1. |
Take Me Far
03:07
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2. |
Sweet Disposition
03:32
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3. |
Market Day (March 2021)
03:16
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4. |
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Don't Give A Damn (capo 2 - Dm Am G / C G Dm)
Parking lots now camping spots for those who've lost their homes
Parks full of people trying to survive
But there's no relief when there's just belief that we got what we were owed
For making less than some folks spend on wine
ch:
Your twelve bucks an hour won't even rent a trailer home
I'm better off with those here in this camp
It takes a living wage for honest work to give a person hope
But most who've got it made won't give a damn
Was working 40 hours, sometimes no lunch when the money didn't last
Then my car broke down, why even call the boss?
There's no excuse that you can use where they're going to let this pass
Just chalked it up to a lifetime full of loss
Got some work again for some businessmen who were tearing down old homes
Picking through for stuff that they could sell for cash
Come back to town but the paycheck bounced, not like we didn't know
They'd work us hard then kick us in the ass
I'm glad you've got your nice degree but some aren't meant for school
Don't look at us like we're lazy or plain dumb
If you'd seen some of the things that marked us in our youth
I tend to think you'd end up failing some
You're not one of us who is living rough, not one who's lost it all
Not one without the means to fix what's wrong
If you'd seen some of the things that marked us in our youth
I tend to think you'd end up failing some
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5. |
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Volcanoes Block Your Sun
I used to think it’d get easier with time
Either you would change or I would dodge the mines
Then it comes so fast, it always leaves me blind
How you could somehow think me so unkind
I see the anger taking over, then the buried wounds uncovered
Poisoned arrows hurled, each word that leaves me stunned
Does it gives some kind of power, some kind of shield from what lies under
Nothing I’ve tried has worked, volcanoes block your sun
I feel helpless but I let you know I care
Though I’m now your ghost with no life left to share
You’ll be filled with venom til you’re done
Then it’s like the storm I felt had never come
Until your anger takes you over, with your buried wounds uncovered
Each arrow hurled, each angry word that leaves me stunned
I hope you find some kind of power, some way to heal what lies just under
Nothing I try works volcanoes block your sun
Each day of life tells a kind of tale,
Some days we weave as heaven some as hell
When our story’s good I wish that we could learn
That when we fall it doesn’t have to burn
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6. |
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capo 2, key: A
G D (2) C Em D Em (2x)
once there was a little baby
the apple of his mama’s eye
a future promise for his daddy
if he grew up to do what’s right
something broke his mom and papa
he had to grow up on his own
often with others who were seekers too
often with those from broken homes
G Em G D C Em D Em
Tell the ones who think he’s crazy
tell the ones who say he’s cursed
he won’t be back this way tomorrow
it’s just as well to think the worst
he didn’t grow up like his papa
his papa lashed him with his faults
most of the time there was no mama
somehow a driftin’ man evolved
a drifter doesn’t choose to ramble
though it so often comes to this
when one can’t settle among others
when it seems clear that they don’t fit
sometimes he’d leave still a stranger
with none quite sure about this man
sometimes he left with burning bridges
with what was promised only sand
left some in tears, left some to wonder
some with hard feelings, sense of loss
in his wake were seldom stories
being a ghost was what it cost
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7. |
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Green and purple (no capo – either fingerstyle or using pick)
C G F C G (2) / F C Am G / F C Am G / F G C
Intro: C G F C G
Our world’s now decked in green and purple, has been since violets came in bloom
Camas and iris dancing gaily, another summer beckons soon
And so it was as well last spring, though we were often closed inside
But now that year has past, give thanks the bees came back, I’m so grateful they’re alive
I’m so grateful you’re alive
Turnaround: C G F G C
Wild rose and lupines soon emerging, their colors bringing joy for weeks
As spring’s fair blooms complete their magic dispelling winter’s somber streak
And so it was as well last summer, though we were often closed inside
While humans stayed away, the ocean otters played, I’m so grateful they’re alive
I’m so grateful you’re alive
Instrumental break (one verse plus turnaround)
We’ll see this year from spring to fall, from buds to flower then to earth
The goldenrod will show late summer, until the winter winds return
And so it was as well last autumn, though we were often closed inside
Our distance hard to bear, but still enjoying pears, from trees I’m grateful are alive
I’m so grateful you’re alive
Turnaround: C G F G C
Our world is decked in green and purple, spring gives rise again to hope
A world returned to life and color, pandemic coming toward a close
And so it was for those who’ve fallen, so it will be for us survived
We remember them, hug and share again, I’m so grateful you’re alive
Simply grateful you’re alive
Outro: C G F G C
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8. |
Honeysuckle Evening
04:15
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Honeysuckle Evening (June 97)
E7 B7 A7 E7/ a7 B7 E7 B7
The sun’s going down, it’s a honeysuckle evening
Red plum sinks into blue twilight
Flowing like a river, ripples spreading wide like your smile
People outta talkin’, laughing with their neighbors
Everybody’s feeling so fine
Risin’ with the moon into sweet, sweet summertime
Honey wear your red dress, I like the way it drives me wild
And take your good man dancin’, I want to be your sweet love child
Somebody better pinch me, I think I must be dreamin’,
life should always be this fine
Slidin’ like a rainbow into the sweet, sweet summertime
(instrumental)
The wind is singin’ through your hair as we slip into the city
Drivin’ with the windows rolled down
Feelin’ mighty frisky, shining like the bright lights of town
Dinner in some cafe, your laughter’s my desert
I’m drinking in your eyes like wine
And taste a lovin’ spoonful of the sweet, sweet summertime
When the music starts to playin’, it burns a hot, smouldering fire
The drumbeat moves our bodies, a rocket couldn’t fly any higher
The ghost of Bird’s soprano grooves us right down to the end
The singer’s voice send shivers up my spine
Dancing to the edge of the sweet, sweet summertime
reprise:
Lover, wear that red dress, I like the way you drive me wild
And take your good man dancin’, then I’ll be your sweet love child
Somebody’s gotta pinch me, I swear I must be dreamin’
Life should always be this fine
Swingin’ from the moon in the sweet, sweet summertime
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9. |
In The Early Morning
02:45
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In The Early Morning (March 1997) capo 2 play in D (key E)
It’s so quiet here in the early morning
Fog on the river, birds sing new Spring tunes
Just lying here in the early morning
Feeling at peace and thinking of you
Back in Colorado in the early morning
you met my eyes and pledged a love you said was true
and from that time in the early morning
the daybreak finds me thinking of you
I remember you in the early morning
Skin kissed by sunlight, your eyes a gentle hue
I reach for you in the early morning
But all I can touch are memories of you
There’s a gentle breeze in the early morning
A new day coming and I must rise up soon
But I love it here in the early morning
Just lying quietly thinking of you
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10. |
Home To Me
04:43
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11. |
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There’s storms a’comin’ the likes we’ve never seen
Gonna be hotter than any time of the Holocene
Guess it’s no surprise that critters with oversized brains
Come to the point where they tear it all down again
Nature always wins
For millenia now humans on Earth have thrived
12,000 years of temperatures just bout right
So the planet gave food and shelter and water for most
But as itheats up, lakes and fields gonna turn to toast
Nature always wins
chorus:
In balance with nature there’s usually enough for all
But when we’re out of whack, somethings bound to take a fall
Nature will win and life will make it through
Whether we’re included, it’s up to me and you
Cause nature always wins
Long ago I learned to be careful ‘round those in fear
The drive to survive can make vicious even those held dear
And when a herd is scared, there’s nothing that’ll make them stop
They’ll go over that cliff, not even think about the drop
Nature always wins
Far be it from me to tell you what to do
Beyond loving each other try to help us all get through
For the sake of the children and generations yet to come
And the sake of the frogs and the bees and food from farms
Cause nature always wins
chorus:
In balance with nature there’s usually enough for all
But when we’re out of whack, somethings bound to take a fall
Nature will win and life will make it through
Whether we’re included is up to me and you
Cause nature always wins
Gotta keep on trying to make it not be so bad
Gotta teach the children how to help this world adapt
Gotta realize humans have never been more or less
A thread in life’s fabric that’ll be put to test
Nature always wins
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12. |
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Back To Danville G Am D, G C D
Landed here just a month before the lockdown
Had some gigs lined up but that didn’t last
Writing songs by day, drunk at night, might be a chance that I’d be doing alright
If I just could climb out of this whisky glass
Some of my folks seldom been out of Boyle county
But I’ve always had dreams of the rambling life
Joys and heartaches turned into songs for folks who don’t care where I’ve gone wrong
So long as my music helps them get through their night
ch
If it don’t work out I could go back to Danville
City life is fine, but it’s not like home
form a band with a fiddling friend, little sister on her mandolin
If I could just get over this urge to roam
People tell me, boy, oughta head to Nashville
But I tell myself that’s too close to you
Could be New Orleans or Austin bound if I get up the dough to leave this town
Or catch a ride with a friend where they might choose
Everytime I think I’ll buy me a ticket
Cross those Blue Ridge Mountains come back to you
I remember what we had is gone, sacrificed so I could chase these songs
That are pulling me home but also keeping me on the move
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13. |
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Still being worked on...
Halfway down the mountain where the blue McKenzie flows
Are stumps of trees that didn’t burn, the ash remains of those
That gave their lives to a raging fire, as a fierce East wind did blow
What becomes of a black bear’s den, it’s better not to know
It’s better not to know
When we hear thousands of acres burned, we think of people and their homes
We all pitch in to help them, but there’s countless more who don’t
Stand a chance as these changes come, who can’t just just up and go
There’s no really nowhere else to roam, this planet is our home
This planet is our home
Australia, Spain, Siberia, infernos near and far
Woods that may not return, as heat and drought make hard
We breath their deaths a thousand miles, our children breathe death too
Can you put on a mask and turn your back
Pretend that you never knew
This is is what we choose?
There’s not a god who’ll save us, there’s nothing cash can buy
No guns will help our children when the ocean waters rise
Like those who lived in Paradise when hell came to their door
And those with nests deep in the woods who will never sing no more
Who’ll never sing no more
We could silence all the scientists, remove all those who teach
Run over those who protest, ignore those who seek
To sound alarm, to save their kids, who try to save yours too
Wouldn’t change a thing, it’ll just get worse
If we don’t all change our tune
Work together or we’re doomed
It’s going to take some changes and it’s going to take them now
We’re all part of the problem, and the problem is just how
We live to buy and throw away, we live to waste and dump
We’d like to point our fingers but my friend we own those stumps
And the ash that’s in our lungs
And the death that’s in our lungs
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14. |
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Let Others Bleed Key D
D A Bm G
While a few of us dance our victory dance, most watch from the stands won’t get that chance
Some gave up when failure robbed our souls
It can happen at 10, it can happen at 20, when we’ve lost too much while a few take plenty
From a game that gives the winning odds to the ones who own the goals
The more some have, the better they want, it’s never enough or we want to flaunt
What we own as if this is what we’re worth
While we trade our lives for the nine to five giving it all or just taking that ride
Hoping to taste some heaven before we all return to earth
Em G
ch
We’ve only got this moment
Whether we’re paupers, jacks or queens
Lie low stand tall, rise and fall, in our countless shifting dreams
Do we really have to take more than we need
Leaving others bleed
Some medicate with drink or pills, try to hide from holes that are never filled
Distract ourselves with the latest swill so entertaining we soon forget it
Screens that are with us all the time, connected in this new paradigm
Virtual lives not of our design
But that hasn’t helped us yet
We can sing with joy, sing the blues, me doing me and you doing you
At heart it’s probably some of both and we’re peas in the same pod
Whether up or down, out here or in town, or strangers who just come around
Our journeys aren’t much different, and we’re really all we’ve got
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15. |
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Held By Your Love (8/25/21)
capo 5, key of G (note the chords below are those I play with the capo so they would transpose to G C and D, along with the minor, which I think is Am when played without a capo)
intro: D
D G A D
I’m held by your love at my best, at my worst
D G A D
when our sails catch a fair wind in a storm’s sudden burst
Em G A
if life is but fortune treasures many or few
Em G A
none make me richer than love given by you
D G A D
I’m held in love’s spell and I want to be holding you too
What chapters you’ve lived, such places and people you’ve known
adventures in far away lands some with me most your own
we both bring our stories, we both bring our wounds
you share worlds of wonder, I offer you tunes
of joy for your journeys, with joy when I welcome you home
(instrumental)
bridge:
Em G D A
deep in your waters, wash away cares
Em G D A
alive how we sparkle, such marvels we’ve shared
our stones gather moss now, our roots planted deep in this land
til earth lays her claim & we’re done doing all that we can
in this pool in a river of time with no end, may we know our goodness again and again
to gaze in your eyes, feel the comforting touch of your hands
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16. |
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Long Journey Home (in A)
I’ve seen dawn’s first light paint mountainsides as they glowed in the embers of a fire
The heat of day come blistering, tucked in shadows, trying not to expire
Evening mists arise from hemlocks turn to clouds that bring our valley showers
Night fog that chilled me to my bones til your warmth was only true desire
ch
I have traveled places that lie buried in my past
I have known faces that I never will forget
Wandering many roads on my long journey home
from a small town in the ozarks where the house my grandpa built stood many years
to those oklahoma hills riding ponies at the end of trails of tears
in the halls of universities I sallied forth fervent with ideas
mighta got above my raisin’ but found reasons for the paths that brought me here
I’ve danced in barns and bars and open meadows where the sunlight kissed my skin
plunged into seas and cold streams, hot springs where I’d love to plunge again
I did things I never dreamt I’d do. left dreams behind, left way too many friends
but if I could do it over I just couldn’t do any better than I am
I still waste some days and nights but know the price I’m paying when I do
unlike the years I wasted as I wandered in the twists and turns of youth
I now know consolation and what’s precious, the gifts of gratitude
for love that makes my world go round, for muses lending lyrics to these tunes
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17. |
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18. |
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