Arguing With Ghosts

Gretchen Peters, Matraca Berg, Ben Glover

I get lost in my home town
Since they tore the drive-in down
I find myself all turned around
I get lost in my home town

I’m getting hard to recognize
They say the mirror never lies
I’ve still got my mama’s eyes
But I’m getting hard to recognize

There’s a picture on the wall
We got married in the fall
Now I don’t know those kids at all
There’s a picture on the wall

The years go by like days
Sometimes the days go by like years
And I don’t know which one I hate the most
At this same old kitchen table
in this same old busted chair
I’m drinking coffee and arguing with ghosts
Arguing with ghosts

I light one cigarette a day
I watch it burn and I walk away
A wisp of smoke in an old ashtray
I light one cigarette a day

© 2014 Circus Girl Music (ASCAP) – A division of Carnival Music Group/Jeff’s Wife Songs & Songs Of Sally Sue’s Medicine Show (BMI), all rights for SSSMS administered by Universal Music Publishing/Ben Glover (PRS), administered by Proper Music Publishing Ltd. Used By Permission. All Rights Reserved.

Wichita

Gretchen Peters, Ben Glover

My name is Cora Lee – I just turned twelve years old
There’s something wrong with me – that’s what the doctor told my mama
On the rainy Kansas night when I was born
My mama cursed the doctor and the doctor cursed the storm
And my daddy took the bus to Arkansas – one way from Wichita

I may not know too much – I may not be too smart
There may be something wrong with my head, but not my heart
I got a little sister and she’s not dumb like me
And I don’t want her seeing things that she don’t need to see
Like some of the things I saw that night in Wichita

My mama sleeps a lot, she leaves the TV on
You bring some groceries by – and take anything you want
You took it from my mama, now you’re takin’ it from me
But you touch my little sister, mister then you’re gonna see
There’s worse things than running from the law here in Wichita

I could’ve called the cops – and told em what you did
But who’s gonna listen to a story from a stupid kid
Mama always told me if you want something done
You do it for yourself and so I loaded up her gun
And i was steady on the draw that night in Wichita
Yeah, I hope I was the last thing that you saw that night in Wichita

The Boy From Rye

Gretchen Peters

The boy from Rye came down on the train
With his parents and his sister
Where the summer lawns roll down to the sea
And the air is softer than a whisper

The girls from school in our summer tans
Suddenly self conscious and uncertain
All in a row we arranged ourselves for him
Waiting to see if we deserved him

One too fat, one too thin
One too many flaws to measure
Impossible to live inside your skin
And serve at someone else’s pleasure

Our parents dozed after tennis and a swim
And disappeared into their gin and tonics
And there we were, alone with him
His smile knowing and ironic

One too strong, one too smart
But none immune to love or summer
One by one he broke our virgin hearts
And set us one against the other

We dreamed of boys and kisses on the lawn
We yearned to feel that mystery inside us
And there we were with the summer nearly gone
We’d let that mystery divide us

I lost you – you lost me
So long ago we barely can remember
And the boy from Rye took the train back home
And the world moved on into September

Disappearing Act

Gretchen Peters

Well I used to be something back in my prime
Had myself a pretty good time
By the looks of me you’d never know it today
Had a ring on my finger at 24
We had 40 good years, then 10 more
He took sick and he died on Christmas Day

Well I lost two babies, kept one more
Lost him too when he went to war
And all his daddy could say is it’ll make him a man
He did two tours of duty out in Iraq
He came home but he never came back
And that’s somethin’ that I’ll never understand

Good things come, good things go
If it lifts you up, it’ll lay you low
People leave and they don’t come back
Life is a disappearing act

I seen all kinds of women, all kinds of men
Ain’t a lot that you can call friend
And most things don’t turn out like you think
You can travel the world, you can sail the seas
You can yes sir, no sir, pretty please
Still you end up cryin at your kitchen sink

Good things come, good things go
If it lifts you up, it’ll lay you low
People leave and they don’t look back
Life is a disappearing act

Well it’s lonely inside this dark cocoon
And I’m wonderin’ if Jesus is comin’ soon
And if he is, he better make it quick
Cause Jesus and me we got us a deal
He does the miracles, I spin the wheel
But before I go, I got one last trick

Good things come, good things go
You’ll be taking your bows before you know
People leave and they don’t come back
This is my disappearing act

Lowlands

Gretchen Peters

I spend a lot of time here in the lowlands
Mostly keeping to myself
I’ve made a few new friends here in the lowlands
But no one that i really know that well

i come straight home from work and fix my supper
Don’t burn one with my neighbor anymore
Ever since he put that sticker on his bumper
I just turn out the lights and lock the doors

Goddamn it sure got quiet on the high road
As it led us straight down into hell
I don’t know nobody feeling hopeful
I don’t know a soul who’s sleeping well

And the tv it just lies to keep you watching
Politician lies to get your vote
But a man who lies just for the sake of lying
He’ll sell you kerosene and call it hope

I don’t blame you if you wanna cut your losses
Pull in your reins and try to make it through
I don’t think anybody knows just what the cost is
I don’t think anybody knows just what to do

Me I’m thankful for this work that keeps me honest
My hands get dirty but my soul stays clean
‘Cause the grinding of the wheel will make you crazy
I don’t want no part of that machine

So I spend a lot of time here in the lowlands
Me and all my friends we’re makin’ do
We get a lot of clouds here in the lowlands
But now and then a little light gets through

The Show

Gretchen Peters

Freight train plays a major seventh chord
Sign across the street says praise the Lord
Hotel coffee tastes like kerosene
And I’m happy as I think I’ve ever been

I don’t really know just where I am
Somewhere between Bend and Birmingham
Here with you in some borrowed zip code
Nothin’ on our minds but the show

Be home tomorrow evening if we fly
If the weather’s clear and the interstate stays dry
Nineteen songs and one more night to go
Time to get it up for the show

From time to time you may hear me complain
But only in passing like that old freight train
As if to make my presence known
As if to say I’m not alone

So leave that don’t disturb sign on the door
Come lie beside your weary troubadour
We’ll rest ourselves before it’s time to go
What we got left we’ll save it for the show

Dancing With The Beast

Gretchen Peters, Ben Glover

He only comes around when he pleases
He only comes around when I’m alone
He don’t like my friends or my family
He don’t like me talkin’ on the phone

It isn’t that he doesn’t care about me
If anything it’s that he cares too much
It’s only that he wants the best for me
It’s only that I don’t try hard enough

But he takes me in his arms like a lover
He hears my confession like a priest
He whispers in my ear, in the darkness
I’m dancing with the beast

We circle round the room together
Seal this devil’s bargain with a kiss
One by one the lights go out inside me
And I’m falling into the abyss

Truckstop Angel

Gretchen Peters/Ben Glover

I meet them in the truckstops
I meet them in the bars
I meet them in the parking lots
And I slip into their cars
They come and put their money down
They come and place their bets
I swallow their indifference
But I choke on my regrets

Sometimes they ask me questions
Sometimes they treat me nice
You don’t know what you’ll get
Until you roll the dice
You’re a loser or a winner here
Predator or prey
I’m still not sure which one I am
Or how I got this way

And it’s hard to hear the angels
Over the diesels’ hum
But I know they’re out there singing
And I’ll know them when they come
And I’ll rise above the neon
Above this trailer park
And fly like a truckstop angel
With an arrow through my heart

There’s a big sky up above me
There’s a wasteland down below
There’s a long black snake of highway
Take you where you wanna go
One day I’m gonna leave here
Gonna hit my lucky streak
Gonna spread my gorgeous wings and fly
Above all this concrete

Say Grace

Gretchen Peters

Our lady of the bus depot is holding forth tonight
Her body it is wasted but her eyes are shining bright
And our father who art slightly drunk is warding off the shakes
And he staggers underneath the weight of the promises he makes

Say grace – say grace
Forgive yourself for all of your mistakes
You can start all over if that’s what it takes
Come inside and set yourself a place
And say grace

We are gathered here together to praise his holy name
In a shelter by the Greyhound station down on 5th and Main
And as to who we’re praying to there run two schools of thought
A benevolent provider or an unforgiving god

Say grace – say grace
Forgive yourself for all of your mistakes
You might find salvation in your neighbor’s face
Come inside and set yourself a place
And say grace

Well the bible on the table’s sayin’ be of good cheer
But the TV in the corner’s screamin’ you’re not welcome here
And on a poster in the waiting room she greets the tired and poor
Our lady of the harbor stands beside a golden door

Say grace – say grace
Forgive yourself for all of your mistakes
You are not a loser, you are not a hopeless case
Come inside and set yourself a place
And say grace

Lay Low

Gretchen Peters

It’s a good three hours to Aberdeen, and I’ve read all the magazines
And the jokes are all played out or wearin’ thin
So I lie back and I close my eyes and I let that old sadness rise
And I listen to Hello In There again
And riding shotgun all the time, that melancholy ghost of mine
Plays Jesus to my lonely Joan of Arc
Together we go ridin’ through the dark

I think I need to lay low for awhile
Stare at the Gulf of Mexico for awhile
Take it easy take it slow for awhile
I think I need to lay low

Tonight I’ll call to say hello, but your phone’s just gonna ring I know
I guess some things just cannot be undone
So I clutch this guitar to my chest and wonder just what I’ll have left
When all of this hard traveling’s finally done
You say I’m not who I used to be, that ain’t exactly news to me
That girl has long since cut and run
But baby I am not the only one

I think I need to lay low for awhile
Stare at the Gulf of Mexico for awhile
Tell ’em all where they can go for awhile
I think I need to lay low

She travels fast who goes alone, this wind’ll cut you to the bone
These truckers sure are flyin here tonight
And as for me I’m gettin by, I still laugh but I can’t cry
That door is shut and locked up tight
The days go by like hazy dreams, the nights at least I get to sing
And suddenly it’s three AM again
And this sadness like a tide that’s rollin’ in

I think I need to lay low for awhile
Stare at the Gulf of Mexico for awhile
Think I need to let it go for awhile
I think I need to lay low

Love That Makes A Cup Of Tea

Gretchen Peters

There is love that moves a mountain
There is love that beats a drum
There is love that fights for justice
Knowing justice won’t be done

There is love that goes to prison
Love that goes to war
There is love that rows a lifeboat
Towards some shining golden shore

And there is love that makes a cup of tea
Asks you how you’re doing, and listens quietly
Slips you twenty dollars when your rent’s behind
That’s the kind of love I hope you find

There is love that shouts its name out loud
Love that builds a wall
But love that stoops to conquer
Isn’t really love at all

It’s an echo in the darkness
It’s a well that can’t be filled
it’s an endless hall of mirrors
And it only sees itself

But there is love that makes a cup of tea
Love that loves both who you are and who you want to be
Love that waits for you when you fall behind
That’s the kind of love I hope you find

Produced by Doug Lancio, Gretchen Peters & Barry Walsh
Tracked at Ten Four Recording Co., Nashville, TN
Engineered by Chad Brown & David Chasteen
all overdubs recorded at Studio G! (Doug’s Basement), Nashville, TN by Doug Lancio
Mixed by Doug Lancio
Mastered by John Baldwinphotography/art direction/design: Gina Binkley
hair & makeup: Debbie DoverThanks: Barry Walsh, Doug Lancio, Ben Glover, Val Denn, Nigel Morton, Rebecca Kemp, Conor McCreanor, Colm McClean, Richard Wootton, Gary Harries, Drew Hill and everyone at Proper Records.

1. Arguing With Ghosts
Gretchen Peters – acoustic guitar, vocal
Doug Lancio – synths, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, background vocals
Will Kimbrough – electric guitar
Barry Walsh – piano
Dave Roe – bass
John Gardner – drums and percussion

2. Wichita
Gretchen Peters – acoustic guitar, vocal, background vocals
Doug Lancio – 10 string guitar, synth
Will Kimbrough – electric guitar
Barry Walsh – piano, Hammond B3, background vocals
Dave Roe – upright bass
John Gardner – drums and percussion
Jerry Douglas – dobro

3. The Boy From Rye
Gretchen Peters – acoustic guitar, vocal
Doug Lancio – electric guitar
Will Kimbrough – electric guitar
Barry Walsh – piano, Hammond B3
Dave Roe – bass
John Gardner – drums and percussion

4. Disappearing Act
Gretchen Peters – vocal
Doug Lancio – acoustic and electric guitar, 10 string guitar, background vocals
Will Kimbrough – mandola
Barry Walsh – piano, Wurlitzer, Hammond B3
Dave Roe – bass
John Gardner – drums and percussion
Lisa Oliver-Gray – background vocals

5. Lowlands
Gretchen Peters – vocal
Doug Lancio – electric guitar, 10 string guitar, synths, banjo, drum program
Will Kimbrough – 12 string guitar
Barry Walsh – piano, Hammond B3
Dave Roe – bass
John Gardner – drums and percussion
Matthew Ryan – background vocals

6. The Show
Gretchen Peters – acoustic guitar, vocal, background vocals
Doug Lancio – electric guitar, drum program, synth
Will Kimbrough – charango
Barry Walsh – piano, Fender Rhodes
Dave Roe – bass
John Gardner – drums and percussion

7. Dancing with The Beast
Gretchen Peters – vocal, background vocals
Doug Lancio – electric guitars,10 string guitar, pump organ, synth
Will Kimbrough – electric guitar
Barry Walsh – piano, Hammond B3
Dave Roe – bass
John Gardner – drums and percussion
Kim Richey – background vocals

8. Truckstop Angel
Gretchen Peters – vocal
Doug Lancio – 10 string guitar
Will Kimbrough – electric guitars
Barry Walsh – piano, Hammond B3, Fender Rhodes
Dave Roe – bass
John Gardner – drums

9. Say Grace
Gretchen Peters – acoustic guitar, vocal
Doug Lancio – electric guitar, 10 string guitar
Will Kimbrough electric guitar
Barry Walsh – piano, Hammond B3
Dave Roe – upright bass
John Gardner – drums and percussion
Jerry Douglas – dobro
Kim Richey – background vocals

10. Lay Low
Gretchen Peters – acoustic guitar, vocal
Doug Lancio – electric guitar
Barry Walsh – piano, Hammond B3
Dave Roe – bass
Jerry Douglas – dobro

11. Love That Makes A Cup of Tea
Gretchen Peters – acoustic guitar, vocal
Barry Walsh – pump organ

“Right now, you would be hard-pressed to find a better songwriter than Gretchen Peters. Her willingness to sing about tough, somber subjects is a rarity in the industry, and on her new album, Dancing With The Beast (due out May 18), she continues to prove her mastery.” – The Shotgun Seat

“Dancing With The Beast is a strong reminder of the talents of a singer-songwriter who remains one of the brightest stars in country music.” 4 stars – RnR Magazine (UK)

“This new album, Dancing With The Beast, is her first recording of all new material since 2016’s ‘Blackbirds’, which won her an Americana Music Association UK award for International Album of the Year as well as International Song of the Year for the title track. This new album is every bit as good.” – Americana UK

“50 minutes of exquisite-sounding emotional devastation, depression, murder and heartbreak” – The Tennessean

5 stars – Country Music magazine (UK)

Gretchen Peters

Music

Dancing With The Beast

LYRICS

Arguing With Ghosts

Wichita

The Boy From Rye

Disappearing Act

Lowlands

The Show

Dancing With The Beast

Truckstop Angel

Say Grace

Lay Low

Love That Makes A Cup Of Tea

CREDITS

REVIEWS