SHOW AND TELL ALBUM
About the Cover:
The cover is an original painting by Amy. “The startled figure with three horns appeared out of nowhere. It could be a cartoon devil. To me, the figure represents the Id, that mysterious and hidden part of us that is sometimes revealed (that is the SHOW) in art.
ABOUT THE TITLE:
One vivid memory from childhood occurred when I was in nursery school. My teacher asked us all to bring something to school the next day for show and tell. I fixed my hair in pigtails for my show and tell and I remember just loving the big reveal. On this website, I have coupled art and photos that help “show” the mood or atmosphere of each song. The songs themselves are the “tell."
Explore the individual tracks below—along with lyrics and notes from Amy.
Mr. Black Came Back by Amy Shoemaker
“This song felt like a hurricane—it came to me with a power surge. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the plight of the residents in the poorer neighborhoods in New Orleans, who were begging for help on top of rooftops, was quite a contrast to the Air Force One flight overhead. ‘If I have to bargain, If I have to plead, would you lift me up, do me one good deed?’”
Sometimes I need you, sometimes I care
You just sit there in your Pretty Chair
Sometimes I question what’s going on
I try to ask you but you’re gone, you’re gone
You keep me waiting by the door
I can’t take it anymore
And then I feel you all around me
Some say paradise it’s all in your mind
Well, I don’t know ‘bout that, that’s one place I can’t find
If I have to bargain, if I have to plead
Would you lift me up, do me one good deed
The blood starts pounding thru my veins
I fall back thru the velvet chains
And then I feel you all around me
Sometimes I hunger for the sugar cane
Sometimes I hate myself and I take all the blame
There’s a river flowing down to the sea
There’s a sinking feeling washing over me
You keep me waiting by the door
I can’t take it anymore
And then I feel you all around me
The blood starts pounding thru my veins
I fall back thru the velvet chains
Until I feel you all around me
You like to keep me right by your side
You like to make the rules that you decide
There’s a river flowing down to the sea
There’s a sinking feeling washing over me
You keep me waiting by the door
I can’t take it anymore
And then I feel you all around me
The blood starts pounding thru my veins
I fall back thru the velvet chains
Until I feel you all around me
Sometimes I need you
Another Day
Amy Shoemaker
“There is no timetable or manual on how to mourn the loss of a loved one. This is an intimate story - the domestic life of the person left behind. ‘The truth rushes in, it’s another day without him.’”
When the night falls
I put away my playthings
Forget about my daydreams
Then the truth rushes in
It’s another day without him
I sit and wonder
When did everything turn blue
It’s no fun here without you
Looks like I lose again
I pull the door closed
And lock out all the sunshine
I pretend he’s still mine
The truth rushes in
It’s another day without him
If I could change things
I’d put us back together
But this time we’d be better
Better than we’ve ever been
How the years flow
Like water through my fingers
Until it’s only pain that lingers
In this house I hide in
It’s another day without him
Another day without him
