JPF Home Page Forums Lyric and MP3 Feedback MP3 Feedback Forum SAWMILL RIDGE

This is another of my childhood memories from the Smokey Mountains: I was eight years old then--

Vic had a free hand with the Music--Vic I appreciate the co-write, it sounds like this one: came right out of those HILLS!


http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=13594745
[/color][

SAWMILL RIDGE
©2017 Mackie Humphries & Vic Arnold
V1
Remember that train it passed by home,
through the mountain to the valleys below
with a lumber load from high above.
Spring and summer that sawmill buzzed.
V2
One August day the hills were quiet.
No whistle or smoke, we wondered why.
Rumors spread two workers died.
On Sawmill Ridge they were buried alive.
CH
No more train acoming round.
There'll be no more sawmill sounds.
Kinda sad for our small town
when Sawmill Ridge came tumbling down,
Tumbling down, tumbling do...own.
Inst. (as verse)
V3
People came from miles away
to see where tracks had once been laid,
two crosses marked where those men lay
and a caved in tunnel for their grave.
CH (repeat)
TAG
It's so sad for our small town
when Sawmill Ridge came tumbling down,
Tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down,
tumbling do...own. color:#993300]



Mackie

Good job guys.
Mackie, it's nice to see you in here again.

Calvin


http://www.soundclick.com/bands/0/calvinstewart

Calvin--

We appreciate your positive take.

Vic wanted me to post this one--I didn't know if I could on the road in Florida, using his sound click--It worked, but it's harder through this Orlando Hotel with a laptop!

Vic does great work!

Mackie

Hi Mackie and Vic:

Enjoyed my listen. The age of steam was still going strong when I was a kid. After the Saturday movies, we would go to the railroad depot and watch the switch engines at work, spotting rail cars and doing their best to stay out of the way of Texas and Pacific streamliners and troop trains.

Loved the way Vic "musicated" your lyric, Mackie... and really enjoyed hearing the story in song. There used to be a publisher/producer in West Virginia who specialized in rail road and train songs. Don't know if he is still in the biz... but if you would like details, send me a PM and I'll dig through my files for his address and info. It won't make you wealthy but can't hurt your resume's. As I recall, his contracts allow you the freedom to continue to pitch your songs, if you are engaged in those kind of efforts.

Regards,

----Dave

Hi Mackie and Vic:

Enjoyed my listen. The age of steam was still going strong when I was a kid. After the Saturday movies, we would go to the railroad depot and watch the switch engines at work, spotting rail cars and doing their best to stay out of the way of Texas and Pacific streamliners and troop trains.

Loved the way Vic "musicated" your lyric, Mackie... and really enjoyed hearing the story in song. There used to be a publisher/producer in West Virginia who specialized in rail road and train songs. Don't know if he is still in the biz... but if you would like details, send me a PM and I'll dig through my files for his address and info. It won't make you wealthy but can't hurt your resume's. As I recall, his contracts allow you the freedom to continue to pitch your songs, if you are engaged in those kind of efforts.

Regards,

----Dave

Thanks Calvin.
It's hard to resist a Mackie lyric.

There's a higher quality wav version here:
https://soundcloud.com/vic-arnold/sawmill-ridge

Vic

Wow! I really liked this. Great production. Loved the fiddle solo and the chugging harmonica.

Dave has an interesting idea. I don't know anything about publishers of train music, but I do know that train geeks will buy just about anything related to railroads, especially with a bit of local history thrown in. Maybe you should do an album of train songs, with each one based on a true story.

Thanks Dave, you always have a nice word to say.

Mackie, put a net out to catch them train song people before they puff away. :-)

Vic

Thank you Gavin. It's a great idea.

Vic

GAVIN--

Thanks for the interest--

Ask a kid now days, if they ever saw a real steam engine--they will say they have, but only in pictures.

This train was real to me, and all these years later, I can still see it with my eyes closed--they used to throw coal off the train, for me to pick up and take home to keep warm in our cabin.

I rode the trains when I was a kid in the orphanage later in NC. One trip was to Cincinnati OH--What a trip: my younger sister and me were tagged like baggage, on that long trip through West Virginia--I remember those Cotton Top Mountains, praying the train would stay on the tracks, far above, and not fall into the River below.

I love to write train lyrics, and will keep in mind your thoughts!

Mackie

Great storytelling, Mackie, and a fine job of putting it to music, Vic. Another cool JPF collab!

Ricki

Dave and Ricki

Thank's for checking on us--Vic made it a song with the music and production! We'll have to let the foot-tappin' stop before we decide what to do with this one!

Mackie

This one has a sweet swing to it Vic.
Man that fiddle is smoking.
Brother Mackie I see you still have that instant classic feel to your writing.
I'm right there in the valley, hell I can smell the fresh cut timber, like when a wood chip truck passes you on the road.

Well done fellas.

Hi Ricki. Thanks.

Vic

Mister Nelson--

I appreciate you taking a trip back to my childhood in those Smokey Mountains--It really doesn't seem like it was that long ago.

Right before the 4th of July, I was on a trip through these same Smokies, wondering what kind of music Vic would put with the lyrics--well, Vic did it right with his upbeat kicking fiddle!

Thanks Vic!

Mackie

Hi Mr. Nelson.
Thanks for that descriptive comment. Much like the feeling I got from Mackie's lyric.

Vic

Mackie,

Your lyrics paint a great picture of a "better time." Nice work Vic with music to "fit" the story, feels Mountain Music for me!

steady-eddie.

Better times for some Eddie.
Thank you for the thumbs up.

Vic

Oh yeah that train harmonica sets the mood in the beginning! Nice testament for that sawmill. Great idea for a song. There are some real players on this tune, great job all over!

Hi Kolstad.
The magic of loops. Thanks for looking in.

Vic

Vic, You coaxed a lively Cajun-ish sound out of BIAB, and Mackie you tell a sad but believable story.

Great collab, guys.

Mike

Thanks Michael. Yes, sometimes it has to be chopped up and sewn back together.

Vic

Kolstad--

Where have all the trains gone, I miss them every one!

In Europe, you have developed the train service while the USA has fallen behind. I remember well, riding the trains a lot in Germany in the 50's. It was the way to travel back then. They usually run on time from France, Switzerland and Austria.

I still have an affection for the train, and have written a few songs: mostly country and blues.

Thanks for giving this one a listen and your thoughts!

Mackie

Michael--

Thanks for your thoughts--without VIC, Sawmill Ridge would be just another lyric! Truth is easy!

Mackie