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Songs from Lincoln Durham's
The Shovel vs. The Howling Bones

All songs written by Lincoln Durham / Published by Rayburn Publishing, SESAC

1. Drifting Wood 4:23

Written by Lincoln Durham
Lincoln: Vocal, Guitar / Derek O'Brien: Guitar / Rick Richards: Drums
One path leads to destruction I got two idle hands that'll get me there Three stand before me to enlighten I'd reach for the shores if I dared Chorus: Let the wind act as a savior Let it guide like a savoir should May the river have mercy have mercy on the drifting wood I may be hanging from a tree come next morning Gone to from whence I came My world is burning down to ashes By match or by chance it's all the same Chorus repeat These waters are deep and they are unheeding I could swim upstream or just go along for the ride The latter of which has this clear warning That's to doom myself to a passive suicide Chorus repeat

2. Last Red Dawn 3:10

Written by Lincoln Durham
Lincoln: Vocal, Guitar / Jeff Plankenhorn: Mandolin / Rick Richards: Drums
I walk through the valley I see no stars tonight They've all died away Because the blood they're spilling floods like a crimson tide Chorus: Red skies turn black as night It means you'll see that next sun come But if they're fiery red in the morning light It means you'll see that last red dawn I see all the misery Of what is dead and gone And the sails, they cry in vain Because the ship they're sailing is made up of skin and bones Chorus repeat I feel a storm coming It whispers in the night And the sea it just trembled When it sees that last red light

3. Living This Hard 3:26

Written by Lincoln Durham
Lincoln: Vocal, Guitar, Harmonica / Rick Richards: Drums
Stick our fruit mason jars Snapping peas in the backyard Been a year now with my hands in the dirt Blood on my fingers can't show it hurts We gonna see if next Sunday comes I ain't gonna make it if the working ain't done Working ain't done 'til the setting sun I got an old dreadnaught through a Bell and Howell It ain't the best of ways but it'll work somehow I don't need me a little band Because Mr. Davis says I got a sporting right hand We gonna see if next Sunday comes I ain't gonna make it if the working ain't done Working ain't done 'til the setting sun Chorus: Look out boys you're about to learn There comes a time when the cactus burns Life ain't never gonna spare the rod I can't keep living, living this hard My kin folks say don't forget who you are Them's words that's got me living this far There comes sometimes when I get real low I wish my memory didn't serve me so We gonna see if next Sunday comes I ain't gonna make it if the working ain't done Working ain't done 'til the setting sun Chorus repeat

4. Clementine 3:22

Written by Lincoln Durham
Lincoln: Vocal, Guitar, Harmonica / Ray Wylie Hubbard: Guitar / Bucca Allen: Grand Piano / Rick Richards: Drums
Clementine, don't you cry for me When the smell of the roses fades eventually Just go for now and leave me to my sleep I'm free from this world, from this painful heartbeat Chorus: Hey, Clementine Don't you cry for me Clementine, may your path be blessed Never again to wear your black veil and dress Let each step take you far from pain Don't let this world leave its dirty old black stain Chorus repeat Clementine, now it's time to part There's no breath in me, but still an ache in my heart Just give me one last smile and dry your eyes We had our time, and now it's time to say goodbye Chorus repeat

5. Mud Puddles 3:27

Written by Lincoln Durham
Lincoln: Vocal, Guitar (1929 Gibson HG-22), Wooden Cone Resonator, Fiddle / Rick Richards: Drums
I got a nickel that I keep here in my pocket I got these snakeskin boots here wrapped around my feet I got a picture that I keep here in a locket Of a woman who's much too good for me Chorus: I said drifters they don't step in mud puddles For fear they'll fill it up with their own blood I said drifters they don't step in mud puddles For fear they'll fill it up with their own blood I got a pocket knife my daddy gave me when I was 20 I found this dusty old hat here at 25 The years of my living add up to plenty But I doubt I'll ever make it to 29 Chorus repeat In these familiar streets I used to tread I see only shadows and demons instead Constant reminders Of the sins that I've made Blood that I've lost And the price I've paid Chorus repeat

6. Reckoning Lament 3:10

Written by Lincoln Durham
Lincoln: Vocal, Guitar, Harmonica / Rick Richards: Drums
Old sawbones got some age on him, that's why you show respect He's long past his prime, his mind's a derelict Another man with an open book, he laughs at your every move He's reciting chosen verse of some Robert Johnson tune He's singing: Chorus: "Whoa, the sun has gone to burnin' Whoa, and the creek has gone dry Whoa, black birds are circling Over the hills, where the dead folk lie" Sister runs the table, now she's shaking a pile of bones Preaching to lose with the double-six cannot be condoned Old blues man feeling might poorly, that's why he screams and howls You ain't heard the slide guitar since the likes of Fred McDowell He's playing: Chorus repeat Ne'er-do-well in the dark corner, raising anxiety Says the safest place in the world, is in-sanity Strangers come from the four corners, with passion and discontent They sing in harmony of the Reckoning Lament They're singing: Chorus repeat

7. How Does A Crow Fly 2:36

Written by Lincoln Durham
Lincoln: Vocal, Guitar (1964 Gibson J-45) / Rick Richards: Drums, Bird Feeder, Trash Can
I met a dove once white as snow I turned her a shade of gray A dove she wants to spread her wings But a crow clips her dove wings away Chorus: How does a crow fly like an eagle How does a crow fly like an eagle How does a crow learn to fly so high Where he can rise up to heaven again I went down to the depths of despair I wanted loose dirt on my grave I felt around in the dark for a while Among the wicked and depraved Chorus repeat How does a heart turn black as coal How does a heart turn black as coal How does a heart turn black as coal How does a crow save his own wretched soul Chorus repeat

8. Love Letters 2:57

Written by Lincoln Durham
Lincoln: Vocal, Guitar / Rick Richards: Drums
I've been picking all the wallpaper off the walls I've been calling all the numbers on the bathrooms stalls I'm walking down a gravel road kicking a can I've been trying to figure out just who I am Chorus: I'm searching for some peace of mind To steady my steep decline If you're gonna live, then you're bound to learn I've got love letters to burn I've been washing myself in muddy water I don't want to be clean, but I think I oughta' I've been putting my sins right up on a shelf To forget your past is to lose your self Chorus repeat Asked a part-time thief, "What should I do" He said, "Use that pain to sing them blues" He said, "One more thing that'll help my brother Before you can open that door, you'd better close the other" Chorus repeat

9. Georgia Lee 3:19

Written by Lincoln Durham
Lincoln: Vocal, Guitar (1964 Gibson J-45) / Clay Berkes: Backup Vocal / Rick Richards: Drums
Georgia Lee she's like a springtime storm She's gonna teach me to be withered, weathered and worn Dresses all tattered and torn She's gonna wallow in the mud Born on the front porch of an old wood shack She keeps everything she owns in a torn up burlap sack Gives no account for where she's at When she gonna wallow in the mud Chorus: Hey Hey Hey, Georgia Lee We're gonna wallow in the mud She's got an old guitar she claims was blessed by Muddy's hand She can't play for much, but she can sure play that "Hoochie Coochie Man" She's glad to show you anytime she can That she can wallow in the mud She's a wild child of the age of 32 You ask her what she's looking at She says "Oh, boy I'm looking straight at you Now whatcha' gonna do" We're gonna wallow in the mud Chorus repeat

10. People Of The Land 3:23

Written by Lincoln Durham
Lincoln: Vocal, Guitar (1929 Gibson HG-22), Wooden Cone Resonator, Fiddle / Idgy Vaughn: Backup Vocal
Alissa Durham: Backup Vocal, Cardboard Box / Ray Wylie Hubbard: Backup Vocal / Rick Richards: Drums, Cardboard Box
I've been around since the days of old I'll stick around for years untold I've faced the fires, and I've seen the rain I've felt some pleasure, and all the pain Seen my brother's blood fall into the sand Shed by his neighbor's hand We are the people of the land And we ain't, and we ain't gonna die away Silk and thread make a noble man But it don't put the scars across his hand A long gray beard and a wise old face Won't be seen in your fancy place Though my brothers are falling all around You ain't gonna keep us down We are the people of the land And we ain't, and we ain't gonna die away We're tilling up the land and we're staying strong We're gonna be around when your money's gone There'll be a time when you can hear them say "Here come the people of the land, We'll be fortunate to be one of them one day" We are the people of the land

11. Trucker's Love Song 4:46


Lincoln: Vocal, Guitar / Derek O'Brien: Guitar / Bucca Allen: Accordion / George Reiff: Guitar
Idgy Vaughn: Backup Vocal / Rick Richards: Drums
Another road, another city The wheels keep rolling, on down the line The price I pay, for this lonely life Is getting higher, as time goes by The only friend I know, is on the CB We talk about the weather, because it kills the time But, he'll soon fade away on that open road And leave me thinking about you and I Chorus: I ride on through these dirty old towns And every road sign says, that you ain't around Another hard life long forgotten On this lonely, dark highway Through Amarillo, on my way to Colorado It makes me remember how much I like that song I'll be there long before morning Thinking about you long after I'm gone Chorus repeat Another road, another city The wheels keep rolling on down the line Singing along to "You Were Always On My Mind" With my best Willie, it's getting better each day Alt Chorus: You were always on my mind And every road sign says, how far I left you behind Another hard life long forgotten On this lonely, dark highway

©2012 Lincoln Durham/Rayburn Publishing. P.O. Box 41962 Austin, Texas 78704. All Rights Reserved. 00TSVTHB-12

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