Fenario Music Issue #8 - MP3 Links, Lyrics & Bios

Fenario - Folk Music e-Zine

Vol. 3, No. 2

MP3 files of the following songs are at http://www.mp3.com/fenario:

Tom Ross, "Where Did You Sleep" lyrics / bio
Doug Hoekstra, "Where I Worked" lyrics / bio
Charlie Sohmer, "Never Been On Time" lyrics / bio
Jeff Talmadge, "Al's Roses" bio

A place, a time. A person out of place and out of time. These four songs play with the way we locate ourselves and each other, how we set what you might call our existential compass. "Where Did You Sleep" is a poignant mix of certainty and uncertainty - the 'where,' of course, is not really the issue. "Where I Worked" is a fable about missed chances and the waste of a lifetime spent pleasing others. "Never Been On Time" is a charm cast in the name of slowing down - this guy's loafing hasn't cost him anything essential. "Al's Roses" is an instrumental for guitar and violin; dedicated to a friend and fellow musician who, after a lifetime of riding the rods was swept away to another place by a Texas flood, it captures both grief and grandeur.

With this issue and its upcoming sister issue (303), Fenario completes its third volume of 12 songs. It also ends its association with About.com and makes its home at The Ballad Tree. In addition to being available for free listening and downloading in Real Audio and MP3 formats, each 12-song collection is available as a CDR, which can be purchased online from Fenario's page at mp3.com/fenario.

Lyrics

Where Did You Sleep?

Where did you sleep last night?
Was it a pleasure to be there
and did the moon admire your hair or did she care?

Where did you sleep last night?
My dreams were slowly deeper than midnight
Lighter than air she sang

Was it a pleasure to be there,
and did the moon admire your hair or did she care?
Where did you sleep last night?

© Tom Ross

Where I Worked
(Doug Hoekstra)

I worked in an office, way back when
I didn't have much in common with my so-called friends
Every afternoon, we'd head downstairs to take a break
Talk about baseball or something like that, I'd say let's catch a game
I'm not a hero, I was a clerk, where I worked

Ben was turning gray, but he still lived at home
Fell in love once years ago, nobody likes to be alone
Marriage was inside his mind, but she was outside the faith
And his mother's will turned out to be more powerful than fate
He had a picture of his dog in a golden frame
Mercury was his name, neither one of them complained

I'm not a hero, I was a clerk
The game was on TV, and that was where I worked

Ben lived to please, he paid 25,000 claims
We had a party, the boss bought pizza in his name
I gave my two week notice and said we should get together
But tomorrow turned to yesterday and sometimes into never
Soon after I left, I ran into a friend
Who told me that a heart attack had taken life from Ben
He was at his desk when he grabbed his chest and called for Mercury
I think about him everytime I say something I don't mean

I'm not a hero, I was a clerk
The game was on TV, and that was where I worked

Never Been On Time

Never Been On Time

Maybe broken hearted down on bended knee
Maybe fooled and flattered, where I ought to be
Maybe cold and lonely begging for a sign
I been on top but never been on time

I have followed blindly shadows in the dark
Seeking truth and comfort deep inside my heart
Noble gestures often wither on the vine
I been on top but never been on time

Been around the block a half a dozen times
I just draw the same conclusions every single time
I may be dazzled, I may go blind
But I don't care enough to cry

I could hold my baby softly in the night
Kiss away the sadness falling from her eye
Maybe keep a secret, maybe testify
Been on top, but never been on time

Overlooking favours, passed from hand to hand
Tempted to believe what I can't understand
Work to fill my belly, prayer to fill my mind
Been on top, but never been on time

I can smell the cool earth rain down on my grave
Taste the bitter harvest - what little I could save
I may die tomorrow, til then I'm doing fine
Been on top but never been on time

Al's Roses
(instrumental) music by Jeff Talmadge

Al Grierson, hobo, bard, philosopher, died in a Texas flash flood last year in a pickup he'd recently bought with funds raised from his friends across the country. He corresponded with just about everyone and always signed his letters: "For the Roses, Al." This instrumental is dedicated to him.