We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Behind the Curtain

by Gretchen's Wheel

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. Paying supporters also get unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app.

    The complete album download will also include a bonus PDF booklet including lyrics.
    Purchasable with gift card

      name your price

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 8 Gretchen's Wheel releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of such open sky, Stuck On You, Moth to Lamplight: A Tribute to Nada Surf, Black Box Theory, awry, Sad Scientist, Behind the Curtain, and Fragile State. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $3.50 USD or more (30% OFF)

     

  • Behind the Curtain CD
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    CD in jewel case (signed on request)

    This CD is sold out, but if you are interested in buying one, please let me know at gretchenswheel@gmail.com, and I will order more copies ASAP!

    Includes unlimited streaming of Behind the Curtain via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out

1.
INVISIBLE THIEF An invisible thief stole my identity All the things that used to define me Years of possibility consumed in a moment of rest They say there’s no cure but you can take another test I only stopped to catch my breath But a lifetime faded in the mist I only buried my head in the sand Cause it was too heavy to lift The sabotage was coming from inside Wreaking havoc that couldn’t be denied A perfect disguise, a slow and silent progression A lazy march in no particular direction A little folding of the hands A little canceling of plans A little lowering the mast A little getting old too fast
2.
YOUNGER EVERY YEAR All the time I’m gaining reasons To turn away from days and seasons The view outside’s desaturated And what’s to see Are there any more traditions I can purge and lessen tension Decorations, affectations Are not for me I’m gonna lie in wait While the sun sets at 4 and there’s frost every morning Want to leave the state Find a warm place away from obligations and Forget the date In a world that’s getting younger every year Cinnamon scenes flicker in dreams Were they really all that they seem Memories are weights on my chest And I can’t breathe I’ll never recreate the tableau Can’t take the emptiness that it shows And now I can feel giving up Coming on again
3.
THE GOOD THINGS Misdirected then overcorrected Your folly is ever before you Numbers in red always filling your head Dusty boxes that will never be opened To hold on to the good things In your mind You could count them one by one Make a list of all the times You were glad you weren’t done You were not done Not sustainable, not even attainable Shouting til you lose your voice Letting go, looks like you’re missing the show A slow blink and a shrug of your shoulders
4.
LIVE THROUGH YOU Ought to leave the house just to prove that I still can In the interest of self-preservation Ought to try to find the way to clear my mind Of all these mismanaged expectations For now I’m doing nothing Because there’s nothing I can do Maybe I’d rather live through you My half-empty nature will ruin every memory If I keep going the way that I go I’ll forget about all of the better days If I keep doubting the things that I know For now I’m doing nothing Because there’s nothing I can do Maybe I’d rather live through you There’s no reason to think, no reason to think Next time I’m on the brink, there’s no reason, no reason
5.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER The day we knew would come Is at the door The promise is too hard to resist So you won’t anymore You’ll follow that siren song Into the dark Here’s hoping the mistakes you’ll make Won’t leave a mark Birds of a feather You’d rather live in a lie Birds of a feather Of course you want to fly Your innocence has run its course Doesn’t fit anymore When you pack for your long journey You may leave it in a drawer The little girl who never recovered From a real nightmare Is going to run to the ocean to find No answers there
6.
THIS PETRIFIED HEART Did it weather endless ages Or a single catastrophe Is it evidence of a cataclysm Or many years lost at sea Did it fly too close to the sun And in flames fall like a stone Did it burn up from the inside out From unbearable dreams alone Buried in ruins, they could find it one day Cause it didn’t obey the law of decay This petrified heart It’s been lying dormant all its life In fact, it never lived The condition’s mint, well-preserved So much left to give Confounding all the instruments Readings are off the scale Tests are inconclusive The methods have all failed If there’s something engraved, it can’t be distinguished Cause the passage of time has finally extinguished This petrified heart
7.
Vapors 03:56
VAPORS I’ll turn it over and over in my mind To keep it occupied Feel the shape and file down the corners Until it fits inside Like a memory Like it really happened to me Like I understand And know the way to hold it in my hand To hold it in my hand I don’t deal in dreams, I shuffle papers Living through a screen So the world is both bigger and smaller And it goes further than it seemed Is it vanity To want reality Want to understand And know the way to hold it in my hand To hold it in my hand I’m reminded of it every day Time and chance have had their way They’ve had their way I can’t hold it in my hand
8.
9.
BEHIND THE CURTAIN Just one day I ventured into confidence Stood on the edge of relevance I had so many lucky breaks But they didn’t outweigh the mistakes I dream what my eyes will never see Seems like a good reason to stay asleep Going back to the disease to find the cure It’ll turn out better this time, I’m sure Now that it’s all said and done The parts were greater than the sum I dream of things I’ll never be Seems like a good reason to stay asleep If anyone had told me not to look behind the curtain I’m not sure I would have listened anyway I had nothing to lose but my favorite illusion And to find myself living a cliche I dream of an endless melody Seems like a good reason to stay asleep

credits

released May 13, 2016

Tracks 1-7 and 9 written by Lindsay Murray © and ℗ 2016

Track 8 written by Sloan (Chris Murphy, Jay Ferguson, Patrick Pentland, Andrew Scott)

Produced by Lindsay Murray

Tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 9
I sang and played guitars and keyboard/synth at The Unstrung Harp in Westmoreland, TN. Phil Ajjarapu played bass at The Swear Jar in Portland, OR. Ira Elliot played drums at Tom Beaujour’s studio, Nuthouse Recording, in Hoboken, NJ. Tom also mixed these.

Tracks 3 and 4
I sang and played guitars as well as some mellotron on track 3. Phil played bass on both tracks and steel guitar on track 3. Donny Brown played drums on both tracks as well as percussion, more mellotron and synth, and sang some backing vocals on track 3 at Hess Street Studios in Lansing, MI. Andy Reed played synth on track 4 and mixed both of these at his studio, Reed Recording Company, in Bay City, MI.

Track 8
I sang and played guitars. Phil played bass. Jack Thomas played drums at Mike Farona’s studio, Middle C Music, in Nashville, TN. Mike also mixed this one.

All tracks mastered by Andy Reed

Album artwork: Lindsay Murray

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Gretchen's Wheel Nashville, Tennessee

contact / help

Contact Gretchen's Wheel

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Gretchen's Wheel, you may also like: