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Always Home

by Karl Hepler

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    This CD will be autographed by Karl Hepler with a personal note of your choice

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1.
Always Home 04:15
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Mark the wall standing 3 feet 5 inches tall running free with the grass up to my knees Summer rain laying the scent of the clouds at my feet the hurried creek babbling verse with the breeze Now lifetimes have passed and I’ve moved on but the memories that last keep me strong No matter where I roam I am always home Warm my hands by the heat of the stove in the cold Mama’s baking bread and Daddy’s tending to the farm And in the spring I have my dog by my side in the woods the dinner bell rings and I rush up the hill through the mud Now lifetimes have passed and I’ve moved on but the memories that last keep me strong No matter where I roam I am always home When I left to explore to find something more I found I was looking my way back home Now lifetimes have passed and I’ve moved on but the memories that last keep me strong No matter where I roam I am always home No matter where I roam I am always home
2.
Letters to the Sea 05:16
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While casting away from the shore their eyes met before the war her hair flowed like fields of wheat his heart to heavy to beat through the crowd peering in she pulled out a part of him He wrote letters to the sea ending one with "Marry Me" no current nor wind would carry them through but his lonely heart hoped it was true as battles waged through smoke and fear her golden hair became more clear Her piercing blue eyes were gone with the sound of screams that were followed by flames all around the heat was extinguished by blood and the sea and he lost the will left to breathe sinking down he was free running through those fields of wheat
3.
Something About You 04:00
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4.
Until the Morning Comes 03:33
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Verse 1: Soon we dance on tired feet Singing loudly The old front porch will start to creak As we play madly 'til the morning comes Chorus: Let's go boys Double that load Working our fingers right down to the bone We gotta keep on working 'til the day is done Then we'll go home with the setting sun Verse 2: When the shadows stretch for miles and night is calling I'll put down my hammer for a while and let the music ring 'til the morning comes Chorus Lead (Chorus chords) Verse 3: As the flames begin to wilt We'll be laughing Hoping for this eve to still but the day will end and we'll be back again Chorus Chorus
5.
Jackie Said 04:11
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3am she sat up in bed Smoke in her eyes and clouds in her head but kept her dreams alive She packed her wares and fled through the door Not going to be caged anymore Burned rubber towards the sun Her hair in the wind, a clarity arose Her river’s dam had cracked enough to flow carrying her home She broke with dawn and scatter with the light focused on whatever felt right yesterday was finally gone Blooming out with love under wing a free and waking a life of her dreams now offered out its hand Jackie said, with lines in her face, I spent to many years not going any place so I left never to arrive I left to be alive
6.
March Hare Sleeping 03:23
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7.
Cristen's Song 04:53
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8.
Troubled 04:49
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9.
Sail Away 04:14
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10.
The Cuckoo 04:21
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11.
Hunting the Buffalo 03:26
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12.
The Wexford Massacre 04:12
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They knelt around the cross divine The matron and the maid They bowed before redemption's sign And fervently they prayed Three hundred fair and helpless ones Whose crime was this alone Their valiant husbands, sires and sons Had battled for their own Had battled bravely but in vain The Saxon won the fight The Irish corpses strewed the plain Where valour slept with right And now that man of demon guilt To fated Wexford flew The red blood reeking on his hilt Of hearts to Erin true He found them there, the young, the old The maiden and the wife Their guardians brave in death were called Who dared for them the strife They prayed for mercy, God on high, Before Thy cross they prayed But ruthless Cromwell bade them die To glut the Saxon blade Three hundred fell, the stifled prayer Was quenched in women's blood Nor youth nor age could move to spare From slaughter's crimson flood But nations keep a stern account Of deeds that tyrants do And guiltless blood to Heaven will mount And Heaven avenge it too.

about

THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2012
FEATURES: 'Always Home' is almost always good
By Jordan Lofgren (Staff Writer @ AVC Examiner)

Coming into the territory of a new artist can be worrisome since you have no idea what to expect. So as for Karl Hepler, I set my expectations to the bare minimum before putting the headphones into my ears. You can’t be disappointed if you don’t expect much, right?

The album begins with the title track, “Always Home,” a good opener that got me ready for the next tracks to come. As soon as the next song, “Letters to the Sea,” came on with its violins, I immediately loved the song. The lyrics are about a soldier that tosses letters into the sea in hopes that they will reach a girl. The song is high on metaphors, which I would notice are used a lot in his songs. The fourth track on the album is probably one of the better songs because of the infectious chorus and backing vocals. It is a fun song which I thought was a metaphor for life and death.
If we skim through the next couple of tracks, we get through to the eighth track called “Troubled.” This is the first song that I noticed had a slower sound compared to the tracks before. That was one gripe I had with the album in general. I can appreciate the guitar playing and the speed at which it was played, but Karl seems to overdo it in some of the tracks.

“Sail Away” stood out to me not so much for the song itself, but for the fact that Karl’s father, Doug, sings the main vocal part with Karl backing him up. His voice has that sort of raspy tone to it that I could enjoy. The best song on the album comes when we skip ahead two songs is “The Wexford Massacre.” The song is a slow song with great lyrics about a massacre (obviously) that happened and the injustice seen from it. The killings outnumbered 300 and the slow tone set the mood perfectly for what was being talked about. As the song continues, it gradually grows in the number of voices backing up Karl’s singing. What better way to have a song talking about hundreds of people than to have the feel of a bunch of people singing?

Overall, the album is enjoyable to listen to. I will be listening to it again, but I hope for his next album he will have more than two slower songs. I also noticed that his father backs his vocals up in every song. I would like to hear even more of that because you can actually hear the chemistry in their voices. I think if you enjoy acoustic music and folk, I would give this one a listen. I look forward to his next album and I hope that it could be as good as the best songs on this one.

credits

released April 30, 2012

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Karl Hepler Georgia

A consummate performer and stellar multi-instrumentalist, Karl’s singular presence on stage is surprisingly engaging and always entertaining. He is truly a class act who breaks every expectation of a typical solo acoustic singer-songwriter. Between original works and his own take on existing songs, his style blurs genres, ultimately focused on the traditional mountain music of Appalachia. ... more

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