TRACK_BY_TRACK Q&A
WITH
HEATHER ANNE LOMAX:
‘ALL THIS TIME’ ALBUM
HEATHER ANNE LOMAX (formerly known as the artist Michael-Ann) has spent the greater part of the past decade putting her own spin on the Americana and Country-Rock/Blues genre. A strikingly authentic and fearless artist who’s based in Los Angeles and hails from Kansas City, Missouri, HEATHER released her sophomore album ALL THIS TIME on May 1. Leading up to the album release, HEATHER has been receiving coverage on her new material from outlets including The Bluegrass Situation, American Songwriter, DittyTV and Guitar Girl Mag. She has also garnered critical reviews including Glide Magazine (4/27/20), which lauded it as “an album that dazzles with flawless execution and a tireless commitment to the music,” while Americana Highways (5/8/2020) raved: “Her music runs right into early Elvis Presley inspiration, along with a slew of other Southern troublemakers. Which works great, because that is the road Lomax walks down the middle of. Her voice is full of sassy insinuation and not-so-subtle seductions, and never too far from the blues. Still, the real strength of Heather Anne Lomax is her ability to walk into the woods, looking for the mystery that fuels all great rock & roll, and bring it back alive and then find a way to plaster it on songs like “Prison Cell,” “Heart Don’t Lie” and “Six Foot Under.”
“ALL THIS TIME”
I am a phoenix I flew out of the fire
Took me for dead, but I rose even higher
Even higher
Oh came back again
Back again
Oh, rose from the dead
HEATHER ANNE LOMAX: “Well, this song really typifies what I (and I am sure others) have gone through in my life. Always resurrecting ourselves to become a new image of our former selves. I happen to also be born on ‘The Day of the Phoenix/Day of the Dead.’”
“PRISON CELL”
You say that you love me, but I know it’s a scam
If the lightnin’ don’t gitchya it’s the grease from the pan
LOMAX: “This verse is about those who don’t know what it means to love someone else, and are too self-absorbed to have the capacity to give–if you don’t get burned one way, you are bound to be burned another way.”
“BETTER LUCK”
Got a rocket
In my back pocket
Full of wishes
Better luck next time
LOMAX: “‘Got a rocket…’ I just had the vision of carrying a bottle rocket in my back pocket when I was a kid in the Midwest. My brother and I used to have bottle rocket wars with our neighbors. It’s symbolic about the launching of hope, and how sometimes the rocket’s path can derail but still creates a spectacular explosion in the air.”
“MY DOG”
He never wears me out from talkin’
It isn’t always about him
And when I speak, he truly listens
I think I’ll give my love to him
LOMAX: “That verse is about someone who I noticed talked quite a bit and had little interest in anything other than blowing his own horn (so to speak ).”
“THE HEART DON’T LIE”
I miss the times
We spent together
I miss those moments
I’ll always treasure
But I keep it close
Bottled up inside
Cause heaven knows
That the heart don’t lie
LOMAX: “‘I keep it close…’ This song is simply about missing someone you love, and the fact that the general public rarely is privy to the secrets of the heart.”
“COMFORT ME”
Lord knows you left us way too soon
If I could bring you back, I surely would
You’re in my heart, forever you’ll stay
Until I meet you one fine day
LOMAX: “This song is about losing my mother. I lost both my adopted mother and my birth mother. My birth mother passed at only 27 (‘Lord knows you left us way too soon.’) It’s the wish to bring back your loved ones…”
“MR. POPULAR”
Mr. Popular
Mr. Popular
Where’d you get the money
Your mouth is drippin’ honey
Mr. Popular
Better eat your fill
You’re a license to kill
Mr. Popular
LOMAX: “This is really a song about a somatic narcissist who wears a mask to the public but in actuality is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. ‘Better eat your fill, you’re a license to kill Mr. Popular.’ It’s someone who takes advantage of a situation, and preys on other people to fulfill their own voracious appetite.”
“CRUMBS”
Well it’s all about them
They need to win
They don’t give a damn
About the mess you’re in
They take what they want
They’re always in need But if you cry out
They’ll watch you bleed
LOMAX: “This is about people bending over backwards and sacrificing their own needs for others without regard for their own worth. Settling for ‘crumbs’ instead of the whole loaf of bread.”
“6 FT UNDER”
You’re a sneaky gaslighter
A cunning backbiter
A salesman bar none
A smoking gun
Call the undertaker
Call the next of kin
Bury that truth 6 foot under
Hope it don’t rise again-rise again
LOMAX: ‘This song should have been subtitled ‘The Ballad of a Narcissist.’ (Can you tell that has been a topic of study for me, and the toxic bond of empaths and narcissists?) It’s a song about the telltale signs of a narcissist, and the fact that they manipulate the truth to ‘cover their sins.’”
“SEE YOU AGAIN”
I’m ridin’ ridin’
On that train
One of these days gonna hold you again
Ridin’ ridin’ on that train
One of these days
Gonna hold you again
And I’ll see you…I’ll see you…I’ll see you again
LOMAX: “I was inspired by a picture of Elvis Presley riding back to Memphis on a train-it just hit me in the heart. It’s such a powerful picture. He was listening to a turntable on his lap, lost in thought. I imagined he was pondering his life, and thinking about seeing his family and girlfriend again, more than likely happy to be embraced by those who truly knew and loved him.”
“JUST LIKE YOURS”
I’ve been waiting
On a soul just
I’ve been wandering and wondering
If you’d ever reach these shores
Reach these shores
I’ve been prayin’
For a soul just like yours
(And) I‘ve been waiting, and waiting
For that holy one whom I’d adore
Whom I adore
LOMAX: “This one is about the concept of soulmates (‘holy one’) and waiting for that person to show up in your life. Sometimes when one DOES show up, the circumstances don’t allow you to be together.”
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