Troubadour's Pay (Shadow at Dusk)

from Idol Frontier by Altamesa

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about

Produced by Sean Faires and Jonas Wilson
Written by Evan Charles
Mastered by Jerry Tubb and Terra Nova Mastering
Recorded at the Skeleton Farm in Leander, TX

lyrics

you used to live by the songs that you sung
swagger in your step and leather-wrought lungs
but those days are long behind you my friend
and you know they're never coming back again
all's quiet on the western plains
and the road into town only runs one lane
watching the clouds sail through the sky
you wonder how many more years until your spirit flies

she used to wait on the front porch swing
and you knew she wanted more than just your class ring
you can still hear the gravel underneath your tires
young lovers running scared into blind desire
but soon you buried that dream away
started working the circuit for a troubadour's pay
now you're sinking under the weight of the years
thinkin' 'bout everything that you once held dear

and how you only threw it all away
thinking that you could come back some day
but you were wrong
you lived a life that burned in lust
now you're a fading shadow at dusk
and life is long

now somewhere up in Ohio
she's looking out at the season's first snow
the kids ain't been kids for a while
for the west Texas girl in midwest exile
fifteen hundred miles as the crow flies
southwest, down near New Mexico
an old singer of hard luck songs
is getting back on the road, only place he belongs

you know you only threw it all away
thinking that you could come back some day
but you were wrong
you lived a life that burned in lust
now you're a fading shadow at dusk
and life is long

credits

from Idol Frontier, released February 8, 2019
Evan Charles: Vocals, Acoustic and Electric Rhythm Guitars
Sean Faires: Backing Vocals, Electric Guitar
Chris Ritchie: Bass
Billy Potts: Drums
Jonas Wilson: Synth, Percussion

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about

Altamesa Austin, Texas

Altamesa is a Cosmic American and Rock & Roll band from Austin, Texas that mixes the production values of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and Big Star with the songwriting sensibilities of Neil Young and the Flying Burrito Brothers. They will release the full-length Idol Frontier record in the fall of 2018. ... more

altamesamusic.com

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