1. |
Ride
04:05
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with the wind my friend and the gravel loose as change
we'll find a twisted trail to carve our names
I know a road
where nobody goes
where the wind's my friend and the gravel's loose as change
if only I don't lie down before we ride out
if only I have the strength to lead the way
if only I don't lie down
we can ride
with the wind my friend and the sunshine in my lane
we'll find a mountain pass to share our pain
I've been all through
the Gold and Blue
with the wind my friend and the sunshine in my lane
if only I don't lie down before we ride out
if only I have the strength to lead the way
if only I don't lie down
we can ride
if only I don't lie down before we ride out
if only I have the strength to lead the way
if only I don't die now before my health turns around
or the wind begins to blow the other way
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2. |
Cabin Sounds
04:39
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it smells like coffee in the morning
and the stale smoke is bleeding through
I'm breathing out mushrooms clouds
so open your bloodshot eyes to the white snowflakes
in the blue sky
open your weary mind to the Clover Wind
blowing under the laurel bridge
and the leafless trees singing to the south
with cabin sounds
we talk like pistols in a firing squad
as I spit the wad of tobacco straws
and chocolate mounds litter barren ground
so open your red rib cage and play reflex games
with a coiled snake
open your bearded breath to the river's depth
flowing under the hornet's nest
and the leafless tress singing to the south
with cabin sounds
we hang like rafters stranded on a rock
as I throw the fire another log
the sunken couch whispers dusty doubt
so open your tone deaf ears and sip mustache beers
with a paint can dog
open your guitar strings by the fire ring
glowing under the grapevine swing
and the leafless trees singing to the south
with cabin sounds
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3. |
Battle of Sitlington
02:48
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the gravel's loose on the mountain pass
we played our song to the racecar crash
midnight finds us all alone
dog asleep with a turkey bone
never find our way back through
the roads are black and my eyes are blue
mountain growls like the Hounds of Hell
dog asleep in the tire well
Clover Patch in the rising sun
after the Battle of Sitlington
these rambling feet will roam again
and the dog is awake
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4. |
Egg Cartons
02:27
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if there's still a kick in my shoes
take me to my mountain home
lay me in the upstairs room
as I pass through
egg cartons full of wax
we'll be warmed up soon
fire will burn the cancer back
before my organs crash
I'm not as I once was
remember me from times before
don't forget to lock the gate
and shut the door
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5. |
Do We Laugh?
03:16
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do we walk the dogs now
do we let the chickens out
do we horse across the parlor
like aliens in the barnyard
do we laugh?
do we promise our past
to the voices in the grass
do we march up muddy anthills like
pornographic landfills
do we laugh?
as I choke on pills
from a shot glass
do we call the doctors out
on the truth we wish to doubt
do we wither out the backdoor like
snakes asleep on dashboards
do we laugh?
as I choke on pills
from a shot glass
because I don't think I can swallow this pill
I'll hide it in the sheets
and pray my son won't tell
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6. |
Take Me Down
03:57
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the first time I saw you was the last time I knew
that something this bad couldn't happen to you
so I sound the alarm, set the clocks to rewind
but time has no honor for to keep me alive
there in the grapevines with the picket-fence gnomes
with tomatoes growing up crooked beanpoles
I worked the soil and I sharpened my block
but a cold winter's coming to harden my crops
Lord take me down
swing me low
protect my granddaughter
love her as your own
I went out with a whisper to open the doors
let the rivers remember and the buildings ignore
let my Soul sweep the valley and the wind be my name
bring me back often to see her sweet face
as she grows will I always be there just behind
as she learns will I always be there to remind her
that someday we'll catch up and maybe we'll laugh
about all of those nothings we'll never get back
Lord take me down
swing me low
protect my granddaughter
love her as your own
Lord take me down
swing me low
protect my granddaughter
or leave her alone
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7. |
The Passenger
04:37
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I'm down for the count like a Passenger
just waiting to be driven away
the ceiling has no meaning
the floor has no feeling
the bed is too short for my legs
I'm putting the brakes to the furniture
they've been spinning like a circle at dawn
I've said all my goodbyes
through my granddaughter's eyes
now I'm wondering when the Wonder will come
like the soft breathy buzz of a mother's hum
like the benevolent beat of a father's drum
silent as a dashboard snake
for my soul to take
somebody please open the window
somebody please cover my eyes
somebody say something
before I turn to nothing
please somebody don't act surprised
we've been driving in circles for months now
spiraling time with our thumbs
so idle all your engines
and save all of your wishes
stop wondering when the Wonder will come
like the cold winter freeze in the morning numb
like the warm summer breeze in the evening sun
silent as a dashboard snake
for my soul to take
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8. |
Smokehouse Farm
02:10
|
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here's to the space we stood
on the cattle-ground mountainside
with the pine tree views of the riverbed
I hope you learned from what I said
and here's to the crossfire shot
of the lonesome squirrel on the rotten log
with the space between us closer still
I hope you will remember well
and here's to the horseshoe bend
of the Tygart Creek where the Shavers ends
and a cabin full of liquor laughs
I hope you never forget that
and here's to the broken charm
of the refuse pile at the Smokehouse Farm
with the copperheads and rattlesnakes
I hope you know what I meant to say
but most of all my son
remember me for the songs I sung
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9. |
Birthday
02:16
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oh my God you turned one and my how you've changed
oh my God you turned one after I passed away
biscuits litter the table with cartoons and crayons
I'm just a ghost in the gutter making his rounds
Happy Birthday granddaughter just look at you now
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
grow up to be honest, caring, and true
and do all of the things
I did and didn't do
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10. |
Strawberry Lament
01:28
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oh how the strawberries moan
how the strawberries groan
in their beds
and they tip their green heads
to the blue sky
where the young crow flies
through the black night
goodbye, my friend
we'll tend to your garden
enjoy your time in Space
and know the memories
you left upon this place
will grow
in the dark brown soil
your shaky hands sowed
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11. |
The After It All
02:05
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the Flood and the Fall
and the After It All
where the view from here
is both cloudy and clear
but I can not go over there
and you can not come over here
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Tanner Haid Charles Town, West Virginia
Tanner Haid lives in Charles Town, WV with his wife, two daughters, dog, and chickens. You can find him out most Saturdays planting trees.
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