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Mayfield

by Curt Smith

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1.
What are we fighting for What am I trying to restore by taking aim at you It’s not that I need the best I want you to see I long to be successfully repressed I don’t know why we fall What are we fighting for Why do I always ask for more than this day can provide When did I lose your trust Why do I choose to justify this dirty little war I don’t know why we fall There was a time when I believed in providence Where is that confidence now I see the world sideways and I’m falling off again Into our rarely-go-round What am I waiting for Isn’t this where we fade to black as you walk out the door If I’m so damn sure What are these tears I try to cheerfully ignore There was a time when I believed in providence Where is that confidence now I see the world sideways and I’m falling off again Into our rarely-go-round There was a time when I thought our salvation lied In the nights intimate heat My anger’s contagious my wishes outrageous But dreams are my only relief I’m revolving, gravity keeps calling Falling, into our rarely-go-round Into our rarely-go-round Into our rarely-go-round (What are we fighting for) When all the anger’s gone Who’s lost and who has won And dare we ask ourselves Who are we fighting
2.
Sorry Town 05:06
Alison cries on a radio Monday Lipstick goodbyes and a promise to call He’s in a veiled illusion She’s out of mind They’re happy ever after And so am I Cool in sorry town I watch you drown Cool in sorry town I’m alive Andrew expires on a valium Sunday Ballpoint goodbyes full of rambling asides His life’s a failed illusion He’s killing time He’s happy ever after And so am I Cool in sorry town I watch you drown Cool in sorry town I’m alive I’m breaking stride on a cynical Sunday Cool world goodbye said the fly on the wall I’m in controlled confusion I’m Mister Fine So happy ever after Cool in sorry town I watch you drown Cool in sorry town I’m alive
3.
Jasmine’s taste grows deeper than the ocean or her dreams For what it’s worth Jasmine’s taste grows deeper than the ocean or her dreams For what it’s worth Volatile she wants your fear She’s old, old before her years Jasmine’s taste conspires to dignify her harmful ways For what that’s worth Jasmine’s taste backfires if you refuse to play those games For all they’re worth Insecure she feeds her thoughts and needs With images and dreams Take me up Take me up to your heaven And shower me with your light Take me down Take me down to your torment Uncover me with your fire Jasmine’s taste can stretch beyond the depths of your desire To your dismay Jasmine’s taste delights in all the intricate designs of disarray Take me up Take me up to your heaven And shower me with your light Take me down Take me down to your torment Uncover me with your fire Time will only push her strengths To extraordinary lengths She’ll trade secure for misery And innocence for ecstasy She sees herself and cries Take me up Take me up to your heaven And shower me with your light Take me down Take me down to your torment Uncover me with your fire
4.
Reach Out 04:38
So many things you said last night In your attempt to be forthright How certain things are meant to be If it’s of benefit to me This moments really celestine You said “I’m not sure what that means” But kept this to myself Lest I intrude on your sincerity And you said Go reach out and find yourself Go reach out and find yourself I fail to understand these pearls Of abject generosity They’re all that they appear to be A conscience sold for precious words The meat of your philosophy Of TV talk show homily Was heaven is within us all I couldn’t help but think your heaven must be very small So I said Go reach out and find yourself Go reach out and find yourself God could I use a drink or a cigarette Since you’re refusing to think Guess we’d better get high It’s been a while Thanks for being so frank I gotta go You wear your candor and rank Like a new trophy bride It’s back in style I felt your need to share some more I felt the pressure knock my door Thank god for wood and all it’s strength The power to keep you at arms length So I said Go reach out and find yourself Go reach out and find yourself Go reach out and find yourself Go reach out and fuck yourself
5.
Trees 03:46
It’s time to brood Put up the walls of sound And practice all the finer points Of falling down I’ll put aside The calculated eyes The even tempered smile Diffuse again Given time to discuss these points with Outside help I could still these friends in my Heading out to the trees I see myself I hide in green Recall the faded dreams Collide my scope divides And leaves the team Beyond the veil I watch the line extend A helping hand withdraws The line again Given time to discuss these points with Outside help I could still these friends in my Heading out to the trees I see myself Is that an angel on its side Next to the postman drifting by I once had a dream that I could fly Into the trees It’s time to brood Put up the walls of sound And practice all the finer points Of falling down I’ll put aside The calculated eyes The even tempered smile Collapse again
6.
Round we go Living in a carnival of compromise All we know Is decorating flags and choosing sides Round and round Accusations fly Holding ground In the name of father knows not why We’re still counting pride in lives All that I know is I Don’t believe in mother England divine I don’t believe imaginary lines I don’t believe in brothers bound by the soil In the end it’s a solitary world Falling in Everyone agrees it’s suicide They’re off again It’s condemnation time Still no one seems surprised All that I know is I Don’t believe in mother England divine I don’t believe imaginary lines I don’t believe in brothers bound by the soil In the end it’s a solitary world Condemnation time (I don’t believe in mother) (I don’t believe in mother) I don’t believe in mother…… You say that God is on your side All that I know is I Don’t believe in mother England divine I don’t believe imaginary lines I don’t believe in brothers bound by the soil In the end it’s a solitary world Don’t believe in mother England divine I don’t believe imaginary lines I don’t believe in brothers bound by the soil In the end it’s a solitary world
7.
Snow Hill 04:17
Slow days in restless rooms A constant stream of girls in green Toy guns for action men On news at ten Cool handed candied lies The abstract thoughts of adolescent minds School plays and tribal wars United scores Snow Hill inclined Watch the rain fall across the rooftops Innocent wild Dream my days away Skin deep and snowball sweet Swings and slides a hundred count to hide Black sheep my soul to keep My soul to find Snow Hill inclined Watch the rain fall across the rooftops Innocent wild Dream my days away Black sheep my soul to keep My soul to find Snow Hill inclined Watch the rain fall across the rooftops Innocent wild Dream my days away Snow Hill inclined Watch the rain fall across the rooftops Innocent wild Dream my days away Black sheep my soul to keep My soul to find
8.
I don’t want to be around When you come down I don’t want to be around You shine You keen You’re nowhere in between You rise And phase On dead-wood days I don’t want to be around When you come down I don’t want to be around You blind You’ glaze You fire until you craze You are my Malaise On dead-wood days Parading Pollyanna’s blister and hide away You’re valedictory and vertigo eyed today Your grace with gravity is starting to slide You sway You wind From torment to define You pray You find A paradigm to redefine You take You find It all goes by I don’t want to be around
9.
Sun King 04:25
The evidence is on the page Not much to show for so much rage It makes me smile You lost it somehow Solitude was your only choice Bitterness your only voice I saw your face The time is talking now Boy you looked so bad! You make the earth revolve You make the camera sing No conscience can absolve The Sun King A small imbalanced vain recluse You use the planets to excuse Your costumed smile Your childish abuse The gloves are off there are no rules I’m a regicidal fool Who’d change your face But change would just improve Boy you looked so sad! You make the earth revolve You make the camera sing No conscience can absolve The Sun King Here comes the rain To test our will Here comes the rain To cleanse again You make the earth revolve You make the camera sing No conscience can absolve The Sun King
10.
Gone Again 03:52
He’s gone again Pulls me with him each time I should ask him when he’s home He’s gone again Pulls the blinds to hide the bars He shows me when to bleed And time will tell If all that I could be was changed By his remote disdain He’s gone again Onto the train he holds the reins Of emptiness and fear He’s gone again Into the arms of solitude He constantly reveres And I will cease To seek delusional relief In these defining years Emerald eyed he dreams of disowning Brown eyed and homely justifies A little too late the wrong man returns To say goodnight He’s gone again Pulls me with him each time When attempting to atone He’s gone for good And I discover irony And ask him when he’s home
11.
It’s time to brood Put up the walls of sound And practice all the finer points Of falling down I’ll put aside The calculated eyes The even tempered smile Diffuse again Given time to discuss these points with Outside help I could still these friends in my Heading out to the trees I see myself I hide in green Recall the faded dreams Collide my scope divides And leaves the team Beyond the veil I watch the line extend A helping hand withdraws The line again Given time to discuss these points with Outside help I could still these friends in my Heading out to the trees I see myself Is that an angel on its side Next to the postman drifting by I once had a dream that I could fly Into the trees It’s time to brood Put up the walls of sound And practice all the finer points Of falling down I’ll put aside The calculated eyes The even tempered smile Collapse again

about

Mayfield was a band I formed after moving to New York to be with Frances and to escape the UK music business. It was a couple of years into my hiatus from Tears For Fears and the premise was to not use my name (hence Mayfield) and just try to rediscover the joys of music through playing live. We regularly played at downtown New York clubs like Brownie’s, Mercury Lounge and CBGB’s, in fact the only criteria was that the club had to be within walking distance of my apartment on Mercer and Houston. The “Mayfield Walking Tour” was born!

These were probably a couple of the most enjoyable years I’ve spent as a musician: no pressure and just doing it for the love of music. These songs were ostensibly recorded live, that is with the band playing together with overdubbing and editing used only to polish a few things. We recorded them over a period of three weeks, and whilst I may question the quality of some of the recording and mixing in retrospect, I still can feel the passion intended today.
I have decided to reissue this CD for two reasons:
1. People have asked me to.
2. The original distribution company is no longer in existence. So you can rest assured that if you buy the original CD, not one cent of what you pay for it will come to me. For this reason, I’ve updated the artwork a little so that everyone can differentiate.

With that said, I would like to add the following thanks: Diva and Wilder, Georgica and Harry, Arlene Wszalek, Gina Vivona, Justine Ungaro, Eric Alper, Michael Tarlowe.
Last, a very special thanks to Janice Whaley for the rerecorded, rearranged version of Trees. If you get a chance visit Janice's page here on Bandcamp.

PS. To those wondering about the name:
Curt-is-Mayfield (geddit?)

credits

released November 15, 2011

MAYFIELD
Curt Smith vocals, bass guitar
Charlton Pettus guitar, backing vocals
Doug Petty keyboards
Russ Irwin keyboards, backing vocals
Shawn Pelton drums
Supporting Cast
Steve Ferrone drums on “Snow Hill”
Brian Geltner drums on “Sun King” and bridge of “Sorry Town”
Jimmy Copley drums on “Mother England”
Richard Pagano drums on “Reach Out”
Carol Steele and Bob Muller percussion
Tim Beatty harmonica
Chris Rael backing vocals on “Trees”
Rebecca Martin backing vocals on “Snow Hill” appears courtesy of EMI Records
Georg Brandl accordian
The Irish guy whose name we’ve forgotten whistle
The trumpet player from Cats trumpet

All songs written by Curt Smith and Charlton Pettus and published © Happy Fish Music (BMI)/Margerine Music/Polygram International Music Publishing (ASCAP), except “Mother England” written by Curt Smith, Charlton Pettus, Roger Manning and Andy Sturmer, published © Happy Fish Music (BMI)/Margerine Music/Polygram International Music Publishing (ASCAP)/Sunshine Suicide Songs/EMI Virgin Music Inc.(ASCAP)/Little Green Appletunes/EMI Virgin Music Inc. (BMI)

Recorded at Dangerous Music NY, The Hit Factory NY, and Charlty’s Cave NY

Mixed and Mastered at The Hit Factory NY
Produced by Charlton Pettus
Mixed by Jay Healy (except “Trees” mixed by J. Paul Logus III)
Mastered by Chris Gehringer

Thanks to Frances, Alexandra, Troy, Eddie, Danielle and all at The Hit Factory, Bob, Graham, Drew, the Mayfield on-line crew, Marc, Rick, Marty, Justin, Jimmy at Gibson Guitars, Jill, CMS, Frank, Fred and Lisa, Henry, and Randy.
Rick Patrick Design
Marc Joseph Photography

RE-RELEASE CREDITS
Trees Bonus Track
Curt Smith Lead vocals
Janice Whaley Backing vocals, “instruments,” and arrangement
Produced by Curt Smith and The Reverend Charlton Pettus
Mixed and Mastered by Ryan Coseboom
Gina Vivona for GV Creative Art direction and design
Justine Ungaro Cover photo

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Curt Smith Los Angeles, California

Curt Smith is the co-founder of Tears For Fears, with which he continues to tour worldwide, as well as an acclaimed solo musician. He also writes music for film, television and the web, most recently scoring the independent feature Meth Head,. He's a regular speaker at creative, media and technology events including TEDxHollywood, TEDxSan Francisco and the USC Annenberg Online Communities program. ... more

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