I've been in prisons twice.

The first time was the State Correctional Institution at Rockview (Pennsylvania).
Our summer baseball league (high school age) was invited to play an exhibition for the inmates.
I have two distinct memories from that day.
1 - Our pitcher had walked two in a row and one of the inmates yelled "Stick a fork in him! He's done!"
It was the first time I had heard that expression. I thought he meant it.
2 - We had lunch with the prisoners.
It was the worst meal I've ever had in my life - to this day.

My 2nd time was the Hillsborough Juvenile Detention Center (Tampa, FL).
1977. I was doing solo gigs in bars at the time and was asked by a women's group to come entertain at the Center for their semi-annual visit there.
It was a good night - the guys there were very appreciative and we had fun.
They loved singing along to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"....and "Runaway"...
But the thing I remember most about that night was when a guard walked through about halfway through the show.
The place got so quiet you could have heard the proverbial pin drop.
The change was dramatic. And a bit frightening.

This song is about that night.


EYES

they don't call this a prison
because we're so young
we're not inmates, we're sheep that have strayed
they dress us alike
we wear the same shoes
they feed us three meals a day

   the guard has eyes
   the warden has eyes
   the stone walls and steel bars have eyes
   the devil tracks your every move
   the man in the moon and the stars see, too
   the man in the moon and the stars

the firemen's wives auxillary
come twice a year to call
they're scared, we know it
they try not to show it
why, we're still just boys after all

   the guard has eyes
   the warden has eyes
   the stone walls and steel bars have eyes
   the devil tracks your every move
   the man in the moon and the stars see, too
   the man in the moon and the stars

the night guard walks through
like a thundering god
between steps you hear your cigarette burn
we wait in the dark
for nothing at all
but another day taking its turn

   the guard has eyes
   the warden has eyes
   the stone walls and steel bars have eyes
   the devil tracks your every move
   the man in the moon and the stars see, too
   the man in the moon and the stars



The BAND:
RealTracks in song: ~518:Bass, Electric, Pop HalfNotes Ev 085
RealTracks in song: 378:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming DoubleTime Ev 088
RealTracks in song: 836:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm AltCountryRootsy Ev 075 (A:muted)
RealTracks in song: 793:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming ModernCountrySync Ev 100
RealTracks in song: 1167:Guitar, Electric, Soloist RockBalladBrent Ev 065
RealDrums in Song: NashvilleEven8^1-a:Sidestick, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride


As always, I hope you enjoy it.
Fire away.

floyd

Wow Floyd, you just keep getting better. What fantastic lyrics, together with a haunting melody.

I was really taken by the line 'the man in the moon and the stars see, too'
and also
'we wait in the dark
for nothing at all
but another day taking its turn'

The slow build worked incredibly well, this is a real winner.

Knockout guitar work. Thanks for this one. It's great.
Trev

Floyd I really like your voice on this song...it fits perfect! The band that you chose is excellent and you really created the mood. The words that you wrote give true meaning to what it is like when isolated from the world with only preying eyes for company. I too have been to prison on four different occasions (to perform only) and until you have been there you can only imagine what it would be like to be inside behind bars. By the way, I was living in Tampa in '77.
Sonny

floyd,

I thought bloody hell! then I read the rest and life returned to normal.

The solo fits REALLY well and I like the RT 836, perfect for the song.
Was it really that long 'cos it passed so quickly? So on my 3rd listen

Vocals, production etc are perfect but the lyrics are incredibly thought provoking, really intense and paint a dark picture.

I visited some-one in a high security prison in Oxfordshire UK years back and this song brought that memory back. The barriers, the thorough search, including my mouth, and the looks from both sides, the wardens and the inmates checking me out. Scary stuff.
Then I met the inmate, a cousin of the then girlfriend who had got caught up in the heat of a pro-life demo and had firebombed a scientist, but he had no regrets.
She soon became my ex-girlfriend.
Not my life, no way.

This song says it all,

Well done, floyd, well done

Alyn

Well that was a fun listen of a haunting subject here on Halloween Day...

You have taken an interesting view different from the normal isolation, jail break themes we expect from a song about prison.

You call it EYES but it's really FEAR. That becomes obvious when the guard enters the room and the room is blanketed by silence.

Unusual, but high impact. This song would work really well with a video to visually drive the 'implied' fear into the viewer.

A great video/audio to be shown in schools across our nation.

It's a good write, mix and production. This song fit your vocals really well - your prison visit seems to have left a lasting impression....

floyd, I kinda figured you've been in prison from the way you just keep killin it. There oughta be a law. No law abiding songwriter can keep coming up with gems like this unless they are hanging around with jewel thieves. In fact maybe you'd better save room for me as I may end up your cellmate for continuing to steal your great production techniques. The difference between a guy writing songs and an extraordinary songwriter such as yourself is captured in this line "between steps you hear your cigarette burn". That's not just quiet that is a deathly silence. Brilliant! Needless to say the build, the voice, the production are all top of the game caliber. Another phenomenal piece of writing and performance. Tom

Hi Floyd,

"I thought bloody hell! then I read the rest and life returned to normal."
I exactly felt the way Alyn describes.
Perfect lyrics, vocals, harmonies, arrangement and mix.
I can't say I enjoyed my listen, it haunted me. And the lead perfectly fit this mood.
Another masterpiece.

Guenter

Really interesting write Floyd!! The lyrics are wonderfully effective. Never been to a prison and hope to never go (in any capacity). You did a great job telling the story. I think the arrangement was perfect for the subject matter. And the mix and vocal were spotless as usual. Very cool!! Take care. Greg

Trevor - I always appreciate when you drop by for a listen. Thanks for the nice review. Those are a few of my favorite lines, too...

Thanks for all that, Sonny. It is a sobering thing to be in a prison - for any reason...

How long were you in Tampa? I was at USF at the time. My main gigs were The Proud Lion Pub (on Fletcher?) - where I had a huge following because I was the only one around doing Jimmy Buffett then - and his fans found me... and Rough Riders in Ybor City (in the old cigar factory) - back when it was still considered "the bad side of town"...

Hi Floyd.

Very interesting song and not at all what I was expecting.

Reading the lyrics before playing the track, I was expecting aggression to be the driving force behind it, but instead it turned out to be the sense of futility in prison life. At least, that's the over-riding impression with which I was left. Like I said, very interesting.

As usual, fully professional recording and performance.

ROG.

Hi Floyd,

Yes, your productions are getting better and better.
We are amazed how much the song is shouldered by just the Electric, Rhythm AltCountryRootsy RT. A very cool basis of the song!

Good lyrics on a not so every day subject.

Rob and Anne-Marie

Hi Floyd. A nice lonesome and desperate sound about this one.
Love the drama. Cheers.

Nice mix of instruments - and interaction with bass and guitars (liked the subtle bass drum entrance). Atmospheric lyrics that fit the style and of course well sung. Another excellent production.

Now that's a powerful song, the lyrics and music are fantastic, I like the rock distortion, but that's my rock roots. As usual a master of FJ.

Another winner from Floyd! How in hell do you do it? Song after song just gets better and better and your first song was already top notch!

I really like the lyrics and how you captured the pain and fear in your vocals as well as the dynamic build up.

Great story, great vocals and a great mix, what's not to like about this one!

Yet another departure; but in a good way. Well done.



Regards,

Bob

holy smokes this good stuff well done thanks eric

I like this song. Good job on portraying the feeling that everything you do in prison is being watched. Because you're right. everything done and said is heard and seen by someone unless one is very very careful to conceal it.


I've been in a number of prisons. Like you, as a visitor. I worked for a time with the Christian Motorcyclist's Association on the music and prison ministry teams. We partnered with Bill Glass International ministries and would work their prison events with them. Going into a maximum security prison with our bikes was eerie. We got searched, and the bikes were searched, and then after the bikes were parked where they instructed.... generally on the basketball court, the keys were "collected" for "safe keeping". Behind two different twenty foot high fences topped with razor wire, and guard towers, and confined to the yard with the inmates is a strange thing. Of the inmates in the yard, most were happy for the diversion but that's all it was. A small group wanted to talk about bikes and reminisce about the bike they had had. then there were the inmates who were pissed that we had parked our bikes on the basketball court and they couldn't play ball that day. At one state max, they kept the gangs isolated. They never allowed the gangs to eat together or be in the yard together. And we ate with them.... and yeah, that wasn't good. In fact, I offered something on my plate to the guy across the table, and the guy next to me stopped me, and said... "You don't want to do that.... I know you're a visitor, but they don't let us swap food". Seems that's one of the black market currencies in the place.... The guards even tried to make all of us visitors set together until I explained to the captain that we really preferred to be with the inmates and not each other.... the captain relented and let us spread out. We certainly shook things up a bit from their normal way of doing things that day.

For a time, I was also volunteering in the music ministry for our church team on a regular basis.... every 3rd Wed nite at a minimum security women's prison. That was almost fun. Certainly more relaxed than the mens facilities I had been in in the past.

While US prisons are bad.... the one in the Bahamas for the kids was the worst. On a mission trip there, I was assigned to the boys juvenile facility with a bunch of naive American teenagers. Talk about rough. Boys from 7 up to 16 were all together. They started their prison stay in solitary. A small completely dark cell. Not big enough to stand up in or lay down. And they were there for a week or two. The guards carried a 2 foot section of 3/4" PVC pipe. It was not uncommon to hear stories from the kids about getting a severe beating from the guards for misbehavior and infractions of the rules.

Back here in the states, a buddy of mine is serving time right now. He was a drummer in a few of the bands I played in. Long story so I will spare you the details. He was in a minimum security facility and a guard and he had a disagreement over the accusation from another inmate, and long story short, he ended up being moved to a medium facility and time added.

Enough on that.... it's depressing.

Good song FLoyd

tee-hee figured that was a good way to pull ya in! Some memories are incredibly vivid... thanks for the listen and the nice comments..




Thanks, Charlie. The world is a lot scarier place than it was back then... seems like we all see so much grit all the time now we become immune...

I lived there for four years working and going to USF (eventually graduated) and then moved to Chattanooga. One of my many side jobs there was delivering donuts for Krispy Kreme and I use to deliver to Ybor City (yeah the bad side of town) and I would trade donuts for fresh Cuban bread at this one place where they were baking it. My sister-in-law still lives there and we visit sometimes (my how Ybor City has changed).

Man, so strong, I don't know if this is what you're saying in your text before the song but to me this conveys a deep anger that I've felt myself from time to time before( a problem with authority?, but I'm peaceful) and I've felt it come thru from Springsteen and very few other artists before. The power in the images, the rhymes are secondary, not even important, all the balance is there. It's such a good write and performance and I swear I can't get thru one whole song from any of todays successful top selling artists but I can listen to your songs over and over, where's the justice eh? Another great one. Good use of how you bring in the instruments.
Kenny

HAHAHAHA! Tom, that review is almost criminal! Thanks for the wonderful testimony...

Haunting tune, with excellent instrumentation and performance. I hope I never get to experience what it is like inside those places. well done across the board.

Man, do you ever get the max out of every RT that you use.
My first and lasting impression of this was that a "band" sat
around and worked this up. Everything and I mean all of
the RT's (and the RD) are so amazingly cohesive. You produce
clinics for any BIAB deniers out there. Clinics that would
make them run to PGMusic and pony up. The RT selection, the
mix and the mastering are waaaaaay off the charts good.

Reckon I need to shut up and get to the write and the vocal.
The write is a great example of your style of "less is more." Pared
down to the essentials...yet vibrant in the imagery. I wanna learn
how to do that when I grow up

And vocal? I'll appropriate Mario's words "I really like the lyrics and
how you captured the pain and fear in your vocals as well as the dynamic
build up." Yep.

Made me listen twice, pull back the chair, stare at the iMac and
ponder...how the hell does he do that?

J&B

Guenter - thanks... appreciate that. Music should affect us - one way or another...



Thank you, Greg... always look forward to your take on 'em...

Hi ROG - good to see ya around. Appreciate the listen... Y'all ought to have something to listen to here, soon, no?




Thanks, y'all... That is a cool RT - and can carry a song by itself for the most part. It's a good alternative to the usual acoustic guitar thing...

Thanks, Richard....



Appreciate the listen, Peter....



Steve - always good to see you pop in.... thanks!

It's already been said - great write, excellent arrangement.

In particular, I liked the steady pace of the song and the gradual build, which matches the claustrophobic feel of the lyrics.

Very nice song.

Great rock guitar on background.
In this song your voice remember me David Crosby's one

Sergio

Mario - you always say the nicest things! Thanks



I'm just trying to confuse you, Bob!!!




Thanks for stopping by, eric...



Thanks, Herb.

Geez - we may have crossed paths! The thing I miss most about those days is the original CDB's pizza...It's still there, but just not the same...



Kenny - that's some nice stuff to say - I do appreciate that...

Floyd
I think you really stirred up a lot of emotions in the forum with this one. I too can relate to the stories and sentiment. I visited a friend in prison several times. What a sad experience. I don't think I could ever write about it.
Great songwriting, performance and production.

SD

floyd,

This is outstanding work (yet again). I've never been in prison but it seems to me that you've really captured the essence of what it's like to be locked away from society. Like some others have mentioned, the line "between steps you hear your cigarette burn" is very powerful.

The arrangement is brilliant... really well planned and developed.

All in all... a terrific listen.

Regards,
Noel

Cool track FJ! Dark story with a compelling vocal and arrangement.

Thanks, Kevin....


Thanks, Bud! Who wouldn't enjoy hearing all those nice things?! Appreciate it...




Thanks, David....



Thanks, Sergio. I believe that is my first "David Crosby" ever....

SD - thanks for stopping by for a listen...




Thanks, Noel...appreciate the kind words...

Hi, Floyd !

I do live quite close to
a former county jail that
has been turned into
a hotel with a terrace they call
"Jailbird" ! They have very good food
at the restaurant but visiting there
always gives me the creeps!

Tourists love to come there and
maybe even more to leave ....(for some reason !)):)

So, you can see why your tune is so interesting
but of course there is always the darker side
of the action !

I liked your tune very much !

Cheers
Dani

Sorry I caught this one a little late.
Excellent story and song my friend.
Rob

Josie - thanks for stopping in...



Thanks, Dani. (Stay out of trouble - and out of jail!!! )




Thanks, Rob. Appreciate that...

Very gritty. A tough, rock solid song. Great job.

I sure didn't see that coming. Very different from your other songs that I've heard.

Huge sound, mega sound! Your vocal is killer!

This track would fit perfectly with scenes in any number of tv shows or movies currently running on cable, etc.

Thanks for the listen, David....



Appreciate that, Scott...

Floyd,

This is an excellent song - love the delivery and the rhythm guitar sound is very cool...

Bob