There’s the Day

Cathal McConnell? 

A fitful sleep the landlord had
‘Mid din and chattin’, not of his choosin’
His daughter ’til the morning light
Abused all those who sit there boozin’

Chorus:
There’s the day, it’s not the day
It is the day, the night is over
It’s not the day, whate’er you say
It’s only the moon to guide the rover

Come landlord join us in the snug
All drowsy thoughts of slumber scornin’
There’s not one drop of jar nor jug
That we won’t drain before the morning

I’ll stay in bed the landlord said
For if I get up, you’ll go quicker
So drink your fill of swipes and swill
Oh, but not one drop of my good liquor

Oh this landlord has my socks and shoes
This tavern has my coat and britches
By morning I’ve no more to lose
And I’ll go and sleep among the ditches

But I’ve money left to treat a friend
Here’s my last guinea upon the table
So let’s tilt the barrels upon their ends
And lets be drinking whilest we’re able 

That’s What Friends Are For

Bill Harley 1984

"This started out as a kid's song, ended up being for adults and now is on a kid's recording. It's for the adults that are going to hear it."

Chorus:
If you’ve got potatoes and I got tomatoes We could have dinner together
If you got a raincoat and I got a tugboat We’ll sail no matter the weather
If I had money and the sky was sunny We could spend the day by the shore
You know I’d be glad to share what I had That’s what friends are for

If you’re down on your luck, you don’t have a buck There’s holes in the toes of your shoes
You’re scrounging for pennies, You can’t find any, you’ve got nothing left to lose
Don’t you worry about dollars, Just give me a holler a whistle and yodel-ay-ee-ooo
If I got a nickel we’ll go buy a pickle I’d be happy to share it with you

If the job that you’ve got just makes your mind rot Everybody takes you for granted
You’re frying your mind to five from nine And you feel like you’re on the wrong planet
Don’t mess with those blues; you’ve got nothing to lose In walking from a place like that
Why we can sing in the streets and be light on our feet We’ll split what goes into the hat

When you get older, people get colder Don’t give you the time of day
They just ignore you, they don’t care for you Just cause your hair’s gone grey
Don’t feel alone, get on the phone Dial my number give me a ring
I’ll be that way too, wearing corrective shoes We can get together and sing 

Thanksgiving Eve

Bob Franke 1982

Sally Rogers record it in 1982; Franke first recorded it in 1983. Franke added the third verse to this song as a message of hope in the depths of the AIDS epidemic.ÿ

It’s so easy to dream of the days gone by;
It’s a hard thing to think of the times to come.
But the grace to accept every moment as a gift
Is a gift that is given to some.

Chorus:
What can you do with your days but work and hope?
Let your dreams bind your work to your play.
What can you do with each moment of your life,
But love ’til you’ve loved it away,
Love ’til you’ve loved it away.

There are sorrows enough for the whole world’s end;
There are no guarantees but the grave.
But the lives that we lived and the times that we spent
Are a treasure too precious to save.

As it was so it is, as it is shall it be,
And it shall be while lips that kiss have breath.
Many waters indeed only nurture love’s seed
And its flower overshadows the power of death. 

Ten Hours a Day

trad 

"Found in the Harris Collection, this ballad was one of two composed between 1885 and 1899 by a mill owner named Richard Driver of Valley Falls, RI. It was written during a time when the RI General Assembly was deliberating over ten hour work days. Driver was co-owner of a firm which operated a worsted mill in Gazza, a now-deserted village just outside of Mapleville. New melody by Armand Aromin, partially inspired by 'Cluck Old Hen'."

The Vox Hunters: https://thevoxhunters.bandcamp.com/track/ten-hours-a-day

Chorus:
Oh we want less work, we want more play
We want to work ten hours a day
We want to stop one hour for noon
And we want these things and we want them soon

Oh we all want more time to read
More time to take a mental feed
More time to grasp the eternal facts
And stamp them on our intellects

We want more truth, we want more light
We all want to have our rights
We want to make our miseries less
We want change, we want progress

We all want more time to eat
Our daily bread, our daily meat
And thus enjoy the fruits of toil
The food for which we sweat and broil

Besides had we more time to eat
Our food would taste both fresh and sweet
And from it we should get more good
For eating slow would mend our blood

And when the blood is poor and thin
The wrinkles soon come on the skin
And thousands to this very day
At forty-five look old and grey

This state of things ought not to be
What is it else but slavery
When we are forced to work for wealth
Until we undermine our health

And this is done ten thousand times
And from it comes ten thousand crimes
We sin against the laws of health
And plant a curse beneath our wealth

This hurry up, this go ahead
This long hour race for daily bread
Will have an end, it does not pay
We therefore want ten hours a day

Our blood is now so very thin
It cannot shine right through the skin
It cannot make us red and fresh
Nor can it make good solid flesh

Taylor the Latte Boy

Marcy Heisler & Zina Goldrich 2004

There’s a boy who works at Starbucks Who is very inspirational
He is very inspirational because of many things
I come in at 8:11, and he smiles and says, “How are you?”
When he smiles and says, “How are you?” I could swear my heart grows wings
So today at 8:11 I decided I should meet him
I decided I should meet him In a proper formal way
So today at 8:11 when he smiled and said, “How are you?”
I said “Fine, and my name’s Carol,” And he softly answered, “Hey”
And I told him “My name’s Carol, and thank you for the extra foam”
And he said his name was Taylor Which provides the inspiration for this poem

Chorus:
Taylor the latte boy Bring me java, bring me joy
Taylor the latte boy I love him, I love him, I love him

So I’d like to get my nerve up To recite my poem musical
He would like the fact it’s musical Because he plays guitar
And today at 8:11, Taylor told me he was playing
In a band down in the village in the basement of a bar
And he smoothly flipped the lever to prepare my double latte
But for me he made it triple (And he didn’t think I knew)
But I saw him flip the lever, and for me he made it triple
And I knew the triple latte meant that Taylor loved me too
I said, “What time are you playing? And thank you for the extra skim”
He said, “Keep the $3.55,” because this triple latte was on him

Tatties and Herrin’

trad

Oh ye Scots working men, ye’ve gone crazy, I fear
Every day ye maun hae yer but beef and yer beer
Little ken ye I noo, though ye’ll soon come tae learn
That yer natural food is but tatties and herrin’

Chorus:
Tatties and herrin’, tatties and herrin’
Yer natural food is but tatties and herrin’ (last line of each verse)

Wi’ a pound in the week ye maun fair be content
Ye’ve aye got ten shillings for claes and for rent
Twa and six tae pit by gin ye need to be sparin’
Aye, and seven and sixpence for tatties and herrin’

When the harbour o’ refuge was first thought about
Aberdeen and Stanehive, they were fair pitten oot
Fan they heard that the convicts were gettin’ best farin’
O’ guid Buchan tatties and Peterhead herrin’

Fan the queen’s wantin’ men tae gang fecht wi’ her foes
It’s nae tae the roast beef devourers she goes
But awa’ tae the north amongst the brave and the darin’
Tae the lads that were brocht up on tatties and herrin’

T Stands for Thomas

trad 

The Teacups: https://haystackrecords.bandcamp.com/track/t-stands-for-thomas

Now I was a-walking on a May morning
And sat down by a tall lofty tree
For to hear two lovers talk and hear what they’ve got to say
And to find out something more about courting

Chorus:
And it’s T stands for Thomas, I suppose
J-O-N stands for John
And it’s W E and M stands for my sweet William
Because he is a clever young man

Come and sit down with me together on the grass
Sit on the grass so very green
It’s a long three-quarters of a year, darling dear
Since together you and I have been seen

No, I’ll not sit with you together on the grass
Not now or at any other time
For I heard you were in love with another pretty girl
And your heart wasn’t any longer mine

Oh, then I’ll go and climb a lofty, lofty tree
And I’ll rob a small bird of its nest
And if ever I should then come down without having a fall
I’ll get married to the lass I love best

Oh, then I’ll go and climb a taller tree than that
And I’ll harry a far richer nest
And if ever I should then come down without having a fall
I’ll get married to the lad I love best 

Swimming to the Other Side

Pat Humphries 1990

The Amidons: https://amidonmusicpublishing.bandcamp.com/track/swimming-to-the-other-side

Chorus:
We are living ‘neath the great big dipper We are washed by the very same rain
We are swimming in this stream together Some in power and some in pain
We can worship this ground we walk on Cherishing the beings that we live beside
Loving spirits will live forever We’re all swimming to the other side

I am alone and I am searching Hungering for answers in my time
I am balanced at the brink of wisdom I’m impatient to receive a sign
I move forward with my senses open Imperfection, it be my crime
In humility I will listen We’re all swimming to the other side

On this journey through thoughts and feelings Binding intuition, my head, my heart
I am gathering the tools together I’m preparing to do my part
All of those who have come before me Band together and be my guide
Loving lessons that I will follow We’re all swimming to the other side

When we get there, we’ll discover All of the gifts we’ve been given to share
Have been with us since life’s beginning And we never noticed they were there
We can balance at the brink of wisdom Never recognizing that we’ve arrived
Loving spirits will live together We’re all swimming to the other side 

Sweet Peace

Nancy Kerr 2010

James Fagan hears an Americana feel in this song. Kerr always thinks of Emily Smith because of her recording of it.

Nancy Kerr & James Fagan: https://kerrfagan.bandcamp.com/track/sweet-peace

I’ll take wine, just a little in the evening
And I’ve been known for my bar room dancing
And I don’t care if you’re selling or you’re saving
I just want to know, where we go will we gather in peace

Certain souls they don’t care where you wander
They just want to know if you’re following Jesus
Well I can’t see right over those mountains
I just want to know, where we go will we gather in peace

Chorus:
Sweet peace, the seed that we cling to
Like a willow weeping, carry it home
Sweet peace, the song that we sing you
Like a river calling, carry it home

I can see that we’re heading for a harvest
While there’s a storm in the north and fire in the forest
Well I need friends, not the pennies in my pocket
I just want to know, where we go will we gather in peace

I can’t speak for my sons or my daughters
But wouldn’t they cry if they never saw summers
They won’t care about saints or sinners
They’ll just want to know, when we will gather in peace 

Sweet Nightingale

trad 

Widespread in Cornwall, popularized by Charlie Bate. Some overlap with a Thomas Arne operetta from 1761, but to a different tune. First published in 1857.

My sweetheart, come along, don’t you hear the fond song,
The sweet notes of the nightingale flow?
Don’t you hear the fond tale of the sweet nightingale

Chorus:
As she sings in the valley below. (x2)

My sweetheart, don’t fail, for I’ll carry your pail
All down to the valley below
You shall hear the fond tale of the sweet nightingale

Pray let me alone, I have hands of my own;
And about you, sir, nothing I know
I can hear the fond tale of the sweet nightingale

Pray sit yourself down with me on the ground,
On this bank where the primroses grow.
You shall hear the fond tale of the sweet nightingale

So she sat herself down with him on the ground,
On the bank where the primroses grow.
And they heard the fond tale of the sweet nightingale

This couple agreed to be married with speed
And soon to the church they did go.
Never more she’s afraid for to walk in the shade