Track number one on my 2010 EP Long Before the Wheel is a song called Leave Oregon — it was the first song I wrote in Nashville and should be considered a direct letter to my loved ones in the West.

While the state of Oregon means the world to me, I knew it wouldn’t resonate with everyone, therefore, I elected to record an alternate version of the same song. In the end, they’re nearly identical but with only one single lyric adjusted within the chorus:

INSTEAD OF:
“Who was I to leave Oregon
When the rearview facing West held all I loved?”

IT IS NOW:
“Who was I to leave where I’m from
When the rearview facing West held all I loved?”

SAMPLE ‘LEAVE WHERE I’M FROM’

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DOWNLOAD ‘LEAVE WHERE I’M FROM’ HERE

While I will always sing the true version of Leave Oregon, I thought my non-Oregonian friends and fans might appreciate the alternate lyric that can apply to Any Town USA. Enjoy the song and make it your own!

DOWNLOAD ‘LEAVE WHERE I’M FROM’ HERE

Yesterday, I was invited into the Indie Music PDX studio to record one of their signature podcasts with host, Jonah Luke. In all, our 30-minute discussion weaved through my musical history, my songwriting process, my time in Nashville and my upcoming performance at The Alberta Rose Theatre on Sunday, March 11th — a comprehensive interview that can be heard, in full, below. Thank you Johah and the other folks at Indie Music PDX for having me on your program!

TYLER STENSON on INDIE MUSIC PDX (30min Podcast)

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Tyler Stenson on Indie Music PDX

PODCAST DETAILS:

Tyler joined us this week to talk about his music, his upcoming show at the Alberta Rose in Portland, and his stint in Nashville. Learn about Tyler’s fascinating songwriting process and more on this episode.

Songs:
Full song – Best Laid Plans, Live from Alberta Rose Theater
Clip – The Road, Bittersweet Parade (2010)
Clip – We Grow, Long Before The Wheel (2010)

Two years ago, just before my stint in Nashville, I was invited to collaborate with Portland-based hip hop artist, Madgesdiq. He was writing a new album and, in addition to himself, he wanted to feature multiple artists … I’m lucky enough to have gotten the call to be the folky flare on Rastamerica.

While I don’t do a lot of co-writing in my career, I was truly honored to be a part of this project. Admittedly, I was a bit intimidated upon arrival but the unfounded tension soon eased and we were eventually left to do what we do best — write a song.

The resulting tune, World without Walls, is something truly special — it’s about a world without discrimination, judgement, genocide, prejudice, war and all of the other walls that drag us down as a human race — equality and harmony at its finest.

In the end, if ever you believe that this utopic world could never exist and that there will always be walls between men, just know that this song was a collaboration between a 6-foot-4 black hip hop artist with waste-long dreadlocks and a 5-foot-8 white dude with a crew-cut and a healthy twang — unalike on the surface but the same underneath.

Enjoy it. Live it.

WORLD without WALLS (feat. Tyler Stenson):
by Madgesdiq © 2012

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DOWNLOAD WORLD WITHOUT WALLS ON iTUNES

DOWNLOAD WORLD WITHOUT WALLS ON iTUNES

In the 100+ songs that I’ve written, only a handful have been written in a single day. Yesterday was one of those special lightening-strikes of inspiration. Although this is an extremely rough recording of an early version that will surely evolve over time (as I get more comfortable with the nuances), I’d like to introduce my newest song, This Too Shall Pass.

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This Too Shall Pass
by tyler stenson © 2012

So, you’ve fallen behind
Oh no, not again
And you can see that you are
Hard-pressed against a wind
That hits just like a hammer
On a nail that’s bent
Oh no, not again.
Oh no, not again.

Oh, I know these days are hard
And I know it’s hard to last
But, believe you me,
Just sturdy up your heart
And this too shall pass.

So, there are wars being waged
But they’re not your voice
And good love has gone away
But it wasn’t by choice
If it’s out of your hands
But you just can’t let go
And there’s a whole lot on your mind
But a whole lotta no one to show

Oh, I know these days are hard
And I know it’s hard to last
But, believe you me,
Just sturdy up your heart
And this too shall pass.

So, you’ve fallen behind
Oh, no, not again
And you can see that you are
Hard-pressed against a wind
That hits just like a hammer
On a nail that’s bent
Oh no, not again.
Oh no, not again.

Oh, I know these days are hard
And I know it’s hard to last
But, believe you me,
Just sturdy up your heart
And this too shall pass.

This is an original song that I wrote in 2010 but I wanted to post it today, with lyrics, because I’m often told by my fans that reading along with the fast-paced lyrics helped them to appreciate this tale to the fullest. A detailed story about a full-moon hike through Poly Canyon in San Luis Obispo, CA, That Moon was one of my favorite songs to write and absolutely one of my favorite songs to perform.

DOWNLOAD ON CD BABY: www.cdbaby.com/tylerstenson3
DOWNLOAD ON iTUNES: http://bit.ly/cZFbma

Between the 17 metaphors for growth, all rhyming with oooo, and the dangerously “artsy” nature of the song, writing We Grow was tricky, no doubt. It took close to five years in total and became a most intricate labor of love.

Although it was finally recorded in 2010, I decided to post this new video of the song that features the lyrics. Why? Because I’m often told that reading along with the words has helped fans to better appreciate the message and the many metaphors embedded within. Enjoy.

DOWNLOAD WE GROW
CD BABY: http://bit.ly/bDb4xo
iTunes: http://bit.ly/cZFbma

NOTE: The lyrics for We Grow can also be found on my home website under the “lyrics” tab: www.tylerstenson.com

In late 2006, two very gracious friends of mine surprised me with a plane ticket to Europe, providing me with a monumental opportunity to feel another breeze and lay beneath another sun. The trip changed my life. And, because this gift was given out of the complete kindness of their hearts, I felt mine shift and soften as their Big Hearts made mine grow.

This song is my very humble way of saying, Thank You.

Below is a video discussion of the behind-the-scenes background of Big Hearts, track #1 on my new album Another Gleam — a revealing look at the inspirations, the meanings behind the song, the songwriting process, the recording experience and much more. Enjoy.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

BIG HEARTS
by tyler stenson © 2007

Heaven knows I’d wait to feel another breeze
And to lie beneath another sun;
Deep down in your love.

Big Hearts are filling up the hemispheres.
Big Hearts are warming up the coldest years.
They’ll lie beside me forever more
Because Big Hearts make mine grow.

It’s growing everyday
And softly resting miles away.
I swear Heaven was exploding there-
It was filling up the air.

Big Hearts are filling up the hemispheres.
Big Hearts are warming up the coldest years.
They’ll lie beside me forever more
Because Big Hearts make mine grow.
Big Hearts are Full Moons and Northern Lights.
They come full circle-
They defy science.
Big Hearts are freight trains that push me along
They hold onto the tracks even when the wind is strong.
Big Hearts are factories of Godlight Beams
That just get brighter as the daylight completely recedes.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

While perched on top of Mt Pilatus in Lucerne, Switzerland, I had the opportunity to observe some of the most beautiful scenery one could ever behold. In all, there were three sources of beauty; the elegant alps in the distance and Lake Pilatus below … where the water looked like Cellophane, reflecting stars back into space and [her] eyes looked that way to me.

Below is a video discussion of the behind-the-scenes background of Cellophane, track #2 on my new album Another Gleam — a revealing look at the inspirations, the meanings behind the song, the songwriting process, the recording experience and much more. Enjoy.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

CELLOPHANE
by tyler stenson © 2007

From the tops of mountains
We collide with clouds above the sea
And down below they disappear
(But I’m not convinced they were ever there)
Cause the water looked like cellophane,
Reflecting stars back into space,
And your eyes look that way to me.

Where we are, the hills are green
And elegant as anything we’ve seen
And Pontius and Pilatus lay beneath the waves
Of their water graves and
The water looked like cellophane,
Reflecting stars back into space,
And your eyes look that way to me.

So, where we are, the hills are green
But the white in your eyes is all I see
Because it seems the world is a perfect sphere
And that all things beautiful are gathered here
And the water looked like cellophane,
Reflecting stars back into space
And your eyes look that way to me.

Ah, look there, see that gleam?
It’s the sun and your eyes the beam.
All out streams rise off your face-
All I see is all your lace.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

In 2003, my brothers and I were all independently going through our share of difficulties in this life; trying to climb an endless hill with seemingly no end in sight. With this heavy burden in my mind and in my heart, I quietly wrote a song that was never intended to be heard by anybody but them — a motivational tune in the hopes that it would spark not just one of us, but it Better Be Us All.

Below is a video discussion of the behind-the-scenes background of Better Be Us All, track #3 on my new album Another Gleam — a revealing look at the inspirations, the meanings behind the song, the songwriting process, the recording experience and much more. Enjoy.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

BETTER BE US ALL
by tyler stenson © 2007

An interesting man I know
Has the Music in his bones.
He writes the songs
But he can’t stand rock n’ roll.
His name is On His Right Hand
As he hides behind a wall
-Somebody’s gonna make it but you know it better be us all.

Older brother,
He’s the dreamer of some dreams-
He stretched out the gray and made it green.
I can see myself in him
(I’m just a little bit too small).
Somebody’s gonna make it but you know it better be us all.

Little brother,
You are not the only one-
Just don’t get burned in the Oklahoma sun.
You’re trying to get to heaven and
I’m just trying not to fall.
Somebody’s gonna make it but you know it better be us all.

I’m a music maker
Trying to make a dream
But getting there is as endless as it seems.
So, I’m gone to California
(Even if I have to crawl)
Because somebody’s gonna make it but you know it better be us all.

So, when I get to California,
I’ll be giving you a call
Because somebody’s gonna make it,
But you know it better be us all.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

Although I first heard the phrase Whistle Stop in a poetry class in 2004, it took me two years to really understand its meaning and write the song that did it justice. In the years to follow, I’ve recorded many versions but here now, in 2011, I’m proud to bring a recording to the table the stands bold and does not whisper softly the things that it wants loudly to be.

Below is a video discussion of the behind-the-scenes background of Whistle Stop, track #4 on my new album Another Gleam — a revealing look at the inspirations, the meanings behind the song, the songwriting process, the recording experience and much more. Enjoy.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

WHISTLE STOP
by tyler stenson © 2006

It’s the end of the line-
Your train rolled through the time
And now all your Graces
And your Legacies stand.
Don’t whisper softly the things
That you want loudly to be
-Be like a wave.
-Leave impressions on the sand.

Because that whistle stop is coming strong
And big machines are hard to stop.

So, I’ll leave behind use-to-be’s
And in that horizon, we’ll leave to the dirt roads
Regret and Disdain.
Every sun is going to fade
But in the morning rays
I hear a songbird singing your name.

Where it stops I can’t say
But those warm summer days
Roll by like cars on a train.
And people everywhere are looking back,
Crying on their hands
And on their knees
Because it’s the end of the line.

Your train rolled through the time
So I’ll say Goodbye to the people you know.
Don’t whisper softly the things
That you want loudly to be-
My, how your legacy glows!

That whistle stop is coming strong-
It shows no signs of slowing down for this town.
That whistle stop is coming strong
And big machines are hard to stop.

THERE ARE MANY VERSIONS OF THIS SONG:
Orange Chrome Sky (2006)
See That Gleam (2008)
Another Gleam (2011)