Lehigh
River rolling by saying bye bye
River rolling by saying hi
Roll on
Butterfly flying by
Flying by and by
On the Lehigh
Big black vulture circling in the sky
Hovering over me
Wondering if I'm going to die
With this banjo on my knee
Soft white clouds rolling by
Sun shining high in the sky
On the Lehigh
Married my girl on the riverside
Up on the mountain so high
On the Lehigh
Fathers Day
It's a time honored lesson it's a corny country song
Makes you count all of your blessings while you struggle to sing along
It's a cryptical message from Marquez' pen
Every peoples gots to stop and remember when
Your mama rang the dinner bell at 5 o'clock each night
While your papa sipped his cocktail under incandescent light
And the pipes would start a'knocking as the steam whistle shrilled
And the radio played The Fool on the Hill
Well there was a time when I felt right at home
All our values was polished and shined
But our time it got bought up, borrowed and loaned
All our values and purpose entwined
I hope you don't mind
A dictators dream, Shoe Gazers scene
A place that encompasses everything in between
Yeah that's what I'll find
That's what I'll find
I hope you don't mind
Seraphim Moonbeam
Seraphim moonbeam shining through your wings
Sailing across the star lined sky
Whirl-winged princess singing sweet lullaby while you fly
I don't know what I'd do dancing without you
Seraphim starlight shining in your eyes
Laughing, smiling, ain't no big surprise... you make me cry
I don't know what I'd do dancing without you
Fisherman's Blues
Wish I was a fisherman
tumblin' on the seas
far away from dry land
and it's bitter memories
castin' out my sweet line
with abandonment and love
no ceiling bearin' down on me
save the starry sky above
with light in my head
with you in my arms...
I wish I was the brakeman
on a hurtlin fevered train
crashin head long into the heartland
like a cannon in the rain
with the feelin of the sleepers
and the burnin of the coal
countin the towns flashin by
and a night that's full of soul
with light in my head
with you in my arms...
And I know I will be loosened
from the bonds that hold me fast
and the chains all around me
will fall away at last
and on that grand and fateful day
I will take thee in my hand
I will ride on a train
I will be the fisherman
With light in my head
You in my arms...
Light in my head
You in my arms...
Light in my head
You...
With light in my head
You in my arms...
Alfalfa Seed
Where am I going to be
When this life takes leave of me
I want to be happy
On my grave sow some alfalfa seed
I'm so happy to have seen you grow old my sweet child
Fed the fire when you were cold and felt the warmth of your sweet smile
Life's been good to our family
I hope your proud of me until we meet again on Heaven's bright shore
The clouds are quilted today and the light falls softly on your chin
Lord above, we all pray, please wash away our sins
Thank you Lord for blessing our family
I hope your proud of me until we meet again on Heaven's bright shore
Where am I going to be
When this life takes leave of me
I want to be happy
On my grave sow some alfalfa seed
Up on the mountain there are berries big and blue
Purple hands and purple smile singing out these words so true
Thank you Lord for being so good to me
I hope your proud of me until we meet again on Heaven's bright shore
Anyway
(G) Sometimes I’m in(C)spired to
Tell you how I ad(D)mire you
But the (C)thought (Bm)pass(Am)es (G)so (D)quick(G)ly
So I keep it with (C)me
‘Cause (C)you (Bm)don’t (Am)want (G)to (D)hear any(G)way
Well I could write a song for you
A song that’s loving and true
But every time I find the words
They just fly off like birds
And you’re all for the birds anyway
(G) Any way that you can (C)find
Not to be (D)caring or kind
And I (C)guess I (Bm)won’t (Am)have (G)my (D)way
Not to(G)day any(C)way
And (C)you’re (Bm)all (Am)for (G)the (D)birds any (G)way
It’s no secret how I feel
Or that my heart is yours to steal
But I guess this just isn’t our time
That suits me just fine
‘Cause I never suited you any way
(G) Any way that you can (C)find
Not to be (D)caring or kind
And I (C)guess I (Bm)won’t (Am)have (G)my (D)way
Not to(G)day any(C)way
No I (C)guess I (Bm)won’t (Am)have (G)my (D)way
Not to(G)day any(C)way
And (C)you’re (Bm)all (Am)for (G)the (D)birds any (G)way
Shit Show
Well you can (C)roll down the Te(G)cumseh highway
You can (Am)bet on coal or (G)steel
when you’re (C)holding all the cards it’s still your (Em)deal
And the Paper’s signed and the shit’s unloaded
And the men want to work today you best
Pack up the car and get out of my way
(C)Hold ‘em tight while I (G)get my shotgun
(C)Don’t bother baby everybody’s got one
(C)Why you gotta keep (G)searching for the end of the road?
(Em) (C) (G)
If you were the Son of the son of the man
Who dug that mountain down
would you Still wanna show your face in this town?
When the Dykes collapsed and the mud ran through
And carried the labor away It left
Just a pile of spines all twisted and grey
CHORUS
(Em) (C) (G)
(Em)Fall back (C)in time
(G)Keep following the storyline
Don’t push against the flow just
Play your part in the Shitshow
Squirrel II
Gotta feed the fuel into the fire 24/7
if the cold gets us and we die we'll all go to heaven
ain't no misbehaving when you ain't got no money
gotta stay pure and stay at home, yeah stay with your honey
and if the fire goes out at home I'll know
at least I got to heaven
and if my blood runs thick as marinara
I don't mind
it's just cold,,,,,
Ain't got a log to burn, ain't got a quarter
gonna hike south on 95 'til we hit the Cuban border
throw the books into the fire, I don't wanna read 'em
We'll kill the squirrel and tan his hide and cook him up and eat 'em
and if the fire goes out at home I'll know
at least I ate a squirrel
and if my blood runs thick as marinara
I don't mind
it's just cold
and if the fire goes out at home I'll know
at least I got to heaven
and if my blood runs thick as marinara
I don't mind
it's just cold,,,,,
Lenhartsville Waltz
Every Thursday in the evening
I put down my hunting rifle
Into the back of my monster truck
All my buddies and their daughters
They’re all going to be there
Coming down to try out their luck
CH: Young girls done up pretty
And the men nitty gritty
In their camouflage and favorite car racing hats
They come out from Macungie to hear the DJ spin country
Down at the old Lenhartsville Waltz
I was dancing with my cousin
When we both saw her husband
She was dancing with his cousin too
Well the whole family’s dancing, just a lovin’ and romancing
With their “once now” and their “was can ich du”
CH: Young girls done up pretty
And the men nitty gritty
In their camouflage and favorite John Deere caps
They come out from Macungie to hear the DJ spin country
Down at the old Lenhartsville Waltz
It’s the end of the evening and the whole crowd’s receding
Back in to their monster trucks
Lock the hubs into four wheel so the folks’ll all hear us
Peel out as we’re leaving the waltz
CH: Young girls done up pretty
And the men nitty gritty
In their camouflage and their number three Dale Earnhardt hats
They come out from Macungie to hear the DJ spin country
Down at the old Lenhartsville Waltz
Down at the wonderful Lenhartsville Waltz
Roundup Ready
The cows are artificial................ly inseminated
The fields are Roundup Ready corn and bean and
Hay, the soil is depleted
Chemical corn creeping in
Artificial army pollinating
What will become of our kin?
Nobody knows, their still studying
We should do some studying too about what we're eating
You'll never guess what their feeding the cows
When the hay is out of season
Chemical corn creeping in
Artificial army pollinating
What will become of our kin?
Nobody knows, their still studying
The Pancake Song
There's a time between the seasons
When winter is tired and Spring is a hoped for thing
A cooking fire late February
It's time for the Maple Sugaring
Blueberries under blue sky
Blueberries under blue sky
I've got a bucket full of blueberries on the fourth of July
The buckwheat is in the mill
And the buttermilk is in the barn
The autumn leaves are all on the ground
As the sun rises over town
In the kitchen you can swell the bacon and them pancakes frying
There's a time between the seasons
When winter is tired and Spring is a hoped for thing
A cooking fire late February
It's time for the Maple Sugaring
Making maple syrup yeah yeah
I've been tapping the trees all day
It's kind of hard to make it pay
Cause it's forty to one until you boil it down
And I keep on slippin on the snow on the ground
But the fires burning low and I'm under the gun
The sap keeps reaching up for the sun
And I got to get the "week old" boiled you know
If I'm gonna keep up with the flow
And I need it yeah yeah
Laying on the Ground
Laying on the ground
Hands behind my head
All the golden grass is my bed
Fluffy clouds roll by
Crystal blue, the sky
I hope it is like this when I die
Swaying tops of trees
All around the field
All I see right now
Is what's real
And all I feel inside
Is the beauty of being alive
I hope it is like this when I die
On the banks of a foreign shore
Flashes of my life before the hand grenades
and machine gun fire
and the speeches made by a crazy liar
Laying on the ground
Hands along my side
Blood is flowing out
Like high tide
Clouds of smoke blow by
Crystal blue, the sky
I didn't think it would be like this when I died
Superfund (Bonus Track)
I wish that I could forget everything that I know about this river
and see it for the first time again...dream about drinking the water.
Up on the Lehigh, when I was just knee high
I learned about a tannery and how the river ran black
I learned about the big trees and the Lenape
and all about the Shad
There used to be a Zinc Plant
We called it the Stink Plant
Because the air round there was bad
It used to be dammed up
It still is damned by the acids leeching from the mines
And there's a lead leech lying on the beech
There are lead leeches dying all our beeches
There's some lead leeching on the beeches
Where's the Superfund
What is the Superfund
I wish that I could forget everything that I know about this river
and see it for the first time again...dream about drinking the water.
This lands been Fracked up
This lands been sprayed on
From California to the big old Teetons
To the north slope water
To the Gulf shore
This lands been fracked by you and me
Hey Mister don't frack with our water
Yeah Mister don't frack with me
Because Mister if you Frack with our water
It's a Superfund
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Hitchhiker
I’m a ramblin’ hitchhiker dropped by here for a day
And I know I look real good here and I wish that I could stay
But here comes a ride
Here comes a ride
I’ve been through the heart of Texas and I’ve brought Big Easy down
Hitched my way past Tennessee, float right by New York town
Cause here comes a ride
Here comes Sunshine
This song goes out to the many who’s road got crossed with mine
I may just know your face but once, but I’m sure you’ll do just fine
Cause here comes a ride
And I’ll know your face again on the other side
Well my path from here is drawn out clear, from the streets back to the road
And if I die tomorrow you never will have knowed
Cause here comes a ride
Here comes a ride
Here comes a ride
Here comes Sunshine
Polypore Joe
How ya doing there buddy
How ya doing there pal
How ya doing there buddy
How ya doing there pal
Polypore Joe Smiled and said hello
How ya doing there buddy
How ya doing there pal
How ya doing there buddy
How ya doing there pal
Hey there Joe
What you doing out in the snow
Come on inside
Have a cup of warm tea
Before you catch yourself a cold
Thank you there Buddy
Thank you there pal
How ya doing there buddy
How ya doing there pal
Well business is slow
Everybody is staying home
Fridge is broke and
Credit card machine
And I’m tired of kneading dough
Oops there goes the phone
Sorry but I got to go now
See you later there Joe
See you later there pal
Polypore Joe
Turned his gaze up to the snow
Closed his eyes
With a smile on his face
Caught a snow flake on his nose
How ya doing there buddy
How ya doing there pal
How ya doing there buddy
How ya doing there pal
Polypore Joe
Stepped out in the summer snow
Cottonwood flowers
Dandelion seeds
Rams heads on the oaks
How you doing there buddies
How ya doing there pals
How ya doing there buddy
How ya doing there pal
Hiya there Joe
Tell me what do you know
Well God is great
Life’s a gift and
And heaven only knows
How ya doing there buddy
How ya doing there pal
How ya doing there buddy
How ya doing there pal
Thank you there Buddy
Thank you there pal
See ya later there buddy
See ya later there pal
Soul Collector
Every story told puts a worry to sleep
Every soul you collect is the peace you can keep
And the place from where you start
Will be always in your heart
And you don’t have to leave
To go back there
It was fight or flight when you were just 16 years old
With drugs and girls and prison down the road
Though the trouble finally left you between here and Mexico
It still seems you’re always running away from home
Well you and I both spent our youth close to here
but you grew up a drifter with a journeyman’s career
I travelled some myself ‘til I had family to keep
Your home is so much more than where you sleep
Every place I see holds a memory for me
Of people known and people long gone
I guess I’m still thinking about yesterday
And I’ll place you in the category of a friend that got away
Too far removed for me to question
Guess I never learned my lesson
Fawn Run
Fawn run, clear down the mountain like a cold swift moving stream
Under the trees
Flowing with ease
Down to the river and off to the sea once again
Fawn run, clear past the highway
Without any injury, fawn run
Fawn rise, up to the sky as a feathery cloud
Blown through the heavens
Off to the mountains
Reign down on the ground once again
Fawn Run, fawn run, fawn run...
Babbling brook flowing right by my toes
I wonder can I take a drink?
Babbling brook flowing right by my toes
I wonder can I take a drink?
Blue Skies
That river down below oh how it used to flow
Till it got the blues and disappeared
A river that runs low ain’t got nowhere to go
Oh blue skies keep away those tears
Rain rain rain wash those tears away
Blue skies keep away those tears
Rain rain rain wash those tears away
Blue skies keep away those tears
Now those gray skies are gone and that river’s moving on
And that warm sun has dried up my tears
So friend when your down turn your chin to the clouds
Let that blue sky keep away those tears
Rain rain rain wash those tears away
Blue skies keep away those tears
Rain rain rain wash those tears away
Blue skies keep away those tears
Tell me why oh why must the grey sky cry
When it’s the blues that brings me to tears
I can remember the time that blue sky shined
Oh blue skies keep away those tears
Rain rain rain wash those tears away
Blue skies keep away those tears
Rain rain rain wash those tears away
Blue skies keep away those tears
Mexican Transient Song
If I could be a transient down in Mexico
Then I wouldn’t be so damn worried about my soul
Spend a life a’livin’ and feeling free
And I’d never have to answer to nobody
Well I spent some time on the good side
Been drunk in the shade all day
Where the Sun was bright and the people was true
Where I wish that I would have stayed
If I could be a hobo on those big, long railroad tracks
Then I wouldn’t have no money to be spent
No address to receive no bills so none to pay
You can take all that I have if you want my pants
You know I never quite got this life I’m livin’
Now I think I know the reason why
You see every little thing that I ever touch just dies
My car, my guitar, and my dealer just today
My preacher fell to pieces when I knelt down and I prayed him to
Return me back to peaceful times where my job was to play
Where the sun was bright and the people was true
Where I wish that I would have stayed
Hiding Place
Lookin for a hiding place
In this here rodent race
Away from all the cars and the houses behind bars
Live at a walkin pace
Lookin for a hiding place
In this here rodent race
With no need for the cops, just your house and your crops
And some open space
But my brother is a bass turd
Yeah he’s an asshole
Lookin for a hiding place
In this here rodent race
With a couple of guitars underneath the stars and an upright bass
With a harp for the jaw and a musical saw at an old time pace
With a open back banjo and a taterbug mandolin and amazing grace
Lookin for a hiding place
Lookin for a hiding place
Lookin for a hiding place
Bubblin'
It’s the first week of May, fields full of lion’s manes
Pickin’ them buttons all day
They’ll be bubblin’ fine for 6 months of time
‘Til we get a taste of that dandelion wine
When the cold comes we’ll be drinking ‘round the fire
Dreaming of a summer with no end
Warming our souls through our labor
And when Spring comes ‘round we’ll do it all again
You pick what you can ‘til the blue blood stains your hand
‘Til it feels like you’re robbing the land
But the fruits of the soil come through love and from toil
And the learning of the common man
A time comes around before the first frost touches down
When you pick up the apples from the ground
You fill up the press and the deer get the rest
Then you sleep to that bubblin’ sound
When Spring comes ‘round we’ll do it all again
The Legend of Elmer Getz
CAPO IV
Intro: (G, D, G)
(G)There's an old copper coil half buried in the ground
(G)from the (Em)time old (C)Elmer of the (G)mountain was around.
(G)About a mile from the trees where the (Em)apples feed the (G)bees
(G)that's where Elmer's (D)moonshine (G)still used to be.
(G)A big old black bear still sniffs around the (Em)gho(C)stly (G)shack
(G)looking (C)for some (G)squeezings from Elmer's old (D)Apple (G)Jack.
chorus
(G)Across the (C)Lehigh (G)River up (Em)back on the (C)Springhill (G)Road
(G)That's (C)where the (G)story of (Em)old (C)Elmer is (G)told
(G)Around a (C)campfire (G)burning in a (F)rim of (G)steel
(G)My uncle says that this old (Em)rim is from (G)Elmer's old (D)wagon (G)wheel
(G)Elmer mined the flagstone with dynamite and a homemade crane
(G)he'd (Em)load it on his (C)Willies truck and the (G)chassis still remains
(G)down at Elmer's dump rusty (Em)fenders among the (G)bottles
(G)he used to haul that (D)stone through the river with a steady (G)throttle
(G)You can find Elmer's stone through(Em)out White (C)Haven (G)town
(G)from up on (C)Springhill (G)Mountain where the blasting (D)used to (G)sound
bridge
(G)High (C)on the (G)mountain or (Em)down on the (C)river be(G)low
(G)Where (C)is old (G)Elmer, well there (Em)aint no(C)body who (G)knows
(G)Loading (C)up some (G)flagstone and (F)stepping on the (G)throttle
(G)Or down in his old moonshine (Em)shack (G)filling filling (F)filling up some (G)bottles to (D)take over (G)town
(G)Now with firelight in our eyes and spirits in our hands
(G)looking (Em)over the (C)family farm telling (G)stories about the land
(G)Grandma misses Elmer but she says he (Em)acted a little (G)crazy
(G)but when she hits the (D)hardstuff her memory gets a little (G)hazy
(G)My uncle was just a boy but his (Em)memo(C)ries are (G)fond
(G)hiding (C)neath the (G)Willies dodging shrapnel down by (D)Elmer's (G)pond
chorus
(G)Across the (C)Lehigh (G)River up (Em)back on the (C)Springhill (G)Road
(G)That's where the story (C)of old (G)Elmer old (Em)Elmer of the (C)mountain is (G)told
(G)Around a (C)campfire (G)burning in a (F)rim of (G)steel
(G)My uncle says that this old (Em)rim is from (G)Elmer's old (D)wagon (G)wheel
(G)My uncle says that this old (Em)rim is from (G)Elmer's old (D)wagon (C)wheel
end (G, C, G)
Shake N' Bake
Well you can’t Can no tomatoes without tending your vines
That’s a Lesson learned from living off the land
And you won’t Make good pickles unless you cook up some brine
That’s One thing you got to understand
Well your Mind’s got to get up early
And your Body’s got to bend, not break
And if you want to go out with a smile on your face
You got to make time to shake and bake
About a year ago I was planting my corn
Rows straight as Hollywood blocks
But 12 weeks later I went back up in that field
And it was nothing but corn and stalks
Well I cursed all those deer, coons, and opossums
For partaking in what should’ve been mine
Then I went back to the barn with a guitar and a jug
Of some homemade watermelon wine
Some years the snow melts at the end of February
Other times it’s the first of May
Whenever that frost finally leaves your ground
You gots to get up and plow today
Cause it’s sure better to be a spring chicken
Than to wind up as a silly goose
And when the seed’s all in at the end of the day
It’s time to get tight and get loose
You know it’s dry and hot as Hades in the summer
And the kids want to go for a swim
But there are thunderheads on the horizon
And you got to get the crops all in
After you pick all those beans, corn, and taters
And cover up all the grain
Well it’s time to break out that banjo boy
And we’ll go dancing in the rain
Powerplant
No birds fly by anymore since that no good plant sprung up
And I can't see the stars anymore from my garden outside my back door
And if there's one weed that I'd kill be that no good power plant at the bottom of the hill
What if cancer is the evolution of all this pollution?
Is our administration protecting our nation?
I don't know but I'm wondering where their engineers got their education?
No birds fly by anymore since that no good plant sprung up
And I can't see the stars anymore from my garden outside my back door
And if there's one weed that I'd kill be that no good power plant at the bottom of the hill