Amber Dutton
So, check this indie-folk-rock songwriter. She’s putting spoken-word and melody together in wicked-fabulous style. Kind of Ani Difranco, some Ben Harper, Kate Nash with some Violent Femmes throw-back. Won a contest to play the 930 Club in 2010 and been playing all over since! CD out July 2011
Biography
Amber Dutton plays indie-folk-rock in the DC area, a songwriter in love with spoken-word and melody. She is an engaging live performer- authentic and poetic artistry mixed with lighthearted wit and cynicism and a genuinely relaxed honesty. Her music is eclectic, reflecting influences as diverse as Ani Difranco, Vampire Weekend, Regina Spektor, Ben Harper, Black Keys and Violent Femmes. She was voted a chance to play at the 930 Club in 2010 and has been playing local venues in the DC-MD-VA area as well as traveling back to her homestate North Carolina to perform. She released her first CD- Fireflies and Cigarette Lights in July 2011.
Lyrics
Breeze
Written By: Amber Dutton
Just let me sit here in your space and stay a while
Cause I’m headed toward the sky But it seems too far to drive
I will wait here in your smile until I can breathe free
Watch that paper bag float freely in the breeze
In the breeze
Can I borrow your t-shirt wear a little bit of you
Share some of your footsteps wearing the same shoes
Cause I notice everything just don’t know where to aim
Treading lightly through the trails of falling leaves
In the breeze
Cause I’ve tumbled long enough to pick a few things up
And I am carrying more than I’m supposed to hold
My words are mixing up as they’re falling from my lips
And this music scatters from my fingertips
In the breeze
I hear your secrets quietly whispering to me
In syllables I barely understand
I’ll struggle to get through while holding my own hand
And pretending that I know just what to do
Just let me sit here in your space and stay a while
Cause I’m headed toward the sky but it seems to far to drive
I will wait here in your smile until I can breathe free
Watch that paper bag float up into the trees
In the breeze
Pity Patter
Written By: Amber Dutton
I asked your friends is there some kind of danger
Something I don’t know about some handsome stranger
I asked your friends where have you been all of these days
I asked your friends is there something we should ask
Something I missed that successfully slipped past
I asked your friends should we be on the look out for you
Pity patter
Pity doesn’t matter
Pity patter
I can feel your pain….in the rain and the voices in Spain
I can’t shake the past hear you calling my name
Don’t know where you’re at but you’re filling my brain
I can’t help you now
I asked your friends were you sad were you lonely
I asked your friends had they heard the whole story
I asked your friend where did you get the gun
I asked your friends had they even been listening
I asked your friends had they just paid attention
I asked your friends why hadn’t they kept better watch
They seemed like good friends at the very beginning
They only remember your name when you’re winning
I lost track of you when you never returned my call
The fear and the panic they shouldn’t be trusted
Blended together and totally flustered
When I gave up I left and slammed the door
Chasing Fireflies
Written By: Amber Dutton
I’ve been caught chasing fireflies that turned out to be cigarette lights
Among clapping hands your withering glance
My time here has been misspent
Naively wandering in dimly lit rooms
With smoking guns and dusty tombs
When asked to dance I politely refused
The task at hand seems to be overused…
But I can’t tarry long, I’ve stumbled in where I don’t belong
I can’t explain my need to run
But I can’t tarry long, I’ve got big things to do and this just feels wrong
I can’t explain my need to run
Studied diagrams of stories old
Compared them to what I dearly hold
While the thinning moon speaks only silently
She cannot pretend she cannot unsee
But I can’t tarry long I’ve stumbled in where I don’t belong
I can’t explain my need to run
But I can’t tarry long, I’ve got big things to do and this just feels wrong
I can’t explain my need to run
When you asked me to catch your falling stars
They fell straight through my arms and burnt my boots
Right where I stand
I’ll walk away alone trying to understand
Gettable
Written By: Amber Dutton
Sittin in the shiny grass, barefoot
I saw you, across the way
No shoes, no shirt, no cares in the world
And you smiled
Come and get me if you want to
I could use a little someone to hold onto oh, oh, oh
I’m gettable
I’m sittin' in the sun, glasses on, sandals undone
And I look happy
Noticing the songbirds sing
Laughing at everything
Patiently waiting my turn
Chorus
Not so fast, I choose carefully
But I’ve been taking notes and you look alright to me
I try to seem real nice, but sometimes I’m mean
but if you’re worth my time, you should call me
I saw you as you walked nearby
The sun made you squint your eyes
And I heard your hello
And we talked and talked and talked ‘til it was time to go
Chorus
Discography
Fireflies and Cigarette Lights- released July 2011
Set List
From a recent gig--Pity Patter. Feelin' Free. Gettable. Chasing Fireflies. Spies and Truth. In the Breeze. Aimlessly. Montana. Just to Be Nice. Friendly Fire. Suddenly. Reprieve. City Lights. Can't Hear You. Swearing off Sunflower Seeds. Color and Size. Fighting Battles.
