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1. Old Screen Door
There was blood on the handrail and some on the floor
This house was my home, but it ain’t no more
Came back for a visit just to see his face
But the room started spinnin’, and I lost my place
You try to hold it in, but it all spilled out
Yeah, it started with a whisper, but it ended with a shout
Daddy caught some lightnin’ bugs in a jar
We let 'em all go while he was lookin’ at the stars
A whiskey ghost rode that Milky Way
Yeah, I remember that night like it was yesterday
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The snakes were hissin’ in the hedges
The rats whispered 'neath the floor
And the moon was just watchin’
Through the old screen door
Well, he caught us in the kitchen, me and little Joleen
We held him off for a while, but he was just too mean
A thousand stars hung in that woeful sky
And listened helplessly to a thousand woeful cries
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Well, this Louisville slugger, it’s got tape on the grip
Blood poolin’ up, drip, drip, drip
Lightnin’ bugs floatin’ through a haze of gasoline
Now I lay me down to sleep, set my soul free
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The fire hisses through the hedges
The flames whisper 'neath the floor
And the moon glows crimson
Through the old screen door
Ernest Troost, vocals, guitars, bass
Ralph Humphrey, drums
2. Pray Real Hard
Well, time is short and the nights are long
Times are hard when your money’s gone
When your money’s gone and you’ve got no place to stay
Well, the future looked bright, but it’s already fading away
Well, you can keep good time or let it slide
You can stop time cold or let it ride
You can let it ride 'round and 'round this town
But if you keep it up, babe, you’ll never live it down
Well, time stood still and the moment passed
You’re slow on the trigger, but you’re breathing fast
You’re breathing fast like an engine chuggin’ up a grade
You got to sleep on the floor 'cause that’s the only bed you made
Well, time is a thief and a beggar too
Steal your life before you’re through
Before you’re through with all you have to say
But if you pray real hard, maybe you’ll come back someday
Yeah, if you pray real hard, maybe you'll come back someday
Ernest Troost, vocals, guitar, mandolin, harmonica
Mark “Pocket” Goldberg, electric bass
Steve Mugalian, drums, cajon
3. O Love
O love, lift this weight from my chest
O love, lift this weight from my chest
What goes unspoken now will be buried with the rest
O love, shake these bones until they crack
O love, shake these bones until they crack
I burned all the good to the ground and it ain't never comin’ back
O love, left me a broke and hollow frame
O love, left me a broke and hollow frame
Well, I don’t feel a thing, but I cannot bear the pain
O love, don’t turn your back on me now
O love, don’t turn your back on me now
Well, I know you can touch this troubled heart somehow
Yes, I know you can touch this troubled heart somehow
Ernest Troost, vocals, guitars
Nicole Gordon, harmony vocals
Mark "Pocket” Goldberg, electric bass
Ralph Humphrey, drums
4. Close
You give me room
As wide as this west Texas plain
Where I can conjure up a desperado runnin’ down a train
Headed for his doom
You give me room
You give me space
Where I can try to find myself in this big empty place
Where I can stumble and tumble and fall on my face
You give me space
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You give me room so I can breathe
You give me room big enough to hold my dreams
And if I laid it all out end to end, it would stretch from coast to coast
And all this room you give me makes us close
You give me love
As pure as that single cloud in this big western sky
I can see it reflected in the pupils of your eyes from above
You give me love
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You give me love so I can breathe
You give me love big enough to hold my dreams
And if I laid out all the things that you give me
Well, they’d stretch from coast to coast
But in the end it’s the love I love the most
And all that room you give me that makes us close
Ernest Troost, vocals, guitars, mandolin, pump organ, percussion
Nicole Gordon, harmony vocals
Dave Stone, upright bass
5. Harlan County Boys
High on this ridge
Where the pines reach up and touch the slate-grey sky
My granddaddy lived
Till this cold black mountain swallowed him alive
And his willful young bride
She buried her grief like coal deep inside
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She said, I’ve had a heap of sorrow
And just a scrap of joy
And I’ll miss with every breath
My Harlan County boy
We lost my daddy too
In the great union struggles of '72
When blood and anger roiled this land
And grandma held back a crowd
With one raised hand
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She said, I’ve had a heap of sorrow
And just a scrap of joy
And I fear I’ve lost another
Of my Harlan County boys
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And though I am my father’s son
I did not work the mines
I left this mountain
I had other ones to climb
But I can hear my grandma’s voice through the city noise
Remember that you’ll always be a Harlan County boy
Now standing in this shade
Beneath this spreading pine near grandma’s grave
They’re all gathered 'round
In their Sunday best
'Neath this hallowed ground
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And though she had a heap of sorrow
And just a scrap of joy
Now she’ll be forever
With her Harlan County boys
Ernest Troost, vocals, guitars, mandolin, pump organ
Nicole Gordon, harmony vocals
Dave Stone, upright bass
6. The Last to Leave
I keep my eyes open, I try to look both ways
And I try most days to keep my ear to the ground
But I never saw this freight train comin’
I never heard its mournful sound
Well, this was a sweet ride while it lasted
I guess I’ll get past it, I can only try
But since you have gone on that Greyhound to Boston
I’m still kind of lost in the reasons why
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My heart, my heart
It’s always the first to believe
And my heart, my heart
It’s always the last to leave
If this love was a party, well, everyone’s gone home
The stereo plays a lone melody
And I’m in the kitchen, I’m sortin’ through empties
Sortin’ through how empty can be
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Well, time wore my edges down
And I met a girl from a northern town
And she said, we better take it slow and see
'Cause she knows what you pay to play
And her heart’s made in a special way
Then she turned and whispered to me, she said
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Ernest Troost, vocals, guitars, mandolin, percussion
Nicole Gordon, harmony vocals
Dave Stone, upright bass
Charlie Bisharat, fiddle
7. Weary Traveler
Weary traveler, rest a while
Weary traveler, rest a while
You’ve but to go one more mile
Weary traveler, rest a while
Troubled waters on the rise
Troubled waters on the rise
Keep that pure hope shinin’ in your eyes
Troubled waters on the rise
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Well, it’s been this way since the very first day
Ain’t no need to wail and moan
Take your licks, stand up straight
Tell trouble it’ll have to wait
Ain’t no burden gonna hold us down
Ain’t no burden gonna hold us down
Shift that weight, boys, to higher ground
Ain’t no burden gonna hold us down
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Seems this world is newly born
Seems this world is newly born
Go tell Gabriel, blow his horn
Seems this world is newly born
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Ernest Troost, vocals, guitars, bass, pump organ
Nicole Gordon, harmony vocals
Johnny Hawthorn, lap steel guitar
Ralph Humphrey, drums
8. I’ll Be Home Soon
Woke up early, rolled out of bed
Got my six string and your smile in my head
And in the dark of the early dawn
The air is cool when I turn the engine on
O baby, I’m gonna be home soon
Outside El Paso, where the brown hills touch the blue
Folks throw their dreams 'cross the river and split their hearts in two
And if I had a nickel for every time I seen
Your reflection in my windshield or TV screen
O baby, I’m gonna be home soon
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Life is a mystery, I seen it on a sign
You can stare into infinity and get lost in time
Ain’t no clues in the western sky
The stars blink and blush, but don’t reply
O baby, I’m gonna be home soon
Flat horizon, loneliest I seen
There’s an old scrappy moon, and I’m somewhere in between
Drivin’ hard I can make good time
By morning’s light I’ll cross the county line
O baby, I’m gonna be home soon
I'm gonna be home soon
Ernest Troost, vocals, guitars, pump organ, percussion
Dave Stone, upright bass
9. Storm Comin’
Gonna build me a castle outta mortar and stones
With a big blockade outta mastodon bones
Gonna burrow down deep among the roots and the grubs
Keep my head down with the beetles and the bugs
Gonna build me a fortress outta rock and steel
With doors that bolt and windows that seal
Gonna build me walls 'bout ten foot thick
Outta old car chassis, barbed wire, and brick
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Well, the horizon is clear, for as far as the eye can see
But there’s a storm comin’, and she’s gonna make a mess outta me
Gonna build me a levee outta gravel and fill
With a tall watchtower at the top of the hill
Gonna build me a bunker with a big searchlight
Keep my eyes wide open and the hatch locked tight
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Ernest Troost, vocals, guitars
Nicole Gordon, harmony vocals
Mark “Pocket” Goldberg, upright bass
Ralph Humphrey, drums
10. Bitter Wind
Oh, oh, it’s a bitter wind that blows
It’s a bitter wind that blows you back my way
All the miles in between now and used to be
Aren’t enough to shield me from this cold
All the guilt on my shoes, all the time I have not used
All the time I have not used just slipped away
And the scheming and the tears
Come howlin’ back through the years
They come howlin’ back through the years
Like they’re here to stay
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Did you keep me in your sight, did you hunt me through the night
Did you follow all the crumbs I left behind
Did the blood and the gore tip you off, make you sure
Make you sure that I really wouldn’t mind
'Cause I’m just too weak to do anything but sleep
To do anything at all would mean a choice
Will I run, will I freeze, will I crumble to my knees
I will crumble as you embrace me so hard
And the gnawin’ at the door, I can’t stand it anymore
I can’t stand to know it'll eat its way inside
And then, once it’s in, the end will begin
The end will begin with a sigh
Oh, oh, it’s a bitter wind that blows
It’s a bitter wind that blows you back my way
Ernest Troost, vocals, guitars, pump organ
Dave Stone, upright bass
Steve Mugalian, drums
Debra Dobkin, percussion
11. When It’s Gone
You say she walked right in, like original sin
And she held a spark beneath your heart
And now you’re in it deep, can’t get no sleep
Well, you can hold on tight or just let go
Well, if you rock this boat, button up your coat
'Cause the winds that blow, blow ill
And when the bleeding subsides and it’s cauterized
There’ll be nothin’ left inside you can feel
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Only you can find the place in your heart
Where you know right from wrong
Never overlook the good you have for what might be
'Cause, brother, when it’s gone, it’s gone
Well, you’re inside out, worn down by doubt
You want to scream and shout at the moon
But if you clear your mind, you just might find
That your better self knows just what to do
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Ernest Troost, vocals, guitars, pump organ, harmonica, percussion
Dave Stone, upright bass
12. All I Ever Wanted
I drifted down a luminescent stream
Floating weightless through a polyphonic dream
When I awoke I realized, as you lay by my side
That all I ever wanted was you
I have cradled desire in my arms
I have cradled desire in my arms
As I crossed the burning sands it turned to vapor in my hands
'Cause all I ever wanted was you
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Yeah, all I ever wanted was you
Breathin’ out and breathin’ in
It just hit me like a freight train comin’ through
Yeah, all I ever wanted, all I ever wanted
All I ever wanted was you
I spoke in tongues at an old revival show
I chased the devil down where no one else would go
There ain’t nothin’ else I crave, whether I’m lost or whether I’m saved
'Cause all I ever wanted was you
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Ernest Troost, vocals, guitars
Nicole Gordon, harmony vocals
Dave Stone, upright bass
Steve Mugalian, drums
13. The Last Lullaby
The golden light shines above
As we all gather here with love
And as our voices gently bend
You are on your way back home again
The leaves are thick upon the ground
Where you now walk without a sound
The birch tree bows as you go by
As we sing to you this last lullaby
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Your laughter will ripple down the rivers to the bays
Your smile will spread through all our days
We’ll be real good to ourselves and won’t cry
While we sing to you this last lullaby
The woods are rich and dark and green
As pure and sweet as you’ve ever seen
She takes your hand and the meadow sighs
As she brings you home with this last lullaby
She takes your hand and the meadow sighs
And she brings you home with this last lullaby
Ernest Troost, vocals, guitars, pump organ
Nicole Gordon, harmony vocals
Dave Stone, upright bass
Charlie Bisharat, fiddle