1. |
Ruben (and Ruby)
03:14
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Ruben had a train, run from England to Spain
He couldn’t get no letter from his home.
You ought to’ve been uptown when Ruben’s train rolled down
You could hear the whistle blow 100 miles.
If you don’t believe i’m gone watch this train that i crawl on
Lord i’m 900 miles away from home.
(Ruby said, she said: Ruben, lord, lord)
You’re 900 miles away from me and my child
Lord I wish you was 900 more.
Ruben you’re drunk you pawned your watch & trunk
And also your gold diamond ring.
If I say so would you moonshine no more
And break up your still and come home.
Ruben went to town, the police knocked him down
You could hear old Ruben holler 100 miles.
Ruben got killed on the C & O line
His poor body ain’t never been found.
They found his head in the driver’s wheel
A mile and a half from town.
I’m goin down the line where the sun don’t never shine
Gonna skid on that cold ice and snow.
You ought’ve been up town when Ruben’s train rolled down
You could near the whistle blow 100 miles.
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2. |
Belle of the Ball
02:59
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50 years married it’s their night tonight
Holdin’ hands--they step into the light
He puts his arm ’round her--they’ll lead the waltz
& show all these young folks the belle of the ball.
Sweet rose of summer
Fairest of all
His white haired beauty
His belle of the ball.
Sparkling eyes, smile up at him
He feels his heart melt as if he were 16
Turn back the years as they turn round the hall
Dancin’ on air with his belle of the ball.
Dear of his heart
Light of his soul
His white haired beauty
His belle of the ball.
So let’s have a toast & we'll strike up a tune
This night is theirs & when the party is through
They’ll go on home to the best part of all
Wakin’ up in the morning in each other’s arms.
Sun, moon, & stars
He has them all
In his white haired beauty
His belle of the ball.
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3. |
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There’s a jewel in my heart that is missing
Even tho the others still shine;
It’s a rare version of the gemstone of love
That used to shine in this jeweled heart of mine.
Oh how I wish you were with me
Missing you makes me blue;
Closin’ my eyes brings you almost in sight
In dreams I can wake holdin’ you.
Cho: My gemstone is missing & gone
& this ache in my heart takes his place
Won’t you shine your light on the pathway tonight
That leads to this jeweled heart of mine.
Much more than riches or fine things
A jeweled heart is precious indeed
But it can’t shine as bright without your sweet light
Come back to this jeweled heart & me.
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4. |
Light At the River
03:58
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There is a river we must cross over
When life’s sun goes to sleep in the West
There’ll be a light for me at the crossing
Guiding me safe to that home of sweet rest.
CHO:
There’ll be a light for me at the river
Guiding my soul over the foam
Down thru the valley, past the dark shadows
I know my light will guide me safe home.
When I shall reach the banks of the river
Where the chill waters murmur their song
Nothing to harm me, nothing alarm me
While I am sailing to my new home.
Down by the river soon I’ll be standing
Bidding farewell to friends left below
As loved ones free me, old friends will greet me
Shining their light at the river for me.
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5. |
Agate Hill
04:21
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O you weary, restless heart
Peace come to you now
Still your wild and wishful soul
Calm your troubled brow
Loose your crippled body’s ties
Let your spirit soar
Friends and loved ones guiding you
To new freedom’s shore.
CHO: Think of when you were a child
Dreams unbound by pain
Climbing up the agate hill
Wild and free again
Oh, it will be as then.
Your mama’s watching over you
Even from afar
All your children now are here
With you in your hour.
All the words we left unsaid
Flood into my soul
And I know you hear them now
Even as you go
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6. |
Dying Ranger
03:14
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The sun was sinking in the west and it fell with a lingering ray
Through the branches of the forest where a wounded ranger lay
Neath the shade of a palmetto and the sunset silver sky
Far from his home in Texas they laid him down to die.
Draw closer to me comrades and listen to what I say
I am going to tell a story while my spirit hastes away
Way back in northwest Texas that good old lone star state
There's one that for my company with a weary heart will wait.
A fair young girl my sister, my only joy and pride
I brought her up from childhood, I scarcely left her side
For our father he lies sleeping beneath the churchyard sod
And our mother, too, is resting in the bosom of her God.
I'm dying comrades dying, I must leave her all alone
Who will be to her a brother, who will take her in his home
Up spoke the noble rangers, they answered one and all
We will keep her as a sister til the last one of us falls.
One glad smile of pleasure o’er the Ranger’s face was spread
A dark and dusky shadow, and the ranger boy was dead
Far from his darling sister they laid him down to rest
With a saddle for a pillow and his gun across his breast.
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7. |
Rocky Road Blues
03:11
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CHO:
Lord the road is rocky but it won’t be rocky long (rep)
Another woman, has stole my man and gone.
Nowl I looked down the road as far as I could see (rep)
Everything I saw looked like trouble to me.
You never miss your water til the well runs dry (rep)
Never miss your baby, til he says goodbye.
I wish to the lord my baby’d come back home (rep)
I’m not so lonesome, I just don’t wanna live alone.
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8. |
Flame In My Heart
02:58
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YOU CHEATED ON ME (REP.)
I TRIED TO BE FAIR (REP.)
BUT YOU DON’T BELIEVE IN DOING YOUR SHARE
BUT I’VE LEARNED MY LESSON (REP)
& NOW I CAN SAY (REP.)
THE FLAME IN MY HEART IS DYING AWAY (IS DYING AWAY).
YOUR KISSES DON’T THRILL ME LIKE THEY USED TO DO
YOUR ARMS ONLY CHILL ME, I’M GLAD THAT WE’RE THRU
MY HEART WAS ONCE YEARNING ·REP.)
BUT NOW I CAN SAY (REP.)
THE FLAME IN MY HEART IS DYING WAY (IS DYING AWAY).
YOU FOOLED ME A WHILE (REP.)
YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE WISE (REP.)
YOU EVEN BELIEVED I FELL FOR YOUR LIES
BUT THE TRICKS TURNEDON YOU (REP.)
NOW GLADLY I SAY (REP.)
THE FLAME IN MY HEART IS DYING AWAY (IS DYING AWAY).
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9. |
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CHO:
LOVE IS A PRECIOUS THING I’M TOLD
BURNS JUST LIKE WEST VIRGINIA COAL
BUT WHEN THE FIRE BURNS DOWN IT’S COLD
THERE AIN’T NO ASH WILL BURN.
I HAVE SEEN RAIN ON CLOUDLESS DAYS
I HAVE SEEN SNOW THAT FELL IN MAY
SOME THINGS ARE ALWAYS BOUND TO CHANGE
THERE AIN’T NO ASH WILL BURN.
IN EVERY LIFE THERE COMES A TIME
WHEN THERE ARE NO MORE TEARS TO CRY
WE MUST LEAVE SOMETHING HERE BEHIND
THERE AIN’T NO ASH WILL BURN.
YOU SAY THIS LIFE IS NOT YOUR LOT
WELL I CAN’T BE SOMETHING THAT I’M NOT
CAN’T STOKE THE FIRE THAT WE AIN’T GOT
THERE AIN’T NO ASH WILL BURN.
THERE IS ONE LESSON I HAVE LEARNED
THERE AIN’T NO ASH WILL BURN
THERE AIN‘T NO ASH
THERE AIN’T NO ASH
THERE AIN’T NO ASH WILL BURN.
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10. |
Whole Lot of Used to Be
02:51
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CHO: See him walkin' on down the street
A little bit of swing and a little bit of beat
A little bit of truth and a little bit of cheat
And a whole lot of used to be.
Gracie's swingin' with him just a little bit behind
Two steps to his one and a worried smile
Tryin' to keep up but it ain't her style
And there but for Grace go I.
I was a good wife in the old-time way
And for a while I thought I was to blame
Yeah, I was a sweet wife, didn't make no waves
But the boat sank anyway.
Gracie she thought she got herself a good deal
Now he's a-runnin' her 'round like he did me
A worn out soul and a run down heel
And there but for Grace goes me.
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11. |
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LOVE WAS NEVER THE QUESTION BETWEEN YOU AND ME
LIKE A STAR WHEN WE’D LET IT SHINE
BUT IF LOVE WAS THE ANSWER FOR YOU AND ME
WE WOULDN’T BE SAYING GOODBYE.
CHO: AND IT'S HARD TO GO HOME
WHEN YOU'VE PAID FOR THE SHOW
BUT WE BOTH REALLY KNOW
THAT IT'S TIME TO LET GO
NO ONE’S TO BLAME, IT’S JUST A DIRTY SHAME
THAT LOVE’S NOT THE ANSWER SOMETIMES.
PRECIOUS TO ME ARE THE MEMORIES WE MADE
THEY’LL NOT TARNISH THOUGH THEY MAY FADE
AND A PART OF MY HEART WILL ALWAYS REMAIN
IN YOUR KEEPING FOREVER THE SAME.
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12. |
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Patchwork of thousands of precious names
There must be someone that you know
Woven together in a quilted frame
Names the loved ones won't let go.
CHO:
And I know that my name could be there
And I feel the pain and the fear
And as human love and passion do not make us all the same
We're counted not as numbers but as names.
We grieve for the mothers and the families
And I pray they'll meet again someday
But until that time I will carry the flame
As the numbers grow we'll not forget the names.
A lover, a carpenter, a brother, a friend
A sister, a minister, a monk
Each quilted piece holds a memory
Each memory helps us to go on.
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13. |
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I WAKE UP EACH MORNING TO A PICTURE OF LIFE
OUR IMAGE SO FINE, PERFECT HUSBAND & WIFE
BUT I WAKE UP AT NIGHT & THERE AIN’T NOTHIN’ RIGHT
WITH THIS PICTURE OF LIFE.
IT’S HARD TO ADMIT WHAT WE’VE KNOWN FOR SO LONG,
THAT GOIN’S GOOD AS GONE & WHAT GOES COMES ON ROUND
& LIFE’S OTHER SIDE IT’S COMIN ON DOWN
GOTTA JUMP OR I’LL DROWN.
I KNOW YOU’D KEEP TRYIN’ BUT THE PRICE IS TOO HIGH &
THE SWEET VELVET TIES OF YOUR SACRIFICE
WOULD LAY LIKE CHAINS ROUND THIS HEART OF MINE
DON’T YOU KNOW IT’S HARD TIMES.
BRIDGE: HARD TIMES BABY
GOT NO ONE ELSE TO BLAME IT ON
HARD TIMES BABY
IT’S LIFE’S OTHER SIDE COMIN’ DOWN.
HARD TIMES BABY
GOT NO ONE ELSE TO BLAME IT ON
HARD TIMES BABY
IT'S LIFE'S OTHER SIDE COMIN' DOWN
THINGS HAVE A WAY OF COMIN’ ON ROUND
& LIFE’S OTHER SIDE
LIFE'S OTHER SIDE
THE OTHER SIDE OF LIFE’S COMIN’ DOWN.
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14. |
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When I grow too old to dream
I’ll have you to remember
When I grow too old to dream
Your love will live in my heart.
So kiss me my sweet
Now let us part
And when I grow too old to dream
Your kiss will live in my heart.
When sundown’s shadows bring you near
I’ll have you to remember
Precious memories lingering here
Your love still lives in my heart.
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Alice Gerrard Durham, North Carolina
A singer and songwriter, Alice’s recordings with Hazel Dickens during the 1960s and ’70s influenced a generation of women musicians from Laurie Lewis to the Judds. Nominated for a Grammy in 2015, she was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Assoc. Hall of Fame in 2017. A documentary film about Alice, "You Gave Me a Song" premiered at the Full Frame Independent Film Festival in 2019. ... more
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