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Between White and Black

by Barbara Martin

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  • Full Digital Discography

    12
    releases

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    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. , and , .

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1.
Common Everyday 02:49
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COMMON EVERYDAY Fall out of bed to find my clothes on the floor from the night before Dig through a mountain of laundry to find a shirt I can wear once more Trip in the dark because I forgot to put in a new light There’s no toothpaste left, just can’t get it to roll up any tighter Chorus: Oh, save me from these boring details Dirty dishes, missing socks and letters to be mailed If I only go around once it’s a shame To live life in this common everyday The faucet is dripping, the door is sticking and so are the windows The milk is sour, the bread is stale and I’m our of Cheerios I could get out the ladder, get out the tools, go to the grocery store Or pretend this mess does not exist and sail right out the door Chorus: Oh, if life was only more like that fabled bowl of cherries I wouldn’t waste my time with all those chores so dreary I’d have a gourmet chef, a maintenance crew and a private secretary Chorus: c 1996, Barbara Martin
2.
Between White and Black 04:22
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BETWEEN WHITE AND BLACK I used to walk down a narrow road with my eyes fixed straight ahead Only seeing what I was taught to see Never ventured beyond the lines that were drawn and I made my bed In the house that my father built for me I used to see black or white, high or low, wrong or right It used to be us or them, either stand with me or stand against Now I see the world is round not flat With a million colors between white and black I turned away from what didn’t fit, thought nothing worthy could exist Outside my world so carefully designed To keep out anything alien, anyone different Who threatened my fragile piece of mind Chorus: But when the enemy has a face Black and white become shades of grey What was once written in stone Crumbles when the feared becomes the known I stood confused and unsure, but I took the key unlocked the door And let the world rush in like a tidal wave All the sights and sounds and faces and words that didn’t fit before Found room in my newborn state of grace Chorus: c 1996, Barbara Martin
3.
Part of My Plan 04:16
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PART OF MY PLAN Uncovered your photograph in the bottom drawer tonight If I kept you out of sight I thought I’d keep you out of mind But you know that old trick never really works ‘Cause I think about you every day and every time it hurts Part of my plan, you were part of my plan And I don’t know when I’ll understand Why you’re no longer part of my plan When my wheels were sinking deepest in my duty bound rut You came along and trashed my deadlines with a six pack of Bud A master of irreverence with your off color jokes The first one to the party and the last one to go home Chorus: We had tickets to the baseball game You were gonna beat me in the two mile race Who’s gonna drag me out of bed To go running in the park half dead And I never got to tease you ‘Bout those girlie mags you were always reading And I wonder if you ever knew How much I’d be missing you ‘Cause you were part of my plan Guess I should have seen through that twisted smile on your face I didn’t taste your bitterness, I couldn’t feel your pain And I know it’s just a mystery I’m supposed to accept But I’m not ready for you to be gone, no, not just yet Chorus: c 1996, Barbara Martin
4.
The Almighty Bottom Line 03:28
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ALMIGHTY BOTTOM LINE Dow Jones net worth, Nelson poll network French cut thigh high, makes you want to buy, buy Thick and creamy chocolate flavor Lowest common denominator Can’t you hear me cry? The almighty bottom line You got to be young, be hip, be happenin’ Drink a lot of beer but stay cover girl thin With sex appeal seeping from every pore A shrink-wrapped commodity down to the core If you want to worship at the shrine Of the almighty bottom line Ain’t no room for experiments Just give ‘em what they want, they’ll take what they can get ‘Cause the secret of true happiness Can be found inside a TV set Just once chance, that’s all you’ll get To walk that rope and there ain’t no net Better have your demographics down for sure Or you’ll wind up on that cutting room floor But there ain’t no use to whine About the almighty bottom line There’s only one question to be asked Does it make a lot of money, real fast Anything else is extraneous Art and ethics and all that stuff So if you want to make to the big time Just keep this golden rule in mind Give unto others what’s already been done And you will secure your place in the sun Riding on a dollar sign To the almighty bottom line c 1996, Barbara Martin
5.
Worthy of Love 02:47
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WORTHY OF LOVE Mama told her to sit up straight Never raise your voice, always know your place Speak when you’re spoken to, put a smile on your face And you might be a lady some day And she wanted to be worthy of love So she tried to be the girl her mama dreamed of Pretty as a picture, oh, so sweet Everything anyone could want her to be If she wore that new pink sweater She knew he’d look at her if her hair was better If she laughed and flirted like she didn’t care at all He might carry her books down the hall Chorus: Piece by piece she gave herself away She thought that was the price she had to pay Twenty years later marriage on the rocks She’d look back and wonder how that girl got lost The one who always wanted to run wild and free The girl who never got a chance to just be Chorus: Barbara Martin, c 1996
6.
Sister 05:01
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SISTER Sister, I need a place to hide I was stumbling along in the dark when I saw your light Sister, I need a little time To lay down in silence and see what I can find Sister, got lost a few miles back Somehow I made a wrong turn at the crossroads and got off track sister, I’m not shivering ‘cause it’s cold I’m just afraid I can’t remember where I was trying to go All I know is when I started I held my head high The way was clear, my destination was insight Then the fog rolled in and blinded my view And the road was blocked so I took a detour Sister, is this my journey’s end Or a pause to lick my wounds, a place to mend Sister, I’m not asking for the truth Just a hand to hold me up and help me make it through All I know is once I’d walk for miles and never run out of breath Eyes full of fire, burning to be put to the test But now it’s all I can do to take another step And cross your threshold to take me rest c 1996, Barbara Martin
7.
It's Raining in Los Angeles 03:51
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IT’S RAINING IN LOS ANGELES Hope it’s not too late, just called to see if things were OK How’s the weather there? Any sign this dry spell might break? Here the sun’s been burning hot and clear and the grass has turned brown and bare But tonight the clouds came rolling in and there’s thunder in the air Chorus: It’s raining in Los Angeles Is it raining in Tennessee? The roses might be withered on the vine But they could still survive With this sweet water to drink It’s raining in Los Angeles Even in this land of stone, I haven’t forgotten how a garden grows It needs a rainstorms and hand to pull away the thorns I know a voice on the telephone can’t make a house into a home ‘Cause the strongest heart wil weaken if left thirsty and alone Chorus: Hitch a ride on a rain cloud, only thing for me to do Blow across the Rockies and the plains and rain down upon you Chorus: c 1996, Barbara Martin
8.
I'm an Old Woman 03:47
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I’M AN OLD WOMAN I’m an old woman, but I’ve got experience I’m an old woman, but I’ve got experience And there ain’t no way I’d ever be a young woman again I’m an old woman, but I know just what I want I’m an old woman, but I know just what I want ‘Cause I’ve had a lot of years to figure out just what I don’t No more a slave to fashion & the latest cockeyed trend No more starvation diets to get rid of my rear end No more bowing to the altar of the stylish and the chic I’m out of the in crowd and freedom tastes sweet I’m an old woman, but I’ve got experience I’m an old woman, but I’ve got experience And there ain’t no way I’d ever be a young woman again I’m an old woman, don’t care what people say I’m an old woman, don’t care what people say You can take me as I am or go on about your way No more the desperate victim of adolescent angst No more the tragic heroine of broken heart romance No more suicidal rebounds from fire to frying pan If I can’t live with him, I can live without a man I’m an old woman, but I’ve got experience I’m an old woman, but I’ve got experience And there ain’t no way I’d ever be a young woman again Thank God I’m older now I know better I’ve got my own life, I ain’t nobody’s debtor And there ain’t no way I’d ever be a young woman again c 1996, Barbara Martin
9.
The Old Troubador 05:07
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OLD TROUBADOR Sat sipping a cold one in a bar after work when a bum stumbled in wearing a stained cowboy shirt With sequins and fringe that hung tarnished and worn And a ten gallon hat all caved in and torn I turned away quickly so our eyes wouldn’t meet Silently praying he wouldnot sit by me But he headed straight toward me, sank down on the stool And started talking like old codgers will do Chorus: About his days on the circuit with Johnny and Elvis The shows that they played from Mobile to Memphis He brought tears to their eyes, he kept them out on the floor Is thre any place left for an old troubador? He played all the juke joints, hand to mouth, through the years Till the bookings dried up and old friends disappeared Tehn he took his old Gibson to the pawnshop next door And a handful of dollars was all he had to show He finished his sotry and offered a toast The whole room fell quiet, his ragged voice rose He sang about living and what it can cost Riding high on the glory, falling hard when it’s lost Chorus: c 1996, Barbara Martin
10.
The Great Escape 03:50
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THE GREAT ESCAPE Work deadlines, overtime, payments overdue Wish I could play hooky the way I did in school Toss the alarm clock out the window, unplug the telephone Take the worry and the hurry, put it all on hold And dance until the dawn breaks, paint the town a flaming red Howl at the moon, sleep until noon, completely lose my head Laugh like there’s no tomorrow, declare a holiday For just one night forget about life and make the great escape I’ve been walking the straight and narrow, doing what I should Playing it safe, looking both ways, being much too good But there’s a devil daring me, go out and misbehave Time is short, don’t hesitate, take all the joy you crave Chorus: Baby, get up off that couch, turn off that TV We can make it out of here, come on, I’ve got the keys Let’s dance until the dawn breaks, paint the town a flaming red Howl at the moon, sleep until noon, completely lose our heads Laugh like there’s no tomorrow, declare a holiday For just one night forget about life and make the great escape Barbara Martin, c 2000
11.
Slipping Away 03:55
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SLIPPING AWAY The days are tumbling down like dominoes The blush on the hollyhock, the firefly’s glow Are slipping away Barefoot mornings when the dew jewels shine Sucking the sweetness from a honeysuckle vine Slipping away Slipping away, summer come back again I miss your warm breath against my skin You pass through each year, but you never stay When the cold winds blow, summer, you’re slipping away Afternoons drifting through your soft scented haze Searching for the sapphire in the Queen Anne’s lace Slipping away Nights lying under your starry canopy Listening to the lullably the meadowlark sings Slipping away Chorus: You laid a banquet at my feet Invited me to taste your fruit so sweet But I took your for granted and now you’re gone Won’t you call to me again with your siren’s song Chorus: c 1996, Barbara Martin

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released July 25, 2022

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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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