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Backyard Birds

by Lisa Bastoni

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Limited edition "Backyard Birds" compact disc in digipak case.

    Includes digital download of "Backyard Birds" (2021) produced by Sean Staples. Recorded during the winter of 2020/2021

    Track listing:
    1. Bring It On
    2. Southern Belle
    3. Sorrow's a String
    4. If Not Today
    5. Red Rocks
    6. Hidden in the Song
    7. This is My Love

    Includes unlimited streaming of "Backyard Birds" via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more

    Includes unlimited streaming of Backyard Birds via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days

      $10 USD or more 

     

1.
Bring it On 03:32
Bring it On Lisa Bastoni and Sean Staples (c)(P) 2021 Sweet Ondine Music (BMI)/Wesley Park Music (BMI) Don’t bring me dried up roses From a long ago bouquet A casualty of something That you did or didn’t say Don’t bring me any stories Of how the summer burned Or how the wind would bite as you felt the seasons turn Don’t bring me broken china Shards of shattered glass All the quiet days you spent Hoping all of this would pass There’s a whole lot of things You’ve been carrying too long If you want to love me If you feel that strong Bring it on Don’t bring me old love letters The books you used to read Dog eared and underlined A shrine of memory Don’t bring me faded photos Slipping out from plastic sheets Your smiles telling stories That are always incomplete Don’t bring me your old toolbox From underneath the stairs There’s nothing to change or fix And nothing to repair There’s a whole lot of things You’ve been carrying too long If you want to love me If you feel that strong Bring it on Old and broken radios Rusty guitar strings All those tiny nuts and bolts, Nails and screws and springs Wore out coats Flower pots Shirts you never wear Shoelaces Old suitcases You can leave ‘em there You can leave em there There’s a whole lot of things You’ve been carrying too long There’s nothing here but you and me When all of that is gone If you want to love me If you feel that strong Bring It On Bring it On
2.
Southern Belle Lisa Bastoni (c)(P) 2021 Sweet Ondine Music (BMI) Catch a Southern Belle, a Silver Star, Black Diamond, Midnight Flyer Horse and buggy, wagon wheel, roller skate, or rubber tire When you want to come around, I’ll meet you at the station I’m not going to force your hand, I love you and I’m patient It was a hurricane, it was wind and rain My heart fell like an apple from a tree Our parting words, the startled birds One day you said you’d come and stay by me When you want to come around, I’ll meet you at the station I’m not going to force your hand, I love you but I’m patient You’re standing by the road, with your heavy load What can I do but wait while you hesitate While you hesitate Someday you’ll walk, someday you’ll crawl Someday you’ll run, someday you’ll fly Kick the cobwebs, jump the spiders I’ll be waiting on the other side When you want to come around, I’ll meet you at the station I’m not going to force your hand, I love you but I’m patient
3.
Sorrow's a String Lisa Bastoni and Sean Staples (c)(P) 2021 Sweet Ondine Music (BMI)/Wesley Park Music (BMI) I drove by the house even though I know better It still looks the same as when you were there They cut down some trees but the barn is still standing There’s a light inside somewhere about to turn on When I cry my sorrow’s a string I want to love you as long as I can I would fly If I had wings How I wish I could see you again I can still hear your footsteps running down the stairway I can still see your smile as you open the door A new radio tower has gone up in the distance But the backyard birds still whistle your songs When I cry my sorrow’s a string I want to love you as long as I can I would fly If I had wings How I wish I could see you again The neighbor’s car slows when he sees me It’s probably time for me to go home Every once in awhile I stop to remember It’s not the place that I miss, after all When I cry my sorrow’s a string I want to love you as long as I can I would fly If I had wings How I wish I could see you again
4.
If Not Today 03:48
If Not Today Lisa Bastoni and Sean Staples (c)(P) 2021 Sweet Ondine Music (BMI)/Wesley Park Music (BMI) You can just sit quiet Be the song that’s never sung Let the sadness work you over Hide from everyone You can leave it till tomorrow You can leave it up to fate And if you’re waiting for a sign How long are you gonna wait You can be a wallflower When the dancing starts Be a February empty of little paper hearts A new morning’s coming And you’re right back where you’ve been If not today If not today then when See the white church steeple Against the blue of the sky See the red buds on the branches And it’s enough to make you cry The snow is melting And the river overflows Maybe you’re not ready But it seems you’re getting close You can be a wallflower When the dancing starts Be a February empty of little paper hearts A new morning’s coming And you’re right back where you’ve been If not today If not today then when It’s hard starting over You can’t go home and you can’t stay here Minutes turn to hours Hours disappear You can be a wallflower When the dancing starts Be a February empty of little paper hearts A new morning’s coming And you’re right back where you’ve been If not today If not today then when
5.
Red Rocks 03:40
Red Rocks Lisa Bastoni and Sean Staples (c)(P) 2021 Sweet Ondine Music (BMI)/Wesley Park Music (BMI) I never made it to the Grand Canyon I was somewhere outside Sedona You picked me up in a pick up truck The summer was almost over We followed the cedars far up the hill We lay right on the ground If I couldn’t see the beauty then
 I’m sure I’d see it now We had red rocks Blue skies Turquoise and tiger’s eye We had young love Wild as a desert rose Young love comes and goes I carried deep the promises Of something just begun Felt it burn inside me Like the high desert sun You made me feel like I could be A way I’d never been Maybe someday I will go back there again We had red rocks Blue skies Turquoise and tiger’s eye We had young love Wild as a desert rose Young love comes and goes I still have the silver necklace that you gave me It’s still got all of its shine So much we didn’t know as I was leaving So much we took for granted at the time We had red rocks Blue skies Turquoise and tiger’s eye We had young love Wild as a desert rose Young love comes and goes
6.
Hidden in the Song Lisa Bastoni (c)(P) 2021 Sweet Ondine Music Did you wake up to the sunrise Dewdrops in the meadow Crocuses in one hand 
In the other, purple heather Did you tell her that you loved her As the night turned into day Did you let the fire burn Or did you turn away Simple words But you can’t hide the meaning Hidden in the song
 Hidden in the song
 In the song that you were singing At the party in the backyard
 You were soaking up the stars
 Did you stand so close together
 Or did you stand apart
 Did you look her in the eye
 Did you find the words to say
 Or did you send a message In every note that you played Simple words But you can’t hide the meaning Hidden in the song
 Hidden in the song
 In the song that you were singing Lying underneath the willow You let it go, I guess
 If I ever had a secret 
Could I keep it to myself? Would I try to press it close Would I wait for it to fade? Wouldn’t I be just like you Sing the things I couldn’t say Simple words But you can’t hide the meaning Hidden in the song
 Hidden in the song
 In the song that you were singing
7.
THIS IS MY LOVE Lisa Bastoni (c)(P) 2021 Sweet Ondine Music (BMI) There’s a tugging at my shoes On this road I walk to you Runs as far as a dream can dream I’ve been asking without words I wonder if you heard I wonder if you ever think of me This is my love This is my love This is my love for you There’s a clock to tell the time There’s a cup to hold the wine There’s the sun in the sky and a bird in a tree There’s a turning in your heart You don’t know how it started But inside you know you’re where you’re meant to be This is my love This is my love This is my love for you Sometimes it makes you cry Sometimes you don’t know why Sometimes it’s an uncomplicated thing This is my love This is my love This is my love for you

about

“Backyard Birds” is a collection of seven songs, recorded at home over the winter of 2020/2021. I am thankful to Sean Staples, who produced and played most of the instruments on this album, and who shares the writing with me on four of these seven songs.

The title comes from a line in Sorrow's a String - "a new radio tower has gone up in the distance, but the backyard birds still whistle your song," written after a visit a couple years ago to my grandparents' old place. “Southern Belle” is a song I wrote in Austin back in 2005, given new life here. “Hidden in the Song” and "Red Rocks" were originally intended for How We Want to Live, and I am happy to finally share them now. The last song, “This is My Love,” was recorded onto my phone at my kitchen table. Listen closely and you will hear the backyard birds outside my window.

credits

released May 20, 2021

Lisa Bastoni - guitar, vocal
Tim Kelly - dobro on "Southern Belle"
Sean Staples - guitars, bass, percussion, dobro, banjo, harmony vocals, keys, pump organ, bouzouki, mandolin, baritone uke

Produced, engineered, and mixed by Sean Staples at Wesley Park Studio

"This is My Love" recorded on an iPhone at Lisa's kitchen table

Mastered by David Westner

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about

Lisa Bastoni Northampton, Massachusetts

Lisa Bastoni is a 2019 and 2020 Boston Music Award nominee (Folk) , and winner of the 2019 Kerrville New Folk Contest. "Americana of the highest order...along the lines of Gretchen Peters or Patty Griffin." (Maverick-UK). She lives in Northampton, MA.

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