Biography

Clare Burson
Silver and Ash
Rounder 11661-3278-2

1. The Only Way 2:34
2. Baby Boy 2:45
3. Look Close 3:40
4. The World Turns on a Dime 2:10
5. I Will/With You 2:15
6. Goodbye My Love 2:36
7. Everything’s Gone 4:42
8. Losin’ You 3:16
9. In the Sea 2:51
10. Magpies 3:22

p 2010 Clare Burson & © 2010 Rounder Records. Manufactured and distributed by Concord Music Group, Inc., 100 N. Crescent Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws. Printed in the U.S.A. www.rounder.com; info@rounder.com



UPC number 0-11661-3278-2-5


in may of 2007, i traveled to tennessee to interview my grandmothers: josephine, who was born in memphis to immigrant parents, and helga, who, in 1938, at the age of 19, emigrated to the united states from germany, leaving behind her parents and the only world she had ever known. my grandmothers and i pored over photographs and then drove through the city, stopping to take a closer look at the neighborhoods they had grown up in and lived in as young mothers. i sat back and listened as jojo (josephine), my paternal grandmother, regaled me with stories of her experiences and those of her parents. i tried my best to coerce stories out of mimi (helga), my maternal grandmother, who, for over half a century, had done her best to bury whatever memories she had from the past.

from tennessee, i traveled alone to eastern europe, where many of the stories that i both had and had not heard from my grandmothers originated. i visited kiev and berdichev in the ukraine, vilnius and pasvalys (posvol in yiddish) in lithuania, and riga, latvia. all of these towns were points of departure for both sides of my family, except riga, the last known location of mimi’s parents, where their trail ends, shrouded, secret, unknowable, but knowable just the same. my reaction to being there was far more powerful than i had imagined. i was in riga, searching for traces, and i was doing so without witness, without certainty, and without story.

and so the real work of SILVER AND ASH began. writing and recording the songs contained in this album was my attempt to unravel and understand what i felt in riga: a paralyzing mess of dream, assumption, denial, reality and guilt. through this project, i have attempted to imagine and come to terms with an emotional landscape created by irrevocable displacement and unfathomable loss, to travel through time and inhabit worlds that will always be beyond my grasp but are still somehow palpable within me.

the only way
you had such a lovely crooked smile
and blue eyes that were gray when it was raining
and i still have the bracelet with the gold and ivory clovers that you made me
it was the only way
someone said you left there just in time
when i was on the other side of waiting
and i can see you standing with your suitcase in the lamplight there without me
it was the only way
funny how the details never fade
names of where we were and what we did there
but all i have are spaces, emptied interrupting memories without you
but it was the only way

clare burson: vocals, acoustic guitar, violin
mark spencer: electric guitars
cory gray: piano, lowry organ

baby boy
my baby’s in the sky
my baby’s in the river
my baby’s in the old stone wall
he’s in the old stone wall
my baby packed a trunk
with more than he could carry
with more than he could carry down the old dirt road
down the old dirt road
and there’s a hole in the house where my baby boy lay
the morning still comes
and my days are full of cleanin’
and the candles still burn as the sun goes down
as the sun goes down
but there’s a hole in the house where my baby boy lay
baby boy, lay your head down

clare burson: vocals, acoustic guitar
mark spencer: electric guitars
andy cotton: upright bass
tony leone: drums, percussion

look close
look close
see what you can see
the turn of a smile on her face
the shadows that fall from her hair that she wears like a crown
my my, you have her beautiful eyes
can you see them
look close
all the things you dreamed of
written in silver and ash
see how they hide in the shape of her chin
in the smooth of her skin
my my, you have her beautiful eyes, can you see them
i can see them
i can
look close
time has left you standing
behind the glass
yesterday lasts forever

clare burson: vocals, acoustic guitar
mark spencer: electric guitars, 12-string guitar, table steel guitar, electric bass
cory gray: piano, marxophone

the world turns on a dime
at a small café in a big city
sits a man with his life in his hands
watch the nod of his head
his eyes heavy lidded
cause the world turns on a dime
there’s a girl with a smile on a boat with her brother
sailing for a visit of a year
she says goodbye to her home and all things familiar
cause the world turns on a dime
take the train back and forth over the border
with suitcases piled overhead
will the officer scowl and stop before passing
will he stop before passing
cause the world turns on a dime

clare: vocals, acoustic guitar, viola
mark spencer: electric guitars, resonator guitar
andy cotton: upright bass
tony leone: drums/ percussion

i will/ with you
give me another
piece of your heart
splinter it slowly
things fall apart
dig in the garden
dirty your knees
with flowers forgotten and lost linden trees
remember for me
corner the quiet
that covers the sound
of whispers you ran from
and time ran around
tears on the floorboards
remember it now
and i will with you
remember it now

clare: vocals, rhythm guitar
mark spencer: electric guitars, synthesizer
andy cotton: electric bass
tony leone: drums/ percussion
cory gray: lowry organ

goodbye my love
back when the pictures were silent
back when the music was new
back when remember was just reminding
i played piano till evening
and when the light grew too dim
i climbed into bed by the picture window
goodbye my love
we took the train to the seashore
buried our toes in the sand
lost to the waves and the salted sunshine
goodbye my love
follow the cobblestone walkway
as the bells ring overhead
the garden was green through the picture window

clare: vocals, acoustic guitar, violin
cory gray: mellotron, piano

everything’s gone
papa’s in the parlor
with baby on his knee
mama’s in the kitchen
with dishes in the sink
and the radio’s loud, the radio’s clear
everything’s gone but we’re all still here
go to market in the morning
stay home at night
keep your head down
keep your mouth shut tight
cause the radio’s loud, the radio’s clear
everything’s gone but we’re all still here
and there’s no way out
from here
take the last train from the last train station
meet me at the harbor where i’ll be waitin’
cause the radio’s loud, the radio’s clear
everything’s gone but we’re all still here
and there’s no way out
from here
the radio’s loud, the radio’s clear
someone’s screaming
all the world can hear
so blind your eyes and deafen your ears
everything’s gone but we’re all still here

clare: vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar, violin
mark spencer: electric guitars, papoose, harmony vocals
andy cotton: upright bass
tony leone: drums/ percussion
cory gray: piano

losin’ you
i’m losin’ you
memory needs a place to land
i held my tongue to taste your hand
i’m losin’ you
pagses, faded pen
photos lie in stillness
i’m losin’ you
salty sea and mountain air
boats and trains to get us there
sailor suits and wooden toys
daddy’s girl and mama’s boy
i’m losin’ you

clare: vocals, acoustic and electric rhythm guitars
mark spencer: lead electric guitar
andy cotton: electric bass
tony leone: drums
tucker martine: tambourine

in the sea
blue green and dappled spidery light
white wedding china
cut crystal glasses
a trunk of old linens
silver that’s tarnished
at home in the sea
arrival uncertain
departure confirmed
unknown destination
lost in a letter
sent from behind
where the only return
is at home in the sea
did you send the piano
the tables and chairs
the lamp with the silk shade
we kept in the hallway
the books by my bedside
the family photos
i forgot to bring

clare: vocals, acoustic and electric rhythm guitars
mark spencer: electric guitars
andy cotton: electric bass
tony leone: drums/ percussion

magpies
here where the cold wind blows across the fields
and the magpies gather all that glitters
here where the old men speak of long lost things
in a language that never seems to matter
i think of you
here where your white walls color in the past
and the windows are looking in on yesterday
i hear your voices
quiet like the night
i picture you in everything
i think of you
sometimes i think that you might have been
something like rainbows on water
sometimes i think of how life must have been for you here
what life could have been for you here
what life should have been here with you
i think of you
here where the cold wind blows across the fields
and the magpies gather all that glitters

clare: vocals, acoustic guitar
mark spencer: electric guitar, ukulele

produced, engineered, and mixed by tucker martine
at excello studios and the tape kitchen in brooklyn, ny and flora studios in portland, or
mastered by roger seibel at sae mastering in phoenix, az

All songs written by Clare Burson, published by Clare Burson Music (ASCAP)

artwork by bunny burson

supported by a grant from the six points fellowship for emerging jewish artists, a
partnership of avoda arts, jdub records, and the foundation for jewish
culture, and made possible with major funding from uja-federation of new york.

there have been many stages to this project and many people along the way who have helped to bring it to life.
i am incredibly indebted to everyone involved with the 6 points fellowship for emerging jewish artists, especially aaron bisman, jacob harris, and the rest of the jdub records team.
huge hugs of thanks go to my musical partners in crime: andy cotton, cory gray, tony leone, nathan rosborough at excello studios, mark spencer, and tucker martine.
scott billington, jim horan, sheri sands, john virant, and the rest of the folks at rounder records, thank you for believing in this project and helping me bring it into the world.
i am blessed to have an incredible cadre of friends and colleagues who have inspired, encouraged, challenged, assisted, and counseled me throughout the creation of SILVER AND ASH, including kate ackerman, ted barron, marek bennett, caroline berz, alina bliumis, arianne chernock, galeet dardashti, steve dressler, kathleen edwards, peter and jes ellis, rachel florman, jonathan greenberg, rebecca guber, scott hueston, danielle klinenberg, bob millstone, craig pollack, lynne sachs, jill samuels, cecilia schmidt, korynn schooley, brian siskind, john p. strohm, susan turner, and everyone at saint ann’s school and the lower east side tenement museum.
finally, this album would not exist without my family - jordan, mom and dad, kate, aunt gloria, sina, and my beautiful grandmothers, mimi and jojo, who have taught me strength, courage, and love.

www.clareburson.com

clare burson is managed by JDub. to contact clare, please email jacob@jdubrecords.org