“Across the Sea should be required listening for anyone who thinks they know music. I love it!...among the best I’ve heard this year." -Tom Saunders, A3Radio.com

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Order By Mail:
Please send $15/CD to:
Little Ditty Records
PO Box 1763
Portage, MI 49081

"Downey has a sweet, clear voice and writes melodic, character-driven songs that, on Downey's CD, 'Wind at Your Back,' recall Natalie Merchant's solo records." - Andrew S. Hughes, South Bend Tribune

[BUY]

Order By Mail:
Please send $15/CD to:
Little Ditty Records
PO Box 1763
Portage, MI 49081

Green Light (Take a Chance)

(Allison – Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar; John – 6 String Electric Bass; Michael – Telecaster, Percussion; Annie – Harmony Vocals; Brian – Drums)

I know you see a yellow light
Yield and caution burning bright
You think that I’ll turn it red,
so you’re riding the clutch, but it’s all in your head

Take a chance on me
Take a chance on me
I’m your green light baby

I know your heart is on the mend
You see a curve, brace for the end
I been there so I know you can do it
Can’t go around it, just have to go through it

Take a chance on me
Take a chance on me
I’m your green light baby

And I understand that to take it slow is a safe plan
But we’ll miss the thrill of the ride
unless you decide to
Take a chance on me
Take a chance on me

You can keep your eyes peeled
You can keep your hands tight on the wheel
The road will take us where it wants us to go
whether you go fast or you go slow

Take a chance on me
Take a chance on me
I’m your green light baby
I’m your green light baby
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All That Matters (I Do)

(Allison – Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar; John – 6-String Electric Bass; Rod – Lead Acoustic Guitar; Annie – Harmony Vocals; Michael – Percussion; Brian – Drums)

She bought me the ribbon. It was hot pink satin
to go with my new green pants for the dance
It’s my first one all the boys’ll be there
I’ll be Ginger Rogers they’ll be Fred Astairs

And she piled my hair up just like we planned
with curls, the bow and a sparkly headband
I walked down the stairs my brother brushed by
He said, “guys don’t like girls with their hair up that high”

And I said, "but, I do. And that's all that matters
Is I do, and that's all that matters - is that I do"

We drove in the wagon right up to the door
of the gym draped in Cray paper and poster board
Seventh grade mixer “Come meet your match!”
And a heart in red markers with sequins attached

She leaned for a hug. I said, "Someone might see!"
She said, “You may be 12, but you're still my baby”
“I'm too old for that stuff and people will stare
And I don't need a hug and I don't really care”

And she said, "But, I do, and that's all that matters
Is, I do, and that's all that matters - is that I do

I walked beneath streamers hung by Spirit Club
All the girls were on one side, the boys on the other
The popular girls wore Bonnie Bell
Strawberry Lip Gloss that I could smell

From the bleachers as I sat and watched them lean
From side to side held by boys in jeans
with clip on ties, and polo cologne and I sat alone
I sat alone

She answered the phone she said she'd be right there
Back home on our sofa my cheek on her hair
And I watched as the drops soaked her violet velour
Dad said, “Dance with me!” I said, “No one wants me on the dance floor.”

He said, “ Well, I do!”

She picked out the satin ivory dress
And buttoned the back up with her sweet caress
“Can I have a hug before I move on?
You know, I'm no baby but you're always my mom”

And I walked down the stairs in my best up-do,
My brother smiled and said, "Looks good on you"
Then my Dad took my arm, whispered, “Save me a dance”
Cause he knew the right one had asked for my hand

And I said, “Yes! I do, and that's all that matters
Is I do, and that's all that matters is
that I do – is that I do”
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Across the Sea

(Allison – Lead Vocals & Acoustic Guitar; John – 6-String Electric Bass; Rod – Electric Hollow-bodied Gibson; Michael – B-3 Organ; Brian – Brushes & Kitty toy)

It’s late in the evening
Some’d say it’s early morn
“I’ll have another pint, please”
Over here they serve it warm

The stool beside me’s empty
but I can picture you there
Your blue eyes have a red tint
My ale’s the color of your hair

And I wish that you were near me
not so far across the sea
I hope that you are dreamin’
you’re right here next to me

But, it’s late in the evening
The cues stand in a row
The darts are in their holders
Guess it’s time for me to go

I toast you with my last drink
The bartender stacks your chair
I toss him a few pence
and I stumble out into the air

And wish that you were near me
not so far across the sea
I hope that you are dreamin’
you’re right here next to me

Now it’s early in the morning
But where you are it’s late at night
I slip under the covers
and in my dreams I’ll hold you tight

And wish that you were near me
not so far across the sea
I hope that you are dreamin’
you’re in this dream with me
with me
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Please Help!

(Allison – Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar; John – 6-String Electric Bass; Michael – Percussion, Strat; Brian – Drums; Claps – Allison, John, Michael, Brian, Kitty Rat Pig)

Cardboard and concrete
Mud and grime
Dirt and soiled clothes
Stench and wild rhymes
Bottles and a tin can
I’m a bum - not a man
I am only this to you

Please help! Can you spare some kindness?
Can you spare a smile?
God bless you and keep you with him
as you walk on by

I am my sister’s brother
My mother’s son
I am my daughter’s father
I was not born the crazy one
I had a home and neighbors
A life I won’t forget
but, I am none of this to you

Please help! Can you spare some kindness?
Can you spare a smile?
God bless you and keep you with him
as you walk on by
You look right through me
Or you look away
I am not invisible
I have something to say
I’ve fallen on hard times
If they fall on you
I would not walk on by
Please help! Can you spare some kindness?
Can you spare a smile?
God bless you and keep you with him
as you walk on by
Don’t walk on by
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Promised Land

(Allison – Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar; John – 6-String Electric Bass; Michael – Gibson J-30, Percussion (Kitty toy, egg, tambourine); Brian – Drums)

She was lifted up by angels
when the sky was still asleep
so they could carry her by moonlight
before the dreamin’ world could weep

And they formed a cloud to hold her
So she could float with the breeze
Weightless and enlightened
Without pain or disease

She had a hard, short life,
She did no wrong, did no wrong
She got dealt a lousy hand
She’ll be redeemed in the Promised Land

And the dew began to glisten
as it began to dawn
on the world that she was peaceful
But her body now had gone

And a brother loves a sister
and a sister loved him so
And he carried her, his whole life
And now he lets her go

Cause she had a hard, short life
She did no wrong, did no wrong
She got dealt a lousy hand
She’ll be redeemed in the Promised Land

So, fly away, to your place in the sky
Fly free, fly free
You had a hard, short life
You did no wrong, did no wrong
You got dealt a lousy hand
You’ll be redeemed in the Promised Land
Yeah, you’ll be redeemed in the Promised Land
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Texas (Home Again)

Allison Downey & Susan Harrison
(Allison – Lead Vocals & Gibson J30; John – 6-String Electric Bass; Annie – Harmony Vocals; Rod - Telecaster; Brian – Drums)

It does me good to see you again
To see your smiling skies and your white cloud grin
To feel the warm embrace of the sun’s rays on my face
Oh, Texas. It does me good to see you again

Texas, Texas, I’m home again
Texas, Texas I’m home when
I’m in Texas

I feel you again
It’s like my heartbeat got back its rhythm
And like your land, I just spread out
And find myself in places I never knew about

Texas, Texas, I’m home again
Texas, Texas, I’m home when
I’m in Texas

But sometimes you choked me with your red earth
Soaked with the blood of vengeance’s curse
But I’ve known your kindness too
And I know in spring you bloom
A cactus flower as soft as its spines are sharp

Texas, Texas, I’m home again
Texas, Texas, I’m home when
I’m in Texas
It does me good to see you again
To see you again
To see you again
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Almost

(Allison – Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar; John – Fretless Bass; Annie – Harmony Vocals; Michael – Cello-flavored Triton, Strat, Percussion; Brian – Drums)

Those things I didn’t say
Those moves I never made
Those signals that I never gave

Well, I almost did

Awkward silence in the car
after a late night at the bar
I’d look away I couldn’t hold your gaze

But, I almost, I almost did

Almost is like that place
before the inhale when you taste
the air that you are just about to crave
I almost, I almost did

Seems like I always come around
and see taillights outbound
just when I feel the love we could have found
And, we almost, we almost, we almost did
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More Than Human

(Allison – Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar; John – 6-String Electric Bass; Annie – Harmony Vocals; Rod – Mandolin, Lead Acoustic Guitar; Michael – Percussion, Cello-flavored Triton; Brian – Drums)

Birds chirping at my window
Squirrel’s asleep so lazy
as if he owns the yard

And the garden never has looked better
The creatures are unfettered since
the leaving of the guard

But there’s something wrong
Life shouldn’t be so calm

The house it is in perfect order just the way I left it
Trash is in the can
And the sofa’s back to its old color, papers are un-shredded,
Shoes are safe again

But there’s something wrong
Life shouldn’t be so calm

And though time’s passed, still watch where I step
Still think I’ll hear you when I turn the key
And I don’t know how a body so small could hold a spirit so big
It leaves this house empty

And there’s something wrong
Life shouldn’t be so calm
It’s hard to understand
You were more than human

More than human
More than human
More than human
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Landscape

(Allison – Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar; John – 6-String Electric Bass; Michael – Cello-flavored Triton, B-3 Organ, Percussion; Brian – Drums & Percussion)

I know this landscape
like I know a trail I’ve hiked a thousand times before
And I know where it rises and where it falls
and I know the best view of all

I know this landscape
like I know a tree I climbed every single day
And I know where it’s sturdy and where it might shake
and I know just what it would take

But I won’t walk these trails anymore
I won’t wind my way around their curves
I won’t dance in the meadows
or wade in these rivers
No, I won’t gaze upon your landscape anymore

You know this landscape
like you know the hills you rode in every kind of light
And you know near the top you tend to look around
just in case greener paths might be found

So, you won’t walk these trails anymore
You won’t wind your way around their curves
You won’t dance in the meadows
or wade in these rivers
No, you won’t gaze upon my landscape anymore

But if I close my eyes - I can see, I can feel
the heat of your sunrise –
I can touch the rays of its fire
lighting up this path of desire

And I won’t walk these trails anymore
I won’t wind my way around their curves
I won’t dance in the meadows
or wade in these rivers
No, I won’t gaze upon your landscape anymore
And, you won’t gaze upon my landscape anymore
And we won’t gaze upon our landscape anymore
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Ireland For You

(Allison – Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar; John – 6-String Electric Bass; Annie – Harmony Vocals; Rod – Mandolin; Brian – Drums, Percussion)

I’ve been to Paris, been to southern Spain,
the tip of Mexico, and the African Plains
The Greek isles and the Rockies, too
But never Ireland
I saved Ireland for you

Let’s go to Ireland, live the tourist dream
of pints and Blarney Stones, misty fields of green
You’d be my Patrick. I’d be your Colleen
We’ll learn the violin. I saved Ireland for you

Where the music flows, yarns are spun
four leaf clovers grow, hearts are won
Oh, Ireland, oh Ireland

I’d chase a rainbow till I reached the end
and find you waiting there with your golden grin
We’d be legends, like Gaelic royalty
living in castles grand or shacks beside the sea
Let’s go to Ireland

Where the music flows, yarns are spun
four leaf clovers grow, hearts are won
Oh, Ireland, I saved Ireland for you
Ireland for you
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Blue Deep Aegean

(Allison – Vocals; Michael – Piano, Cello-Flavored Triton)

I come with my love
to the sea
Blue deep Aegean
washes me
clear and clean
with Poseidon’s salty kisses

And I float upon the waves
like the bread we tossed for seagulls
weighted by the water
and gazing at the sky
aqua blue, like your eyes

I come with my love
to the Isles
rocky peaks of giants
Houses perched
bleached like sails
stacked like little boxes

Walls as wide as we are tall
guard whispers from the ancients
Tales of battles’ glory
and their gems, Athena’s prize
sapphire blue
like your eyes

Our love is strong as July’s sun
soft as the moon of Aphrodite
endless as the fading
of the sea into the sky
deepest blue - like your eyes
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