Townes van Zandt: "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues"

Townes van Zandt
Johnson City, Tn.
4/18/85

up on Housing Project Hill
it's either fortune or fame
you must pick one or the other
though neither of them
are to be what they claim
if you're looking to get silly
you'd better go back to
from where you came
because the cops don't need you
and, man, they expect the same
--bob dylan (from "just like tom thumb's blues ")

Jerry Jeff Walker: "Navajo Rug"

aye, aye, aye
Katie
shades of red and blue
aye, aye, aye
Katie
whatever became of
the Navajo rug
and you?

Judy Collins: "Pretty Polly"

Judy Collins--acoustic guitar
Stephen Stills--electric guitar
James Burton--electric guitar
Buddy Emmons--pedal steel guitar
Chris Ethridge--electric bass
Michael Sahl--organ
Van Dyke Parks--electric piano
Jim Gordon--drums

1968

You Don't Know Nothin'

Danielle Miraglia
Circle of Friends Coffeehouse
Franklin, Mass.
1/23/10

The Saints Are Coming

they're like butter
they're on a roll
the Saints are going
to the Super Bowl

Rivers And Tides

A film in nine parts regarding the art of Andy Goldsworthy

Going Back To Harlan

the late Kate and Anna McGarrigle

frail my heart apart
and play me a little shady grove
ring the bells of Rhymney
'til they ring inside my head forever
bounce the bow
rock the gallows
for the hangman's reel
and wake the devil from his dream
i'm going back to Harlan

Drunken Angel

Lucinda Williams
El Rey Theater,
Los Angeles, Ca.
9/8/07

drunken angel
you're on the other side

John Prine/Iris DeMent: "In Spite Of Ourselves"

in spite of ourselves we'll end up sitting on
a rainbow
against all odds, honey, we're the big door prize
we're gonna spite our noses right off of
our faces
there won't be nothing but big old hearts dancing in our eyes

The Rite Of Spring

Ode To Joy

from Beethoven's 9th Symphony
Herbert von Karajan conducts the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

Rosalie McFall

Grateful Dead
Capitol Theater,
Port Chester, N.Y.
11/8/70

her eyes were bright and shining
and her voice was sweet to me
i knew that i would always love her
and i hoped that she loved me

Monkey And The Engineer

David Rawlings Machine with Gillian Welch
Grimey's, Nashville, Tn.
12/3/09

once upon a time there was an engineer
drove a locomotive both far and near
accompanied by a monkey that would sit on a stool
watching everything the engineer would do
one day the engineer wanted a bite to eat
he left the monkey sitting on the drivers seat
the monkey pulled the throttle
the locomotive jumped the gun
and did 90 miles an hour down the mainline run
big locomotive right on time
big locomotive coming down the line
big locomotive no. 99
left the engineer with a worried mind

the engineer called up the dispatcher on the phone
to tell him all about his locomotive was gone
dispatcher got on the wire, switch operator to the right
cause the monkey's got the main line sewed up tight
the switch operator got the message on time
said there's a northbound limited on the same main line
open up the switch i'm gonna let him through the hole
cause the monkey's got the locomotive under control
big locomotive right on time
big locomotive coming down the line
big locomotive no. 99
left the engineer with a worried mind

Zebra Finches

French artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot creates works by drawing on the rhythms of daily life to produce sound in unexpected ways.
For this installation, Boursier-Mougenot creates a walk-though aviary for a flock of zebra finches, furnished with electric guitars and other musical instruments. As the birds go about their routine activities, perching on or feeding from the various pieces of equipment, they create a captivating, live soundscape.

Jackson Browne: "Something Fine"

Claremont Folk Festival,
Claremont, Ca.
May 3, 2008

and looking back into your eyes
i saw them really shine
giving me a taste of something fine

Nothing But The Same Old Story

Paul Brady with Donal Lunny

i'm sick of watching them break up
every time some birdbrain puts us down
making jokes on the radio
i guess it helps them drown out the sound
of the crumbling foundations
any fool can see the writing on the wall
but they just don't believe that it's happening

there's a crowd says i'm alright
say they like my turn of phrase
take me round to their parties
like some dressed up monkey in a cage
and i play my accordion
but when the wine seeps through the facade
it's nothing but the same old story
nothing but the same old story

Wolfe Tones: "Padraig Pearse"

The Wolfe Tone s from Pearse's cell in Kilmainham Jail.

A woman came to Paidrag Pearse complaining about her son's progress, or lack of it, at school.
"He doesn't want to seem to do anything," she said.
"I don't see any future for him except playing the tin whistle.
What am I to do with him?"
"Buy him a tin whistle," said Pearse.
--Brendan Behan

Mississippi John Hurt: "Spike Driver Blues"

take this hammer

and carry it

to the captain

tell him i'm gone

you can tell him i'm gone

You're Just A Country Boy

Alison Krauss with Dan Tyminski
Bluebird Cafe, Nashville, Tn.
January 6, 2010

you're just a country boy
money have you none
but you've got silver
in the stars
and gold in the morning sun

Doris Day: "The Deadwood Stage"

from "Calamity Jane " (1953)

the Deadwood Stage is a-rolling on over the plains
with the curtains flapping and the driver slapping the reins
beautiful sky! a wonderful day!
so whip crack-away! whip crack-away! whip crack-away!

the Deadwood Stage is a-heading on over the hills
where the Injun arrows are thicker than porcupine quills
dangerous land! no time to delay!
so whip crack-away! whip crack-away! whip crack-away!

Hold On It's Coming

Picked up a hitchhiker the other day,
He said he wasn't going far.
He looked so strange I couldn't help myself,
I asked, "Please, tell me who you are."
He smiled politely and lit a cigarette,
The smoke seemed to cast a spell.
What happened next I don't understand yet.
It was so strange I can hardly tell.
He said, hold on it's coming.
He said, hold on it's very near.
He said, hold on it's coming.
He said, hold on it's almost here.

My mind seemed to spin
And my hands began to tremble.
I began talking in tongues.
I looked over and his eyes seemed to glow.
It was like looking at the sun.
I told him everything in just a few moments
As if we had stopped time.
I felt a great light just as if I were floating.
It was truly blowing my mind.
He said, hold on it's coming.
He said, hold on it's very near.
He said, hold on it's coming.
He said, hold on it's almost here.

And then I was suddenly a child again
Holding my father's hand.
And I watched it from the beginning
As I grew from child to man.
My friends all came
And gathered round me once more,
We undid what was done,
And when it was over
I was driving down the road.
I looked around and he was gone.
He said, hold on it's coming.
He said, hold on it's very near.
He said, hold on it's coming.
He said, hold on it's almost here.

--Country Joe McDonald

Homegrown Revolution

A garden
is never
so good
as it
will be
next year.

PP&M: "The Rising Of The Moon"

Peter, Paul and Mary
1966

and come tell me Sean O'Farrell
where the gathering is to be
at the old spot by the river
quite well known to you and me
one word more for signal token
whistle out the marching tune
with your pike upon your shoulder
by the rising of the moon

A Poem On The Underground Wall

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel
1966

The last train is nearly due.
The underground is closing soon,
And in the dark deserted station,
Restless in anticipation,
A man waits in the shadows.

His restless eyes leap and scratch
At all that they can touch or catch,
And hidden deep within his pocket,
Safe within it's silent socket,
He holds a colored crayon.

Now from the tunnel's stony womb,
The carriage rides to meet the groom,
And opens wide and welcome doors,
But he hesitates, then withdraws
Deeper in the shadows.

And the train is gone suddenly
On wheels clicking silently
Like a gently tapping litany,
And he holds his crayon rosary
Tighter in his hand.

Now from his pocket quick he flashes,
The crayon on the wall he slashes,
Deep upon the advertising,
A single-worded poem comprised
Of four letters.

And his heart is laughing, screaming, pounding
The poem across the tracks rebounding,
Shadowed by the exit light
His legs take their ascending flight
To seek the breast of darkness and be suckled by the night.

Ian Tyson: "Springtime In Alberta"

i can see the storm clouds coming
they're dark across the sky
the same look i've seen so many times
when i've looked into your eyes
so i'll turn up my old collar
pull my hat way down low
wind's getting colder now
dropping down to near zero
just like springtime in Alberta
warm sunny days
endless skies of blue
then without a warning
another winter storm
comes raging through
and the mercury's falling
i'm left all alone
springtime in Alberta
chills me to the bone