The Smoke House boys are cooling down on the street tonight in their best saturday night clothes they were playing pool in the one place in town where no decent woman would ever go
The county folk have all parked their cars and on saturday night what they do for fun sit out on the curb watch the town go by The light shines through them because they're 20 years gone
And I'm walking through the ghost of this old town It's saturday night, this street should be packed not a live person can be found And I'm walking down this street that's filled with ghosts It's just a picture left over in my mind and somehow it's still home
And there's a ghost of a bridge over the river and boards on the door of most everywhere else Robertson Parris, where my grandma worked there are no more clothes there on the shelf
The buses still run down to Charleston but no one ever goes The businesses here can never open again cause there's a Wal-Mart down the road
CHORUS
My great uncle Tater's grocery store was behind those boards over there And the Roxy closed ten years ago we got DVDs so we don't care
I take my Smoke House chili and a bottle of dew and I eat while I watch TV There's this little town that's 20 years gone just the ghosts and me
Harsh critical part... they lyrics are good and the tune is good but not sure they go together. And some confusion of where you are going with this, is it a political walmart protest song? - then needs to be a bit more angry sounding and clearer lyrics with a catching protest repeat. Or is it a sad remonissing of times past, then it needs to be more whistful.
Very good points, but I don't really agree with them for various reasons ...
The song is a photograph. Not really wistful, because that past is not necessarily a nice place. The Walmart mention is a simple truth. It's not meant to be angry either.
I suppose what I am trying to do here is a report of what was there, nothing more. The lyrics are almost all from an email from my mom, and some thing we did when we were there for my grandmothers funeral.
The song has come together more in the last couple of weeks, I did this recording when the song was only a week or so old. I'll be interested in hearing what you say about the completed version, which will be on the new CD.
could also be the "Lawrence factor" since any song played here with walmar mentioned is a protest about the evil empire or such, so it clouds my impression of the song
I was worried about that line. I don't like Walmart ... but that wasn't the point of the song. Walmart came into being in the area some years after the decline of the town.
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Date: 2006-07-27 02:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-27 03:11 pm (UTC)Here they are
Date: 2006-07-27 05:26 pm (UTC)The Smoke House boys are cooling down on the street tonight
in their best saturday night clothes
they were playing pool in the one place in town
where no decent woman would ever go
The county folk have all parked their cars
and on saturday night what they do for fun
sit out on the curb watch the town go by
The light shines through them because they're 20 years gone
And I'm walking through the ghost of this old town
It's saturday night, this street should be packed
not a live person can be found
And I'm walking down this street that's filled with ghosts
It's just a picture left over in my mind and somehow it's still home
And there's a ghost of a bridge over the river
and boards on the door of most everywhere else
Robertson Parris, where my grandma worked
there are no more clothes there on the shelf
The buses still run down to Charleston
but no one ever goes
The businesses here can never open again
cause there's a Wal-Mart down the road
CHORUS
My great uncle Tater's grocery store
was behind those boards over there
And the Roxy closed ten years ago
we got DVDs so we don't care
I take my Smoke House chili and a bottle of dew
and I eat while I watch TV
There's this little town that's 20 years gone
just the ghosts and me
CHORUS
Re: Here they are
Date: 2006-08-07 09:51 pm (UTC)they lyrics are good and the tune is good but not sure they go together. And some confusion of where you are going with this, is it a political walmart protest song? - then needs to be a bit more angry sounding and clearer lyrics with a catching protest repeat. Or is it a sad remonissing of times past, then it needs to be more whistful.
Re: Here they are
Date: 2006-08-15 07:25 pm (UTC)The song is a photograph. Not really wistful, because that past is not necessarily a nice place. The Walmart mention is a simple truth. It's not meant to be angry either.
I suppose what I am trying to do here is a report of what was there, nothing more. The lyrics are almost all from an email from my mom, and some thing we did when we were there for my grandmothers funeral.
The song has come together more in the last couple of weeks, I did this recording when the song was only a week or so old. I'll be interested in hearing what you say about the completed version, which will be on the new CD.
Re: Here they are
Date: 2006-08-17 06:57 pm (UTC)Re: Here they are
Date: 2006-08-17 07:09 pm (UTC)that right there....
Date: 2006-07-27 02:36 pm (UTC)Re: that right there....
Date: 2006-07-27 03:12 pm (UTC)