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Seven Is the Number

by Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    This album was in the works at the time Dave Carter died in 2002. Tracy finished the mixing and tracking and released the album four years later. The CD is being reprinted in 2018 to meet renewed demand, with new eco-friendly packaging, CD, and a 12-page booklet. Features the singalong, "Gun-Metal Eyes."

    Includes unlimited streaming of Seven Is the Number via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 13 Tracy Grammer releases available on Bandcamp and save 10%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of I'll Be Here in the Morning (Single), If I Needed You (Single), American Noel (Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer), The Verdant Mile EP, Low Tide, Joy My Love (EP), Little Blue Egg, Book of Sparrows EP, and 5 more. , and , .

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1.
mercy my daddy like to roll them bones seven is the number of a man son, don't you wander through this world alone seven is the number of a man high is the mountain, deep is the sea green is the valley where she waits for me wild, wild river, run to my hand seven is the number of a man how will i find her in the trackless night? seven is the number of a man follow the dipper to the mornin light seven is the number of a man high is the mountain ... one is for all the world in a bright rainbow two for the sky above and the earth below three for the seeker on the desert plain four for the flower in his hand five is for pleasure, six for pain seven is the number of a man high is the mountain ...
2.
baby i was born to the blood in the service of the lord of hosts marched through the valley of the shadow of death at the biddin of the holy ghost baby i would hey, baby, you know i can holy fire down in my belly and brimstone in my eyes everything that a woman might need and the need just might arise i'm a light-bringer and a soul-singer i'm a snake-handlin man six-foot cottonmouth hangin from a tree on a sultry summer night sling that serpent around my neck and i take him for a ride baby i would hey, baby, you know i can 'cause i got a heart that shines in the dark like the road to the pearly gates you come creepin up the slow lane baby but you know i just can't wait i'm a fire-walker and a straight-talker i'm a snake-handlin man mix that poison up good and strong and lift it to my lips i'll go preachin in the pale moonlight with a viper in my grip baby i would hey, baby, you know i can nobody gonna turn me 'round or make me feel ashamed i got the power and i got the right, i'm written in the book of names wadin that river jordan i'm a snake-handlin man well i got the armor and i got the shield and i got the sword of truth takin that angel harp in hand, gonna pick it with a rattler's tooth baby i would hey, baby, you know i can build this tower on the rock of ages and it reaches to the sky straight and tall as jacob's ladder, i'm here to testify can i get a witness i'm a snake-handlin man speakin in lost tongues sayin praised be jesus i'm a snake-handlin man
3.
Red (Elegy) 03:31
my love is like a red, red rose snake on her shoulder and a ring in her nose sleepin it off in her swaddlin clothes innocent as she lies i don't know where she come from hangin with dealers and slick-back scum dreamin of a summer that never comes and waitin for me to die she is the daughter of the joshua tree long time losers and o.g. wannabes mama's in the corn and the fields are fallow soul needs savin but i'm too damned shallow sweet maria she's a pretty little nine kicks like a mule but she barks just fine i ain't cleaned her in a mighty long time takin her out tonight dip her in a bucket of kerosene mr. rogers on my t.v. screen friendliest sucker i ever seen we are precious in his sight cause we are the children of the joshua tree longtime losers and o.g. wannabes mama's in the corn and the fields are barren roof needs fixin but i'm way past carin ophelia's drownded in the cold, cold flood a thorn by any other name draws blood deep red drops on a scarlet bud daddy we comin home we don't know where home lies now but we'll turn up there some damned how drawn to the barn and the busted plow and the graves all overgrown we are the children of the joshua tree longtime losers and o.g. wannabes mama's in the corn and the field's been trampled you can't reason with a soul in shambles
4.
brother and sister, mama and pa livin in a trailer in arkansas when ya comin home son, well i don't know still got a couple wild oats to sow cause i'm just doin what i do best livin out the legend of the golden west flyin like an eagle, walkin like a man chasin my angel through the promised land friday evenin when the sun go down it's a five-star party in a one-bar town dawn come early but that's all right we can get a head start on saturday night cause i'm just doin what i do best runnin with the devil and the dispossessed waitin on a mission, tryin to make a plan chasin my angel through the promised land people say son you're gonna come to harm better fly right, better stay down on the farm but there ain't no farm left to stay down on and all of my reasons for stayin are gone i don't know, but i've been told a yankee politician ain't got no soul my mama said it and i believe it's true they don't give a damn about me and you cause they just doin what they do best workin for the rich, and stealin from the rest so put me on a highway, catch me if you can chasin my angel through the promised land now one fine mornin when my ship come in gonna pack my fortune, take it home again stack my sorrows like stones until i have build me a mansion on a high, high hill cause i'm just doin what i do best settin up my table in the wilderness swimmin in the river, dancin in the sand chasin my angel through the promised land chasin my angel through the promised land chasin my angel through the promised land
5.
Hey Tonya 03:50
jack be nimble, jump and spin jack's a little hard to handle but he plays to win now the sheep's in the meadow, and the kids are sleepin little bo peep, she don't know the company you're keepin hey tonya the hour is overdue for the hunter's moon in you to come out and shine hey tonya i would not take you to task for the wolf behind the mask she's a friend of mine and anytime they surround you with their silver-bullet tongues and you can't find a way to face 'em and there's no place to run and the queen of hearts holed up in london tower come thunderin down and big ben chimes the midnight hour hey tonya if you called me i would come we would make the peasants run we'd light up the sky hey tonya they got nothin left to steal and if they chained you to wheel you would pine and die so would i now the winner's circle makes the rules in court we get our spin on the wheel of fortune but we always come up short so we play the game as long as we are able but heaven's for the blessed, and the rest is just a young girl's fable hey tonya i got nothin up my smile and i been a good long while up against this wall hey tonya fame is only for a day and we all have feet of clay and even angels fall after all
6.
one sunday morning i was sleepin on the sofa, had me a crazy dream i met the devil in broad daylight, just outta abilene he took me down a hole where the lost souls go, looked around and what did i see but millionaires and prickly pears, this is what he said to me: welcome to texas underground we got a barbeque all year 'round smokin little band with a country sound we like to have a little fun so pull up a chair, you can chew on the fat gets a might dry, but we like it like that dance with the lady in the stetson hat welcome to texas, son he took me over to hell's rodeo hoppin in his hobnail boots 109 cow punchers in a line, widowmakers waitin in the chutes the rodeo clown had a scorpion's tail, appeared in a puff of smoke armadillo ears and horns like a steer, these are the words he spoke: welcome to texas underground we got a barbeque all year 'round red-hot band with a country sound mister, they're the real mccoy so pull up a chair, you can chew on the fat gets a might dry, but we like it like that dance with the lady in the stetson hat welcome to texas, boy in a little while they opened up the gate, and who do you think walked in it was the prettiest lady that i ever did see, wearin nothin but a grin they gave her a vest, a red satin dress, matchin boots and silver spurs she walked by, she looked me in the eye, this is what i said to her: welcome to texas underground we got a barbeque all year 'round funky little band with a country sound ready for an all-night jam so pull up a chair, you can chew on the fat gets a might dry, but we like it like that dance with the feller in the stetson hat welcome to texas, ma'am down come a shipment of used car salesmen smilin like rattlesnakes every politician in the whole blame country claimin there was some mistake lawyers and thieves and state police, gentlemen of the press cons and flunkies, slackers, junkies, agents of the irs welcome to texas underground we got a barbeque all year 'round plenty of country singers around bound to have ourselves a ball so pull up a chair, you can chew on the fat gets a might dry, but we like it like that dance with the devil in a stetson hat welcome to texas, y'all dance with the devil in a stetson hat welcome to texas, y'all
7.
she ain't no senator's daughter she ain't no tennessee belle and i ain't no one but a lone drifter runnin the road down to playa miguel i met her out west pumpin diesel in a town where the sand meets the sea she was leather and snaps and an old baseball cap she stole the wild heart from me so take all your debutante princesses fair splendid in diamonds and pearls i'd trade 'em all in for a kiss on the wind from the lips of a gas station girl out on the michigan freeway workin a steady job there i was pullin a car lot from detroit to charlotte i guess i just lost her somewhere midnight through kansas i'd whisper her name spun in a dust devil's whirl no one replied but the moon in my eyes cryin tears for the gas station girl somebody send me a tailwind get me as far as l.a. with some lines i could use from a honky tonk blues to keep me from slippin away lord blow me westbound down ol' 66 out past the end of the world on a highway that runs through the heart of the sun to the door of the gas station girl
8.
i got a world of trouble in mind, the pilgrim said need somethin to believe in, or someone to be i got a mountain of worries just pilin up inside my head it's a curse of the worst kind for a dreamer like me so he climbed up alone on the turkey mountain ridge he looked out at the people on the plain and he saw god that night in the sleepy river and the city lights but he felt like a loser just the same states of misery, states of grace trouble and joy on a young man's face swing low, sweet chariot, take me down that long, black road into tulsa town i gotta roll these tumblin dice again, he sighed leave it up to good fortune, and the draw and the deal i gotta put my life out on that table and just let it ride slip away from these hounds of love that nip at my heels but over on the back porch in the early mornin rain sits a girl with a mirror in her smile insubstantial is the summer breeze as it disappears into the trees but she holds his eye for a little while states of misery, states of grace ... one dreamer got a job someplace, they say he got his life on track one dreamer got married, they say he sleeps in the sun one dreamer got strung out young, you know he never really did bounce back one dreamer got a second chance, and others got none but this dreamer's sittin on a park bench in a city faraway and he tells you the story of his youth forcin a laugh, makin a joke out of bein lonesome and silly and broke but he still makes room for a little truth states of misery, states of grace ...
9.
she's a little overdressed, but it never hurts to shine she invokes the turtle dove, she awaits the number nine standin alone in the grey of the morning but soon the riders come to wait, and they take their papers out they do not know the girl, but they know that she's about keepin the light and the warnin and the bus comes like thunder and the doves rise around her and she don't mind the winter 'cause she's workin for jesus and she's workin for love she's workin for love there's a clock beside the bed, there's a bible on the stand she will come home after dark, she will take the book in hand feelin the grain of the black leather bindin and so she speaks to me sometimes of flesh and mortal chains and where the ashes go, and the spirit that remains risin like mist, see it shinin and her words sound like thunder and the spirit has found her and she knows how to reach me 'cause she's workin for jesus and she's workin for love she's workin for love well, i have set my foot upon the road of black and white i have passed the gates of dawn, i am makin for the light barrin the door on the darkness and sorrow but she is somewhere up ahead, she is far beyond my reach she has walked across the sea, she is sleepin on the beach borderin time and tomorrow and her days pass in wonder and the angels surround her and she don't even miss me 'cause she's workin for jesus and she's workin for love she's workin for jesus and she's workin for love and she's workin for jesus and she's workin for love she's workin for love
10.
his mama was a cherokee princess, or so it was said and his daddy was a seminole rebel with a price on his head and the other kids teased him but i never did see him to cry man there was some kind of righteous in the steel of his gun-metal eyes run with the wolf, fly like the dove mother below, father above weep with the earth, sing to the sky in the steel of your gun-metal eyes well he grew up in the washes and the rushes and the rain and the wind and the creatures of the forest and field were his only real friends and the lily of the valley and the nettle of the plains taught him well and the new moon shone on him as he wandered through the gully and the dell run with the wolf ... now one misty morning he heard the big bulldozers groan and the chainsaws and the fellin of trees and the breakin of stone and the boss-man knew better, but he had an empire to raise and one lone man before him with a rifle and doom on his face run with the wolf ... get on home, cried the owner, cause i hold the deed to this land and i ain't got no time to be foolin with no wild injun man and he gathered his strong boys around him and he called his police but there was no lookin back for the son of a seminole chief run with the wolf ... now some say he died in the fightin and was buried that day and some say he raged like an angel and he chased 'em away but the green hills stand silent, and nobody goes there no more just the ghosts and the memories and the shadows of the dark forest floor run with the wolf ...
11.
miss sarah's a dancer, and she steps quick and light when she spins through my dreams like a thistle each night and she touches my shoulder, and she smiles in my face but she don't guess the power of her grace she was barefoot in pigtails in the silk april dawn she was skippin in circles on the neighbor's front lawn and the grey fog was liftin when she blew me a kiss and a woman stepped out of the mist sarah turn 'round, you're a fine young goddess it's a sweet morning in may sarah turn 'round, it's my indian summer and the last light of my day sarah turn 'round, and i've grown older sarah turn 'round, and i've gone grey then you're standin by my grave when the sun goes down sarah turn 'round i'm a coward for leavin, i'm a fool if i stay i'm a loser in love 'cause it's simpler that way and i never would hold her 'cause she's too good for tears or the weight of these many years sarah turn 'round, you're a fine young goddess it's a sweet morning in may sarah turn 'round, it's my indian summer and the last light of my day sarah turn 'round, and i've grown older sarah turn 'round, and i've gone grey then you're standin by my grave when the sun goes down sarah turn 'round they will tell you it's gospel, but they won't tell you why how love conquers all in the sweet by-and-by so we flutter like snowflakes and we twirl in the air and we melt in our moments of prayer sarah turn 'round, you're a fine young goddess it's a sweet morning in may sarah turn 'round, it's my indian summer and the last light of my day sarah turn 'round, and i've grown older sarah turn 'round, and i've gone grey then you're standing all alone and the sun goes down sarah turn 'round

about

© 2006 Tracy Grammer Music

From the album back cover:
SEVEN IS THE NUMBER is the last full-length project Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer worked on together. Recorded in the duo's home studio in December 2001, this album features material from Dave's first solo CD (now out of print) plus two new songs, heard here for the first time. The mixes and tracks were unfinished at the time of Dave's death in 2002, but were completed in May, 2006 by Tracy and engineer Mark Frethem.

credits

released July 19, 2006

Produced by Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer
Associate Producer: Mark Frethem

Recorded 12/26/01-1/2/02 by Dave & Tracy at Tracy's Kitchen. Initial mixes 2002 by Dave, Tracy, and Mark Frethem at Doctor Digital. Additional recording, mixing, and mastering by Tracy and Mark at Doctor Digital.

Package design by Lehndorff Design. Photography by Jeff Bizzell.

Musicians:
Dave Carter: guitars, banjo, keyboards, vocals
Tracy Grammer: guitar, violin, mandolin, percussion, vocals
Donny Wright: bass

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Tracy Grammer Greenfield, Massachusetts

Writer. Actor. Storyteller. Singer. Multi-instrumentalist. Former head cheerleader, now a fearless navigator of the heart.

“One of the finest pure musicians anywhere in folkdom.” - Boston Globe

“A brilliant artist.” - Joan Baez

“Her gifts as a musician are like that of a painter who is a master of chiaroscuro, offering light and shadow at every turn.“ - Mary Chapin Carpenter
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