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Washburn 1897 Style New Model 145

from Forgottonia by Chris Vallillo

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about

I love old guitars and have taken to restoring them, initially because that was the only way I could afford them! In the early 2000s, I was performing as the house musician on the Riverboat Twilight on the Mississippi River when Captain John Vaughn, told me about a guitar a friend of his wanted to sell, an old Washburn 145. He brought it aboard one day and it was a magnificent hot mess! I bought the guitar in pieces and spent the next ten years restoring it one bit at a time. This song tells it’s story...

lyrics

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

credits

from Forgottonia, track released August 31, 2022
Chris Vallillo, guitars, mandolins, bass, vocals

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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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