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Promises​/​Help Me Tonight

by Erik Ritland

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1.
Promises 03:40
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I should have warned you that I wasn't what you wanted I should have told you from the start When I look at you all I see is a target An actor cast in the wrong part I'm an accident that's happened And I'm happening again I wish I could fall asleep with the promises I keep 'Cuz I like sleeping alone I probably shouldn't talk so much I probably shouldn't tell you what Has been on my mind I never asked to get so personal with you I didn't think it out too well We were drifters in a world standing still Peddlers with nothing to sell I'm an accident that's happened And I'm happening again I wish I could fall asleep with the promises I keep 'Cuz I like sleeping alone I probably shouldn't talk so much I probably shouldn't tell you what Has been on my mind In the end there's nothing I can say or do That hasn't been done or said I am not the person I once thought I knew I'm a fantasy instead I'm an accident that's happened And I'm happening again I wish I could fall asleep with the promises I keep 'Cuz I like sleeping alone I probably shouldn't talk so much I probably shouldn't tell you what Has been on my mind
2.
Help Me Tonight 04:33
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The ocean's wide The sea is deep But I will drink them dry I'm a poor, poor stranger In a dead end town Where no one's on your side How can I be sure I'm here When everything is dust It's a long, long way to higher ground When you don't know who to truts So help me tonight I'm falling fast Help me help myself I'm here I'm waiting I can almost see the light So please help me tonight I'll take the walk But I won't run The world will run for me Dawn is coming But always fades It's all I want to be
3.
I've Been Ready (early Floating Bridge demo) 04:23
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Put down your weapons Look at my scars Feel my pain it's just a prayer up past the stars Teach me lessons Maybe I will learn Maybe I'll ignore them and get what I deserve I don't want no enemy I don't want to start no holy war What's that you're thinking and what is this fighting for? You don't see me and yet you drop the bomb You best surrender 'cuz I have been ready all along Put down your weapons They ain't worth a dime You cannot kill me if you're only killing time You've been abandoned You've run away You've left me empty and with nothing left to say I don't want no enemy I don't want to start no holy war What's that you're thinking and what is this fighting for? You don't see me and yet you drop the bomb You best surrender 'cuz I have been ready all along I know how a troubled mind works I've seen the pain I've felt the hurt I know its strengths and its weakness too So there's nothing left for you to do Do you need color to brighten up your life? Or are you happy with the good old black and white? Do you feel me? Can you feel at all? Are you having trouble climbing up that old stone wall? I don't want no enemy I don't want to start no holy war What's that you're thinking and what is this fighting for? You don't see me and yet you drop the bomb You best surrender 'cuz I have been ready all along
4.
Promises (early demo) 03:10
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5.
Help Me Tonight (pedal steel version) 04:20
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about

In 2008, Erik Ritland and his band Floating Bridge entered the studio at legendary Union Depot in St. Paul. Under the production of Nate Houge, one of Erik's songwriting heroes, the popular Minnesota alternative rock band created their only album.

Its initial run was very limited, so it's finally being re-issued more widely in October 2020! More details forthcoming.

"Promises" was the opening track of Floating Bridge. One of Erik's finest pop/rock songs, it features the entire band at its peak: the soulful lead guitar of Ed Hart, the biting lead guitar of Drew Peterson, the chaotic drums of Chris Ritland, and the thumping bass of Casey Carver.

"Help Me Tonight," one of Erik's most mature acoustic folk songs, fluctuates between an emotive ballad and all-out rocker, led by the ferocious lead guitar playing of Drew Pederson.

The double A-sided single is fleshed out by three previously unreleased bonus tracks, early Floating Bridge demo "I've Been Ready," an early demo of "Promises," and the stripped-down pedal steel version of "Help Me Tonight."

"Empty Bed"/"Ordinary," the second single from Floating Bridge, will be issued on August 21!

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released March 1, 2019

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Erik Ritland Saint Paul

One of the last great American songwriters in the tradition of Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, William James, G.K. Chesterton, Jeff Tweedy, and Jim Varney.

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