LYRICS
July Fling (McKee)
Way down in West Virginia
Down old Route 33
The fog hung heavy, the dash lit dim
You were thumbin' that bottle cap, spittin' advice for free
I had my own direction
A good deal of feel to unload
I stayed for them thrills, turned my wheels
But you can't change lanes on a back dirt road
Well I headed on down, for summer in the mountains
Two beers to Douglas, and I'm done countin'
Later days spent hangin' by a string
Hey there pot, you met my friend kettle
Thought you were off-beat, but Mama knew better
Guess your tune was just a July fling
I'm bound for the still north woods
Where the wide river of your whitewash done froze
Here it comes now, the same old story
Brought to you by the letter, "So it goes"
Well I headed on down...
Red and blue and Jack's here too
The evening's gone and past
First light's gonna sure be whisky-cast
You've been walkin' on a slant
And I can't pull you straight
Water's topped the bridge and it's too late
Water’s topped the bridge and it’s too late
S Bar X (Cushman)
Drivin’ down 25 all the way from Albuquerque
Gas tank is gettin' low and there’s still a long, long way to go
Sand blows in on the dash and I’m also low on cash
Just another big adventure for this lonely desert rose
There’s a lake past T or C sunk soul deep in mystery
Catfish so big that they’ll swallow me down
The dead there leave no clues, I think I lost my walkin’ shoes
You hold me so close, I’m afraid I will drown
We’re gliding ‘round in circles
Hell, but this here ain’t no square dance
He’s got boots that jingle spurs
Maybe he’ll dance me down some romance
Church bells ring in the morn and Our Lady sings a Dylan tune
Cottonwoods have all turned gold behind the S-Bar-X Saloon
There’s goatsheads on my feet, your campfire smells of sweet mesquite
You swing that lasso and it’s time for me to go
We're gliding 'round in circles...
Well I’m off to Silver City even though you say I’m pretty
There’s tequila on the bar and a rattlesnake coiled ‘round my heart
Don’t you know, don’t you know...
A desert rose will go
We're gliding 'round in circles...
There’s tequila on the bar
At the S-Bar-X Saloon
Big Saturday night at the S-Bar-X Saloon
There’s a rattlesnake coiled ‘round my heart . . . big Saturday night
Union Reenactor (McKee)
I'm a union reenactor, godwillin'
Proud part of the Ohio First
I pack up my blues, head to Chattanoo
But the battles at home are the worst
She don't like my friends or my family
Spends my money, more than I have got
Like in old Virginee, she's Stonewallin' me
And I can't make no sense of the lot
She always walks ten feet behind me
She thinks my old hound dog's a pill
Like a rebel advance, she don't miss a chance
To put her two cents in the till
Joined up with the boys for the weekend
And lord, we put on a good show
When I marched back her way, it ruined her day
Can't get a how-do or hello
Well I'm a union reenactor godwillin'
With my wife, well it's best I play dead
Despite my best pleas, far be it from me
She up and ran oft with a Reb
Destined to Roam (Babij)
Rode a train for twenty days
Traveled on, from miles away
Thought I'd find a place called home
Instead I found I'm destined to roam
Life's journeys twist and turn me round
Make no stops to settle down
The world's too big to just stand still
Gotta travel on, gotta get my fill
So wander on down your own line
We'll meet again when your path meets mine
I've packed my bags and said goodbye
The earth keeps spinning, and so will I
Rode a train...
Officer Aldridge (McKee)
Please Officer Aldridge, you've got to understand
That hay bale ain't gonna push itself 'cross this here federal land
Up to no harm, but up to no good
These panhandle Friday nights will follow you for good
Well I know this isn't Vegas, but you know I ain't John Brown
And ain't it just like the law to run a band of Yankees out of town
Well take me up the Shenandoh', it's the only way to go
Next to that mile long coal train, we’ll ride the C&O
Put me on that Capitol Limited, we’ll shove off on the rail
When I hop off in Knoxville, hike on up that Appalachian Trail
Well I know this isn’t Vegas...
Don’t you think it would be fine
If we made off for that tri-state line
We’re waterbound if we have to
We’ll grab a raft and blaze it blue
Please Officer Aldridge
We weren’t being obscene
I can’t explain how much it means
To keep my Park Service record clean
Please Mr. Aldridge
It’s getting late my friend
You best get on home to your wife
We won’t be out here past two AM
Please Mrs. Aldridge
Could you call your husband off
We’re just a bunch of silly kids
Havin’ a rowdy night in West ‘by God’
Well take me up the Shenandoh’...
Dear Old Whisky (Cushman)
Well he took me up on that mountain pass
Where the mules refused to climb
He left me standing in a one-room cabin
At the mouth of a silver mine
Then he headed on down to that valley town
Said we needed more supplies
But I’m pretty sure he’s got another girl
And he’s gamblin’ while that old moon shines
Chip those rocks on the mountainside
Shovelin’ out that ore
Have mercy, all those whisky bottles
Rattlin' ‘round my floor
Oh, dear old whisky
I’m sending you down the road
I’m packing you on that wagon
Gonna lighten this heavy load
I got an old grey mare gonna haul my gear
Miss Molly she’s rarin’ to go
Day breaks I’m on a steamship
Oh lord let the river flow
When he don’t work, we don’t get paid
Poor Miss Molly don’t get fed
Got an empty flour sack, a few cans of beans
My mama told me there'd be guys like this
Now he’s been gone, for three more weeks
And the boss knows he’s been had
Snow keeps piling up almost 6 feet deep
And some days, I don’t get outta bed
Chip those rocks...
Oh, dear old whisky...
My best friend’s been, that old brown jug
Yeah the whisky tastes just fine
It’s so sweet and smooth, it lightens up my mood
You can tell my Maker I’ll be fine
For now I see, it’s time to leave
I’m gonna hike on down out of these hills
A brighter place to live, Miss Molly take me there
Don’t need no finery, don’t need no frills
No more rocks on the mountainside
No more shoveling ore
And you won’t find no whisky bottles
Rattlin' ‘round my floor
Oh, dear old whisky...
Regional Uplift (McKee)
Old tires, leave em for a dollar
Til they fill up, this whole damn holler
A bottle full, a bottle a day
Who measures out, their shots of hard liquor anyway
Hard up, rack and ruin,
Hand of spades to dig out soon
The river wears a bank a day
But our old bed has dried up any-
Way past the amends this time
You get yours and I'll be fine
Let this whole house just wash away
Put under by the TVA
Put me on the next train if you're inclined
There's cheap land, cheap hands over in Carolina
Leave my good intentions at the fall line
Old man’s grave turnin' over should’ve been the first sign
A confluence, is more than water
It's a blind rush, new branch put on'er
Daylight saved, and then came autumn
Another heat, in the race to the bottom
If you post up, get that woodchuck
Well we might fall on better luck
Can't settle up with just two bits
I care more than I might admit, no-
Way past the amends this time…
Put me on the next train...
Well one won't hurt but two will sting
Three strikes there goes my wedding ring
I hate to bail, but they'll guarantee
No dregs of home left here for me
Just pour one out and and strum a tune
Our front line took to the back room
You can join your boys upstate
I'll be riding with the eastbound freight
Put me on the next train if you're inclined
There's cheap land, cheap hands over in Carolina
Let’s done give the big man what he wanted
A few more bodies off this mountain
But they still haunt it
Upside Down (Babij)
I was runnin’ right to ya
Baby, I thought I knew ya
You were walkin’ right past me
Said your fire would outlast me
I was ready to take you
Wasn’t tryin’ to make you
You had different ideas
How the wind would just free us
It’s same old sound
Turning up-side down
Tell me where will it send us
And can anyone mend us
You were already flowing
Don’t know where you were going
So I let the wind hold me
Pick me up and unfold me
You were off in the distance
With your stubborn persistence
It's the same old sound...
Baby, I thought I knew ya
I could shine my light through ya
You were never there with me
You weren’t trying to get me
I keep hoping to find you
If I could sneak up behind you
Would you tell me you chose me
If that’s where the wind blows me?
It's the same old sound...
Until It Takes (McKee)
Well ain’t heard tell you’re back in town
Those blow-hard winds that brought you ‘round
A sweet North Country walk-about
Well hats off boys, let’s roll it out
Winter was a long affair
Hard up, flat out and goin’ nowhere
I found myself in a new backseat
Then you show up, rinse and repeat
Well you can man my griddle
I’ll pretend I ain’t awake
And we can bill this show put on
And love until it breaks
Beer me that there glass of wine
That’s two eye-rolls and one punch line
Give you a piece of my damn mind
And give until it takes
Well can a man still get by
The mill’s closed up, the well’s bone dry
This worn out girl can’t take you back
Go on and find your next smokestack
Well you can man my griddle…
When I look back on all my pride
The shots were fired from all sides
I pick my banjo up and sing
Oh hell what will this next round bring
Well you can man my griddle...
Permanent Vacation (Babij)
Bossman said don't come to work tomorrow
Or the next day, or the day after that
I said, should I come in the following week?
He laughed and shook his head, said, now what's the point in that?
Whaddya know, I'm on permanent vacation
Whaddya know, I ain't got no place to be
Whaddya know, I sleep all day
I play my music all night, yeah, that's how it ought to be
Yeah, a paycheck was nice, but they got that unemployment
And ramen noodles sure taste good enough to me
I don't need no fancy clothes 'cause I never leave the house
My friends come by and bring me booze for free
Whaddya know...
Well, life's too short to spend it in a cubicle
Staring at a screen 'til your eyes turn to glass
There's songs to be written and stages to be played
So, thank you, Mr. Bossman, for that kick in the ass
Whaddya know...
Bossman said don't come to work tomorrow
Or the next day, or the day after that...
Ain't Got Grace (McKee)
Well I've been given six Our Fathers
Three Hail Mary's, who'll damn well bother
Just trying to be a good wife and daughter
Ain't got grace for six Our Fathers
Ain't got grace (for six Our Fathers)
Ain't got grace (for six Our Fathers)
His rosary drowns in this backwater
Ain't got grace (for six Our Fathers)
Well we've been courting for six rounds
Not much choosin' in this town
He spun me up to lock it down
We’ve been courting for six rounds
Ain't got grace...
He's been waiting for six pours
Hey barkeep, can he get some more
Sir, he too sees that rising floor
But he's been waiting for six pours
Ain't got grace...
Well I've been married for six days
No mystery to his means and ways
He deals his licks then kneels and prays
Down and married for six days
Can't keep on I must confess
They've hanged a gal 'round here for less
And I'm assigned to sit and feel so blessed...
Well I've been walking for six weeks
I let out while my good man sleep'd
Tell Joseph, Peter, tell the priest
I'll be walking til it keeps
Ain't got grace...
Ain’t got grace...
Gibbous Moon (Cushman)
It's a Gibbous moon
Will it set too soon
And leave me all alone tonight
Inside this cabin room?
It's a blue elephant
Up on my wall
Underneath the Tree of Life
That looks over us all
I'd like to ride an elephant!
It's a field of strawberries
And they're gettin' ripe
I bet they're digging
That old moon tonight
I'd like to have some strawberries!
It's almost time
It's almost full
You almost told me something
That could change the world
I wish I'd heard you...
It's a gibbous moon, will it set too soon...
