1
Anthem for the
Middle Aged Man

Gone like a noise of a blast,
his youth is lost in the past
It wandered off and left him here
to face his fear
Wake up! It’s a brand new year! 

Goodbye to the laurels and the quick, easy victories—
The low-hanging fruit—it was too sweet for him anyway.
Bones ache; vision’s weak;
he climbs up like a turtle
but his heart is powerful
He is the Middle Aged Man

Defend a point for all to hear it,
Strong enough to lift your spirit,
Man a broom, and tighten your screws,
and open up your champagne 

Thunder rolls and mortality makes him pause
(and a little more gray) but he has courage to
lead children through
the metaphorical hurricane 

Life hurts now in ways it never did before
back when he and vitality were bromantically involved
There’s still a big climb left
for the physique of a loser
but his heart is powerful
He is the Middle Aged Man 

Goodbye to the laurels and the quick, easy victories—
the low-hanging fruit—it was too sweet for him, now he says:
“I have the power to reclaim what was lost!
This is my big chance, and I’ll get around to it
after my nap…” 

Music, Lyrics, Vocals, & Glockenspiel: Dan Lord
Guitars & Bass: Adam Guthrie
Drums: Les Nuby
Trumpets: Tommy Bowen, Stuart McNair
Trombones: Demondrae Thurman, Jason Reid
English Horn: Dora Pejasinovic 

2
Off the Charts

Flashing through the air the notes of the music
flowing from the human heart
Flowers at the door, a dress twirls, the shoes step
lightly—this is where it starts
Some say life is nasty, brutish, & short
but here the joy is off the charts 

When all around is cold, I see no fire
Love stays true
In the mud and concertina wire
It punches through
Be with me
(Come along and) be with me 

Now pretend the years go by, here’s a man with-
out a job to feed the kids
The girl who wore the dress stands fast with the lights on,
shepherding her pots and lids
Together underneath a brass crucifix
It shows them how to do as he did

Music, Lyrics, Piano, Organ, & Vocals: Dan Lord
Guitars & Bass: Adam Guthrie
Drums: Will Hudson
Saxophone: Christopher Johnson
Trombone: Demondrae Thurman
Flutes: Kim Scott
Alto Saxophone: Christopher Johnson

3
The Only One 

Some girls have hopes for the man they will meet
That he will have digs on a priv’leged street
And gainfully employed
And careful to avoid
Infractions of the law
Handsome and upbeat 

And on the other hand you have a man like me
I’d like to take this time to offer my apology
‘Cuz if that other man
Had tried to win your hand
I’d probably have him shot
With an egg to the knee cap 

All I’m really saying
Is stick with me
Say yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh 

You deserve a king or a captain
(But) neither one of them’s around
Fiends close in, you need a superhero
(But) I’m the only one around 

I wonder which Roman god did you offend
To end up with me as your lifelong friend?
At least I’ll never leave
When you age or when you grieve
Or when you need some food
On me you can depend 

I’m your knight in armor
Just like
Don Quixote yeh yeh yeh yeh 

A man like me begins the race by falling on his face
Video shows he never tied his shoes
I know, I know when I get there (no one sticks around to see the last contender)
If you will tie the ribbon back across the finish line I’ll break right through it like I was the only one who ever did and I’ll say yeh yeh yeh yeh yeh

Music: Dan Lord & Adam Guthrie
Lyrics & Vocals: Dan Lord
Guitars, Bass, & Celtic Harp: Adam Guthrie
Drums: Will Hudson
Trumpets: Tommy Bowen, Stuart McNair
Saxophone: Christopher Johnson
Trombone: Jason Reid
Piano: Stuart McNair 

4
The Song About Rain

This morning the sky is a charcoal sketch
Of a man with a silvery bowl
From the bowl he ladles out rain with a hyssop branch
Rain for the girl who’s waking up slowly   

I don’t know why everyone’s opinions
Of weather like this are so low
The trickle and drum of the rain reminds me
Some of the music of life should be played slowly, slowly 

Down, down, rain falls, down, down, we go
Rise again like steam up we flow
Drawn back like a human arrow
Fly, fly
You and I in rain 

A wraparound porch and a cup of coffee
You wraparound me with your arms
Lemongrass grows and our blood is safe from
The terrible miniature winged vampiric armies 

I made you cross last night--I’m sorry.
I dried up your smile like a flame.
The dryness has gone in a rush of rainfall
And love is a river that roars with the sound of your name, your name 

And I never thought I’d say
I’d surrender every day
Without you for just one
With you, clouds hiding sun,
Sink under the water and swim with me up to our room, please… 

Music, Lyrics, Piano, Organ, & Vocals: Dan Lord
Guitar, Bass, Celtic Harp, Guitarrón: Adam Guthrie
Drums: Will Hudson

5
Things Go Away

From out of eggs came little birds
One of them fell down on our trampoline
With love and bread we tried but couldn’t save her
We tried to understand what it could mean  

Things go away
Things go away
And we’ll laugh someday in heaven when the tears get wiped away
And they won’t return
They won’t return
And we’ll laugh at just how difficult this always was to learn 

A boy rides in his daddy’s arms
Arms that swing like hammers and carry rocks
One day those arms fall softly down beside him
And they’re folded up into a wooden box 

We’re on our way, we’re on our way
But the dragon is by the road, watching us pass, voracious
We go to the Father of souls, but the dragon is here by the road

Music & Vocals: Dan Lord
Lyrics: Dan Lord (& St. Cyril of Jerusalem)
Guitar, Resonator, Banjo, Ukelele, Bass: Adam Guthrie
Drums: George Kennedy
Tambourine: Les Nuby
Piano: Dan Lord, Stuart McNair

6
Goblin Orchestra

Sounds of a gathering travels down the mountains
Heard in rivers and in urban fountains
To feel enchanted,
Folks will offer their bottom dollar
What gregarious spell have we found? 

So, would you like to audition
For our goblin orchestra?
Openings and new positions
There is always room for more 
Find the chair that naturally speaks
To your dereliction
Ready, goblin orchestra, Fire with conviction! 

Grounds for such mastering scores by moonlight phantoms
Learned in darkness with or without lanterns
Aim your rebellion
Hone your device for blood has a price
To those who play with the blood, we’re renown 

‘Round where in taverns sing, squads of drunken battalions
Thirst for visions induced by rapscallions
Lore as considered
When careful to ensnare what is true
Beautiful freaks like you and me abound
Here, beautiful freaks like you and me abound

Music, Lyrics, Guitars, Mandolin, Bass, Keys: Adam Guthrie
Vocals: Dan Lord & Adam Guthrie
Musical Saw: Véronique Vanblaere
Drums: George Kennedy
Trombone: Jason Reid
Trumpet: Tommy Bowen
Saxophone: Christopher Johnson
Violin: Niamh Tuohy
Viola: Melanie Rodgers

7
Why’s it Gotta?

Why’s it gotta last so long? Why’s it gotta last so long?
Why’s it gotta last so long? Why’s it gotta last so long? 

This here’s a sad dog song
And I’m the dog
And I’ve been here too long
I guess I perpetrated some great wrong
I’m on a leash that keeps me one foot from my water bowl 

Was my bark too shrill?
Or did I dig too many holes to fill?
Did I make my Owner’s temper ill?
Am I condemned to run in circles in this dead backyard? 

yodel…

I been tryin’ to break free
By chewin’ on my leash relentlessly
Sometimes I take a break to scratch a flea
Or chase a bee
Man, if my Owner’s ever comin’ back I’d like to know

Music & Lyrics: Dan Lord
Guitars and Bass: Adam Guthrie
Drums: George Kennedy
Saxophone: Christopher Johnson
Trumpet: Stuart McNair
Trombone: Jason Reid
Vocals: Dan Lord & Rachel Roberts

8
Keep My Peace 

I’ve been walking on this edge
It’s biting at my feet 
There’s noise below, move slow and
I am fighting just to keep my peace
Thunder-tempest from above, in-
side begs for retreat 
Wonder if they’ll dance when I reach
Out and drop this beat 

Split the rock, embrace the rage 
Play a part upon the stage 
My thugs and convicts demand release
I lock the gates and keep my peace 

Like a tightrope taut as I am
Balanced and oblique
Steady onward, don’t engage in
Dialogue when demons speak 

Tested mettle over time has
Strengthened with defeat
Breaking points and dislocated
Joints yield no conceit 

Keeping my distance, tasting the cancer
Catching resistance, taking a chance where
Some would cease to care, so hard to stay driven
Apathetic stares still have not forgiven 

Keeping with tradition isn’t the answer 
Bitter suspicion’s only enhanced their
Subtle hooks and snares until so pain-stricken
Still, I gotta dare as long as I’m livin’ 

The more ya love it less
The more ya love it less
The more ya love it less
Keep my peace

Music & Lyrics: Adam Guthrie & Dan Lord
Guitar, Bass, Keys, Drum Programming: Adam Guthrie
Vocals: Rachael Wilson, Dan Lord, & Les Nuby
Drums: Will Hudson
Saxophone: Christopher Johnson
Euphonium: Demondrae Thurman
Trumpet: Tommy Bowen
Vibraslap: Les Nuby 

9
Castle or Cross

Everything looks strangely normal
What will happen when you make your move?
Armed riots? Or disregard? 

Love takes all the damage
All the terrible heartbreak, all the loss
No one can control it
Wherever it wants to give itself
It goes, castle or cross 

It’s a strange adventure, your lifetime,
Savages pursue you through the trees
What idol do you have? 

Na na na na na na na

What would they say if you laughed?
What would they say if you left?
What would they say if you said you don’t care anymore?
What would they say if you laughed?
What would they say if you left?
What would they say if love was all you did? 

Love takes all the damage
All the terrible heartbreak, all the loss
No one can control it
Wherever it wants to give itself
It goes, castle or cross 

Love takes all the damage
Wherever it wants to give itself
Love takes all the angels, all the terrible people
Yeh, a radical freedom has
A radical freedom has
A radical freedom has Love

Na na na na na na na

Music, Lyrics, Vocals, Organ, Keys: Dan Lord
Guitars & Bass: Adam Guthrie
Drums: Will Hudson

10
Land Beside the Sea

This sweet-smelling smoke and this drink have gone to my head
Makes me reminiscent as we melt into our soft bed
Remember those horrible years?
Cruel tyrannical circumstance was our opponent, we punched and we kicked
From our land-locked undead-survival-film farm house  

And on a blast-furnace day
With hopes and crops withered away
A dry riverbed
She came back my way
I grabbed her hand
We’re leaving for land beside the sea 

I love the cool of the surf as I wade onto shore
The breeze and the green rolling hills, so unlike life before
Remember those horrible years?
‘A bad night in a bad inn’ in the words of one wise lady, that’s how it felt
Sometimes: drafts, lights out, and you can’t reach the front desk    

Dah dah dah, dah dah dah, dahhhh, land beside the sea
Dah dah dah, dah dah dah, dahhhh, land beside the sea 

We run now, as fast as we want to
And plunge our hands into the sea
Our hearts are free and fierce with the fire
That caused us so much misery 

Dah dah dah, dah dah dah, dahhhh, land beside the sea
Dah dah dah, dah dah dah, dahhhh, land beside the sea

Music, Lyrics, Piano, & Vocals: Dan Lord
Banjo, Balalaika, Mandolin, Bass: Adam Guthrie
Drums: Will Hudson
Accordion: Stuart McNair
Violins: Niamh Tuohy
Violas: Melanie Rodgers
Cello: Lonnie Root

11
Whose Thing is That? 

Hey! Whose thing is that?

Ain’t never seen nothin’ like that before…

Music: Dan Lord & Adam Guthrie
Lyrics, Keys, & Vocals: Dan Lord
Guitars & Bass: Adam Guthrie
Drums: Will Hudson
Organ: Dan Lord
Trumpets: Stuart McNair, Tommy Bowen
Saxophone: Christopher Johnson
Trombone: Jason Reid

Salvo gives profound thanks to

God, followed closely by the inestimable Rebecca, the absurdly generous Sterling Wilson, the marvelous Lester Nuby III, Gary Guthrie, Harold McCollum, Michael Jones, Will Wood, Jackie Lo Hamric, Jen West, Highland Music, all our beautiful families and friends, those generous souls who funded this album which could not have been completed otherwise, and to all Pain fans everywhere for your astounding love and support over the years, especially Mr. Nick Hart—thank you, Nick. This album is dedicated to YOU.

Produced at Ol Elegante Studios in Birmingham, Alabama
Engineer: Les Nuby | Mastering: Jason Hamric
Album Design: Sterling Wilson (sterling@chickenandskateboards.com)
Cover Art: Rebecca Guthrie | Goblins: Dan Lord
All songs copyright 2019 © Salvo, LLC