About Sam Baker
While traveling in Peru at age 32, Sam Baker took a train ride that would change his life. On a clear cool morning in Cuzco in the summer of 1986, Sam boarded a passenger train that was blown up minutes later by terrorists. Initially, seven died. The dead included a German boy and his parents who were sitting with Baker in the car. Baker survived, but with lasting damage- deafness, a mangled hand, a mangled leg, and brain damage affecting speech and memory. At 55, words are still occasionally unremembered, requiring extensive search. However, during these searches, he finds other words. From these other words, he finds other stories. And with these stories come characters from other places and times.
The p r e t t y w o r l d trilogy
The trilogy is its own making. m e r c y (2004) attempts to come to terms with the flash of impact- the quick violence and the eerie post-blast quiet. It was written as a single piece of art attempting to make sense of sudden death and the lottery quality of shrapnel: the death of some and the survival of others. In the interim, while sorting out life and death on the train, other characters appeared- an ironworker, kids playing baseball, an old widower on a beach. Beauty appears and prevails.
p r e t t y w o r l d (2007) explores gratitude, obligation, and again, beauty. It forms itself as a bookend to m e r c y. Other characters debut: the son of an oil baron, a man in a blue suede cowboy hat, a woman at a swimming pool.
c o t t o n (2009) is the last (and perhaps most difficult) piece of the trilogy. The cost of forgiveness is weighed against the cost of not forgiving. Other characters walk onto the stage: a field hand, a pulp wood logger, a serving girl, a young Mennonite. Once again beauty is a constant.
Baker's music is authenticated by experience. Seldom in modern music is the listener able to hear a unique voice with an uncommon story. As told through Sam's voice himself:
"Life is beautiful, difficult, terrible, and transcendent. Each of us is part and parcel of one great community, one great p r e t t y w o r l d that reaches back to a time before recall and reaches forward beyond imagination. We are love. We are hope. We are stories."
mercy, released in 2004, was the first in a trilogy of compelling albums with sparse instrumentation and poetic delivery. It was followed by pretty world in 2007 and cotton in 2009. Each piece is imprinted with a theme: everyone is at the mercy of another one's dreams, how beautiful are these days, and talk about forgiveness.
Baker approaches life with a positive attitude – "Life is a gift. I went through a lot of bitterness- a lot of anger. But those things are toxic. Gratitude for what remains is more helpful than resentment for what was lost. Ultimately, I came to understand that these days are wicked short and terribly beautiful. All I've got—no matter what I hold in my hands, drive around in, or put in the bank,- all I've got is this one breath, and if I'm lucky, I get another."
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Explore Nearby
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1
Bennigan's Grill & Tavern
Restaurants -
2
Fun On The Run Paintball Park
Attractions -
3
National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
Attractions -
4
Antojitos Latinos
Restaurants -
5
Sheraton Fort Worth
Hotels
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1
Bennigan's Grill & Tavern
4833 S Hulen St -
2
Antojitos Latinos
5201 McCart Ave -
3
Uncle Julio's
5301 Camp Bowie Blvd. -
4
Charleston's Restaurant
3020 S Hulen St -
5
Rafain Brazilian Steakhouse - Fort Worth
2932 Crockett St -
6
Pop's Safari Cigars & Fine Wines
2929 2929 Morton St -
7
La Playa Maya
3200 Hemphill St -
8
Paris Coffee Shop
704 W Magnolia Ave -
9
Texas de Brazil
101 Houston St -
10
Casablanca Mediterranean Cuisine
7355 N Beach St. #173 -
11
Campesinos Cafe
2400 Vaughn Blvd -
12
The Aardvark
2905 West Berry Street -
13
Thai Rice 'N' Noodle
8577 N Beach St -
14
Gourmet Burrito
14200 Trinity Blvd -
15
Piranha Killer Sushi
335 W 3rd St -
16
Stevie's Diner
5500 North Tarrant Pkwy -
17
Oliva Italian Eatery
12477 Timberland Blvd
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1
Fun On The Run Paintball Park
2621 Roberts CutT Off Road -
2
National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
1720 1720 Gendy St -
3
Cowtown Cattlepen Maze
145 E Exchange Ave -
4
National Cowgirl Museum
1720 Gendy St -
5
Colonial Country Club
3735 Country Club Cir -
6
Amon Carter Museum of American Art
3501 Camp Bowie Blvd -
7
Fort Worth Zoo
1989 1989 Colonial Pkwy -
8
American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum
4601 Highway 360 -
9
Kimbell Art Museum
3333 Camp Bowie Blvd -
10
Omni Theater, an IMAX Dome - Ft Worth Museum of Science & History
1600 Gendy Street -
11
Fort Worth Botanic Garden
3220 Botanic Garden Blvd.
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Sheraton Fort Worth
1701 Commerce Street -
2
Sheraton Arlington
1500 Convention Center Dr -
3
Hampton Inn & Suites N. Ft. Worth-Alliance Airport
13600 N Freeway -
4
Residence Inn by Marriott Fort Worth Alliance Airport
13400 North Fwy -
5
Candlewood Suites Dfw South
4200 Reggis Dr -
6
Dallas/Ft. Worth Marriott Hotel & Golf Club Champions Circle
3300 Championship Pkwy -
7
Holiday Inn Dfw South
14320 Centre Station Dr -
8
Dfw Airport Marriott South
4151 Centreport Blvd -
9
La Quinta Inn & Suites Fort Worth Eastchase
8250 Anderson Blvd -
10
Days Inn & Suites Ft. Worth Dfw Airport South
13954 Trinity Blvd
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