1. |
Blood Suckers
03:54
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I'm gonna run down to the creek
I'm gonna jump in where it's deep
I'm gonna have to plug my nose
and I won't be wearing no clothes
I'm gonna float out on my back
It's hard to do 'cause I ain't got no fat
I'm gonna worry about the crayfish
I'm gonna worry about my toes
I'm gonna worry about the neighbor boy stealing my clothes
and the bloodsuckers
I'm gonna jump from stone to stone
I'm gonna find a deer jawbone
It'll bring me luck, that's what gramma says
Then I'm gonna slip and bang my head
I'm gonna run back to the house
black-cap brambles are gonna tear my blouse
and after my papa chews me out
I'm gonna fall asleep on the couch
And I'm gonna dream about the crayfish dancing with the neighbor boy
and the bloodsuckers
Papa pays the bills, papa pays the rent
but to pay for gramma's pills
takes every God damn cent, every sorry cent
In the morning we'll drive to the funeral
Papa gonna let me hold the stearing wheel
I'm gonna cry out my eyes
stand by gramma's grave and sigh
Later on at the wake
I'm gonna feel guilty eating cake
when it comes time to say goodnight
gonna hug my papa and think about wrong and right
I'm gonna curse the crayfish and curse that neighbor boy
and curse the blood suckers
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2. |
At the Fair
04:53
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It's the end of summer and you're bored to tears
killing time looking forward to the fair
You'll sneak in through the service gate
it's easy to do during the firemen's parade
At the fair...
Snow cones and taffy, sausage and peppers
try not to notice some carnies look like leppers
An empty beer can in your hand
you're too young to drink but you pretend you can
At the fair...
meet me at the fair, all our friends will be there
we can hang out on the midway
ride the Ferris wheel at the end of the day
Teenagers gather behind the livestock hall
the boys have the girls pinned up against the wall
Fat girls flirting with skinny fags
they carry gold fish in plastic bags
At the fair...
You freaked out on a ride so the carny let you off
but people laughed so you walked home in a huff
Later on, sleeping in the back yard
the Ferris wheel lights compete with the stars
At the fair...
kiss me at the fair, hug me and I'll smell you hair
lead me on in that special way
and break my heart by the end of the day
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3. |
Redwood
05:16
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Mama, she's home late from work
she don't wanna make dinner
Jr.'s in a funk 'cause big sister's a jerk
Tempers are starting to simmer
It's time to go out to eat
they don't want TV dinners
time to go out to eat
and then maybe later a little something sweet
Grandpa, well he's a pain in the ass
he's a tyrant in his electric wheelchair
and the late night nursing home staff
would be better off if he wasn't there
It's time to go out to eat
he don't want TV dinner
time to go out to eat
and then maybe later a little something sweet
Dimly lit screened-in porch
picnic tables, a gravel floor
soft-serve window and a citronella torch
there's a little bell that jingles
when you walk through the screen door
Welcome to the Redwood Diner
Brother, he eats breaths and sleeps basket ball
sister, she cheers from the sideline
they lost the game and their spirits fall
they don't wanna hear, "better luck next time"
It's time to go out to eat
they don't want TV dinners
time to go out to eat
and then maybe later a little something sweet
Dimly lit screened-in porch
picnic tables, a gravel floor
soft-serve window and a citronella torch
there's a little bell that jingles
when you walk through the screen door
Welcome to the Redwood DIner
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4. |
Marking Time
07:08
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Dust settles on the chicory,
sullies the Queen Anne's lace
tar bubbles crackle under the wheels
as school bus pulls away
And it's the start of another beaten dog day
The driveways a long carpet of gravel
off to one side's a tired bed of perennials
longing for the glory days
as their pastel beauty fades
And it's the start of another beaten dog day
The screen door slams
and stalls the cicada's buzz
the noon day whistle tries to budge the line
for a chance to wake your soporific mind
You pass the morning with canning and dishes
lunchtime's a dull meal in front of the tube
the soap opera's transgressions are delicious
but the children will be home soon
And it's the middle of another beaten dog day
The bumble bees play the trumpet vines
the clothesline is hung with wet towels
the swimming hole was churned for a time
but it currently etched by swallows
And it's the middle of another beaten dog day
And the screen door slams
and quiets the crickets fuss
the evening breeze tries to budge the line
for a chance to wake your soporific mind
And the evening promises twilight
azure horizon above the pines
stereo volume is set just right
fireflies marking time for fireflies and you
A single bed a pillow for your head
a sheet is sufficient for your warm skin
to soak up tears, to drink up sweat
as illicit dreams electrify your skin
And it's the end of another beaten dog day
And the evening delivered twilight
the sky above the pines was blue
stereo volume set just right
the fireflies, well they're still marking time for you
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5. |
Snowman
03:52
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Hey mama, why'd you have to drown that rabbit?
hey mama, what do you mean you gotta kick the habit?
Well you know, the rabbit got mauled by the dog
well you know, smoking's not good for you at all
Hey sister, why am I scared at night?
hey sister, why do I need a night light?
Well you know, night time is when we're most alone
well you know, the sun's gonna greet you in the morning
Thunderstorm's coming and it makes me nervous
thunderstorm's coming and my stomach's hurting
thunderstorm's coming and it makes me nervous
I'm gonna go inside and draw the curtains
Hey brother, why do I have to wrestle in school?
hey brother, why do the other boys break the rules?
Well you know, it's important to be tough
well you know, to win, some people play rough
Hey papa, why'd you punch a hole in that wall?
hey papa, what do you mean you're gonna leave in the fall?
Well you know, it's hard to control my anger sometimes
well you know, everybody must pay for their crimes
Snowstorm's coming and it makes me glad
snowstorm's coming and it makes me happy
snowstorm's coming and it makes me glad
I'm gonna go outside and build a snowman
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6. |
Winter Pear
05:02
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Beech trees, oaks and maples
a one hundred year lease
on goldenrod milkweed and thistles
and a vintage Shasta trailer
Scabby apple trees
a gnarled old winter pear
hived-off honey bees
black caps and june berries
I'm lounging in a cedar chair
on a crooked porch
it's lunchtime, I'm eating a sandwich
I made myself
With bread I baked myself
lettuce I grew myself
corned-beef I brined myself
and a bottle of beer I brewed myself
I'm sorry, that I can't live with you
sorrier that I can live without you
simplicity, won't you visit me
Azaleas, dogwoods and rhodies
a fixed rate 30 year mortgage
on fescue sod, quack grass and dandelions
and a brand new heat exchanger
Coffee's burnt, computers on the fritz
the boys want the sound card fixed
tried to clean the garage and made it worse
basement's hell-on-earth, the plumbing's a curse
I'm slouching in a folding chair
on a cement porch
it's lunchtime, I'm ignoring a sandwich
you bought yourself
Wrapped in plastic you unwrapped yourself
with lettuce that's still crunchy somehow
roast beef you hope won't give me mad cow
and a can of beer you cracked for me
I'm sorry, you can't live without me
sorrier that you can, live with me
simplicity why'd you leave me
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7. |
What's the name?
04:51
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What's the name of that plant
old wives used as poultice to heal broken limbs
a cloud of flowers crowns the stem
what's the name of that plant?
What's the name of that plant
bright yellow spathe and spadix some people eat it when it's young
it sprouts early and it stinks
what's the name of that plant?
Every bouquet has a flower
many branches make a bower
the smallest fish is full of power
and I grow older hour by hour
What's the name of that tree
used as fence posts it won't rot for years
it's got thorns for careless hands
what's the name of that tree
What's the name of that tree
scrape the roots and it smells like rootbeer
they make a spice out of the cry leaves
what's the name of that tree?
Every bouquet has a flower
many branches make a bower
the smallest fish is full of power
and I grow older hour by hour
What's the name of that fish
the Griswold boy caught down by the Waterburg bridge
the story goes that it was 18 inches long
what's the name of that fish?
What's the name of that other fish
lives in muddy water, it's got poison spines on its gills
it swallows the hook without fail
what's the name of that fish?
Every bouquet has a flower
many branches make a bower
the smallest fish is full of power
and I grow older hour by hour
There is a place I long to be
I know the plants I know the fishes and the trees
where I grow stronger as I breathe
tell me why did I leave?
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8. |
Inheritance
06:51
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Minnows suck the gravel on the point bar
swallows fall from nests on the cut bank
a farmer on his tractor mows his field
of timothy, rye grass and cleavers
the house on the hill behind him holds
his family of true believers
and out in the distance a vulture waits patiently
Darning needles mate acrobatically on the joe-pie weed
cottonwoods release their fluffy reproductive parts
back from 12 years of subterranean exile broadcasting their passion
from the treetops are thousands of cicadas
the farmer's wife is in the garden cutting back
the sucker shoots on the tomatoes
and out in the distance a vulture loops expectantly
Oh, the inheritance of the meek
Have you heard the one about the farmer's daughter?
God gave woman as a gift to man, in Sunday school
that's what they taught her, but when an
unnamed man mislead her and forced her hand
in a sexual situation, she found herself, in the eyes of the Lord and her community,
in a compromised position. Why did she give in?
and out in the distance a vulture lands gracefully
A tidy package showed up on the surface of the landfill today
the farmer and some hands showed up at lunch time to spirit it away
there was one amongst them who's stomach turned and went sour
at the sight of all the garbage, the noise from the dozers, the crows and seagulls, and the smells that were so powerful
and out in the distance a vulture feeds unselfconsciously
Oh, the inheritance of the meek
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9. |
Easy to judge
05:24
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Counting on the break of day
for sun to keep the rain a bey
90 acres cut and dry
my right=hand man was by my side
Every field was raked and baled
while the sun above us sailed
sun-burnt backs and red-rimmed eyes
every bale was stacked inside.
Through summer's heat and summer's haze
silently we toiled the days away
a good man is hard to find, harder still to know his mind
I'd heard talk about a checkered past
a tragic play with a desperate cast
but I knew better than to heed
idle gossip from hayseeds
I cared not what he had done
a gambling man or a hired gun
he'd come to me a year before
proved to me his skill at every chore
As we bid farewell to August
the fateful harvest fast upon us
I knew something was wrong, he would not be with me long
My fondness for him was strong
like a brother he'd become
but when he begged my daughter's hand
a heat rose in me, I didn't understand
Angrily I asked him why?
was he not content to work by my side?
I claimed fraternity was ripe
with satisfactions not found in a bride
He stood his ground and asked again
would offer him my daughter's hand
my heart broke I filled with rage, I rushed upon him with my field rake
In the cornfield on that day
the day they took the pigs to slaughter
I struck that man in such a way
that he would never love my daughter
In the cornfield on that day
the day they took the pigs to slaughter
in my defense all I can say
he loved not me, he loved my daughter
A good man is hard to find
harder still to know his mind
a troubled man is easy to judge, when his hands are bathed in blood
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Daniel Heila & Daniel Boone's Fault Eugene, Oregon
Podunk expat living in Oregon trying to remember to put the chickens in and the cats out at night. Will the woodshed ever get built? I wonder. Somewhere between family and fortune is a bit of quiet space where I get a song written now and then.
Contact Daniel Heila & Daniel Boone's Fault
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