Fenario Music Issue #7 - MP3 Links, Lyrics & Bios

Fenario - Folk Music e-Zine

Vol. 3, No. 1

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

Suzanne McDermott, "Meditation at Mount Auburn Cemetery" lyrics / bio
Diane Zeigler, "The Legend of Enoch Arden" lyrics / bio
Colorblind James Experience, "Purple and Gold" lyrics / bio
Dana Robinson, "What Would Woody Do" lyrics / bio

One of the chief purposes of folk songs is to tell a story. These four do, in various ways. Suzanne McDermott's lovely "Meditation at Mount Auburn Cemetery" recalls classic poems like Gray's "Elegy in a Country Churchyard," while Diane Zeigler's "The Legend of Enoch Arden" uses a childhood memory as a catalyst to actually retell the story of a poem by Tennyson. The Colorblind James Experience is about as eclectic a musical group as I've found on the folk scene and their "Purple and Gold" is a strange, over-the-top take on the whole teen car-crash genre. Dana Robinson's "What Would Woody Do" mixes the story of our time with the story of a legendary folksinger as a way of making sense of both - with the implied, satirical nod at today's "WWJD" movement and, by extension, Woody's own outlaw ballad, "Jesus Christ." Enjoy the listening!

With this issue, Fenario begins its third 12-song collection. In addition to all the songs 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

Meditation at Mount Auburn Cemetery

Today I walked among the stones
beneath the boughs, above the bones
I read the names, I checked the dates
on marble, granite, quartz and slate

I memorized some names of trees
by flower, bark and shape of leaf
I pressed my palms against a beech
while crushing mushrooms underneath

a crow harassed a red-tailed hawk
above the whistles, calls and squawks
of warblers, wrens and orioles
sparrows, finches, vireos

and as I walked along
I whispered prayers to dear ones
now long gone
was I just talking to myself
what does it matter
who can tell

and in the spice of lilac air
pulling soft blossoms from my hair
I wandered 'round Lake Halcyon
and I wondered where the dead had gone

when breath deserts the frame of home
with some regret and undertone
perhaps it sings a song that sounds
like a seed exploding underground

today I walked among the stones...

© 1996 Suzanne McDermott/Drexel Road Music (ASCAP)/All Rights Reserved

The Legend of Enoch Arden

My mother used to read us passages of poetry
but none of us would ever listen
but she would let use stay up late if we would hear them
her little stories in the kitchen

and by far the best she ever read
was one written by Tennyson
weíd listen hard to every word she said
it was the legend of Enoch Arden

They were three best friends since they were only children
Enoch and Philip and the beautiful Annie
when the two young boys grew up to be strong men
they both loved her but Annie loved one of them

He wasn¹t gonna try to tear them apart
so Philip still came to wish them well
but he was crying from a broken heart
when Annie wed Enoch Arden

He said ì Iíve loved you both since we were only children
and Annie, I know you have chosen well
Cause there is no better man who is walking this earth
no truer heart than Enoch Ardenî

Now Enoch worked on the open sea
trying to provide for his family
and one day Annie begged him not to leave
when they sent him on down to the Carribean

She said, ³Please don¹t go, youíll be gone so long
and I donít really know if I can be that strong²
He said, ³Annie my girl, don¹t you be sad
by the next full moon Iíll be back to you²

But ten years went by and he still never came
Maybe that ship went down in a winter rain
When Phillip came to ease her pain
he said,"Annie, we will never be whole again
but we will always remember him,
our oldest friend"

Together Annie and Phillip grew old
but there was something they¹d never know
that Enoch found land just west of the meridian
and he waited to be rescued home

They found him there as a very old man
and brought him back to his homeland
but when he heard Annie married again
she was blessed by Enoch Arden

Because he had loved them both since they were only children
and he knew that Annie had chosen well
and he pledged that heíd never try and tear them apart
but it pierced through the heart of Enoch Arden

My mother used to read us passages of poetry
and there was one by Tennyson
she would let us stay up late if we would listen
to the legend of Enoch Arden
it was the legend of Enoch Arden

Words and Music: Diane Zeigler
Copyright @ 1992 All Rights Reserved

Purple and Gold

Purple and gold, purple and gold
I got the blues for my baby wearing purple and gold
She wore purple and gold, purple and gold
She never liked no colors 'cept for purple and gold

She drove a '57 Chevy with a four on the floor
When she got that thing in gear, man, you could hear it roar
Was painted purple and gold, purple and gold
She never liked no colors 'cept for purple and gold

We used to love to listen to the radio
We never liked to listen to the news
We didn't want to hear no classical stuff
Just rock'n'roll and rhythm and blues

She was driving on a Sunday, she was driving too fast
The car spun off the highway it flipped over and crashed
Purple and gold, purple and gold
Everywhere was scattered bits of purple and gold

The day of the funeral was rainy and cold
All the people at the service wearing purple and gold
Purple and gold, purple and gold
She never liked no colors 'cept for purple and gold

We used to love to listen to the radio
We never liked to listen to the news
We didn't want to hear no classical stuff
Just rock'n'roll and rhythm and blues

I'm going to the store where the flowers are sold
I'm buying one dozen roses; six purple, six gold
Purple and gold, purple and gold
She never liked no colors 'cept for purple and gold

Purple and gold, purple and gold
She never liked no colors 'cept for purple and gold

What Would Woody Do
words and music by Dana Robinson

1)
I am just a working man without a stock to trade
I drive my rig from town to town, at night I get to play
I've not been down Wall street nor Madison avenue ~ what would Woody do
I was born into this life without a guarantee
No silver spoon, no safety net, no insurance policy
My personal salvation lay in carrying a tune ~ w.w.w.d

chorus
What would Woody do, what would Woody do?
Write about it, talk about it, sing about it too.
Hit the restless hobo trail under the skies of blue ~ w.w.w.d

2)
The days of hopping freight trains are all but past and gone
But there will always be a way to cross a distance that is long
All you need is gumption and a little howdy-do ~ w.w.w.d.
I'll bless the four directions with tobacco on the ground
I may be plenty lost right now, but tomorrow I'll be found
For the privilege of experience I wander fro and to ~ w.w.w.d

chorus
What would Woody do, what would Woody do?
Write about it, talk about it, sing about it too.
Evidence was written on the soles of his shoes ~ w.w.w.d.

3)
The sprawl suburban wasteland now spans from shore to shore
The drone of advertisements tell us to consume more
While the inner city indigent stand waiting in a queue ~ w.w.w.d.
Turn off that old t.v. set, turn on the radio
Switch off that computer screen, just say it's time to go
To have a rare and wondrous live is something we can choose ~ w.w.w.d.

chorus
What would Woody do, what would woody do?
write about it, talk about it, sing about it too
How it feels behind the wheel with the lonesome ramblin' blues ~ w.w.w.d

4)
He'd say when you find a thing that's wrong just put your finger on it
You don't have to be a poet to write a song about it
You're gonna get your point across if it's anywhere near true ~ w.w.w.d
Tell me 'bout the things you know in an ordinary way
The dust and dirt and joy and hurt in every single day
Each and every person here has got a point of view ~ w.w.w.d.

chorus
What would Woody do, what would Woody do?
Write about it, talk about it, sing about it too.
How it feels to walk a mile in someone else's shoes ~ w.w.w.d.

What would Woody do, what would Woody do?
Write about it, talk about it, sing about it too.
Hit the restless hobo trail under

Produced by Doug Petty
vocal/acoustic Guitar- Teddy Goldstein
Electric Guitar/Acoustic- Dan Petty
Drums- Shawn Pelton
Bass- Zev Katz