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I Want to Memorize Everything

by Henning Ohlenbusch

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1.
Embrace the change What’s normal use to seem real strange Change your mind People do it all the time When they’re honest Learn something new absorb it Nothing’s a northern star You become a better person by forgetting who you think you are Come on, lean back Not everything’s an attack New proof was found So when are you gonna come around Don’t say you’re old Wearing shorts when it’s cold Maybe just wait in the car You become a better person by forgetting who you think you are The horizon is brightening You think it’s frightening That isn’t lightning It’s time Don’t go too fast If you do it might nott last A gradual slope Probably is your best hope Change will embrace you Promise it won’t erase you It never has so far You become a better person by forgetting who you think you are You become a better person by forgetting who you think you are
2.
After everyone has left Silence is your worst friend The quiet amplifies the dread Nothing is louder than your head After the explosion of the bomb The aftershocks eventually calm It’s you and me And panic makes three We’ll brush off all the dust Lean into the gust Do whatever we must do to move on. We’ll move on No one knows what’s going on Do we seem distracted and withdrawn? It’s amazing what someone can hide When everything boiling up inside It’s you and me And panic makes three We’ll brush off all the dust Lean into the gust Do whatever we must do to move on. We’ll move on
3.
Waking up is tough The morning of the last day The curtain and the rising sun It’s never long enough We always wish we could stay Can’t believe it’s actually done But wait, we’ll never get back here again But wait, I wanna memorize everything But it’s already fading away Rolling down the hall Calling for the taxi Waiting in the lobby chair Staring at it all Holding hands in the back seat Can’t believe we’re actually here But wait, we’ll never get back here again But wait, I wanna memorize everything But it’s already fading away Back home, everything is smaller Smaller than it used to be Back home, everything’s been waiting Waiting here for you and me Back home, don’t unpack the suitcase Save it for another day Back home, everything’s familiar It’s like we never went away. But wait, I wanna memorize everything But it’s already fading
4.
Everywhere I go today Another dream Is drifting by Another dream, a dream that I’ll bever have To be asleep, to be awake Either way there just the same It’s all just dreams I’ll never have There across the street Another sweet unattainable dream Just another dream A dream that I’ll never have ‘Cause you woke me up I was sleeping and you’re keeping me awake Yeah you woke me up. I was dreaming and you’re keeping me away. I’ve got a lot to do To keep my mind on my dreams If I could choose what I dream I would never get out of bed If I could choose what I dream I would never get up again If I could choose, here’s what I’d do, I’d choose you. But you woke me up I was sleeping now you’re keeping me awake Yeah you woke me up. I was dreaming now you’re keeping me away. Yeah you woke me up I was sleeping now you’re keeping me awake Yeah you woke me up. I was dreaming and you’re keeping me away. I’ve got a lot to do To keep my mind off my dreams
5.
You straighten your back and you push out your chin Stubbornly proud of the situation you’re in You got a handful of friends who will stand up for you But how many bad things can a good person do? The things that you did were the things that you planned The whole world spins around the spot where you stand For all of your life you believed that was true But how many bad things can a good person do? How many bad things? How many bad things? We can count on you. We judge ourselves by the things in our heads We judge everyone one else by the things that they’ve said We’re always the hero from our own point of view But how many bad things can a good person do? How many bad things? How many bad things? We can count on you.
6.
Well, Old Captain Melon, with his jaundiced fat belly, Raised his scrapy fingers, to the cusp of his lunar beard. He declared unto the sea, “Take me if you must, you grumpy lady of excess.” While poor Mrs. Crispy cast her lifeless thin body, Between the delirious old sailor and his craving for travel. She declares unto him, “Oh, Mr. Crispy, our lives are so humble,” “Can’t we move on?” And awww, they moved on. Well, Young Lucy Lavaliere clung to a branch looking down. She’s laughing at squirrels pretending they’re small capybaras. She declares unto them, “Mock me if you must,” “All my friends are in church this morning.” So, she jumps on the shed roof and pretends she’s the captain Of an Asia bound vessel, full of monkeys and shark teeth. And she yells at the sky, “Batten the hatches,” “The edge of the world lies before us!” And aww, she played on. Well, the ground breaks open and two ancient figures emerge. The skeletal bodies of the long-since-dead Crispies unearthed. They declare unto Lucy, “You’re heading the wrong way, The edge of the Earth is behind you.” Young Lucy Lavaliere rubs her eyes and shakes her head. “It’s happening again.” She says to the squirrels, but they’ve scattered. And she whispers aloud, “Turn this boat around, boys,” “We’re going home” And awww she sailed off. And awwwwwww she sailed off.
7.
Another song about a walk Another walk that makes a song I gotta get out of Massachusetts I’ve been here too long I gotta get out of Massachusetts Well I’ve been here my whole life There’s nothing wrong with this old state But a change would sure be nice And I want you to come with But you wanna go on your own And I want you to stay with me But you wanna be alone Another song about a walk Another walk that makes a song I gotta get out of Massachusetts ‘Cause I’ve been here too long Yeah, I gotta get out of Massachusetts ‘Cause I’ve been here too long
8.
Slow Down 03:09
The evening was enormous And the sidewalk started moving We were busy proving We knew more than we did The morning lay before us Like a bridge across the country A task to be to take on So we just stayed in bed You can close your eyes We’ve got time I know we’ll be alright We’ve got plenty of time So please Slow down Well maybe you’re too tired to eat Or maybe you’re too hungry to sleep Or maybe you’re just thinking about the next day You can close your eyes We’ve got time I know we’ll be alright We’ve got plenty of time So please slow down So please slow down So please slow down
9.
Stop don't move, stay right there I wanna take a picture The way the sun’s shining through your hair I wanna take a picture ‘Cause I want to remember this I want to remember I want to remember this I want to remember Put the matchbox in the car I wanna keep it Where we've been and where we are I always want to keep it. ‘Cause I want to remember this I want to remember I want to remember this I want to Remember all we did Ever since I was a kid I’d think about all the things I can’t recall And how I wish I could get ‘em back again I know that I’ll forget a lot of things yet I know I can’t recall it all But I want to remember I want to remember I want to remember I want to remember

about

For years I've wanted to make a spare acoustic record. I've tried a number of times but because I am so enamored with the process of adding-more-stuff, I've always failed. Even back when I used to record everything with a cassette 4-track, I always had to bounce bounce bounce (that means add more tracks). My musical brain formed while listening intently to psychedelic, prog, new-wave, jangle rock, and singer-songwriter folk. It's very difficult to limit myself in the studio. But I managed to keep it all under 8 tracks with most songs having fewer.

I Want to Memorize Everything is nine songs long. It lasts about a half hour, just like the old Simon and Garfunkel albums that I memorized decades ago. It's my most vulnerable album. Because the instrumentation is limited, there is no place for my voice or my lyrics to hide. They're right out there for you to pick apart.

I think of it as a late autumn album, but I don’t know exactly why. A lot of music sounds like late autumn to me. Maybe it’s because I’ve always lived in New England where October bursts into colors and then November dulls everything into a grey and brown smudge, with pointy tree branches against cloudy skies. And that’s when we move inwards. Everybody starts drinking tea and writing novels about pilgrims, and listening to music that sounds like cracking pond-ice and crockpots.

I don’t want to go into detail explaining what each song is about. The interpretations are yours. I’m just so happy that you’re listening. Thank you.

Become a Better Person by Forgetting Who You Think You Are
1. Guild Acoustic Guitar, 2. Guild Acoustic Guitar, 3. Guild Acoustic Guitar, 4. Lead Vocal, 5. Harmony Vocal, 6. Harmony Vocal, 7. Organ

Panic Makes Three
1. Guild Acoustic Guitar, 2. Lead Vocal, 3. Harmony Vocal, 4. Harmony Vocal

I Want to Memorize Everything
1. Guild Acoustic Guitar, 2. Lead Vocal

A Dream I Never Had
1. Guild Acoustic Guitar, 2. Guild Acoustic Guitar, 3. Guild Acoustic Guitar, 4. Lead Vocal, 5. Harmony Vocal, 6. Harmony Vocal, 7. Harmony Vocal, 8. Harmony Vocal

How Many Bad Things Can a Good Person Do?
1. Guild Acoustic Guitar, 2. Fender Cyclone, 3. Supro Lap Steel, 4. Organ, 5. Lead Vocal, 6. Harmony Vocal, 7. Harmony Vocal

Young Lucy Lavalier
1. Guild Acoustic Guitar, 2. Guild Acoustic Guitar, 3. Lead Vocal, 4. Organ

Gotta Get Out of Massachusetts
1. Guild Acoustic Guitar and Lead Vocal, 2. Guild Acoustic Guitar

Slow Down
1. Guild Acoustic Guitar, 2. Lead Vocal

I Want to Remember
1. Guild Acoustic Guitar, 2. Guild Acoustic Guitar, 3. Lead Vocal, 4. Drums

credits

released October 23, 2020

Written, performed, recorded, and produced by Henning Ohlenbusch.

Recorded and mixed at Rub Wrongways Studios, Northampton, MA
Mastered by Mark Alan Miller

Cover Photograph by Lesa Bezo
Design by Max Germer

All songs © 2020 Henning W Ohlenbusch
(ASCAP)

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Henning Ohlenbusch Northampton, Massachusetts

Your friend and songwriter also found in the bands Gentle Hen, The Fawns, and Polaris.

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