1. |
Take Me Far
03:13
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Take Me Far (in Em)
I grew up on the prairie in a town as dry as dust
dreaming with the radio, doing what I must
my mama played church organ, my daddy blew the harp
He taught me all these traveling songs, they got me this guitar
chorus:
to take me far
maybe California, Austin’s always been a draw
but I’d guess it’s just as hard there as it is in Wichita
I had a chance at 17 to leave town like a ghost
served coffee to some guitar man, said he’d take on the raod
but I ain’t nobody’s baby, and it really wasn’t me
that he wanted in that moment, I found my own way to believe
chorus
I might go far...
I’ve only made a hundred miles in the year since leaving home
my job’s still slinging coffee but I’m mostly writing songs
there’s a few down at the coffeehouse who like it when I play
a friend sits in on mandolin, and we’re dreaming of the day
chorus
when we go far…
(then repeat)
maybe California, Austin’s always been a draw
but I bet it’s just hard there as it is in Wichita
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2. |
Oklahoma Twister
03:29
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Oklahoma twister (intro D G)
Mabel was barrel racing by the time she learned to walk
D G
At twelve, she was the local cowgirl queen
D G
She can rope a calf, brand a bull, spit tobacco, whip your butt at pool
A7 D D7
In her alligator cowgirl boots, she’s stands up tall and lean
chorus: (2nd: Allen No, sir)
G C
She’s an Oklahoma twister (no sir) she ain’t Aunt Bertha’s sister
D G
She’s a ball of fire, the fastest on her horse you’ve ever seen
G C
She can dish it out with kickers, she don’t answer to no misters
D G
She’s as sweet as sleeping rattlesnakes, as sharp as she is keen
Now Aunt Mabel runs her roadhouse on old highway 66
Where the cowpokes drink their beers, shooting pool and tossing darts
She’s cracking jokes behind the bar, drunken cowboys won’t get far
If they think that they’ll romance her, she’s going to crush their hearts
Aunt Bertha works at nursing at the clinic down the street
She’s quiet, not one you’ll see out on the town
She tends a garden full of roses, at night when the bar closes
She’s waiting for Aunt Mabel in her negligee nightgown
Cause she’s an Oklahoma twister (yes, ma’am) they sure as hell ain’t sisters...
(instrumental break) g
You might think of them as spinsters, they’re not and here’s the clincher
You better hold your peace, Aunt Mabel packs a gun
They both grew up on this range, while some might find them strange
Bert’s got a heart of gold, Mabel’s always up for fun
Cause they’re Oklahoma twisters (yes ma’am) they sure as hell ain’t sisters
They’re as sweet as sleeping rattlesnakes, as sharp as they are keen
(repeat last line)
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3. |
Always Been The Songs
03:04
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Always Been The Songs (capo 2, Am G D Am / C G F G FGAm)
There’s something in the words, in the music that I’ve heard
from time back before I can remember
the records of my mom, listening as she sang along
to Kitty Wells, Willie Nelson, Maybelle Carter
and by the time that I turned eight, a little guitar came my way
I’d sing with Merle, Righteous Brothers, Tommy Roe
there were songs that gave e hope that I’d escape those small town woes
and songs I’ve carried with me on the road
for there’s always been the songs, tunes that carried me along
songs that marked my many comings, many leavings
when I hear fiddle and guitar, they often speak straight to my heart
and give me something I can believe in
there are songs for every chapter of this troubled life I’ve known
some I’ve written, many more that spoke to me
countless singers have gone on but left us with their songs
to be a beacon for those who feel the need
there are songs that made me dance, those that asked give peace a chance
songs sang with children, music played with friends
those musicians that I’ve known, we’ll play again someday I hope
and I’ll carry their music with me until then
for its always been our songs that have carried us along
told our stories, shone a light into our souls
they’re with us when we’re alone and shared with others we’re among
songs that offer us something to believe in
when I’m up against my death, as I’m approaching my last breath
waiting for the close of this life’s final eve
I’ll face my silent night with a life lived wrong or right
and these songs to resurrect my memories
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4. |
Black Diamond
05:24
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Black Diamond (capo 2, in D)
It was a Martin archtop from a Troost Street dive almost mint back in ‘34
Some sad sack kind soaked up too much ‘shine and lost it in a game of cards
Clarence picked it up from a blackjack dealer on his way to an all-night jam
He’d comp it like his banjo, make that guitar swing, swappin’ licks with cats in the band
chorus:
He played his new Black Diamond
Swinging boogie, jazzin’ the blues
Can’t get closer to heaven without ending up dyin’
Than jamming til the morning dew
Clarence chauffeured for dough from a rich wheat trader but never let it beat him down
He’d shine that car with pride, drive that Packard Twelve Custom takin’ rich folks on the town
Mostly he was playing his six string jazz box, blowin’ notes ‘n soaking up songs
Rollin’ up rhythms with the bass and the drums, kicking high as the nights were long
He’d play his new Black Diamond…
One night he met a fella, said his name was Charlie, blowin’ everyone away with his ax
plugged into an amp made his notes electric, he could cut ‘em in as deep as a sax
Clarence traded licks on his sweet Black Diamond, they found they were the best of friends
Bopping guitar up to a cosmic new level, Charlie Christian’s name is known in the end
Clarence played his sweet Black Diamond…
I came to know Clarence ‘bout 1980, we’d shoot bull as he made his rounds
Music was the bridge our lives crossed over half a century since Pendergast’s town
one day he dropped by with a beat up case, closed since 1959
that gem was still in tune, just a scratch or two, stained rich by the hands of time
He strummed his old Black Diamond...
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5. |
Bitter Ends
03:51
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Bitter Ends (in C, capo 2)
40 years working the rivers since I came back from the War
there’s those that claim I’m lucky, then there’s those like me in bars
I made it off the Arizona, never got past what I seen
and the ones that I can drink with, are haunted just like me, just like me
ch.
think I’ll slip down in the deep, 20 fathoms I will sleep
cold waters where I’ll tie the bitter ends
no promises to keep, nobody’s left to weep
this New Years Eve just south of Barfield Bend, the bitter ends
brother Joe died with brain tumors, Jim’ll die in jail
Sissy’s hair still fiery red, 60 years on the road to hell
they all had their cursed children, thank Lord that I’ve had none
to pass on all the weight, of what I’ve seen and done, what I’ve done
there were some that said they loved me, none of them that stayed
can’t say that I blame them, all the problems that I made
I found some peace out on the water, I find trouble on the shore
always fightin’ when I’m drinkin’ but I’m not gonna fight no more, fight no more
Lonesome Chuck and Billy Bowden ‘bout the only friends I know
we run this pushboat tug, to Baton Rouge from Cairo
they’ll see this sorghum down, no need for me around
just one less round of whisky, to pay for when they drink, and they’ll drink
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6. |
May TheTrees Remember
03:57
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May the Trees Still Remember (12/30/19)
D G
From the prairies of my youth where the bison were all disappeared
D A
And the people I come from drove others from land that they cleared
D G
To this coast ancient forests once thrived in this place where I dwell
D A D (D7)
Seems like heaven for people, for salmon their hot streams are hell
ch.
G D
Here’s to the wolf, may it once again roam in the wood
G A A7
Here’s to the meadowlark building its nest where highways and houses once stood
D G
Here’s to those people who care about more than they own
D A D
May the trees still remember one day when the humans are gone
When I think of 8 billion, I’m thinking of those who’ve grown rich
In our world full of plunder, some plunder as if scratching an itch
they’re only one symptom of the billions this planet now feeds
if we were cells in our body, a doctor would call us diseased
Some believe paradise awaits them with silver and gold
For others it’s places they travel before they’re too old
Some think paradise is past (or) paradise is what we create
It’s always been here, just more of it lost everyday
from dinosaurs fallen, to fungi that for eons remain
passenger pigeons are gone, birds still sport dinosaur brains
Earth’s history is written of species that changed or were lost
you might think that we’re different, that won’t matter when we’re paying the cost
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7. |
She Shines
02:54
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She Shines (1-30-2020) capo 2, key of E?
D G D G
She shines at the top of the mountains
D G D G
She shines in the depths of the seas
Bm G D G
She shines as she’s working in our gardens
G A
When she’s home, she’s shining here for me
D G D G
She shines
She shines as a seeker, as a scholar
She runs, she swims, a shining athlete
She shines with her love of wondrous nature
She shines exploring tidepools at the beach
She shines
She shines in spite of what’s been broken
She shines so she can grasp beyond her reach
She shines with the truths that she has spoken
She shines as she has so much left to teach
She shines
She shines in the hearts of all who love her
She shines in the minds of all who learn
She shines though it’s cost a lot to get here
She’s shined as she’s worked for what she’s earned
She shines
She shines (just do your best)
She shines (just be yourself)
She shines (you have to see this!)
She shines (how can I help?)
She shines
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8. |
Tweet You Later
02:54
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I’ll Tweet you Later (Feb. 18, 2020) capo 2, in A
G C
I just love long summer evenings on a porch or around a fire
D G
Conversations, food, a little wine, friendly folks to pass the hours
G C
Or visiting the family hearin’ what they have to say
D D7 G
Maybe such talking keeps us human, there’s just too many dadgum ways
C
I’ll tweet you later, just send a text
G
I don’t use text, can you just call?
D
I don’t like phones, how ‘bout email
G G7
Mine’s frozen up like Dante’s hell
C
Could we just Skype? It’s not installed
G
What about Facebook? I refuse
D
Hell, let’s meet up here next week
D7 G
Sometimes devices ain’t no use
I love traveling to the South lands, or a hamlet nearer home
Whether family or a stranger, if you’re not set on getting gone
You might strike a conversation anybody anytime
A word of greeting, a bit of weather, a couple words to say you’re fine
ch not...
The best is still the Greyhound on a journey coast to coast
Pilgrims all with many stories, some have left me with their ghosts
A nun going to see her sister that she’d lost since WW2
A fella freshly out of prison, travels’ to the child he never knew
Bridge: D / C G D / C D G
We’ve got marvelous contraptions there’s a zillion ways to speak
Whether anybody’ listening amidst their avalanche of tweets
I’m not well versed on devices often just won’t take the time
But if you’d like to sit and talk a spell I’ll pour a glass of wine
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9. |
If you believed
03:00
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If You Believed (honky tonk shuffle in G) intro G C G D7 G
chorus:
G
If you believed / it could work out right
C
If you believed / with all your might
G D D7
If you believed / like I believe in you
G
If you believed / I swear I’d try
C
If you believed / I wouldn’t need to cry
G D D7 G
If you believed / like I believe in you
C G
When we started out, I know we were too young
C D D7
Who could imagine the troubles that would come
G
But we believed with all our hearts and tried
C
Until one day, your love had died
G D7 G
You don’t believe like I believe in you
instrumental of chorus``
C G
Friends tell me I need to let you go
C D D7
That you’re not coming back, how can they ever know
G
I still believe, I still hold to hope
C
I can find some way to let you know
G D7 G
How much I love you and I believe in you
Bridge
D C G
I keep the faith that really you still love me
A7 D D7
I’ll keep that faith until my dying day
G
That you’ll believe / and I swear I’ll try
C
If you’ll believe / I won’t need to cry
G D D7 G
If you believe / like I believe in you (2x)
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10. |
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John Prine’s Wake in Paradise
We’ll kick things off along bout cocktail hour
Vodka and ginger ale to toast to you Dear John
We’ll talk dirty in Hawaiian, waka waka nuka knocka
We’re not the jet set but we know how to have fun
Barbara Lewis Beauregard brought happy enchiladas (not a half inch of water, silly)
And Carl brought kegs , Milwaukee’s finest beer
Your daddy’s come from Paradise, he put that coal company on ice
With some topless dancer back-to-lander who lives near
ch.
We’re raising hell in Paradise tonight
John’s here now, just like his songs raised us all our lives
Dear Abby knows his wrongs are right
Souvenirs of life lived in the light
We’re raising hell in Paradise tonight
Sam Stone is tending bar, he’s kicked the monkey
Though you’ll probably see his newly legal smile
He’s passing joints 9 foot long singing patriotic songs
How flag decals won’t get you served here by a mile
Steve Goodman’s brought that song about yer mamas
They’re here cause they got hit by damned ole trains
Bob Gibson’s back with you again, Jethro Burns on the mandolin
A choir of Angels from Montgomery is flying in to sing
When we’re good and drunk we’ll sing Onomatopoeia
You’ll tell us how on Earth you kissed your ass goodbye
And how you came to write that tune, Crazy as a loon
Brains in a hurricane, how the blind can have your eyes
Then a big old goofy man and girl start dancing
Donald and Lydia take a break to dance some too
You and your horny Easter bunny gonna bounce yer big brass monkey
Drink some draft beer then go dance to Haggard tunes
bridge:
It’s Paradise at John Prine’s coming home
In the tiki bar his Grandpa built in Waikiki
He was in Heaven before he died because we loved him all his life
This big old goofy world’s still got his songs to sing
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