Anny Celsi: Discography

Tangle-Free World - Credits & Lyrics

Album Credits

The oldest song that I wrote on this album is about driving toward Los Angeles; the newest song is about driving away. In between, all the threads that connect those two road trips, so many years apart – a tangled nest of wishes, dreams, kisses and questions. If I were to pull at those threads, they might lead back through the last nine lives, from Hollywood to Burnside and beyond. Which are the memories, which are the lies? I’ll never tell. There’s nothing in writing here. Just listen.

Production Credits:

Produced and Arranged by Nelson Bragg (except as noted below)

Engineered by Steve Refling at Lincoln Lounge

Mixed by Nelson Bragg and Steve Refling

Mastered by Brad Vance

Tangle-Free World, The Night She Learned to Drive, Paper Umbrella

Produced by Phil Parlapiano and Nelson Bragg

Now You Can Hurt Me

Produced by Anny Celsi and Nelson Bragg

Recorded at Catasonic Studios, engineer: Mark Wheaton

and at Lincoln Lounge, engineer: Steve Refling

Cover Art by David Chelsea

Graphic Design by Gwen Koger

Players:

1. Tangle-Free World

Nelson Bragg Drums, Percussion, Piano

Dave Sutton Bass

Jonny DuFresne Electric Guitar

Ivan Pyzow Trumpet, Trumpet Arrangement

Phil Parlapiano Acoustic Guitar, Octomandolin

Carl Byron Organ

Robbie Rist 6 & 12-string Electric Guitars

Rick Gallego Coral Sitar

Backing Vocals Evie Sands, Adam Marsland, Teresa Cowles

Backing vocals arranged by Adam Marsland

2. Thanksgiving in Hollywood

Nelson Bragg Drums, Percussion, Acoustic & Electric Guitar, Backing Vocals

Robbie Rist 12-string Bass, Electric Guitar, 12-string Rickenbacker, Baritone Guitar

Steve Refling Electric Guitars

Carl Byron Organ

3. Own Sweet Time

Nelson Bragg 12-String Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Drums, Percussion

Probyn Gregory Bass, Trumpet, Slide Guitar

Carl Byron Piano, Wurlitzer

Amy Farris Violin, Viola, Cello

Backing Vocals Teresa Cowles, Anny Celsi

String arrangement by Paul Von Mertens

4. First Love Freezes

Nelson Bragg Drums, 12-string Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocal

Shawn Bryant Bass

Jonny DuFresne Electric & Slide Guitars

Steve Refling Electric Guitars

Carl Byron Piano

Amy Farris Violin, Viola, Cello

Rick Gallego Pedal Steel Guitar

String Arrangement by Nelson Bragg

5. The Night She Learned to Drive

Nelson Bragg Drums, Percussion, Sleighbells

Anny Celsi Acoustic Guitar

Jonny DuFresne Electric Guitar

Dave Sutton Bass

Carl Byron Piano, Organ

Ivan Pyzow Backing Vocal, Desk Bells

6. Now You Can Hurt Me

Nelson Bragg Drums, Percussion

Steve Refling Acoustic Guitar

Scott Bennett Piano, Organ

Paul Von Mertens Saxophones

Nick Walusko Electric Guitar

Dave Meshell P-Bass

Backing Vocals Evie Sands, Teresa Cowles, Anny Celsi

Horn arrangement by Paul Von Mertens

7. Some Velvet Morning

(L. Hazlewood)

Nelson Bragg Vocal, Drums, Percussion, 12-string Acoustic Guitar

Nick Walusko Electric & Baritone Guitars, Guitar Arrangements

Brett Simons Double & Arco Bass

Ivan Pyzow Trumpet, Desk Bells

Probyn Gregory French Horn, Baritone Horn

Amy Farris Cello

8. Dream Boy

Nelson Bragg Drums, Percussion, Acoustic & Electric Guitar, Piano

Shawn Bryant Bass

Jonny DuFresne Electric & Baritone Guitar

Carl Byron Organ

Backing Vocals Nelson Bragg, Anny Celsi

9. Piece of Heaven

Nelson Bragg Drums, Percussion, 12-String Acoustic Guitar, Mandolin, Bells, Stylophone, Backing Vocals

Shawn Bryant Bass

Jonny DuFresne Electric Guitars

10. Sally Go Round the Roses (featuring Evie Sands)

(Z. Sanders, L. Stevens)

Nelson Bragg Drums, Percussion

Evie Sands Electric Guitar

Teresa Cowles Bass, Electric Guitar

Carl Byron Piano, Organ

Backing Vocals Evie Sands, Teresa Cowles, Anny Celsi

11. Paper Umbrella

Nelson Bragg Drums

Dave Sutton Double & Arco Bass

Phil Parlapiano Acoustic Guitar, Vibes, Glockenspiel

Carl Byron Piano

Amy Farris Violin, Viola, Cello

String arrangement by Amy Farris & Phil Parlapiano

Writing Credits:

All songs written by Anny Celsi (Ragazza Music, BMI)

Except Own Sweet Time and First Love Freezes – lyrics by Anny Celsi, music by Nelson Bragg (Oh My God That Song is Great, ASCAP)

Some Velvet Morning written by Lee Hazlewood (Criterion Music Corporation)

Sally Go ‘Round the Roses written by Loni Stevens and Zell Sanders (Bonny View Music Corporation)

Song Lyrics

TANGLE-FREE WORLD
Music playing - Something’s burning in the air
smells like candy, his fingers in her hair
And tomorrow he’s still tangled there
But boys and girls can’t live in a tangle-free world

Girl tastes sweeter every time they kiss
Boy can’t help it, he cannot resist
It’s not like him to get tangled up like this
But boys and girls can’t live in a tangle-free world

You want to live in a tangle-free world
You want to be with a tangle-free girl
But you got tangled in her dreams
Tangled in her curls
Boys just can’t be free in this world

Now she’s falling - falling every day
He’s so sorry, it’s all that he can say
It’s not so easy to lock your heart away
But boys and girls can’t live in a tangle-free world

THANKSGIVING IN HOLLYWOOD
Thanksgiving in Hollywood
The sun beats down as we go riding
Over the river and through the woods
Across the freeways cars colliding on
And if it all burned down
I don’t even think that I would turn around

Thank god for the boulevard
A place to seal our dreams in plastic
I’d be laughing if it weren’t so hard
To look back on the light fantastic now
And say the words out loud
Do you ever wonder why we stuck around?

Just to pick away at the bones and pieces
That feast has failed me somehow
There’s plenty left for those who want it
The wild wild west and the ghosts that haunt it now

Thanksgiving in Hollywood
The knives are out on every corner
Hot wind through the neighborhood
I should have felt it years before and now
I roll the window down
And I throw every last illusion tp the ground

Thanksgiving in Hollywood
There’s plenty left for those who want it
Thanksgiving in Hollywood
The wild wild west and the ghosts that haunt it now
And if it all burned down
I don’t even think that I would turn around

FIRST LOVE FREEZES
One long midnight passing blindly
Kept us drifting, shifting slightly
Hid the cracks that grew so slowly
Til the daylight came to show me

All my sins of inattention
Far too numerous to be mentioned
Could’ve used some intervention
Here’s the news, I’ve learned my lesson

Morning breaks
The pieces scatter
First love freezes, then it shatters
First love freezes, then it shatters

Saw your shadow pass the doorway
Heard your footsteps down the driveway
Loving’s hard, and leaving’s easy
When you’re one part home and two parts highway

Morning breaks
The pieces scatter
First love freezes, then it shatters
First love freezes, then it shatters

THE NIGHT SHE LEARNED TO DRIVE
Wake up Jonah, it’s Arizona
Miles of blackness, lightning frozen
I’ve been driving, you’ve been dreaming
Drums are playing on the radio

Take this night with you -- Keep this picture in your mind
Cause this lightning can’t compare to the storm we left behind

Wake up Jonah, cause we’re leaving
Don’t wake Daddy, he’s still sleeping
Bring the dog in, it might start raining
No, you can’t take him -- I can’t feed him too

Take this night with you, cause right now it’s all I know
I can only see as far as where the headlights hit the road
Someday you’ll know why you saw your mama cry
Under Arizona skies
On the night she learned to drive

Wake up Jonah, it’s California
Sun is rising, the storm is over
Turn the radio on, check the weather
We’ll learn to read this map together now

Take this night with you, take the lightning and the drums
Cause this road ain’t near as rough as the one that’s yet to come
Someday you’ll know why you saw your mama cry
Under Arizona skies

Take this night with you -- Keep this picture in your mind
Cause this lightning can’t compare to the storm we left behind
Someday you’ll know why you saw your mama cry
Under Arizona skies
On the night she learned to drive

NOW YOU CAN HURT ME

What kind of statue would I be if this didn’t feel so good?
You in my life every day
Pulling my heart out to play
What kind of stone would say it doesn’t feel like love?

Little by little it all means a lot more than it should
Stolen kisses in the bath
Arms and legs across my path
Late nights and morning laughs – it sure feels like love

But now that the walls have come down
Guess what I’ve found
Now that the toybox is turned upside down
Now you can hurt me
Now you can hurt me
Now you can guess what I’ve found
Now you can hurt me

Once we were playing by the rules that I’ve learned so well
Act like you just don’t care
Don’t ever say it’s not fair
Baby I swear, I never meant to fall

But now we can’t go back again
Now that you’re in
Watch where you step, cause the ice on my heart is thin
Now you can hurt me
Now you can hurt me
Now you can guess what I’ve found
Now you can hurt me

OWN SWEET TIME
Long before you left me darling, I knew you were gone
Other arms were reaching for you - I could not hold on
Clinging to your kisses
Waiting for the blow
I could feel the fire burning low

Something in your suitcase, something in your eyes
Circles on your calendar I didn’t recognize
All along the river
Weeds are gonna grow
I could feel them creeping from below

But in their own sweet time
The things that we don’t want to know
In their own sweet time are gonna show

I’ve read all the books on love, but none of it applies
Once you hear the music and you see the curtain rise
Just don’t get too cozy
Standing in the glow
There’s a colder wind that’s yet to blow…

But in their own sweet time
The things that we don’t want to know
In their own sweet time are gonna show

DREAM BOY
Desperate to leave him, she told him a lie
She didn’t know what else to do
It just wasn’t working, she couldn’t say why
And nothing she said could get through

He went out drinking and he came home drunk
Looking for someone to blame
There was Jack in his system, a gun in the trunk
And she mentioned somebody’s name

Dream Boy, slipped from her heart to her tongue
A boy she knew when she was young
Dream boy, she hasn’t seen him in years
But some dreams just don’t disappear

Quarter past midnight, a man takes a walk
Leaving his shift to go home
Somebody stops him who just wants to talk
About a girl he used to know...

Are you the one that she dreams of at night?
Who does she see when she closes her eyes?
Which are the memories, and which are the lies?

Dream Boy, slipped from her heart to her tongue
A boy she knew when she was young
Dream boy, she hasn’t seen him in years
But some dreams just don’t disappear

Four in the morning a body is found
There’s always a woman to blame
Just at that moment clear across town
She wakes up calling his name

Dream Boy, slipped from her heart to her tongue
A boy she knew when she was young
Dream boy, she hasn’t seen him in years
But some dreams just don’t disappear

PIECE OF HEAVEN
Have you ever seen a little treasure that you couldn’t resist?
Riding home from work, your hand beneath your shirt, clenched tight in your fist?
Something so unique, such a little piece, it’ll never be missed
To see the light in her eyes when she looks at the skies
And she’s holding this

I only brought it home to please her
A piece of heaven in her hand
I told her keep our little secret
And if you had a daughter you would understand
If you had a daughter you would understand

I know 'bout all the things you lift, pens and paper clips too
Bank tellers know, and every CEO, nobody’s immune
But who wouldn’t want to see the look upon the face of a little girl
When daddy hands her a piece of the moon
And says, Honey it’s for you

I only brought it home to please her
A piece of heaven in her hand
I told her keep our little secret
And if you had a daughter you would understand
If you had a daughter you would understand

There’s bigger stories to be told
This one you’ll find below the fold
Did you hear what the janitor stole
Did you hear what the janitor stole

But there are shops and restaurants filled
With jewelry and hundred dollar bills
You only take what means the most
You only take what means the most
You only take what means the most to you

I only brought it home to please her
A piece of heaven in her hand
I told her keep our little secret
And if you had a daughter you would understand
If you had a daughter you would understand

PAPER UMBRELLA
There is no evidence, dear, to convict us
Nothing that’s touching your heart to mine
No solid line that could ever connect us
Nothing in writing
Nothing in writing
Nothing uniting us now

Words by design disappear as we speak them
Love, undefined, disappears just the same
Promises written, it’s harder to break them
But we’ve nothing in writing
Nothing in writing
Nothing uniting us now

Love opened wide like a paper umbrella
One heavy rain, and my shelter was gone
Nothing to hide but the kissin’ and tellin’
Nothing uniting us now

I told my tale to a train that was leaving
A tide that was ebbing, a moon on the wane
And when they return, it’s your name they’ll be breathing
But there’s nothing in writing
Nothing in writing
Nothing uniting us now

Little Black Dress - Credits & Lyrics

Album Credits

Produced by Kevin Jarvis and Anny Celsi, with additional production by Marvin Etzioni. Musicians: Anny, Kevin and Marvin, with guest appearances by Steve Barton, Joey Peters, Sheldon Gomberg, Randy Weeks, Bill Bonk, Phil Parlapiano, Robert Lloyd, Carl Byron, Kirk Swan, Danny McGough, Adam Pike, Rich Nibbe, Hank Van Sickle and Trevor Zimmerman.

Cover illustration: David Chelsea
Graphic design: Gwen Koger

Song Lyrics

‘TWAS HER HUNGER BROUGHT ME DOWN
No it ain’t the fall that kills you, it’s your meeting with the ground
Twas her beauty that bewitched me
Twas her hunger brought me down
I had money and position, silver watch to keep my time
Trusting wife and pretty children. When I met her I was fine
Twas her engine that propelled me and soon we were city bound
Twas her beauty that derailed me
Twas her hunger brought me down
I took twenty thousand dollars, where it went I can’t explain
I’d be richer had I thrown it from the window of the train
Beauty needs so much attention, hunger does not compromise
Soon the city was our prison, I fell further in her eyes
No it ain’t the fall that kills you, it’s your meeting with the ground
Twas her beauty that befell me
Twas her hunger brought me down
Carrie, come look out the window, someone’s fallen in the square
Men can look so foolish, can’t they? How do you guess he got there?
Roses waiting at the stage door, carriage waiting in the snow
Bowl of soup down at the mission but I’ve lost the heart to go
Just a quarter for the room, sir, and a nickel for the gas
Just a place to disappear, all good men must come to pass
No it ain’t the fall that kills you, it’s your meeting with the ground
If it’s beauty that compels you, then it’s hunger brings you down
Twas her hunger brought me down

LITTLE BLACK DRESS
You’re never gonna find me, I swear
You’ll never recognize me when I wear
You’re gonna see how little I care
When I wear my little black dress
You can wear the face of innocence well
I’ve been under that particular spell
But the lies that kept me going before
Now seem to be so hard to ignore
You’re never gonna find me, I swear
You’ll never recognize me when I wear
You’re gonna see how little I care
When I wear my little black dress
Oh I could make it through the evening
As long as my stockings are straight
And you’re never gonna see me leaving
But you might catch the scent of fresh paint
You’re never gonna find me, I swear
You’ll never recognize me when I
I’ve sorted out the fiction from the fact
I’ve given you my everything and now I want it back
You’re never gonna find me, I swear
You’ll never recognize me when I wear
You’re gonna see how little I care
When I wear my little black dress

SUMMER FLING
I see you walkin to me across the sand
The sun is high up above
I know the season is showing her hand
Everyone’s dreaming of love
The water’s warm and the beaches are gold
It should be all that we need
But August nights just leave me cold
Summer is over for me
It’s a bad year for a summer fling
A bad time for this kind of thing
I’d be a bad date
I’ve got nothing to bring to a summer fling
I hear your car comin down my street
And now you’re here at my door
Your kiss is soft and your promises sweet
But somewhere I’ve heard them before
It’s a bad year for a summer fling
A bad time for this kind of thing
I’d be a bad date
I’ve got nothing to bring to a summer fling
I lost my heart to that summer romance
That comes along every June
Now every day feels as long as a year
Every night fills my heart up with tears
I just pray that September comes soon
It’s a bad year for a summer fling
A bad time for this kind of thing
I’d be a bad date
I’ve got nothing to bring to a summer fling

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW
I can set my watch just by your comin and your goin
All this time I’ve never failed to leave my window open
Cause you keep on returning like a Capistrano swallow
Only to be gone again, the day after tomorrow
You call me your baby, and my wishing makes it sweet
Now I find your kisses have been flavored with deceit
But if you put some sugar on those lies you make me swallow
Maybe they’ll taste better on the day after tomorrow
Something’s gonna happen on that day
The tide will turn, wash me away
I can’t wait to wake up to a season that is new
I can’t wait to close my eyes to you
Dealer, you can cash me in, my chips are getting low
I’d rather cut my losses while I’ve got something left to show
I’d have better luck with any shark in Monte Carlo
So maybe I will see you there the day after tomorrow
Something’s gonna happen on that day
The tide will turn, wash me away
Like a shell upon your beach these waves have left me hollow
So you and I will watch love die
The day after tomorrow

IT HURTS/MY HEART/TO HEAR/YOUR VOICE
Every word of your sermon told me
You were never gonna stick around
Still I guess I shoulda listened harder
Shoulda seen it when the tent came down
Now it hurts my heart to hear your voice
So why do I listen to you?
I could never be a part of your life
I was just another plate to spin
Still I thought I found a new religion
When you opened up and let me in
Now it hurts my heart to hear your voice
So why do I listen to you?
Some sweet morning’s bringing you back to town
I’ll be standing with the true believers
My ears still ringing and my heart still glory bound
Coulda given you a love so easy
The kind of love that doesn’t do no harm
Coulda sewn you a beautiful shirt
If you had only let me measure your arm
Now it hurts my heart to hear your voice
So why do I listen to you?

ALL I’M GONNA SAY
How bout all those black-jeaned heroes of my sleepless nights
How bout the ones who dropped in, then dropped out of sight
How bout those sweet butcher boys down on Produce Row?
What else do you want to know?
How bout that Joe College party that just went all wrong
One red-haired jock too drunk, and me way too young
How bout just the first mistake of my entire career
What else do you want to hear?
How bout lucky Sailor Jim
Home on leave and high on gin
What else do you want to know about him
What else do you want to know?
It’s a nice girl keeps things under her hat
This song is all I’m gonna say
All I’m gonna say about that
How bout the ways that I’ve fallen, the wages of sin
Things that I wrote down and burned and then wrote down again
How bout the pictures I’d paint that you don’t want to see
What else do you want from me?
Don’t go looking through my purse
Don’t come in without knocking first
Whatever you think you know, it’s worse
Whatever you think you know
It’s a nice girl keeps things under her hat
This song is all I’m gonna say
All I’m gonna say about that

EMPTY HANGERS
Every girl deserves a nervous breakdown
Don’t you think that she’s got what it takes
Would you listen if she told you she was just about to fold
From holding that basket of snakes
Any clock can lose a couple seconds
No her timing’s never good enough
If you want exact amounts, someone else will have to count
Cause she can’t keep track of that stuff
Sometimes she feels like
A closet full of empty hangers
A nest of black and twisted wire
At any moment tied and tangled
She’ll come crashing to the floor
Every rookie feels a little awkward
Would you say she catches like a girl
Round her head the pitches fly, she just lets them all go by
She can’t keep up in this world
Sometimes she feels like
A closet full of empty hangers
A nest of black and twisted wire
At any moment tied and tangled
She’ll come crashing to the floor
She hides a heart as soft as motel soap
She glides through hands as rough as hangman’s rope
She slides forever further down the slope
Sometimes she feels like
A closet full of empty hangers
With all her finery on the floor
A crash of color round her ankles
She can’t wear those things no more
Every girl deserves a nervous breakdown…

CAN’T WIN EM ALL
I think I saw him first at the table by the door
And he seemed so unrehearsed – just the type that I go for
Spilled coffee on his shirt
Well that’s the way I flirt
And nobody gets hurt
Oh, where you gonna land – you can’t win ‘em all
Into his hands I plan to fall
I’ll take that chance – I’ll make that call
I understand
You can’t win ‘em all
His place was kinda sweet in a boho sort of way
Just a mattress and a sheet and martinis on a tray
And the day was kind of cold
The night was colder still
A girl can get a chill
Oh, where you gonna land – you can’t win ‘em all
Into his hands I plan to fall
I’ll take that chance – I’ll make that call
I understand
You can’t win ‘em all
But there’s something about those boys in black
They buy their ticket, then they want their money back
I shoulda seen the writing on the wall
You hear one bass solo, you’ve pretty much heard them all
And that’s all there is to say as far as he’s concerned
I spill coffee every day, sometimes I get burned
But with tips I do okay
And that’s the way I cope
A girl can always hope
Oh, where you gonna land – you can’t win ‘em all
Into his hands I plan to fall
I’ll take that chance – I’ll make that call
I understand
You can’t win ‘em all

SO MANY BAD DREAMS
Some nights make you feel like the devil’s own punching bag
Everything that you touch falls apart at the seams
Every day you wake up on the edge of a crying jag
How can one girl have so many bad dreams?
Once I felt like a queen with the whole world in front of me
Every night I sat down to strawberries and cream
But now the servants have fled and there’s rats in the scullery
How can one girl have so many bad dreams?
I woke up on the beach, I was still in my party dress
It was too late to cry, I was too tired to scream
The ship was on fire, the captain went down I guess
How can one girl have so many bad dreams?
Just when you thought you could go back to sleep
These are the days when your nights should be sweet
But you’re all tangled up in the sheets
There’s a hole in my heart where there used to be confidence
What if everyone knows that I’m not what I seem?
I can step on the stage, but I can’t fool the audience
How can one girl have so many bad dreams?
Now I’m hitchhiking west, the cars are like lightning bolts
Every truck disappears in a curtain of steam
And the highway is littered with blankets and overcoats
How can one girl have so many bad dreams?

HE’S ALWAYS LOOKING AT THE SKY
He doesn’t see the things that keep us tangled in this earth
His eyes are always on the stars, you’ve no idea what that’s worth
He’s an important man
He’s always looking at the sky
No you can’t talk to him - you’ll just distract him from his thoughts
We all want greatness in our lives, he’s all the greatness that I’ve got
He’s an important man
He’s always looking at the sky
Don’t play your music late at night, don’t park your car so close outside
Don’t leave your trashcans in his sight, don’t try to drag him out in the light
He’s an important man
He’s always looking at the sky
I come down in the morning, he hasn’t moved the whole night long
He says, "Don’t touch my papers! I had the answer, now it’s gone"
He’s an important man
Yes those rooms are dusty, I don’t go in there any more
Yes those birds are noisy, so I just shut the bedroom door…
Why’d you come here knocking? Why don’t you leave us both alone?
He’s got a purpose, so do I. I’m always looking out for him
He’s always looking at the sky

WICKED LITTLE HEART
Gonna carve a little piece inside you
You’re never gonna be the same
You could dig yourself a hole to China
And still you’re gonna hear my name
Oh, you better know what’s comin’
Oh, you better know your woman
Oh, you’re gonna learn to love these chains
My wicked little heart
Is gonna walk along with you
My wicked little heart
Is gonna keep you true
When the fear of standing still
Is greater than the fear of change
You’re gonna break every door and window
Just to feel a blast of rain
Oh, but every time you wander
Oh, I know the spell you’re under
Oh, you’re gonna learn to love these chains
My wicked little heart
Is gonna walk along with you
My wicked little heart
Is gonna keep you true
It’s gonna whisper in your ear
It’s gonna tell you what to do
My wicked little heart

SHUT OUT THE SHINE
So what if it’s morning wherever we are?
I don’t agree with the sun anymore
Call down to room service, tell them I’m sad
I want some oranges, I want em bad
Sure you’ve been traveling longer than me
Distance is something you no longer see
And maybe the sheets are the same everywhere
Or maybe they’re filtering more than the air
All last night all I could see was the moon through the blinds
And nothing I took could shut off my mind
Lately I don’t get along with the daylight I find
So cover me baby, and shut out the shine
So cover me baby, and shut out the shine
I know what’s behind the face of the moon
I know what’s behind the mirror in this room
But I don’t know where they hid the cameras this time
Come over here, darlin, and shut out the shine
Come over here, darlin, and shut out the shine
Come over here, darlin...