Touched – Album – mickaustin.com

Touched - The Album

This began as a story about two people from opposite parts of the world, both touched in mysterious ways. They meet, of course, and begin to weave their lives together. Being a songwriter, while writing the story new songs arose and affected the story, and the story the songs. Since the story is, in large measure, one of intense, enduring love, a lot of the songs are love songs. I know, shocking, right?

What grew out of this was a novel, “Touched,” and an album, “Touched.”

Artists on the album: Caitlin Tabancay Austin – Backing Vocals / Mariel Austin – Trombone, Backing Vocals / Mick Austin – Lead Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Drums, Keyboards, Harmonica, Percussion / Renata Tabancay Austin – Backing vocals / Jim Badenoch – Drums / Steve Cameron – Drums / John Dalrymple – Mandolin, 12-string, Wicked tele / Al O’Taney – Harmony Vocals / Sean Patrick O’Taney – Harmony Vocals / Bill Piland – Bass / Paul Stanton – Guitar

Cover art: Mariel Austin

Recorded at Lost Dog Studios, Berkeley and Seymour Labs, Portland

Mixed, remixed, mastered and remastered by Damien Rasmussen of Smoke and Mirrors, the only guy I trust not to f**k up my stuff . . . except JD and Frogs, of course.

I am blessed in that I have been able to sing and play music with my daughters, Renata, Caitlin and Mariel. I know there’s truth in what people say about genetic harmony and vocal blend. On numerous occasions when they are singing in three parts and I’m not looking at them I can’t tell who’s singing what part. They give me joy . . . the best in the world.

Special thanks to Ruth Tabancay . . . my girlfriend, my lover, my wife. And to my longtime friend and partner in crime, David Durand. And to my brother, George, for writing such a bitchin’ song!

(1) Wooly Band

We pulled into town – Casa Grande in the night.
Gracie and her brother and them, a wooly band in flight
Far away from bloody guards and bloody guns
This ain’t no place to raise your child
I need a rock I can park this truck on
Gracie just look at me and smile – We’ll survive

Worked our way up north with the wandering multitude
Doing anything folks around there wouldn’t do
Camp along the road till the man said move along
Keep going till you’ve crossed the county line
Keep going till your spirit’s broke and your life has left your soul
Keep going till you’ve even lost your pride, Not my pride

We worked the land until it blew away
No flag of justice stood unfurled
Just to work with two strong hands and a back will take a load
These things I bring into this world
And I don’t owe the man a single dime
He’s already taken all I own
My home, my land, my dreams, my shadow’s wall
My life undone, my seeds unsown
But I will not play dead, and I won’t go away
I’ll raise my fist in your bloody face
There’s thousands of us now lost on the road
Our only thoughts of a resting place

(2) Tumbled From the Sky

The way I saw you move
You were an angel falling from the sky
There is nothing anyone has written could describe your cry as you
Tumbled from the sky
Tried so hard to fly
But you tumbled from the sky

I had never heard your voice
Somehow I knew you would enchant me
Siren be written all over your face, leading me off course, lost in space
Leaving me waltzing all around your place
A place the rocks belied
As you tumbled from the sky

If God is looking down
He will see I am not evil
I have held you in embrace, your angel wings all up in my face
And I have known your very special grace
Sent from up on high
As you tumbled from the sky
Your wings in God’s eye
As you tumbled from the sky

(3) I Want You to Know Me

It’s hard to know just what to do
When you meet a pretty woman like you
Would it change your mind, your point of view
What I’d done or what I knew
Beginnings are such fragile things but you are all I see
I want you, I want you to know me

This is not me, what’s going on
But you look like trouble, yeah I know this song
This is not a “meet a new friend”
This is a car crash with a very bad end
Potentially that’s the way it could be but you are all I see

Hold me! Hold me!

It’s hard to know just what to do
I’m frozen, I can’t seem to move
I’m frozen, I can’t turn away
I got nothing clever left to say
Beginnings are such fragile things and you are all I see
I want you, I want you to know me

(4) Restitution

I’m gonna tell you a story about a young man
He came down to the city, according to plan
And he found himself in a bar called Restitution
Restitution, Restitution
And he was overwhelmed

He ordered up a shot of courage
She said the choices were sparse
He said, what kind of a bar has limited options for a
Man with a hole in his heart
And she said didn’t you see the sign above the bar
When you came in here
It’s says Restitution, Restitution
And you must pay the price

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction
Two bodies cannot occupy the same space at the same time
But what if one of these laws was just a little bit untrue
Chaos ensues

When the call comes you must have an answer
You must have an answer for the question asked
What’s it gonna be if it’s “be you or be you not?”
What are you gonna have to say for your life
Is there any way you could live without restitution
Restitution . . . the price

(5) For You

If I could see a future rising, I’d be criticizing, philosophizing
If I could see the use in knowing, I’d stop the wind from blowing
For you

If I could stop them all from hating, I would try relating, Quixoteating
Maybe we could end this wild skid – Even reason with stupid
For you

People ask me, “Boy, why do you wallow in your sorrow?”
I say, “Man, you really think you’re gonna be alive tomorrow?”

If I could see the use in trying, I would stop this crying
For you

If there’s an interchange of mercy
Give us all a new key, so we can climb on
This world is running out of heart – I’d tear it all apart
For you

All along the riverside they gather for redemption
Bow their heads, say a prayer, look more like detention

If I could see the use in thinking, I would stop this drinking
For you

If I could feel the end was near – If I could see it clear –
Your love abiding
If I could hold you, my Dear, I would stay right here
For you

(6) Save My Life

I thought I would never see your face again
You were gone so long I thought it was the end
Of our meetings where you’d save my life
Over and over . . . again

Night after night you’d come to me in dream
Your face, your hands, your touch, an endless stream
Of believing you would save my life
Over and over . . . again

The stars are perfect – like your silhouette
Come back to bed – I’m not done with you yet
You don’t have to be afraid anymore

Can’t let you go this time, you, my need
Stop my heart now, I can barely breathe
And I need you here to save my life
Over and over . . . again

(7) I Know You Like I Know

I know you like I know . . . the snow
On a November night
We talked until the day grew light
Nothing was impossible
Clothing was optional
I know you like I know

I know you like I know . . . your face
An amazing grace
When you reached in and touched my soul
You squeezed it a little bit
Then you squeezed out the truth of it
I know you like I know

Because I reached in you just like you done to me
Your heat was so intense, it brought me to my knees
And Lo! Your eyes were burning bright like the sea
Ooh, baby, baby
You feel just right

I know you like I know
I want you, I need you
I got to have your love
I want you in my arms
I want your consequential charms
I know you like I know

(8) Doctor Love

I was born asking questions . . . All about woman
What she do under covers . . . What she do for her fun
Don’t want to use the word “obsession”
Let’s just say it was my reason to be
Well, I studied and I studied
Did projects, got mostly “A”s
But the subject still so vast for me
Drawn by the challenge, I made contact with a girl
I looked in her eyes, great pools of cosmic light and I said
If you got a love complication
If you need a love consultation
Call on me . . . I am Doctor Love

I made love to many women . . . who’d made love to many men
I gathered all my data . . . examined all my specimens
Well, the field work was grueling
But you know I loved that stint
Well, I’d do it for free in a perfect world
But hey, I gotta pay the rent
State of the art care, guaranteed total satisfaction
Middle of the night care, back door service
Cue the motto

Doctor Love will see you through
Doctor Love will care for you
Soul wound, Doctor Moan will hum
A song of love to keep you warm
Join with me now, feel the heat
Walk the coals, burn your feet
Send up to the spot in your soul
Lord save me! How I love my roll!
I see myself as a skilled professional assignation
Like one of them Eastern Love Gurus, yeah
Uh, the motto?

(9) Lover of Man

Cold wind tonight, won’t get much sleep
Remember our last encounter – Your tongue cut so deep

All through December – West Hollywood
You started dancing at the KitKat – I pretended it was all good
Then that gig in Fallbrook – You held your breath
I started using again – You cut me off, it was a winter’s death

Don’t shoot me where I stand – I’m a lover of man
There’s a greater harm, you say, don’t turn away, don’t turn away
I don’t even have a plan – I’m just a lover of man

Don’t shoot me anywhere, I cannot tolerate a steely blade
Or any words that seek to rend me
I won’t exonerate, instigate, conflagrate, create
This living, f**king tribulation

Starlight tonight – shine like the day
The light’s coming for me – Show me the way
I’m ready for my personal God – Touch me
Oh, baby, I see your face in every stranger’s face I see

Don’t shoot me where I stand – I’m a lover of man
There’s a greater harm, you say, don’t turn away, don’t turn away
I don’t even have a plan – I’m just a lover of man

(10) The Wrong Guitar

The notes were wrong, and I played them poorly
I sang my song, but the words weren’t right
You walked away – I’ll miss you sorely
Guess I brought the wrong guitar with me last night

I played the chords, but the words weren’t rhyming
I let you go without a fight
You always said that I had bad timing
Guess I brought the wrong guitar with me last night

I got to find a way to deal with all I’ve lost
I got to find a way no matter what the cost
But my life is out of tune – No love songs left to croon
I guess I got all my signals crossed

I’ll sing again when the pain stops hurting
Some jukebox dive in the fading barroom light
I’ll sing it loud as they raise the curtain
Guess I brought the wrong guitar with me last night

Got to find a way to deal with all that’s wrong
Got to find a way to write a brand new song
But my life is out of key – No love songs left in me
I guess I got the whole damn thing all wrong

I’ll sing again if the pain stops hurting
Some jukebox joint in the fading barroom light
I’ll sing it soft as they lower the curtain
I guess I brought the wrong guitar with me last night

(11) I Guess This Means We’re Through

I saw you on the street the other day – Didn’t really have a lot to say
On the arm of a guy I knew
I guess this means we’re through

I really thought if I just fell in line – Chanting slogans, carrying signs
I didn’t realize I had to think it true
I guess this means we’re through

Hear him talk about the dialectic
Little Trotsky makes me apoplectic
Playing a part – Poseur at heart
If you really want to take the pain away
Maybe be with some one lived it everyday
Driving it hard – Playing my card

In the event that you should lose that loser
Take your time, you could be a reuser
Reassemble this heart – Broke it apart

I saw you on the block from where we came
Acted like you didn’t even know my name
Cruelty really seems to suit you
I guess this means we’re through

(12) Louise

Climb up here Louise, there’s room for your knees
I know you’re only happy when you’re looking down at me
So let me wrap my hands around your ascending signs
My Jupiter is rising and we don’t have a lot of time

No anger did I feel – No love would I steal
But when he disrespected you that was a different deal
Your dress above your thighs as you crashed to the floor
But dignity and steel as you walked out the door

Barndance romance – More than this I fear
Drunk Okie redneck – Danger growing near
Fools fall into your eyes – I’m gazing into those eyes against my will

I’ve gone and played the deal – I seek no one’s advice
I’m weary of this lonely substitute for Paradise
I’m weary of this time wasted waiting on the shore
I’m going in the water now

(13) Free Will

If they offered me gold, offered me silver
Mazzeratis – Blood diamonds too
Everything I could dream of, everything I could pray for
Anything, just to get to you
I got no reason to lie or be untrue
Except I got no reason to breathe without you

I want to be inside you – Twisted up inside you
Feel you there, just like my skin
But I can’t get deep enough with the usual tools
Oh, baby, please let me in
You seem to think your free will has been compromised
Just let me say, baby, you don’t need to be exorcised

Because you stand alone and you’re in control
And you never needed me

You seem to think your free will has been compromised
Just let me say, baby, you don’t need to be exorcised

Because you stand alone and you’re in control
And you never needed me

(14) Water to Wine

So many questions are laid at my doorstep
Like vapor from a bottle, I need them for courage
To wander through armies – Seek out pure senses
Wrenched from an ocean of conflated dreams
Stoned in the valleys, stoned on the hilltops
Tapped out and playing for time
And I’m waiting for Jesus to come along and change my water to wine

Scandal enlargement escaping detection
An offered escarpment – Defender in need
These unhappy endings are bound for confusion
There’s no getting around it, there’s a crisis to feed
Destiny’s witch is along for the story
We want her spirit to climb
So I’m waiting for Jesus to come along and change my water to wine

There’s a red El Camino will take us to glory
The light of a thousand suns burns in our eyes
Wranglers attending will fill up our heads and our souls
With a bucket from which hopes arise

Morning will find us awaiting instruction
Queued up a staircase to uncertain quarters
Some rooms for jesting – Some rooms for dreaming
Some rooms for screaming when our hope is lost
Unreal expectations lead to major disappointment
Yet I am holding the line
While I’m waiting for Jesus to come along and change my water to wine
Yes I’m waiting for Jesus to come along and change my water to wine