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I Think It’s Gonna Rain

There’s no water in the well
I’ve been to heaven--looked in on Hell
It’s a sad story, but it’s mine to tell
And I think it’s gonna rain

Got no dreams in my soul
I’m getting tired or maybe just old
I’m playing blues not rock and roll
And I think it’s gonna rain

Ain’t got to watch the TV
You want the weather just ask me
I’ve got this aching deep as can be
And I think it’s gonna rain

Grass is brown trees are dying
It’s so damn dry the ground’s like iron
That’s the sad truth--man I wish I was lying
And I think it’s gonna rain

Sky’s turning gray here comes the night
There goes the sun; there goes the light
I’ve got this feeling that the timing’s right
And I think it’s gonna rain

There’s no water in the well
I’ve been to heaven--looked in on Hell
It’s a sad story, but it’s mine to tell
And I think it’s gonna rain

The slide guitar is a Regal copy of a Martin C style.
The rhythm guitar is a 1962 Guild A-350.
The bass is a 1982 Guild SB-202.

Sun Was Low

Sun was low--moon was high
And I thought I heard an eagle cry
Eagle fly to the setting sun
Night comes on and day is down
Night comes on and day is down

Night will come to these hills
Wind be calm and wind be still
Lone wolf sings to the cold moonlight
Day is done here comes the night
Day is done here comes the night

Night comes on dark comes in
And passions come alive again
What will hide from the light
Comes to life in the dark of night
Comes to life in the dark of night

Night will fall on the land
A woman’s smile beguiles a man
A glint will come to their eyes
Love takes wing as the eagle flies
Love takes wing as the eagle flies

Colors sharp in the light of day
Will fade to night and turn to gray
Turn to gray with the falling sun
Love born to night is born to run
Love born to night is born to run

Born to run and born to fly
The hoot owl asks the nighttime sky
He asks the sky and the stars above
To shine their light--their light on love
To shine their light--their light on love

The acoustic guitar is a 1970 Guild D-25 M.
The bass is a 1971 Guild JS-1 with the Hagstrom pickup.
The bass amp is a Guild Thunder One bass.

Dancer in a Line

You met her at the dance
Where love and romance
Were feeling that you thought could go on and on
But the feelings slipped away
With the passing of days
One moment she was with you--the next one gone

So you dance around the hall
You try not to fall
As the begins to swell begins to cry
You offered hand and heart
Though you knew from the start
The band could stop and the music die

And like a dancer in a line
She’ll come to you in time
Take your hand a dance across the room
With the caller’s next command
She’s gone to another man
And fades away with the light of the moon

So you try to understand
As darkness takes the land
And hides the fields once sharp in the light
What’s right has now gone wrong
So you sing out one more song
And the fireflies are dancing with the night

And like a dancer in a line
She’ll come to you in time
Take your hand a dance across the room
With the caller’s next command
She’s gone to another man
And fades away with the light of the moon

The guitar is a 1964 Guild D-50 (Brazilian rosewood).
The bass is a 1982 Guild SB-202.
The bass amp is a Guild Thunder 1 bass amp

Soon You’re Gonna Weep

Winter comes down, moon get high
Soon you’re gonna weep, soon you’re gonna cry
When you sweet baby is up and gone
You gotta walk your road alone

The road is bumpy--road is wide
Once you had your lady right by your side
Now that she’s gone I mean she done left home
Soon you’re gonna weep, soon you’re gonna moan

Star are shinning way up in the sky
Look up you ask baby tell me why
Tell me why my baby’s gone
Soon you’re gonna weep, soon you’re gonna cry

First your gonna jump; then you’re gonna shout
You gone let all of the demons out
Come on out by the light of the moon
Soon you’re gonna weep, soon you’re gonna moan

Once you were a winner now you’re born to lose
Pick up your guitar learn to play the blues
Turn up the amp; crank it high
Soon you’re gonna weep, soon you’re gonna cry

Winter comes down, moon get high
Soon you’re gonna weep, soon you’re gonna cry
When you sweet baby is up and gone
You gotta walk your road alone

The acoustic guitars are a 1970 Guild D-25M and a 1964 D-50.
The electric guitar is a 1985 Guild Detonator played through a Guild Reverb Converter.

Delaney

Come and dance with me Delaney
The years have all gone crazy
They fall as fruit heavy on the vine
Was a time when life was new
Fresh as the morning dew
And we crossed the White River side by side

I saw you across the room
While a fiddler played a tune
Soldier’s Joy if memory serves me right
Well I up and took a chance
When I asked you then to dance
I fell in love while the fiddler played that night

Dance with me Delaney
Remember when we stood tall and fine
Dance with me Delaney
We can sway with the music one more time

Do you remember how we cried
The day we said goodbye
To all those we knew and loved the best
We were filled with hope and fear
Eastern land was just too dear
So we took our chances heading towards the west

Well the kids have come and gone
One buried-- two full grown
Their lives are a measure of our time
Had time on the farm
Like when fire took the barn
And the good times when rain caused the leaves to shine

Dance with me Delaney
Remember when we stood tall and fine
Dance with me Delaney
We can sway with the music one more time

When I reach that golden shore
And they stop me at the door
To ask me what I did fine with my life
I’ll sing out loud and clear
So the angel band can hear
I loved my kids and danced with my wife

Dance with me Delaney
Remember when we stood tall and fine
Dance with me Delaney
We can sway with the music one more time

The guitar is the 1964 D-50.
The bass the 1982 SB-202 played through the Thunder One Bass amp.

It’s All-Wrong

It’s all wrong; ain’t nothing right
My years have flown like a bird in flight
Now here I sit in this room trying to recall where I came from
Once I was young, lean, and tall
But with foolish pride I lost it all

I lost my home, my wife, my kids
‘Cause of all I was and the things I did
When the liquor flowed through every vein
And I went through life spreading hurt and pain
A life once right has just gone wrong
All I got left is a mournful song

So I lift my eyes and I call out loud
No longer certain--no longer proud
I spend my days down on my knees
And I ask the Lord forgive me please
If I could go back go back in time
I’d erase my deed I’d ease my mind

But life goes on and I can’t turn back
I’m a train on a one-way track
That leads to nothing no nothing at all
I’m bound the crash into that wall
That stops you cold that stops you dead
Forgive me all I said and did.

The finger style guitar is a 1964 Guild D-50.
The slide guitar is the Regal.

One at a Time

You walk down your street of dreams
Trying to be just what you seem
Everyone sees how you wear your gun
You look so brash and bold
But the shadows they may hold
The messenger who says your life is done

Once when you were young
The killing it was fun
It was good to see their eyes fill with fear
Folks from miles around
Knew when you came to town
But they turned and walked away if you came near

One at a time each day you live
One at a time can they forgive
The men who fell victim to your pride
One at a Time you can pray
One at a Time every day
But you cannot bring back the ones who died

The women they were fine
They all but stood in line
Just to lie in the circle of your fame
Yes for them there was the thrill
Of am man they knew would kill
But to you they all began to look the same

The years passed so fast
You had thought the deal would last
That your speed, your eye, your skill would never fade
But your hair began to gray
Your speed to slip away
And you though to reconsider the deal you’d made

You can only hope for mercy
Justice would have to lay you down
You’ve lived your life without reason
Now the burning lonely fear is coming round

You face one more stupid kid
Trying to do just what you did
When you were too young to believe in getting old
One stupid fight one more lonely night
When your throat gets tight and your sweat runs cold

Will this one be the last
My God the kid looks fast
His gun matches the color of his eyes
Your hand begins to twitch
Your skin begins to itch
Will you live this time or be the one to die

You can only hope for mercy
Justice would have to lay you down
You’ve lived your life without reason
Now the burning lonely fear is coming round
Coming round
The burning lonely fear is coming down

The 12 string is a 1971 Guild F-212.
The electric is a Blues 90 played through a Thunder 1 Reverb amp.

Dance in Hazel Green

Come on Jolie Time to go out and show some skin
Ten o’clock time to start and drag them fellas in
They’ll be looking at you when they’re not crying in their beer
Wondering how the world they wound up in here
You’re asking to--I know that’s right
Why you dancing for the devil in Hazel Green tonight

You look into the mirror before you dance each time
Will the lights be soft and low tonight so they can’t see the lines
Not long ago you were the high school beauty queen
Now you’re dancing for the devil down here in Hazel Green

It ain’t like you’re whoring; it’s just you like to date
But you better date three more this week or the rent’s gone turn up late
Where does all the money go; why are you always broke
Most you know goes up your nose and the rest goes up in smoke
You feel a little tired, just a little bit uptight
So you take a hit so you can dance in Hazel Green tonight

Where’s the man who loved you--was going to leave his wife
So you and he and his own child could start your new life
He promised you tomorrow which never comes it seems
And tonight the devil’s come to see you dance in Hazel Green

The devil may live over in Georgia
But tonight he has crossed the line
Sitting in a bar in Alabama
Watching Jolie dance one more time
One more time

I wonder when I see you Jolie what it is brings you joy
Will you smile on Sunday if you get to see your boy
He’s living with your mama--it had to be that way
Or the judge said that he would just take your child away
So you drive down to Montgomery if your truck can get that far
When you finish dancing in this Alabama bar

He’s the only thing that give you hope your only source of pride
He’s the one who keeps the spark of life alive inside
And every time you see him; you promise to keep clean
But tonight the devil’s come to see you dance in Hazel Green

The devil may live over in Georgia
But tonight he has crossed the line
Sitting in a bar in Alabama
Watching Jolie dance one more time
One more time

The acoustic guitar is a 1970 D-25M.
The bass is the 1971 JS-1.
The electric is a Blues 90 played through the Thunder 1 Reverb.

Wheel and Spin

Now the night fades away
With the breaking of day
A new light comes my way with the dawn
In that light I can see
A new love’s come to me
I am whole, I am free, I’m reborn

Feel the earth turn again
Wheel and spin wheel and spin
We were born to the wind
Wheel and spin

In the glow of the sun
Heart mind soul are one
The glint in your eyes--the look of surprise
A poem in search of its rhyme

Feel the earth turn again
Wheel and spin wheel and spin
We were born to the wind
Wheel and spin

Now the light gently goes
As the stream of time flows
And twilight slips over the land
Stars soon will appear their light sharp and clear
To shine on this woman and man

Feel the earth turn again
Wheel and spin wheel and spin
We were born to the wind
Wheel and spin

Take my hand in the night
Two hearts joined in flight
As we learn how to sing our own tune
Feel the wind off the sea
Come to me come to me
And we’ll fly to the light of the moon

Feel the earth turn again
Wheel and spin wheel and spin
We were born to the wind
Wheel and spin

The acoustic is a 1997 Guild DV-6.
The electric is a 1962 M-65 3/4 played through a Thunder 1.
The bass is the 1982 SB-202 recorded direct.

Time Long Gone

Here’s a Tale that has never failed
To bring tears to my eyes
It’s a lonesome song about a Time Long Gone
And a love that would not die
A love that would never die

On a cool clear day late in May
Of 1853
Two Lovers walked two lovers talked
Beneath a Live Oak Tree
Under a Live Oak Tree

She of Graceful form was to the manor born
Her Daddy owned the Town
She loved a common man whose grandest plan
Was to own his own patch of ground
To farm on his own ground

The sun was high in a cloudless sky
They heard riders coming fast
Horses on the run carried men with guns
Who would do as her daddy asked
Who would do as her father asked

The gunmen yelled out a sound from hell
The Devil’s own demand
Leave this women fine here at the county line
Or die here where you stand
You’re going to die here where you stand

The boy cried no; he would never go
He could never leave her side
So she through herself between him and death
As the bullets began to fly
The bullets they did fly

As they fell people tell
Of a pledge these two lovers made
Lying there folks heard them swear
That their love would never fade
No, their love it would never fade

On cool clear nights, in the pale moonlight
Look closely and you will see
Two lovers walk, two lovers talk
Beneath a live Oak Tree
Under a Live Oak Tree

The acoustic guitar is the 1964 D-50.
The bass is the 1971 JS-1 through a Thunderstar guitar amp.

You Hold the Village

You hold the village
The manor, the fields, and the farms
You’re safe and hidden
Away from all danger and all harm
But if ever you quit the town
I’ll rise up to hunt you down

I wasn’t always
As one with anger and with hate
But when your soldiers
Laid waste my life they changed my fate
A family dead in their graves
Justice will be mine one day

Now your lord calls you
You can’t refuse you wouldn’t dare
Come the morning you leave the shelter of the lair
No matter your power or will
You’re mine when you come to these hills

You live through the night
Only if I agree
You have the town
The hill country belongs to me

In your coach
You feel proud protected and secure
With armed rider
Stationed behind you and before
By my hand they will fall
They’ll not be there to heed your call

And you can
Beg for my mercy--pray for grace
And you can
Offer up your women I fine lace
Yet as he river runs to the sea
You will stand and deliver to me

You’ll not see the dawn
You’ll not here the cockerel cry
You’ve ravaged my life
Now it’s your time to die
You’ve ravaged my life
Now you will die

The acoustic guitar is the 1964 D-50.
The electric is the Blues 90 through the Thunder 1 Reverb amp.

Red Oak River

I’ve not known love; I’ve not known glory
Yeah I have been ten thousand miles
Come and hear an old man’s story
Tarry here for just awhile

I was born on the Red Oak River
Back in eighteen and twenty-three
I never knew that I’d discover
The trials of life that would come to me

They rode up on my mother
Four men riding hard
She called out for my father
They cut him down there in our yard

She cried run just like the devil
And I made the north tree line
I heard cries and hoops and hollers
I heard my mother dying

When I went back to the cabin
My folks were dead and gone
And I swore on their sweet memories
That I would right this dreadful wrong

When the moon is in the meadow
And the sun refuse to shine
A life spent in the shadows
‘til it comes my time to die

Well I grew up hard and lonely
No joy did I know
With gun and knife I grew quite handy
When I turned sixteen it was time to go

I tracked rumors of four bandits
That had rode back in those days
I caught the first and my knife landed
And I ended that bastard’s days

I caught two more down in Texas
And the last in Tennessee
By then, we all ere old men
It didn’t matter a damn to me

I took the two while they were sleeping
And my shots they broke the night
And the last, he went to weeping
Before I took him with my knife

Through it all I never tired
Not a single gray hair grew
I was near the age of sixty
But I still looked twenty-two

Until the last had fallen
And my killing days were done
Then the years they came right to me
Sure as the setting of the sun

When the moon is in the meadow
And the sun refuse to shine
A life spent in the shadows
‘til it came my time to die

I’ve not known love; I’ve not known glory
Though I have been ten thousand miles
Come and hear an old man’s story
Lay me down to rest awhile

The guitar is the 1983 D-15.

Poor Howard

Poor Howard’s dead and gone
Left me here to sing my song
Poor Howard’s dead and gone
Left me here to sing my song

Poor Howard’s dead and he’s gone
Poor Howard’s dead and he’s gone
Poor Howard’s dead I said
Poor Howard’s dead and he’s gone

Who’s been here since I’ve been gone
Great big man with a derby on
Who’s been here since I’ve been gone
Great big man with a derby on

Big ole man had a derby on
Big man had a derby on
Big man he had a derby
He was a big man he had a derby on

Poor Howard’s dead and gone
Left me here to sing my song
Poor Howard’s dead and gone
Left me here to sing my song

Who’s been here since I been gone
Pretty Little Girl with a red dress on
Who’s been here since I been gone
Pretty Little girl with a red dress on

Pretty little girl had a red dress on
Pretty little girl had a red dress on
Pretty little girl had a red dress
Pretty little girl had a red dress on

Poor Howard’s Dead and Gone
Left me here to sing my song
Poor Howard’s dead and gone
Left me here to sing my song

Poor Howard’s dead and gone
Poor Howard’s dead and gone
Poor Howard’s dead I said
Poor Howard’s dead and he’s gone

The slide guitar is the Regal copy of a Martin C style.