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Violet Cusp

by Eric Agner and Nancy Rost

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1.
Palm Sunday I kissed your ear Didn’t whisper sweet nothings Couldn’t find a single word Thoughts I was juggling I had no idea All I was promising Only you on my mind for the next three mornings I’ll give you everything It’s all I got left Nothing but everything to the one I love best Small apartment, we barely fit Two people, too many things Had to lay down the past Had to be forgiving We found … our space No longer fumbling We found … a place For every little thing I’ll give you everything And nothing less Nothing but everything to the one I love best We named our own constellations in the night sky (together) We can have everything, we can have forever If we quiet our doubts and pull the right lever Everything ventured I’ll give you everything And nothing less I’ll give everything to the one I love best I’ll give you everything And nothing less I’ll give everything to the one I love best
2.
You think you know me But I can't reveal The howling winds my heart conceals The tides that rise, I float on top Will it ever, ever stop? You think you know me Why can’t you see This grey cloud it smothers me The wind that knocks, it knocks me down The storm surge I must not drown I won’t turn away If you can stand The shrieking sounds Inside my head I won’t turn away This time If there’s a chance that you’ll be mine If you knew me Would you believe Would you take The journey with me You say I glow With happiness Can you feel the stone In my chest If you knew me (If you knew me) If you knew me (If you knew me) If you knew me, would you stay I promise I won’t turn away If you knew me, would you stay I promise I won’t turn away
3.
Violet Cusp 02:50
Graduation day, I get you to smile Though you never blush, and it takes a while Mouth like a sailor with the sweetest grin A pretty girl with pretty thick skin Violet cusp of twilight Early June, backyard barbeque Before too long, I’m next to you Without trying, we gravitate End up talking till it starts getting late Violet cusp of twilight On the cusp of violet July Maxfield Parrish hues paint the sky In a flash I turn to you Amazed to see, you see it too Violet cusp of twilight Summer’s edge, irreversible slide Brilliant weather, walks on the riverside Something beginning, wild and strange A seismic shift that goes unnamed Violet cusp of twilight Seeing life in a new light Violet cusp of July Seeing us in a new light
4.
I turn on the TV, there you are Confident and certain Like a general adding another star A prodigy bow after the curtain I don’t know if you still come home To visit your old town You were outta here like a cigarette boat While the rest of us were settling down I dreamed about a ship that sailed And left me on the shore One day the waves it left behind Will rock my dreams no more Do you remember fishing boats And smells of lakeshore summer And doctor’s notes and a town afraid That it was going under? I dreamed about a ship that sailed And left me on the shore One day the waves it left behind Will rock my dreams no more I dreamed about a ship that sailed And left me on the shore One day the waves it left behind Will rock my dreams no more Will rock my dreams no more
5.
I’m pulling this train Through the dust The engine and transmission Have gone to rust Your burdens make You whine and moan But this weight fills My vacant bones And the rattle of the rails is the only hymn That still gets under my skin That Sisyphus Got nothing on me I’ll roll this stock Until I’m free Grease the rails With oil and honey I do this for love Not for money And the rattle of the rails is the only hymn That still gets under my skin Asked the desert For a vision In the distance Water glistened Can’t quench my thirst At any station The journey is My destination And the rattle of the rails is the only hymn That still gets under my skin
6.
Remembering our misspent youth How we painted that town chartreuse With our friends all doing the same Hearts and neighborhoods burning flame We went our ways as people do, lives and jobs and revenue No goodbyes and no amends We knew we’d see each other again I still have those old mixtapes They’re just about to disintegrate We dug the Meters in that old Chevy Parked way up high on the levee Pounding rhythm two by two, nights and years and me and you We had nothing but time to spend Every week we’d do it again We let the bon temps rouler We rolled your brother’s Chevrolet And oh, there was hell to pay I wish you didn’t live so far away Grown up now and working hard, we got full dance cards If there was time I’d jump the fence And I would go to see you again One day I got unstuck I bought that ticket and called you up We gonna roll down Royal Street Catch up on stories and skip the sleep Crazy and I still rendezvous, you’re the one I want to tell it to Look at us now, grey old friends It will be good to see you again It will be good to see you again Slow down, cher, don’t move too fast, step with me into the past It will be good to see you again Dancing to the zydeco, Clifton Chenier from long ago It’s so damn good to see you again Where y’at, where ya been, let’s go for another spin It’s so damn good to see you again We sat by that river slow and wide Talking through our deep divide Caught Rebirth Brass at the Maple Leaf Missing old friends who came to grief At the Union Terminal we stayed too late To plot, scheme and calculate How long until the very last train How long till I can see you again? How long till I can see you again, how long, how long till I can see you again ….

about

Twelve years and 852 miles in the making, singer-songwriters Nancy Rost and Eric Agner have released their first record, Violet Cusp. Rost, a singer-pianist based in Madison, WI and Agner, a singer and bassist in Washington, D.C. have been co-writing long distance since 2008. Their songs, expansive and energetic, span the genre gamut.

Supported by a talented cast of D.C. and Madison musicians, Violet Cusp brings the writers' songs to life in beautiful detail.

credits

released February 4, 2020

All songs written by Eric Agner and Nancy Rost.

All songs: 
Vocals: Eric Agner and Nancy Rost
Pianos and organ: Nancy Rost
Bass: Eric Agner
Drums: Jimmy Brink
Electric guitar: Jimmy Seechuk

Oboe: Elise Nims
Acoustic guitar: Collin Warren
Electric 12-string guitar: Jimmy Seechuk
Congas: Quique Aviles
Lap steel, additional guitar: Eric Agner
Violin: Julius Bjornson
Backing vocals: John Crossman, Bootsy La Vox, Stephen Lee Rich, Craig Suiter, Karen Taylor de Caballero
Clarinet: Seth Kibel
Tenor saxophone: Seth Kibel
Trombone: Amy Hewes
Trumpet: Brianna Schoen

Produced by Collin Warren (with Eric Agner and Nancy Rost). Mastered by Scott Craggs at Old Colony Mastering, Boston, Massachusetts. Recorded by Don Godwin at Tonal Park, Takoma Park, Maryland. Additional recording by Kenny Koeppler at The Sound Garden, Madison, Wisconsin, and by Eric and Nancy in their homes in Washington, D.C. and Madison, Wisconsin. Mixed by Don Godwin, Collin Warren, and Eric Agner.

Photography by Eric Agner, cover by Eric Agner and Nancy Rost

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