Get all 11 David Hakan releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
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1. |
Dandelion Garden Live
04:33
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Dandelion Garden
I was pulling weeds in my garden
the first cool dry weekend in Spring.
Mrs. Rice next door was a friend of my father’s.
I asked her how her garden had been.
refrain
(She said) I have four hundred, eighteen flowers
as yellow as new sunshine.
She turned to her front yard. I clapped and she bowed.
Now her dandelion garden’s on my mind.
She made me stop the car once on Tenth Street.
“That graffiti on the underpass is rare.”
That painter’s hand turned her garage into canvas.
I admit that her confusion had some flair.
Her walnut trees grow into her foundation.
I asked her, “Don’t they make you basement leak?”
She said ,“The musty cellar brings back my childhood.
I think about my mom. I laugh and weep.”
Ten years have passed and we’re gathered round her
She’s left us for some journey or better soil.
Four hundred, eighteen weeds fill this church with sunshine.
I’m gonna look for beauty and not for toil.
refrain
(Repeat last line.)
Words And Music By David B. Hakan 6-20-93
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2. |
The Cabin Live
04:23
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The Cabin
Grampa built a cabin up at 8,000 feet.
I’d go visit in the summer when the fireweeds smelled sweet.
He dug three fish ponds with a spade. Loaded them with trout.
I’d just cast for hours and watch him pull them out.
Let’s go to the cabin just to rest our eyes
He called that canyon his paradise.
Let’s go to the cabin, catch fish with flies.
He said we’re heading for paradise.
He was a doctor down in Salt Lake. Saved every life in that town.
Sidestepped up in the winter, checked the cabin and skied back down.
There was no phone at the cabin. You had to walk two miles.
When we made the climb to Hakan’s peak, ah, you should have seen him smile.
The kids would sleep on the screen porch, down to 40 on an August night.
We’d pile up fifteen blankets and giggle at the sight.
Then barefoot around to the side door, howl like a demon choir,
and get dressed every morning in front of a roaring fire.
A spring flowed out of Mossbank. Wild currents grew like corn.
The stream was fast and noisy, healed a young heart that was torn.
The giant aspens in the glade, I couldn’t reach around.
I remember every smell and every single sound.
Grampa was planning his first trip to the Alps in France.
He died at 82 in that chair and never got the chance.
He was pulled so fast from our midst, like the trout he used to land.
Bet that angel angler’s waiting just to flip me in his pan.
refrain
Words And Music By David B. Hakan 12-12-95
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3. |
There's a Storm Live
06:14
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There’s a Storm (partial capo on 2nd fret, in E) D7 G2 D There’s a storm, saints alive, running wild. /There’s a storm, saints alive, running wild. G2, sus4 D It’s roaring in from the ocean. Won’t leave much in its way. Where the big storms have names like Charlie, Ar3,4 Ar3 D Ivan the Terrible arrived today. There’s a storm, saints alive, running wild. /There’s a storm, saints alive, running wild. There are profits from military spending. There are prophets of hate on every shore. There are poor willing to wear bombs or rifles. This twister is knocking on our door. There’s a storm, saints alive, running wild. /There’s a storm, saints alive, running wild. It’s way past the point of the spear, now. It’s way past the point of prayer. It’s way past the broken guardrail. We’re sailing out into air. There’s a storm, saints alive, running wild. /There’s a storm, saints alive, running wild. Our voting is controlled by governors. They lean left or they lean right. Their handpicked count votes in secret, the machinery kept out of sight. There’s a storm, saints alive, running wild. /There’s a storm, saints alive, running wild. Where are the saints when we need them? do they care about you and me? Do they care that Power and Corruption are washing over the Land of the Free?
There’s a storm, saints alive, running wild. /There’s a storm, saints alive, running wild. I go down to see my doctor, for this hailstorm in my head. I wait in a long line at the drugstore, all of us wishing we were dead. There’s a storm, saints alive, running wild. /There’s a storm, saints alive, running wild. My neighboors meet under the streetlight. There’s a break in the clouds above. We shake hands and look into faces and remember the power of love. Words and music by David B. Hakan 9-12-2004 © 2004 All Rights Reserved
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4. |
Eyes of Galileo
03:18
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The Eyes of Galileo
D G D A
I hope that this letter brings courage my friend.
G D A
It’s hard in Barberini’s Jail House, I know.
D A D G D G A D
So I hid in this pail my very best pair of the eyes of Galileo.
They can shackle your feet and hands, bar you from me.
Your tormented head’s hanging low.
But at night when they’re sleeping you can travel the stars
with the eyes of Galileo.
Bm A G D
Thinking’s not free, my friend. It’s just like the soil.
A
The Dukes got the deed long ago.
Bm A G D
But I dream of a time when our words will be as free
G A D
as the eyes of Galileo.
I spoke to your daughter. She asked of your work,
“Is mathematics some irreverent joke?”
She wonders if numbers are magic that fools
the eyes of Galileo.
I said, “A ship needs men pulling on ropes to set sail,
but one with a sextant they follow.
When we reach the shores of a New World we’ll thank
the eyes of Galileo.
refrain
Some say the Devil works in your spyglass.
But he points us to what is base and low.
Your vision of heaven is just clearer than most
through the eyes of Galileo.
So don’t be ashamed if they make you recant.
For your truth will not into hiding go.
Even if you went blind I would count myself blessed
to have the eyes of Galileo.
refrain
Words And Music By David B. Hakan 1-13-95
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5. |
Kentucky Runaways Live
03:26
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Kentucky Runaways
C F C
I left Kansas City in the winter of ‘78
F G C
Thumbing on I-70 alone.
F G C Am
Homemade Bread in my knapsack. Colorado bound
F G
if the northern wind didn’t turn me into stone.
An old car wobbled toward me with Kentucky plates,
bald tires and a rag top shot with holes.
No mom or pop was driving, just two youngsters in the front.
And when that blizzard hit they didn’t even seem to know.
(C) F C
They played tic-tac-toe on the inside of that frosted windshield glass.
G C C7
Those Kentucky Runaways kept me alive,
F C
for a blizzard and that highway were no match for those kids. They had
G C
moonshine in their bottle and love in their eyes.
They had moonshine in their bottle. They had love in their eyes.
They had moonshine in their bottle. They had love in their eyes.
Well, the gas gauge dropped to empty. Next exit, 15 miles.
The heater died as we pulled off and my heart sank.
Then he opened up that trunk and said, “Jesus, what a waste.”
And poured a gallon of white lightning in the tank.
Well, it could of left us stranded or blown us clean to bits
but that old car roared to life just like a dream.
We cruised on through the snow drifts, climbed the next hill,
found the prettiest truck stop I have ever seen.
refrain
F C G C C7
They had moonshine in their bottle. They had love in their eyes.
They had moonshine in their bottle. They had love in their eyes.
refrain
Words And Music By David B. Hakan 8-26-94
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6. |
Let it Rain
02:42
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Let It Rain
G D A D
The weatherman is frowning on my TV.
Everybody’s worried by the storm clouds they see.
But I’m just smiling at this envelope.
(‘cause) After my nightmare, I finally have some hope.
Refrain
(D) G - D A D
Let it rain. She’s coming back to me.
Let it rain. It’s sunshine I see.
I can hjust hear those windshield wipers keeping time.
She puts my letter in her coat pocket as the road bends and winds.
I can see her headlights glowing in the dark.
Let the lightning be the 4th of July, like in the park.
Refrain
When she pulls in the driveway, my hat’ll be in my hand.
With rain in my face, I know she’ll understand.
After all the tears my soul is washed clean.
My arms will say every word that I really mean.
refrain
Words and music by David B. Hakan
© 2007 All Rights Reserved 5-6-2007
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7. |
Makerman Live
04:10
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Makerman capo on 5th fret in C
G C
Long ago before there was writing
G C D
there lived a man who couldn’t hunt or run.
G C
But in his tribe he held his head up.
G C G
They called him Maker and their favorite son.
Em C
He made the braid so the rope was stronger.
G D
He made a knot that held it tight.
Now they had milk as well as cow flesh.
He built the fire that warmed the night.
C G Em C
Makerman, Makerman, play on your lyre.
Makerman, Makerman, weave the music so fine.
Makerman, Makerman, tell us a story.
C D G
Make our hearts dance & the words all rhyme.
One day a girl begged the Maker,
“I want to be a maker, too.”
“Well you must pray and ask the spirit
to find your heart and come to you.
For when I make a tool that sharpens,
the Great One sharpens me.
And when you finally cage the tiger
then the Spirit will set you free.”
refrain
There was drought and there was hardship.
There came a tribe across the River Fear.
Their first taste of theft and violence.
But he would not make more deadly spears.
They brought him wood to build a stockade
to keep them out and to shoot from.
He built a bridge across the water.
He went over and learned their tongue. (and they said,)
Refrain
Words and music by David B. Hakan 1-19-2005
© 2005 All Rights Reserved
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8. |
Dancing Now Live
04:18
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Dancing Now (for Andy)
G D C
I was the kid brother who studied too hard, always sitting down.
G D C
You got me downstairs to the ping pong table for one more round.
G D C
You never struggled but got good grades in everything.
G D C
You'd practice dancing up in your room, make the room lights chink.
refrain
G D C
And I hope you two are dancing.
G D C
I hope you two are dancing.
G D C
I hope you two are dancing.
G D C G
I hope you two are dancing now.
You were the best at games. You needed someone you could beat.
I made it a little harder for you every week.
When Chris came home from college, you would sing A Song Will Rise.
You'd pull me into line to sing the harmony way up high.
refrain
Em D
But in the year of '67,
Em C
I'd turned 15 years old.
Em D
In the morning after your prom night,
Em C
you and Shifra were lying cold.
Em D
Our garage trapped those fumes around you.
Em C
You slipped from us in each others' arms.
Em D
Why so soon? was on all our lips.
Em C
But not an answer could be formed.
refrain
C G - D - C
Dancing now.
Dancing now.
Dancing now.
Words And Music By David B. Hakan 10/13/1999
Copyright 1999 David B. Hakan All rights reserved.
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9. |
Ferris Wheel Live
04:11
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Ferris Wheel (partial capo on fret 2, 1-5 and partial capo on fret 4, 2-4 in B)
B E2 B E2
The moon rests at my shoulder, my ring clicks on the wheel.
Headlights in the eastbound lane keep coming like a Ferris wheel.
I’m trying to cross the Badlands, with empty hours to fill.
The moon twirls in her tasseled clouds. It’s like I’m standing still.
E2 In (inverted) F#r3 B In (inverted) E2
Every time I turn the music back to our love song,
The fear that you won’t wait for me comes on way too strong.
refrain
E2 In F3r3 B E6,2 B E2
(And I’ve) been on this road too long.
B E6,2 B
Been on this road too long.
I travel for the Company and they pick up the tab.
But my waking hours are overtime with my office in my bag.
Through birthdays and anniversaries, sick kids and holidays,
I have to close those big deals, just can’t let them get away.
Every goodbye kiss from you is quicker than the last.
The telephone has silence now where frozen seconds pass.
Refrain
You know my client, Alex, the one your dad had known,
He said he’d send me business if I struck out on my own.
I’d have to keep the books myself, and figure out the tax.
But we could go over numbers with you sitting in my lap.
Money might be tight at first, but you’d be in the next room.
I’d rather hold you next to me than say, “I’ll be home soon.”
Refrain (I’ve just been on this road too long.)
Words and music by David B. Hakan
© 2007 All Rights Reserved 1-30-2007
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10. |
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The Front Porch Song (capo on 5th fret, in C)
Chorus
G C G
Crickets in the morning, cicadas at night.
D C G
Squirrels all scampering out of sight. the world on my front porch looks just fine with the trees all swaying to this song of mine.
C G C G Am C D G
On the front porch, on the front porch, the world looks better on my front porch.
You’re never too old for that front porch swing. That gentle rocking is a sacred thing. (We’ve a) place inside needs a steady hand till we plant our feet down and take a stand.
D C G
(There’s) poor and hungry all over the Earth
D C G
and ethnic wars making all this worse.
Em C
I bring them to the porch and I want to cry D
but I lift them up to the blue in the sky.
Chorus
Friends and all my neighbors know they’ll find me here, strumming my guitar when the weather’s clear. Singing to the sparrows swooping in the air. Everybody’s welcome to a front porch chair. Tell me how you’re doing. did your basement flood? Thanks for the ladder and the two-by-four stud. Thank our lucky stars we can share this block and count on each other when we need to talk. chorus
chorus
Everybody’s front porch has a different style, hammocks or cupboards or toys in a pile, tablecloth dining or tools of the trade, but we’re one big family in our front porch shade. Gladiolas, Morning Glories, stars and stripes, Glowing jack-o-lanterns, Christmas lights. Sweep it out in spring to begin anew when the Daffodils riot and the Crocus bloom.
chorus
Words and music by David B. Hakan 9-26-2004 © 2004 All Rights Reserved
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11. |
Come to the Land Live
05:00
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Come To The Land (capo up 5 in C)
G G/C C G G/C D
Storm in a bottle. Shine on his shoes.
Carlos meets the Governor. Paying all those dues.
Ink on the paper. Now the Law of the Land.
(But the) tongue of his fathers, this man will never understand.
Em C Am D
There’s no Statue of Liberty where the Armadillo play.
Can’t you hear the angels calling to Maria and Jose?
G D C D
Come to the land where freedom is so frail.
Come to the land where the angels sit in jail.
refrain
G G/C G G/C G G/C D
Come to the land. Come to the land. Come to the land.
Jack is Immigration. The Border looks so wide.
There’s no Ellis Island dignity, just a lot of room to hide.
There’s a legal way to do it, brown, white or black.
But he hates to see the faces of those he sends back.
There is no fence or rifle that is stronger than this lure.
Can’t you hear the angels trading dollars for a cure?
Come to the land where medicine is magic.
Come to the land where the angels can’t afford it.
refrain
Turban on his forehead. Sand in his blood.
Dr. Ahmed mops the fellowship hall. Patience against mud.
His English is still broken. His spirit is like steel.
He dreams of a little practice, another chance to heal.
But when people see his face, the TV headshots come.
Their enemy within, their hearts beat like a drum.
All they see is Palestinians cheering 9/11.
Men strapping on dynamite as their passport into heaven.
Come to the land where no man serves a king.
Come to the land where the angels are waitressing.
Refrain Words and music by David B. Hakan
© 2005 All Rights Reserved 3-15-2005
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12. |
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Loose Upon the Street (capo up 5 in C)
G C G C
In the end the noisy flocks of bitter disappointments
G Em D
came to rest on the orchard of my bones.
In the end my voice departed like the ghost of some old hobo
and I left the rhymes out drying on the stones.
In the end I followed midnight, slipping in the back door
only to find a twisted Twilight Zone.
In the end I was a tambourine, death rattle on the shifting sand
just at day break all alone.
G C
In the end I threw my coat into the briar.
G D
In the end I took off running like a thief.
G C
In the end I bought a front page headline screaming,
G Em D
“There’s a madman loose upon the street.”
In the end you didn’t wait for Armageddon
to decide who was friend and who was foe.
In the end you took the last train out of Eden
but packed some golden apples for their glow.
In the end the dogs of winter circled round your fingers
till everything you touched would turn to snow.
In the and you told your story to the Last One Standing
but he sold it to a daytime TV show.
In the end you threw your ring into the fire.
In the end you called on Jupiter and Mars.
In the end you put your faith in all things FBI
and disappeared into a shiny car.
In the end we tried our hardest to dismantle every argument
that age put to our tired blistered hands.
In the end we gave up looking for a higher calling
and settled for a foolproof business plan.
In the end the wind was blowing like a roller coaster rumble
right into our faces as we ran.
In the end the sky just opened and crystal shards were falling
like wind chimes we were broken on the land.
In the end we threw our dice into the choir.
In the end we could not cast another spell.
In the end we started calling to our angels,
“Come and pick us up, we’ve nothing more to tell.”
Words and Music by David B. Hakan 11-14-2001
Copyright 2001 All Rights Reserved.
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13. |
If Woody Were Alive Live
04:32
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If Woody Were Alive
G D A D
If Woody were alive today, I bet he’d have some words to say.
G D A A7
And if he had a little more power, he’d help us in our darkest hour.
Refrain (after each verse)
D A A7 D
If Woody were alive today. If Woody were alive today,
D G D A D
He’d write us a song to light our way. If Woody were alive today.
If Woody passed a cardboard sign, he’d say, “There’s a friend of mine.”
They’d sing of dustbowl breadlines till his case filled up with dimes.
If Woody turned on the TV, Fox News or ABC,
(He’d put that) box with a sign by the street, saying, “Works but lies thru its teeth.”
If Woody found a combat zone, he’d give everyone a telephone,
(and say) “Call your mom she’s crying alone. Pack up now and go home.”
If Woody found a SUV, he’d make them all get just one MPG.
They’d be abandoned from sea to sea. We’d be driving with electricity.
If Woody met a Democrat, he’d ask, “Where the Hell you been at,
On the ski slopes with some fat cat, or by the TV where you whined and sat?”
If Woody walked into a school, he’d remember the Golden Rule.
He’d test the parents to see what they knew, test the school board and voters, too.
If Woody were in a wheel chair at the bottom of the courthouse stairs,
He’d chain himself to the railing there, till they let people roll everywhere.
These days are not darker than before, big storms and settling scores.
But where are the words and chords to help us want to try to do more?
Words and music by David B. Hakan © 2007 All Rights Reserved 4-7-2007
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14. |
Till the World Live
04:30
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Till The World
D G
The snow covers all the earthly scars,
D A
like your kisses mend mine, too.
D G
So when it drifts down in those great big flakes
D A D
I remember why I love you.
G D
I will call out to the ocean.
G D
I will call out to the sky.
G D
I will whisper down each forest trail
A D
till the world knows why.
The spring showers fall so gently,
like your words when I need a talking to.
So when the pedals barely feel the rain,
I remember why I love you.
refrain
The sun burns steady in the summer sky,
like your faith in all I do.
So when it clears for one of my parades,
I remember why I love you.
refrain
When the trees give up their red and gold,
like the good-byes that pierce you through,
we cling together in that bitter wind.
I remember why I love you.
refrain
Words And Music By David B. Hakan 2-16-2000
© 2000 David B. Hakan All rights reserved.
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