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Walkin into Town

from Out from Nowhere by Mark Browning

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about

Well, one day when my car wouldn't start, I decided to walk the three miles down my high hill above the city to my job near town-- I started out through woods but soon emerging onto concrete and highways... the walk became mythical, the city itself like some kind of far away, Oz-like dream. The lyrics came to me as I walked... and when I got to work (late) I immediately sequestered myself in a closet and wrote them all down.

lyrics

Walking Into Town

Walked on down the forested hillside through the slowly-rising silver of early winter haze

Tired trees smothered in some clinging vine, woods littered with plastic jugs, old tires and battered cans of paint

Reached the border of the new six-lane expressway and watched my shadow dance along the base of a thirty foot retaining wall

Crossed high above it all on a catwalk covered with wire-mesh to keep the people from throwing rocks on the cars below

With "I love Chrissie" on the wall, along with hearts and swastikas..
.
With the life-blood of the city flowing at sixty miles an hour beneath my feet

Toss a prayer to the open skies
Like a magic arrow piercing concrete lies
Into the heart of history's long lonesome cries
And I’M standing here so revitalized

Overhead, like an arrowhead, a Cooper's hawk folds its wings and disappears over distant country

I pass the old foundations of demolished homes jutting out of the hillside like rotted, broken teeth

Worn cellar stairs leading nowhere...except the imaginary beds and living rooms of just faded years

Where the ghosts of conversation, prayers and oaths and incantations still linger

Each step like a question mark to which all these ghosts have no reply...

And a dry wind blows across town and scrapes the weeds against the stones

Old Man King, come and see
Pass some judgement, let it be
So these children can finally shake free
from These wagon loads of destiny

In front of the old corner church a faded poster of paradise beckons all souls to come on in

I Nearly slip on a gob of infected spit in front of the X-rated theatre promising unknown passion and forbidden sin

Across the oily river the city hums and gleams like some silver platinum castle in the sun

Where the sun itself is split into ten-thousand images of hungry, burning tongues of flame

Some guy on the corner says "What you starin' at?" And I say "Never mind, the wizard is gone."

Meanwhile behind curtains of light and shade a hand moves that is really no hand at all...

In this jumble of love and waste
Try and find some sacred place
To hold these myths you've finally traced
Search in every changing face...

credits

from Out from Nowhere, released July 12, 2019
• Lead Vocals Mark Browning
• Acoustic Guitar Mark Browning
• Drums and percussion Pat Coyle
• Bass Ryan Kantner
• Piano Bill Maruca
• Hammond Bill Maruca
• Pedal Steel Read Connolly
• Electric guitar Neil Carr
• Saxophone Eric Defade
• Piano Jerome Kirkland
• Harmonies Kami Small, Jay Lynn Carter, Krystyn Kirkland

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Mark Browning Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Born into a military family, I have traveled all my life. Must have gotten into my blood. Never cared much for routine. I started out in biology, collecting reptiles for zoos and museums, but then traveled. Pruned apple trees in NY, farmed wheat in WA, painted houses in Key West, drove truck in NYC, published articles in magazines, hiked the Amazon and Andes... writing songs the whole time. ... more

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