On the road again,
and on the car radio,
another Country Music song:
I’m 44 now, soon 45
The way I been livin’
Lucky alive
So much has been given
And taken away
Who knows what will happen
Today
Late summer, almost fall
Red rust brushed peaches
Dark dust green grape leaves
Swelling purples under blue blouse sky:
Woke up this mornin’
Didn’t know where I was
Wrote a letter to Heaven,
Reachin' out for you
But you weren’t there
And Heaven didn’t answer either
Signs along the road,
wood weathered grey,
in the Yakima Valley:
Antiques
Fresh Cherries
Walla Walla Sweets
Later at the Grey Inn Motel
Eating maroon cherries from a bottle
Drinking brown beer
Thinking one thing is clear and sure:
Nighttime falls
Lento, Largo, Larghissimo
Yes, darkness comes
Slow like snows,
Like muted yeses,
Like mouth harp nos,
Like in Country Music songs,
Driving through the Yakima Valley.
Note (in response to one reader's question):
The Country Music song lyrics in the poem
are taken from an original song I wrote in 2004.
So, no, I didn't hear the song on the radio,
though I did often find myself
driving through the Yakima valley,
and I wrote the song on one my Yakima trips.
I've explained the age range used in the song
in a comment below.
Tag: country music
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In the Yakima Valley
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“Bury My Heart in the Muddy Mississippi”
“Bury My Heart in the Muddy Mississippi”
A Country Music song
Guitar Chords: GAD(Slow intro with a little lilt)
G A
I took my girl to the Friday night dance,
D G
But she said, “I really don’t like to dance.”(Lively now)
(G) Then some handsome fella
with the (A) swagger of Godzilla,
(D) asked her do you wanna (G) dance,
(G) and the next thing I knew
(A) away they flew.
(D) He’s got her in a (G) trance.Chorus
G A
Hey, Baby, don’t drive me crazy,
D G
I thought you said you didn’t like to dance.
G A
Well, bury my heart in the muddy Mississippi,
D G
I thought she said she didn’t like to dance.So I walked on down and I put my money down
On the counter of the mausoleum,
And I asked the mortician how much it cost to die
But he said I was a buck too short.Repeat Chorus
Late one night I was stopped at a light,
Revvin’ up my hot rod Ford.
Along comes a Chevy, at the wheel’s my Baby,
Askin’ do I wanna dance.
I took her off the line, pink slips on a dime,
And the rest I’m happy to tell.
The moral of this story,
The letter of this tale (D – G…)Repeat Chorus
The Coming of the Toads 