Hallowed Ground (Violent Femmes album)

Hallowed Ground
Studio album by Violent Femmes
Released	June 1984
Recorded	Secret Sound Studio, NYC, January, 1984
Genre	Folk punk Alternative rock
Length	38:57
Label	Slash Records/Rhino
Producer	Mark Van Hecke
Violent Femmes chronology
Violent Femmes (1983) Hallowed Ground (1984) The Blind Leading the Naked (1986)

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Hallowed Ground is the second album by the Violent Femmes, released in June 1984. Like the band's first album, the songs on Hallowed Ground were mostly written by singer/guitarist/lyricist Gordon Gano when he was in high school. "Country Death Song," for example, was based on a true story from an 1862 news article about a man who intentionally threw his daughter into a well and then hanged himself in his barn. It was written by Gano during his 10th grade study hall. The Christian-related lyrics on Hallowed Ground were thought by many to be sarcastic, but Gano is a devout Christian. The other two Femmes were atheists, and initially refused to perform those songs, but after their debut had been recorded, they relented and several of Gano's religion-themed songs were recorded for Hallowed Ground.^{[citation needed]}

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Gordon Gano. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Country Death Song"	5:02
2.	"I Hear the Rain"	1:32
3.	"Never Tell"	7:10
4.	"Jesus Walking on the Water"	3:07
5.	"I Know It’s True but I’m Sorry to Say"	5:05
6.	"Hallowed Ground"	4:18
7.	"Sweet Misery Blues"	2:51
8.	"Black Girls"	5:41
9.	"It’s Gonna Rain"	4:11

Personnel

• Gordon Gano – vocals, acoustic guitar, fiddle
• Brian Ritchie – acoustic and electric bass guitar, celesta, marimba, jew's harp, vocals
• Victor DeLorenzo – drums, percussion vocals

• Mark Van Hecke - piano, organ
• Tony Trischka - banjo
• Christina Houghton - autoharp
• Peter Balestrieri - vocals
• Cynthia Gano Lewis - vocals
• Drake Scott - cornett, sackbut
• John Zorn - alto saxophone, game calls
• John Tanner - clarinet

• Producer - Mark Van Hecke
• Engineers - John Tanner, Warren Bruleigh