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Back to My Green

by Jess Klein

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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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      $10 USD  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Friends, this album was inspired in large part by my love of nature and our planet. The people, animals and land affected by the horrible fires in Australia require our help. $5 from each Back to My Green Vinyl Album sold will now go to Save the Children's Australia Bushfire Emergency Fund to create safe spaces for kids to just be kids in so that their parents can focus on rebuilding their homes and lives.

    I have chosen to channel the funds through my own bank account rather than PayPal after reading that PayPal charity funds are often delayed by 15-90 days. That seems like too long to wait.

    Thank you for trusting me with your donation!

    **

    "Back to My Green" is my first new album in FIVE YEARS - now on VINYL!
    In the music business, that is a lifetime.

    I feel like I've lived a whole lifetime since 2014 when I released "Learning Faith." In that time, I fell in love, got married to fellow singer-songwriter Mike June, moved away from Austin, TX and my musical community of eight years to Hillsborough, NC, a tiny town where I'd never been.

    Then the 2016 election happened and everything that came with it. Like a lot of people, I was terrified. As a result I developed an RSI in my arms that made playing guitar and writing very painful. I felt isolated and restricted and depressed.

    But "no" is death for artists, so I had to come up with new ways of doing things, new ways of conceptualizing music, and be willing to put myself out there and collaborate more.

    As a result, "Back to My Green" is about becoming someone new. It's about facing challenges and rising. It's the musical equivalent of standing unprotected with my arms and my heart wide open. It's terrifying...but it's real!

    I had the pleasure of working with Producer Mark Simonsen and Engineer Thom Canova at StudioM in Durham, NC, an... more
    credits
    released January 25, 2019

    All Songs written by Jess Klein C P 2018/ASCAP/House of Leo Music except “In Dreams” written by Jess Klein and Jonathan Byrd/Jonathan Byrd Music/SESAC

    Produced by Mark Simonsen

    Co-Produced by Jess Klein & Thom Canova

    Engineered by Thom Canova

    Jess Klein: vocals, acoustic and electric gtrs, percussion, drums on "For the Girls,"

    Thom Canova: bass, electric gtrs, percussion

    Mark Simonsen: piano, organ, keyboards, electric guitars, drums, vibes, glockenspiel, percussion, vocals

    Guest vocalists:
    Jonathan Byrd sings on For the Girls and Kid
    Gaelynn Lea sings on Blair Mountain

    Mike Grigoni: pedal steel, lap steel

    String trio:
    Laura Thomas: violin
    Aubrey Keisel: viola
    Leah Gibson: cello

    String and horn parts written and arranged by Mark Simonsen

    Recorded at Studio M, Durham, NC & Hondo Creek Studio, Pittsboro, NC

    Mastered by Brent Lambert at the Kitchen Mastering


    Thank you: Mark Simonsen, Thom Canova, Gaelynn Lea, Laura Thomas, Aubrey Keisel, Leah Gibson, Mike Grigoni, Jonathan Byrd for harmonies and, along with Wes Collins, much needed feedback on my songs in progress. Thank you Jim Sellick, Gabi Humphries, Paul McGee, Philippe Hauden, Edgar Heckmann, Blue Rose and SoulFood for helping me see how this thing can fly out in the world. Thank you to Mystery Brewing, the Berlin Brothers and the town of Hillsborough, NC for making music feel fun. Thank you to Mike June who believes in me like crazy and is my backbone when I’m wobbly. He will tell you he does this with his biceps but really it’s his heart.

    I wrote these songs to uplift your soul and mine. Thank you for listening. Xo Jess

    Includes unlimited streaming of Back to My Green via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ... more
    ships out within 14 days

      $30 USD or more 

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 21 Jess Klein releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of L.O.V.E., Jess Klein & The Berlin Brothers Vol. 1, When We Rise, That Was My Family, Never Gonna Break Me, My Own Beating Heart (single) , Another Man Done Gone - 100% of proceeds to NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Back to My Green , and 13 more. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $78 USD or more (35% OFF)

     

1.
In Dreams 03:30
In Dreams In dreams Your smile blows the dust away Melts me into the child I used to be I see Light stream across the floor You walk towards an open door Then beckon me I don't know why nobody told me We hold the cure for pain I know I’d fly if my dreamin’ could only Brave the light of day In dreams When I see the tears you cried I stand right by your side Sayin’ please When you lead Me down by the water's edge I jump the thorny hedge And come clean I don't know why nobody told me We hold the cure for pain I know I’d fly if my dreamin’ could only Brave the light of day I scale a wall ten miles high I stand and look you dead in the eye Can't seem to find any reason to lie Under the cover of sleep I don't know why nobody told me We hold the cure for pain I know I’d fly if my dreamin’ could only Brave the light of day In dreams You've shown me the way to heal Now I must make it real Make it real Make it real Make it real
2.
Tougher Than I Seem I”m tougher than I seem You wouldn’t know it just to look at me But I’ve seen a world you have never seen And I’m tougher than I seem I’ve earned my pride Filling the well that’s fed me from inside For every time my dream has been denied I’ve earned my pride And when you see me cryin’ It’s just my vision coming clean And when you see me smilin’ I’m smilin’ Cause I’m seeing a vision Like the world has never seen So make no mistake Though it’s a road some may never take Down it I go clear-eyed and awake Make no mistake I hold a space for you You might not breath easy here You might not li’ But while I’m dreamin Of all that could be true I hold a space in my heart for you And when you see me cryin’ It’s just my vision coming clean And when you see me smilin’ I’m smilin’ Cause I’m seeing a vision Like the world has never seen
3.
Mammal 03:26
Mammal I’m a mammal, baby My body knows How to fight and how to run And how to let it all go When you see me sprawlin’ Across the grass It’s because I slipped the danger Now I’ve let it all pass And I’m starting to realize Put down and paralyzed ain’t the place for me Oh no no no Yes I’m starting to truly know I’m not build to hold all your anxiety I’m better at breathing I’m a part of nature Born in blood And when I die, my body Will return into the mud But my human spirit, Something divine Something un-contained By all your numbers and lines And though I’ve known my share of pain And felt the shame Turning me dead inside Oh no no no I just don’t choose to sit in blame Or sink so low I need to run and hide I’m better at breathing Now I hiss And I scream But I don’t need to dream of changing you If I just do What I do And I’m starting to see the truth Your world so ruthless and powerful Oh no no no It ain’t got half the power of The kind of love That makes my heart this full I’m better at breathing I’m better at breathing I’m better at breathing I’m better at breathing I’m better at breathing
4.
Blair Mountain They stole the mountaintops Brother they stole the mountaintops What are we ‘sposed to look up to? Don’t tell me the skies of blue I need a path to climb To make it through this life And to know there’s something more Than to leave my children poor Or my heart will surely stop They stole the mountaintops They let the tunnels cave Brother they let the tunnels cave Cave in on your friends so brave Here’s a photograph to save Sorry for your loss It’s just the human cost As he’s lowered in his grave Someone else will take his place Need a job so they’ll behave They let the tunnels cave I gave my life to this mountain I gave my blood to this rock Keep it flowing like a heavenly fountain But the bleeding well it just won’t stop They turned the river black Where she would wash your back Ain’t ‘sposed to touch it now But they won’t tell us how How they plan to fix So many getting sick And all about to crack They turned the river black I gave my life to this mountain I gave my blood to this rock Keep it flowing like a heavenly fountain But the bleeding well it just won’t stop I gave my life to this mountain I gave my blood to this rock Keep it flowing like a heavenly fountain But the bleeding well it just won’t stop
5.
Back To My Green Hot afternoon Tree frogs are revving Revving it up for a symphony only they understand What would I do To be part of the green Shimmy along to their rhythm And to just be free In my body Free in my mind Free from the world of want and worry that swallows our time I could be free Like the breeze in the pine On a hot afternoon When I recall Places I’ve been Cities of steel and granite never let you in Aw, but back to my green Her mystery Pulling me in like a lover whispers And I’m free In my body Free in my mind Free from the fear of our own wonder that swallows our time I could be free Feel the heavens align When I recall Sayin’ I’m free In my body Free in my mind Free to believe that love and beauty can win in our time Sayin’ I’m free Sayin’ I’m fine When I follow her lead Back to my green
6.
New Thanksgiving Feast We traced our hands and made paper cutouts We pasted feathers on And we would shout out “I made a turkey” “I made a headdress” “I made a pilgrim’s hat” Then it was recess And the bell would ring We’d run into the streets called “Iroquois”, “Council Rock”, “Cayuga” Those street signs hid the truth though Dad put the football on It felt like family We’d eat the most we could Pass out in front of the TV Grandma and grandpa They were from Russia They wouldn’t talk about What it was like though I think they would have died If they had never tried To come here Another family knowin’ that fear Now I think about the English-Irish Servants Africans they drug across in chains Chinese and Italian families riding on the waves While along the pitch pine highway Near Plymouth Beach A Wampanoag fights to keep his right to fish the sea A Wampanoag fights to keep his right to fish the sea When we all meet our Creator Which will it be? Paper cutouts and hollow shells Or a new Thanksgiving feast Or a new Thanksgiving feast Out on an icy plain Wrapped in blankets and beads Elders with weathered faces Faces that read like history Say a prayer for all of those who’ve come to stand And a prayer for those firing water cannons It is a prayer for The Creator While on a football field A man refuses to rise To salute a country that would let his people die And though the rage and fear Swirl around him like a twister He’s committed to his brothers and his sisters He’s made a choice he knows So peacefully he sits there While along the chilly streets of Boston, Charlotte, Seattle and DC People pouring out in numbers never seen before When we come to face our shadows Shadows too angry to ignore Are we gonna tell ourselves it’s down to either/or? Or will we finally realize we’re meant for something more? When we all meet our Creator Which will it be? Towing the lines, pretending we’re blind Or a new Thanksgiving feast Or a new Thanksgiving feast
7.
Gates of Hell Woke up this morning and I walked out my front door Woke up this morning and I walked out my front door Something was telling me I’d never seen a day like this before A voice inside me said to look down in the well A voice inside me said to look down in the well Right there beneath the surface Fires raging like the blazing gates of hell I called the sheriff I rang the bell Said we’re living inches from the gates of hell His face went funny He tipped his hat Then he took off again in seconds flat I called my mama, I said “Mama help me please” I called my mama, I said “Mama help me please” She said “Child I been to hell and back, I’ve never seen the likes of times like these.” I called my daddy, I said “Please don’t make me beg” I called my daddy, I said “Please don’t make me beg” He said “I’d like to help you, but the bank repossessed my legs” I called the doctor I called the priest The priest was spitting venom at the doctor on his knees I cried for mercy, “Help me escape!” Mercy sent a spoiled child in a Superman’s cape I climbed in the bucket and I lowered myself down I climbed in the bucket and I lowered myself down I’d rather meet the devil than to stay here in this crazy circus town Said I’d rather meet the devil than to stay here in this crazy circus town
8.
For the Girls This one’s for the girls Who lounge around like Venus Knowing how to let the apple fall Patient like a rose They are brilliant, they are genius Wait for some young buck to come and call Me, I’m never sure How to hold my cards That’s the thing I long for most of all This one’s for the girls Who lounge around like Venus Knowing how to let the apple fall This one’s for the boys Singing songs so tender Songs that call from high above the noise Blowing rings of smoke That beg you to surrender Swing and sway and fall without a choice Me, I’m always scared to look up from the ground Scared to lose the sound of my own voice But this one’s for the boys Singing songs so tender Songs that call from high above the noise Oh, when I’m finally feeling stronger Oh, when there ain’t no right or wrong Oh, if it moves me along It moves me along It moves me along This one’s for the days Running with the horses Free to rise and free to fall Melt like butter days When all the other forces Tremble with their backs against the wall Days when I am sitting still as any flower Days when I am standing ten feet tall This one’s for the days Running with the horses Free to rise and free to fall This one’s for the days Naked and unfurled Music-playing boys, flower laden girls For the mystic rays of light that fall upon the world And the ways they fall upon the world
9.
Kid 04:24
Kid Kid let me tell you how it’s gonna be Starting the moment you’re on your own feet You’ll be walking so proud and then you’ll fall Use everything that you can to get back up again You’ll learn the best lesson of all Go falling in love, kid you’ll fall down some more Blind ambition won’t even the score But don’t let the shame come and hide you away Do your best just to feel it The pain makes you real If you let it pass through and away Kid I was once a child just like you Wishin’ to skip pain I had to go through But there’s no way around the beat of your heart Listen to follow it’s sound It’ll pull you back up kid, the same way it did from the start The longer you’re here, the more you may find The road growing steeper the further you climb Give yourself time to gather your breath Then watch the summit appear When you heed that old voice sayin’ one foot in front of the next Kid I was once a child just like you Through the risin’ and fallin’ learned you gotta be true And leave all the questions to Heaven above And when you get to where I am, you’ll see it so clearly The goal of your journey Was love
10.
I Hear Love 04:11
I Hear Love I’m sayin’ a prayer today For everyone who’s come so far Only to be turned away I’m sayin’ a prayer today I’m fallin’ down on my knees Praying God to tell me please How to live in times like these I’m fallin’ down on my knees Ooh, I hear love I hear love I hear love Hear it callin’ our names Ooh, I hear love Askin’ us To speak up And let it hear us the same I’m sayin’ a prayer today For the ones so full of hate They can’t even see it straight I’m sayin’ a prayer today I’m thinkin’ about that child Growin’ up with all that anger Turn into a perfect stranger I’m thinkin’ about that child Ooh, I hear love I hear love I hear love Hear it callin’ our names Ooh, I hear love Askin’ us To speak up And let it hear us the same And watch as an eagle takes flight Spreads its wings with all its might Lifts us high above this Hard Dark Night Ooh, I hear love I hear love I hear love Hear it callin’ our names Ooh, I hear love Askin’ us To speak up And let it hear us the same

about

"Back to My Green" is my first new album in FIVE YEARS.
In the music business, that is a lifetime.

I feel like I've lived a whole lifetime since 2014 when I released "Learning Faith." In that time, I fell in love, got married to fellow singer-songwriter Mike June, moved away from Austin, TX and my musical community of eight years to Hillsborough, NC, a tiny town where I'd never been.

Then the 2016 election happened and everything that came with it. Like a lot of people, I was terrified. As a result I developed an RSI in my arms that made playing guitar and writing very painful. I felt isolated and restricted and depressed.

But "no" is death for artists, so I had to come up with new ways of doing things, new ways of conceptualizing music, and be willing to put myself out there and collaborate more.

As a result, "Back to My Green" is about becoming someone new. It's about facing challenges and rising. It's the musical equivalent of standing unprotected with my arms and my heart wide open. It's terrifying...but it's real!

I had the pleasure of working with Producer Mark Simonsen and Engineer Thom Canova at StudioM in Durham, NC, an extremely creative and uplifting couple of dudes. Mark was the lead producer and Thom and I co-produced. This is the first album I have ever co-produced! I had to learn to take charge in new ways, but also to let other people in in new ways. The result, to my mind, is a different kind of album for me, expansive, hopeful, out on a limb.

credits

released January 25, 2019

All Songs written by Jess Klein C P 2018/ASCAP/House of Leo Music except “In Dreams” written by Jess Klein and Jonathan Byrd/Jonathan Byrd Music/SESAC

Produced by Mark Simonsen

Co-Produced by Jess Klein & Thom Canova 

Engineered by Thom Canova

Jess Klein: vocals, acoustic and electric gtrs, percussion, drums on "For the Girls,"

Thom Canova: bass, electric gtrs, percussion

Mark Simonsen: piano, organ, keyboards, electric guitars, drums, vibes, glockenspiel, percussion, vocals

Guest vocalists:
Jonathan Byrd sings on For the Girls and Kid
Gaelynn Lea sings on Blair Mountain

Mike Grigoni: pedal steel, lap steel

String trio:
Laura Thomas: violin
Aubrey Keisel: viola
Leah Gibson: cello

String and horn parts written and arranged by Mark Simonsen 

Recorded at Studio M, Durham, NC & Hondo Creek Studio, Pittsboro, NC

Mastered by Brent Lambert at the Kitchen Mastering


Thank you: Mark Simonsen, Thom Canova, Gaelynn Lea, Laura Thomas, Aubrey Keisel, Leah Gibson, Mike Grigoni, Jonathan Byrd for harmonies and, along with Wes Collins, much needed feedback on my songs in progress. Thank you Jim Sellick, Gabi Humphries, Paul McGee, Philippe Hauden, Edgar Heckmann, Blue Rose and SoulFood for helping me see how this thing can fly out in the world. Thank you to Mystery Brewing, the Berlin Brothers and the town of Hillsborough, NC for making music feel fun. Thank you to Mike June who believes in me like crazy and is my backbone when I’m wobbly. He will tell you he does this with his biceps but really it’s his heart.

I wrote these songs to uplift your soul and mine. Thank you for listening. Xo Jess

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Jess Klein Hillsborough, North Carolina

Rochester, NY native Jess Klein is known for staking out brave lyrical and musical territory with such albums as Wishes Well Disguised (1998), Draw Them Near (2000), Strawberry Lover (2005), City Garden (2006), Bound to Love (2009), Behind A Veil (2012) and Learning Faith (2014) which Folk Radio UK calls “unquestionably the finest album of [her] impressive career.” ... more

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