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Quarantine Kitchen

by Jim Ballard

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1.
Whichever Way The Wind Blows 03:24
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Whichever Way The Wind Blows The story that you tell part of the lore I guess Doesn't ring a bell wasn't any more or less Than I'd expect to hear breathin' in my ear Echo in the street Tanglin' in my feet Foggin up my mirror Whichever way the wind blows whichever way the grass grows Standin' at the window thinkin' only god knows Whichever way the wind blows I got it from the start carried it around and then Took it to the heart brought it back around again Stashed it in a place so I wouldn't see its face Mirrored in the glass Offered up at Mass Fallin' outta grace Whichever way the wind blows whichever way the grass grows Standin' at the window thinkin' only god knows Whichever way the wind blows You tell me this you tell me that Could I be missin' this tit for tat I turn my head I thought you said Guess I misread tea leaves and.... Mandalas and charts Palms and fortunes, hearts Broken like a string An angel with her wings Grounded from the start... So it goes my dear all remains unclear Echo in the street tangled in my feet Fallin' thru my mirror Whichever way the wind blows whichever way the grass grows Standin' at the window thinkin' only god knows Whichever way the wind blows
2.
City With No Walls 05:38
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City With No Walls ©2020 Jim Ballard I've seen bagmen under bridges where the campfire girls make their deals Where the taxis take no riders and the angels ain't got no wheels And in the smokey hours of twilight frownin I hear my name called and I look down and see my boots kick the concrete curbside stalls Where the city's got no walls Now the dancin eyed hobos their pockets full of promises Find the answer to their hunger in the cloud covered emptiness They know it ain't no use to keep the doorman waiting Can smell the rain, they know its gettin' late 'n' The wind is gatherin prowlin dancin howlin thru the halls Where the city's got no walls In the shadow of the canyons in the alleys where the sun comes up blue Written in the overcast sleep the ones who keep falling through Till it hangs in the sky by gossamer webs Morning to night it flows and it ebbs And its warm then its gone, then its gone and thats all Where the city's got no walls Then the sloe eyed drummer taps off eight to the crowd's delight His brushes and his digits beating wild in the black hole night And he wakes to the dancers gathered all 'round Swaying out of time to the steam grate sound Of the souls and the heels and the underground waterfalls Where the city's got no walls Now the blind man stumbles in the stairway as he taps his cane He hears footsteps up above him in the dark and dusty subterrain And the doorway has dreamers, days spent in dives Who's treasures are the flotsam of all the other lives Who's ironbound pillow carries no dreams at all The famous Gypsy Wire Walker starts his journey in the evening air He works without a net as the crowd is gathering in the square He knows he's rollin' it all on this one trick He ain't ever had a fall but now he's starin at the bricks And all the faces passin by him down below him all begin to call Where the city's got no walls Now the girls by the fire and the hobos starin at the flames Got one eye on the doorman as the taxi driver's takin names The drummer's rollin cadence in the alleyway The crowd in the square has all drifted away And they've taken down the wires from the buildings that once were so tall Where the city's got no walls
3.
Bones Of The Boulevard 02:46
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Bones Of The Boulevard © Jim Ballard 2018 On the pavement where the sidewalk starts In the doorway of a thousand hearts The stories and the mem’ries still linger on Somethin’ that you just can’t put your finger on The pulse in the veins of the bones of the boulevard There are footsteps like ghosts in the wind And the whisperin’ like voices of your kin watchin from the rooftops watchin from the street While the underground rises to the bottoms of your feet Don’t have to look too hard to find the bones of the boulevard And its human hearts dreams and hope Mortar and brick and steel and rope And its stone on stone on stone on the bones Bones of the boulevard If the threadbare shopworn walls could tell All the stories and the lives that they know so well People in the trolleys and the curbside crawl The singers and the drummers in the music hall Gonna roll it all On the bones of the boulevard
4.
Ask John Steinbeck 04:50
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Ask John Steinbeck © Jim Ballard 2017 Turtle. Two lane. Makin his way Just tryin' to get where he's goin' Sun up. Risin Start of a day Red shadows are glowin Head turned nose up smellin the air Tryin' to tell what is comin Rumble in the distance far off somewhere Two engines are gunnin One swerves to hit him, one swerves to miss Ain't that the way that it goes Pieces of silver all from a kiss Just ask John Steinbeck. He knows.... Kid down playground little and thin Just tryin' to get where he's goin' Head up eyes down checkin' the wind Which way is it blowin ? Steps off curbside into the street Cycles on the horizon Both directions feelin the heat Now he's got both his eyes on One swerves to hit him, one swerves to miss Ain't that the way that it goes Pieces of silver all from a kiss Just ask John Steinbeck. He knows…. Family walkin out on the street Just tryin' to get where they're goin' No one talking, not much to eat Hard row to be goin' Move left move right move anywhere Just never get any nearer Heads turn eyes look every which way Ah, but not in the mirror One turns to help 'em, one turns away Ain't that the way that it goes Pieces of silver get in the way Just ask John Steinbeck. He knows From Okema to Cannery Row Just Ask John Steinbeck He knows He Knows
5.
The Bells Of Saint Mary's 04:43
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The Bells Of Saint Mary’s © Jim Ballard 2016 Kickin a can down Washington street Stealin my old man's smokes Tryin' to steer clear of old Crazy Karl So we don't have to laugh at his jokes That ain’t all that funny plus he’ll take our money And lose it all in some corner game So we cut through the park past the tramps in the dark Who ain't got a dime to their name And the bells of Saint Mary's are ringing like a mother's voice calling you home And the bells of Saint Mary's are ringing Throw a stone Throw a stone Now Billy and me wanted just to get free Of the corners and the cops and the kings Who ran all the games Who knew all the names Who seemed to own most everything Except for the packs we had on our backs And the medals we tossed in a drawer And when I returned with the stories I learned Billy didn't come home no more And the bells of Saint Mary's are ringing like a mother's voice calling you home And the bells of Saint Mary's are ringing Throw a stone Throw a stone Kicking a can through the old neighborhood Where Washington street used to be Till the freeway came through cut the city in two Split up old Billy and me And now there's no takers to cross Hell's Half Acre And breathe in the fire we all knew So the silence is still from this campanile Where the voices of angels rang true And the bells of Saint Mary's are ringing like a mother's voice calling you home Yeh the bells of Saint Mary's are ringing Throw a stone Throw a stone
6.
Love Run Out 03:19
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Love Run Out ©Jim Ballard 2019 Sweet sister Mary was no ordinary one she knew the way of the world Dark eyed and curly she found out early to never fly feelings unfurled A perfectly modern girl But I know the truth babe, you lie through every tooth babe I ain't no Babe Ruth babe but I can hit home Don't let your love run out You have to scream and shout Don't let your love run out Run out on you Walks in her summer dress queen in her game of chess makes every move with her head she don't let her heart get mixed Up in nobody's tricks, she don't take chances, instead... believes everything that she's read I see the light babe and it just ain't right babe That every night babe, it shines alone Don't let your love run out You have to scream and shout Don't let your love run out Run out on you Sweet sister Mary, she's no missionary, she don't carry nobody's word She's got herself to feed, nobody else can lead her to believe what she's heard Chained to the sky like a bird Don't let your love run out You have to scream and shout Don't let your love run out Run out on you
7.
Hear The Rising Wind 03:08
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Hear The Rising Wind ©Jim Ballard 1977, 2011 (Tent City...Kent State, 1977) Hear the rising wind across the hill If it weren’t for him i’d be there still But you can laugh and cry and sing your song There may be nobody near you But if you laugh and cry and sing your song Somebody’s gonna hear you All the paper houses in the wind Waitin for the hard rain to begin All the weary children in the rain Never meant to have this kinda pain But you can laugh and cry and sing your song There may be nobody near you But if you laugh and cry and sing your song Somebody’s gonna hear you Are you there? Hold your candle to the night Let your lovin eyes drink in the light Hear the rising wind across the hill If it weren’t for him i’d be there still... But you can laugh and cry and sing your song There may be nobody near you But if you laugh and cry and sing your song Somebody’s gonna hear you Somebody’s gonna hear you Somebody’s gonna hear you
8.
Midnight On Main Street 04:19
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Midnight On Main Street © Jim Ballard 1982, 2018 On the rainsoaked ransacked hardpacked street where the steamin stone sidewalk pounds hard against your feet and the words of love lie forever in concrete and a thousand different sounds all make one drivin beat In the oilcan blackness in the neon glare where the buses crawl by leavin diesel in the air and the ladies on the corner make you stop and stare its alright its alright its alright there Its midnight on main street gotta sing it right gotta play it sweet its midnight on main street midnight midnight Now the king’s cruisin losin everything on four wheels the joker is a smoker and the queen isn’t real the jack and his smack says he’s ready to deal while the sidewalk saviour’s bout to help you to heal And Whiskey Dick the Fatman is glad to take your bet you can get rich quick but you ain’t rich yet and a handful o wishes boy is all that you get when you’re clean outta jack he won’t let you forget Its midnight on main street gotta sing it right gotta play it sweet its midnight on main street midnight midnight Now the vacant lot ladies in the backroom bars cling to the tails of the sidewalk stars the saxophone sounds on the car radio and the dragsters wait for the greenlight go they explode in the night like a magnum ’45 you gotta move fast if you wanna survive Sally’s in the alley and she’s dressed for killin lookin for young Johnny who’s ready and willin he’s leavin in the mornin goin back to oil drillin but tonight he’s breakin all the hearts like a B movie villain And the Chubby Kid walks with a pistol on his hip he knows where its at but he don’t let it slip gettin lost in the crowded sea on the concrete strip till the dawn breaks water like the prow of a ship Its midnight on main street gotta sing it right gotta play it sweet its midnight on main street midnight midnight
9.
I'm Gonna Run 02:46
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I'm Gonna Run ©Jim Ballard 2013 Whoever you are wherever you go Don't matter, near or far I just want you to know That maybe you'll knock me down in the street But you're never gonna stop me 'cause I'll get back on my feet On my feet..... And I'm gonna run I'm gonna run Don't matter what you've done You have not won I'm gonna run Whoever you be wherever you go Just listen to me 'cause I want you to know that you will never take these precious things from me While you live in the shadows I will be free I will be free And I'm gonna run, I'm gonna run You're just an army of one you don't know what you've begun I'm gonna run Yes, and I will never lie down so listen very well You'll hear the sound..... ...of my footsteps wherever you go Don't matter near or far I just want you to know And I'm gonna run I'm gonna run Don't matter what you've done You have not won I'm gonna run And I'm gonna run, I'm gonna run You're just an army of one you don't know what you've begun I'm gonna run
10.
Daddy's Little Girl 05:22
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Daddy's Little Girl ©Jim Ballard 2018 Janie got a seat on the crosstown took it to the second stop Papers blowin' round in the dirty town she steps down to the walk Looks up at the clock by the drive in teller knows she's a little bit late Still time to turn back, it ain't that white and black but she's outta money and she's outta state She's daddy's little girl in a grown up world outta sight and goin' outta her mind and runnin runnin outta time Never ate a bite at the restaurant shredded napkin and a tip left behind No appetite, never slept all night down to the wire still ain't made up her mind Its hard sometimes walkin a lonely line where no side is sellin' alibis Its a lonely choice when the only voice you can hear, you don't recognize She's daddy's little girl in a grown up world outta sight and goin' outta her mind and runnin runnin outta time Two hearts beat in the noon day heat two hands can't help but shake Two minute ride ain't no time to decide if it's give or if it's take Spins on her heel and walks up straight feelin' like just one grain of sand Against the wind will she think she's sinned once this cup passes from her hand Like a soldier in the fire of a battlefield like a sailor starin' down a typhoon Nothin' can replace comin' face to face with your demons in the hour of high noon So don't you swear no oaths don't you shed no tears don't you be the one out flingin' stones 'Cause there but for the close of a door its you who'd be under the gun She's daddy's little girl in a grown up world outta sight and goin' outta her mind and runnin… runnin outta time
11.
Well Well Well 04:29
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Well, Well, Well ©Jim Ballard 1989 2012 Well Well Well Did it come around Did it take you by surprise open up your eyes pin you to the ground Well Well Well Did the wire snap Did the mirror break did the sudden earthquake shake you from your nap Ah, well Well Well Well Well Well Well So the ground’s been laid And the die is cast and the lines stand fast The piper’s been paid Well Well Well Is there no last chance No lesson learned no stone unturned No time for the dance Ah, well Well Well Well Well Well Well Did it come around Did it take you by surprise open up your eyes pin you to the ground Ah, well Well Well Well
12.
Joni Joni 03:53
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Joni Joni ©Jim Ballard 1982, 2019 You were comin from some strange affairs When I found you on the hotel stairs Waitin out the rain and scared of everything I saw you needed my affection Took you in gave you my protection Even witnessed to your ressurection happening Oh Joni Joni how can it be You loved all a them bad bad boys But you never loved me I think I see All those years I spent in tryin Holdin you while you were cryin Even when I knew that you were lyin Yes I knew And when you found your love had faded Just like a movie scene you played it An actor on the screen you made it Seem so true Oh Joni Joni how can it be You loved all a them bad bad boys But you never loved me I think I see Now I see you movin’ down the line bettin on the race Where the buses run on time and disappear without a trace And the only thing you left behind are the lines upon your face Never mind, you’re runnin in place I hear you’re on the street again All dressed up in the fallin rain Sayin nothin’s lost and nothins gained And nothin’s real So I’ll be leavin town with mixed emotions Girl you’ve earned my undyin devotion With your velvet voice and your cool commotion Hard to feel Oh Joni Joni how can it be You loved all a them bad bad boys But you never loved me I think I see
13.
Speed Demons 04:46
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Speed Demons ©Jim Ballard 1986 2020 The air is heavy ain’t no breeze tonight crowd o’ young boyz gathered by the street lamp light in the atmosphere you could cut with a knife somebody gonna hear about the street lamp life Everything’s quiet on the east side front ‘cept for Jacknife Lenny and his paradise punks talkin bout skippin out them night school classes catch a cross town ride kick some rich boyz asses Speed Demons on a one way street Sucked in by the light burned up by the heat Where muscle and blood is all the promise you get Some make it through and some are caught in the net In the naked night in the final toll You can give up the fight or you can give up your soul Swallowed up by the night One child thinkin was i born to this? to survive among the dead end streets to never know the kiss of the well off widows of the debutantes growin fat and contented in their restaruants Somewhere in the sidestep of a tire iron dance Is this some kinda joke or this some kinda romance Hard lessons learned early never wanna die that a young man surely ain’t supposed to cry The flower girls on the promenade The shoe shine boys with their razor blades With every kind of dream that won’t be stilled tonight Risin from the ruins of another rigged fight Stormin the beaches of this conquered land In every heart that’s diggin in to make a stand Swallowed up by the night I know the lessons that they tell ya in the school make it make it sound so sweet But the pavement never learned the golden rule you got to stay on your own feet or be swallowed up by the night
14.
When The Well Run Dry 03:49
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When The Well Run Dry Whatcha gonna do when the well run dry whatcha gonna do whatcha gonna do when the well run dry whatcha gonna do whatcha gonna do when the well run dry Sit on the bank watch the fishes die Whatcha gonna do when the well run dry tell me Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when the creek won’t run whatcha gonna do Whatcha gonna do when the creek won’t run whatcha gonna do Whatcha gonna do when the creek won’t run Sit on the bank wonder what you've done Whatcha gonna do when the creek won't run Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when the river is gone whatcha gonna do Whatcha gonna do when the river is gone whatcha gonna do Whatcha gonna do when the river is gone Sit on the bank wonder what went wrong Whatcha gonna do when the river is gone Whatcha gonna do? You can own ten houses, cadillacs.... play tennis on your lawn But all your money won't buy you one tin cup of water when it's gone…. tell me… Whatcha gonna do when your baby’s ill whatcha gonna do Whatcha gonna do when your baby’s ill whatcha gonna do Whatcha gonna do when your baby’s ill Take it to the bank, drill baby drill Whatcha gonna do when your baby's ill Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when the well run dry whatcha gonna do whatcha gonna do when the well run dry whatcha gonna do whatcha gonna do when the well run dry Sit on the bank watch the people die Whatcha gonna do when the well run dry tell me Whatcha gonna do......

about

During the quarantine and lockdown months of the 2020 pandemic, I decided to record a few of my songs on acoustic guitar while video taping them and post them each day. But after a couple days, I decided I'd love to have my band, The Strangs see if they could add their tracks remotely so that we could play together. Soon, that grew into inviting musician friends. Together we ended up making 40 videos, 14 of which we mixed to be this album. This isn't a concert or live album, nor is it a studio release. All of the tracks for each instrument and voice were recorded in separate locations, then sent to me where I put them together in the studio. They are recorded almost completely with acoustic instruments, including hand drums or percussion instead of a drum set, so they are more up close and intimate. Thank you to all the musicians who participated (you'll see them and their donate links listed on each song). Doing this kept us busy and, mostly, out of trouble. We hope you enjoy the music.

credits

released February 8, 2021

Specific credits are on each song along with that musician's donate link, should you desire to help support these great musicians as they pitched in on this lockdown project. But here is a list of all who appeared anywhere on this album:

THE STRANGS

Drums/Percussion~Joe Lang
PayPal.me/redpearldrums

Piano/Hammond/Accordion~Tim Longfellow
www.paypal.me/typhoonmacpro

Guitar/Mandolin/Dobro~Wes McCraw
www.paypal.me/WesMcCraw

Bass~Bill Watson
paypal.me/BillW65P

SPECIAL GUESTS:

Cathy Grady~Fiddle (When The Well Run Dry)
PayPal.me/cathygrady

Michael Grady ~ 12 String Guitar/Backing Vox (Whichever Way The Wind Blows)
PayPal.me/michaelgrady

Benjamin Payne ~Banjo/Backing Vox (When The Well Run Dry)
Venmo: Benjamin Payne @Studio521
www.paypal.me/benjaminwilliampayne

Jim Kooser~Drums/Percussion (When The Well Run Dry)
local4musicfund.org/donate?fbclid=IwAR14DRPBsIK_TKYKG4IaEk3P4gDD8gpR90GQ1rT08WT8mxIz8mSTNwK02H0

Jim Gill~Vocal/Guitar (Well Well Well)
paypal.me/jimgillmusic

Erik Diaz~Drums/Percussion (Hear The Rising Wind)
ediaz2874@gmail.com (on paypal)

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Jim Ballard Akron, Ohio

Jim Ballard
A native of NE Ohio, Jim Ballard has been, for many years a part of the recording/performing community. After touring and performing all over the country with artists from 10,000 Maniacs to Gordon Lightfoot,The Mekons to Pete Seeger, he moved into his studio, Skylyne. There, he has recorded and worked with artists from Michael Stanley to Don Dixon and Alex Bevan. ... more

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