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Unlock the Sky

by Tom Mank and Sera Smolen

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Artists: Tom Mank (guitar, vocal), SeraSmolen (cello), Jeannie Burns (vocal), Terry Burns (vocal), Kimberly Claeys (vocal), Kirsti Gholson (vocal), Ron Kristy (keyboard, guitar, vocal), Gait Klein Kromhof (harmonica), Julie Last (vocal), Amy Merrill (violin), Manuel Quintana (percussion),

    Recorded March 2014 - August 2016 by Julie Last @ Cold Brook Productions, Bearsville, NY - additional recording by Will Russell at Electric Wilburland, Arjan Bogaert at Barefoot Recording Studio in Pittem, Belgium, and Ward Van Iseghem in Sint Gillis Maas, Belgium. Mastered by Dan Coutant at Sun Room Mastering. Graphic Design by Patti Witten

    Includes unlimited streaming of Unlock the Sky via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $7 USD  or more

     

1.
I would drive all the way to Harpers Ferry To the Blue Ridge Parkway and beyond All of this I’d do if I had to To make my point I’m more than tension in the room More than a mystery in your mind I’ll push too I’ll break through Your hard line Looking through the raindrops down the road Counting out the hours it’s going slow What I believe and what I don’t know Is alright Looking through the raindrops down the road Counting out the hours and it’s going slow I’m beginning to see what I did not know It’s alright I will drive all the way to Harpers Ferry To the Blue Ridge Parkway and beyond All of this I’ll do if I have to To make my point
2.
Some young men We don’t treat them well They get caught with reefer And thrown into a cell Cells are big money To free us from our fear And fear is a religion Passed down through the years We’re in love in a difficult world We’re in love Some people dig in When innocent children die They say God has chosen them So in their blood they lie Driven by money We’re told we all need guns To protect us from our fear Of the ghosts in everyone We’re in love in a difficult world We’re in love Some young men We don’t treat them well We sent them off to war To blow the world to hell War is big money To free us from our fears And war is a religion Passed down through the years
3.
So cool and so free The place is really jumping I’m as happy as can be Then ... my thunder and lightning Knocks me to the ground No doctor can save me Only love can bring me ’round A walk with my baby Is so lovely and sweet I’m feeling so lucky Maybe I will kiss him on the cheek But his ... thunder and lightning Knocks him to the ground No doctor can save him Only love can bring him ‘round 2 and 2 is 5 3 and 3 is 8 Everything is spinning I think I’m gonna faint Then ... my Thunder and lightning Knocks me to the ground No doctor can save me Only love can bring me ‘round Only love ...
4.
Calico Dress 05:28
If I ever get off of this train I’m gonna kiss you again and again ‘Cause you know It’s been a long time Since I held Your hands in mine How long I can’t guess Since I saw you {since you saw me} In a calico dress Out here Where time’s so slow Waiting for The bugle to blow I want to get back to you Your love Is gonna carry me through How long I can’t guess Since I saw you {since you saw me} In a calico dress Will you come by lantern light By the moon or dead of night I hear your voice whispered low Will you come by candle flame Calling out my name Kiss you once then wake alone If I ever {if you ever} Get off of this train I’m gonna kiss you Again and again ‘Cause you know It’s been a long time Since I’ve held Your hands in mine How long I can’t guess Since I saw you {since you saw me} In a calico dress
5.
I once slept wrapped in velvet curtains Beside a Steinway grand Now it’s gone under oily water How did it happen I don’t understand Here in Fells Point I can still remember Music all night long The bands became my family The barge was rockin’ until dawn It hasn’t been the same since the Blue Seas went down Sank down to the bottom It hasn’t been the same since the Blue Seas went down Sank down to the bottom Here in Fells Point I can still remember When the barge was swallowed by the sea A piano and guitar floating in the harbor Towards the Bay aimlessly It hasn’t been the same since the Blue Seas went down Sank down to the bottom It hasn’t been the same since the Blue Seas went down Sank down to the bottom Here in Fells Point I don’t go out much now Since the Mill and the Market took a dive Tourists don’t feel like family Like we did in seventy-five It hasn’t been the same since the Blue Seas went down Sank down to the bottom It hasn’t been the same since the Blue Seas went down Sank down to the bottom
6.
Living in the woods is sometimes crazy It can make you feel small Or lift you up to the glory Like a sunrise climbing up a wall Like a sunrise climbing up a wall I left (I left) the city, I left (I left) the bright lights I left (I left) the glitter To watch the sunrise with you Bring in something from the garden Draw some water from the well I’ll sit with you until sunset When the night is standing still When the night is standing still I left (I left) the city, I left (I left) the bright lights I left (I left) the glitter To watch the sunset with you Today the sparks of springtime Were blooming so alive Let’s set the lantern on the window sill And make love until we cry And make love until we cry I left (I left) the city, I left (I left) the bright lights I left (left) the glitter To watch the sunrise with you Would you leave the city Would you leave the bright lights Would you leave someone To watch the sunrise with me
7.
8.
Amsterdam 04:37
On a train to Amsterdam I write these words to you Swans drift down the canal We’ll all be home soon See the colors along the roads And the glasses lifted high To the ones who left too soon To the ones left behind I catch a stranger’s eye Through the window of the train Under a painted sky I wonder what you’d say See the colors along the roads And the glasses lifted high To the ones who left too soon To the ones left behind

about

"Every track on this album could be judged a highlight - there's not a trace of a makeweight in the disc's 51-minute span.

The musical trademark of the duo's approach is found in Sera's wondrous, silky cello lines soaring and dipping above Tom's subtly picked guitar rhythm that's allowed to ring and chime, both elements overlaid by their captivating shared vocals."

Tom's songs are simply stunning. I'm completely won over by this very, very special disc."
- David Kidman, FATEA - 2017

"There is something in the works of Mank & Smolen which is hard to describe. Mank definitely resides outside the mainstream, the music emanating from an inside filled with war, love and conflict...

For those who have never heard Tom Mank & Sera Smolen, let me leave you with a few examples of their work. Listen closely. This ain't your Grampa's old folk music. This is Tom Mank & Sera Smolen. Not quite like anything I have ever heard."
- Frank Gutch Jr, No Depression - 2017

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released February 11, 2017

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Tom Mank and Sera Smolen Ithaca, New York

Tom Mank, an independent singer-songwriter for the past twenty years, has played in folk, blues, and bluegrass bands collaborating with a host of singers and instrumentalists.

Dr. Sera Jane Smolen is an active performer of many genres of music. In addition to her collaboration with Mank, she has performed extensively with the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra and many others.
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