albums
-
02:08
Story
Lyrics
Girl On the Rhythm Guitar
god bless the poor musicians in the old string bands
when people come to listen to sing along and clap their hands
sweet music be their fortune as they roam from near and far
god bless the fiddle and the mandolin and the girl on the rhythm guitar
now tune up for the dancing
gonna turn that crowd around
with a reel and a waltz and a gospel song
for when we pass the hat along
well i'll eat that's how i'm paid
then i'll lay my body down
and dream of songs till the sunup comes
and it's off to another town
god bless the poor musicians in the old string bands
when people come together to sing along and clap their hands
sweet music be their fortune as they roam from near and far
god bless the fiddle and the mandolin and the girl on the rhythm guitar
well i should have been a farmer's wife
but i could not stay at home
with the music in my head and the rhythm in my heels
well it only made me ramble and roam
i yodel when i'm happy
i sing the blues when i'm alone
but i belong to no one
and i can carry everything that i own
god bless the poor musicians in the old string bands
when people come to listen to sing along and clap their hands
sweet music be their fortune as they roam from near and far
god bless the fiddle and the mandolin and the girl on the rhythm guitar
-
04:26
Story
Lyrics
Elmer McCurdy
mccurdy was an outlaw
his name was known by few
robbed a train for forty bucks
and some whiskey too
he heard the posse's horses
the baying of hound
he said he wouldn't go alive
so they shot him down
oh the sheriff's posse shot him
he couldn't be saved
mccurdy waited sixty years
till they dug his grave
and when his life was over
no one came and cried
no one came to mourn him
when mccurdy died
oh the sheriff's posse shot him
he couldn't be saved
mccurdy waited sixty years
till they dug his grave
now when the undertaker got him
despite his crime
when he laid the body out
mccurdy looked fine
and when the funeral was over
mccurdy was alone
the undertaker kept him there
till he turned to stone
oh the sheriff's posse shot him
he couldn't be saved
mccurdy waited sixty years
till they dug his grave
two bogus brothers claimed him
took him one day
showed him for a quarter on a carnie midway
and when they lost him in a card game
mccurdy went out west
hanging in a fun house
mccurdy took his rest
oh the sheriff's posse shot him
he couldn't be saved
mccurdy waited sixty years
till they dug his grave
now when that fun house fell to ruin
mccurdy would astound
they saw that he'd been once alive
when they took him down
police investigators
learned who was to blame
mccurdy waited sixty years
till they dug his grave
and they made for him a headstone
engraved it with his name
and finally after sixty years
mccurdy found his fame
-
03:54
Story
Lyrics
There Are No Sundays At Sea
in towns by the ocean the children all know
their seafaring families agree
there are no sundays at sea they all sing
there are no sundays at sea
when he boarded his ship for her last run to liverpool
grandfather's age was the age i am now
he's been still on the deep since the day i was born
grandmother's telling me how
monday's cargo sailed tuesday and wednesday and thursday
friday the waters went white
they weathered the squalls all saturday
and were lost in the blue the next night
there are no sundays
there are no sundays at sea
on land sundays come after six days of work
no days of rest on the waves sailors say
except when at anchor or snug in a harbor
or docked in a mole at the mouth of a bay
there are no sundays
there are no sundays at sea
at age ninety four she stands still at the door
on mid-winter days when the breezes blow warm
dismissing the news from the merchant marine
not believing him dead in the storm
monday's cargo sailed tuesday and wednesday and thursday
friday the waters went white
they weathered the squalls all saturday
and were lost in the blue the next night
there are no sundays
there are no sundays at sea
i'm following grandmother up the back stairs
up to the roof where she's come all these years
she steadies herself at the rail
gazing through glimmering tears
i'll always remember the sound of her singing
there are no sundays at sea
there are no sundays
there are no sundays at sea
-
03:57
Story
Lyrics
My Father's Train
her engine stands in waist-high weeds
her iron heart is chilled
no more her whistle echoes
through the sleepy silver hills
now miles away he longs to go and climb her rusty side
to take her throttle one more time
and make their moonlight ride
my father's train
his dreams are dusty now
my father's train
he hears her pulling out of town
my father's train
she rolls through time and space
with thunder, fire and grace
my father's train
he drives her windy cab that sways
six feet above the ground
her jingling valves and pounding rods
he knows her soulful sound
he sees her in her heyday hauling hard her precious freight
she's white-lined on a rip track now
she's just dead weight
my father's train
his dreams are dusty now
my father's train
he hears her pulling out of town
my father's train
she rolls through time and space
with thunder, fire and grace
my father's train
-
02:17
Story
Lyrics
Raised By the Railroad Line
the clickety sound of the southbound freight
and the high speed hum of the passenger train
become a part of the soul and the heart and the mind
of the boy that's raised by the railroad line
the sound of the whistle at the cross in the road
and the tanks and the trucks and tractors on the flat car load
become a part of the soul and the heart and the mind
of the boy that's raised by the railroad line
and the big round penny that you laid on the rails that the wheels smashed flat
and a glimpse of the faces of the ladies and the man in the engineer hat
and the brakeman waves from the red caboose
he's a part of the past that never really broke loose
he's a part of the soul and the heart and the mind
of the boy that's raised by the railroad line
-
03:15
Story
Lyrics
Darlin' Cory
wake up wake up darlin' cory
what makes you sleep so sound
those revenue men are comin'
gonna tear your stillhouse down
wake up wake up darlin' cory
quit your hangin' 'round my bed
bad whiskey has ruined your body
pretty women have gone to your head
dig a hole dig a hole in the meadow
dig deep in dark damp ground
dig a hole dig a hole in the meadow
gonna lay darlin' cory down
-
02:44
Story
Lyrics
The Raven
the raven's not a pretty bird she is lazy
her chickies cry in the treetops like babies
she takes flight midnight
she is crazy
the raven the raven
the raven's not a pretty bird she is scheming
learning words while pretty birds are dreaming
when she walks the raven talks with meaning
the raven the raven
delores walking in the woods is crying
learning that her lover left her lying
from the trees the raven sees delores is crying
crying
-
02:27
Story
Lyrics
Charlotte's Jalopy
come to the window run out and say goodbye
charlotte's jalopy is ready for a ride
she's got her goggles and her bonnet on
and it's a perfect day
charlotte is at the wheel
better open up the way
isinglass side curtains and a top that rolls down
forty miles an hour she's firing out of town
her running boards curl up the front
lanterns on the back
chugging up and down the hills
and across the railroad track
there's been no living with charlotte
since she learned to run that driving machine
she's gonna take on the road today
crank up the model T
in charlotte's jalopy all shiny and black
we passed a twin six packard, a buick and a cadillac
we've been out to patch the tires now
we're frozen to the bone
but we've come fourteen miles already
and now we're coming home
-
04:40
Story
Lyrics
The Axeman
they have never caught me and they never will
they have never known me i am invisible
as ether that surrounds your earth at night i lie unseen
i am not a human being
as i see fit i come and go from hottest hell
the axeman is a spirit and a cunning demon fell
i come to claim my victims from your night and leave no trace
i have not a human face
jouez ce soir le jazz orleanians ici
joyez ce soir le jazz s'il vous aimez la vie
alone the axeman knows it who the prey will be
and each poor soul is sent below to keep me company
my axe besmeared with blood and brains alas the only clues
i am not like one of you
so tell the new orleans police they should not rile me
as a spirit i am fair but it's best not to beguile me
their efforts are a joke to me and all of hades too
and by this i am amused
jouez ce soir le jazz orleanians ici
jouez ce soir le jazz s'il vous aimez la vie
again i shall return and others more shall die
orleanians take cover for you know that it is i
as horrible as this may seem much worse i could bestow
so much worse than you could know
and so to you i'll offer this alternative
when the next time i come stalking if you want to live
one thing on earth that i like best each orleanian has
play for me tonight your jazz
jouez ce soir le jazz orleanians ici
jouez ce soir le jazz s'il vous aimez la vie
i'm cold and so for now i crave my warm tartarus
my axe and i'll be back to slay the fools who care to dare us
but if you will not cross me you'll not be my next repast
allons jouez ce soir le jazz
jouez ce soir le jazz orleanians ici
jouez ce soir le jazz s'il vous aimez la vie
-
01:43
Story
Tessa
Read more
-
03:18
Story
Lyrics
Ozone
ozone
thunder through the mountain
ozone
lightning strikes with the sound
ozone
just a little ionization
that's how they thought you were found
ozone
they were wrong about you
ozone
your gaseous allotrope's blue
they think you're just a hole in the sky
don't cry
ozone
poison toxins riding on it
ozone
your oxygen's so compound
ozone
you unstable biatomic so close to the ground
ozone they were wrong about you
your gaseous allotrope is blue
they think you're just a hole in the sky
-
02:27
Story
Lyrics
A Particular Thing
there's a particular thing that you do and that thing that you do
is it just your way or just your way of saying that particular thing that you say
and i'm wondering hey do you know when you do what you convey
it's not a love-like thing
no no no no no no
but i know it happens every time
and i'm gonna tell you so
there's a particular way that you move and that way that you move
is it just the groove or just your way of dancing that particular way that you do
and i'm wondering do you know how much i wanna dance with you
it's not a love-like thing
no no no no no no
but i know it happens every time
and i'm gonna tell you so
-
04:17
Story
Way Out West
-
05:00
Story
His Old Guitar
-
03:58
Story
Rain in the Headlights
-
03:30
Story
Forgotten Blues
-
03:15
Story
Darlin' Cory
-
02:54
Story
Moonstone
-
02:13
Story
The Poltergeist
-
02:44
Story
The Raven
-
03:54
Story
There Are No Sundays At Sea
-
04:04
Story
Walk On Water
-
01:43
Story
Tessa
-
05:12
Story
I Lie
-
03:15
Story
Dive and Dance
Matt Finley's instrumental arranging and stellar solos on flugelhorn, cornet, soprano sax, …
Read more
-
02:08
Story
Lyrics
Girl On the Rhythm Guitar
god bless the poor musicians
in the old string bands
when people come to listen
to sing along and clap their hands
sweet music be their fortune
as they roam from near and far
god bless the fiddle and the mandolin
and the girl on the rhythm guitar
now tune up for the dancing
gonna turn that crowd around
with a reel and a waltz and a gospel song
for when we pass the hat along
well i'll eat-- that's how i'm paid
then i'll lay my body down
and dream of songs till the sun-up comes
and it's off to another town
god bless the poor musicians
in the old string bands
when people come to listen
to sing along and clap their hands
sweet music be their fortune
as they roam from near and far
god bless the fiddle and the mandolin
and the girl on the rhythm guitar
well i should have been a farmer's wife
but i could not stay at home
with the music in my head and the rhythm in my heels
well it only made me ramble and roam
i yodel when i'm happy
i sing the blues when i'm alone
but i belong to no one
and i can carry everything i own
god bless the poor musicians
in the old string bands
when people come to listen
to sing along and clap their hands
sweet music be their fortune
as they roam from near and far
god bless the fiddle and the mandolin
and the girl on the rhythm guitar
-
04:26
Story
Lyrics
Elmer McCurdy
mccurdy was an outlaw
his name was known by few
robbed a train for forty bucks
and some whiskey too
he heard the posse's horses
the baying of hound
he said he wouldn't go alive
so they shot him down
oh the sheriff's posse shot him
he couldn't be saved
mccurdy waited sixty years
till they dug his grave
and when his life was over
no one came and cried
no one came to mourn him
when mccurdy died
oh the sheriff's posse shot him
he couldn't be saved
mccurdy waited sixty years
till they dug his grave
now when the undertaker got him
despite his crime
when he laid the body out
mccurdy looked fine
and when the funeral was over
mccurdy was alone
the undertaker kept him there
till he turned to stone
oh the sheriff's posse shot him
he couldn't be saved
mccurdy waited sixty years
till they dug his grave
two bogus brothers claimed him
took him one day
showed him for a quarter on a carnie midway
and when they lost him in a card game
mccurdy went out west
hanging in a fun house
mccurdy took his rest
oh the sheriff's posse shot him
he couldn't be saved
mccurdy waited sixty years
till they dug his grave
now when that fun house fell to ruin
mccurdy would astound
they saw that he'd been once alive
when they took him down
police investigators
learned who was to blame
mccurdy waited sixty years
till they dug his grave
and they made for him a headstone
engraved it with his name
and finally after sixty years
mccurdy found his fame
-
02:17
Raised By the Railroad Line
-
03:57
My Father's Train
-
04:40
The Axeman
-
03:51
Wendigo
-
02:27
Charlotte's Jalopy
-
02:52
Talk to Me
-
03:29
Harmony
-
02:46
How Can I Keep from Singing
-
02:03
Londonderry Air
Read more
-
02:47
Story
Lyrics
How Can I Keep from Singing
my life goes on in endless song above earth's lamentation
i hear the real thought far off hymn that hails the new creation
no storm can shake my inmost calm while to that rock i'm clinging
since love is lord of heaven and earth how can i keep from singing
what though the tempest round me roar i hear the truth it liveth
what though the darkness round me close songs in the night it giveth
no storm can shake my inmost calm while to that rock i'm clinging
since love is lord of heaven and earth how can i keep from singing
what through the tumult and the strife i hear the music ringing
it sounds and echoes in my soul how can i keep from singing
no storm can shake my inmost calm while to that rock i'm clinging
since love is lord of heaven and earth how can i keep from singing
-
02:52
Story
Lyrics
Solstice Song
i heard your voice upon the wind as northerly it came
now i see your face again as you call out your name
when i feel your frosty breath tears will fall like snow
who may melt your heart of ice
who may only know
the musky scent of earth's decay hangs heavy on the breeze
breezes turn to winds today and rock the very trees
when you rage through rusty woods leaves will fall like rain
who may calm your heart so cold
who may only name
when the ring around the moon lends beauty to the night
planets circle round the sun and bask in borrowed light
if a taste of spring should wake what winter white would quell
who may own the mystery
who may only tell
-
03:04
This Fine Day
-
03:32
Harmony
-
01:38
Warren Street
-
02:04
Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
-
04:39
Whenever Winter Came
-
01:22
Dona Nobis Pacem
-
03:54
How Fair Is My Baby
-
05:09
Solomon / What Child Is This
-
02:49
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Read more
-
03:53
Story
Lyrics
Memorial Day
sleep sweet baby take thy rest
god was watching he knew best
etched upon a headstone telling
words of farewell so compelling
here lies our dear rosemary
died in eighteen hundred and three
one year is all she lived to be
here lies our dear rosemary
sleep sweet baby take thy rest
god was watching he knew best
live we may and die we must
earth to earth and dust to dust
monuments of every war
soldiers buried by the score
they fought so we would fight no more
they're marching still through heaven's door
sleep brave soldiers take your rest
god was watching he knew best
live we may and die we must
earth to earth and dust
frederick my father dear
with others died too soon is here
in memories we hold them near
in cemeteries year to year
sleep dear daddy take your rest
god was watching he knew best
live we may and die we must
earth to earth and dust to dust
now i'm wondering from stone to stone
treading now on human bone
is life not also ours to own
must god be watching all alone
and when we will take our rest
in this life we've done our best
live we may and die we must
earth to earth and dust to dust
-
04:19
Just Outside of Time
-
03:33
Midnight Blue
-
04:42
Little Secrets
-
03:48
Under The Radar
-
03:18
Wendigo
-
04:14
Lovers Watch the Moon
-
03:54
How Fair Is My Baby
The collection, produced by Daniel Pagdon, including two award-winning songs, features examples of the most haunting pieces in their repertoire. Along with brilliantly arranged Horn and Flute accents by Matt Finley, this volume of songs …
Read more