Mobile Bay

Behind the Song

 As a child I would move my bed by the window on nights when the moon would be full, so I could bask in the moonlight as I slept.  Many years ago, I traveled from Texas to Maryland, taking the southern route of Interstate 10 and going through Mobile Bay, just as the moon was rising.  I was thinking about a friend who was down and out, living precariously, driving recklessly, and in danger of losing it all.  The rising moon on the bay softened the world and seemed to offer balm, just as it has always done. 

Credits

Kim Eaton: acoustic guitar, vocals, harmony vocals

Shane Tripp: lead acoustic guitar

Richard Smith: bass guitar

Lyrics
Season is changing, wind is blowing cold

You’ve followed Alice down the rabbit hole

Late once again, I won’t keep waiting for you my friend 

Random luck begins to take its toll

You’d better sail on down to Mobile Bay

Dark descends on the timeworn day

You’re down and out, searching for the calm  

Winds are strong, the water is wide

Don’t try to sail against the tide

Birds sing all night until the day

Now the moon is rising over Mobile Bay

Heard from your boss today, your desk has been moved away

Phones are changed and now you share the calls

His message said don’t write 

Your office has been painted white

Now you see the writing on the walls

You’d better sail on down to Mobile Bay

Dark descends on the timeworn day

You’re down and out, searching for the calm  

Winds are strong, the water is wide

Don’t try to sail against the tide

Birds sing all night until the day

Now the moon is rising over Mobile Bay

You’re driving on two wheels with no spare in your trunk

Optimistic just like a drunk

But somewhere sunlight’s breezes are on the open seas

And time can take its time with your destiny

Can I sail with you to Mobile Bay

Dark descends on the timeworn day

You’re down and out, searching for the calm  

Winds are strong, the water is wide

Don’t try to sail against the tide

Birds sing all night until the day

Now the moon is rising over Mobile

Moon is rising over Mobile

Moon is rising over Mobile Bay

Kimberly Eaton Hoagwood/Kim Eaton © 2000

Do Geese See God (Palindrome)

Behind the Song

We all have probably had, at one time or another, conversations about religious beliefs with families or friends that have felt completely unsatisfactory, because there is no meeting of the minds. This song came out of one of those experiences. One was a conversation with a family member who was pushing a fundamentalist religious perspective on me at Thanksgiving. My pantheistic self pushed back. It ended with him saying he was praying for my soul so I wouldn’t go to hell.  I left the motel and walked outside to see flocks of geese crossing Wisconsin, heading south, flying freely. I had also, serendipitously, been thinking about palindromes—words or phrases that spell out the same thing either going left to right or right to left. Words or phrases such as “live evil,” “was it a rat I saw,” “race car,” “step on no pet.” But my favorite of them all was “do geese see god.” This song arose from this convergence. It is about the contrast between narrow-minded religious fundamentalism and the spaciousness of geese flying in patterns of unconstrained openness

Credits

Kim Eaton: acoustic guitar, vocals, harmony vocals

John Vengrouskie: 6 string acoustic guitar

Richard Smith: bass guitar

Andy Hamburger: drums and percussion

Lyrics
Bible babble in the beltland, proselytizing from the pew

They tell me what to think, tell me what to do  

If I don’t change my ways I will surely go to hell

Well the autumn leaves are falling and I hear a different bell

Look up now the geese formation makes an arc, a murmuration 

Moving forward moving backward with no scripture as a guide   

Sweeping motion in the skylight leaves a shadow in the sky    

And a gentle autumn wind gathers prayers as it subsides       

CHORUS So I have a simple question on this Sunday morning jog

It’s the same forward or backward in a clearing or a fog

As we plod down here together to our church or synagogue 

I look up and ask this question 

Do geese see god, do geese see god

I ask this simple question

Do geese see god

In the churches and the chapels people fall down on their knees  

Looking down in contrition, ask forgiveness for their deeds

But overhead on skyroads geese fly freely on their own

Open wings in sacred space to find their own

Palindrome, palindrome

Open wings and flying free 

Inside their own 

Palindrome, Palindrome

Kimberly Eaton Hoagwood/Kim Eaton © 2019

Wolves of Chernobyl

Behind the Song

April 26, 1986, the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl melted, resulting in the world’s worst nuclear disaster. It was caused by human error. An exclusion zone was created, and humans were banned. Natural wildlife took over. Thirty years later, scientists re-entered the zone to study the effects of the disaster on wildlife. They focused on the wolf population, because wolves are a natural barometer of the health of an ecology. The upshot? Wolves are thriving and now this area of the Ukraine includes the largest population of wolves found anywhere in the world. This song is about the resilience of these beautiful animals. 

Credits

Kim Eaton: acoustic guitar, vocals

Shawn MacFarlane Slaughter: lead acoustic guitar

Keith Harancher: lead electric guitar

Richard Smith: bass guitar

Lyrics
April 26 an accident in unit 4 

Poisoned cloud released from a melted inner core

Land of shiny chrome now it’s just a dead end zone

Wolves left to preside over piles of poisoned bones

The wolves of Chernobyl circle outside in the night

Their radioactive fur has turned an ashen whit

Silhouetted by the sky the moon shines on the ruins

Of bumper cars, a Ferris wheel struck dead one afternoon C

Listen to the wolves of Chernobyl 

It is we who create this world of trouble

We were banned but they remained 

And ruled the land that we had stained

We do not have the answers anyhow

Perhaps we should learn how to howl

First the beavers, then the swallows and then the bees they did follow

Streams and rivers flowing freely down to the hollow

Left alone the waters course to follow there an ancient force

That flows from deep within a source we only feel but do not follow

Our fragile world of dust and stone, we rage war on our neighbors’ homes 

In Chernobyl storks are born on our gravestones

The wolves they speak, oh let us be, let us bathe in our streams

Dance on dunes, howl at the moon, replenish all your dreams

Listen to the wolves of Chernobyl 

It is we who create this world of trouble

We were banned but they remained 

And ruled the land that we had stained

We do not have the answers anyhow

Perhaps we should learn how to howl

Kimberly Eaton Hoagwood/Kim Eaton © 2020

Flying Change

Behind the Song

Horses are able to execute a maneuver called a “flying change” or flying lead change. This happens in a moment of full suspension when none of the horses’ hooves are touching the ground. This song is about the trust and deep connection between horse and rider during this moment of suspension, and the sense of freedom both share. 

Credits

Kim Eaton: acoustic guitar, vocals

John Vengrouskie: 6 string and 12 string acoustic guitar

Richard Smith: bass guitar

Andy Hamburger: drums

Lyrics
I have a horse whose gaze is steady 

One eye brown the other blue

He grazes by the streams and eddies 

Gallops easy just like he flew

My barn has seen much better days 

The boards are loose they sag and sway

 He nudges the latch and to his relief 

The gate’s unhinged and he is set free

He knows he has to change his lead 

So he can gather all his speed

A leap, a jump, he hangs in air, 

To sense the change that’s waiting there

Like Mercury above terrain, 

On wings I let go of the reins  

I close my eyes and hold his mane, 

Suspended in his flying change  

Runs up the hill, his nostrils wide, 

He paws, he snorts, he finds his stride

And gallops down the curving road 

Looks for his friend, his mate, his soul 

Are we both lost or only me

It’s almost too dark to see

I grab the reins of control

It’s so hard when you know you have to let go

He knows he has to change his lead 

So he can gather all his speed

A leap, a jump, he hangs in air, 

To sense the change that’s waiting there

Like Mercury above terrain, 

On wings I let go of the reins  

I close my eyes and hold his mane, 

Suspended in his flying change

And now it’s night, I ride alone 

I trust he’ll know to take me home 

I feel him steady beneath his girth, 

I feel his hooves again on earth

So drop your reins when you’ve lost your way 

Close your eyes if you can’t pray

Just be still and let him lead

He’ll help you find your destiny

He knows he has to change his lead 

So he can gather all his speed

A leap, a jump, he hangs in air, 

To sense the change that’s waiting there

Like Mercury above terrain, 

On wings I let go of the reins  

I close my eyes and hold his mane, 

Suspended in his flying change

Kimberly Eaton Hoagwood/Kim Eaton © 2020

Too Deep for Tears

Behind the Song

Wordsworth’s “Ode: Intimations of Immortality,” long a favorite of mine, contains these words:  

Thanks to the human heart by which we live,
Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and its fears,
To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.

In the time of the COVID pandemic that began in January 2020, I was working in Manhattan, where public health sanctions kept neighbors isolated in their apartments. I thought about the spaciousness and longing for connection that whales experience deep under water, especially mother whales calling for their lost children. I remembered first hearing the songs of the humpback whales many years earlier and wrote this song around my memory of those melodies.

Credits

Kim Eaton: acoustic guitar, vocals, harmony vocals

Richard Smith: bass guitar

Lyrics
A song from the deep, a song from a whale

Calling her child as she glides the sea trails

Where her melody drifts down deep and clear

Far from the madness of big city fears

Oh the city streets they are empty and still

Like pilgrims we gaze out from our windowsills

Shedding tears for each other, separated in our homes

Forgetting what it felt like not to feel alone

The city’s street lights

Tremble in fear

But at the bottom of the ocean

It’s too deep for tears

Swimming past coral where anemones sway

Knowing where to look towards break of the day

With a rhythm, a hymn, a touch of a prayer

Where did you go, my child, did you vanish in the air?

Her song

Is crystal clear

Too deep to fathom

Too deep for tears

Her songs are unknown inside city walls

You must travel deeper to hear her calls

She calls to each and all her children

A solitary song for all her pilgrims

No time to lose 

No time for fear

The sea is calling you

Too deep for tears

Kimberly Eaton Hoagwood/Kim Eaton © 2020

Crossroads

Behind the Song

Joe Hill, the textile union organizer in the early 20^th century, was framed by the government and sentenced to death by firing squad. The night before he died, his followers came to say goodbye and mourn his impending loss. His last words to them are purported to have been “Don’t mourn: Organize.”  I’ve found these words to be personally important during times when I have struggled to make hard decisions, especially when trust has been broken. Similarly, our country faces political crossroads often and, as we have learned, the consequences are high. Joe Hill’s call to action, rather than apathy, can serve as a guide.

Credits

Kim Eaton: acoustic guitar, vocals

Pilar Okeson: harmony vocals

John Vengrouskie: electric baritone guitar

Keith Harancher: electric guitar

Andy Hamburger: drums

Richard Smith: bass guitar

Robert Spates: fiddle

Lyrics
Losing my lift in the late afternoon

Bombarded by bad news coming too soon

Sinking down slowly, feel gravity’s pull

Thoughts tumble to the bottom when the heart is full 

So what do you do when the bottom falls out 

Ponder, brood, or thrash and shout

Or walk like a ghost in the fog in the night

Or rage against the dying light

Which way will you turn when you reach the crossroad

Which way will you turn when you reach the crossroad 

Remember what Joe Hill said the night he died 

Don’t mourn, organize, I’ll be by your side

It’s my time to act, my time to decide

How long will it take to find my guide

Which way will you turn when you reach the crossroad 

Which way will you turn when you reach the crossroad 

Bodies pile up, the dying goes on

We’ve run out of graves, we’re running out of stones  

Politicians cover facts, hide behind their disguise

Better trust your rage, it may be your guide 

Which way will you turn when you reach the crossroad 

Which way will you turn when you reach the crossroad

Which way will you turn when you reach the crossroad 

Which way will you turn when you reach the crossroad

Kimberly Eaton Hoagwood/Kim Eaton © 2020

Stronger on the Other Side

Behind the Song

Rebecca Solnit in A Paradise Built in Hell writes about the human capacity for “immersion in the moment and solidarity with others caused by the rupture in everyday life, an emotion graver than happiness but deeply positive” and about “that rising from the ruins that is the ordinary human response to disaster.”  This song, written during the dark days of the pandemic, is about that rising.

Credits

Kim Eaton: acoustic guitar, vocals

John Vengrouskie: 6 string acoustic guitar

Richard Smith: bass guitar

Stephen Putscher: drums and percussion

Lyrics
I have a question and I want to know your view

I have a question and I want to know your view

Does your skin connect or does it separate you? 

From this viral world of sadness, where we’re shuttered in our fears

Hiding in our houses, showered in tears

There’s another way to think about it, can you recall

That time by the ocean, back in the fall

Seagulls’ tiny footprints leaving tracks in the sand

When you felt connected to the water, wind and land

Take it in, let it go, take it easy, take it slow

Though this darkness lingers, when it yields we do not know

Across the ocean there’s a rising tide

They’ll be a dawn there, if we hang on longer 

And we will be stronger on the other side

You’ve lingered in the lowlands where darkness casts a trance

Instead can you remember the steps to your dance

Your once upon a time will be your once upon again

Sun will warm your skin, you’ll feel connected to the wind 

Take it in, let it go, take it easy, take it slow

Though this darkness lingers, when it yields we do not know

Across the ocean there’s a rising tide

They’ll be a dawn there, if we hang on longer 

And we will be stronger on the other side

Nothing is too long or wide 

That can’t be lifted by the tide

The swelling of the ocean’s waves

You will dance again someday

Take it in, let it go, take it easy, take it slow

Though this darkness lingers, when it yields we do not know

Across the ocean there’s a rising tide

They’ll be a dawn there, if we hang on longer 

And we will be stronger on the other side

They’ll be a dawn there, if we hang on longer

And we will be stronger on the other side

Stronger on the other side

Kimberly Eaton Hoagwood/Kim Eaton © 2020

Get Out of My Song

Behind the Song

This one is probably self-evident. Based on a break-up with someone who thought he had musical talent. Not. 

Credits

Kim Eaton: acoustic guitar, vocals

John Vengrouskie: electric guitar, 6 string acoustic, electric baritone guitar

Andy Hamburger: drums

Richard Smith: bass guitar

Lyrics
I’ve seen the love you have to give

And I wasn’t too impressed

Your Prozac isn’t working  

And you’re making me depressed

You’re cycling fast from high to low

No equilibrium

We can’t find our pace together

The rhythm won’t come

Our harmonies used to be in sync

Thirds, fifths and clear

Blended and intoxicating

Like a perfect beer 

But like too much of anything

You can lose control

We used to sing in unison

But now I go so…lo

Solitary instruments

Tuned in different keys

Don’t try to play us both at once

You’ll hear cacophony

We’re out of sync, we’re out of time

I’m out of patience, tired of trying

Your synthesizer’s out of juice

Your amp is limp to tell the truth

Achromatics are not what we need

Your drum machine’s at the wrong speed 

The synchrony we had is gone

The harmonies turned out all wrong

So face the facts, we don’t belong

And hey hey hey

Get out of my song

Seasons changed but you did not 

Your cycles are getting faster

If we continue on like this

It will be a disaster

A part of me, a part of you

Has parted ways it seems

Best to sing this song alone

And harmonize in my dreams

Solitary instruments

Tuned in different keys

Don’t try to play us both at once

You’ll hear cacophony

We’re out of sync, we’re out of time

I’m out of patience, tired of trying

Your synthesizer’s out of juice

Your amp is limp to tell the truth

Achromatics are not what we need

Your drum machine’s at the wrong speed 

The love we had is good and gone

The song we wrote turned out all wrong

So face the facts, we don’t belong

And hey hey hey

Get out of my song

Get out of my song

Get out of my song

Kimberly Eaton Hoagwood/Kim Eaton © 2020

Here more on Kim's SoundCloud page.

Inner Voice

Behind the Song

One of the most important people in my life was my mother-in-law, who, when I was just a 20 year old waif, saw some potential in me, took me under her wing, and taught me to listen to and trust those inner intuitions or voices that, when left unfettered, can guide us through dark days. This song is dedicated to her.

Credits

Kim Eaton: acoustic vocals, harmony vocals

Richard Smith: bass guitar

Lyrics
Stop a minute, here I go, lost once again

Spelunking in a cave of doubts and second guessings

It’s early in the morning, in the corner of my mind

Lie dark and twisted thoughts I’m trying hard to unwind

I hear the noises of the day, rumbling tumbling wheels at play

I hear the outside voices say “How fast can she run?”

I want to know where I can find that quiet place within

You showed to me so long ago when darkness was my friend

I hear you speak, although you’re gone, your voice so powerful

[you say] Listen to your inner voice, flows like a flower petal

The quiet waters in your mind are still your friend you know

Running smooth and crystal clear, they guide you where to go

Running smooth and crystal clear, they guide you where to go

And when the bat wings in my head flutter to and fro

The cave begins to close on me, I don’t know where to go

I look for what you showed to me, to find another course

To follow smooth clear waters and find their pure source

I hear you speak, although you’re gone, your voice so powerful

[you say] Listen to your inner voice, flows like a flower petal

The quiet waters in your mind are still your friend you know

Running smooth and crystal clear, they guide you where to go

Running smooth and crystal clear, they guide you where to go

Whenever doubt and shame and fear are screaming in my head

I try to think about you and remember what you said

I hear you speak, although you’re gone, your voice so powerful

[you say] Listen to your inner voice, flows like a flower petal

The quiet waters in your mind are still your friend you know

Running smooth and crystal clear, they guide you where to go

Running smooth and crystal clear, they guide you where to go

Kimberly Eaton Hoagwood/Kim Eaton © 2020

You can also hear tracks on Kim's AudioMack page.