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One Year in the Lesser Middle

by Tom Alter

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1.
2020 Part I 03:35
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I'm singing in the backyard The birds are joining in The normal traffic's absent Leaving a vacuum to be filled Now there are clowns off to the left And there are jokers to the right And I wake up in the morning Looking forward to sleep at night. Someone said it's fifteen And soon to be just none Now we're racing to a number Could be two hundred K or more It's too damn hard to see a light And if this never will conclude I'll stay here in the back room Until the end with you. If this is the reason that we ever met If these are the moments we were meant to live Then let this be the why We close ranks and we thrive Even as we cry Even as we cry. The year's not yet half over And the first wave's not yet done There's talk there'll be a second Or has the first one just begun? It's so damn hard to see a light Through injustice and disease But we'll ride these waves together 'Til we're in open sea.
2.
I Miss Mondays 03:40
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I felt a tear in my eye as I left the church Knowing that I wouldn't be back for awhile And the job that I had and didn't think I could hack Is now a thing to look back on and just smile I never thought I'd miss Mondays. But I've got my God and He will see me through And I'm blessed for every minute spent with you Even on Mondays. I've heard if I have my health, then I've all the wealth And I'm starting now to believe that it's real And the things that I thought mattered so much And even could aggravate me, now I see They were only like Mondays. Yes I've got my faith and it will see me through And I'm blessed for every word I get from you Especially on Mondays I miss my Mondays. I'm thankful for each day like it's the weekend.
3.
Hypnagogia 04:28
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I oscillate from dark to light And day to night Missing all the stops Missing all the starts I dream of days absent of pain And many come Not all, but some. For now I'm in my hypnagogia. I'm living in my hypnagogia. I recognize The signs display for me I'm disinclined To follow them to see What's coming next On the horizon line Maybe I'll move, maybe I'll move When the time is right. But now I'm in my hypnagogia. I'm staying in my hypnagogia. Floating between Waking and dreams Life passing by Is it March or July? For now I'm in my hypnagogia I'm living in my hypnagogia But now I'm in my hypnagogia I'm staying in my hypnagogia.
4.
Rivers' Lament 03:54
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I just keep on loving you My hand over my heart When I see the colors flow My hand's over my heart. I just keep on trying to be As you want I swim upstream In your river's waters flow As you want I swim upstream. I have been much too quick Gullible, I take your crumbs You scatter them along the road So gullible, I take them home. So many times you've said to me I'm welcome in the band I reach for the hand you extend to me And again you pull it back You pull it back. Yes I keep on loving you I'm trying and dying as the colors flow I still go on loving you Do my part, pay the price, to death's door. So many times you've said to me I'm welcome in the band I reach for the hand you extend to me And again you pull it back You pull it back. I fought battles at your side And even if I take a knee I'll still love when our colors flow Even if I'm on my knees I'm on my knees.
5.
I Want a Country 04:16
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I want a country I want a place that reflects the promises and ideal Where common cause is real I want a country. I want to be united But we are so divided On lines that never change Weren't we to be a beacon? That's what we've been saying Was it all a lie? What is all a fake? I want a country Not a nation that's come unraveled to blue and red Where common welfare lives I want a country. Weren't we to be united? Were we once inspired to be like family? Weren't we to be a beacon? That's what we've been saying Was it all a lie? Is it just a fake? I want a country.
6.
Rogue Waves 04:06
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The boy lost his self-idea before his thirteenth year And though the one who brought the fear would soon become a friend The boy lost his confidence and taking two steps back He could never feel so sure again. The boy heard his father cry he never will return In an hour the door was cracked he whispered all was good But then that thought would reoccur, he could disappear He would never feel so sure again. You might live for years and years Think there's nothing that you lack Safe and sound one moment here Then not so much the next When you stop to pause awhile To try to get on track You may find you've gone too far And there ain't no turning back There ain't no turning back. No shelf load of self-help books can keep this truth contained A house built on solid rock can still be swept away Keep one eye out trouble can shake all your better days Listen for the rumble of rogue ways. You might live for years and years Think there's nothing that you lack Safe and sound one moment here Then not so much the next When you stop to pause awhile To try to get on track You may find you've gone too far And there ain't no turning back There ain't no turning back. I thought I was going fine, I thought that you were too. But trying to talk just one more time It's impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible to do. You might live for years and years Think there's nothing that you lack Safe and sound one moment here Then not so much the next When you stop to pause awhile To try to get on track You may find you've gone too far And there ain't no turning back There ain't no turning back.
7.
2020 Part II 04:24
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Jenny works on the food line Feeding the unemployed since early in May And Ronnie works at her table Putting care packages together for dozens of friends Many are hungry and still those who can't breathe In our streets and on machines So many are restless and some sadly reckless As we live in the hope of vaccines. Two decades in this millennia It's been a year of long, long nights We sit at home and watch serials on the TV And in this year of long, long nights If we can keep it together Next year will be better, it will surely be better Just believe. With hospitals filling up and politics failing us It's become so easy to tell The system is overwhelmed We need to heal ourselves Let's not us fast forget, or simply grow weary of The lessons we learned in the spring We all feel this restlessness, celebrate selflessness And live in the hope of vaccines. Two decades in this millennia It's been a year of long, long nights We sit at home and watch serials on the TV And in this year of long, long nights If we can keep it together, next year will be better It will surely be better Just believe. Keep it together for the doctors and nurses Keep it together for the grocery store workers Keep it together for therapists and maintenance Keep it together for the nursing home residents Keep it together for the truckers and shippers Keep it together for the students and teachers Keep it together.
8.
The Pendulum 05:34
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There's a cemetery in the yard A sure reminder of what's been lost But it's okay anyway 'Cause the neighbors aren't ever bothersome at all. I was in the room to see you cry On the day that your mother died The whole way through I think you knew I had no clue How to take your grief away. Eight hours later laughing in the car Riding away from some forgotten bar We had a drink then tried to sing and not to think To try to suffocate the pain. So smart, then so dull So sharp, then so numb Hoping to never feel this way again. In the evening heartbeats slowing down The commotion settles in a cloud Floating away we hope to stay in a safe place For at least an hour or two. Then something punctures through the sleep Then wide awake for an hour or three In waking dream it starts to seem All is going wrong. Rise up, then fall Go mad (rise up), then calm (rise up) And we'll probably feel this way again. In the end this is what life is Riding on a pendulum Here's the thing, life will bring another swing of the pendulum again Swing the pendulum again.

about

This album is a collection of songs written during the year 2020. It was a year in which world and national events affected all of us. While pandemic, racial issues, and politics were enough to cause disturbance in our lives, the challenges of private life continued. Yet, there is always hope for a better tomorrow and blessings are found in the darkness. I collected my thoughts in song and I hope you find something to relate to in my music. Thank you for listening. - Tom

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released January 31, 2021

All songs written and performed by Tom Alter

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Tom Alter Detroit, Michigan

Tom Alter is a singer-songwriter based in Detroit. The influences of jazz, folk, pop, and Latin genres are found in his original compositions. Tom's lyrics mix world events with the affect on his personal ideals. He has released 3 EPs and 2 albums since 2019. His work can be found on digital and streaming music platforms. He is also a member of the duo After Blue.
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