Take Me Home - Lyrics & Stories
One More Day in Paradise
By Dave Curtis
Backing vocals by Elizabeth Hodgson
Duncan Cooper: organ
Dave Curtis: acoustic guitar, harmonica, bass.
Monty Flindall: drums.
Mike Francis: electric guitar, lead acoustic guitar
The inspiration for this song arrived when Krow and I were sitting in the back of my brother’s boat “Ocean Solace” while anchored in a beautiful bay near Bella Coola, British Columbia, Canada. It was a soft evening in early June, calm, sun setting over the mountains, and we could still feel the afterglow of the natural hot spring we had bathed in earlier on shore. While marveling at the beauty and wondering about where it all comes from, it occurred to me that since the creator is part of us, and we are part of the creator, then we had a hand in all this. This insight produced an immediate shift from being an outside observer, to admiring our own handiwork. And what do you do when you’ve made something beautiful? You want others to see it, share it, admire it, experience it, and leave it just the way they found it. We are all responsible not only for all the beauty of this planet, but every other aspect of life on it, good and bad. From this perspective, maybe we’d all take better care of our home and each other.
Mike does an absolutely incredible job on the background electric guitar effects and the lead acoustic guitar break. Makes the song, really.
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My brother Jim, myself and Krow were walking through the woods in British Columbia, Canada, late May, 2008 in the central interior of the province when we came across this truck. We stood there and looked at it. Wow! What a sight. It's being reclaimed molecule by molecule from whence it came. The earth loaned us the molecules to build it and now it's taking them back. I handed the camera to Krow, climbed in, and said take my picture. She took it and said, that's the cd cover. It can be interpreted so many ways but in the end, it's just funny, especially with the bullet holes in the door. Don't ask where it's located, I will not tell. |
Floating softly in a green lagoon
Sun shifting on the meadow bloom
I’m holding your hand
We are the land
Hot spring in the evening light
One look, the moment’s right
Now I’m close to you
So close to you
Chorus
One more day in paradise
One more chance to make it right
One more time
Our gift this beautiful world
A communion with souls unfurled
We open our eyes
We realize
The darkest hour before the dawn
Cries heard by the morning sun
It only takes one light
To bless the night
Chorus
Moon shimmers in the summer sky
Reflecting you over mountain high
The timelessness
The happiness
Shining bright here with you
Each day breathing life anew
Every breath we take
Is peace we make
Chorus
One more chance, One more light, One more day
Hawaiian Sun
Music by Dave Curtis, lyrics by Krow Fischer
Backing vocals by Dave Curtis, Jaden Curtis, Krow Fischer
Dave Curtis: acoustic guitar, ukulele.
Jay Boehmer: drums, shakers
Duncan Cooper: organ
Mike Francis: dobro
Vitas Slapkauskas: bass
I had been playing around with this melody and chord pattern for a while, but hadn’t put lyrics to it. Then Krow, who was visiting Hawaii shortly after we met, sent this poem around to people she knew including me. A perfect fit. She wrote the poem as a result of her experience in Lomi Lomi, a Hawaiian healing technique involving elements of massage, breath and energy work, taught by Harry and Sila Jim (www.harryjimlomilomi.com). It also involves making a wish and directing your energy towards fulfilling that wish. The chorus, my contribution to the lyrics (if you can call ooo and haaaa lyrics!), is reminiscent of the breath work of Lomi Lomi. The song could be subtitled The Lomi Lomi Song.
I made a wish upon a star
As bright as Hawaiian sun
Where palm trees wave a silken breeze
And surf and sky are one
I made a wish upon the sands
Of Pele’s fiery throne
Where rainbows turn to birds in flight
Carved from ancient stone
Chorus
Oooooooooooooooo
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Bridge
I made a wish where waterfalls delight
The jungle bloom
And butterflies weave treetop worlds
With multi-coloured loom
I made a wish that all the world
Could live in love and bliss
And all could feel the joy life holds
In paradise like this
Chorus
Repeat first verse on bridge structure
Repeat last verse
Chorus 2x, fade out
Take Me Home
Music by Dave Curtis, lyrics by Dave Curtis and Krow Fischer
Backing vocals by Dave Curtis, Krow Fischer, Scott Pennington.
Dave Curtis: acoustic guitar, banjo, coconut shakers.
Jay Boehmer: drums
Duncan Cooper: piano
Mike Francis: acoustic guitar.
Zeke Mazurek: fiddle
Vitas Slapkauskas: bass
It could be about a homecoming after a long trip, it could be about dying. This song also resulted from a melody and chord pattern I had been playing with for awhile. One evening when Krow and I were sitting by the wood stove I played it for her, she shot out an idea, and between the two of us the lyrics came in just a few minutes.
The road always takes far too long
To get past where we're going
Take me home
And the night holds the dark till the dawn
Takes us past all our knowing
Take me home
The years are showing
Take me home
Wait for me, I'm coming home
Now I’m coming home
A soul weary song in the air
Leaves a yearning so lonely
Take me home
Turning pages of memories we’ve shared
Still your smile’s waiting for me
Take me home
Time goes so slowly
Take me home
Wait for me, I'm coming home
Now I’m coming home
At night on the road when the lines
Can’t be seen though I’m trying
Take me home
Then I know that’s the end of my time
And to you I’ll be flying
Take me home
My heart is crying
Take me home
Wait for me, I'm coming home
Now I’m coming home
Now I’m coming home
I’m coming home
Love is the Reason
By Dave Curtis
Backing vocals by Brennan Curtis, Dave Curtis, Krow Fischer, Meranda Hodgson, Rick Hodgson, Scott Pennington.
Dave Curtis: acoustic guitar, harmonica, bass, cabasa
Duncan Cooper: organ
Monty Flindall: drums
Mike Francis: electric guitars
I was challenged by a poet friend to write a poem. I don’t write poems, I said, I write songs. What’s the difference, she asked? Anyway, I wrote this as a simple poem without knowing whether it would be put to music or what it might sound like. In putting it to music, I wanted it to be joyful and fun, and it was tricky coming up with the right rhythm and tempo. Tried it as reggae, a bit of Boney M, but it didn’t quite work. I thought it might be fun with steel drums and a Caribbean feel. I think the result is a bit of a cross between reggae and Beatles. The ending had to have lots of voices, and the contemplative “om” is a nice way to take it out.
Reactions to the things I do are
Reflections of my soul
To know the way you see me
Is to know, through you, my goal
The ebbs the flows the eddies
The tides of life’s refrain
Divert us from our own true path
‘Til we come home again
Chorus
Love is the reason we are here
The reason for it all
Woven through the universe
To catch us when we fall
Your eyes alight with love for me
That warms me to the core
I’ve caught you in the current
Now we’re reaching for the shore
I knew you when we both were young
I’ve known you all along
But now I’ve finally found you
Now we can write the song
Reel in the Flickering Light
By Colm Gallagher, Colm Music
Dave Curtis: backing vocals, acoustic guitar, banjo, fretless bass, shakers, foot-taps.
Krow Fischer: foot-taps
Rick Hodgson: foot-taps
Tom Leighton: mandolin, accordion, jaw harp, wine-box, foot-taps
It was when I was in Ireland in 2006 while my first cd “Turn of the Tide” was being mixed by producer Kevin Evans that I heard this song done by the Irish singer Christy Moore. I loved it immediately. It’s a magical, wistful, romantic and fun fairy tale, and it absolutely needed a banjo in it. It’s always fun to play this song because it makes everybody’s legs and feet want to move.
As I was walkin' home one evenin' I know this takes some believin',
I met a group of creatures with the strangest lookin' features.
A poor old dog with a worm and a weed and a fine old pigeon, yes indeed,
Daddy Longlegs jumped up sprightly and danced a reel of the flickering light.
Chorus
Oh, round we go, heel to the toe,
Daddy Longlegs jumped up sprightly,
And danced in the reel of the flickering light.
On his thin and wispy spindles he was deft and he was nimble,
His eyes were scientific and his dancin' was terrific.
The rats and the worms they made a din and the nettles in the corner took it in,
'Oh God' sez I 'tonight's the night we'll dance to the reel in the flickering light!'
Then he looked at me directly with a gaze that could dissect me,
And he asked me in a whisper 'Have you got any sisters?'.
' Good God Almighty' sez I to him ' What sort of a man do you think I am?
I've only one and she's not your type, she wouldn't dance a reel in the flickering light!'
Sez he ' Does she come from another planet? Does she have a bee in her bonnet?
Does she do her daily duties? You never know we might be suited'.
And the rats and the worms began to laugh and some of them started shufflin' off.
We're goin' to have some fun tonight gettin' ready for the reel in the flickering light.
I could see he had no scruples when I looked into his pupils,
They were purple or magenta like a statue during Lent.
I said ' I'll get her right away' 'Good man' sez he 'now don't delay,
We're goin' to have some fun tonight'. Then he flipped his legs in the flickering light.
Then up stepped a red carnation and they gave her an ovation.
She was warm and enchantin' as she slowly started dancin'.
And the bright auld pigeon peeled his eye and the nettles and the weeds began to sigh,
Daddy Longlegs said 'My, oh my, are we ready for the reel in the flickering light?
She was gentle, she was charmin' and I heard him call her Darlin'.
He was graceful as a whisper on his delicate legs of silver.
And the rats and the worms were still as mice and the poor auld pigeon said 'that's nice',
A shimmering veil of a lovely bride and they danced to the reel in the flickering light.
Schooners Sloops Brigantines
By Dave Curtis and John Hughes
Backing vocals by Dave Curtis, Rick Hodgson.
Dave Curtis: acoustic guitar, banjo, foot-taps
Rick Hodgson: foot-taps
Jay Boehmer: drums
John Hughes: bass
Tom Leighton: accordion, whistle, wine-box, bodhran, foot-taps.
Krow Fischer: foot-taps
Vitas Slapkauskas: bass intro
I love tall ships, and tall ship festivals. I’ve attended many in Nova Scotia, some of which I can recall. I’ve also attended and played at the Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, Wooden Boat Festival (now called the Classic Boat Festival) and it was this festival that was really the inspiration for the song. I am always inspired by these ships and their sailors, and am grateful to all those who keep the traditions and memories alive. For the longest time all I had was the first line and a rhythm that gave a sense of excitement. I toured the Fishermen’s Museum in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, and the Maritime History Museum in Halifax and came up with a hodge podge of ideas which eventually resulted in a full set of lyrics. John has a great bass line for the song and I’m really happy to be able to have him play it on the recording. The bass line was recorded and engineered by Michael Hayes, John’s nephew.
Wooden boats and ships of sail
Pull the blocks with a hearty yell
Another hull heads down the rails
To sail the open sea, boys
Then we raise the masts and set the rig
Wrap the sails, secure the gig
Pour the grog and dance a jig
She’s ready for the sea, boys
Chorus
Schooners, sloops, brigantines
Brigs, barques, yawls we’ve seen
Wooden boats and ships of sail
Forever stir the soul
Schooners, sloops, brigantines
Brigs, barques, yawls we’ve seen
The finest ships upon the seas
Come from those days of sail, boys
Like her sister ships that came before
Of oak, pine, brass and more
As solid as the crews who swore
Their lives were in her hands, boys
Yes I walked those decks and rigging climbed
Cast my eyes from crow’s nest high
I’ll miss it till the day I die
That life at sea was mine, boys
As she sets her sails across the bay
And through the islands makes her way
Our sons and daughters know the days
Of sail will soon be gone, boys
And the captains all who knew them best
Slocum, Walters and the rest
Their legends told will stand the test
Of time when they’re all gone, boys
From fish to rum were fortunes won
Now ships return that once were gone
Restored to former glory come
To leave the crowds in awe, boys
Now our children walk those decks again
Thank God they will remember when
Those wooden ships of sail did rend
The seas around our shores, boys
Dark Island
By David Silver and Iain MacLachlan
Backing vocals by Dave Curtis, Stephanie Bird.
Dave Curtis: acoustic guitar.
Tom Leighton: accordion, whistle, keyboard.
I am a huge fan of Ryan’s Fancy, a trio of Irish born Newfoundlanders that was quite popular in the 1970s and 80s. They even had their own television show at one point. I think I have every album they ever put out. Dennis Ryan did many of the lead vocals and there were some songs he sang that just made you want to cry. This was one of them. I started singing this song with Hughes & Curtis and still include it in many of my live performances.
Away to the westward, I'm longing to be
Where the beauties of heaven’ unfold by the sea
Where the sweet purple heather’ blooms fragrant and free
On a hill-top, high above the Dark Island
Chorus
Oh Isle of my childhood I'm dreaming of thee
As the steamer leaves Oban, and passes Tiree
Soon I'll capture the magic, that lingers for me
When I'm back, once more upon, the Dark Island
So gentle the sea breeze that ripples the bay
Where the stream joins the ocean, and young children play
On a strand of pure silver, I'll welcome each day
And I'll roam forever more, the Dark Island
True gem of the hebrides, bathed in the light
Like a midsummer dawning, that follows the night
How I long for the cry, of the seagulls in flight
As they circle high above’ the Dark Island
Chase the Dawn
By Dave Curtis
Dave Curtis: backing vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica.
Jay Boehmer: drums
Duncan Cooper: piano
Mike Francis: electric guitars, lead acoustic guitar.
Zeke Mazurek: fiddle
Vitas Slapkauskas: bass
This is a hurtin’ song with what is an almost universal theme about the ending of a relationship. I wasn’t sure about including it on the album but it turned into one of the nicest songs on the cd between the tight interplay of Jay and Vitas on drums and bass, Mike’s rich guitar sounds, and the tasteful piano and fiddle tracks by Duncan and Zeke. I really love how it all came together.
Where do I belong?
Where there’s music in the song
Where two lovers chase the dawn
Oh, where do I belong?
I don’t fit the mold
And I’m not scared of getting old
But the fire has grown cold
And I don’t fit the mold
Somehow I went astray
While I was trying to find my way
For guidance every day I pray
Somehow I went astray
I think of how I’ve been
Reflections of my life that seem
Wistful like a morning dream
Looking back at how I’ve been
Chorus
Why do I feel this way?
Maybe it’s easier to stay
If we’re pretending nothing’s wrong
Baby you know it won’t be long
How can we ever know?
Love’s purpose in the end will show
No matter if we win or lose
This gift is ours to choose
We change as time goes by
The how is harder than the why
When it can make a grown man cry
We all change as time goes by
The sun will shine again
I see the colours through the rain
This search for love won’t be in vain
I know the sun will shine again
Mary Ellen Carter
By Stan Rogers, arranged by Dave Curtis
Backing vocals by Rick Hodgson
Dave Curtis: acoustic guitar, bass
Tom Leighton: mandolin, accordion, piano, bodhran.
This great song is normally up-tempo all the way through. But I think the more contemplative beginning really suits the subject matter, and then speeding it up as the ”jars hit the bar” also really suits it. Playing it like this always makes my spine tingle a bit. Recording it like this with the change in tempo part way through was a bit tricky but Rick helped to pull it off no problem at all. And Tom’s work on this song is stellar.
She went down last October in a pouring driving rain.
The skipper, he'd been drinking and the Mate, he felt no pain.
Too close to Three Mile Rock, and she was dealt her mortal blow,
And the Mary Ellen Carter settled low.
There were five of us aboard her when she finally was awash.
We'd worked like hell to save her, all heedless of the cost.
And the groan she gave as she went down, it caused us to proclaim
That the Mary Ellen Carter would rise again.
Well, the owners wrote her off; not a nickel would they spend.
”She gave twenty years of service, boys, then met her sorry end.
But insurance paid the loss to us, so let her rest below.”
Then they laughed at us and said we had to go.
But we talked of her all winter, some days around the clock,
For she's worth a quarter million, afloat and at the dock.
And with every jar that hit the bar, we swore we would remain
And make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again.
Rise again, rise again, that her name not be lost
To the knowledge of men.
All those who loved her best and were with her till the end
Will make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again.
All spring, now, we've been with her on a barge lent by a friend.
Three dives a day in hard hat suit and twice I've had the bends.
Thank God it's only sixty feet and the currents here are slow
Or I'd never have the strength to go below.
But we've patched her rents, stopped her vents, dogged hatch and
porthole down.
Put cables to her, 'fore and aft and girded her around.
Tomorrow, noon, we hit the air and then take up the strain.
And watch the Mary Ellen Carter Rise Again.
For we couldn't leave her there, you see, to crumble into scale.
She'd saved our lives so many times, living through the gale
And the laughing, drunken rats who left her to a sorry grave
They won't be laughing in another day. . .
And you, to whom adversity has dealt the final blow
With smiling bastards lying to you everywhere you go
Turn to, and put out all your strength of arm and heart and brain
And like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again.
Rise again, rise again - though your heart it be broken
And life about to end
No matter what you've lost, be it a home, a love, a friend.
Like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again
Cry Me Baby
By Dave Curtis
Backing vocals by Krow Fischer, Rick Hodgson.
Dave Curtis: acoustic guitar, bass, shakers.
Jay Boehmer: drums
Duncan Cooper: organ
Mike Francis: dobro
Tom Leighton: mandolin
Zeke Mazurek: fiddle
This song also started as a poem, which I then put to music. I wrote it on the plane while flying to Halifax for a gig with John Hughes. It’s a simple love song, and I wanted it to have a bit of the same feel as an old-time folk song.
A Vision in white
In the glow of the fire
A silhouette by the light of the door
A wave and a smile
I’m the one she beguiles
The maiden who waits on the shore, oh boy
She’s the maiden who waits on the shore
Her poetry breathes
Her soul’s desire
The clay of destiny streams
Sweet sorrow to part
I leave with her heart
Sailing on the waves of her dreams, oh boy
I’m sailing on the waves of her dreams
Chorus
So cry me baby
You’re the rain on my hands
The sun on my face
The song in my band
Cry me baby
You’re a part of the plan
Cry me to the end of the line, oh boy
You can cry me to the end of the line.
Through timeless dawns
And oceans past
The star that guides us endures
Our traveling muse
Lights each other’s fuse
Until we return from our tours, oh boy
Until we return from our tours
The room disappears
In a romantic hue
Flames in tune with our song
Now heaven sends
Where seven ends
In each other’s arms we belong, oh boy
In each other’s arms we belong
Chorus 2x
Oh yeah, you can cry me to the end of time
Crazy Dancing
By Dave Curtis
Backing vocals by Stephanie Bird, Dave Curtis, Rick Hodgson.
Dave Curtis: acoustic guitar, tambourine
Jay Boehmer: drums
Duncan Cooper: piano, organ
Mike Francis: electric guitars
Vitas Slapkauskas: bass
I wanted to write a dance song for a band I play in (The Stephanie Bird Band). I imagined what it would feel like to ask someone to dance and have her turn out to be a dancing maniac, not that there’s anything wrong with that, and not that it’s ever happened to me.
Every move I make feels awkward
My universe is feeling small
‘Cause you’re dancing around me like your crazy
My skin begins to crawl
I’m in the eye of your gathering power
I struggle with the gaze of the crowd
Then my spine awakens with a shiver
I hear myself cry out loud
Chorus
I can dance (he can dance)
I can dance (he can dance)
Let’s dance like we’ve never danced before
‘Cause I’m infected with your crazy dance fever
And I hope / there ain’t / no cure
Now the crowd presses in on the dance floor
Electric sparks of desire
I’m tossed in a current of emotion
Every muscle every nerve on fire
I don’t care what my body is doing
Everything I can see is a blur
My blood is pounding with the rhythm
Whatever this is I want more
Chorus, break, chorus
We fell in love in a crazy dance fever
She danced me in the rush and the heat
She danced me in a promise of forever
I’m lost in the beauty and the beat
Now we’re dancing fools in the morning
Yeah we’re dancing fools at night
And if dancing makes the world better
Everything’s gonna be alright
Chorus, repeat last verse
Repeat last line 3x, hold on last “everything”
Pining for Ruth
By Dave Curtis
Backing vocals by Elizabeth Abraham, Dave Curtis, Brennan Curtis, Gloria Graves, Ruth Rogers.
Kazoos by Elizabeth Abraham, Gloria Graves, Ruth Rogers.
Dave Curtis: acoustic guitar, double bass
Linda Robinson: kazoo inspiration
Jay Boehmer: drums
Tom Leighton: honky tonk piano, mandolin, jaw harp, trombone
I was at Ruth and Garry’s place in Fredericton, New Brunswick for dinner a few years ago, with Gloria and Clay. We got talking about the distant past, including a summer I spent working in Alberta. Gloria said, “So what were you doing in Alberta anyway?” I replied, “Pining for Ruth”. Ruth was my first love. She couldn’t stop laughing for at least 5 minutes. Later we were talking about what needs to be in a country song, including love, a dog, a pickup truck, a train wreck, alcohol, and being done wrong. On the drive home to Ontario, I thought it would be fun to put it all in a song, a really silly song, complete with a kazoo break. The first verse is based on fact. The rest is pure fiction.
My kazoo chorus girls really went for the gusto with the kazoo break. I really think all maritimers secretly carry a kazoo with them wherever they go, just in case. Especially Linda Robinson (who really should have been part of the kazoo choir but wasn’t able to make the session). Nary a party went by without the kazoos coming out at some point. They did the recording in Fredericton, New Brunswick, with pretty minimal instructions from me, and chimed in on the choruses at the end. It sounds like a real maritime kitchen party and it makes me laugh every time I hear it. It's Pining for Ruth, but Gloria gets the last laugh.
Tom does a fantastic job on the piano and other parts he played. While we were listening to a later mix, Tom remarked that a trombone would sound great in the kazoo break. I looked at him and said, “Tom, where in hell are we going to find a trombone player and get that done at this stage?” Tom replies, “Well I happen to have a trombone in the trunk of my car”. Turns out he had a part all worked out so we recorded it right then and there.
Well it happened long ago
In the summer of seventy, three
I had just met Ruth
Then left to work among the, trees
I was stoned in love
I didn’t know what to do, woo hoo
‘Cause I was pining for Ruth
And man I sure felt, blue
Yodel ay ee ay, eyay ee ay, eyay eeeeeee
Well I was pining for Ruth one day
In my pickup, truck
When I backed up over my dog
And then got, stuck
So I yelled out loud in a British accent…@!!#$%&!!
‘Cause I was pining for Ruth
Hoping for a change in, luck
Chorus
Yeah, pining for Ruth
That’s what I do
Yeah pining for Ruth
You should try it, too
Yodel ay ee ay, eyay ee ay, eyay eeeeeee
Well I was crying every day
Out among the, logs
My life was a train wreck
Gone to the, dogs
I got tears in my beer
When I found out she was, gone, woo hoo
So when you’re pining for Ruth
You can’t stay away too, long
Chorus 2x
Everybody should try it, too
Yodel ay ee ay, eyay ee ay ,eyay eeeeeee
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