This song is the title track for the CD and was inspired by the field across the road from our house in Appleton, Maine. It addresses the duality of being equally engaged by the untamed Maine landscape and the energy of urban streetlife. Ultimately, the song identifies our need for quiet places and a hope that some spaces will be left untouched in our human quest for modernity.
piano and vocals by Ellen Tipper acoustic bass by Ezra Rugg
mixed and mastered by Paul Story
In late soft light
this ordinary hill
fools my eyes
for it rolls yet stays still
then bursts into gold racing a shadow
It yields hay, but lies fallow
It makes the world feel less shallow
Please don’t build on Flanagan’s Field
I traveled so far today
New York City, many miles away
Endless entertainment there
Italian suits and buskers in Times Square
But our souls still search for unspoiled spaces
You can see it in the creases of our faces
We all could use more quiet places
Please don’t build on Flanagan’s Field
The modern world, shiny like a silver cup
Lures me in and swallows me up
How I love the colors of the city streets
But they don’t blush like flowers in a field
In the first morning light
I look out on this hill
It feels just right
But I’m off for another urban thrill
As I dance in and out of these two scenes
One electric, one serene
I know where I make my peace
