“The Road and the Stars” Tracklist

1. Sailing the World Alone
2. Connemara Ponies
3. Red Mountain Blues
4. Last of the Twickham Blackbirds
5. Kitchen Girl
6. Small Wonder
7. Caves of Killala (LIVE)
8. Hard Bargain (LIVE)
9. Music for a Feast
10. Cape Horn
11. Vernon Tool & Die
12. High Country
13. I Swear I’m Going To Learn This Time
14. The Hunter & the Fox

Chris Murphy shared the origin of each song on the album with his listeners.  He described each song’s inspiration as:

“Sailing the World Alone” was inspired by my love of sailing and sailboats and this song is inspired by living on a Catalina 27 sailboat in 2016.

“Connemara Ponies” is an Irish-inspired reel and was inspired by the music of The Bothy Band, Planxty, and Tommy Peoples and is from my Tinker’s Dream album.

“Red Mountain Blues” – I’ve always loved the sound of high lonesome hillbilly fiddle music, including the historical Bill Monroe, and fiddlers Kenny Baker, Vassar Clement, and Sam Bush.

“Last of the Twickham Blackbirds” is a song I wrote about a secret society of British soldiers in WWII whose mission was to save the world from behind enemy lines and they were never allowed to talk about it.

“Kitchen Girl” – Growing up in the Northeast I was always fascinated by southern culture and lifestyle. It’s inspired by the great writings of Tennessee Williams, William Faulkner, and Truman Capote, as well as the great actor John Hawkes in the film Winter’s Bone.

“Small Wonder” – There are not a lot of songs in 6/8 and this one was inspired by the great Luka Bloom and Christy Moore. It’s my idea of an Irish love song-lullaby.

“Caves of Killala” is a medley of 3 pieces of Irish music; the first a slow air, the second a jig, and the third is a rebel song that tells the tale of guns smuggled in from the Boer War to fight for freedom.

“Hard Bargain” is a hard driving bluegrass song about life’s troubles.

“Music for a Feast” is a tarantella inspired by the great Nina Rota and the wonderful music of southern Italy, best served ala dente.

“Cape Horn” is my contribution to the under-appreciated genre of sea shanties about sailing the most dangerous passage in the world, the Straight of Cape Horn.

“Vernon Tool & Die” originated from my love of mysterious tales and mysterious places with hidden tales of woe. It’s dedicated to all those weird and scary buildings we drive by and don’t know what’s going on in them.

“High Country” is a rollicking journey through the world of fiddle tunes inspired by the great fiddle players Darryl Anger, Tim O’Brien, and Sam Bush.

“I Swear I’m Going to Learn This Time” is a love song from my Water Under the Bridge album about the lessons we never learn.

“The Hunter and the Fox” is a 2-part instrumental medley about the ancient tale about the hunter and the hunted.