Mile of Music performers share 'A Song Before We Go'

Host: Please welcome The Black Feathers.

[audience applauding and cheering]

Ray Hughes: Hey.

Sian Chandler: Hello. [guitar strumming] Well, goodbye.

[audience laughing]

Ray Hughes: She’s gotten all shy. Got all nervous backstage waiting to come out here. It’s been a wonderful weekend. A real joy to be here.

[audience applauding and cheering]

Ray Hughes: We are, uh… We’re going to finish off our time here with a song called “Goodbye.” [audience chuckling] And we’ll dedicate it to everybody who’s going out partying tonight, ’cause it’s actually, it’s actually called “Goodbye Tomorrow.”

[“Goodbye Tomorrow” by The Black Feathers]

[gentle acoustic guitar music]

Time to remember

To try to forget

And drink all my worries away

If I cannot be someone else’s

Maybe I’ll be yours ’til the end of the day

So goodbye tomorrow

I’ll see you real soon

I’ll be where you left me that cold afternoon

And take all my worries

They’re all that I have

Goodbye tomorrow

Farewell

[gentle acoustic guitar music]

You wanna make a change

So you color your hair

And act like you’re heading somewhere

But if you kick off your shoes

And invite in the blues

You ain’t going nowhere

So goodbye tomorrow

I’ll see you real soon

I’ll be where you left me that cold afternoon

And take all my worries

They’re all that I have

Goodbye tomorrow

Farewell

Will I see you again

After all that I’ve done

And bring back my heart from the grave

Oh, please, just tell me

That maybe is all you can say

We’ll be better together

Someday

Oh, yeah

So goodbye tomorrow

I’ll see you real soon

I’ll be where you left me that cold afternoon

And take all my worries

They’re all that I have

Goodbye tomorrow

Farewell

Ohh

Goodbye tomorrow, farewell

Just wanted to say

Goodbye tomorrow

Farewell

Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh

Ooh

[audience laughing]

Sian Chandler: Damn it, that wasn’t really a note.

[all laughing]

[audience applauding and cheering]

Goodbye tomorrow

[gentle acoustic guitar music]

Ray Hughes: Thank you so much, guys.

[audience applauding and cheering]

Heather Maloney: I think that I figured out that this is my fifth Mile. And this is Isabella and Isaac’s very first Mile. And, um…

[audience applauding and cheering]

[guitar strumming]

Heather Maloney: It’s been absolutely magical. It’s just been a dream. Thank you so much for, as always, for bringing your open ears and open hearts to all of our sets. So we’re gonna play a song that we haven’t played all weekend. It’s called “Dirt and Stardust.”

[“Dirt and Stardust” by Heather Maloney]

[gentle acoustic guitar music]

[child crying]

Heather Maloney: I’m sorry that’s not the one you wanted.

[all laughing]

Parent: Don’t take it personally.

[all laughing]

Heather Maloney: Well, I don’t want these walls to wall me in forever

Don’t wanna make my home on fenced-in land

We can buy our lot, we can mark our spot

But we’re travelers, whether we like it or not

So please make my castle out of sand

Oh, please make my castle out of sand

And I don’t want light that lights forever

I don’t want fire that stays stable

And the wick is lit

It burns a bit, and then it goes out at the end of it

So please don’t hang a bulb above my table

Oh, please don’t hang a bulb above my table

‘Cause

I am made of all the same stuff

That makes the seasons what they are

I am made of dirt and stardust

My daddy’s dreams, my mother’s heart

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

I don’t want a promise that outlives the promiser

Oh, and my body will not last longer than a metal band

And this tender expanse, it’s called romance

And like anything great, it’s riddled with chance

So please don’t put a diamond on my hand

Oh, please

Don’t put a diamond on my hand

Hand

‘Cause

I am made of all the same stuff

That makes the seasons what they are

I am made of dirt and stardust

My daddy’s dreams, my mother’s heart

Oh, my mother’s heart

Hey

Ahh

Ooh, ooh, ooh

Ahh

Ooh, ooh, ooh

I don’t want blooms that bloom forever

I don’t want colors that don’t fade away

And petals open to the sun

And they wilt when they’re all done

So please don’t put silk flowers on my grave

Please don’t put silk flowers on my grave

Grave

‘Cause

I am made of all the same stuff

That makes the seasons what they are

I am made of dirt and stardust

My daddy’s dreams, my mother’s heart

Oh, my mother’s heart

Yeah, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, yeah

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, yeah

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, yeah

Oh, whoah, whoah, whoah, whoah, oh

[audience applauding and cheering]

Heather Maloney: Thank you, everybody, we love you.

Sarah Peacock: We are gonna play a song for you that I actually released last year during Pride Month. And this song is really, really special to me. I actually wrote this song about all the words I wish that someone had said to me when I was coming of age. So it’s called “Who You Are,” and it’s for anyone who’s ever felt misunderstood.

[“Who You Are” by Sarah Peacock]

[gentle acoustic guitar music]

Danni Nicholls: Hey, my friend

I know you’re feeling low

And you don’t wanna let it show

See you on the defense

Feels like running in circles

And you’re running alone

You want a safe place to go

When the world is full of hate

You’ve got a light to shine

And it’s burning bright

You’ve got beauty like a rainbow

In your smile

So come on out

Show the world what you’re all about

I’m not afraid to say that I’m proud

Of who you are

Who you are

Who you are

Who you are

Hey, my friend

I know you feel caught in the margins

Who you are is not for bargain

You don’t have to pretend

You gotta tell your story

The world needs your voice

It’s not always an easy choice

But you are worthy

You’ve got a light to shine

And it’s burning bright

You’ve got beauty like a rainbow

In your smile

So come on out

Show the world what you’re all about

I’m not afraid to say that I’m proud

Of who you are

Who you are

Who you are

Who you are

Ahh Are

Ahh Are

So come on out

Show the world what you’re all about

I’m not afraid to say that I’m proud

Of who you are

Who you are

Who you are

Who you are

[audience applauding and cheering]

Sarah Peacock: Wow.

Dave Hause: That’s Mark Masefield over there on the piano.

[audience applauding and cheering]

Dave Hause: This is my brother, Tim Hause.

Tim Hause: How’s it going?

Dave Hause: And he got to play his own shows here at this year’s Mile. And, but we did this very thing all through Europe. We did a tour called the Haunted Churches Tour. And Tim and I were raised evangelical in Philadelphia.

Audience Member: Whoo!

Dave Hause: And so– yeah, yeah? [audience laughing] Philly, evangelical. But… So, a lot of the songs deal with addiction and depression, difficulty fitting in to various frameworks in society. We took these all through churches, all through Europe, and never once did a lightning bolt come down and strike any of us dead. So you’re safe here today with us. I want to thank the wonderful people of Appleton, specifically the Mile of Music team. Give it up for all of them, everybody, come on.

[audience applauding and cheering]

Dave Hause: This song is called “The Ditch.”

[“The Ditch” by Dave and Tim Hause]

[gentle piano and acoustic guitar music]

Is my skin on fire again?

Can I walk out on the ocean with my long-lost friend?

Eyes open wide

All night

I’d throw a rope around the moon if I could turn the tide

‘Cause I shake, shake, shake, shake alone

I’m shaking every night and day

Will my shake, shake, shaking ever go away?

If I can’t make it out of this ditch

I better make a home of it

If I can’t get down off this ledge

I better make a home of it

I better make a home of it

I better make it home

I better make it home

Is it the month of May again?

Heat seeps in my windows

And my clothes stick to my skin

If you hold me close and we lock the door

We could kick against the current

And hope we find a shore

‘Cause I shake, shake, shake, shake alone

I’m shaking every night and day

Will my shake, shake, shaking ever go away?

Oh, my God, it never goes away

If I can’t make it out of this ditch

I better make a home of it

If I can’t get down off this ledge

Better make a home of it

I better make a home of it

I better make it home

I better make it home

Will you shake, shake, shake, shake at home with me?

Shake, shake, shake, shake at home with me

Will you shake, shake, shake, shake at home with me?

Shake, shake, shake, shake at home with me

Will you shake, shake, shake, shake at home with me?

Shake, shake, shake, shake at home with me

Will you shake, shake, shake, shake at home with me?

Shake, shake, shake, shake at home with me

Shake, shake, shake, shake at home with me

Shake, shake, shake, shake at home with me

If I can’t make it out of this ditch

If I can’t make it down off this ledge

I better make it home

I better make it home

I better make it home

I gotta make it home Home

I better make it home

[audience applauding and cheering]