got to say Ba ba ba.... Oh there is no paper big enough for me No paper big enough for me Oh there is no paper big enough for me No paper big enough for me Oh there is no paper big enough for me No paper big enough for me
3.
Oregon Trail 04:28
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ LYRICS: And we set out in the springtime with our bindles and our boots And we reveled in our poverty, abandoning our roots A brand new path, adventurers All lonely bold and brave Breaking free and making do And telling tales of how we'd save ourselves 'Til everybody else we knew Had started on the journey too Then we were not phenomenal, no, we were not phenomenal We never were phenomenal, Just part of our whole generation's vague instinctive mass migration We were not exceptional, no we were not exceptional We never were exceptional We were longing longing longing though, And true We were dreaming that the world was dreaming too Ohhhh Surrendering exceptional to lighten up the load, We woke up one day to discover that the world was all a road The walls and chapters disappeared Around us And the World Was all a road Was all a road We bought some land out west Though nowhere seemed to feel like home And digging up the yard we found somebody else's bones Moment that the shovel hit, We bowed before the things we should have known For we were not the first ones here (Course we're not the first ones here) We never were the first ones here Just part of our whole generation's Childish frontier re-creation We were not adventurers No, we were not adventurers We never were adventurers We were longing longing longing and so lost We were barely what we needed, and it cost, ohhh We left our stolen settlement And did not much look back No more traveling songs or epic tales The road a fatal fact And the GPS, it misdirects, the travel stretches on With autumn setting in by now and winter just beyond And we have not found shelter yet, No, we have not found shelter yet – We've eaten what we meant to plant – And the twelve ages of man are circling hungry overhead – And grandmother would disapprove – We will make no more miles today.
4.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ LYRICS: We drew nine lines from east to west We drew nine from north to south And we stitched our names in concrete veins Through miles and miles and miles of ground The solid rock, it does not care If we scratch our names, if we scab and tear If we line and spine and grind it If we dare to try to sign it But we were here, yes, we were here Say the spirals and the runes / ruins Yes, we made beauty, it made sense Sometimes in our better moments We were wild and we were wrong And this is how our portrait's drawn So sculpt and sketch and sign your own All we leave are standing stones We scored the limestone just like so To map the stars' ascent To prove we understood the moon, We left circles where she went The triangle unlocked for us To Babel up our towers And then we wrangled fire and rocketeered Our sticks back to the stars Saying we were here, yes, we were here With the ciphers in the caves Yes, we made beauty, it made sense Once a lifetime, we were brave, oh We were wild and we were wrong And this is how our portrait's drawn So sculpt and sketch and sign your own All we leave are standing stones The stars have hardly time for us They'll scatter every sign of us But my path is mine and I'm drivin' dust As I find it find it find it As I dare to try to sign it But I am here, I am here That's all I can know I'll sing it spell it smash it, hell, it's What my soul is for But we were here, yes, we were here And this is how it went We made beauty, it made sense And we destroy and we repent because We were wild and we were wrong And this is how our judgment's drawn So sculpt and sketch and sign your own All we leave are standing stones All we leave are standing stones
5.
Hope 05:52
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ LYRICS: I pulled to the edge of the road, I got out, and I walked Hundreds of miles from a stoplight and rolling North Nothing in mind but escaping the fallout so hot And nothing to feel but the Labor Day sunshine so warm I don’t know how to move on, but September does ​One day after the other, and if it's just ​A little darker every day ​Well the leaves look happy falling, don't they Don't they But my hope is not light ​It is not frail, it is the anchor anchor ​My hope is not slight ​It’s not the sail, it is the anchor anchor, oh Friends formed a line over Christmas for coffee & ghosts To nail down the tragedy's lesson and swear and sigh They’re kind and they’re real but I'm a little relieved when they go 'Cause what they all want to give me they can't, Though I'm grateful they try ​I don’t know how to move on but my body does ​I’ll find the rhythms that I walked in once ​My hands make tea, my brow makes furrows ​My ankles cross, my shoulders worry for one ​And my lips say, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, mm-hmm mm-hmm mm-hmm But my hope is not light ​It is not frail, it is the anchor anchor ​My hope is not slight ​It’s not the sail, it is the anchor anchor, oh I took my first flight home to you on the Fourth of July With lightning a-riot above and fireworks below Oh, something possessed the Midwestern summer sky Thunder and sparklers, aurora and stars, and a red sub-Arctic sunrise My heart was in my eyes ​I don’t know how to move on But this airplane does You run real fast with your nose up and jump ​It does the work if I just let it ​I wonder if I've been struck by lightning yet ​Have I been struck by lightning yet? ​Have I been struck by lightning yet? Have I been struck by lightning yet? 'Cause my hope is not light ​It is not frail, it is the anchor anchor ​My hope is not slight ​It’s not the sail, it is the anchor, oh oh
6.
Like This 03:48
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ LYRICS: Baby let's go out tonight, I'll find the place that gets the best reviews Send me your criteria and I'll design the perfect night for you I've brought a limited set of regular expressions in your size So use these icons for your feelings So that I can more precisely empathize So engagement's optimized The resolution is so high in here Surround sound is so crisp and clear Just like in the montage where we met How it glows! And no one knows If we've felt our feelings yet If we've felt our feelings [cut] Am I having fun? Let me show you, here's a picture, that's the one It makes me look the way I hoped when I was young But am I having fun yet am I having fun yet Am I I imagined me like this, I imagined me like this Come here where we're nicely lit and Take a picture while we kiss and I imagined me like this, I imagined me like this Come here where we're nicely lit and Gimme proof that we exist We'll – Take a romantic walk and rate the passers-by, comparing notes (Take a picture, come on take a picture) And if the conversation has some dull bits we can punch it up in post Sharing wishlists of our wants (We've long since conquered all our basic needs) Oh and what a thrill to act like grownups do In movies and TV and magazines This looks kinda like my dreams My favorites are all trending and the playlist's neverending So let's drink and dance til we're dizzy dizzy Is it midnight yet? Is it midnight yet? Is it midnight yet? This is fun I bet Have I done this yet Have I won this yet Have we done this yet Am I am I am I am I Am I having fun? Let me show you, here's a picture, that's the one It makes me look the way I hoped when I was young But am I having am I having having Didja think that I was having does it look like does it look like Fun This looks like what I always wanted to become I've got to capture all my minutes til they're done 'Cause am I am I having fun yet am I having fun yet am I having fun yet am I having fun yet am I I imagined me like this, I imagined me like this Come here where we're nicely lit and Take a picture while we kiss and I imagined me like this, I imagined me like this I am where the party is I Think I blinked, I think I missed it I imagine me like this, I imagine me like this I am where the party is I Think I blinked, I think I missed it I imagine me like this, I imagine me like this I am where the party is I Didja catch it, I existed I imagine me like this, I imagine me like this
7.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ LYRICS: It was a mediocre algorithmic first date Our opinions were the same enough for tea He brought a story for me, Said he got it custom made He asked if I could try on The role he had his eye on ​And he was nice So I was game ​As I struggled to remember his last name ​I'm treading time time time and wasting miles ​It might be nice to have a path to walk awhile It might be nice to have a path to walk awhile It was a mediocre too-familiar Story It was all rivets, hinges, buckles, bolts and straps It was heavy gilded armor I held my breath to fit Lovely but immobile, it pinched my skin all over But he was nice So I was game ​It was much too small for me, but if I work at it, maybe ​I stepped into his fairy tale and I acted nonchalant ​Thinking "I am just the crosshairs between you and what you want" Thinking I am just the crosshairs And it was fit for a princess, it was fit for a princess He spared no expenses, ho oh It was fit for a princess all fit for a prince's investment, ho oh And in time she grew tired of castles and courtiers and cross-stitch and croquet And she nodded her head and she looked at her hands And agreed and agreed and agreed with him And agreed and agreed and agreed and agreed Oh, and he loved how he loved how he loved her And never looked under her armor again But he was nice So I was game ​As I thought, I might have written so much of this story the same Oh -- there was a part of this I wanted so much for so long ​But when it isn't your story, when it isn't your song ​When it isn't your story when it isn't your song When ​it isn't your story when it isn't your song ​When it isn't your story when it isn't your song ​even the good bits fit all wrong.
8.
Independence 04:31
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ LYRICS: Curl up on the concourse floor This is how your body feels This is what your shoulder's for No illusions anymore This is what your lessons meant The action and its consequent, oh ​You found a patch to call your own, but ​You cannot raise a barn alone You cannot raise a barn alone ​And I curse the burden made you think you should ​And I curse the blind spot made you think you did The frontier lives on in the dreams of certain men All thinking themselves heroes, all wild-eyed to defend The right to never make a village square The right to never lay a brick for someone else's sake, oh oh ​You found a field to claim to own, but ​You cannot raise a barn alone, no You cannot raise a barn alone alone alone ​[ And the road asked us, who will share the load? ​And we all said not me not me not me "​Our hands are full with all we've bought, ​we cannot carry more," we told the road So the road asked, then who will do without? ​And we all said, not me not me not me "​I've worked so hard, I don't ask much, ​I need just what I need," we told the road So the road asked, then who will pay the price? ​And we all said, not me not me not me "Make it someone far away Make it someone we can't see Charge the people we don't know" We told the road -- ] aiah oh oh You fought and scrapped and earned your own, but You cannot raise a barn alone You cannot raise a barn alone alone alone Shove until you shatter Shoulder to the wheel 'Cause Independence is a myth But loneliness is real. And I curse the burden made you think you should And I curse the blind spot made you think you did
9.
Vespers 06:51
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ LYRICS: It was a holy smokes sunset I found myself on my way to the shore In a crowd of silent strangers staring westward To plead, praise, and mourn A girl gets good at losing things And I have lost them all before Nothing for it but to name them to the sun, one by one, I'm done keeping score In the last light, my scars all bear witness to what I've lived through And I dreamed up another tattoo​ (Learning things that we already knew) Yeah, I dreamed up a brand new tattoo ​Oh, you know the old stories, you know how it goes: ​The gift is the curse is the gift is the curse and My binaries break in the dark after dusk, ​so I’m done running from what was hard and what hurt ​So our suffering wrote us a song ​So our bravery broke all our bones ​So the sunset is killer tonight -- ​The sky laughs as it tells us we're done ​And it's no No surprise, no surprise, no surprise... ​No surprise, no surprise, no surprise ​No surprise, no surprise, no surprise In my garden twelve columns stretch skyward They were pedestals not long ago Where my youthful ideals and precarious idols did go But with ropes and resignation I tore all the tyrants down They were poor substitutes for heroes and hope anyhow (Nothin' to do but know we were wrong Nothin' to see but a sky without storms Nothin' to hear but the space where there should've been songs) They thanked me, my statues They wandered off, fractured but free They could not hold my meaning for me They could not hold my meaning for me ​So our suffering wrote us a song ​So our bravery broke all our bones ​So the sunset is killer tonight -- ​The light laughs as it leaves us alone ​And it's no No surprise, no surprise, no surprise... ​No surprise, no surprise, no surprise ​No surprise, no surprise, no surprise (Now we got nothin' to do but sit here and know We were wrong, and know we were wrong Now we got nothin' to hear but the space where there Should've been songs, should've been songs) So your victory came at a cost So to find yourself got you so lost Holding tight made it slip through your grasp The storm drove you to shelter at last ​So our suffering wrote us a song ​So our bravery broke all our bones So our scars map our fight to survive Empty hands help you find your way home Empty hands help you find your way home Empty hands help you find your way home
10.
The Devil 04:12
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ LYRICS: Ooh and after dark Ooh the inquisition stars (I dreamed a fire pit and a funeral last I slept) The devil the devil is in my kitchen again and I never know never know what to say to him I put the kettle on and yawn and yawn and wait He always makes his nightly rounds and I know I know to expect him now / He comes around at half past one every night since I was young I put the kettle on, it's on, it's on, I wait And my mother always wondering why I'm up so late... So if the kitchen light's on late tonight, Don't mind me, I've got company again Skip the song and dance, I know the drill My thoughts go where they always will I visit the crossroads every night And I hold on tight, and I hold on tight Because the calendar stutters and oh the weather portends 'Cause there's a crack in the wall between all our means and our ends Because the kitchen light hums and the kettle says Amen, amen, amen (Amen, amen, amen) Oh if the kitchen light's on late tonight, Don't bother, don't bother I got company again, but I'll eventually turn in... If the kitchen light's on late tonight Don't mind me (Ooh and when the lights go out --) I came up lucky to lucky without scars so I made some Took a blade to a blade to all the parts that I hate some Gave it up long ago, but at night Still I hold on tight, still I hold on tight 'Cause the stuff I cut off shares a table with me From a quarter to one until a quarter past three Like to settle some score, but we've done this before And I don't barter anymore: ​You cannot intimidate me Fear is my old friend ​We dated for awhile And she still calls me now and then ​I've gone all the way with Fear and back, You don't know what I've seen And without her on your side, You cannot turn me against me again Oh if the kitchen light's on late tonight, Don't bother, don't bother Oh I got company all right, but I know, I'll hold on tight, I'll hold on tight I / I / I don't barter, I don't barter I'll heat the kettle one more time and I'll be fine. Devil the Devil is in the kitchen again and I never know never know what to say to him I put the kettle on --
11.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ LYRICS: Grandpa had it right – oh so much depends upon The weather and the price of gas, the bills the politicians pass, oh Grandpa had it right – every morning up at dawn, Eighty-one in old San Juan and ten cents cheaper a little down the road Grandma had it right – oh so much depends upon Symmetry and knowing names, on picture books and rhyming games Grandma had it right – ghosts to scare the sleepless child Storytime with wolves and wilds that ends with fewer answers than we want ​And at the bones of it, at the bones of it, in the stones around the fire ​We recount our secret histories one by one ​With no altars anymore, we come to the embers for to confess ​'Cause beggar, banker, king, and pawn, ​We're only bones with stories on My counselor had it right – sleeping out under the stars Children shivering and scared, refuging in truth or dare My counselor had it right – far from our pretending screens All that's left is what things mean and what we whisper when the lights are out Lord, but we never saw stars like that, no we never saw, never saw Stars like stars like that No we never saw stars like that before, should've fall should've fall should've Lord, but I never saw stars like that, no I never saw, never saw Stars like stars like that No I never saw stars like that before, should have Fallen on my knees And hey hey hey – you know, I like you this way All overawed and out of breath And saying what you mean ​'Cause I was born for this, I was born for this, I've been ready all my life ​To chance on some enchanted secret door ​To a kingdom new and wild, To my wonder as a child, And now here you are -- ​Each of us around the flames ​A universe that knows itself by name ​And at the bones of it, in the stones around the fire ​Our voices will be all we leave behind ​Not a one of us can stay, but it keeps the night at bay, It keeps us warm ​We wake, we witness, and we're gone ​We're only bones with stories on Beggar banker king and pawn ​We're only bones with stories on ​Taking turns to watch for dawn ​We're only bones with stories on ​Pretty but don't last for long ​We're only bones with stories on ​Beggar banker king and pawn ​We're only bones with stories on And Lord, but I never saw stars like that before...

about

Marian Call's tenth record, capping her first decade of recording -- 2007 through 2017. Listen carefully, and in order.

More about Marian at mariancall.com; inquiries: marian@mariancall.com.

credits

released February 24, 2017

Marian Call, keyboards, percussion, vocals
Bryan Ray, guitars, keyboards, banjo, saxophone, percussion
Scott Barkan, guitars
Kyle Robarge, bass
Stephen Bidwell, drums & percussion
Ellen Kilcup, cello
Poppa Diggity, harmonica
Her Majesty Laura Zahasky, mandolin
Joseph Woullard, baritone saxophone
Derek Phelps, trumpet
Mobley, vocals
Molly Lewis, vocals
Seth Boyer, vocals
Bryan O'Flynn, DMX drum machine
Colter Lemons, percussion
Zippy, percussion
The Donors' Circle, claps and vocals

Engineered by Nick Joswick at Sixth Street Studios in Austin, TX
Austin Kirk, assistant
also by Sebastian Cure at The White Room in Austin, TX
and by Bryan Ray at Boogie Wonderland in Austin, TX
and by Marian Call in Seattle, WA, Anchorage, AK, and Juneau, AK

All songs composed and arranged by Marian Call
Produced and edited by Bryan Ray and Marian Call
Mixed by Bryan Ray
Mastered by Erik Wofford at Cacophony Recorders in Austin, TX

Album art illustrations by Karen Luke Fildes, karenlukefildes.com
Design and layout by Marian Call


Special thanks to:

Patrick Race // Bryan Ray // Karen Luke Fildes & Poppa Diggity // David, Kaitlyn, Tora, & Zoe // Paul & Kathryn Pew // Todd & Ellen Kilcup // Ron & Marilyn Thompson // Seth Boyer // Staci Lammering // Marian & Arjan // Carol & Amy, for the Grandmother Clock

You cannot raise a barn alone. Deep and endless gratitude to my Kickstarter backers and the Donors' Circle.

Dedicated to Ron & Marilyn Thompson, heralds of optimism, fully in love with the world.
And to the ember-bright memory of Wendell & Lois Pew, who taught me to rest and to rhyme.

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Marian Call Alaska

Marian Call has things to say. She sounds a little like Ingrid Michaelson meets They Might Be Giants & Regina Spektor for bourbon & laughs, which sounds improbable, but give it a try. She hails from Alaska and tours North America and Europe, and she lives on Twitter. Her songs are quirky, sharp, surprising confections in every genre full of rich dark carmelized sugar, savor, & spice. ... more

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