Matti Joy

• The title of this EP was inspired by a line from Hayao Miyazaki's film "Howl's Moving Castle." 
   
• This EP speaks to the pain that come with caring and the struggles of righteously seeking what is good while trying to maintain harmony in your immediate communities. 
   
• There's no way to know what will happen, but seeing what's going on it's hard not to compare the methods of the opposing groups in our country and see a pattern in the history of the actions of an overpowered executive branch (Police) that's been wielding greater and greater unchecked power, often towards the already historically oppressed and disenfranchised with no repercussions. 
   
• Ultimately this documents my journey through the pain of slowly and truly connecting with the world after being withdrawn from it as a child. The tracks travel: 
   
  • 1. Granite City, IL - through the stories of my family's youth 
  • 2. Pity - Reframing my disgust and self-hatred as pity for what I've been 
  • 3. Prayer for the Reformed Hoarder - Trying to unpack my understanding of emotional baggage as old worn out luggage I've been keeping in the attic 
  • 4. Alvarado, TX - Trying to see the beauty and glow during the formative years of my adult life even amidst its hangups 
  • 5. A Heart is a Heavy Burden - Finally, wrapping up with this track about what might need to be done for the good of the future even if we carry the weight of our mistakes with us through and beyond. 
    • At the end of the EP is a reprise of the opening track set in a cheeky, a capella traditional folk band style to lighten the mood and send the listener away laughing rather than just commiserating
      
       
• Secret Pre-Release Listening Link
   

Lyrics: 
 

• Granite City, IL 

  I don’t see what all the fuss is about 
  There was always plenty of food in the pantry 
  So many ways for us to spend our time 
  As long as we spent it alone 

  My grandmother told me stories 
  Of apples for pennies fresh from the street corner 
  And how her husband had bees in the back yard 
  As the fruits of his labor filled his garden and lungs with blood 

  For our bloody gods 
  Keep the stock option over the broken homes 
  Settle fevers with a fresh cut of sod 
  Fill the hole in your heart with your children’s children
   

• Pity

  Her fingers like ice soothe my furrowed scalp 
  Like lemonade on a fresh squeezed summer day 
  Teasing from my mind the fear and worry 
  Leaving me emptier yet fuller in a funny way 

  And I pity the man who walks alone 
  I feel the fear of never coming home 
  Now that I’ve seen what love has shown 
  I pity the man with the heart of stone 

  The razors edge of loneliness cuts the mind 
  Solitude is only worth how you spend your time 
  The maw of eternity lies ahead 
  As the empty spot beside me in my bed 

  And I pity the man who sleeps alone 
  Spending hours trying to find a soul in his phone 
  The wind outside echoes and calls a weary moan 
  I pity the man who won’t atone

• Prayer for a Reformed Hoarder 

  It’s been a few years 
  But the luggage is still 
  Dusting in my attic 
  Really thought I would’ve 
  Donated it by now 

  But nobody wants 
  Useless broken zippers our 
  faded, trendy roller bags of shit I couldn’t shake 

  Why am I searching 
  For ways to hate it there 
  Just a wild imagination 
  Trying to cope 

  My god 
  I’ve never been so close 
  My god 
  Help me find a another home 

  Why am I searching 
  For ways to hate it there 
  Just coming up tired 
  And empty handed

• Alvarado, TX 

  They’ve been wondering 
  When I’m gonna wake up smell the 
  Roses grandma 
  kept long after they were folding 

  Things these days just 
  Aren’t made like they used to be 
  The phrases people say 
  Just leaving reeling and 

  Gotta find my own way, no matter where it goes
  Where I’m gonna end up, I’ll never know, I’ll never know 

  For now just... 
  Feel the mud squish all up through your toes 
  Dirt and sunbeams melting all your woes 
  Let the wind relax you for a time 
  Waves are lapping softly at your mind 

  Crackling campfires roasting weary feet 
  Lean against a friend and feel complete 
  No words as we stare into the coals 
  Dying embers lighting up your soul 

  Look back down my street 
  The garbage heaps are gleaming 
  Sunny highways lined 
  With all the dying dreams and 

  Little things could 
  Make or break your weekends 
  And the simple truth’s 
  You’d never see it coming musta been 

  Something in the water 

  Something in the way it moved the trees 
  Shaking back and forth just like my knees 
  Stars in your mouth as it opened wide 
  Brilliant teeth all shining with your lies 

  Moonlight over empty soccer fields 
  Dragonflies speed for their easy meals 
  As the phrases slowly make their way 
  Out of my hand into yours to stay

• A Heart is a Heavy Burden 
  
  A heart is a heavy burden 
  But it’s worth the weight in your pack 

  But the truth is when you’re hurting 
  It’s easier to turn your back on your own love 

  When well pressed men come calling again 
  Read carefully the way they treat the least when no one’s watching 

  Wear your love on your sleeve 
  Your bleeding heart will ever be the source of courage ‘gainst the man and 

  When you hold your tongue to not offend 
  Or make upset just once through starting an uncomfortable conversation 

  Think of Innocent folks out there dying 
  Empty spots at tables parents, siblings, children all are crying 

  And so when armored vans run rampant on streets 
  Here is something when you don’t know if anybody’s watching 

  Try to stay on your feet 
  I ain’t trying to say it’s anything to kid about an easy breezy 

  But I can hear the people singing the songs 
  Of angry men who will not wait so idly by while race and class divide us 

  Long live the courage of the people 
  Feed the fires and burn those cheap hells