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Love is Love

by Paul Sachs

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1.
Forbidden fruit lay on my tongue One bite and I was gone Yes There’s been some damage done To all that love provides Blame it on the original sin The fall of man a devils grin Some say they’re tangled in All that love provides Remember Adam and Eve Had trouble in the garden They were forced to leave Now the serpent glides Through flesh and blood Over all that love provides Good and evil is the mortal soul With this knowledge I still don’t know How men and women lose control Now this fool confides Deception’s easy when it feels like bliss You get addicted to a wayward kiss Drank the wine I took a piss On all that love provides Remember Adam and Eve Had trouble in the garden They were forced to leave With paradise denied Heaven below Hell above All that love provides But there ain’t no need to contemplate Who we are girl let’s not tempt fate it’s not the time for us to hate All that love provides Remember Adam and Eve Had trouble in the garden They were forced to leave Where temptation hides Lost in the darkness of All that love provides
2.
I’m late for the protest I got stranded underground On a subway heading north To the rally downtown By the time I left the station All around me were police Taking down barricades And opening up the streets I’m late for the protest Mister these are troubled times See the bird of freedom soaring Over broken picket signs Sailing over people Who have been dispersed By the law of might and men Who came well rehearsed Now they’re marching in St. Louis And in New York too Chanting as one you know I tell you Joe That’s what unheard voices do I’m late for the protest In the distance I hear them now Only so much Democracy The authorities will allow And as the cops clear the sidewalk Far away from me I listen to the echo of collective rage In the 21st century Now they’re marching in Chicago And in Cleveland too Chanting as one you know I tell you Joe That’s what unheard voices do Shouting for justice oh I tell you Joe It sounds like they’re breaking through
3.
I was straight you were gay Didn’t matter either way Cohorts from a misfit crew Back in 1982 Dark hair tall fast and lean From city streets hard and mean Turning tricks nothing’s free Back in 1983 Did it for the thrill and buzz You did for the money What creates also destroys And boys will be boys In high school kids made fun ‘bout what our friendship had become We’d fight them to the floor Back in 1984 Best of friends was all we were Damn the dumb and narrow Inside the world of adolescent noise Boys will be boys Boys will be boys Thin as air brittle bones Conversations telephones hospitals.and bare trees Might have beens and use to be’s For a while you held on One day your mother told me you were gone Best of friends nothing more Damn the dumb and narrow Inside a world of adolescent noise Was he a she a him or her Love’s a broken arrow What creates also destroys Boys will be boys Boys will be boys
4.
Love is Love 03:10
Love is love Simple and true An easy thing That’s so hard to do Everybody Feels joy and pain The difference is We’re all the same Love is love Love is love We all are one They say everything is equal Under the sun Day by day We conceive And choose to deny What we believe Love is love Love is love oh love is love Love is love oh love Love is love Nail bitten and blind How quick we lose what took so long to find All good stories Come to an end From that first kiss To are we still friends Love is love Love is love oh love is love Love is love oh love Love is love I’ll grant you that Waving goodbye While tipping my hat It will never be over But when all’s said and done What does anybody see in anyone? Love is love love is love
5.
Visiting hour On death row I’m a women in love Through our letters I know We were meant to be together Until the end of time Wish I could touch your face And feel your flesh on mine Feel your flesh on mine Because the killer inside you Is the killer inside me too boy The Killer inside The killer inside me too boy Had a husband and kid The white picket fence Leaving them behind Somehow made sense Let’s put our hands on the glass That separates skin I’ll talk dirty on the phone Come on baby let’s begin Darling lets begin Chorus Saw your mugshot read the news Now a motel is my new home Found a job in town I refuse To let you go through this alone Concrete walls and strangers Prison guards and keys See the ghost of my reflection While you listen to me I’m no one’s daughter, wife or mother I’ve cried and paid my dues Who need any secrets when The killer inside you Is the killer inside me too
6.
Welcome to the world my new little girl Sorry daddy has no money saved All the bills piled high and your mommy and I Had to go our separate ways We spilt everything, but her old diamond ring She was keeping as a souvenir Well there’s a dusty pawn shop where I got it hocked I stole it from her last year We don’t talk much about it both of us understand What’s in my blood is who I’m made of Out in no man’s land We met in high school back when dating was cool I played football on the line defense She was the cheerleading queen of homecoming team And loving her just made sense Then I found the moon with a needle and spoon But that Judas harpoon takes a toll She wanted more than I could give, but it takes so much to live When you got something you can’t control Her father warned me the night you were born As I held you in my hands That there was no place for me in our family Out in no man’s land Now I’m in the sticks with my brother who became another Addict on the motherless streets We’re both hooked on junk crack and a pump And I’m sweating on dirty sheets We’re here alone where the wind cuts through bone I’m always stoned and Christ I’ll get back to you if it’s the last thing I do Everything comes with a price I’m gonna buy back that old diamond ring Today I sold my wedding band There’s a clinic round here where I’ll disappear And get out of no man’s land This is the letter I’d send you if my thoughts could reach a pen It don’t matter where you’re from look what your daddy’s become Another soul out in no man’s land...
7.
We were hunting in the woods two teenage friends alone In the boldness of youth you were a gentle boy I’d known We saw a deer with eyes of fate You said his fear made him hesitate then run I was stunned In the autumn leaves you let him go I screamed how come At every mother’s son Then you learned to salute and never lose a fight How to run in desert boots and wear a uniform for life You learned to sweat and follow rules face a threat and how to use a gun What had they done Three tours of duty now you’re home Cold and numb To every mother’s son Now your father was a different kind of creature all his own Military made him something feel more than alone He sent you away were they turn boys into men and they become Every mother’s son Memorial Day main street flags and families The parade is complete as I see you wave at me Our eyes lock as you pass by remembering when you and I were young Childhood fun Now there’s a darkness here today When there once was none You’re every mothers son A month ago I wandered through the trees and caught my breath I saw the same buck you let live I nearly shot to death As I shout your name your smile disappears as the crowd cheers on Every mother’s son
8.
9.
The Witness 03:00
I told Troy Night and day Be wary of police Don’t never stray Far from the house In a neighborhood where harm Makes life hard for a single mom Oh Lord I still see him coming home Now his sister Rose Was the younger one Somehow they got their hands On a pellet gun They were playing outside When I heard shots Intuition told me it was the cops Oh Lord I still see him coming home His little sister was the witness But she lost the will to speak And her silence holds the answers you seek I ran down the block With no shoes or breath Troy lay bleeding Close to death I held him in my arms He said “Mom I didn’t do...” Rose was crying She saw it too OH Lord I still see him coming home Oh the pistol looked real That’s what they said He was only twelve Now my boy’s dead If my daughter told the truth It would be denied All The men in blue say They’re sorry he died Oh Lord I still see him coming home Lord Lord I see him coming home His little sister was the witness but she lost the will to speak
10.
A boat is sailing on midnight seas Full of people fleeing poverty’s disease Hiding below in the mercy of the hull Is a boy who never felt his stomach full Don’t look for answers brother just pray this wooden ship gets steered The boy’s searching for his mother among these families of the disappeared A mass grave is a hole in the ground Full of dead bodies the terrified have found Grandma’s crying on a floor she just swept The wind knows the worst hasn’t happened yet Don’t look for answers brother they’ll never dry that old women’s tears She howls with others who are families of the disappeared All over the world all over the world Missing one another All over the world Everybody sees the big attack The distance of the planet as the stars go black Old man walking with a dog and cane Past bombed out buildings ‘neath a Godless rain Don’t look for answers brother cause you sure ain’t gonna find any here Planet Earth is smothered with these families of,the disappeared What becomes of people when does hope replace fear? We’re all stuck in the eye of a needle with these families of the disappeared All over the world all over the world Where are you my darling all over the world All over the world all over the world Missing one another all over the world All over the world all over the world Where are your my brother? All over the world
11.
There’s a rose upon a grave Courage when not feeling brave Someone got their execution stayed Tonight my love It’s hard times for you and me Things ain’t what they use to be Faith in the future is a mystery Tonight my love Still every day I push that stone Up the highest hill all alone Been to hell and back Now everything I lack Gave me what’s true With the best hope can do Narrow streets and great divides Everywhere some goodness hides They’re breaking ground and choosing sides Tonight my love Put on a smile and remember this Every lie is just a wish I’m working hard on what truth is Tonight my love Remember John Henry died With a hammer by his side I’ll be a better man Take me as I am Trouble will ensue With the best hope can do It’s a new wheel on a used car A prayer on a shooting star The sheer wonder of where you are Tonight my love We all gotta ride this train Plowing through sleet and driving rain Better days will come I’m barely holding on My baby blue With the best hope can do With the best hope can do With the best hope can do

about

“Love is Love, the latest CD from Paul Sachs deals with loss in its many guises. In deceptively lean, elegant lyrics, Sachs shows his continuing dedicated command of the songwriter’s craft. The leadoff title track describes love as if it existed in a spare landscape, where it could simply shift away from the object of desire and walk away.Sachs sings, Love is love, I’ll grant you that, waving goodbye while tipping my hat. Especially erudite are the lines, Love is love, nail-bitten and blind / how quickly we lose what took so long to find / All good stories come to an end / to that first kiss to / “Are we still friends? The song, played with a stately, slow pace, provokes an infinite sadness. Other examples of lyrical and imaginative brilliance abound. “Every Mother’s Son” describes the loss of a gentle childhood spirit, wrenched away by military training. Then you learned to salute / and never lose a fight / how to run in desert boots / and wear a uniform for life … three tours of duty / now you’re home / cold and numb / to every mother’s son. “The Killer Inside Me” explores the strange pull of a death row inmate upon a woman who recognizes their shared inner nature and leaves her home and family to be near him as he approaches the end of his life: The killer inside you / is the killer inside me too. “Love’s a Hard Lesson,” told from a woman’s viewpoint, is a tale of a wife’s revenge on an abusive, alcoholic husband. It’s worthy of any song in the Steve Earle canon. Coincidentally, Sachs’ ever robust voice captures some of Earle’s gravelly timbre as he sings: Now I don’t regret the killin’ or a god damn thing / In a few years, I’m getting’ paroled / my mother says she’s gonna sell my wedding ring / Gave it to her to hold / I’ll be happy when it’s sold, yeah. “All That Love Provides” is a tale of infidelity with a country flair that any Nashville songwriter would covet: Deception’s easy when it feels like bliss / You get addicted to a wayward kiss / Drank the wine, I took a piss / on all that love provides. “No Man’s Land” is perhaps the ultimate tale of a dependency-prone young man’s descent into heroin addiction. In masterful strokes, Sachs’ lyrics take us on a tour through humanity’s darkest alleys. It spins its tale in the form of an imagined letter to the addict’s newborn daughter: Welcome to the world / my new little girl / Sorry daddy has no money saved / All the bills piled high / and your mommy and I / had to go our separate ways … she was the cheerleading queen of the homecoming team / and loving her just made sense / and I found the moon with a needle and spoon / but that Judas harpoon takes a toll … “Boys Will Be Boys” is my hands-down choice for the jewel in the crown of this audacious CD, provoking many consecutive presses on the iPod replay button. The friendship between the song’s straight narrator and his gay best friend is expressed with an undercurrent of sad reminiscence. Paul sings slightly above a whisper and a lead guitar keens and sighs with understated sorrow: Cohorts from the misfit crew / back in 1982 … Turnin’ tricks, nothin’s free / back in 1983 / did it for the thrill and buzz / did it for the money / what creates also destroys / and boys will be boys will be boys … Best of friends was all we were / damn the dumb and narrow / inside a world of adolescent noise / boys will be boys will be boys. At the song’s end, the narrator sings of his friend’s demise: thin as air, brittle bones … hospitals and bare trees … Was he a she; a him or her / love’s a broken arrow / what creates also destroys / boys will be boys will be boys. At each replay my heart is in my mouth and water stings my eyes. When I broke away long enough to pay closer attention to the album’s closer, “The Best Hope Can Do,” it vied for equal attention and probably comes in a close second for this listener. Again, I reached for the replay button, over and over. The song’s protagonist finds himself on shaky ground with the love of his life. Strumming with a steady pulse, Sachs, as narrator entreats his love to stay, to hold out, despite every uncertainty: It’s a new wheel on a used car / a prayer on a shooting star / the sheer wonder of where you are tonight / Better days will come / I’m barely holding’ on, my baby blue / with the best hope can do. Every turn in life’s river seems to elicit new brilliance in Paul Sachs’ writing. We’ll no doubt be witness to more lyrical feats as he ascends ever higher in the ranks of great songwriters. Now the rest of the world just needs to listen. All radio DJs take note!” - Richard Cuccaro-Acoustic Live

credits

released June 27, 2016

Produced by Paul Sachs

Acoustic Guitar, Vocals – Paul Sachs
Backing Vocals – Mary Foster Conklin (tracks: 1, 4, 8)
Bass – Paul Kuzik (tracks: 1, 3, 8, 10, 11)
Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Keyboards – Mark Dann
Design – B. Middleworth*
Drums – Steve Holley (2)
Engineer, Mastered By – Mark Dann
Mandolin – Rob Meador (tracks: 4)
Music By, Lyrics By – Paul Sachs
Organ, Harmonium – Jimi Zhivago (tracks: 9)
Photography By – David Plakke
Photography [Back Photo] – Paul Sachs
Producer – Paul Sachs and Mark Dann

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Paul Sachs New York, New York

Paul Sachs writes lyrical and gritty songs. Born and raised in New York City. Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Springsteen are the songwriters that influenced him, and pushed him into the folk music circles of the city. In 2013 he won the New Folk Songwriter’s contest at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas. His new Cd, "My Favorite Season, is due in 2022 ... more

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