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Nothing As It Was

by Magnolia Mountain

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    10-song CD in jewel case with 12-page booklet insert featuring black-and-white photography by Michael Wilson.

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    12" Vinyl LP with picture sleeve, features black-and-white photography by Michael Wilson.

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1.
Nora Mae 04:18
NORA MAE (Mark Utley - Sleep Cat Music, BMI) Oh, Nora Mae, my southern sunshine Come away, under the cover of the night I've been away for such a long, long time Can you say that you are still my girl Nora Mae? Oh, Nora Mae, it's been a lifetime But every day, you are the first thing on my mind I hear your voice, lyrical Dixieland melody Sweet as a southern breeze Sweet as home In my dark time, you were my light To keep me hangin' on To show me there's still some way To get home Tell me it was not in vain Tell me you were true Tell me you still love me Nora Mae Oh, Nora Mae, please no more crying 'Cause today, I'm comin' home, I've done my time A southern girl can change a man's whole life with a smile Tell me you're still my girl Nora Mae In my dark time, you were my light To keep me hangin' on To show me there's still some way To get back home Tell me it was not in vain Tell me you were true Tell me you still love me Nora Mae
2.
A LITTLE SOUTH OF BIRMINGHAM (Mark Utley - Sleep Cat Music, BMI) From just a little south of Birmingham My baby called me on the phone She said she maybe missed me now and then And maybe I should come back home 460 miles to Birmingham From Cincinnati, Ohio Kentucky, Tennessee, then Alabam' Back to the sweetest place I know I did something that I should not have done Something that she could not forgive And when my key would not unlock our door That's when I headed north to live But that big city ain't no place for me I can barely breathe the air The only grass is growing through the cracks In all the concrete everywhere So every night, I just come home from work Stare out the window through the bars And then I think about the love I lost And wish that I could see the stars I'm just a little south of Birmingham And there's my baby at her door I know I'll never break her heart again I'll never leave here any more I'm just a little south of Birmingham I'm just a little south of Birmingham
3.
Irish Maggie 03:21
IRISH MAGGIE (Mark Utley - Sleep Cat Music, BMI) I loved a girl from California I loved a girl from Tennessee But since I met my Irish Maggie She is the only girl for me Oh, have you seen my Margaret Mary? With hair of red and eyes so blue Deep in my heart, her love I'll carry Forever there, forever true Someday I'll go back home to Ireland And there I'll stay, no more to roam And I'll grow old with Margaret Mary And bid this world leave us alone
4.
BEAUTIFUL MIRAGE (Mark Utley - Sleep Cat Music, BMI) My long lost friend So good to see you smiling back at me After all this time So many years have come and gone And everything's all right but everything is wrong I had to see you out tonight Under the stars and the bright lights A city full of ghosts and you I miss the most So there we were and here we are Everything the same and nothing as it was And I don’t know how I should feel ‘Cause here you are with me But none of this is real You are so beautiful to me I look at you, all I can see is all that I have lost A beautiful mirage So tell me lies but please don’t go ‘Cause darling you don’t know the longing in my heart We’ll make believe and then I’ll go Back to gray and cold Back to what I know I should not be with you this way Your kisses carry me away To somewhere I had lost A beautiful mirage
5.
MURDER ON MY SOUL (Mark Utley - Sleep Cat Music, BMI) Mother, oh, my mother Look upon your son Look what I've become Heavy is my conscience Blood is on my hands Murder on my soul Men are coming for me Come to take me back To where I will not go I may die this evening If they track me down But I'll not die alone Tell my wife I love her Ask my little ones Please to pray for me Tell them I am sorry For the things I done For leaving them alone Mother, oh, my mother Look upon your son Look what I've become
6.
Autumn Rose 04:28
AUTUMN ROSE (Mark Utley - Sleep Cat Music, BMI) Hey, mister, tell me, do you know? Oh, have you seen my Autumn Rose? I need to find out where she's gone I know she came on into town Out honky-tonkin' with her good time friends Ain't no friends of mine I need to bring my baby home Can't take another morning Wakin' up all alone Oh, have you seen my Autumn Rose? Bartender, whiskey, if you please Something to put my mind at ease Something to calm my troubled soul I got my own sad tale to tell About the way a love can fade away Slip right through your hands If only I could turn back time Back to the days when she was Happy to be all mine Come back to me, my Autumn Rose So, if you've seen her, tell me so Even if I don't wanna know Don't wanna hear the tale you tell For we once had a happy home But now she's always where the music's loud And the lights are low I need to bring my baby home Can't take another morning Wakin' up all alone Oh, have you seen my Autumn? Come back to me, my Autumn Oh, have you seen my Autumn Rose?
7.
LITTLE WILDFLOWER (Mark Utley - Sleep Cat Music, BMI) Come out, come out, my little wildflower Come out, come out, my darlin' and play Come out, come out, and don't mind the hour I'll have you home by the light of the day Little wildflower, come to the window I'm throwin' pebbles in the pale moonlight We could take a walk and waste a couple hours Steal a kiss if you say it's all right Won't you come along on down by the river Love to see your face in the campfire glow Drink a little wine and make a little music Under the stars 'til it's time to go home Oh, how I love you, little wildflower Nobody like you in the whole wide world I'm always wonderin' when I'm gonna see you And how'd I find such a wonderful girl
8.
OUT OF MY MIND (Mark Utley - Sleep Cat Music, BMI) I try so hard to forget you So hard just to get through But it's just a matter of time 'Til the night falls around me And memories surround me Because I can't get you out of my mind I used to know just who I was My life had a purpose But now, who I am is who I'm not I'm not the man that you wanted So my heart is haunted And I can't get you out of my mind And I cried about you Then went on without you I took it one day at a time But time brings no healing Just that same old feeling And I can't get you out of my mind Now I've got nothin' to cling to No one to sing to And time, time ain't no friend of mine But I've got whiskey and sorrow The same time tomorrow Because I can't get you out of my mind And I cried about you Then went on without you I gave it both distance and time But time brings no healing Just that same old feeling And I can't get you out of my mind
9.
Annelise 05:40
ANNELISE (Mark Utley - Sleep Cat Music) Annelise Baby, won't you go back home Annelise Baby, leave my heart alone Annelise, you're the cool, cool water And I'm lyin' on the desert sand Annelise, you're the devil's daughter And I've never been a prayin' man All I see is your dark hair fallin' All I taste is your sweat and skin All I hear is your sweet voice callin' All I know is here we go again I know you know how bad I want you I know you know how weak I am Annelise, you're the moon at midnight And I'm knockin' on your door again
10.
River City 05:44
RIVER CITY (Mark Utley - Sleep Cat Music, BMI) I'm goin' down to the river city Lord, I got a restless mind Drinks are cheap and the girls are pretty Gonna see what I can find I was born in the river city But I left when I was grown Hit the road but I never really Found a place that felt like home I'm gonna lay my money down I'm gonna lay my money down Out there on the water On the Ohio Thinkin' 'bout my father Wishin' I could still go home I'm goin' down to the river city Gonna catch the southbound train Walk the streets that I used to wander See if anything's the same There's a girl in the river city Layin' easy on my mind A sunny smile every time I see her Lord, it makes me feel so fine I'm gonna lay that woman down I'm gonna lay that woman down Meet me by the water Where we used to go Mother Nature's daughter You don't have to be alone I'm goin' down to the river city

about

This is American Music release.

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released February 21, 2009

"Though known for a wide-range of musical styles, Greater Cincinnati has always had an especially strong Americana/ Roots music scene, as evidenced each year by the stacked lineup at the annual Rivertown Breakdown showcase. With the release of "Nothing As It Was", Mark Utley and his band Magnolia Mountain should instantly jump to the top of any list of Cincinnati’s best Roots practitioners.

"Nothing As It Was" is soulful, haunting and pure, taking the best of Country, Folk and Bluegrass and refracting it through a modern prism. It rings incredibly authentic and timeless, an album that could have come out 40, 30 or 20 years ago but is too lively and crafty to stand as some sort of retro-music museum piece.

The “Roots” being spread around on "Nothing" are widereaching — “Irish Maggie” strides and jigs like a vintage Celtic Folk song, while the highlight, “Out of My Mind,” has the sad, earnest feel of a great George Jones love lament.

Most startling and appealing is when Utley and Co. create something that transcends any genre. “Murder on My Soul,” while perhaps designed with “murder ballad” intent, is a hovering, spooky slice of ethereal soul-searching that recalls the ghostly Indie Folk of artists like Midlake and Fleet Foxes.

"Nothing As It Was" announces Mark Utley as one of the finest songwriters in the area. He and the amazing band he’s assembled have a knack for crafting something that is both traditional and refreshing. Fans of Roots music old and new will find Magnolia Mountain’s latest one of the more enchanting albums they’ll hear all year."

- Mike Breen, CityBeat

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Mark Utley Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati-based singer/songwriter Mark Utley is the driving force behind the acclaimed roots-rock/Americana band Magnolia Mountain, the honky-tonk Country outfit Bulletville, and the two "Music for the Mountains" fundraising concerts and compilation albums. ... more

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