Necessary Lies

by Brett Ryan Stewart

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about

In between long recording sessions making records with other artists, Brett was chipping away at this one. In his own words, “this album culminates my experiences of heartache and loneliness, my disgust with the current political landscape, and all the human deception that makes life so damn fragile”. Brett played a good amount of the instruments, and brought in friends to fill in the gaps and provide a fresh perspective. The entire recording process spanned about 2 years, with a hiatus or two, and a number of rewrites, re-recordings, relapse, etc…

credits

released April 4, 2007

Written, Produced, and Recorded By:

Brett Ryan Stewart (Rainbows in Grayscale Music 2007)

Mixed by:

Mark Berlin, Chicago, IL,
except "Finding My Way," "Rosedale," "Disappear," and "Needle & Spoon," mixed by Brett Ryan Stewart

Mastered by:

Jim Demain @ Yes Master, Nashville, TN

musicians:

brett ryan stewart: lead and backing vocals on all songs, electric and acoustic guitars on tracks 1-9, piano on track 10, 12-string guitar on track 4, programming on track 9, whirly on track 2, tambourine on track 5,
string arrangement on track 10

alex wadolny: bass on tracks 1, 4, 6, 7, 9, piano on track 6, piccolo on track 1

bruce seaton: drums & percussion on tracks 2, 4, 6, whistle on track 7, glock on track 6, harmony vocals on tracks 2, 4, 6, 9

joe rollins: pedalsteel and bass on track 2,
slide guitar on track 3

randy leago: accordion and hammond on track 4

nate farrar: accordion on track 7

john corrigan: hi-hat on track 7

paul kupfer: heartbeat on track 7

bob brown: drums on track 1

joe killie: viola on track 5

ketti viohl: harmony vocal on track 10

*countermelodies on track 9 written and performed by bruce seaton and Brett Ryan Stewart


photography: Kirsten Talley and Bruce Seaton
art concept: Brett Ryan Stewart and Bruce Seaton
design by Bruce Seaton for Embrionyc Productions

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about

Brett Ryan Stewart image

Brett Ryan Stewart Nashville, Tennessee

Brett Ryan Stewart is a Nashville based artist, producer, and studio owner, bending genre lines with lyrics that explore loss, purpose, and hope.

Deemed “A talent worth watching!”, by Performing Songwriter Magazine, his work has appeared on Fox TV, A&E, OWN Sirius Satellite Radio, Heineken,Microsoft, Internet Radio, European National Public Radio, Nashville’s Lightning 100 WRLT. ... more

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Track Name: Yet Again (Politic)
i was gonna tear down these walls

was gonna rise above it all

i’ve got guns in these arms

was gonna blow ‘em all apart

but these arms got too tired,

I’ve grown weak and uninspired

yet again…

there’s a famine on the right

and to the left is suicide

I’m taking measures taking lives

for my family i will provide

there is little hope of change

the biggest sinners are somehow saints

yet again..

Tell me when did all the world

become ours to monitor

well it seems to me that nowadays,

we’re only safe while we’re asleep.

the bottom line is never there,

it’s always changin’ to fit the plan

the power hungry take the stand

no answer, just a grin and a stare

take the focus off the flame,

let ‘em tell ya’ who to blame

yet again…

Tell me when did all the world

become ours to monitor

well it seems to me that nowadays,

we’re only safe while we’re asleep.

politics, politic, politic, I will never understand.
Track Name: Appalachian Heartache
it’s late at nite I’m driving home

gaining miles away from you

the loneliness is sinking in

I’d better pull over it’s coming on again

This dark road I do not know

follow the taillights hope they lead me home

but they pull off and again i’m alone

if I can just hang in a few more hours to go

~Hey baby whatcha thinkin’ about , is it me?

hangin’ on a string of memory

i’m lost, I need your eyes to see

it’s 3 am, i’m just halfway

in massachusetts, so far from maine

my head is drowsy, so i get a room

at break of day I’ll come back to you

but that won’t work, it never will

i’ve gotta be strong and let you fulfill

this one thing it’s what you need

but once you return i’ll never let you leave.

~Hey baby whatcha thinkin’ about , is it me?

hangin’ on a string of memory

i’m lost, I need your eyes to see

~(add. chorus, 2nd time)

I won’t fake it, i’m not alright

i’m fading like the passing city lights

i’m reaching out so I don’t cave in
Track Name: Finding My Way
Underneath a pale autumn moon

a faded sense of feeling was renewed.

but she left me for a promise that had been made long before

she hoped I’d understand then closed the door

she came here looking for no one at all

she had somebody waiting back at home

well i cannot say for certain if it was loneliness or love

but everything was changing in our touch

i’m high on this circumstance

i’m finding my way

down from this cloud

i hope it all makes sense some day

the night was calm but wide awake, it seemed

a crowded room but all she saw was me.

thru the weeks she told me everything and soon i knew for sure

that she held was i’d been looking for

i’m high on this circumstance

i’m finding my way

down from this cloud

i hope it all makes sense some day

hastened by the hours until light

our heads were spinning we knew it wasn’t right

but we cut loose all the anchors that were pinning our hearts down

i said, regret this in the morning, just hold me now
Track Name: Don't You Ever
time is up it’s gotta be today

all the little pieces of this broken little dream

put em in the water and send em down the stream..

the hand that held you down had the weight of summer rain

you and your demons are the only ones to blame

If it never went away, then you’d never wanna change.

~Don’t you ever ever ever ever let it go.

just when you think you’ve got it all under control.

Don’t you ever ever ever ever let it go.

make a list of your every little flaw

write em all down and nail em to the wall

one day soon you’re gonna fix em all.

soon enough that one day comes around

such an inconvenience that it had to happen now

don’t bother with it it’ll only bring you down.

~Don’t you ever ever ever ever let it go.

just when you think you’ve got it all under control.

Don’t you ever ever ever ever let it go.

(repeat)

~~I’ve heard enough, knowing it is half the battle

I’ve hurt enough, think I’ll drink another bottle

if the day should ever come that all of your despair

overwhelms your cluttered head and bottlenecks the air

find the nearest hole and hide till someone finds you there.

~Don’t you ever ever ever ever let it go.

just when you think you’ve got it all under control.

Don’t you ever ever ever ever let it go.
Track Name: Needle & Spoon
Empty room, empty bottle of wine

i’ve been broken up what did i get myself into this time

you were gone and there was no going back

my head was under attack i was drunk i don’t remember the rest

if enough of you is left in me

I can lose all my uncertainty

in a dream i was the needle you were the spoon

now the fire lies beneath you and it’s melting the truth

Within each rope there are a thousand little threads

this one around my throat is wound of all the hurtful things we said

I settle in and I relive it endlessly

my hands are shaking now as the sweat is pouring off of me

if enough of you is left in me

I can lose all my uncertainty

in a dream i was the needle you were the spoon

now the fire lies beneath you and it’s melting the truth

melt the truth……
Track Name: Closer
The days define the way we live

Our lives define the way we love

Maybe I could’ve bent

Maybe I could’ve been

A little closer to you

closer to you

If fate decides who we are

Than why do I even try?

Maybe I could’ve bent

Maybe I could’ve been

A little closer to you

closer to you
Track Name: Face to Face
When you’re face to face with elevator musical lines

you will find that someone else is so much better designed

and now I will not try you, not without a proper reply

and the lifeguard is down

by the crossroads in town

while the unloved ones drown

and so

you will die with the side kick, always on the ropes by the fight

and the lake is dry but everyone is stuck on the ice

through the soup kitchen prize

and the forecast of lies

you were poorly advised

but if

there are pastures of plenty how can all the fortunate hide

what is rightfully mine. it oughta be considered a crime

but their money is power, and power doesn’t serve any time

but a fistful of green

in a wall street wet dream

couldn’t wipe your soul clean

now i

am inclined to remind you oil doesn’t burn the same

when it’s tainted and bloody it’s up clogging my vehicle’s veins

with the blank shotgun stares,

and the front line impaired,

are the pawn-pushers scared?
Track Name: Disappear
It’s a friday night

I’m out on the town

I’m trying to keep my thoughts

from bringing me down

I’ve got fuel to burn

and time to kill

so I drive with my eyes closed

just for a thrill

And I’m amazed at what I can see

I thought the world revolved around me

but if I disappeared would it matter that much

would things still exist and would most of it suck

well maybe it’s just me and I’m thinking to much

about disappearing…

But when I’m alone

that’s when it starts

and everything falls apart

My head gets heavy

and so does my heart

So I close my eyes

drift away

thinking of better days

without worry

and pain

And I’m amazed at what I can see

I thought the world revolved around me

but if I disappeared would it matter that much

would things still exist and would most of it suck

well maybe it’s just me and I’m thinking to much

about disappearing…

But how do you know who you are?

What does it take to carry on?

How do you know where you belong?

What does it take to carry on?

And I’m amazed at what I can see

I thought the world revolved around me

but if I disappeared would it matter that much

would things still exist and would most of it suck

Oh that’s right I’m driving

I’d better wake up.
Track Name: Necessary Lies (Disguise)
on the first of the darkest of all my days,

the winter was gone but the sky still grey,

the robins did not sing



and you, the closest of all, you stood by my side

and fought back the flames to put out the fire,

before it burnt me out



lines of necessary lies

they keep you in disguise

they keep you in disguise



run, tomorrow’s the day of the marathon

everyone’s watching you can’t go on

they just wanna see you fall



this it’s always the same story once again

you said that you’d quit but you can’t say when

so dream it all away



lines of necessary lies

they keep you in disguise

they keep you in disguise



`like a photo of a child with his young urgent smile

i am only holding still for awhile



lines of necessary lies

they keep you in disguise

they keep you in disguise



CP1: Forsake truth’s discrepancies. This secret will not wait to be exposed to this, the outcome of your melancholy indecisions.



CP2: Is this lying necessary? Can we not lose these disguises?
Track Name: Rosedale
sittin on the road to rosedale

looking for a higher ground

never thought our castles would come crumbling down, down

now I won’t cry

drifting down the road to rosedale where it’s

always sunshine and cheer

drummers on the new horizon greet you

buy some time and bury this crime

~lay your hands down on me, lay your hands on me

I can see the gates of rosedale shining

leads me to believe i’m near

if only I can lose this sinking feeling

I, yes I, might find my way there

~lay your hands down on me, lay your hands on me