Get all 12 Barbara Martin releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Shining, Closer, Flying Free, A Matter of Time, Between White and Black, A Different View, Touch the Sky, Fresh Air, and 4 more.
1. |
Life Is for Living
00:22
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LIFE IS FOR LIVING
Hey now gonna look around me
Hey now there’s so much to see
Hey now life is for living
And I don’t want to miss a single thing
Sun comes in and the portable radio calls me up to meet the day
The blankets are heavy and the pillow is deep, so it takes a few minutes to get it straight
Here I am in my bed, my house, that’s my toe peeking out of the sheets
My arms reach up, my legs stretch down, here I am all in one piece
Chorus:
Hit the floor, I’m heading for the back door, out to see what I can see
Mom’s calling me in, I know I should go, but the world’s fascinating from the top of a tree
Look at a leaf fall, listen to a bird call, smell an apple blossoming
Whoop at the sky, let it know I’m here, right here where it’s happening
Chorus:
In the house Dad’s frowning at the world state, Mom is worrying about her weight
Sister’s glued to the telephone wondering if she’s got a Saturday date
They can’t see a leaf fall, they’ll never hear a bird call, they can’t smell an apple blossoming
Hey come on out, I wish you were here, right here where it’s happening
Chorus:
c 1993, Barbara Martin
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2. |
Ohio
04:21
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OHIO
Grey skies, dirty snow
My old boots full of holes
I feel the city streets so hard and cold
Go on up to Ohio they all said
Factory job’ll keep your family fed
But there’s no gold at this rainbow’s end
Ohio, Sarah I’ve got to go
I’ll buy you the pretty things you’ve wanted so long
Ohio, I’ll be back before you know
For Tennessee will always be my home
Pounding steel in those fiery pits
Saw two men die on the night shift
When they shouted strike I walked with all the rest
Now I’m standing in line, praying for work
Praying the union man won’t get word
But his promises couldn’t keep me warm
Chorus:
Sarah, don’t think I have forgotten
Being down by the creek with the dogs barking
Working the earth, sun on my back
Sitting down to supper in the old log shack
Came here proud, full of dreams
Those cold winds beat that out of me
Can’t make it here, but I can’t leave
Oh, Sarah, can you understand
These streets have made me less than a man
I can’t come back home with empty hands
Chorus:
Barbara Martin, 1993
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3. |
Talk to Me
03:18
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TALK TO ME
Dragging around, eyes to the ground, shrugging your shoulders and sighing
A permanent frown etched on your brow, pretending that everything’s fine
But that burden you carry is bringing you low
If it gets too heavy, why not let it go?
Talk to me, you can talk to me
Come in from the cold, lay down your load
And talk to me
The black cloud descends and you’re gone again, buried in hopelessness
Should I leave you alone in your exile of stone, or send out an SOS?
If you’re in there somewhere please give me a sign
For if you are sinking I could throw you a line
Chorus:
There isn’t a thing in the world could be so bad
That I wouldn’t listen to you and try to understand
Chorus:
c 1993, Barbara Martin
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4. |
Living in Luxury
04:05
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LIVING IN LUXURY
Electric bill is overdue, the phone is disconnected
There’s no money in my pockets and the checkbook’s in the red
They’ve cancelled all the credit cards and repossessed the Lincoln
But I just keep on smiling though the bank account is shrinking
The nickel and diming, flat-busted hard timing
All fade away when we turn out the lights
Taking what life brings, enjoying the finer things
We’re living in luxury tonight
Dinner is by candlelight, the choicest hot dogs in the store
Our silverware is plastic and our table is the floor
Sipping glasses of Kool Aid as we’re warmed by the glow
Of the flames that flicker softly from our old kitchen stove
Chorus:
I know it sounds funny
Don’t have any money
But I feel like I own the world
Friends look down there noses
Don’t keep up with the Joneses
But I know I’m a privileged girl
Chorus:
Barbara Martin c 1993
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5. |
Dissatisfied
02:42
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DISSATISFIED
Last night I was out on a date
Doing my best to keep a happy face
To tell the truth I was bored to tears
I need a man to keep me in high gear
I am a woman who’s dissatisfied
I’d rather live alone than swallow my pride
I don’t think my standards are too high
I’m just waiting for Mr. Right
He’s got to be unmaterialistic, but drive a new Saab
Be able to talk about his feeings, but be silent and strong
He’s got to read Gloria Steinhem, but pay for my dinner
Be completely uncompetitive, but always a winner
Chorus:
My friends all say you’re going to get left behind
Before you find someone to suit your finicky tastes
But that’s OK, ‘cause I’ve got time
And good things come to those who wait
Sometimes I’m ready to settle for less
But Mama always told me hold out for the best
But look what she did when the choice was hers
You know Dad’s not exactly Mr. Universe
Chorus:
c 1993, Barbara Martin
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6. |
Close Your Eyes
04:09
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CLOSE YOUR EYES
You’ve had a hard day little one, full of scrapes and bumps
Running after your brother Matthew trying to keep up
You came home crying ‘cause Matthew said you’re too young to play
You asked me why and I just sighed as I rocked you where you lay
Close your eyes and drift away
Tomorrow is another day
Let a gentle shoulder dry up all the tears you cried today
Life isn’t fair yes it’s true
I never wanted to say that to you
So close your eyes and let the night’s sweet darkness carry you away
Today you wanted to prove in the neighborhood you’re the best ball player in town
You swung with all your might, but that ball flew by and you tripped and hit the ground
I think your fallen pride was hurting you more than your scraped up knees
And you thought I wouldn’t understand but I know just how you feel
So I stroke your head as you lie there in bed safe inside your dreams
And I think of all that might befall you between six and seventeen
I can’t fight your fights, can’t make it right, no the best that I can do
Is show you the way and at the end of the day sing a lullaby to you
Chorus:
c 1993, Barbara Martin
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7. |
Mary
03:13
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MARY
Mary, it’s gone on for a long time now
He’s been hitting you almost every night, it’s just not gonna stop somehow
Mary, you’ve left him so many times before
And you swear this time will be the last, as you’re walking out the door
Mary, somehow he always tracks you down
So what you gonna do when he comes back around?
Mary, you know there’s gonna come a day
When your arms won’t want to reach for him and you’ll turn and walk away
But now he’s half way sober and he wants to come in
Promising it’ll never happen again
And he’s crying that he needs you
It’s so hard to bite the hand that feeds you
Oh, Mary
Mary, the answers are within your sight
You can live without fearing the coming of the night
Mary, it may seem funny at first
To let yourself start hoping for all that you deserve
But when you see your worth and you make your stand
You’ll find there’s more to love than the back of a hand
And that’ll finally free you
You’ll never go back, you don’t need to
Oh, Mary
c 1993, Barbara Martin
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8. |
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LOVE ARRIVES WHEN IT IS DUE
Looking through old photographs of lovers I once had
Some blew through like a summer storm and some just made me laugh
Drinkers, smokers, barroom jokers, you know I’ve had my share
Paying dues in the hard luck school of lousy love affairs
But now the circle’s come around
What was lost now is found
Full moon silver on the ground
Darling, you are living proof
Love arrives when it is due
Here’s one of me at seventeen, ready to enact
A steamy scene from a novel read behind my parents’ back
But one by one, the stars fell from my disillusioned eyes
And romance became a dirty word somewhere along the line
Chorus:
Oh, I can tell you some love war stories
Two-time Toms and no-count Harries
But each one was a lesson true
That brought me here to loving you
Chorus:
c 1993, Barbara Martin
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9. |
You Got to Know How
03:46
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10. |
Going Back to Perrytown
03:09
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GOING BACK TO PERRYTOWN
Going back to Perrytown
Not gonna let the past get me down
I’m not the same girl I used to be
I won’t live by a memory
Twenty years gone by, that’s a lot of time
I’ve grown stronger, learned how to draw the line
I used to let myself be pushed and pulled around
In another time back in Perrytown
Chorus:
Now I’m wondering why I want to return
To the place where I was broken, I was burned
I used to be so sure I’d lived it all down
What is there left to prove in Perrytown
Chorus:
Woke up this morning with a pounding in my head
The past is in the future, can’t pretend that is dead
But there’s no denying, I won’t be whole until I go
Chorus:
c 1993, Barbara Martin
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11. |
A Matter of Time
03:34
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A MATTER OF TIME
Never knew an empty room
Could be so crowded with reminders of you
Blue jeans and broken dreams that you left behind
In only a matter of time
Never knew the creaks in these old floors
Could sound just like you walking through my door
Someday I’ll stop waiting for what never will arrive
But it’s just a matter of time
Chorus:
A matter of time it crawls along at its own pace
And each day that passes leaves me in the same place
And I know I should get up and get on with my life
But it’s just a matter of time
Never knew how quickly love could change
From sweet words to a knife that turns pleasure to pain
And I swear I’ll never put my beat up heart back on the line
But I know it’s just a matter of time
Chorus:
c 2004, Barbara Martin
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12. |
Loving You
02:39
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LOVING YOU
Old man winter’s raising Cain today in Johnson County
Beneath the quilts and blankets your warm breath surrounds me
I wouldn’t be anywhere but here, as you draw me close and sigh
Oh, loving you, oh, loving you
I’ll put the coffee on if you build up the fire
One touch leads to a kiss rekindling our desire
We wind up laughing back in bed and breakfast is forgotten
Oh, loving you, oh, loving you
Been running on a fast track
Blinded to the treasures in this room
Now I’m gonna lay back
And rediscover loving you
Nature has her ways of bringing bounty with misfortune
Like a snowbound day to remind me what’s important
The gift I never want to take for granted for a minute
Oh, loving you, oh, loving you
Barbara Martin,
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Barbara Martin Waynesboro, Virginia
Jazz and blues singer-songwriter Barbara Martin is the real deal; a true renaissance woman in a genre prone to stereotypes and pigeon-holes. Barbara’s soulful voice and skillful songwriting combined with the ability to transition from chanteuse to girl-next-door to perceptive poet make her delightfully her own woman. ... more
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