1. |
Family History
06:28
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Based on an Ancestry chart
Family History
1. We sailed away from Ireland
We were troubled by the wars
The Catholics hated Protestants
And I know well what for
They watched us farm on stolen ground
While they got hedge and rocks
Then the king’s men filled those fields with flax
And robbed us at the docks
2. You beg to feed your family
It’s none but tater stew
You canna find a loaf of bread, nor
Grab a pint ‘ o brew
To board a ship was priceless
And we not worth a damn
We give ten years of service for the
Promise of some land
Like my father’s father’s father
And the father before him
Are we cursed to build our homes upon the souls that might have been
The green seas are so restless
The windy waves are cruel
The ocean never gave a care
As we were sailing through
3. The voyage gave us agony
We stuck down in the hold
The water tasted black.
And there was slime upon the mold
I’ve never been so sick of sea
And dreaming of hard ground
And someone yells Virginia
And we dropped that anchor down
4. Then ten years of tobacco
We were doe with servitude
And we took a stand on slavery
The laws of man exclude
We rode to Indiana
Declaring ourselves free
And thanks to those old Quakers
They was thou and I was thee
Like my father’s father’s father
And the father before him
We have struck out for a foreign land
To build our lives again
The green fields are so restless
The rocky slopes are cruel
The mountains never gave a care
As we were passing through
5. The settlers struck for Iowa
In 1844
The French had sold the lot of it
I know well what for
We’d run off all the Indians
And some were just struck down
And once again we found ourselves
A farming stolen ground
Like my father’s father’s father
And the father before him
Are we cursed to build our homes upon the souls that might have been
The green fields are so restless
The rocky slopes are cruel
The mountains never a damn
As we were passing through
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2. |
Mother's Tea
03:37
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As my mother slipped into dementia she asked me to write this song about her
Mother’s Tea (Me Dear Old English Mother )
1. On my first day of grade school
The whole class laughed at me
For I arrive at half past nine
And not so fashionably
My teacher led me by the ear
Down to the principal
I had to give accounting
For I had no note at all
(so here is what I said..)
Chorus:
It Twas my dear old English mother and her tea
Well, first she pours some milk in
A spoon or two of sugar
“a spoon or three of sugar…”
“a spoon or four of sugar…”
“and a canister of sugar…”
Then a tiny taste determines temperature
And if I’ve let it steep too long
The tea is way to strong
Then I have to start again
And do it over
2. On the first day of high school
Well, I was way too late
And a teacher caught me in the hall
And she left no debate
She had made it very clear
That tardiness was bad
So I blubbered and I stammered
And this is what I said…
3. Oh the first month of college
My papers were quite late
My advisor sat to counsel me
And then discuss my fate
And he asked me for a reason
I work improperly
I looked at him sincerely
And answered honestly….
4. On the first day at Starbucks
My bus was very late
My old alarm had failed me
My pants ripped on the gate
And the boss who met me at the door
Just pointed at the line
Where the customers all frowned at me
As I began to chime…
5. On the first day of marriage
I jumped out of bed quite late
I forgot to make the latte’, two shots, sugar free vanilla, Grande for my mate….
And she asked me quite directly
Why my snoozing was so great
(I answered)
I dreamt that I was making tea
And then I had to do it over
I dreamt that I was making tea
And then I had to start again
I dreamt that I was making tea
for dear old mother!
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3. |
Rover On Mars
04:10
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Journalist Jacob Margolis tweeted some final words (if it could talk) for the Rover “Opportunity” now buried in dust on Mars
I’m a Rover on Mars
1. I’m a rover on Mars
Dodging potholes and boulders
Roaming craters and hills, and testing rocks for the presence of water
But the atmosphere’s bad
And the temperature’s cold
And there’s no place to hide
My weary frame
On this perilous road
Chorus:
It’s growing dark
And my wheels won’t roll
Mired in the dust
And my batteries low
Can’t raise my arm
Can’t read my dial
Buried by the storm
At the 28th mile
2. There’s a face on the moon
Staring out through the stars
As for me I am just one tiny spec
On the surface of Mars
Like those faces of stone
Looking out through the night
As an asteroid passed and waved goodbye on a desolate flight
3. They might send a command
Well, I cannot respond
Since The dust storm has covered all my shields
All my power is gone
If I just had a heart
If I had half a brain
Sending photographs through space
Of this hostile terrain
Chorus:
It’s growing dark
And my wheels won’t roll
Mired in the dust
And my batteries low
Flagstaff farewell
I rest this while
You will find me here
At the 28th mile
Chorus wth:
Flagstaff farewell
I rest this while
You will find me here
At the 28th mile
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4. |
The Bear
03:44
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Advice for school kids
The BEAR
1. I was down in the woods the other night
Looking for a possum with my flashlight
I shined my light upon his knees
But a 6 foot possum I’ve never seen
It was a big bear
I climbed a sapling
It was a tall bear
I climbed a fir tree
It was an angry bear so I sprouted wings
And I didn’t come down till morning
2. I was down in the woods the very next night
Armed to the teeth with a gun and knife
Ready for the bear and I heard a thunk
Got ready to aim, but was a skunk
It was the wrong end
I had to sleep outside
He was a good shot
I had to burn my clothes
He was an frightened skunk with an awful smell
And it lingered on all summer
3. I went down in the woods in the daylight
Yelled for the bear, “Come Out and Fight” (like the cowardly lion)
I slowly crept out through the trees
I heard a noise, it was a swarm of bees
It was a big swarm
I started running
It was like 1,000 needles
I kept on running
I did a swan dive into the pond
I got all 9’s and stuck the landing
4. So I’m down in the fish pond covered with mud
Yelled for help and I heard a thud
Then came a sproing, crash and a boom
Beaver dropped a tree In his front room
It was a big tree
Busy beaver
Split that pond
Just like a cleaver
When the tidal wave washed over me
Something in that pond sure tasted nasty
5. Don’t go down in the woods neither day or night
The critters there will pick a fight
Big sharp teeth and ready to bite
You be looking left when you shoulda looked right
Something sneaky
It’s like a bad dream
Frogs with big eyes
Coyotes on steroids
Rabbits with gang tactics
Weasels with long spikey tails
Sssss snakes with roomy stomachs
And you won’t be coming home anytime soon
You might die
Have to miss school
You’ll need a good excuse…
So, Write this down
It was a big bear
I climbed a sapling
It was a tall bear I climbed a fir tree
It was an angry bear and I sprouted wings and I didn’t come home till morning.
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5. |
Never Blessed
05:05
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Jazz poetry
Never Blessed
1. I never was blessed with a clean mind
Always had to sleep alone
Never was blessed with a woman
Wouldn’t run off on her own
I never had me no new car
The old ones always broke down
I met free love on the subway
She knocked to the ground
2. Never had us a clean war
Always sent bodies home
Oil washed up on a clean shore
The corporation’s never wrong
And it never seemed like I trusted
Anything in sight
Why I never even trusted the president (sometimes I think I’m the President)
The wife said “That’s alright”
3. I never had me a good dog
Wouldn’t bite me on the leg
And I never had me a good job
Didn’t leave times to beg
Never had no good friend
Never ever let you down
Long as got my sidearm
I’ll never get screwed again
4. Never had a good meal
Always wanted something more
Never had me a good shirt
The pockets always tore
Never had me no shelter
To lay my weary head
But I once slept on the park bench
Where the New York Times was read
5. Never had me a full moon
Mine was always half
I never told me a good joke
Could make somebody laugh
And I never wrote me a good poem
Or drew me a decent line
But I can dance with the railroad gang and drink that turpentine
6. Now I come to the moral
Of a strange and painful song
Think of this as a dead end road
The GPS was wrong
The gas gauge says I’m empty
The compass says I’m low
Hurricane took my property
Wall Street stole my soul
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6. |
Steel Electric Days
06:43
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Some ferry history which started with a headline in the Everett Herald, story by Scott North
Steel Electric Days
1. Started in the year of ‘51
The Ferry System in Washington
Mosquito fleet
From the Black Ball Line
Built of wood and good design
But wood can rot and wood can wear
And soon these hulls would need
repair
Need repair
Need repair
And soon these hulls would need repair
2. The other hulls were made of steel
From the captain’s post down to the keel
The Hiyu and
The Klickitat
And even stranger names than that
But steel is strong and steel is good
Soon the steel replaced the wood
Replaced the wood
Replaced the wood
Soon the steel replaced the wood
3. Eighty-one years on the Puget Sound
The steel-electrics sailed around
Trusted on
The Keystone Run
We all thought they’d carry on
Fighting wind and courting waves
But steel can slowly rust away
Rust away
Rust away
Steel can slowly rust away
4. Forty-one years on the Puget Sound
The tiny Hiyu sailed around
Men like me
We turned her wheel
Trusted God we trusted steel
But then we heard that awful sound
The shipwright brought his hammer
down
Hammer down
Hammer down
The shipwright brought his hammer
Down
5. Steel Electric auld lang syne
Highway thru the Maritime
The hammer tore
A hole in one
The steel had rusted down to none
The hammer stuck and did betray
The steel electrics cast away
Castaway
Castaway
The steel electrics castaway
6. Some newer boats were built askew
From Stem to stern, from wheel to screw
And some would list
And some were slow
And some required a lengthy tow
But none could last as well as those
For whom the hammer struck its blows
Struck its blow
Struck its blow
For whom the hammer struck its blows
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7. |
A River Like Me
04:41
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River Like Me (also known as We Aint Got)
1. We don’t have that much in common,
but I sure do, Yes, I sure do like you.
Like all the rest, I am afraid,
I have broken all my fingers
And there’s no holding on.
Chorus:
Then there’s times that I wonder
If a river like me could stand,
If an airplane like me could land.
I seen a thousand endless highways
In the palm of my own hand.
2. Yes, I know your expectations,
But I sure can’t, yes, I sure can’t help it,
Is it love, is it fear, I have seen it,
In your green eyes,
And there’s no simple way
Chorus:
Then there’s times that I wonder
If a river like me could stand,
If an airplane like me could land
I held one in a million
In the palm of my own hand.
3. oh, I know it’s not forever, not for never,
Not for no how.
In the night there’s still a rainbow
I can feel it, in the shadows
And it leads me on
Chorus:
Then there’s times that I wonder,
If a river like me could stand,
If an airplane like me could land.
I held one in a million
In the palm of my own hand.
4. If the white bird calls me home
I must go, way up yonder
Till that time something tells me I will travel, I must wander
Yes, I’m leaving today
©J.W. McClure
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8. |
Old Antoine
04:06
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Based on a story from my dad
Old Antoine
1. They found old Antoine’s body
He was frozen to the ice
His chin was resting on his knees
Like he was resting nice
His arms arounds his legs
His fingers white with frost
About a mile out on the tundra
Old Antoine’s life was lost
Chorus
Antoine won’t you read
From the book in your hands
Won’t you read and take away my pain
Pretend it’s a book of the things you said
Won’t you read those passages again?
2. They chipped him from the snow bank
He was solid as a rock
His mustache broke right off him
When they rolled him on his back
Froze in that position
His knees stuck to his chin
They had bought the best of coffins
But they could not put him in
3. So they built a great big bonfire
To try to help him thaw
They put weights upon his knees
Sapling spring upon his jaw
In the middle of his wake
The frozen knees gave way
The sapling snapped his head up
And the whole town ran away
4. They never buried Antoine
‘cause He never did lie flat
I drug him to the place he died
And that is where he sat
Still upright in his coffin
So this is what I did
I put a good book in his hands
Because I could not close the lid
5. And when I think of Antoine
I can see him everywhere
The raven got his eyeball
The porcupine his hair
The otter got his attitude
The wolverine his look
There’s a bear out on the tundra
Still reading Antoine’s book
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9. |
Circle Round The Sun
04:21
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Birthday Poem
Circle Round the Sun
1. As you circle round the sun
And you gain another year
Will your footprints remain?
In the warm biosphere
Tread so lightly
Breathe so the birds cannot hear
2. As you circle round the stream
To the place you were born
In the safety of shade
And your gravel bed home
Dying, spawning
New life will rise when you’re gone
3. As you fly among the flowers
Gathering the dust of gods
Will you visit the trees?
Bearing fruit for the choir
Pollen falling
Bees are the blossoms’ desire
4. As you circle round the sun
May your lonely heart keep time?
With the wings of the grouse
As he drums through the pines
Flushed when startled
Beautiful feathered designs
5. As you circle round the sun
May the spirits sing to you
In the voice of the trees
In the call of the loon
Scattered lightly
Stealing the light of the moon
6. As you fly among the stars
And you float above the clouds
Did you think you would fall
All the way to the ground
Holes in ozone
Circling a merry go round
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10. |
Roofer
03:43
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I was a roofer for two weeks…
Roofer
1. Started out working on the very first floor
I framed in a window and I framed a door
Raised the rafter and I nailed it down
I started roofing
And I went to town
Chorus
But when a roofer gets a raise
When a roofer gets a raise
When a roofer gets a raise
They just raise him up one floor
2. Well, my family was starving
I was feeling poor
I was shaking a roof up on the 7th floor
I went to the boss with a job well done
Said, “Can I have a raise?”
He said, “Listen son,
3. The rent went up
And the bank came around
And the roofer got a raise
Right out of town
Roofing in the city on the 21st floor
Said, “I sure don’t need no raise no more”
4. I sure felt sorry for the guy upstairs
Yea, his woman was crazy
And his kids were weird
I should’ve known it would get to me
Cause I got me a raise
And got his whole damn family
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11. |
Mother Said
05:39
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Some fun with Mother
Mother Said (This is what my mother said)
1. When I was just a little lad
My mother said to me
Son, don’t go down to Everett
Where life is very free
But I went down there anyway
She could not tell me ‘no’
If your mother says don’t do this
The opposite you go
One cold wintry morning
While snow lay on the ground
The trees were hung with icicles
So festive all around
The flag pole looked inviting
With frosty icy flakes
My mother said don’t lick it
But I licked it anyway (say with tongue stuck out)
Chorus:
Oh mother dear I’m sorry
Contrary as I be
I’ve written down and memorized
The things you said to me
Don’t do this and don’t do that
I might as well be dead
Though I didn’t listen
This is what my mother said
2. When I was just a young lad
I went off to the fair
My mother she had warned me
To be so careful there
I came upon a kissing booth
I up and paid my dime
I was on the road to ruin
I was 8 times in the line
The trouble at that kissing booth
Has caused me awful grief
My lips they felt like rubber
I can’t get no relief
I used to use my lips for good
Not sealed up like a mime
But now they’re good for nothing
They’re puckered all the time
Chorus:
Oh mother dear I’m sorry
Contrary as I be
I’ve written down and memorized
The things you said to me
Don’t do this and don’t do that
It’s underlined in red
Though I didn’t listen
This is what my mother said
3. My father warned me daily
Son, get a proper dog
A dog can hunt, a dog can warn
If trouble comes around
But the neighbor’s cat had kittens
I thought that I was strong
But when they climbed my pantleg
I had to take them home
At least I did not have a pig,
A monkey or a snake
A low down rhinoceros
Would be a big mistake
I could have had horse, of course,
I would have tried to ride
Instead, I bought a python
And mother’s still inside
Chorus:
Oh father dear I’m sorry
Contrary as I be
I’ve written down and memorized
The things you said to me
Don’t do this and don’t do that
It’s buzzing round my head
Though I didn’t listen
This is what my father said
4. Mom and dad both warned me
Stay out of Johnson’s yard
And don’t cut through their pasture
The long way’s not so hard
They’ve got a bull they’re breeding
He’s trouble guaranteed
Thank god there was a ladder
In Johnson’s apple tree.
If someone says they don’t believe
These stories that I tell
Just send them down to Johnson’s farm
They’ll see I’m doing well
I’m up here picking apples
I’m up here for the view
I’m waiting till that bovine
Has better things to do
Chorus:
Oh mom and dad I’m sorry
Contrary as I be
I’ve written down and memorized
The things you said to me
Don’t do this and don’t do that
Do something else instead
Though I didn’t listen
This is what my parents said
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12. |
Time Goes Slow
06:36
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A plea for change in times of Covid
I Saw Cowboys Going Home
1. I saw cowboys going home
Riding backwards through the storm
Silent movie, black and white
I still wonder why they’re riding tonight
And the time goes slow
Waiting for your love to find them
Far away from home
Fighting shadows in the canyon
I can hear the coyotes counting
All the days without a meal
I can hear the coyotes singing
You must pay for what you steal
As the sun sets in the West
And their riding days are done
I saw cowboys going home
2. I saw sailors going home
Badly beaten by Cape Horn
Big waves crashing
On the main
Dreaming of the day they see land again
And the time goes slow
Waiting for your love to find them
Far away from home
Running from the pirates’ cannon
I can hear the seabirds crying
To the oarsman in the scow
I can hear the seabirds crying
Save the sea and save it now
And the sun burns like a light house
As their sailing days are done
I saw sailors going home
3. I saw soldiers going home
Leaving fields without their guns
Hearts are broken
Damaged brains
Dreaming of the day they see peace again
And the time goes slow
Waiting for your love to find them
Far away from home
Far beneath the clouds of mayhem
I can hear the buzzards counting
As the violin plays reels
I can hear the buzzards counting
All the graves down in the fields
Still the sun stands like a beacon
Though the days will not be long
I saw soldiers going home
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13. |
Gospel Singer
03:18
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A street singer in Washington D.C.
Gospel Singer
1. The blind gospel singer
On the corner
Tapping on the curbstone with his cane
Holds a little tin cup for the money
Good God that tin cup never rusted
Like a singer in the rain
London Gin takes just a pint to freeze you
Oh, Detroit takes a gallon to burn
People walk these wooden streets
With their concrete shoes
Chorus
Oh sing and pray
Pray and sing
Till the walls of this city begin to ring
Can’t you feel it?
Can’t you see?
Oh, Do you always have to read it in a magazine?
2. Careful with your garbage in the city
Some folks bound to eat the hand me downs
Then I guess the kind of fool walks by me
Speaking quite profanely
Like a watch wound too tight
Oh sometimes this old city’s
Just my fortune
Sometimes this old city gets me down
Two hands on a beer mug
Will not drive away the cold
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14. |
Wheels
03:56
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At a bluegrass party in Siler City,N.C. the state patrol showed up to tell to get our wheels off the road or we would get towed
Wheels (Get Your Wheels Off the Road)
1. Back on the highway again
Like a mule behind a carrot
Just can’t win
Way out on the highway
Shaking his head
A white shirted Jesus turned to us and said
Hey there, weary people
Chorus
Get your wheels off the road
Get your hands off the wheel
I don’t want you to get towed away or killed
So damn easy just to stay right here
2. So good to see you my friend
Put your face into the sunshine
Your back to the wind
Way out on the highway
It’s dangerous to be
I went to sleep one night on River Road
Made connections with a tree
Said ‘Hello Tree’
Bridge (or third verse)
Those cathedral leaves are falling
The sun is almost GONE
Your eyes are like two headlights
On a ship that’s going down
Don’t go down.
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15. |
Pig
03:42
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Hard times
Pig
1. The dentist sure made faces
Raise another pig
The poor kid’s gotta have braces
We’ll raise another pig
This shopping bag is lighter than air
I bought the bus or they raised the fare
Great big holes in my underwear
We can almost make it to Wednesday
If we raise another pig
Chorus:
Raise another pig
Raise another pig
We can almost make it to Wednesday
If we raise another pig
2. The new car’s broke and we’ll give it back
Put the pieces in a sack
One month old and guaranteed
More good parts on a centipede
More damn fun than a pig to feed
We can almost make it to Wednesday….
3. Went to pay my mortgage
The bank said there’s a shortage
I sold the kids, and I sold the car,
I kept the dog and old guitar
The wife took off but she won’t get far
4. When it comes to health care
Might as well not be here
The doctor said it’s just your heart
We’ll ‘off’ one pig and get the part
Bring the pig in a shopping cart
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16. |
The Old Homestead
04:23
|
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My grandfather’s John Deere was a team of horses
The Old Homestead
Lay me down on the old homestead
My feet below my pillowed head
If I should die before I wake
The bank my John Deer tractor take
1.Staked a claim
And cleared a farm
Built a cottage, then a barn
A mighty dream, one humble sow
Twelve laying hens
They’re laying now
Married me a clever wife
And she brought crayons to my life
She colored all the Holstein cows
Black and white they’re
Purple now
Refrain:
And everyday
I’m farming
With my eyes on the sky
And every night I am singing
The farmer’s lullabye
Chorus:
Lay me down on the old homestead
Seems I never went to bed
Sunburned neck and bones that ache
My mind is playing patty-cake
2. To the barn to lock it tight
Count the pigs and shut the light
The old mare whinnied in her stall
And the cow kissed me goodnight
The moon was just a tiny spark
And the frog said “it’s too dark”
It’s cold and creepy in the pond
We’ll sleep and sing out on the lawn
Refrain
Chorus_2:
Lay me down before I die
Cook me like an apple pie
Roll me out and prop me up
Put some coffee in my cup
3. Now I lay me down for keeps
Kept awake by counting sheep
And then I count the rows of corn
And then the payments on the farm
The pig gets beer and pizza pie
The horse gets caviar and rye
If cows could wish upon a star they’d have endless salad bar
Refrain
Chorus 3:
Lay me down on the old homestead
My feet below my pillowed head
If I should die before I wake
The bank my John Deer tractor take
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J.W. McClure Seattle, Washington
J.W. McClure lives in Stanwood, Washington. This is a career restarted for me. In the 1970’s I was often an opening act at the Washington D.C. clubs, The Cellar Door and The Childe Harold for Tom Paxton, Dave Van Ronk, Tom Rush and many well known bands. In the 1980’s I returned to Washington to do folk music, satire and stand-up comedy before getting swamped by family and other work. ... more
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