Yesterday I posted a short video of Fiddler Dave's performance of his original song "Howard Street." It received several lovely comments. One reader asked for the lyrics. I have posted them below. They are also available, along with much more, on the Molasses Creek web site.
"Howard Street" is from the album Best of Molasses Creek: 1993-2000 ~ 2001.
"Howard Street" is from the album Best of Molasses Creek: 1993-2000 ~ 2001.
Howard Street
Fiddler Dave Tweedie
This was written for a special place (Ocracoke Island), and a special person in my life.
David Tweedie -lead vocal, fiddle, electric cello
Kitty Mitchell -bass
Gary Mitchell -guitar
Chris Frank -piano
Lyrics
Howard St.By Fiddler Dave Tweedie
I jumped the fence on Howard Street
And ran to where I knew she would be waiting
Play the lover, questions why
Live oaks twisting towards the sky, now fading
And in a dream they came to me from countless years before
Simple men and women who have spilled across the door of this old house
And I am one
Her people are as old as time
But I am new and pay the fine with patience
My history seems to start today
And a child late from morning’s play must hasten
Old fishermen on Silver Lake walk barefoot through the sand
And only by remaining still will they notice that I stand
Among them now. I know the spring by turning leaves
The oaks they shed for joy and not for grieving
The paneled house will mold with dew
But underneath the beaded board looks new
Hurricanes and winds of change can sting with
mighty blow
Those who will escape their wrath
Like oceans they must flow and so must I
Graves they lie along this lane
Compass need not guide where we must go
A city hides their dead away
But here old friends surround us like the snow
The thunder of the ocean now consumes my every pore
I must in turn embrace it as I spill across the door
Of this small town
Frogs sing sweetly in the night
Stars breathe free far from city lights
Oyster shells upon the road
Like sunken cisterns memories still hold
Past and present they join hands around this magic place
As I return to doorstep
And the memory of her face before me now
And I am here
And she is here
This month's Ocracoke Newsletter is the entertaining story of Calvin Wilkerson and his Condomed Nautilus. You can read it here: https://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news042117.htm.
A man that Bakes and Sings and Plays the fiddle, a 21st Century man.
ReplyDeleteJust wow, Dave!!!!! Again, beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful poem. And what a moving reach back in time.
ReplyDeletea little long but cute
ReplyDeleteA further description of "a 21st century man" (anon 11:11)- a man whose son bears his mother's last name because "Her people are as old as time" and because "Past and present they join hands".
ReplyDelete