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For The Weary Traveller

by Holly Arrowsmith

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gravelben
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gravelben Loving it... I think the last time I thrashed an album on repeat like this was when I discoverd Tow'rs Favorite track: Flinted.
DeeDunks
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DeeDunks Nice as it is on the first listen, this album opens up beautifully after a few more spins. The lyrics are more poignant than they initially appeared, and I've just barely landed on a favorite track for that very reason. Shout out to Canyons and Beast Called Love also. Favorite track: Love Will Be A River.
Sam Bleaden
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Sam Bleaden Really love this album! Must have listened to it a dozen times! Favorite track: Voices Of Youth.
Don Whitford
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Don Whitford Gentle, powerful, beautiful, and deep. I’m so glad I came across Holly’s music. Favorite track: For The Weary Traveller.
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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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  • For The Weary Traveller CD
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Holly Arrowsmith's first album, recorded in New Zealand.

    Tui Award for Folk Album of the year 2016

    Includes unlimited streaming of For The Weary Traveller via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.
From the mouth of the morning Out poured the dawn Waking the valley With her silent song Like my mother she kissed me with the softest of light Broke the skyline inked with the darkness of night She spilled into every space, every fold To tell of a mercy that is new with each morning And It flows alike for the rich and the poor It flows for the slave and the free Why I've collected all of my sorrow? Why I have stored it, I do not know Maybe in shame of its revelation Maybe in fear of letting it go From the mouth of the morning out poured the dawn Waking the valley With her silent song To tell of a mercy that is new with each morn And at an uncertain moment Day came and dawn was gone
2.
I sit alone in this chair some days Thinking bout my life thinking bout my ways There are too many questions that I don’t know the answer Breathe in deep and I close my eyes Walk back through the dark and the joyful times Trying to find the spirit of my youth in there Somehow I lost her but I don’t know where In those days long gone I felt you walking next to me Oh please don’t leave me with my troubled mind As company At night we’d lay staring up in awe We were not afraid to admit we were small And holes in heaven’s floor lit our bare faces We walked up rivers and drank from the streams Balanced on bridges laid by ancient trees Who bowed their regal heads to make a way And people never listened to anything we had to say But we said it anyway In those days long gone I felt you walking next to me Oh please don’t leave me with my troubled mind Tormenting me Now we all have jobs and we all pay rent And we all ask each other where our time got spent And busyness plagues the streets like a disease And if one man stops and asks ‘Well why? ‘What’s it all for when I die?’ The rest all shake their heads and say ‘Don’t speak!’ ‘Seeking meaning’s for the weak!’ Well you can call me weak * In those days long gone I felt you walking next to me Oh please don‘t leave me with my troubled mind A wandering Voices of youth call out to me ‘Come back’ they say ‘Don’t walk away!’ Im trying with all my strength not to let go But theres a truth I know, the ties are strong From those very days I have grown And if I ever come undone, one day it’s certain We will be tied together once again I hope my foolishness will never sever us my friend
3.
Desert Owl 03:56
I walk a lonely road There’s a junction up ahead I’ve got no job, no home Nearly all my money’s spent I came for a resolution A certain answer clear But it ain’t what I need And I will not find it here Woah, oh, oh, woah Painting circles in the empty sky The vultures cry, ‘You’re dead’ Snakes whisper ‘Rest a while’ ‘Lay down your weary head.’ Then the red sun bursts on the mountain high Spills like blood down the valley dry Peace like a river extend to me, and carry my feet on by No brother before me or behind My mind is worn and my body’s tired Peace like a river extend to me and carry my feet on by Well I am a desert owl, an owl among the ruins Looking on with wisdom and with sorrow In the words of a great man This world is dying and it’s hardly been born So I, sing to serve the ones who search beyond the shadows The shadows Carry my feet on, carry my feet on by Oh peace like a river won’t you carry my feet on by Peace Like a river, carry my feet on by Oh peace like a river, carry my feet on by
4.
Canyons 04:12
Sit and talk with me awhile Of fond memories faint and far Lets recall my familiar friend How much we love each other The way love starts and how it grows So often an abandoned road As changes come and seasons roll Lets hold to one another First a crystal mountain stream Running through the woods with ease The world’s cares seem far away And every sound is like a song But like that stream love wants to grow Obstacles clutter its flow The land turns steep and the sun seems low We’re forced into the canyons throw The river wants to reverse To clamber uphill to its birth But it can’t return, so lovers learn Now that little stream is a deep strong force I watch people coming and going How they’re reacting, releasing, withdrawing And from what I can tell Love’s not a feeling We all wake up with in the morning I believe we have to choose Make those vows each day anew To give yourself to me and myself to you And like that stream our love will grow Though obstacles clutter its flow The land turns steep and the sun seems low We’re forced into the canyons throw The river wants to reverse To clamber uphill to its birth But it can’t return, so we will learn Now that little stream is a deep strong force So sit and talk with me awhile Of a future we can’t plan The people we’ll meet Oh the places we’ll see And who we dream we will become And that river will keep on rolling Rolling wild and free Don’t know where we’re going But we’re heading towards the sea Said we don’t know where we’re going But we’re heading towards the sea So, river roll, river roll on Roll on wild and free River roll, river roll on Roll on to the sea Said, river roll, river roll on Rolling wild and free Oh river roll, river roll on Roll on to the sea River roll on to the sea River roll on to the sea
5.
She lays still, she has for ten thousand years or more The lady of the valley’s got a heart beat of stone When I see her, I know that I am home I’ve hidden many times, in her motherly arms Like a child cradled there, till the violent storm has past Gold rolling through her cold veins, to the river down below When I see her, I know that I am home I cast my eyes to the hills Where does my help come? When my head is lifted I see your stoney form Reminding me I have a home, and my help comes from The Lord My help comes from You, Lord There are too many stories of how, greed can kill a man She told me all her gold is for the fools For what we see as valuable, it surely is worth nothing And what we see as nothing Is more priceless than we’ll know She’ll always lay alone there, it’s her duty to do so Surveying the surveyors’, what will she behold? The lady of the valley, has seen and how she knows That water cannot satisfy, those who thirst for gold Those who thirst for gold, no Those who thirst for gold
6.
You wake me in the dusty light of the dawn I'd given up all hope, that I'd be found here The smell of the wild pine, blows on the wind And their heavy branches sing out an old solemn prayer To the cold mountain air You wear the light of a thousand suns burning I wear a dress made of sin and shame In Your warm presence my cold heart is turning In Your eyes, I see nothing but grace The light on the path, is the light from Your face As You call, ‘Come home My son My daughter come home I am slow to anger and abounding in love I won't rest, till you’re back in my arms Please come home’ As You lead, You are calling the fallen Your voice fills the valley with the sweetest song Saying ‘Those who are bound, come forth out of darkness Into My light where you belong’ Oh the darkness shrieks, as Your light rends its power It fumbles to grab me, to stop my release But it cannot come near For in love is no fear It cowers and hides A wounded beast And I now understand who I am, who You are As we follow You over the rise There are holes in Your hands and one in Your side I fall to the ground with my hands on my eyes As my rags are turned to glory in Your light And the hills are awakening, mountains start shaking All nature bursts forth into song Through the woods and mountain passes The winds like anthems roll As the children, who once were in the darkness Have come home
7.
To find comfort, first you must know sorrow To know healing, there must be a wound To find strength you, first of all you must know weakness Oh friend Without evil, how could we know what’s good? With relief, there first must come pain And joy, from where there was none To be found you, surely need to be lost Oh child Know darkness to see the good light of the sun Know darkness to see the good light of the sun
8.
I was young, I heard about, a thing called love So I sailed out, to see what the fuss was about! Quickly did, the ocean turn, into a fearsome beast Tossed me in his watery arms, onto a lonely shore I'd fallen for his charm So I cut out what remained Of my heart and threw it to the sea And I told that beast called love ‘Never return that heart to me’ The ocean took, my heart with glee Tossed it from wave to wave, but I couldn't feel a thing Just a hole where it had been And now it didn't beat for anyone or anything So there I lay, a hollow chest Filled with pain, and salty bitterness Then you came, upon the waves, walking With a heart that beat only in your hands Warm and red ‘That ain’t mine!’ I said You see I cut out what remained Of my heart, long long ago And I threw it to the sea And I told that beast called love ‘Never return that heart to me!’ (And you said) ‘Child you are right! Oh, This ain’t yours It's mine See, I fought that ugly sea Now your heart beats in me And love is not a beast’ (No you said) ‘Love is not a beast Love is not a beast, It is an exchange, Oh! Love is an exchange’ (You said) ‘Love is an exchange!’
9.
It's not what we've seen on the world’s painted screen Selfish or cruel, a game of the heart to be toyed with Not a glorified feeling that destroys all Who touch it in the end But a gift that was given when time began It's the essence that fills all human desire But a mirrored reflection of something much higher And we are just vessels, which carry this light Given to show one another Who love was written by I am cracked and flawed, So are you But these are spaces for the light to come pouring through Maybe the more we let out, the stronger it'll grow Till all who, fall in its path feel the warmth of its glow And our love will be a river, flowing out into the sea Started in the mountains Where you washed my feet
10.
Flinted 04:54
Follow my feet beneath the tall trees Their backs are stooped low with the weight of dead leaves But they're, letting them go and weightless they fall To paint the road a river Reflections pass as I row quietly The waters a mirror for my lost memories I dip the oar, and the picture is blurred My arms grow weary and the rustling wind stirs To carry me, to the arms of the shore So I wanna know what the seasons know There’s a time to reap and a time to sow A time to hold on and a time to let go Teach me to trust when I don't see There's so much to be learned from the days gone by I will look down on the river unwinding You've carried me this far you won't let me go Not in the heat of December Or the cold July snow On my way home to the fireplace The wind it's stinging my, flinted face It whispers ‘Release’, so I open my hands And scatter my worries into its breath As I wade through autumns tide Teach me to trust, when I don’t see To love always, as you have loved me To lay down my life to be set free To guard my heart in your peace

about

'Born in the desert city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and raised in the pristine South Island of New Zealand, It's no wonder Southern Hemisphere songstress Holly Arrowsmith crafts music with a reverence for nature.
'For The Weary Traveller', is a reflection on life's journey. Written amongst, and poetically encompassed by staggering landscapes, this timeless debut album was recorded in a grassroots studio, nestled in the mountain valley settlement of Queenstown, New Zealand.
Reminiscent of Americana Folk Greats Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan, Arrowsmith's captivating, earthy voice, will reach into the heart of humanity, and take you on a journey through the struggles and joys of the traveller's life.'

credits

released July 31, 2015

'For The Weary Traveller’ was recorded in a grassroots studio
nestled in the mountain valleys of Queenstown, New Zealand.

Engineered By: Steve Roberts
Produced By: Steve Roberts & Holly Arrowsmith
Mastered By: Steve Fallone [Sterling Sound, New York]

Musicians:
Holly Arrowsmith [Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica]
Stu Graham [Mandolin, Banjo, Harmonica, Slide & Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, Piano]
Tom Lynch [Bass Guitar, Omnichord, Electric Guitar]
Marc Hamilton [Drums]
Luke Thompson [Vocals]
Alice Tolich [Cello, Cornet]
Gordon Maclean [Double Bass]

Album Art Image: Andrew Hewson

Design: Michael Gilling

All songs written by Holly Arrowsmith.

[Special Thanks]
To Steve Roberts & Tom Lynch- Who have believed in my music from the beginning,
and have generously given their time, resources and expertise.
To my Family, and my husband Michael- For your love and constant support.
To Friends and Strangers-
For coming to my shows, buying my music and encouraging me to stay on this journey.
Thanks to Mark & Emma Pullar from Roost, for making this possible.


©Holly Arrowsmith, 2015

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Holly Arrowsmith Auckland, New Zealand

‘Spare, subtle, approachable and utterly beautiful, anchored by a voice that pulls you close and cancels the noise outside.’
/Stephen Thompson- NPR MUSIC

Born in the heart of the American desert, in Santa Fe, New Mexico and raised in the mountains of Southern New Zealand, Holly Arrowsmith is a strong forerunner in New Zealand’s current folk revivalist movement.
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