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Dirt

by Patrick Stanley

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1.
Been two hours and he still ain't called. Sirens sound from City Hall. Mama says it'll be alright, but in her room we hear her cryin. The telephone it starts to ring, the red one for emergencies. "There's been a fall," I hear them say. "All we can do now is pray." There ain't no canary calls. Even mountains can fall. Somewhere down beneath the ground. Only God can help him now. Where I'm from the coal is king, worth more than a wedding right. It don't care to bring you down. Its dust has painted this whole town. Preacher man comes to the door, said, "Son, your pa's off to meet the Lord." I guess he's in a better place with all that suit washed off his face.
2.
Pa told me, "Son, it ain't right to be lonely, so stay close to Jesus and find a good girl, cos the nights'll get long, and the bottles dry empty, the paychecks run out, but those arms will be warm." So I took his advice and I worked all through college, fell in love once, but she walked out the door, and the nights got long, and the bottles dried empty, the paychecks run out, so I called to the Lord. But I got no reply from the pews or the bedside; who knows if He'd listened or just gotten bored. So, I turned back to bottles of whiskey and moonshine and woke up each morning laid out on the floor. Til she found me one night, passed out in the moonlight, half on the steps, and half on the porch. She said, "Boy, you look tired. Come in for a while." I still ain't left her, and now we've got a boy. So I tell my son, "It ain't right to be lonely, so stay close to Jesus and find a good girl, cos the nights'll get long, and the bottles dry empty, the paychecks run out, but those arms will be warm."
3.
Mark Twain 04:11
We ain't had much since the store burned down, tried to find work where we could. Papa and me searched all over this town, and we both heard the river paid good. We boarded a steam boat the first of July when we found one that needed a crew. Five hundred dollars can seem like a lot til you see what them river men do. Son, would you steer if you're able? I'm doin my best to stay 'tween the shores, and I'm trying to keep food on the table. Just get through the night; I'm proud of you boy. Well, I ain't seen sunshine in God knows the days, and I ain't been home twice as long. Mama and my sisters are wastin away just waiting for us to come home. But August showed up in a hurry, and it seemed that September did, too. The first time we saw the snow flurries was the first time that both of us knew that we weren't going home when we planned, and the captain, he don't give a damn about the wife and the mother, the sisters and brother, that both of us left on the land. Pa wouldn't make it through winter. Loaded him in to a box made of pine, finally headed down river to meet with the family that we'd left behind.
4.
The Land 03:05
Well don't go takin chances if you can't afford the breaks. Don't spend your money on the cards when bills are left unpaid. Don't curse the God that you've ignored 'cos He won't give you rain when you won't lift your hands to work to try and raise that grain. There's never been a woman who'd want a worthless man, who'd sell his soul to keep from work; he'd never take her hand. So, you'll tramp around all lonely and do the best you can, but when a dollar comes your way, you'll just lose it again. So put yourself to workin, go on and fold that hand, thrust that shovel in the dirt, and cultivate that land. When the harvest comes around, you'll have something to show, for every drop of toiled sweat will cause that crop to grow.

credits

released April 8, 2014

All songs written by Patrick Stanley
Recorded and mixed in Nashville by Sean Knisely
Mastered by Bud Carroll at Trackside Studios

This record wouldn't have found its sound without the help of a group of really talented musical friends. Thank you to Adam Meisterhans, Drew Blake, Chris Miller, Sean Knisely and Annalisa Nutt.

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Patrick Stanley Huntington, West Virginia

West Virginia folk songs.

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