Time And Water

"Ahhhh, a 'list song' ! "... So exclaimed pedal steel guru Dave Van Allen upon hearing it. Yes. Time is going by, and we watch our protagonist falling apart with each passing hour. Another mind-boggling performance by Jeff Lang. There's a bit of the old blues song "Come Back, Baby" tagged on at the end. Quarter to three, I'm heading home
Quarter to three, I'm driving home
It's a long ride when you're alone

Quarter to four, I'm through my door
Quarter to four, I'm walking through my door
Footsteps echo down the hall

I've got crazy thoughts running through my head
Can I take back the last thing I said

Quarter to five and I can't sleep
Quarter to five and I can't sleep
I turn and I turn, I turn in bed

Quarter to six and the birds are singing
Sky is light and the birds are singing
I wish they'd tell me where you are

I've got crazy thoughts coming through my head
Can I take back the last thing I said
.....

Come back baby, please don't go
The way I love you, you'll never know
So come on back baby,
Think it over one more time

Long train come and a mean engineer
Took my baby on away from hear
Singing come on back, baby
Think it over one more time

Eric found an old linen postcard, a night scene of a train rolling through Colorado's Royal Gorge, and built this song around it. The minor 4 chord (Bb minor) that kicks off the bridge is a total rip of the bridge on Dylan's "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You," which we've been playing a lot live. We only steal from the best. Time and water carve out canyons in the earth
You never know 'til after it’s done what the changing was worth
Try to put a price on every kiss, every letter, every word
Try to hold it all forever, but nothing's assured

Watching the river digging deeper and closer to the core
I see you running and I wonder if you want this anymore
Now I'm rolling through a canyon on a train that's getting closer to you
Following the river, chasing the water like I always do

(chorus)
Will you be holding me when the day is done?
Will you be holding me when morning comes?

(bridge)
From my window I watch the stars
Count the stations rolling by
I wish I could sleep but I know that it's useless to try

I don't ask a lot of questions, I don't know what I'd do with all the answers
I guess if something's really meant to be there's nothing I can do
But I can't help wondering, as we pull into the station
Is this where I'm supposed to be, is this where I'm staying forever

Will you be holding me when the day is done?
Will you be holding me when morning comes
Will you be holding me when the day is done?
Will you be holding me when morning comes

Washington was once the bluegrass capital of the world. Several of the guys in LTH used to go see folks like the Seldom Scene and the Country Gentlemen on a regular basis at the Birchmere, and here's Eric's entry into the "bluegrass murder ballad" genre. Again, listen for Jeff Lang's super-picking. There's a pretty little girl in Harlan
Eyes of midnight blue
Better hurry back to Harlan
She's waiting there for you

From Harlan to Hazard he carried his load
A heavier heart never traveled that road
He'd asked her daddy for his daughter's hand
Daddy took a shotgun and chased him off his land

She cried,"Hurry back to Harlan
I'll hold my breath for you
Better hurry back to Harlan
Before this girl turns blue"

He got back to Hazard, he sold all he had
Put the money in his pocket, still cursing at her dad
He rode through the forest, couldn't get back to soon
He swore he'd always love her, shot a bullet at the moon

He cried, "Becky, oh my darling, please forgive my deed,
I'm coming back to Harlan, 'cause you're the one I need"

They ran off together later that same night
Becky cried about her daddy blood so red, skin so white
They got down to Knoxville, bought a ring with what he'd saved
Now they go back to Harlan once a year to see his grave
To see her daddy's grave

He still loves his Becky darling
She surely loves him to
But in a graveyard back in Harlan
You'll see what love can do

I still love my Becky darling
She surely loves me too
But in a graveyard back in Harlan
You'll see what love can do

Brotherman Alan weighs in from the soul side of town. It's a wry bit of social anthropology, one where the observer just can't maintain objectivity as he watches a couple of barflies do the dance. They've got nerves, nerves of steel
They think none of this is real
Walking in through all the smoke
I can't think of who's the bigger joke

Through my glass a lonely gaze
I see a face that's seen better days
She looks at me, I can't look back
He hopes I'll have a heart attack

He's the kind with games to play
He's the kind that won't ever give the time of day
He's the kind who will up and walk away from you

They're all smiles, I'm drinking fast
I think I'll jump right into my glass
Take a swim in this sea of gin
If they're fish then I'll grow some fins

My luck runs in, their luck runs out
Their voices rise and they shuffle out
Far be it for me to say
But I can't help say it anyway

He's the kind with games to play
He's the kind that won't ever give the time of day
He's the kind who will up and walk away from...
He's the kind with games to play
He's the kind that won't ever give the time of day
He's the kind who will up and walk away from you

The guy just can't commit. So she leaves him flowers and pulls a little pre-emptive disappearing act herself. Smart gal. The speediest song on the record, check out producerman Doug Derryberry's hot little Telecaster solo at the end of the song. When I woke up this morning, I found a trail of yellow flowers
Leading from my backdoor to my car
I found the bouquet of daffodils under my wiper blades
Until they fell apart that's where they stayed

I guess you found my note that I slipped under your door
Telling you I couldn't do this anymore
I know it was a cowardly move, a coward I was that day
How could I tell you that I was walking away

Won't you send your best wishes, send them with care
Tell me it's alright that I'm not there
Tell me you'll treasure all that we had
Tell me that you'll understand

I know it's hard to live with no regrets
Though it's always been my goal
I've got a few now, that's how I know I'm getting old
Maybe soon I'll convince myself I did only what I had to do
Maybe then I'll sleep a night or two

Won't you send your best wishes, send them with care
Tell me it's alright that I'm not there
Tell me you'll treasure all that we had
Tell me that you'll understand

Oh, send your best wishes, send them with care
Tell me it's alright that I'm not there
Tell me you'll treasure all that we had
Tell me that you'll understand