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House Of Blue Ornaments

by Jerry Axson

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1.
House Of Blue Ornaments 04:03
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House Of Blue Ornaments ©Jerry Axson I hang my heart upon a tattered sleeve, no matter what you do to me I have to believe - that it’s love... (never give your heart to a girl like that -) I’m in love... (she’ll steal it all away and never, ever give it back...) In your house of pain I left no forwarding address, and this house of cards has just become a mess, I’m broke down and bent from your slow torment - no greater isolation than this house of blue ornaments... in this house of blue ornaments... yeah, yeah, yeah... When I’m with you it’s like I’m buried alive, there’s got to be someone out there who wants me inside - (I wish I had a lover who was just like that -) I’m alone... (I’d hold her in my arms and never, ever give her back...) so alone... In your house of pain I left no forwarding address, and this house of cards has just become a mess, I’m broke down and bent from your slow torment - extreme isolation in this house of blue ornaments... in this house of blue ornaments... yeah, yeah, yeah... In your house of pain I left no forwarding address, and this house of cards has just become a mess, Oh - I’m broke down and bent from your slow, slow torment - no retribution from this house of blue ornaments... in this house of blue ornaments...3x yeah, yeah, yeah...
2.
Trouble With Love 06:08
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Trouble With Love Is ©Jerry Axson Trouble with love is... it waits for no one, wreckless and bold, never under the gun, your pressed against the wall - tears stream down your face, love can rip you to pieces, or be your saving grace... All eyes look to you... waiting... waiting for words to pour from your mouth... wisdom and revelations abound... Trouble with love is... it has no sense of time, arriving much too early, or running far behind, it will place you back to back, or face you eye to eye, wrapped in righteous truth - or the filthy rags of lies... “The human heart is the most fragile, the human heart must be laid to bare, the human heart is the most deceitful, of all the hearts, this one - you must beware” Trouble with love... Trouble with love is...8x
3.
(Can You Tell Me) When The Lights Went Out In Here 05:51
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(Can You Tell Me) When The Lights Went Out In Here ©Jerry Axson So you say that you’re leaving here tonight, I’m too numb to hurt - you’re too tired to fight, we’ve put each other through so much hell - I can’t help but think that it’s just as well, Can you tell me when the lights went out in here? (we were dancing - I was holding you so near...) I stopped to breath and when I turned back around, (you were gone - nowhere to be found...) Now I don’t know if I can see myself clear - to pick me up and get me out of here... wo -wo -wo -wo - I think it’s been coming for some time, we put this pressure on and now it must unwind, we had each other now that’s all been pushed aside, you’ll take a lover and I’ll learn to live alone with my pride,
4.
Anymore 03:00
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Anymore ©Jerry Axson I saw your face for a moment, could not remember your last name, the simple fact that I cared, makes me feel that it’s such a shame Nobody’s home at your house, (Anymore...) your room is closed and the clock has been stopped, (Anymore...) a lot of cars in the yard yesterday (Anymore...) went up to the door but I could not knock... I could not knock... Now I remember your last name, I remember your Father did not like me, I never met your Mom - maybe she would have helped him to see, I never told you how I felt, (Anymore...) I wish we would have sat down and talked, (Anymore...) Insulin shots in the girls rest room (Anymore...) aint’ it funny how time just gets - up - and - walks - away??? walks away...
5.
On Your Way Home 07:20
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On Your Way Home ©Jerry Axson Lay your head on my pillow, close your eyes and go to sleep, dream of streams and weeping willows, wherever you go - don’t go deep, Think of life as your secret garden, a place only you can go, daffodils on soft, green hills, where the cool, cool waters flow, Tomorrow will come soon enough - morning wipes the stars from the sky, don’t you give it a second thought, you’re much too innocent to cry, On your way home...... don’t you dare to roam...... from the path your on...... on your way home...... Put your hand in my hand, look in my eyes like I look in yours, where your heart is - make a stand, plant your faith and watch it soar, It’s a long, dark road ahead...... (It’s a long, dark road for you......)
6.
The Swell 06:12
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The Swell ©Jerry Axson Well, I’d live inside the city - but I cannot stand the rain, it beats against my body - pours me down the drain... and I’d live out in the country - but I cannot breath the air, it sweeps me up against my will, as I tumble down these stairs... I hear an orchestra... rising on the swell... There’s a box up on the mantle, it holds a rusted key, to a room behind my eyes, that only I can see, in your world I am a stranger, and there I shall remain, some old, dusty shadow - that wears my tired name... I hear an orchestra... rising on the swell... and it’s one shot to the body - but I’m lean and oh, so mean, five days hinged on a drinking binge, but you can’t stop this machine... and it’s two shots to the body - I can take more than you give, you’d best believe it’s a poor reprieve but the boy has got to live... and it’s three shots to the body - my ears ring from the swell, no, you can’t touch me I have been set free, I’ve done my time in hell... and it’s four shots to the body - things begin to even out, years spent in anger, bitterness, and deep, dark, doubt... five shots to the body - the blood runs from my face, out my veins, down my arms, as it slips from tender grace... six shots to the body - and I just don’t care no more, all my thoughts go racing by as I fall to meet the floor...
7.
It Don’t Mean A Thing 04:57
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It Don’t Mean A Thing ©Jerry Axson Purpose in the way you move, sadness is revealed by the light, if you can’t look me in the eyes, well, I’ll just die tonight, I have such a long way to fall, leaning backward into space, the crowd goes wild!, the fanfare starts - I can read it all over your face, You tell me that you’re not really leaving - then why do you feel so far away?, if “heart” is just another word for home, why can’t you come back to me and stay?, I’m buried under every word you wrote - hanging on each new one you bring, I slip broken from your grasp - it just don’t mean a thing... it don’t mean a thing... I stumbled all over this moment, like it was meant to be, anyone else would rise - above the informality, maybe I expect too much from you- maybe you expect too much from me, maybe we don’t give a damn - I guess we’ll just wait and see...
8.
No Such Thing As Me 04:50
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No Such Thing As Me ©Jerry Axson I went to see my Mother and I said - woman, do you know me? She threw her hands up to the sky and cried - Redeemer, let go of me! I went to find my Father and I said - man, could you show me the way? he passed through like a wiff of smoak, never looked back - went on his way, I looked deep in the mirror, to see if I could see, the monster they have grown to hate, no such thing as me, No matter what you think you know - no matter what you claim to see, you can all sleep in peace tonight - no such thing as me... I stood before the people I work with - submit myself to them, they took the best I had to give - there’s nothing left in the end, I lay with my only love - on a soft bed of eider down, one thousand kisses for healing - every wound in my broken sound, I stared deep in the mirror, to see if I could see, the monster they have grown to fear, no such thing as me,
9.
Gone, Gone, Gone 06:25
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Gone, Gone, Gone ©Jerry Axson I’ve been thirty years down in the dark, thirty years damn near tore me apart, I’ve been gone, gone, gone... Well I saw a lot of my old friends there - some made it out and some did’nt care - they were gone, gone, gone... I had an idea of what I thought I could be, it was all so clear - it was plain to see - gone, gone, gone... I worked real hard to hone my skills, devoted myself until I reshaped my will - I was gone, gone, gone... I climbed up the mountain to the ridge at the top, it took me a lifetime but I didn't stop, I had one way to go and that was straight up, no, I’ll never crawl again... I’ve been beaten and cheated and left for near dead, too numb to think for the crap in my head, but it’s all behind me now - no, I’ll never crawl again... I never thought about time on my hands, too young too fast to understand, gone, gone, gone... the measure of success was a place in my mind, that came and went leaving me behind, gone, gone, gone... One by one I sold my dreams away - piece by piece I leveled the clay, gone, gone, gone... I’ve been thirty years down in the dark, thirty years just about tore me apart - I’ve been gone, gone, gone...
10.
1973 06:00
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1973 ©Jerry Axson You came across the ocean - 1973... set sail from Britain, made a course straight for me, they never saw you coming, they did not know what to think, and once you’re in the mainstream, it’s either swim or sink... your broken english - translates strange imagery, I’ve been a captive audience, since 1973... There is no justice - for Art like yours and mine, locked in eternal struggle - a sign of these troubled times... Los Banos, California - a stack of worn LP’s, I’ve been up all night, (again?), and I have been set free, The light of hopeless romantics, shines down on my face, when flesh passes through fire, gold must surely replace... your haunting voice - cut deep into me, and I will never be the same, since 1973... Oh, I was moved by your screen dream - satin teardrops on velvet lights, for your pleasure in my present state - so empty here but I suppose I’m alright, There’s a girl I used to know - lying, almost dying... Valerie please......please......please......
11.
(Keep Her) All To Myself 07:17
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(Keep Her) All To Myself ©Jerry Axson I am not your satisfaction guaranteed, I am not your candy wrapped, I am not your prize waiting inside a box of Cracker Jack... Your magnificent obsession is about to meet a bitter end, the word is out - there is no doubt - on that you can depend... Baby talks nasty - on the telephone, paints her lips a bright red, when she thinks we’re alone, pulls in to the receiver, lets it all pour out, I know what you’re thinking - but that’s not what we’re about... Reach out for the sun, to hold in your hands, let my stallion run across, your warm desert sand - All right - I think I’m gonna’ keep her, All right - I think I’m gonna’ keep her, All right - I think I’m gonna’ keep her, all to myself...2x All right...8x I haven't slept since twenty - that’s a long, long time, I lay awake and ponder, what is and is not mine, it’s not about possessing - or the possession of things, baby’s a free agent - and I like what she brings...

about

Ah yes, House Of Blue Ornaments – this is the one project I was not going to post on this site. After listening to this friends and family told me that it was my eleven song deep therapy session! This was a very dark and moody piece of work and I won’t bore you with the details on where my heart and my head were when I started writing and composing for it, I honestly can’t remember now. However, I recently went back for the first time in years and gave it a listen from start to end and I have to say it is actually one of the most interesting pieces of work I have done. The songs are well crafted, the compositions are detailed in their structure and layout, and the production values are really pristine. Yes, there are songs about heartbreak, innocence lost, even sickness and death but if you are going to write from the heart I think you should be honest with yourself and your audience and put it all out there no matter the cost.
The title song was a solid 4/4 piece and I can’t remember now if I took the project title from the lyrics or wrote the song to open the titled project but the end result was a strong opener with a catchy melody that still works. “Trouble With Love” is also a very catchy song, rich in melody I spent a lot of time on the instrumentation, structuring, and delivery of this one. I particularly like the hook chorus at the end and I also still like the lyric a lot, always thought this was one of my better written pop songs. “(Can You Tell Me) When The Lights Went Out In Here” was a beautiful song originally written as a blues piece based strongly on guitar but as it began to form during the recording process it turned into more of a classical composition rich in strings and keyboard – really beautiful song with a lot of heartfelt emotion. I had a friend in High School who was a diabetic and I remember her having to deal with the daily shots and the embarrassment of her condition, I wrote “Anymore” with all of that in mind but for the purpose of anyone reading this you should know she is still alive. What was interesting about this song is that I based it on acoustic guitar which I never do and also the vocal is sung in complete harmony through the song which I also never do – this one turned out really nice. “On Your Way Home” is a scary song and it was meant to be that way, I wanted to write a song that makes the listener think about innocence lost almost from a childlike point of view. I take the listener from “streams” and “weeping willows” to “long, dark roads” ahead of them and the idea that there is no way of avoiding traveling them, it’s the inevitability of life and the things we all must face – scary stuff indeed. “The Swell” is one of my most favorite songs that I have ever written, I have always been proud of this one, both the music and the lyric in my opinion are perfect. When I sat down to compose this song I intentionally wanted to do something in the vein of soft soul, something warm and fuzzy both in sound and feel and I wanted a powerful chorus which would swell and build then break off abruptly – the song title was obvious. The ending is wonderful with the count up to the number six – hands down one of my best compositions. “It Don’t Mean A Thing” is a great rock song with a catchy guitar riff and an odd structure and feel that leans heavily in the minor key. I always liked the lyric to this one and I thought the guitar solo was one of my better arrangements. “No Such Thing As Me” and “Gone, Gone, Gone” are extremely personal songs and both give the most weight to the above mentioned claim of deep therapy. “1973” is the only tribute song I have ever written for anyone and it was written for Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music. For me they changed the course of contemporary music and gave it both grace and beauty through carefully planned and perfectly executed exploration and delivery. I have and always will hold them as the highest standard for writing, musicianship, and production. After spending so many months composing and recording such heavy material I felt like going out on a somewhat higher note so I wrote “(Keep Her) All To Myself” which was actually a lot of fun to do. Catchy with an almost sing-a-long chorus it had some interesting lyrics and a few steamy moments for adults only.

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released July 18, 2019

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Jerry Axson Columbia, South Carolina

To me simplicity is the root of all great thoughts. The secret thrill for me, the architect, is delivering that thought with unobtrusive complexity. Writing songs and composing music satisfy my soul and because of this I know exactly what I am designed to do, it’s just that simple. - Jerry Axson ... more

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