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What Do I Know?

from Give It Time by Erik Yates

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about

This song, penned after a long sit in a friend's spare bedroom (thanks, Annie), is one of the few I've written on the road. I heard clarinets in it from the get go, but didn't find the melody until a few months later.

lyrics

What Do I Know?
Erik Yates, 2.14

Don’t you eat too little, don’t you eat too much
(but what do I know)
Don’t you be fooled by your lover’s touch
(but what do I know)
Don’t climb too high, but don’t you stay too low
And don’t you be fooled by what I know

‘Cause words are ships lost out at sea
(but what do I know)
‘Cause talk is cheap, even comin’ from me
(but what do I know)
It ain’t worth much more than the cold in the snow
So don’t you be fooled by what I know

Don’t you be fooled by what I say
Or the way I walk or the dues I pay
Every single soul’s got to make its own way
In its own sweet time
Yeah, don’t be fooled by the stories I tell
Or by what you hear about a heaven or a hell
Just close your eyes for a spell
And see what you find, see what you find

Don’t you love too strong, don’t you love too weak
(but what do I know)
Don’t you get too high on what you seek
(but what do I know)
Don’t run it down too fast, and don’t crawl too slow
And don’t you be fooled by what I know

Don’t you be fooled by what I said
Or the way my words echo in your head
‘Cause you gotta lie down in your own bed
At the end of the day
And when you do there ain’t no one there
Just a whole lotta thoughts hangin’ in mid-air
So sit up tall, with a little tiny smile
And jump into the fray

I gave up a whole kingdom to sit by a tree
(shows you what I know)
So don’t you take too long thinkin ‘bout me
(cause what do I know)
Just plant your seeds and watch them grow
And don’t you be fooled by what I know

Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh, what I know
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh, what I know
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh, what I know
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh, what I know

credits

from Give It Time, released January 7, 2018
Erik Yates, all instruments & vocals
Don Zimmer, engineer

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Erik Yates Lyons, Colorado

Erik Yates' many years of touring with his fellow progressive bluegrass pioneers in Hot Buttered Rum have done more than gain him a reputation; they've honed his singing, his songwriting and his work on multiple instruments. All of this is on display on his solo debut, "Give it Time"(Yates plays every instrument on the album), and the result is ones that fans and new listeners alike will cherish. ... more

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