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Testing Your Patience

by Louka

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lisabhd I’m truly enjoying “Testing Your Patience”! It’s great music therapy during the pandemic & I’m looking forward to live music performances, again, in the future :)
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1.
It ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe It don’t matter, anyhow An’ it ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe If you don’t know by now When your rooster crows at the break of dawn Look out your window and I’ll be gone You’re the reason I’m trav’lin’ on Don’t think twice, it’s all right It ain’t no use in turnin’ on your light, babe That light I never knowed An’ it ain’t no use in turnin’ on your light, babe I’m on the dark side of the road Still I wish there was somethin’ you would do or say To try and make me change my mind and stay We never did too much talkin’ anyway So don’t think twice, it’s all right It ain’t no use in callin’ out my name, gal Like you never did before It ain’t no use in callin’ out my name, gal I can’t hear you anymore I’m a-thinkin’ and a-wond’rin’ all the way down the road I once loved a woman, a child I’m told I give her my heart but she wanted my soul But don’t think twice, it’s all right I’m walkin’ down that long, lonesome road, babe Where I’m bound, I can’t tell But goodbye’s too good a word, gal So I’ll just say fare thee well I ain’t sayin’ you treated me unkind You could have done better but I don’t mind You just kinda wasted my precious time But don’t think twice, it’s all right -Bob Dylan - Special Rider Music (ASCAP)
2.
Did you dive into a pit of hurt? Heart first into a pit of hurt Was it on fire in your hand? When you surrendered to your man? Did you think he’d break the dam release the river, cool the sand? Did you think he’d break the dam, break the dam? Was that you cutting cactus down? Was that you cutting cactus down? I saw needles in the wind As someone practiced on their swing It only stood up to catch your eye Offering water when all was dry Only stood up to catch your eye, catch your eye Was there fish jumping in your boat? Was there not fish jumping in your boat? Well you’d throw most back out to sea And some would jump back in immediately a ship like that might sink but the reef below aint deep A ship like that might sink, might sink Was there light in your chandelier? Bright light in your chandelier? Was there light in your chandelier? Igniting halos on your love Like make believing was enough Was the image negative underneath your closed eyelids? Was the image negative, negative, negative Was the image negative underneath your closed eyelids? Was the image negative, negative, negative? Everything is Made of Love ASCAP
3.
Those nails were already pounded In the wall that’s how I found it Like the drunk of a thousand beers That’s how you came to me, crying tears That your laugh was gone wondering what took so long It’s funny how close you get when all your love is dead And mine is in your head All your good ideas begin and end in bed Old flames fly out of your room Hysterical just like you Talking ‘bout this and that but it just ain’t true Sleepwalker staring in the men’s room mirror Big delusions getting clearer Seeing doubles in a bathroom stall Watching the bubbles moving on the wall Focused on the surface of a crystal ball What you see is true after all Everything is inside out and upside down Fast fire climbing up the hallway wall Quick smoke crawling down the hall Laugh track cracking up to the ceiling you know when you get that feeling You’re writing the movie and playing the role Like trying to drive a spike through a tiny hole but those nails were already pounded In the wall that’s how I found it. Everything is Made of Love ASCAP
4.
In My Tea 05:20
Dropped you down in the drink, 
I could hear you start to crack and shrink I put you into my tea I could see you staring back at me Dropped you down in hot hot water You make it warm and then I wish it was hotter You melt so I don’t burn It’s enough to make a stomach turn Popped you out of a tray In fact I got my own shape that way She holds you close to her skin She can feel the cold sinking in Dropped you down in hot hot water You make it warm and then we wish it was hotter You melt so we don’t burn They know They drop you down in hot hot water You make it warm and then they wish it was hotter They lose their taste and send you away The servant pours you down the drain Goes to fetch another tray You melt so they don’t burn It’s enough to make a stomach turn Everything is Made of Love ASCAP
5.
Red Ferns 03:07
The red fern’s growin’ on the side of you house I’m sitting here quiet, squeakin’ like a mouse Don’t you leave me in this hole alone It’s gonna be along walk home The paint is chipping and the carpets a fade By the time you get back I wont be the same And this old house will cave, collapse and degrade And I wont remember your name One day the Earth will line up with Pluto and Mars, if it don’t happen fast I’m gonna sell the farm and the life there is gonna wither and die They're polishing each ounce of Earth ‘till it sparkles and shines, their appetite for lies keeps on growing and they can’t get full They oughta stop but they probably never will The porch is crooked and my bed’s unmade when the legs give out I’ll slip into my grave and the sunshine is gonna carry me home It’s gonna be a long long walk alone Everything is Made of Love ASCAP
6.
I said more than a mouthful and I got some more to tell I’m on the road to heaven and I ain't going back through hell Some people tell me that I got some dues to pay Well I’m barefoot on the pavement and I’m singin’ everyday I was cutting in 9 lines with 9 women on my mind When you don’t know who you are she’s awfully hard to find Each occupied a room in my mental motel Thinking 8 Evictions just might benefit my health People posing like they have their house in order But the truth don’t need no one to believe You can draw your definitions in the dirt but it don’t observe your borders It’s all one thing Just stop you brain from talking and feel the way you feel! I toppled over towers and tore apart the sea All that I could think of was me and victory I made my people cower and massacred the crowd But I’m letting it go so the story ends in one big happy NOW! Dropping history just too heavy to carry Mental repetitions making everything too scary Separation’s a lie, we’re all going to die but never you mind ‘cause we’ll just come right back to life Walking around with questions inappropriate to ask Like seeing realistically you’re banished from the pack Don’t need no cures for symptoms of common disease Just get down to the bottom of how it came to be! Everything is Made of Love ASCAP
7.
Moonrock 05:03
You’re like a moonrock on the dark side I’m a scuba diver swimming for the light You’re like a tombstone with no date of birth and no sign of life I’m holding hands with your cousin in the sand You’re out to sea trying to understand You’re like a candle on the crest of a wave waiting for a flame It’s in your gaze I feel the feeling It’s a long a spiral staircase but it ends up at the ceiling You walk the maze in your little room I don’t believe you when you sing but I know you mean to speak the truth It’s true Your like a lust lost lover gone mad I’m a book of old poems sitting on your lap but you don’t read me You’re lying in the dark drifting off to sleep Well I could see you smiling shining over all Instead of poised like rain about to fall It takes an ocean to dissolve an island but you can do it, just keep on crying It’s in the way you find a reason It’s a short and crazy dream when you say just what you mean You walk the maze in your little room I don’t believe you when you sing but I know you mean to speak the truth It’s true Sad but true, it's nothing new Everything is Made of Love ASCAP
8.
Everything is Made of Love ASCAP
9.
The red ferns grow on the side of you house I’m sitting here quiet, squeakin’ like a mouse Don’t you leave me in this hole alone It’s gonna be a long walk home The paint is chipping and the carpets a fade By the time you get back I wont be the same And this old house will cave, collapse and degrade And I wont remember your name Chorus: Well I can’t stand when people say “It is what it is, it’s always been that way” It’s easy to think like yesterday when you still feel the same I can’t stand when people say “It is what it is and you can’t change it” Well if you leave me in this hole alone... I’m pointing my cannons at the side of their ship ‘Cause even when the wind blows they’re gonna crack the whip But the the hull wont hold and the sails are ripped They’ll keep on rowing till the frame is tipped They're polishing each ounce of Earth ‘till it sparkles and shines, their appetites for lies keep on growing and they can’t get full The porch is crooked and my bed’s unmade if the legs give out I’ll slip into my grave and the Sunshine is gonna carry me home Chorus: I can’t stand when people say “It is what it is, it’s always been that way” It’s easy to think that same old way when you don’t feel the pain I can’t stand when people say “It is what it is and you can’t change it” Well if you leave me in this hole alone, It’s gonna be along walk home One day the Earth will line up with Pluto and Mars, if it don’t happen fast I’m gonna sell the farm and the life there is gonna wither and die Interlude:: I can’t stand when people say “It is what it is, it’s always been that way” There’s a there’s a graveyard in your mind a graveyard in your mind a graveyard in your mind where you buried the love that you found inside Chorus: I can’t stand when people say “It is what it is and there aint no way” It’s easy to think that same old way you don’t feel the pain I can’t stand when people say “It is what it is and you can’t change it” Well if you leave me in this hole alone, If you leave me in this hole alone If you leave me in this hole alone It’s gonna be along walk home Everything is Made of Love ASCAP
10.
Letting all the water past the dam It’s been sitting there cracking Leaking for so long Gonna break it all up and watch it flow down Get clean in the currents I can hear the sound then we’ll see What’s in this dream Gonna watch it flow all the way down to the end I’m getting right out of bed and I’m gonna see you again And when deltas turn to bays We’re gonna turn around and say “You’re finally inside me” You got it all ,you got it all You got it all ,you got it all You got it all ,you got it all, you got it all You got it all the way down to the final end I can see you I can see you all the way down to the final end I can see you I can see you all the way down to the final end I can see you I can see you all the way down to the final end Everything is Made of Love ASCAP

about

On his third album, Testing Your Patience, Louka proposes a provocative approach, calling his genre 'Roots Crossover' because the songs (while connected to American acoustic music) are often combined with more disparate genres. We hear the conventions of country music but the harmonic language of a much darker global music, creating a hybrid all its own.

Revolving around his signature poetic lyrical style, one finds transposing patterns in single songs, taking the listener to radically different places from one moment to the next. The lyrics are simple but multifaceted, occasionally otherworldly or surreal, with some strikingly direct, whether heady or colloquial, elaborate or unadorned.

As a musical narrative, Testing Your Patience alludes to introspective beginnings, marked by minimal instrumentation, rooted in guitar and voice. A well-balanced, vintage-style six-string reverberates in a room, captured by a classic microphone. At times one hears the reflections of mandolins or ukuleles on a hardwood floor or an old staircase. Gradually, drama creeps in, with harmonic tonalities spanning from shimmering to deep darkness, often going to the far ends of the spectrum. These unexpected shifts result in songs both ethereal and cathartic.

More simply, on Testing Your Patience, Louka celebrates sound; acoustic, honest sound. Without the use of effects, one hears things exactly as real as they are.

credits

released November 12, 2021

All songs performed/written/produced by Louka Patenaude

Special Guests:
John Christensen - walnut double bass (2,4,6,7,10), electric bass (3,9)
Jeff Held - backing vocals (3)
Paul Hastil - rhodes piano (9)
Josh Pultorak - udu (4)
Juan Medrano Cotito - cajon (7)

Recorded, engineered and mixed at T1 by Louka Patenaude
Guest Engineers - Luke Arvid, John Christensen, Tim Chandler

Special Thanks to Ben Sidran, Jake Johnson at Paradyme Productions, Mark Whitcomb at DNA Music Labs, Mike Turk at Dave's Guitars, Collings and Waterloo Guitars

Artwork by Art and Sons – artandsons.com
Photography by Chris Schultz

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Some rights reserved. Please refer to individual track pages for license info.

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Louka Madison, Wisconsin

Louka is a singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and teacher (University of Wisconsin – Madison). Testing Your Patience (his debut album as Louka) is his first release since The Very Best of the Fingers (2012 Layered Music) and The Optimistic (2008 Layered Music).
For more information about Louka please visit www.music.wisc.edu/faculty/louka-patenaude/ or loukasound.com
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