Del Barber Prairieography 1. Living With a Long Way To Go Headin’ out to Fort Mac Gonna make a come back Make a million dollars pulling oil from the ground Tired of the long shot Waiting for the ball to drop Livin’ in this half-horse town I got nothing in the coffers except gophers and hoppers The wind ain’t the only thing that blows When you’re tired of living, living with a long way to go Well I was doing kind of fine with my half-grade nine Working cattle’s all I really know But I’m getting kind of tired of playing pasture poker It’s a game where the aces never show Can’t afford the feed, fuel or the seed There comes a time when you either raise or fold When you’re tired of living, living with a long way to go Headin’ out to Fort Mac Gonna make a come back Make a million dollars pulling oil from the ground Tired of the long shot Waiting for the ball to drop Livin’ in this half-horse town See you later neighbor I ain’t lookin’ good on paper Debt’s the only thing that I can seem to grow Tired of living, living with a long way to go Tired of living, living with a long way to go 2. Farewell, God Bless You, Goodbye There’s pigeons living on a window sill I think I’ve finally had my fill It’s time to give this city my goodbye There’s only so much money a man can lose Aching that his reasons will turn to proof That someday love might not leave me dry Tell me friend can you hear me howl I’m on the highway with a crooked smile You know I’m looking for the starry sky Farewell, God bless you, goodbye I headed north with the winter wind Got an honest job working for a cattleman It seems that with his age he might need me some I think I’ll stay here as long as I can But I know it’s only a matter of when Maybe you could come and see me before that time Tell me friend can you hear me howl I’m on the highway with a crooked smile You know I’m looking for the starry sky Farewell, God bless you, goodbye 3. Walking in a Straight Line Just before dark, the trees turn to silhouettes The world gets too pretty for my petty regrets There’s a trace of red left in the sky tonight The water in the fields is turning to wine The rivers are flowing, the city can’t sleep The water’s rising like a secret you can’t keep Every year it’s the same strange feeling I’ve always had a hard time Walking in a straight line Three highlights on a CN freight Cut down the darkness, paint the way I’m west bound chasing my own tail again The snow has disappeared just past the Qu’Appelle I’ll be rolling into Jasper before too long now I’ve been stolen by Alberta so many times I’ve lost count I’ve always had a hard time Walking in a straight line I’ve always had a hard time Walking in a straight line The highways are twisted but they give me a life I’m grateful for it but I know there is a price I’d just like to find out someday soon how much I owe My cast iron fingers are holding their pose Doubt is a disease that can turn young men old She used to haunt me, now I just make her my friend I’ve always had a hard time Walking in a straight line I’ve always had a hard time Walking in a straight line 4. Arianna Arianna was picking up the pieces Just trying to see this night through Grey mine dust, sunset rust The colours of her mood She sweeps up the broken bottles Mops the stains from off the floor She swears to the stars And the grave of her momma She can’t do this anymore Darling let me take you out tonight Come dance with me one more time I know you’re tired of going around the trouble There’d be no town without the company There’s be no work without the iron ore There’d be no job for her daddy Or his daddy before But it ain’t enough to force a feeling To bring change across her eyes Arianna is bound for glory This town’s just bound for the fire Darling let me take you out tonight Dance with me one more time I know you’re tired of going around the trouble 5. Country Girl Walking downtown with a country girl on my arm Walking downtown with a country girl on my arm There ain’t nothing in the world that’s quite as good She’s like a drug that’ll make you feel better than you should I was walking downtown with a country girl on my arm Met her in the prairie and I followed her out east Met her in the prairie and I followed her out east Lord knows that I’d go anywhere To run my fingers through her long dark hair I met her in the prairie, followed her out east Gonna give her all my money, give her all my care Gonna give her my money, give her all my care We’re gonna laugh, we’re gonna cry We’re gonna walk the road together, watch the years fly by I’m gonna give her all my money, give her all my care But her daddy’s got his rifle propped up against the frame of the door Her daddy’s got his rifle propped up against the frame of the door Gonna make him trust, gonna make him believe Gonna keep that barrel out of my teeth Her daddy’s got his rifle propped up against the frame of the door. Someday I might buy that country girl a ring Someday I might buy that country girl a ring She wants a little house in a prairie town Raise us a family and grow some roots way down Gotta buy that country girl a ring Chorus 6. Peter and Jenny Lee He had a face like an old door handle About as bright as a birthday candle He worked the front desk at the new west motor hotel He spent his last ten years answering that silver table top bell She was rolley and polley and able He hired her under the table To clean the bathrooms, vacuum and run the laundry machines Before they knew it, they were drowning in that romantic dream Love might find you in the basement Or way up on top of a tree If you’re lucky you might get to feel it As strong as Peter and Jenny Lee They knew it was love without a doubt or a question He was a turkey, she was the dressing The first night they spent up in room 203 Making true love even truer watching church on TV Love might find you in the basement Or way up on top of a tree If you’re lucky you might get to feel it As strong as Peter and Jenny Lee If you’re lucky you might get to feel it As strong as Peter and Jenny Lee 7. It’s Harder Than You Think Well it’s harder than you think To lose your grip on the master link Of the chain that ties you to this town Grind out another day on factory floors and service bays Sometimes what’s lost just can’t be found There are no answers blowing in the wind There’s just the hope that what is old will be made new again Don’t just watch the sun go down Don’t just watch the sun go down Don’t just watch the sun go down on this city And the years go drifting by Twenty three turns thirty five And you watch the shadow cool the stone And it comes time to decide You do your best or leave it all behind As close to peace as you can know There are no answers blowing in the wind There’s just the hope that what is old will be made new again Don’t just watch the sun go down Don’t just watch the sun go down Don’t just watch the sun go down on this city 8. Big Smoke Blinded by the city lights no one can see you stalling It’s been so long since you’ve seen the prairie stars You’re not so sure you can recall them If there was something here for you to find You may have found it once and lost it now We used to fly through the woods on the backs of quarter horses Picking dandelion bouquets for our sister and our mother We felt like men but we were boys Too young to know that we were free as fire You’re lost out in the big smoke Looking for a way home There are no straight paths There’s no easy way Brother do you remember that warm September morning We were shooting cans with dad’s 22’ without a worry or a warning You pulled the trigger down and dropped that deer And you looked at me with tears in your eyes I never in a million years thought you’d make that shot I picture you tonight with your sights still on something so far off Wherever you are I hope you’re being careful About the things you think you want You’re lost out in the big smoke Without a fire of your own There are no straight paths No easy way The sky is getting hazy, filling up with grain dust It could be any year that the bank finally gets the best of us But our cows are fed and the bins are full We’re hoping to see you before the snow Chorus 9. Yellowhead Road She was an only child, she didn’t come from much My girl was strong and sure, she was sharp and tough In a small town bar, on a Saturday night Playoff hockey game, my whole world felt right We married young and that first child she came Not a day before my Katie turned 23 You know how times they get hard, there wasn’t any work left in town So I got my Class 1 license, I was highway bound These eighteen wheels gotta make two more stops One to pick up the package and the other to drop it off Ten kilo load on the Yellowhead Road A hundred miles behind me, 7 years to go Had to make my girl some money, rules are just there to bend Made a 25 cent call to a cousin of a friend The blue lights they flashed, they lit up that prairie night Two Mounties on the left, two more walking up on the right She must have waited all night for my call, must have felt like 15 years They had this boy in cuffs, they had this boy in tears Chorus I drew a nickel and a dime at the P. A. Pen Crossed that line for Katie, you know I’d do it again Ten kilo load on the Yellowhead Road A hundred miles behind me, 7 years to go 10. The Wind in the Wire God is in his eyes Time is on his hands The devil’s in his heart The walls are closing in The room is growing cold The engine has no spark His ears would hear the sighs But his face can’t fell the breeze The weight is on his mind Can’t help but stay awake Through the midnight hours Thinking of her smile The gentle whisper of the wind Through the razor wire fence Sounds just like the wind Through the boughs of a tall white pine The gavel hammers down One man goes away One man wears the chain But everybody pays A woman’s heart is strong She’s got to carry on She will always find her way Tears are in her eyes The days an endless road The ring is on her hand The babes are fast asleep They can’t see their momma weep She’s doing all she can All the debts she’ll never pay The words she never got to say Before they threw away the key He did what he felt was right He never would have guessed They couldn’t see it that way Chorus 11. The Sparrow and the Crow She was a sparrow I’m just a black crow The Lord’s eyes were on her He don’t care where I go I go out fishing I go out drinking I go out flying He doesn’t seem to care She’s gotta be a good girl To keep his attention She wears her nice clothes To try and impress him Never see her smoking Never hear her cussing She’ll never be out late Having any kind of fun I know she’s got a pretty feathers And a little song she sings so true All I’ve got is this black leather And a cackling voice that will make you blue Lord, He don’t even know my name But He’s heard about my get-togethers Where all those sparrows turn into black crows I was out on the wire Yesterday morning I was looking for a good joke And something to eat I saw that pretty sparrow Fly right past, Lord That little darling nearly swept me off of my feet So I smile her way She smiled right back I took up flapping Lord, that was that I know it’s hard God But you gotta forgive me I’m doing my damnedest to steal her away Chorus 12. All That It Takes I’ve been walking on the fence Between the hope of the heart and where the head makes a mess I’ve been enjoying that view Holding on to a bigger piece of what’s true And you say, love is just a dream, for all those pretty people we see on TV And I say, baby, this is Hollywood to me We’re just a little more cheap and a little more free All that it takes is a smile and a wink I will wash every dish in your sink The cows are all still home But the winter sun has turned and finally started to feel warm And those ice locked lakes are getting thin We got dreams of muddy rivers and Huckleberry Finn All that it takes is a smile and a wink I will wash every dish in your sink 13. Tell Me Where To Start I grew up across from the river It still runs muddy, shallow and slow I got tall on the backs of skateboards My ass on a bicycle, hands on a fishing pole All afternoon I would jig for Walleye But I’d be happy with just a Bass or a Pike Cause school was out and I was running Past the darkness of the winter to the summer’s sunrise You be Tom Sawyer, I’ll be Huck Finn Nothing can stop me, all I can do is win I know it’s a cold world, but I got this warm heart If you need a friend, tell me where to start When I was 12 I fell madly in love With the cold hard music of skates and sticks and pucks So I set out to make myself a name In every rink from Winnipeg to Boissevain You be Greztsky, I’ll be Messier Nothing can stop me, nothing will stand in my way I know it’s a cold world, but I got this warm heart If you need a friend, tell me where to start It was spring, I was 16 We made the playoffs by the skin of our teeth She was out there wrapped up watching from the stands I was playing just for her love and for that chance She could be my Joan and I could be her Bob See we’ve hit our stride, we can do no wrong I know it’s a cold world, but I got this warm heart If you need a friend, tell me where to start Darling if you need some love, just tell me where to start 14. White Lines and Tail Lights Dark tonight, dark as it gets The snow has turned to rain and back to snow Driving hard and fast, north and west Aching for a taste of home Call me on the cell Tell me we got a chance That our little dreams Are adding up to something grand Tell me no word, no road, no storm Can take what we have White lines and tail lights will carry me through Pray these wheels they turn and never stop ‘Til I make it home to you Rolling through those Wisconsin woods Past the lakes of the Iron Range My heart’s a house on fire tonight Raging on the beauty without the grace Someday the wind might stop And the sun will rise In the morning she’ll remember that she’s a friend of mine No word, no road, no storm will take what we’ll find White lines and tail lights will carry me through Pray these wheels they turn and never stop ‘Til I make it home to you Pray these wheels will turn and never stop ‘Til I make it home to you