Get all 10 James Hersch releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Zersch, The Guitar Acoustic, The Stretch, 52 Songs in 52 Weeks: 2012, 52 Songs in 52 Weeks: 2009, Worship Songs (1999), Story Songs (2002), Cows, Bugs and Aardvarks (1999), and 2 more.
1. |
After the Snow
04:30
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Number 16
April 16th, 2009
After the Snow
The girls get so pretty in the spring
And the eyes of the boys go wandering
The life inside them starts to flow
After the snow
The sun gets higher over the towns
The river's fast and floods the ground
The shadowed ice is the last to go
After the snow
Oh darlin', we've shed another year
Oh darlin', it's changing that we fear
But the bluebird's in the nest
And the big black crow is
Singing what we already know
Life is good, after the snow
The paths are telling on our face
The years have taken their rightful place
But we have ways to make them glow
After the snow
Laughter still makes music here
The cold can't touch the melody we hear
And we have so many songs to go
After the snow
Now I know you think I might have changed
And true, the time is passing strange
We fell in love so long ago...
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2. |
Well Watered Lawn
04:11
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Number 30
July 23rd, 2009
Well Watered Lawn
I walk the block this July morning
I catch the 7:10 Express
I'll do the same thing come tomorrow
This is what I call my life I guess
Sometimes... I sneak a look around me
Sometimes... I'm afraid of what I see
Bouncing in a bus with all these faces
Thinking about my life and how it's supposed to be
And I wake up to the sound
Of a sprinkler on my lawn
And I pack my lunch up everyday
Go to work and earn my pay
I don't listen to the voice that says run away and be gone
From my well watered lawn
I bet everyone here's a different person
Standing in their backyard sipping something with their friends
Taking out their shiny dreams for each other
Sharing their somedays and their happy ends
Sometimes... I sneak a look around me
Sometimes... I'm afraid of what I see
Bouncing in a bus that we call living
On a freeway to somewhere that's anything but free
I watch the yards go flying by me
Some of them look so dead and brown
Makes me wonder why I care about green lawns
Why I'm putting so much nitrogen down
Sometimes... I sneak a look inside me
Sometimes... I'm afraid of what I see
A thirsty life waiting for the water
Nothing but brown where my green grass used to be
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3. |
First to Break
04:13
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Number 25
June 18th, 2009
First To Break
Be the first to break
For someone else's sake
When someone else's heart
Is breaking in two
Be the first to hear
Someone's silent tear
Be the last to say
I'm giving up on you
Be the turning tide
In someone's darkest night
Be the sun's first light
Of a morning yet to come
Be the tiny spark
In someone's lonely dark
A flicker of hope for a heart
Waiting for the sun
Be the nick of time
The last chance danger sign
The exit that we find
When life speeds away
Be the get away path
For someone who is lost and trapped
In the lies and the glitter flash
That blinds our way
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4. |
The Good Son
04:20
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Number 03
January 15th, 2009
The Good Son
Dad
You hear me now
I found my way
Found my way somehow
Dad
I have a boy too
Don't you think I know
He looks a little like you
Dad
The dream is done
The changes come
The changes run right through me
Time
To let it go
I think of you
And I think I know myself
And I
See your face
By the light of the dashboard
We would drive all night long
And I
Hear your voice
From the dark of my room
And everything's all right
And I'm
Trying to be strong
The way you showed me
The way I saw when you were young
The good son
Dad
My heart is weak
Too weak to follow
The path I told you I would seek
And Dad
You gave me time
I took your blessing
But I left too much behind
'Cause Dad
The dream is done
The changes come
The changes run right through me
Time
To let it go
I think of you
And I think I know myself
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5. |
Tomorrows
04:17
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Number 04
January 22nd, 2009
Tomorrows
I put some weight back on
I got some sun on my skin
I got up early enough
To make the kids something
I even walked
Them to the bus stop
I even talked
To the passing cop
And as she drove by she smiled
And I smiled at her
I lived a nightmare out
Like a prisoner in the dark
I have a husband who did not run
Somehow I didn't kill my heart
I know about
Covering your tracks
I know the route
To hell and back
But the morning sun
Is rising on me
And I see tomorrows
Rows and rows of tomorrows
Like a garden of flowers
Fed by the rain
I'm burying my pain
In my tomorrows
Swing set
Backyard
Hear my babies laughing
So hard
Who knew
Tomorrows grew
So heavy on the vine
I put some weight back on
I bought a new outfit
I talked to my neighbor at the mailbox
She didn't mind a bit
I got a new prayer
For the bedtime
A little family there
That seems to be still mine
And I am theirs again
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6. |
The Table Of My Family
03:37
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Number 46
November 12th, 2009
The Table of My Family
Driving the back way to Big Lake
Up the old Elk River road
Caramel rolls like only my Mom makes
Fill my nose, make me hungry as we go
My cousins all are there
The noise fills the air
And into the house we tear
And we pass around the memory
Around the table of my family
In the gathering time of the year
I'm connected to the heart of me
Around the table of my family
And we bless the ones who aren't here
Laughter from the crowded kitchen
Too many aunts - not enough room
We put a scroll into the player piano
Uncle Albert sings a tune
My cousins all are there
There's music in the air
My Dad says the table prayer
Then we pass around the memory
Around the table of my family
In the gathering time of the year
I remember who you are to me
Around the table of my family
And we'll bless the ones who aren't here
Driving back home from Big Lake
Past the farm with my family's name
CCO on the radio and Mom's still reminding Dad
Who won that last card game
The Ford roars through the air
I fall asleep without a care
And there are memories to spare
When we passed around the memory
Around the table of my family
In the gathering time of the year
I'm connected to the heart of me
Around the table of my family
And we'll bless the ones who aren't here
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7. |
Sixth Sense
04:18
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Number 09
February 26th, 2009
Sixth Sense
It's time to leave the harbor
Safe where I've been
Time to read the stars
And fill my sail with wind
Roll out the big water
No direction home
Sail into the mystery
The reason I was born
Fill me with believing
What I feel inside of me
Fill me with a sixth sense
When the other five lie to me
It's time to leave the harbor
That's not where I belong
But the open sea in front of me
Is where my soul is drawn
Keep my hand from trembling
As up the waves I climb
Mercy rain upon me
At the unexpected time
Fill up my eyes
With unfamiliar skies
Fill up my eyes
With glory I don't recognize
Fill up my eyes
Show the truth and where it lies
Fill up my eyes
Leaving these harbor lights
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8. |
Moving
03:38
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Number 52
December 24th, 2009
Moving
From your mother's sheltering arms - moving
Through a world of risks and charms - moving
This wind's for your wings
Say goodbye to your growin' up things
You're moving
From our faces in your eyes - moving
From our backyard sunset skies - moving
From your prairie home
Where you painted out your own
Dream of moving
Oh the joy to be on your quest - moving
You often see your life the best when you're moving
The road is clear for you
You've packed the love you need to get you through
The moving
A tear or two, becomes a smile
To see a world so new, so free, so wild
And it's waving, you're moving
So take a breath and set your feet to moving
Joy is in the bittersweet of moving
Finding your way
On this sad and happy day
You're moving
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9. |
Jacqueline's Dreams
04:23
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Number 08
February 19th, 2009
Jacqueline's Dreams
Jacqueline's dreams
Float in a cloud above her
High as the moon
Bright as the sun
Jacqueline's dreams
Float for the ones who love her
River of smiles
For everyone
Jacqueline's dreams
The Rodeo days of summer
Eyes of a boy
Bluer than rain
Jacqueline's dreams
Riding the way out yonder
Free as the wind
Over the plain
Spinning photographs
Of sleepovers and belly laughs
Running down grandma's path
The cold, the lake, the water splash, the moon...
Jacqueline's dreams
Cutting a perfect figure
Painting the ice
The point of her toes
Jacqueline's dreams
The girl in the movie picture
Clicking her heels
And home she goes
Jacqueline's dreams
Shine like a silver dollar
The day she was born
Magic and new
Jacqueline's dreams
Paint like a water color
The bright of her eye
To color her view
Jacqueline's dreams
Float in a cloud above her
High as the moon
Bright as the sun
Jacqueline's dreams
Float for the ones who love her
River of smiles
For everyone
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10. |
Things I Said
03:01
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Number 12
March 19th, 2009
Things I Said
And if I ever said
How easy it is to be with you
How hours seem to melt into
The blue desert sky
And if I ever said
The simple way you touch my face
Can set the sun free to chase
The blue from my eye
My only regret
Would be my honesty
That I would share the deepest part of me
So if you'd be so
Kind to forget
And erase the poetry
From your heart, from your head
The things I said
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11. |
Balance
03:03
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Number 24
June 11th, 2009
Balance
Looks like your world is a little overloaded
Out of step and over bloated with the
Expectations you've collected
And all the little promises you've neglected
Balance, it's been a long old time
Since you had balance
Life is the judge and you fit the crime
To every road there's a fork now and then
To every rule there's a little bit of bend
But every turn I see you take, a little closer to the line
A little closer to the break
Everyone knows and you keep smiling
You've got demons and they're all speed dialing with a
Room at the end where the party's going on
Who pulled the plug, Billy, who, now you're surely gone
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12. |
Good Old Days
03:02
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Number 11
March 12th, 2009
Good Old Days
Kids are in bed
It's the end of the day
Scratching my head at the bills we pay
Oh darlin'
I miss the good old days
I add it up
Then I subtract
There's not not enough left to get there and back
Oh darlin'
I miss the fat old days
You'd buy my coffee
I'd buy your tea
Say, come along to the show with me
But I guess that'll have to wait
I guess you and I will be eating off the leftover plate
Again
They say the best things in life are free
Everyone feels the misery
Oh darlin'
I miss the good old days
They say it'll all come back someday
What the hell are they supposed to say
Oh darlin'
I miss the fat old days
Now I'm not greedy, neither are you
We've both got a lot that we're holding' on to
But life gets shaky when there's mouths to feed
One bad break and we're out on the street
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13. |
Immanuel
03:14
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Number 26
June 25th, 2009
Immanuel by James Hersch
(written for the 125th Anniversary of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Canova, SD)
Before there was a steeple
There was a sense of grace
On those who gathered here
To build a house of faith
Before the endless prairie
Turned to pasture and corn
A little prayer was answered
A little church was born
The people came to worship
In the pews of Immanuel
And came to love that little church
With the steeple bell
That rang for Sunday morning
Or someone's earthly goodbye
And all was well with Immanuel
As the years went rolling by
And the bell rang
And the people sang
Glory, glory to God
The precious wooden altar
Where many cares were laid
Many hearts were lifted
Many vows were made
Sorrow was no stranger
But hope was always found
And all was well with Immanuel
When the steeple bell would sound
And the bell rang
And the people sang
Glory, glory to God
Ten miles south of here
There's a four lane interstate
That can take you around the world
On the winds of fate
But no matter where you journey
No matter where you dwell
You faith is still your compass
And your home is Immanuel
Where the bell rings
And the people sing
Glory, glory to God
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14. |
When Lights Go Out
04:10
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Number 34
August 20th, 2009
When Lights Go Out
When lights go out
Your eyes adjust
Until you're seeing in the dark
When lights go out
You might stumble around
You might break something you love
So first you need to be very still
And let your vision change
Let your world be strange
When lights go out
You reach out your hands
For something stable and secure
To catch your fall
To catch your loss of confidence
What you thought was sure
And then your first step is very small
Takes the breath from you
It's all that you can do
When lights go out
Your memory maps the world for you
Where you are, where you've been
But something shifts, something changes
Before the lights come on again
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15. |
Stories That We Tell
02:42
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Number One
December 30th, 2008
Highway hum a song
A song I know so well
It's a fine line between here and gone
The stories that we tell
Rocky Mountain melodies
From the desert to the Great Northwest
Where Sadie and Buelah and Alta want to sing
Right to their final breath
Holding on through the snow
Still a hundred miles to go
Sing along to that old song
On the all night radio
I don't believe there's a finer thing
Heaven would allow
Than voices up close with the holy ghost
Doing the best we know how
Who can know the days we have
Who can know our time
But the stories and songs we pass along
Are what we leave behind
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16. |
Fear Of Falling
03:41
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Number 05
January 29th, 2009
Fear Of Falling
Long ago when the winter snow had drifted high
We would climb the baseball bleachers, my friend and I
Stare down from the top rail on the blanket of snow
Eyes wide and daring each other to be the first to go
And the fear of fallin' so clear in my eye
And the fear of feeling I was afraid to try
And the fear of missing a chance to fly
Fear of falling
Many times I've stood and felt that same fear I knew
At the edge of something I wasn't sure I could do
When your heart is pounding and you're doubting yourself
Surprise to find you're really just like everyone else
And the fear of fallin' is the reason you climb
Fear of finding you've run out of time
Fear of gravity that weighs on your mind
The fear of falling
The fear of falling is a gift to us all
How it keeps us creeping back to the edge of the wall
And tonight I'm climbing as the snow's falling down
Another leap of faith into the snow covered ground
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17. |
I Built My House
04:38
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Number 51
December 17th, 2009
I Built My House
I built my house
On the rock of believing
Thankfully receiving
The gift that's given me
I built my house
As an offering for living
Swore in the building
It's slave I'll never be
I built my house
Oh I know, oh I know
Life is coming after me
Oh I know, oh I know
Love is coming for me
I built my house
From a thousand different journeys
The faces and the singing
And the joy I came to know
I built my house
In the angles I imagined
With the tools I could fathom
And learned to love it so
I built my house
I built my house
On a hill above the water
Where the southern sun can find me
And wake me from the dark
I built my house
For the mercy of the morning
The light of the dawning
The beating in my heart
I built my house
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18. |
Heaven Makes a Motion
03:12
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Number 10
March 5th, 2009
Heaven Makes A Motion
Heaven makes a motion
Heaven makes a space
Heaven says it's time for you to
Come and take your place
No time to be chasing
All your worldly things
Following the voice
Of the angel as she sings
You might be a-leaving
All weary and worn
You might be departing
In the middle of the storm
But the Savior calmed the waters
With a wave of his hand
Come to take you home
To the glory land
Singing I'll fly away
I'll fly away
Come that beautiful day
I know your eyes are weary
And shadows start to fall
The valley of darkness
Is waiting for us all
Shedding our burden
At the break of day
Holy Ghost is with us
Every step of the way
Now it's quiet on the prairie
On a cold winter's eve
Peace in the hearts of the
Ones who believe
And the last shade of color
From the darkening day
Is the promise of heaven
In the cold and gray
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19. |
Four Thousand Miles
04:43
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Number 15
April 9th, 2009
Four Thousand Miles
Four thousand miles
But the smiles speak the language
Big rivers flow
People know just who you are
They see it in your face
So much we say
Never needs to be heard
So much we say
You can say without a word
Four thousand miles
And a song tells a story
On an ancient stage
To the power and the glory
Let the voices ring
So much we feel
Never needs to be heard
So much we fear
Is in our words
So we draw the line, draw the line
On a map somebody made
Tells us that we're different
Make us more afraid
We draw the line, draw the line
And in our map we trust
Until we get a closer look at you
And what we see is us
Four thousand miles
And the smiles take me home
Though I've never been
They know me to my soul
I see it in your face
So much we say
Never needs to be heard
So much we pray
We can pray without a word
Still we draw the line, draw the line
On a map somebody made
Tells us that we're different
Make us more afraid
But still we draw the line,draw the line
And in some map we trust
Until we get up close enough to see
How much you look like us
Four thousand miles
And I'm walking through the wonder
How the distance divides:
Not at all
And the map I'm living on
With every new face I meet
Is being redrawn
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20. |
Home Again
02:48
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Number 49
December 3rd, 2009
Home Again
Flock of geese heading south
Feel the time running out
It's time to go
It's time to go back home again
Rise up, fly away
Words I need to say
It's time to go
It's time to go back home again
Rivers we cross, mountains we climb
But in our hearts there comes a time
To go back home again
Dream chasers, chosen ones
Soldiers or prodigal sons
It's time to go
We're gonna go back home again
Broken hearted or full of joy
Daddy's girl or wandering boy
I know
We're gonna go back home again
Rivers we cross, mountains we climb
But in our hearts there comes a time
To go back home again
So leave a light in the porch
Leave the key by the door
It's time to go
It's time to go back home again
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21. |
He Reminds Me
03:07
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Number 18
April 30th, 2009
He Reminds Me
Who says he can't talk
He says it all with his eyes
He reminds me
Who says he can't walk
He glides easy with a smile
He reminds me
Of what I really love in him
And in myself
How much one life can live
For someone else
He still wants to shake your hand
Touch you on the arm
As he passes
He still wants to know your name
Introduce us all to each other
And what I really learn from him
In these days
He wants to bring us all together
So he stays
So don't say you wish he could leave
He believes in the reason he's still here
Somewhere in that easy smile
For a while we can be together
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22. |
Mystery Of Change
04:01
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Number 22
May 28th, 2009
Mystery Of Change
Play the mystery of change
Play the song of a new beginning
Come from deep in your heart
Hear the sound of your true voice singing
And if the song is meant for you
If the frequency is true
Then play
The doors that close behind
Echo with a lonesome sound
The doors that open wide
Whisper now, you're journey-bound
We are like children here
So little we survey
So lost inside our fear
So found when we make our way
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23. |
Drift Away My Soul
03:15
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Number 48
November 26th, 2009
Drift Away My Soul to Thee
Drift away my soul
From the suffering
Drift away my soul
To thee
Echoes in my heart
Memories of love
Drift away my soul
To thee
In the darkening day
By the sun's last ray
Light a way my soul
To thee
Round the river's bend
As I near the end
Drift away my soul
To thee
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24. |
Rivers Of Rain
04:56
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Number 44
October 29th, 2009
Rivers Of Rain
Rivers of rain down the window pane
And a wake up call to nowhere
In a motel room in the morning gloom
Time to make my way to somewhere
I splash my feet up the rain drenched street
Fall into the seat of my car
And the rivers of rain are singing your name
And I'm wondering' where you are
I remember a time that was yours and mine
On the Middle Fork of the Salmon
Twenty years old with a band of gold
It was the feast before the famine
Because I caught you cryin' down where the river winds
You said you're off to find what's calling you
And the river sang and I felt the pain
And away from me you flew
I followed the work as a bankers clerk
Then the market took a tumbling
The town went bust, no one you could trust
All around me lives were crumbling
There was a job for me with a collector's fee
And a fever for the gold
And the river went dry, and in the city I
Let my heart go hard and cold
Now I serve my time on the banker's dime
Traveling and foreclosing
It's my job it seems to kill someone's dreams
And I'm gifted in the disposing
But this stone cold heart just came apart
On a morning dark I hear that song
In the river of rain the old familiar pain
And my love for you goes on
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25. |
September's Open
02:37
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Number 37
September 10th, 2009
September's Open
September's open
Coming through
Forgive the summer
For leaving you
Garden is full
Overgrown , overdue
Sun's not so high, the sky's...
A different blue
September's open
But summer's smile is
Left on your face
Thrown in a pile
World is in motion
Less day, more night
Moon is more yellow
The air has more bite
Time to go out and collect all the summer has grown in you
Pull your tomatoes and pick your favorite memories too
September's open
Sweet harvest time
Gold in the apple
Like thick sunshine
Time for goodbye
Time for hello
Time to begin
Time to let go
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26. |
You Made Me Smile
02:52
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When the road was long and lazy
You were my traveling friend
When my searching made me sad and lonely
You made me smile again
When the road was dark and distant
Seemed like the miles would never end
I followed the singing and it was always to you
You made me smile again
In a blur time passes
Like prairie grasses
Now the looking glass is growing dim
But as the road becomes a mystery
You make me smile again
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27. |
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River is fast
River is high
Here in my little raft
I toss my little fly
Trout's gonna make a fool out of me
There's a hatch on the water
Hoppers on the shore
Old Mister Trout
Couldn't ask for anything more
Trout's gonna make a fool out of me
I get a good drift
I mend my line
Hard to fool that fish
But I keep trying
Trout's gonna make a fool out of me
Some guys play golf
They yell at their ball
Some guys ride a Harley
Get away from it all
Some guys work on cars
Some shoot a gun
But I'm a fool for chasing trout
Out here in the sun
Trout's gonna make a fool out of me
River is fast
River is deep
I know what to throw back
And I know what to keep
Trout's gonna make a fool out of me
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28. |
Old Tree
04:21
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The sound of the chainsaw splits the air
Today your tree comes down
Branch by branch, piece by piece
They lay that giant on the ground
Twas your mother poured the water from your baptizing
Around the trunk of that oak tree
When high school was over you made your plans
Under that giant canopy
Measuring years, marking time
For a restless boy to climb
Under it's shade you grew
When you left, I guess
Old Tree left too
Beautiful tree whose life was long
We marked it's final day
And you're right here by my side
Though you're 300 miles away
And it feels right that it's in the fall
With snow flakes in the sky
The sun sets through a gaping hole
That Old Tree used to occupy
Measuring years, marking time
Such a mighty tree you'll rarely find
Under it's shade you grew
When you left, I guess
Old Tree left too
The sound of the geese heading south
Lit by a silver moon
The season turns, I hear the song
Old Tree is in that tune
Measuring years, marking time
Strong in the bright sunshine
Here's a song for tree and you
When you left, I guess
Old Tree left too
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29. |
The Big Change
04:30
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When the big change arrives
And you unpack reality
Try it on for size
Shift the mirror so you can see
Colors of the season
Woven in a pattern
Love you've shown
Love you've known
When the big change arrives
Blowing in like November snow
You might search the skies
For the strength to get up and go
Colors of the season
Woven in a pattern
Love you've shown
Love you've known
When the big change arrives
And you separate the gift from the ghost
You might be surprised
What you gather that means the most
Colors of the season
Woven in a pattern
Love you've shown
Love you've known
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30. |
Ketchikan, Alaska
03:50
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I lost the poem I wrote for you
In Ketchikan, Alaska
On hotel stationary
On the morning after you went home
Hard for me to keep things safe
Hard for me to keep track
Good for me to miss your face
Your touch, and most of all your laugh
When you laugh so hard your eyes get wet
From something I did or something I said
And I feel like I'm the king of the world indeed
I feel like I am everything you need
I found the love I lost for you
In the junk I pile inside
That keeps me from an honest view
Of who I show and who I try to hide
Now there's wood smoke in the air
And the daylight goes so fast
I don't mind the dark and chill
As long as I can make you laugh
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James Hersch Minneapolis, Minnesota
I live on this piece of prairie. I'm passionate and dedicated to writing songs in hopes of singing them for people. I don't think I could continue without both ends of that process. Create then hope. It's here I write songs, and here I wait to sing them for others. ... more
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