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1.
I Never Give Up (Jim Patton) I never give up I’m just a stubborn fool Oh, I get down sometimes Just the same as you I’ve believed in dreams That would not come true And I’ve lost some friends I didn’t mean to lose But I never give up Not me Sometimes I get so angry Sometimes I get confused Sometimes I get so worried I don’t know what to do But I never give up Won’t let my spirits fall I will rise above I will stand up tall Some people try to drag you down And bring you to your knees Sometimes a ray of hope Is all the light you need It’s been a long hard road But I’m not nearly through I’m gonna live my life Like I set out to do Cause I never give up I always get back up I never give up Don’t you © words and music by Jim Patton (Independent Alligator Publishing Co) (ASCAP)
2.
Thornton Ave 02:54
Thornton Ave (Jim Patton) I took a walk down Venice Beach Through our old neighborhood I wondered if you live there still Or if you’ve vanished now, for good You blazed a trail I followed once When I was just a youth When you lived down On Thornton Ave I’d hitchhiked from Seattle Just ‘cause I was on the coast Isadora’s Towers Are what I remember most Sun going down into the waves From a penthouse view When you lived down On Thornton Ave Endless conversation Ideas burned so bright Anything was possible If you learned to do it right You sold a painting to Beau Bridges Your dreams were coming true When you lived down On Thornton Ave Life was still a carnival You liked the scary rides Even in a hurricane You liked to stand outside You swore allegiance to a way of life In search of truth When you lived down On Thornton Ave The last time that I saw you There was madness in your eyes The last time that I saw you You wouldn’t say goodbye You’d had too much to drink You couldn’t see my point of view So I moved out Of Thornton Ave Endless conversation Ideas burned so bright Anything was possible If you stepped into the light You almost made it to the sun Look how close you flew! When you lived down On Thornton Ave © words and music by Jim Patton (Independent Alligator Publishing Co) (ASCAP)
3.
End Of A Dream (Jim Patton) The world that you’ve lived in Used to be blessed You thought you were special Above all the rest But you came crashing down Like a pyramid scheme And it looks like you’ve come to The end of a dream You don’t know what went wrong You’re not sure what to do You never thought This could happen to you You were the best of the best The cream of the cream But it looks like you’ve come to The end of a dream At the end of a dream At the end of a dream Your friends try to tell you It’s not as bad as it seems But the world is coming Apart at the seam And it looks like you’ve come to The end of a dream © words and music by Jim Patton (Independent Alligator Publishing Co) (ASCAP)
4.
Old County Road (Jim Patton) I’m going down Old County Road Soon as I cash my paycheck There’s gonna be a party tonight Down Old County Road Nick’s gonna bring a jug of wine Jim Brady’s bringing candy We’re gonna have a real good time Down Old County Road There’s gonna be a keg of beer And chili on the stove And somebody’s gonna fall in love tonight Down Old County Road They’re gonna have a real good band They sound like the Rolling Stones They’re gonna sing some songs they wrote About Old County Road I’m gonna stay up all night long Make some memories Nobody’s gonna get to sleep tonight Down Old County Road I’m going down Old County Road Soon as I cash my paycheck There’s gonna be a party tonight Down Old County Road © words and music by Jim Patton (Independent Alligator Publishing Co) (ASCAP)
5.
She’s So Disappointed (Jim Patton) She’s so disappointed In the story of her life Her fairytale is over She still feels like a sailor’s wife Even when her man was home He might as well have been at sea Now she’s so disappointed And he’s still running free She’s so disappointed In just about everyone She was her daddy’s Princess She was his special One But up until the day he died He saw her as sixteen Now she’s so disappointed Sometimes it makes her mean Nobody gives her credit Or takes her seriously Nobody knows how hard it is That especially goes for me She’s so disappointed Some days she can’t get out of bed She’s so disappointed She’s been so easily misled She has affairs with married men, Old high school boyfriends Now she’s so disappointed Cause they haven’t changed since then She’s so disappointed In how blind men can be She’s so disappointed Especially with me © words and music by Jim Patton (Independent Alligator Publishing Co) (ASCAP)
6.
Finally Let You Go (Jim Patton) Well, I finally let you go I just wanted you to know You may believe that it’s not so But I finally let you go No, my new love’s not like you My new love’s straight and true All that’s left for me to do Is to wave goodbye to you I’d been holding on so long When the dream was dead and gone After everything went wrong I still kept holding on But I finally let you go I just wanted you to know You may believe that it’s not so But I finally let you go © words and music by Jim Patton (Independent Alligator Publishing Co) (ASCAP)
7.
Working On the Wrong End Of Love (Jim Patton) He met her for breakfast at the Honeybee Out on Ritchie Highway She just ordered coffee, black, He didn’t touch his eggs She kept looking at her watch While he was studying at her face Working on the wrong end of love He thinks of how they started All the laughs they shared While she thinks about the dreams that died Or ended up nowhere They wonder how they got here And why life is so unfair Working on the wrong end of love Like a condemned man eating his last meal Everything’s so bright; everything’s unreal While she can’t even remember how she used to feel He paid the check, left a dollar tip, She was already out the door He caught up with her by her Dodge Outside the High’s Convenience store He talked like he thought he could change her mind If he talked a couple minutes more Working on the wrong end of love © words and music by Jim Patton (Independent Alligator Publishing Co) (ASCAP)
8.
Permanently Blue (Jim Patton) She never told me anything that happened Her past was like a scar upon her face I knew her reputation just in passing Something somehow ended in disgrace Even when her Irish eyes were smiling Even underneath a Lover’s Moon Even when I was at my most beguiling She was permanently blue Something in her voice was so familiar Something in her sorrow spoke to me As though the two of us were never strangers As though the two of us were meant to be I’d like to tell you how pure were my motives But you and I know that would not be true I pretended to myself I didn’t notice She was permanently blue I asked her for a dance She said: I don’t dance But I’ll sit and drink awhile if that’s ok Eventually I asked If I could walk her to her car Eventually she let me walk away Cause even when her Irish eyes were smiling Even underneath a Lover’s Moon Even when I was at my most beguiling She was permanently blue © words and music by Jim Patton (Independent Alligator Publishing Co) (ASCAP)
9.
Hole in My Heart (Jim Patton & Frank Mirenzi) There’s a hole in Jenny’s heart Where Johnny used to be She tried to fill it up With his memory She turned to drink She turned to drugs She turned to God With her obsessive love Jenny’s got a hole in her heart Jack quit drinking When he finally bottomed out He put himself back together But something got left out Some odd piece he could not fit Some worn out part that finally quit Jack has got a hole in his heart He’s got a hole in his heart That the wind blows through He’s got a hole in his heart He’s eternally blue Jack has got a hole in his heart Nick moved down to the beach Then he just gave up He says he hasn’t But he lies about all that stuff Too many debts He could not pay Too many dreams That slipped away Nick has got a hole in his heart He’s got a hole in his heart That he just can’t fix He’s got a hole in his heart And it’s making him sick Nick has got a hole in his heart He’s got a hole in his heart That the wind blows through He’s got a hole in his heart He’s eternally blue Nick has got a hole in his heart © words and music by Jim Patton and Frank Mirenzi (Independent Alligator Publishing Co) (ASCAP)
10.
(Ballad Of) The Oxbow Inn (Jim Patton) I was up at the Oxbow, playing guitar When I first met Sherry, standing at the bar She’d had too much to drink She asked me if she could sing And I told her: “Sure!” “We can play anything!” Now my brother was mad He played guitar in the band And we had a rule: “Let no Stranger sit in!” Still, she knew the words to “Cowgirl in the Sand” And he knew the chords, so we started to jam... And she sang all right Her voice was strong She got a little confused When we went on and on But the next time we saw her She sat in again My brother agreed with me Or else just caved in And that was the moment That changed my whole life Cause that was the place Where I first met my wife Let’s drink to the night that I let her sit in Let’s raise a glass to the Oxbow Inn Now I never much cared for the Oxbow Inn It was a place we could play, but I never fit in It was way too expensive for all of my friends We got fired and I didn’t see her again The band broke up; we started a new one My brother and me went auditioning women And she was at Dave French’s house with a friend We ended the night at the Oxbow Inn But I wasn’t with her I ended up with her friend But let’s raise a glass to the Oxbow Inn Let’s drink to the night that I let her sit in Let’s raise a glass to the Oxbow Inn Down Ritchie Highway, in Arnold, Maryland She didn’t get the job She ended up second She kept calling my Mom’s house To see if she could sing backup Then one day the new girl didn’t show up at all And my brother said: “Hey, let’s give Sherry a call!” Thirty years later She’s still in the band Whattya say? Let’s give her a hand! It still took us a while to get it together But we became friends and our road changed forever I asked her to a party but she could not attend I was pretty sure she had an old boyfriend Then we had our own party one night after practice It started to snow and I said: “That looks dangerous!” “Why don’t you just stay with me for the night?” “Just to be safe” and she said: “All right” I don’t need to say more The rest is now history Let the reason and why Remain shrouded in mystery Let’s drink to the night that I let her sit in Let’s raise a glass to the Oxbow Inn Because that was the moment That changed my whole life That was the place Where I first met my wife So let’s drink to the night that I let her sit in Let’s raise one more glass to the Oxbow Inn In Arnold, Maryland © words and music by Jim Patton(Independent Alligator Publishing Co) (ASCAP)
11.
I Turn To You (Jim Patton & Frank Mirenzi) In this world Full of trouble, pain, and sorrow In this world Full of pain and misery When I'm lost And I can see no light before me I turn to you In my hour of need I turn to you When outside the battle's raging I turn to you When the hard rain starts to fall I turn to you When I don't know where I'm going When the wind blows cold and hungry in the darkness I turn to you In my time I have climbed the highest mountain In my time I have sailed the deepest sea In these times When I'm lonely and uncertain I turn to you In my hour of need © Jim Patton and Frank Mirenzi (Independent Alligator Publishing Co) (ASCAP)

about

“Ray of Hope is a collection of 11 great songs that are provocative, wistful and heartfelt and funny in that Jim Patton way of making you feel like you're sitting at the bar and having a beer together. "Finally Let You Go" and "Thornton Ave" just blow me away.” -Michael Fracasso

Ray of Hope’s eleven songs dive deep into characters whose lives haven’t worked out as planned. Backed by a wall of solid harmonies woven throughout with fiddle, mandolin, and acoustic guitar, Jim Patton and Sherry Brokus passionately play their original music in the Byrds/Band style of acoustic folk rock.

Ray of Hope features the same extraordinary ensemble assembled on their last CD, Plans Gang Aft Agley. Ray of Hope producer Ron Flynt (20/20) provides bass and keyboards. Guitar and mandolinist Rich Brotherton (Robert Earl Keen), resonator guitarist Scrappy Jud Newcomb (The Resentments), fiddler Warren Hood (The Waybacks) and percussionist John Bush (New Bohemians) laid down tracks to complement Patton’s songs, guitar/vocals and Brokus’ lead/harmony vocals and percussion.

“Intelligent urban poetry… it’s the duo’s bedrock integrity that powers their music,” raved Third Coast Music.

In Patton’s recent songs, a man keeps getting back up after being knocked down; a woman loses everything she cares about; a couple celebrates thirty years of marriage; a man discovers alternate definitions of success; a father tells his child not to make the same mistakes he did; people fall in love; relationships end; relationships endure.

Patton cites 20th century American fiction (“from Fitzgerald and Hemingway and Faulkner to Kerouac and Salinger and Raymond Chandler”) and the various lives of the friends he grew up with in Maryland (“I knew doctors and lawyers and waitresses and teachers and water rats and gravediggers and the guy who drove the truck that emptied the port-o-pots all over the state”) as the main source of his lyrical inspiration.

Patton and Brokus have sung together for over twenty five years, and confess to listening to a lot of “Richard & Linda Thompson, the Byrds, the Airplane, the Everly Brothers, and Emmylou Harris singing with Bob Dylan” when they started, before they took off in a direction “that’s pretty much our own”.

"Ray of Hope reached #2 on the Roots Music Report's Folk Charts, crashed the top 10 on the Roots Music Report's Americana Country charts, and charted on the prestigious Americana and Folk-dj charts. "Plans Gang Aft Agley" reached number 9 on the Roots Music Report's Folk Charts, and also charted nationally on Folk-dj and the FAR charts.

credits

released March 1, 2010

Produced by Ron Flynt

Jim Patton: acoustic guitar, vocals
Sherry Brokus: vocals
Ron Flynt: bass, keyboards, acoustic guitar, vocals
Rich Brotherton: acoustic guitar, mandolin, cittern
Scrappy Jud Newcomb: acoustic guitar, resonator
Warren Hood: fiddle
John Bush: percussion

Ó ℗ 2010 Jim Patton/Sherry Brokus PO Box 93081 Austin TX 78709-3081
(512)280-8455 pattonbrokus@gmail.com, www.pattonbrokus.com

Produced, recorded and mixed by Ron Flynt at Jumping Dog Studios, Austin TX
Mastered by Jerry Tubb at Terra Nova Digital Audio, Inc., Austin TX
Cover and art by: Matt Eskey
Photo by Mike Penard
John Bush plays Gon Bops congas & percussion
Spiritual adviser: R. Gene Munger
All songs written by Jim Patton except:
“Hole in His Heart” and “I Turn To You” by Jim Patton & Frank Mirenzi
Sequenced by JP, Jeff Talmadge, David Broyles w/an assist from Lee Cadorette

Jim & Sherry would like to thank everyone who played on the record, played in the band, recorded us, promoted us, gave us airplay, loaned us money, came to the shows, listened to the songs, bought our records, put us up for the night, or otherwise helped us on our way. You are too numerous to mention individually, too important not to mention at all.


The Rest of the Band: Mary Cutrufello, Richard Bowden, Sweet Mary Hattersley, Stuart & Hilary Adamson, Karen Mal, David Glaser, Doug “E” Rees, Larry Passalacqua, Jon Sanchez. We are blessed to have you part of our lives.

Above & Beyond: Jeff Talmadge, John & Candy Harsany, John & DL Conquest, Brian & Pam Kalinec, Charlie Stewart, Geoffrey Himes, Pigeon O’Brien, Lisa Grey, Vanessa Lively, Daktari, Lisa Fancher, Randy & Gaye, Austin & Connie, Todd & Meg, Lady Janet, Joe & Bev, Cash Edwards, Liz Rouse, Will T Massey, Valerie Fremin, Peg Miller, Curtis@Evangeline’s, K.C. Clifford, David Broyles, Paul Barker & Artz, Effron White, Tommy Byrd, Don Cunningham, Dana McBride, Andy & Katie, Mike & Jo, Danny & Rene′, Kathryn & Alan, Bill Wence, Duggan, Greg@NeWorlDeli, Terri Hendrix, Mary Battiata, Kevin Elliott, KUT, KGSR, WDBX, every club that’s booked us, every house concert that’s given us a home, every station that’s played our songs, and the incredible music community of Austin, Texas.



“False hope is still hope”
– Jon Dee Graham, Austin TX
( the official motto of jondeeco ™)

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Jim Patton & Sherry Brokus Austin, Texas

Austin folk rock songwriters Jim Patton & Sherry Brokus return with their 7th CD on Houston's Berkalin Records. This time they're leaning toward the rock side of their folk-rock equation with a sound more comparable to Tom Petty or the Byrds.

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