1. |
The Old Red Pickup Truck
04:12
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Up in the highlands was my granddaddy’s farm
Tucked under a ridge between two lakes
We’d leave the city life a couple times a year
An early start to a weekend, that makes
We’d get there before sundown and greet the relatives
Then over to the pickup truck we’d go
Faded fenders, a cracked windshield and tires long gone flat
Tall grass all around, it sat so low
To the old red pickup truck my brother and I went
Pretending that we were haulin’ hay
To the old red pickup truck my memories are spent
Imagining she’s still there today
In her day my Grandma drove, no license did she have
We’d pile in the back to take a trip
The clutch would slip on Davis’s Hill, we’d all get out and push
Gettin’ to the top took a mighty grip.
Before too long the brakes were gone, time had now run out
She was parked in the field beside a fence
But a new life had started, as a play toy for us kids
Stretch a few more years, it sure made sense.
To the old red pickup truck my brother and I went
Pretending that we were haulin’ hay
To the old red pickup truck my memories are spent
Imagining she’s still there today
The TV show Cannonball was all the rage back then
Two truckers a drivin’ down the road
Tom was Bud and I was Mack, adventurers we were
Fixin’ all the problems people told.
But as we grew our interest changed to huntin’ in the bush
In the back room all our guns were stored
We’d shoot from the chicken coop and pick off all the birds
That landed on the roof of that old Ford
To the old red pickup truck my brother and I went
Pretending that we were haulin’ hay
To the old red pickup truck my memories are spent
Imagining she’s still there today
Imagining I’m still there today
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2. |
Winter in the Highlands
03:31
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Oh the trees they are looking mighty bare, as the snow begins to settle everywhere
And a deer is hanging lifeless by the shed where my dad proudly raises it's fallen head
Dried out firewood all stacked in a row, from the cellar to the woodstove it will go
Everybody gathers round to feel the heat, boots and socks are dryin' from soakin’ feet
And it's winter in the Highlands once again
Smoking chimneys and steeples dot the land
Just the slightest hint of freshness in the air
It's so peaceful and serene when I am there
The snowbanks they are piled ten feet high, where the Haliburton school bus goes by
and the Ski-doos they’re a streakin’ through the night, headin' for a bonfire's glowing light
The ski club in Carnarvon never lasted long but its hills remained for us to sleigh on down
And the ice huts out on Boshkung can be seen from the top of the ridge is where I mean
And it's winter in the Highlands once again
Smoking chimneys and steeples dot the land
Just the slightest hint of freshness in the air
It's so peaceful and serene when I am there
It was peaceful and serene when I was there
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3. |
Burton's General Store
03:10
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Thinkin’ back to when I was just a little boy
I remember somethin’ that really made me pause
It’s silver roof clearly seen from Grandma’s old front porch
Down the road, around the bend it was
Through the wooden screen door, it beckoned us on in
Past the Pepsi cooler’s where we went
A carousel of comic books, just twelve cents apiece
Pocket change certainly well spent
Burton’s General Store was our favourite place to go
By the jumpin’ Jesus Josie, how we loved it so
Burton’s General Store was our favourite place to be
Everyone would gather to share a memory
Penny candy plentiful, behind the glass display
Blackballs and shoestring licorice
Kawartha ice cream in the freezer, cones were bigger then
Large or small, any way you wish
Further back at the meat counter, were samples we did try
Weiners and balogna slices too
Fresh pig tails for dinner, in pasta sauce they’d go
Simmering away all afternoon
Burton’s General Store was our favourite place to go
By the jumpin’ Jesus Josie, how we loved it so
Burton’s General Store was our favourite place to be
Everyone would gather to share a memory
Now it’s long gone, faded into history
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4. |
Song for a Farm Boy
03:29
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He was just a young boy at barely nineteen when he left the family farm
Tired of the cruelty he never deserved, the old man did him such harm
Journeyed far away to the west coast they say doin' all the things he had to do
When he finally returned, oh the stories that he earned made me want to go and do them too
And little does he know that we care about him so
It's sad we don't see him anymore…so sad we don't see him anymore
Strong as an ox but gentle as a lamb, an older brother he seemed to me
And everything we did, just thinkin' as a kid, I wish they could all still be
We'd walk along the side of Highway 35 drinkin' Orange Crush on the way
To Benny's Garage where the old truck it was, fixed and ready for another day
And little does he know that we care about him so
It's sad we don't see him anymore…so sad we don't see him anymore
Now time is running on, so many years have gone, who knows when we'll meet up again
I hope it's not at somber affairs like in the past, where tears are flowin' in the end
We all have a choice to express with our voice, the way we feel about things
So when I say my piece, it's a travesty at least of the pain this story really brings
So, little does he know that we care about him so
It's sad we don't see him anymore…so sad we don't see him anymore…anymore.
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5. |
My Home Away From Home
03:51
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There’s an old two lane highway windin’ through the hills
Northbound to a tiny town where it reaches an old mill
Down a dirt road I make my turn, I got here on my own
Rhubarb & strawberries, that garden sure has grown
Grandpa’s on the tractor Grandma’s washin’ clothes
An honest life is how they live at my home away from home
I grab my .22 rifle, on back to the bush I go
Through the field and across the crick, the path winds to and fro
Huntin’ for some cottontail ‘til it’s too dark to see
I bag me one just in time, big stew tomorrow for me
Grandpa’s on the tractor Grandma’s washin’ clothes
An honest life is how they live at my home away from home
The lake is warm, the sand is hot, the beach is always fun
A bar of soap on a rope, we bathe under the sun
Supper time beneath the cedars, wine jugs on the wood
Chicken as big as turkey, we eat more than we should
Grandpa’s on the tractor Grandma’s washin’ clothes
An honest life is how they live at my home away from home
There’s a big old pond in the middle of town, homes huddled all around
A general store and a school house just a little way’s down
An iron bridge to jump off or fish or make believe
There’s everything here that you could want, no reason to ever leave
Grandpa’s on the tractor Grandma’s washin’ clothes
An honest life is how they live at my home away from home
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6. |
Little White Crosses
03:40
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You might find one at the side of a two-lane highway
Or next to a bridge in pretty Minden town
Beside a guardrail just outside of Hall’s Lake
Or a railway crossing far from where you’re bound
And just like mile markers out of sinc, no rhyme or reason known
Little white crosses at the side of the road
and then you stop to look and read their stories in grass that’s overgrown
Little white crosses at the side of the road
Doesn’t really matter who you are in this world
No one plans on their journey stopping here
Guilty or not it comes to an end so quickly
And the final resting place is oh so clear
And just like mile markers out of sync, no rhyme or reason known
Little white crosses at the side of the road
and then you stop to look and read their stories in grass that’s overgrown
Little white crosses at the side of the road
Plastic flowers and Teddy Bears are symbols
Personalized by the ones who really care
Words of comfort scrolled across a banner
To the names of those who’s souls were laid bare
And just like mile markers out of sync, no rhyme or reason known
Little white crosses at the side of the road
and then you stop to look and read their stories in grass that’s overgrown
Little white crosses at the side of the road
Little white crosses mark the end of the road
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7. |
This Is Where
03:09
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Gazin' from this mountain top, no higher can I go
Leanin' on a big ol' tree observin' what's below
There's a lake down to my left, there's a lake down to my right
In between, the town I see, such a wondrous sight
This is where we'll build our home, the place we wanna be
This is where we’ll lay down roots and start a family
This is where we'll build our home, designed for you and me
This is where we'll live our lives in perfect harmony
Maybe a view out front and maybe a view out back
We’ll grow a real nice garden as a matter of fact
There'll be a covered porch to weather any day
And a boat out on the water to ride upon the bay
This is where we'll build our home, the place we wanna be
This is where we’ll lay down roots and start a family
This is where we'll build our home, designed for you and me
This is where we'll live our lives in perfect harmony
We'll have a ridin’ mower to cut our property
And a dog who won't need a leash so he can run free
A shed out by the birches to store my fire wood
And play guitar and sing my songs, yes I really could
This is where we'll build our home, the place we wanna be
This is where we’ll lay down roots and start a family
This is where we'll build our home, designed for you and me
This is where we'll live our lives in perfect harmony
This is where we'll live our lives, forever you and me
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8. |
Twelve Mile Lake
03:20
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I was standin’ on a sandy shore, envisioned a scene from years gone by
People swimmin’ and just lazin’ around, it brought me way back to Twelve Mile Lake
We’d pack a lunch and go to the beach, across the lumber piles and the sawdust hills
Shaggy and Butch, they would run up ahead, it brought me way back to Twelve Mile Lake
In my mind we were all back there, and I just want to hold on to then
In my mind we were all back there, and I just want to be there again
Mr. Delaney, he was drivin’ his boat, towing us kids in a rubber raft
A ‘63 Galaxy was parked on the sand, it brought me way back to Twelve Mile Lake
Later at night we would build a bonfire, cook some hot dogs and burn ‘em real bad
We smelled of smoke but we didn’t care, it brought me way back to Twelve Mile Lake
In my mind we were all back there, and I just want to hold on to then
In my mind we were all back there, and I just want to be there again
We all want to be there again.
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9. |
Hummingbird
03:33
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Summertime’s a comin’ gentle breezes flow
Summertime’s a comin’ anticipation grows
Summertime’s a comin’ I’m waiting patiently
For you hummingbird to see
In a coat of emerald green so smartly you’re bound
In a coat of emerald green you hover all around
In a coat of emerald green you’re here to get your fix
Drinkin’ from my sweet water mix
Hummingbird I see you along Highway 35
Hummingbird I see you underneath the tall pines
Hummingbird I see you by the Red Umbrella Inn
Dancing everywhere you’ve been
I watch you hummingbird darting here and there
I watch you hummingbird flutter everywhere
I watch you hummingbird play follow the leader
Landing on my bright red feeder
Hummingbird I’m starin’ in a dream-like state
Hummingbird so lovely won’t you take my bait
Hummingbird if only you will just agree
To open your wings for me
Cold winds a blowin’ to warmer climes you’ll fly
Cold winds a blowin’ many miles through the sky
Cold winds a blowin’ ‘cross the mountains you’ll go
Migrating to the south, you know?
Hummingbird I see you along Highway 35
Hummingbird I see you underneath the tall pines
Hummingbird I see you by the Red Umbrella Inn
Dancing everywhere you’ve been
Come and visit me again
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10. |
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Historic, old farmhouses crumblin’ to the ground
Once wide open spaces, now there’s little to be found
Service centres and convenience stores replacin’ old traditions
Swimmin’ holes been ruined too through land acquisitions
The old town I remember ain’t the same no more
Things I did way back then are gone forever more, gone forever more
Two cent pop bottles we found at the side of the road
Cash ‘em in at the General Store, pockets lined with gold
Ditches now filled with plastic, no incentive to turn ‘em in
Litterin’ all the highways, where do we begin
The old town I remember ain’t the same no more
Things I did way back then are gone forever more, gone forever more
The natural spring water source ain’t natural any more
Shut down by the Ministry, get it from the water store
Sign says “Under Quarantine, full of E-coli
You can’t drink the water or you’re gonna die!”
The old town I remember ain’t the same no more
Things I did way back then are gone forever more, gone forever more
Peaceful lakes and rivers once teemin’ with wild life
Listen to the call of the loon, echoin’ his strife
They come on personal watercraft makin’ lots of noise
Upsettin’ all the local folk with their spoiled rotten toys
The old town I remember ain’t the same no more
Things I did way back then are gone forever more, gone forever more
Graveyards show the pioneers who settled on this land
Little did they know back then, the wrongs of modern man
Old back roads that bear their names, creeks and waterfalls
Blasted away with dynamite, now lead to shopping malls
The old town I remember ain’t the same no more
Things I did way back then are gone forever more, gone forever more
gone for-ever more, gone forever more
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