Somewhere far away: silver wedding album
Rounder Records, 2. August 2019.
1. Both ends of the train
(Tim Stafford-Steve Gulley/Daniel House Music, BMI-Gulley's Curve Music, BMI)
I stayed with him in Rockville in 1925.
He made life and I made time
His memory goes back to when he was most alive.
When Frank and Jesse James were at their peak
He was a corporal, he fought the Kiowa and the Sioux.
De Sulphur Springs ein Kansas Clay
He got into trouble when his military service was over
End up a thousand miles away
Don't waste kind words or sad goodbyes
Lay me on the open plain
Out under the padded sky
Where can I see both ends of the train?
Said I've seen the buffalo, the herds would last for days
Before the train comes
Now everything has changed without me, but I miss the old days
And I know it can never be the same again
They buried him in Rockville and his kind will not rise again.
I hope your soul finds some rest.
To the world he was long forgotten, but to me he was a friend.
I still remember your last order.
2. Somewhere far away
(Shawn Lane-Gerald Ellenburg/Cat Town Music-BMI, Wadako Publishing-BMI)
Were you ever left alone as a child?
Nobody goes your way
People look right through you when they walk past you
How they go about the day
In the busy courtyard you will find the green grass.
Water flows cold on the vine
Coins shine like in the sun
And it turns out they're mostly mine
It turns out it's mostly mine
Have you ever tried to see all the stars in the sky?
Looking up through the city lights
An empty road freezes your soul
As a page of paper blows
A little bird makes this big city his home
Might leave but decided to stay
You wish you could borrow your wings
And fly somewhere far away
Fly somewhere far away.
3. Caro Kentucky
(Shawn Lane-Gerald Ellenburg/Cat Town Music-BMI, Wadako Publishing-BMI)
I miss my home on the hillside
And the scent of apple blossoms is in the air
I miss dad's stories by the fireplace
And my mother's voice as she knelt in prayer
I'm leaving for dear Kentucky tonight
Where the wild roses bloom at this time of year
I can feel the April sun beating down on me
As I walk through the fertile land I love so much
Is corn still growing in the meadow?
Where Miller plowed in early spring
Do the dogs still run through the red oaks?
I will live like this again
I long to see sweet Angelina
I wonder if she still remembers me.
I haven't seen her for many years
There's a place in my heart where she will always be
I'm going to Dear Kentucky tonight
Where the wild roses bloom at this time of year
I feel the summer sun shining on me
As I walk through the fertile land I love so much
4. Tonight in Texas
(Tim Stafford-Bobby Starnes/Daniel House Music, BMI – It says what music says, BMI)
He's on the prairie tonight, he's driving to Austin
She only cares about him and often prays for him.
She said don't cover your tracks
This is how you find your way back
Not a cloud in the sky while the coyote screeches in the distance
Tonight in Texas
He camped overnight on the banks of the great Brazos River.
And he dreamed of his wife back home and the life he would give her.
He said it wouldn't be long
Until these hard times are over
He hums a sweet tune as the golden harvest moon slowly rises.
Tonight in Texas
Nobody can say what will be
There are no guarantees in life
Somewhere on the prairie tonight, this side of Austin
She only cares about him and often prays for him.
She will dream of endless love
Until she sees him again
Not a cloud in the sky while the coyote screeches in the distance
Tonight in Texas
5. Cochise district
(Tim Stafford-Bobby Starnes/Daniel House Music, BMI – It says what music says, BMI)
He was born near Hale Missouri
The day Vicksburg fell
And heaven has no anger
like a child raised in hell
He heard about Frank and Jesse.
And how they stole to feed the poor
But he stole to satisfy his pleasure
and dead for nothing else
Koro
Dead or alive, read your bounty
30 notches on your weapon
Worst man in Cochise County
He picked the wrong place to run
Drive to California
Where no law had heard your name
Close to the sparkling San Pedro Valley
Like a moth drawn to a flame
Employed by Johnny Ringo
Curly Bill und Texas Jack
He lent his soul to the devil
But you'll never get it back
6. End of Orville's Web
(Jason Burleson / Musik-BMI von Terrible Two)
Instrumental.
7. Neither better nor worse
(Wayne Taylor-Tim Stafford/Forty WAT Music-BMI, Daniel House Music-BMI)
Another day like the previous one
I can see my future living in the past
Same old chapter, different verse
It's not better, it's not worse
I'm not getting any younger, at least I'm getting older
I have the weight of the world on my shoulders
I have to put my problems on the shelf
stop feeling sorry for myself
You are young, all you have is time
That's what I thought when I was in my natural prime.
Keep digging this hole, one day you'll see
Man you're gonna end up like me
8. A place I've never seen
(Shawn Lane-Gerald Ellenburg/Cat Town Music-BMI, Wadako Publishing-BMI)
9. I already do
(Tim Stafford-Steve Gulley/Daniel House Music, BMI-Gulley's Curve Music, BMI)
1) He could see the car coming out of the dust a mile away
Dismounted from the tractor, not much to say
A handshake and a promise of riches I've never seen
He said, "My father bought this land when I was seventeen."
2) The man in the suit just smiled and said, "I don't think you understand."
If you just sign these papers, you'll become a rich man.
Buy a villa on a hill, just enjoy the view
The old man looked away and said, "I already do"
CH) The wind still blows in the cornfields where we worked when I was young
I still smell the honeysuckle, taste the water on my tongue
In my eyes, the sky is always carolina blue
You say I can live anywhere I want
I already do
3) Went back to Farmall and saw how much money disappeared
I still had a lot to do and was on the right track.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and bit into the King Bee Twist
He never thought of all the things he might have missed
TAG) If you have a simple life, someone whose love is true
You hope to have it all one day, but you already have it
10. Song of Life
(Shawn Lane/Cat Town Music-BMI)
11. I can't think of any
(Wayne Taylor-Ronnie Bowman/Forty WAT Music-BMI, William Franklin Publishing-BMI)
12. That sounds more like heaven to me.
(Wayne Taylor/Cuarenta WAT Music-BMI)
Traditional Originals
Rounder Records, 9. September 2016.
* 2017 GRAMMY Nomination - Best Bluegrass Album
* 2017 IBMA Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year Nominierung ~ Halleluja
* Album Nr. 1 ohne Roots Music Report und Bluegrass Unlimited Charts
* Two #1 songs on the Bluegrass Today charts
* Album number 6 on the RMR Top Bluegrass Albums chart for 2017
2.if you don't kill me
(Tim Stafford-Bobby Starnes/Daniel House Music, BMI – It says what music says, BMI)
Koro
Whiskey is for hard times
From here it is only uphill
So if you just don't kill me
maybe the whiskey
maybe the whiskey
back
Well, she left me unannounced
I got it and it's over
She will arrive in Galax in the morning
time to move on
Good luck, see you later
back
Well you know this isn't my first time
and she won't be the last
All I need is a reason
George Dickel and a glass
come to me quickly
back
I will be with her tomorrow
but it still hurts
'Cause tonight I'm drowning in pain
And blows a flame
like a hurricane
2.The last time I leave this town
(Tim Stafford-Jon Weisberger/Daniel House Music, BMI-Use Your WordsMusic, BMI)
Koro
I'm leaving this town for the last time
Don't look for me because I won't be there
I should have been smarter the first time
It's the last time I leave this town
back
The first time was just a warning.
problems are approaching
Moved to stay in the morning
So I leave this cold city behind
back
I wish I had never met her
And wonder if I'll ever learn
It will definitely be better next time.
One day it will be my turn
9.Ton aus Wilkes County
(Tim Stafford-Bobby Starnes/Daniel House Music, BMI – It says what music says, BMI)
back
In North Carolina, Wilkes County
It's a story of betrayal, murder and guilt.
I will spare no sympathy, I will tell the truth
May God alone judge me, this side of Hell
back
Miss Annie and Laura, the fairest of fairs
Bewitch all admirers with such rare beauty
One was jealous, the other naive
One planned to marry, another to betray
Koro
Tom, do you want to play your violin?
Play a happy song
don't worry about tomorrow
because you are leaving tomorrow
back
Annie told Laura, Tom told me
Find it on the slope under the plane trees.
just after midnight on this last day in May
Laura sees him and the two run away.
back
He hid like a panther in the middle of the night
and killed Laura Foster with a bone-handled knife
She buried her body in a cold shallow grave
Along with his secret in Wilkes County clay
back
Now Sheriff Bob Grayson was a very jealous man
All he wanted was young Laura's hand.
His heart was broken, his head full of anger
When he blamed Tom Dula, no question was asked
back
In the city of Statesville, her case was quickly decided.
He didn't say a word in defense of his life.
On the last day of June, they hung him up by the neck
And her last request was an old fiddle tune
11she's not worth it
(Tim Stafford-Steve Gulley/Daniel House Music, BMI-Gulleys Curve Music, BMI)
1) I thought I would try again
But she got ready to say goodbye
Like that tear in my eye
she's not worth it
2) I got up off the floor
I saw her walk out the door
Achieved by my old 44
but she's not worth it
3) But that was a long time ago
Now I've taught myself to let go
Just lean back and bathe in the sunset
Because she's not worth it.
CH) She ain't worth it, man
Better get out now while you can
Forget the girl in your head
Boy, that reason doesn't rhyme
There is no need to waste time
she's not worth it
4) A new fight every day
She will break your heart out of sheer malice
Something is wrong here
she's not worth it
5) You might think I made it
But you don't know the price I'm paying
Let's call a spade a spade
Guys, she's not worth it
6) Before the ring was taken from his hand
She made plans with another man.
I hope you understand now
she's not worth it
The game
Rounder Records, Januar 2014.
*Nominated for 2014 IBMA Album of the Year
* Nominated for 2014 IBMA Song of the Year: The Game
* At #1 on the Bluegrass Unlimited Albums chart for 7 months (June to December 2014)
* Named #1 Bluegrass Album of the Year by critic Daniel Mullins on his year-end list of Top 20 Albums of 2014 on Bluegrass Today.
2.reminds me of you
(Tim Stafford-Craig Market/Daniel House Music, BMI-Drop D Publishing, BMI)
I started slowly like I always do
coffee at noon
I found your number in my pocket.
The good morning I wished for never had a chance
I jumped in the van I bought you
I guess they don't make them like they used to
I turned on the radio and to my surprise
You can't know, hide your lying eyes
CH) Just like the sun rises and sets again and again
Some memories keep coming back
I don't need another reason to believe
As if I need something to remind me of you
It's always love that turns your head
It hurts like hell when it goes down
Somehow we lost track of right and wrong
Who is to blame and what matters now?
We had our moment, but it came and went
A ghost that has been haunting me for a long time
I wish I could close the book and let the story end
But every time I turn the page, you reappear
5.A Belief Change in Tennessee
(Tim Stafford-Steve Gulley/Daniel House Music, BMI-Gulleys Curve Music, BMI)
V) I used to believe every line, I clung to every word
Girl if you said it, it was true
Now the things I thought were gospel become even more absurd
And the truth is just another point of view
CH) In Montana, the mountains are forever
Blue sky as far as the eye can see
There is no change of seasons in California
But there has been a belief shift in Tennessee
V) Woke up reborn this morning, finally seen the light
And so many other things I couldn't see
a new book of Revelation restored my sight
There was a change of faith in Tennessee
Br) You were my salvation but the price was too high
Salvation means nothing until it's free
V) I have made peace with my maker, now I am ready to move on
Roll the stone through the gate
The body of our love lies in the grave
It's over and it won't come up again
7.Blues wedding with church bells
(Tim Stafford-Jon Weisberger/Daniel House Music, BMI-Use Your Words Music, BMI)
Walking down the avenue on a Sunday afternoon
I feel fine except for my shoes
Then I heard them play where I'm going no doubt
I got the church bell wedding blues
Every time I hear the old bells ring, ring, ring
It's good news for everyone else.
But all I hear is another song about how you proved me wrong
And I got the church bell wedding blues
Maybe I'll change my mind if I blow this town up
Some may give up, but I refuse
Hit the pedal to the floor just to hear my engine roar
And banish those church bell wedding blues
Every time I hear the old bells ring, ring, ring
It's good news for everyone else
But all I got was a broken heart and it left an ugly bruise
Sounds like the wedding blues of the church bell
Every time I hear the old bells ring, ring, ring
It's good news for everyone else
But all I hear is my son, you'll never lose
The deep and lonely church bell wedding blues
7.My last day in the mine
(Tim Stafford-Wayne Taylor/Daniel House Music, BMI-Forty WAT Music, BMI)
V1) It's my last day of work, after forty years of coal transport I knew that one day I would be at the end.
It feels like yesterday, an upright boy of twenty-one who didn't have to work to catch his breath.
There's a lot of mixed feelings, all the friends and family I've seen going in and out of the hole
And I'm not sure I'm the kind of man who can sit alone all day and age slowly.
with a fishing rod
CH) is my last day in the mine
I never thought it would ever come
I would never go underground, leave my bucket of food
It's my last day at the mine.
V3) the Super told me today we'll keep you out of line, just stay back
Well, I know it is, but I'd rather put my mark on the car one last time. Would be great.
house sounds
Rounder Records, 2011
*Nominated for 2012 IBMA Album of the Year
* Nominated for 2012 IBMA Song of the Year - Sounds of Home
* Nominated for 2012 IBMA Recorded Instrumental Performance of the Year - Roaring Creek
3.Bluebird-Tage
(Tim Stafford-Craig Market/Daniel House Music, BMI-Drop D Publishing, BMI)
CH) Bluebird Days as I remember them
Fly, fly until the end of summer
remember my friend
Until they show up again
1) Frozen in my memory of the day I met you
I saw the end of winter in a flash of blue dust
Did I hear you say he carries heaven on his back?
2) Now the nights are getting colder and the days are not so long
I think of you every time I hear this song
I'll wait when you find your way back home with me
5.urze e billy
(Tim Stafford-Steve Gulley/Daniel House Music, BMI-Gulleys Curve Music, BMI)
1) Heather and Billy only had one child
But you've almost never seen him play alone
Some have been abandoned, some abused, some neglected, some used.
But every Monday the boy felt at home, never alone
2) Samantha with sad eyes, she is only six years old
But she tells things a child should never know
How she cried herself to sleep and begged the Lord to keep her soul
It's a miracle she's here today, God made a way
Br) Never think of yourself, only how to take care of someone else.
A quiet home has never been your style
I can't say they had a vision or anything deeper
The truth is, they just couldn't turn them down.
3) Heather and Billy, they are just like you and me
But look a little closer and you'll learn a thing or two.
How to love, how to cry, how to make believe
When Billy says we can do it, we always do.
9.if you have something to say
(Tim Stafford-Jon Weisberger/Daniel House Music, BMI-Use Your Words Music, BMI)
1) Lately you've been acting like you have something on your mind
Tell me do you want to clean the air?
It's hard for me to reach you when you're worried
Honey, that's not going to get you anywhere.
CH) But if you have something to say
Come and say it, I'll find out anyway
Don't put off until tomorrow what you should do today
if you have something to say
2) Yesterday you told me that you lost your ring
Today I found it hidden in your pocket
You say you still love me, baby, it doesn't mean a thing
Empty words only make it worse
CH) But if you have something to say
Come and say it, I'll find out anyway
Don't let me keep living in this dream from yesterday
if you have something to say
EN) If you really think it's over
You don't need an alibi
I can accept the truth but I can't accept a lie
LABEL) Don't make me wait forever baby you know I'm turning grey
if you have something to say
12Drink from a deeper well
(Tim Stafford-Bob Minner/Daniel House Music, BMI-Missouriboy Music, BMI)
1) Grocery store headlines
all kinds of stop signs
set deadlines now
they brought me down
my way of life
I took, not gave
the art of forgiveness
was missing
CH) Nowadays I listen
For what I've lost
Like stories my son wants to tell
I've learned to slow down
I'm above ground every day
I drink from a deeper well
2) Today is all we live for
Tomorrow is not given
but the riches are hidden
in every day of life
So find your own reason
and there will be a season
keep believing
and drink your fill
Keyword: sweet inspiration
simple redemption
Drink from a deeper well
Through a train window
Rounder Records, 2008
* IBMA Song of the Year 2008 - Through a Train Window
* Nominated for IBMA Album of the Year 2008
1. The life of a traveller
(Shawn Lane/Cat Town Music, IMC)
Let them mow the garden and feed the babies
A million songs run through my head
Daylight is coming, I'm gone again
When does the road end?
My shoulders carry such a heavy load
It's hard to keep my thoughts in line
I can't slow down the life I've chosen
I kinda love how it goes
Time flies fast and the wheels turn slowly
Such is the life of a traveller
The wind of change is blowing
as they always will be
You will turn the page to another name
Different images in the same old frame
Lightning flashes ahead
A million songs run through my head
I can't name all the places I've been
But God willing, I'll be there again.
2. Through a train window
(Tim Stafford-Steve Gulley/Daniel House Music, BMI-Gulley's Curve Music, BMI)
Everyone drives the same old roads these days
They see nothing, but they know the way
Every mile is a marker, every city is the same
Another place to stop but not to linger.
Dad was a brakeman at L&N
Sometimes he let me travel with him
It doesn't matter where we stop along the way
Everyone knew her name
A different story in every line
People who work hard just to live and die
I've seen everything once
Through a train window
So let's go back the way we came
Like people moving through a picture frame
It seems everyone is further down the line
But I always look back
I don't expect you to understand that
See the country as a railway
So many things you would never notice
Unless you saw them through those eyes
Birmingham to Jackson, hear the whistle
And the sun goes down like a big red ball
I can still see everything in my memory
Through a train window
3. Sicomoro Cave
(Shawn Lane-Gerald Ellenburg/Cat Town Music, BMI-Wadako Publishing, BMI)
Down the forked creek
Fora em Sycamore Holler
I went down in my best dress
To take her away from her father
With hair down to his waist
the color of strawberries
Down the forked creek
At nightfall we would get married
I love the farmer's daughter very much.
De volta a Sycamore Holler
On a seventeen hand horse
He rode in Sherman's army
Against your will in the city of Atlanta
He took my wife from me
Well, I took my knife and
my two guns
I called her loudly
On a lightning horse I swore again
When I left Sycamore Holler
I'll bring the farmer's daughter with me
Volver a Sycamore Holler
it was on the river bank
I see the fire flicker
Behind lay four dead
As I leave camp with her
Now our children are playing in a branching stream
Fora em Sycamore Holler
With a boy like me and a girl like you
We will always be together
I love the farmer's daughter very much.
Down by Sycamore Holler
4. Beggar
(Wayne Taylor/Forty WAT Music, IMC)
They called him Skeet, his name was Bill
Cabo William Howard Campbell,
they never knew and they never will
He has time with the 101
They took a simple country boy
and taught him how to use a gun
After four long years of service
Two trips to Vietnam
The country you have served so well
doesn't seem to care
what is a tramp
He has one son, lives in L.A.
She hasn't spoken to him in twenty years
he just doesn't know what to say
He had a loving wife, she was his right hand man
Even nightmares and memories
It became more than I could handle
Now he has everything he owns.
in a battered shopping cart
He never begged for anything
he just has no heart
He's just a bum
Now in this land of milk and honey
where so many have everything
Stay in an alleyway half a block from the mayor's office
There they found him on a cold November night.
Though he won so many battles
This time he had lost the fight
No one seemed to care that he was gone
They laid him in a beggar's grave
with a pebble
As young and his mother
He sat alone and cried
Holds the Silver Star medallion
found someone there by your side
he was a bum
He was just homeless.
5. Where has the morning gone?
(Shawn Lane/Cat Town Music, IMC)
Where has the morning gone?
I wanted so much more out of this life
I was born on a clear and sunny day
Now the shadows of the night are falling towards me
Where has the morning gone?
It was dawn when my babies cried
Now they can go out on their own.
I had a family that I have always loved
And I made peace with my God above
But where has the morning gone?
I took hands that I liked to hold
But there came an afternoon when I had to let her go
I still write the lyrics to my songs
But different voices sing
Where has the morning gone?
6. By the soldiers
(Tim Stafford-Wood Newton/Daniel House Music, BMI–Rope-a-Dope Music, BMI)
We show up every morning
Our uniforms are ironed
Everyone spit and polish, we must do our best
We carry this message
it is a heavy burden to bear
For those who pay the sacrifice price
We have to show that we care
Everyone has a duty, a way to shine
walking around
and those who stay behind
Some won't come back, reality is grim
It's up to me and Sergeant Jack
to deliver the message
We're the two soldiers nobody wants to see
In a plain black sedan
rolls slowly down the street
In addition to toys and bicycles
under the lips
where the yellow ribbons disappear
gently waving in the breeze
A loved one is in a better place
You won't come back
Now two soldiers are standing in front of the door
Sometimes they see us coming
and fall on your knees
Tears overflow
screaming "No, God, please".
Sometimes they just sit there, silent as stone.
no surprise in your eyes
How did they know all along
See the soldiers on the line, ready for action
Husbands and wives with girls and boys
Say a silent prayer so everyone comes back alive
And see me and Jack never stop
7. The North Bay
(Jason Burleson/Terrible Twos Music, BMI)
(Instrumental)
8. In a week
(Tim Stafford-Robert G. Starnes/Daniel House Music, BMI – It says what music says, BMI)
Time is a funny thing, you know
No matter where you are, it comes and goes.
I lived my life one day at a time
Time is all I had and all I know
Home is a state of mind, they say
Four walls and a roof in your head
It may seem strange to some
But I'm too old to change
Now the guard says the state wants my bed
It's been fifty years since I was sent here
I had forty-nine left
But in a week
You will open this door forever
and i have to go
But god knows I would if I could
I won't last a day out there alone
This prison cell is the only home I've ever known
The outside world has changed
but inside it's the same
I have to find a way to get back home.
9. My roping days are over
(Tim Stafford-Robert G. Starnes/Daniel House Music, BMI – It says what music says, BMI)
I was thinking of Mary as I left Tucumcari
With four hours to Santa Fe
I know you're waiting for me to finish this damn game
But that's one thing she would never say
It's cowboy addiction, the smell and the friction
From the rope when it is taut and taut
It gets harder every year
but his love is harder
Than every ox he fought with
It's more than just living, it's been my whole life
Taken and given joy and struggle...
But I always knew that day would come
I think my days off are over
There are headbutts and jumps, addicts and drug dealers
And crown to cover the fear
I've been a saint and a sinner, a loser and a winner
So where do I go from here?
I could be home by dawn if I turn around now
God, y'all, it was fun
Tell the girls from Nogales I'm going to Dallas
Now my roping days are over
10. Blues on blues
(Tim Stafford-Robert G. Starnes-Jon Weisberger/Daniel House Music, BMI-It Says What It Says Music, BMI-Use Your Words Music, BMI)
Blues upon blues, pain upon pain
Nothing to do but watch the rain
Tears fall because I miss you, oh Lord
Paint what you've gone and paint me blue in blue
When we met five years ago
I never thought I would regret it
Loving you like I do, oh Lord
You fell in love with someone else and left me blue in the blue
No more tears, no more heart
Too tired to start again
I don't wanna find nobody new, oh lord
'Cause I'm not over you, I'm blue on blue
The day may come when I try again
With a bit of luck I'll win next time.
If you have nothing, you have nothing to lose, oh Lord
When you hit rock bottom there's nothing but the blues
i blues
Blues upon blues, pain upon pain
Nothing to do but watch the rain
Tears fall because I miss you, oh Lord
Paint what you've gone and paint me blue in blue
11. Boat with V bottom
(Shawn Lane/Cat Town Music, IMC)
If I can find a fast flowing river or stream
Or a big old high mountain
with a small lake in the middle
A V-bottom boat, A V-bottom boat
A V-bottom boat will take me
wherever I want
Old Noah cried out to the Lord
"God, what should I do?"
God said to build a V-bottom boat and
you will get over it
A V-bottom boat, A V-bottom boat
A V-bottom boat will take you there
Where do you want to go
You can take cars, planes and trains with you
almost everywhere
But a V bottom boat is how I prefer it
ir ali
A V-bottom boat, A V-bottom boat
A V-bottom boat will take me
wherever I want
One day I will find the creek that leads there
Mass of my Savior
I'll take a V-bottom boat to pick you up there.
12. Just another gravel on the road
(Wayne Taylor/Forty WAT Music, IMC)
You keep saying things I don't understand
I try so hard not to let it show
Your sophisticated style has stunned me
Guess I'm just another dirt on the road
All my friends tried to tell me when I met you
You don't have to think that you will never get this girl
You said your excellent taste matched mine
wasting life
And I would never be accepted into your world
I started to believe what they say
Our feelings become clear
They are not the same
You keep trying to change me
than i want to be
But you have to know that
I don't play this game