Leon Russell, "Leon Russell and the Shelter People", 1971
--words and music by Leon Russell
from "The Farrago Sessions", 2006, LineLevel Music
How many days has it been since I was born How many days until I die Do I know any ways that I can make you laugh Or do I only know how to make you cry When the baby looks around him It's such a sight to see He shares a simple secret With the wise man He's a stranger in a strange land He's a stranger in a strange land Just a stranger in a strange land He's a stranger in a strange land How many miles does it take to see the sun How many years until it's done Kiss my confusion away in the night Lay by my side till the morning comes And the baby looks around him And shares his bed of hay With the beggar in the palace of the king He's a stranger in a strange land He's a stranger in a strange land Just a stranger in a strange land He's a stranger in a strange land Don't know exactly what's going on in the world today Don't know what there is to say About the way the people are treating each other, not like brothers Leaders take us far away from ecology with mythology and astrology Has got some words to say about the way we live today Why can't we learn to love each other, it's time to turn a new face To the whole wide whole wide whole wide human race Stop the money, chase the rain back Relax, get back on the human track Stop racing toward oblivion Oh, such a sad, sad state we're in Do you recognize the bells of truth When you hear them ring Stop and listen to the children sing He's a stranger in a strange land He's a stranger in a strange land Just a stranger in a strange land He's a stranger in a strange land I'm a stranger in a strange land
STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND (LEON RUSSELL) THIS ONE WAS ORIGINALLY ON LEON RUSSELL & THE SHELTER PEOPLE RELEASED IN MAY OF 1971, I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A BIG LEON FAN BOTH AS AN ARTIST AND A SONGWRITER, AND HIS UNIQUE BRAND OF OKLAHOMA ROCK / FUNK RARELY FAILED TO GET ME OFF. BUT, TO BE COMPLETELY HONEST ABOUT IT, I THINK IT WAS THE CLAUDIA LENNEAR / KATHI MCDONALD BACKGROUND VOCALS ON THE CHORUS THAT FIRST HOOKED ME ON THIS ONE.
MICHAEL STANLEY: LEAD VOCAL, ACOUSTIC & ELECTRIC GUITARS, BASS BOB PELANDER: PIANO & ORGAN TOMMY DOBECK: DRUMS RODNEY PSYKA: PERCUSSION BACKING VOCALS: JENNIFER LEE, DEBI LEWIN