Appalachian Heart

by Don Auber

Appalachian Heart cover art
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1.
03:33
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2.
04:07
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3.
03:42
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4.
04:03
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5.
04:15
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6.
03:08
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7.
03:33
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8.
02:05
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about

All songs by Don Auber,
copyright 2011 BMI

Independently recorded, mixed and mastered
in the attic of a shotgun shack somewhere around
the Five Points of Athens, GA

credits

released 10 September 2011
Don Auber: guitars, banjo, harmonica, vocal
Adam Poulin: fiddle on "Thawing Wind" and "Smoke & Steam"
Buster the dog: howling intro to "Saratoga"

cover art "Parthenon in My Pocket"
painting by Ryan Guillaume
please visit www.ryanguillaume.com

tags

tags: folk alt-folk americana indie rock Athens

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all rights reserved

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Track Name: Saratoga
I was born at thirty three and jumped out on the track
shed the speed and shed the need to haul it on my back
as the train goes sinking where that evening sun goes down
I think you think that I'm the mule that you ride into town

I can run like a thoroughbred, run like Man O' War
and I didn't even leave a note so sorry on that score
I know you need bread and milk and money for that gown
cause you still think I'm the mule that you ride into town

but not no more

I'm on fire, I'm on the loose
gonna lead at Saratoga
soon as I hop on this caboose
Cannon shot, piping hot
like an old tin coffee cup
stained and full of bitter brew
used but I aint used up

Somewhere a sick old man squints before the sun
he quotes Ecclesiastes and reaches for his gun
he's got a spavined hound, dirty and broke down
all his life he's been the mule that someone rode to town

but not me
Track Name: Black Sunday
my brother woke me a-shakin my arm
dawn was an hour away
said grab you coat and grab your gun
we aint goin to church today

I was dreamin of a serpent risin up
I was dreamin of a lonely hill
standin naked and my brother gone
but I am unstripped of my will

strange dream....

so I got up slow and I got my things
the world was cold and dim
daddy been gone a month an a half
and this was owed to him

I shivered and stamped on through the woods
through snow and frozen mud
pushing against the icy fear
pulled by my fierce blood

oh mama, where we gonna go when we die?
I aint really gonna see my dad again, am I?
wish we could let em go,
wish we could let em go,
wish we could let em go, one an all
that first grievance, who among us can recall?

we set our rifles in the crooks of trees
on a bluff in the early light
my breath was like a ghostly mist
risin past the sight

aiming down on old Zane’s road
where Gentry would come on by
on his way to see the Reverend Lee
instead we’re gonna see his babies cry

oh mama, where we gonna go when we die?
.....

his family finally came round the bend
ole Gentry leadin the way
he had a rifle upon his knee
just like he did last christmas day

I tried to think if I could turn my cheek
it all would end right here
then I pulled the trigger and he toppled off
and the distant screams near burst my ears

like god pulled him off that wagon seat
and strewn his brains upon the snow
I always been a failure anyway,
maybe more than I can ever know
Track Name: Thawing Wind
Out alone in the winter rain
the earth and I give and take the pain
I cradle mine like an orphan child
you gave it to me and I want it a while

My shoes are heavy, feet are dead cold
and my wedding ring has just been sold
forget all the hunger, feed off the shame
when I left this town I left my name

now it's cold again,
but if you let me back in
we can welcome the winter
all to better feel the thawing wind

It was indian summer I do recall
when your back was up against the wall
I take up the rake and scythe and spade
and easy dream and a hard earned wage

I hopped a train but it skipped the track
I stole that car but I gave it back
all for this bright image of you
one you yourself would not own to

now it's cold again,
but if you let me back in
we can welcome the winter
all to better feel the thawing wind

Neither one's sure what the other requires
but you and I both know who started that fire
when my lips are unsealed from the wet ash
I'll laugh the worst laugh that I ever laughed

Cause it's hard for me to keep my word
when well laid plans have been disturbed
Three foggy mornings and one rainy day
will rot our fence by the end of May

but now it's cold again.....
Track Name: Hammer and the Anvil
Sun peekin through the pines, this morning I'm a-travelin'
paths cross like spiderwebs as I follow
My friend I wish we had not met with so few days to go
From Atlanta to Virginia, you must have moved too slow

Swaying in the breeze my friend, what a price we pay
Hold on mam and help me dig his grave
Should we find a roof today, should we find a bed?
Son, if we don't get moving soon we too will be swinging dead

I'm breaking rocks in the morning and I do it all for you
My hands ache in the evening and I do it all for you

My shadow is rising, blood runs down my legs
the thorns grab and pull me back again
No tracks on this railroad, aint no train to ride
Now the daylight has risen, we find a place to hide

So tell the southern blacksmith hold on another day
His hammer and his anvil I'm between
Now the next miles are crucial past the Appalachian mines
I got trouble back in Savannah, lighting up the Georgia pines

I'm breaking rocks in the morning and I do it all for you
My hands ache in the evening and I do it all for you
Track Name: Braggart #9
I swear I'd yell:

I strangled a bear, drowned a whale
handcuffed lightning, threw thunder in jail
I murdered a rock, injured a brick
I'm so mean I make medicine sick
my fists are like two granite stones
you could make railspikes from my bones
I've heard every word you've ever prayed
the devil is my kitchen maid
Mama was a bobcat, daddy is a bull
come test your meddle hot and full
I can burn the sun, suck dry a brook
I can eat more chicken than your girl can cook
I bathe in poison, don't you know
drink more blood than a carrion crow
I set the time, I make it stop
the hour's upon you and I'm the clock
Track Name: Smoke & Steam
Me and Jack mixing up the mash
got twenty pounds of corn boiling into cash
hiding out beneath the moon, pistol in my hand
gotta keep a sharp eye for the revenue man

Easy now Jack, don’t be a goddamn fool
got to keep our nerve we’ve gotta keep our cool
you know the wind plays tricks bouncing off the creek
and by noon we’ll double up on any coal mine week

Burn off that smoke and steam
White lightning, an alchemist's dream
fill the air with smoke and steam
turns dirty pockets gold if the water’s runnin clean

Jack now I hear him too, them footsteps haven’t slowed
he’s smellin untaxed whiskey from a taxpayer’s road
well if his mind can’t be bought, if his reason aint for sale
I got six ways too keep us out of jail
Track Name: 'Till Death Do Us Part
I married Silas Tull
the year my daddy fled town
same year my mama died
and I alone laid her body down

He was never home
when the river brought a flatboat
with women from Chester
and dealers from up in Barlow

No he was never home
till he swayed in the moonlight
with whiskey on his breath
and a mind to start a fight

He took me by the hair
and showed me his boot heel
when I wouldn't cook his drunken mouth
a midnight meal

Till death do us part
that's what I said to Silas Tull
He broke my heart
but I won't break my word to god

His hands went round my throat
his breath was strong as train smoke
my feet rose off the floor
until my neck was nearly broke

He chased me outside
and threw me on the woodpile
I took up the axe and swear
I saw the devil crack a smile

I ran and hid out by the well
he was callin out my name
and when he stumbled by
I came forth and swung that heavy blade

He fell over the rim
he vanished to the bottom
he moaned all through the night
and was silent by the morning light

Till death do us part
that's what I said to Silas Tull
He broke my heart
but I won't break my word to god
Track Name: Appalachian Heart
when you fall out of the tree
when yer eyes should bleed for the things they see
when yer ears are blighted from the news they hear

when it's harvest time on the family farm
and fire is set to yer daddy's barn
I'll be hiding out, waiting for the smoke to clear

when yer brother strives to be a common thief
when yer mother speaks only of curse and grief
you can turn to me and my appalachian heart

don't have a dollar but I got stubborn roots
and I got a thick pair of leather boots
for I always doubt that my car will start

but we'll be alright baby we aint like the rest
we don't know whose god is the best
we aint two lambs waiting for the slaughter

I know a swamp trail no dog can track
so if you stumble just climb on my back
I was born knee deep in dark water