Song of the Week: Monte Montgomery's "Wishing Well"

The player for the featured "Song of the Week" can be found on the upper right corner of the weblog for one week.

I ran across Austin's Monte Montgomery last summer. A write-up in the Statesman made me think I'd probably like him, so I listened to clips on iTunes and downloaded a few songs.

When I checked his website, I noticed in the discography that he had a song called "In the Gaze of the Spotlight's Eye" (YouTube). I knew that song from listening to Mark Heard albums about 20 years back. Heard died of a heart attack at 40 about 10 years ago or so, but I was a big fan back in my seminary days. I'll put a Heard song on the "Song of the Week" feature next week.

I first saw Monte at the Saxon Pub, a small venue, and he was standing by our table before he went on. I introduced myself and told him it was our first night to hear him. I asked him about "In the Gaze," and how he knew about Heard. About 4 songs into the show he started in on "Moonflower," another Mark Heard tune from the same album (Eye of the Storm). He looked my way afterward and said, "Well, I tried; it's been a while." I let him know he did great with it! And the rest of his show was fantastic, too. Be sure to hear this local artist whenever you can!

Here's "Wishing Well" from "Monte Montgomery at WorkPlay" (iTunes; Amazon).

In the corner of a box marked lost and found
I find myself again
Lining the bottom of a wishing well
with other dreams that might have been
Flattened by the pressure of what's comin' down
I'm relying on faith second hand

I used to be an average man with bigger than average plans
Somehow I got lost along the way and now I'm here

Don't you know you could be the one to set me free
I've waited all my life to be someone somebody could see
You can find me still in the corner of a box marked lost and found
at the bottom of a wishing well

Burdened by the weight of a wrecking ball
I'm defining my own sense of worth
I want to bathe my soul in the light
as religion finds me immersed
Destitution knows me by name
while the trick is to sit where you stand

I used to be an average man with bigger than average plans
Somehow I got lost along the way and now I'm here

Don't you know you could be the one to set me free
I've waited all my life to be someone somebody could see
You can find me still in the corner of a box marked lost and found
at the bottom of a wishing well

I'm caught shuddering by myself each wish in the shape of a coin
Legal tender for wishes thrown as the water reflects the unknown
The tide rips through the surface of time
But I can't think of when it began

I used to be an average man with bigger than average plans
Somehow I got lost along the way and now I'm here

Don't you know you could be the one to set me free
I've waited all my life to be someone somebody could see
You can find me still in the corner of a box marked lost and found
at the bottom of a wishing well.