The lyric project - Love Comes Down

Now, onto the lyrics for "Marley's Chain". The songs on this release were a little odd in their birth. First off, I went into the studio to record these with basically just a guitar riff for each one. I had sort of a melody in mind, and like a lot of songwriters, I put nonsense words to it that included a lot muttering and such. When it was time to cut the vocals, I figured out what I wanted to say.

This is a song that is really more of a personal narrative. I guess how I saw myself when I was writing it. Even though it's addressed to a "girl", sometimes you're just talking to yourself, hoping maybe someone is listening besides you.

Love Comes Down

I need love to ease the pain
of a life going nowhere
A world spinning so fast
It's my life
I can do what I want
If my luck don't run dry
If I don't lose my funk

But with this board pulled from my eye
I can see right through the world
Only love can free you, girl

And when love comes down
It's going to to turn your head around
You'll go silent with the sound
When love comes down

I need faith to see me through
I need to trust in what I'll never understand
Miracles surround
I can see it in the garden
We're here for just a breath
We're just a sentence in the story of the world

And when I hold your hand in mine
I've not a care in the world

Only love can free you, girl

And when love comes down
It's going to to turn your head around
You'll go silent with the sound
When love comes down

All songs Copyright Jerry Hammack, used by permission, published by Really Real Music, BMI

The lyric project - For The Few

"For The Few" was the title of the 1992 EP right from the moment the song was written. Every now and then I get a smattering of social conscious that runs through my lyrical veins and this song was the result. America in the early 90's was increasingly the home of the haves and have-nots. I was a "have", but I always knew I was a step away from the other side of the economic coin. A few years later, I'd get the opportunity to join that club. But this song was written from the point of view of a global observer - a role I've enjoyed no matter my personal economic condition.

For The Few

Right now, far away
Another day comes into view
Lives go on like yesterday
Lived happy by a chosen few

The day picks you up
And you're swept in the tide
Of a thousand generations
Of a million muffled cries
There's no easy outs
And no one's to blame
You can die for being born with a bad name

Right now, far away
Left to right as time goes by
Fortune's pendulum does sway
And they say you can catch it if you try

If it picks you up
And you're lost in the tide
Of a thousand destinations
And no knowing why
Just try to keep cool
Try to pretend
That you know what's coming up just around the bend

And right now, somewhere, far away
Things are getting better

For the few who have love
For the few who have faith
For the few who have hope
For the others only pain

That's the way it is, baby

For the few who have choice
For the few who have pay
For the few who have rights
For the others only pain

That's the way it is, baby

It's a hard, fucking world

All songs Copyright Jerry Hammack, used by permission, published by Really Real Music, BMI