Letters from Gilead
The Haze & Dacey Collective are:
Kirsten Hazler - vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, synth
John Dacey - upright bass, electric bass, vocals
Blee Child - drums, vocals
Leslie Williams - electric guitar, vocals
Doug Austin - mandolin
Allen Burris - saxophone
Jolie Harrison - vocals
Megan Rollins - vocals
Doug Hewitt - vocals
All songs written by Kirsten Hazler (ASCAP)
Vocal arrangements by Kirsten Hazler and John Dacey
Instrumental arrangements by The Haze & Dacey Collective
All recording, mixing, and magic by John Morand at Sound of Music Studio except:
- Doug Hewitt's vocal track for "Oh Canada" recorded by Dano Deckelman at Sound of Music Studio
- Megan's vocal track for "Oh Canada" recorded by Doug Hewitt at Motif Music Recording Studio
- Vocal/piano tracks for "Hannah" and piano/synth/John's vocal tracks for "Oh Canada" recorded by Kirsten Hazler at The Nest
- Mandolin tracks recorded by Doug Austin at Gravity Tractor Studio
Mastering by Brent Lambert at The Kitchen Mastering Studio
Album art by Mary Chiaramonte (www.merrysee.com)
Artwork used by permission; all rights reserved by the artist
This album was inspired by the television series The Handmaid's Tale, created by Bruce Miller, and by the 1985 novel of the same name written by Margaret Atwood, upon which the series was based.
Produced by Kirsten Hazler/HazyShade Productions
© ℗ 2021. All rights reserved.
My Name is June
Instrumentation
Vocals and acoustic guitar: Kirsten
Electric bass: John
Electric guitar: Leslie
Drums: Blee
Backing vocals: Jolie and John
Lyrics
I am a mother and a daughter, a lover and a friend
The world that I once knew is gone, impossible to comprehend
Once I had a gentle man and he loved me to the moon
They call me by another name but still, my name is June.
Now I keep my head down, I don't look them in the eye
Every dress I own is red and the driver is a spy
Once I had a mother, a fighter through and through
They call me by another name, but the name she gave to me is June.
It's June. And all I have left is my name.
How can you do this? How can you let this be?
How can you do this? You're a woman just like me.
My name is June. And all I have left is my name.
You asked me if I'm happy. I told you what they made me say.
The truth is: Death is preferable to what I'm living through today
Once I had a little girl that I carried in my womb
They call me by another name, but now you know my name is June.
It's June. And all I have left is my name.
How can you do this? How can you let this be?
I'm a woman, I am human, I'm not a commodity.
How can you do this? How can you let this be?
How can you do this? You're a woman just like me...
...a mother and a daughter, a lover and a friend
The world I knew is upside down, impossible to comprehend
My daughter is out there somewhere and I pray to see her soon
She's the only reason I stay alive.
How can you do this? How can you let this be?
I am a woman I am not a commodity
How can you do this? How can you let this be?
How can you do this? You're a woman just like me
My name is June. And all I have left is my name.
Blue
Instrumentation
Vocals and acoustic guitar: Kirsten
Upright bass: John
Mandolin: Doug A.
Electric guitar: Leslie
Drums: Blee
Backing vocals: Jolie, John, and Kirsten
Lyrics
Blue, blue. I focus on the blue
I float far away to survive another day
I focus on the blue
Blue like a summer sky
Blue like the wings of a damselfly
Stray cornflower in a field of rye
And blue like the sea
I keep my eyes focused on the ceiling, go blue to avoid all feeling
I fly to another place
to get through the ceremony, this monthly rite of matrimony
And if I pray and if I believe, I will conceive and I'll have a baby
So I focus on the blue. I focus on the blue
I float far away to survive another day
I focus on the blue
Blue violets in spring
The box that held my wedding ring
Indigo of a bunting's wing
and blue like the sea
I keep my eyes focused on the ceiling, go blue to avoid all feeling
I fly to another place
to get through the ceremony, this monthly rite of matrimony
And if we pray and if we believe, I will conceive and they'll take my baby
So I focus on the blue. I focus on the blue
I float far away to survive another day
I focus on the blue
Sunlight through blue bottle glass
Forget-me-nots and blue-eyed grass
The patterned hem of my daughter's dress
And blue like the sea
I keep my eyes focused on the ceiling, go blue to avoid all feeling
I fly to a better place
to get through the rape and plunder that tears my body and my soul asunder
And if I pray and if I believe, I'll be redeemed and Blue will save me
So I focus on the blue, wild innocent blue.
I drown in blue, blue like the sea
Closet Scrawl
Instrumentation
Vocals and piano: Kirsten
Electric bass: John
Electric guitar: Leslie
Drums: Blee
Backing vocals: Jolie
Lyrics
I was lying on the closet floor with my face toward the wall
Contemplating how to end it, when I noticed the scrawl
Someone had been here before
Someone had gotten a knife and etched letters in the wall
I traced them with my fingers but I didn't understand at all
It said "Nolite te bastardes carborundorum."
Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.
It seemed like a message from the other side
It seemed like a sign that I should stay alive
It made me want to live for another day
If only to find out what she was trying to say
When she wrote, "Nolite te bastardes carborundorum."
Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.
Later I found out what the message said
And I also found out that they found her dead
They found her hanging from a ceiling fan
She couldn't take it any more. Not one more single day.
But before she left she had one last thing to say:
"Don't let the bastards grind you down."
Don't let the bastards grind you down!
It seemed like a message from the other side
It seemed like a sign that I should stay alive
It made me want to live for another day
If only to live out what she was trying to say
She left me a message from the other side
Saying, "Hang on girl, you gotta stay alive.
You've still got a lot of living to do.
Don't let what happened to me, happen to you. No!
Don't let the bastards grind you down!
Don't let the bastards grind you down!
Don't let the bastards grind you down!
Don't let those bastards grind you down."
Jezebel's
Instrumentation
Vocals and piano: Kirsten
Upright bass: John
Drums: Blee
Electric guitar: Leslie
Backing vocals: John, Jolie, and Megan
Lyrics
There's a lawyer and an architect, a banker and a teacher
A painter and a riveter, a scientist and a preacher
We come from every walk of life. We had our own ambitions
But now we have to shed our pride along with any inhibitions
At Jezebel's (at Jezebel's)
We cater to their every whim
At Jezebels (at Jezebel's)
We've tasted every flavor of sin
At Jezebel's (at Jezebel's) at Jezebel's
Life ain't easy in this speakeasy
Still it's better than a handmaid always talking about the weather
There's plenty of liquor at the bar to make the creeps look better
There's plenty of fancy dresses to wear and plenty of pills to swallow
Plenty of ways to help you pretend that your life's not completely hollow
At Jezebel's (at Jezebel's)
you cater to their every whim
At Jezebel's (at Jezebel's)
We've tasted every flavor of sin
At Jezebel's (at Jezebel's) at Jezebel's
We're keeping it sleazy in this speakeasy
Sometimes when the guy's not so hard on the eyes
You can pretend that you had a choice (here at Jezebel's)
And when he gives you a ring or asks you to sing
You can pretend that you have a voice (here at Jezebel's)
But don't think too much 'cause it'll fuck you up
You're never getting out alive (you're stuck at Jezebel's)
So pop all the pills and drink all you can take
'Cause it's the only escape, it's the only escape
When you're a Jezebel at Jezebel's (at Jezebel's)
You cater to their every whim
At Jezebel's (at Jezebel's)
You cater to their every whim
At Jezebel's (at Jezebel's), at Jezebel's
We're keeping it sleazy (in this speakeasy)
Keeping it sleazy (in this speakeasy)
Keeping it sleazy in this speakeasy
