Five Minutes
This is the second in a series of blog entries about the songs on the upcoming album “Hello Cruel World”, to be released worldwide in early 2012.
Kansas, 2010
Most nights I come home from work and I pour a glass of wine
Sometimes it’s three or four before I stop
And Jesse makes a sandwich if I sleep through suppertime
And she leaves me on the couch to sleep it off
I know this woman. I see her in line at the grocery store, pouring coffee at a diner, stopped at a traffic light at rush hour. Part of me pities her, part of me admires her, part of me is her. There but for the grace of god. She’s caught at the crossroads where the struggle to come to terms with one’s mortality meets the urge to slip into unconsciousness. The hell with it; have another cigarette, another glass of wine, another piece of pie. Feeling the weight of her past, and watching it as it bears down on her own child.
But she’s a heroine, not a victim. It takes more guts to survive than to give up. To admit your mistakes, to acknowledge the hard truths and keep going. To persevere, to endure.
Somehow I’ve let myself go gently down the stream
A fine example I have set
Between the working and the livin’
and the ghosts that haunt my dreams
I’ve got five minutes, and I’m gonna smoke this cigarette
To view a clip from the recording of “Five Minutes”: Five Minutes string session with Chris Carmichael and David Henry
“Five Minutes” by Gretchen Peters
© 2010 Circus Girl Music (ASCAP)
from the upcoming album Hello Cruel World
photo by Gretchen Peters (all rights reserved)
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February 23rd
24th International Folk Alliance Conference
Memphis, TN, USAFebruary 24th
24th International Folk Alliance Conference
Memphis, TN, USATime: 12:00PM
Address: 250 North Main Street
City: Memphis
State: TN
Country: USA
More Info:
1:30pm (Nashville room)
Panel: I Write the Songs
With Michael Martin Murphy, Jonathan Edwards, Dan Navarro, Melanie, Gretchen Peters; hosted by Erika Wollam Nichols7:00PM (Heritage 1)
Official Showcase10:30PM (Room 1725)
Swallow Hill Presents
With Malcolm Holcombe11:30PM (Room 1929)
The Alberta RoomMarch 1st
The Sage
Gateshead, UKTime: 8:00PM
Address: St Mary's Sq, Gateshead Quays
City: Gateshead
Country: UK
Phone: 0191 443 4661
Price: £14.50 & £16.50
More Info:
With support by Lynne Hanson.
March 2nd
The Arc
Stockton on Tees, UKTime: 8:00PM
Address: Dovecot Street
City: Stockton on Tees
Country: UK
Phone: 01642 525199
Price: £15.00
More Info:
With support by Lynne Hanson.
March 3rd
The Met
Bury, UKTime: 8:00PM
Address: Market Street
City: Bury
Country: UK
Phone: 0161 761 2216
Price: £17.00
March 4th
The Arches
Glasgow, UKTime: 7:00PM
Address: 253 Argyle Street
City: Glasgow
Country: UK
Phone: 0141 565 1000
Price: £16.00
More Info:
With support by Lynne Hanson.
March 5th
Buxton Opera House
Buxton, UKTime: 8:00PM
Address: Water Street
City: Buxton
Country: UK
Phone: 0845 127 2190
Price: £15.00 & £17.00
More Info:
With support by Lynne Hanson.
March 7th
Robin 2
Bilston, UK