Samples (Green Can of Paint)

from Samples by Heather Aubrey Lloyd

/

about

This was the song Heather didn't want to write. When "Green Can of Paint" was drawn, she had recently painted her basement apartment after a breakup. It was obvious what to write about, like it or not. Based on the idea that paint color names are less about accurate descriptions of color, instead evoking "aspirational" fantasies about the sort of life you want to paint over and recreate. The title track, "Samples," is about trying on taster-spoon paint colors and the lives they promise, and painting over what must be left behind. 99.9% autobiographical, with one exception: There was no "mantle" in the house, but Heather needed it for the rhyme. Even the paint color names were real, and almost all appear in the album artwork.

Footnotes:

"Quiet Veranda:" www.homedepot.com/p/BEHR-ULTRA-8-oz-350F-4-Quiet-Veranda-Matte-Interior-Exterior-Paint-and-Primer-in-One-Sample-UL20016/202181460

"Southern Breeze:" www.homedepot.com/p/BEHR-PREMIUM-PLUS-8-oz-450E-3-Southern-Breeze-Flat-Interior-Exterior-Paint-and-Primer-in-One-Sample-PP10416/202178320

"Afternoon Shade:" www.myperfectcolor.com/paint/335642-freshaire-choice-fa023-afternoon-shade

"Tropicana:" www.myperfectcolor.com/paint/27491-sherwin-williams-sw1740-tropicana

lyrics

I got these hands, looking for use
I got a plan, just needs a house
walls bare, so much potential
look there, what looks like plaster
is really a future, waiting for color and care

You got a house in need of work
I got a heart that's empty with hurt
our rooms, they could use filling
our rooms, they could use healing
so much potential, it would take so little to start

But no need to worry
these are just samples
no obligation
maybe this for the mantle
and if it's all wrong
we can cover it up
and move on

You never thought much of the walls
went and accepted hand-me-down mauve
but, baby, come down to the hardware store
the paint names promise so much more
"quiet veranda," "southern breeze,"
whatever that means

See, my basement apartment, it's "Afternoon Shade"
it's kind of ironic 'cause it stays dark there all day
but that's the idea, you can choose "tropicana"
even if you live in Alaska
the world is our oyster, can't wait to begin

But no need to worry
these are just samples
no obligation
maybe this for the mantle
and if it's all wrong
we can cover it up
and move on

I'll do the painting and you'll bring me coffee
say how it all comes together so nicely
and all of the samples we ruled out together
could never be the one perfect color
that we found ... we found

I got a chair, bought second hand
I got a stain to make it what I really wanted
something to go with "Afternoon Shade"
maybe they've got one with shadow in the name
anything to make this place feel less the same.

But no need to worry
these are just samples
no obligation, no obligation
and if it's all wrong
you can cover it up
you can cover it up

credits

from Samples, released August 1, 2010

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Heather Aubrey Lloyd image

Heather Aubrey Lloyd Baltimore, Maryland

Recovering reporter turned songwriter, Heather Aubrey Lloyd also co-fronts Baltimore’s ilyAIMY. Her 2017 solo release, “A Message in the Mess,” spotlights Lloyd’s emotive alto and a polished departure from her band’s alt-folk grit. Awards from the likes of No Depression Magazine, Telluride Troubadour, National Women’s Music Fest, etc. soon followed. Lloyd will release new music in late 2020. ... more

contact / help

Contact Heather Aubrey Lloyd

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

If you like Heather Aubrey Lloyd, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featured guests are the golden-voiced Baby Rose and psyche soulsters Brainstory.
listen now