1. "NO FEAR" (Terri Clark & Mary Chapin Carpenter)

The first time I joined Mary Chapin Carpenter on a co-writing venture, this song was born. She had just flown in that morning from doing a Johnny Cash tribute show in New York, and was dog-tired. We sat down and started talking, and she told me about her idea for a song called " No Fear." We continued to write with abandon till the song was finished. It is a song about reaching down deep inside yourself to find that place where only love exists, where you can completely be who you are, and do, and have what you want. To approach life with "No Fear" is a challenge we all face, and a goal we should all strive to achieve. As far as songs I have co-written, this is the one of which I am the most proud.

2. "SOMETIMES GOODBYE" (Terri Clark, Beth Nielsen Chapman & Annie Roboff)

This song took the longest to finish. Beth Nielsen Chapman, Annie Roboff, and I got together with the hopes of writing something a little out of the ordinary. This song is about following your heart, even if it means another party won't understand, and may even be hurt by it. It's an inspirational type of statement about a woman leaving someone who she feels can't help bring out the best in her, or encourage her to fulfill her hopes, and dreams. It's about searching for passion in love, career, hopes, and dreams. I love the simplistic approach with the acoustic guitar, banjo, and mandolin. The drum loop at the end continues and slowly fades, as if someone is walking away.

3. "TAKE MY TIME" (Terri Clark & Angelo)

The first time I joined Mary Chapin Carpenter on a co-writing venture, this song was born. She had just flown in that morning from doing a Johnny Cash tribute show in New York, and was dog-tired. We sat down and started talking, and she told me about her idea for a song called " No Fear." We continued to write with abandon till the song was finished. It is a song about reaching down deep inside yourself to find that place where only love exists, where you can completely be who you are, and do, and have what you want. To approach life with "No Fear" is a challenge we all face, and a goal we should all strive to achieve. As far as songs I have co-written, this is the one of which I am the most proud.

4. "EMPTY" (Terri Clark & Gary Burr)

Gary Burr and I decided not to "think" too hard when we wrote this song. We wanted to write a song that crossed genre boundaries, and wasn't necessarily packed up into a neat little box that said "country," or "pop," or anything. . .just a GREAT song. This is about the passion of new love, and how a previously detached person finds out what true love can do. Loving someone so much that you can hardly breathe, and want to give them every fiber of your being.

5. "GETTING THERE" (Terri Clark & Gary Burr)

This song was written at the spur of the moment. I was back home off the road for only 24 hours, and I had called Gary Burr and said " I think we've got one more song in us." We had already begun the album, but I felt there was one song left, that we didn't have yet. I had the title "Getting There" written on a napkin for months, so we sat down and wrote the song in about two hours. It's about life, and how the living is in the journey, not the destination. The real human experience is in growth, and learning, the "NOW." We all have to embrace each moment of this ride we are on, the ups, and the downs. < /P>

6. "EASY FROM NOW ON" (Carlene Carter & Susanna Clark)

Steuart Smith and I were searching for a neat song to cover. Around that time I was writing with Beth Nielsen Chapman, and asked her for her opinion on it. She started singing and playing this song "Easy From Now On." I told her I had the song at home on an old Emmylou Harris album. I went home and made a tape of the song to send to Steuart. He was working with Rodney Crowell in the studio at that time, and he put the tape on to listen. Rodney heard "Easy" playing and came in and said "hey- I took that song to Emmylou in the '70s...you guys should cut that." Emmylou came in and did us the honor of singing backup vocals on this. . .my mother still cries tears of joy every time she hears it.

7. "A LITTLE GASOLINE" (Tammy Rogers & Dean Miller)

This is a real rootsy groovin' kiss off song! We wanted a song with tempo and "tude" to get the ball rolling, so this is the first single. The fiddle and banjo bring it back to the basics. It's honest, and keeps with the tradition of country and bluegrass music.

8. "THE LAST THING I WANTED" (Mary Chapin Carpenter and Kim Richey)

My manager sent me this song. Two of the most gifted writers/artists collaborated on this one, and it really fits the album. It's one of my favorite grooves, and Shawn Pelton (drummer) put a really cool filtered drum loop in it, combined with the mandolin/harmonica, it makes for a folksy vibe. It's all about finding love when you least expect it, aren't looking, and don't need or want it.

9. "TO TELL YOU EVERYTHING" (Terri Clark & Mary Chapin Carpenter)

This was the second collaboration for Mary Chapin and me. I think anyone who hears it can picture her singing it too, it has her style, and essence as an artist. The 12-string Rickenbacker, and Beatle-esque jangle are what I really like about it. It's a "roll your windows down and drive to the beach" kind of song. It's about having such a huge crush on someone you just want to spill your guts and tell them everything you ever did, thought, felt, or dreamt.

10. "THE REAL THING" (Terri Clark & Angelo)

This song is a really fun song we did about being tired of trying to pre-occupy oneself in order to avoid thinking about the lack of a love life. Many of us stay busy so as not too have too much time to "think." We have ALL been there! And I really do like Cracker Jacks, too.

11. "MIDNIGHT'S GONE" (Terri Clark & Gary Burr)

This is a song Gary and I wrote that takes the listener into "small town U.S.A." There are people who feel like they are in a rut of sorts, because they look up at 30, and are still standing in the same spot where they were born. The person in this song sees the town as a blessing and a curse, and can't bring herself to leave. Midnight is her deadline, and it comes and goes, and she's still there. There is something of a love/hate relationship going on between the town and the person in the song.

12. "GOOD MOTHER" (Jann Arden Richards & Robert Foster)

I first heard this song on a Jann Arden album. She since has become a good friend, and I was at a show she did, and when she sang this song, I started to cry like a baby. It was so moving. Ever since then I have wanted so badly to record it. I started to play it during the acoustic portion of my shows, and that ended up being the very way we recorded it. I sat down in the studio, lit some candles, grabbed my guitar, and just played and sang it at the same time. We recorded it live. This is how I sound in my living room.