Jason Andrew Griffith

Voice of Marie - EP

Track Listing

1. Voice of Marie
   "Voice of Marie" is an homage to Jason's childhood summers spent at his grandmother Marie's house in Kingston, Ontario. The song imagines travelling back there, somehow, to join the adults at the kitchen table for a late night of cold drinks, playing cards, and having a laugh.
   • Listen
   • Lyrics
   Wallpaper's yellowed and the table is worn
   We're smoking cigarettes and sittin' here bored
   Marie's telling stories, her voice fills the air
   I'm back on Grey Street and its summer here
   
   Way back in Kingston its 1983
   My memory's filled with the voice of Marie
   
   Hot on the porch and its hotter in here
   She's still drinking coffee
   For the rest of us, cold beer
   Pull out a deck of cards and lets pass the time
   Marie starts singing and she gives us a rhyme
   
   Way back in Kingston its 1983
   My memory's filled with the voice of Marie
   
   Couches here are stuffy and dusty brown
   My ashtray's filling up and my beer is going down
   Bedtime for the kids and one more drink for us
   Marie starts laughing at me 'cause I'm half drunk
   
   Way back in Kingston its 1983
   My memory's filled with the voice of Marie
   
   Marie's still laughing at me 'cause I'm half drunk
   
   Way back in Kingston its 1983
   My memory's filled with the voice of Marie
   My memory's filled with the voice of Marie
   
   
2. Going Home
   "Going Home" was inspired by Jason's great great uncle George Caile, who fell at a young age in WW1's Battle of the Somme. The song imagines what those last moments might have been like, taking the listener on a trip through reflection, regret, acceptance, and peace.
   • Listen
   • Lyrics
   I wake in the grass of the ground I kissed
   With these thoughts of my family and all I missed in my life
   I'm just 21
   Its only a week since they gave me this gun
   
   But I open my eyes and my hands are red
   And my body is aching and no one is left with me now
   The rest have all gone
   Soon I'll go too, I'm going home
   
   Sound of thunder, that's all I heard
   The fight was over, my fate was turned, and now,
   Nothing's left but the ground and me
   And this song
   And this sky
   
   There's a girl in my hometown I truly loved
   But I never told her
   I was waiting for some kind of moment to come along
   Well look at me now, my moment is gone
   
   What would I tell her if she were here now?
   "You are beauty and truth, you are everything I ever wanted
   Or could ever need
   And where I go now, I will take you with me"
   
   Sound of thunder, that's all I heard
   The fight was over, my fate was turned, and now,
   Nothing's left but the ground and me
   And this song
   And this sky
   
   Going home, going home
   To the answer, I know
   Where my burden will fall
   At the edge of it all
   I'm going home
   
   Now I see my mother and I see my dad
   And I see all the best friends I ever had
   
   Sound of thunder, that's all I heard
   The fight was over, my fate was turned, and now,
   Nothing's left but the ground and me
   And this song
   And this sky
   
   Going home, going home
   To the answer, I know
   Where my burden will fall
   At the edge of it all
   I'm going home
   
   
3. Soil and Ashes
   Originally released on August 25th 2023 as a single which enjoyed success on campus and community radio across Canada, "Soil and Ashes" uses a strong melody, dynamic soundscape, and vivid wildfire imagery to deliver a heartfelt story about the aftermath of a bad relationship, and a reminder that it can be fertile ground to grow something even better.
   • Listen
   • Lyrics
   Smoke rising off the ground
   Black char all around
   She feels just like this mountain side
   Burnt down to the core
   She can't breath anymore
   Looking up at ashen sky
   
   She spent the winter in love
   With a boy from Irricana
   They liked to walk up to Lake Moraine
   But that boy was a toxic man
   Who took her love and gave misery back
   And he just disappeared one day
   
   Left her dry, deadfall everywhere
   This world is full of sparks
   So pretty soon she was burning
   In smoke she kept turning to the sky
   Looking for the rain
   She thinks there's nothing left
   But sometimes the greenest grasses
   Grow from soil and ashes
   
   Fire lines in the dead of the night
   She's made her share alright
   She never thought she'd need her own
   But when the wind was whipping up hell
   She just kept telling herself
   This fighting fires is what I know
   
   She was dry, deadfall everywhere
   This world is full of sparks
   So pretty soon she was burning
   In smoke she kept turning to the sky
   Looking for the rain
   She thinks there's nothing left
   But sometimes the greenest grasses
   Grow from soil and ashes
   
   Hey, she'll catch her breath again
   Hey, she'll catch her breath again
   Yeah, she'll catch her breath again
   
   She was dry, deadfall everywhere
   This world is full of sparks
   So pretty soon she was burning
   In smoke she kept turning to the sky
   Looking for the rain
   She thinks there's nothing left
   But sometimes the greenest grasses
   Grow from soil and ashes
   
   
4. Four O'clock Show
   Originally released on April 12th 2023 as a single, and inspired by Jason's childhood walks home from school with his little sister, "Four O'clock Show" is a nostalgic look back at how quickly childhood passes us by, and the sense of loss that can come with the realization that you can never go back.
   • Listen
   • Lyrics
   Tell me how'd we end up here so fast
   I'm still living in the past
   I know I've gotta wake up
   But I wanna make it last
   
   Walking you home on those winter days
   You always had so much to say about
   Everything you did that day
   Then you were ready to go
   
   Watching cars on the side of the road
   We can cross when it's safe to go
   Back at home
   Kick off our boots and coats
   Turn on our favourite show
   We always watched at four
   
   You held my hand on the whole way back
   And I drank some juice from your backpack
   You made me laugh then I made you back
   I still remember
   
   It's hard for my memory to let it go
   The girl I knew is not the woman I know
   Some days I still wanna walk you home
   But now you've got your own way
   
   Watching cars on the side of the road
   We can cross when it's safe to go
   Back at home
   Kick off our boots and coats
   Turn on our favourite show
   We always watched at four
   
   Do you remember
   When it was just you and me
   Do you remember
   Just how simple life could be
   Oh I remember
   Though I never stopped to grieve
   When I had to let that girl go
   Boy I'd sure like one more 4 o'clock show
   
   So please forgive me if now and then
   I lose my place and slip back to when
   I had all the answers to your questions, and
   I got to be your best friend
   
   Watching cars on the side of the road
   We can cross when it's safe to go
   Back at home
   Kick off our boots and coats
   Turn on our favourite show
   We always watched at four
   
   And though I had to let that girl go
   Boy I'd sure like one more four o'clock show
   
   
5. The Gift
   Originally released on November 25th 2023 as a single, and inspired by Jason's own amazing family, "The Gift" is a beautifully simple Americana Christmas song about gratitude and appreciating family and loved ones as the true gifts of the holiday season.
   • Listen
   • Lyrics
   You and I and a Christmas fire, light so warm
   The kids are begging to stay up late, just one minute more
   Nat King Cole's on the radio
   A winter storm outside, well I say "let it snow"
   You ask me for my Christmas list
   But I can't think of one thing I'm missing
   
   So save your money this year
   'Cause when I'm with you my dear
   Every day is a gift to me
   
   Looking back on all these ghosts of my Christmas past
   Too much time staring at my feet as I ran too fast
   Never still, no matter what I found
   But all I really had to do was stop and look around
   In this moment with you, I see
   All that I could ever want is right here in front of me
   
   So save your money this year
   'Cause when I'm with you my dear
   Every day is a gift to me
   
   The years are coming quick these days and nothing lasts
   So thank you for this Christmas, and for all those past
   
   Just save your money this year
   'Cause when I'm with you my dear
   'Cause when I'm with you my dear
   Every day is a gift to me
   
   

Credits

All Songs

Music, Lyrics, Vocals, Acoustic Guitars: Jason Andrew Griffith

Voice of Marie

Production, Recording, Mix, Electric Guitars, Drums: Phenix Warren
Mastering, Bass: Rod Ross
Piano: Colin Carbonera

Going Home

Production: Rod Ross & Jason Andrew Griffith
Recording, Mix, Master, Bass, Guitars, Organ: Rod Ross
Drums: Josh Litzenberger
Harmonica: Ethan Askey
Backing Vocals: Pip Hazell

Soil and Ashes

Production, Recording, Mix, Master, Acoustic Guitars: Mark Troyer @ Evergreen Sound
Electric Guitars: Matty McKay
Pedal Steel: Mitch Jay
Backing Vocals: Pip Hazell
Drums: Spencer Cheyne
Bass: Justin Kudding

Four O'clock Show

Production, Recording, Mix, Master: Mark Troyer @ Evergreen Sound
Piano: Brendan Waters

The Gift

Production: Rod Ross & Jason Andrew Griffith
Recording, Mix, Bass: Rod Ross
Master: Paul Zacharias
Dobro: Mitch Jay
Backing vocals: Pip Hazell
Percussion: Jason Andrew Griffith

Acknowledgements

This release was only made possible through the generous support of friends and family. Many thanks to my wonderful wife Amanda for all her support, my mother Donna for her financial and moral support, FACTOR for supporting this project and all Canadian artists, Rod Ross, Josh Litzenberger, and Pip Hazell for their contributions in the studio and on the stage, Nancy Laberge and Melyssa Lee for their support and encouragement, and everyone else who helped me along the way.