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BackTracks (1999)

by James Hersch

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washburj
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Jennifer Matysik
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1.
Twenty Two Little Minds 02:59
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Twenty two little minds all in a row One way or another, little minds are gonna grow Each one different, ready one and all To be taught to think big or taught to think small Twenty two little minds like an empty page So much gets written at a tender age Faces wide, open to the touch Gonna have to learn how to hide when it hurts too much Twenty two little minds looking at me I wonder what they're thinking, I wonder what they see I do my best; I wish I could do more For those twenty two minds on the kindergarten floor Twenty two little minds all in a row One way or another, little minds are gonna grow Each one different, every one the same Twenty two little minds, twenty two little flames
2.
Grandma's Covers 03:08
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CHORUS: Let the moon dance over the milky way Let the sun come and chase it away Let the shadows grow deep You're off to sleep Safe under Grandma's covers A patchwork of colors and yarns To hold you as surely as Grandma's arms Here in the dark you know each patch by heart Safe under Grandma's covers The angels watch from above On a little bed covered in Grandma's love Here in the dark you know each patch by heart Safe under Grandma's covers Chorus The corduroy patches are wearing thin The satin and velvet ones too By the way your little hands Are holding these strands It's almost like they could bring Grandma Right here to you Maybe they do
3.
Little Charlie Franklin 02:59
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Me and Charlie Franklin Sneaking out across the floor We want to dance with Susan and there’s Bound to be a tug-of-war I lose my nerve but Charlie’s cool Susan proves that she’s no fool As she laughs and chooses Charlie for the chance Now Charlie’s gonna make that wheelchair dance Little Charlie Franklin Growing up on our street Through all those years his Doctors never thought he’d see He never could walk, he never could run He never had any trouble having lots of fun Charlie runs on something deep inside Something no doctor could prescribe Charlie, everybody dies But not everyone is wise with the time they’re given Charlie, I just have to bite my tongue When I they say you died too young I know you’re still living Little Charlie Franklin Didn’t make it to our wedding day But me and Susan Sent the invitation anyway And it was no surprise to anyone When the early spring brought us a son Laughing and dancing into this world he came And Charlie Franklin will be his name
4.
My Father's Life 03:43
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My father's life is bigger Bigger than the pain that I'm feeling now His love of life has moved me Even here at the end he's holding on somehow And even in his helplessness, his silence And his sometimes far off stare I believe his spirit's sailing through the dark To a better place somewhere My father's life is painted in the Faces of the many who have come to grieve In a world he colored gently with his teaching And how they'll miss him as he gently leaves And even in his helplessness, his silence And his sometimes far off stare The beauty of his life is not diminished Just another color there My father's life is folded in the Pages of the stories that he'll leave behind With humor and humility So tightly woven beautifully in every line And even in his helplessness, his silence And his sometimes far off stare He tells me that he loves me Helps me to be braver than I'd ever dare
5.
The River Flows 02:33
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The river flows From the woods, through the field and down the valley Winding as it goes Through the silent and the swift it passes But no one knows where the river flows In this life Like the waters of the river we are carried Tumbling as we go Through our joys and our sorrows and the changes But no one knows where the river flows It's the hand of God that pulls that river It's the hand of God that makes that change It's the hand of God that wipes every tear away The river flows And the years slip away like the water Winding to the sea And in the end, it's the love we remember But no one knows where the river flows
6.
Willcox, AZ 04:36
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In Wilcox, AZ you get a front row seat When the sun sets down somewhere over main street You can stand there and watch the desert sun go down Look any way you please, you still see the edge of town On a slow Saturday evening Nothing but a crow fussing and feeding On a flat rabbit out on the highway In Wilcox, AZ they’ve got a little general store For the last six years they’ve run their ‘going out of business’ sale It’ll bring that occasional tourist dollar in Maybe sell them a pair of boots or a polished arrowhead Out on the highway it says ‘Welcome to Wilcox, Friend From 904 friendly��Í people and 1 grumpy Texan’ Welcome to the Wilcox way of life Let the boy grow up, let him take a Wilcox wife Prosper them in this desert paradise God bless the Wilcox way of life In Wilcox, AZ you can turn your radio on Hit the seek button and it’ll just seek and seek and seek You can’t go to any movies, but you can rent one cheap They’ve got an old jukebox, they’ve got a brand new satellite dish Down at the Muni they will serve you nachos cheap With fresh guacamole and a sauce that’s giving off serious heat In Wilcox, AZ they say goodbye to you With a big yellow sign and a smile and a wave From a little girl with an ice cream cone at the Tastee Freeze Up on her Daddy’s shoulders, she’s happy as she can be The last sight I see as I’m rolling out of there That little girl waving, ice cream falling, there it goes Right in Daddy’s hair Welcome to the Wilcox way of life Let the boy grow up, let him take a Wilcox wife Prosper them in this desert paradise God bless the Wilcox way of life
7.
I See You 03:08
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When Minnesota’s covered clean and white I still see you, I still see you When a summer rain is whispering in the night I still see you, I still see you When a tulip breaks through the ground When a birch tree’s leaves come down When a whippoorwill makes that sound I see you Somewhere there is a girl with golden hair With all her animals around her there Alone out in the trees, she says a prayer I see you When a lilac bush is a heavy purple hue I still see you, I still see you When a flower grows where a flower never grew I still see you, I still see you When the corn is green and high When a sunset is a red and yellow sky When I have tears and I don’t know why I see you
8.
Flyer 03:18
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Thirty little ones in a circle form Sun comes through the window warm Clapping with every song I sing Little more with every smile I bring They’re five years old, they’ve got to dance Shaking all they got in those little pants They don’t even know my name Sing along with me just the same I know I’m just a flyer Another voice in the choir In a world that’s set on fire and burning down She’s a littlGe bitty woman, just a little bit bent She don’t know where all of her good times went She don’t want to watch TV She’s coming over here to make music with me And that music makes her feet get light Rising up from her chair like a bird in flight She knows every word to this old tune She dances every inch of this whole room Now all of you who want to fly Who think that you might want to try Soar above the fire with me From where I am it’s a sight to see That brighter fire burns within The weary eyes, the wrinkled skin Music makes it come alive If you’re ninety-two or only five
9.
Say Hello to the Light 03:26
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It was a cold dark night when the angels came Held my mother’s hand and they called her name It’s a brand new world now that she’s gone See the fire of her colors in the brand new dawn I’ll hold to the string between the dark and the light I’ll wait for the someday, for the beautiful sight One dance through the door, one gone in the night Say goodbye to the dark, say hello to the light There’s a world of pain, there’s a world of tears There’s also a time when the pain disappears The reunion waits like a brand new dawn Let the sun come up, let the pain be gone There are stories unwritten, there are songs to be sung In the eyes of the old, in the cries of the young I’m moved by the faces of those who came before me Take me off to their places, tell me their stories
10.
Morning Blend (Instrumental) 03:01
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11.
Cold Rain 04:03
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See the man outside my window Walking slowly with his cane Holding tight to his umbrella Through a cold and windy April rain Sometimes I see him and I wonder Is anyone there for him at home Or is he walking off to nowhere And taking every step alone I want to say I can’t be your legs I can’t be your arms But I can be someone to walk along and be strong I can’t take your steps I can’t take your pain But I can walk beside you in a cold rain I don’t know why some things happen I wish I could say I understood So many things I see around me That I would change if I only could And I see road you must travel I see the storm you're going through I can't do nothing about the weather But I can walk right beside you
12.
Isabella McBride 03:21
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Isabella McBride takes the hand of the stranger With a single tear she spoke every word Though she could not speak for her body has failed her A tear rolls down and the Óstranger heard In the shade tree home they care for the old Isabella McBride goes there to die To hell with the world, she sits by the window Curses a world that passes her by Now a song she loves, the voice of a stranger With every word a year peels away To another time, a dance in the moon light A walk in the garden, a lover’s bouquet How the magic lends itself to the music How the mystery of some old melody Can be frozen in time, now the song from a stranger Melts Isabella’s memory
13.
You've Given That to Me 04:12
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What’s the melody you’re singing, what’s the song that you play What’s the magic that you’re bringing, why are you here anyway There’s not much here for such a young one, for someone like you I have a picture in my mind of my family around the fire We were singing this very song You’v’e given that to me Lit the fire in my memory You’ve given that to me What’s the story that you told me that brought a tear to my eye Your passion reaches out to hold me, makes me glad to be alive I’m young and still it’s strange to find that I’m needing you You’ve given that to me You see the good in me that I don’t see You’ve given that to me What’s the point of this life when all our days disappear What is the legacy we’re leaving in the little time that we’re here It’s a sea of joy we should be sailing, but it’s a failing wind So I keep this picture in my mind, I take this moment for my heart Dancing over these diamonds with you You’ve given that to me Star to guide me on a lonely sea You’ve given that to me
14.
We Will Be Together 04:12
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There’ll be lots of room And lots of sky And lots of pretty places There’ll be lots of laughing Lots of hugs And lots of happy faces there And the bells will ring And the angels sing And the melody is merry And the only tears Will be happy tears And the night is never scary there And we will be together And we will be together You and I together in God’s love We won’t look back And we won’t look ahead We won’t worry about tomorrow We will wash our eyes In the light of joy Wash away our sorrows there We’ll see the ones We never knew Who loved us all that they could And the ones I loved Who went away Before I got to say goodbye

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BackTracks: These songs were released on CD only in 1999. Several were re-recorded in 2005.

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released June 1, 1999

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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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