Am I Really Here All Alone?

“Phil Lewin’s homespun debut is a loner folk masterpiece; accidentally psychedelic, lit by
heartbreak and timeless in its sadness and hope.” – Jeff Conklin, WFMU

1975 Private-press LP now remastered from the original tapes. In his own words, today:

“I was once told that one should first write about one’s own experiences, then, expand to
documenting the observed experiences of those around, and, finally write about what one
imagines. Am I Really Here All Alone? encompasses all of the above. Something else I
realized in writing lyrics is that sometimes it is good to be transparent about the meaning
and others times, not so much. “Unusual Day” is an example of me being honest
struggling to develop and maintain a relationship, but ultimately realizing it was not going
to succeed. “Watercolours” documents a crushing experience, but is couched in
metaphor. I hope that listeners will relate through their own experiences, and because my
reality is implied, not specified, will not be limited to mine. “Sweet Georgia” is an example
of me, as a writer, leaving my personal space. I think of it as an attempt to clone William Faulkner to Bobbie Gentry. “The Magic Within You” is actually a commission where I was asked to write a song for a benefit to be performed by Doug Henning, the groundbreaking
stage magician and friend. I once heard John Prine complain that there was no point in writing a ‘train song’ because Steve Goodman had already written the perfect one with “City of New Orleans”. Naturally, I had to write “Back Home, To You”, my idea of a train song
where I tried to capture the movement of the train in the rhythm of the guitar. As for the other six songs, to me, they all reflect realities, experienced, observed and imagined. Descartes said, “I think, therefore I am.” However my question is, “Am I Really Here All Alone?” – Philip Lewin, 2017