Cover/Sleeve:
Liner/Sleeve Notes:
“FLYING BIRD. I cried when my Flying Bird died. I sighed for a falling star on high. I ask you why. / Roses be made, roses will fade. Love will be laid, love goes its way. I ask you why. / I’ve been looked at love, looked at life as one. You made us two lives of one from none. You were the sea, and your waves washed over me; But waves come and leave and can never be believed. / Gonna sing my song just a little bit faster, Gonna sing my song tonight; Gonna do my best to put something past her, Gonna sing my song, gonna get a little pretty tonight. / Gonna sing my song with a whole lot of feelin’, Gonna sing my song tonight; Gonna get her so fast she won’t be believin’, Gonna sing my song, gonna get a little pretty tonight. / Love somewhere lies, behind your eyes. Don’t let them cry, if your Flying Bird dies.
WISH YOU WERE HERE. In the morning when I arise, All alone I realize, One more day has gone – I’m all alone. / Days of fun that now have passed, Make my drteams seem such a task; Emptiness has come – I’m alone. / Once my days were bright amd clear. Where have you gone? Why aren’t you here? / Now my time is fading fast, My next thought might be my last; In my dreams you’re near. I wish you were here.
THANK YOU. To sing is to live, to live is to love The sunshine and the rain, the darkness and the light. The one my thoughts contain. Thank you. A lover’s world, a baby’s mind To see a whole new world each morning that awakes To see each sunrise break. Thank you. For the air that enables me to breathe, Thank you for the thoughts of her that I conceive. / Thank you for my eyes that enables me to see, Thank you for a mind that is peaceful and free; Thank you for the hands that enable me to play, Thank you for the health that is with me every day; Thank you for my ears that enable me to hear, Thank you for a girl that to me is very dear. Thank you. For the golden strands that glow beneath the light, for the hope I have each morning and each night. / Thank you for the gardens of golden daffodils, Thank you for the desert, the valley, and the hills; Thank you for the sky of gorgeous baby blue. Thank you for giving me the power to thank you… for you.
THE PINK SONG. Well I was sitting on the porch of my Tennessee home; Me and my gun and my dog there all alone; I was waiting for the enemy to take me by surprise, So I could shoot my double barrel right between their eyes. / I looked to the east and I looked to the west; No one to harm me now – I’m alone I guess. I could see for miles and miles as bare as it could be Until I saw a pink giraffe a headed straight for me. / I loaded up my shotgun and pulled the trigger twice, Not a single bullet was released, my gun was cold as ice. So I yelled at ole faithful and headed for the hills, A poor man and a weary dog with nothing to conceal. / I ran to the left and I ran to the right. Finally after five whole days, the giraffe was out of sight. So I sat down and rested and made myself a brew And looked up to my surprise to see not one but two. / A dozen more began to come until I couldn’t see Nothing but a cloud of dust a headed straight for me; So I rolled over in the dirt to save my aching head, And all at once I realized, I’d fallen off my bed. / Pink giraffes are all right with me, as long as I can see naturally – but when I’m old and my eyes are through, Pink giraffes must stay in the zoo!
ONCE. Once there was a time When everything I saw seemed to be alive. Now how can I survive? / Once there was a time, I saw you thought Crystal stars of dew, when skies were always blue. / Where have you gone, What have I done, To lose the only one I love? / Once I freely loved. I was young and foolish. Now I’ve been hurt so much That nothing touches me. / What happened to me, that left me only to see When once there was a time, and once there was you.”
(And yes, the back cover is the lyrics to the five songs written by Chris Dunn, Chris Smith & Lee Paul)
Personal Review:
Well, this has to be my all time favorite album. Everything on this album fits together so perfectly in harmony. Literally, the songs that are written by Chris, Chris & Lee (The “Ours” side of the LP) has amazingly well written songs with extremely well provided vocals by the 3 men. So, the A-Side opens with the wonderful track, “Flying Bird” – which, well is amazing? (I’ve come to the conclusion, that I suck at writing reviews.) The song starts off slowly, but kicks off into this amazing fast paced guitar playing. I love C, C & L. I’ve literally listened to this record so many times that it just seems like something I was born to do, it’s at the point I don’t even realize when the songs change… that being said, the song “Thank You” comes next, which is really great, because it’s like a folk-y song. Those are good. Then comes the humorous “The Pink Song” – which is about pink giraffes, and I love it. (Oddly, it reminds me of the adventures I’d have with my dog, Benji.) The song is good, I just dislike the ending, not the song ending, but this weird Daffy Duck-esque type of vocal part… “OH boy! That was wonderful!” – I just don’t get it. The fourth track is “Wish You Were Here” (No, not a cover of the Pink Floyd song.) anyways, the song is good, but the boys (Chris, Chris & Lee) Texan accents have one of them pronouncing “Wish” as “With” (aaand I with you were here!) still good though. The A-Side closes with the song “Once” – which is just a truly sad song, and I love it, all the songs (minus “The Pink Song“) seem to have seriously deep meaning, and they really make me think. (This is the point where I dedicate one to someone, so I dedicate “Once” to Benji.)
The flip side (The “Theirs” side of the LP) has amazing covers of the Mama’s and the Papa’s “California Dreamin’“, Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Helplessly Hoping” and Herb Alpert’s “This Guys in Love With You“. Anyways, beyond that, as stated, the B-Side features an absolutely amazing version of Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Helplessly Hoping” (I personally prefer it over the original.) So, then comes a cover of Donovan’s “Lalena” (which once again is better than the original – in my opinion), then a cover of Tim Hardin’s “If I Were a Carpenter” (I haven’t heard the original, nor any other version, so this one still stands as my favorite.) Next comes a cover of the Mama’s and the Papa’s “California Dreamin’” (There is no comparison to the original.) C, C & L’s version is good, but doesn’t compare to the original – though I do like how the swapped out the flute solo with a guitar solo. Then comes “This Guy’s In Love With You” (As originally done by Herb Alpert) I’ve heard several versions of this song, and they all stand pretty equal in my books. The boys version is still pretty great though. Finally, the album ends with the song “Samson” which isn’t really a cover of any song, (but it does feature lyrics from the song “Get Together” by the Youngbloods) it is also the only Gospel track on the LP (in my opinion) – anyways, this song has to be my favorite song of all time. Pretty much. Not even sure how I should even explain how much I love this song. It just rules over everything.
In closing, the album features absolutely no drums or percussion whatsoever, but just acoustic guitars, banjos and some bass played by Reid Lancaster (I have a joke that the album should be called “Chris, Chris & Lee… with Reid“, lol). Anyways, an all time classic that cost me a whole lot of money. ($132.00USD, which now doesn’t seem to come close to what I’ve paid for Jerry D. Brown, the Fuller Family or The Handless Organist).
Interesting Fact:
I was lucky enough to find a 2nd SIGNED copy of this wonderful LP – Here are their signatures!
“Sara – Good Luck, Lee Paul“
“Sara, Thank You. Chris Dunn” (I Love that he drew a guitar)
“Sara, I’d never guess 4 years ago I would be doing this. Thanks for everything. Love Chris Smith“
Track Listing:
A1 – Flying Bird
A2 – Thank You
A3 – The Pink Song
A4 – Wish You Were Here
A5 – Once
B1 – Helplessly Hoping
B2 – Lalena
B3 – If I Were a Carpenter
B4 – California Dreamin’
B5 – This Guys in Love With You
B6 – Samson
Label:
Chris, Chris & Lee Inc. Productions
Catalog Number:
None.
Studio Musicians and other Album Credits:
Recorded by Jack Burford Studios
Engineer: Reford Schmittou
Photographer: Steve Sandifer
Cover Consultant: Clark Potts
Reid Lancaster – Bass
Other Albums I Own by Chris, Chris & Lee:
None. (But I do have 2 copies of this one)
Released:
1970
yes I am enjoying this album as well- thinking of playing some tracks on my show–do you know where they are from–they seem to be canadian
We were actually all from Texas. We met at Abilene Christian University and recorded the album while we were freshmen. Chris Smith, professional name Chris Christian, and Chris Dunn, professional name Christopher Waters, both went on to successful careers in music. I am a practicing psychotherapist and professor of Counseling Psychology in the Dallas area. I am astonished and grateful that anyone other than my mother remembers this album.
Dr. Lee Paul
Hi Dr. Lee Paul,
It is great that you have come here and commented on my site. When I first discovered your album, I had often wondered where you 3 had gone to in life, often hoping that you all continued careers in music. I only, up til last month had no information, until I found out Chris Smith became Chris Christian, and I had found him online, and contacted him giving him praise for this album. He too, was astonished and grateful that anyone remember the album, let alone someone born 20+ years after it’s release. This album is one of my favorite albums of all time, and that comes with me owning not one, not two, but three copies of this album. One of which is signed by the three of you, as you seen in my post here. Knowing that Chris Dunn went on to write some of my favorite songs from other artists also blows my mind! Thank you for that little bit of information. I do have one question for you, who is Reid Lancaster and what did he go on to do later on in life?
I just put one on Ebay. It looks unplayed. Check it out!