We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Woodsmoke (album)

by Stephen Scholle

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $5 USD  or more

     

1.
Sam stepped into the bar last night And didn't have much to say His fortune had been ransomed for the life of a girl And he didn't know how it would play As he downed a shot of bourbon he wept Life's sting poured down his throat It wasn't til Molly told him the truth that he realized the pitch of his slope Now Molly was orphaned at age 14 Her step-father bruised her with guilt He used her the way his father used him It filled her with loathing and filth When Sam stepped in she had a good friend Compassionate and loving But little did she know how it would go for him to be so giving Oh Molly oh Molly Why did you distress my heart so I wanted to give you a hand But I'm stuck here unable to go I'm stuck here a dim sort of scarecrow As the gathering shadows surround me Their caws and their claws dissemble my dreams As the morning light robs me Oh Molly oh Molly why did you distress my heart so I'm stuck here in limbo As dark wings pull from below What Sam didn't know when he came to her aid was that Molly had mothered a child And the step-father took that sweet baby away claiming to be warden of a minor His friends the judge and the sheriff agreed and Molly was left with no choice Sam was fighting a jurisdiction that stripped her of her voice He was fighting a predator, a rapist and a lyer And before he knew it Sam was trapped in an oncoming prairie fire Ooh-ooh oohhhh Ooh ooh oohhhh With only his word in his own defense Charges were being filed Sam was accused of abusing Molly and fathering her newborn child Oh Molly oh Molly How you captured my heart and my dreams You've stolen my heart and you've stolen my hope All that's left is the gallows it seems For to know you has cost me the life of my soul and the brightness where youth cast its gleam For to know you has robbed me of peace and of pleasure And the brightness where once lived my dreee- eee- eaams Ahh ahh aahhh ohh ohh ohhhhh ooh ooh oohhhh
2.
Pearly Joe 03:00
Pearly Joe came ridin in from the Western plain Pearly Joe was made for pain Was singin in the rain Makin love given the pain Dusty trails Indian towners Buckskin garb 'n deerskin hat And a Bowie knife that flies Pearly Joe was a man His fate was sealed for a gamin man I died in lucky dice that day Pearly Joe and his brother Frank Stayin tall and savin face day by friend
3.
Left Placid in 1913 to be with the setting sun After sweatin small wages til the day was done Tired of civilization, tired of the lawman's gun Became Mayor of Cold River, Population: One Huntin, fishin, trappin Was a life of plenitude Didn't have much time for lonely Called it solitude Had Mrs Rondeau's kitcheonette Had his own Town Hall Built himself some wigwams Notched lodgepoles in the fall Used em to fuel his fires In winter's biting cold Didn't bother cuttin firewood Just pushed em in the coals Ol Noah Rondeau Ol Noah Rondeau Livin on his own terms In the 'rondack snow Clarence told me he cached supplies here and there in the woods After hunting they'd be hungry [Ready for a Noah special ] Ready to eat real good He'd pull a fryin pan from one old log, Jar of bear grease from another Dug a deer carcass, last week's kill Frozen still, for supper Cut her heart into pieces and throwed em in the skillet Bugs, worms germs, fired' be sure to kill it With the bear grease and rust bubblin in the heat Made some mighty fine brown gravy, [Threw in some onions and salt. My, that's savory] ... Yumm... let's eat! Ol Noah Rondeau Ol Noah Rondeau Lightin his pipe and enjoyin The river's evenin glow Ol Noah Rondeau Ol Noah Rondeau Settin his own pace ... And takin it slow He enjoyed his reputation Enjoyed his friends much more The few he had were friends for life Though many passed his door When 46'r boys and hunters 'd visit for a spell With a twinkle in his eye and on the sly He'd hook em with a tale When a city boy said "Noah, I wanna hunt meself some bear" Noah told him about the 3-toed lout he'd trapped in a snare The bear remembered Noey And trapped him in a tree NoaH jumped down and rode him bear back Across the North Country Ol Noah Rondeau Ol Noah Rondeau Livin alone In the cold cold cold... Adirondack snow Adirondack snow and when after the blowdown of 1950 Bill dropped a message from the sky "Noey, you had enough yet?" Here's how he replied With his snowshoes on out in the field Stomped a big Y. E. S. On an even keel, left his camp for real, Old bones needed a rest After 30-odd years livin his way Livin by his own laws Worked at North Pole Village ... ... ... Playin Santa Claus Ol Noah Rondeau Ol Noah Rondeau Had yourself enough of the cold cold cold cold cold ... Adirondack snow Livin on your own Far away from the Man Had yourself a pretty good run Livin off the land Livin off the land Your skills were reknowned Your front yard was the wilderness ... Cold River was your town Cold River ... was your town
4.
Mr Yachtman came from the country He paid for his dues somehow He appeared at her door in white linen She brushed him aside with a scowl Take heed, take heed Mr Yachtman Your country ways won't do There's a fine lady at her doorstep And you can't fool her, not you Now Miss Virginia knew a great surgeon She wept upon hearing he died She kept vigil yon seven years now She knew who she was inside When some dandy hat-in-hand came callin He didn't know what was in store Miss Virginia turned him out smartly She invariably shut the door Now Mr Yachtman was not so easy He didn't take kindly to that He felt his pride had been damaged So he didn't put on his hat Take heed, take heed Miss Virginia You better watch out what you do Yachtman brought his hand up deliberate And rapped on the door anew Now what would you do in her place? A stranger came to your door Would you get your shotgun ready? Would you hide in your room on the floor? Miss Virginia decided to listen For the way he knocked on her door It wasn't harsh or insistent It was forthright, easy and sure So the story of Virginia Yachtman Turned out ever so true She found a man who adored her And her heart found love anew
5.
John Wesley Powell was a man of his word He joined the Union cause to right the wrongs he could He fought and lost an arm and continued to serve Though for life he felt the pain from his amputated nerve He loved the land and learned to map it true He learned to read its sediments, it structures, it glue He was book learned but needed a bigger test So he organized his buddies and explored the wild west John Wesley Powell left his mark on the land Like Lewis and Clark before him Like Marshall and Muir he’ll stand For the country he saw was as great as the sky The forests, the rivers, where beauty never dies As a young man he rowed the Mississippi from Minnesota to the sea He hiked across Wisconsin, he was barely 23 In the war he kept his head down laying in the trenches Wasn’t just scared, was inspecting water flow in ditches He first explored the Rockies in eighteen sixty seven Knew his heart belonged to this big piece of heaven It wasn’t recklessness, pride or bravado Curiosity led him to the Grand Canyon of the Colorado Chorus: For a thousand miles the Virgin, Escalante, and Price Every lateral creek has a canyon it’s sliced Every brook, every rill born of a shower Has cut into rock with slow, relentless power Pueblo-building tribes, a thousand generations Zuni, Hopi and the Navajo nations The Paiute and Havasupai scratch out their lives in this empty quiet land they’ve learned to survive Chorus: Ponderosa, manzanita, cottonwood and willow A single puff in the sky soft as a pillow Dry pancake flats that bloom in the dew A palette of color and the sky so blue Our genial crew, hand picked for their skills Veteran explorers, all have strong wills There are 10 of us now, God willing all will come through We know what we’re in for, we know what to do Chorus: Wooden skiffs, boats packed with gear Difficult to row, difficult to steer Launched north of Moab, launched on the Green Up here the water’s gentle, it seems quite serene (Pulse root chord -- Chant) Ya-ah-teh Biliga-ana Aho-A Nizhanee-A Greetings White Man, be well, be lucky Walls of water, torrents of force Around each bend another course Broadside to the rock, crashing, smashing wood Men tossed to the wild, clinging to what they could Rescue risks losing more boats still Thrashing rapids that can kill, they can kill [spoken] T'ahdii ni, Shini chii-di bik-id ni. We are sorry for you. May the spirits watch over you A stretch of peaceful water eases our fear But too soon again, what’s that I hear? We look at each other, what’s around the bend? This is too much, it has to end, it has to end We’ve lost tools, food and supplies We've no way of knowing if we’ll come out alive We climb out of the canyon, up the rock face To see where we stand in this rugged, empty place The river is a snake, winding in the sun We can see our journey's just begun, it’s just begun Keyah-dii nitsaa doo yeeh, Holo dikwii Na-nish-tsoe [spoken]: This land is big and fearsome, it is rife with hazards Today millions visit the rim, thousands more raft the river We’ve learned to expect our tours to deliver We take for granted this man’s achievements Until we face the river, and confront our fears like he did Chorus: John Wesley Powell left his mark on the land Like Lewis and Clark before you [spoken]: Jo-ni Woh-nas-di Ta-ha-ah-te You have furthered the possible For the country you saw was as great as the sky The forests, the rivers, [spoken]: Ya-ah-teh Nah-dzah Naa-na. where beauty never dies [spoken]: We welcome your return. Explorers work off obsessions and urges Inside there’s something the unknown purges It’s not just about risking their lives It’s a vision for which... each man and woman thrives
6.
Interlude 01:20
7.
Forevermore 03:45
The mountain is tall The river is wide My love’s so far The climb’s so steep The night is dark I cannot sleep I cannot keep My lover’s heart The time has come I must cross o’er One fine day I’ll know for sure I’ll see the light Behind her door I’ll know first sight Forever more The climb is steep I can’t cross o’er The nights are long My heart is sore I’ll see the light Behind her door In my dreams Forever more In my dreams Forever more
8.
Canoeing through the Kawatae Lakes in old Ontario My brother and I went trapping during an early October snow We came upon an Ojibwe camp abandoned years ago Found shelter in a lean-to as the wind began to blow (Chorus) Woodsmoke and whiskey and a little bit of repartee Woodsmoke and whiskey to keep us company We covered 14 miles that first day out of camp The snow turned to drizzle, we were feelin kind of damp That week we porteged Healey Falls, that was quite a hike Our bellies knotted in hunger though we fished for bass and pike Woodsmoke and whiskey and a little bit of repartee Woodsmoke and whiskey kept us company Staring at the embers, starin at the fire's glow The quiet overtook us with memories of long ago Our mama and papa were gone now and so was our sister Sue Two boys out in the wilderness just tryin to make a go (Whistle chorus) (Chorus) From far away some lonesome wolves were makin their mournful cry Was a lonesome feelin no one knowin if we were to die No one would claim our bodies if we perished in this cold And a few beaver pelts weren't worth the cost of never growin old But what was there for us in the town where we were born? Our people were all gone now, there was no one left to mourn Jobs were scarce, we had no means, no good way to get by So we packed our traps and our hunting gear and made for the open sky (As chorus) We made for the open sky oh Lord, we made for the open sky And little did we know where our fates would surely lie Sitting here by this dying fire, chilled to the bone Grateful for the company as we pass this time alone As we pass the time alone oh Lord, as we pass this time alone Just woodsmoke and whiskey to remind us of our home Then my brother says as he often does, I think that we're just tired Tomorrow is another day let's build ourselves a fire We've got fine whiskey and good stout bread, our traps are set and ready Let's stick to plan and look ahead, the weather's holdin steady And we've got Woodsmoke and whiskey and mighty fine repartee We've got woodsmoke and whiskey to keep us company Yes we've got woodsmoke and whiskey and easy repartee We've got woodsmoke and whiskey We've got woodsmoke and whiskey Yes we've got woodsmoke and whiskey And each other's company We've got woodsmoke and whiskey We've got woodsmoke and whiskey Yes we've got woodsmoke and whiskey And my brother's company
9.
Yosemite 06:24
Before the millions came to visit There were black bear and crow And light crept over the canyon walls Each morning in the snow Until shadow swallowed highlights The vastness of it all Only time bore witness In spring and golden fall Ehy-yoh Ehy-yoh Ehy-Yoh Ehy-Yoh In winds and rain and stillness The dripping mossy cliffs Plunging liquid drapery The water and the mist The huge smooth granite faces That took the breath away Of those who first walked in here And those who come today Ehy-yoh Ehy-yoh Ehy-Yoh Ehy-Yoh The giant limbed Sequoia Towering and fat Each who’s gazed up in them has whispered, “Oh. Look at that!” Their brittle twigs and oily resins Far above our heads Home to warbler and woodpecker Waxwing and wren Ehy-yoh Ehy-yoh Ehy-Yoh Ehy-Yoh The peaks fade like battleships Into the distant plain Far above the mountain meadow Tuolumne by name And the granite face and open sky That change so constantly Call down their perfect valley Yosemite… Yosemite Ehy-yoh Ehy-yoh What does it mean When places such as these Remind us of the infinite And bring us to our knees They grace our sensibilities They remind us who we are Bearers of grace and beauty Witness to the stars Ehy-yoh Ehy-yoh Ehy-Yoh Ehy-Yoh Before the millions came to visit There were black bear and crow And light crept over the canyon walls Each morning in the snow Until shadow swallowed highlights The vastness of it all The eagle bearing witness In spring and golden fall Ehy-yoh Ehy-yoh Ehy-Yoh Ehy-Yoh

about

All songs written and performed by Stephen Scholle (voice, guitars, various bass, banjo, shakuhachi, various percussion). Fred Gillen, Jr. played bass on 1, 4 and 7, and sang backup on 1,8 and 9.
Produced by Stephen Scholle with Fred Gillen, Jr. Mastered by Mark Dann.
Cover photo courtesy of Jay O'Hern (Adkwilds.com). Touchup by Stephen Scholle.

Copyright 2010-2015, Ideaseeds. All rights reserved.
SESAC.

credits

released March 22, 2016

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Stephen Scholle Hartsdale, New York

Picked up guitar in 1967. Began writing songs in 09 after a breakup. TY to Fred Gillen, Burr Johnson, Peter Calo and the Ashokan music community for supporting my passion. I write from the chord voicings and I write from the voice inside. Some songs channel moments. Sometimes words just sound good. I like to let the song speak and I like to work with others on that. If you'd like, get in touch. ... more

contact / help

Contact Stephen Scholle

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like Stephen Scholle, you may also like: