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Back Before the Fall

by Anthony Savino

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1.
Fuller Plate 04:10
I used to walk in grinning a grin the work day ahead would be full with projects that some would call dull repetitive tasks, weigh this, empty that it ain’t as bad as it sounds the rhythm of hours going ‘round and I did not mind filling the time I felt comfortable within the lull I was happy to work for a fuller plate well, the day came around when they sat me down and told me I worked very hard said that I would go far one more dollar an hour, how's that for more power I said yes without batting an eye with that I was saying goodbye to the rhythms I loved, the rag and the glove the product I handled with care a much bigger share meant a fuller plate now the office is cold, I'm mostly alone supervisors don't have many friends the view from the top's a dead end why did I say yes to this extra stress for a menial uptick in pay and longer work days less of my own time, more frantic at-home time what would the manager say if I were to clear my plate the alarm clock goes off, I sigh and I scoff reluctantly leave the warm sheets where the love of my life softly sleeps I rub my eyes, another dream dies as I step out into the cold where's the wonder I used to behold when I would walk in grinning a grin before the man put me on skates all for the sake of a fuller plat
2.
I've been saving up, these wheels go slow starlight, take me high then let me go what a world, I play remember when count the lines that cross my palms someone point the way, I never know if I fall, that's nothing new I'm landing, too I hear that you've lost your glowing side many million stars lend you their light what a life, the worst is over all you want is to take it from the top driving past a million second tries when you fall, what happens next when you fall, would you expect to reconnect with what you left I've been saving up, these wheels go slow
3.
Lightning 02:52
back before the fall, I had it all gold watch, leather shoes, and a three-piece suit boss starts making cuts, I told him what's what left an empty room with a corner view I saw lightning from the backseat of a flying yellow taxi left New York life behind me can't escape the chills every room inside the Marriott's got a bucket to fill can't escape the clouds need an elevator to take me down I saw lightning from the top floor started crying cause I want more than a flash of light to guide me dream of nameless seas where the waves reach for the sky and never dive underneath Tuesday morning in the executive suite spilled my coffee when I saw the towers falling on TV
4.
did you see the big machine turning, its gears are the heart of the world stuck in perpetual motion, sputtering progress, profit, and pearls billboards on every highway, incredible offers that glow in the dark throw me the rope, unravel the road, costs nothing to hope there's somewhere to park what would you do for a million dollar bill paychecks scatter like foliage, stick to the ground with red tape manager pockets the overage, throws a cigar down the fire escape under the pressure to work, my only desire's to spend been counting my days on an hourly wage, the city's a cage, it's a maze of dead ends what would you do for a million dollar bill would you sing dreamt about a forest full of money trees past the poison reservoir and state police no security camera will ever see did you see the factory burning, blood-red and blue in HD another one's already turning into elegant luxury lofts down the street what would you do for a million dollar bill
5.
Seen It All 02:01
one million miles to go and you’ve seen it all one million miles to go and you’ve seen it all one million miles, you know the highs, you know the lows you’ve seen it all well, you see, nothing changes if you cover your eyes but you’ve seen it all ten thousand hours makes perfect, that’s what they say ten thousand hours makes perfect, or so they say ten thousand hours, a dozen flowers, a thousand paper cranes a dollar raise tell you what, nothing changes if you don’t change your mind but you’ve seen it all one million times, you know a guy, you know the ropes you’ve seen it all
6.
Family Tree 03:24
at 43 my mom had her degree she worked weekends and nights under hospital lights she raised three kids to be creative thinkers but my open mind can't see why she stayed home on election day not like a vote matters anyway a country divided by the undecided in the tiny hands of a big business man the family tree is losing leaves it's losing me, I cannot relate got a ride from my dad last friday felt like a teen in his SUV we got to talking about the people walking the streets with signs that say "change the times" he don't think that things are that serious said I'm swayed by the liberal media how can the guy who showed me public radio be fine with a fraud in the white house the family tree is losing leaves it's losing me, I cannot relate I sleep in the shade of a flag in flames practice playing for pocket change flip a coin between hope and fear everyday Nonna came with a soldier's name she had set her sights on the stars and stripes she’s still living in old New England it's cold at night and dark by five when I call her she's on that tip about how the country's in satan's grip how can an immigrant let her president put foreign children in cages the family tree is losing leaves it's losing three black sheep the family tree is losing leaves it's losing me, I just can’t relat
7.
did it with a formula, did it with a plan followed intuition, fallen in the sand practiced under pressure, killed the lights at dawn sat through empty lectures, ran through private lawns I got a one-track mind and tunnel vision nothing gonna change that now when I'm given a wayward mission I just wanna turn around set my watch to a glacial patience get in line for the atmosphere I know I told you I don't mind waiting but I gotta get outta here and chart some nonsense with fair-weather friends march in time with a sea of students until I'm young again raise my voice in a dancing choir burn my words in a backyard fire curse the man in a crowd of hippies pack the van and trip the light through static I got a one-track mind and tunnel vision nothing gonna change that now when I'm given a wayward mission I just wanna turn around set my watch to a glacial patience hold the line until the signal's clear I know I told you I don't mind waiting but I gotta get outta here feel like waving a banner off the overpass when's the off-ramp, where’s that laughing gas I just wanted to talk shop, brass tacks and special ops I got away from the vipers, but it feels like there's something on my back I got a one-track mind and tunnel vision nothing gonna change that now when I'm given a wayward mission I just wanna turn around I can summon a glacial patience scan the room while I hold your beer I know I told you I don't mind waiting but I gotta get outta here
8.
The Old Me 03:03
I went to the shopping mall, the lights were bright, the ceilings tall and each display on every wall was perfectly arranged the shoe store was a bookstore once, I scanned the spines when I was punk now it's sneakers, boots, and pumps and even I have changed I wanted to imitate the fashion of the day and age the haircut and the turns of phrase, the wardrobe and the shoes I picked a pair that was in style and brought it to the check-out aisle the clerk tried on a friendly smile that corporate had approved after everything they sold me I feel nothing like the old me at all I walked out with my newest purchase like a clown without a circus hungry for another purpose or some pretzel bites I looked out from the topmost floor, the lines were winding out the stores we all find what we come here for and say the price is right after everything they sold me I feel nothing like the old me at all I brought the box back to the clerk and asked her if she did returns and she said, "yeah these shoes ain't worth half the price that's shown" I quit the mall to fall within a new midsummer evening a trumpet plays and people sing by the river as it flows the electric candles glow in the city's newest restaurant on the families and old friends who want to laugh together all night long, singing after everything they sold me I feel nothing like the old me after everything they sold me I feel nothing like the old me at all
9.
I tried to find a way out I tried to find a way around tried to get found, tried to follow the money tongue-tied and treading old ground can't hide behind an image or sound it's a tough crowd, it can get pretty ugly it's a tough crowd, it can get loud any day now I'll break out don't know how long this road goes don’t know that song, is anyone pro cause I'm way out, why'd I follow the money yeah I'm way out, far away now like a Greyhound, outbound I'll try to find a way out I'll try to find a way around they say don't doubt it, just work hard, get lucky it's a tough crowd, it can get pretty ugly trying to get found, trying to follow the money
10.
Reunion 03:06
I heard it was sudden, when day became night the amps were still humming by ambulance light and now I hear nothing on Federal Hill my mind won't stop running, my heart won't keep still if there was a time, it's come and gone our curses and crimes are all in stone when there's nothing else that we can give we give of ourselves I want to believe it, whatever it is a cosmic reunion, eternal abyss a mirror can never be what it reflects a memory can be more than what it projects so far and so long the light will fall on shadows of songs in haunted halls will it follow us into the air or settle like dust

about

In early 2020, I started recording the songs that would become Back Before the Fall. After the first few sessions, news headlines began popping up regularly about a pandemic. Soon there was a panic in the air. The day after I finished tracking, the city of Providence shut down.
I didn’t know that these songs formed an album until months later, when I first listened back to the mixes. In addition to my recurrent themes of work, money, and consumerism, there were other threads running through these songs: the shock of the events of 9/11; the effects of the 2016 presidential election on family relationships; the uncertainty that comes with losing a loved one. These stories all stood in the doorways between chapters, a surprising reflection of what was happening around me in real time. The old ways were definitely gone, but the future was still uncertain.
The first song on the album picks up where my last album, Good Job, left off: the plight of the worker, set to a strummed guitar. A full band comes in on the second song, and reappears throughout the album. Some of the songs were written on the upright piano that's heard on the album, which was left in Rhode Island when my partner and I ended up moving in the spring of 2020. Hearing its heavy creaks and dark tones brings me back to the before-times, when there seemed to be less uncertainty. Naturally, many of these songs have taken on new meaning since the events of that year. The Old Me is about an experience I had at the mall before the pandemic, but now it also has a layer of nostalgia since shopping and dining out have changed so much over the last year. With commerce and public space beginning to reopen, the before-times will soon be solidly behind us. But time will continue to mark its befores and afters, like it always has.


-Anthony Savino
Northridge, CA
May 2021

credits

released July 23, 2021

Written and recorded in the before-times
All songs by Anthony Savino

Anthony Savino - Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Piano, Drums on 3
Ian Legge - Drums on 2, 4, 7, 8, 9
Emily Goldstein - Vocals on 2, 4
Meyer Brown - Electric Guitar on 8

Recorded, Mixed, and Mastered by Clinton Lisboa

Photos by Emily Goldstein
Layout by Tyler DiPaola

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Anthony Savino Los Angeles, California

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