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.
1. |
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beat down, misdirected, cropped short and sized to fit
honey if we're still connected, i could really use a hit
i am not lookin for the key that opens every door
just a pillow on the floor where we can sit
here in the shinin city, here in the endless summer
here in the cave of wonder, number ninety-two
the sky of never was was never quite this blue
but it's all right, it's all right with me if it's all right with you
guru child on glory mountain, waitin patient, turtle-wise
twenty years of bliss and countin, trips and riddles in his eyes
he says the primal quest ain't nothin but a second guess
sometimes you just do your best and compromise
here in the shinin city, here in the endless summer
here in the cave of wonder, number ninety-two
the book is empty from the sparrow's point of view
but it's all right, it's all right with me if it's all right with you
shootin fools and starry gazers, wizard hip and button-down
i walk the occam's razor way through priests and circus clowns
am i a visioner of faith or grace or vision or
another grinning prisoner in happytown
here in the shinin city, here in the endless summer
here in the cave of wonder number ninety-two
we chase the shadows of the chosen and the few
but it's all right, it's all right with me if it's all right with you
so strap me in, i'm goin clear, i'm burnin circles 'round the sun
the fisher king is here, but he is not the only one
parcival and valentino, ridin winged palominos
willie in his el camino on the run
here in the shinin city, here in the endless summer
here in the cave of wonder, number ninety-two
the gods will lounge around until the show is through
but it's all right, it's all right with me if it's all right with you
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2. |
Tanglewood Tree
03:42
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TANGLEWOOD TREE (2000)
Picture
© 2000 Signature Sounds Recordings
Happytown (All Right With Me)
Tanglewood Tree
The Mountain
Farewell To Saint Dolores
Hey Conductor
Crocodile Man
Walkin' Away From Caroline
Farewell To Fiddler's Rim
Cat-Eye Willie Claims His Lover
Cowboy Singer
Farewell To Bitterroot Valley
credits
Produced by Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer.
Recorded by Mark Thayer at Signature Sounds Studios except (8) recorded by Dave & Tracy in Tracy's Kitchen. Mixed by Mark Thayer with Dave & Tracy at Signature Sounds Studios except (8) and (9), mixed by Mark Frethem, Doctor Digital. Mastered by David Glasser at Airshow Mastering. Package design by Marci Roth. Photography by Brent Hirak. Project management: Lisa Lepine. Pre-production adviser: Jonathan Mann.
Musicians:
Dave Carter: guitar, banjo, piano, Hammond organ, vocals
Bob Dick: upright bass
Lorne Entress: drums and percussion
Richard Gates: electric bass
Tracy Grammer: guitar, violin, mandolin, vocals
Chris Turner: harmonica
Roger Williams: Dobro guitar
Accolades:
#1 most played album on Folk Radio for 2000
quotable
(coming soon)
happytown (all right with me)
00:0000:00
© 2000 David Robert Carter (BMI), administered by Tracy Grammer Music
beat down, misdirected, cropped short and sized to fit
honey if we're still connected, i could really use a hit
i am not lookin for the key that opens every door
just a pillow on the floor where we can sit
here in the shinin city, here in the endless summer
here in the cave of wonder, number ninety-two
the sky of never was was never quite this blue
but it's all right, it's all right with me if it's all right with you
guru child on glory mountain, waitin patient, turtle-wise
twenty years of bliss and countin, trips and riddles in his eyes
he says the primal quest ain't nothin but a second guess
sometimes you just do your best and compromise
here in the shinin city, here in the endless summer
here in the cave of wonder, number ninety-two
the book is empty from the sparrow's point of view
but it's all right, it's all right with me if it's all right with you
shootin fools and starry gazers, wizard hip and button-down
i walk the occam's razor way through priests and circus clowns
am i a visioner of faith or grace or vision or
another grinning prisoner in happytown
here in the shinin city, here in the endless summer
here in the cave of wonder number ninety-two
we chase the shadows of the chosen and the few
but it's all right, it's all right with me if it's all right with you
so strap me in, i'm goin clear, i'm burnin circles 'round the sun
the fisher king is here, but he is not the only one
parcival and valentino, ridin winged palominos
willie in his el camino on the run
here in the shinin city, here in the endless summer
here in the cave of wonder, number ninety-two
the gods will lounge around until the show is through
but it's all right, it's all right with me if it's all right with you
tanglewood tree
00:0000:00
© 2000 David Robert Carter (BMI), administered by Tracy Grammer Music
love is a tanglewood tree in a bower of green
in a forest at dawn
fair while the mockingbird sings, but she soon lifts her wings
and the music is gone
young lovers in the tall grass with their hearts open wide
when the red summer poppies bloom
but love is a trackless domain and the rumor of rain
in the late afternoon
love is an old root that creeps through the meadows of sleep
when the long shadows cast
thin as a vagrant young vine, it encircles and twines
and it holds the heart fast
catches dreamers in the wildwood with the stars in their eyes
and the moon in their tousled hair
but love is a light in the sky, and an unspoken lie
and a half-whispered prayer
i'm walkin down a bone-dry river where the cool mirage runs true
i'm bankin on the fables of the far, far better things we do
i'm livin for the day of reck'nin countin down the hours
i yearn away, i burn away, i turn away the fairest flower of love, 'cause darlin
love is a garden of thorns, and a crow in the corn
and the brake growing wild
cold when the summer is spent in the jade heart's lament
for the faith of a child
my body has a number and my face has a name
and each day looks the same to me
but love is a voice on the wind, and the wages of sin
and a tanglewood tree
love's garden of thorns, how it grows
black crow in the corn hummin low
brake nettle so pretty and wild
and thistles surround the edge of the
dim dark hour as the sun moves away
lamenting a lost summer day
who nurtures the faith of a child
when nothing remains to cover her eyes
my body has a number, maybe my face has a name
each hour like each hour before
this longing is a voice on the wind
she cultivates the wages of sin
in a tanglewood tree
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3. |
The Mountain
03:39
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i was born in a forked-tongued story
raised up by merchants and drugstore liars
now i walk on the paths of glory
one foot in ice, one in fire
i see the mountain, the mountain comes to me
i see the mountain and that is all i see
some poor prophet comes, some find solace
some lay him down in a junkyard bay
some will chase us and some will call us
gone, gone, gone in a day
gone to the mountain, the mountain comes to me
i see the mountain and that is all i see
miller take me and miller grind me
scatter my bones on the wild green tide
maybe some rovin bird will find me
over the water we'll ride
over the mountain, the mountain comes to me
i see the mountain and that is all i see
some build temples and some find altars
some come in tall hats and robes spun fine
some in rags, some in gemstone halters
some push the pegs back in line
i see the mountain, the mountain comes to me
i see the mountain and that is all i see
____________________
sumerian lyrics:
da-ri kur-niserin-na, pirin zalag, pirin zalag
da-ri kur-niserin-na, dili-du-a, dili-du
[endless mountain of cedar trees, forest of light, forest of light
endless mountain of cedar trees, i walk alone, i walk alone]
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4. |
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"can you stay until tomorrow, there is no one here to save
can you stay until tomorrow, there is no one here to save"
so spoke our lady of eternal sorrow
from the shelter of her cave
in a carriage of white linen, in her bed beneath the stairs
in a carriage of white linen, in her bed beneath the stairs
she took me to the jesse house of women
and sanctified me there
i remember yellow curtains, and her long hair hangin down
i remember yellow curtains, and her long hair hangin down
and the ageless face that witnessed me for certain
when my own could not be found
if you see my saint dolores, tell her love from brother john
if you see my saint dolores, tell her love from brother john
when the judas moon breaks o'er the virgin forest
i'll be down the road and gone
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5. |
Hey Conductor
03:20
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sittin on the dock at union station
waitin on the pride of the indian nation
fastest thing on metal wings and wheels
people come from all directions
just to see their own reflections
in a thousand tons of polished steel
they say, "hey conductor, does this train go to texas
with a hoot and a holler all the way down to san antone?"
they say, "hey conductor, does this train go to texas?
i got a dime and a dollar and a one-way ticket home"
whistle whine when the brakeman pull it
see her flyin like a silver bullet
past the houses through the sleepy hills
blackjack oak and red dust risin
scarlet sun on the blue horizon
hear the lonesome call of the whippoorwill
he says, "hey conductor, does this train go to texas
with a hoot and a holler all the way down to san antone?"
they say, "hey conductor, does this train go to texas?
i got a dime and a dollar and a one-way ticket home"
kids come out their eyes a-poppin
young men runnin, old men hoppin
when they hear the might engine roar
lords a-leapin, bands a-playin
ladies dancin, hound dogs bayin
passengers and hopefuls by the score
they say, "hey conductor, does this train go to texas
with a hoot and a holler all the way down to san antone?"
they say, "hey conductor, does this train go to texas?
i got a dime and a dollar and a one-way ticket home"
now baby i would beg or borrow
hock my own best boots tomorrow
just to get up on that train and go
kings and beggars, saints and villains
you and me and all god's chillin
ponca city to the gulf of mexico
we say, "hey conductor, does this train go to texas
with a hoot and a holler all the way down to san antone?"
we say, "hey conductor, does this train go to texas?
i got a dime and a dollar and a one-way ticket home
i got a dime and a dollar and a one-way ticket home"
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6. |
Crocodile Man
03:02
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mama she raised me on riddles and trances
fatback, channel-cat, lily-white lies
rocked my cradle in a jimmy-crack fancy
never knew papa and i never asked why
people say papa wasn't no-account anyway
people say papa was rollin stone
i turned twenty on the waccamaw throughway
hitchin upriver in the dark alone
sleepin with a stranger in a no-name town
thanksgivin dinner at the top hat lounge
christmas eve at the fantasy tan
lord have mercy on the crocodile man
lord have mercy on the crocodile man
hooked up with a carny a little outta memphis
slavin in a sideshow, pennies in a jar
beetle-eyed jokers and hicktown princes
rhinestone rubies and rubber cigars
wrassled me a gator up in omaha city
did me another down in new orleans
tangled with the barker, run off with the kitty
crawled the mississippi and i got away clean
sleepin with a stranger in a no-name town
thanksgivin dinner at the top hat lounge
christmas eve at the fantasy tan
lord have mercy on the crocodile man
lord have mercy on the crocodile man
underneath the levee in a cattail thicket
hidden in the shadow of a shady grove
there's a thatched roof risin from a poke fence picket
white smoke billows from a kettle-black stove
inside the house is the hall of mirrors
inside the mirror is the temple of sin
inside the temple is the face of mama
and mama she know just where i been
yeah, mama know exactly where her bad boy been
sleepin with a stranger in a no-name town
thanksgivin dinner at the top hat lounge
christmas eve at the fantasy tan
lord have mercy on the crocodile man
lord have mercy on the crocodile man
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7. |
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caroline puts dylan on, she always sings along
she gets the words all wrong
she falls out of time but it sounds just fine
caroline says no one else can take my place
she says it's my honest face and my simple heart
and my constant mind
man i'm as fickle as a ten-cent knife
i'm an anchorless vessel on the ocean of life
and i'm walkin away from caroline
caroline says that it ain't no good to shout
she don't want to be drawn out
she's a one-eyed witch in a world gone blind
caroline says no one else could understand
how she's a woman and she's a man
she's a gust of wind, she's a creepin vine
man all i know is that life ain't fair
and it's four in the morning and i just don't care
and i'm walkin away from caroline
so i tell caroline i'm afraid to feel too much
i say, though i'm cold to touch
still i burn inside and i just need time
caroline says that she don't mind the wait
she says that it's only fate, and it's no one's fault
and it's no one's crime
and caroline swears, she says "i love you"
man i know she's lyin cause i'm lyin too
and i'm walkin away from caroline
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8. |
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they call the house the risin sun but the rooms were dark and dingy
she packed her bag when the year was done, she won't be back again
she's a-goin home, back to carolina
leavin fiddler's rim behind her
she gave her heart by the harvest moon to a fair-haired half-commanche
but she plum give up on the someday soons of a no-good gamblin man
she's a-goin home, back to carolina
leavin fiddler's rim, and diamond jim behind her
the sun sets down behind the hills, the trees are dreich and drowsy
she wonders if he want her still, but it don't matter now
she's a-goin home, back to carolina
leavin fiddler's rim, and diamond jim, and her love for him behind her
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9. |
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bonnie brown lay down the jack of diamonds
young cody took the king of clubs in trade
the queen of hearts was dealt to simple simon
but cat-eye willie drew the ace of spades
now bonnie make the bed that you were born in
turn your daddy's picture to the wall
for you'll not marry cody come the mornin
tonight ol shufflin willie comes to call
bonnie brown, you can run and hide, fly my honey lamb
you can cry have mercy and crawl the cane for cover
but you're bound for the butcher's bride
the slew-foot devil won't be denied
when cat-eye willie comes to claim his lover
as the hour of midnight was approachin
she heard his goblin bootheels on the floor
the tattered rags like raven wings in motion
the hammer hand upon the bedroom door
"have mercy on this high-born lily maiden
the fairest of the valley so they say"
"'twas you who mocked my bent back, heavy laden
no mercy had you in your heart that day"
bonnie brown, you can run and hide . . .
now he has had away her coat of leather
and he has had away her daisy dress
but as he slumbers on her bed of feathers
she breaks a silver dagger in his chest
"oh hold your pillow to my breast to stay the crimson flood
for my darlin, oh my darlin you have spilled my mortal blood"
"no i will not your darlin be while i have breath and spit in me"
"then i curse your proud house down 'til you're buried in the ground"
bonnie brown, you can run and hide ...
now twenty years her suitors have been idle
and twenty years her cat-eye boy has grown
and he has stolen ruttle horse and bridle
and taken to the cullion road alone
"oh build my tomb down in some meadow lonely
mark it with the traitor diamond knave
for i have served one master, true and only
and i shall sleep beside him in the grave"
bonnie brown, you can run and hide ...
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10. |
Cowboy Singer
03:44
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seventeen years she has been in this world
wide-eyed and wistful, pretty little mormon girl
and she don't know i'm wicked, and she don't know i'm old
sweet jesus forgive me but she gets in my soul
'cause she believes in the future and the family tree
and she thinks there's a little spark of good left in me
and she comes to my door 'cause she thinks i can bring her
the glamorous life of a cowboy singer
i rise from my bed to her hand at the bell
i look like the devil and i'm feelin like hell
but she don't seem to notice and she steps right inside
for to sing me the song that she made up last night
and her voice is shinin with the moon and the stars
and she plays so unspoiled on that two-bit guitar
singin love and tomorrow and thank the redeemer
and i doom and anoint her a cowboy singer
alone in my room when she leaves me again
i stare at the wall and see death closin in
but i like to imagine i will meet her someday
in a land at the end of this lonesome highway
in a fine high country where the best songs are sung
and the labels don't care if you're old or you're young
and the martins are cheaper, and the pastures are greener
and all of the angels are cowboy singers
yes, and all of the angels are cowboy singers
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11. |
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fly my little dove, wander far
night sky broodin and stormy
shine beside me my wisdom star
light the desert before me
so long willie my wastrel boy
farewell sister my sally
i am the spark and mercury rollin joy
'cross the bitterroot valley
farewell willie my slumb'rin child
farewell sister my sally
i am the spark and mercury rollin wild
across the bitterroot valley
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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
... more
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