Includes liner notes and a booklet insert with text of all the poems. Front cover artwork by Noble Chute, overall design by Dana Dwinell-Yardley. Back cover is a montage of showy ladyslipper orchids in a fen, Berta the Steinway Model B piano, and Aaron and Sam.
Includes unlimited streaming of Garden Dreams
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
ships out within 10 days
$15.50USDor more
Streaming + Download
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Unicorn Pants is dedicated to Rebecca Speisman and family. Who doesn't want a pair?
lyrics
Ya know,
This northern job is the pits!
Down south
they give me thee months
In the midwest it’s at least two.
I can do the job in some kinda order.
First the bluets,
Then the forsythia,
Then tulips,
I can bring in the subcontractors
Like, one at a time,
Get the peeper guys in,
Then drain the vernal pools,
Get everyone out sunning on the rocks,
Then bring in the mosquitoes.
Have a little greenery up
before the birds come in,
Bring ‘em in gradual like,
So they aren’t fighting over
building materials, grabbing
each other’s
orders, ripping worms in half.
I can take a little lunch break,
Sit back while the sun does a little work,
Ruffle some nice lake,
Breathe a little.
Up here, up north,
Winter just won’t let me start work
He drags his damned feet,
freezes the permitting
Puts up big, dirty snow banks
Creates one ice jam after another, ’til I have a month,
A MONTH!
To do the whole job!
Sub contractors stepping on each other’s toes,
Getting peepers in with the black flies,
Turtles getting run over,
Birds fighting over the first shipment of twigs
Lilacs, daffodils,
Apple blossoms all at once
And no time for peaches
Or even wisteria
Unless I get that new
experimental stuff
Not the same at all.
And summer saying
“C’mon! C’mon! Only
ninety days ’til frost!
Get a move on!”
And now some bozo is paging me
Says the sugaring season’s too short
If winter had just moved his butt!
Oh and if you had believed
The global warming memo.
Hello!
And there’s some woman on the line
wondering if I forgot the fiddleheads
“No! I didn’t forget the Fricken’ Fiddleheads
Some commercial picker got ‘em all
in that spot last year.
Check somewhere else.
Just a minute.
You want what?!
More lady’s slippers?
You don’t care that they’re endangered,
hard to find, on back order?
Alright
That does it!
I’m done
D.O.N.E.
DONE!
credits
from Garden Dreams,
released November 14, 2021
Poetry by Susan Reid
Aaron Marcus: Piano, original music
Sam Sanders: Spoken Word
Aaron (they/them) is an extraordinary pianist, concertinist, tune-writer and practitioner of traditional community dance
styles. They tour across the US with "Frost & Fire," "Giant Robot Dance," & "The Turning Stile." Aaron believes in the deep emotive healing power of music. Their infectious exuberance, Earth grounding, and subtle lyricism all connect with the strong rhythms of the dance floor....more
If you want to hear more piano accompaniment, I'm excited to recommend Joanne Garton's 2020 solo fiddle album, "The Bee's Knees" as well--featuring my piano, Berta. Aaron Marcus
supported by 4 fans who also own “Take this Job! / Unicorn Pants”
This is an album filled with amazing music but it’s hard to top a track with a rocking moneymusk followed by...a hidden track(!!!) with one of my favorite tunes, Tom Kruskal’s, played by the ones who wrote it! Jack Mitchell