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The Home I Know - Front Porch Edition

by John Elwood Morgan

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1.
Miles From Home 04:19
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Driving down a lonely highway Headin’ west towards the dying day Vivid red fading into blue Always different, and always the same And I drive along the road But I’m still many miles from home Moving on through the valley I haven’t seen for a long, long time I think about my life’s direction These memories that are mine And I drive along the road To the place where I can shed my load But I’m still many miles from home Breathing in the smell of sundown Each moment makes me smile Windows down, take it all in It’s coming back with every mile I drive along the road I’m just a few miles from home I’m just a few miles from home To the place where I belong
2.
Small Stories 05:08
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Head held high, beneath a brand new sky The dust of the roads you've wandered on your clothes Only you can say what you've seen along the way Little things just waiting to be told Little things are the big things that matter A lifetime of moments all make up a life What seems like nothing could be everything If you'd care to hear I'll tell you my Small Stories The smell of my dad's old car, the sound of my first guitar The ocean breeze blowing through my hair From watching green grass grow, to playing in the snow Each one is a story to share And nothing is too small for the telling Each chapter we read in the book of our lives We all tell our story one page at a time It's 3 AM and he's crying, wants to be held one more time He couldn't wait for the morning, I don't know why In the soft light of his room, he lifts his head from my chest Looks up at me smiling, then lays back down to rest Just a little thing that changed me forever I've got the time, won't you tell me your Small Stories Small Stories
3.
Wherever, My Love 04:04
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Five years ago, if you’d asked me “Where will you live all your days?” With a joking smile, I would answer That heaven is the home where I was raised But along came a girl, took me by the hand No way of knowing about another promised land Wherever my love is, is where I wanna be Mountain or valley, or sea to shining sea I’ve seen first light on the east coast, the dying embers out west Anyplace my love is, is the place I love best These southern roads now seem familiar Don’t need a map to get around As I drive along in the twilight Heading home to where my love can be found Perhaps the tide will take us to yet another shore Now that love has given us a boy with eyes like yours I don’t have to choose between city or country Or live among the stars in outer space To learn this lesson that your love has taught me That home is more about people than place I know I don’t deserve it, but I know that I’ve been blessed Anyplace she lays her head is where I wanna rest Mountain or valley, sea to shining sea Wherever my love is, is where I wanna be I know I don’t deserve it, but I’ve been richly blessed Anyplace my love is, is the place I love best
4.
I Meant Well 03:42
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Wand’ring again, this familiar state I’m in The wind’s at my back, it keeps me moving on Flows through my veins, like a west-bound train Restlessly searching for so long Will I find it or not? I can’t tell Just tell my preacher I meant well I knew before too long, this is where I don’t belong Gave it half a chance, and that’s when I departed I should’ve know, didn’t leave well enough alone I was better off leaving before I started Yet another town I bid farewell I made an offer that didn’t sell They say good intentions pave the road to hell Just tell my preacher I meant well What can I do when everything turns out wrong But take my coat and hat, and move along Weary and resigned, but still I hope to find Something growing in the seeds that I have sown No way to know; I’m getting tired and it shows I need to settle down, but it’s all I’ve ever known To that old way of life, I bid farewell I’ve been wasting all this time, and it’s just as well Will I find my way or not, time will tell Just tell my preacher I meant well I just wanna say, as I carry on my way I meant well
5.
Watchman 05:29
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Well I heard him say, “Go set a watchman; he’ll declare what he sees” Thus saith the preacher “The world out there is shifting under your feet” Hell-bent on running, but going nowhere Don’t know what to believe There’s trouble in the valley With a guarantee of no relief You ain’t seen it yet, but it’s comin’ Put out roots, or take off runnin’ ‘Til what’s done is done, and there’s nothing more to say All sorts of lost every day Who has ears to hear, let ‘em hear The answers are blowing in the wind But if there’s no understanding, There ain’t no point in listening, my friend There’s all kinds of people out there calling But if you can’t hear a sound You’ll get along much better If you climb into their shoes and walk around You ain’t seen it yet, but it’s comin’ Put out roots, or take off runnin’ ‘Til what’s done is done, and there’s nothing more to say All sorts of lost in every way Are my footsteps made of what I see, Or what I wanna see? Could I find myself by looking In the knothole of a live oak tree Sometimes I’m uncertain, lost by the wayside But what’s lost can always be found I seek a country, where I won’t fall On stony ground I ain’t seen it yet, but I know it’s comin’ No more wasting my time runnin’ I know where I’m going, by the early morning rays My Watchman there, he knows the way
6.
Pt I: Take Me Back 04:28
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Something I wish I could say to yesterday Please don’t forget about tomorrow I was living life with no thought for the choices I was finding my voice without thinking of what I should say Autumn leaves bring my past to the present Memories incessant, they’re calling my name Black and white Chuck Taylors, and that old leather jacket Little did I know that I wasn’t ready for the coming years of shame And no one else to blame Take me back to where it all started But I can fix this from the moment it began And if I can’t change how it all turns out Please take me back, take me back, Take me back as I am I was young, I was living for the moment Like an angsty, adolescent acoustic song Before I knew it I had lost all direction A long way from home, and ashamed to admit I was wrong And I’ve been out here for so long Somehow it feels like I’m losing who I was Is there still time, or am I Gone, long gone? Will you take me back, even though I’m not perfect Will you take me back, in spite of where I’ve been What’s done is done, nothing can change that But can I start over again? Take me back, take me back as I am
7.
Pt. II: Beautiful Day 05:07
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I been crying, I will cry no more Brush the dirt off, though my limbs are sore Just put one foot in front of the other now I’ll get out of this somehow Every nightfall seems to knock me down Every morning would find me still on the ground But I’ve decided to leave it all behind And I won’t change my mind I feel the rising, with the rising tide That I will never know unless I try Sunshine or rain, I’ll be on my way You’ll hear me say it’s a beautiful day Keep my eyes fixed on what’s ahead Ain’t no use in looking back instead It ain’t no secret that living takes it toll But it’s good for my soul All at once I can’t believe my eyes As I realize After all this time I finally found my place And what’s behind me is gone without a trace Through sunshine and rain, I’ve come a long way And I’m here to stay The wind is blowing, it won’t slow me down The song is changing I can hear the sound Sunshine or rain, I’ll be on my way You’ll hear me say it’s a beautiful day
8.
New Sky 04:34
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You’ve been headin’ the same direction for a good long while Doing good, feeling fine But deep inside you know that things are bound to change ‘Round the corner, down the line You look around, and it’s all different And you can’t help but look back I know what you’re going through I know you miss what you’ve left behind Just think about what you’re heading to A new sky stretches over you You know this ain’t the first time, and it won’t be the last To say it would be untrue It’s just like the seasons, summer turns to fall Always different, but nothing new You may not like it, but it happens It’s all for the better in the end Just keep moving on You’ve been waiting now for so long To feel right at home Instrumental Break Now you’re feeling settled, the sunset fills your eyes Doing good, feeling fine An old familiar story, and it ain’t no surprise This story sounds just like mine Over the rise, up to the saddle That’s when you first catch the view You can see what you’re heading to You’ve not forgotten what you’ve left behind But now you know that you’ll make it through A new sky stretches over you A new sky is hanging over you
9.
Run River Run 05:30
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Run, see the river run Winding through the valley, the current carries me Down, water flowing down Shenandoah valley, such a sight to see But why am I here? Where will this current take me? To some new town, or straight on out to sea? Run, run river, run Run river, run Ain’t no way of knowing where you’re going or who you’ll be But you know who you are and where you’re from So run Strength to cut the canyons wide Changing the landscape almost before my eyes Rest, gives my spirit rest Peace to calm my worry, and soothe my troubled mind But what lies ahead? Where will the river take me? Picking up speed; will this journey break me, or make me? Watch from the bank, let it all pass you by Or jump on in, and take the ride
10.
Linger 03:54
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Another day of my choosing, one just like the one before Each good life comes by necessary labor But I’d do well to remember just what all that effort’s for Life has moments that ought to be savored One by one they come along, like the lyrics to a song You’ve never heard, yet somehow seems familiar They greet you like an old friend that you did not know you had When they find you, they call you to linger I long for you my darling, you are always on my mind Though you know I’m predisposed to wander But I ask myself a question, with an answer I’m head to find Do we really need absence to grow fonder? Sometimes I am called to roam, taken far from my home But I’ll return, cross many a lonesome mile And there I’ll find you waiting; I’ll hold you like I can’t let go We’ll pray this moment will linger for a while One by one they come along, like the lyrics to a song That I don’t know, but always makes me smile Moments that can warm you like a chair beside the fire I think I’ll stop and linger for a while

about

Hello fellow life-travelers!

In August of 2019, I sat in a room at the Days Inn on Main Street in Logan, Utah, plucking the first few chords of what would become a song entitled New Sky. I was about to embark on a true life adventure: my wife and I were moving across the country to South Carolina. We had no jobs lined up and no clue where we would end up living; pilgrims in a strange land. We leaped, praying for a net to appear. Utah had always been my home, and I suddenly found myself driving two-thousand miles away, heading towards a new sky and a new home. Well, 3 action packed and fun filled years later, we find ourselves back in Utah with lots of wonderful memories, a new addition to our family, a certain fondness for sleepy Carolina beach towns, and a notebook full of new songs.

When I recorded my last album, Making Plans, a lyric from the opening song has continued to resonate with me: may the road you travel bring you back home. But what makes a home? Have we ever considered all the little things tied to that word? Home; you long for it, you search for it, you feel it calling to you from somewhere in your memory, but what is it? Is it "where the heart is," whatever that means? Or is home simply "where you hang your hat?" This Utah boy found some answers to these questions sitting on the front porch on humid southern evenings, the glow of fireflies flickering in his eyes.

The Home I Know is an album project that is the result of my cross country sojourn. Here I tell stories of love, raising a family, making mistakes, feeling lost, feeling found, and making the most of every second.

This album is currently in the works for full studio production, but being a poor college student and a gigging musician with a wife and (almost) two kids means that financing an album takes some time and careful planning. I hope to get into the studio to fully produce this album within the year, but in the meantime, I wanted to get these songs out into the ether. So, here it is: an all-acoustic, stripped down version of a collection of songs about the concept of home, that I recorded AT home in my bedroom closet. This is roughly the kind of listening experience you would have if you were to hear me play these live, as many of you probably have at this point. All proceeds from this demo album will help support the full studio production.

With my last album, I invited you to pack your bags. Now, it's time to unpack them, put everything in its place, find the best ways to display all the curios from your journeys, and breathe familiar air again.

Home, at last.

Thanks for listening,
-JM

credits

released January 27, 2023

DISCLAIMER: This album project is still in the feedback stage, and as such, the music and lyrics are subject to change. Stay tuned for the fully produced album!

All songs written by J. E. Morgan, with the exception of I Meant Well, written by J. E. Morgan and S. W. Morris

Special thanks to Steve Simpson, Sam Wilson Morris, Devon Smith, the Southern Songwriters Association, Woody's Music in Rock Hill, SC, Acoustic Music in Salt Lake City, UT, my old Song Circle in Salt Lake, Meg Peters, Tim Jones, Jim Lincomfelt, Brad Tinsley, and all my friends and family.

To my wife and kids, wherever you are is home to me.

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John Elwood Morgan Logan, Utah

The musical confluence of Appalachian sunrises and western desert sunsets. Stay a while and swap some stories with The Sleepy-eyed Songster.

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