Through The Night

“Through The Night”
Secret Sun Recordings / Downtown Music

It could be said that Jesse Harris’ album Through The Night – his ninth full-length release – harkens back in spirit and tone to one of his earlier albums, 2001’s Crooked Lines, a home-recorded effort made before the hoopla of mainstream attention and a 2003 major label debut on Verve / Universal. Through The Night, however, is anything but a home recording; co-produced, recorded and mixed in 14 straight days by the legendary Terry Manning at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, The Bahamas, it features a quartet of Bill Dobrow (Martha Wainwright, Sean Lennon) on drums, Mauro Refosco (Atoms For Peace, David Byrne, Forro In The Dark) on percussion, Guilherme Monteiro (Bebel Gilberto, Forro In The Dark) on bass, and Jesse Harris on electric and acoustic guitar and, for the first time, piano, wurlitzer and Hammond B3 organ.

Through The Night is not an accidental title: “The songs depict dreams, romance, and mystery against the backdrop of moon, stars, and sometimes chaos,” Harris says. “I wanted to explore the theme of night in different scenarios, from peaceful Rousseau-esque fantasies to sleepless nights of obsession.”

From the opening rock number “Put It Out Of Your Mind” to the Caetano Veloso-influenced “Pixote” to the folkish “Gone Without A Sound,” the 14 tracks on Through The Night compel the listener across a wide range of musical styles while maintaining a thematic cohesion of sound and text.

Produced by Jesse Harris and Terry Manning
Recorded and mixed by Terry Manning
At Compass Point Studios, The Bahamas
Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, NYC

Jesse Harris – vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, B3 Organ (2,5,7,13), Wurlitzer (1,2,5,9,11,13,16), piano (1,5,8,10,15)
Bill Dobrow – drums, marimba (2), conga (16)
Guilherme Monteiro – electric bass, electric guitar (3,4,16), acoustic guitar (8,11,12)
Mauro Refosco – percussion, B3 Organ (3,9,14), Wurlitzer (6,13), marimba (16)

with:
Christian Justiliene – mellophone, tuba, valve trombone
Jawara Adams – trumpet and flugelhorn
Tino Richardson – tenor saxophone
Terry Manning – background vocals
Hannah Cohen – background vocals

All horns arranged by Terry Manning
Except Through The Night – arranged by Christian Justiliene, Terry Manning, and Jesse Harris

1. Put It Out Of Your Mind

There’s a love that I remember
Died just like a burning ember
In a fire with logs all broken
Had you had your eyes wide open

None of this would seem unkind
Don’t you think about it
Put it out of your mind

None of this was on the line
Don’t you think about it
Put it out of your mind

There’s no time anymore
Like there was before

Did you think I’d beg forever?
All you ever said was never
Now your voice is filled with sorrow
Saying can I see you tomorrow

None of this was your design
Don’t you think about it
Put it out of your mind
Put it our of your mind

2. Till You Drop

Keep it coming
Don’t you stop
Keep on running
Till you drop

Don’t you eat
Or even sleep
Cause you know
That you won’t keep up

And you can’t quit
You’ll blow it
So don’t sit still

Once you had a memory
Of a place you used to be
But it seemed so far away
And you could not make it stay long

And you can’t quit
You’ll blow it
So don’t sit still
And you can’t quit
You’ll blow it
So don’t sit still

3. Pixote

On a rock by the sea
You were there
I can see you

In the sun on the street
You were tired
I can feel you

Long way you’d come
Long day with no home
Oh oh

In the rays of the moon
I awake in a room
Somewhere unknown
Long night far from home
Oh oh

Hard times you’d known
Short time to go
Oh oh

4. Through The Night

Time and again you’re winning me over
I try to pretend I’m waiting to see
Where will it really lead?
Where will it really lead?

Tell me your dream I promise to listen
I can’t really say I know what it means
Where will it really lead?
Where will it really lead?

Now that it’s gone somewhere
To wander on
To wander on
To wander on through the night

So many times I’ve wanted to know you
To follow the river into the sea
Where will it really lead?
Where will it really lead?

5. It’s A Long Way Just To Say Hello

Down down sleep now
Can’t you dream now?
Hear the wind blow
Outside your window

It’s so late now
It’s up to fate now
It’s a long way just to say hello

Your mind moves so fast
The day comes at last so slow
Your mind moves so fast
The day comes at last so slow

It goes like a spirit
You couldn’t hear it
Whisper your name
Now it’s all the same

6. What Am I Doing Out Here

What am I doing out here?
I wish that I had known
That when I crossed the ocean
I’d never feel so all alone

But everybody told me
That with each passing day
I’d leave my cares behind me
I’d never feel so far away

I used to think that time moved straight
I used to say I couldn’t wait for changes

Outside I watch the people
Lost in a lonely song
They seem to walk forever
I never felt a day so long
I never felt a day so long

7. All That Happened

All that happened yesterday
Happened cause it had to happen then
And there’s no way to change that now
And no way to go back there again

Old mistakes already made
Are all unfixable
So let ’em go now
Let ’em go
In time they won’t show

How you woke up from the dream
And found yourself with no one at your side
The dream had seemed as real as life
Between the two you never could decide

And all the games already played
They’re all unchangeable
So let ’em go now
Let ’em go
In time they won’t show

You’re just a kid you know
There’s a place where you’re free
If you want it’s there
Nobody else can know
And nobody would see
Unless you show you care

And all that happened yesterday
It’s all unreachable
So let it go now
Let it go
In time in won’t show
It won’t show

8. Gone Without A Sound

Is there nothing we can say?
We won’t always feel this way

So keep on trying till the end
Till we crash on down
Till we fly around the bend
Gone without a sound

Whisper something in the night
Close your arms around me tight

And keep on trying till the end
Till we crash on down
Till we fly around the bend
Gone without a sound

Through the silence
In the dark
I see a spark

So keep on trying till the end
Till we crash on down
Till we fly around the bend
Gone without a sound

9. Trees In A Fence

It’s only rain I heard you say
And then you turned and walked away

I don’t belong
I don’t belong

Is there a way to grow back down
And start all over from the ground?

I don’t belong
I don’t belong here
I don’t belong
I don’t belong

Let’s go to sleep
I’m tired of talking
Can’t you see
I’m tired of talking
About it now
About it now

The time had lost its innocence
Likes trees that grow up through a fence

They don’t belong
They don’t belong
They don’t belong there

10. Dream Of The Past

I held on so tight
To my dream all through the night
And in time I let go
It was a change that came so slow

And then was I free?

In the dream of the past
It always seemed that we moved fast
And the line it was drawn
Stay behind or carry on

And then where were we?
Somewhere lost at sea

You could say I was wrong
To believe it for so long
But wouldn’t you have done the same
Or turned around and changed your name?

Then where would you be?
Somewhere lost at sea

11. All Day All Night

Are you up there spinning ’round?
I can’t see you in the light
All day

Later when the heat comes down
We’ll be walking side by side
You’ll stay all night

Nights when you’re gone
It’s so hard to find my way
Cause there’s no trace
Of your sweet face

Take me to the mystic ground
I’ll be flowing with the tide
All day all night
All day all night

12. Way To Be

If you can let me know
Tell me where did you go
You were the only one to see

I was spread out everywhere
Like a vapor in the air
Where no one could follow me

Were you ever happy here?
I know you never seemed
But you said if you dare
Do your best not to care
It’s the only way to be

Were you ever happy here?
I know you never seemed
But you said if you dare
Do your best not to care
It’s the only way to be
It’s the only way to be

13. Tough As Water

It was tough as water and cold as rain
The only place you’d ever been
And the way you stopped is the way you started
The way we met is the way we parted

So reckless and free
That love could slip into the sea
The sea

And when you laugh it isn’t laughter
I felt it then and I knew it after

So careful and proud
But love could turn you inside out
Out

And I was open then to where you’d lead
For you to show me how was all I’d need
But your silence answered me

So reckless and free
That love could slip into the sea
The sea
The sea
The sea

14. Making Up For Lost Time
Good days
I thought they were all days
I never thought they’d go away
Until they stopped on a dime
And now I’m making up for lost time

One move turned out was the wrong move
I never got the chance to love
Somebody said it’s a crime
And now I’m making up for lost time

Good night
You say it’s a good night
Because the moon is shining bright
You look up and say it’s sublime
And I’m just making up for lost time
I’m just making up for lost time

15. Happy

You’re so very kind
To show me what’s in your mind
In your mind

One word and a smile
Only hurts a little while
A little while

But you’re happy for me
Cause I am really happy
Really

I didn’t know what you’d say
But I knew what you’d do
I didn’t know what you’d think
But I knew you would come through
Come through come through

And now why must you go?
Just as I was getting to know you
Getting to know

That you’re happy for me
Cause I am really happy
Really