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The Way to the Water

by Amanda West

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1.
Intro 00:13
2.
ILLUMINATE MY SOUL (© May 2003) I’m so confused but I’ve got to say something, this silence is driving me mad And I can find no piece of human creation to help me understand It’s been so long I don’t know where to begin “Start with where you are” she says, I’m craving icecream again I didn’t make it to the party last night, I walked the railroad tracks instead hoping their straight iron lines would bring clarity to my head I watched the sunset trying to think how love might be like the ocean Walked many miles, waited many days but I cannot escape this emotion It’s like homesick, but I have a home It’s like lovesick, but I have a lover It is a longing for a connection I cannot seem to find to illuminate my soul I’ve worked so hard trying to find an explanation Maybe I miss my mother, maybe it’s my hormones or the moon fluctuating Maybe I’m hiding something from myself, maybe it’s just something I ate Maybe it’s life, or life without something, guiding my way Oh I feel homesick, but not for a place I feel lovesick, but not for my lover I’m just longing for connection I cannot seem to find to illuminate my soul I tend to think loneliness is product of our culture we’re supposed to be so independent we never really learn to how to talk to each other It doesn’t matter how many good conversations I have, or how many emails I receive How the hell am I supposed to get through your walls when I cannot break them in me? Because I am homesick, I thought I had a home And I am lovesick, but what is love when I am longing for connection I cannot seem to find to illuminate my soul I am just longing for connection I cannot seem to find to illuminate my soul Won’t you illuminate my soul? I want you to illuminate my soul Come on, illuminate my soul
3.
It Will Be 05:15
IT WILL BE (© December 2002) I could not give you my word and promise you are the one So I fell for another because my heart is still young and hungry for experience because I’m still unsure of who I am and who I wanna be and I’m not ready to close doors Would you believe we do find our soulmates Would you believe what is meant to be will be So you fell for another and now she’s making you so happy and I lie here awake and I worry What if I lose you? What if I lose me? How will all this time pass? And can I keep on believing Do you believe we do find our soulmates Do you believe what is meant to be will be I will not forget the place we stopped above those rolling California hills where the golden world lay before us - a prophecy to fulfill Then I drove into the night with the moon and you asleep by my side And I pray no matter what you will always be in my life Do you believe we do find our soulmates Do you believe what is meant to be will be ‘Cause I want to believe we do find our soulmates And I want to believe what is meant to be will be It will be It will be It will be
4.
IN THE MORNING (© February 4th, 2002) All the truths That created my wounds Were dug out today: You are as you are And I am as I am And to save us both we can only separate And in the morning I will turn your ring around your heart will be Your own again Long ago, in the woods We never made a promise We never signed a contract But to the love we held In our kiss beneath the rising stars I will always look back, with joy And in the morning You will turn my ring around my heart will be My own again I surrender, to grief Over loosing you As my love My heart is raw I feel so mortal Knowing there will always be, another ‘Cause in the morning I will turn your ring around your heart will be Your own again Today we try, to bury and ignore The conflicts and the casualties Of our lovers war To live the night, until June Together and in love Without fear ‘Cause in the morning You will turn my ring around my heart will be My own again Yes in the morning We will be on our own again Our own again
5.
Fantasy 03:51
FANTASY (© September 10th, 2001) “Oh won’t you come to bed? It’s been so long and I want you,” that’s what he says “Just put this thing on, And do a little dance, now you’re perfect” Now I’m his fantasy But can’t you see? This is not me I can never be your fantasy There are some of his drawers I never open don’t ask don’t tell Hidden there, are his fantasies I do the best I can to satisfy his desires when they come But can’t you see? Those girls are not me I can never be your fantasy What do I agree to? What do I refuse? What about my own instincts, of what is right for me Oh how I long to be Good enough for you, desirable, as just plain me I guess I shouldn’t complain I don’t want to cause no trouble being a crazy hippie feminist Oh no Yet I can’t help but feel, it’s just not me I can never be your fantasy No I will never be your fantasy I am too human to be a fantasy
6.
FLYING IN THE RAIN (© winter 1998/1999) I’m riding a cloud And I know it’s going to break And I know I’m going to come down down with the rain Now here’s the question, I ask myself: Do I give in to my desires? Throw myself into the arms of the wind and let her take me where she will And go flying In the rain, in the rain Flying, in the rain, in the rain It’s like waltzing into love when you know you’re headed for sorrow It’s like crossing a burning bridge when you know it’s going to fall And I’ll be flying In the rain, in the rain Flying, in the rain, in the rain Dragon steam in frosty twilight Stab your sword into my heart I’m ready to die At the breaking of the dawn If only I can have one moment One moment to have it all If only I can have one moment One moment to have it all I’ll be flying In the rain, in the rain Flying, in the rain, in the rain Flying… in the rain…
7.
THE RIGHT TO SAY "I MISS YOU" (© March 2005) Lying next to him I wanted to touch his skin I held my breath so as not to say something Standing in front of him I wanted to let him in I answered as he asked about my spirit Sometimes nothing is the hardest thing to do When your hand is on my knee and my lips are so close to you I don’t envy any of us, for the lessons that we learn I don’t like the way hearts, close up after they burn Mmm mmm I still listen to the tape you made I still think about The way you fed berries to that little girl we met, so tenderly You know you saved me that night when my other fell apart letting me lie with you beneath the stars, taking me home far past the midnight hour Did you know that when you showed me round your world, and pointed out the sun All the shadows fell behind me I don’t envy any of us, for the lessons we must that we learn I don’t like the way hearts, close up after they burn Do I have to take a turn? What about the songs we sang all along the road, the maps we followed, what about the sand dunes and sunburn and that early morning in San Diego? What about the gypsy girl in the Seattle market, what about the sound of technicolors, and coming back to say ‘I love you’, what about those letters we wrote all summer? I am not satisfied, I should not mourn you like a lover, you were never mine Do I have the right, to say ‘I miss you’? I don’t envy any of us, for the lessons we must learn I don’t like the way hearts, close up after they burn I guess it was my turn Lying next to him I wanted to touch his skin I held my breath so as not to say something
8.
NEVER A LIAR (© April 2006) Everything is great in my life I’ve got friends and confidants and confidence When I gaze into the mirror I’m always satisfied And I never look at other girls with envy in my eyes I know just where I’m going and how I’m gonna get there Happiness is always in my reach I never get lonely when the day turns to night and I never feel an emptiness without you at my side CHORUS: That’s not the truth, not quite the truth though I have never been a liar I’m feeling more and more like one As time goes on I know fewer and fewer With the courage, or the time, or the acceptance To hear, the/my truth I am a faithful partner, I don’t have any secrets I never fall in love unless it’s convenient I’ll tell you everything I ever thought or imagined And I never flirt with married men CHORUS It’s complicated and messy, it’s not easy to say It’s not always what we’d like it to be But I’d like it anyway I’d like the truth, I want the truth Because I have never been a liar And I’m feeling more and more like one As time goes on I want the courage, and the time, and the acceptance To hear, the truth To hear your truth And to speak mine too
9.
AGE OF DISILLUSIONMENT (© summer 2004) Just thinking ‘bout, encountering you again has been the wind that has carried me through all these days I’m not living like I used to For I am never where I am, I am never where I am This is the age of disillusionment as all things must come and go But now it’s time for someone else to find the hope and the beauty ‘cause I’m tired of being the fire and the air to keep it burning CHORUS: The world is on trial in my mind and I need time to be, to see, and to breathe on this, to wander, to wander, and to be on this side Everything that should be wonderful is failing to penetrate my feelings Just the strings of a guitar and that milky way of stars can still bring me to the soul of the world I want the soul of the world! “Where ever you go there you are” I hear his words and I know I cannot leave here until I arrive And of course I’d rather be Socrates dissatisfied for oh I know these questions are the composers of my life CHORUS: That’s why the world is on trial in my mind and I just need time, to be, to see, and to breathe on this, to know to hate to have to hold to love to be on this to wander, to wander, and to be on this side Nothing’s looking like it used to… Nothing’s feeling like it used to… This is the age of… This is the age of disillusionment
10.
READY TO TRAVEL (© Summer 2003) Man, I hate that question, “When you grow up, what are you going to be?” And everyone has plenty of suggestions, like it’s a decision we all have to make As if we can plan the path our lives will take But I’ve been told, death may come sooner than later But ok, I’ve decided what I’m going to do All the wisdom tells me to follow my heart And she has no long term plans, so you don’t need to ask I am going to be the most conscious, loving, understanding, HUMAN, I can And I will travel For this life is the journey of the heart and the soul That night was so beautiful, I just had to gaze at the stars And we lay there in the meadow for hours upon hours And I thought I might like to die just to be one with it all so deeply the heavens called me into that sky I wanted to fall And I began to travel with you For I knew it was what I was meant to do I know that sometimes ultimately we really are all alone But I hope it’s not quite as bad as that sounds Now I’ve seen the old ones all start falling down and I’ve watched love changing faces But this is what it means to be Nothing is good permanently So I am ready now to travel with you For I know it is what we are meant to do Times like these I have to believe That we are part of something grander than we’ll ever know Maybe all I really want is all within me And I think all I really need is already here “There are two things every traveler must remember,” he told me One, you will always return And Two, you cannot fight the journey, so you gotta just let it carry you You gotta just, just let it carry you And I want to travel with you For as long as it’s what we are meant to do And I know a day will come when you or I must go But for time in my life spent with you I am so grateful To have traveled with you To have traveled with you
11.
Parar Salir 03:51
PARA SALIR (© June 2004) Para Salir necesitas recorder que todo es temporal y todo es perfecto Para vivir los sentimientos mas profundos necesitas tener valentia para ser artista CHORUS: There’s one last full moon before I go Take me down to the West Cliff And measure how deeply my roots have grown into this place, and my love for you Para conocer amor verdadero necesitas encontrar los que hablan su lengua intima CHORUS BRIDGE No llores por lo que acaba Sonrie por todo que occurio CHORUS Para regresar necesitas llevar contigo nuestros recuerdos y sus deseos CHORUS (repeat)

about

Amanda's first solo album, THE WAY TO THE WATER was recorded in the Winter/Spring of 2007, and released in February of 2008. It has received international airplay and attention, winning hearts with its deeply personal songwriting, intimate acoustic arrangements and crystalline production that leaves West's voice unveiled in all its raw and luminous beauty. Fans of Dar Williams and Sarah McLachlan will find a kindred spirit here. We are delighted to finally be offering it on bandcamp.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the liner notes...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear One,

Thank you. Thank you for finding your way to this page. What a breathtaking journey it has been bringing into being what you now hold in your hands. This album is a much abridged journal of my life's risings and fallings, joys and sorrows, struggles, and ponderings over the past nine years. Theses songs are like my children and I am proud and anxious, releasing them to venture on their own. My hope is that they will give to you what they have brought me - comfort and companionship. Our world needs a lot of love and a lot of healing ~ for this I offer my music. We are much closer to each other than we know, drops in the same ocean, facing such similar experiences along the way to our selves, The Way to the Water..

Blessings on your travels,
in peace, love & music,
Amanda

Nov. 2007, Santa Cruz, California

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

credits

released February 1, 2008

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MUSICIANS ~
Amanda West | Vocals, Harmonies, Guitar & Piano
David Brewer | Whistles, Pipes, Bodhran, Uilleann Pipes
Anton Patzner | Violin

All songs written by Amanda West
c. 2007 Amanda West Music (ASCAP)
Album artwork & design by Odessa Sawyer & Hoku Uchiyama

Recorded, Mixed & Mastered by Pete Coates
Bear Creek Recording Studio, Bonny Doon, CA
Winter/Spring 2007
Produced by Amanda & Pete

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Amanda West California

For the seekers and the artists, the mothers, children and elders, for the ones who wonder, choosing the path less travelled, and the ones who listen with their whole heart cracked open, these songs are for you. Amanda’s music breathes mindfulness, medicine and magic. Distilled over a 25 year-long career of songwriting, touring, recording & teaching, this is the truth you have been seeking. ... more

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