1. |
The King of Iowa
04:21
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'Neath an old straw hat With a battered brim
He stands like an oak tree Warped by the wind
He sways with the music, Then stands like a stone
As he throws off a lick
That cuts right to the bone,
As the thunder breaks Somewhere just out of sight The King of Iowa plays tonight
All the years on the road Have left their trace
Like a corn field’s furrows Cut across his face
But when he bends to the music It all fades away
Like the break of dawn
On a brand new day
In between the splinters of darkness and light The King of Iowa plays tonight
You know that sound
You’ve heard it all before
It’s the Hawkeye wind
And the John Deere roar
It’s a storm on the Prairie
The locomotive moan
It’s the Iowa blues,
With a tremolo drone
You can find him standin there Just stage right
The King of Iowa plays tonight
Silhouette in the glow of the hot stage light The King of Iowa plays tonight
Standing there playing with all of his might The King of Iowa plays tonight
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2. |
The Bootlegger
03:15
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3. |
Forgottonia
04:07
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Little town news
Rusty old horseshoes
Hanging up above the weather door
Old Maple trees
A sultry summer breeze
Waltzin’ cross the summer kitchen floor
And down on the town square
All the kids are hangin ‘round
Swappin’ lies and sneakin’ their first beers
When the sun goes down
They’ll be heading out of town
Gonna spin those tires
And bang those gears
Not promenades
Of old men in the shade
Spittin’ out tobacco on the ground
Battered decoy ducks
Hang from rusted pickup trucks
By the bandstand in the middle of the town
And up at the cafe,
You can cat h the latest news
Who left who and how the crops are doin’
Randy wrecked his truck
That boy always had bad luck
Mary says the sweetcorn’s coming in real soon
Sometimes you can hear it
Just beyond the fading light
The echos of the last come back to call
Like some old fiddler’s tune
Heard beneath a harvest moon
The one that haunts your mind
But you can’t quite recall
Little town blues
Rusty old horseshoes
Hanging up above the weather door
Old Maple trees
A sultry summer breeze
Waltzin’ cross the summer kitchen floor
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4. |
When Whiskey Had Wheels
03:36
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Words and Music, Ken Carlysle
I’m gettin' all jacked up on caffeine
While they load me up at the shack
Gotta 44 Ford
Got Beefed up springs
In a big black Cadillac
About 105 miles to Ashville
With a load of shine in the back
Well I’m a runaway train goin/gone crazy
Just about to jump the track
Chorus:
Feel hear that motor roar
Hear those tires squeal
Junior comin’ down the mountain
Back in the days
when whiskey had wheels
Run by the light of the moon
Through those black Wilkes County pines
Well I’m a one step ahead of the revenuer man
and I’m one step over the line
I’m gonna feed my wife and babies
When I get this whiskey sold
Pay my tithe to the preacher man
This whiskey’s good as gold
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5. |
Ma Belle
02:56
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6. |
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Bought her from a riverboat pilot
Who was selling it for a friend
I gave him 150 bucks
Just to take it off his hands
The battered ghost of an old guitar
Most folks would throw away
Once a fancy, painted lady,
Now the picture of decay
But I could see beyond the damage,
The splits and cracks and wear
It’d been a well made instrument
Built with craftsmanship and care
And as I reached inside the sound hole
To wipe away the grime
I read “Washburn 1897 Style,
New Model, 145”
Brazilian Rosewood back and sides
Cut from old growth trees
Trimmed in herringbone and pearl
Like some ancient Grecian frieze
The back was split and falling off
Parts were rattling ‘round inside
That Washburn 1897 Style
New Model 145
Break:
Some things they are worth saving, some things worth fighting for
Something to remember when when the winds howl at your door
Now I believe guitars have songs in them
Hell, some might even have a soul
And fixing up that beat up box
Became my greatest goal
As the years went by I slowly worked
Till I made it come alive
The Washburn 1897 Style
New Model 145
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7. |
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8. |
Carry On
03:52
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Time is like a river
That carries you along
Moving ever forward
On a journey that goes on and on
Moments fly right by you
Like autumn leaves in wind
Seconds in the sunlight
That spin, then disappear again
Then we carry on
Oh, we carry on
Once you took me by the hand
To help me cross the street
But now it’s you who holds my arm
To stay steady on your feet
The child is the parent
The parent now the child
I feel your world grow dimmer
As your heart stands reconciled to carry on
Oh, you carry on
Bridge:
The wind blows gently through the trees
The leaves drift slowly down
They lie scattered ‘cross the path
In shades of scarlet, gold, and brown
Break:
So take my hand, I’ll walk with you
Through the dappled shade
Along that winding river
as the sunlight starts to fade
And when the dark has fallen
and your last breath is drawn
In the afterglow of that waning day
I will heed the call and carry on
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9. |
Route 66
04:18
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Neon cowboys on motel signs
Red dust blowin’ from the closed down mines
Three years old in a coon skin cap
Everything we owned in the car was packed
Sayin’ goodbye to everyone we knew
For a two lane highway heading into the blue
On Route 66, yea Route 66
Up to the land of money, milk and honey
All the south’s just a hungry mouth
Radio playing something new
At the edge of some dream we were slippin’ through
On Route 66, on Route 66
Cigarette smoke through the window crack
Green hills goin’ never comin’ back
Grown up talk from the big back seat
Half bald tires hummin’ each main street
Chain of Rocks Bridge as the sun went red
Blessed Assurance singing in my head
On Route 66, yea route 66
Up to the land of money, milk and honey
All the south’s just a hungry mouth
Radio playing something new
At the edge of some dream we were slippin’ through
On Route 66, on Route 66
Break
Ah Mississippi River black and straight down
Goin’ over no more turnin’ around
Half moon risin’ over Ozark loam
I thought the other half was still at home
The land grew black and the dark rang deep
Headlights nod but I couldn’t sleep
Big city risin’ like some corn fed con
At the edge of some dream we were hangin on
Mamma and Papa and the little boy
From the show me state to Chicago Illinois
On Route 66, yea route 66
Up to the land of money, milk and honey
All the south’s just a hungry mouth
Radio playing something new
At the edge of some dream we were heading into
On Route 66, on Route 66
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10. |
Cliche' Rag
03:13
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11. |
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Written by Fred Henson and Earl Shelton
Near a little country schoolhouse in the county known as Wayne
It was down in Pond Creek bottoms, one day a man was slain
He was driving on the highway to see about some grain
When they shot him from an ambush
Carl Shelton was his name
Now little did he know this morn he started out
These hoodlums would be waiting there along this murder route
He had no one to warn him, he feared no rude man’s harm
As he rode his Jeep that morning to work down on the farm
Chorus:
He left his dear old mother there in sorrow there alone
Living down near Marion in her little country home
May the angels hover over her for she hasn’t long to stay
In hopes she’ll meet her darlin’ in a better world some day
Near the county seat of Fairfield they could not find the bill
But we all know that it’s not right our fellow man to kill
They even shot him where he fell and left him there to die
This mystery will be solved one day in the courthouse in the sky.
He had four loyal brothers, two sisters and a wife
To mourn his sad departure the day they took his life
In Maple Hill they laid him so peacefully there to rest
But his memory it still lingers with the ones that knew him best.
Chorus:
He left his dear old mother there in sorrow there alone
Living down near Marion in her little country home
May the angels hover over her for she hasn’t long to stay
In hopes she’ll meet her darlin’ in a better world someday.
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12. |
Softly and Tenderly
02:05
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Chris Vallillo Macomb, Illinois
Chris Vallillo is a singer/songwriter and folk musician who makes the people and places of “unmetropolitan” America come to
life in song.
Performing on six-string and bottleneck slide guitars and harmonica, Vallillo weaves original, contemporary, and traditional songs and narratives into a compelling and entertaining portrait of the history and lifestyles of the Midwest.
... more
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