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We'll Tell Stories

by Mary Lou Fulton

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $8 USD  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Sometimes it's nice to hold music in your hand! The We'll Tell Stories CD comes in a fold-out case with a parchment-style design featuring family photographs and a 12-page booklet with lyrics, credits and appreciations. Mary Lou will sign each CD with gratitude!

    Includes unlimited streaming of We'll Tell Stories via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $12 USD or more 

     

1.
The Red, White and Blue 03:46
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THE RED,WHITE AND BLUE Lyrics and music by Mary Lou Fulton When I was five years old I led the rodeo parade Proudly waved the flag As the marching band played People stood and cheered I thought it was for me Til mama told me later The love was for our country The red, white and blue Belongs to you and me It flies for everyone Who dreams of being free The red, white and blue Reminds us what could be A more perfect union A new history Now I see people Wave the flag just like a gun Demanding to know Whose side are you on? I’m on the side of justice On the side of liberty And I’m not going to let them Take my flag from me The red, white and blue Belongs to you and me It flies for everyone Who dreams of being free The red, white and blue Reminds us what could be A more perfect union A new history Many times our nation Has burned with fear and rage But the people never gave up Kept finding a way And after the darkest night Comes the brightest day So let’s start our own parade And speak up when we see Hatred and lies Disguised as loyalty Defend our nation’s promise Defend democracy And hold on to our flag From sea to shining sea The red, white and blue Belongs to you and me It flies for everyone Who dreams of being free The red, white and blue Reminds us what could be A more perfect union A new history
2.
We'll Tell Stories (remix) 03:25
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WE’LL TELL STORIES Lyrics and music by Mary Lou Fulton We’ll tell stories about these days When the fear kept rolling over us In waves and waves When the worst was yet to come When there was no place to run We’ll tell stories… We’ll tell stories... We’ll tell stories about the news Of leaders who inspired us And others who were cruel Watching sons and daughters die As the numbers climbed and climbed We’ll tell stories… We’ll tell stories... And in the darkest of times The heroes laid their bodies on the line Young and old answered the call All for one and one for all We’ll tell stories about that night When a brighter day finally was in sight We opened arms and doors again And walked together hand in hand Opened arms and doors again And walked together hand in hand We’ll tell stories… We’ll tell stories… We’ll tell stories… We’ll tell stories…
3.
The Ballad of Suaqui 04:41
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THE BALLAD OF SUAQUI Lyrics by Mary Lou Fulton & Maria Ruiz Fulton Music by Mary Lou Fulton I sing the corrido de Suaqui Place of my mother’s birth In a valley carved by rivers That fed the sacred earth The men raised crops and cattle Each family had some land The women raised the children And made all the tortillas by hand Suaquenos loved tradition Parades on streets of dirt Dancing all night in the plaza Girls in flowered skirts Feasts to honor la Virgen Mass in the church of stone Tardeadas y cumpleanos In the only place they’d ever known Suaqui querido Tu naciste del rio Viviendo la gloria y el brillo Suaqui querido All was well til the mayor Delivered a decree Mexico was building a dam For electricity The rivers would flood the valley Progress comes with a price After 400 years Suaqui would be sacrificed The rivers started rising The graveyard went first Water flooded the plaza And covered the floor of the church There was time for one last mass The people prayed and cried Hoping for salvation Watching Suaqui die Suaqui querido Por el cruel destino Fuiste desaparecido Suaqui querido The dam formed Lake Novillo Sometimes the water goes down And the old church tower rises A ghost of my family’s town But I will keep telling this story Because as my nana told me To remember is to live Recordar es vivir Suaqui querido Yo nunca te olvido En mis sueños sigues vivo Suaqui querido
4.
Not Going Back (remix) 03:34
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NOT GOING BACK Lyrics by Mary Lou Fulton Music by Mary Lou Fulton & Rob Seals I hear we gotta get back to The time when things were good When America was great The world worked like it should Before we get too caught up In faded photographs Do we really want to Go back to the past Back to the kitchen Back in the closet Back to the end of the line Just keep your mouth shut Do as you’re told Everything’s gonna be fine I don’t think so I don’t think so The good old days weren’t so good for me How ‘bout you? I don’t think so I don’t think so Oh no we’re not going back I don’t think so When people cross the border Oh fear for your lives Nothing but invaders With guns and bombs and knives They’re talking about my mama Been here since she was nine Proudly waves the flag On the Fourth of July She hears back to the shadows Back where you came from Back to the end of the line Stop with the Spanish Just pick the crops Everything’s gonna be fine I hear that what we look like Doesn’t matter anymore How come all the same folks End up scrubbing floors Police shoots the Black man Always an accident Nothing wrong with the system Obama was president So go back to the projects Back to the hustle Back to the back of the bus [I don’t think so] Just keep your mouth shut Do as you’re told Stop making such a fuss [I don’t think so] Back to the kitchen Back in the closet Back to the end of the line [I don’t think so] Back to the shadows Back where you came from Back to another time I don’t think so I don’t think so The good old days weren’t so good for me How bout you? I don’t think so I don’t think so Oh no we’re not going back Oh no we’re not going back We’re not going back I don’t think so
5.
Eggshell 03:34
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EGGSHELL Lyrics and Music by Mary Lou Fulton My husband died three years ago Feels like yesterday His clothes still in the closet Bills in his name Some days I see the sun Some days I sleep til three Staring out the window Trying to breathe You ask me how I’m doing Tired of saying I’m okay I’m fragile as an eggshell Might crack and break today I could crack and break today My sister’s only son Got in trouble with a gun Calls collect from jail Just turned 21 Left her with a dog Albums from his shelf Some days she blames him Some days she blames herself I ask her how she’s doing She said, I’m afraid to say I’m fragile as an eggshell Could crack and break today What if I crack and break today? Not looking for someone To diagnose what’s wrong Just need to be heard Like a bird, or like a song So when you ask me how I’m doing This time, I might say I’m fragile as an eggshell Might crack and break today If I do, is that okay?
6.
Come Along 03:17
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COME ALONG Lyrics and music by Mary Lou Fulton & Annette Adler Come, come along Walk beside us, you belong Come, come along Together, we are strong None of us are free until all of us are free We can make a change with solidarity So everybody, let’s come along Paint, paint your sign It’s your own battle cry Lift, lift it high Your power can’t be denied None of us are free until all of us are free We can make a change with solidarity So everybody, let’s come along Can you hear our voices? Can you hear our call? Fighting with the strength we’ve had all along Come, come along It’s our moment, it’s our song Come, come along Together, we are strong Come, come along Walk beside us, you belong Come, come along Together, we are strong None of us are free until all of us are free We can make a change with solidarity Walk beside us, you belong Together, we are strong Everybody, come along
7.
Might Have Been 05:16
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MIGHT HAVE BEEN Lyrics and music by Mary Lou Fulton It ended a long time ago Now I see you in the airport You come up to say hello I introduce you to my husband Praying he can’t see That I once believed we were meant to be But our love was too much to take Earthquakes, and then the tidal waves So you went back to her I went back to him And that was the beginning Of what might have been Thought I’d left the past behind But one look at you I’m feeling those old butterflies It may have been a sin But I’d do it all again Though all that’s left Is what might have been At the airport, we talked for a while Can’t recall what I said Just kept trying to smile My knees, they started shaking I said, “I think they called my flight.” You reached out to hug me Held on too tight I thought I might hear from you Not to start things again Just say that you remember too But we both kept our distance This secret’s ours to keep A falling star That only we can see Thought I’d left the past behind But one look at you I’m feeling those old butterflies It may have been a sin But I’d do it all again Though all that’s left All that’s left All that’s left Is what might have been
8.
Hammer and a Gun 03:42
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HAMMER AND A GUN Lyrics and music by Mary Lou Fulton He was born a farmer’s son On the plains of Oregon Worked the golden fields of wheat With a plow and aching feet When he said he wanted more His daddy kicked him out the door It was 1923… and grandpa was just 15 Hitched a ride to the coast Found a job building boats Loved the sea and salty air Living life without a care Then he drank too much one night There was a pistol and a fight Wanted by the law He left town before dawn Farmer’s son Black sheep on the run Out to make his fortune with a hammer and a gun Farmer’s son Never knew what he’d become Dreaming and believing With a hammer and a gun A hammer and a gun Arizona called his name Settled down, and learned a trade Met a blonde and he fell hard Had a son and bought a farm He still drank and cussed and smoked Loved to tell a joke Kept his family fed And kept a rifle by his bed I would sit on Grandpa’s knee Hear the stories he’d tell me Took me for banana splits Let me drive with no permit Taught me how to fish How to sew a saddle stitch To push through every door And never stop wanting more Farmer’s son Black sheep on the run Living out his life with just a hammer and a gun Farmer’s son Taught me what I could become Dreaming and believing With a hammer and a gun A hammer and a gun
9.
Silvy 03:28
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SILVY American Traditional Music and Bilingual Lyrics Adapted by Mary Lou Fulton Bring me little water Silvy Bring me little water now Bring me little water Silvy Every little once in a while Traeme agua Silvy Traemelo aqui Traeme agua Silvy Cuando te acuerdas de mi Can you hear me calling? Can you hear me now? Traeme agua Silvy Cuando te acuerdas de mi Bring it a bucket Silvy Bring it in a bucket now Bring it in a bucket Silvy Every little once in a while Traeme un jarrito Silvy Traemelo aqui Traeme un jarrito Silvy Cuando te acuerdas de mi Every little once in a while Cuando te acuerdas de mi Every little once in a while Every little once in a while Every little once in a while
10.
El Corrido de Suaqui 04:40
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about

Mary Lou Fulton "blasts out of the box with a debut that totally catches you by the ear. The music is folk/roots, the lyrics are such a strong message, Western Union couldn't deliver it," says Chris Spector of Midwest Record.

Fulton's music is shaped by her life as a journalist at The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post , as a social justice advocate, and daughter of a Mexican immigrant who grew up in the border town of Yuma, Arizona.

The 10-song album, featuring songs in English and Spanish, takes on some of the big themes of our time in a personal and hopeful way.

"I named this album We'll Tell Stories because I wanted to emphasize the 'we.' Through sharing stories and songs, we can make personal connections that are needed more than ever to overcome distrust and find some common ground."

Her modern country-folk sound featuring soulful guitars and gospel-influenced keyboards is inspired by Jackson Browne, Our Native Daughters, Joan Baez and other artists of conscience.

The first song Mary Lou released, the progressive anthem "Not Going Back," won the 2019 Songs for Social Change contest organized by the Renaissance Artists and Writers Assn.

She also was a featured vocalist on America, Our Home by the Tucson-based Ronstadt Generations, led by Linda's late brother, Michael. The 2012 EP features American patriotic songs re-imagined in Mexican musical styles.

credits

released October 15, 2021

Produced by Rob Seals. Featuring Sean Hurley on bass (John Mayer, Selena Gomez); Carl Byron on piano, organ and accordion (Jackson Browne, Michelle Shocked); Rob Seals on guitar, banjo and dobro (Brighter Things, Claire Holley); and Ryan Brown on drums (Dweezil Zappa, The Young Royals)

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Mary Lou Fulton Long Beach, California

Award-winning songwriter Mary Lou Fulton is back with a new single, the hard-grooving Many More of Us about the majority of Americans who want women to have the freedom to decide about having children. This track builds on the success of her debut album reached the Top 15 on the national folk music charts. ... more

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