DOWN THIS ROAD
LYRICS & INSTRUMENT CREDITS

Gary Wright: vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, tenor guitar
Leah Weiss: vocals, fiddle, rhythm guitar
Al Tharp: elecric and acoustic bass, banjo, keyboards, 2nd harmony vocals, electric guitar, tenor guitar, viola, balaphone
Dave Biddison: drums, percussion
Billy Ware: percussion on "He Was a Friend of Mine"

 

1. SNOW DON’T FALL 3:16
(Townes Van Zandt; Bug Music, arranged by Gary Wright)

Snow don’t fall on summer’s time,
Wind don’t blow below the sea.
My love lies ‘neath frozen skies,
And waits in sweet repose for me.
Her eyes did laugh and her lips did sing,
And her legs did roll, my soul to bring.
And her hair did curl,
And her thoughts unfurled
Like birds upon the wings of spring.
My love I need not see
To know she casts her glance at me.

2. SINCE I LOST YOUR LOVE 2:40
(Leah Weiss and Gary Wright; © 2002 Weems Creek Music, ASCAP/Saltworks Music, ASCAP)

Sun don’t shine so bright
Since you left me here alone.
Rain don’t fall so sweet
Since you said goodbye to me.
Moon don’t smile on me
Since you packed your bags and gone.
Dark night fills my soul
Since I lost your love.

3. MEDICINE SPRINGS 3:42
(Ralph Stanley, Bill Grant; Fort Knox
Music, Inc., BMI/Trio Music Company, Inc., arranged by Gary Wright)

I wandered way back in the mountain,
Searching for fortune and fame.
I found where the water
Runs sweet from the hill,
They call it the Medicine Spring.
It was there I met a fair maiden
With yellow hair and big eyes of blue.
She told me one day
That she loved only me,
That she’d forever be true.
I wanted the best for my darling,
But my pockets were empty and bare.
My love was so great
For this sweetheart of mine,
I took what another man had.
As I sit here alone in this jailhouse
With a letter I can’t hardly read,
It says that my darling
Has left this old world,
Is waiting in heaven for me.
Someday I’ll go back to the mountain,
Where I’ll spend the rest of my days,
And the water that runs
From the side of the hill
Will water her flowery grave.

4. BIG PAIN 3:27
(Leah Weiss; © 2002, Weems Creek Music, ASCAP)

Young man, big pain/big heart, big pain.
Big words, big pain/small thoughts,
Big pain.
Hard words, big pain/hard heart,
Big pain,
Hard blows, big pain/soft cries, big pain.
Young son, big pain/wide eyes, big pain.
Bruised soul, big pain/young man,
Big pain.

5. MOONSHINER 4:44
(Public Domain; arranged by Gary Wright & Leah Weiss)

I’ve been a moonshiner
For 17 long years.
I spent all my money
On whiskey and beer.
I’ll go to some hollow
And set up my still,
And make you a gallon
For a two dollar bill.
I’ll go to some bar room
And drink with my friends,
Nobody to follow
To see what I spend.
God bless those pretty women,
I wish they were mine,
Their breath is as sweet as
The dew on the vine.
I’ll eat when I’m hungry,
And I’ll drink when I’m dry,
Earn dollars when I’m hard up,
Religion when I die.
The whole world’s a bottle
And life’s but a dram,
When the bottle gets empty
It ain’t worth a damn.

6. NOTHING MATTERS 3:30
(Gary Wright; © 2002 Saltworks Music, ASCAP)

Nothing moves me like it ought to,
Nothing matters anymore.
All my days are dark and cloudy,
All my nights, long and cold.
Where is the strength I need
To save me from this never ending
Sorrow in my soul?
If I make it through this night,
Will there be a morning light?
Oh, how I need to know.
Empiness at every turn
Causes me to long and yearn
For peace I’ve known before.
Caught between what used to be
And a new life on an open sea,
I lie here on this shore.

7. DOWN THIS ROAD 5:12
(Leah Weiss; © 2002, Weems Creek Music, ASCAP)

Caught each others' eye,
The looks he gave made her sigh.
Good time well ran dry,
Now they’re living a lie.
Could we walk down this road again,
And try to put things right?
If we knew what we know, back then,
Would that make it fine?
Could we walk down this road again,
And know that it’s sweet life?
Working for the man
Pushing scam after scam,
Not revealing his hand.
We’re sacrificial lambs.
Bombs bursting in air.
I heard screams in the square.
Taxicab goes nowhere.
Children full of despair.
Lips brushing mine.
So warm here inside.
Autumn leaves look divine.
We don’t have much time.

8. HE WAS A FRIEND OF MINE 4:16
(Public Domain; arranged by Gary Wright)

He was a friend of mine.
Every time I think about him, now,
I just can’t keep from crying.
He died on the road,
He never had enough money
To pay his room or board.
I stole away and cried
Cause I never had too much money
And I’ve never been quite satisfied.
He never done no wrong.
A thousand miles from home
And he never harmed no one.
He was a friend of mine.
Every time I hear his name,
I just can’t keep from crying.

9. PRETTY POLLY 3:28
(Public Domain; arranged by Gary Wright, Leah Weiss, & Al Tharp)

Child, pretty Polly,
Come go along with me,
We will be married
And pleasure we’ll see.
I used to be a rambler,
I stayed around town,
Courted pretty Polly,
Such beauty’s never been found.
Where’s pretty Polly,
Yonder she stands,
With a ring on the finger
Of her lily white hand.
Remember, pretty Polly,
Remember what you said,
That you never loved me,
You’d rather see me dead.
There’s pretty Polly,
With a ring on her hand,
She’s gonna be married,
I ain’t gonna be the man.

10. WHITE PINE GROVE 3:36
(Leah Weiss & Gary Wright; © 2002 Weems Creek Music, ASCAP/Saltworks Music, ASCAP)

Daddy’s little girl, mama’s precious pearl,
Brought up in their small town ways.
Though she tried to please,
Never felt at ease,
They said it was just a phase.
When she left, she left for good;
Never looked back, she understood.
Out in the world she was to face
All life’s sorrow, all its grace.
Couldn’t find her way,
Or find the words to say,
Each time she tried was all in vain.
Things they talked about
Put her heart in doubt.
She loved them
But they caused her pain.
Snow falls on the white pine grove.
Thoughts race through her mind.
Daddy’s little girl, mama’s precious pearl,
Leaving home and needing more.
Tears run down her face,
It’s time to go away.
She writes a note, then shuts the door.

11. I TRULY UNDERSTAND 4:35
(Public Domain; arranged by Gary Wright)>

I truly understand
That you love another man
And your heart shall no longer be mine.
I wish to the Lord I’d never been born,
Or died when I was young.
Never to have seen your two brown eyes,
Or heard your flattering tongue, my love.
Remember what you said to me
When we stood side by side,
You told me that you’d marry me,
And never be another man’s wife.
I’ll never listen
What another woman says,
Let her hair be either black or brown,
I’d rather be on top of some hill
With the rain a pourin’ down.

12. DARK AS A DUNGEON 3:24
(Merle Travis; Unichappell Music, Inc., BMI, arranged by Leah Weiss)

Come listen, all you fellows,
So young and so fine,
And seek not your fortune
Way down in the mine.
It’ll form as a habit and seep in your soul
‘Till the stream that your blood runs
Turns black as the coal.
It’s dark as a dungeon
And damp as the dew,
Where danger is double
And the pleasures are few.
Where the rain never falls,
The sun never shines,
It’s dark as a dungeon
Way down in the mines.
There’s many a man
I’ve seen in my day
Who lives just to labor
His whole life away.
Like a fiend with his dope
And a drunkard his wine,
A man will have lust
For the lure of the mine.
Well, I hope when I’m gone
And the ages do roll,
My body will blacken and turn into coal.
Then I’ll look from the door
Of my heavenly home
And pity the miner digging my bones.

13. REMEMBER 2:21
(Gary Wright; © 2002 Saltworks Music, ASCAP, arranged by Al Tharp)

Remember the man that that has gone.
Remember his face,
Remember the place
He had in this life, in our lives.
Remember our friend,
The look in his eyes,
Now we cry.

14. Shuckin the Brush 3:42
(Public Domain)