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Missouri Folklore: Songs & Stories From Home

by My Politic

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Yimmy Kil
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Yimmy Kil The mark of an elite songwriter is no matter how much knowledge the listener has of the song, the songwriter can transport the listener into the world of the song as if they were watching it play out in front of them. My Politic does that song after song album after album. Truly one of the best bands out there regardless of genre. Very personable and kind human beings as well. Buy their stuff. See them live. Favorite track: The Dog & The Bone.
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1.
2.
What A Life 05:42
Spiders weaving webs  All across the yard  I can see them glisten  While the sun retreats  Over the hill Cars full of people  With holes to fill  Make their way  To the same old ending Of a different day  And I wonder if they wonder  About going on this way  What a life what a life they say Counting all the train cars  Just to make a game Can there really be   That many Hours in a day  To waste away  Recalling baseball stats From when I was a kid As if studying averages  Was the only thing I did  I wonder if I'll ever need Those numbers again  What a life what a life they say  If we only measure goodness  Up to the goodness that we see  Who's gonna kick it off  Could it possibly be me  That possibility has got me Climbing up a tree  Maybe all this Aint Such a waste of time  Counting cars and spider webs  And drinking all this wine I wonder if my wondering Gets me anywhere tonight  What a life what a life they say  Night finally comes  And the shadows on the lawn  Take the shape of giants  Fighting just for fun  And the rain begins to fall  I can taste the earth  Hovering in the air  For a moment I'm a child  Outside the house where I grew up  And I wonder the number Of times  that taste has crossed my tongue  What a life what a life they say  Now I can hear an ambulance  Screaming  down the highway  I hope that someone Still has a life then I Go on  living mine  but for a moment  i can feel the pain   Of somebody getting a phone call  "sir she  skid out in the rain" And I wonder how somebody Goes on living that way  What a life what a life they say  Surprises don't come easy  And other times they do  Routine can mean stability  Or it can be the death of you  It's midnight now  There aint nothing else to do  but to hope that all this wasn't such a waste of time  Counting cars and spider webs And drinking all this wine  And I wonder if my wondering  Got me anywhere tonight  What a life what a life they say
3.
Emenince 03:56
We lit fires off the back of a school bus Throwing  matches out the window watching  leaves go up  We'd get off at the next stop knock on the door  We'd get paid  for putting 'em out  A few dollars  a piece lungs full of smoke  Only after  a rain only when we were  broke  It never got outta hand we stuck to the plan  Till somebody figured us out   It wasn't honest work  I know that now  But sometimes it was all you  could do in that town  To get a hold  of a bottle And pass  it around  on the weekend with your friends by the river  Weaving home on our  bikes  Past that old  Sunday  crowd  the eyes of someone else's god starring us down  It was hard to escape All the guilt we had  found  but it faded the farther we'd ride  We were working  on finding our place in this town  When we didn't  fit  in we found our  own way around  And the whole time we wondered  what was going down  Out there  on the other side   It wasn't honest  work  we  knew that then But sometimesall you can do  is pretend  That you are  needed  for something and we needed  a win  On the weekend with our  friends by the river When there's nothing to do   to make your  dreams come true  You find a way to deliver   When there's  nothing to say and  it's hell anyway  You go lookin' For your own pot of silver  At the of the day  When you cant stand  to stay  You can light a fire  and meet your  friends by the river
4.
I grew up in a small town Got in trouble with amphetamines They said I turned my back on Jesus They went and turned their back on me Then I blinked and I was 29 I knew i had to sober up When i kicked it for the first time That's when I could clearly see They're like buzzards on a power line Waitin' patiently to take their turn And pick apart what' left behind When I ain't dead yet I moved away and I got a job Took some college courses Learned to curb the cravings One day at a time When im back for holidays It's like they all line up to see me To remind me of the way I was They can't believe I'm doin' fine Cus They're like buzzards on a power line Waitin' patiently to take their turn And Pick apart what' left behind When I ain't dead yet Yeah, they hold themselves so high above me I can hear 'em talkin' quietly When i needed someone there to love me They were to hungry to see To them, I'm just another failure to look down on Well I wish they'd leave me be Cuz i ain't dead yet I don't find myself at home anymore I relapsed after mom died At the funeral i was a mess Like they expected me to be I just can't stand to have 'em see me now All grown up and livin' clean I can't imagine they'd have much to say That wasn't based on some worn out memory Cus They're like buzzards on a power line Waitin' patiently to take their turn And Pick apart what' left behind When I ain't dead yet Yeah they hold themselves so high above me I can hear 'em talkin' quietly When i needed someone there to love me They were to hungry to see To them, I'm just another failure to look down on I wish they'd leave me be Cuz i ain't dead yet I'm growin' stronger every day Sometimes I wonder if they'll ever see The kinda person I've become Instead of who i used to be I try and think about it less and less anymore Focused on lettin' go and being free Cuz I i ain't dead yet
5.
A wire spool From a construction site In the middle of the living room A tree fell on some girl somewhere I saw It on the news Linoleum floors and a jump rope A little trailer on a little hill He rolled the van once with both of us Man, he sure was hard to kill What I know and what I've heard Are different things Im sure But the differences all blur Cuz time's a warping glass When you're Lookin' at the past They say good things never last But never talk about how busted pieces find you fast And take you out without a single warning They leave you cursing at the night And at the morning I wish he wasn't a fool I wish he was right Instead he's got white power tattoos Across both of his knuckles bare He used to like to feed us booze My sister's a little older I hope Someday she finds her will He gave his eyes to one of us I wish they didn't haunt me still What I know and what I've heard Are different things Im sure But the differences all blur Cuz time's a warping glass When you're Lookin' at the past They say good things never last But never talk about how busted pieces find you fast And take you out without a single warning They leave you cursing at the night And at the morning They leave you cursing at the night Cursing at the night They leave you cursing at the night And at the morning
6.
Jimmy's tending bar  Joey's drinking gin  They both wanna go home  And they're in it till the end  It's 2 o'clock  Things are closing down  They're  making conversation  While the lights go out  They go home together  Maybe it's love that they found  Who know if it's love that they found  Amy's on the road  Singing songs for tips  Brendon's catchin every word  that's leaving her lips  They joke about the difference Between Missouri and where she's from  They share a pack of cigarettes And laugh until the early morning comes  Back at her  hotel room  Maybe it's love that they found Who knows if it's love that they found  something to hold onto  someone who understands  You won't know what love is until you found it It's a never ending mystery  No matter what you plan  You wont know it's there til you're surrounded Gina studies hard And wakes up with the sun Leroy's smile is big and wide and he was built for having fun  They grew up on the same street A couple blocks away  The thought of love had never crossed their minds until today  They lock eyes at the company happy hour  Maybe it's love that they found Who know if it's love that they found Maybe it's love that they found
7.
I've known hard luck I've chased fools gold I've been caught up And I've been let go I saw heaven once And i let her know She's everything i wAnt like A fire in the cold I've spent the night out On the front yard Tears falling down Eyes full of stars Full of heartache and joy Surrounded alone Everything all at once Like i was the dog and the bone I can feel homesick When im sitting at home Must be another demention Iwhere I sometimes go It's a strange affliction Feelin empty and whole Everything all at once The dog and the bone It's an awful confusing Bit of clarity Like something amusing Bear hugging sincerety But I know one thing for sure I can feel it in my bones She's the center of gravity In whichever world I roam
8.
We were in missouri When the call came on They were shippin you off To vietnam To kill them people in the vietcong You were there and then were gone I remember you bein torn about it You never said much But your eyes did scream You said you had to go So you went and i cried For 13 months Till they told me you died Maybe That was the last time I ever felt like a kid I catch a glimpse of that feeling Every now and then When I catch em broadcast the cardinals On the radio Visiting mama in the fall at her nursing home When they call a home run I think of you how youd be Comin undone How you'd be coming unglued You always loved the game I've always tried to do the same And some days the pain is too much I can hardly make it through But when I'm driving in Missouri in the fall With the windows down and baseball I can't help but think it's true That I'm driving home to you The day we buried you up on the hill We were left alone with a hole to fill I was numb to the pain Mama just sat still With a blank stare and a broken smile I tried to stick around but it was hard to do With a futures' unfolding and the past is glue I said I gotta go so I went and we cried Had to grow up again in the blink of an eye maybe That was the last time I ever felt like a kid I catch a glimpse of that feeling Every now and then When I catch em broadcast the cardinals On the radio Visiting mama in the fall at her nursing home When they call a home run I think of you how youd be Comin undone How you'd be coming unglued You always loved the game I've always tried to do the same And some days the pain is too much I can hardly make it through But when I'm driving in Missouri in the fall With the windows down and baseball I can't help but think it's true That I'm driving home to you
9.
Trains moving slow I can read the old graffiti Messages of love and beauty Hate and divide She's pulling slack it sounds likes domino's Falling back on one another The sound will make you run for cover Find a place to hide Message on the radio Deejay sound lonely in the station She's wishing she was in vacation And so am I Days are longer This pot's much stronger than I'm used to Can't lift a finger Hope im not in danger let a few more hours go by And forget why the hell I got so high Storms rolling in Lightning's busting up the night sky I get confused and I don't why Is it the fourth of July ? Rains blowin sideways now I'm getting wet but I don't mind I'm higher than the color of a neon sign Finally feeling alright Message on the radio Seek shelter the bottom's Falling out But My basement scares me and I'm alone now Think I'll stay outside Days are longer This pot's much stronger than I'm used to Can't lift a finger Hope im not in danger This storm will pass And I might go with it Looks like I made it through Trees are down but I'm still so far up I was breathing hard and I was pushing luck Feeling alive Message on the radio Sounds like the deejay made it too She said "A thrill like that can make you feel brand new" Then I hear her sigh
10.
Drifting off to sleep another day wasted nothing here to keep Nothing new I've tasted suddenly I'm up full of dread and sorrow do I do enough ? how much debt do I owe What in the world's a man supposed to do when he wants to feel brand new maybe I'll hop a train and find some lover in Kentucky, hell I'm not that lucky so I'll stay here in Missouri and sleep off the blues again Heading off to work another year older boss is a jerk wrestling to stay sober suddenly I'm awake to this great big world around me I'm just dying while I wait for someone to say they found me so what in the world's a man supposed to do when he wants to feel brand new maybe I'll drive to Maine and find something there to gain but I'm not insane so I'll stay here in Missouri and sleep off the blues again I've only seen enough to know what I can reach out and touch from where I'm standing it ain't much I've never wanted more but I'm starting to adjust dreaming for the first time what a rush Oh what a rush Drifting off to sleep with a brand new thought in my mind There might be nothing here keep but if I go out lookin I might find What in the world a man's supposed to do when he wants to feel brand new maybe I'll take a plane all the way to Spain maybe some day but until then I'll stay here in Missouri and sleep off the blues again
11.
Albuquerque 03:52
She was Pregnant in prison When Christmas rolled around And wondering If she'd ever feel relief From the pain of existence Or the heartache she'd found Or from the numbness the needle brings Now She's fighting to be Somebody worthy Strung out In a prison In Albuquerque She's a long way from home in southern Missouri Pregnant in prison in Albuquerque Desperation comes easy For A junkie on the run Stealing parked cars to get right again 10 years of using had landed her here But this time she ain't going back where she'd been Now she's fightin to be Somebody worthy Pregnant in a prison In Albuquerque She's a long way from home In Southern Missouri Locked up and determined in Albuquerque She found a rehab for women In her position Life saving treatment for an age old condition Her mamma was to sick to come hold her hand While she pushed for a new life In A far away land Now she's come to believe She's somebody worthy a mother of two kids in southern Missouri A long way from the bottom in Albuquerque She just finished college in southern Missouri
12.
Gina & Leroy 04:32
Gina and leroy Are struggling to make ends meet Leroy was laid off Gina's picking up shifts Trying to stay up on both feet The rent's late, the bill's are too Neither one knows what they're gonna do Its gettin dark and i dont mean the sun's going down There's just nothing to do in this nothing town Remember when we used to dance? When there was hope in the heart of this city Now desolation's choking every chance But baby you look so pretty Let me spin you round one last time Lets keep that dream alive for one more night Gina and leroy both grew up a couple blocks away Leroy dropped out gina made it through They both got hired and decided to stay The Made a living, they made a home Now those jobs are gone and the leads are cold Its gettin dark they had to sell everything they own Nothin but flooding & rust its all overgrown Do you remember when we used to sing When there was hope in the heart of this city Now after losing almost everything Baby you look so pretty Let me swing you round one last time Let's Keep that dream alive for one more night Bridge I hear there's work out in Sacramento Two thousand miles from our back door Box up the memories and pack up the car Lets hope we find what were looking for Gina and Leroy Set to leave the only home they've known Cairo gave and took everything it could Good or bad it's just the way it goes Their Paradise crumbled All around em If there were some secret to keep it They never found em It's getting dark pretty soon it'll be good and gone They roll the windows down and turn the radio on "Can I ask you one more time to dance Lets bring some hope to the heart of this city I know desolations choked out evry chance But baby you look so pretty Let me spin you round one last time Lets keep the dream alive for one more night
13.
I'm seeing double Outside of Nashville Looking for trouble It ain't hard to find Tracing the outline Of my father before me The picture ain't much different But the colors all mine see All he did was draw was madness In cold black and white Well im drawing madness In color tonight He never did travel To far from his home He Gets drunk In the same house He grew up in But me I'm a taken this show On the road Dragging my sorrows Wherever I go I never knew him But I wonder if he Sways when he's anxious The same as me I guess I could find out for myself How he lives But if courage is passed down I'm as yellow as him Yeah if courage is passed down I'm as yellow as him He's probably running from somethimg in his own kinda way Different from his father's way of running I'd say So While I'm seeing double Outside of Nashville He's probably faded and passed out On the same old ground While he sits in his sorrow Tries to drink em all down I'll be chasing tomorrow in some other town I'll be chasing tomorrow in some other town
14.
We used to smoke pot In the grocery store parking lot After working,nearly for nothing Felt like the least we could do The humidity hung in the air Like a dahli clock Little clouds catching light As they grew and they grew They grew till there wasn't Enough there to keep em together Vanishing vapors no trace of existence at all Except for the laughter you share with another Somebody who's a little bit like you Working nearly for nothing Just trying feel something In town where there Aint nothing to do Hunting ghosts on the weekends Trying to hitch ourselves up to some history Haunted is better Than feeling nothing at all Getting fucked up so often & Betting our lives on Some hilltop rush The feeling Is there then it's gone But it cOULD get you through You might start to wonder is there enough here To keep us together Or are we vanishing vapors no trace of existence at all? You can't shake the look you share with another Somebody desperate like you Looking hard for the line That's running through time Tryin to find out what's honest & true I Aint been back in ages Lost most of my reasons to be there Its hard not to look back and wonder Was That really me We All made it out one way or another Left haunted and holding our memories You don't get nothing for free We're all left haunted and holding our memories There ain't nothing for free

about

On their upcoming record Missouri Folklore: Songs & Stories From Home, My Politic dig deep into the soil of their home state, shining a light on the complexities and dichotomies of those who plant their roots within it.

Partly autobiographical, partly conceptual, every song on Missouri Folklore is set against the backdrop of the Ozark Mountains, which served as the landscapes of longtime friends and bandmates Kaston Guffey and Nick Pankey's early years. Through reflective, imagery-driven songwriting, the pair honestly examine the tangled webs we weave, often overshadowed by the doldrums of everyday life in small-town America.

"There are songs about judgment, existentialism, forgiveness, love, death, growing, and healing," Guffey says. "It's a lot of material focused on the nuance and mundanity, in some sense, of being a person."

As Guffey navigated his late 20s and early 30s, tirelessly creating while building a new life in Nashville, he began to reexamine the environments and experiences that made up his childhood. As he shook the dust off those old memories, Guffey realized just how much the passing of time and measured distance had shifted his perspectives.

That process of unpacking early personal traumas coincided with reflections on the cultural norms, stereotypes, prejudices, and hypocrisies upheld by those communities and the people within them. In many ways, the beautiful yet rugged visual landscapes of southwest Missouri echo the sharp polarities displayed by its belief systems.

The implicit expectation to stick to what's known, preserve what feels comfortable, and reject anything that falls too far from the norm often punishes anyone in search of progress, like sharp thorns hiding beneath welcoming green foliage. With Missouri Folklore, Guffey and Pankey disassemble those ideologies and mentalities to capture snapshots of our imperfect realities.

With their lead single, "Buzzards On A Power Line," My Politic bring a painfully honest, needed voice to the addiction issues that plague not only Missouri but much of rural America.

"Yeah, they hold themselves so high above me / I can hear 'em talkin' quietly / When I needed someone there to love me / They were to hungry to see / To them, I'm just another failure to look down on / Well I wish they'd leave me be / Cause I ain't dead yet."

Guffey explores that complicated topic through an even more personal lens with the stunning "Albuquerque," which recounts his sister's own struggles with heroin addiction.

But the record's focus doesn't lie solely on the darker parts of our everyday stories. Listeners are taken through a range of formative journeys with a cast of charming characters, from the search for a soulmate or something like it ("Maybe It's Love"), waiting for a storm to roll on by ("Message On The Radio"), to the trouble you can get into while in search of an adrenaline rush ("Eminence").

Missouri Folklore is a thematic shift from the band's previous record, 2020's Short-Sighted People in Power, which directly responded to the political climate that permeated every aspect of American culture during that chaotic year. That project earned acclaim from a range of outlets, including the Nashville Scene, American Songwriter, and The Alternate Root, bringing a much-deserved and long-awaited new spotlight onto their well-honed artistry.

To bring Missouri Folklore to life, Guffey and Pankey retreated to their friend Josh Washam's home studio just outside of Nashville, where they previously recorded their 2015 LP Anchor. There, they expanded on the raw, stripped-down sound of their last release with the addition of John Mailander on fiddle and mandolin, Steve Peavey on pedal steel and dobro, and Washam on bass to build out a rich, intricately-layered soundscape.

Missouri Folklore: Songs & Stories From Home marks My Politic's 10th album, but also serves as a thoughtful introduction to Guffey and Pankey's blend of sincere, candid storytelling that echoes the spirit of greats like John Prine, who the band cites as their most significant influence.

Guffey and Pankey's engaging slice-of-life storytelling, expertly-crafted characters & sibling-like harmony, shape a collection of songs that are as intimate and engaging as they are unforgettable. With Missouri Folklore, My Politic pay homage to the people and places that raised them while highlighting the work needed to cultivate a better environment for themselves and those who come next.

credits

released December 9, 2022

All songs written by Kaston Guffey
Performed, Arranged by My Politic
My Politic: Kaston Guffey - Vocals, Guitar
Nick Pankey - Harmony Vocals, Guitar + Mandolin on "The Dog & The Bone" & "Chasing Tomorrow"
Other players on this album:
John Mailander - Fiddle, Mandolin, Mandocello
Steve Peavey - Pedal Steel, Dobro, Cooder-Caster, 10 string lap steel
Josh Washam - Bass
Engineered & mixed by Josh Washam at Ground Sound Studios Nashville TN
Produced by My Politic
Mastered by Adam Grover (Sterling)
Album artwork & design by Troy Dunn
Picture by Will Payne Harrison
©My Politic 2022 all rights reserved

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My Politic Nashville, Tennessee

Lyrically driven Folk & Americana. Based in Nashville TN. Kaston & Nick have been playing and singing together for 14+ years. They grew up together in Missouri and have settled down in Nashville TN to write songs and make records.

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