Backroads is made possible by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund with money by the vote of the people, November 4th, 2008.

Squeaks start to grow oh, those old boards begin to bow heavy urges explored oh, but couldn't hold five pounds more I'll rebuild this frame underneath our sleep replacing each sweaty nail that's grown weak oh, the work's been done it even withstands two plus one.

Don't be so scared you have plenty of friends who care no you're not just one you mean more to me since we've begun oh, I'm afraid I'm falling in love with you, you might not like all my ticks I clock through oh, the work's been done it even withstands two plus one a little confused a little today maybe by the time the sun rolls down the blinds we'll begin all we'll begin to sway... we'll begin, we'll begin, we'll begin to sway... Squeaks start to grow oh, those old boards begin to bow heavy urges explored oh, but couldn't hold five pounds more I rebuild this frame underneath our sleep replacing each sweaty nail that's grown weak oh, the work's been done it even withstands it even withstands oh, it even withstands two plus.

My name is Hannah Cooper.

I guess you would call me a singer-songwriter and folks kind of placed my sound in between jazz and Americana.

I would say when I first got into music was when I first got into choir which was you know fourth, fifth grade, started singing, graduated, kept singing, took up the guitar and just started to just keep adding to organizing sounds and it's overwhelming to be in this industry because there's so many avenues and there's just there's so many sounds that I'm attracted to so it's challenging to...

I don't know who who knows I might be a rap singer in a few years or something.

Buy, buy, I buy things all the time they say it's what I need but what I need starts from seeds why work my bones so I'm just another clone I thought being human was being my own.

Time, time I don't have any time I dropped my only spare on the way to this fair, I've traveled over here oh I've done a lot of this but there's quite a few things that I'm starting to miss I feel alone, I feel alone I have many friends but only a dial tone.

Let's start with you grow some time feed a lover and another oh I thought I knew all there is to know I had a stack of books but they're only for show what I learned from this came only from placing time the first one in line at the drop of a dime you see maybe I'll start to breathe once I've met all my needs though I don't feel like that road will ever take me back home.

Oh, listen to me I have a nice treat once you finish your first three meals your head will spin your heart will win wherever you choose to go listen to me it might not be your first choice that comes to mind but you'll find in time your needs align with moments creating wonder.

Buy, buy I buy things all the time they say it's what I need but what I need starts from seeds why work my bones so I'm just another clone I thought being human was being my own you see time, time all I have is time I'll shuffle my choice and choose I don't wanna lose I've traveled over here oh I've done a lot of this but there's quite a few things I'm starting to miss yeah there's quite a few things I'm starting to miss, starting to miss, starting to miss, starting to miss... Oh, listen to me I have a nice treat once you finish your first three meals your head will spin your heart will win wherever you choose to go listen to me it might not be your first choice that comes to mind but you'll find in time your needs align with moments creating wonder oh, listen to me someday you'll see what you do is who you'll be and you'll find in time your needs align with moments creating wonder.

I was 10 or 11 years old when I bought my first guitar and there's a few episodes on MTV and they would have the tablature laid out and there'd be a song that would play and it would show you where the fingerings were so I would watch these shows and learn these songs so I kind of taught myself that way.

I kind of reached a point where the music in my head was far beyond what my skill level was so I at about 25 I met a man who is a classical seven-string jazz guitar player out in Ashland, Oregon, Bill Lenhart, and I started taking lessons with him and oh my goodness, I think that saved my life because it finally like allowed me to kind of express these, these sounds that I was hearing in my head and what I wanted to create and like how I wanted a song to sound.

This is a co-write.

I uh, I had help with the lyrics.

Dawn Waters helped me with the lyrics.

I often struggle to convey what some can simply say those 3 little words I love them you say to think before I speak tongue-tied by honesty clearly I'm misunderstood but let me explain those perfumed sheets, those arms you pull me close and tight and then I'll go and say baby you're a radioactive pile of heat go on your side of the bed please you're cooking me, it's too much we're getting older every day I'm quite certain I'll display a few gray hairs by 33 they say age is just a myth the key to youth exists in our escape to a romantic spa we're living in a dream, hot pools, massage and steam we're feeling new again and then I go and say baby this wrinkle cream helps with your zits oh, a two in one yeah let's get it, come on.

Darling I know it's true we fight I run from you blinded deaf and confused, fill our space but round and round this chorus always sings of gratitude for you what do you say let's take this day by day.

We like to sunbathe on the beach, go for walks, grab a treat some tasty cookies and cream, we'll spend an hour at weights you'll go spin feeling so good let's head for home let me explain those beads of sweat tone arms, you pull me close and tight and then I go and say baby after you run you taste like beef jerky.

I didn't write that one.

Darling I know it's true we fight I run from you blinded, deaf and confused fill our space but round and round this chorus always sings of gratitude for you what do you say... let's take this day by day.

My songwriting process I would say it mainly comes from an experience.

I guess songwriting in general always comes from the human experience so I guess that's kind of where it starts and from there I like to pull together chords because I feel like chords can tell a deeper story with the emotions of what's happening versus the words so I always kind of play with chords first and then a melody kind of floats and starts to become layered on top of that and then it's like okay, what's the story about?

This happened.

How do you want to tell this story, you know because the song is basically a story?

Still little bird, red open wings sweet in a dream in flying high stay with me darling oh stay with me red rosy cheeks lie next to me short shallow breath leaving the last stay with me darling, oh stay with me.

Close all the doors, stop all the clocks I'll wash my hands far from this fear in here oh because I'm right here stay with me darling oh stay with me oh...

So here we are all dressed and ready ya grabbed what was yours and I kept what was left for mine we certainly gave it all the best try although some knots just seemed to come untied oh our world, our world, our world, our world couldn't keep in this world I won't ask how I could have changed it you know changing it might have made it harder for us to see let us just sink and settle into winter some crisp clean air, warm fires and calm cups of tea oh our world, our world, our I can't keep up with this world and just know I'm, I'm yeah I'm right here, I'm right here.

Remember that time we spoke of Minnesota could have laid among 10 000 reflections of northern lights I would play and play all those secret chords and you would write and write and write, ooh oh our world, our world, our dreams, our dreams we were born to dream I really don't understand how to end things we've been there once maybe twice in our time before and so you pull this to the nearest shore I'll hope for that day we'll laugh and play not wanting anything more just be alive, oh...this is all, this is all right here, I'm right here.

So here we are all dressed and ready you grabbed what was yours and I kept what was left for mine.

My experience of performing my music live feels like, feels like home and I'm just I'm home.

It's just it's so comfortable and and the songs are arranged in a way where they're just like that's, that's my song.

Other people can play it but it's just like ah, it, I, there's just such a character to it.

I just I love, I love performing my music.

Like I'm always chasing, trying to be better, trying to do something new, trying to do something extraordinary with my music.

There's no limit with music.

It's a bottomless ocean.

If you go into music it's just you're, you're going to be an explorer, a lifelong explorer.

ooh...

There were so many sweet times cups of coffee delicious wines that when we looked up, we just poured another cup and after awhile we floated all our trials but then we got stuck what's this we're in a muck oh, those expectations never fail saturate something so pure and frail as I liked you, you liked me so let's go back to play and forget about that day though the things we do disturb our friends they're all concerned we forgot to feed ourselves let's just admit we're overwhelmed our back-step to firm ground could crumble everything around oh, those expectations never fail to saturate something so pure and frail as I loved you, you loved me so let's take some time to find our minds let's give some space to remember our place you see I need you need we need to talk this through till all is said to find some grounds we both can mend to hope for love and be friends I'm not quite sure where to go my heart keeps telling me slow, slow another will appear like this then suddenly I crave a kiss times confuse me more and more it gets harder opening new doors but still I insist there's so much I don't want to miss and your love has shown me how to grow in ways the universe could only know so here I am still listening.

Backroads is made possible by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund with money by the vote of the people, November 4th, 2008.