1. |
Knots
00:19
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Knots
Knotty Ponderosa,
Knotty Red Fir,
No knots in this Tamarack
(“Western Larch” it
hollers back)
Axe swings slow at first,
then snap,
thunk;
the Tamarack cleft in
twain.
“Western Larch ” it cries in
vain.
28 Dec. XIX, Plentzia, Paiz Vasko, Spain
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2. |
Rockjack
02:51
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Winter is done and the river is run and the branches bend low with their blossom
stars pull the sun from the darkness at dawn and we build what is yet to be broken
every day cuts you in half
you’ll be losin’ more than you ever had
Thunder in May, hail hits the sage, you’re left like a gate layin’ open
Summer is high and the river is dry and the mothers are grazin’ the black pine
stars pull the light to what’s left of the night we doubt what we never could define
what ain’t been forgotten may yet be forgiven
we got here by walkin’ we go there by livin
quiet to ride to long trot to pine to circle and knock back what we find
on this honest track, I’ll yet circle back to pick up what’s left of what I lack
thunder will crack, the cattle get fat, the sky will feed all if we all ask
rimrock and red ponderosa
live til you learn what you’re supposed to
eat while there’s grass, trust your rockjacks, soon enough winter will be back
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3. |
Middle Child's Lament
02:36
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Son where are you going in the hour of morn,
son where are you going before the day is born?
Goin’ to see my lover in the hour of morn,
goin’ to see my own true love, graceful unadorned
Son you see the springtime, see the springtime come
son you see the fields are full of work yet to be done
Well let the fields lie fallow, let the rabbit run
damn you plow for I am bound to the arms of my true love
if you were my youngest I’d plead your mother’s heart
if you were my oldest I’d tear myself apart
go on to your lover be she near of far,
go on to your lover and forget who you are
travel this world over, gain what you may gain,
weigh what you’ll be wanting, the losing of your name
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4. |
The Name Of The Moon
03:54
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Twilight hung low
burned it out slow
Love lit two candles and swam in the shallows
and you learned the name of the moon
The law of the land
Give me a damn
smoothed out the angles,
the fools and the scoundrels,
you learned the name of the moon
The River in Love
phases and floods
Pentecost, pay the boss,
five part, seven bight knot,
you learned the name of the moon
Lay it all out
shadows and doubts
Love like a Rubicon,
Which side have you been on,
you learned the name of the moon
Goodnight Irene
Goodnight, Irene
love like a metaphor,
love when there’s nothin more
you know the name of the moon
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5. |
Cowboy Poetry
00:31
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Cowboy Poetry
Black camp coffee from the cowboy cook
& colt startin’ lessons you won’t find in a book.
Unless it’s a Bill Dorrance book.
Dorrance Cow Camp,
Pittsburgh Landing.
They turned us into history,
then came to watch our branding.
Work becomes a form of prayer,
and God is the country,
and I have been there.
“and therein grew great tracts of Wilderness,
wherein the beast was more & more
but man was less & less.”
-Hells Canyon & Eagle Cap Wilderness, May-Aug., XVII
- quote from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “Idylls of the King - The Coming of Arthur” 1859
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6. |
Wild Summer
02:22
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The wild summer starts at harvest with the windrows fatter than a winter fire
Scratchin’ out a livin’ since you were just eleven and they paid ya seven dollars an hour
Copenhagen & Kosher Dill
Sisal Twine & Canadian Pills
The wild summer starts at harvest with the windrows fatter than a winter fire
The river hasn’t risen since the middle of December but that don’t mean we’re dry
Cuttin’ up the calendar for cuttin’ weather, whether it’ll rain or not the 4th of July
an old New Holland with the shearbolt sheared,
too old to sleep too young to drink beer
The wild summer starts at harvest with the windrows fatter than a winter fire
My brother’ll be bothered if I don’t mention a few more things so sit tight
He used to stack ‘em so high you couldn’t ride under the trestle where our dog got hit by a train and didn’t die
Ol’ Swede Olson was the best to work for
he drove a Cadillac and burned up the dance floor
The wild summer starts at harvest with the windrows fatter than a winter fire
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7. |
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I’ve been down the road, and I have felt bad,
been down the road & I have felt bad
been down the road and I have felt bad
there ain’t much else to do these days
Salt in the summer, sugar in the fall
Salt in the summer, sugar in the fall
Salt in the summer, sugar in the fall
thin in the winter, lean as the walls
I’ve been down the road, and I have felt bad,
been down the road & I have felt bad
been down the road and I have felt bad
there ain’t much else to do these days
I’ve been smokin’ while i got em
i’ve been scrapin up the bottom
I been smokin’ while I got em
still missin’ mister garfield wishin Giteau hadn’t shot him
I’ve been down the road, and I have felt bad,
been down the road & I have felt bad
been down the road and I have felt bad
there ain’t much else to do these days
I’m still waitin’ for a train
I’m still shavin’ at 3am
I’m still waitin’ for a train
there ain’t much else to do these days
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8. |
Hold The Center
04:49
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I’m gonna hold the center
I’m gonna hold the center
sing for Emmylou in every kind of weather
when I hold the center
Take the long ride home, short circle, forget her
Wild Mountain Thyme blooms around the purple heather
I’m gonna hold the center
I’m gonna hold the center
I’ve written the darkness, written the light
cut through the bullshit to the heart of the night
it sure gets cold when that sun goes down,
it sure gets cold when that sun goes down
I’m gonna hold the center
I’m gonna hold the center
sing for emmylou in every kind of weather
I’m gonna hold the center
No one’s here to hear about wolves that haven’t eaten horses
no one’s here to hear about Ponderosas that haven’t burned yet
No one’s here to hear me sing all seven minutes of South Coast
No one’s here to hear what I found out about Saint Phanourios
I’m gonna hold the center
I’m gonna hold the center
sing for emmylou in every kind of weather
I’m gonna hold the center
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9. |
Willy Moore
02:15
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Oh the days of mirth and joy have passed
and the darkest days are nigh
It’ll be a long while before we dance or
set down side by side
sit down side by side
Mothers alone and fathers alone
and death from sea to sea
tell me how can a man with a heart well grown
teach himself not to weep
teach himself not to weep
In the darkest day of the blackest night
no morning star is born
we stoke small fires til winter dies
and face our fate forlorn
face our fate forlorn
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Forrest VanTuyl Goldendale, Washington
Forrest VanTuyl is a Western songwriter, poet, and working cowboy based in the Inland Northwest. His work has been featured in the New York Times, at The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, and he has written music for the US Forest Service.
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