Get all 11 David Hakan releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Count. Me. In., Gypsy Wagon Man, Stone and Steel, Warning Bell, Out of Print, David Hakan - Rough Cuts, David Hakan Live at the Corbin Theater, Loose Upon The Street, and 3 more.
1. |
Big Fat Love
04:41
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Big Fat Love (capo 2nd fret in A) A harp
G Em Am D
We’ve left the noisy party. I’m with my sister on the backyard swing.
Laughing about that Boy Scout trip when I got all those bee stings.
I tease her for the hundredth time about that park slide in the snow.
Sad goodbyes and wedding. Where does all that time go?
C D G Em
Snowflakes start to drift down from a winter sky above
C D C D
These memories all come together to make (a)
Chorus
G Em Am- D
Big Fat Love, big fat love.
Big fat love, big fat love.
C
G Em Am D
It waddles in with a big fat grin, we’ve got (a)
G Em Am-D
Big fat love.
Hawks circle overhead. I’m camping with the gang.
There’s a story we remember for every song we sang.
Like the little farms that disappear or the Flood of Twenty Sixteen.
Fishing Porta Johns from the River’s not as easy as it seems.
Big drops start to fall from a stormy sky above.
These memories all come together to make (a)
Chorus
Do you remember our first date? Just a beer run that won’t take long.
Our friends thought we’d gotten lost. I guess in a way, they weren’t wrong.
You pulled off to put air in a tire, in your shorts and halter top.
A warm breeze in your long hair, Lord I thought my heart would stop.
I pointed out the shooting stars in a moonless sky above.
These memories all come together to make (a)
Chorus
** (Darling, you’re the perfect size in my eyes, but we’ve got a)
Big fat love (vamp 4x)
Word and Music by David B. Hakan
© 2016 All Rights Reserved
11-12-2016
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2. |
The Box
06:05
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The Box
Am F G Am
She kept it in a wooden box, silk wrapped all around.
It was long and sharp and deadly. Scabbard leather bound.
The handle showed the likeness of Heaven’s only loss.
There she wrapped her dainty hand around Jesus on the cross.
She got it from her uncle, who knew Darin’s family well.
But where he got that rapier, he would never tell.
It did not take that long for Darin to show his colors true.
Her broken arm and bruises would be paid for very soon.
Chorus
Dm Am
Will it give her redemption?
Will it return what she’d lost?
It felt so good to put her hand around
F E Am
Jesus on the Cross, on the cross.
…
That Chartreuse was hard to come by, 114 proof.
But Darin never resisted liqueur. That was God’s own truth.
She would spend the evening across the way, for her alibi.
That Chartreuse was on the mantle. It was pleasing to her eye.
Chorus
Darin looked at the Chartreuse, but he must’ve been thinking ale.
Cause he drained that bottle dry. Started walking like in a gale.
He wasn’t even poisoned, but he thought he heard her laugh.
He somehow knew that this night would be his very last.
Chorus
He passes out on the floor at midnight. No one was around.
She came home and got that box and threw the scabbard down.
She held her savior high. Forgiveness she did ask.
But she did not even hesitate. Now she was safe at last.
Chorus
Her screams told the whole story. She didn’t have to lie.
Everyone thought it was a shame the way Darin died.
Now she was a widow. Everyone was so nice.
But her uncle took the box back and kissed her forehead twice.
Chorus
Words and Music by David B. Hakan
© 2017 All Rights Reserved 6-28-2017
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3. |
So Smart
03:30
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So Smart (capo 5th in C)
G C D G
Mark and I learned early that what our parents didn’t know
G C D
Couldn’t come back to bite us in the behind.
So we kept all of our experiments closely under wraps
With a hidey hole and an alibi for every crime.
That charcoal lighter fluid flamethrower nearly got us caught.
We’re lucky that spray bottle didn’t go boom.
Some chemistry set potions were smuggled into school.
Our class bully thought his coat was trashed with bird doo.
C G D G
We were so smart. Mad scientists at ten.
C G D
It’s a miracle we survived our crazy schemes.
C G D Em
We were so smart. Our plans could never fail.
C D
Our guardian angels in heaven must have screamed
G (C-D-G)
Cause we were so smart.
Did you know you can launch an arrow with a big slingshot,
But it’s not a good idea to aim straight up? Oops.
Did you know you can flick a nickel off the head of your sister
with a 9-foot bullwhip if you practice enough?
Refrain
An M80 is an eighth of a stick of dynamite.
And Tonka Trucks are indestructible. (You see where this is going?)
So the test was in the brick cookout in my backyard.
Slow fuse was a cigarette, glass in front to be visible.
Refrain
We played gin rummy by the window waiting for the blast.
We turned the lights out as evening reflections came. (I still can’t believe we did that!)
The thunder of that firecracker got us grounded for a week,
But we found out that the M80 won that day.
Refrain
Words and music by David B. Hakan
© 2016 All Rights Reserved 2-19-2016
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4. |
For This World
03:58
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For This World (capo on 5th fret in C)
G C
(No one looks a) stranger dressed in a smile
G D
(though to learn their) ways takes a little while.
There’s a gospel in shaking hands
and building bridges across different lands.
refrain
C G C D
For this world we all love. For this world, Milky Way above.
C Em D G - C - G
For this world say a little prayer, for this world we all share.
As the seas begin to rise
And the ice packs slip away,
We must simplify our lives,
A lighter footprint every day.
Refrain
The mean and proud tend to rule,
But our silence is their greatest tool.
We can speak with one voice.
Time is coming near to make a choice.
refrain
We all lift our eyes now and then,
speak to someone unseen once again.
When a bitter past lingers there
even a sigh becomes a prayer.
refrain
Words and music by David B. Hakan
© 2015 All Rights Reserved 11-7- 2015
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5. |
Salina's Midnight Cook
04:03
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Salina’s Midnight Cook (capo 2nd fret in F#)
A9 Amaj7
The wipers complain but this drizzle won't end
Bm D E.
Goodbye to these towns.I won't come this way again.
The highway turns to lanes of red and white stars.
So I pull off at Salina but don’t see many cars.
My coffee cup is chipped. But my hands are warm.
Homemade pie has cured this storm.
From my plastic booth I see her standing there.
Just outside her kitchen, finger twirling her hair.
Chorus
D E A - Asus4 D E A- Asus4
Salina’s Midnight cook. Lean Kansas blonde.
D E F#m Dm E-Esus4-E
Long fingers in her book. She clearly doesn't belong.
Is she on the trail of a murder mystery?
Is she on an elevator with a client to see?
Or on a train in the snow with romance afoot?
What I’m sure of is she’s no longer a cook.
She sees me staring. And I feel a fool.
But she welcome home smiles and winks so cool.
She comes to my table. And my face gets hot.
Puts a hand on my shoulder, says, “Sweetie, what do you want?”
Chorus
I want to ask what she’s reading, want to ask her name.
I want a ticket on that train.
I swear there’s a smile on her fingertips.
But I say, “I should be going.” And leave my tip.
I drive away into the night.
Hating to just leave but knowing it was right.
Somewhere there’s a lucky guy who will win her heart.
But my story and hers are just too far apart.
Chorus
Verse One (2 lines)
Words and music by David B. Hakan
© 2016 All Rights Reserved 9-12-16
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6. |
Wanderer's Heart
02:53
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Wanderer’s Heart (capo 3rd in Cm)
Am E Am C E7
Make me a Wanderer’s heart. No fear, no falling apart,
Am C Dm
When the road map ends, and the journey begins.
Am E Am
Make me a Wanderer’s heart.
C Am E Am
A Wanderer’s heart, a Wanderer’s heart, make me a Wanderer’s heart.
Make me an open hand. Steady if Love should land.
For the petals and thorns and a cheek that is warm.
Make me an open hand.
An open hand. An open hand. Make me an open hand.
Make me a lightning strike. When clouds of Doom gather tight.
And I can’t see my dreams, but it’s not what it seems.
So make me a lightning strike.
A lightning strike. A lightning strike. Make me a lightning strike.
Make me an evening breeze. And just a bit easier to please.
Blow a smile to a face. Help a tear to erase.
Make me an evening breeze.
An evening breeze. An evening breeze. Make me an evening breeze.
Make me a Wanderer’s heart.
Make me an open hand.
Make me a lightning strike.
Make me an evening breeze.
Make me a Wanderer’s heart.
Words and Music by David B. Hakan
© 2017 All Rights Reserved 4-16-2017
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7. |
Fell Into Love
04:04
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Fell Into Love (partial capo on 3rd fret 65432; partial capo on 5th 543)
Fmaj7 C2 G
We could feel the wind tossing our hair.
We could feel the heat from each other’s stare.
The touch of a finger like lightning above,
When we fell into love.
Whoa into love.
We just knew that it was meant to be.
We just knew we held the Sacred Key.
Doors would open, our fates fit like a glove,
When we fell into love.
Whoa into love.
But we could not see the house of dreams on fire.
We could not see the ashes of desire.
The earthquakes and the storms of our beloved,
When we fell into love.
Em Bm C2 G
I know that in the moonlight it’s hard to see.
Em Bm C2 F C2 G
But even in the daylight we just believed. We just believed.
When we fell into love. When we fell into love.
Whoa into love. Whoa, whoa, whoa.
When we fell into love. When we fell into love.
Words and music by David B. Hakan
© 2012 All Rights Reserved
12-16-2012
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8. |
I Vote No
03:58
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I Vote No (The Ballad of Jeannette Rankin)
G D G D
The daughter of a Montana rancher, Jeannette Rankin helped the poor.
G D A D
A social worker by trade and a suffragist and a pacifist to the core.
In 1914 Montana finally gave women the vote.
So in 2 years she ran for Congress. The first woman there was her hope.
When she entered that all male chamber, would she even be allowed to speak?
But when roll call came to her, the House cheered and rose to their feet.
chorus
G D A D
I vote NO. I vote NO. I vote No. (2x)
Courage is not in firing a gun or sending the young to die.
It’s acting on your convictions and never living a lie.
But World War One was brewing. They called her a crying schoolgirl.
She said, “I cannot vote for war.” on a people across the world.
Chorus
Her fight was with mining companies and helping the 19th Amendment to pass.
Elected again in 1940 when threat of war was back.
“As a woman I cannot go to war and I refuse to send someone else.”
I know I’m alone and that I’ll be shunned, but I have to live with myself.
A vote for war followed Pearl Harbor. That’s all Congress needed to know.
Some tried to get her to abstain, but she stood tall and voted No.
Chorus
In ‘68 she protested the Vietnam War. Over 5,000 came to her aid.
They marched for peace in Washington, dubbed the Jeannette Rankin Brigade.
Just before her death at 93, she confided to a friend.
We have to get out of Vietnam. Guess it’s time to run for office again.
Chorus
Words and Music by David B. Hakan All rights reserved.
© 2017 David B. Hakan 1-6-2017
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9. |
Gypsy Wagons
03:51
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Gypsy Wagons (capo 5th fret in G)
C G D - G - D
All we want is room for our horses to run.
And a spot under the trees for a fire, and a bit of fun.
These gypsy wagons hold our home and families.
We work hard, travel hard and love the wild country.
Some of us came as slaves, some as refugees.
Blamed for every theft, blamed for every disease.
So they outlaw our wagons, block us at the border gates.
We’ve no need for priests or bibles for our steady faith.
A G D - G - D
Saint Kali Sara says it’s time to move on.
A G A - G - A
So hitch up the wagons, rosin the bow, and break into song.
D G-D G-D
Moving on. Moving on.
Kali Sara is our Protectress, both Goddess and Saint.
She says we are what we are, and we ain’t what we ain’t.
Folks want us to dress like them and move into town.
This wandering life has a freedom no one else has found.
Chorus
Little Willy helped himself to O’Mally’s garden anyhow.
So I sent him back with a gift, his prized little wooden cow.
All the way from the Punjab, we’re a brown people in a white world.
But we still fall in love and we teach our boys and girls.
Chorus
Words and Music by David B. Hakan All rights reserved.
© 2016 10-18-2016
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10. |
Wrap Up In The Night
03:15
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Wrap Up in the Night (Capo 2nd fret, partial capo 4th 5,4,3 in F#)
F#5 (A string run-E-Eflat)
See these people on the train, Baby. They’re just trying to get home.
But we’re going the other way, Baby. We’re gonna gnaw it to the bone.
They want to crawl into their beds, Baby. They want to cover up.
We want to shine like golden neon , Baby, till the sun comes up.
F#maj7sus2 B
When we find a cataclysm that feels just right
F#5
We’re gonna wrap up in the night. Wrap up in the night.
This rain makes the people scatter, Baby. They zip their coats up high.
The lightning makes their fear shiver, Baby. They run from the light.
We’ll turn our face up to the thunder, Baby. Taste of heaven falling down, down, down
We’ll find a gutter overflowing, Baby. We’ll let our troubles all drown, drown, drown.
Refrain
We’ll walk right past the smooth jazz clubs Baby, past karaoke country rock.
We’ll go way down to where the poets feed, Baby, on ink and break the locks.
We’ll write our way onto a stage, Baby. We’ll scream and curse the fates.
We’ll take that candle down the trapdoor, Baby. We won’t even hesitate.
Refrain
F#sus2sus4 Bsus2,5 F#
And when the cobalt cape of the morning comes.
We’ll know we’ve been spared another kingdom come.
When the frenzy fades I’ll just hold you tight.
F#sus2sus4 F#maj7sus2
We’ll share a kiss wrapped up in the night.
F#5 (A string run-E-Eflat)
Wrapped up in the night.
Wrap up in the night.
Wrap up in the night.
Words and Music by
David B. Hakan
© 2016 All Rights Reserved 2-14-2016
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11. |
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Murder Behind Their Smiles
E5 D9
I was just a young boy on the wrong side of town.
I hung out with the ghetto thugs when they came around.
They’d laugh when I’d act like them, try to dance and dis.
I carried a few packages when times were hard like this.
Am E5
I knew that I should call the cops sometimes, but I’d wait a little while.
Am Emaj7sus2
There was one thing I knew for sure; there was murder behind their smiles.
Now I’m a young lawyer on the right side of town.
Hired on by Monsanto, the biggest Man around.
They have the cash flow and the fingers in the pie.
I hide unsubstantiated aberrations from prying eyes.
I know I should blow the whistle sometimes, but I wait a little while.
There’s one thing I know for sure; there’s murder behind their smiles.
Words and music by David B. Hakan
© 2016 3-4-2016
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12. |
I Like The Old Tech
03:14
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I Like the Old Tech 10-27-2016
Chorus
(D) G C G
I like the old tech. It still works for me.
D
I like the old tech that takes you and me.
(D) G C G - C
I like the old tech that brings your hands near mine.
G D G
I like the old tech just fine.
G C G
I like my apple press, while you stir the pot.
D
I like my big ladder. Hold the bottom. I’ll go up top.
G C G C
I like to read your thoughts in the margins of my book.
G D
Unfold the map and we’ll just take a look.
Chorus
I love this old guitar, as much as anything.
My fingers may hurt, but it’s a hand-powered machine.
When the grid goes down, it’ll work just fine.
And we see eye to eye when I sing.
Chorus
Bridge
C G
I still write real letters to my old college friend.
Em D
He says he picks them up and hears my voice.
C G Em
My pen makes some mistakes, but doesn’t choose words for me.
(Em) D - G - D
I’m so glad that I still have a choice.
Chorus
C D G C
You can hear this song on Luddites.com anytime.
G D G-C G D G
But I like the old tech just fine. I like the old tech just fine.
Words and Music by David B. Hakan
© 2016 All Rights Reserved 10-27-16
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13. |
Walk For Water
03:15
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Walk For Water
Bm A
Time to walk for water, like everyday, everyday.
Time to walk for water, like everyday, everyday.
G Bm A Bm
There’s no time to stop and talk or watch the children play.
G Bm A
There’s no time to sit in the shade.
Vamp
Bm-A-G/ Bm-A-G
Oh, oh, oh/ Oh, oh, oh
Time to pray for rain, like everyday, everyday.
Time to pray for rain, like everyday, everyday.
Stagnant water fills with bugs and things we cannot see.
So many die of fever now. We sit there helplessly.
Vamp
Bm-A-G/ Bm-A-G
Oh, oh, oh/ Oh, oh, oh
I dream of silver faucets, every night, every night.
I dream of silver faucets, every night, every night.
I hear stories of those who only have to turn a knob.
For water that is fit to drink, hot or cold and all they want.
Vamp
Verse One
Vamp
Words and music by David B. Hakan
© 2016 All Rights Reserved 9-1-2016
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14. |
Gone Too Soon
03:40
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Gone Too Soon (Partial capo on second fret 5,4,3,2,1) in E
D G D A
We come in here through the pouring rain, or a foot of snow.
When the work week makes us numb from head to toe.
A smile or a wave or a punch in the arm or the lilt of a fiddler's tune
Helps us smile and raise a glass to those who’ve gone too soon.
Chorus
G A Bm - A - G
So raise a glass for the ones still living in this room.
G A Bm - A - G
We must carry on when the new day starts.
G A Bm - A - G
Then raise a glass to the ones who left a hole in our hearts,
G - A D
Gone too soon. Gone too soon. Gone too soon.
This toast can be a candle in the darkness deep.
Courage can be found in the company we keep.
Share your laughter and your tears. You are safe in this room.
So raise a glass for all of those gone too soon.
Chorus
G A Bm - A - G
So raise a glass for the ones still living in this room.
G A Bm - A - G
We must carry on when the new day starts.
G A Bm - A - G
Then raise a glass to the ones who left a hole in our hearts,
G - A D
Gone too soon. Gone too soon. Gone too soon.
(last time vamp on Gone too soon.)
Words and Music by David B. Hakan
© 2017 All Rights Reserved 6-5-2017
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15. |
Intruder Drill
03:56
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Intruder Drill (Partial capo on second fret 5,4,3,2) in E
E5 A/Egan
Word comes around, an intruder drill today.
B7sus4 B7sus4b11
My inner city 8-year-olds have a lot to say.
But as they hide in the cloakroom, knee to knee
Their silent faces look up at me.
Sure some just snicker like at the tornado drill last week.
But many have seen violence, and not just on TV.
Chorus
A2 E B7sus4b11 E - E7
They are my charge, my sacred duty, our chance for a brighter day.
A2 E
I know each one like my own child.
B7sus4b11
And not a one of them could I save.
Duke is tearing up, bracing for the broken door.
Anticipating what he’s seen before.
Jenny hides her face, ashamed to cry.
She mouths the question to me, Why?
Chorus
So I tie a cord around the doorknob, to hold the door.
I ignore the flimsy glass as I block the window, like before.
This school was built in 1924.
They never imagined needing more.
Chorus
Words and Music by David B. Hakan
© 2017 All Rights Reserved
11-1-2017
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16. |
The Streetcar Song
04:37
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The Streetcar Song 12-14-17
C F C
I’m riding on the streetcar through the heart of town.
C G
Just like my grandpa did when he lived and worked downtown.
C F C
You can get to work and back and the grocery store, or a night out at the bar.
C G C
In the city the streetcar works just fine ‘cause nothing is too far.
Chorus
There’s a banker riding with us. They patched his heart a month ago.
He’s playing rock-paper-scissors. But he’s losing to little Joe.
He gets off two block early from where he needs to go.
So he can walk a little but really take it slow.
Chorus
There’s a young upwardly mobile couple every Friday at midday.
They snuggle in back a little and stop for sushi at a cafe.
They’re saving for that big house they’ve been dreaming of for years.
But since the streetcar won their hearts they think they might just stay right here.
Chorus
This streetcar is like a donut shop for big city life.
Many take the same route, their morning and evening ride.
The regulars talk to the driver, about baseball and the rain.
They wave to each other even when they don’t know each other’s names.
Chorus
Back when kerosene lamps lit this old house of mine.
Kansas City Missouri had the most streetcar lines.
Climate change is coming, when the cliff is nobody knows.
Maybe electricity is the new way to roll.
Chorus
F C
On the street car, set your burdens down
F C
On the street car, you can look around
F E C G F
On the street car is where the future will be found.
C G C
On the street car downtown.
Words and Music by David B. Hakan
© 2017 All Rights Reserved 12-14-2017
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17. |
The Cold Sinks In
04:05
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The Cold Sinks In (partial capo on 3rd fret 65432; partial capo on 5th 543)
C2 G
The snow rolls on to the edge of the land.
Like I’m on your giant bed, just a toy in your hand.
In the starlight I can see it all clear.
Every crime and every ghost that appears.
refrain
F C F C G
The cold sinks in, the cold sinks in, the truth sinks in.
I just realized that I have no winter coat.
I was warmed by your beauty without any hope.
Like a sparkler at night burns patterns in your eyes.
Just don’t grab it. The heat makes you cry.
Refrain
My roots under the snow. My hands in the sky.
You start chopping away. Heartwood chips start to fly.
I open up my hand and find a beautiful ring.
It turns into a dove and is gone on the wing.
refrain
Words and music by David B. Hakan
© 2012 All Rights Reserved
10-16-2012
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18. |
When The Moon Turns Blue
04:27
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When The Moon Turns Blue
(partial capo on 3rd (6,5,4,3,2) Partial capo on 5th (4,3,2) in G)
G
Won’t you be my darling when the Moon turns blue?
C G
Won’t you be my darling when the Moon turns blue?
D C G
I’ll put stars in your hair with a crown of morning dew.
I worked on a fishing boat that never was found. (2x)
I woke up on the beach, mermaids all around.
I hooked up with the Circus for the roar of the crowd.
When I slipped off with Miss Midnight I wasn’t feeling too proud.
They tracked me through cities like a fire on the plains.
To shake them off my trail I had to lose my name.
I keep a single ruby hidden down in my shoe.
At the screen door of my heart, I wait for you.
The first time I saw you there were larks on the wing.
I thought you were a child till I heard you sing.
I see you walk in the morning, lighter than air.
Even the cats on the pavement stop and stare.
I see you at your window counting butterflies.
You raise your arms and they fill the sky.
Verse one.
Words and music by David B. Hakan
© 2006 All Rights Reserved 1-18-2006 (revised 1-15-2014)
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19. |
Captain Molly 1776
04:02
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Captain Molly 1776 (The ballad of Margaret Corbin)
Am G D
Fort Washington defended New York City.
In 1776, fighting wasn’t pretty.
Molly Corbin joined her brave husband, John.
She carried water to cool down his cannon.
Chords to chorus
600 against 4,000, not good news.
Their cannon crew was down to just them two.
Molly cleaned and loaded so John could fire.
And battle cry from the Fort rose even higher.
Chorus
C G D
Liberty or death. Live free or die.
Fight on. Our flag still flies.
Molly screamed as John went down, her fallen hero.
At 25 she was an orphan, and now a widow.
Jake to her right yelled, “Molly turn and fly.”
But she picked up a hailshot and joined the battle cry.
Chorus
Her ram and sponge moved quickly back and forth.
Her cannon had better aim than before.
Her fury sent death to our enemies,
So all the muskets turned their fire to Captain Molly.
Chorus
She lost her arm and a check & was left for dead.
For a long time she lay in her recovery bed.
For her service she got half a soldier’s pension.
For many years you wouldn’t even find her mentioned.
Women canceled plans for a statue she should get,
‘Cause she used her rum ration and hung out with the other vets.
(Singing:) Chorus
Words and Music by David B. Hakan
© 2016 All Rights Reserved
7-4-16
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