1. |
Fortune
03:55
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Once I had a fortune, I kept it in my trunk
I lost it all in a gambling game one night when I got drunk
Fortune I had it, Fortune I lost it.
Fortune I lost it one night when I got drunk.
Once I had a fortune, but now I lost it all
Drinking and a-shooting and a-gambling at the ball
I wish I had an old bay horse with corn to feed him on
And a pretty little wife around the farm to feed him when I’m gone
I wouldn’t marry me a thin gal, I tell you boys it’s true
When you pull the plug in the bathtub I’m afraid she might go through
And I wouldn’t marry me a rich gal, and I’ll tell you the reason why
She’ll never lift a finger and I’m afraid she’ll never die
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2. |
Highlander's Farewell
03:11
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3. |
Cumberland Gap
04:23
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I’m going back to Cumberland Gap
See my granny and my grandpap
Going to the country buy me a farm
Raise sweet taters as long as your arm
Long as your arm, long as your arm
Raise sweet taters as long as your arm
Old Aunt Kate, old Aunt Sal
Old man Short’s got a pretty little gal
Pretty little gal, pretty little gal
Old man Short’s got a pretty little gal
Old Aunt Kate, if you don’t care
Leave my demijohn sittin’ right there
If it ain’t here when I get back
I’ll raise sand in the Cumberland Gap
I’ll lay down, take a little nap
Wake up sober in the Cumberland Gap
Cumberland Gap, Cumberland Gap
Wake up sober in the Cumberland Gap
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4. |
Train on the Island
02:57
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Train on the Island headed for the west, run and tell my true love the one I love the best
I can’t hold the wheel
Train on the island listen to it scream, run and tell my true love I’m running out of steam
I can’t hold the wheel
Train on the Island hear that whistle blow, run and tell my true love it’s far as I can go
I can’t hold the wheel
Train on the Island headed for the west, me and my gal we fell out it might be for the best
I can’t hold the wheel
It’s steam from the whistle and it’s smoke from the stack, darlin’ caught the 5:18 and she ain’t comin’ back
I can't’ hold the wheel
Train on the island, listen to it squeal, darlin’s gone and left me here and I can’t hold the wheel
I can’t hold the wheel
Train on the Island headed for the west, run and tell my true love the one I love the best
I can’t hold the wheel
I can’t hold the wheel
I caaaaaaaaaaaaaan’t hold the wheel.
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5. |
Duck River
03:40
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6. |
Land of the Shoshone
06:05
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It was an autumn day in ‘49 we lit out from Salt Lake City
Seeking a new life and a claim of gold
But the brutal heart of the desert ain’t no place for a 49’er
With golden dreams of mountain streams, our tragedy did unfold
The Spanish Trail was the winter route through the parched Mojave desert
The Donners saw what the Sierra Nevada could do
But no rain and snow means the creeks don’t flow and the air is dry as cinder
Our wagon train, on a trail of pain, knew not what we needed to
It’s a damn long way to go so far from water
You can cry for help but the desert doesn’t hear
When your wagon train rolls off the track in the land of the Shoshone
Dreams of gold will all but disappear
Elijah Ward was an old horse thief who roamed these lands for years
Told us we could cut 500 miles
He drew a map on a paper scrap
of a way through the Escalante
We hatched a plan for our caravan to pan gold by Christmas time
Three days out from the dry Groom Lake, no water could be found
Buzzards called and the coyotes began to howl
I prayed to God, when my horse kneeled, and I fell to the cold, hard ground
Closed my eyes, and to save our lives, flakes of snow came falling down
It’s a damn long way to go so far from water
You can cry for help but the desert doesn’t hear
When you bet your life on a horse thief’s map in the land of the Shoshone
Dreams of home will all but disappear
We reached Furnace Creek on Christmas Eve and we thanked the lord for mercy
Oxen weak and our pack train beat to hell
We made a bonfire from a wagon wheel, and we laughed away our troubles
We ate a beast as a holiday feast
and we thanked each other well
Morning came and we awoke to find a wall of endless mountains
This Valley of Death has no way out it seems
The God we praised, he had no sway, in the land of the Shoshone
Ancient spirits bleached our bones and dried up all our dreams
It’s a damn long way to go so far from water
You can cry for help but the desert doesn’t hear
When your riding on faith in a God that’s dead in the land of the Shoshone
The only home you’ll find is on a trail of tears
It’s a damn long way to go so far from water
You can cry for help but the desert doesn’t hear
When you bet your life on a horse thief’s map in the land of the Shoshone
Dreams of gold will fall and disappear
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7. |
Country Blues
04:08
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Come all you good time people
While I’ve got money to spend
Because tomorrow might be Monday
And I’ll neither have a dollar or a friend
When I’ve got plenty of money good people
My friends are all standing around
But as soon as my pocketbook is empty
Not a friend on this Earth can be found
The last time I saw my little woman good people
She had a wine glass in her hand
She was drinking down her troubles
With a low down, sorry man
All around this old jailhouse you’ll see me good people
Forty dollars won’t pay my fine
Corn whisky has surrounded my body poor boy
Pretty women’s a-troublin’ my mind
My mama told me of plenty good people
And my Papa he told me more
He said son if you don’t quit your rowdy ways
There’ll be trouble at your door
Well, if I’d have listened to my mama good people
Then I wouldn’t have been here today
But a-drinkin’ and a-shootin’ and a-gamblin’
At home I could not stay
Give me cornbread when I’m hungry good people…
Corn whisky when I’m dry
Pretty women a-standin’ all around me
Sweet Heaven when I die
Go and dig a hole in the meadow good people
Dig it deep in the cold, hard ground
Come gather all around now you fine friends
And see this old rounder go down
And when I’m dead and buried
My pale face turned to the sun
Will you stand around and moan little woman
And see now just what you have done
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8. |
Sandy Boys
03:04
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Sixteen horses in my team
Leaders they are blind
Every time I go this road
Got a pretty girl on my mind
Sixteen miles of mountain road
Eighteen miles of sand
Next time I go this road
I’ll be a married man
Somebody stole my old black dog
And I wish they’d bring him back
He’d chase the big pigs over the fence
And the little ones through the cracks
Racoon’s got a bushy tail
The possum’s tail is bare
Rabbit’s got no tail at all
Just a little patch of hair
Hey Sandy boys
Hey Sandy boys
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9. |
Handsome Molly
03:10
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I wish I was in London or some other seaport town
I’d set my foot on a steamboat and sail the ocean ‘round
While sailing around the ocean, sailing around the sea
Thinking of handsome Molly wherever she might be
Remember my sweet Molly, when you gave me you’re right hand
You said if you were married that I would be your man
Now you broke your promise, go marry who you please
While my poor heart is breaking you’re going at your ease
She goes to church on Sundays, passes me on by
I can tell her love is changing by the roving of her eye
Hair is like a raven, eyes as black as coal
Cheeks that shone like lillies out in the morning glow
I wish I was in London or some other seaport town
I’d set my foot on a steamboat and sail the ocean ‘round
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10. |
Poor Man's Song
03:22
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I ran into a man with a fiddle in his hand and said, son you go’on play it.
Let me hear you please, play a melody, from a song I used to sing
He said, “I want to catch a train at the station real soon but the fare I can’t pay it.”
I said, “I got no money,” and he made that fiddle ring.
It went doo, doo, do, do, doo, doodle-ee-doo, doo, do, do do do doo, doo
Well, I can tell you brother and you can tell your mother that my bucket’s got a hole in it
But that don’t mean, since I got no green, I ain’t howlin’ at the moon (a-ooooooo)
I’ve still got my shirt, it’s covered in dirt, but my gal don’t mind
I’m walkin’ on over to her house, whistlin’ a tune
It goes doo, doo, do, do, doo, doodle-ee-doo, doo, do, do do do doo, doo
Sharp dressed fella with the hair that’s yella, I see you’re going my way
Can you spare a dime, for tequila and a lime, and a ride this afternoon?
He gave me a dollar and I heard him holler down the highway
“Get a job!” as I walked downtown to the local saloon.
I sang doo, doo, do, do, doo, doodle-ee-doo, doo, do, do do do doo, doo
Hey there sisters I see you’ve got no misters, would you like to change that?
Then one of them said, “I’d rather be dead, than with the likes of you.”
Then I said something funny about inheriting some money, and they both smiled
We walked arm, in arm, in arm just a-humming this tune
We sang doo, doo, do, do, doo, doodle-ee-doo, doo, do, do do do doo, doo
Doo, doo, do, do, doo, doodle-ee-doo, doo, do, do do do doo, doo
Doo, doo, do, do, doo, doodle-ee-doo, doo, do, do do do doo, doo
Doo, doo, do, do, doo, doodle-ee-doo, doo, do, do do do doo, doo
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11. |
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If you don’t think I’m right
Come on by my place tonight
We’ll lay around my shanty all the time, time, time
Lay around my shanty all the time
If you say so go and moonshine no more
Break down that still and go home, home, home
Break down that still and go on home
Going to buy a bottle of brandy
Going to give it all to Sandy
Keep her good and drunk and woozy all the time, time, time
Good and drunk and woozy all the time
Times are getting hard
Gonna buy a bucket of lard
Keep my skillet good and greasy all the time, time, time
Skillet good and greasy all the time
Times are getting lean
Gonna buy some collard greens
Keep my skillet good and greasy all the time, time, time
Skillet good and greasy all the time
If you say so, well I won’t work no more,
Lay around your shanty all the time, time, time
Lay around your shanty all the time
It’s fatback and beans
And them good old collard greens
Keep your skillet good and greasy all the time, time, time
Skillet good and greasy all the time
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Hay Blackbird Bishop, California
Howie Schwartz and Ray Finch came up with the idea for Hay Blackbird in 2021 after a couple of decades of playing Bluegrass and Old Time music around Eastern CA. Hay Blackbird covers the wide genre of stringband music from the mid 1800's to present. Hay Blackbird’s interpretation and delivery of Old Time music may be more progressive than some, but still reflects their deep respect for the roots. ... more
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