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From the Railyard to the Woodyard

by Ryan McCord

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1.
I made my way to Edmonton I’m going home to see a friend Forget the easy way I always travel hard Sling my pack up on my back And strike off northward for the track And catch a ride that’s heading east out of the yard As the night breaks into day You know I had to get away I know that this is what it must be all about Roll across the prairie fields Through the golden harvest yields Like the autumn snowgeese making their way south Sweating soaked right through the skin From running for a train again I caught a ride on out of Winnipeg and then Somewhere in North Ontario They threw me off but they don’t know I turned around and did it all over again Whistle blowing through the trees I feel the quaking in my knees That harmony that tears right through the lonesome heart I pack my kit up for the ride And hang my guitar by my side And hope that maybe this time that I will depart I caught one from the frying pan That rolled into the fire and Left me in Oba where there’s nothing going on As the rain turns into snow If an eastbound train would show I’d swing aboard and I’d be going going gone I’d swing aboard and I’d be going going gone
2.
I’ve got more songs of heartbreak than I’ve got love songs from you dear That’s why there’s always teardrops in my eyes I’ve got more songs of heartbreak than I’ve got love songs from you dear And you leaving me don’t come as no surprise I sat around and listened to the radio so long These country stations play some sad sad songs I never thought I’d understand these lonesome weary tunes But they’re all so clear to me now that you’re gone I used to think that country songs were not the thing for me Now I’m watching reruns of the Grand Ole Opry Sometimes I sit at home at night and try to find some songs to write I’ve got some tunes I never thought I’d sing These melancholy words just seem to flow across the page They give it that familiar country ring
3.
At six this morning, my gal said “Wake up honey, get out of bed “I’m heating up the coffee and the skillet too “I know you like bacon, here’s what I’ll do “‘Cause I’m your Bacon Makin’ Baby, you’re my bacon eatin’ fool” She’s my Bacon Makin’ Baby My Bacon Makin’ Queen I love her in the morning when she keeps my skillet clean We go out at night ‘til half past one Come back home and we get things done Fire up the grill ‘til it’s good and hot Throw in the bacon that’s what we got That’s the best way just to give me what I want Some people make the bacon some bring it home Some like to ramble, some like to roam Some people eat their bacon when they’re all alone Some talk about it on the telephone But my gal makes the bacon that makes me moan and groan When the grease is dripping from the frying pan Smoky maple odours fill the house again We open up the windows just to air it out Folks gather ‘round and we hear them shout They say “You got the bacon and that’s what it’s all about!” Some people like their skillet greasy all the time That’s fine too I don’t really mind Frying up a rabbit or a tenderloin That’s good and greasy too but nothing gets me going Like my Bacon Makin’ Baby when she loves me in the morn
4.
Two Steppin' 04:02
Way back on the day we met my skies were always grey Now the sun shines down upon me each and every day We’re living in a shack together singing George Jones And I’d rather sing with you than sit here singing all alone I see you on the dance floor, dancing all night long You two-step to the sound of an old Hank Williams song You’d think from all his songs a lonesome heart would set you free But my heart’s only free when you’re two stepping with me We dance the Texas two-step and the Cajun two-step too You know I’m always happy when I’m two-stepping with you I think about you when I’m up here in the lights on stage I like singing Ernest Tubb and you like Patti Page We like to sing together every time we get the chance But what we like the most is when we go to town and dance We dance the Texas two-step and the Cajun two-step too We sometimes try to zydeco but I never know what to do When I started listening to all these country songs It took me seven years before I learned to dance along Now we’re living in a shack together singing Patsy Cline And heading to the dance hall every Friday night at nine We dance the Texas two-step and the Cajun two-step too Once we tried to jitterbug but I didn’t have a clue I remember on the day we met my skies were always grey Now the sun shines down upon me each and every day The brightest days of all are when we’re singing some Hank Snow Or tearing up the dancefloor at an old-time country show We dance the Texas two-step and the Cajun two-step too You know I’m always happiest when I’m two-stepping with you
5.
Train Songs usually tell the tale of legendary trains Racing through the mountains, out across the open plains You’ve heard about the cannonball, the fastest of them all But this one’s called the Skeena and she’s always running late Running Late, Running Late We’re riding on the Skeena and we’re always running late Running Late, Running Late We’re riding on the Skeena and we’re always running late We’re riding on the Skeena and we’re always running late From Jasper to Prince Rupert there’s a train that makes its way It’s seven hundred miles but it takes it two whole days We’re stopped behind a freight train that has broke down on the main It’s stop and go and stop and go and now we’re stopped again In the summertime it’s late and in the wintertime it’s late We’re sitting in the siding waiting for another freight The railway makes its money hauling tons and tons of coal They don’t need us tourists, so they stick us in the hole We got boatloads full of sea-cans docking on the western shore We put them on the railroad to be shipped to eastern stores A trainload full of toys you gotta keep that moving fast So a passenger to Smithers gets stuck in second class
6.
I used to give you flowers at your window I used to write your name upon the wall I spent the summer dreaming that you’d promise to be true But forgot about you after the fall You left me when I told you that I loved you You said you never cared for me that way Rain was dripping from the barren trees out in the yard When I lost you on that cruellest autumn day I’d best be packing up my bags and going I can’t see any sense in hanging ‘round My heart was laying bare out in the sunshine for so long Now it’s buried in the snow that’s on the ground I can’t get any lower than I’ve fallen The thought of you just knocks me off my feet I’ll gather up my strength and pack it in a tiny grip And forget you as I walk off down the street
7.
8.
If you sang to me of Newfoundland, or old Saskatchewan The places and the stories would remind me where I’ve gone And places I have never been, but where I’d like to go People that I’ve never met, and stories we all know I’ve never seen a tidal bore, but I was born in Tillsonburg Never picked tobacco trees, but I worked for all I’m worth I found myself in Leamington, but I never did catch up To that guy with the fries from PEI, piled way up in his truck Sing me a song by Stompin Tom, and you know I’ll sing right along I got the words to half them anyway When your memories are gone, and you’ve long been movin’ on You’ll find me still singing them that day I never rode a coal boat, but I was cold in Moosonee Rode the line through Ansonville, and I drank in Sudbury I’ve crossed northern Ontario a dozen times or more Through the Soo and Wawa, by the Lake Superior shore I took the ferry to the Island, but not the Abegwait Hiked on into Charlottetown, as it was getting late I’ve been to the Red River, just trying to catch a train And I’ve seen Alberta Roses, standing in the rain I never shot the winning goal, but I’ve got gold miner’s blues Living in this old boom town, with nothing left to lose I’ve worked real hard for fifteen years, trying to make a buck And I won’t forget all you working folks, who are hard up on your luck I’ve been to Frank, Alberta, but not to Tumbler Ridge I’ve crossed the Second Narrows on the Ironworkers Bridge What Stompin’ Tom put into song would help us not forget All the tragedies and beauty, and his song ain’t over yet
9.
The Bottle 03:46
You were a dream to me dear, I thought you were near But you left me so far away I thought you were true, but it made me so blue When I saw you alone the next day You like to go into the city There’s nothing you like like downtown You like to go into the barroom And you don’t like me hanging around You like to drink beer, it makes you feel freer But I know the truth of it is You want to forget the time that we met You wish you weren’t mine but were his Remember back then, on the farm it began We grew up a mile apart I stole you away, on your wedding day We left him with a broken heart We could not wait for tomorrow That would be our special day But our joy transformed into sorrow When the bottle just stole you away Now everything’s done, none of us won We’re three separate people again The ending looks grim, for me you and him And the bottle is easing your pain It’s not very far, to your favourite bar Where you go almost every day I see you down there, alone in your chair You’re only six metres away I’d rather you left me for someone You seem to have lost all your cares But you left me all by my lonesome Now my dream has become a nightmare It’s not him or me, the answer I see As the bottle approaches your lips Your love has withdrawn, and the distance it’s gone Is measured in millions of sips
10.
We’re going on the town tonight, we’re going somewhere strange Call up all your friends and tell them meet us at the Range You put on your dancing shoes and I’ll put on my hat We’re going honky tonkin and there’s nothing wrong with that We’ll stoke the stove and lock the door and head on into town We’ll see that Silver Eagle band if they’re still around So I’ll trim my nails and wash my face, and you do up your hair We’re gonna look our best tonight so let the people stare You came home from work today, looking pretty sore I give you everything I can but I want to give you more We left our shack in Old Town, we’re heading up the hill I stuffed my favourite blue jeans with a fifty dollar bill We’ll ride our bikes it’s not too far, up to our favourite bar And two-step to the rhythm of that honkytonk guitar I put on my cowboy boots to glide across the floor The night’s not getting younger so let’s dance a couple more

credits

released December 21, 2020

All songs by Ryan McCord
Recorded and produced by Steve Loree, Nanton, Alberta, February 2020
Mastered by Peter Letros at Wreckhouse Mastering
Vocals and Acoustic Guitar - Ryan McCord
Drums - Brad Brouwer
Bass - Paul Holden
Lapsteel Guitar/Telecaster/Silvertone - Jimmy Roy
Fiddle/Mandolin - Scott Duncan
Backing Vocals - John Gorham

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Ryan McCord Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

I live in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. I’m a window cleaner in my spare time. I learned to play guitar from sitting around the campfire with my friends. When I’m not playing music, I like riding my bike, canoeing, welding, and building castles out of snow and ice. ... more

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