We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

River of Light

by Kristina Stykos

/
  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    This package includes a full color six panel eco-wallet with compact disk and 20 page booklet. Cover photography by Jack Rowell, additional photos of Kristina and supporting musicians, lyrics and complete production credits. Download cards available upon request.

    Includes unlimited streaming of River of Light via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $15 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

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

      $10 USD  or more

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 7 Kristina Stykos releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of River of Light, Horse Thief, Wyoming Territory, Beautiful Blood, The Lost Tapes: 1982-1992, Raven, and In the Earth's Fading Light. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $41.60 USD or more (35% OFF)

     

1.
1. State Line Diner It seemed so cruel, just one headlight I can’t see half of what I should tonight You said: she won’t pass inspection, that piece of junk So you took the Chevy and I got drunk But she ain’t a clunker, not yet - knock on wood She’s still got some gas there, under the hood I really didn’t mean to run her into the ground But reckless love can take you, take you down State Line Diner coming up fast We could park it for the night I could put on a dress Take our coins from the kitty On the juke box dime You could hold me like you mean it One more time So I shined her up, and I hid the rust And I painted on a sky of blue, and I washed off the dust But she still lost fluid, her spark wouldn’t fire So you parked her out behind the barn and took off her tires Well, the day I surrender and lay my chassis down And empty my compartments and crumble to the ground I’ll still be full of livin’ ‘cuz I ain’t done yet And that highway of love, you give it what you get State Line Diner coming up fast We could park it for the night I could put on a dress Take our coins from the kitty On the juke box dime And you could hold me like you mean it One more time That State Line Diner - coffee that lasts You got breakfast for dinner And the pool hall in back Mufflers in the parking lot All in a row And there’s nothing to lose When you got no where to go That State Line Diner, where the toothpicks are free And mother lovin’ truckers Far as you can see Take our coins from the kitty On the juke box dime And you can hold me like you mean it One more time Go ahead, hold me like you mean it One more time Just hold me like you mean it One more time
2.
2. I Like a Hard Hearted Man I like a hard-hearted man One with a smooth undertow He’s got his finger on your redemption Looks like he knows what he don’t know He’ll crash your little party He’ll sink you like a stone He’s a man hell bent on destruction But knows he can’t do it alone He leans on lady luck  Like he don’t got no legs  Of his own I like a dastardly man One who’s good at keeping score Good at keeping secrets Who comes shameless to your door Who needs someone to confess to To keep his conscience clean He’s gonna turn the tables on you Just ‘cuz he’s feeling mean Got no mercy Lord it hurts me What I seen I like an ambitious man One got a fast track in his soul Got a method and a madness As he rakes you over the coals Who tells you that he’s harmless Way down deep inside A mystery like the ocean  Just thumbing for a ride As for lady luck  She’ll pick him up Every time
3.
3. Walking These Ridges Guess I’ll walk ‘til I run out of sun I guess my plans Just won’t get done And I been thinking, That now I don’t cry, yeah And I never show need And I take no comforts From a world of greed Now I’m sitting in the snow up at tree line Sipping on a flask of juniper wine Puzzled by the notion that I never said “no” Never understood why I couldn’t let go He took me to the drink, I tumbled through the ice I gave it all to him ‘cuz he treated me nice He loved me good like a liar should Who feels nothing So now I don’t cry And I never show need And I take no comfort From this world of greed I don’t need no one calling my name I don’t need any more walks of shame I don’t need to trust you or give you my skin So don’t ask me It’s all just a cheat, it’s all gonna go It’s all gonna pass and we’re never gonna know All of that gold just lying in the ground And I get what I can Walking these ridges I’m not looking for a man
4.
4. Since You Asked The leaves are soft beneath my feet Water’s churned up, there’s mud in the creek The winter ice is melting It’s hard packed sorrow The raw blood of the trees & the shifting clouds And the tender light & the bud red boughs May the gentle offer of love run sweet Tomorrow The clearing where a hundred trees came down Is filling up with twilight and the sound Of the silent heavens rolling And the rain’s silver tears And so I’ve dropped my body to the ground And I closed my eyes as the coyotes come ‘round And prayed the dark would keep me from My fears I guess I’ve got a reason A need - for what it’s worth Just to walk alone On the stubble of this earth Yes, I’ve got a reason and it’s Always been this way Cannot bend my wheel Cannot fake my laugh Cannot stuff my words away - Since you asked The house has just been sittin’ since I don’t know when This end of the hard road ain’t gonna get fixed again All them empty windows and a pretty light No one can see But I got my job as a woods ramblin’ child at play, out where there’s No one using me or trying to Push me away Where I can sing, and I can love and I can look Clear down at my life Not shackled by the issues or the rulebooks of men Or undone by the shaming of fools or what’s been The places still hidden have nothin’ To reveal But by grace and by wing and by plow and by fire The honest upheaval of truth will require The plain speaking voice of compassion to Honor what’s real I guess I got a reason A need - for what it’s worth Just to walk alone On the stubble of this earth Yeah, I’ve got a reason and it’s Always been that way Cannot bend my wheel Cannot fake my laugh Cannot stuff my words away - Since you asked
5.
At the Edge 03:54
5. At the Edge We’re at the edge, standing in the glitter glow The ripples of the river-light slide on by Let’s get ready, speaking not duplicity Dodging no reality and put things right ‘Cuz the man is at the door Ready to make his play Who’s gonna be his whore As he talks the truth away Can’t even face the past Or reckon with it honestly The things that they put last Are the things that they can’t see We’re all refugees walking in a heavy rain Struggling to find what’s left in the heart But we’re ready, ready for a steady wheel We got to finally heal what drove us apart ‘Cuz the man is at the door Ready to make his play Who’s gonna be his whore As he talks the truth away Can’t even face the past Or reckon with it honestly The things that they put last Are the things that they can’t see They can’t see We’re at the edge, standing in the glitter glow The ripples of the river-light slide on by But we’re ready, a revolutionary sky of blue Overthrowing what we knew, for what we’ll be ‘Cuz the man is at the door Ready to make his play Who’s gonna be his whore As he talks the truth away Can’t even face the past Or reckon with it honestly The things that they put last Are the things that they can’t see Yeah
6.
6. In the Cleansing Rain I want to rest in the play of the shadows I want to lie in the cool of the water I want to touch you I want to go where there is no reception Only tall meadow grass and the sky’s reflection I want to reach for you I want to wash you in the light In the sunset, in the night I want to sleep in the cleansing rain I want to let it all go down Like hidden rivers in the ground I want to fall with you I want to toughen up my wiles I want to cover every mile Of back wood scrub with you I want to race you And then embrace you I want to sleep in the cleansing rain I want to sit in the shade of an apple Watch the clouds and the shifting blues I want to trust you I want to trip like a lark on the breezes Take you up in my heart and release you I want to free you I want to wash you in the light Of the sunset, of the night I want to sleep in the cleansing rain Oh, wash you in the light Of the cleansing rain Rain, yeah Yeah
7.
7. Caught by the Heart Rome was filled with alleyways & flower boxes I never will forget Behind the nested doors, a tryst Of laughter & her winged lover I remember waiting for your step Saturated with confusion And wanting what was leaving us Disbelieving our division How I cried then [Taste the salt of your mother] Taught to see myself as nothing but a thing To disregard and push below the surface Of the rain, the path of dirt That led me home To mount the aching steps of pasture Washed in light And comfort the children, for they can’t run Bless the cold firelight they sleep in Pray for deliverance from what’s been done Guard what’s left of their future And don’t hit me [hide them] Don’t hit me again [from your weeping] And don’t hit me [tried to hide, tried to hide] Don’t lay down … your light This is crazy Inside ecstasy, the seeds of hatred Inside tenderness, a desperation Hiding rage and violence, our infatuation and some kind of love Now embracing annihilation And in its place a total stranger Bent on self-destruction Caught by the heart - of cupid’s dart You turned away But still you felt you owned me Turned away But let no other fire warm me Held me not – apathetic, pathetic This sliding, sleeping, walking into murky No man’s land, going deeper Waiting for your touch, to make peace with you And comfort the children, for they can’t run Bless the cold firelight they sleep in Pray for deliverance from what’s been done Guard what’s left of their innocence And don’t hit me [hide them from your weeping] Don’t hit me again [hide them from your weeping] [tried to hide, tried to hide…] Don’t lay down … your light
8.
8. River of Light Traveling on one headlight Sometimes you’ve got to fly You pray & you sing The sun rises within you Your heart’s on its edge Its worn out of tread Some fool dream in your head But the land rolls with you The wind will push you on It knows where you belong It’s what you’ve been given That makes you so driven The road is your bed You won’t see them again They can’t change what you did And the days go missing There’s a pain in my heart I’m about to lose my mind I’m drowning in my longing for a clue The river was wide; I could see the other side But I kept breaking through I kept breaking through It doesn’t matter now When I hit the ground or how The skin of the land is as soft as a hand On this highway of snow I’ll know where to go We’ll meet there tonight And cross the river of light There’s a pain in my heart I’m about to lose my mind I’m drowning in my longing for a clue The river was wide, I could see the other side But I kept breaking through There’s a pain in my heart I’m about to lose my mind I’m drowning in my longing to stay true The river was wide, I could see the other side But I kept breaking through Oh I… I kept breaking through Oh I … I kept breaking through Oh I
9.
9. Breaking Trail I thought I saw a wayward glance It followed me to Washakie And that first snow on the pass I drove with it to Ten Sleep Through that one horse trailer town With a silent declaration As the aching sun came down I’m nowhere bound But I ain’t turning around Sure, it was simple, Dressed up in the liquor’s light My empty heart prayed for me As I played on into the night I swear I felt some comfort Residing in his gaze So I gave myself permission What a fool I was to listen to those lies But now I’m counting on lies Well, the wire was down, so I jumped the fence All of these boundaries, they don’t make sense I bless myself like a pilgrim And I think about my dogs & my children And walk up on the ridge, up there on the spine Because it suits me - to climb I’m breaking trail, deep in mind Like the roan who taught me flight The rogue taught me to run We flew across the Bitterroots Not touching anyone My hands reach out for water I’d drink the stunning blue If only it could fill me With what I thought was true And I’d drink it again - if only it was you Well, the wire was down, so I jumped the fence All of these boundaries, they don’t make sense I bless myself like a pilgrim I think about my dogs & my children Walk up on the ridge, way up on the spine Because I’m suits me I’m breaking trail
10.
10. Climb This Ground Don’t laugh, don’t cry Consider this my friend, tonight I’m by your side As you lay alone in fright Come to me, now it’s time To climb this ground Relieve your mind and place Your burdens down You have been true When I could hardly see the way Your door swings wide To help me see the day Lost in the grace of your garden Angelica, and rue and thyme Your secrets live like blossoms As deeply held as mine Dream with me now And lift this veil away Trust in your soul And every single day This is our ground Sacred the dirt and the tears Bend with me now Touch with your hands the roots of fear Now as the ridgeline falls to shadow I feel your strength in mine Now as the cabin door flies open On this threshold of time Dream with me now And lift this veil away Trust in your soul And every single day
11.
Waging Peace 05:04
11. Waging Peace Something’s right with this day There’s a truce on the sky No more anger, only light A few survivors on their way No more danger, no more flight No temptations to go wrong Now the tender words, they ignite Burning out across the dawn Free at last from the rifle’s decisions Free to ask to be shown Safe at last with our feet in the river Waging peace with the stones Send my heart with the falcon Let’s fly beyond where we can see And like two feathers or the clouds We can travel the same breeze Here the sweet grass, here the sage Here the land that purifies Here the bitter roots of all our days Here the refuge, close your eyes Free at last from the rifle’s decisions Free to ask to be shown Safe at last with our feet in the river Waging peace with the stones Farewell to this, the twisted tale of night Where people sleep as wars unwind We’ll take our children and honor life And bless the path of humankind And throw off our sorrows and the curse Of our weapons and our blame No more anger, just a fire Holding vigil with its flame Free at last from the rifle’s decisions Free to ask to be shown Safe at last with our feet in the river Waging peace with the stones
12.
12. Blessed Light Blessed light Compass of the blind You sail the darkness Of these troubled times O blade of the sun Turn our cries to rain Tether us to the muscle Of our collective pain For you have watched us run You have watched us run O riderless horse Please don’t back away The dirt river is billowing dust And we can’t stay O flicker of hope Take us through this night Bring us back to our senses And back into the light They have watched us run They have watched us run Our hands don’t reach the sky But I can touch you - if I try Your dreams are like mine Made of blessed light O silent flame Guided by stars Your love is the honey That sweetens ours You have watched me run You have watched me run Put your heart in mine When courage fails us – we’ll be fine Bring me to the one Made of blessed light Blessed light Blessed light Blessed light Bless the light Blessed light
13.
Godspeed 04:01

about

River of Light’s guardian constellation starts with its anchor stars: the musicians who brought their spirit into alignment with my vision. To them I extend a heart-felt thank you, for in the making of this, a day did not go by when your presence was not felt with gratitude.

To my cousin Steve, who intuitively shows up when I need him most, when I’m down or losing my way; your grace has touched me deeply, and your remarkable talents & kind actions have blessed my life. To Val, once a wayfaring stranger, now a cherished friend, I admit it still amazes me how you navigate the world of my imagination as if it was your own. To Jeff, your steadfast and bemused approach to making great art has seen us through the completion of yet another epic undertaking and I know we’ll keep doing this as long as we can carry your drum kit up two flights of stairs. Patrick, you know who you are to me & who you’ve been: brother, best friend, Zen master & unstoppable force of nature; your bow speaks with a depth like no other. To Abby, my newest partner-in-crime: finally a female voice that seems right at home with mine! Thank you all.

Certain friends deserve a special thank you: Ariel Zevon for the gift of feathers, Nikki Matheson for wardrobe design/creation, Lane Gibson for technical tweaks, Paul Hewitt & Julie James for video work, Emily Howe for all kinds of stuff, Davey Davis for going into the woods with me, and Jack Rowell for being a good shit & a damn good photographer. Other friends & supporters of this project may not realize the inspiration they’ve given, especially during darker moments when I wasn’t sure I could pull off what I’d set out to. Thank you.

Luckily humanity will come together as tributaries do, when it rains hard enough and each twisted stream straightens out its path with unerring focus. That’s right. It’s time, for we are the River of Light.

credits

released December 8, 2018

River of Light © 2019 Thunder Ridge Records
All songs by Kristina Stykos © 2018 BMI/Horse Thief Publishing
Produced, recorded & mixed by Kristina Stykos at Pepperbox Studio, Chelsea, Vermont
Mastered by Fred Kevorkian/Avatar Studios, NYC
Package design and layout by Discmakers
Cover Photography and related images by Jack Rowell
For more info: kristinastykos.com

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Kristina Stykos Chelsea, Vermont

Kristina is a music producer, recording engineer, songwriter, performer, podcaster and landscape gardener based in Vermont. Her recording studio, Pepperbox Studio, is solar, wind and generator powered. She has engineered & produced over 25 albums for herself and clients. Her songwriting and composing have been supported by the Ucross Foundation and Brush Creek Artist Residency in Wyoming. ... more

contact / help

Contact Kristina Stykos

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Report this album or account

If you like Kristina Stykos, you may also like: