“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