Things Were Better

by Zach Jones

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1.
04:14
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2.
02:31
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3.
03:16
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4.
02:34
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5.
04:31
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6.
04:03
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7.
03:59
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8.
02:28
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9.
03:20
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10.
04:11
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credits

released 05 June 2012
Musicians:
Zach Jones – Vocals/ Wurlitzer/ Piano
Max Cantlin- Lead Guitar
Anthony Drouin- Rhythm Guitar
Tyler Quist- Bass Guitar
Kate Beever- Percussion/ Vibes
Christopher Sweet- Drums
Anna Lombard- Vocals (Track 5)

Additional Musicians:
Mike Nelson- Trumpet
Duncan Hardy- Alto Saxophone
Kyle Hardy- Tenor Saxophone
Brian Graham- Baritone Saxophone
Lauren Hastings- Violins
Bryan Brash- Viola
Tim Garrett- Cello

Backing Vocalists:
Lyle Divinsky
Chas Lester
Sara Hallie Richardson
Megan Jo Wilson
Jocelyn Emery

Credits:
All songs written and arranged by Zach Jones except Things Were Better, written by Jon Nolan
Produced by Zach Jones and Jon Nolan
Recorded and Mixed by Jon Nolan at Milltown Recording Company, Rollinsford, NH
Additional Tracking by Zach Jones
Mastered by Adam Ayan at Gateway Mastering, Portland, ME
Photos by Jake Austin (jakeaustinphoto.com)
Art and Layout by Kelsey Munroe (scowldesign.com)
Website by Adam Flaherty (adamflaherty.com)
Executive Producer: Jill M Hill

Thank You:
Dad, Mom, Josh, Kate, Chris, Lauren Rudser, Jon Nolan, Andrew Hodgkins, Spencer Albee, Hache Horchatta, Michelle & Dakota Bathurst, Charlie Gaylord, Johnny Coffee, Neil Upham, Aaron Lee Marshall, Greg Martens, friends, family, fans, I love you.

Special Thanks To:
All the wonderful musicians who donated their time and effort toward the making of this album, it could not have been done without you. To my friends, family, and fans who helped this record come to life by offering your faith and support before hearing a single note of this album. And to the artists, musicians, writers, and engineers of the 1960’s who inspired the sound of this album.

tags

tags: pop power pop r&b rock soul Portland

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Track Name: Things Were Better
I Didn’t mean to cause a scene
Didn’t want to start a fight
I got better ways to waste my night

Now what have I done
To make you feel forsaken
Oh, and hell if I know

I need your love
That’s the one thing I’m sure of

And things were better with you around
And things were better with you around

I Didn’t mean to make you cry
Didn’t want to hear you say goodbye
And are we at the point of no return

Now what can I do
To make you see the whole truth
Oh, and hell if I know

I’m feelin’ weathered
I need you like a bird needs feathers

Things were better with you around
Things were better with you around

I’m feelin’ weathered
Need you like a bird needs feathers

Things were better with you around
Things were better with you around
Track Name: Hard To Get
Oh, I just need that girl
She’s all that I want in this world
I ain’t got no money (I ain’t got no money)

Well, she’s so sweet to me
She’s like the sugar in my tea
And everyday’s sunny (and everyday’s sunny)

And every time that I think I’m in love
I start singing like the birds up above
Then suddenly like the day that we met

She starts playing hard to get (You’re playing hard to get)
You’re playing hard to get girl
She’s playing hard to get (You’re playing hard to get)
You’re playing hard to get girl

Whenever Monday’s around
You know she’s easily found
She’s smiles and kisses (she’s smiles and kisses)

But when the weekend is here
All my laughs become tears
My shots will be misses (my shots will be misses)

And every time that I think I’m in love
I’m still on cloud 9 when push comes to shove
Then suddenly like the day that we met

She starts playing hard to get (you’re playing hard to get)
You’re playing hard to get girl
She’s playing hard to get (you’re playing hard to get)
You’re playing hard to get girl

Now every night on my knees I pray
That one of these days you’ll be coming home to stay
Each day that goes by I need you more and more
Through these tears in my eyes I watch for you at my door
I’ll always remember the night that we met

And you’re still playing hard to get (you’re playing hard to get)
You’re playing hard to get girl
She’s playing hard to get (you’re playing hard to get)
You’re playing hard to get girl
Track Name: If You Don't Care
What a surprise finding this note on my door
You’ve written inside, you say you don’t care anymore
There’s nobody home
When I pick up the phone to call you
Said I should leave it alone
Just walk away today, there’s no need to argue

But if you don’t care
How come you want me to know
If you don’t care about me
(How come you want me to know)

Oh what a shame, I’m so used to calling your name
Did you get a thrill when you moved in for the kill
You’ve worked so hard to make me aware
Then you say, you say you don’t care
Every person in this town
Knows that you don’t want me around

But if you don’t care
How come you want me to know
If you don’t care about me
(How come you want me to know)

yeah, yeah, yeah, ooh

Feels like the world
Feels like the world is crumbling
As I’m stumbling
Feels like the world
Feels like the world is crumbling
As I’m stumbling

If you don’t care about me
How come you want me to know
If you don’t care about me
(How come you want me to know)
Track Name: Wish I Could Dance
Saturday night I roll into town
Thinkin’ I can be ready for whatever’s going down
I know that all of my friends will be out at the bar
I make my way over and park my car

Inside music is playing, undeniable beat
I just can’t help but to tap my feet
There’s a girl on the dance floor looking at me
I’m thinking that I should take the chance

But I don’t know how to dance (dance dance)
No, I don’t know how to dance (dance dance)
I said I wish I could dance (dance dance)
Yeah, I wish I could dance

Sheepish and shy, but still feeling good
A couple of drinks did just what they should
I make my way over and try a few steps
I swear I got rhythm, but sometimes it forgets

After a couple of moves she’s laughing out loud
I guess I’m not very good, but I’m still kind of proud
Maybe it’s time for one more drink
I guess tonight’s not the night for romance

Cause I don’t know how to dance (dance dance)
No, I don’t know how to dance (dance dance)
I said I wish I could dance (dance dance)
Yeah, I wish I could dance
Track Name: Just Out Of Reach
Like a tear that just won’t cry
Like a mountain that’s far too high
I reach out my hand to you
But the door is closed I can’t get through

God knows how hard I’ve tried
Stuck on the other side
They say one and one make two
But one and one is all we do

Cause you and me together we would tear this whole thing down
Maybe stop the world from spinning round
I just keep getting lost, but maybe one day I’ll get found
Head up in the clouds feet on the ground

I want you around

But some things in life you just can’t teach
And you’re just out of reach
You’re just out of reach

Like a river running dry
Can’t quench my thirst I die
No matter what I do
I run, but can’t catch up to you

So close, but far away
The sun won’t shine today
Every time it starts to rain
I weigh my joy against my pain

Maybe it’s the longing for the things that we can’t have
That only seems to make us want them more
Thinking ‘bout the lives we lead, the good times and the bad
The life the two of us together could have had

Try not to be sad

Cause some things in life you just can’t teach
And you’re just out of reach
You’re just out of reach
Track Name: All The Time
You come in the morning
You leave in the evening
The way it happens all the time

You come here with laughter
You’re cryin’ after
The way it happens all the time

But, you know when you’ve been wrong
You won’t admit it ‘til you’ve gone
Yeah, you know when you’ve been wrong
You won’t admit it until you’re in it

Always deceiving
You say that you’re leaving
The way it happens all the time

Always around you
I’ve lost and I’ve found you
The way it happens all the time

But, you know when you’ve been wrong
You won’t admit it ‘til you’ve gone
Yeah, you know when you’ve been wrong
You won’t admit it and now you’re in it

You know it hurts so bad
I can’t be glad at all, no, no
We’ve lost the things we’ve had
It hurts so bad that’s all, oh, oh

You come in the morning
You leave in the evening
The way it happens all the time

You come here with laughter
You’re crying after
The way it happens all the time
Track Name: Bittersweet Melody
If you had tried to tell me ten years ago
I never would have listened I was twenty years old
Though looking back I’m glad you tried to help
But the mistakes that I’ve made have helped me learn for myself
You can’t succeed if you never try
And though thirty years have now gone by
I’ll still just keep singing this song
Over and over ‘til another year’s gone

And now that we’ve made it this far
Somebody tell me what’s next, what’s next
Now that we’ve made it this far

Well there have been ups and there have been downs
I guess I’m just happy that I’m still around
When you take the good, you accept the bad
But you can’t second guess all the times that you’ve had
You ask me how can I be happy
But life’s a bittersweet melody
So, just keep singing this song
On and on ‘til another day’s gone

And now that we’ve made it this far
Somebody tell me what’s next, what’s next
Now that we’ve made it this far

You and me
A bittersweet melody
Right and wrong
Words and song
Yesterday
It seemed so far away

And now that we’ve made it this far
Somebody tell me what’s next, what’s next
Now that we’ve made it this far
Track Name: Why Should I Cry
You made your bed while I made mistakes
You're sound asleep while I lay awake
Now people keep trying to tell me that’s the way that it goes
You probably don’t care, but I thought you should know

That I keep holding back these tears in my eyes
Why should I cry, why should I cry
I just keep holding back, holding back these tears
Why should I cry

You always play the fool, but you wrote the book
Whenever I play it cool you always give me that look
Well, why you wanna be so cold
Your golden rule is you get all of the gold

So I keep holding back these tears in my eyes
Why should I cry, why should I cry
I just keep holding back, holding back these tears
Why should I cry

You played with words, I played with fire
I kept getting burned, but you just kept getting higher
Now every little thing I say is one big joke
You laughed in my face with every word I spoke

So I keep holding back these tears in my eyes
Why should I cry, why should I cry
I just keep holding back, holding back these tears
Why should I cry
Track Name: Same Mistake
I keep making the same mistake
I keep making the same mistake

She was heavenly warm and lovingly
Only a fool would let her slip away
I was attracted, slightly distracted
How could I have led her astray

Cause every time that music is playing
I get lost in the groove and the tune that they’re singing
I just can’t see that her heart’s about to break
And I’m making the same mistake

I keep making the same mistake
I keep making the same mistake

Seems like only yesterday she was here to stay
Patiently waiting there for me
My mind was somewhere else, she left with someone else
Bound to happen eventually

Cause every time that music is playing
I get lost in the groove and the tune that they’re singing
I just can’t see that I’m doing something wrong
When I’m lost in a song

And I keep making the same mistake
I keep making the same mistake

How could I have gone down that road again
Guess I should have learned my lesson back then
She waits all alone for me when I’m gone
But, she’ll only wait so long when I’m lost in a song

Cause every time that music is playing
I get lost in the groove and the tune that they’re singing
I just can’t see that I’m doing something wrong
When I’m lost in a song

Every time that music is playing
I get lost in the groove and the tune that they’re singing
I just can’t see that her heart’s about to break
And I’m making the same mistake

I keep making the same mistake
I keep making the same mistake
Track Name: Used To Be So Young
Complication in every situation’s suffocating me
And there’s nothing I can do about it
No solution, no school, or institution’s educating me
Guess that’s the way it’s gonna be
Now I see why it

Always seemed much easier
Always seemed much easier
I used to be so young
I used to be so young

It always seemed much easier
Always seemed much easier
I used to be so young
I used to be so young

Fear and loathing, starving with no clothing that will keep them warm
Sometimes I feel so uninformed
Air pollution, unexcused toxic intrusion that I’m breathing in
I wish that I was just a kid again
Though that won’t make it end

It always seemed much easier
Always seemed much easier
I used to be so young
I used to be so young

It always seemed much easier
Always seemed much easier
I used to be so young
I used to be so young