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Half An Hour Away (Remastered)

by David Elias & The Great Unknown

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1.
Half An Hour Away Words and Music by David Elias © 2001 David Elias I wish I had a field of corn Or half a rag to keep me warm A bag of bones to blow my horn Time to fade away I wish I had a bowl of wheat Or half an ear to keep the beat See me on a one way street Half an hour away Old time Old time old time Half an hour away I wish I had a room of gin And all the keys to lock me in Never see my face again Time to fade away I wish there was a world of green And half the time to be unseen Never what you really mean Half an hour away Old time Old time old time Half an hour away I’ll look for you in dreams come true When all you see is what you do Never mind the world you knew Half an hour away Old time Old time old time Half an hour away
2.
One Last Chance Words and Music by David Elias © 2001 David Elias Dm If I had one last chance C Would I throw it away G Reach for your shoulder Dm Or turn my back away And if I had one last match Would I burn it for you Or follow the water To find some deeper blue --------- solo 2x -------- If I had one last wish Would it ever come true Am I wasting my time While I’m doing what I do And if I had one last word Would I say it aloud Or carry it forever With me through the clouds ------- solo 4x (build to max, then fall off completely at end for last verse…) --------- If I had one last day Would I watch the sunrise Or would I turn my face away And cover up my eyes If I had one last day Would I watch the sunrise Or would I turn my face away And cover up my eyes --------- end ---------
3.
The Riddle Song - by David Elias I took a little piece of thread from the pillow on my bed I put it underneath my arm to keep it safe and keep it warm It found its way into my heart Where it was destined from the start That’s the way it goes, ain’t that the way it goes I picked a penny from the floor Walking through the hardware store I put it into my old shoe, it seemed to be the thing to do It found its way into my soul filling up an empty hole That’s the way it goes, ain’t that the way it goes A feather landed on my knee When I was leaning ‘gainst a tree It wasn’t any kind of test Just looking for a place to rest It found its way under my skin Grew to spread its wings within That’s the way it goes, ain’t that the way it goes
4.
Heavy Is The Water Words and Music by David Elias 3/28/96 Em C Heavy is the water D Em Blank is the stare Em C D Em We are congregated in these moments of despair Em C Heavy is the water D Em Heavy is the rain Em C D Em As we try to gather round these moments that remain Heavy is the meaning That we are forced to face It looked you squarely in the eye And put you in your place Heavy is the meaning Of loss to those who loved And watching from a distance while they carry on above Heavy is the mourning Halfway to the grave Daughters sons and lovers And those who never came Heavy in the evening From whiskey rye and song You talked about it all night It passed you and was gone Heavy winter whispers The sorrow and the pain Flowers in the river And water down the drain Heavy winter whitening Erasing all below You ask me where it's going I tell you I don't know
5.
Nail in the Sea Words and Music by David Elias G F There’s a nail in the sea C G And a shell on the door And nothing in me Even less than before If you try to be free You may find yourself poor With a nail in the sea And a shell on the door There’s a tide full of rage And a boat lost at sea An unwritten page Left for no one to see Will the clove scented sage Erase all memory Of the tide full of rage And the boat lost at sea There’s a morning that’s clear And the waves face the sky And everything’s near No one’s saying goodbye If you listen you’ll hear All those tears in my eyes On the morning that’s clear And the waves face the sky There’s a nail in the sea And a shell on the door And nothing in me Even less than before If you try to be free You may find yourself poor With a nail in the sea And a shell on the door
6.
Stormy Early Warnings by David Elias G C/G Friendly on the avenue G C/G Friendly on the street G C/G And the only one who never knew G C/G What you couldn't beat Em A9 You would linger through the morning Em A9 Linger through the afternoon Em A9 Those stormy early warnings Em Would come on none A9 G G/C G G/C Come on none too soon Ask me if it matters Ask me if I care Through walls and under ladders Never really there You would linger through the morning Linger through the afternoon Those stormy early warnings Would come on none Come on none too soon In the presence of the fiction With the pressure of a lie In a common contradiction Hey never time to say goodbye You would linger through the morning Linger through the afternoon Those warnings come too early And nothing comes, nothing comes Nothing comes, nothing comes too soon Friendly on the avenue Friendly on the street And the only one who never knew What you couldn't beat You would linger through the morning Linger through the afternoon Those stormy early warnings Would come on none Come on none too soon
7.
Meet Me In Eureka Words and Music by David Elias © 2001 David Elias – All Rights Reserved My life has been a 2-lane road to nowhere And now I wonder if I am the only traveler there And did I drive it drunk or was I sober An empty road leaves little room For anyone to care And when I came between those empty boundaries Were there fence posts or some arrows Telling me ways to go Or did I hide inside a dream from those who found me What’s the difference and then how the hell would I know Come see me in Eureka In Nevada on a Sunday Eight hours from Blind Valley On the loneliest highway We’ll both sit down and never find A single thing to say That’s how it is in lonely towns On lonely old highways I finally found where friends of mine been hiding Way out on lone highways In their vehicles of sin A single wave says howdy and goodbye then As we pass each other Without looking back again Come see me in Eureka In Nevada on a Sunday Eight hours from Blind Valley On the loneliest highway We’ll both sit down and never find A single thing to say That’s how it is in lonely towns On lonely old highways
8.
9.
All The Wrong Words by David Elias ©1996 G/A G/B G/C G/A G/B G/C G/A G/B G/C G G/A G/B G/C He switched and he settled for all the G G/A G/B G/C wrong words G G/A G/B And pulled them like blankets up G/C G/A G/B G/C close to his ears G G/A G/B G/C G He tried to deny all that had come before G G/A G/B But those words hung like windows and G/C G G/A G/B G/C frames around doors G Bm All the wrong words Am7 All the wrong whys D All the wrong times D7 G Collections of lies G Bm All the wrong words Am7 All the wrong whys D D7 G All the wrong times Reconstruction is awkward and different at best Like a point out in time No connections at all Well it's just an idea of what might have been And you can't say it's right til it's standing again All the wrong words All the wrong whys All the wrong times Collections of lies All the wrong words All the wrong whys All the wrong times Collections of lies He switched and he settled for all the wrong words And pulled them like blankets up close to his ears He tried to deny all that had come before But those words hung like windows and frames around doors
10.

about

~~~~~ About "Half An Hour Away" ~~~~~~

Pure freshly squeezed acoustic trio, recorded in a natural setting of a performance theater on Hwy 1 in Northern California, with no one else in the house. You will be transported to another time when you sit back and relax with this one. Lyrical with a folky and celtic feel.

Recorded in the dawn of the 21st century, David performed with his sparse trio as The Great Unknown (Lisa Kelly/mandolin, Gary McArthur/sax, flute) on their down home west coast turf in Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco on Highway 1.

Using the local performance hall and theater as a working studio, The Great Unknown played these delicate songs to an ambient recording environment, capturing all nuances of the band and the room. No artificial effects such as reverb were used in the recording or mix. It has no overdubs or funny business added. Relax and enjoy...

Compelling is the word for David's new CD
"The light and open quality of this recording lends itself to
the lyrical work David's putting together. His songs have never sounded better as a result of a less is more theory.
David also realizes the benefit of re-invention. I don't think his music will get old, at least not from where I'm watching." -- Reid Dennis, The Mark Reid Band

Catchy melodies...thoughtful lyrics...
"Elias' new work, "Half an Hour Away," is right on time when it comes to mellow acoustic music with catchy melodies and thoughtful lyrics...Elias & The Great Unknown have been making themselves known, locally and beyond, with a combination of gigs and production work." -- Half Moon Bay Review

Intelligent, inspirational acoustic music
"David Elias is the best singer/songwriter in America today,
and his new album with the Great Unknown pulls him farther
from the pack. Engaging lyrics, haunting melodies, and
unique acoustic soundscapes make this gem of a CD an instant
classic of modern folk music. Enjoy." - Tomo

Unplugged? These folk/rock songs were never plugged!
"David is a tremendous songwriter. There are many more songs on his page which are worth checking out. This great folk song [Half An Hour Away] features guitar, mandolin and flute ensemble. Recorded live." -- Unplugged MP3

Celtic Music Around the World
"Largely a folk artist, David's strength is absolutely in his acoustic guitar. Delightful melody [Half An Hour Away]." -- World Celtic Music on MP3.com

credits

released January 1, 2001

All Songs by David Elias, Copyright 2001, All Rights Reserved
Produced and Arranged by David Elias
Remastered (24/44.1 w/ MQA)
Recorded and Mixed by David Elias, Tascam DA-88, 16/48
Mastered by Gus Skinas, www.superaudiocenter.com
Cover photo by David Elias

Recorded live onstage in an empty theater during the day at Mel Mello Theater right off Hwy 1 in Half Moon Bay, California.

David Elias: acoustic, vocal, harmonica
Gary McArthur: flute, tenor sax
Lisa Kelly: mandolin

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David Elias Hawaii

Acoustically rooted and distracted.

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