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From Houston with Love

by Alex Dezen

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about

My sister asked me to write a song for Houston. She said, “This place has given you a lot.” The truth is, Houston has given me quite a lot. My brother-in-law, Matt Hammon, someone who has been more that a brother to me for 20+ years, is probably the single greatest living influence on my music (other than my cousin David, who taught me how to play guitar). Houston-born and bread, Matt has played drums in my bands, on my records, not to mention introduced me to a world of music, songs that will forever bare its influence on the music I continue to make. He’s also a searcher, a curious forager into the ever-shrinking world of truth. A songwriter. An artist. I continue to look to him for guidance, support, and influence. So when my sister told me the incontrovertible truth that Houston had given me a lot, I immediately thought of Matt and how much I cherish his patience, generosity, and love. Then I wrote this song, hoping that I could give something back. I can lift a sandbag like any one else, but from this distance, stuck in LA trying to figure out when I can get down there to lend a helping hand, I wanted to reach into a city and try to lift a spirit or two with a song. You’re in my thoughts, Houston. This is for you.

I tired to step into the shoes of a few Houstonians I have either encountered or known over the past two decades, and try, as best I could, to tell their stories. Written, recorded, and mixed in 24 hours. Please excuse the messiness. Download, share, give it away or do whatever you want. I don’t want anything in return.

lyrics

Neck tattoos and and old Jordan's on my feet
Workin 50 hours for the babies this week
We don’t ask for much, but we take what we can get
It’s all contradictions, man, out here on the edge

Living’s what I’m doing while the good lord provides
Though I swear sometimes it feels like a roll of the dice
But we make it work with what we can afford
That’s just how it goes down here in the Third world Ward

Ashes to ashes
And dust to dust
And whatever’s left over
For the rest of us
But like the waters that come
I’m gonna rise above
We’re gonna make it through
Signed, from Houston with love

I’m 5 generations of Texans deep
Though it doesn’t take that long to know the sweet from the feed
I don’t like to talk about no politics
But to every living man, I say his choices are his

I’m up with the sun 8 days of the week
And I still make two cups for my wife and me
I don’t like no music, but I sing a few songs
Because it helps me to forget that she is gone

Ashes to ashes
And dust to dust
Two sugars no cream
In her favorite cup
But like the waters that come
I’m gonna rise above
We’re gonna make it through
Signed, from Houston with love

I walk alone down these long hallways
Trying to figure out how to make my mind unmade
I just want to love, but my love is a sin
So says my father, Romans, and Corinthians

But I know one day when I graduate
I’m gonna take off for the West, through them Golden Gates
But I will miss my father and those Blackfoot Daisies
And imagine a world where once forgave me

Ashes to ashes
And dust to dust
I hope they let me in
When my time is up
But like the waters that come
I’m gonna rise above
We’re gonna make it through

credits

released September 2, 2017

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Alex Dezen Los Angeles, California

Alex Dezen is the lead singer and songwriter for the American rock and roll band The Damnwells, who have been touring and making records since 2000. This is his first solo effort.

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