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Kanoka

by Switchback

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1.
Southbound Train 01:34
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2.
Kanoka 05:22
lyrics
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Kanoka I had holes in my pockets And coins in my shoes Between living and dying I wished I could choose Then along came my friend ‘Twas a rollin’ round the bend Chorus ‘Twas a southbound train Southbound train Southbound train To Kanoka Well this southbound train is Gonna roll with the plains And my feet won’t get dusty Or cold when it rains Wide are these miles But not as wide as my smile When I see my sweet See my sweet See my sweet Kanoka Well Kanoka is a place As a place oughta be You can’t reach it by land, by air, by sea It’s a one way dream on a one way team Shootin’ sparks all its way to Kanoka Don’t tear at the seams If you can’t find your dream And your team ran away in fright Saddle your pain Clutch onto its mane It’s gonna send you Send you in flight Don’t tear at the seam If you can’t find your dream And your team ran away in fright Saddle your pain Clutch onto its mane It’s gonna send you Send you tonight On your southbound train I can see you a comin’ Through the pourin’ down rain I declare you’re a runnin’ And it won’t seem in vain As we’re whistlin’ with the train On a southbound train Southbound train Southbound train Southbound train Losin’ ties on our way To Kanoka To Kanoka
3.
Pour Me 06:03
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Pour Me Well I was raised in a family Raising the bar Watching skinny Texans playing big guitars Knew right then at a very tender age I would be making my livin’ Taking the stage Watching the girls sway to my rock n’ roll Well the life of a player is always full throttle Need a little help from the creature in the bottle On my third tranny on my Dodge Caravan 400 dollars for a five piece band 1200 miles west of Chicago A little bit of Jameson’s Never hurt anyone And it won’t kill me A drop of the Creature That’s her finest feature Pour Me, Pour Me, Pour Me Another round Well I love my wife, I miss my family That’s when the Creature gets a hold of me Now I’m in a juke joint North of Salina Chasing a bar maid Where is my brain? Driftin’ its way back to Chicago A little bit of Red Breast Has me thinking of her party dress Let’s party! The sins of the Creature Don’t tell me you’re a preacher Pour Me, Pour Me, Pour Me Another round She’s got me laughing as she drives me mad Creature likes her good boy bad Northern Ontario, Saturday night Now is this a private or a public fight? We don’t give a damn back in Chicago A little bit of Jack Dan Makes me a fighting man Round 13! A double of the Creature Don’t mind if I do, sir Pour Me, Pour Me, Pour Me Another round A little bit of Tullamore Only makes me want her more Yes indeed A bottle of the Creature Has me slidin’ out of my chair Pour Me, Pour Me, Pour Me Pour Me, Pour Me, Pour Me Another round!
4.
Dog Days 01:12
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5.
Van Tassel 04:04
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Van Tassel Highway 20 stretches out like a beggar’s hand East Wyoming it is home for this weary man I stop my car, lean on the hood, taking in the sight Van Tassel population nine In the fading light The moon rides over the brown buttes Rounding up the thunderheads I’m riding cloudy memories of faces and things said Ah, let them run Run into the night Through the sagebrush of Wyoming In the fading light Van Tassel you’ve seen better days Are there better ones left to come? Do you long to see better ones come along? Weather beaten, hanging on, we’re such a pretty sight Hoping for the dawn Knowing we’re just fading light No light left in Van Tassel, no light left in my heart We had a chance to dance Van Tassel Now it’s time to gracefully depart Bones for the prairie, you and I But we’re still living, in the fading light Yeah, we’re still living In the fading light.
6.
Rope As I'm Riding 04:47
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Rope As I’m Riding Hurling rope as I’m riding this baffling terrain On a ranch 18 miles north of Boonesboro I’m the man in the saddle with the tight-fisted reins Chasing moon calf and lune cattle on the loose again. As soon as I’m up I’m back down I’m as black and blue as Kentucky ground I’m ready for a hole in that ground When I hold you it’s possible, once again To be a grown fool, responsible Doing what he can Well my brow-sweatin’ head can make my hat weigh like lead From crotch down to my knees I feel blistered-bit Well my ass is so sore I’ve given up keeping score If this horse bucks once more she’ll be bridled whipped Well my body wants bread And all my daydreams take place in bed Wish these boots I could shed When I hold you it’s possible, once again To be a grown fool, responsible Doing what he can Home, where horizons never die Home, kitchen fire is cauldron high Home! I’m on time! Hear the chimes! Can hardly wait for that pie! When the night’s dark descends to find the bloodhounds upwind Near stalks the hairy tread of old grizzly-foot With a taste for fine swine he’s got the pick of the sty I hear the cries from bedside At once I’m in pursuit But even the hounds up ahead Know the night’s chase always ends With that bear fleed and fed Let me hold you, if possible once again I’ll be your grown fool, responsible till the end
7.
Wrong You Can Write 04:24
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Wrong You Can Write Nuptials in the morning Reception at noon Finally over None too soon His tux too tight Her train too long Wrong you can write In a country song Foreseeable endings Come and gone This B flick existence Rolls on and on The guy that plays the husband and his wife Both wrong Wrong you can write in a country song Wrong put the distance In the room Wrong meant trouble For the bride and groom Source of inspiration Source we writers use Not necessarily Ours to choose I tried to cure the block Tried to cure it with the booze Then along came Wrong to be my muse Wrong put the discord in the tune Wrong meant trouble For the honeymoon At the final chorus, Wrong will set the hook With a change of heart and a second look With a change of heart and a second look Wrong Wrong
8.
Water Through Sand 03:12
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Water Through Sand Took a few chapters from Grandfather’s book Got down the eyes, the face, the look You’re swinging his lantern, drinking his beer Selling a line of three legged chairs Water Through Sand All of the apples in your basket are good You hand-picked beauty as no one else could The basket’s too heavy, you put too much in The pressure’s the worst at the bottom of the bin Water Through Sand Children are wisdom, they’re not taken in Poison leaches through delicate skin Watch out Precious! Look out Few! Get off the tracks! There’s a train coming through! You took a few chapters from Grandfather’s book Got down the eyes, the face, the look You’re swinging his lantern, drinking his beer Closing a deal on your last breath of air
9.
Midnight Crossing 01:07
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10.
High Plains Killers 06:44
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High Plains Killers Sun beats down on Kansas High Plains heat Thunderheads boil At 30,000 feet Radio crackles Spotters near Great Bend Funnel clouds forming Starting to descend Where will they go? Where will we lie? They fall from the sky! High Plains, killers Tear stars from the skies Tear stars from the skies One touched down near Oakley One’s headed for Hays Radio crackles They’re coming your way In the stillness of this moment No one’s assured Stillness broken By the rumble of the ancient herd Where will they go? Where will we lie? They fall from the sky! High Plains, killers Tear stars from the skies Tear stars from the skies Ah-tear stars from the sky! Ah-tear stars from the sky! In the stillness of this moment The storm’s moved on Radio crackles Greensburg is gone The rumble of the ancient herd The rumble of the ancient herd
11.
Boxcar View 01:06
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12.
Rocky Mountain Express 03:15
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Rocky Mountain Express Rocky Mountain Express Deep in the mountain Deep in the mountain pine Rocky Mountain Express Rolling down Going down that line She waits for me Beyond the stream Above the trees Where eagles soar so high Down rocky peaks ‘Neath timberline Where foothills meet The plains begin to rise Ooh, I can hear you calling me home How can I express Spring-fed tears Spilling over my smile How can I express Memories strung along the mile Torn away I was so afraid I‘d have to stay Far away from you There remained a flickering flame The only guide I had to get me through Ooh, I can hear you calling me home Ooh, calling me home Rocky Mountain Express Deep in the heart Deep in the heart of mine Rocky Mountain Express Coming home Home for good this time Home for good this time
13.
I'll Be Damned 05:53
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I’ll Be Damned If I show you who I am Will you stand beside me? If I let you see my scars Will you trace them with your finger? Cause I’ll be damned If I go into battle again With my back exposed To the enemy I’ll be damned If you’re not my Morrigan Who will go to war And make love to me If we walk among the graves Will you tell me, “I know you?” Will we speak with our eyes, Our lips and our hearts? Cause I’ll be damned If you’re big on big plans That watch on your wrist Baby, it’s been worn for me Yes I’ll be damned If I rest on your breast And awake to find My hair shorn from me. If you glimpse my soul Will you stay with me forever? If I rumble and I crash Can you last through my storm? Cause I’ll be damned If I have to go through this again See my flag captured in treachery Yes I’ll be damned If that ring on your hand Is another piece Of your jewelry.
14.
Bottom Of The Bottle Of Beer 04:59
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Bottom of the Bottle of Beer Cigarette butt, at the bottom, of the bottle of beer Left a bad taste, this morning, when I found you weren’t here I’m a bottle on the ocean With a desperate note inside You were nimble, but not too quick, when you bumped my candlestick Left the linen, spattered, you buried the wick I’d rather handle a ball of fire Than to smother deep desire There’s a cold draft from the front door you opened, but never closed A porch light left burning from dusk till dawn I’d face an ice storm on the barren plain Than to feel this numb again Cigarette butt at the bottom of the bottle of beer Cigarette butt at the bottom of the bottle of beer
15.
One Way Dream 01:21
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about

Spread out a map of the United States and pick out the states that are generally considered the Heartland or the Middle West or the Old Northwest or more commonly the Midwest. These are the states from which the great American prairie sprang. These are the industrial states, the rust-belt states, the Corn Belt states. The great Mississippi River cleaves through the middle of this heartland. It is in this land where the farmer, the Native American, the lumberman, the boatman, the train engineer, the industrialist, and the immigrant merged and formed what is considered “the true American.” It is from this land that the music of Switchback is drawn. Brian FitzGerald and Martin McCormack have been playing their brand of Americana music for almost a quarter of a century. The two claim the Midwest as their home. Indeed, the Grammy-winning producer Lloyd Maines considers the duo one of the most important acts playing Americana music today.

Switchback's 10-year collaboration with Maines has resulted in the breathtaking album "Kanoka.” With the soaring pedal steel of Maines along with the boxcar-hopping harmonica of Chicago's own Howard Levy, Switchback has created a musical journey that will make every Midwesterner proud of the heartland and every non-Midwesterner longing for it.

credits

released April 20, 2013

Bass and vocals: Martin McCormack
Guitar and vocals: Brian FitzGerald
Drums and percussion: Jim Hines
Pedal steel, dobro and rhythm guitar: Lloyd Maines
Harmonica: Howard Levy
Percussion and vocals: Keith Riker
Album Sponsor: Dr. Mary Ellen Mitchanis
Executive Producer: Lloyd Maines
Produced by Switchback & Mike Hagler
Engineered by Mike Hagler
Recorded and mastered at Kingsize Studios, Chicago, IL
Keith Riker recorded at Studio at Bear Creek, Evergreen, CO
Photos by Jim Sundberg, Elizabeth Harvey
Album art by Erik Sundberg, Jim Sundberg

© 2013 WayGood Publishing/ASCAP
All lyrics by FitzGerald and McCormack
with exception of Bottom of the Bottle of Beer with Sean Cronin and High Plains Killers with Keith Riker

Switchback® is a registered trademark of WayGood Productions, LLC, registered in the U.S.

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Switchback Chicago, Illinois

As seen on PBS, Switchback’s music is energetic, soulful and versatile, combining elements of Americana-country, rock and Celtic. Showcasing a repertoire ranging from sentimental ballads to blistering rockers, Switchback’s superb songwriting and harmonies gained the attention of Grammy-winner Lloyd Maines, who chose to produce 3 of their albums. ... more

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