NATHAN DAVIS
As you're listening to the lyrics, you will notice that I wrote this with Nathan in mind.
With the story painting a picture of me being a fan, then a friend, him teaching me to put myself out there even if it meant getting hurt, and us being friends that at times fell down, cause we did, in different ways.
The song has changed a lot in the past few days; it may change more. The "we all fall down" started out as a reference to "ring around the roses."
Strike a match,
Light your cigarette;
Blow your smoke into the night.
I hear your songs again,
Blaring loud;
I was just a face in the crowd.
And we all fall down,
And we all fall down,
I'm falling down with you.
It's been a long time since I stared at you;
This is what you taught me to do:
I pulled my heart out,
Put it on the line—
They just kill me every time.
And we all fall down,
And we all fall down,
I'm falling down with you,
Falling down with you.
There you are;
Where am I?
As long as I can hear, you'll never die;
Cause we are walking down those streets,
By those railroad tracks—
We're not ever going back.
And we all fall down,
And we all fall down,
I'm falling down with you,
Falling down with you.
Strike a match,
Light your cigarette;
Blow your smoke into the night.
This is a song written by John Custer, Nathan's long-time producer and close friend, and recorded at his studio by Bull City Syndicate.
Nathan's drummer, Larry Woodard, is the drummer on the recording, and Bull City Syndicate member, Steve Baker, sang the lead vocal on this song.
In all the world, you threw the book away;
It was the finest thing you did that day.
From California, to the shore,
You held the fire and never felt a thing.
When the moon went dark, you got it shining again;
And we run on out to another planet.
In the blue light, among the Saturn rings,
And it begged you to keep playing on.
And I know you'll do another show;
And I know you'll do another show;
And I know you'll do another show;
And I know you'll do another show.
And the front door it ain't locked
In case you want to show up;
Ooh—and you'll find us all inside.
You are alive in me,
And the world revolves to miss you,
My brother, brother, brother, brother man.
You're never gone—Thought I'd see you again—
I was half way there before I got it.
You're not a song, not a memory;
I can see you now in the street light, laughing.
Days go on, but you never fade.
You were a true believer, non-believing.
In the club lights, in the southern pines,
I swear that I can see you standing there.
And the front door it ain't locked
In case you want to show up;
Ooh—and you'll find us all inside.
You are alive in me,
And the world revolves to miss you
My brother, brother, brother, brother man.
Brother Man, click to listen
Jeremy Gilchrist is a singer/songwriter who met Nathan not long after moving to NC. The two became good friends. Jeremy wrote this song right after Nathan died, revised it a bit, and has since recorded it more than once.
The music video below was done by Jeremy and further refined by Dean Garris of Deano Pictures. It includes some commentary from Jeremy about the song.
Jeremy continues to write and record his songs, when he's not out chasing storms with a video camera.
"Now boarding,
Ages 26 througn 35..."
Those who've breathed the highway;
Those kept awake at night;
Those who spoke the language of song,
and walked the edge of life.
Leave the pain behind,
And carry on anything you like.
We're on our way to find
Our own corner
Of the Carolina sky.
No worry of things undone,
The Devil can't fly.
No cruel judge on high,
Just your sound immortalized in light.
For those on the ground
The Music never dies.
Nathan is the first musical comrade I have lost, and really when I think about it one of my first experiences with the death of someone in my life not due to old age.
Anyway, I have been having some mixed feelings about putting the song out there. Usually, I enjoy sharing my music and creating and sharing and all, and I think it's a good song. But the event that brought the song into existence makes me want to just put it away. Maybe it'll do some good being out there, and maybe Nathan is out there somewhere listening and knows that he had a positive impact on my life, even given the short time I knew him. And judging from the response from others to all of this, he did the same for a substantial number of people.
Dave Turner was an Asheville, North Carolina-based singer/songwriter and a good friend of Nate's. Dave died in July, 2021.
Wish it was a bad dream,
That I could open up my eyes in bed,
And with a sigh of relief,
Get you on the phone
To tell me you're okay,
And shake the dream on out of my head.
But you're gone.
Wish it was a bad dream,
That you were on your way again
To play another show
In another town;
Singin' about demons,
Rock 'n roll, regrets and sins,
But you're gone.
Said you had a fascination
With the final destination.
Guess you had to take the mystery train
And see where it was headin',
But I wish it was a bad dream
And man, it's all too real.
Brother, I know it's getting on time to heal...
Wish it was a bad dream
That you were walkin' in the door
In time to take the stage,
Light a cigarette,
And play the night away.
You always left us wanting more.
Now you're gone.
Wish it was a bad dream,
And man, it's all too real.
Brother, I know it's getting on time to heal;
But I wish it was a bad dream,
Wish it was a bad dream,
Wish it was a bad dream.
Jonathon Brannon never met Nathan, never saw him perform live, but became a friend and fan solely through the music he discovered surfing around on CDBaby.
In the ensuing years, he has become an accomplished lyricist, and now has several completed albums to his credit.
Light another one up for me;
Gather round, I'll tell you a story
About redemption in the smoke and lights,
And how I've wrestled wrong and right.
There were times when I needed a friend,
But I just push them away again.
Evidence of my mistakes
Are rolling down your face;
Wish I could wash them away.
Chorus:
Cause I've kissed the sun
And I've felt the rain,
I've soared with love
And I've drowned in pain.
You can hear me on the corner again,
Guitar in hand,
Singing to you, my friend.
Sorry to leave so soon, but I gotta go.
Did you find comfort in one of my songs,
When your heart's been trampled on?
I hope when you think of me
You will always see
The man I tried to be,
Bridge:
So go ahead and sing along;
Dare to take the long way home.
Just always know I'm by your side,
With open arms and a clear heart;
So dry your eyes, let the party start,
And rest assured the music never dies.
All I’m doing is getting older
And you’re forever thirty
That hard truth is getting sober
I’m drunk in your memory
Everything around me reminds me of you
All the things you’d say and do
I wish you were here
To tell me it’s okay
You can dry all your tears
I wish you were here
I wish you were here
What I wouldn’t give
To get back those years
I wish you were here
Oh, I wish you were here
All the days just blur together
My smile’s not what it seems
Your two dates will hurt forever
I’ll find you in the dash between
Everything around me reminds me of you
All the things you’d say and do
I wish you were here
To tell me it’s okay
You can dry all your tears
I wish you were here
I wish you were here
What I wouldn’t give
To get back those years
I wish you were here
(I wish you were here)
Everything around me reminds me of you
All the things you’d say and do
I wish you were here
To tell me it’s okay
You can dry all your tears
I wish you were here
I wish you were here
Oh, what I wouldn’t give
To get back those years
Oh, how I wish you were here
Wish You Were Here, click to listen
I always knew that something special was inside music. Music wasn't just a passive form of communication. It was and continues to be a living, breathing thing.
I went to many of his concerts around the Raleigh/Cary area and my most fond memory is when I was talking to him at the Berkeley Cafe and he asked me if I would like to hear some of the "new unreleased" stuff that he had recorded.
Nathan was probably one of the most...correction...THE MOST influential musician I have ever known/heard.
This one entitled "For You" was probably the song most influenced by Nathan. I mentioned him in the second verse "Nate, and Bruce, and All the Men, and Brother Jimi too" referring to Nathan, Bruce Hornsby, The Allman Brothers and Jimi Hendrix, all people I believe Nathan enjoyed very much. As I do also.
Note: written by Joe Basile, recording by Joe Basile and Almost Kinetic
It's hard to be alive when you feel so dead inside
It's hard to wake the day when sleep is on your mind
It's easy just to say, "Just let the plan unfold,"
But I've got my own story that no one has ever told
Does it matter now that David slayed Goliath?
Do you really care that Moses spread the sea?
It's all just tales and songs of succeeding after trying.
It's for you, but not for me
Nate and Bruce and All the Men, and brother Jimi too;
Their notes seem all the same saying to take my life from you
Living in a story seems to keep us out of touch
When times get too hard and the hard gets...the hard gets too rough
Does it matter now that David slayed Goliath?
Do you really care that Moses spread the sea?
It's all just tales and songs of succeeding after trying.
It's for you, but not for me
Does it matter now that David slayed Goliath?
Do you really care that Moses spread the sea?
It's all just tales and songs of succeeding after trying.
It's for you, but not for me
It's for you.
Note: This song was written before Nathan died, but is still an example of music inspired by him -- actually, by him and Shannon getting into an argument. This is how a musician deals with conflict. Shannon probably should be named US Ambassador to Israel.
In her words:
"Writing this song made me feel really good about being a musician. I probably never could have said all the things I needed to say to end the argument if I'd had to speak them instead of sing them. After three days of silence, I wrote and recorded this song on my little home CD burner, then slipped it in an envelope and left it on Nathan's front porch.
He called me an hour later."
Percussion by David Stopher.
I'd say that edge is closer than you think,
So take a good look at your life.
I can't believe you're so far gone,
You think this is what it's really like.
But I'm gonna fight this losing battle with you
'Cause I think you and I can win the war,
And that may leave me in your line of fire,
But you, my friend are worth fighting for.
And you and I may be a dying breed,
But it's only because we tend to hang ourselves.
Yes, given a choice we'd much prefer to bleed
Than risk defeat to anybody else.
Sometimes I can't just say what I mean,
So I hope my means justify the ends,
And I could fight like a warrior, too,
But I'd much prefer to make amends.
So let's pretend that you and I
Have some idea how we've ended up
Like two fighting little children in a sandbox,
Angry over shit that doesn't matter much,
Once the dust settles,
Once the smoke clears,
Once we open our eyes and
Lay down our fears.
I could say that it's all my fault,
But then again, so could you;
So let's just say that we both were wrong
'Cause you know we got more important things to do.
And you and I may be a dying breed,
But it's only because we tend to hang ourselves.
So let's walk away from the gallows, baby,
Before we hurt anybody else.