Released September 26, 1995
German "Wild Angels" released in 1996
Produced by Martina McBride, Paul Worley and Ed Seay
Album photography by James O’Mara
1. Wild Angels *
2. Safe In the Arms Of Love
3. Phones Are Ringin' All Over
Town
4. A Great Disguise *
5. Swingin' Doors
6. All the Things We've Never Done
7. Two More Bottles Of Wine
8. Cry On the Shoulder Of the
Road *
9. You've Been Driving All the
Time
10. Born To Give My Love To You
11. Beyond The Blue
* Found on the German release
The Album
"With this album, I feel like I've found songs about me. Coming from a more personal place, and I connect more with the songs on this album than I ever have before.
I had really specific ideas about the production of this album. First off, I get tired of hearing the same sounds on the radio all the time. The second thing is, I didn't want it to just be song-space-song. I wanted there to be some fun stuff that would make people go, 'Wow, what's that? That's really different.' We included a laugh from Delaney before 'Wild Angels’. We also left in some of the studio banter which kind of gives people a feel for what it's like when we're recording." Martina McBride
Delaney's laugh is at the beginning of the "Wild Angels" album.
Written by Matraca Berg, Gary Harrison and Harry Stinson
Between the perfect world and the bottom line
Keeping love alive in these troubled times
It's a miracle in itself
And we know too well what's about
Still we made it through, only God knows how
We must've had a little help
(Must've been)
Chorus
Wild Angels, Wild Angels
Watching over you and me
Wild Angels, Wild Angels
Baby what else could it be
Well it must've been hard, it must've been tough
Keeping up with crazy fools like us
'Cause it's so easy to fall apart
And we still break each other's heart sometimes
Spend some nights on the jagged side
Somehow we wake up in each other's arms
(Must've been)
Chorus
Bridge
There are some nights
I watch you while you dream
I swear I hear the sound of heating wings
“Do you
remember that this song was originally title, ‘Wild Angels on Blue Horses’?
Special thanks to Matraca and Harry for writing such a great song. The
interplay between the two Dan(n)’s (Huff and Dugmore) is amazing. That’s
Huff on the left and Dugmore on the right for those who want to know. Also
this is Delaney’s first recorded vocal performance in the intro! I remember
holding Delaney while you sang on this album. I’ve always thought that she
and I have a special bond because of that. Hard to believe that she’ll be in
1st grade this fall.” Paul Worley
“I have always loved this song. I think it’s so original and creative. I’ve always loved the drum fill Lonnie played after the guitar intro. I love all the cool bass licks Joe Chemay played too. Something about the way Ed Seay eq’d this makes them really stand out. I remember we were mixing this song and I still hadn’t put the ad-libs on the end. So I went in to the vocal booth while we were mixing and just sang the first thing that came into my head. As far as the giggle from Delaney on the intro… she was only a few months old and John and I made complete idiots of ourselves trying to get her to laugh into a DAT recorder on evening at our house.” Martina McBride
Safe In The Arms
Of Love
Written by Pam Rose, Mary Ann Kennedy and Pat Bunch
My heart's not ready for the rocking chair
I need somebody who really cares
So tired of livin' solitaire
Someday I'm gonna be
Safe in the arms of love
Strip your heart and it starts to snow
Love is a high-wire act I know
Someday I'll find a net below
Someday I'm gonna be
Safe in the arms of love
Safe in the arms of love
Chorus
I want arms that know how to rock me
Safe in the arms of love
I wanna fall and know that love has caught me
Safe in the arms of love
Safe in the arms of love
I want a heart to be forever mine
Want eyes to see me satisfied
Gonna hang my heartaches out of dry
Some day I'm gonna be safe in the arms of love
Safe in the arms of love
“This is one of my favorite records ever. Thanks Pat, and thanks Pam and Mary Ann…you two had such a huge influence on modern country music. This is also when we first worked with Darrell Scott who played the wonderful mandolin part that, doubled with Stuart Duncan’s fiddle, became the solo.” Paul Worley
“I still absolutely think this is on of the coolest sounding records ever! I just love it. Its was really different for its time and it stood out on the radio. I really love the solo fiddle and the mandolin and background vocals working together to create this whole other experience. It was one of the first times we experimented with stereo separation to that extent and I love how the background vocals go from the left speaker to the right, especially during the solo. I am absolutely crazy about the guitar work Dann Huff did and I still remember him standing in the studio and saying how he was going to come up with a real signature intro and boy did he ever! This is pure ear candy to me.” Martina McBride
Phones Are
Ringin' All Over Town
Written by Marc Beeson, Kin Vassy and David MacKechnie
With lipstick on a collar and a trace of cheap perfume
He undresses in the darkness and eases into bed
With her face turned to the other wall she pretend to be asleep
But it doesn't really matter 'cause there's nothing to be said
He calls from work to tell her he's sorry about last
night
If he uses all the right words she'll forgive him once again
But the phone just keeps on ringin' and he knows that's something wrong
He feels his heart start pounding, and his head begins to spin
Chorus
Phones are ringin' all over town
North and south and east an west on main street up and down
He's got friends of his callin' friends of hers
But she's nowhere to be found
Phones are ringin' all over town
He calls the hospital, her sister's house and the place
that does her hair
God, if somethin' ever happened he'd surely lose his mind
And he's thinkin' it's just like she's disappeared into thin air
As American flight #204 departed on time
Chorus
Well he knows she's never leave him
She's just got to be around
Phones are ringin'
Phones are ringin'
Phones are ringin' all over town
A Great Disguise
Written by Even Stevens, Hillary Kanter and Greg Barnhill
People talking, think I'm all right
Think I'm doing fine
Goin' through the motions of my life
Go to work every mornin'
Yeah I play the part
And hide away the contents of my solemn heart
But when the sun goes down
And the moon is high
I can't control the flood of all these tears inside
And if they only knew
They'd be so surprised
I'm a good pretender in a great disguise
Keep 'em guessin', keep 'em laughin'
Build that wall up high
As long as they don't see the other side
You're really done it
Done a number, a number on my soul
But I'll be damned if I'll ever let you know
But when the sun goes down
And the moon is high
There's no way to hide the truth from me, myself, and I
Yeah, I wear it well
Though it ain't my size
I'm a good pretender in a great disguise
I'm not one to show emotion
Like some fools I see
I won't wear my heart out on my sleeve
I don't miss you
Not for a moment
I'm gonna be okay
Words of wisdom spoken
By the light of day
But when the sun goes down
And the moon is high
Your memory pulls me under like a strong riptide
I'm still in love with you
It's all smoke and lights
I'm a good pretender in a great disguise
I'm a good pretender in a great disguise
Swingin' Doors
Written by Chapin Hartford, Bobby Boyd and Jim Foster
You have worn a path
Right up to my heart
You come in for a while but you don't stay
And I've come to realize
That your promises are lies
To buy you time when you want to get away
Chorus
You must think my heart has swingin' doors
The way that you keep comin' back and forth
I can feel it's getting close to closing time
And I won't be leavin' my heart open any more
Well, I've heard you're back in town
I suppose you'll come around
When nights are cold and friends are hard to find
You always seem to wait
'Til all the pieces are in place
The you walk back in and rearrange my life
Chorus
So if you're walking down my street just keep on
walking by
I'm hangin' out a sign sayin' this well has run dry
All The
Things We've Never Done
Written by Craig Bickhardt and Jeff Pennig
They drank their anniversary glass
A silent moment passed
Then they kissed
She knows there's something on his mind
He'll tell her in due time
What it is
He says "I've never built
Your mansion on the hill
Or warmed you in the Spanish sun
I simply blink my eye
And think as years fly by
Of all the things we've never done"
She smiles and takes his hand in hers
And says "It just occurred
To me now
The thought that brings you such regrets
What hasn't happened yet
It makes me proud..."
"You'll never walk away
When I needed you to stay
Or made me feel I'm not the one
There've been no broken vows
And the reason we're here now
Is all the things we've never done"
"We've never grown apart
You never broke my heart
With secrets that you've kept me from
We've never been untrue
And I'm still here with you
Through all the things we've never done"
"When I heard that song, I told my co-producer, Paul Worley, 'This is my life!'. I have looked and looked for songs that have captured the relationship my husband John and I have.
This is a sweet song, and it reminds me of my husband and our relationship. I love so many lines in this, but one of my favorites is 'you never broke my heart with secrets that you kept me from.' It's about what's really important. Not all the 'stuff'... the romance, the trips, the presents. Oh, that's nice, too! But what's really important is the honesty, respect, and admiration you have for each other.” Martina McBride
Two More Bottles
Of Wine
Written by Delbert McClinton
We came out west together with a common desire
The fever we had might-a set the west coast on fire
Two months later got a troublin' mind
'Cause my baby moved out and left me behind
But it's all right 'cause it's midnight and I got two more bottles of wine
Well, the way he left sure turned my head around
Seemed like over night he just up and put me down
Ain't gonna let it bother me today
'Cause I've been workin' and I'm too tired anyway
But it's all right 'cause it's midnight and I got two more bottles of wine
Well, I'm sixteen hundred miles from the people I know
I've been doin' all I can but opportunity sure comes slow
Thought I'd be a big star by today
But I've been sleepin' in a warehouse in West L.A.
But it's all right 'cause it's midnight and I got two more bottles of wine
Yes, it's all right 'cause it's midnight and I got two more bottles of wine
Cry On The
Shoulder Of The Road
Written by Matraca Berg and Tim Krekel
I'm rolling out of Bakersfield
My own private hell on wheels
But this time I'm gone for good
And I've never gone this far before
Beyond the slamming of the back screen door
But you never loved me like you should
Chorus
And there ain't no telling what I'll find
But I might as well move down the line
There's no comfort here in your zip code
I'd rather break down on the highway
With no one to share my load
And cry on the shoulder of the road
It makes me feel a little low
Steel guitar on the radio
And it's kind of scary the way these truckers fly
So this is how leaving feels
Drinking coffee and making deals with the One above
To get me through the night
Chorus
'Cause there ain't no telling what I'll find
You've
Been Driving All The Time
Written by Pat Bunch and Harry Stinson
Well, I was born full speed ahead
I was racin' time my mama said
I really covered some ground 'til you slowed me down
And took my life where angels fear to tread
Chorus
Everywhere I go your hands are on the wheel
When everybody thinks they're mine
It takes a real man to take a back seat to a woman
But honey you've been drivin' all the time
Your love's so unconditional
You never push and you never pull
And your love is so blind
You walk a step behind
You start me every day and let me roll
Chorus
And with each new day that passes by
And every dream I dare to try
You lift me gently up
So tenderly with love
And give me ever stronger wings to fly
Born To Give
My Love To You
Written by Pat Bunch, Pam Rose and Mary Ann Kennedy
I don't know what brought us there
Something in the stars says you and me
I don't know where this feeling comes from
Surely it was meant to be
For I have known you even in my dreams
My eyes are open, my heart can see
Chorus
As sure as stars light the midnight sky
As sure as children wonder why
As sure as newborn babies cry
I was born to give my love to you
Born to give my love to you
Heaven must be holding on
To all the love I'm feeling now
Here we are this is the moment
I believe it's our turn somehow
Hearts together, hands across the night
One forever, finally in sight
Chorus
I was born to give my love to you
(I was born to give my love to you)
I was born to give my love to you
I was born to give my love to you
"I recorded this after I had my first daughter and, to me, this song will always be about her. I remember sitting in my car and listening to this one night and it brought tears to my eyes because I was so happy and so in lover with my new baby girl. I will always associate this song with that feeling. Of course it's also a fabulous weeding song!" Martina McBride
Beyond The Blue
Written by David Kent and Ashe Underwood
The sky's been gray every day since I lost you
But I know the sun is shinin' somewhere... beyond the blue
My eyes were red when you said that we were through
But now I can see better days for me... just beyond the blue
Beyond the blue... on the other side of lonely
and it's only a matter of time... until I'm
Lookin' back and feelin' like I'm over you
When these tears are gone and I'm beyond the blue
Beyond the blue... on the other side of lonely
and it's only a matter of time... until I'm
On my feet and I meet somebody new
And I fall in love again beyond the blue
When these tears are gone and I'm beyond the blue
