Open Your Doors
2003 All songs by Anne Harris
Photos & design by
Flynn
A unique, spirited journey through earthy, organic folk/pop.
Chicago magazine says, "Her soulful voice continues to assert a world of
influences, from Celtic to African to American folk/rock."
Tracks
Listen Lo-Fi
Reviews
“Fiery fiddler Anne Harris is a free spirit. ... [On Open
Your Doors] her soulful voice continues to assert a world of influences,
from Celtic to African to American folk/rock.”
- Chicago magazine
“...every once in a while a breath of fresh air comes
along, and that breath is Anne Harris' Open Your Doors. This is Americana;
roots music at its finest! I can not remember the last CD that I was as
impressed with from start to finish. Her vocals are at times sultry, at
times pure Americana, and always right on target for the song she is
playing.” Rating: A+
- Dennis Halsey, BestFemaleMusicians.com
“Throughout [Open Your Doors] Harris never misses a moment
to tell the listener the cup is more than half-full if not brimming over.
And it never sounds forced, which only adds to its luster... The album may
not be an easy finder, but it's certainly a keeper!”
- Jason MacNeil, PopMatters.com
“Anne Harris’ latest release, Open Your Doors, is
bright and buoyant. The lyrics are hopeful and celebratory. The
instrumentations are infectiously danceable. 4 Stars"
- Paul Barile, Chicago Arts & Entertainment
Lyrics
© 2002 Anne Harris
In my dream, I'm going all around the world
All around the world in my head
In my dream we are flying together,
Space and time slip away
'Cross the green and over the desert,
Your hand in mine all the way
I'm gonna leave my life with a reckless abandon,
And all the good advice that didn't pay
My arms, like knives, cutting into the blue
I'm gonna find something new along the way
And I don't wanna stop my dreaming,
I don't wanna fall wide awake
I don't wanna face the frowns of a mean old town
That would try to keep bring a girl like me down
In my dream we are crossing the ocean
Leaving this world far behind
It would seem that the grass is really greener
The air a little sweeter and sublime
And I don't wanna stop my dreaming
I don't wanna fall wide awake
I don't wanna face the frowns of a mean old town
That would try to keep bring a girl like me down
I want to see some distant places
I want to smile at unfamiliar faces
You don't need your bags, we're gonna travel light
I’m gonna try and quell this appetite
© 2002 Anne Harris
My ticket only carries me one way
My suitcase holds my world inside, in my arms my baby daughter
I'm headin' for the land of brighter days
Vauban, carry me across the water
Vauban, in your rocking breast I ride
Vauban, have mercy on my frightened daughter
See us safely to the other side
I'm gazing 'cross the sugarcane, a sea unto itself
It's swallowed whole my friends and family
They brought us here to work the land to multiply their wealth
But I'm workin' towards a bigger, brighter dream
Adrift upon the swelling sea, faith billowing like sails
I pray that spirit never leaves my side
My little girl won't ever know this life of Sugarcane
Much bigger things will fill her anxious eyes
© 2002 Anne Harris
Open spaces for miles and miles, water without end
Of all the things that render me without breath for words
Love come knocking at my door, Love come splashing in
You know Love is the path of the least resistance
That leads you to the place of your unborn dreams
Where your heart is free to dance and swing
In the endless field of possibility
Love is good, Love is great
Mother for this Love I appreciate
And Love is so much more
I've heard talk of dark and fear, I've seen many things
Hatred making the headline pages, wars that never end
Of all the things that render me hopeful through it all
Love come knocking at my door, love come splashing in
© 2002 Anne Harris
Tryin' to map a course to your heart
And I'm learning all the while
How to read you in the dark
One is your mirror
Two, what you value
Three, your small world
Four, foundation
Five, all the fun
Six, what you do
Seven is the other
Eight, the mystery
Nine, expansion
Ten is authority
Eleven is your group
Twelve, the door to your dreams
And I'm burning to know the map to your heart
I am guided above by the planets and stars
The puzzle gets revealed in the little points of light
Your secret's signed and sealed in the canvas of night
© 2002 Anne Harris
The wind combing wheat fields were lullabies to him
They said he could grow things before he could walk
The trees whispered secrets, to the flowers he'd talk
When you tend to my garden, you're tending to me
And the spirits that watch it, watch over me
It's the changing of seasons, the cycle of change
Always replaying, never the same
Oh never the same
They met in the summer when the corn was knee high
And lovers became under sweltering skies
They married in lilacs the following May
Then somebody's war called him away
The autumn is stealing the sun from the sky
The fields are all golden, the trees are on fire
And time is a bandit that's taken his face
But here in the garden you can still hear him say
© 2002 Anne Harris
I was driving around this same old town
Trying to look anew, another way to capture you
Then a thought occurred like a startled bird,
And I turned as it flew
I missed it again, my chance to capture you
But I'll never give up, a poet's work is never done
When I feel I'm steady, I always come undone
My words are falling off the page
And they're fading from my view
Another failing at my attempt to try and capture you
I went fishing in this head of mine, its waters deep and blue
Hoping, longing to hook you
You tug my line as you swim on by, and you're tuggin' my heart, too
Will it surface again
My chance to capture you
Unsteady and Uncertain are shining thru the mist,
They light my way to all my insecurities
But when I'm edging close to you they can't compare to this
Who could? Who would?
There's a spot I know where my ideas grow and I go to feel renewed,
It's a heart space away between the beats for you
And if I close my eyes and I still my mind,
I see you coming into view
Will I miss it again?
My chance to capture you
© 2002 Anne Harris
You are the forest for the trees
You are my deepest darkest need
I'm racing through this tunnel
There is no greater call to heed
I am the tears you cannot cry
I am the fear you lock inside
But I'll reach across this wasteland
Swim in my warm embrace and try
This ice is mighty thin, dear
We just might slip right in tonight
Love is the light
© 2002 Anne Harris
I bent as far as I could go without my falling in
I'm just getting by, swimming against the tide of my own body
I felt the surge and quickening, the rush of ebb and flow
Like all my Mothers before me, some things a woman knows
About this life, and all its incandescent yearning
In all my drama, and all my passion
They got in the way, you just couldn't stay
You got left behind
It seems your shadow is lingering, despite this flood of light
The winding path will surely bring meaning and insight
But until that day, I'll just have to pray for your safe journey
Time's insatiable hunger gnaws away at me
How much more time will I need before I'm finally free?
And can time digest this great unrest that stirs within me?
In all my drama, and all my passion
You just couldn't win, you never did fit in
You got left behind
I didn't plan on you, I had work to do
You got left behind
© 2002 Anne Harris
People's cover carried it down at my grocery store
And everyone is feeling all excited
'Cause no one thought excitement hung around much anymore
But it does, and I'm proud to join the optimistic few
On my wall hangs a picture of the Goddess
Give us hope, light our fires
In our hands we hold the hoping of a million
In our hearts lie all the power and the light
In our heads stirs the beginning of creation
I believe, I believe
There's talk of Angels coming down to help us
I know Oprah well enough to know she wouldn't lie
And I've been doing random acts of kindness
Hoping that my karma's coming with me for the ride
And it will, and I'm proud to join the optimistic few
On my wall hangs a picture of the Goddess
Give us hope, light our fires
Maybe when it's over it ain't over
Maybe when it's over it's just starting up again
I guess it all comes down to what you make it
Realities get born and die, and born and die again
So it goes, and I'm proud to join the optimistic few
On my walls hangs a picture of the Goddess
Give us hope, light our fires
© 2002 Anne Harris
I'm searching for a love to fill my needs
To fill my needs and make me rise like dough
To make sweet love in the meadow
Hoping I will find it before too long
Since my Mama passed away I'm all alone
I'm all alone in my misery
Hurry, hurry love come and find me
I was born into nothing but grief and pain
My Daddy left me nothing except my name
Except my name, I'd give it up for you
Love, love you'd better find me soon
I never finished schoolin' but I've learned some things
Like hope's a dove on the wings of love with a song to sing
I'll sing my song until it finds your heart
Wherever in this world that you are
Love is the great mirage that fools my soul
That puddle on a hot day shines just down the road
Just down the road and across the way
Love's gonna find me in my grave
© 2002 Anne Harris
Straining to be heard thru the din
As we march in our madness, a subtle, silent shift
Begs for a chance to get in
Open your doors to the things you'd never believe
See what goes largely unseen
Finding the voice that is singing in your heart
Following where it will lead
As we stand in the wake of our utter disrepair
There's a sadness that seeps thru our skin
The lens of a tear blurs the lines of everything
Take heed of the call from within
I'm jumping off with my eyes closed
I'm reaching out with my hands
I'm dancing the dance of a warrior
I'm making my master plan
I'm weaving my cloak of armor
With an invisible thread
I'm planting a moonlight garden
I'm getting what I can get