1. |
CNR Eastbound
02:40
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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
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2. |
More Songs of Heartbreak
02:26
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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
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3. |
My Bacon Makin' Baby
04:14
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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
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4. |
Two Steppin'
04:02
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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
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5. |
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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
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6. |
After the Fall
03:51
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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
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7. |
The Ghost of the O&Q
03:49
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8. |
Stompin' Tom Song
03:52
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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
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9. |
The Bottle
03:46
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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
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10. |
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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
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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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