ALBUM NOTES

There’s a bat in the kitchen and a rat in the alley today     

I think about the burden of my life with feet of clay 

What I’ve been, oh, I was wrong,  

Why I did the things I’ve done 

What is lost and gone  

I listen for their howling every night until the dawn 

I can see their angry eyes and footprints in the lawn 

Snarling at my conscience until all my faith is gone 

The morning never comes when I’m    

Hounded by my demons   

Time makes sinners of us all, you wait and see 

No rest for the weary or the wicked, just ask me  

Maybe I’m not so wicked 

Just wayfaring as I go to the water  

I listen for their howling every night until the dawn 

I can see their angry eyes and footprints in the lawn 

Snarling at my conscience until all my faith is gone 

The morning never comes when I’m    

Hounded by my demons  

Damn you hounds, you don’t know the sum of me or what I’ll do    

In the simple light of day, I’m better now and that’s the truth I’ll make it to the river 

Drop my body down and rise again  

I listen for their howling every night until the dawn 

I can see their angry eyes and footprints in the lawn 

Snarling at my conscience until all my faith is gone 

The morning never comes when I’m    

Hounded by my demons  

In Monson, Maine, you won’t get far

With your worn-out boots and an old guitar

So I found a trucker in a John Deere hat

To take me down the line

100 miles to Casco Bay

Couple hundred more to the wedding day

I got a bridesmaid dress, a flower crown

I’ll drink that fancy wine

People will hoot and holler all the glory hallelujahs 

Flower girl throwing white rice in the straw

When the bride says they’re together ‘till death

I will hold my breath 

All my life I’m a run-around

If I could only change my ways

I left my heart by the side of the road

At milepost fifty-eight

Fell in love with a Midwest joe

But I could not take his hand

So here I am, bridesmaid on the highway

Trucker says, oh I miss my wife

But a girl like you could be my type 

I say, that’s nice, but I don’t think so

He calls hammer down on the CB radio

And the pine trees line the highway miles forever

Bobby said, baby, tell me now or it’s never

Like a swallow, off I flew 

To be somebody new

All my life I’m a run-around

If I could only change my ways

I left my heart by the side of the road

At milepost fifty-eight

Fell in love with a Midwest joe

But I could not take his hand

So here I am, bridesmaid on the highway

The sun sinks down in a golden glow

I think about everybody I let go

Listen to geese and the swallows high

Oh my God, I need more time

We’re driving down by the towns and the rivers and the valleys

Riding with a trucker in his John Deere hat and his loneliness 

The river flows and I will go and someday change my mind

All my life I’m a run-around

If I could only change my ways

I left my heart by the side of the road

At milepost fifty-eight

Fell in love with a Midwest joe

But I could not take his hand

So here I am, bridesmaid on the highway

Image: Hand and flower

Carbon light, hold on tight, there’s a rope to the bottom of the hole 

Indian Grave, don’t forget your soul 

You’ll want that that light when you leave the day and night in the back of your mind

Here you seek and see what you may find

Every white stalagmite cold against your feet and every

Gypsum fleck stalactite shining on the deepness

Of the walls and you may fall

We are lost in the heart of the darkness

Bats that keep a dreamless sleep in the folds of sediment stone

Haunted home, feel it in your bones

Beetles crawl the silty halls and wallow in the middle of the mud

Soothsayers drowning in the floods 

Garden of Eden, saltpeter and lime, these are the 

Forces of destruction and the markers of the time

From whence we came to make our claims

We are lost in the heart of the darkness

Bobcat, fox and coyote

Chickasaw and Cherokee

Wandering the Trail of Tears

But they left some of their people here 

Climb the stones in the Elders Dome to where the water lies still and deep

Pool of dark, rocks like jagged teeth

Rows of ribboned brown and blue on the walls in the riddle of a cave 

Consecrate these ancient graves

We are explorers of the world that came before, we are the

Conquerors of glory and the makers of the lore, we are the 

History of the enemies

We are lost in the heart of the darkness

We are lost in the heart of the darkness

We are lost in the heart of the darkness

Don’t forget your soul

Will-o-wisp 

Shining through the mist

It’s come to this

My shamanist who wants me to believe 

You persist

With the flowers in your fist

A vine around my wrist,

Oh ,I believe I’ll never leave, I’ll never leave

Part of me still lingers on the dark side

While the other a disciple in the trees

That will-o-wisp that glimmers in the moonlight

Always receding, always just beyond my reach

Holly trees

A cottage by the sea

The book you brought to me

The faded quilt, your dirty shoes, the blue rug on the floor

Part of me still lingers on the dark side

While the other a disciple in the trees

That will-o-wisp that glimmers in the moonlight

Always receding, always just beyond my reach 

Will-o-wisp

Shining through the mist

A path without a twist I want to believe, I’ll never leave, I’ll never leave

Time standing still

In the hellebores and rising daffodils

My hand pressing on your heart

Sweet spot between light and dark

Closer and closer and closer and closer, 

Ethereal and luminous

My sweet, endless equinox

Plentiful are the means of grace 

In the hours of the sun upon your face

Confessions of the dream I had of you

And the equinox of all the new

Closer and closer and closer and closer

Ethereal and luminous

My sweet, endless equinox

He came down the river to Winfield with a sparkle in his eyes  

The prospect of treasure, the promise of a better life  

A Bible in his left hand and in the right  

A tin pan and the open door of time  

You can’t cross those Clear Creek waters twice, but he knew

The illusions of the miners 

Would make this valley home

The winds rattle and blow, but there’s nobody home, just the rain and the snow

Cutting down to the bone, and you’re all alone 

Shadows in the doorways to remind you

Of the lost and the lonely souls 

in the dust of Winfield

You can walk one hundred miles and find Winfield waiting there 

Meet the ghosts of the town, or maybe you will bring your own 

Take your care and your sorrows if you want 

And the memories you carry like a   

stone 

To err is human, but to forgive, oh, you know

The bruises of the miners

Won’t help you atone

The winds rattle and blow, but there’s nobody home, just the rain and the snow

Cutting down to the bone, and you’re all alone

Shadows in the doorways to remind you

Of the lost and the lonely souls 

in the dust of Winfield

By the river down in Winfield, you’ll find an ember in the sage 

A spark that I left behind, 

From hot coffee on a chilly morn 

I wrote down every word across the page 

To the ghosts of long ago, all lost to thorns 

Everything that glitters is not gold, and I know

The delusions of the miners were something like my own 

The winds rattle and blow, but there’s nobody home, just the rain and the snow

Cutting down to the bone, and you’re all alone 

Shadows in the doorways to remind you

Of the lost and the lonely souls 

in the dust of Winfield

In the boarding house, I count the plates

This time I’ll make no mistake

I’ll bide my time

Sweep the dust off her keepsakes

Count the silver up to eight

Polished fine

Apologies are useless words

For a desperate, famished pair of birds

In the boarding house, I count the plates

This time I’ll make no mistake

I bide my time

Sweep the dust off her keepsakes

Count the silver up to eight

Polished fine

Apologies are useless words

For a desperate, famished pair of birds

When she slapped my hand, I cried out

Is she sorry now? Oh, I doubt it

But I need the money still, so I take a long breath 

I take a long breath

I take a long breath

My mistress has no love to lose

Heart is hard like a steel-toe shoe 

But once upon a time

She was the belle of Santa Blue

Now she’s said farewell to everyone she knew

Lost to fever and grime 

Of warships sunk at Gallipoli

Forever lost in the deepest sea 

When she called me names, I faltered

Is she sorry? Oh, I doubt it

But she has no one now, so I take a long breath 

I take a long breath

I take a long breath

I put aside my loneliness

I think about my soul 

I do what I have to do

To keep my body whole

I take a long breath

I take a long breath

I take a long breath

She knows the truth, I am no thief

Her silver hers alone to keep

I take my pay

I am a lone windflower leaf

I serve until her soul does sleep

My freedom day

Then back to Inverness I’ll go

And find the ones I used to know

When she threw the forks, I wilted 

Is she sorry? Oh, I doubt it

I need the money still, so I take a long breath 

I take a long breath

I take a long breath

I want to tell you something

It won’t take long

I said, Louie, better hold me now

Before I’m gone

I messed up, and I can’t pay 

I might not last another day

One more time to see your face

This might be my last mistake

I should have left Tullahoma in the morning

I could have been nowhere to be found

Now it’s too late—and soon they’ll come around

I played to win, 

but I lost it all

When the game was won 

I owed a lot of money to Henderson

I found a man in a silver suit

He said 2 percent is what I’ll do

I made it once, I missed it four

I got nothing left but this locked door

I should have left Tullahoma in the morning

I could have been nowhere to be found

Now it’s too late—and soon they’ll come around

Louie, babe, I’m sorry now

I should have left you out this 

But I can’t run without just one

Just one more kiss

Knock knock knock, they’re at the door

And I’m the one they’re asking for

I can run, but I can’t hide 

They’re kicking down the door to come inside

I should have left Tullahoma in the morning

I could have been nowhere to be found

But it’s too late—and now they’ve come around

Kickboard bopping in the splish-splash, Betty’s in the water

Swimsuit sequins sparkle in the sun

Purple hair slipping from her alabaster swim cap

Betty’s kicking steady like the strum of a guitar

Everybody says she’s the fire of the Avalon old folks

Rage at the dying light the best she can

But sometimes her body aches

From the weight of her mistakes 

Give her a note or two to rise again

Two guitars on the parlor walls

Seven more in the hall 

Nine guitars in the right place 

Betty’s got them all

Every shiny ring on her fingers tells a story

Tiny bells and color charms around her wrist

Jingle-jangle, dangling the old men over the dance floor

Boogie-woogie, jitterbug, slide and the old-school twist 

Christmas lights and fake firelight on the doorway

Betty’s playing long and hard against the night

But sometimes she feels the wind 

And she wants that light within

Give her a note or two to feel alright

Two guitars on the parlor walls

Seven more in the hall 

Nine guitars in the right place 

Betty’s got them all

People gather round ‘cause they want to hear Betty play aloha 

Sugar cookie crumbs across the floor

No one dim the lights when the night is upon us 

Jingle sticks and tambourines are waiting by the door

Betty says to shed no tears when she’s departing

Even if you’re thinking she left too soon

Well, everybody dies sometime

It weighs heavy on her mind

Give her a note or two, and she’ll feel better 

Two guitars on the parlor walls

Seven more in the hall 

Nine guitars in the right place 

Betty’s got them all

In the boarding house, I count the plates

This time I’ll make no mistake

I’ll bide my time

Sweep the dust off her keepsakes

Count the silver up to eight

Polished fine

Apologies are useless words

For a desperate, famished pair of birds

When she slapped my hand, I cried out

Is she sorry now? Oh, I doubt it

But I need the money still, so I take a long breath 

I take a long breath

I take a long breath

My mistress has no love to lose

Heart is hard like a steel-toe shoe 

But once upon a time

She was the belle of Santa Blue

Now she’s said farewell to everyone she knew

Lost to fever and grime 

Of warships sunk at Gallipoli

Forever lost in the deepest sea 

When she called me names, I faltered

Is she sorry? Oh, I doubt it

But she has no one now, so I take a long breath 

I take a long breath

I take a long breath

I put aside my loneliness

I think about my soul 

I do what I have to do

To keep my body whole

I take a long breath

I take a long breath

I take a long breath

She knows the truth, I am no thief

Her silver hers alone to keep

I take my pay

I am a lone windflower leaf

I serve until her soul does sleep

My freedom day

Then back to Inverness I’ll go

And find the ones I used to know

When she threw the forks, I wilted 

Is she sorry? Oh, I doubt it

I need the money still, so I take a long breath 

I take a long breath

I take a long breath

Leo’s brother Jack had seven lovers 

That’s what he said, the rowdy schemer

Leo was no ladies’ man, he had six fingers on one hand

A crooked leg, he was a dreamer

Leo loved that Kitty James, but she loved another

Tiny waist, angelic face, she never said, “He’s your brother.”

Blue-eyed brother told her no

Kitty closed her eyes and thought, real slow: I’ll take Leo. 

They married in the shade of fading cedars

And Kitty’s gown brushed against the ground

Leo wore a smile, but deep inside his mind the wheels were spinning

How to make her proud

Eight weeks by and he was Yukon-bound

He heard the golden treasure was just laying on the ground

Leo struck it poor, he didn’t last a year

Kitty wrote a letter said you better come back here

So back he goes

Back to Millinocket empty pockets, dirty shirt and torn-up shoes

Still a believer 

Kitty at the door of her father’s house, she said you’ll walk no more, 

Come and meet the boy 

For 30 years, they made a life and shared a bed 

Never made much money, but the little ones were always fed

Then Leo hit his head and to the Lord he goes 

Kitty held her breath and she said real slow

He’ll never know, he’ll never know, he’ll never know

Photo by Gundula Vogel via Pexels

He came down the river to Winfield with a sparkle in his eyes  

The prospect of treasure, the promise of a better life  

A Bible in his left hand and in the right  

A tin pan and the open door of time  

You can’t cross those Clear Creek waters twice, but he knew

The illusions of the miners 

Would make this valley home

The winds rattle and blow, but there’s nobody home, just the rain and the snow

Cutting down to the bone, and you’re all alone 

Shadows in the doorways to remind you

Of the lost and the lonely souls 

in the dust of Winfield

You can walk one hundred miles and find Winfield waiting there 

Meet the ghosts of the town, or maybe you will bring your own 

Take your care and your sorrows if you want 

And the memories you carry like a stone 

To err is human, but to forgive, oh, you know

The bruises of the miners

Won’t help you atone

The winds rattle and blow, but there’s nobody home, just the rain and the snow

Cutting down to the bone, and you’re all alone

Shadows in the doorways to remind you

Of the lost and the lonely souls 

in the dust of Winfield

By the river down in Winfield, you’ll find an ember in the sage 

A spark that I left behind, 

From hot coffee on a chilly morn 

I wrote down every word across the page 

To the ghosts of long ago, all lost to thorns 

Everything that glitters is not gold, and I know

The delusions of the miners were something like my own 

The winds rattle and blow, but there’s nobody home, just the rain and the snow

Cutting down to the bone, and you’re all alone 

Shadows in the doorways to remind you

Of the lost and the lonely souls 

in the dust of Winfield