It wasn't long ago that I was calling Henson at his ranch outside Oklahoma City.
"Henson," I asked, "What are we gonna cut ?" "What do you mean ?", he answered.
"You know," I said, "What kind of songs do you want for the album ?"
"I'd like to find some songs I can get into, something with a little meat in them."
"Well, "I said cautiously, "I've got one about the disappearance of the buffalo."
"Heck; I don't want to record no buffalo songs. I've been raising them all my life."
"Well," I said, "I've got some songs about the Indians and their problems."
"Oh no you don't !" he exclaimed, "I'm married to one, bless her heart, and that's enough for me."
"OK," I said, "Why don't you come to Nashville and talk to the writers."
"Might as well," he answered, "That's the way I found 'Skip A Rope' and 'Red Skies Over Georgia.'
Why don't we call Dallas Frazier, Doodle Owens, and Red Lane. They always have good material,"
"Yeah," I said, "And there's some new writers in town.
Two Australians boys named Stewart and Ashdown and a guy named Dick Feller who wrote 'Lord, Mr Ford' and 'Any Old Wind That Blows'."
"Sounds good," he said, "Don't forget Tom T. Hall, and you are pretty good friends with Paul Simon, aren't you ?
I'll be in tomorrow morning on the 10:00 a.m flight."
Well, he came in and here's what we did. I hope you'll enjoy "This Is Henson Cargill Country" as much as Henson and I do.
Fred F. Carter Jr
HENSON CARGILL
THIS IS HENSON CARGILL COUNTRY
Atlantic SD-7279November/1973
Produced by Fred Carter Jr
Grady Martin, Fred Carter Jr, Jimmy Colvard, Dale Sellers, Pete Wade - guitarRay Edenton, Chip Young - rh.guitar
Bobby Thompson - guitar/banjo
Stu Basore - steel
Bob Moore, Henry Strzelecki - bass
Jerry Carrigan, Kenny Malone - drums
Hargus Pig Robbins - piano
Farrell Morris - percussion/vibraphone
Strings:
Nashville Symphony Orchestra
Vocals:
The Jordanaires, Gary S. Paxton
Recorded:
July/1973, Nashville
1.
SOME OLD CALIFORNIA MEMORY
(Arthur Leo Owens - Warren Robb) « © '73 Unichappell Music, BMI »Two Allegheny engines broke the silence of the morning
Cause whisper jets don't whisper when they take your world away
The one that I was living for flew out and she was glad
That's too bad cause she's all I've ever had
And there she goes on that seven-forty-seven
Climbing higher into heaven than my angel ever dared to fly
And she's twice as high on some old California mem'ry than she ever was on me
That silver bird is sparkling like a diamond in the sunlight
And the vapor trail is fading like the love she had for me
Her soft and tender feelings left with her and she was glad
That's too bad cause she's all I've ever had
And there she goes...
The tears that I've been holding back have finaly found their freedom
And the shoes that they're falling on may never get me home
The one that I was living for flew out and she was glad
That's too bad cause she's all I've ever had
And there she goes...
Two Allegheny engines broke the silence of the morning
Cause whisper jets don't whisper when they take your world away
**********
2.
BOXER
(Paul Simon) « © '68 Paul Simon Music, BMI »I am just a poor boy though my story's seldom told
I have squandered my resistance for a pocketful of mumbles
Such are promises all lies and jest
Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest
When I left home and my family
I was no more than a boy in the company of strangers
In the quiet of the railway station running scared laying low
Seeking out the poorer quarters where the ragged people go
Looking for the places only they would know
Lai la lai la la lai...
Asking only workman's wages I come looking for a job but I get no offers
Just a come on from the whores on Seventh Avenue
I do declare there were times when I was so lonesome I took some comfort there
[ banjo ]
Now I'm laying out my winter clothes and wishing I was gone going home
Where the New York City winters aren't bleeding me leading me going home
[ guitar ]
Lai la lai la la lai...
In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down
And cut him till he cried out in his danger and his shame
I am leaving I am leaving but the fighter still remains
Lai la lai la la lai...
**********
3.
I LIKE HAVING YOU AROUND
(Red Lane) « © '73 Tree Publishing, BMI »And you're much more than a lover to me I like having you around
Everybody loves one thing or another it's a natural thing to do
But there's more to it when you love them people
You have to love and like 'em too
And you're much more than a lover to me no truer friend I ever found
You see I not only love you honey I like having you around
Yes I do I like having you around
It's so easy to love from distance and leave it hangin' in the air
I think you have to touch and hold and kiss 'em
You have to be there to care
You see I not only love you honey I like having you around
Yes I do I like having you around
**********
4.
BUT YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU
(Mike Settle - Pierre Delanoe) « © '68 Devon Music, BMI »When the morning sun streaks across my room
Lord I'm wakened up from another dream of you
And I'm on the road once again it seems
That all I've left behind is a chain of broken dreams
But you know I love you yes I love you oh how I love you
I wish this love was all we'd need to live
What a life we'd have cause I've got so much to give
And it seems so wrong deep inside my heart
That this dollar sign whould be keeping us apart
But you know I love you yes I love you oh how I love you
And if only I could find my way back to the time
When the problems of this world had not yet crossed our minds
For the answer could be found in children's nursery rhymes
And I'd come running back to youand I'd come running back to you
No you know we can't live on dreams alone
Got to pay the rent got to leave you all alone
But you know I made my choice many years ago
That this traveling life is the only one I know
But you know I love you yes I love you oh I love you
But you know I love you yes I love you oh I love you
But you know I love you yes I love you oh I love you
**********
5.
SHE STILL COMES TO ME (TO POUR THE WINE)
(Dick Feller) « © '73 Vector Music, BMI / Sixteen Stars Music, BMI »I know it seems you've finally won her over
That you've taken her from these two arms of mine
But a taste of your love only makes her thirsty
And she still comes to me to pour the wine
She still comes to me when she gets lonely
When another's love has stopped she turns to mine
And though she may come to you to set the table
She still comes to me to pour the wine
I'm not surprised to see her clutch at your love
For she's been known to stray from time to time
But when she's had her fill of milk and honey
She still comes to me to pour the wine
She still comes to me...
She still comes to me to pour the wine
**********
6.
OLD DOGS CHILDREN AND WATERMELON WINE
(Tom T. Hall) « © '72 Hallnote Music, BMI / Acuff-Rose Music, BMI »How old do you think I am he asked and I said well I didn't know
He said I turned sixty five about eleven months ago
I was sittin' in Miami pouring blended whiskey down
When this old grey black gentleman was cleanin' up the lounge
There wasn't anyone around cept this old man and me
The guy who ran the bar was watching Ironsides on TV
Uninvited he sat down and he opened up his mind
On old dogs and children and watermelon wine
Ever had a drink of watermelon wine he asked
He told me all about it though I didn't answer back
Ain't but three things in this ol' world worth a solitary dime
But old dogs and children and watermelon wine
He said women think about theyselves when the menfolk ain't around
And friends are hard to find when they discover that you're down
He said I tried it all when I was young and in my natural prime
Now it's old dogs and children and watermelon wine
Old dogs care about you even when you make mistakes
And God bless little children while they're still too young to hate
When he moved away I found my pen and I copied down that line
Bout old dogs and children and watermelon wine
I had to catch a plane up to Atlanta the next day
As I was leavin' for my room I saw him pickin' up my change
That night I dreamed in peaceful sleep of shady summertime
Of old dogs and children and watermelon wine
**********
7.
CITY BOY COUNTRY BORN
(Doug Ashdown - Jimmy Stewart) « © '73 Tree Publishing, BMI »I look out on the grave of New York City
And to see some children playing in the snow
Central Park in winter should look pretty
But New York ain't a place for kids to grow
And my mem'ry takes me back again to winters that I've seen
Fields andn wooden hills where snow could fall and keep its clean
Where I'd awaken to the wonder of the Oklahoma morn
City boy city boy country born
And I saw the garbage's scours plaugh up the river
Filled with things New Yorkers throw away
And I watch the skinny dippin' children and I shiver
The Hudson River ain't no place to play
And my mem'ry takes me back again to rivers that I've seen
Lazy country rivers that just flow and feed the green
You can fish 'em you can swim 'em you can drink 'em when you're warm
City boy city boy country born
And I watch the hard eyed New York City mothers
As they hurry home across the Brooklin Bridge
To feed their children dixy cups of insatant coffee
And a frozen TV dinners fom the fridge
And my mem'ry takes me back again to dinners that I've seen
Home cured crisped bacon buttered corn and country beans
And a cup of mama's coffee cooking stoves that kept me warm
City boy city boy country born
**********
8.
JODY AND THE KID
(Kris Kristofferson) « © '68 Careers Music, BMI »She would meet me in the morning on my way down to the river
Waitin' patient by the chinaberry tree
With her feet already dusty from the pathway to the levee
And her little blue jeans rolled up to her knees
And I'd paid her no attention as she tagged along beside me
Trying hard to copy everything I did
But I couldn't keep from smiling when I'd hear somebody saying
Looky yonder there goes Jody and the kid
Even after we grew older we could still be seen together
As we walked along the levee holding hands
For as surely as the seasons she was changing to a woman
And I'd lived enough to call myself a man
And she often lay beside me in the coolness of the evening
Till the morning sun was shining on my bed
And at times when she was sleeping I would smile when I'd remember
How they used to call us Jody and the kid
Now the world's a little older and the years have changed the river
Cause there's houses where they didn't used to be
And on Sunday I go walking down the pathway to the levee
With another little girl that follows me
And it makes the old folks smile to see her tag along beside me
Doing little things the way her mama did
But it gets a little lonesome when I hear somebody saying
Looky yonder there goes Jody and the kid
**********
9.
DADDY WHAT'S A TREE
(Dallas Frazier - Warren Robb) « © '73 Acuff-Rose Music, BMI »Daddy what's a tree were they as tall as me
Was there really such a thing as fishes in the sea
Daddy is it true that the skies were clear and blue
Was the face of nature really green daddy what's a tree
Walk along the country road count the rusty canyons
Listen to the painful cry of a tired and dyin' land
If careless men keep taking there'll be nothing left to leave
Think about tomorrow child on his daddy's knee
Sayin' daddy what's a tree...
Go down to the river watch the poison waters flow
See the concrete jungle where a corncrop used to grow
Think about the death we owe to the air we breathe today
Think about tomorrow child on his daddy's knee
Sayin' daddy what's a tree...
Daddy what's a tree...
**********
10.
I WISH I'D KNOWN ENOUGH ABOUT LOVE
(Red Lane - Doug Ashdown - Jimmy Stewart) « © '73 Tree Publishing, BMI »Sometimes too much fuel can smother up the fire
And sometimes too much love can strangle that desire
I held her too tight till the feeling was gone
Oh I wish I'd known enough about love to leave love enough alone
Sometimes a single tear can speak a tousand lies
And sometimes it's hard to tell the foolish from the wise
Someone who could be so right could also be so wrong
Oh I wish I'd known enough about love to leave love enough alone
When you cast too bigger shadow love can grow enough to show
It's a pity I didn't know enough to know
But it always seems to happen when a brier meets a rose
Oh I wish I'd known enough about love to leave love enough alone
But it always seems to happen...
**********
10.
WRITER OF VERSES AND A SINGER OF SONGS
(Ronnie Reynolds) « © '73 Lair Music, BMI »A fragment of favors a collection of love
An island of warmth from the cold
A ship for the sailor a king for the old
I'm a writer of verses and a singer of songs
I'm a writer of verses and singer of songs
La la la la la la la la la la la
A saviour from silence an ending just begun
A word for the wise when it's heard
A first for the second and the second for the third
I'm a writer of verses and a singer of songs
I'm a writer of verses and singer of songs
La la la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
These musical weapons I'm carryin' from my heart from my heart
Two loves born for the marriage from the start from the start
A cradle for children and laughter for the sad
A hand for the stranger left alone
Goodbyes for the leaving and mem'ries for the gone
I'm a writer of verses and a singer of songs
I'm a writer of verses and singer of songs
La la la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la la
**********
12.
CITY OF NEW ORLEANS
(Steve Goodman) « © '69 Jurisdad Music, ASCAP »Ridin' on the City of New Orleans Illinois Central Monday morning rail
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders
Three conductors twenty-four sacks of mail
All along the southbound odyssey the train rolls out of Kankakee
Rolls along past houses farms and fields
Passin' trains that have no names switchyards full of old black men
Of graveyards full of rusted automobiles
Good morning America how are you
Said don't you know me I'm your native son
I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done
Playin' card games with an old man on the club car
Many a point no one's keepin' score
Pass that paper bag that holds the bottle
Feel the wheels a rumblin' neath the floor
And the sons of poor men porters and the sons of engineers
Ride their father's magic carpet made of steel
Mothers with their babes asleep rockin' to that gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel
Good morning America how are you...
Well it's night time on the City of New Orleans
Changin' cars in Memphis Tennessee
Half way home I'll be there by morning
Through the Mississippi darkness rollin' down to the sea
And all the towns and people seem to fade into a bad dream
And the steel rails still ain't heard the news
The conductor sings his songs again the passengers will please refrain
This train's got the disappearin' railroad blues
Good night America how are you...
**********
