Pamela Jane Gerrand Music Pray Rain - Pamela Jane Gerrand Music

Pray Rain

Genre : Pop

Released Date : 20 / Jan / 2007

1. Pray Rain
2. Free
3. No Looking Back
4. Hercules Come Home
5. Big Love
6. Cry No More
7. Can’t Remember Spring
8. More Grace
9. Key
10. So Perfectly
11. Love Is All

PRAY RAIN

INSPIRATION

Since the debut of her first CD of original songs Tripping on the Truth in 2001, Pam Gerrand has been following her muse to some very interesting places. Both sonically and spiritually, Gerrand says the past few years have been about range, risk, and redemption. Her new CD, Pray Rain reflects her evolution as an artist, and chronicles the beauty and pain that has shaped her in the past few years. The sharpness and sweetness of mortality, brought home by her sister’s and best friend’s journey through cancer; the sweet redemption of rain following drought in the land and the heart; the numinous poetry of mystic Rumi; the steely, sinewy surrender to the dark cold of a Canadian winter…all of these are fodder for Gerrand’s soul stirring offering of 11 songs.

Gerrand is joined by a remarkable band of accomplished, acclaimed musicians on Pray Rain including Matt Brubeck/cello (Sheryl Crow, Tom Waits, Jewel, Sarah McLauchlan), Jay Riehl/drums (South Mountain, Farmer’s Daughter, Frank Leahy), Steve Hogg/bass (Amy Sky, Ian Thomas, Ronnie Hawkins), Steve O’Connor/piano, B3, Wurlitzer (Natalie McMaster, Bruce Cockburn) and Jake Leiske/BG vocals (of Farmer’s Daughter).

Producer/guitarist David Kalmusky has credits on over 53 albums as engineer, producer and performer, and has played with a plethora of artists, from pop star Natasha England to country stars Jason McCoy, Sean Hogan and The Wilkinsons.

Gerrand and producer Kalmusky, crafted the material for this CD over the course of two years, and she says it is the culmination of a deeply fulfilling creative collaboration: “Pray Rain is about range, and about receiving…relief from the heat, both physically and emotionally in our inner and outer worlds, and opening to receive the healing waters of forgiveness and redemption, in whatever form that takes. It’s about emotional range, the expansion that comes when one is challenged and stretched by life. It’s about musical range as well; this record is eclectic in style…from pop/rock and world music, to Latin jazz and country/blues. I’ve loved the stretch musically and vocally on this record , and I am in awe of the imagination and musical mastery David has brought to the project as a producer and artist.”

“So many stories of redemption, courage and the love that heals us shaped the heart of this record. My sister Nancy, and dear friend Janet, inspired two of the songs on the CD. Both of these women faced a journey through cancer with tremendous heart and grace, and inspired me…it is as though love leaves a tattoo on your heart when you are faced with the sharpness of your own mortality, and it draws the sweetness of life more fully into focus.”

The trajectory of loss from this disease was brought home to the making of Pray Rain when David Kalmusky´s dad, Kenny Kalmusky died of cancer in October 2005, just weeks before the CD was about to be released. We postponed the release of the CD until January 2006, and continued to put the final touches on the record. David´s dad, Kenny was a Canadian musician of great acclaim, a national treasure. He had a penchant for recording thunderstorms from the front porch of his house in rural Ontario. On New Year´s Eve 2005, David played me the final version of the title track, “Pray Rain”, with a subtle, but profound addition. Into the piano outro he had added the sound of a thunderstorm, rumbling and building to a crescendo of intensity. Not just any thunderstorm, mind you. The last moments of”Pray Rain” contain the sound of the last thunderstorm David´s dad, Kenny recorded from his front porch the summer before he died.

Pray Rain was released in Stratford, Ontario on January 20, 2007. On a night where in this part of the world, it is common to be under a blanket of ice and snow, the evening turned unusually mild, and by the last song (Pray Rain!) the heavens yielded a soft, shimmering shower of rain.

Love is All

LYRICS

PRAY RAIN
I´m down upon my knees
The ground is soft and sweet
The cracks within my desert soul
Are watered as I weep
I´m yearning, oh I´m burning
In this fire that takes me deep
It´s all about redemption
And the company we keep

And I pray rain…and I pray rain
I´m yearning, oh I´m burning
In this fire that takes me deep
And I pray rain

My patience has been forged
In the furnace of your fear
My faith has been renewed
Every time you see me clear
I´m yearning, oh I´m burning
In this fire that takes me deep
It´s all about forgiveness
And the company we keep

And I pray rain…and I pray rain
I´m yearning, oh I´m burning
In this fire that takes me deep
And I pray rain

In the landscape of my mind
All desert thoughts I leave behind
Gathering blue and green and white
I paint a rain cloud filled with light

And I pray rain…yes I pray rain
Drinking in the heaven of a love that drenches me
In this sweet rain
Only truth remains
It´s all about redemption
It´s all about forgiveness
It´s all about the give and take
And the company we keep
The company we keep
And I pray rain…rain…

FREE

Well there´s a magnet inside of you, and there´s one inside of me
We feel the pull of love, the push of misery
We turn the needles inside of us like a cactus tree
If we could see that I am you…and you are me
We could be free
We could be free

Oh it´s a funny dance we do
This push and pull thing
We seem off center
I try to read your mind
You´re hearing a two step
I´m hearing a tango
Separately spinning
No wonder we collide

I look to you to figure me out
It´s like filling the ocean with a cup of doubt
Why are we so enchanted with the world outside
When there´s a mine of gold
A mine of gold within

Oh it´s a funny dance we do
To stay in the circle
To stay in the center
The apple of your eye
Oh it´s a funny dance we do
This slow dance, soul dance
It´s a funny thing we do
This thing called love
This thing called hate
So the hawk and the dove
Well, they circle at the gate

Well there´s a magnet inside of you
And there´s one inside of me
We feel the pull of love
The push of misery
If we could just turn the lights on
Like a Christmas tree
We would see
That I am you and you are me
You are me…and I am you
Then we´d be free…

NO LOOKING BACK

Went to see a man about a horse
Course wasn´t really ´bout a horse
Went to see a man
Said he´d read my cards
Could see it in the stars
When I couldn´t see beyond my front yard

He said, “You´ve been on the fence
For too long now
Don´t want to slip back into the life you knew
Not ready to slip into this blueprint
That´s been waiting here for you
Oh, but darlin´, when you do,”

You´re gonna be like a train without a track
No looking back…no looking back
Running on the engine of redemption
No looking back

He said, “This darkness that you´re feeling
These shards of shame and misery
Well you´re gonna turn them to the light
And like a kaleidoscope so bright
You´re gonna take the red and blue
And write it down”

You´re gonna be like a train without a track
No looking back…no looking back
Running on the engine of redemption
Oh, you´re gonna be like a train without a track
No looking back…no looking back
No looking back

Eyes wide…heart wide
Inside the outside
Ready for the ride

Went to see a man about a horse
Course wasn´t really in the cards
Or in the stars…
All along it was inside of me
As I stood in my front yard

HERCULES COME HOME

Waves breaking on the shore
Sand beneath my feet
A hawk surrenders to the breeze
I long to be so free
News breaking, hearts aching
Panic in the streets
We are mostly water
…sons and daughters…

I´m saving sand to make a pearl
A ball of light to save the world
But it´s a lot for just one girl
So Hercules come home

High upon the mountain
The Gods can see it all
Why all the fuss? ´Twas ever thus
We fight and then we fall
Grains of sand, we are the desert
Thirsting for the promised land
We are mostly water
…mother…father…

I´m saving sand to make a pearl
A ball of light to save the world
But it´s a lot … so Hercules come home
Hercules, help me carry this flame
I feel stronger just calling your name

I´m saving sand to make a pearl
A ball of light to save the world
But it´s a lot for just one girl
So Hercules come home…Hercules…
I´m saving sand to make a pearl
…we are mostly water…
But it´s a lot for just one girl
…we are mostly water…
Hercules…come home

BIG LOVE

Things are never what they seem
We weave the fabric in a dream
The hook of love, the cut of pride
In our loose ends we are tied
Bound, bound by this big love
Found, found in this big love

Tear at the seams and look inside
Oh there´s a love that cannot be denied
You give me yours and I will give you mine
Oh there´s a big, big, big, big love
A big, big, big, big love
We hide, we hide inside

I followed you to the great divide
Found your shadow, found my pride
You always said that you´d be back
But a stitch in time covered your tracks
Now I´m at loose ends

Tear at the seams and look inside
Oh there´s a love that cannot be denied
You give me yours and I will give you mine
Oh there´s a big, big, big, big love
A big, big, big, big love
We hide…we hide inside

I linger in the ruins of my old life
Don´t want to leave my friends, my foes behind
But I´m squeezing through the eye of this needle
Looking for an angel
Looking for a sign

Tear at the seams and look inside
Oh there´s a love that cannot be denied
You give me yours and I will give you mine
Oh there´s a big, big, big, big love
A big, big, big, big love
Oh there´s a big, big, big, big love
We hide, we hide inside
So let your river of love unwind
Open wide your heart…
And fly…

CRY NO MORE

You´ve got a smile as sweet as lemon meringue pie
Laughter as warm as summer rain
Well, you hung out in heaven for a little while
I heard they were calling your name

Something whispered you back to this place
A haunting, unfinished refrain
Now you see right through my thin disguise
To the place where I´ve hidden my pain

Cry no more…cry no more
You´re a wild water lily in an indigo sky
Drop anchor, remember you know how to fly
Cry no more…cry no more

You smile as you say, “I´ve seen through a glass darkly
I´ve danced on the brink with my soul
I emptied my pockets…I filled up my heart”
And said, “I am coming back whole”

Cry no more
You´re a wild water lily in an indigo sky
Drop anchor, remember you know how to fly
Cry no more

And now the whole world with its sorrow and pain
Seems different to me, but somehow the same
Yes, something whispered me back to my soul
Now I see angels wherever I go

Cry no more
You´re a wild water lily in an indigo sky
Drop anchor, remember you know how to fly
You´re a wild water lily in an ocean of sky
You´re an angel… you know how to fly
Cry no more…cry no more

CAN´T REMEMBER SPRING

Today the sky´s so grey
I can almost hear it say
Give me some blue
Or an in between green
It´s been winter for so long
I can´t remember spring

Tonight the river sleeps
I can almost hear it weep
Bring on the thaw
This wind is cold and it is raw
I´ve been frozen for so long
I can´t remember spring

But I´m not sleeping
And I´m not weeping
I am keeping these angels from on high
Here beside me…they remind me
Everything must come and go
Fiery fast or frozen slow
I begin to just let go
Let go…

The trees stand stark and still
How I wish I had their will
Never to doubt
Rain will fall and leaves will sprout
I´ve been frozen for so long
I can´t remember spring

The bridge above the river slow
Moans beneath the weight of snow
God give me wings as I let go…
But I´m not sleeping
And I´m not weeping
I am keeping these angels from on high
Here beside me…they remind me
Everything must come and go
Fiery fast or frozen slow
I begin to just let go
Let go…let go
It´s been winter for so long
I can´t remember spring

MORE GRACE

Grace showed up at my door today
She heard on the wind that love had gone
Pale the sunlight…pale my face
Oh, Oh, it´s good to see you grace

I need more grace than I thought
Could you stay a while, I´ll put on a pot
I need more grace than I thought
Could you stay a while
Could you stay a while

Grace didn´t knock, she just came right in
She could see my patience was wearing down
I could really, I could really use a friend
Oh, Oh, it´s good to see you grace

I need more grace than I thought
Could you stay a while, I´ll put on a pot
I need more grace than I thought
Could you stay a while
Could you stay a while

Underneath this hurt and pain
Sleeps a heart that will try again
The love we give, the love we give
Is the love we gain
Oh, Oh, you are amazing grace

I need more grace than I thought
Could you stay a while, I´ll put on a pot
I need more grace than I thought
Could you stay a while
Could you stay a while

I need more grace
Oh, than I thought
Oh I need a lot
Come on, I´ll put on a pot

THE KEY

I´m in the custody of your eyes
I´m at the mercy of your lips
I am swimming in the chalice of your thinking
In your embrace I am bound
In your kiss, I am found
From what sweet well of love
Have I been drinking

Well it´s bigger than you
And it´s bigger than me
How can a prisoner
A prisoner feel so free
Well it´s bigger than you
And it´s bigger than me
Lock me in this tower of love
And throw away the key

Well, the dishes they´re not done
And the laundry lies in heaps
And those bills to pay
I guess they´ll keep
I´m at the mercy of your eyes
I´m in the custody of your lips
Lock me in this tower of love
and throw away the key

Well it´s bigger than you
And it´s bigger than me
How can a prisoner
A prisoner feel so free
Well it´s bigger than you
And it´s bigger than me
Lock me in this tower of love
And throw away the key

Lock me in this tower of love
And won´t you throw away the key

SO PERFECTLY

You have said what you are
I am what I am
Your actions in my head
My head here in my hands
With something circling inside
I have no name for what circles
So perfectly…so perfectly

I am so small, I can barely be seen
How can this great love be inside of me
Look at your eyes…they are small
But they see enormous things
So perfectly…so perfectly

Head unaware of feet
And feet, unaware of head
Neither cares…they just keep on turning
A secret turning in us
Makes the Universe keep on turning
So perfectly…so perfectly

Walk…walk to the well
Turn as the earth and the moon turn
Circling what they love
Whatever circles comes from the center
Whatever circles comes from the center
Whatever circles comes from the center

You have said what you are
I am what I am
I am so small, I can barely be seen
How can this great love be inside of me
Look at your eyes…they are small
But they see enormous things
So perfectly…so perfectly
So perfectly

© 2001 Pam Gerrand Socan
Words adapted from Rumi´s poem “Dance In Your Blood”
With permission from translator Coleman Barks

LOVE IS ALL

Holy wind, blow through me
Cast away my suffering
Sing your truth down to my bones
For love is all
Love is all

Holy wind, I´ll do my part
Make a sail of my heart
Bind me to your ship of love
I hear you call
Love is all

Sweet Sophia, make us wise
Shakti, fill us with your fire
Oh Shekinah, make us whole
For love is all
Love is all

In a world of war and woe
Wash away these tears that flow
Warm our hearts so cold with fear
Draw us near…draw us near

May all beings be set free
From their pain and suffering
Holy wind…the angels call
For love is all
Love is all

Holy wind the angels call
For love is all
Love is all

LINER NOTES

Pray Rain Poem

we are scorched…broken open
the seed pods of our souls cracking…thirsting
shifting in the clay of time
seeking a fertile furrow
…gonna lay my worries down…
like a jack pine…bent and knarled against the wind
sustained by grace..and the kite song of the mountain view
patiently we wait…limbs raised to receive
…the cycle of fire is coming to set us free…
descending the mountain…
we stand in the desert of our beauty and pain
…and we pray rain…

-Pam Gerrand/2006

PRAY RAIN 4:29
Matt Brubeck – cello / Pam Gerrand – piano, vocals / David Kalumusky – drums, bass, synth, percussion, programming, electric & acoustic guitars, bg vocals / Jake Leiske – bg vocals / Steve O´Connor – b3 organ / Nicole Poynter – bg vocals / Laura Rose – bg vocals
© 2005 PamGerrand Socan

FREE 3:33
Pam Gerrand – piano, vocals / Steve Hogg – bass / David Kalmusky – electric & acoustic guitars, percussion, synth / Jake Leiske – bg vocals / Steve O´Connor – b3 organ, synth pad, Wurlitzer / Nicole Poynter – bg vocals / Jay Riehl – drums / Laura Rose – bg vocals
© 2001 Pam Gerrand Socan

NO LOOKING BACK 4:07
Pam Gerrand – piano, vocals / Steve Hogg – bass / David Kalmusky – acoustic & hi-strung guitars, wood creak / Jake Leiske – bg vocals / Steve O´Connor – additional piano / Jay Riehl – drums
© 2003 Pam Gerrand Socan

HERCULES COME HOME 3:36
Jim Boudreau – drums / Pam Gerrand – rhodes piano, vocals, bg vocals / David Kalmusky – bass, acoustic & electric guitars, synth, percussion, programming, distorted synth pad / Jake Leiske – bg vocals / Steve O´Connor – grand piano, clean synth pad / Laura Rose – bg vocals
© 2005 Pam Gerrand

BIG LOVE 3:41
Jim Boudreau – drums / Pam Gerrand – vocals / David Kalmusky – nylon guitar~electric guitar / Jake Leiske – bg vocals / Tom McLelland – percussion / Kevin Muir – upright bass / Steve O´Connor – b3 organ / David Rodenberg – saxophone / Laura Rose – bg vocals / Holly Shephard – trumpet / horn arrangement by David Kalmusky
© 2003 Pam Gerrand Socan

CRY NO MORE 4:15
Jay Buettner – electric guitar / Pam Gerrand – piano, vocals / Steve Hogg- bass / David Kalmusky – acoustic & electric guitars, synth, bg vocals / Jake Leiske – bg vocals / Steve O´Connor – b3 organ, pad synth / Jay Riehl – drums / Laura Rose – bg vocals
© 2003 Pam Gerrand Socan

CAN´T REMEMBER SPRING 3:47
Pam Gerrand – djembe, vocals / David Kalmusky – kalimba, guitar, cello, percussion, piano, programming / Jake Leiske – bg vocals / Kumar Vinayak – dilruba, tabla, bansuri, harmonium, santoor, violin
© 2003 Pam Gerrand Socan

MORE GRACE 4:38
Matt Brubeck – cello / Jay Buettner – electric guitar / Pam Gerrand – piano, vocals / Steve Hogg – bass / David Kalmusky – guitars / Tom McLelland – percussion / Jay Riehl – drums
© 2001 Pam Gerrand Socan

THE KEY 3:40
Pam Gerrand – vocals / Steve Hogg – bass / David Kalmusky – guitars / Steve O´Connor – piano, b3 organ, wurlitzer / Jay Riehl – drums / David Rodenberg – saxophone
© 2002 Pam Gerrand Socan

SO PERFECTLY 5:41
Matt Brubeck – cello / Pam Gerrand – vocals / Steve O´Connor – piano
© 2001 Pam Gerrand Socan
words adapted from Rumi´s poem “Dance In Your Blood”
With permission from translator Coleman Barks

THANKS

As I stand in the rain, the only prayer on my lips is…Thank You. To the source of all…the music maker in the great mystery…thank you. Big love and gratitude to David ~ I am awash in the ocean of devotion, heart, and musical mastery? you have brought to this record. Riding this river of song with me, you have made poetry of every note, brought every wave of my heart to the shore of this music…thank you for each and every pearl… All the musicians who have graced this record with their heart and soul: Jim Boudreau, Matt Brubeck, Jay Buettner, Steve Hogg, David Kalmusky, Jake Leiske, Tom McLelland, Kevin Muir, Steve O´Connor, Jay Riehl, David Rodenberg, Laura Rose, and Kumar Vinayak.

For your engineering/editing expertise: David Kalmusky, Jay Riehl, Ryan Tuer and Charmaine Brooks. Studio kudos: Jay and Jake ~ for the comfort and swank of “The Swamp”; Rick Hutt @ Cedar Tree; St. Andrew´s Presbyterian Church in Stratford, Ontario; the truly cool “Blue Loft”; Mark Rowsom ~ for your beautiful space @ The Wandering Minstrel.

My visionary artistic team: Heidi ~ for the art and soul of your breathtaking design and layout; Terry ~ for your luminous, wondrous photography.

FACTOR: Big thanks to Heather, Adam and Liz @ FACTOR for your tremendous help and funding support of this project. For your words of endorsement and support ~ my gratitude to Valdy, Loreena McKennitt, Philip Bast, Paul Williams, and Deborah Kingsley. Coleman Barks ~ for your numinous translation of Rumi´s poem “Dance In Your Blood” and the permission to make music with your words. Harry Manx ~ for “The Key” to east/west blues…

To my friends and family who continue to fill my well with your love and support: Diana ~ for your love and wisdom…and for teaching me to “Pray Rain”… Janet ~ for helping me to fly…and see the angels in us all… Bree ~ for your river of love… Jacinta and Judi ~ for your wise-woman healing hearts… Nancy ~ for riding every wave with me…and always believing… Mom & Dad ~ for the soul flowering of your love and faith… My sweetest soul-mate Stephen and my amazing, inspiring Carly & Jared… a deeper well of love there cannot be…thank you for filling the cup of my heart with your soul song…

Dedicated to the music and memory of Ken Kalmusky ~ 1944-2005

CREDITS
Produced by David Kalmusky
Recorded at “The Swamp”
1st Engineer David Kalmusky
2nd Engineer Jay Riehl
Assistant Engineer Ryan Tuer
Post Audio Editing Charmaine Brooks
Mixed by David Kalmusky
Mastered by David Kalmusky @ The Blue Loft
Additional Recording @ Cedar Tree, The Blue Loft, IndieGo & St. Andrews Church.
Photography of PG by Terry Manzo
Inside trayliner photo by Stephen Degenstein
Graphic Design by Heidi Holdsworth
All songs written by Pam Gerrand* SOCAN 2005
*So Perfectly-Music by Pam Gerrand/Words from the poem “Dance In Your Blood” from The Essential Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks with permission from the author. We acknowledge the financial support of Canada´s Private Radio Broadcasters, as well as the Department of Canadian Heritage through the Canada Music Fund for this project.
Manufactured in Canada. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized copying or duplication is strictly prohibited.

P&C 2006 IndieGo Records

Pray Rain

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PRAY RAIN

INSPIRATION

Love is All

LYRICS

LINER NOTES