Category: songs

Brian Lindsay & Arthur Davis 2015

Lake Ethel is real and 3 hours east of Seattle. 

Brian Lindsay & Arthur Davis

Chorus:
It was up on sweet Lake Ethel’s shore I could stay forevermore
Grand, majestic, so serene Sweet Ethel, Lake of Dreams

Twas in the merry month of May From Bellingham we sped away
For a sunny hike in the North Cascades Our shorts and sunscreen on!
For Lake Augusta we were bound But a fire had burned it to the ground
So we picked right up and we turned around Fate brought us Ethel’s way!

The clouds did roll and the sun did shine The sweat did bead as the trail we climbed
Then suddenly the light did blind The snow was 12 feet deep!
As the frosty snow obscured our trail We blindly trudged o’er hill and dale
Then our map revealed that we had failed We were 23 miles astray!

At dawn we launched for Ethel dear With dreams of water crystal clear
But then we saw as we drew near An iceberg shore to shore!
Despite the berg we found a pool And we fished for hours with a fishing tool
We felt a bite and began to drool The trout was 3 yards long!

Twas in the merry month of May That we with Ethel parted ways
But until the next time we do say Sweet Ethel fare thee well 

trad 

From the repertoire of Clyde Davenport. Davenport said he learned the tune from the radio, possibly from the western swing band version by Texas musician Johnny Lee Wills, who recorded a song called Lazy John in the 1940's.

Countercurrent: https://countercurrentmusic.bandcamp.com/track/lazy-john-mariposa

Work all week in the noon day sun
Fifteen cents when Saturday comes
Goin to a dance to have some fun
Why don’t you get away lazy John

Chorus:
Lazy John, Lazy John
Why don’t you get your day’s work all done
You’re in the shade and I’m in the sun
Why don’t you get along lazy John

My gal lives at the end of the road
Her eyes are crossed and her legs are bowed
But we still have a lot of fun
Why don’t you get away lazy John

Goin to a dance Saturday night
Ain’t coming home til the bald daylight
Then I’ll take my girl back home
Why don’t you get away lazy John 

trad 

Oh the times was hard and the wages low, (Leave her, Johnny, leave her!)
But now once more ashore we’ll go, (An’ it’s time for us to leave her!)

Chorus:
Leave her, Johnny, leave her!
Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her!
For the voyage is done and the winds don’t blow,
And it’s time for us to leave her!

Oh I thought I heard the old man say
Tomorrow ye will get your pay!

Oh the work was hard and the voyage was long,
The sea was high and the gales were strong.

Oh the wind was foul and the sea ran high,
She shipped it green and none went by.

Oh the wind was foul, all work, no pay,
To Liverpool docks from Frisco Bay.

We was made to pump all night and day,
And we half-dead had bugger-all to say.

We’d be better off in a nice clean gaol,
Will all night in and plenty of ale.

She’s poverty-stricken and parish-rigged,
And the bloomin’ crowd is fever-stricked. 

trad 

Mostly based on Benedict Gagliardi's & Armand Aromin's version

Come on, lads, and let’s be jolly
Drive away all melancholy,
For, to grieve it would be folly,
While we are together.

Chorus:
Let union be in all our hearts,
Let all our hearts be joined as one.
We’ll end the day as we begun,
We’ll end it all in pleasure.
Right-folla-rolla-rye, too-ra-lie-doe (3x)
While we are together.

Old King Solomon, in all his glory,
Told us all a different story,
In our cups we’ll toast his glory
While we are together.

Eating and drinking are quite charming,
Dancing and singing there’s no harm in.
Friends embrace with smile disarming
While we are together.

Cease your quarreling and fighting,
Evil thinking and backbiting.
All these things take no delight in,
While we are together. 

Pass the bottle and be sated
Let no ego be inflated
Water drinkers are hydrated
While we are together

Stan Rogers 1981

"I took six months to write this song, and I had no idea whether the women I wrote it for thought I had treated them fairly, until one night in Pincher Creek, Alberta, when a 'ranch wife' came up to me and thanked me for writing it. You're very welcome, ma'am."

At last the kids are gone now for the day
She reaches for the coffee as the school bus pulls away
Another day to tend the house and plan
For Friday at the Legion when she’s dancing with her man
Sure was a bitter winter but Friday will be fine
And maybe last year’s Easter dress will serve her one more time
She’d pass for twenty-nine but for her eyes
But winter lines are telling wicked lies

Chorus:
All lies All those lines are telling wicked lies
Lies all lies Too many lines there in that face
Too many to erase or disguise
They must be telling lies

Is this the face that won for her the man
Whose amazed and clumsy fingers put that ring upon her hand?
No need to search that mirror for the years
The menace in their message shouts across the blur of tears
So this is Beauty’s finish like Rodin’s “Belle Heauimiere”
The pretty maiden trapped inside the ranch wife’s toil and care
Well, after seven kids, that’s no surprise
But why cannot her mirror tell her lies

Then she shakes off the bitter web she wove
And turns to set the mirror, gently, face down by the stove
She gathers up her apron in her hand
Pours a cup of coffee, drips Carnation from the can
And thinks ahead to Friday, ’cause Friday will be fine
She’ll look up in that weathered face that loves her’s, line for line
To see that maiden shining in his eyes
And laugh at how her mirror tells her lies. 

Kate Wolf 1980

Wake Up Robin: "Heading cross-country towards Seattle for our first tour together, Amy sang this song repeatedly as the pine trees and mountains emerged from the prairie. She was still singing it when we met to rehearse on Vashon Island, WA. This was the first song we sang together as a trio and is still one of our favorites."

Wake Up Robin: https://wakeuprobin.bandcamp.com/track/like-a-river

It’s high on a mountain, the warm winds are blowing
And where the winds are blowing to there ain’t no way of knowing
The mountain grass is short, so dry and close to burning
Crying out for water as the season’s turning

Chorus:
Sweet smell of the pines, tall the western cedar
Drifting on the wind, through the mountains like a river

And I’ve been too long away from this wild open sky
On the concrete trails that wind through the canyons dark and wide
With the sounds of people talking in words of blue and gray
And smells of doors and windows closed against the day

The dust lies thick and heavy where my feet are falling
There’s nothing but the sound of the jaybird calling
My mind grows dry and thirsty as the memories linger
Drifting on the wind through the mountains like a river 

Jerry Simon 2011

"'stuff' in first verse is optional - I used to just sing 'having enough', but recently decided to add 'stuff' to make my meaning as clear as possible." Alex heard Simon sing it on a virtual sing in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and emailed to learn more. Simon, who lives in Sheffield UK wrote back "I'd love people to sing it! (But when you do, please could you credit me as the songwriter?). I entered Living Momently in a songwriting competition for The John Birmingham Cup, in 2011. The Final was held at Whitby Folk Week. Please note that I have slightly modified the words since then, and would prefer you to use the ones attached below."

https://soundcloud.com/raise-your-banners/living-momently-jerry-simon

Chorus:
I am ambling along the path of life
I don’t see any need to hurry
I don’t want to be weighed down by cares and strife
Don’t want to be ruled by worry
I’m only a common old working man
But my eyes can clearly see
If I go through this world all momently
This world all belongs to me

Mine is the sun that shines on the earth
Mine are the streams that flow
Mine is my breath that comes in and goes out
The sweetest friend that I know
I used to be scared of not having enough
So I’d race like a rat in a wheel
But now I’m content to just walk my own path
And live by what I think and feel

I like playing tunes and I like singing songs
And listening to others’ ones too
And often I grieve for the world and its wrongs
And try to find what’s best to do
But mostly I find that just being kind
Beats anything clever or grand
And that here now today is the best place to stay
And it’s better than I could have planned

So here is a day that’s not been here before
And never will be here again
And I don’t have a clue if I’ll see many more
Best make the most of it then!
Yes, everything ends, so singing with friends
Is a bloody good use of our time
As we lay aside strife to celebrate life
In tune, and in rhythm, and rhyme 

Jerry Rasmussen 1980

Down around the bend by the railroad bridge ,
Just wading through the shallows where the crayfish live .
Over by the cotton mill the catfish bite ;
They’ll be swimming in a skillet before tonight .

Chorus:
Living on the river was nice and easy ;
People on the river just take their time .
The wind in the summer was warm and breezy;
The wind in the winter it cut like ice .

Off down the hill on a winter’s night ,
To go skating on the river in the cold moonlight .
There’s an old woodstove and a hardwood floor;
And you can sit and take it easy while your feet get warm.

Down around the bend where the blackbird sings,
Over by the fountain there’s a crystal spring .
Back in the shallows where the watercress grows,
Sweet spring water runs clear and cold .

Up in the morning at four o ‘ clock;
Meet you on the landing at Johnson’s dock .
Drifting on the river ‘till the sun comes up ,
Drinking hot, black coffee from an old tin cup .

John Hartford 2008

Nicole Singer: "This John Hartford song became a summertime favorite of the Mystic Whaler crew after we heard Sara Watkins sing it at Clearwater's Great Hudson River Revival festival. Hartford and Watkins both played it with fiddle, and Gillian and I had a blast adding feet this time around."

Nicole Singer: https://nicolesinger.bandcamp.com/track/long-hot-summer-days

Chorus:
For every day I work on the Illinois River
Get a half a day off with pay
On a tow boat making up barges
On a long hot summer day

Pick up some of these empties here
Just as soon as we know where they lay
Tied off of them jolly and leaving lines
On a long hot summer day

Well we put a man off in Beardstown
When we come down yesterday
And I’ll get off down at Alton
On a long hot summer day 

Well I got me a gal in Pekin
She’s a good ol’ gal okay
I bet she’s sitting at a window fan
On a long hot summer day

Last night we had port for supper
Today it’ll be chicken consomme
And a fruit jar full of iced tea
On a long hot summer day

William Hunter 1812

Bright Wings Chorus: https://brendantaaffe.bandcamp.com/track/lord-build-me-a-cabin

Many years I’ve been lookin’ for a place to call home
But I still didn’t find it so I must travel on
I don’t care for the fine mansions on earth’s sinking sand
Lord build me a cabin in the corner of gloryland

Chorus:
Lord build me just a cabin in the corner of gloryland
In the shade of his tree of life that it may ever stand
Where I can hear the angels and shake Jesus’ hand
Lord build me a cabin in the corner of gloryland

Listen Lord I’m not askin’ to live in the midst
For I know that I’m not worthy of such splendor as this
When I ask Him for mercy while humbly I stand
Lord build me a cabin in the corner of gloryland

I’ve many dear loved one’s who’ve gone on this way
On the grapevine of mournin’ shall I hear them all say
Come and join in the singin’ and play in our band
Lord build me a cabin in the corner of gloryland