Big Old Life
Released in 2007
$12.00
This CD was a hallelujah after some hard times – and our first recording with engineer/co-producer Chris Rival, who began to show us, in his Zen way, how to get the best of daisy mayhem onto tape.
A year after the release of Gambling Eden, Rani and Scott had a son, and we went through Rani’s breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Thus, Big Old Life, which tackles love, death, fear, and joy (and red-haired boys, and a few other things). Standout covers are Sean Staples’ “Joy Comes Back” and May Erlewine’s “Shine On,” which we love to sing, and which have touched many people over the years.
Download Big Old Life Liner Notes (PDF)
- Joy Comes Back
Sean Staples (Wesley Park Music, BMI)
I wanna be ready
I wanna be ready
I wanna be ready when joy comes back to meI’ve been downhearted but I won’t be down for long
Cause I wanna be ready…I’ve been too long crying but I ain’t gonna cry no more
Cause I wanna be ready…I’ve been tied to the ground, Lord, I’m getting lighter every day
I’ve been surrounded by midnight, but the sun’s gonna shine again
Cause I wanna be ready… - Big Old Life
Rani Arbo (Jinn Mill Music, BMI)
Glass half empty, glass half full
Depends on the day, depends on the fool who is asking
And the fool who replies
You’re going to drink it up anyway
Does it really matter what you say?
Raise your cup to another day in this big old lifeDoor wide open, door closed down
Depends on the moon, depends on the clown in your head
Waving all those signs
Skip the wherefores and shouldn’t we’s
Head straight for the exit, please
Step onto the path you made in this big old lifeSun comes up, sun goes down
On every small forgotten town
Shining down on every soul
Spilling light on every dark hole
Ain’t a thing you gotta do
To let that sun shine down on you
But step right in to that big old lifeLove me tender, love me not
Depends on the flower, depends on the heart plucking petals
And the mirror inside
Are you ready to rise and shine
Are you ready to say be mine
If you are then let’s take a ride in this big old life - Red Haired Boy
Traditional/lyrics by Rani Arbo (Jinn Mill Music, BMI)
If I was a red-haired boy, tell you what I’d do
I would kiss all the girls before I got to you
If I was a red-haired boy, never go to school
I would spend all the day down at Codfish PoolRed haired boys will trick you
Red haired boys are mean
Red haired boys can make the girls do most anythingExcept one red haired boy I knew, many years ago
Way up in the mountains where the preachers never go
Eyes as blues diamonds, he walked barefoot through the snow
And that red-haired boy would follow me most anywhere I’d goRed haired boys will trick you
Red haired boys are mean
Red haired boys can make the girls do most anything - Roses
Rani Arbo (Jinn Mill Music, BMI)
On the streets of New York City, where the asphalt greets the sun
Morning slips in sideways like a cheater on the run
She’s out there on the sidewalk, kneeling at her toil
Pulling weeds for Jesus with her knuckles in the soilShe is no Saint Theresa, she is no paragon
Her fingernails are dirty, her old blue jeans are worn
She doesn’t talk to strangers, she hardly knows you’re there
She doesn’t want your money, she doesn’t want your prayersBecause this is God’s dominion, this is peace on Earth
This is what she’s put here for, this is what she’s worth
Other things that matter have slowly slipped away
Now she grows her roses, she grows her roses
And she grows her roses all dayShe remembers a young woman with hair as fine as gold
She remembers all her lovers, she remembers growing old
She remembers meeting Jesus, she can recall that day
She gave him all her seeds of darkness, he buried him awayNow she coaxes hope from concrete, she coaxes right from wrong
She makes the Spanish ladies break into their Spanish songs
When at night the smell her roses in the streetlamp’s yellow sun
And they dream of summer dresses and the streets of old San JuanBecause this is God’s dominion, this is peace on Earth
This is what she’s put here for, this is what she’s worth
Other things that matter have slowly slipped away
Now she grows her roses, she grows her roses
And she grows her roses all day - What's That
Anand Nayak (DizzyDog Music, ASCAP)
What’s that buzzing in my ears, whose is the siren call
That melody so pure and piercing out behind the wall
What’s that motion of the mind that endless rise and fall
The notion we are meant to find a reason for it allSo soon, so soon we’ll leave the room
Outside the door, it won’t matter anymore
It won’t matter anymoreWhat’s that game we used to play that song we used to sing
Seems like only yesterday we didn’t know a thing
When will we remember what we all forgot to bring
The case is open, the case is shut
The bell’s about to ringSo soon, so soon we’ll leave the room
Outside the door, it won’t matter anymore
It won’t matter anymoreTick tock the time scuttles like a dock rat hustling
after he makes his play
Click clack goes the drummer in the back of your mind
but you don’t know what to say
Bump bump your heart thumps every time it tries to pump
It could take your breath away
1-2-3 come and dance with me
To the number of our daysWhat’s that tickling my toes, a touch so light and cold
Who knows how the ending goes, to a story never told
The crows have called the numbers out for silver and for gold
And there ain’t no more room for doubt
About the cards I holdSo soon, so soon we’ll leave the room
Outside the door, it won’t matter anymore
It won’t matter anymore - Thief
Jim McGuiness (Wild Music, BMI)
Halfway back from Montgomery
The road is covered with snow
I thought I heard a familiar voice
Over the radioBetter go burn the juniper
Flavor the air with gin
Lie awake with a Gideon
Wondering what the day’s gonna bringLike a thief, or a whippoorwill I’ll fly
by the light of the moon
And I know that it won’t be long
cause morning always breaks too soonTake a tip from the scriptures
You can’t be going too far
When you lie awake by a window
Confusing the tail lights and starsThere’s a message left on the counter
Number nailed to the door
Wind blowing down the highway
I can’t seem to ignoreLike a thief, or a whippoorwill I’ll fly
by the light of the moon
And I know that it won’t be long
cause morning always breaks too soon - Heart With No Companion
Leonard Cohen (Sony/ATV Songs, Inc, BMI)
And I greet you from the other side
Of sorrow and despair
With a heart so vast and shattered
It will reach you anywhereAnd I sing this for the captain
whose ship has not been built
For the mother in confusion
Her cradle still unfilled
For the heart with no companion
For the soul without a king
For the prima ballerina
Who cannot dance to anythingThrough days of shame that are coming
Through the nights of wild distress
Though your promise counts for nothing
You must keep it nonethelessYou must keep it for the captain
Whose ship has not been built
For the mother in confusion
Her cradle still unfilled
For the heart with no companion
For the soul without a king
For the prima ballerina
Who cannot dance to anything - Oil in my Vessel
Traditional, from Joe Thompson
I got oil in my vessel, and my lamp’s trimmed and burning
I wanna be ready when the bridegroom comes
I got oil in my vessel, and my lamp’s trimmed and burning
I wanna be ready when the bridegroom comesMust Jesus bear that cross alone, and all of the world go free
There’s a cross for everyone, and there is a cross for meAmazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see - Farewell, Angelina
Bob Dylan (Special Rider Music, SESAC)
Farewell Angelina
The bells of the crown
Are being stolen by bandits
I must follow the sound
The triangle tingles
And the trumpet plays slow
Farewell Angelina
The sky is on fire
And I must go.There’s no need for anger
There’s no need for blame
There’s nothing to prove
Ev’rything’s still the same
Just a table standing empty
By the edge of the sea
Farewell Angelina
The sky is trembling
And I must leave.The jacks and queens
Have forsaked the courtyard
Fifty-two gypsies
Now file past the guards
In the space where the deuce
And the ace once ran wild
Farewell Angelina
The sky is folding
I’ll see you in a while.See the cross-eyed pirates sitting
Perched in the sun
Shooting tin cans
With a sawed-off shotgun
And the neighbors they clap
And they cheer with each blast
Farewell Angelina
The sky’s changing color
And I must leave fast.King Kong, little elves
On the rooftoops they dance
Valentino-type tangos
While the make-up man’s hands
Shut the eyes of the dead
Not to embarrass anyone
Farewell Angelina
The sky is embarrassed
And I must be gone.The machine guns are roaring
The puppets heave rocks
The fiends nail time bombs
To the hands of the clocks
Call me any name you like
I will never deny it
Farewell Angelina
The sky is erupting
I must go where it’s quiet. - Mother of our Dreams
Andrew Kinsey (Dittydittyoldman Music, BMI)
You were the one of sleeping moongown
of midnight leaves as bright as day
And you were the one to hill tumble run down
into the woods to get awayYou were the one to break night’s branches
To find that cold forgotten tree
And you were the one of God’s romances
with those who put our pain at easeOh mother of our dreams
of our lives and what they seem
kiss us goodnight and let us know
where to goAnd you were the one with pigtails flying
In photographs beneath the sea
And you were the one of sparrows dying
In the small hands of your sympathyAnd you were the one of underneath all
The looking in and the sinking deep
And you were the one to wrap in a pearl shawl
The questions asked in your children’s sleep - Hole in Heaven
Rani Arbo (Jinn Mill Music, BMI)
There’s a hole in heaven where my heart slips through
There’s a hole in heaven and I can see you
See you clearly by the light of the sun
Shining on every little thing that you’ve doneYour little boy grown to a great big man
With a heart of gold, it’s the best that you can
leave behind when it’s time to go
He’s walking his own road, his own roadHallelujahs from the kitchen choir
Flag on the mast flying higher and higher
Hands reaching out, hearts open wide
To hold the love that we find insideYou said grace at the table, said goodnight
Held your lover in the chill of the moonlight
Warmth of your body, feel of your skin
Is still whisperingYou left bright red poppies in your garden
A thousand stories for your children
Blessed time on this solid ground
Making your own sound, your own soundHallelujahs from the kitchen choir
There’s a hole in heaven and my heart’s on fire
Hands reaching out, hearts open wide
To hold the love that we find insideThere’s a hole in heaven and you’re watching me
I’ll show you this silver coin I carry
One side fear and the other side love
I still have time enough, I have enoughThere’s a hole in heaven where my heart slips through
There’s a hole in heaven and I’m right behind you
Right behind you - Shine On
May Erlewine (earthworkmusic.com)
Knock me off of my feet
But I think it’s time for me to start walking again
Stop running away
Next time you see me
I will be singing a new song
I am learning to shine onShine on, shine on
There’ll be time enough for darkness when everything’s gone
Shine on, shine on
There is work to be done in the dark before dawnAnd I know it’s hard not to give in
And it ain’t easy living in hard times
I know it’s weighing on my mind
Next time you see me
I’ll be uplifting, yes I will give you hope
I am learning as I go to shine onI know how dark it seems
I feel it coming up in side of me
And I feel it in you too, in everything you do
Next time you see me
We’ll both be laughing, oh just to be alive
We are learning to shine on
