So I was listening to LJ Booth's "Big Hourglass" CD the other day, and thinking how much I enjoyed some of the lyrics. There's the exhortation to live exuberantly in "Blow the Carbon Out".
There's the ode to his parents, "Between the Two of Them".
There's his performing staple, "Akasha Wind".
There's the anti-war "Some Believe", which says "Some believe the final fight will be won with greatest might. But weapons arent' what make us strong. I believe that they are wrong. So I'll raise my voice up high and clear, let them know that I am here. For if we don't stand and fight, I believe that they'll be right."
But my favorite lyrics come from "Picking Out Wallpaper":

I was twenty-three
Wild and free
Hitchhiking Scotland
Black cliffs beside the sea

One night by the firelight
Three promises I made
Just between me and the Milky Way

One, was never worry about a wris*censored*ch
Two, was never kneel before the banker's sneer
Three doesn't matter now, 'cause if I'd kept the second
I would not be sitting here

Picking out wallpaper.


It's an album of clever storytelling lyrics.
So I asked my sister to order me a copy of his older album, Yarns.
It arrived, and I gotta tell you, it had a song on it titled "The Economy Needs a War". It made me think: the Iraqi war isn't a distraction from the down ecoonomy. It's the exploitation of patriotism and bully-power to please the economy and those who feel downtrodden. (Clearly, LJ's not a fan of war.)

But that's a distraction from my point: If you like songwriting storytellers, buy an LJ album. You won't be disappointed.