DISCLAIMER – The first run of CDs for “Three Rivers” were printed with an order discrepancy, where many of the songs after track four (“Proof”) are out of the intended order. These first 300 CDs are now, in fact, collector’s editions (you’re welcome).
The order of the songs on the first 300 CDs are as follows:
- Early Sun
- Breathe Again
- Down & Out
- Proof
- I Can’t Help Myself
- Without A Barrier
- Same Way (Wynter’s Song)
- McKinley Farm
- Seedless Watermelon
- Some Kind of Self
- Wake (Floyd’s Song)
- Ghosts in the Darkness
The following are the lyrics and info in the intended track order:
01 – “Early Sun”
ABOUT: Lucid dreaming of portals where black birds swarm the sky – inspired by early isolation during the covid pandemic in 2020.
LYRICS
I awoke from a dream early sun barely peaking
I stepped outside and entered a portal
A thousand birds all started to sing
They were like ooooooooo
I was like hey ehh hey ehh yeah
If I were a hypnotist
Self isolated i’d set sights within
I’d close my eyes and
Go to Dubai or
Any place that i’d never been
The birds in the trees sing their songs just for me and i’ll
Listen like it’s something sacred ’cause it is
Watching the pavement grow with the raindrops ebb and flow
We’ll get earth on our hands sew the fruit trees and the plants
We can watch them all grow we can live off the land
We’ll be singing Oooooooooo
Yeah we’re singing hey ehh hey ehh yeah
Oh we’re singing Ooooooooo
Yeah we’re singing hey ehh hey ehh yeah
I awoke from a dream early sun barely peaking
02 – “Breathe Again”
ABOUT: Jimmy to Josh – “Hey don’t worry about the lyrics on this one, we’ll change them later.” And then we didn’t. Yeah, it’s a little silly…but we love it.
LYRICS
You sold your soul to that devil that came to you as you bled
Now the damage is done you desperate fool of a man
Nobody can live forever buried in the sand
So forgive yourself you silly cowardly man
All it takes is to breathe again
So just breathe again
So just breathe again
Breathe again
So just breathe again again
The Mona Lisa has some flaws the Beatles wrote a few bad songs
So don’t let it get you down and out my friend
Rhyme and reason have no season in a time of chaos
So if it all don’t make sense now that’s alright my man
All it takes is to breathe again
So just breathe again
So just breathe again
Breathe again
So just breathe again again
So just breathe again
So just breathe again
Breathe again
So just breathe again again
So just breathe again
So just breathe again
Breathe again
So just breathe again again
03 – “Down & Out”
ABOUT: It’s an upbeat ditty about being, well… down and out.
LYRICS
When did everybody lose their luck
Everybody grew a gut and let themselves go
Hell I don’t know
Maybe being perfect is overrated
Partially understated all the same
Hell I don’t know
If you want to know the truth, yeah
Maybe we’re better, better, better off without
Oh’ we’re better, better, better off without
Yeah we’re better, better, better off without
Now that we’ve found out
Life’s better when you’re down and out
Life’s better when you’re down and out
Life’s better when you’re down and out
We can sing melody but only when it’s blowing free
And let’s itself go well I don’t know
We can make it better by writing words by the letter
Just sound it out, Oo, down and out
If you want to know the truth
‘Cause maybe we’re better, better, better off without
Oh’ we’re better, better, better off without
Yeah we’re better, better, better off without
Now that we’ve found out
Life’s better when you’re down and out
Life’s better when you’re down and out
Life’s better when you’re down and out
So let’s write it out
You know quicker ain’t better
CCTX not ATX
We can prove them wrong
No genres to this song
No money in our pocket
The only way to live it
If you want to know the truth, yeah
‘Cause maybe we’re better, better, better off without
Maybe we’re better, better, better off without
Yeah we’re better, better, better off without
Now that we’ve found out
Yeah we’re better, better, better off without
Maybe we’re better, better, better off without
Yeah we’re better, better, better off without
Now that we’ve found out Life’s better when you’re down and out
Life’s better when you’re down and out
Life’s better when you’re down and out
Yeah
Life’s better when you’re down and out
04 – “Proof”
ABOUT: Inspired by a hiking trip Josh took in the Swiss Alps with his brother.
LYRICS
Walking through the woods with my brother
The fog was so thick couldn’t see the land
We continued our hike always climbing upward
The top is where we plan to stand
With our heads held high we’ll dig our heels in
We started down in the valley
Where the river winds and the wildlife roam
We found a cave along our ascension
We took the refuge and we made a home
It was a long, cold dark night
But in the morning the sun rose
I was once aloof
Till you gave me proof
I had no excuse
With nothing left to loose
We took one step more into the forest
We came upon some old raven bones
Somewhere in the trees, heard the faintest whisper
In the silence theirs an unspoken love
Giving us some hope, sending us along
I was once aloof
Till you gave me proof
I had no excuse
With nothing left to loose
I was once aloof (I had no idea)
Till you gave me proof (I can see it all from here)
I had no excuse (I’m way up in the clouds)
With nothing left to loose (I will take control)
05 – “Without A Barrier”
ABOUT: This is a really old Josh Glenn song about being oceans apart from someone you love.
LYRICS
I woke up to the sunlight it was beaming in my eye
You were still asleep in your bed with the moonlight
I’ll close my eyes and kiss your lips
If you’re dreaming now please dream of this
Cause I can’t sleep nor hardly breathe
Without you here I am nothing
It’s a Sunday afternoon now and really messing with my mind
I swear I feel a presence but no one’s here in sight
I’ll put my face to the ground
And through this earth well it’s you I found
Through a hole to the other side
It’s just too far for me to climb
But I’ll try my damndest just to imagine my love (oh my love)
Without a barrier between
I’ll wait forever in my dream
It’s just not the same through telecommunication
I need proof my love without a barrier between
I’ll wait forever in my dream
I’ll wait forever in my dream
I’ll wait forever in my dream
06 – “Same Way (Wynter’s Song)”
ABOUT: Our drummer Kris Redus mentioned he loved playing grooves in ⅝. So Jimmy accepted the challenge, but couldn’t figure out what to write the lyrics about. When he asked his, at the time, 3-year-old daughter Wynter what the song should be about, she responded, “Meeeee.”
LYRICS
There once was a little girl who saw the world as it was
With all the wonder spinning her around
She sang her songs in stream of consciousness and all
The words of love that flowed from her found their way home
And I sang along to her song
And loved her the same way
The same way
The same way
Visions of a far off place would come alive in her face
As she imagined all that it could be
And just like now she spins me ’round
And I can’t take the beauty of the melody that she sings
And I sing along to her song
And loved her the same way
The same way
There once was a little girl who saw the world as it was
With all the wonder spinning her around
And loved her the same way
The same way
The same way
The same way
The same way
07 – “I Can’t Help Myself”
ABOUT: This song was inspired by an argument and Jimmy’s incessant need to immediately fix it. This song also took three years to write…or rather, Jimmy began writing the song one afternoon several years ago…and then got distracted. Three years later, he remembered he was writing the song and finally finished it.
LYRICS
Open your ears up and let me explain
I had no intention to go down with this plan
We may have started this fight with no one to blame
So we went and poured more fuel to the flame
As desperate as we were last night
I was even more desperate to make it alright
But you know how I think when I think too much
Babe I know you always tell me not to rush
But I can’t help myself
No I can’t help myself
When I look into your green eyes
Rest assured this won’t be the last
In time our stubbornness shines back
Somewhere between the lines of peace and war
That’s where we’ll find what our love stands for
Just like an eight that’s been knocked over
You and I are bound to do this forever
If only I could just shut my mouth
Babe if I could just shut my mouth
But I can’t help myself
No I can’t help myself
When I look into your green eyes
I know we’ll be fine
I know I’ll be fine
I know I’ll be fine
I know we’ll be fine
08 – “Seedless Watermelon”
ABOUT: It’s a love song about gardening and getting distracted.
LYRICS
An acorn fell on my head
What was that that you just said
This image stretches my mind
Sometimes i’m so distracted
hmm? what?
I spin inside swirls of sounds
Fight gravity pulling me down
I feel I’ve overcome
Heartbreak and childhood lost love
But I still need some vibration
Any inclination
Of life on this planet
My eyes are blurry to it
Want to submerse myself in
Want to believe that I can
The seeds have all been planted
One seed began a’sprout’n
Into a seedless watermelon
Sit by my side while I wait
Oh the sweetness we could create
Hey I believe that this is just the perfect day
When you’re giving up don’t say it out loud
Believing in yourself would do you parents proud
Might save your life
One seed began a’sproutin’
Into a seedless watermelon
Sit by my side while I wait
Oh the sweetness we could create
Hey I believe that this is just the perfect day
There’s a vibration building in my soul it wants to say
I love you now and I will love you always
09 – “Some Kind of Self”
ABOUT: A song inspired by the guilt one harbors from past mistakes, and not letting the past define you but, rather, inform you.
LYRICS
Somewhere between here and the coast of California
She buried her soul in a box off the side of the road
Made of wood and all of the secrets she’s kept
In a silent battle with whatever’s left
Here and now she’ll take it to her grave
Hoping someday she’ll save some kind of self
And carry on from the way she once behaved
Could be living life lost somewhere else
In a delicate embrace with a memory she takes
With her for the ride back home to Texas
She dreams as she drives and the sun it dies
Somewhere behind some distant mountain side
And here and now she’ll take it to her grave
Hoping someday she’ll save some kind of self
And carry on from the way she once behaved
Should be living life lost somewhere else
And some kind of self
She’ll carry all the weight of the world
With some kind of self stealing time
Headlights that cast monsters in the dusk
Dancing in the dark as naked as her heart
And here and now she’ll take it to her grave
Hoping someday she’ll save some kind of self
And carry on from the way she once behaved
Could be living life lost somewhere else
And some kind of self
She’ll carry all the weight of the world
With some kind of self stealing time
And some kind of self
She’ll carry all the weight of the world
With some kind of self stealing time
Stealing time
10 – “McKinley Farm”
ABOUT: This one is about Josh and his girlfriend Bryana’s backyard chickens. Some of these ladies are no longer with us (RIP) but we do plan to get more in the future. Maybe that means a sequel is coming?
LYRICS
A grey day is just a fine day here at the top of Highland Park
I’ll sit here with my guitar and i’ll write a song called McKinley Farm
We got Mary Poopin’s and Yolko Ono the McKinley OG’s
We had Henifer Lopez for almost a year but now she rests in peace
But since then we got a few here I’ll introduce you one by one
We got Ruth Bader Hensburg one of our hamburgs
And she’s a whole lot of fun
We got Marfa Bocknett one of the sweetest hens you will ever see
When we got her as a chick we had no idea
She was such a mystery
Then there’s Obi Wan Henobi who’s a tattle telling home bee
Yeah we think she’s got the force
Yeah she looks at me cockeyed maybe she’s a jedi
Plotting out her course
Then there’s Oprah Henfree who’s full and fluffy
Just as cool as any cat
She’s got soft warm feathers that cling together
Giving her a pair of pretty pants
Now I can’t forget one of my favorites
Repeckah is one of a kind
She will fly up and over the fence into the fig tree
And onto my shoulder some of the time
Oh Goldie Hen, Goldie Hen
Sweet laser-beaked our Goldie Hen
Holds a whole sunrise within that grin
Our sweet Goldie Hen
Then last but not least there’s the ever elusive Amelia Egghart
She’s a bearded beauty and I dare ya to catch her
But you won’t get very far nope
Oh I almost forgot we once had a rooster
We thought he was a hen so we named her Susan
Susan Beak Anthony cock a doodle dood
So we changed his name to a Boy Named Sue yep
They love to eat and then poop and pee
Then they dig for worms at the base of trees
Then our Lula pup gets all the “treats”
And comes to give us a kiss
Now I’d be remise if I didn’t mention
There’s a few more furry additions
We got 4 cats, a dog, and a fish, inside a tank yep
A grey day is just a fine day here at the top of Highland Park
And this song came together like birds of a feather
Here on McKinley Farm
11 – “Wake (Floyd’s Song)”
ABOUT: We wrote this for our friend Floyd Dillon Wickliffe, Jr. who came to see Josh perform on several occasions, even if that meant carrying his oxygen tank with him and moving at a slower pace. He bestowed to us a collection of poems to use however we wished. He talked about living a very hard life in most of his poems. We started the song with a few of his words and branched off from there.
LYRICS
When does a man know he’s loosing a game he cannot win
Why does it seem to be a dream one he can’t wake from
Where does a man go when he is out of options
When all he sees are cracks in the ground
Looking back on a long life did he make all the right decisions
Was there more that he could’ve done
Would it even have made a difference
Maybe the consequences were just a little misunderstood
If only we’d read the fine print
It’d’ve turned out all good
There’s a lie that we tell ourselves
It’s a lie that we know too well
I’ll learn from all my old mistakes
Or bury the past to make them go away
These days he reminds himself one foot in front of the other
Just gotta be right now live your life there ain’t no other
His mind of late has been way up there in the clouds
Just trying the make sense of all the chaos around
There’s a lie that we tell ourselves
It’s a lie that we know too well
I’ll learn from all my old mistakes
Or bury the past to make them go away
There’s a lie that we tell ourselves
It’s a lie that we know too well
I’ll learn from all my old mistakes
Or bury the past to make them go away
When does a man know he’s loosing a game he cannot win
Why does it seem to be a dream one he can’t wake from
12 – “Ghosts in the Darkness”
ABOUT – Jimmy went six months at the start of the pandemic without writing a song, which freaked him out, because since starting to write songs at age 12, he had never gone that long without writing one. He thought he was done for. In October of 2020, however, this song kind of just floated out of thin air and Jimmy caught it and (as Josh likes to add) ate it. These are the results.
LYRICS
This place is haunted by all the words left unsaid
In the space between us floating with the particles of dust
That linger in the candlelight
Somewhere someone sings a simple melody
For a child’s wondrous eyes
Taking in the shaking in her voice
That lingers in the candlelight
But where am I in all of this
You’re not the only haunted one
There are ghosts in the darkness
Between you and I alone
Dancing with the shadows on the wall
All the ghosts in the darkness sing along
to our song nah nah nah
The sun will soon rise
And the quiet candlelight
Will fade leaving you
struggling in capturing the truth
that lingered in the candlelight
But where am I in all of this
You’re not the only haunted one
There are ghosts in the darkness
Between you and I alone
Dancing with the shadows on the wall
All the ghosts in the darkness sing along
Dancing with the shadows on the wall
All the ghosts in the darkness sing along
To our song nah nah nah
To our song nah nah nah
TRACK ORDER
01 – Early Sun (3:54) +
02 – Breathe Again (3:13) –
03 – Down & Out (2:56) ^
04 – Proof (3:29) *
05 – Without A Barrier (4:36) +
06 – Same Way (Wynter’s Song) (3:15) –
07 – I Can’t Help Myself (4:38) –
08 – Seedless Watermelon (2:57) +
09 – Some Kind of Self (4:48) –
10 – McKinley Farm (3:58) +
11 – Wake (Floyd’s Song) (3:04) *
12 – Ghosts in the Darkness (5:01) –
- Written by Josh Glenn, – Written by Jimmy Willden, ^ Written by Jimmy Willden & Ty Dietz, * Written by Josh Glenn & Jimmy Willden
Produced by Mason Shirley and Yosh & Yimmy
Recorded and mixed by Mason Shirley at Sound Machine Studio in Skidmore, TX (except “Early Sun” – recorded and mixed by Brant Sankey in San Antonio, TX)
Mastered by Dave McNair
THE PERFORMERS
JOSH GLENN – Lead vocals, harmonies, acoustic guitars, banjo, looping, etc.
JIMMY WILLDEN – Lead vocals, harmonies, acoustic guitars, banjo
MASON SHIRLEY – Electric guitars, bass, pedal steel on “I Can’t Help Myself”, banjo on “McKinley Farm”
KRIS REDUS – Drums, percussion, and hammer dulcimer on “Proof”
ANDREW REYES – Piano, keys
OWEN STROUD – Organ
Ty Dietz – Harmonica on “Down & Out”
Melodie Chase – Cello on “Without A Barrier”
Emily Nelson – Cello on “Ghosts in the Darkness”
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